The Hunt Begins

The next morning, early.

Garon got out of bed right on time.

After tidying himself up a little, he got dressed, strapped his longsword to his waist, and headed out.

Today, Garon would serve as a guide and go hunting in the Wolfswood with Robert, Ned, and the others.

As luck would have it, just as Garon was about to head for the stables, Tyrion, looking thoroughly hungover, emerged from his room.

They exchanged smiles, then nodded in greeting.

Garon stopped and made conversation. "Why are you up so early, Lord Tyrion? Are you going hunting too?"

Tyrion yawned. "I've no interest in hunting. I arranged to meet Maester Luwin today and borrow a few books."

Garon's eyes shifted as he smiled. "I'm heading to the stables, and the Maester's Tower is on the way. Why don't we go together?"

Tyrion accepted Garon's invitation without giving it much thought.

They walked along, chatting as they went.

"Last night's Trial by Combat was truly an eye-opener."

"A Kingsguard knight, and he still couldn't beat you."

"I'd wager that if you went to King's Landing, the noble ladies would be so eager they'd be knocking on your door in the middle of the night."

"Even the girls in King's Landing's brothels wouldn't charge you!"

Tyrion teased Garon as he toddled along on his short legs.

For some reason, though they had only met a few times, Garon's polite manner made Tyrion feel that he respected him.

Before this, the only person who had shown him that kind of respect was his big brother Jaime.

As a result, Tyrion felt an inexplicable fondness for Garon.

Garon raised an eyebrow and replied wittily, "Good thing I haven't been to King's Landing yet. Otherwise, the bigwigs who run those brothels would hate me to death, wouldn't they?"

Tyrion burst out laughing, liking Garon more and more.

"Then you can rest easy. The man who owns the most brothels in King's Landing is our Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish."

"He has a hundred ways to squeeze Gold Dragons out of you."

At the mention of Littlefinger, a flicker of something passed through Garon's eyes.

As he led Tyrion into the corridor, he teased him.

"You sound rather bitter, Lord Tyrion. I take it Lord Petyr has squeezed quite a few Gold Dragons out of you."

"Well, what can I say? The girls working for Petyr are pretty open-minded."

"But I got a taste of that myself yesterday, here in The North!"

Tyrion wagged his head, his face flushed as if recalling his vigorous exertions with the girls.

"Oh, shit. Now I'm in the mood for another round."

Garon was at a loss for words.

"I'm only joking. Today I'm going to the tower to find a few books. Honestly, I'm very interested in the legends of The North."

"Things like the White Walkers and the Giants."

Noticing Garon's speechless expression, Tyrion shrugged and explained what he had planned for the day.

"Then Maester Luwin won't disappoint you."

"If there's one thing The North has in abundance, it's tales of White Walkers and Giants..."

They walked on for a few more minutes, and soon the Maester's Tower came into view.

Garon stopped and said goodbye to Tyrion.

"Lord Tyrion, the Maester's Tower is just ahead. Just go up the stone steps."

"We can talk again tonight."

Tyrion nodded with a smile. "Enjoy the hunt. You'll have to show me what you bring back tonight."

Garon agreed, then watched Tyrion leave.

Only after Tyrion disappeared up the tower steps did Garon head along the other side of the corridor toward the stables.

About seven or eight minutes later,

Garon finally reached the stables.

The stablehands had already brought out the horses they'd fed. Some were leading horses toward the training yard.

The king was far too important to go all the way to the stables himself. He would mount up in the training yard, then set out through Hunter's Gate for the hunt in the Wolfswood.

Garon looked around and soon spotted his guards in a corner of the stables.

"Master Roger!"

He strode over, and Roger and the other four hurried to meet him.

"Lord Garon!"

Garon nodded. "Come on. We'll wait for the king and Lord Ned at Hunter's Gate!"

He called to them, took the reins from a nearby stablehand, and swung into the saddle.

Roger and the others mounted up as well, following Garon toward Hunter's Gate.

A short while later, Garon and his party arrived at Hunter's Gate.

He reined in his horse and gazed out at the Wolfswood, unchanged for a thousand years, silently estimating how much time had passed.

Soon, the sound of hoofbeats rang out, and King Robert and Ned appeared with the others at Hunter's Gate.

"Ha! If it isn't the champion of the Trial by Combat!"

Robert pulled on the reins and brought his horse to a stop in front of Garon. "The Wolfswood is Glover territory. I don't expect to come back empty-handed today."

Garon replied, "I won't disappoint you, Your Grace!"

"Good, good! Today I'll see whether your horsemanship and archery are as good as your swordsmanship!"

Hyah!

Robert laughed heartily and galloped toward the Wolfswood.

Joffrey and the knights and bannermen of House Baratheon cracked their whips and followed after the king.

Ned called out, "Come on, let's follow them!"

At once, the people of Winterfell rode after them.

Behind them came a whole group of servants and cooks, hauling wine and food to the appointed spot.

Garon flicked the reins and rode alongside Robb.

He noticed that Jaime and Theon were nowhere to be seen in the hunting party.

Jaime had stayed behind with Cersei to fool around, just like in the original story.

As for Theon...

It seemed he'd already started putting his plan into motion, just as I'd expected.

Garon glanced back toward Winterfell, a strange sense of anticipation rising within him.

The real show is about to begin!

The corners of his mouth lifted, and he urged his horse to pick up the pace.

Seeing this, Robb assumed Garon couldn't wait to show off in front of the king again. His competitive spirit flared.

"Garon, want to have a contest today?"

"Let's see who hunts the most game!"

Garon came back to himself and laughed. "Sure. What does the winner get?"

"If I win, I'll tell you one of Sansa's secrets!"

"If I lose..."

Robb thought for a moment before saying, "I haven't decided yet. How about you owe me a favor?"

Garon agreed without hesitation.

"It's a deal!"

"Robb, you're going to lose!"

"Haha..."

At the very moment the king rode out of Winterfell, Bran was scrambling up the stone wall.

By the time he reached the top, the hunting party was already out of sight.

Bran's gaze fell on the Broken Tower, where he'd have a much wider view. After hesitating for a moment, he struggled to climb up again.

Inside the Broken Tower, Theon crept onto the first floor.

Seeing no one around, he quietly climbed toward the top of the tower.

Not long after Theon went up, Jaime and Cersei arrived as planned.

They glanced around, saw no one, and began making out without a care in the world.

They climbed higher and higher as they went.

Cersei's muffled moans began to echo around the Broken Tower.

A fine show was about to begin.