Inside the main keep of Griffin's Roost, Countess Clinton knew the castle was lost the moment she saw the dragons appear. She hurried toward the secret passage with her young children, protected by her personal guards. What she failed to notice was that a red-feathered falcon had already taken in everything happening at Griffin's Roost.
After setting the oak gate ablaze, Little Balerion swooped straight down and shattered the heavy doors with a single lash of his tail.
"Aah!"
The dozens of guards lying in ambush behind the gate with spears and shields were knocked sprawling by the burning fragments of oak.
Creeeak!
Little Balerion thrust his fearsome head over the castle wall. Spotting people inside, he immediately unleashed another mouthful of dragonfire. The splashing, sickly green flames engulfed the few guards Griffin's Roost had left.
The roasted aroma rising from the guards whetted Little Balerion's appetite. Opening his enormous jaws, he swallowed several of the nearest guards as they continued to struggle desperately.
The crunching of his jaws terrified the burning guards so badly that many drew their daggers and chose to end their own lives.
By the time Lord Swann and his men fought their way to the castle gates, Little Balerion had swallowed every guard there.
With their appetites freshly whetted, Little Balerion and the other two dragons had cleverly flown toward the livestock pens at Griffin's Roost. The hundred or so pigs and sheep inside had all been roasted, and the Three-Headed Great Dragon lay on the ground, feasting.
"Chirp!"
Just then, another clear birdcall rang out from the eastern tower of Griffin's Roost.
The eastern tower was the tallest in Griffin's Roost, overlooking all the surrounding villages. The castle also contained stables, an armory, barracks, and a Maester's Tower with a rookery inside.
Beneath the