August hugs the walls of the Snakewood Keep closely, and skulking around, I overhear two men, calling each other Lord Lynderly and Lord Frey, within the walls. In authoritative tones they argue, “Lord frey I mean no offense…”, “Again Lord Lynderly, I must say the men we’ve brought to your service are of the highest quality…”, “Lord Frey it truly comes down to a simple matter of gold…”. These names seem like they could carry valuable weight, but before I can hear anymore, a rock hits my hind quarters and I’m shooed away.

I race through the village until I stumble upon what appears to be auxillary barracks full of sell swords, at least a few dozen. One of the soldiers pets my ear, and treats me with kindness so I jump on the opportunity and nudge him inside so I can get a look around. There are many more soldiers inside, closer to one hundred, and the stink of the building overwhelms my canine senses. After taking in the view, an older soldier with a sigil of a white fist on a purple field painted on his shield kicks me out.

After leaving the barracks, I fortunately run into Carsen, who fills me in on his and Jardon’s misadventures while we were separated. While pretending to pat my head, he whispers that Jardon killed a Lynderly and he’s been unable to escape the gates. I respond with a low growl, and feel the frustration of not being able to yell my displeasure at their foolishness to him in Westerosi bubble up. Instead, I lead him to the market place where, with Carsen in his Entertainer’s garb, we put on an impromptu performance (creating an alibi for the archer, no doubt). After making 22 silvers, I spy a set of stairs guarded by only one soldier and give Carsen a look.

Carsen introduces us to the guard and offers an private performance in exchange for a viewing of the lands beyond from the walls. We tumble and dance a bit for the oaf, and I think to myself we might need to tighten up this performance for future plots or distractions. Atop the wall, Carsen and I eye each other_-now what_? Standing behind the guard I prepare to take a hearty chunk out of his calf when Carsen proposes he pay for a picnic before this lovely view of the Lynderly lands. I close my jaws and question this plan. A quick trip over the side of the walls would’ve been a lot faster, but I am delighted to see Carsen pull a load of rope from his knapsack as soon as the guard begins to descend down the stairs. He ties a knot around my furry middle and miraculously lowers me to the ground. I try to wriggle free once I reach the bottom, but resort to crawling forward to slip the knot off my back legs. As soon as I turn around however, I hear the guard above and know he’s returned to the scene. I flop to the side, and make a dramatic show of letting my tongue hang out the side of my mouth, playing dead. Carsen clearly picks up on the act, I hear him above fake crying over his “beloved dog’s fall to his death”. I wait for a hopefully dead guard to join me below but he never comes, and the voices above fade.

The archer did me a great kindness by raising me to the ground, but now that he is stuck inside, I am troubled by how to regather our group to escape. House Jasper may need a miracle if we ever want to get out of Snakewood.