A Song of Ice and Fire - A Chapter a day discussion

1-Tyrion sent all his clansmen to the kingswood, and told them not to fight in battles, but attack in the night. I can’t remember why though. He sent a guide with them who knows the Woods. Poor man, lol.

2-He didn’t like getting rid of them, but he still has Bronn’s men. Although they were all sellswords, and Bronn told him they will kill for a knighthood, but won’t die for Tyrion. He knows that alredy. Even in the City Watch, with six thousand strong because of Cersei, they could only relied upon a quarter of them could. Most of them were Green boys or men who just join to eat, and would flee in battle mostlikely. There were also traitors, I am guessing for the other kings.

3-Tywin said a watchmen is not a true soldier, and a man in the Wall is worth ten behind it. I wonder when he told Tyrion, not that he’s the Hand or before. It’s good advice though.

4-The only food people could get was fish, and of course it was as expensive as it can get. Tyrion stepped gingerly on a fish before he mounted his horse. Could’t he just move the horse and don’t step on it? A lot of hungrey children fought over that fish, I guess he could see that coming.

5-He ordered Bronn to close all the pot-shops, whorehouses and alehouses in the área, but to give the people time to gather their things and go. I didn’t understand it first, but I guess is for the coming battle, so people wouldn’t be in the middle of it. Tyrion also told Bronn he didn’t want rape, and he answered his men weren’t septons. Still, no need to rape though.

6-Tyrion thought he wanted higher and thicker walls, but then remembered what happened to Winterfell. The walls didn’t help in that case. “The gods give with one hand and take with the other,” he said when Varys told him. The Starks now had Harrenhal, but lost Winterfell. “A dismal exchange”. He thought of course would now go back to Winterfell, he couldn’t leave it like that. He should be happy about it, and Winterfell was nothing to him. But I had the idea he cared about what happened.

7-They built three great trebuchets side by side, to welcome Stannis. They call them the whores, lol, because they’d be giving Lord Stannis such a lusty welcome. I guess it’s to piss him off too.

8-I forgot Tyrion seized the ships of some captains, who of course weren’t happy about it. He said after the war they’ll have it back, and if they lost they could ask Stannis. Right, like he’s gonna give them back.

9-So, the Kingsguard has new members, one being Ser Balon Swann, who sounds pretty decent and skillful. His older brother was with Renly, and his father stayed in his castle. Tyrion thought if there was another brother he’d be with Robb. Tyrion thought it showed good sense, whoever win, they’ll be in their side. He was also highborn. The other addition was Ser Osmund Kettleblack, who was lowborn, and sold secrets to Bronn. Tyrion knew he wasn’t as honorable as he looked, or a good addition in conclusión. But now he’d have one more ear near the King and Cersei, so it wasn’t all bad.

10-I forgot Ser Boros Blount was one of the kingsguard being replaced because he yielded on the way to Rosby, when Bywater appeared. He was supposed to give his life for Tommen, yet he yielded. Tyrion thought Cersei replaced him with one just as hollow. It seems even in the kingsguard people pretend to be something they aren’t.

11-Shae was with Lollys now, but they weren’t at the ceremony. It bothers me Shae wants to take some of her jewels with her. I mean, Tyrion’s is moving her so she could live, and she cares about the jewels. And even if she’s young, she should know better. Plus, Lady Tanda would probably wonder why her daughter’s servant had more expensive jewels than the one they have. They are stupid, but not to that point.

12-The man who is now the High Septon knows his place, so he Works for Tyrion we could say. Tyrion told him Stannis planned to burn the sept if he ever takes the city, so the people would think better. They would be betraying their gods too if they helped Stannis. I mean, is not so crazy to think he would.

13-He got a letter from Dorne, kinda late, telling him Stannis took Storm’s End. I wonder if he sent it late, or something happened in the way. There was a letter from Balon Greyjoy too, calling himself King and saying maybe they could have an agreement on how to divide the lands. He knew Cersei wouldn’t even look at it, and they couldn’t use their ships, so he payed it no mind. It seems nobody takes him seriously. I don’t think people know, but he didn’t even plan to take Winterfell, it was Theon’s doing.

14-Hallyne the Pyromancer was there, and he told Tyrion they were several thousand jars ahead of what they said they’d be. They found three hundred too. Tyrion found it weird, why they were making so many now. I don’t think Hallyne really told him why though.

15-Bywater told Tyrion Tommen was fine, he adopted a fang. He ha done before, but Joffrey skinned it for a jerkin. Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. He often writes to Myrcella but doesn’t finish the letters, I wonder why. And sometimes asks for Cersei, but doesn’t miss Joffrey. Who would, lol? Bywater didn’t tell Tyrion where Tommen was, and I think, like Tyrion, is a good idea. The less people know, the better.

16-Finally, there was a group supporting Stannis that was raising, they planned to open the Old Gate during the battle so Stannis could enter. They didn’t know he changed his banner, lol. It was formed by rich men, Salloreon the armorer one of them, who once told Tyrion he would make a great demon helm. He signed the order to arrest all the people in the list. One thing I found really interesting while Varys was telling him about this group, he said “So much villainy, it sings a sad song for our age. Did honor die with our fathers? My father is not dead yet.” . But Varys knowns Tywin is not dead, so why did he said that?

1. The feeding of man parts to the goats joke is getting rather old for me. Meh.

2. Tyrion is sending his mountain men into the Kingswood outside the capital walls via rafts along the river. He wants them to attack Stannis’s army when they come from the Stormlands. Without the clansmen Tyrion feels naked, but it’s all to keep the capital safe so he’s willing to do it.

3. Bywater says of the 6,000 gold cloaks only a fourth can be counted on to be reliable in battle. Sure, in the beginning they’ll all start strong, but if one retreats he’ll have a thousand more retreating behind him and they’re fucked. Tyrion’s relying on the phrase: “One man on a wall was worth ten beneath it.”

4. Fish is the only source of food coming into the capital and therefore the price has skyrocketed ten times what it normally is.

5. The poor had built an alarming amount of ramshackle structures all along the walls of the capital which is not good, since Stannis could use this as leverage to climb the walls. Tyrion orders Bronn to burn all of it down so Stannis’s army can’t use it to their advantage. Bronn says this will piss off the inhabitants even more and they’ll try to fight but Tyrion doesn’t care. They already hate him. He does, however, tell Bronn to keep his sellswords in check; he wants no more raping. I laughed when Bronn says they’re sellswords, not septons.

6. So it seems King’s Landing heard what happened at Winterfell. I like that Tyrion remembers Winterfell having a feel of safety to it, even though it’s not as strong and fortified as Harrenhal and Storm’s End, which were also taken by the enemy. Tyrion hadn’t expected it to fall. It seems the gods gave the Starks Harrenhal only to lose Winterfell, “...a dismal exchange.” He knows he should be happy to hear of this, since it helps the Lannisters, but feels bad anyway. He tries to tell himself Winterfell is nothing to him and look to his own walls, but I can’t help but respect Tyrion for respecting the North, even though right now they’re his enemy.

7. King’s Landing has three trebuchets that the gold cloaks named “the Three Whores,” omg, lol, because they’re going to give Stannis a lusty welcome. ;)

8. Tyrion is late to watch the ceremony of Joffrey naming two new Kingsguard members to the Seven, replacing the two that died from the mob: Ser Balon Swann and Ser Osmund Kettleblack. He approves of the first one, not the second. The Swanns are a notable House in the Stormlands. Ser Osmund, however, is lowborn and dependent off Cersei so he must do as she says, except he’s really Bronn’s man, so the joke’s on Cersei. Still, Tyrion thinks Ser Osmund is a craven and unfit to wear the white cloak.

9. Ser Boros is currently in prison at Rosby. Bywater attacked him on the road as Tyrion commanded and Ser Boros shamed himself when he did not die in the attempt to protect his prince from capture. Cersei wanted Ser Boros stripped of his white cloak because of his cravenness, but she replaces him instead with Ser Osmund, who is equally craven, lol, hypocrite.

10. So Shae is Lollys’s bedmaid now. She likes it better than being a pot girl. That’s good.

11. Tyrion replaced the High Septon himself. He tells the new High Septon that Stannis burned the godswood down in Storm’s End as an offering to the Lord of Light. :( That’s not good! Remember what happened to the First Men who destroyed the heart trees? Stannis is like to burn down Baelor’s Sept if he wins King’s Landing, so he’d better pray to his gods that Stannis loses!

12. So Balon Greyjoy styles himself King of the Iron Islands and the North and wants to discuss a possible alliance with Joffrey. Tyrion is unsure how to respond back to this letter so he thinks he’ll let Cersei handle this one.

13. Hallyne the Pyromancer says he now has 13,000 jars of wildfire ready. That is a lot more than what they had before in such a short amount of time, making Tyrion suspicious. Hallyne says they’d found another cashe of 300 jars under the Dragon Pit. Some drunk fell through the rotted floorboards and came upon them in a cellar. Thinking they were vats of wine, he opened one and drank it, damn! How many more of these hidden cashes are there?? Also, Hallyne says the magic spells he uses to make the wildfire is becoming more potent, allowing him to produce more at a faster rate. I didn’t see the connection the first time I read this, but after Quaithe in an earlier chapter told Danaerys her dragons made that firemage’s powers more potent, it makes me wonder. Hallyne asks if there are any hidden dragons in the vicinity, so he must know about this. He says his old master told him magic started to get weaker after the last dragon died. My guess is no one in Westeros knows about Dany’s dragons yet. Give it about six more months, then. :) Word will spread.

14. Lord Bywater returns from Rosby with more spearmen from Lord Gyles’s estate and says Tommen is happy and doing well there. It is so damn cute how Tommen adopted a fawn. OMG! He had one once before but Joffrey turned it into a jerkin, wtf... Tommen misses his mom and sister but doesn’t care at all about Joffrey, lol.

15. Varys shows up with a list of several rich men, merchants, who call themselves the Antler Men, because they’re Stannis supporters. I laughed when Tyrion says, “Someone should tell them that Stannis changed his sigil. Then they can be the Hot Hearts.” Too funny. These traitors are conspiring to seize the Old Gate and let the enemy through. One of the men on the list is Salloreon, the blacksmith who promised Tyrion a ferocious demon helm. Tyrion orders for their arrest and humorously says it looks like he’s not getting that demon helm after all, ha!

Your point 13 is really interesting, I wonder if Daenerys had something to do with it, even though she's far away.