Recaps

Titus considered the purpose and political backing of House Whent’s Harrenhal tournament while Maester Greg reported that no dukes seemed likely to attend. In King’s Landing, Aerys refused to leave the Red Keep, and Varys warned that the tournament was suspicious as Simon Staunton challenged his loyalty.

• Maester Greg told Titus that the Harrenhal maester had hinted that none of the dukes would attend the tournament.
• Titus suspected the tournament had powerful sponsors behind House Whent and that Rhaegar was involved.
• Aerys refused to travel to Harrenhal, insisting that the king would not leave his city or the Red Keep.
• Varys warned Aerys that something was wrong with the tournament, while Simon Staunton accused Varys of lacking regard for the king and being hostile to Rhaegar.

At court, Aerys’s ministers argued over whether Prince Rhaegar’s Harrenhal tourney was a threat to the king’s authority. Hand Owen Merryweather urged Aerys to allow the event, leaving the king’s decision unresolved.

• Owen Merryweather stopped Simon Staunton and Varys from arguing and asked Aerys to decide whether to attend the tourney.
• Aerys hesitated to go to Harrenhal, while Varys suggested Rhaegar might use the gathering to court the great lords.
• Owen rebuked Varys for implying that Rhaegar planned treason and rejected the idea that the prince would move against his father.
• Simon Staunton warned that Rhaegar’s tourney victories could win popular and noble support, and urged Aerys to forbid the event.
• Owen urged Aerys to remember that the gathering was only a tourney for a little girl’s Name Day.

After Aerys agreed to attend the Harrenhal tourney, the Tyrells summoned the Reach lords to Highgarden, and Titus prepared to answer the call. He assembled a small party from Starpike and set out for the famously beautiful castle.

• Aerys agreed to attend Earl Whent’s tourney at Harrenhal with a full force of troops.
• A raven brought Highgarden’s summons ordering the Reach lords to gather within a month.
• Bryce Caron wrote that he would remain at Nightsong to stabilize his castle.
• Titus recruited Wenda and her four subordinates into his earl’s guard and met her white gyrfalcon.
• After Bowen reported that all was well at Nightsong, Titus left for Highgarden with thirty guards, including Parker, Bowen, Wenda, and Oswin.

Titus led his guards north from Starpike to Highgarden, where he met Mace Tyrell and Lady Olenna Redwyne. He learned that Randyll Tarly had withdrawn from the journey to Harrenhal because his wife had fallen gravely ill.

• Titus appointed Parker, Bowen, and Wenda to lead their own squads and ordered them to keep their guards disciplined while hitting back hard if provoked.
• Titus rode north with more than thirty guards and reached Highgarden by the Mander River that evening.
• A patrol of green-cloaked guards escorted Titus and his party across Highgarden's walls and gates to meet their hosts.
• Titus bowed to Mace Tyrell and Lady Olenna Redwyne, who welcomed him after his journey.
• Lady Olenna told Titus that Randyll Tarly had withdrawn from the trip to Harrenhal because his Florent wife had suddenly fallen gravely ill.

Titus assessed House Tyrell’s vulnerabilities and attended a gathering of Reach nobles at Highgarden, where he made cautious overtures to several lords. After Titus left the feast, Earl Alester Florent privately summoned him to a secluded garden, leaving Titus wary of what he wanted.

• Titus identified House Rowan as a hidden danger to House Tyrell and considered the Reach’s powerful second-rank houses.
• Titus arrived at Highgarden as the Reach’s major houses gathered, and Duke Mace Tyrell introduced his young heir, Willas Tyrell.
• Titus spoke with Earl Mathis Rowan about his daughter, then turned away and briefly chatted with the Earl of Cider Hall.
• Earl Alester Florent stopped Titus as he was leaving the feast and asked to speak with him in private.
• Titus followed Alester and Parker to a secluded garden, raised his guard, and recalled the distant ties between House Florent and House Peake.

Titus saw through Alester Florent’s attempt to make House Peake challenge Mace Tyrell and sent the old earl away after urging him to return with a real plan. Back at the guest quarters, Titus learned Arthur White had harassed Wenda and decided to postpone any retaliation.

• Titus questioned why Alester Florent wanted House Peake to confront Mace Tyrell and exposed his attempt to use Starpike as a reckless proxy.
• Alester admitted his approach was a mistake, and Titus told him to return when he had a genuine plan.
• Bowen told Titus that Arthur White had tried to take liberties with Wenda in the gardens and fled when Starpike guards surrounded him.
• Wenda said she could handle Arthur herself and explained that Whitegrove had once belonged to House Peake.
• Titus chose not to retaliate yet and advised Wenda to have her men tie Arthur up if he harassed her again.

Titus prepared to travel with the Reach delegation to Harrenhal while promising Wenda that Arthur White would be dealt with. As the delegation boarded boats on the Mander River, Titus reflected on the river’s history and House Peake’s old rivalry with House Manderly.

• Wenda agreed to notify Titus when Frederick White’s ransom was demanded, and Titus said he would negotiate with Frederick.
• Bowen reported that Arthur White had threatened to gouge out the White Eagle’s remaining eye, and Titus promised Wenda that Arthur was his to kill.
• Frederick White scolded Arthur and sent him home, leaving Frederick as Whitegrove’s sole representative at the tourney.
• Two days later, Titus gathered with the Reach delegation at the Mander River docks, where Mace Tyrell gave a speech before the nobles boarded House Tyrell’s flower boats.
• Titus boarded with House Peake’s large contingent and considered the Mander River’s history and House Manderly’s former title as Great Captain of the Mander River.

Titus recounted the histories of House Manderly and House Peake to Wenda as the Reach delegation prepared to travel to the Riverlands. Aboard the Tyrell barge, he reflected on House Crane, the legends of Garth Greenhand, and the ancestry shared by many Reach houses, including his own.

• Titus explained to Wenda how House Peake drove the Dustins from the Reach and how the exiles later became House Manderly in White Harbor.
• Titus described how House Peake had grown powerful by holding Starpike, Whitegrove, and Dunstonbury, though the latter two had since been lost.
• Wenda appreciated that Titus treated her as a capable warrior, while Titus valued her attentiveness and abilities as a guard.
• The Reach delegation boarded ships under Paxter Redwyne, and Ser Timo Crane greeted Titus as the deputy leader.
• Titus considered House Crane's rumored Skinchanger heritage and recalled legends of Garth Greenhand and his many descendants.
• Titus remembered that Florys "the Fox," a daughter of Garth Greenhand, bore the ancestors of House Florent, House Peake, and House Ball.

Titus reflected on the Reach’s legendary descendants and the wealth of House Redwyne as his delegation traveled upriver toward Bitterbridge. He recounted how the Briars’ plot at Tumbleton led to the deaths of dragonriders and dragons, leaving Targaryen power diminished.

• Titus considered the legends surrounding Garth Greenhand’s descendants, including Brandon Bloodraven and Bran the Builder, and judged that several Brandons may have built Westeros’s great structures.
• Titus admired House Redwyne’s wine trade and fleet as his pleasure boat carried him east along the Mander River toward Bitterbridge.
• Titus recalled how Hugh Hammer and Ulf White Hair defected from the Blacks, then threatened to seize power and provoked the Reach’s nobles to plot against them at Tumbleton’s Bloodbriar inn.
• Jon Roxton killed Hugh Hammer before he could mount his dragon, while Hobert Hightower poisoned Ulf White Hair and died in the ensuing conflict.
• The Briars’ plot sparked a battle in which dragons and riders died, and Lady Sharis later displayed Vermithor’s and Seasmoke’s skulls in Tumbleton for visitors to see.

Titus settled his men in Bitterbridge and intervened when Lorent Caswell abused the smith’s son over a newly forged sword. He beat Lorent and sent him back to his father, then praised the smith’s craftsmanship.

• Titus brought his party ashore at Bitterbridge and arranged warm rooms for his captains and deputies, with the rest of the guard camping nearby.
• The next morning, Titus saw Lorent Caswell berating the smith’s son, who had received a knight’s sword for his sixteenth Name Day.
• Titus kicked Lorent and struck him across the mouth with his scabbard after Lorent began to curse.
• Titus told Bowen to take Lorent to old Caswell and ask him to discipline his son, while Parker went to wash the blood from Titus’s scabbard.
• Titus examined the smith’s sword and praised its fine workmanship.

Titus and the Reach delegation arrived in King's Landing, where he chose a rental property near Visenya's Hill and began exploring the city. The chapter ended with Titus visiting Master Tobho Mott's smithy to inspect its wares and hear Mott boast about his craftsmanship.

• Paxter Redwyne persuaded Lord Caswell to let the clash with the Peakes go without escalating, and Titus brought Old Rolly and his son Rolly along with the departing delegation.
• Titus's party traveled north along the Roseroad and reached King's Landing through the King's Gate, where the Reach nobles went to their own lodgings.
• Titus trained at dawn in the courtyard, impressing Rolly, then took Bowen, Wenda, Old Rolly, and guards to the Street of Steel.
• Titus and his companions arrived at Master Tobho Mott's smithy, where Mott tried to sell them weapons and armor.
• Tobho Mott pointed out a dark red breastplate and boasted that his work was a masterpiece, challenging Old Rolly's implied judgment.

Titus visited Tobho Mott’s smithy in King’s Landing, bought equipment for his guards, and commissioned a custom suit based on his Berserker Armor design. Tobho agreed to deliver the finished armor to Harrenhal, while Titus’s purchases were loaded onto wagons.

• Tobho showed Titus and Wenda his smithy and described the techniques he had learned in Qohor.
• Titus asked whether Tobho accepted investment, then ordered more than forty sets of mail and helmets for his guards.
• Titus gave Tobho a drawing of the Berserker Armor and discussed its specifications with him and Old Rolly.
• Titus arranged for Tobho to send the custom armor to Harrenhal under Starpike’s name.
• Titus added bows, arrows, shields, lance heads, and other supplies to his order, and Tobho’s apprentices loaded the goods onto the Peake wagons.

Titus persuaded Tobho Mott to become his business partner by offering noble protection and access to Valyrian steel, securing a share in the smith’s King's Landing shop and a new Reach branch. As Titus left the smithy, Wenda spotted a group of Gold Cloaks following them, and he led her and Bowen into an alley to confront them.

• Titus offered Tobho Mott protection, noble connections, and Valyrian steel to convince him to partner with the Earl of Starpike.
• Bowen demonstrated Orphan-Maker’s Valyrian steel edge, impressing Tobho Mott and Old Rolly.
• Titus and Tobho Mott agreed that Titus would receive forty percent of the King's Landing shop and seventy percent of a new Reach shop in exchange for money, land, and resources.
• Titus planned to use Tobho Mott’s smithy as his base in King's Landing and assigned Old Rolly to coordinate the future Reach branch.
• Wenda noticed Gold Cloaks following Titus, so Titus sent the carriage away and took Wenda and Bowen into a narrow alley.
• Ten armed men entered the alley, and Titus questioned whether they were really members of the City Watch.

Titus and his companions fought ten Gold Cloaks in a narrow alley after Titus refused to meet the person who had summoned him. They killed most of the patrol and left one guard alive for questioning as Titus walked away.

• Titus refused the Gold Cloak captain's demand and drew his sword when the captain ordered his men to seize him.
• Titus used the narrow alley to kill six Gold Cloaks with his sword, dagger, and elbow strikes.
• Wenda killed two Gold Cloaks, while Bowen killed one and disabled another for questioning.
• Titus retrieved his dagger and left the alley, reflecting that he had nearly taken on seven men by himself.

After House Peake’s men rescued Titus from a hired ambush in King’s Landing, he identified Varys as the man behind it and decided to leave the city by ship. He assigned his followers to build influence in the capital and met smuggler Davos Seaworth, who could arrange passage upriver.

• Titus told Gold Cloak captain Jacelyn Bywater that bandits disguised as Gold Cloaks had attacked him, and Jacelyn promised an investigation before leaving.
• Titus learned that the surviving attacker had named his employer as “Logan,” whom Titus recognized as Varys, and decided not to approach the spymaster yet.
• Titus ordered Oswin to find a ship and planned to sail from Blackwater Bay toward the Gods Eye, while assigning followers to work at Tobho Mott’s smithy, join the Gold Cloaks, and establish a presence in Flea Bottom.
• Oswin brought Davos Seaworth to Titus that evening, introducing him as the owner of the two-masted smuggling ship Black Beth.

Titus traveled with Davos Seaworth and his sons aboard the Black Beth toward the Gods Eye, then went ashore at Whitegrove. At a tavern, he encountered a handsome young Robert Baratheon, who casually knocked down a Peake soldier.

• Davos agreed to Titus's arrangements, and they planned to meet at the River Gate at first light.
• Davos brought Titus and his party aboard the Black Beth, introducing his sons Dale and Allard as the ship departed King's Landing.
• Oswin explained the route along the Blackwater Rush to the Gods Eye and recounted the duel between Daemon and Aemond Targaryen above the lake.
• After several days on the river, the Black Beth reached Whitegrove, and Titus went ashore with Bowen, Oswin, and several guards.
• At the White Thorn Garden tavern, Titus saw a young man flirting with a serving girl, and a Peake soldier accidentally collided with him.
• The young man, Robert Baratheon, casually knocked the Peake soldier to the floor and apologized with a smile.

Titus stopped a tavern confrontation between Robert Baratheon and his soldiers by arranging an arm-wrestling match, which ended with the table breaking and the men making peace. Robert bought the tavern a round and introduced himself and Eddard Stark, then asked Titus’s group who they were.

• Titus halted the brewing fight and proposed that Robert and Oswin settle their dispute with arm wrestling.
• Robert and Oswin struggled evenly until Oswin’s sideways twist helped bring down the table, after which they laughed and praised each other’s strength.
• Titus compensated the bartender for the broken table, and Eddard announced that the round was on Robert Baratheon of Storm’s End.
• Robert spoke with the soldier he had knocked down and toasted him, putting the earlier conflict behind them.
• Robert introduced himself and his good brother Eddard Stark, said they were staying at the Eyrie, and asked Titus’s group about themselves.

Titus, Robert, Eddard, and Oswin shared drinks and stories at a tavern, where Titus entertained Robert and Eddard with tales of sellswords and Essos. As the evening wore on, Robert, Eddard, and Titus swore blood brotherhood, leaving their chance encounter as a bond between them.

• Titus introduced himself and Oswin to Robert and Eddard, then joked that their secret mission was to win the Harrenhal tourney for Starpike.
• Titus told Robert and Eddard stories about sellsword companies, including the Rose Company and Wolf Pack Company, and Robert said he wanted to visit Essos.
• Titus described the gladiatorial arenas of Slaver's Bay, and Robert led the group in a toast to the champion gladiator.
• Robert, Eddard, and Titus grew lively as they drank and swore blood brotherhood.

Titus and his companions discussed Robert and Eddard’s trip to High Heart before Robert showed off his heavy iron hammers. Titus goaded Oswin into lifting one, and Oswin impressed everyone by raising it with ease but struggled when Robert challenged him to take the other.

• Robert and Eddard told Titus about finding a ring of thirty-one weirwood stumps at High Heart, though Eddard dismissed the trip as uneventful.
• Titus discovered Robert’s spiked iron hammers at the inn, and Robert swung them effortlessly to show his strength.
• Titus told Robert that Oswin had claimed he could have beaten him at arm-wrestling if he had eaten first.
• Titus praised Oswin as a legendary Ironborn strongman and challenged him to lift Robert’s hammer.
• Oswin lifted one hammer with one hand and rested it on his shoulder, but sweat appeared as Robert challenged him to lift the second, prompting everyone to laugh.

Titus, Robert, and Eddard traveled toward Harrenhal, growing closer as they rode, hunted, and shared stories. They ended the day camping beside a stream near the Gods Eye, their friendship deepening over food and wine.

• Titus woke at the inn in Whitegrove and decided to travel overland toward Harrenhal with Robert and Eddard.
• The five travelers left Whitegrove, raced their horses, and grew more familiar, with Titus beginning to call Eddard “Ned.”
• Eddard told Titus about the North and his family’s plans to strengthen ties with southern houses through wards and betrothals.
• Robert led a hunt that produced only a few rabbits, and the three young men failed to catch anything during their afternoon archery competition.
• Titus, Robert, and Eddard roasted rabbit beside a stream near the Gods Eye and shared wine and laughter beneath the stars.

Titus and his companions rode along the Gods Eye toward Harrenhal, while Titus considered the castle’s history and supposed curse. They arrived at Harrenhal, the seat of House Whent and the venue for the tournament.

• Titus confirmed that the Inn at the Crossroads was run by Martha Haigh, then raced horses with Eddard and Robert along the Gods Eye.
• Eddard told Titus that Robert had fathered a two-year-old bastard daughter named Mya with a maid at the Eyrie.
• As the party neared Harrenhal, Titus considered visiting the Isle of Faces and thought about the Skinchangers who might guard it.
• Oswin sang the song Titus had taught the party, while Titus reflected on the history of House Hoare and Harrenhal’s rumored curse.
• Titus and his four companions reached Harrenhal, the seat of House Whent and the tournament venue.

Titus arrived at Harrenhal for the gathering and met its host, Walter Whent, whose courtesy was formal rather than warm. Afterward, Titus inspected the comfortable private quarters Wenda had prepared for him.

• Titus reached Harrenhal with Robert and Ned, then found House Peake's camp and greeted Parker.
• Titus sent Oswin to meet Davos aboard the Black Beth and coordinate future messages with Wenda's gyrfalcon.
• Parker led Titus through Harrenhal to Kingspyre Tower, where he met Walter Whent and exchanged routine pleasantries.
• Titus left Walter's reception and inspected the spacious quarters Wenda had arranged for him.

As Harrenhal filled with visitors for the tournament, Titus studied the booming trade and gambling, then risked his last gold dragons on a wager. King Aerys II and Crown Prince Rhaegar arrived, followed by regional representatives, leaving nearly all the great figures of the Seven Kingdoms gathered at Harrenhal.

• Titus explored Harrenhal’s markets and gambling dens, observed how merchants profited from the tournament crowds, and exchanged silver stags for a favorable fortune.
• Titus planned to turn Westerosi tournaments into regular commercial events and gambled his last gold dragons using his foreknowledge.
• King Aerys II arrived at Harrenhal with his retinue and six Kingsguard after Harlan Grandison died.
• Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen arrived soon after Aerys, while the great lords stayed away except for Robert.
• Representatives arrived from across the kingdom, including Brynden Tully, Kevan Lannister, Gulian Swann, Brandon Stark, and Oberyn Martell.

Titus met with Lorance Roxton, who sought House Peake’s help against Whitegrove, before attending the opening ceremony at Harrenhal. The royal procession arrived, and Crown Prince Rhaegar emerged from the king’s wheelhouse.

• Titus kept his distance from Oberyn Martell, then reviewed information about the tournament’s contestants at his grand house.
• Lorance Roxton asked Titus to cooperate against Whitegrove, which had been encroaching on House Roxton’s lands.
• Titus observed the tournament grounds and crowds gathering outside Harrenhal for the opening ceremony.
• The king’s procession arrived, and the herald announced Aerys II Targaryen to the assembled nobles and commoners.
• Crown Prince Rhaegar stepped out of the wheelhouse, and Titus saw him in person for the first time.

At the Harrenhal tourney, King Aerys struggled through a speech before Crown Prince Rhaegar took over and the king announced Jaime Lannister’s appointment to the Kingsguard. The opening ceremony ended, and preparations for the great banquet began in Harrenhal’s Hall of a Hundred Hearths.

• King Aerys arrived at the viewing stand in a disheveled state and stammered through his address to the tourney.
• Crown Prince Rhaegar stepped forward and finished the speech, prompting the crowd to cheer.
• Master of Coin Earl Qarlton Chelsted reminded Aerys of Jaime Lannister’s request, and Aerys ordered Jaime to appear.
• Aerys named Jaime Lannister to the Kingsguard, where Ser Gerold Hightower gave him a white cloak as the other knights welcomed him.
• The opening ceremony ended at sunset, and candles were lit in Harrenhal’s Hall of a Hundred Hearths for the banquet.