"The Lannisters of Casterly Rock are all dead. Tywin's branch of the Lannisters is completely wiped out." The fat eunuch held up a sheet of paper and cried out in terror.
Clang. The copper kettle slipped from Jaime's hand and smashed onto the ground. Water gushed out, soaking a large patch of dirt. "How is that possible?"
"What did you say?" Tyrion asked, baffled.
"Your entire family is dead," Varys swallowed and said with difficulty.
"Fuck you. Your whole family got eaten by White Walkers." Tyrion cursed and rushed forward, snatching the paper.
Jaime leaned in as well.
After just one glance, both brothers frowned.
There were many characters on the paper, but they were all numbers, making their eyes spin.
"What is this?" Jaime asked urgently.
"It should be some kind of cipher, using numbers to encode text." Tyrion looked at the fat eunuch suspiciously. "Did you learn this from the Dragon Queen?"
"I invented this method of encrypting messages with numbers decades ago. The way you put it, I might as well think she learned it from me."
Varys muttered, then looked at the two Lannisters with worry and said softly, "The letter came from Casterly Rock. I also have little birds there. Hundreds in your family have died. The main line and the collateral branches close to it are almost entirely gone."
At the height of his power, the Eight-Clawed Spider had spies even in Qarth, the Dothraki Sea, and Slaver's Bay. Having one or two little birds in the great houses of the Seven Kingdoms was nothing unusual.
The greatest spymaster in A Song of Ice and Fire was Varys.
"You're joking, right?" Seeing the eunuch's serious expression, tinged with pity and reluctance, Tyrion's heart tightened sharply. He forced a smile uglier than crying. "I contacted Uncle Damian just a few days ago. I told him not to worry about the Dragon Queen and Stannis anymore.
He laughed and said he believed I didn't kill Uncle Kevan. He even said Aunt Genna's family would return from Riverrun to Casterly Rock in a few days."
Jaime said hoarsely, "Who could possibly take Casterly Rock? Could it be the White Walkers? That shouldn't be possible. Even they couldn't breach Casterly Rock instantly.
If they attacked, the mage Grom inside the Rock could contact Dragonstone immediately through the glass candle. Then the Dawn Warriors stationed at Harrenhal would rush to support at once."
"It wasn't the White Walkers. It was food poisoning. A mass food poisoning," Varys said.
"What? Are you joking?" The brothers' eyes nearly popped out.
"Your Aunt Genna is the wife of Count Aemon Frey of Riverrun, right?" Varys asked.
"Stop talking nonsense. Explain what happened at Casterly Rock first," Tyrion snapped irritably.
Varys spread his hands helplessly. "I already did. Including the fire mage Grom, a total of 874 people died at Casterly Rock.
It's that simple.
They were all poisoned at a banquet and died together. Even the maester died. The nature of the poison hasn't been determined yet.
My informants can't confirm whether it was an accident or deliberate poisoning by the Lannisters' enemies. There should be more news in a few days."
"Damn it!" Jaime's eyes stung. He slammed his fist heavily against the stone wall and choked, "This is all my fault. I should have returned to Casterly Rock immediately after the Battle of Winterfell."
Tyrion turned his head, wiping the tears from his eyes, and said hoarsely, "It's a good thing you didn't go back. At least we're alive. Cersei is alive. Myrcella is still in Slaver's Bay."
The two brothers lowered their heads and mourned for a while. Tyrion was the first to wipe his face clean and look up at the eunuch. "What were you about to say earlier?"
Varys hesitated, then said indirectly, "Have you heard about the dead appearing outside Riverrun?"
Tyrion rubbed his reddened eyes and shook his head. "I only know that White Walkers have appeared in the Riverlands."
Although Jaime had been digging tunnels, he had continuously received information from Varys and was not out of touch with the outside world.
He said, "The Dragon Queen's earlier judgment was correct. The Night King opened a second life and disappeared, but the White Walkers haven't stopped moving south.
They've shifted from large-scale assaults on cities to small-scale, wide-ranging infiltration.
In the North and the Riverlands, graves are being dug up in large numbers, and the dead are climbing out of the earth, swelling their ranks.
With so many wights, it's inevitable they leave traces. Many castles and villages in the Riverlands have reported sightings."
"In the past month, Riverrun has issued at least three White Walker alerts, but the Dragon Queen ignored them. The Dawn Warriors didn't move either," Varys said with a strange expression.
"I really didn't know that. Could it be because the scale was too small?" Tyrion asked.
Varys said meaningfully, "Riverrun is the capital of the Riverlands. The Anti-White Walker Committee, or more precisely the Dragon Queen, has neither sent alchemists there nor provided indulgences or dragonglass weapons.
If a White Walker army attacks Riverrun, it would likely fall within half an hour, just like Hearth's Home in the North. That's why your aunt's family left.
Most of the Lannister forces were lost at King's Landing, leaving Casterly Rock unprecedentedly empty. They would welcome any military support, especially since Lady Genna is of the main Lannister line."
"Why would the Dragon Queen specifically target my aunt?" Tyrion asked in confusion.
"It has nothing to do with Aunt Genna. It's Walder Frey," Jaime said with a bitter smile.
Varys glanced at him and nodded. "The Dragon Queen has mentioned many times that once the Battle of Meereen is over, she would return to Westeros to hold a grand council to settle the mess of the past twenty years."
"I know that," Tyrion said immediately.
Even Jaime was aware of her intentions.
"Now that the White Walkers are advancing south, gathering all the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms is nearly impossible. So some matters are discussed through glass candles and letters.
At that time, you were still in Slaver's Bay. The whole process lasted less than a week and ended early due to Walder Frey's lack of cooperation," Varys said.
"Stop beating around the bush. Just say what you mean," Tyrion said impatiently.
"This is how I speak. Do you want to listen or not? If not, I'll leave," Varys replied flatly.
Jaime seemed to understand something. "Go on."
Varys continued calmly, "The Kingslayer has become a Grey Cloak of the Iron Guard. The enmity between Jaime Lannister and the Targaryens is settled.
Next, the Dragon Queen turned her attention to the Red Wedding and the Purple Wedding.
The Purple Wedding already has a conclusion. Joffrey died in a conspiracy by the Queen of Thorns and Littlefinger. The Tyrells were destroyed by the Euron clan.
The Queen merely formally stripped the Tyrells and Littlefinger of their titles. Since they are all dead, the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms had no objections.
The Red Wedding should have been simple as well. Everyone knows what happened at the Twins. The problem lies in the Dragon Queen's judgment."
"The Dragon Queen's ruling was:
First, Walder must admit to violating guest right and betraying his liege, and publicly apologize to Winterfell before all the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms by sending a raven to each house.
Second, all the Freys who participated in the Red Wedding, including Walder himself, must commit suicide to atone.
Third, strip House Frey of the title of Lord Paramount of the Riverlands. The Twins remain theirs, but the family is reduced from marquess to landed knights. The surrounding lands are reclaimed by the Iron Throne, which will compensate the families of the victims.
Of course, before the Red Wedding there was also the sacred wedding. The Starks must also be punished. Robb broke the sacred marriage contract, and his crime is no less than Walder's.
First, Robb must also commit suicide to atone. At the same time, the current Lord of the North must publicly apologize to House Frey at the Twins before all the nobles.
Second, Winterfell must fulfill one wish of the Frey girl whose engagement was broken, in accordance with the Faith of the Seven.
Thus, the grievances between the Freys and the Starks are settled."
Tyrion twitched his lips. "That's fairly just, but for Walder Frey, it's probably hard to accept."
Jaime sighed. "He should accept it. The real value of the Twins isn't its lands or title, but its position as the only bridge over the Green Fork.
The Freys were indeed victims of Robb's broken vow. The Dragon Queen considered that and left them a foundation to rise again."
Varys sneered. "Walder Frey doesn't want to die, nor does he think he should give up his title. He says it was granted by the Iron Throne, and the Dragon Queen has no right to revoke it."
"Doesn't he know the result of the Battle of Meereen? To defy the Dragon Queen like that… he's got some nerve," Tyrion said.
Jaime shook his head. "That glass candle trial was just an experiment.
After the Dawn Warriors were established, it was used to demonstrate the system to the nobles and build confidence in the Anti-White Walker Committee.
Walder Frey understood that the Dragon Queen wouldn't truly care about his response.
He also realized her bottom line. By the time the Long Night ends and she settles accounts, he'll have been dead for years. House Frey won't face harsher punishment. By that calculation, he profits."
Varys sighed. "In fact, the Dragon Queen didn't send dragons to burn the city. She simply abandoned Riverrun completely.
No indulgences, no magical network, no dragonglass weapons, no aid from the Dawn Warriors."
"What does this have to do with the mass poisoning at Casterly Rock?" Tyrion asked hesitantly.
Although he was asking, his expression grew grave. Like Jaime, he already had a vague suspicion.
Varys said meaningfully, "So many people were poisoned, even the maester and the mage who managed the glass candle. It's because that day, Casterly Rock was hosting a banquet to welcome the Frey family from Riverrun.
The Dragon Queen refused to help Riverrun. The news from Winterfell was terrifying. Now small groups of wights are appearing outside Riverrun. The people inside couldn't sit still. Fleeing to Casterly Rock, which was building the third defensive line, was only natural.
The Freys brought five thousand Riverlands troops and a large amount of emergency grain. Of course there would be a celebration."
"And that old bastard Walder Frey brought his enemies to Casterly Rock as well?" Tyrion's eyes turned red, tears nearly falling again.
Varys's gaze flickered. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it's not collateral damage. The Lannisters have committed plenty of sins themselves, haven't they?"
"You've guessed who the culprit is?" Tyrion asked coldly.
Varys waved his hand as if brushing away something terrifying. "That's enough discussion. I'm just delivering the message. I don't want to get involved in your grudges.
More than eight hundred lives, gone just like that. A true harbinger of death. I'm afraid."
(P.S. After the Red Wedding, Walder Frey became Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, but his seat remained at the Twins. Riverrun belonged to Count Aemon Frey, the husband of Genna Lannister, Tywin's younger sister and Walder Frey's second son.
Strictly speaking, Tywin's generation is one level below old Walder.
This is similar to the North, where Roose Bolton became Lord Paramount, but his seat remained at the Dreadfort, while his son became the lord of Winterfell.
When Aegon attacked the Twins, Walder knew he couldn't resist and fled early with his direct descendants to seek refuge with his second son.)
(End of Chapter)
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