Contents
THE WINDBLOWN
Overview
Quentyn Martell, posing as Frog among the Windblown, marches from ruined Astapor toward Yunkai and recalls the butchery there, including Cleon’s corpse-king reveal. He and his friends plan to desert for Daenerys, but the Tattered Prince preempts them, ordering a Westerosi detachment led by Pretty Meris to feign defection to Daenerys.
The ploy keeps the Windblown’s options open while placing Quentyn closer to his goal, raising stakes around loyalty, honor, and survival before a true clash with Meereen.
Summary
Rumors sweep the Windblown camp that Daenerys is marching south as the company strikes camp to ride from burned Astapor toward Yunkai. Quentyn Martell—called Frog, squire to the big Dornishman the sellswords dub Greenguts—keeps his identity hidden while hearing lurid tales of Daenerys and weighing his charge to wed or win her. Along the road, the company mocks Yunkai’s chaotic commanders, highlighting their folly and fragility.
Quentyn recalls the recent battle at Astapor: roused at dawn, the Windblown and allied forces shattered Astapor’s new, untested “Unsullied,” whose courage collapsed after Caggo slew their figurehead, the undead Butcher King Cleon, spilling worms from cleaved copper scales. The slaughter leaves Quentyn shaken as he recognizes the boys behind the bronze caps, reinforcing his resolve to avoid fighting Daenerys.
By night, Quentyn and Gerris debate desertion to reach the queen before the real war begins. They fear the Tattered Prince’s reprisals and the brutal Pretty Meris, and weigh timing and terrain for escape. Before they can act, they are summoned to the command tent, where a gathering of Westerosi sellswords and senior captains signals a pivotal order.
The Tattered Prince announces Yunkai’s command to push flux-ridden Astapori refugees away, then secretly tasks a Westerosi detachment—led by Pretty Meris—to ride wide of Yunkai, contact Daenerys’s patrols, and feign defection. He outlines believable grudges to sell the ruse, keeping the Windblown’s options open with both sides. Quentyn, Gerris, and the big man are folded into this ploy, moving them toward Meereen and Quentyn’s perilous “dragon hunt.”
Who Appears
- Quentyn Martell (Frog)Dornish prince disguised as a squire; recalls Astapor, plans to reach Daenerys, and is swept into a feigned defection.
- Gerris DrinkwaterQuentyn’s friend and protector; counsels delaying desertion until safer ground, joins the ruse to defect.
- Arch (Greenguts, the big man)Massive Dornish fighter posing as a knight; beloved by sellswords, supports Quentyn, eager for the ‘dragon hunt.’
- The Tattered PrinceCommander of the Windblown; orders a Westerosi unit to feign defection to Daenerys to hedge the company’s bets.
- Pretty MerisRuthless Westerosi sellsword; appointed to lead the defection party, her presence intimidates Quentyn.
- Caggo (Corpsekiller)Ferocious captain with a Valyrian arakh; slew undead Cleon, reinforces the Windblown’s brutal reputation.
- Denzo D’hanWarrior bard and captain; endorses the prince’s strategy to keep all options open.
- Hugh HungerfordSour serjeant maimed for theft; questions the mission’s purpose and risks of betrayal.
- Dick StrawWindblown sellsword and rumor-monger; doubts Daenerys will trust them, notes Meris’s notoriety.
- Lewis LansterCompany’s best archer; quickly seeks departure timing for the defection mission.