At this point, the corner of The Hound's mouth twitched again. His expression was neither mocking nor self-deprecating. It was more as though he had long since grown used to something.
"I didn't stop them. They went their way, and I took the few men left with me around Harlon Castle and continued north. Those who chose to go back to Tywin had no idea what sort of man he really was."
"House Clegane used to breed hunting dogs and train hunting parties specifically for Tywin. Later, we switched to training his personal guards. His own household troops and the Lannister guards in King's Landing were all trained by me and my murderer of a brother, The Mountain."
"So our family had a lot of dealings with him. I know Tywin well. If he found out we'd failed to protect Cersei and run away ourselves, his methods might be even less pleasant to witness than those of the flaying family in the North. Our only chance was to head north, to the Vale. That was somewhere truly safe, and no one would come all the way there just to look for us," The Hound said.
Unfortunately, the garrison had stopped The Hound and his companions at the outer mountain pass into the Vale.
The Vale already had a new ruler by then. The bronze-armored House Royce had taken most of the Vale's cavalry to lay an ambush outside Harlon Castle, so they had sealed the Moon Door and were letting no one into the Vale.
The Hound and his companions spent two days lingering outside the pass. Only after they had eaten all their provisions did they decide to head into the mountains, intending to enter the Vale through the Mountains of the Moon.
Many Mountain Clans lived in the