The demon's kin

Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, western mountains, near the mine

In the communal huts at House Flint's mine in the western mountains, the Flint miners captured by the Bloodheart Clan's warriors were all confined together. Their hands were bound, and they had been tied together in groups of three.

"Ralf, you disgusting turncoat! The gods will punish you..."

"Pah..."

"Disgusting..."

"Ralf, you disgusting homo! I despise you..."

All kinds of curses echoed endlessly through the crowded space. Although their movements were restricted, their mouths could still make noise. Out of hatred for the traitor, they were remarkably united in their target: they cursed "Eel" Ralf and expressed their contempt for his character.

At the doorway, "Eel" Ralf watched the miners and subordinates cursing at him with a perfectly calm expression, although he was somewhat afraid that House Flint would settle the score with him afterward.

But to find out Bel and his people's main objective, "Eel" Ralf had no choice but to pretend to surrender and trick all the miners still holding out in the mine into coming out. After gaining a measure of their trust, "Eel" Ralf began probing the Bloodheart Clan's secrets, sometimes openly, sometimes subtly.

Although Bel seemed cunning, the warriors under him lacked his shrewdness and ability. After bringing out a few bottles of ale he had buried in the ground, "Eel" Ralf quickly became friendly with these clan warriors.

The men now keeping "Eel" Ralf company were minor, middle-ranking leaders in the Bloodheart Clan. After gradually earning some trust, "Eel" Ralf was given the job of guarding the miners. However, Bel did not trust him completely. To keep an eye on this outsider, Bel sent more than ten additional warriors to guard the miners here.

All told, nearly thirty clan warriors had gathered here. After listening to the miners and his subordinates curse him for a while, "Eel" Ralf picked his ear disdainfully, then turned and went straight to another room to drink with several of the minor leaders.

It was already evening. After getting a basin of charcoal burning, "Eel" Ralf threaded sliced meat onto wooden skewers. Before long, he had prepared a large basin of venison skewers.

The clan warriors had hunted the deer, while "Eel" Ralf was responsible for turning it into something tasty. After working for a while longer, they finally began eating and drinking in the hut.

As it roasted over the charcoal, the venison gave off wafts of fragrance and a rank, gamey smell. With no spices available, "Eel" Ralf could only add a little special seasoning powder made from ground bay leaves and some sea salt.

Before long, the venison began to smell enticing. After the two sides exchanged drinks and started tasting the food, a carefully planned meal designed to draw out information began.

"Eel" Ralf's liquor went straight to the head. Although there was little liquor and plenty of meat, the minor leaders drank happily, and time slipped by as they exchanged cups.

Seeing that the moment was right, "Eel" Ralf asked a Clan Warriors warrior called Flint:

"Hey, Flint, why is our magnar staying here? I remember the tribe's warriors always being like a hurricane, leaving after destroying everything. Does he want to establish a tribe here?"

After asking, "Eel" Ralf handed over the venison he had cooked, then silently went back to grilling. His question seemed casual, but in truth, his attention remained fixed on the minor leader he had just addressed.

During their earlier conversation, "Eel" Ralf had already asked about many inconsequential things, so when he posed this string of questions,

he had actually already laid plenty of conversational groundwork, making his questions less abrupt. Moreover, these clan warriors had been spending time with "Eel" Ralf since the afternoon. Along the way, he had also given them small gifts, such as silverware from White Harbor in the North. These beautiful, exquisite objects had immediately caught the clan warriors' attention.

"Eel" Ralf had been very eager in his subsequent behavior, indirectly cementing his identity as a lackey, so many of the clan's middle-ranking leaders were fairly accepting of him.

Thus, when he heard "Eel" Ralf's questions, the man named Flint showed no suspicion. He also seemed a little befuddled already.

This was because "Eel" Ralf had added some Sweet Sleep Flower powder to his special seasoning. He had stolen it from the place where Maester Albert dried his herbs during a visit to the castle to seek an audience with Eddard's father in name.

Sweet Sleep Flower was a poison that could cause a painless death, a compound poison made by combining several different poisons. It only worked when applied to the petals of a particular flower, hence the name Sweet Sleep Flower. In small amounts, Sweet Sleep Flower could soothe the nerves, slow the heartbeat, and suppress seizures. It also had the wondrous effect of making people calm and strong.

Since Maester Albert was often troubled by insomnia, he would prepare this poison to help him sleep. As "Eel" Ralf had once been a thief,

he had instinctively assumed that anything belonging to a maester must be valuable, and had wanted to take some to examine. Through haphazard experimentation, he really had managed to discover a few things about it.

Since Maester Albert had not added certain stronger poisons, this poison only produced a reaction akin to drunkenness. At first, "Eel" Ralf had merely treated it as some sort of addictive drink additive, but after discovering some of its special effects,

"Eel" Ralf began using it to pry into secrets, or to explore new positions with whores in taverns. Over time, his special talents led "Scar" Rickard to entrust him with increasingly important work. Eventually, that trust had even made him the man left in charge of the mine.

"Burp... Well... I... Our great god told the magnar that th-there's treasure here. If we can dig it up, the Bloodheart Clan... will... will become stronger!"

Although he was already stumbling over his words, Flint still shared some of what he knew. According to the information "Eel" Ralf had gathered, the Bloodheart tribe worshipped a being who called himself "Godking Be’lakor."

"Eel" Ralf had heard fur merchants from King's Landing speak of all sorts of gods. But after hearing this name, he was absolutely certain that no god in Westeros or Essos claimed the title of "godking."

Even R'hllor, the Lord of Light, who had the most followers in Essos, had never been revered as a godking by his followers. Just who this so-called "godking" was thus became a nagging concern in "Eel" Ralf's mind.

Unlike those southerners, "Eel" Ralf had grown up listening to legends of the Children of the Forest. Like all northerners, he believed that the faith of the Old Gods was a faith in true gods, and that magic and gods truly existed.

Although he did not know what sort of being stood behind these barbarians, "Eel" Ralf still intended to hold his position until he had drawn out all the information. Although he had many ways to dispose of these men and rescue everyone, he had not come up with good solutions to some of the problems that might arise afterward.

It looks like I'll just have to keep enduring this. Let's see what that barbarian leader wants to do first!

Having made up his mind, "Eel" Ralf pressed a few more mouthfuls of liquor on the others. Unfortunately, his subsequent probing yielded no more valuable information, though one point did concern him.

One of the minor leaders told "Eel" Ralf that their god could grant them limitless power, bestowing incomparably great strength and wisdom upon the men and women of the Bloodheart Clan. Bel in particular had once been nothing more than an ordinary hunter in the tribe.

But after disappearing for a time, Bel had returned to the clan suddenly possessed of great strength. After defeating the clan chief, he had led their people in absorbing several small clans nearby.

One of the minor leaders also made a veiled mention of some sort of ritual, but someone quickly interrupted him. This only left "Eel" Ralf more shaken. Just as he had imagined, these people were indeed hiding some terrifying, bizarre secrets.

Time passed without anyone noticing. Once the hour of the owl arrived, people became extremely drowsy and wanted very much to sleep. The Seven Kingdoms' method of keeping time resembled the system of double-hours used in China on Blue Star. At night, the divisions were called the hour of the bat, the eel, the owl, the Ghost Hour, the wolf, and the nightingale, with each lasting roughly two hours.

Their daytime counterparts were the hour of the cockcrow, the ox, the light, Dragonfire-called the hour of fire in earlier years-the boar, and the crow. Before the calendar of Aegon's Conquest, these hours had different names in different places. Only after the Seven Kingdoms had a single king did the names gradually become standardized.

"Hoot, hoot, hoot..."

Amid the soft, repeated hooting of owls, an eerie silence settled over the cluster of huts. After the barbecue feast ended, everyone lay down fully clothed. Before long, many had fallen into a deep sleep.

Although occasional snores came from the room where the miners were imprisoned, the Bloodheart Clan's resting area was unusually quiet. In that eerie atmosphere, "Eel" Ralf remained unable to sleep for a long time.

In the minds of intelligent beings, night was always associated with fear and terror. Apart from certain unusual beings or races, few intelligent creatures liked the darkness.

Ever since humans discovered fire, they had left behind their ignorant, primitive way of life and begun advancing toward order and civilization. Thus, fire had always held considerable importance in the worship of many gods.

After pretending to fall asleep, "Eel" Ralf remained tense. He was very afraid that something unforeseen might happen. As darkness drew near, an extremely strange sound suddenly arose near the huts. Its pronunciation somewhat resembled the Old Tongue, yet its desolate, ancient quality made "Eel" Ralf's heart pound as he listened.

The Old Tongue and runes were cultural symbols left behind by the First Men during the Age of Heroes. Even now, in parts of the North and the lands beyond the Wall, some descendants of the First Men still used this ancient language and script.

Although "Eel" Ralf was widely experienced, none of the Old Tongue pronunciations he had heard sounded anything like this peculiar form of speech. As the strange language continued, he realized that it had no connection to the Old Tongue at all. It seemed somewhat older.

Gradually, that indescribably terrifying sound began echoing throughout the area. As it emerged, the surrounding air also began to grow somewhat scorching. The strange sensation of that heat, tinged with a pungent smell, gave "Eel" Ralf a whiff of danger.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Just then, a strange pounding suddenly reached "Eel" Ralf's ears. It sounded like a hide drum being struck, sometimes high and ringing, sometimes low and deep, as though some terrible creature were approaching with heavy footsteps.

With the emergence of that peculiar sound, movement suddenly stirred in the room that had been deathly silent a moment before. Upon hearing the eerie rhythm, the clan warriors lying on their beds like corpses walked outside like the living dead.

The mine's hut compound was a structure with three enormous huts, arranged like the simplified Chinese character "门." In the middle stood the wooden table where everyone had eaten earlier, but the crude table had now been broken into pieces.

Bel, the Bloodheart Clan's magnar, stood quietly in the center with a torch in his hand. After the clan warriors gathered around, he set the pile of fragments alight.

As the drumming sounded, the fallen torch suddenly began to burn fiercely. Nothing like an ordinarily kindled flame, it flared up with a whoosh, illuminating the entire hut compound.

As the commotion grew louder, all the captive miners in the area were startled awake. Through gaps in the huts, they saw the eerie scene outside. "Eel" Ralf stared at what shot skyward, so frightened that he sat frozen on his bed.

"Woo, woo, woo..."

Just then, a strange, piercing tone suddenly arose in the middle of the hut compound. Bel was the one producing it. As the rhythm sounded, the men and women of the Bloodheart Clan began writhing beneath the moonlight and firelight.

It was a frenzied, rough dance, at times like a grizzly bear roaring and running, at others like a shadowcat leaping through the night. As these clan warriors danced their primitive dance, their clothing gradually dwindled. Before long, they stood completely naked around the fire.

Madness, chaos, destruction, slaughter, and lust-in that instant, many words came to "Eel" Ralf's mind, yet he felt that none could describe the terrifying scene before him.

The wild, horrifying ritual continued. An unnatural red, viscous substance began appearing in these clan warriors' eyes and blood vessels, as though something were about to burst out of their bodies.

"B'lack! B'lack..."

Amid the frenzied, terrifying cries, the flames encircled by the clan warriors began to twist irregularly.