Chapter Summaries

Davos sought a ten-million-Gold-Dragon loan from Iron Bank envoy Naho Dimittis, who refused because the North would not recognize the Iron Throne’s debts. Meanwhile, Tysha prepared to manage Pentos while Krysalis traveled to meet Gary, and Gary arranged for Margaery to negotiate with Randyll Tarly.

• Davos offered Dragon Eggs and Valyrian steel as collateral, but Naho refused to lend to the North while the Iron Bank backed the Baratheon Royal House.
• Davos warned Naho that Cersei would not repay the Iron Bank during the war, then offered to work with him if the war’s course changed within a month.
• Tysha told Krysalis that Gary wanted him to leave her and the dragon cavalry in Pentos and travel to King's Landing in a month.
• Krysalis authorized Tysha to use the dragon cavalry against the Dothraki if needed and welcomed the news that he would meet Gary.
• Margaery proposed persuading Randyll Tarly to become an ally, and Gary arranged for her to negotiate with him near Maidenpool under Daenerys’s protection.
• Gary reassured a shy Daenerys that they were family, and Margaery teased her with a suggestion for the three of them that night.

The North and the Vale prepared to advance south while Cersei’s Small Council debated how to meet the northern threat. In Lys, a silver-haired prince considered returning to Westeros with support from the Golden Company, the Unsullied, Dorne, and possibly the Iron Bank.

• Twenty-five thousand Vale soldiers left Harrenhal for Duskendale, leaving their heirs with Gary and Robert Arryn in the northern camp.
• Gary waited at Harrenhal for northern supply lines to reach him before marching toward Maidenpool, concerned that House Tully could not support his campaign.
• Cersei convened the Small Council after Jaime’s defeat, and Qyburn urged her to repair the giant ballistae and prepare for the North’s dragons.
• Cersei told Mace Tyrell that she had ordered Crownlands towns to reinforce Randyll Tarly at Maidenpool.
• Cersei and Qyburn discussed Littlefinger Baelish’s proposed tactic, and Qyburn advised choosing a Lannister commander rather than one from the Reach.
• In Lys, a blue-haired prince whose hair turned silver discussed returning to Westeros with his Hand, who reported that the Iron Bank might support them if they acknowledged the Iron Throne’s debts.

Margaery led a Northern negotiating party to Maidenpool, where Dickon Tarly insulted her identity and Randyll Tarly tested her before accepting that she was the real Margaery Tyrell. Randyll invited her to discuss the North’s demands but refused to address Dickon’s insult first, leaving the negotiations tense.

• Gary sent Margaery to Maidenpool to seek its surrender, assigning Ice Warriors, Giants Heavy Cavalry, and Little Deer to protect her as Daenerys flew overhead with her dragons.
• Dickon Tarly welcomed the party, then called Margaery a whore and accused her of impersonating Margaery Tyrell, prompting the Ice Warriors and giants to ready their weapons.
• Randyll Tarly arrived and tested Margaery with a question about Garlan Tyrell’s nickname; her answer convinced him she was the real Margaery.
• Margaery explained that she had been in the North while another woman posed as her in King’s Landing, and she rebuked Randyll for calling her father “Puff Fish.”
• Randyll proposed discussing the matter at hand, but Margaery demanded that Dickon’s insult be addressed first, and Randyll said Dickon’s fate would depend on the negotiations.

Margaery met Randyll Tarly at Castle Black to discuss his allegiance to Luke Stark, while Daenerys guarded her in disguise. Randyll offered his forces in exchange for Casterly Rock, the title of Warden of the West, and a Small Council seat, and Little Deer flew north to deliver his demands to Luke.

• Margaery entered Castle Black with Little Deer and Daenerys, while the giants and mammoths waited outside and Daenerys's dragons rested atop the castle.
• Randyll Tarly said he would pledge allegiance to Luke Stark rather than surrender, but warned that dragons could be killed and demanded Casterly Rock, the Wardenship of the West, and a Small Council seat.
• Randyll explained that his troops and Reach allies could weaken the Crownlands' defenses, and Margaery said only Luke could decide whether to grant his demands.
• Margaery sent Little Deer to report Randyll's offer to Luke, and Little Deer transformed into a raven and flew north.
• Daenerys left with five Ice Warriors to find lodging outside the castle, while Randyll questioned Margaery about the disguised commander and suspected her identity was significant.

Gu Li weighed Randyll Tarly’s demand for the Westerlands and offered him the Stormlands instead, while receiving alarming reports about Cersei’s troop movements and the danger facing Highgarden. Randyll accepted the offer and asked to meet Gu Li in person.

• Little Deer reported Randyll Tarly’s terms to Gu Li, who consulted Tyrion and the Northern Lords before offering Randyll the Stormlands rather than the Westerlands.
• Gu Li received intelligence that Cersei had sent twenty thousand Westerlands Alliance troops across the sea and a plea from Sansa reporting that the Arbor and Oldtown had fallen to a gigantic sea monster.
• Little Deer told Margaery and Daenerys about the Stormlands offer, and Margaery decided they should stand firm while seeking Randyll’s support.
• Randyll accepted the Stormlands after learning Tyrion was Gu Li’s Hand and asked Margaery to take him outside Maidenpool to meet Gu Li.

Gary secured Randyll Tarly’s support in exchange for making House Tarly the ruling house of the Stormlands after the war. He pressed Randyll to choose Samwell rather than Dickon as heir, then arranged for Tarly’s forces to join the campaign against King’s Landing.

• Randyll Tarly agreed to bring twenty-four thousand troops north in return for House Tarly ruling the Stormlands after the war.
• Gary confronted Randyll over Dickon’s disrespect toward Margaery and said Dickon would be punished by losing his claim to inherit.
• Tyrion and Gary argued that Samwell should inherit the Stormlands, and Gary revealed that Samwell was expected to become his Grand Maester.
• Randyll asked for time to consider the succession and to see Samwell, while Gary warned that his choice would affect House Tarly’s relationship with the North.
• Gary and Tyrion arranged for Randyll’s four thousand cavalry to join the main force and for his other troops to advance north and besiege King’s Landing.
• Gary left one thousand North infantry to garrison Maidenpool after taking the town without bloodshed.

Gary investigated Cersei’s unexplained troop movements, discussed Highgarden’s plea with Margaery, and learned that the Iron Bank was pressuring Cersei over its debt. As Gary’s forces marched south, Tyrion urged Jaime to choose House Lannister’s future before the coming battle.

• Gary and Tyrion considered Cersei’s secret letter and ordered scouts and a fleet to investigate the Westerlands’ twenty thousand troops.
• Margaery calmly agreed that Gary should focus on the North, and Gary promised a dragon could later help defend Highgarden.
• Naho Dimittis demanded that Cersei repay the Iron Bank within three months, warning that the bank could support House Stark and accept Valyrian steel or dragon eggs instead of gold.
• Gary’s twelve thousand troops and House Tarly’s four thousand cavalry marched south toward Duskendale to reinforce the Vale’s army.
• Tyrion told Jaime that the northern forces were growing while the Crownlands’ defenses weakened, and pressed him to support his family’s future before Tommen and Myrcella’s fates were decided.

Gu Li learned that Cersei might use poison and wildfire to defend King's Landing, so he changed his plans and secretly set out to enter the city. Meanwhile, the Iron Bank envoy Naho Dimittis left King's Landing, believing the North would soon take it and repudiate the crown's debts.

• Bran's letter warned Gu Li that Qyburn had equipped King's Landing's walls with dragon-piercing crossbows and that Cersei might poison waterways and use wildfire.
• Gu Li ordered daily water tests and, after considering that Cersei might fill the city's tunnels with wildfire, decided to infiltrate King's Landing and seal the threat with ice magic.
• Gu Li placed Barristan Selmy in command of the Northern Alliance and arranged for a soldier to impersonate him while he left camp with Tyrion, Melisandre, Little Deer, and a cloaked man.
• Naho Dimittis learned from Iron Bank intelligence that the North was likely to take King's Landing and that the new ruler might reject the crown's debts, so he sailed away and sent the Bank a report.

Davos negotiated with Naho Dimittis for a ten-million-Gold-Dragon loan to the North, agreeing that King Luke would repay part of the Iron Throne’s debt with Valyrian steel. Naho warned Davos that Pentos’s Red God temple was plotting against Magister Tysha’s Supreme God movement, and Davos was left facing an unspecified threat involving a Dothraki Khal.

• Naho told Davos that the Iron Bank’s leaders backed Aegon Targaryen, while his faction had secretly decided to support the North.
• Davos refused to accept House Baratheon’s debts, but negotiated an agreement for King Luke to repay three million Gold Dragons’ worth through fifty Valyrian steel swords and a suit of armor.
• Naho offered the North a ten-million-Gold-Dragon loan and warned that the rival Iron Bank faction could lend Aegon VI as much as twenty to thirty million.
• Davos and Naho signed their contract, and Davos declined to accompany Naho to Braavos to oversee the loan’s release.
• Naho urged Davos to leave Pentos, explaining that the Red God temple had joined with wealthy merchants to spread rumors against the Supreme God and had contacted a Dothraki Khal.

Tysha revealed her preparations to Davos and launched a preemptive strike against Pentos's compromised City Watch before the Dothraki arrived. After leaving Martina to secure the city, she rode west with only a few dozen people to face the enemy, and Davos followed to protect her.

• Davos warned Tysha that tens of thousands of Dothraki were outside Pentos, but she refused to flee and showed him five hundred loyal female cavalry.
• Tysha led the riders to the City Watch barracks, where her ice magic killed the night guards and her forces defeated the compromised garrison, taking over a thousand prisoners.
• Tysha assigned Martina to hold the city gates and help suppress the wealthy merchants' guards while Louise stayed behind.
• Tysha said she had only thirty-odd people stationed outside the city and rode west to confront the Dothraki.
• Davos followed Tysha, determined to protect her and bring her back to Westeros if Pentos fell.

Tysha’s forces defeated the Dothraki attack on Pentos with the Dragon Cavalry and Tysha’s ice magic, forcing the survivors to retreat. After waking from her collapse, Tysha prepared to interrogate the captured merchants, while Louise resolved to build her power in Tysha’s service.

• The Dragon Cavalry used Dragon Acid to kill more than a thousand charging Dothraki, while Tysha froze the moat and sent a deadly wave of ice through the cavalry.
• Tysha collapsed from the strain, and Davos caught her before she fell into the moat.
• The Dragon Cavalry attacked the remaining Dothraki until they sounded a retreat and fled Pentos.
• The mercenaries handed the merchants who had colluded with the Dothraki over to Martina, who warned the mercenaries they would face a substantial fine.
• Tysha woke after two hours, learned that Davos had brought her to the palace, and ordered Louise to take her to question the imprisoned merchants.
• Louise resolved to gain knowledge and wealth so she could buy an army for Tysha and defeat her enemies.

After Tysha’s victory over the Dothraki, she ordered the execution of merchants who conspired with the Red God Temple and declared that she would destroy the temple before leaving Pentos. As her health worsened, Davos agreed to help her, and she revealed that she held a personal grudge against Tyrion Lannister.

• Tysha thanked Davos for bringing her back, then invited him to the dungeon to review the merchants’ confessions.
• Tysha threatened to destroy the Red God Temple and execute anyone in Pentos who opposed the Supreme God, then ordered Martina to hang the merchants.
• Davos urged Tysha to act cautiously, but she explained that she had to resolve the conflict in Pentos before leaving for King's Landing within a month or two.
• Tysha began coughing blood, and Davos and Louise helped her return to her room to rest.
• Tysha asked Davos whether Tyrion Lannister was the Hand of the King and told him that she had a personal grudge against Tyrion.

Barristan brought Margaery and Daenerys a letter from Davos and news that envoys from Dorne had arrived. Margaery and Daenerys received Arianne Martell, Quentyn Martell, and Tyene Sand in the King in the North’s tent, where their identities and places in Luke Stark’s life shocked the visitors.

• Barristan delivered Davos’s letter, and Margaery told him to reply that Davos could remain in Pentos and return with Magister Tysha later.
• Barristan reported that envoys from Dorne had arrived, so Margaery and Daenerys went with him to the main tent to receive them.
• Arianne challenged Margaery’s authority, and Margaery revealed that she was alive and betrothed to Luke Stark.
• Arianne demanded to see Daenerys, who removed her helmet and took the seat of honor, revealing herself as the Dragon Princess.
• Arianne and Quentyn objected to Daenerys serving as a guard and urged her to return to Dorne, while Margaery said Daenerys was also Luke’s fiancée.
• Margaery and Daenerys dismissed the visitors’ objections and asked whether Arianne wanted to marry King Luke too.

Arianne abandoned the prospect of marrying Luke and tried to negotiate a Stark marriage for Quentyn in exchange for Dornish support. Margaery refused to promise Arya’s hand or arrange a meeting with Luke, and Arianne left with Teresa while Quentyn remained behind.

• Arianne rejected a match with Luke and raised the old marriage pact between Quentyn and Daenerys, but Margaery said Daenerys would not be an option.
• Margaery proposed that Quentyn meet Arya in King's Landing, while Arianne pressed to see Luke and questioned whether he was with the army.
• Margaery said Arianne could meet Luke sooner if Dorne sent troops to help the Reach against Ironborn raids.
• Arianne demanded Arya’s betrothal to Quentyn and an order from Luke before Dorne committed troops, then announced that she and Teresa would return to Dorne.
• Arianne warned Margaery to protect Quentyn, and Margaery signaled Barristan to have someone follow the departing women.

Arianne decided to travel to King's Landing to assess the Iron Throne as a potential ally, while Gu Li met with Bran and Arya near the city and planned to infiltrate it with his companions. Gu Li's group set out separately to hide in King's Landing until the northern army surrounded the city.

• Arianne told Teresa they would go to King's Landing if the North refused an alliance, and she remained interested in the King in the North despite his fiancées.
• Gu Li arrived at the stone house, reunited with Arya, and received Bran's report that Cersei had imprisoned Mace Tyrell and requested Westerlands aid.
• Tyrion warned Gu Li about the missing Westerlands Alliance Army of twenty thousand, while Bran had no news about its location.
• Gu Li ordered his companions to enter King's Landing in separate groups, rent a secluded house, and lie low until the northern army surrounded the city.
• Arya warned Gu Li that Gold Cloaks were questioning passersby, but Gu Li left with Tyrion and the others, confident he could get them into the city.

Robert Arryn died after drinking tea in Quentyn Martell's tent, and Maester Jaqen identified the poison as Tears of Lys. Margaery ordered Quentyn and Robert's dwarf jester held under guard while she prepared to meet with the Vale lords.

• Robert Arryn visited Quentyn Martell's tent and demanded to hear stories about Dorne.
• Robert Arryn began coughing after the dwarf jester poured tea, then collapsed and died.
• Margaery and the other lords arrived, and the dwarf jester claimed Robert had argued with Quentyn before drinking tea.
• Maester Jaqen found Tears of Lys in Robert's mouth and both cups, while Quentyn accused the dwarf jester of poisoning him.
• Barristan found a vial of Tears of Lys in Quentyn's tent, and Margaery ordered Quentyn and the dwarf jester placed under strict guard.

Gary reunited his party in Flea Bottom and planned to find and remove Cersei’s hidden wildfire before confronting her. In Lys, Tycho Nestoris offered Aegon VI a huge loan in exchange for a share of the Westerlands’ gold mines, backed by a living dragon egg and the Iron Bank’s claimed knowledge of how to hatch it.

• Gary led Tyrion, Jaime, and their companions through the tunnels to Flea Bottom, where they reunited with Arya, Bran, Sandor, and Brienne.
• Gary assigned Arya and Bran to watch the Red Keep, Sandor and Brienne to guard them, and Little Deer to use her direwolf’s nose to locate Cersei’s wildfire.
• Tycho Nestoris told Aegon VI that the Iron Bank had delivered two million gold dragons and would lend him ten million more if he agreed to repay the Iron Throne’s debts.
• Tycho Nestoris demanded one-third of the Westerlands’ gold mines and revealed a living dragon egg as proof of the Iron Bank’s offer.
• Aegon VI heard the egg’s heartbeat, and Tycho Nestoris claimed the Iron Bank had learned how to hatch dragon eggs by investigating where Luke Stark had hatched one.

Aegon VI agreed to pursue the dragon egg’s hatching before signing a new contract with Tycho Nestoris, while Gary weighed Jaime’s loyalty against Jaime’s love for Cersei. Gary allowed Jaime to try to persuade Cersei to surrender after they dealt with the wildfire, and Jaime renewed his promise of loyalty.

• Aegon VI learned that Euron Greyjoy had given the dragon egg to the House of Black and White, then agreed to hatch it immediately before signing another contract with Tycho Nestoris.
• Gary read and tore up Tyrion’s proposed contract, saying he believed Jaime’s oath of fealty.
• Gary told Jaime that Cersei had to die for her role in Eddard Stark’s death and proposed bringing Myrcella back from Dorne to marry Bran if she remained chaste.
• Jaime asked Gary to spare Cersei if she surrendered, but Gary refused to promise this and warned Jaime not to press his luck.
• Gary gave Jaime one chance to persuade Cersei to surrender after the wildfire was dealt with, and Jaime vowed not to betray his trust.

Gu Li arranged a marriage between Jaime and Brienne and demanded that Jaime abandon the Faith of the Seven and join the Supreme God Faith Militant. The next morning, Gu Li discussed the plans with Brienne, then led Tyrion, Little Deer, and Melisandre into the tunnels to investigate the wildfire stores beneath Rhaenys's Hill.

• Gu Li told Jaime to marry Brienne, and Jaime agreed if Brienne accepted.
• Gu Li asked Jaime to forsake the Seven and lead the Supreme God Faith Militant, and Jaime pledged to follow his king.
• Gu Li told Brienne that Jaime would lose his inheritance after revealing Tommen and Myrcella's parentage, and said he would arrange for her father to discuss the marriage.
• Gu Li left Jaime behind and took Tyrion, Little Deer, and Melisandre through a tunnel toward the Alchemists' Guild beneath Rhaenys's Hill.
• Tyrion said the guild could reveal how much wildfire Cersei had ordered, and Gu Li planned for Little Deer to memorize its scent.

Gu Li and Tyrion entered the Alchemists' Guild to seize its wildfire and recruit its skilled members. After Gu Li killed four apprentices and their work exploded, he contained the wildfire with an Ice Barrier, leaving the guildmaster and Wisdoms amazed by his magic.

• Tyrion warned Gu Li that tunnels beneath King's Landing were watched and suggested they deal with Cersei before seeking Varys.
• Tyrion led Gu Li and his party through the Alchemists' Guild, explaining that it stored wildfire and that he wanted to preserve the alchemists for their expertise.
• Gu Li and Tyrion overheard Guildmaster Hallyne and two Wisdoms discussing Cersei's urgent wildfire orders, then confronted them.
• Gu Li killed four apprentices to keep their movements secret, causing wildfire to explode in the room.
• Gu Li used wastewater to form an Ice Barrier that contained the blast, and Hallyne and the Wisdoms reacted with wonder at the magic.