The next morning, Garon woke at his usual hour.
After washing up and tidying himself, he dressed quickly, fastened his longsword at his waist, and stepped out of his chamber.
Today, he would accompany King Robert, Ned Stark, and the others into the Wolfswood as a guide for the royal hunt.
And just as Garon was preparing to head toward the stables, Tyrion Lannister erged from his own chamber looking thoroughly exhausted, his face full of the weariness of a drunken night.
The two exchanged smiles and nodded in greeting.
"Good morning, Lord Tyrion," Garon said with amusent. "Why are you awake so early? Don't tell you plan to join the hunt as well."
Tyrion yawned heavily.
"Hunt? Absolutely not."
He rubbed his temples and complained bitterly:
"After last night, I would rather battle a dozen wildlings than sit atop a horse all morning."
"I arranged to borrow so books from Maester Luwin today instead."
Garon's eyes shifted slightly, and he smiled.
"I happen to be heading toward the stables, and the Maester's Tower is on the way."
"Why don't we walk together?"
Tyrion naturally had no objections.
Thus, the two walked side by side through the long corridors of Winterfell while chatting casually.
"To be honest," Tyrion said suddenly, "your performance last night truly opened my eyes."
"A Kingsguard knight dying beneath your sword…"
He shook his head with exaggerated disbelief.
"Even in King's Landing, that would beco the talk of the realm."
"I suspect if you ever travel south, the noble ladies of court will line up outside your chamber in the middle of the night."
"Even the girls in the brothels would probably refuse to charge you."
Tyrion grinned mischievously with his usual vulgar humor.
Although they had only t a few tis, Tyrion found himself increasingly fond of Garon.
It was difficult to explain.
Perhaps it was because Garon treated him with genuine respect instead of mockery or pity.
That sort of treatnt was rare.
Outside of Jai, almost no one had ever treated Tyrion that way.
Garon raised an eyebrow and laughed.
"Then perhaps I should avoid King's Landing altogether."
"Otherwise, wouldn't the brothel owners hate to death for stealing their business?"
Tyrion burst into laughter.
"The man who owns half the brothels in King's Landing is Petyr Baelish."
"He always finds a way to squeeze gold dragons out of everyone."
At the ntion of Littlefinger, a strange glint flashed through Garon's eyes.
Still, he maintained a relaxed smile while continuing the conversation.
"You sound deeply resentful, Lord Tyrion."
"It seems Lord Baelish has taken quite a few gold dragons from you over the years."
Tyrion snorted dramatically.
"Well, who can bla when the girls he employs are so… talented?"
His face flushed slightly as if recalling yesterday's indulgence.
"Seven hells, thinking about it now almost makes want another round."
Garon was montarily speechless.
Fortunately, Tyrion quickly changed the subject himself.
"In truth, I'm more interested in books today."
"The legends of the North fascinate ."
"The Others, giants, Children of the Forest…"
Tyrion spread his hands.
"The South is far too civilized. The North still feels ancient."
"Then Maester Luwin certainly won't disappoint you," Garon replied.
"In the North, tales about giants and Others are practically endless."
As they continued speaking, the Maester's Tower gradually ca into view.
Garon stopped walking and pointed ahead.
"That's the tower."
"You only need to climb those stone steps."
"We'll speak again tonight if the opportunity arises."
Tyrion nodded with a grin.
"Enjoy your hunt."
"And when you return, I expect to see enough prey to justify all this excitent."
Garon laughed.
"I'll do my best not to disappoint."
He watched Tyrion slowly climb the stone steps before finally turning away and continuing toward the stables along another corridor.
Several minutes later, Garon arrived.
The stablehands were already hard at work.
Well-fed horses stood ready, while servants hurried back and forth preparing tack and supplies. So of the horses were already being led toward the training yard.
Given Robert's royal status, he naturally would not co personally to the stables. The hunting party would assemble in the training yard before departing together through the Hunter's Gate.
Garon looked around briefly before quickly spotting Roger and the other Deepwood Motte guards gathered near one corner.
"Roger!"
The n imdiately approached upon hearing his voice.
"My lord!"
Garon nodded.
"Mount up."
"We'll wait for the King and Lord Stark at the Hunter's Gate."
Without wasting ti, Garon accepted the reins of a black horse from a stablehand and swung himself smoothly into the saddle.
Roger and the others mounted as well and followed behind him.
Not long afterward, they arrived before the Hunter's Gate.
Garon pulled lightly on the reins and looked toward the vast expanse of the Wolfswood stretching endlessly beyond Winterfell.
The forest remained unchanged as always.
Dark.
Silent.
Ancient.
At the sa ti, Garon silently calculated the timing in his mind.
Soon enough, the sound of approaching hooves echoed behind him.
King Robert, Ned Stark, Joffrey, Robb, and the rest of the hunting party arrived before the gate.
Robert imdiately noticed Garon and laughed loudly.
"Well, if it isn't our champion of trial by combat!"
He reined in his horse before Garon and grinned broadly.
"The Wolfswood belongs to House Glover, does it not?"
"You'd better not let your King return empty-handed today."
Garon bowed his head slightly.
"I would never disappoint Your Grace."
"Good!"
Robert laughed again.
"Yesterday I witnessed your swordsmanship."
"Today, I want to see whether your horsemanship and hunting skills are equally impressive."
With that, Robert spurred his horse forward first.
The Baratheon retainers and knights followed closely behind him, along with Joffrey and Sandor Clegane.
Ned called out calmly behind them.
"Move out!"
The Stark n and northern retainers imdiately followed as well.
Behind the mounted nobles trailed servants, cooks, carts of provisions, and barrels of wine, all heading toward the designated hunting grounds within the Wolfswood.
Garon rode alongside Robb as the hunting party entered the forest.
At the sa ti, he subtly noticed sothing important.
Neither Jai Lannister nor Theon Greyjoy had joined the hunt.
A faint smile slowly ford on Garon's lips.
"Jai is still following the sa path as before…"
"And Theon…"
"It seems he truly took the bait."
Garon glanced back toward Winterfell in the distance, anticipation rising quietly within him.
"The curtain is about to rise."
His smile deepened slightly.
Beside him, Robb misunderstood Garon's expression completely.
Thinking Garon was eager to impress the King further during the hunt, Robb imdiately felt competitive spirit surge within him.
"Garon!"
"Let's compete today!"
Garon looked toward him with amusent.
"A competition?"
Robb grinned.
"Let's see who hunts the most prey before sunset."
Garon laughed.
"And if I win?"
Robb thought for a mont before answering:
"If you win, I'll tell you one of Sansa's secrets."
"And if you lose…"
Robb hesitated briefly.
"You owe one favor."
Garon imdiately agreed without hesitation.
"Deal."
"Then prepare yourself, Robb. You're definitely losing."
Robb laughed loudly.
"We'll see about that!"
anwhile, back in Winterfell, Bran Stark was once again climbing the castle walls with great effort.
By the ti he reached the top, the royal hunting party had already disappeared into the Wolfswood.
Bran looked disappointed for only a mont before his eyes shifted toward the Broken Tower nearby.
The ruined tower stood taller than the surrounding walls and offered a far better view.
After only brief hesitation, Bran began climbing again.
At almost the sa mont, Theon Greyjoy quietly slipped into the Broken Tower from the lower level.
He carefully checked his surroundings.
Seeing no one nearby, he secretly climbed higher toward the upper floors.
Not long afterward, Jai Lannister and Queen Cersei also arrived exactly as expected.
The twins rely glanced around briefly before embracing one another intimately without the slightest concern for being discovered.
Together, they ascended higher into the ruined tower.
Soon, Cersei's faint, suppressed moans echoed softly through the ancient stones.
And above them all, Bran continued climbing upward.
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