The Spurned Suitor

Quentyn Martell (Copyright by FFG)

Gerris Drinkwater returns from an errand. He says he was succesful and that the lowlife he visited took his gold. He trusts that the message he gave him is delivered safely. In an advice to Quentyn, he says that when Barristan the Bold tells you to run, you should run, but Quentyn declines the chance, saying that he won't accept defeat. He weighs the thought for a moment, but the image of his father's disappointment is more than he can bear. The talk shifts to the happless guy who tried to kill Drogon in the arena. Half the city sees a hero in him, the other half despises him. Quentyn believes that he can succeed in taming the dragons. After all, he has Targaryen blood in him and traces his lineage back long enough.

They leave soon after to their destination. It turns out that they want to meet Pretty Meris. They don't encounter any problems entering in the safe house they were named, and in the cellar, they meet not only Pretty Meris and two of her men, but the Tattered Prince himself. The mercenary is surprisingly calm, scolding them lightly for deserting him. He goes on with a monologue about being cheated by the Dornishmen, and not being able to trust them. Between his lines, Quentyn tries to offer him a treaty. He wants the services of the Windblown. He offers to pay them in Volantis and the rest in Dorne. Again, the Tattered Prince goes on about their trustworthiness. In the end, they settle down to the price of Pentos, which the Tattered Prince wants for himself. Quentyn then reveals what for he needs the services of the Windblown: he wants to steal a dragon.

This is one of the shortest chapters so far. It is only a setup, and I don't get the point of it, to be honest. Its contents could have been done in some flashback scenes like we have seen them so often now in the next Quentyn chapter. It doesn't really give us much insight about Quentyn more than that he is proud and lets his pride get the better of him, fearing failure with the irrationality of a young man. His idea of taming the dragons without the least knowledge, just by power of his blood, is utterly supid. Daenerys, who gave birth to them, wasn't able to control them. His plan and the empty phrases about that the deaths of their companions mustn't be in vain show that Quentyn in the end lives in a song, like his companions as well, and that none of them is prepared to meet reality. A shame they lost their maester, he seems to have been the only thinking member of the group.

Other than that, we get some tidbits about the culture and the contempory moods. Meereen is a city divided between the old citizens, who despise Dany and everything she stands for, and the new citizens and former slaves, who worship her. It's a civil war waiting to happen. In regard to the Tattered Prince, we once again see the casual brutality that is common in company of these men when he tells the story of their cook, whom he cut off a foot due to his desertion.