Robin Leger roared amid the ruins like a wounded beast.
"He turned everyone into homeless refugees! Then he hands out a little bread as fake charity! And expects them to be grateful?"
"Ser Brynden! Do you see? This is what that Black Lion has done!"
Brynden Tully sat silently on his horse.
He looked at the ruins, at the wild dogs feeding on the corpses, and at the vultures circling overhead.
His expression did not change. He had seen too many scenes like this. At least along this road, there weren't corpses strewn everywhere like during the uprising that overthrew the Mad King.
Far off on the horizon, a column of smoke had just begun to rise, twisting as it climbed into the sky.
Brynden Tully reined in his horse. The animal nervously pawed at the ground, white breath steaming from its nostrils.
He gestured toward the smoke with his chin. "Let's go have a look!"
Robin Leger stared at the rising smoke, his voice hoarse with barely contained fury. "It's his men setting fires again, I'm sure!!!"
Blackfish paid no heed to his curses. He gently nudged his horse with his heels, and it began walking toward the smoke.
Robin Leger gritted his teeth. The curse caught in his throat, but in the end, he rode after them.
The scenery along the way was no different from before.
Everywhere, village ruins stood in charred, blackened heaps. The crops in the fields had been burned, leaving only vast stretches of black ash.
Vultures circled overhead, screeching harshly. Wild dogs prowled about, watching the uninvited newcomers warily and growling low in their throats.
Robin Leger muttered, his knuckles whitening around his clenched fists. "My family's lands... My family's people..."
Brynden Tully remained silent. His gaze swept over every inch of scorched