Contents
TYRION — Chapter 58
Overview
The pale mare fells Yezzan, leaving Tyrion, Penny, and the brutalized Jorah exposed to deadly fates if their master dies. Exploiting chaos, Tyrion engineers a covert escape and confronts Brown Ben Plumm, wagering his identity and usefulness to win protection. The move gambles on Second Sons’ shifting loyalties.
Summary
A healer confirms Yezzan has the pale mare; Sweets frets that their master must live, since favored slaves are often killed to follow him in death. Tyrion notes Yezzan’s recent support for peace but sees his swift decline and the Volantene fleets’ approach. He decides they need water—and a way out.
Sent by hostile slave-soldiers to fetch well water, Tyrion, Penny, and the caged, beaten Jorah are allowed out due to Yezzan’s gilded collars. On the march, Tyrion observes the Yunkish camp arming against dragons and recalls true dragon vulnerabilities. At the crowded well, rumors swirl about Daenerys’s fate; Tyrion stays cautious, insisting no corpse was found, and reflects on bondage’s insidious normalcy.
Returning with heavy pails, Tyrion veers off, guiding them away from smoke and toward his real goal. He reflects on Penny’s naïveté and reveals (to the reader) that lions were likely meant to kill them in Daznak’s Pit. Over Penny’s protests about punishment and their animals, Tyrion presses on, saying this is their best chance.
Near the Second Sons’ lines, guards seize them. Recognized as Yezzan’s dwarfs, they are hauled before Brown Ben Plumm. Tyrion argues Yezzan is dying and asks for their collars off, warning of contagion and leveraging his identity, Plumm’s Westerosi ties, and the unreliability of Cersei’s rewards. He offers Jorah as a fighter and himself as a valuable ally.
Kasporio the Cunning and the paymaster Inkpots challenge Tyrion; Jorah names them and demands a sword. Tyrion counters with promises of generosity, citing past allies, and proposes cyvasse and wine as he prepares to talk Plumm into sheltering them, gambling on the Second Sons’ pragmatism and Plumm’s appetite for advantage.
Who Appears
- Tyrion LannisterEnslaved as Yollo; engineers escape amid Yezzan’s illness; leads Penny and Jorah to Brown Ben Plumm, bargaining with wit and identity.
- Brown Ben PlummCaptain of the Second Sons; hears Tyrion’s pitch to take them in; cautious, pragmatic, weighing profit and risk.
- PennyFellow dwarf performer; fearful and loyal to their animals; follows Tyrion despite terror of punishment.
- Ser Jorah MormontBeaten, caged, and sullen; freed to carry water; follows Tyrion and is offered as a fighter to the Second Sons.
- SweetsHermaphrodite favorite of Yezzan; tends the dying master; terrified of post-mortem slaughter of favorites.
- Yezzan zo QaggazObese Yunkish master struck by the pale mare; his imminent death imperils his treasured slaves.
- Kasporio the CunningSecond Sons officer in a pink doublet; hostile and eager to cut down Tyrion, challenges his value.
- InkpotsSecond Sons paymaster; skeptical but attentive to Tyrion’s claims and promises.
- ScarBrutal slave-serjeant under Yezzan; refuses to fetch water and asserts dominance over fellow slaves.
- MorgoSlave who unlocks Jorah’s cage at Scar’s order; escorts them to fetch water.