Under Lord Eddard's gaze, Gryn paced a few steps before continuing, "Though she was exiled on the continent across the Narrow Sea, her circumstances were far from good. Illyrio Mopatis... clearly treated Dany as a 'valuable' piece in his hand. So did that 'King' Viserys. I am certain that Varys and Illyrio... the two of them were the players moving pieces from the shadows."
"Varys..."
Lord Eddard murmured the name, frowning as he thought for a moment. Then he suddenly said, "Could his death have been...?"
Rumor had it that Varys had died suddenly. Eddard had heard all manner of speculation about his death back in Winterfell.
Yet none of those rumors had ever pointed to the man before him.
Gryn turned his gaze toward him and nodded. "That's right. Varys died by my sword (Chapter 225). That cunning, arrogant schemer tried to turn me into a piece in his hand as well, to sharpen me into a blade aimed at Robert."
He continued, "That was also why Varys and Illyrio arranged for Dany and me to meet. They intended to make use of my knightly sense of justice, as well as House Crabb's centuries-old tradition of loyalty to the Targaryen queen."
After a pause, Gryn calmly added, "Later, when Varys realized he could not control me, he began plotting poison in order to conceal their conspiracy."
Poison?!
At those words, Lord Eddard's hand clenched into a fist. Jon Arryn had died of poison; there was nothing he despised more.
His gaze returning to Eddard, the corners of Gryn's mouth curved faintly. "Varys may have overlooked another tradition of House Crabb... A thousand schemes are no match for a single sword (Chapter 39)."
Lord Eddard nodded. He approved of Gryn's decisive handling of the matter. Though the direwolf was "As