"Hello, Grand Maester Pycelle." Maester Holly entered the room, led by a servant, and was momentarily stunned to see two people inside. However, he quickly identified Grand Maester Pycelle based on their ages and the maester's chains around their necks, and bowed to him.
"I'm not doing so well," Grand Maester Pycelle responded with a smile.
Maester Holly was taken aback, unsure how to react.
"These past few days, I've been troubled by how to record the death of Maegor I Targaryen, so I prayed to the gods for someone to help me," Grand Maester Pycelle said with a laugh, "But you, Maester Holly, leisurely stayed in the camp and took two whole days to come, extending my suffering by two days. My dear Maester Holly, do you think I'm doing well right now?"
No matter how awkward Maester Holly was in social interactions, he could hear the resentment in Grand Maester Pycelle's words. He wanted to explain but didn't know how, and his nervousness made sweat break out on his forehead.
"Don't be nervous, I don't mean to blame you," Grand Maester Pycelle easily discerned Maester Holly's personality, knowing that he posed no threat if he remained in the Red Keep. He then reassured Maester Holly and asked, "Do you need to prepare anything else? If not, I hope you can start working immediately. The progress of the chronicles is much slower than I expected. I hope your arrival can speed things up, and that the compilation of all major historical events before the 80th year of Aegon's reign can be completed by next year."
"As you command, Grand Maester." Maester Holly, who was passionate about history, became very excited upon hearing Grand Maester Pycelle's words, and the joy in his heart was impossible to conceal on his face. He quickly bowed to Grand Maester Pycelle and stated that he didn't need to prepare anything and could start working at any time. However, he suddenly thought of something and said, "I have a companion who is currently at the guard post outside the Red Keep. I might need to go and tell him something, explain a few things..."
"No need, you don't have to go," Grand Maester Pycelle raised a hand to stop Maester Holly, saying, "Unless you have something particularly private, you don't need to go. Just write it down, give it to him, and let him take it. I don't want you to waste your time on such meaningless things later."
When Grand Maester Pycelle pointed to the other person in the room, that person was also stunned, then a sarcastic smile appeared on his face, as if he was saying to Grand Maester Pycelle, 'Let's see if I'll follow your orders.'
However, because the light in the room was a bit dim, Maester Holly didn't see the expression on that person's face. He didn't object to Grand Maester Pycelle's instructions, asked for a piece of paper, and quickly wrote something on it.
After he finished writing, Grand Maester Pycelle took the paper, didn't look at it much, folded it, and handed it to the person, saying, "The things in the third cabinet by my bed should compensate you. I hope this matter ends here, don't you think?"
Maester Holly, standing by, could clearly sense a hint of fear in Grand Maester Pycelle's tone, which made him curious about this maester-like person. After all, Grand Maester Pycelle's status in the Red Keep was extraordinary; there was no reason for him to be afraid of an ordinary maester.
The person was silent for a moment, then reached out and took the paper, saying, "I hope the compensation you spoke of, Grand Maester, is true compensation, otherwise I will come back to find you, and it won't be like this then."
After speaking, he turned and walked out of the room. As he left, Grand Maester Pycelle also let out a slight sigh of relief, reaching out to steady himself on a nearby table, trying to appear composed to Maester Holly despite his somewhat weak body.
After leaving the room, the person did not take the usual path that maesters used to exit the Red Keep, but instead took a relatively secluded, less-traveled path. He also deliberately avoided passersby on the way, and did not encounter anyone head-on until he walked out of the Red Keep.
After leaving the Red Keep, he took out the note Maester Holly had written and casually threw it into the weeds by the side of the road. But after taking a few steps, he seemed to think of something, hesitated for a moment, turned around, rummaged through the weeds, found the note again, and then turned towards the guard post outside the Red Keep.
Soon he arrived near the guard post and found the person he was looking for. However, when he saw the person, he couldn't help but be stunned, then walked over and asked in an extremely familiar, abrupt tone, "Why is it you again?"
Suddenly, a stranger appeared and asked a strange question, completely baffling Lynd. But he quickly realized who this person was, after all, the unique aura about this person made it difficult for him to mistake him.
"Why are you here, Lord Bowie?" Lynd looked at Bowie, the Faceless Man who had transformed into a maester, and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Grand Maester Pycelle owes me a debt." Bowie, the Faceless Man, answered simply, then handed the note in his hand to Lynd, saying, "This is from a maester named Holly, who asked me to give it to you."
Lynd was stunned, reached out, took the note, and looked at it. The content was simple: Maester Holly was giving him the books left at the camp.
After putting the note in his pocket, Lynd looked at the Faceless Man and asked, "How long will you stay in King's Landing?"
"If there are no surprises, I will leave tonight." Bowie replied casually, then looked at Lynd with a strange gaze and said, "Don't you think our consecutive coincidences are magical? It's as if there's a hand subtly pulling the strings of our two destinies."
"No, not at all magical. Counting it, we've only met three times, and one time you came to see me on your own. This kind of coincidence is normal, there's no need to make a fuss about it." Lynd appeared very indifferent, looked at Bowie, and said, "You're not trying to recruit me to be a Faceless Man, are you?"
bowie shook his head and said, "Anyone in King's Landing could become a Faceless Man, but you absolutely cannot."
Although these words sounded like they were speaking up for Lynd, Lynd always felt something was off about them.
At this moment, Bowie scrutinized Lynd for a while longer, his face full of doubt, and said, "What exactly happened to you these past few days since we met in the Kingswood? Why do I feel that you have gained..." As he spoke, he seemed to think of something, and his gaze became full of scrutiny as he looked at Lynd, then he had a sudden realization and said, "I understand now why the Many-Faced God sent me to perform this blessing. It turns out that water dancer wasn't the objective at all; you, Bear Hunter Lynd, are."
Hearing Bowie's words, Lynd couldn't help but frown, and his hand subtly moved to the hilt of his sword, saying, "Lord Bowie, are you trying to make me enjoy some of the Many-Faced God's blessings as well?"
"No, not you." Bowie completely ignored Lynd's wary behavior, instead shaking his head in a mystical manner, then looked at the Gold Cloaks who had walked out of the guard post out of curiosity, and said, "This is no place to talk."
After speaking, he gestured to Lynd, then walked onto the main road and headed towards Baelor Square.
Lynd hesitated for a moment, then followed, but his vigilance did not relax. In his eyes, fanatical religious followers were no different from madmen; one moment they would be laughing and joking with you, the next they might draw their swords for some unknown reason.
"Can you tell me about your experiences these past few days?" After Lynd caught up, Bowie slowed his pace a bit and said, "I want to know what caused you to gain the attention of the Many-Faced God?"
"The attention of the Many-Faced God?" Lynd paused slightly at the words, his expression becoming a bit grim.
He remembered that in previous life's relevant forums, there were discussions about the gods in the Ice and Fire World, and almost everyone participating in the discussion believed that, apart from the man-made faith of the Seven Gods, all other gods were not good guys. Even the most righteous lord of light r'hllor had various sinister ideas and rituals in his doctrines, and most importantly, many gods were truly real. Being noticed by such gods was not a good thing no matter how you looked at it.
The Faceless Man easily saw through Lynd's thoughts and said, "Don't worry, you certainly can't receive the Many-Faced God's blessing right now. And when you are qualified to be on the list, I believe that with your ability at that time, no Faceless Man should be able to get close to you, so you don't need to worry at all."
Lynd thought about it and felt that Bowie was right. With his current growth rate, if he truly became famous enough for someone to pay a hefty sum to hire a Faceless Man, his strength would probably have reached a superhuman level, and his perception and other abilities should have improved accordingly. At that time, he wouldn't need to worry about assassination by Faceless Men at all.
After understanding this, Lynd also relaxed a bit and then asked in a bargaining tone, "I can tell you about my experiences during this time, but what's in it for me?"
Bowie was stunned, looked at Lynd with a strange expression, then counter-asked, "What benefit do you want?"
Lynd was silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered his reaction when he touched dragon bone, and so he said in a deep voice, "You have a way to enter and exit the Red Keep at will, right?"
Bowie said with extreme confidence, "While not entirely at will, normal entry and exit from the Red Keep is no problem."
Lynd stated his condition, "I'm very curious about dragon bones. After King Robert ascended the throne, he moved all the dragon bones to the cellars beneath the Red Keep. I imagine with your abilities, it shouldn't be a problem to enter the cellars and steal some dragon bones for me, right?"
Bowie couldn't help but ask, "Dragon bones? What do you want that for? It's just a slightly harder bone." As he spoke, he looked at Lynd with a strange gaze and said, "Only some madmen and fools would believe that powdered dragon bone is the best aphrodisiac. Could it be that you..."
"I never knew Faceless Men told jokes, but this one clearly isn't funny." Lynd gave the Faceless Man a cold glance, saying.
Bowie chuckled indifferently and said, "If you want dragon bones, you don't need to go to the Red Keep's cellars. I can give them to you right now."
After speaking, the Faceless Man gestured for Lynd to follow, then led Lynd into a small alley. After walking for a while, they arrived at the entrance of a tailor shop.
After the Faceless Man knocked, the door opened, and an old man peered out from the crack. Upon seeing the Faceless Man, he relaxed and fully opened the door.
The Faceless Man did not enter the house, but instead spoke a few words to the old man in a language other than common tongue. The old man nodded, turned and went inside, and after a moment, he was seen carrying a small box to the doorway.
Judging by the effort the old man put into holding the box, it was not difficult to tell that the contents of the box must be very heavy.
After the Faceless Man took the box, he gestured for the old man to close the door, then turned and walked in front of Lynd, set the box down, and said, "Do you think these are enough?"
Lynd reached out and opened the box. Although he had already guessed what would be inside, he was still somewhat surprised to see a box full of bones.
He then reached out and touched each bone in the box, discovering that all of them caused his Golden Finger to react, which proved that these bones were all dragon bones.
Although Lynd still didn't know what effect dragon bones had on his Golden Finger, with so many dragon bones providing him with experimental material, he believed he would figure out this question sooner or later.
Since the Faceless Man had already produced the dragon bones, Lynd naturally wouldn't go back on his word. Moreover, his experiences during this period were quite ordinary and didn't involve any of his secrets, so there would be no problem in telling them.
So, he recounted what had happened since he and the Faceless Man parted ways in the Kingswood that day.
The Faceless Man listened intently, occasionally interrupting Lynd to ask for details about certain matters. After asking, he would shake his head, indicating that it had nothing to do with the Many-Faced God.
It wasn't until the conversation turned to the girl, whom Lynd had inadvertently saved outside the Lion Gate two days prior, that the Faceless Man's expression changed, becoming exceptionally serious.
The Faceless Man then inquired very carefully about the girl's situation. Upon learning that the girl had woken up today, he told Lynd that he didn't need to say anything more.
"Is the girl the reason for the Many-Faced God's attention?" Lynd asked tentatively.
The Faceless Man did not answer, but merely pondered for a moment and said, "I will go with you to House Tyrell's camp to see this girl. If necessary, I will take her back to the House of Black and White in Braavos."
"No problem, as long as she is willing." Lynd nodded and said.
Bowie was stunned by the words, then turned and looked at Lynd with a slightly meaningful gaze. He could hear the implication in Lynd's words: if the girl was unwilling, he would not take her away.
He did not feel offended by this; instead, he found Lynd's character rare and his actions principled, making him someone worth befriending.
However, at the same time, he also felt that a person like Lynd, who acted on principles, would not live long in the Seven Kingdoms, so he hoped Lynd could be the exception.
As for whether the girl was willing to go with him to Braavos, in his opinion, there was no suspense at all. Since the Many-Faced God had led him to the girl, then Daenerys must belong to the Many-Faced God.