A very injured Lord Jon Lynderly departs from the Great Hall, and as the discussions between House Jasper and Lord Grafton continue my eyes settle on poor, kind, courageous Ser Dolins. He risked everything to defend the honor of this great house against this rotten man, and his bravery shall not be for naught. Inspired by his bold action, I slip out of the room and head towards the stables.

I successfully make my way into a horse stall without notice and busy myself tending to the horse inside. An hour later, the Lynderly men enter and prepare their mounts for departure. It isn’t long before their voices hush and mumbles of “…my lord…” can be heard from my work spot. I grab a horse pick and the horse’s back leg, facing the wall but listening closely. The men ride past, and when they approach the stable exit, I warg into Jon Lynderly’s horse, and rear back violently, slamming his head into the stone arch. The moment I hear the terrible crack, I return to my own form, and continue to busy myself with cleaning out the hoof in my lap. Moans and groans trickle out from the lord, and his men rush to him. “My lord!” “My lord!” “I’ve never seen his horse do that before!” I overhear. The smell of blood wafts through the stables, so I keep my head down, working on typical stable duties for just your typical stable hand until the men leave, and I can quietly leave.

Lord Theodore, Ser Dolins, Maester Thad and I gather at the Winter’s Reprieve as evening settles in. They express their grievances and regrets about the day, lamenting about the large sum of money that will be owed to House Lynderly. I stare into my stein of ale and say softly “Maybe House Jasper won’t have to pay it after all…I heard a rumor that Lord Jon Lynderly was thrown from his horse as he was departing the Grafton grounds and may be gravely injured.” The other look at me skeptically and question me about this “rumor” a bit before returning to their conversation about financial concerns. “Lord Teddy-may I suggest you return to House Grafton tomorrow to ‘send a letter’? Perhaps the Lord of the House will divulge some more information about the events of today and their consequences. We need not plan for our deal with House Lynderly if Jon is dead and he has no heir.” He ponders this with a small smile, mulling over the possibility of a dead Jon Lynderly, and agrees to gather more information.

Sadly, Lord Teddy shares at breakfast the next morning that Jon Lynderly survived the fall and secured a wheelhouse to return to Snakewood at once. Silently disappointed at this news, we board ‘The Jardon’ home to Castle Snakewood.