[Jon Targaryen]

Dany "could hear the dead man coming" up the stairs. She thinks to herself, "He died for me." Her Dothraki handmaidens tell her it is bad luck to touch a dead man, unless you have killed him yourself. ("It is known.") Dany thinks how silly their superstitions are; "they are children."

Grey Worm appears first, helping four others carry the dead man. They lay the corpse at her feet. The dead man is about 20 years old, and had been slit open from ear to ear. He is stabbed, with more wounds than she can count. Dany thinks that she has seen the man before, but had never spoken with him.

Dany learns that there was a harpy drawn on the wall in blood where his body was found. She thinks that this is typical of the Sons of the Harpy.

Dany asks why he was out alone -- her men are supposed to be out in pairs. She is told that he had been at a brothel. Dany is puzzled, since he was a eunuch, but learns he just liked to be held. A eunuch is still a man.

Someone says that they estimate 6 men had attacked him. He may have fought back; he was found with an empty scabbard. The reason his throat is slit was not part of the attack; he was found with a goat's genitals shoved down his throat, and Grey Worm removed it.

"I am still at war, only now I am fighting shadows," Dany thinks. She commands the Unsullied to find the killers -- to see if any man has been treated for injuries, to see where all these goat genitals are coming from -- detective work, essentially. They leave, and Selmy tells her that the Unsullied are good soldiers, but not good at this investigative work she's now assigned. Dany agrees, and asks whether the knights Selmy has been training could do any better. No, he admits, they are too young. She says her Dothraki cannot do it either, and that Daario is off negotiating [I missed with whom]. Dany realizes no one is suited to the task. [Editor's note: As someone pointed out, this paves the way for Tyrion to show up -- this is exactly his forte.]

Dany leaves the room and goes outside to see one of her dragons lazing under a tree. She affectionately calls him lazy and scratches him under the chin. His scales are warm. "Dragons are fire made flesh," she thinks. She realizes she hasn't been giving them the attenion they need -- and they've been growing so quickly. Soon they will be large enough for her to ride.

She goes inside to get dressed. She hates wearing the tokhar that is the style for the upper classes b/c it's a pain in the @ss. Wrapped too loosely, it falls off; wrapped too tightly, it's constricting. Even when wrapped just right, she has to hold it closed with her left hand. She wanted not to wear it, but was told that Mereen's queen must wear it, else she would not be accepted. She puts on a crown of three dragons, and it is heavy. She recalls that one of the kings Aegon had said that the crown should never rest easy on its wearer's head, "but which Aegon?" She has forgotten.

This causes her to think back on the slaying of her family and what her life would be like now had that not occurred. This in turn causes her to think of the slain slaves she encountered on the road to Mereen, and her response. She thinks that perhaps she did not go far enough. She notes that the former slave owners had quickly hired their freed slaves at slave wages. "To rule Mereen, I must win the Merenese, even if I hate them," she thinks.

She goes to see two Merenese men who advise her. They have changed their Mereen hairstyles; they are shaven. One tells her they've heard of the murder, and that she must seek vengeance. She should kill one man from each of the upper class houses, and at the next murder, she should kill two from each house. The other man advises against this. Dany thinks of the prophesy that she will be thrice betrayed, and wonders who will be the third. She tells the two men to offer 1,000 coins as a reward for info on the murderers.

Dany goes down to court, where she hears from countless people.

The first man offers her a gift of slippers from "the butcher king," [Cleon?] who proposes that they join forces to march on Yunkai. She regrets not having taken the city. She tells the man she will not ally.

A man named Histar is next to come froward, causing Dany to sigh, but think, "I need this man." He ia a wealthy Merenese. She says, "How many times have I refused you? Five?" He says yes. She tells him she knows his arguments well enough to recite them herself, would he like to hear? She then recites a list of reasons as to why she should reopen the fighting pits. When she finishes, he tells her, "You've convinced me!" Someone whispers in her ear that it is traditional to tax the pits at 10%, implying that this is a good source of revenue. She declines to reopen the fighting pits. As he leaves, she thinks to herself that, if she felt she must marry a Merenese, he would be a good choice.

The next to come forward is typical of the former slave owners, who think of all sorts of reasons they need compensation for losing their slaves. His theory is that his former slaves learned weaving from an old slave of his that died; they've now opened a shop, and he should get a portion of the profits. Dany asks him what his old slave's name had been; when he does not know, she makes him buy the shop a new loom and sends him away.

Many others come forward seeking redress for the looting and chaos that accompanied her capture of Mereen. Dany thinks, "I am queen of a city of dust and death." Selmy tells her she should let some of her councillors handle some of these matters for her, but she will not.

Many people are coming to seek money for their sheep allegedly eaten by her dragons. She knows that many are false claims -- her boys can't possibly be eating that much -- but she pays them all. From now on, however, they must swear an oath in the temple before seeking payment. All are dismissed, but one man remains.

The man is holding a sack, and has red eyes. He looks only at the floor. When questioned, he says he has bones, and dumps them on the floor. He says he was out in his field, and the green dragon came out of the sky. One guy impatiently tells him, yes, yes, we know, are you stupid, didn't you hear?, go get your money for your sheep and leave. Dany snaps at him -- "You fool, can't you see? Those are not sheep's bones." They are the bones of a child.

[Coykili]

i wonder how come in my book, it says the black one did it

[Jon Targaryen]

This spoiler was released at a reading before AFFC. George changed it.

[Summer]

So we agree on the "black one" being the killer... This bodes well for Dany

This post has been edited by Musashi: 06 December 2005 - 02:56 PM

[TheMalcolm]

Quote

Dany asks him what his old slave's name had been; when he does not know, she makes him buy the shop a new loom and sends him away.

He fails to remember the name exactly, but thinks it was something like "Elza" or "Ella". Sounds rather Westerosi, isn't it?
Could it be "Elia"?

[Mind Elemental]

Okay, so here's something that just occurred to me...

A coppersmith presents Dany with a suit of copper mail, which she thanks him for. However, she thinks that despite its prettiness, she would much rather wear steel mail instead if she were anywhere near a battle.

Could this be possible foreshadowing that she might reject a Martell alliance in favour of a Greyjoy one?

[roeh61]

To anyone who been reading this series for awhile:

I started reading this series AFTER AFfC came out, so i don't know how accurate these spoilers will be. My cousin, who suggested the series to me, seemed a little leary of them.

Anyone?

[Jughead of the Round]

I believe most of these spoilers will be very similar to the ones released in ADWD. GRRM has read them at conventions over the last couple of years, along with AFFC ones. The AFFC spoiler chapters he read turned out to be the same published.

The first Dany chapter was published in AFFC at the end, and the 2nd and 3rd were released with the first in a booklet promoting AFFC (this was before the split). The 4th Dany chapter is the oldest one here; it was originally thought to be the second, and now appears to be the fourth, but goes over info from the first 3 chapters as if it was new. I feel that it may have been revamped in the last 2 years.

From what we know of events in AFFC, the Jon, Tyrion and the Davos chapters seem pretty in tune. I don't think there's anything to be leary about. Sure, GRRM could change a few details here and there, (he recently stated he was going to go back and flesh out the first 5 Jon chapters in ADWD: wish he had read those!), but I think he won't be doing a complete overhauling at this point.

The 2nd Cersei chapter was an interesting example. He'd read it various time at conventions, but over the course of time added and took away details until it is what it is now. The general plot, actions, etc. remained the same, but the details were changed. (For example: he removed Cersei's coversation with Falyse and Balman Byrch about killing Bronn from that chapter to a one later in the book; and he added the fact that Rugen is missing and that Qyburn found an old Highgarden coin in his cell, but everything else stayed the same).

[Jon Targaryen]

GRRM also switched around Jaime seeing his mother to a chapter near the end of AFFC when it used to be in Jaime's first chapter. But most of the stuff you read here should be what you will see in ADWD.

[Ski the Swift]

Quote

he was found with a goat's genitals shoved down his throat

Shagga travelled across the sea? :dunno:

[MTGAP]

Mind Elemental, on Mar 29 2006, 03.28, said:

Okay, so here's something that just occurred to me...

A coppersmith presents Dany with a suit of copper mail, which she thanks him for. However, she thinks that despite its prettiness, she would much rather wear steel mail instead if she were anywhere near a battle.

Could this be possible foreshadowing that she might reject a Martell alliance in favour of a Greyjoy one?

A crap load of longships can come in handy, but Greyjoy ground force is very weak. If anything, this means she'll go for an alliance with Tyrion. He's her most powerful potential ally, being the heir to Casterly Rock (I suppose Lord of Casterly Rock now), except for the small problem that he'll be killed the instant he steps foot in Westeros.

[Atreides]

Yeah, but Dany has the unsullied+dragons to destroy land armies. She needs a method of transport more than another army. I think her most viable land alliance is Dorne-unweakened by war, and unlike Tyrion, Quentyn isn't despised for being a Kingslayer and Kinslayer.

[Mezeh]

Ski the Swift, on Mar 7 2007, 03.35, said:

Shagga travelled across the sea? :dunno:

He would do it in just the opposite way. :mellow:

[Robb19]

Musashi, on Dec 6 2005, 13.56, said:

So we agree on the "black one" being the killer... This bodes well for Dany

Why so?

[aspasia]

<<A coppersmith presents Dany with a suit of copper mail, which she thanks him for. However, she thinks that despite its prettiness, she would much rather wear steel mail instead if she were anywhere near a battle.

Could this be possible foreshadowing that she might reject a Martell alliance in favour of a Greyjoy one?>>

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Surely not every reference to metals has to somehow represent future narrative choices? It's just Dany not being an idiot: "Pretty mail, but damn, I'm not stupid enough to wear a soft metal to protect myself from hard metal edges".

Or perhaps every single thing that happens to Dany is ripe with Freudian overdetermination. In that case-- the shoes Cleon sends her have pearls on them, so the fact that she puts them on for a while but they pinch her toes must mean... hmmm... that she marries Victarion Greyjoy but finds the marriage too small for her feet?

Chortle.

This post has been edited by aspasia: 07 November 2008 - 11:49 AM

[Vendetto]

The greyjoys are the iron islands. Not steel. If going off of metals, same could be said of the starks, their crown was made from iron with 9? iron swords adorning it.

[Dingsda]

Just a small detail: The version of this chapter in my copy of AFfC and currently on George's homepage seems to contain a small error. When Dany and her handmaidens talk about the dead man, the text says: "Khal Drogo had given them [i.e. the handmaidens] to her, ...". (Bantam massmarket paperback edition, it's on the second page of the spoiler chapter in the back of the book and also on George's homepage: http://www.georgerrm...if-sample.html).

However, in AGoT it is her brother (with a little help from Illyrio) that gives the handmaidens as a wedding-gift to Dany: "Her brother Viserys gifted her with three handmaidens. Dany knew they had cost him nothing; Illyrio no doubt had provided the girls." (Bantam massmarket paperback, p. 103).

I know, just a small detail. Has this been emended or is there a way to let George know?

BRGDS
Dingsda

[Patrick Tully]

Dingsda, on Oct 26 2009, 09.03, said:

Just a small detail: The version of this chapter in my copy of AFfC and currently on George's homepage seems to contain a small error. When Dany and her handmaidens talk about the dead man, the text says: "Khal Drogo had given them [i.e. the handmaidens] to her, ...". (Bantam massmarket paperback edition, it's on the second page of the spoiler chapter in the back of the book and also on George's homepage: http://www.georgerrm...if-sample.html).

However, in AGoT it is her brother (with a little help from Illyrio) that gives the handmaidens as a wedding-gift to Dany: "Her brother Viserys gifted her with three handmaidens. Dany knew they had cost him nothing; Illyrio no doubt had provided the girls." (Bantam massmarket paperback, p. 103).

I know, just a small detail. Has this been emended or is there a way to let George know?

BRGDS
Dingsda

In the next Dany chapter in AGoT, their background is explained that they became slaves when Drogo destroyed their father's khalasar. So, they did come from Drogo, though he did not gift them directly to her.