Eddard Stark was shocked. How much damage could such a fire cause? He couldn't even imagine!
The Seven Kingdoms have two granary regions: one is the southern Reach plain, which belongs to House Tyrell; the other is the Riverlands plain, which belongs to House Tully.
These two granaries supply food to King's Landing and the royal family, and through the royal family's grain tax, the distribution of food among the people of the Seven Kingdoms is redistributed. The North is frigid, and even in summer, many places are covered in snow. Although the North has the largest land area among the Seven Kingdoms, its grain harvest is the worst. Most of the food for the people of the North comes from the granaries of the Riverlands.
Eddard Stark looked up at the bright western sky and felt as if the fire was burning him. He immediately went downstairs, summoned Captain Jori Caesar, and several of his trusted warriors, including Halwin, Harris, Hayward, and Elin, and went to the stables to fetch horses. They rode out onto the main street and hurriedly left the town.
When the soldiers in gold robes on the street saw the prime minister leaving town in the middle of the night, they dared not stop him. Wherever he went, the soldiers in gold robes quickly saluted: they held their guns in their left hands, pressed their right hands to their left chests, and bowed slightly to the prime minister in respect.
Ed led his family guards out of town and ran into the Hounds walking back. Neither side had a good impression of the other, and they passed each other without exchanging greetings or discussing the fire in the west.
Eddard Stark and his party left the town and immediately set off westward at full speed.
The sky, reddened by fire, looked close, but in reality, it was far away. As he raced forward, Eddard Stark could already smell the smoke and fire in the air.
As night fell, the night wind picked up and began to blow.
*
The Hound returned to town, the dull pain in his arms gradually subsiding, but a faint ache began to throb in his chest. He knew this was due to the overwhelming force of the Mountain's greatsword strike; such minor injuries would heal in a few days of rest. However, he was to fight the Mountain again the next night, and this time he absolutely could not afford to fail. So, the Hound knocked on the door of the Royal Maester.
His Majesty the King went to the North to invite Eddard Stark to serve as Hand of the King in King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, accompanied by maesters, and more than one of them.
In this world, scholars are the all-around life advisors to kings and nobles: from treating illnesses to farming, from personnel appointments to military and tax matters, scholars are involved in everything.
Oldtown's Citadel was once the most powerful force controlling the nation; even the king's baptism and ascension to the throne were conducted there by the maesters. In the last century, the Targaryen royal family's embrace of the Seven Gods and the construction of Baelor's Great Cathedral in King's Landing overshadowed this tradition. However, the knowledge of the maesters of the Citadel remains indispensable to every aspect of life for the people of the Seven Kingdoms.
The power to appoint and dismiss the scholars serving the king and nobles also belongs to the Oldtown Academy. Even the king, though noble, has no right to appoint or dismiss the Grand Preceptor in the court; this power must be granted to the king through the Starry Sanctuary in the Academy. More often than not, the Oldtown Academy exercises this power directly.
The status of a scholar is highly respected, but in the eyes of a morally ambiguous character like the Hound, it is not necessarily so.
The hound knocked on the scholar's door.
Scholar Lucius stood at the doorway, dressed in a thin white undergarment, looking at the hound with surprise, showing no intention of letting it into the room. The hound gently nudged the scholar's shoulder, causing him to stumble back several steps, clearing the doorway.
The hound entered and stopped: "Scholar, please remove my armor, thank you!"
Scholar Lucius was a middle-aged scholar with nine metal plates around his neck—no more, no less—and of average status compared to the many scholars in the palace. He dared not disobey the hound, so he swallowed his anger and removed the heavy plate armor from it.
The hound took off its helmet and plate armor, instantly feeling much lighter.
"Scholar, I have a dull ache in my chest, could you please take a look?"
"Sir, what caused this?"
"Heavy blow!"
"A heavy blow? A direct blow to the chest?" Scholar Lucius did not see any marks of a heavy blow on the hound's chest plate armor.
"No, I forcefully blocked a heavy blow with both arms, but the force was too strong, it felt like I was hit in the chest with a heavy hammer."
"Oh!" Scholar Lucius unbuttoned the hound's clothes, pressed his hand against the hound's chest bones, and asked how the hound felt. Then the scholar brought some kind of liquid, applied it to the hound's chest, crushed some herbs, and gave them to the hound along with some wine.
The Hound dressed himself and indeed felt much less discomfort in his chest. He took out a golden dragon and threw it on the maester's table. The dragon spun around and finally fell over, with King Robert's head facing up.
"Sir, I need some venom."
Scholar Lucius looked surprised and said, "Sir, you need the approval of His Majesty the King or His Majesty the Queen to obtain the venom."
The Hound drew his dagger from his waist and slammed it into the table with a whoosh. He remained silent, staring intently at Scholar Lucius.
Scholar Lucius felt his mouth was dry and his lips were bitter. He chuckled and said, "Sir, there are many kinds of venom..."
"The venom can be applied to swords and crossbows. It can numb people and cause them to lose strength in a very short time after breaking the skin, but it is not fatal."
"Not lethal venom?"
"No! But the venom must be able to incapacitate the opponent in a very short time. Is that difficult?"
"...Uh...it's not difficult..."
"Give me!"
"Sir, you can bypass His Majesty the King and Queen, but you must inform the Grand Master. Our venom is all registered, and every single drop is quantified. Grand Master Paisell is in charge."
The Hound pulled a handful of golden dragons from his pocket and slowly placed ten of them on the maester's table. Only then did Maester Lucius's expression soften, and he smiled broadly. "Alright, Sir Sandor, how many do you need? If it's too much, I really can't do it. As soon as we return to King's Landing, Grand Master Pycelle will inspect these things."
"How much is needed for the tip of a sword and the arrowhead of a crossbow bolt?" the hound asked.
"Then, can I know who you're going to use it against? You don't need to tell me the name, I just need to know if he's someone from the court."
"The Mountain, the most notorious villain in the Seven Kingdoms. You can rest assured now!" the Hound said calmly.
Scholar Lucius felt relieved, but outwardly appeared astonished. He then picked out a small, finger-sized green willow-leaf bottle from among dozens of bottles and jars and handed it to the Hound, saying solemnly, "Sir, I believe your honor is not a lie. This green liquid has a rapid hallucinogenic effect and can cause muscle paralysis and loss of strength in a very short time, but it will not kill. Apply it to the blade of a sword or the arrowhead, and the green mark will disappear automatically. It is colorless and odorless. After you use it, simply boil the blade or arrowhead in hot water for a few breaths to easily eliminate its toxicity."
"Thank you, Scholar!" The Hound took the tiny vial and put it in his pocket. "Will this venom be poisonous if I drop it on my hands?"
"As long as the skin is not broken and the venom does not enter the bloodstream, it is absolutely safe. Even if the skin is broken and the venom enters the bloodstream, the poisoned person can recover slowly after a few days of rest."
"Thank you, Scholar!" The Hound put his armor and helmet back on, then picked up all eleven golden dragons from the table and casually put them back in his pocket. To Scholar Lucius's astonishment, the Hound bowed slightly, nodded in respect, and then strode away.