The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 173: Venom (3 Updates, Seeking Subscriptions and Votes)

(Dear readers, my medication hasn't stopped, so your recommendations can't stop either!)

*

Eddard Stark was shocked. How much damage would such a large fire cause? He couldn't imagine!

The Seven Kingdoms had two granaries: one was the Reach in the south, belonging to House Tyrell; the other was the Riverlands, belonging to House Tully.

These two major granaries supplied King's Landing and the royal family with food, and through the royal grain tax, the food distribution to the Seven Kingdoms' citizens was re-adjusted. The North was freezing cold, and even in summer, many places had snow. Although the North's land was the largest in the Seven Kingdoms, its grain harvest was the worst. Most of the Northmen's food came from the Riverlands' granary.

Eddard Stark looked at the bright sky in the west, feeling as if the fire was burning him. He immediately went downstairs, called for the captain of the guard, Jory Cassel, and several trusted warriors, including guards Halwin, Harris, Hayhead, and Eryn. They went to the stables, fetched their horses, rode to the main street, and rushed out of town.

The gold cloaks on the main street saw the Hand of the King leaving the town in the middle of the night and dared not stop him. Wherever he passed, the gold cloaks quickly saluted: they held their spears in their left hands, pressed their right hands on their left chests, and bowed slightly to the Hand of the King.

Eddard led his family's guards out of town and ran into the Hound walking back. Neither side had a good impression of the other. They passed each other without any greetings or any conversation about the fire in the west.

Eddard Stark and his party left the town and immediately spurred their horses westward.

The sky, which appeared to be reddened by the fire, seemed close, but was actually far away. As they galloped, Eddard Stark's nostrils already caught the smell of smoke in the air.

In the night, the night wind also picked up.

*

The Hound returned to town, and the hidden pain in his arms gradually disappeared, but his chest began to ache faintly. He knew that this was due to the overwhelming force of the Mountain's greatsword strike. This minor injury would be fine after a few days of rest, but he had to fight the Mountain again tomorrow night, and this time he couldn't afford to fail. So, the Hound knocked on the door of the royal maester.

When King Robert went to the North to invite Eddard Stark to King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, to be the Hand of the King, he brought maesters with him, and more than one.

In this world, maesters were the all-purpose life consultants of kings and nobles: from healing to farming, from personnel appointments to military taxation, maesters were involved in everything.

The Citadel in Oldtown used to be the most important power controlling this country. Even the ceremonies of the king ascending the throne and being baptized had to be held at the Citadel in Oldtown, presided over by the maesters. In recent centuries, the Targaryen royal family's advocacy of the Faith of the Seven and the construction of the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing had taken the limelight away from them. However, every aspect of the lives of the people of the Seven Kingdoms was still inseparable from the knowledge of the maesters of the Citadel.

The power to appoint and dismiss the maesters around the kings and nobles also belonged to the Citadel in Oldtown. Even a king had no right to appoint or dismiss the Grand Maester in the court; he had to be granted power by the Starry Sept of the Citadel. More often than not, the Citadel in Oldtown directly exercised the power.

The maesters held a position of respect, but in the eyes of a character like the Hound, who was both righteous and evil, it was not necessarily the case.

The Hound knocked on the maester's door.

Maester Lucius stood at the door, wearing a thin white undershirt, looking at the Hound with surprise, and had no intention of letting the Hound into the room. The Hound reached out and gently pushed the maester's shoulder. The maester lost his footing and staggered back a few steps, opening the door.

The Hound came in and stopped. "Maester, help me take off my armor, thank you!"

Maester Lucius was a middle-aged maester with nine metal links on his collar, no more, no less, and his status was medium compared to the many maesters in the royal palace. He dared not disobey the Hound, so he swallowed his anger and took off the heavy plate armor for the Hound.

The Hound took off his dog-head helmet and removed his plate armor, feeling instantly relaxed.

"Maester, I have a hidden pain in my chest, help me take a look!"

"Ser, what caused it?"

"A heavy blow!"

"A heavy blow? A direct heavy blow to the chest?" Maester Lucius did not see any traces of a heavy blow on the Hound's chest plate armor.

"No, I forcibly blocked a heavy blow with my arms, but the force was too strong, as if I had taken a sledgehammer to the chest."

"Oh!" Maester Lucius undressed the Hound, pressed his hand on the Hound's chest bones, and asked the Hound how he felt. Then the maester brought some kind of medicinal liquid, smeared it on the Hound's chest, and crushed some herbs, giving them to the Hound with wine.

The Hound put on his clothes and indeed felt that the discomfort in his chest had been reduced by more than half. He took out a gold dragon and threw it on the maester's table. The gold dragon spun around and finally fell, with King Robert's head facing up.

"Maester, I want some venom."

Maester Lucius's face was shocked and uncertain. He said, "Ser, if you need venom, you must get the approval of His Majesty the King or Her Majesty the Queen."

The Hound drew the dagger from his waist and stabbed it into the table with a whoosh. He stared at Maester Lucius without saying a word.

Maester Lucius felt his mouth dry and his lips bitter. He smiled and said, "Ser, there are many kinds of venom..."

"Venom that can be applied to swords and crossbows, that can numb people as soon as it breaks the skin, causing them to lose strength in a very short time, but is not fatal."

"Not lethal venom?"

"No! But the venom must be able to make the opponent lose strength in a very short time. Is it difficult?"

"...Uh...not difficult..."

"Give it to me!"

"Ser, you don't need to go through His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen, but you need to tell the Grand Maester. Our venom is all registered, every bit and piece is quantified. Grand Maester Pycelle is in charge."

The Hound took a handful of gold dragons from his pocket. He slowly placed ten gold dragons on the maester's table. Maester Lucius's expression finally softened, and he smiled. "Alright, Ser Sandor, how much do you need? If it's too much, I really can't do it. As soon as we return to King's Landing, Grand Maester Pycelle will check our things."

"How much is needed for the tip of a sword and the head of a crossbow bolt?" The Hound said.

"Then, can I know who you are going to use it against? You don't have to tell me the name, I just need to know if he is a member of the court."

"The Mountain, the most heinous villain in the Seven Kingdoms. Are you relieved now?" The Hound said lightly.

Maester Lucius was relieved, but looked shocked on the surface. Then he picked out a small, finger-sized green willow-leaf bottle from dozens of bottles and jars and handed it to the Hound, saying solemnly, "Ser, I believe your honor will not lie. This green liquid has a very fast hallucinatory effect and causes muscle paralysis and loss of strength in the human body in a very short time, but it will not cause death. Apply it to the blade or the arrowhead, the green trace will disappear automatically, colorless and odorless. After you use it, throw the blade or arrowhead into boiling water for a few breaths to easily eliminate its toxicity."

"Thank you, Maester!" The Hound took the miniature bottle and put it in his pocket. "Is this venom poisonous if it drips on your hand?"

"As long as it doesn't break the skin and the venom doesn't enter the bloodstream, it's absolutely safe. Even if it breaks the skin and enters the bloodstream, the poisoned person can slowly recover in a few days."

"Thank you, Maester!" The Hound put on his armor and helmet again, then picked up all eleven gold dragons on the table and put them back into his pocket as a matter of course. While Maester Lucius stared in astonishment, the Hound bowed slightly to the maester, nodded in salute, and then strode away.