Contents
DAVOS — Chapter 30
Overview
Davos, imprisoned in the Wolf’s Den, is secretly extracted by Robett Glover to meet Wyman Manderly. Manderly reveals Davos’s public execution was staged to appease the Freys until Wylis returned safely.
With testimony from Wex, Manderly claims a Stark boy and direwolf survived Winterfell, and offers Stannis his strength if Davos smuggles the heir back from a perilous northern island.
Summary
Davos wakes in the Wolf’s Den unsettled by a break in routine and the absence of breakfast, fearing at last for his hands and head. He reflects on his letters to his family and the grim threats of his turnkey Garth, until a stranger unlocks his cell.
Robett Glover leads Davos through secret passages beneath White Harbor to a private chamber, where Lord Wyman Manderly waits amid the sounds of a feast welcoming his heir Wylis. Manderly explains Davos’s supposed execution and displayed head were a ruse to satisfy the watching Freys while Wylis was hostage. Now that Wylis is returned, Manderly admits he feigned loyalty to protect his city from Frey and Lannister retribution.
Manderly details the Boltons’ and Freys’ lies and crimes, especially Ramsay’s atrocities, and the pressure to attend the Bolton wedding at Winterfell. Surrounded by spies, he has built ships and musters strength but cannot declare openly. He insists Stannis needs a smuggler, not a king, and brings in Wex, Theon Greyjoy’s mute squire.
Through gestures and drawings, Wex contradicts the common tale of Winterfell’s fall, implicating Ramsay in the slaughter and revealing that two Stark boys and two direwolves left the ruins alive. He shadowed a woman and a boy departing separately from the others and indicates their destination on a northern map.
Manderly sets his price: if Davos can secretly fetch back Ned Stark’s son and the direwolf from a notorious, deadly island, White Harbor and its strength will declare for Stannis. Davos recognizes the peril of the voyage and the place’s cannibal tales, yet understands the stakes and the bargain before him.
Who Appears
- Davos SeaworthPrisoner in the Wolf’s Den; secretly freed; learns his execution was faked; tasked to smuggle a Stark heir home.
- Wyman ManderlyLord of White Harbor; staged Davos’s death; denounces Frey/Bolton lies; offers support for Stannis at a steep price.
- Robett GloverGuides Davos through secret passages; presents Wex; supports Manderly’s plan to retrieve a Stark boy.
- WexMute former squire to Theon; witnessed Winterfell’s fall; indicates a Stark boy and direwolf survived and fled to an island.
- Ser BartimusOne-legged gaoler; recounts Wolf’s Den history; helped maintain Davos’s false death.
- GarthGrim turnkey; threatens torture and execution; emblem of Davos’s feared fate.
- TherryYoung turnkey; brings comforts and wine; talks freely with Davos.
- Wylis ManderlyHeir to White Harbor; recently returned from captivity, enabling Manderly’s open maneuvering.
- Jared FreyFrey envoy at White Harbor; suspicious observer Manderly must placate.
- Rhaegar FreySmirking Frey nephew; potential bridegroom to Manderly’s granddaughter; symbol of Frey pressure.
- Symond FreyCoin-clinking Frey; has bribed Manderly retainers; part of the watchful Frey contingent.
- Wylla ManderlyBold granddaughter; publicly defended Stark loyalty during the staged condemnation.
- Wynafryd ManderlyGranddaughter; knowingly played along at court; now dancing with her Frey betrothed.
- TheomoreManderly’s maester; distrusted due to Lannister ties; cannot be confided in.
- Lady Leona WoolfieldDaughter-in-law; joined the public denunciation of Davos out of fear for Wylis.