It was late at night when Jon Snow and the others finally reached their destination.
The Crossroads Inn stood at the meeting point of the north-south Kingsroad and the east-west River Road and Valley Road. It was a three-story building with a white stone chimney.
To the north of the inn, there was a thatched cowshed and a bell tower. The entire place was surrounded by broken white stone walls.
The south wing had been built on stilts over a patch of weeds that had once been a tributary of the Green Fork River. Back then, half of the inn stood over water, but over time, the river changed its course, leaving the land dry and overgrown.
The Crossroads Inn had a long history. It was said to have been built during the reign of Jaehaerys I, the fourth king of the Targaryen dynasty. King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne once stayed there, and to honor them, the inn was renamed the "Double Crown Inn."
Later, after the inn changed owners, a new bell tower was built, and it was renamed the "Bell Inn."
When Ser Jon Heddle took over, he made a new sign for the inn—a three-headed black iron dragon. Every time the wind blew, the sign would jingle, so the inn was renamed again, this time to "Sign of the Dragon."
The name "Sign of the Dragon" stayed until the Blackfyre Rebellion, when the sign was torn down and the name was abandoned.
The Blackfyre Rebellion, which took place in 195 AC, was another bloody civil war within House Targaryen for the Iron Throne, following the earlier Dance of the Dragons.
At that time, King Aegon IV of House Targaryen had, before his death, legitimized all of his many bastards, granting them inheritance rights. This move caused chaos among the nobility.
Aegon IV, who had grown bitter and suspicious, accused his queen and his brother of carrying on an affair, even claiming that his eldest son, Daeron Targaryen, was not his own, but the child of his queen and his brother.
When Aegon IV died, many lords who were unhappy with the state of things seized the opportunity to question the legitimacy of Daeron II, and instead backed Daemon Blackfyre, Aegon IV's eldest bastard son, as the rightful king.
Daemon Blackfyre was truly remarkable—handsome, skilled in battle, and widely admired. Those who had seen him fight called him a "warrior come to earth."
At just twelve years old, Daemon had defeated all his opponents in a melee. Aegon IV had then acknowledged him publicly, knighted him—the youngest knight in the history of the Seven Kingdoms—and gifted him the Targaryen family's ancestral Valyrian steel sword, Blackfyre, once wielded by Aegon the Conqueror himself. From then on, Daemon took "Blackfyre" as his house name.
When Daemon rebelled, he flipped the Targaryen banner: instead of a red dragon on black, he flew a black dragon on red.
The inn's black dragon sign drew the anger of Lord Darry, a loyal supporter of Daeron II. Furious, Lord Darry tore down the sign, smashed it into pieces, and threw it into the river.
Daemon Blackfyre was later killed by Brynden Rivers and his men, the Crow's Teeth, during the Battle of the Redgrass Field, and the first Blackfyre Rebellion ended in failure.
After that, the Hyde family never replaced the inn's sign. Over time, the place faded into obscurity.
Locals now simply called it the "Riverside Inn" or the "Crossroads Inn," based on its location.
In the original A Song of Ice and Fire books, the Crossroads Inn is a famous and important place, where many key events happen.
Because of this, Jon Snow guessed that this would likely be the meeting spot chosen by the other players for their alliance.
As the inn came into view, Jon's heart began to race.
Even though he knew his disguise was perfect and the strength he had was more than enough to crush any beginner player, he still couldn't help but feel nervous.
Since it was already late, the innkeeper and the staff had likely gone to bed. Even though Jon Snow and the others had reached the door, no one came out to greet them or take their horses.
They had no choice but to knock and wait.
After about five minutes, when Rohr knocked for the third time, a lazy woman's voice finally answered from inside the inn. Judging by her tone, she was clearly unhappy that someone was seeking lodging at such a late hour.
As she approached, Jon could hear her muttering complaints under her breath.
Of course, it wasn't anything insulting—just simple grumbling and gossip.
The door creaked open, revealing a fat, middle-aged woman. From her rough appearance, Jon guessed that she must be Martha Heddle, the inn's proprietress.
The moment Martha saw Jon and his companions, her complaints died on her lips. She had never expected, even in her wildest dreams, that it would be three knights standing at her door so late at night.
The Heddle family had once produced knights. Their ancestor, Jon Heddle, who first gained the inn, was a knight. But after the last knight of the Heddle family was killed during the Second Blackfyre Rebellion, they were no different from common folk—only the name remained.
"I... I'm sorry, sirs," Martha stammered, flustered by what she had just said. Before she could stumble through an explanation, Jon spoke up to spare her the trouble.
"Prepare a large, empty room for us, and bring out your best wine and food," Jon ordered calmly, acting as if he hadn't heard her earlier complaints at all.
"Right away, sirs. Please wait a moment," Martha said quickly, breathing a sigh of relief. She then waved to a maid who had come out late, motioning for her to lead Jon and the others to their room.
Martha was a little puzzled. She couldn't understand why these knights would ask for a large common room instead of separate rooms with beds—after all, such big rooms with straw mats were usually meant for the lower classes.
But she knew better than to ask questions. After sending the maid to lead them, she hurried off to rouse the kitchen staff and start the fires.
Under the maid's guidance, Jon and his companions made their way to their room. By now, most of the lights in the inn were out, and the hall was deserted. If Jon wanted to find out whether other players had arrived, he would have to wait until morning.
Jon bought two oil lamps from the maid, paying extra for them. After hanging the lamps up, the room finally brightened.
Although it was called the Great Room, it really wasn't very large.
Twelve straw mats were neatly arranged in two rows, taking up more than ninety percent of the space. Only a narrow strip remained between them, just wide enough for one person to walk through—a simple aisle down the center.
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