Chapter Summaries

Tywin learned that Nymeria Sand had killed both Naho Dimittis and Anders Yronwood, forcing him to weigh the danger of Dorne falling into civil conflict against the Iron Throne’s other threats. Corleone left Nymeria with Tywin to consider the matter, and his parting remark about Tywin’s day going smoothly revealed that he knew about Tywin’s painful backside.

• Tywin questioned Nymeria Sand, who admitted killing Naho Dimittis and identified herself as Prince Oberyn Martell’s daughter.
• Corleone explained that Nymeria’s status made the case politically dangerous, and Tywin tried to pass it back to him because Oberyn was recovering at Corleone’s House of Order.
• Corleone revealed that Nymeria had also killed Anders Yronwood, prompting Tywin to consider the risk of rebellion in Dorne and the costs of intervention.
• Tywin agreed to think over both killings and let Nymeria remain in his custody while Corleone left to inform Prince Doran Martell.
• Corleone wished Tywin a smooth day, and Tywin realized he had noticed Tywin’s painful backside.

Tyrion Lannister drowned his troubles in wine and gambling at the Wheel of Order, where Bronn found him and persuaded him to leave for the Street of Silk. When Tyrion went into an alley to piss, he vanished, leaving only a few chips behind.

• Tyrion lost a thousand Gold Dragons at the casino while explaining to Bronn that he felt trapped in King's Landing and unsafe at the Red Keep.
• Bronn shared his worries about his wife and Falyse, and he and Tyrion toasted their troublesome relatives.
• Tyrion hit his five-thousand-Gold-Dragon credit limit and complained that Corleone had given him too little credit despite Tyrion's earlier investment.
• Bronn persuaded Tyrion to leave for the Street of Silk, and they walked through Flea Bottom's brightly lit, patrolled streets.
• Tyrion entered a dark alley to piss, then disappeared; Bronn found only a few chips beside a puddle.

Corleone linked Tyrion Lannister’s abduction to the recent child disappearances and identified Ser Balman Byrch as the Gold Cloaks squad leader on patrol. Meanwhile, the Sand Snakes broke into Cersei Lannister’s bedchamber by mistake, then learned who she was and heard her offer to help rescue Nymeria.

• Corleone compared Tyrion’s disappearance with a child abduction and found that both occurred near the same area using the same method.
• Corleone asked Rorge who had led the Gold Cloaks’ patrols, and Rorge identified Ser Balman Byrch.
• Osfryd Kettleblack visited Cersei in her bedchamber, but Obara Sand, Tyene, and Sarella burst in while searching for Nymeria.
• The Sand Snakes recognized Cersei as the Queen Mother and considered taking her captive or killing her.
• Cersei claimed she opposed Tywin and offered to help the Sand Snakes rescue Nymeria, ending by saying she had a better idea.

Cersei convinced Obara, Tyene, and Sarella to pose as her handmaids so they could cooperate in finding Nymeria, and she summoned Tybert Hetherspoon to support her story. As Osfryd went to carry out the summons, he learned that Gold Cloaks had accidentally abducted Tyrion Lannister.

• Cersei persuaded the Sand Snakes that they were relatives and offered to help them find Nymeria in exchange for their cooperation.
• Cersei proposed that Obara, Tyene, and Sarella act as her handmaids, and they agreed after she allowed them to hide weapons.
• Cersei named Tybert Hetherspoon as an ally and ordered Osfryd Kettleblack to fetch him immediately.
• Obara stopped Osfryd to warn him not to summon reinforcements, then let him leave the bedchamber.
• A Gold Cloak told Osfryd that the child-snatching operation had mistakenly captured Tyrion Lannister.
• Osfryd ordered the Gold Cloak to find Tybert and tell him that the Queen Mother urgently wanted him.

Balman Byrch was summoned to Corleone’s office and confronted for drinking while assigned to Flea Bottom’s night watch, where children had been disappearing and Tyrion Lannister had been kidnapped. After Rorge brought in Balman’s beaten deputy, Willis confessed that he had helped the kidnappers, then named Lady Falyse as the person who ordered him.

• Balman arrived drunk at Corleone’s office and was made to drink scalding tea while Corleone questioned him.
• Corleone confronted Balman for neglecting his night-watch duties and explained that the disappearances and Tyrion Lannister’s kidnapping threatened order in Flea Bottom.
• Rorge dragged in Balman’s injured deputy, Willis, who admitted he had sent the Gold Cloaks away so the kidnappers could act.
• Balman attacked Willis for betraying him, but Rorge stopped him and pressed Willis to identify who had directed him.
• Willis named Lady Falyse as the person who had told him to help the kidnappers.

Vito Corleone exposed Willis’s betrayal, killed him, and gave Balman Byrch the chance to deal with his wife Falyse himself. Tyene Sand reported Cersei’s plan to use the Sand Snakes and catch Corleone with Margaery, so Corleone sent Tyene back with a false tip about a secret meeting at Stokeworth.

• Willis confessed that Falyse had paid him to help arrange the kidnapping, and Balman attacked him until Rorge intervened.
• Corleone declared Willis a liar who had chosen badly and killed him before he could reveal more.
• Balman swore loyalty to Corleone, who trusted him to handle Falyse and ordered Rorge to watch Stokeworth from a distance.
• Tyene told Corleone that Cersei had offered to help rescue Nymeria and wanted the Sand Snakes to meet Tybert Hetherspoon, whom she claimed was her spy.
• Tyene revealed that Cersei had tasked her with watching Margaery and catching her with Corleone.
• Corleone told Tyene to report that Margaery would secretly meet him at Stokeworth that night, and she left to relay the tip to Cersei.

Tyrion Lannister was imprisoned with a group of kidnapped children, where guards beat him and said they would kill him the next morning. After a young girl named Lily called him a hero for his role at the Battle of the Blackwater Rush, Tyrion promised they would be rescued and hinted that Corleone would intervene.

• Tyrion woke in a cellar with more than a dozen kidnapped children and was tricked by a little girl into drinking urine.
• Two guards entered, and Tyrion offered them a thousand Gold Dragons to release him, but they mocked him, beat him, and said they would kill him the next morning.
• Tyrion realized his family would not come to save him and thought of Corleone as a possible source of help.
• Lily told Tyrion that her father had fought at the Blackwater Rush and considered the dwarf who helped save King's Landing a hero.
• Tyrion confirmed that he was that hero, then promised Lily they would be rescued because he had been kidnapped on Corleone's turf.

At Stokeworth, Balman Byrch discovered his wife Falyse’s child trafficking and her plan to frame him for Tyrion Lannister’s disappearance. After killing Osfryd and Falyse, Balman set Stokeworth Castle on fire and left, gravely wounded but determined to finish his remaining business.

• Osfryd told Falyse that his men had mistakenly seized Tyrion Lannister and were holding him with the children in the cellar.
• Falyse suggested framing her husband, Balman Byrch, for Tyrion’s disappearance and revealed her contempt for him to Osfryd.
• Balman confronted Falyse and Osfryd, then killed Osfryd when he attacked him with a sword.
• Balman tried to leave, but Falyse stabbed him in the back, so he killed her with the same sword.
• Balman set Stokeworth Castle ablaze and walked away wounded, intent on completing his unfinished business.

Cersei Lannister rode to Stokeworth with Tyene and the Gold Cloaks, intending to expose Margaery Tyrell and Corleone, while Margaery and Corleone waited nearby as part of a counterplot. When Stokeworth caught fire, Margaery departed after declaring House Tyrell would be Corleone’s loyal friend, and Corleone headed toward the burning castle.

• Cersei dismissed Tyene’s concerns about a possible trap and promised the Sand Snakes rewards for helping her take down Margaery and Corleone.
• Cersei arranged for Obara to bring Commander Adam Marbrand and the Gold Cloaks to Stokeworth, using the missing children as a pretext.
• Corleone and Margaery discussed Lady Olenna’s plan to counter Cersei, and Margaery explained that Cersei’s jealousy had made her a target.
• Corleone noticed flames spreading through Stokeworth and told Margaery to leave while he handled the situation.
• Margaery said House Tyrell would be Corleone’s loyal friend, then departed as Corleone walked toward the burning castle.

Cersei’s attempt to catch Corleone and Margaery together was interrupted when Stokeworth caught fire, and the Sand Snakes drugged and left her unconscious in the grass. Addam Marbrand rode to investigate the blaze but found Cersei having sex with Osney Kettleblack, so he ordered the Gold Cloaks to turn away and keep watch until they finished.

• Cersei watched Corleone and Margaery by the lake, but they parted before she could catch them in an intimate moment.
• Tyene spotted Stokeworth burning, and Cersei hurried away while cursing the fire for spoiling her plan.
• Obara poured a liquid from a golden-rose waterskin down the unconscious Cersei’s throat, and the Sand Snakes dragged another person away to watch the fun.
• Addam Marbrand led fifty Gold Cloaks toward Stokeworth to investigate the fire and possible evidence in the missing-children case.
• Addam and the Gold Cloaks found Cersei and Osney Kettleblack naked together in the grass, and Addam ordered his men to turn around and keep watch.
• Addam told Humfrey Waters to let them finish first while Stokeworth continued burning nearby.

Tyrion Lannister and a group of children escaped a burning cellar with the wounded Balman Byrch, only to be cornered by Stokeworth soldiers who planned to kill them. As Tyrion faced the soldiers alone, Vito Corleone arrived and confronted them.

• Tyrion woke in a burning cellar, and Ser Balman Byrch opened the door and urged him and the children to escape.
• Tyrion helped the children carry the wounded Balman through the smoke-filled corridor, where House Stokeworth soldiers blocked their way.
• Balman declared that he had killed Falyse House Stokeworth and claimed Stokeworth as his own, but he collapsed after threatening the soldiers.
• The thin guard ordered the soldiers to kill Balman and Tyrion and seize the children, so Tyrion took Balman's sword and tried to defend them.
• Vito Corleone emerged from the flames, killed a soldier with Lady Forlorn, and faced the remaining soldiers.

Tywin Lannister learned that Cersei had been caught committing adultery at Stokeworth and moved to contain the scandal, while Olenna Redwyne convened the Small Council in the Throne Room. Tywin arrived to take charge as Corleone clashed with Varys over the meeting.

• Addam Marbrand told Tywin that Cersei had used a false report to bring the Gold Cloaks to Stokeworth while she committed adultery, and Tywin ordered him to silence the witnesses.
• Tywin ordered Ser Osmund Kettleblack to lead troops north against Stannis Baratheon's forces, sending him on a mission unlikely to be survivable.
• Tybert told Tywin that Olenna Redwyne had already gathered the Small Council in the Throne Room.
• Varys warned Corleone that convening the meeting overstepped the Hand's authority, and Corleone defended his invitation-based approach and pointed out the open door.
• Tywin entered with Lannister guards, asserted his authority over the Small Council, and opened the meeting.

Olenna confronted Tywin at the Small Council over Cersei’s night at Stokeworth, and Corleone proposed that Cersei repent under the Silent Sisters’ supervision. Tywin and Olenna agreed on three months in the sept, but Cersei arrived at the end and declared she would not repent.

• Tywin opened the Small Council meeting, and Olenna challenged him over Cersei’s visit to Stokeworth and the scandal it caused.
• Tywin and Olenna argued over Cersei’s conduct, the Queen Mother’s status, and the consequences for Margaery and Tommen.
• Corleone proposed that Cersei repent at the Great Sept of Baelor under the Silent Sisters’ supervision.
• Tywin reduced the proposed repentance from six months to three, and Olenna insisted Cersei go without servants or privileges.
• Cersei entered the Throne Room and declared that she did not need to repent.

Cersei stormed into the Small Council meeting to reject her punishment, but Tywin declared that she would no longer serve as regent and ordered her to repent at the Great Sept of Baelor for six months. Cersei protested that only Tommen could remove her, and Tywin said the king would sign the decree after the meeting.

• Cersei arrived at the Throne Room after spending a sleepless night with Osney Kettleblack and heard that the Small Council had ordered her to repent for three months.
• Tyene tore Cersei’s trailing gown, causing her to fall face-first onto the flagstones in front of the Small Council.
• Cersei insisted that she was Queen Regent and refused to accept the Council’s decision, while Kevan and Varys urged her to submit.
• Olenna mocked Cersei for being caught in adultery and then challenging Tywin, prompting Cersei to lash out at her and Robert.
• Tywin rebuked Cersei and declared that she would cease serving as regent and spend six months repenting under the Silent Sisters’ supervision.
• Cersei protested that only Tommen could strip her of authority, and Tywin said the king would sign a formal decree after the meeting.

Tywin sentenced Cersei to six months of penance at the Great Sept, removing her from state affairs, while Corleone turned the Small Council’s attention from Balman’s crimes to the need for a regent. The chapter ended as Corleone called for one to govern during King Tommen’s minority.

• Tywin imposed six months of penance on Cersei, and she left the Throne Room declaring she was going of her own accord.
• Tyene considered killing Tywin but set aside her poisoned dagger and escorted Cersei from the room.
• Corleone reflected on children growing to understand their fathers, then Tywin moved the Small Council’s discussion to Stokeworth.
• Corleone admitted that Balman had murdered Falyse, burned Stokeworth, and caused the deaths of Lady Tanda and dozens of servants.
• Corleone revealed that Balman had demanded trial by combat, and Tywin insisted the case could not be delayed indefinitely.
• Corleone argued that King Tommen’s youth and threats across the realm made appointing a regent urgent.

Corleone returned to the House of Order, where he treated Balman and told him that he had secured an indefinite delay before Balman’s trial by combat. He left the terms of his agreement with Tywin unexplained.

• Corleone walked through Flea Bottom, where the Black Hand Mafia’s bakeries and jobs allowed residents to buy fresh bread, and Rorge shared a loaf with him.
• Corleone found Oberyn examining Balman’s sutures and treating the badly wounded knight roughly, so he cleaned and redressed Balman’s reopened wound.
• Corleone told Balman that Falyse and Tanda were dead, his castle was ruined, and Bronn would likely inherit Stokeworth; Balman said he no longer cared about the inheritance.
• Oberyn spoke bitterly about marriage, while Corleone reflected that people always wanted more and then took Oberyn’s wine.
• Corleone told Balman that he had secured a trial by combat after his wounds healed, with the timing left open-ended, and said he had offered Tywin terms he could not refuse.

Gendry celebrated his rise to fame as the Hammer after defeating Donnel Waynwood, then challenged the knights in the stands to face him. A hooded, graying stranger accepted, drawing his sword and making Gendry sense a danger greater than he had felt from Lyn Corbray.

• Gendry defeated Donnel Waynwood in the Ring of Order and earned the knight’s respect.
• Gendry reflected on his seventeen victories, his escape from Dragonstone, and his choice to return to King’s Landing rather than fight for House Baratheon.
• Gendry taunted the knights in the VIP seats, but none dared accept his challenge.
• A hooded stranger entered the arena and warned Gendry not to underestimate the knights of the Seven Kingdoms.
• The stranger drew his sword and challenged Gendry to fight, leaving Gendry wary of the danger he sensed.

Gendry fought a mysterious rank-nine old knight who effortlessly avoided his hammer and then exposed flaws in his technique. After the knight knocked him down and offered advice, Gendry recognized the lesson from his smithing days and rose ready to try again.

• Gendry warned the gray-cloaked old man to leave, but the man revealed his rank-nine registration and paid two hundred Gold Dragons to challenge him.
• Gendry attacked with his hammer, but the old man calmly evaded every blow and left him exhausted and frustrated.
• The old man countered Gendry’s attacks, criticized his footwork and control, and warned him that anger was not strength.
• The old man kicked Gendry down and told him about a powerful hammer-wielder who eventually could no longer lift his weapon.
• Gendry saw the old knight’s handsome, weathered face and listened as he urged him to watch his enemy rather than his hammer.
• Gendry remembered his smithing master’s lesson to watch the iron, sprang to his feet, and called for another bout.

The gray-cloaked old knight defeated Gendry in the Fighting Arena, ending his seventeen-win streak, but refused Gendry’s rank-one token. He revealed that he had fought to meet Vito Corleone, and the man who had brought him there identified him as Earl Bronn.

• Gendry changed his hammer strike to catch the old knight’s sword, but the old knight began attacking and overwhelmed him with a series of rapid blows.
• The old knight knocked Gendry off balance and kicked him down, ending his seventeen consecutive victories as the crowd applauded.
• Gendry offered the old knight his rank-one token, but the old knight refused it and urged him to pick up his hammer and keep fighting.
• The old knight told Gendry that he had entered the arena to find someone and said he could only see that person after beating a first-tier fighter.
• A wealthy-looking man caught up with the old knight in the passage, and the old knight demanded that he take him to Vito Corleone.
• The man identified the old knight as Earl Bronn.

Bronn struggled to fund the ruined Stokeworth castle and tried to attach himself to a wealthy old traveler, Whitebeard. After Whitebeard defeated The Hammer and demanded that Bronn take him to Vito Corleone, Bronn realized he was trapped accompanying him to the House of Order.

• Bronn learned that rebuilding Stokeworth would cost far more than he could afford, so he went to the docks looking for work.
• Whitebeard arrived in King's Landing, defeated the captain and sailors who demanded extra fare, and set off with most of his money still in his purse.
• Bronn tried to befriend Whitebeard, then claimed he could guide him around King's Landing and introduced himself as Earl Bronn.
• Whitebeard said he was looking for Vito Corleone and forced Bronn to lead him to the Ring of Order.
• Bronn told Whitebeard to challenge The Hammer, expecting him to lose, but Whitebeard defeated The Hammer with a swift sword stroke.
• Whitebeard insisted that Bronn take him to the House of Order to meet Vito Corleone and warned him not to run away.