The dagger in Lynn's hand gleamed with a cold, eerie light beneath the gray-white sky.
Everyone followed Lynn's gaze to Grenn, Pyp, and the other recruits.
The young men's faces instantly turned as white as snow.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
"Grenn."
Lynn's voice was calm, yet carried an authority no one could resist.
The burly boy who had once tried to teach Jon a lesson with his fists shuddered violently.
He raised his head and met Lynn's unfathomable eyes.
"Do you recognize this dagger?"
Grenn's lips trembled.
He wanted to shake his head, to say he didn't.
But Lynn's gaze pierced through every lie he could tell like a pair of sharp knives.
He knew that if he so much as said no...
The next instant, the Valyrian steel sword called Longclaw would cut off his head without mercy.
In the face of absolute strength and power, any hope of getting lucky was laughable.
"I... I..."
Grenn couldn't get a single word out.
"Pyp."
Lynn turned to another boy, tall and thin.
Pyp fared even worse than Grenn.
His legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.
"My lord! Lord Lynn! I had nothing to do with it!"
He cried out, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"It... it was Ser Thorne! He forced us recruits to do it!"
Those words sent shock waves through the crowd!
The entire courtyard erupted in an uproar!
"You're lying!"
Alliser Thorne's eyes instantly reddened.
Like a maddened beast, he charged at Pyp and raised his foot to kick him.
"You lowborn bastard! How dare you slander me!"
But before he could get close...
Two burly figures stepped into his path.
They were Torrhen and Jason.
Like two iron towers, they stood protectively before Pyp, one on either side.