The Mountain of Ice and Fire

In the eyes of the Northmen, everything south of the Neck was considered the South, which they habitually referred to as the Southlands. The Southlands, as the Northmen called it, included the Riverlands, the Vale, the Crownlands, the Stormlands, the Reach, and Dorne.

In the Riverlands, one of the regions of the Southlands, July brought abundant rainfall, causing the Trident River to swell, making it a season of plentiful freshwater fish. The Riverlands' freshwater fish also supplied the nobles of the Crownlands and the nearly one million inhabitants of King's Landing.

King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, had a population of hundreds of thousands. Due to its status, its transient population eventually surpassed Oldtown, the old city of House Tyrell in the South, making it the largest city in the Seven Kingdoms. Blackwater Harbor had rapidly developed over the past decade, gradually becoming the most prosperous and bustling place in the realm, where buyers could find goods from all over the world. The Old City of King's Landing was where the wealthy and powerful resided, with rows of luxurious villas. Many governors, princes, and kings from islands across the Narrow Sea had their own secret villas in the Old City of King's Landing.

King Robert's decree for a grand tournament had reached every corner of the Seven Kingdoms. Although the tournament was scheduled for September 1st, many vassals from distant regions needed about two months to travel. Furthermore, upon arriving in King's Landing, they would need time to meet with the King, visit old friends, and prepare for the tournament. Consequently, nobles from all over the realm, from the northernmost North to the southernmost Dorne, were setting out on their journeys.

A noble would typically be accompanied by at least several knights. Knights were divided into several types: household knights, sworn knights, and free knights. Each knight would have at least two attendants. Common knights usually had around five attendants, while wealthy and powerful landed knights might have a dozen or more.

After Catelyn Tully and Eddard Stark parted ways at Littlefinger's brothel by the Blackwater River, she and her sole companion—Rodrik Cassel, the master-at-arms of Winterfell—abandoned traveling by boat and instead headed north along the Kingsroad.

Several days later, after leaving the Crownlands and entering the Riverlands, they finally felt a sense of relief. The letter to her father, Hoster, had already been sent via raven with Littlefinger's help. Following Eddard Stark's instructions, the letter informed Hoster Tully of a feigned illness and requested that he lure Edmure back from the Westerlands.

Eddard believed that the honor of House Westerling was trustworthy. The Mountain might not be as brutal and merciless as rumored, as evidenced by his sparing the Hound's life in both of their duels. However, the cold-blooded ruthlessness of Lord Tywin Lannister of Casterly Rock was chilling, and Edmure's entry into the Westerlands was undoubtedly a grave mistake.

Catelyn had not wanted to add to her father's worries while he was ill, but the situation was urgent. The Lannisters were making frequent moves, secretly poisoning Jon Arryn and attempting to murder Bran Stark. Edmure was the heir to the Riverlands, and the utmost caution was necessary.

Catelyn desperately wanted to see her father, but she couldn't. Bran in the North was still bedridden, Robb was just a teenager, Rickon Stark was only three years old, and there was no guarantee that the conspirators wouldn't attempt a second murder. She needed to return to Winterfell as quickly as possible. She felt powerless to help with her brother Edmure's situation and could only fulfill her responsibility by warning her father.

After entering the Riverlands along the Kingsroad, they traveled for several days, enduring constant rain. Along the way, they began to encounter wine merchants, fruit vendors, prostitutes, craftsmen, wandering singers, bards, bakers, and others heading south to King's Landing. The King's Landing tournament would be a season of prosperity for various small-time merchants and peddlers, and a feast for their eyes.

In addition to these, there were also more knights, sellswords, thieves, robbers, comedians, and illusionists on the road. Rodrik Cassel was a skilled swordsman, but he was old, his hair and beard were already white, and he was too fat, making his movements clumsy. The more people flocked to King's Landing, the more dangerous the road became. On Rodrik's advice, Catelyn put on a hood to avoid being recognized. But even if Catelyn hadn't worn a hood, none of the Riverlands' vassals would have recognized her! She had become an ordinary woman, soaked to the bone and covered in mud.

After traveling for several more days, Catelyn encountered many Riverlands nobles on their way south to King's Landing. Many of the nobles did not recognize Catelyn. She had been a little girl in Riverrun in the Riverlands. Now, sixteen years after leaving Riverrun, that little girl had become the mother of five children. With Catelyn's hood concealing her face, she and Rodrik yielded to the side of the road each time nobles passed with their entourage of knights and attendants, and no one recognized her as Catelyn Tully—the eldest daughter of Lord Hoster of Riverrun, the wife of Lord Stark of the North.

The heavy rain made travel difficult. When the two arrived at the Trident River's ferry crossing, they were caught in a downpour. This was a crossroads. To the north was the road to Winterfell, to the south was King's Landing, to the west was Riverrun—where Lady Catelyn had grown up, her second home: her maiden home. To the east was the territory of her sister Lysa Tully: the Mountains of the Moon, a basin plain surrounded by mountains: the Vale.

The rain was too heavy. There was an inn at the crossroads that Catelyn knew well. She had been familiar with the innkeeper and his wife since she was a child. When Catelyn was a child, Lord Hoster often took her riding throughout the Riverlands. The inn at this crossroads was Lord Hoster's favorite place to drink, so Catelyn, who followed her father everywhere, was very familiar with it.

Catelyn still remembered the innkeeper's wife's name: Marsha Heddle.

They entered the inn, which happened to have two rooms left, and they were the worst two: beneath the bell tower. It would be very noisy because the bell was used to signal meal times, and the sound would be deafening. But there was no choice because the inn was full due to the downpour. Moreover, the innkeeper's wife, Marsha Heddle, whose hair had turned white and whose figure had grown stout, glanced at Catelyn's face and did not recognize her. In the past, Marsha had loved to make rose cakes for little Catelyn, and the two got along well. She was very fond of Catelyn.

The fact that no one recognized Catelyn made her feel safe. The inn's dining hall was filled with knights, sellswords, sirs, and attendants with swords at their sides. Many of them looked like they were not to be trifled with.

Catelyn and Rodrik went to their rooms to change into dry clothes, not coming out until it was time to eat, which would make them safer.

The steaming hot food was served. Rodrik waved away several singers, unwilling to spend a silver stag to listen to their caterwauling. He devoted himself to helping Lady Catelyn with the delicious food in front of her when the inn's front door was kicked open with a bang, and a boorish voice shouted, "Innkeeper, quickly find someone to help us feed the horses. Lord Lannister wants the best room, and send someone to heat water immediately. Our lord is tired from traveling and wants a hot bath."

Footsteps sounded, and a group of four entered the dining hall: an old man wearing the black garb of the Night's Watch. His expression was calm, like a quiet sword!

Two arrogant servants guarded a dwarf who barely reached their waists: the Imp, Tyrion Lannister. He had a large head, almost no neck, his head seemingly directly attached to his shoulders. His two malicious eyes were mismatched, one black and one green.

The innkeeper's wife, Marsha Heddle, hurried to greet him with a fawning smile: "My lord, I'm so sorry, there are no rooms left. This damned rain, plus the King's tournament, my little inn is already full, I'm so sorry, my lord!"

Tyrion Lannister smiled, allowing everyone's eyes to sweep over his small frame. He was used to people's strange looks. "Innkeeper, my two men can sleep with the horses. As for me, as you can see, I don't need a big room," he chuckled. "Half a man takes up the least space, I can assure you of that. So, as long as the fire is warm and there aren't too many fleas in the straw, a small place will do."

Marsha Heddle spoke in an embarrassed and anxious tone, "My lord, I really can't help it. It's all this tournament's fault, plus the downpour. There are already too many people in the inn..."

"Alright, I'll find a way myself!" The Imp took out a gold dragon from his pocket, tossed it high in the air, caught it, flicked it with his fingers, and launched it into the air again, catching it. Even Catelyn, sitting in the corner of the room, could see that it was shining gold. "Who wants to earn some extra coin? I believe there will be some smart people, won't there?"

A free rider wearing a faded blue cloak staggered to his feet, looking like he had drunk a lot of wine. He spoke slurringly, "My lord, if you don't mind, make do with my room."

"You're smart," the Imp tossed the gold coin over, and the free rider reached out and caught it in the air. "Your skills aren't bad either. I imagine your swordsmanship is also extraordinary." The dwarf turned to Marsha Heddle. "Innkeeper, the room problem is solved. As for the food, I think you should have no problem with that, right?"

A gold dragon, three months' salary for an ordinary soldier, was spent by the Imp just like that. He was even more generous when he saw a prostitute he liked.

"My lord, you can have anything you want," the innkeeper's wife assured him.

The Imp looked around at each table, hoping to scout the inn's dishes first. "My men can eat the same things as these people, but double the portions. As for me, first help me roast a bird, chicken, duck, or pigeon will do, and a jug of your best wine." He looked at the black-clad man who was as quiet and sharp as a sword. "Euron the recruiter, will you eat with me?"

"Of course, my lord, I'll eat with you," Euron replied.

The dwarf's gaze swept around, his mismatched eyes darting about. Catelyn quickly turned her head away, but it was too late. The dwarf smiled and strode over. "Lady Stark, what an unexpected surprise," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't get to see you in Winterfell."

"Stark... Lady?" Marsha Heddle said in a coarse voice. She looked at Catelyn and finally recognized her. "Please forgive my rudeness, my lady... Please forgive me. I should gouge out these eyes of mine for not recognizing you!" Marsha Heddle hurried over, took Catelyn's hand, and kissed the back of it.