AFfC 31: Brienne 519

Brienne, Septon Meribald, Podrick Payne and Ser Hyle all walk across the sand to a sort of monastery called the Quiet Isle. They get well looked after. There are an awful lot of candles, which I am suspicious about because candles should be expensive. But it turns out they have beehives and probably make their own. Though I don't know how many bees you need to make a beeswax candle. Saltpans is visible from the Isle. We learn a lot about the atrocities there from the brothers.

The Elder Brother tells Brienne that it was not the Hound who raided Saltpans. In fact Elder Brother watched the Hound die. But he made the mistake of leaving his helmet to mark his grave, which was then stolen by some other outlaws and used to impersonate him. Elder Brother also tells Brienne that it is Arya who was with the Hound, not Sansa. Elder Brother thinks the new lord at Darry (Lancel) will sort out the outlaws, but this seems unlikely.

Brienne pledges to continue her quest to find Sansa.

AFfC 30: Jaime 501

Jaime turns up in Darry, now ruled by Kevan Lannister's son Lancel, who was injured badly in the Battle of the Blackwater. We learn that Jaime has sent Wylis Manderley to Maidenpool to return him to his dad Wyman for killing Davos, who I still think is probably not dead.

Lancel is nowhere to be seen and Jaime is entertained by Lancel's wife Amerei and her mother Mariya. Her father is none other than Merrett Frey who was hanged by the Yellowcloak guy and the reanimated Catelyn in the epilogue of the last book. They try to get Jaime to go after Beric's outlaws and The Hound who apparently destroyed Saltpans, but Jaime isn't having it. (They know it is the Hound because of his distinctive helmet. Now that sounds like as blatant a red herring as there ever was, and we know it's not very in character behaviour for the Hound to be raping and pillaging whole towns.) Jaime says it should be up to Lancel to defend the lands.

But Lancel is too busy hanging out in the chapel being pious and feeling guilty about killing Robert and spilling his seed on Cersei. Jaime finds out he confessed this to the High Septon, which explains why the High Septon is now dead. He also finds out that Lancel is planning to give up his Lordship and go and fight for the new High Septon, because Cersei has agreed to allow the new High Septon to take up arms. Jaime thinks it's odd that she would allow this, but does not seem unduly alarmed. But he also seems vague about his history.

Darry is where they were all staying on the way to King's Landing back in the first book, when Arya got in a fight with Joffrey. In a weird interlude, Jaime confesses to the mute Ilyn Paine that he has had relations with his sister and planned to kill Arya. It's odd how likeable Jaime is in these chapters considering his aggression towards Stark children...

AFfC 29: The Reaver 480

Victarion helps win the Shield Islands for his brother Euron, now the king of the Ironmen. The Shield Islands protect the inlet to the river that leads to Highgarden, so the Tyrells are going to be worried.

Euron is making everyone nervous with his madness: humiliating the defeated and selling them into slavery. But he has some political savvy, choosing as Lords of the captured islands those he wants to keep out of the way. He wants to go off in search of dragons and take over Westeros, and Victarion points out that it's a pretty difficult voyage for their longships. So he sends Victarion off on his own, in search of Dany, no less! What a match those two would make. She seemed to get on okay with the last crazed warlord she was married to, so maybe it is a match that could work. Euron certainly has more interest in Westeros than Drogo. And Dany could probably outsmart Euron enough to manipulate him. I think this plan just might work! Getting Victarion out of the way is pretty handy, too, since he wants Euron dead.

AFfC 28: Cersei 461

Cersei visits the new Great Septon who takes his faith annoyingly seriously. Baelor's sept is surrounded by sparrows: displaced faithful who are here complaining that the king is not protecting them from followers of Stannis's god. She agrees to overturn an ancient law against faithful taking up arms. The Great Septon is so keen on this idea that he forgives the crown all the debts. Cersei is very pleased with her cunning. Which means it is all going to turn out to be a huge disaster. Probably the newly armed faithful are going to either cause havoc throughout the kingdom or else just gain a lot of power and influence over the king by being able to physically threaten him. Or just replace him.

Until then, Cersei is more interested in plotting against Maergery, who is probably being incestuous with Loras, as if Cersei has a leg to stand on in that regard. I don't see her coming out on top there, either. I'm getting ready to almost feel sorry for her. And Jaime won't even be around to protect her from whatever comes next...

AFfC 27: Jaime 439

Cersei is sending Jaime to Riverrun to sort out the seige there, and he is not pleased about it On the journey he visits the Hayford's castle, whose son Tyrek disappeared in the Joffrey riots. Jaime is suspicious that Varys ought to have known those riots were likely but did not say anything. Interesting: perhaps we will learn of more games Varys was playing. Were he and Littlefinger ever seen in the same place?

Jaime practices fighting with his left hand with Ilyn Payne (because Payne can't talk and so can't tell people how bad Jaime is at fighting). I expect he'll get better off-screen and then surprise us all later by winning a fight.

Next Jaime meets Roger Hogg, another lord in a tower. I suppose there must be quite a lot of these minor lords living in draughty towers all over Westeros. I think I'd rather take being a commoner in a 21st century first world nation, thanks. At least no-one will turn up and start killing my sheep.

Jaime meets some "outlaws" and summarily hangs them and calls it justice. Nice.

Finally he ends up in Harrenhal and installs a new lord there. He also rescues Pia and Wylis Manderly who is only just alive. It's lucky he is because Cersei promised to send him to his dad as a reward for killing Davos a couple of chapters back. He also smacks Connington, Brienne's former betrothed, for insulting her, thus accidentally revealing that he cares about her.

AFfC 26: Samwell 423

Sam is in Braavos. Dareon has buggered off. Aemon is ill and probably dying. Gilly is still crying. All their money has been wasted on paying for transit on ships that they have missed and on medicine for Aemon. He wants Sam to find out about dragons, so Sam goes out carrying his sword, which on a Saturday night in Braavos is asking for trouble. Luckily Sam is rescued by none other than Arya. That's the second very cool total coincidence Sam has been caught up in. The gods aka GRRM really want Sam to meet up with all the various Starks. But Sam does not find out who Cat is and they part.

Sam finds Dareon in a pub of ill repute, but he is drunk and useless. Sam gets kicked out of the pub and into the canal for punching Dareon for abandoning him. He's not having a good day. He's rescued by Xhondo, who knows a thing or two about dragons.

AFfC 25: Brienne 407

Brienne, Pod and Hyle Hunt travel back to Maidenpool with the heads of the Brave Companions. Sam's dad is mildly impressed but tells Brienne to stop all that nonsense and put on a dress. But she wants to go off and find the Hound, who she thinks has Sansa. The Hound is supposedly with Lord Beric, and some new woman called Stoneheart, who is probably the resurrected Catelyn Stark. Ser Hyle must have taken a liking to Brienne, because he quits Tarly's service to go with her on her quest, which she obviously allows in the paragraph immediately after then one where she dramatically tells him he can't come.

They travel with a poor barefoot itinerant preacher, Septon Meribald, who turns out to be rather awesome. He knows his way around, he knows about giant packs of wolves roaming around led by Arya's wolf, he might be able to find Beric and company, and he poignantly narrates the plight of men broken by being taken from their villages to fight for lords. Of course his tale turns out to be autobiographical. He fought in The War of the Ninepenny Kings, which probably turns up in one of the novellas or short stories I haven't read yet.