[DRAGONSTONE, DRAGONSTONE KEEP]
[Davos moves some ships around on a model map of Westeros as Matthos looks on. Stannis enters with Melisandre.]
"How did it fare with your pirate?"
"Salladhor Saan will join our fleet. 30 ships. His men know how to fight."
"In my experience, pirates prefer fighting unarmed men."
"Does seem the wiser choice."
"It won't be a choice this time. Do you trust him?"
"Salladhor Saan is an old friend, I've known him for 30 years. I've never trusted him. But once he gets the smell of gold, he never stops."
"Well if he does his job, he'll have his share. Leave us."
"At once, Your Grace."
[Davos walks away, followed by Matthos. As Matthos passes her, Melisandre stops him.]
"The Lord of Light shines through you, young warrior."
Oberyn let out a soft sound of discontent. Those fucking R'hllor worshippers.
[She then whispers something in his ear. When she is done, Matthos and Davos leave the room.]
"What did you say to him?"
"I told him death by fire is the purest death. These armies are but toys for the Lord of Light."
"Tell your lord to burn them then."
"I tell him nothing! I pray for his commands and I obey."
"Maybe it's time we stop praying and start demanding" Stannis muttered, hard eyes on the wall and then on his surroundings.
"My little brother has a hundred thousand men according to the scouts. Men whose allegiance rightly belongs to me."
"There is no rightly belonging, brother. Men serve who they believe in" Renly said simply. "You may not like it, but you have to earn their trust, not expect them to give it to you. Like I have earned theirs while you sat like a recluse away from them."
"Had I Storm's End as I should have had, they'd be following me, not you" Stannis challenged.
"Perhaps" Renly shrugged., "Or they'd still choose me because I understand them better than you ever could."
Stannis ground his teeth but said no more.
"You must have faith."
"Faith? In a real war, the side with the greater number wins nine times out of ten."
"Then we must be the ten."
"I cannot defeat my brother in the field, and I can't take King's Landing without the men he stole,"
Renly spat a being called a thief.
"I have seen the path to victory in the flames. At first, you must give yourself to the Lord of Light."
"I've said the words, damn you! I burnt the idols."
"You must give... all of yourself."
"Not creepy at all" Jon Snow muttered.
[Melisandre disrobes next to Stannis. He looks over and then looks away.]
Multiple brows were raised.
"I have a wife. I took a vow,"
"That might be one of the only things I respect about you brother, your insistence on vows" Renly mused out loud.
"She's sick. Weak. Shut away in the tower. And she disgusts you. And she's given you nothing. No sons. Only stillborns. Only death."
"She gave him me!" Shireen argued, genuinely hurt by her words.
Stannis brought her close. He said nothing but the gesture alone was enough of a comfort for the girl.
"I will give you a son, my King."
"A son?"
Shireen frowned. It was no surprise that he'd want a son. They all wanted sons. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Knowing she wasn't enough.
[They begin kissing. Melisandre takes off what remained of her clothes. Stannis lays her on the table and they begin having sex, knocking many of the wooden models off of the table.]
"Guess you're as much a man as I am brother" Robert chuckled.
"We had to see this" Renly said in disgust.
"Shut up, both of you," Stannis said stiffly. Even he was embarrassed by this.
Q. What does Craster do with the boys born to his wives?
A) Kill them himself
B) Sell them to the Thenns
C) Sacrifice them to the White Walkers
D) Throw them in the snow to die in their own.
"What the hell! None of these options are good? The newborns die in each one of them" Brandon the elder cursed
"C) Sacrifice them to the White Walkers" Jon Snow said
"Did you see this as well?" Robb asked to which Jon could only nod grimly.
[BEYOND THE WALL, CRASTER'S KEEP]
[Jon is sitting by a fire. He hears a noise and looks behind himself, seeing Craster walking away from the camp with a baby. Jon gets up to follow Craster and investigate, and walks into the woods. He begins hearing strange noises and hides when he sees Craster walking back, without the baby. When Craster is out of sight, he runs in the direction Craster came from. He sees a figure lean down and pick up the baby. He is then startled by Craster, who puts his hand on Jon's shoulder, and then knocks Jon out.]
Congratulations to Jon Snow for the right answer. He gets the Geralt of Rivia swordsmanship inheritance the knowledge and experience of the Wolf School style of swordsmanship.
If nobody liked Craster before, they certainly didn't like him now. The room erupted in chaos, most pointing out that Craster was feeding the White Walkers his sons, about how inhuman of it was. And some were protesting that he hit Jon, mostly Robb and Arya with Lyanna adding her silent fuming to the mix.
"As if fucking his daughters wasn't enough, he's serving his sons to the enemy!" Brandon the Elder snarled. "How is this man still alive?!"
"Perhaps him giving his sons to the White Walkers has kept him alive" Ned suggested, equally angered. "There were stories of-"
"I don't mean that!" Brandon snapped, "Why have the Night's Watch not flayed him like a Bolton?!"
"That... I don't know" Ned confessed with a frown.
"The matters of the Night's Watch is on the Night's Watch... but it is distressing to see they've fallen this far" Rickard Stark frowned deeply. He knew Jeor Mormont to be a man of honour. Was this what honourable men were reduced to now?
"When you return you will have words with Benjen" Lyanna hissed to Ned.
"Aye..." Ned muttered. He would have anyway, but he didn't know what that would accomplish. The Night's Watch was a separate entity from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, they governed themselves.
"Jon who is this Geralt of Riveria whose skills you got!" Arya asked
"The strongest fighter Westeros could never produce" Jon Snow replies truthfully as right now the moment he assimilated Geralt's skill and knowledge he feels the difference between the him before and the him now is really vast.
The current Jon Snow doesn't even need a sword to kill anyone other than the Night King.
"Really is he that strong!?" Arya aaked excitedly.
"It's not just his strength Arya, I even inherited his instincts which he refined in his long life." Jon explained
"Than how about the two of us spar tonight, I want to train the skills of my future self that I inherited as well." Arya whispered lightly so that her parents don't hear her.
"Sure but make sure you don't get caught by your mother or father when you come to me tonight." Jon Snow replies in barely audible tone.
Arya nods her head repeatedly with bright smile on her face than turns back to the screen as the video starts playing again.