Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Brienne
The hills to the east of Maidenpool are lush with foliage, surrounded by pine trees from all sides, like an army of silent gray-green soldiers.
Smart Dick said that the road to the sea was the shortest and best to take, so the bay was rarely out of sight along the way.As we advance, the towns and villages along the shore become smaller and more sparse.As night fell, they found an inn.Crabb shared a bunk with the other travelers, while Brienne took a room for herself and Podrick. "It's better for the three of us to share a bed, miss," suggested Dick Dick. "If you're worried, put your sword in the center. Old Dick is a decent man, he has the grace of a knight, and his honesty is as honest as the day's." sun."
"The days are shortening," Brienne pointed out.
"Well, maybe so. If you're worried, I'll sleep on the floor and how about your bed, miss?"
"Can't sleep on my floor."
"It seems you don't trust me at all."
"Trust is like gold coins, it must be earned by action."
"Say what you will, ma'am," said Cleber, "but to the north, where there are no roads, you'll have to trust Dick. If I hold a sword at you for gold, who'll stop it?"
"You don't have a sword. I do."
She slammed the door shut and stood there listening until she was sure he was gone.However clever Dick Kleiber was, he wasn't Jaime Lannister, or Mad Rat, or even Humphrey Wagstaff.He was thin and starved, and his only armor was a rusty, dented half-helm.He had no sword, just an old, notched dagger—so, as long as she was conscious, he wasn't a threat. "Podrick," she said, "we won't have an inn for us, and I don't trust our guides. So after every camp, when I'm sleeping, can you keep an eye out?"
"Hasn't slept, miss? Ser?" He thought for a moment. "I have a sword, and if Crabb tries to hurt you, I'll kill him."
"No," she said firmly, "you don't want to call him. I just want you to watch him while I'm sleeping, and wake me up if he behaves suspiciously. Don't worry, I'll wake up quickly."
As a result, when he stopped to drink the horses the next day, Kleiber showed his true colors.Brienne went behind the bushes for convenience, where she crouched, and heard Podrick say, "What are you doing? Stay away." When she was done, she pulled up her trousers and went back to the road to find Dick Dick Wiping flour off fingers. "There is no golden dragon in the saddlebag," she told him, "I have the gold coins on me." Some of the gold coins were in the purse tied at her belt, and the rest were hidden in the two inside seam pockets of her dress.The big bulging purse on the saddlebag was stuffed with copper coins and copper plates of different denominations, big and small, copper star coins and copper wheat coins... and the white flour that made the bag look more bulging, which was from Duskendale City before departure In the morning, she asked the cook at the Seven Swords Inn to buy it.
"Dick meant no harm, miss." He wagged his flour-stained fingers in a sign of innocence. "I just want to confirm whether you have promised my golden dragon. There are many liars in this world, and honest people are easy to be fooled. But fortunately, you are not a liar."
Brienne wanted him to be better at leading than stealing. "Let's go." She got on the horse again.
Dick liked to sing while he rode, but he never sang a whole song, it was always a verse here and a verse there.She suspected that his purpose was to please her so that she could relax her vigilance.Sometimes he also tried to get her to sing with Podrick, but it didn't work.The boy was too shy and had a stupid tongue, and Brienne never sang.Can you sing to your father?At Riverrun, Lady Stark had asked her, what about Renly?She didn't, never did, even though she wanted to...really wanted to...
Quick Dick talked when he wasn't singing, and told them stories about the Crab Claw Peninsula.Every dark valley has its lords, he says, but they only unite against outsiders.The blood of the ancestors flowed thickly in their veins. "The Andals tried to take the Crab's Claw, and bled in the valleys, and drowned in the swamps, and thwarted everything. Then their fair daughters won with kisses what their strong sons could not take with swords—yes, they Unable to conquer us, instead use marriage to infiltrate."
The kings of House Darklin of Duskendale City tried to extend their territory to the Crab Claw Peninsula, as did House Mooton of Maidenpool City, and later, House Celtiga of Crab Island.However, the residents of the Crab Claw Peninsula are familiar with the local swamps and forests, and outsiders cannot match them. If the situation is critical, they can disappear into the beehive-like caves in the hills.When not fighting foreign enemies, everyone just fights in the nest, and the family feud is as dark and deep as a swamp in the mountains.Sometimes a hero will bring temporary peace to the Crab Claw Peninsula, only to return to normal when he dies.Lord Lucifer Hardy was a great lord, and so were the Brenn brothers, and old Crackburn was better than them all, but Kleber was the mightiest of them all.Dick still couldn't believe that Brienne had never heard of the heroics of Ser Clarence Crabber.
"Why am I lying?" she countered. "Everywhere has local heroes. Like where I live, the singers sing about Sir Galledon of Morn, the perfect knight."
"Sir Galle?" He snorted. "I've never heard of it. How perfect is he?"
"Sir Galledon was a valiant warrior for whom even the virgins of heaven fell in love. So she gave him a magic sword as a token of love. This sword was called the 'Lady of Justice,' and no No mortal weapon could match her, no mortal shield could bear her kiss. Ser Galledon wore the 'Lady of Justice' proudly all his life, but drew it only three times. He would not use 'Lady of Justice' against mortals because she's too powerful to make the fight fair."
Kleiber thought it was ridiculous. "The perfect knight? Sounds like a perfect fool. What's the point of a magic sword that's never used?"
"Honor," she said, "means honor."
It made him laugh even harder. "Ser Clarence Crabber can wipe his hairy ass with your perfect knight, miss. If I say Ser Clarence Crabbe, there's another one on the shelf at Whisper Castle Bloody head. 'Knowing I should have used that magic sword,' it would complain to the other heads, 'Knowing I should have used that magic sword.'”
Brienne couldn't help smiling. "Perhaps," she admitted, "but Sir Galledon is no fool. Facing an opponent eight feet tall riding a buffalo, he'd probably show 'Lady of Justice.' They say he used her to slay a dragon." Woolen cloth."
Smart Dick was unimpressed: "Crackborn fought dragons too, and he didn't need a magic sword. He just tied the dragon's neck so that it burned his ass every time it spit fire. "
"And what was Crackburn doing when Aegon and his sisters came?" Brienne asked.
"He'd be dead by then, you know, miss." Crabbe shot her a sideways glance. "Aegon sent his sister to the Crab Claw Peninsula to ask for peace. It was Visenia. The lords heard about King Harren's fate. They were not fools, so they all bowed their knees. The queen accepted them as direct vassals and promised them No allegiance to Maidenpool, Crab Isle, or Duskendale. That hasn't stopped the damned Celtigars from sending men to the east coast to collect taxes. Well, if he sends enough men, maybe a few will make it back alive... . . . and all the time, we served our lord and king. The true king. Not Robert and his family." He spat. "At the Trident, Prince Rhaegar fought with Crabb and Bren, and Boggs, and the Kingsguard had ours too, including a Hardy, a Cave, a Paine, and three Crabbers—Claremont, Rupert, and the Seven Shorts , Clarence. Actually he is six feet tall, but shorter than the real Ser Clarence. We Crabpaws are, after all, model subjects of the House of Dragons."
As they headed northeastward, the number of pedestrians dwindled, until at last the inn was no longer to be found.The road by the bay has more weeds than ruts.They took shelter in the fishing village that night.Brienne paid the villagers some coppers and lived in a straw hut.Once inside, she and Podrick occupy the attic and remove the ladder.
"You leave me alone down there, and I can steal your horses," cried Cleber from below, "and get them up the stairs too, miss." She ignored him, so he went on, "Today It's gonna rain later. Freezing rain. You and Pod sleep warm, poor old Dick shivering down there." Shaking his head, he muttered, making his bed on the hay, "No I've seen a virgin as suspicious as you."
Brienne curled up under her cloak while Podrick yawned.I wasn't born to be so paranoid, she kind of wanted to yell down to Kreb, when I was a little girl, I believed everyone was as noble as my father.Even when they told her that she was a pretty girl, that she was smart, that she was tall, that she danced beautifully, she believed it.Sister Royla solved the mystery for her. "They only want to please your lord father," said the nun. "You have to find the truth in the mirror, not on the tip of people's tongue." It was a cruel lesson, and she cried bitterly every time she thought about it, but This lesson also enabled her to endure the games of Ser Hyle and his friends in Highgarden.Living in the world, a virgin must be a little more suspicious, otherwise she would not be a virgin long ago, she thought, and it started to rain.
In the group competition at Bitterbridge, she picked out her so-called suitors one by one and defeated them in turn: Farrow, Ambrose, Bush, Mark Mullendower, Raymond Neyland, "The Stork" Will Er... she stepped over Harry Sawyer, smashing Robert Potter's helmet and leaving him with an ugly scar.When they were all down, the Virgin sent Clinton to her again.Ser Roland had taken a sword this time, not a rose, and every blow she gave him was sweeter than a kiss.
The last person to face her wrath that day was Loras Tyrell.He hadn't paid her attention, or even looked at her, but there were three golden roses on his shield that day, and Brienne hated roses, and the sight of them stirred her to a furious hatred.
In sleep, she dreamed of the battle, of Ser Jaime fastening the rainbow cloak around her shoulders with his own hands.
The next morning, it was still raining.At breakfast, Smart Dick suggested waiting until the rain had stopped.
"And when? Tomorrow? Two weeks? Until summer comes again? No. We have cloaks, and the road is still long."
It rained all day, and the narrow trail quickly turned into a mud puddle.The trees were bare, and the fallen leaves were like a water-soaked brown carpet from the constant rain.Although Dick's cloak was lined with squirrel fur, he was soaked, and she could see him trembling, and could not help feeling a moment's sympathy.Apparently he hasn't had enough to eat, she wondered, wondering if there really was a smuggler's cave or a ruin called Whispering Keep.Those who are hungry will put all their eggs in one basket.Maybe it's all a hoax.Her doubts grew deeper and deeper.
The rush of rain seems to be the only sound between heaven and earth.Smart Dick was all about trudging on.So she was more careful, and found that he was always hunched over, as if lying low in the saddle would keep him dry.This time, when darkness fell, there were no nearby villages or woods to provide shelter.They were forced to camp among rocks fifty yards above the tide line.At least the rocks keep the wind out. "Better watch tonight, ma'am," Kreb told her, as she was trying to light a pile of driftwood, "there might be a place like this."
"Fuck?" Brienne gave him a suspicious look.
"They're monsters," Dick Dick explained with relish. "They look a lot like people. You can only find something strange when you look closely. Their heads are too big, and where normal people grow their hair, they grow scales. They Their skin is as white as a fish's belly, with webbed fingers, their bodies are wet and smell like fish, and their thick lips are surrounded by rows of needle-sharp green teeth. Some people say that the ancestors have driven them to extinction, That's not true, they also come out at night, steal bad kids, walk with webbed feet and make a little 'babble-babble'. They keep the girls to reproduce, eat the boys, and use their sharp green teeth Bite." He grinned at Podrick. "They'll eat you, boy, they'll eat you alive."
"If they want to try it, I'll kill them." Podrick touched his sword.
"Oh, you go kill it, you go kill it. It's not easy to deal with it." He winked at Brienne again, "You're not a naughty little girl, miss?"
"No." I'm just an idiot.The wood was too wet to ignite no matter what Brienne beat with steel and flint.A little smoke from the firewood, that's all.At last she got bored, and leaned back against the rock, drawing her cloak over herself for the cold, wet night.She nibbled on hard corned beef and dreamed of a hot meal, while Dick Dick spit and spittled about Sir Clarence Crabbe and the King of Snacks.His storytelling was vivid, she had to admit, but Mark Mullendoyle with his little monkey was funny too.
Due to the rain, we couldn't see the sunset, and the sky was gloomy, and we couldn't see the moon rise.The night was dark and starless, and Craib fell asleep after telling the story, and Podrick soon began to snore.Brienne sat with her back against the rock, listening to the waves.Are you by the sea too, Sansa?She thought to herself, are you waiting for a ship that will never come at Whispering Castle?Who are you with?Someone paid for the three of us to take a boat, did the little devil join you and Dontos, or did you find your little sister?
It had been a long night, and Brienne was very tired.Leaning against the rock, letting the rain slap gently on the whole body, the eyelids are getting heavier and heavier.She dozed off twice, the second time she woke up suddenly, her heart was pounding, and she was sure that someone was looking down at her.Her limbs were stiff, her cloak wrapped around her ankles, and she hurriedly kicked it off to stand.Dick was curled up on the edge of a rock, half buried in the heavy damp sand, sleeping.a dream.just a dream.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to leave Ser Clayton and Ser Illiver behind, they seemed decent men.If Jaime was with me, she thought...but he is a knight of the Kingsguard and deserves to stay with the king, and it is Renly I want.I swore to protect him, and failed; I swore to avenge him, and failed; I ran away with Lady Catelyn, and failed her again.The wind direction changes, and the rain flows down the cheeks and merges into a stream.
The next day the road reduced to a narrow cobblestone track, which at last was just a trace, ending abruptly near noon at the foot of a wind-eroded cliff.Above the cliff, a small castle loomed over the waves, three crooked towers against the leaden sky. "Is this the Castle of Whispers?" Podrick asked.
"Is this fucking ruins?" Craib spat. "That's Dreadnought, old Lord Brune's castle. But the road ends here, and from here we're only company with pines."
Brienne observed the cliff carefully, "How to get up?"
"Easy," Dick Dick turned the horse's head, "just keep up with Dick. Just catch those who lag behind."
The uphill road was originally hidden between the rock crevices, but it was a steep and rocky stone path, most of which were formed naturally, but there were carved steps from time to time, which made the climb easier.Surrounded by steep rock walls that have been weathered and rain-eroded for thousands of years, in some places, the rocks present strange and strange shapes, which is very wonderful. "That's the head of an ogre, see?" he said, and Brienne smiled. "It was a stone dragon, and one of its wings was lost when my father was a child. Those were its breasts, drooping like an old crone's." Boobs." He glanced at her chest.
"Sir? Mademoiselle?" said Podrick. "There is a man on horseback."
"Where?" None of the rocks struck her as someone on a horse.
"On the road. Not stone riders. Real riders. Follow us. Down below." He pointed.
Brienne twisted in the saddle.They had climbed quite high enough to see for several leagues along the coast.The man rode on the way they had come, only two or three miles behind.Really a trap?She glanced suspiciously at Dick Dick.
"Don't squint at me," said Crabber. "Whoever he is, it ain't got nothing to do with sharp old Dick. Probably one of Bren's, back from the war. A wandering singer, maybe." He turned and spat Take a sip. "I'm sure he's not a jerk. That stuff doesn't ride horses."
"Yes," Brienne said.At least this is what everyone agrees on.
The last few hundred feet of the climb are the steepest and treacherous.The loose pebbles rolled under the horse's hooves and fell down the stone path behind him.When they got out from the crevice, they were already under the castle.A face peered over the parapet, then disappeared.Brienne thinks it's a woman, and she tells Dick the Clever what she thinks.
He also agrees. "Brun was too old to climb the walkway, and his sons and grandchildren went to war. All the rest were women, and a kid with a runny nose."
She almost asked the guide which king Lord Brune supported, but it didn't matter anymore.Brun's sons are gone, and some of them may never return.We don't get a treat tonight.A castle full of old men, women, and children is almost impossible to open its doors to armed strangers. "Do you know Lord Brunn?" she asked Dick Dick.
"I knew it before, maybe I knew it."
She glanced at the chest of his coat: loose threads, a ragged area of darker fabric, where a coat of arms had apparently been torn off.She knew immediately that her guide was a deserter.Could that rider be his robe?
"Let's move on," he urged, "or Brunn won't be at ease. Women can use crossbows, you know." Kreb pointed to the limestone hill that rose behind the castle, with a forest on its slope. "There's no road from here, only streams and game trails, but you don't have to worry, miss, Smart Dick knows the place."
That's exactly what Brienne was worried about.The wind blew in gusts along the top of the cliff, and she smelled traps. "What about the rider?" Unless the horse could walk in the waves, he was heading for the cliff.
"What about the rider? Damn, if he's an idiot from Maiden Springs, there's no way he'll find our way up the mountain. Besides, if he's spotted, we can get rid of him in the woods. See? From here Start, there is no way."
Only our footprints.Brienne wondered whether she should take up arms and fight the rider right here.What if he was the son of the Tramp or Lord Brune?Then I'd be a complete fool.She thought there was some truth to what Kleiber said.If he's still trailing by tomorrow, I'll deal with him. "Whatever," she said, turning the horse's head and heading for the woods.
Lord Brun's castle gradually shrunk behind him, and soon disappeared from sight.Sentinel trees and soldier pines towered all around, like tall green spears piercing the sky.The forest floor was covered with a layer of fallen needles as thick as a city wall, dotted with pine cones, and drowned the horseshoes.The rain came and stopped, stopped and fell again, but in the pine forest it was hardly felt.
The speed of progress in the forest is also relatively slow.Brienne pushed her horse through the green shadows, parting countless outstretched branches.It's easy to get lost here, she realized, looking the same in every direction.Even the air seemed gray-green and silent.Pine branches scraped across his arms, scratching harshly at the freshly painted shield.As time went by, the weird atmosphere made her more and more uneasy.
Smart Dick seems to have the same problem.Seeing the night approaching, he sang: "This bear, bear, bear! It's all black and brown, covered with plush..." His voice was like prickly woolen pants.The pine forest sucks up the song as it sucks out the wind and the rain.After a while, he stopped.
"It's not a good place," said Podrick, "it's not a good place."
Brienne didn't want to add to the burden on others. "The pine forest is eerie, but it's just a wood after all. There's nothing to be afraid of."
"What about Bajijiao? And those heads?"
"Such a clever boy," laughed Smart Dick.
Brienne gave him an annoyed look. "No jerks," she told Podrick, "and no heads."
The mountains rise and fall.Brienne found herself praying for Dick the Smart to be honest, that he really knew where he was going.If she was alone, she might not even be able to return to the seaside.Day and night, the sky was covered with thick gray clouds, and there was no sun or stars to help her orient herself.
They camped early that night, on the edge of a green-lit swamp beneath a ridge.In the grey-green reflections, the ground ahead looked pretty solid, but when I rode over, the mud didn't come up to the horse's shoulders.It took a lot of effort for them to turn back to a more solid place to gain a foothold. "It's okay," Kleiber assured. "We'll go back up the mountain later and come down in the other direction."
Still little progress the next day.Under dark skies and intermittent rain, they rode through pine forests and swamps, past pools, caves, and ruined ancient fortresses, the stones of which were covered with moss.Every pile of stones has a story, and Dick Dick tells it.According to him, the Crab Claw Peninsulars water the pine trees with their blood.Brienne's patience was running out. "How far?" she asked at last. "We must have seen every tree on Crab Claw."
"Not at all," Kleiber objected. "But we're almost there, and behold, the trees are getting thinner and thinner, and we're getting closer to the narrow sea."
Maybe the clown he's talking about is my own reflection in the pond, Brienne thought, but there's no way to turn back this far.She was really exhausted, and her thighs were stiff as iron after riding for a long time.Lately, she's been sleeping only four hours a night, insisting that Podrick watch over her while she sleeps.If Dick Dick wanted to do business without capital, she could be sure that he would do it here, in the territory he knew well.He could lead them into a robber's den, where there were fellows as treacherous as himself; or he could lead them round and round until the riders came up.They hadn't seen a trace of the man since leaving Lord Brun's castle, but that didn't mean the tail had been thrown off.
While pacing around the campsite one night, it occurred to her that maybe I'd have to turn back and kill the pursuers.The thought disturbed her.No wonder, her former coach often questioned her will. "You have the strength of a man," Sir Goodwin had warned her more than once, "but the heart of a woman. It's one thing to train in a yard with a blunt sword, and it's one thing to drive a foot-long sword into a man's belly and watch Watching the light in each other's eyes fade away, that's another thing." To make her stronger, Sir Goodwin sent her to her father's slaughterhouse to slaughter lambs and suckling pigs.The neighing suckling pigs and screaming lambs looked like terrified children, and by the time the slaughter was over, Brienne was teary-eyed, and her blood-stained clothes had to be handed over to the maid to be burned.But Sir Goodwin was not satisfied. "Pigs are pigs after all, not people. I was as young as you when I was a squire, and I had a friend who was strong, fast, and agile, and was a hero in the training ground." We all thought he would be a great knight some day. Then the war came to the Stepstones, and I saw my friend drive his opponent to the ground and knock out his axe, but He hesitated for a moment when he was about to finish the man. On the battlefield, a moment is a lifetime. The man drew his dagger and thrust it into the gap between my friend's armor. His strength, his speed, his valor , all the skills acquired through hard training... are not as good as the actor's fart. All because he flinched when he was about to hit the killer. Remember this, little sister."
I'll remember, in that pine forest, she swears on the memory, and sits down on a rock, draws her sword, and grinds it over and over again.I'll remember, and I pray I don't cringe.
The next morning was too cold and gray to see the sun rise, but when the darkness turned to gray, Brienne knew it was time to saddle up.They went back into the pine woods, with Dick Dick leading the way, Brienne following, and Podrick riding back.
The castle appeared without warning.A moment before they had been deep in the forest, walking aimlessly mile after mile, seeing nothing but pines.However, when they bypassed a boulder, a gap suddenly appeared in front of them, and after walking another mile, the forest suddenly came to an end.Beyond that is the sky and the sea... There is also an old dilapidated abandoned castle standing on the top of the cliff, overgrown with weeds. "This is Whispering Castle," said Smart Dick. "Listen, those heads are talking."
Podrick opened his mouth wide, "I heard you."
Brienne heard it too.Slight whispers came from underground and inside the castle, the closer to the cliff, the louder the sound.It was sea water, she suddenly realized, eroding hollows under the cliffs, rumbling as the waves passed through the underground cavities and passages. "There are no heads," she said, "and the whispers you hear come from the waves."
"The waves don't whisper. It's the head."
The castle is built of ancient unplastered rocks, each of which is different.Thick moss grows between the crevices of the rocks, and trees emerge from the basement.Most old castles have a godswood, and it looks like Whispering Keep does too.Brienne led the mare to the edge of the cliff, where the walls had crumbled and clusters of poisonous red vines had grown from the rocks.She tied the horse to a tree, and moved as far as she dared, to the edge of the cliff.Fifty feet below, the waves poured into a ruined tower, behind which was the entrance to a large cave.
"The old lighthouse," said Dick Dick, walking behind her, "it fell down when I was half Pod's age. There used to be a staircase leading from here to the cave, but it disappeared when the cliff collapsed. Then the smugglers Land here again, because you could row the boat directly into the hole before, but now you can't. See?" He put one hand behind her back and pointed with the other.
Brienne couldn't help but get goosebumps.Just one push and I'll fall to be with the broken tower.She quickly took a step back, "Take your hands away."
Kleiber made a face. "I just..."
"I don't care what you think. Where is the gate?"
"On the other side," he hesitated. "You buffoon, isn't he a grudge?" he asked uneasily. "I mean, it just occurred to me last night that he might be mad at old Dick for selling him the map and not saying in advance that the smugglers ain't landing here."
"You'll get the gold in no time, and that's more than enough to get you back what he paid." Brienne couldn't imagine Dontos Hollard posing any threat, "if he's here."
They walked around the city wall.The castle is triangular with square towers at each corner.The gate was almost completely decayed, and when Brienne reached out to pull on it, the wood snapped, strips of wet splinters flaked off, and half the door fell on top of her.There were more dark green shadows in the castle, and the forest had already climbed over the walls and swallowed the keep and outer court.Behind the gate was an iron gate, its teeth sunken into the muddy ground, red with rust, and when Brienne shook it, it didn't budge. "No one has used it for a long time."
"I can climb in," Podrick suggested, "from the edge of the cliff. The walls are down there."
"No, it's too dangerous. The stones there are loose, and the red vines are poisonous. Find the door. There must be a side door in the castle."
They did find the wicket on the north side of the castle, half hidden behind a large bush of blackberries.The berries had been picked, and the bushes had been cut down a great deal to make a path leading to the door.The severed branches worried Brienne. "Not long ago, someone just passed by."
"It's your clowns and girls," said Crabbe, "see, what I say is true."
Sansa?Brienne couldn't believe it.Not even a drunk like Dontos Hollard would have been foolish enough to bring her to such a remote place.There are oddities in the ruins, and it's unlikely the Stark girl is here...but she has to find out.There are people, she thought, people who need to hide. "I'll go in," she said, "Crabb, you come with me. Podrick, I want you to watch the horses."
"I'm going in too. I'm a squire. I can fight."
"That's why I want you to stay where you are. Look, there may be gangsters in the woods, and the horses can't be left unprotected, or if something happens, how can we get back?"
Podrick stretched out one foot and rubbed it on the stone: "Yes!"
She squeezed among the blackberry bushes, tugging at the rusty iron ring.The side door jammed for a moment, then swung open with the harsh protest of the chain.The sound made the hairs on the back of Brienne's neck stand on end.She drew her sword, feeling naked even in her mail and boiled leather.
"Come on, miss," urged Dick Dick after her, "what are you afraid of? Old Crabbe's been dead a thousand years."
What am I afraid of?How silly, Brienne told herself.The sound was nothing but the endless lapping of the waves in the hollow beneath the castle, rising and falling as the waves rose and fell.Yet it did sound like a whisper, and for a moment she seemed to see the heads, on their shelves, murmuring to each other. "I should have known that I should have used that magic sword." One of them said, "I should have known that I should have used that magic sword."
"Podrick," Brienne said, "I have a sheathed sword in my bedroll. Bring it here."
"Yes, sir. Miss. Get it now." The boy ran to it.
"Sword?" Smart Dick scratched the back of his ear, "You already have one in your hand, what do you need the other for?"
"This is for you." Brienne handed him the hilt up.
"Really?" Kreb held out his hand hesitantly, as if the sword could bite. "The suspicious virgin gave old Dick a sword?"
"You know how to use a sword, don't you?"
"Fright! I'm from the Crabbers," he said, taking the sword. "I'm of old Sir Clarence's blood." He waved the air, and grinned at her. "They used to say, All lords start with the sword."
Podrick Payne returned holding Oathkeeper as carefully as if holding a baby.Witty Dick whistled at the sight of the ornate scabbard and ornamented lion's head of solid gold, but fell silent as soon as she drew her sword and practiced chopping.Even the sound it makes is sharper than ordinary swords. "Follow me," she told Crabber, and then sidled into the side door, ducking under the arch above it.
The leafy outer court loomed before him, the gate to the left, and a crumbling stable, with small trees protruding from the corral and piercing the brown dry thatch roof.On the right there is a rotting wooden staircase leading down to a dark dungeon or cellar.The main castle became a heap of rocks covered with green and purple moss, and the yard was full of weeds and fallen pine needles. Rows and rows of solemn soldier pines stood up everywhere, but among them there was a pale alien tree, A narrow weirwood with a trunk as white as a virgin, crimson leaves stretched out as the branches stretched.Beyond that is the collapsed city wall, the empty sky and the sea...
...and the embers of a campfire.
Whispers continued to whisper in her ear.Brienne knelt by the fire, picked up a blackened twig, sniffed it, and picked out the ashes.There was a fire last night.Or signaling to passing ships.
"Hello," called Dick Dick, "is anyone there?"
"Quiet," Brienne warned him.
"Someone is hiding. Someone wants to look at us, and then come back." He walked to the stairs leading to the underground, peering into the darkness. "Hey—" he called again, "Is there anyone down there?"
Brienne saw a small tree sway.A person emerged from the bushes, covered in mud and dust, as if it was a plant emerging from the ground.He had a broken sword in his hand, but that wasn't what she cared about, but his face, the small eyes, the broad flattened nose.
She recognized that nose.She recognized those eyes.His friends called him "Piggy" Pug.
Everything seems to happen in a heartbeat.A second man crept up from the well, softer than a snake gliding through wet leaves.He wore an iron halfhelm with a faded red silk turban, and carried a stubby throwing spear—a man Brienne knew too.她身后窸窸窣窣，又一个脑袋从红色的树叶间探出来，向下张望。克莱勃就站在鱼梁木下，抬头便看到那张脸。 “原来在这儿呢，”他朝布蕾妮喊，“你的小丑。”
“狄克，”她急促地警告，“快过来。”
夏格维翻身下树，发出一阵刺耳的笑声。他的小丑服褪色得厉害，沾满污渍，看上去是褐色，不是灰色或粉色。他手上拿的也并非表演道具，而是一把三头流星锤，三颗带刺的铁球通过链条拴在木柄上。只见他猛地一砸，克莱勃的一只膝盖便迸裂开来，鲜血和碎骨飞溅。狄克应声倒下。“真有趣。”夏格维嘶哑地说。布蕾妮交给狄克的剑从他手中飞了出去，消失在杂草丛中。他在地上翻滚，一边嘶喊一边抓向自己残废的膝盖。“哎哟，看哪，”夏格维说，“我们的走私贩狄克先生，给我们画地图的先生。您大老远赶过来，是要还我们钱吗？”
“求求你，”狄克呜咽道，“求求你，不要，我的腿……”
“疼吗？我会止疼哦。”
“别碰他。”布蕾妮喊道。
“不要！”狄克厉声尖叫，一边举起沾满鲜血的双手护住头部。夏格维将刺球绕着他脑袋转了一圈，然后砸向脸中央，发出一阵令人作呕的碎裂声。随后是沉默，布蕾妮听到自己的心跳。
“坏夏格，”从井里爬出来的人说。他看见布蕾妮的脸，哈哈大笑。“又是你这恶婆娘？怎么，来抓人？还是思念你的好老公们了呢？”
夏格维两只脚轮流跳来跳去，甩着流星锤。“她是来找我的。她每晚都梦见我哦，每当她把手指插进缝里的时候。她想要我，伙计们，大马脸思念她快乐的夏格！瞧好了，我要操她的屁眼，给她灌满五颜六色的种子，直到她为我下个小崽崽。”
“那样的话你得用另一个洞，夏格。”提蒙用拉长的多恩腔调说。
“保险起见，我最好把她所有的洞都操一遍。”他移动到她右边，而帕格绕到左边，迫使她向参差的悬崖边退去。三个人搭船，布蕾妮记起来。“你们只有三个？”
提蒙耸耸肩，“离开赫伦堡后，我们各奔东西。乌斯威克带他那帮人向南骑往旧镇；罗尔杰认为可以从盐场镇溜走；我和我的伙计们则去了女泉城，结果上不了船。”多恩人抬起飞矛。“嘿，你咬瓦格那口可够狠的，咬得他耳朵变黑了，渗出脓水。罗尔杰和乌斯威克提议离开，但山羊非要我们守住他的城堡。他说自己是赫伦堡伯爵，没有人可以从他手中夺走它。他说这话时跟平常一样唾沫横飞。后来我们听说魔山一点一点地将他杀死，第一天砍一只手，第二天砍一只脚，砍得干净利落，再把断肢包扎起来，好让霍特死不了。他本打算最后砍山羊的鸡巴，不料来了一只鸟，要召他去君临，因此不得不提前动手，然后才离开。”
“我不是来找你们。我在找……”她差点脱口而出“我的妹妹”“……找一个小丑。”
“我就是小丑。”夏格维愉快地宣布。
“另一个小丑，”这回布蕾妮没忍住，“他跟一名贵族女孩在一起，那女孩是临冬城史塔克公爵的女儿。”
“你找的是猎狗，”提蒙说，“不巧他不在这儿。这儿只有我们。”
“桑铎·克里冈？”布蕾妮问，“你什么意思？”
“他挟持了史塔克家的女孩。据说那女孩正往奔流城去，却被他半路偷走了。该死的好运气的狗。”
奔流城，布蕾妮心想，她要去奔流城，投奔舅舅。 "how do you know?"
“贝里那伙人当中的一个招的。闪电大王也在到处找她，他派手下人沿三叉戟河上下搜寻。离开赫伦堡后，我们碰巧遇到其中三位，有一人临死前吐露了情报。”
“他可能说谎。”
“有可能，但他没有，因为我们还听说猎狗在十字路口的客栈杀了三个他哥哥的人，当时那女孩正跟他在一起。店家发誓说是那样，然后罗尔杰杀了他，店里的婊子们也都这么讲。她们可真难看哪，不过没你丑，现在嘛……”
他想分散我的注意力，用话语来麻痹我，布蕾妮意识到。帕格逼近过来，夏格维朝她一跃。她连忙向后退开。若是不赶紧采取行动，就会被逼下悬崖。“别过来，”她警告他们。
“我想干你的鼻孔，小妞，”夏格维宣布，“很有趣吧？”
“他的鸡巴太小了，”提蒙解释，“扔下那把漂漂亮亮的剑吧，也许我们会温柔点儿，婆娘。我们只不过需要些金子，来付给走私者而已。”
“交出金子，就放我们走？”
“我们会的，”提蒙微笑，“等大伙儿都干过你之后，会付费的，而且我们将按普通妓女的标准付费，一枚银币一次；你要是不干，我们还是会拿走金子，然后再强暴你，再让你瞧瞧魔山对付瓦格大人的手法。嘿，你选哪一样？”
“这样。”布蕾妮朝帕格扑过去。
他急忙提起断剑护脸，但当他将剑举高，布蕾妮却往低处攻。守誓剑穿过皮革、羊毛、皮肤与肌肉，直抵佣兵的大腿骨。帕格倒下的同时狂野地反手一劈，断剑擦到布蕾妮的锁甲，然后他无助地仰面跌地。布蕾妮顺势将剑刺入他咽喉，使劲一拧，再拔出来，紧接着一转身，提蒙的矛刚好划过脸颊。我没有畏缩，她心想，鲜红的血液在脸上流淌，你看见了吗，古德温爵士？她几乎感觉不到伤口。
“轮到你了，”她告诉提蒙，多恩人拔出第二支矛，比刚才那支更粗更短。“扔吧。”
“好让你躲过去后，朝我冲锋？我会死得跟帕格一样惨。不。你来解决她，夏格。”
“这是你的活儿，”夏格维说，“瞧，看到她怎么对付帕格的吗？她一定是来月经了，给经血弄疯了。”小丑在身后，提蒙在前面，无论她转向哪边，总有一个在背后。
“解决她，”提蒙催促，“让你奸尸。”
“哟，你对我真好。”流星锤在旋转。选一个，布蕾妮告诉自己，选一个，赶快选一个。说时迟那时快，一颗石头不知从何处飞来，击中了夏格维的脑袋。布蕾妮没有犹豫，她冲向提蒙。
他比帕格厉害，无奈手上只有一支投掷用的短矛，而她有把瓦雷利亚钢剑。守誓剑在她手中仿佛获得了生命，她也从来没有如此敏捷。剑化灰影，提蒙刺伤了她肩膀，但她削去提蒙一只耳朵和半边脸，砍断矛头，然后这把一尺之长、波纹绚丽的神兵穿透了锁甲链环，插入他腹中。
布蕾妮抽回剑，血槽中浸满了鲜红的血。提蒙试图继续抵抗，他从腰带里抓出一把匕首，因此布蕾妮砍掉了他的手。这一剑是为詹姆。“圣母慈悲，”多恩人喘着粗气，嘴冒血泡，断腕处血如泉涌。“了结我吧。送我回多恩，你这该死的婊子。”
她了结了提蒙。
她转过身，发现夏格维双膝跪地，晕乎乎的，正在摸索流星锤。等他踉踉跄跄地站起身，又一块石头砸中他耳朵。波德瑞克爬上倒塌的城墙，神气活现地站在蔓藤中间，手中拿着石头。“我告诉过你，我可以战斗！”他朝下面喊。
夏格维哆哆嗦嗦地试图爬走。“我投降，”小丑喊，“我投降。千万别伤害讨人喜欢的夏格维。我太可爱了，我不能死。”
“你也不比其他人强。你奸淫掳掠，无恶不作。”
“哦，是的，是的，我不否认我的罪行……但我是最有趣的，我会讲笑话，我会蹦蹦跳跳。我会逗老爷们开心。”
“还会让女人们哭泣。”
“那是我的错吗？女人没有幽默感。”
布蕾妮垂下守誓剑。“去挖坟。那儿，鱼梁木底下。”她用剑指指。
“我没有铲子。”
“你有两只手。”比你们留给詹姆的多一只。
“何必麻烦呢？把他们留给乌鸦吧。”
“提蒙和帕格可以喂乌鸦。我得埋葬机灵狄克。他是克莱勃家族的人。这里是他的地方。”
地面因雨水而变得湿软，即便如此，小丑也花了白天余下的所有时间才挖出一个够深的坑。完工后，夜幕降临，他手上血淋淋的，全是水泡。布蕾妮将守誓剑收入鞘中，然后把狄克·克莱勃抱到坑边。他的脸惨不忍睹。“很抱歉，我一直不信任你，现在说什么都晚了。”
她一边跪下来放好尸体，一边想，我背对小丑，他应该孤注一掷了。
果然，她听见他刺耳的喘息声，紧接着波德瑞克大声示警。夏格维抓了一块凹凸不平的岩石，布蕾妮却早已将匕首藏在袖子里。
匕首总能打败石头，正如石头总能打败鸡蛋。
她挡开他的胳膊，将铁刃刺入他肚子里。“笑啊，”她朝他怒吼。他却只有呻吟。“笑啊，”她重复，用一只手掐他喉咙，另一只手捅他。“笑啊！”她不停地喊，一遍又一遍，直到鲜血染红了手腕，死亡的气味令她窒息。
夏格维一声也没笑，所有的抽泣都是布蕾妮自己发出的。
她扔下匕首，浑身颤抖。
波德瑞克帮她将机灵狄克放入墓穴中。等他们弄完，月亮已经升起。布蕾妮搓掉手上的泥，扔了两枚金龙进去。
“你为什么这么做，小姐？爵士？”波德问。
“这是我答应他找到小丑的报酬。”
他们身后爆发出一阵大笑。她立刻拔出守誓剑，转身准备对付更多血戏子……结果却发现海尔·亨特盘腿坐在残垣断壁上。“假如地狱里有妓院，这可怜虫会感激你，”骑士大声说，“不然的话，你就是在浪费金钱。”
“我信守诺言。你来这儿干吗？”
“蓝道大人吩咐我跟着你。若是你运气奇佳，凑巧遇上珊莎·史塔克，他要我将她带回女泉城。不用怕，他命令我不准伤害你。”
布蕾妮嗤之以鼻。“好像你能够一样。”
“现在你打算怎么办，小姐？”
“埋了他。”
“我是指那女孩。珊莎夫人。”
布蕾妮想了一会儿，“假如提蒙所说是真，她正往奔流城赶去，路上被猎狗抓住了。如果我找到他……”
“……他会杀了你。”
“或者我会杀了他，”她固执地说，“你愿意搭把手，帮我埋葬可怜的克莱勃吗，爵士？”
“真正的骑士怎能拒绝美人的请求呢？”海尔爵士从墙头爬下来。他们一起将泥土堆到机灵狄克身上。月亮越升越高，地底的头颅在窃窃私语，它们属于——那些早已被遗忘的国王们。