Chapter Summaries

Kirk and the Stark and Baratheon Contractors reached Winterfell, where Robert rewarded Kirk and the two factions began discussing an alliance. The chapter ended with Kirk following Eddard and Robert into the freezing Stark family crypt.

• Robert recognized Kirk, rewarded him with gold dragons, and offered to make him a royal knight, but Eddard refused to give him up.
• Kirk rebuffed a Baratheon Veteran captain who threatened to expose him as an assassin, then discussed the factions’ plans and possible cooperation with him.
• Kirk and the Baratheon Contractors agreed to pursue an alliance before they reached Winterfell, while the Lannister Contractors watched them warily.
• Lady Katherine welcomed the royal party at Winterfell, and Robert insisted on visiting Lyanna’s tomb despite Cersei’s objections.
• Kirk accompanied Eddard and Robert down the narrow staircase into the Stark family crypt.

Kirk watched Eddard accept Robert’s appointment as Hand and attended Winterfell’s welcoming feast, where grave-robbing Contractors were chased by animated stone direwolves. He had Little Fatty watch Bran to prevent the boy’s fall, but the Lannister twins never went to the tower, leaving their planned scandal unrealized.

• Eddard led Robert to Lyanna’s tomb, then accepted Robert’s demand that he become Hand of the King.
• At the feast, Cersei complained about the wolves, and Eddard explained that stone direwolves from the crypt were howling.
• Kirk and the others saw three animated stone direwolves chase Contractors who had tried to steal swords from the Stark crypt.
• Eddard explained that Brandon the Builder had created the crypt’s defenses, and Robert proposed a toast to him.
• Kirk told Little Fatty to keep Bran from climbing, while Little Fatty’s plan to expose Cersei and Jaime at the tower failed because the twins never went there.

Kirk and his companions traveled south with Eddard Stark and witnessed the growing conflict between the Starks and Lannisters, while grave robbers stole Brant the Builder’s sword from the Stark tombs. The King’s party reached King’s Landing, leaving Kirk’s group facing the next stage of their trials.

• The Lannister grave robbers were discovered, and Eddard left Winterfell with Robert while Katherine and Robb took charge there.
• The King’s party crossed the Serpent Marsh and learned that Robert had stripped Robert Arryn of the Warden of the East title, leaving it vacant.
• Arya disarmed Joffrey during a river confrontation, but Sansa stayed silent about the truth, and Eddard killed Sansa’s Direwolf, Lady, on Robert’s order.
• The Lannister Veterans returned to camp with Brant the Builder’s sword, which had been downgraded after being stolen from the Stark tombs, and an unknown Veteran bought it.
• The King’s convoy arrived at the walls of King’s Landing.

Kirk helped Eddard Stark reach King's Landing and strengthened the new Hand's protection despite Eddard's objections. At the Small Council's first meeting, Littlefinger announced an expensive tournament, and Eddard learned the crown would borrow more money from Tywin Lannister.

• Robert welcomed Eddard back to King's Landing, where Varys, Renly, Littlefinger, and Pycelle greeted the King and the new Hand.
• Kirk brought Sir Roderick and fifty Stark guards south, then hired fifty more fighters and persuaded Eddard to accept the added protection.
• Kirk secured 30,000 Survival Points from Van Gundy and Magic Archer to compensate him for spending the King's thousand gold dragons on guards.
• At the first Small Council meeting, Littlefinger announced Robert's plan to hold a grand tournament celebrating Eddard's appointment as Hand.
• Littlefinger revealed the tournament's prizes and said the crown would borrow the money from Tywin, leaving Eddard shocked by the crown's debts and Robert's spending.

Kirk and his team entered the grand tournament’s team melee while weighing the risks of exposing their abilities and learning that rival Veterans had powerful mounts. As the tournament began, Kirk sent Little Fatty with Arya to protect her and investigate a plot against Eddard.

• Kirk, Wang Han, and Little Fatty discussed the tournament’s dangers, then the four teammates signed up for the team melee to compete for 20,000 gold dragons.
• King Robert rejected Eddard’s request to scale back the celebration, and the grand tournament began with fighters arriving from across the continent.
• lynn told Kirk that eight Veteran groups had come to compete, including House Lannister’s [Fire and Sword], whose members had three powerful mounts.
• Wang Han explained that Veterans could contract with mounts, while lynn said completing the [Dragon Rider] title and reaching 100 Favorability with Dragon Girl’s faction could grant a Giant Dragon mount.
• Arya asked Little Fatty to accompany her to the Blackwater River, and Kirk instructed him to protect her and seek evidence of a plot against Eddard.

Kirk secretly helped the formidable knight Brienne defeat the Knight of Flowers in Gendry’s tournament, then had her taken to the Tower of the Hand. After Brienne returned to Gendry’s camp, the Knight of Flowers expelled her, and she punched him.

• Kirk assigned lynn to watch the conspirators and Wang Han to watch the Lannisters, then Wang Han threw him out a window when he asked for a critical-hit boost.
• The Knight of Flowers defeated two opponents in the tournament and faced the skilled knight known as Beauty, Brienne.
• Kirk flicked a pebble at Brienne’s horse, causing her to fall and lose consciousness as the Knight of Flowers won the match.
• A guard brought Brienne to the Tower of the Hand, where Wang Han disguised herself and gave the injured knight food and shelter for the night.
• Brienne returned to Gendry’s camp, where the Knight of Flowers expelled her and threatened her, so she punched him in the head.

Kirk secured Brienne a position as Honor Guard Leader after engineering her expulsion from Lord Renly’s camp, then prepared for the king’s tournament alongside Eddard’s guards. As the joust began, Kirk and Wang Han discovered that several Lannister Veterans were competing with powerful mounts and concealed strengths.

• Kirk arranged for rumors to turn Knight of Flowers against Brienne, then persuaded Lord Eddard to appoint her Honor Guard Leader.
• Brienne accepted the white cloak and vowed to protect Lord Eddard and repay Kirk.
• Kirk assessed the Honor Guard’s strength and believed they could fight their way out of King’s Landing with Eddard.
• King Robert opened the tournament, and Eddard announced that the contests had begun.
• Kirk spotted Lannister Veterans riding a Shadow Demon Lion and a Sand Lizard, while Wang Han warned that the third Veteran was especially dangerous.
• Wang Han pointed out the heraldry on the third knight’s shield, but Kirk failed to recognize its significance.

Kirk’s team entered the tournament’s team melee after discovering that a powerful Lannister Veteran team was competing. Lynn’s lightning spell devastated their first opponents, the Ironborn mercenaries, while Kirk kept the rest of his team’s abilities concealed.

• Kirk and his team identified the heraldry of three Lannister Veterans and realized the Lannisters had stronger forces than they had expected.
• Wang Han explained the steep Soul Crystal costs of maintaining pets and mounts while the team watched the tournament’s competitors gather.
• Duke Gendry opened the tournament, and Kirk led his team into the single-elimination team melee against Ironborn mercenaries.
• Kirk kept Little Fatty’s, Wang Han’s, and his own abilities hidden and signaled Lynn to attack.
• Lynn summoned a bolt of lightning that struck the mercenaries’ tight formation, badly burning them and scattering their ranks.

Kirk defeated the Ironborn mercenaries in the tourney and earned King Robert’s reward. Afterward, he arranged to train under Sir Roderick, while a powerful Lannister veteran plotted to kill him and seize his possessions.

• Kirk fought and killed the Ironborn captain, then helped his team break the mercenaries and collect keys and five hundred gold dragons.
• King Robert praised Kirk’s bloody victory and tossed him a pouch of gold dragons as a reward.
• A Lannister veteran Earl discussed Kirk’s team with two captains and planned to kill Kirk and take his Bloody Room Card and treasures.
• Kirk recognized his friendship with Sir Roderick as a chance to improve his unsystematic fighting skills.
• Kirk provoked Sir Roderick into a sparring match, deliberately lost a bet, and offered him gold to become his student.

Kirk’s team planned to forfeit their melee match against the Lannister Veterans, but Queen Cersei and the Veteran captain persuaded King Robert to make it a fight to the death with valuable prizes. Kirk chose to fight rather than risk his mission and ordered his team to show no mercy.

• A Lannister Veteran defeated a Baratheon knight in the joust, while the Lannister Shadow Demon Lion and Serpent Lizard Knights also won their matches.
• Kirk’s team recognized Mickelson’s Lannister Veteran team from the battle in Frozen Wind Valley, and the teams exchanged threats before the match began.
• Kirk and Wang Han voted to withdraw and preserve their strength, but Lynn and Little Fatty opposed them, leaving the vote tied.
• Queen Cersei spoke to King Robert, who announced a jade necklace and 1,000 gold dragons for the winner and declared that no one could surrender.
• Eddard tried to persuade Robert to revoke the order, but Robert refused, leaving Kirk’s team with no choice but to fight.
• Kirk ordered his teammates to show no mercy and set a steep price for any opponent who wanted to surrender.

Kirk's team faced Mickelson's [Goody-Goody Rick] team, whose members had learned their secrets from forester and tried to take out Wang Han first. Wang Han and lynn turned the ambush around with illusion magic, but both teams suffered injuries, and Kirk realized Earl had exposed his team to forester.

• Mickelson ordered Sand Dog and the Dual-wielding Warrior to engage Little Fatty and Kirk while his team focused its attacks on Wang Han.
• The archer, whip-wielding woman, Mickelson, and another Magician shattered Wang Han's Magic Shield, but her spells disabled several enemies and let her escape through [Advanced Portal].
• Mickelson attacked what he thought was lynn, but the target was an illusion; lynn completed [Chain Lightning Matrix] and struck Mickelson before he teleported away with the whip-wielding woman.
• Hawkeye's arrow hit lynn and inflicted [Armor Break], leaving both sides wounded after the opening clash.
• Kirk accused Mickelson of working with forester, and he suspected that Earl had revealed Kirk's team's secrets.

Kirk’s team battled Mickelson’s veterans, whose mage used a title-enhanced [Death Finger] that nearly killed Kirk. A divine blessing from Kirk’s bracelet teleported him to safety, but the item was badly damaged, and Kirk resolved to make his enemies pay.

• Kirk unleashed [Death Whirlwind] while Wang Han and lynn helped him withstand the enemy’s ranged assault, and Little Fatty attacked the mage.
• Kirk summoned Mori to disrupt the enemy archers as two giant ice wolves summoned by the blond Dual-wielding Warrior tore at him.
• The mage burned a Gold plot-quality title and struck Kirk with [Death Finger], leaving Wang Han and Little Fatty believing he had died.
• Kirk vanished from the arena and reappeared by its wall after [Favor of the Roman Gods] teleported him away and restored some of his Health Points.
• Kirk discovered that the teleportation had damaged [Veronisia's Lucky Bracelet] and vowed that everyone behind the attempt on his life would pay.

Kirk stopped holding back and led his team through a brutal fight against Mickelson’s Veterans, though the battle left his teammates near death. Facing Hawkeye and Mickelson alone, he summoned Spartacus and chose an overwhelming advantage over a desperate duel.

• Kirk summoned Katherine, whose four forms disrupted the enemy formation while Mori, Little Fatty, and Wang Han attacked.
• Kirk killed the whip-wielding Veteran after Mickelson mortally wounded Mori, and Wang Han and Katherine prevented Mickelson from escaping with his return item.
• Kirk’s team killed the dual-wielding warrior and Sand Dog, while Wang Han and lynn were forced out of the fight and Katherine’s clones were destroyed.
• Hawkeye and Mickelson brought Little Fatty to the brink of death, so Kirk used a Teleport Ring to send him to safety.
• With Mori and Katherine also gravely wounded, Kirk summoned Spartacus behind Hawkeye to overwhelm the two remaining Veterans.

Kirk’s team defeated Mickelson’s Goody-Goody Rick team after Spartacus killed Hawk-Eye, then accepted Mickelson’s surrender in exchange for his team’s resources and prized golden dagger. Mickelson left the arena alive under a Space Agreement, while Kirk’s team kept the spoils and its reasons for letting him go.

• Hawk-Eye wounded Spartacus with an arrow but was beheaded by him, and Mickelson lost the will to continue fighting.
• Mickelson offered to surrender, and Kirk agreed to spare him if he signed a Space Agreement and surrendered his resources.
• Mickelson handed over one million Survival Points, 120 Skill Potential Points, 160 Base Attribute Points, ten large Soul Crystals, and his level-five golden Plot Level dagger, the Hand of the Demon Hunter.
• Mickelson explained that his team’s pooled savings had been meant to buy a powerful team item, while Little Fatty noted that the Goody-Goody Rick team had nearly wiped them out.
• Mickelson vowed not to risk his life for another team’s leader again, then disappeared from the arena while Kirk allowed him to leave for his own reasons.

Kirk’s team won the deadly melee against Mickelson’s team, gained rewards and public recognition, and secured Qyburn’s necklace for Wang Han. As the tournament advanced to the melee team final against the Lannister-aligned Boar Team, Kirk wagered his dagger against the stolen Stark sword and two Large Crystals.

• Kirk accused House Lannister’s missing warrior of using suspicious magic, and Robert ordered the family to investigate while dismissing Jaime’s complaint about Stark summons.
• Jaime gave Kirk’s team 1,000 gold dragons and Cersei surrendered Qyburn’s necklace; Wang Han bought it from the team for 280,000 Survival Points.
• Kirk’s team collected the battle spoils and displayed the defeated Veterans’ heads, deterring other teams from challenging them.
• The Earl advanced to the mounted tournament quarterfinals, while Kirk’s team reached the melee team final after a Dorne team withdrew.
• Kirk recognized the Boar Team captain’s sword as the stolen [Brant the Builder's Sword] and challenged Dungeon Rat to wager it against [Demon Hunter's Hand] and two Large Crystals.

Kirk’s team won the King’s team melee tournament, recovered Brant the Builder’s Sword for Eddard Stark, and earned a team title and rewards. As the chapter ended, Kirk prepared to watch the knight tournament final between the Earl and Gregor Clegane.

• Kirk defeated Dungeon Rat after using his blades, teleportation, and Demon Hunter’s Hand to turn the fight in his favor.
• Little Fatty beat his opponent after a long fight, Wang Han conceded against a countering opponent, and lynn defeated a Ranger with Chain Lightning.
• Kirk’s team won the tournament, and Dungeon Rat handed over Brant the Builder’s Sword, which Kirk returned to Eddard Stark.
• Eddard gave Kirk 10,000 gold dragons, the King awarded the team 20,000 in prize money, and the team received the King of Coordination title.
• Kirk learned that the Earl had reached the knight tournament final and saw that Gregor Clegane would be his opponent.

Little Fatty publicly accused Joffrey and Cersei’s other children of being Jaime’s bastards, setting off a crisis at the tournament. Kirk demanded a paternity investigation before Robert could punish House Stark, leaving Joffrey’s claim to the throne in question.

• Joffrey threatened Little Fatty, who exposed the suspected incest between Cersei and Jaime and cited the Baratheons’ black hair as evidence.
• Cersei collapsed, Jaime charged toward House Stark, and Robert confronted Eddard over Little Fatty’s accusation.
• Robert recalled that his relatives and bastards all had black hair, then threatened Eddard unless the fugitive was found within a day.
• Kirk stepped forward and called for an investigation into Joffrey’s parentage, while Eddard tried to distance himself from the demand.
• Kirk proposed that Robert, Joffrey, and Jaime take a paternity test, leaving the gathered lords awaiting the result.

Kirk’s accusation that Cersei’s children were bastards gained support from several Small Council members, turning the royal tourney into a political crisis. Robert ordered a public tribunal to investigate the accusation and summoned the realm’s lords to King's Landing.

• Littlefinger urged Robert to investigate Joffrey and Tommen’s parentage, while warning that Eddard would face death if his accusation proved false.
• Kirk called on the other Small Council members to state their positions, and Renly and Stannis both demanded a thorough investigation.
• Pycelle argued that the question should be handled carefully, while Varys and Barristan opposed stirring up trouble; the council nevertheless passed the investigation proposal.
• Robert canceled the tourney and ordered Gregor Clegane to hunt down Little Fatty.
• Robert summoned the lords of the Seven Kingdoms to a High Council tribunal, ruling that Eddard would die if the accusation was false, while Cersei would be imprisoned, Jaime executed, and the children stripped of royal status if it was true.

Kirk confronted Littlefinger in a brothel and demanded the evidence Jon Arryn had gathered about Joffrey’s parentage. He argued that Littlefinger’s plan to help the Lannisters against the Starks was politically misguided, but had not yet revealed the rest of his proposal.

• Littlefinger explained to a black-robed man that he wanted the Starks and Lannisters at war so he could profit from the chaos, then ordered the man to watch Stark’s movements.
• Kirk, Wang Han, and lynn entered Littlefinger’s secret brothel, where Kirk correctly guessed what Littlefinger had been discussing.
• Kirk offered Littlefinger a chance to gain power over several kingdoms and accused him of arranging Jon Arryn’s murder through Lysa.
• Kirk demanded Jon Arryn’s documents and evidence about Joffrey’s parentage, including the lineage book that showed Baratheon descendants had black hair.
• Kirk told Littlefinger that helping the Lannisters destroy the Starks was a political mistake, then began explaining why he had chosen the wrong side.

Kirk persuaded Littlefinger to help the Starks, then presented Eddard with evidence that Cersei had committed adultery and Joffrey was not Robert’s son. Convinced Robert would execute them to protect his rule, Eddard prepared to flee King’s Landing as Kirk strengthened his guard.

• Kirk warned Littlefinger that the Lannisters threatened his ambitions and persuaded him to provide Jon Arryn’s evidence while helping prevent Robert’s assassination.
• Kirk gave Eddard genealogical records and witness evidence linking Cersei and Jaime, earning the Stark family’s favor and convincing Eddard that Jon Arryn had died uncovering the affair.
• Kirk argued that Robert would condemn Eddard despite the evidence, and Eddard agreed that they needed to escape King’s Landing.
• Kirk contributed twenty thousand gold dragons to expand Eddard’s guard, while Roderick assembled the force and Brienne took charge of training its cavalry.
• Roderick challenged Kirk to spar in the training yard, dodged his attacks, and tripped him after five minutes.