A Game of Thrones

Tyrion is Catelyn’s prisoner. He rides with her toward the Eyrie, the mountaintop castle of Catelyn’s sister, Lisa Arryn. The group includes a “squat sellsword” (327) named Bronn and the singer Marillion. Tyrion points out the absurdity of giving an “assassin” a dagger that could be so easily traced and reminds Catelyn that Littlefinger is notoriously untrustworthy. Midway through his speech, the group is attacked by a band of mountain clansmen who care “nothing for the enmities of the great house” (324). Catelyn makes Tyrion swear that he will remain her prisoner after the battle and, in return, arms him and his men. The battle is violent. The mountain clansmen kill many people in the party, but Tyrion survives to his “vast astonishment” (338); he even saves Catelyn’s life. After the battle, the journey resumes. Tyrion rides alongside Catelyn and returns to protesting his innocence, claiming that Littlefinger’s story must be invented because Tyrion would never bet against a Lannister.

Syrio Forel assigns Arya a lesson: She is sent “catching cats” (341), which proves to be surprisingly difficult. While trying to catch a cat, Arya sees Prince Tommen and Princess Myrcella. They do not recognize the “barefoot and dirty” (342) Arya and think she’s a boy, so she escapes into the depths of the castle using the skills Syrio has taught her. As she crawls through a dark passage, she overhears two men talking. A “stout man in a leather half cape” (346), suggested to be Varys, tells a man with a forked beard, suggested to be Illyrio, that “the wolf and the lion will soon be at each other’s throats” (346). Arya does not recognize either of the men but listens to their conversation. Illyrio insists that they need more time because Khal Drogo will not attack until his son and heir is born. Illyrio does not believe that the time is right for a war and tells Varys to delay the conflict as best he can. Illyrio is also willing to kill Ned Stark if doing so will buy them more time, but Varys insists that Ned is different from the last Hand and is closer to the truth. He tells Illyrio that Catelyn Stark kidnapped Tyrion Lannister because of Littlefinger’s interference and if the Lannisters head north in response then the Tullys will be involved as well. Arya escapes the castle depths through the sewers and rushes to find her father. When she tells Ned what she heard, he does not believe her. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Yoren, who tells Ned that Catelyn took Tyrion prisoner.

Robert makes a surprise appearance at a small council meeting. During a heated debate, Varys reports that Daenerys Targaryen is pregnant. Robert is furious because her child would be another potential claimant to his throne. Though Robert wants to hire an assassin to kill “mother and child both, and that fool Viserys as well” (353), Ned feels killing a woman and her unborn child is dishonorable and that they are too far away to be a threat. Ned and Barristan Selmy are the only dissenting voices as the other council members debate the practicalities and the methods of murdering Daenerys. They mention Jorah Mormont, who “craves a royal pardon” and may be able to help (355). Ned, abhorred, resigns as Hand, telling Robert that he should execute Daenerys himself because “the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword” (356). Robert tells him to leave and threatens to have him executed if he sees him again. Ned prepares to return to Winterfell when Littlefinger visits him. Littlefinger reports that a lordship has been offered to anyone who can kill Daenerys. Littlefinger offers to take Ned to the brothel Jon Arryn visited before his death.

Catelyn arrives at the Eyrie, the ancestral seat of Jon Arryn and home to her widowed sister Lysa and her son. Catelyn’s group begins the long ascent through the castle’s seemingly impenetrable defenses. During the journey, Catelyn observes that Tyrion has “grown thick as thieves” (362) with the sellsword Bronn. Catelyn meets with her uncle Brynden Tully, also known as the Blackfish, a play on being the “black sheep” of the family, whose sigil is a fish. Brynden warns Catelyn that Lysa has become paranoid in the wake of her husband’s murder. She dotes on her son Robert Arryn, who is “sickly, and prone to weep if you take his dolls away” (367). Lysa wants to see Catelyn immediately, so she is led by Mya Stone, Robert Baratheon’s eldest bastard daughter up the difficult, dangerous ascent to the mountaintop castle. Mya makes Catelyn think of Jon Snow, which makes her feel “angry and guilty, both at once” (371). By the time they reach the castle, they are exhausted. When Lysa meets Catelyn, she is furious that Catelyn brought Tyrion into her house unannounced because of Catelyn’s “quarrels with the Lannisters” (377). Catelyn is perturbed by the way Lysa treats six-year-old Robert Arryn. Lysa still breastfeeds her son and coddles him as though he were still a baby. Catelyn notes that her three-year-old son Rickon is much more mature. Robert shrilly calls on his mother to “make [Tyrion] fly” (378), by which he means throwing him out of the Moon Door and down the side of the mountain to his death.

Ned is taken to the brothel investigated by Jon Arryn. There he finds another of Robert’s bastards, made obvious by the close physical resemblance, particularly the “fine, dark hair” (380). Littlefinger explains that there are many royal bastards all over the Seven Kingdoms. Queen Cersei searches them out and has ordered the execution of several of them. Ned is shocked that Robert would condone such violence. As Ned travels back to the Tower of the Hand he is stopped by Jaime and a retinue of men. Jaime demands that Ned order Catelyn to release Tyrion. Ned lies, claiming responsibility for his wife’s actions. When Jaime reaches for his sword, Ned suggests that Catelyn will “most certainly slay Tyrion” (383) if her husband is harmed. Jaime acknowledges this warning. He tells his men to kill everyone under Ned’s command but to spare Ned. In the struggle, Ned is trapped under his fallen horse and breaks his leg. 

Khal Drogo leads his Dothraki into the “immense and beautiful” city of Vaes Dothrak (386), where Daenerys is to be presented to the council of elderly women known as the dosh khaleen. These women are the widows of dead khals. They will examine Daenerys and deliver a prophecy about her child. Jorah explains to Daenerys his newfound respect for the Dothraki as “utterly fearless” warriors (389). He mentions how much he hates Ned Stark, whom Jorah blames for his exile. That evening, Daenerys tries to mend her relationship with Viserys by giving him a lavish new outfit made by her Dothraki handmaids. Viserys scoffs at the “Dothraki rags” (394) and violently grabs Daenerys‘s arm. She hits him with a belt made of bronze medallions she had made for him and demands that he show her respect. If he does not, she warns, Drogo will execute him. After he leaves, Daenerys curls up with one of the dragon eggs, and her fetus moves as if trying to reach the dragon in the egg. She tells her unborn son that he is “the true dragon” (395).

Bran can ride a horse again, thanks to “the oversize saddle” (396) designed by Tyrion. He rides with Robb and the men of Winterfell. Among them is Theon Greyjoy, the ward from the rebellious house Greyjoy who has been raised by House Stark to ensure Greyjoy compliance. Theon and Robb are close friends despite these circumstances, but Bran never liked Theon. Robb and Bran notice the direwolves have disappeared after a restless night. Robb tells Bran that Jaime attacked Ned and killed Jory and his men. They aren’t sure if their father will survive the attack, but Bran insists he will. Now, Robb is considering going to war with the Lannisters, though Maester Luwin suggests caution. Bran feels like there is something he should remember about the Lannisters, but when he tries to think about it, he feels ill. Bran asks to go back, but Robb says they need to find the wolves first, so Robb and Bran ride ahead. They hear the wolves howl, indicating they have successfully hunted something. Robb leaves Bran to retrieve the wolves, and while he is gone Bran is attacked by six wildlings, including two men who defected from the Night’s Watch. The wildlings mention Mance Rayder and white walkers. Robb and the direwolves return and fight off the wildings until one cuts Bran from his horse and threatens to kill him. Theon and the guardsmen catch up, and Theon kills the man holding a knife to Bran’s throat. A wildling woman named Osha survives and offers her fealty for her life. Robb agrees with Maester Luwin’s suggestion that she might have useful information, so they bind her and take her to Winterfell.

Tyrion is held in a mountainside jail cell at the Eyrie. Mord the jailer mocks Tyrion. One side of the cell is open to the air, leading directly to a 600-foot drop. It is “the only dungeon in the realm where the prisoners [are] welcome to escape at will” (410). Tyrion regrets mocking Lysa for accusing him of killing her husband. He wonders how Jaime and Cersei murdered Jon Arryn so subtly but then failed to kill Bran in such an “unbelievably clumsy” (414) manner. He suspects someone else might be behind the attempt on Bran’s life. Theorizing about the strategic implications of his imprisonment, he does not have faith in his siblings to take full advantage of the situation. He decides to take matters into his own hands. He bribes Mord to tell Lysa that he wishes to confess his crimes. When he is dragged before Lysa, Tyrion confesses to visiting sex workers and other petty crimes, but he insists on a trial by combat in the matter of murder. A trial by combat is a duel in which who lives and who dies is considered the judgment of the gods and a divine indication of guilt or innocence. Lysa chooses her husband’s former favored knight as her champion, but he resists, saying it would be dishonorable to kill Tyrion as a disadvantaged foe. Tyrion says Jaime will be his champion, but Lysa refuses to wait, so Bronn steps forward to fight on Tyrion’s behalf. If Bronn wins the duel, Tyrion will be found innocent of murder.

Ned spends six days in a coma after Jaime’s attack. While unconscious, he dreams of the last time he saw his sister Lyanna. At the end of Robert’s rebellion, Ned and six of his friends, including Howland Reed, went to the tower where Lyanna was placed by Rhaegar. Ned and his men defeat three members of Rhaegar’s Kingsguard to get to Lyanna, but only Ned and Howland survive. The dream ends with Ned telling Lyanna, “I promise” (423). Ned wakes up. By this time, Jaime has “fled the city” (424). The king wants to see Ned immediately, but Ned is too weak to move and says the king can come to him. Robert comes to Ned and has Cersei with him. Ned again says that Catelyn is following his orders to capture Tyrion, and Cersei notes that the fight with Jamie began outside a brothel, accusing Ned of being drunk. Ned is angry at the implications and reveals that he was there to see Robert’s infant bastard daughter. When Ned asks for permission to pursue Jaime, Robert denies him. Ned, once again, is angered by Robert’s interpretation of justice. Cersei is equally as unimpressed with her husband’s governance, believing that she could do better. Robert hits Cersei with “a vicious backhand blow” (427) and has her removed from the room. Robert confesses to Ned that he feels as though he never truly won the war against Rhaegar. Ned welcomes his confidences, but the king is tired of talking. Robert says he’s going on a hunt in the morning and that they can talk when he gets back. When Ned reminds Robert that he will be gone back to Winterfell by the time he returns, Robert makes Ned Hand of the King once again and forbids him to leave because “someone has to rule this damnable kingdom” (428).