Earl Clement Piper was short and stout, with bowed legs and a thick mop of unruly red hair, but he moved very quickly. Lord Piper spurred his fine horse into a wild gallop and only then escaped a bloody death.
The Kingslayer brandished his longsword and shouted arrogantly, "Into Riverrun! Kill the Trout!"
"Into Riverrun! Kill the Trout!"
The frenzied soldiers of the Westerlands waved their weapons and followed the Kingslayer, pursuing the broken remnants of the Riverlands army all the way.
Chapter 161: The Red Viper and the Mountain
The small band of "demon hunters"-hunters of the Mountain-that Eddard Stark sent to the Riverlands was not large, numbering only a little over a hundred.
Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr, Ser Gladden Wylde, and Baron Rorge Mallory each brought twenty soldiers, while Eddard sent thirty House Stark guards along with them. Earl Raymun Darry also joined them with twenty men of his own. Then there were Ser Karyl Vance and Ser Marq Piper, who brought several dozen retainers of their own.
Eddard ordered Beric Dondarrion to lead the party to arrest Gregor and bring him back to King's Landing to stand trial before the king. This hardly seemed an ample force with which to arrest the Mountain.
More critically, Ser Karyl Vance of Wayfarer's Rest and Ser Marq Piper of Pinkmaiden were still worried about their fathers, who were preparing for battle beneath the Golden Tooth, and might leave the party at any moment. This small force charged out of King's Landing in a fury and headed for the Riverlands, but made slow progress as they searched for the Mountain's trail while securing supplies.
The situation in the Riverlands was also dire. Fear of an invasion from the Westerlands had driven most of its lords to reinforce Riverrun, leaving few