Chapter 123: Players Behaving Weirdly (Part 1)
Khal Drogo arrived far sooner than Ian had anticipated. Before the month was even out, his bodyguard cavalry had appeared at the gates of Pentos.
After making some inquiries, Ian learned that Drogo, halfway across the Great Grass Sea, had temporarily abandoned the bulk of his khalasar, pressing on ahead with only three hundred of his chosen bodyguards.
This morning, Pentos had held a grand entrance ceremony for the Khal. To an unknowing observer, it might have looked as though a great conqueror was arriving at their gates.
After lunch, Illyrio sent his steward, Mills, to inform Ian that Drogo would host a banquet for the entire upper nobility of Pentos in three days. King Viserys would also attend. It was time, Mills said, for Ian to prepare to swear his allegiance.
Ian had no objections. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.
As if to double his good fortune, that very night, 'Big Mouse' Hazru came to visit, telling Ian he had brought more complete clues about the player known as Gini Taimei.
Ian had tasked Hazru with finding this person last week, ever since the name had first appeared in Hazru's intelligence reports. Hazru had failed to locate him, so Ian had settled for the next best thing: a request for all information related to Gini Taimei's previous activities in Pentos.
To be honest, Ian still could not fathom why any player would choose such a name. If this were some esports tournament, a trollish name like that would be perfectly normal. But this was a battle royale for their very lives. For a player who had not only survived the initial bloodbath in Pentos but had also climbed into the top thirty, to engage in such self-sabotage for the sake of a joke was utterly beyond Ian's comprehension.
Generally speaking, a distinctive name served one of two purposes: it was either a signal to summon allies or a trap to lure enemies.
But the name Gini Taimei was a poor choice for either. If it were a signal for prearranged teammates, a secret code known only to them would have been far more effective than a bizarre, topical joke. And if it were a trap, he should have chosen something with a more universal appeal, rather than a name that seemed designed to 'only trap his own people.'
Another point that raised Ian's suspicions was that this person was last seen at the Red Temple on the city's highest hill. That appearance had happened on the very same day that Suda Tetrus, the son of the magister known as the Green Turtle, had visited the temple and publicly vowed to kill Prince Hazan. It made Ian wonder if this player was the hidden 'factor' that had caused the sudden escalation in the Pentoshi factional conflict.
If so, then a man with such an unpredictable style and a clear talent for incitement would undoubtedly be a formidable opponent.
If possible, Ian hoped to leverage the 'home field advantage' that Illyrio's patronage now afforded him in Pentos and bury this problem for good. Leaving a player like that alive could lead to endless trouble down the line.
Back in the living room of his quarters, Ian had a servant bring some fruit, and then he and Hazru got down to business.
"You owe me for this one, Ian. We expended a lot of effort on your matter," Hazru said, sinking into a velvet-filled sofa and unceremoniously helping himself to a piece of fruit.
"It's Daeron's problem, really. I'm just anxious to help him," Ian shrugged, sticking to his cover story.
It was, after all, more plausible. Daeron Grafson, twenty-five and having sailed to many cities, was far more likely to have made an enemy from Lorath with a strange name than Ian Rivers, a sixteen-year-old who had never left Westeros. He was using Illyrio's intelligence network now. And while the magister had never interfered in his friendship with Hazru, Ian knew that everything he did still had to appear logical from Illyrio's perspective.
"I don't care about that," Hazru waved a dismissive hand. "I don't know Daeron Grafson. I'm helping *you*. I wouldn't go to this much trouble for anyone else."
"Of course. I owe you a favor, my friend," Ian said with genuine sincerity. "So, can we get to it? Ever since Daeron learned that Gini Taimei had also come to Pentos, he's barely been able to sleep. As his friend, I have to help him resolve this."
"Is that Lorathi really so scary?" Hazru muttered. "We heard he's very thin."
"Thin?" Ian asked, leaning forward. "Can you describe his appearance in detail?"
"No," Hazru said, shaking his head. "No one has seen his face. The man is always wrapped in a black robe when he appears. The part about him being slender is just a rumor."
"Then how do you know it was him at the Red Temple?"
"He said so himself."
"He… said so himself?"
"He went to the Red Temple to confess," Hazru explained. "Gave his name to the priestess on duty. The priestess thought what he said was so bizarre that she shared it with a group of other priests. One of them happened to be one of our people."
*Is he insane?* Ian thought. *A player, running off to confess to a Red Priestess? What kind of twisted fairytale is this?*
"What did he say?" Ian asked, his voice urgent.
"He said he shouldn't have touched that…" Hazru struggled to pronounce the unfamiliar words. "…that *Bask Tipo* in the first place."
What the fuck? A stampede of ten thousand foul beasts thundered through Ian's mind.
If he hadn't known for a fact that Hazru was a native of this world, he would have sworn the little bastard was messing with him. So, the player's last known public act was to tell a Red Priestess that he regretted taking up basketball? What in the seven hells was that? Ian felt his brain starting to short-circuit.
The other players he had encountered, regardless of their skill, had at least acted in a way that made a degree of sense. But this guy? What was his purpose? Where was his logic?
*Could it be a provocation?* The thought struck Ian a moment later. Could another player have been hunting him at that time? Was it possible he showed up at the temple to perform some bizarre, nonsensical act just to mock his pursuer? In that context, while still irrational, his behavior wasn't completely without logic.
"Go back and have your people ask that priestess again," Ian said to Hazru. "See if anyone else asked her about Gini Taimei before you did."
If the answer was yes, it would mean his guess was correct. There was another powerful player faction in Pentos, and their relationship with Gini Taimei was a hostile one.
"Alright," Hazru nodded.
"Now, continue. Tell me everything else you found."
"The name Gini Taimei first appeared in Pentos on a bounty notice at the Qoma Inn. That was nearly three months ago, probably early October."
*Right when the game started,* Ian calculated. "Where is the Qoma Inn?" he asked.
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