The Sworn Sword

The boy is in a prickly mood today. He had hardly said a word since they set out. Dunk gave Thunder a touch of the spur and soon caught the mule. "Are you angry that I did not take your part against Ser Bennis yesterday?" he asked his sullen squire, as they made for the next village. "I like the man no more than you, but he is a knight. You should speak to him with courtesy".

"I'm your squire, not his", the boy said. "He's dirty and mean-mouthed, and he pinches me".

If he had an inkling who you were, he'd piss himself before he laid a finger on you. "He used to pinch me, too". Dunk had forgotten that, till Egg's words brought it back. Ser Bennis and Ser Arlan had been among a party of knights hired by a Dornish merchant to see him safe from Lannisport to the Prince's Pass. Dunk had been no older than Egg, though taller. He would pinch me under the arm so hard he'd leave a bruise. His fingers felt like iron pincers, but I never told Ser Arlan. One of the other knights had vanished near Stoney Sept, and it was bruited about that Bennis had gutted him in a quarrel. "If he pinches you again, tell me and I'll end it. Till then, it does not cost you much to tend his horse".

"Someone has to", Egg agreed. "Bennis never brushes him. He never cleans his stall. He hasn't even named him!"

"Some knights never name their horses", Dunk told him. "That way, when they die in battle, the grief is not so hard to bear. There are always more horses to be had, but it's hard to lose a faithful friend". Or so the old man said, but he never took his own counsel. He named every horse he ever owned. So had Dunk. "We'll see how many men turn up at the tower… but whether it's five or fifty, you'll need to do for them as well".

Egg looked indignant. "I have to serve smallfolk ?"

"Not serve. Help. We need to turn them into fighters". If the Widow gives us time enough. "If the gods are good, a few will have done some soldiering before, but most will be green as summer grass, more used to holding hoes than spears. Even so, a day may come when our lives depend on them. How old were you when you first took up a sword?"

"I was little, ser. The sword was made from wood".

"Common boys fight with wooden swords, too, only theirs are sticks and broken branches. Egg, these men may seem fools to you. They won't know the proper names for bits of armor, or the arms of the great Houses, or which king it was who abolished the lord's right to the first night… but treat them with respect all the same. You are a squire born of noble blood, but you are still a boy. Most of them will be men grown. A man has his pride, no matter how lowborn he may be. You would seem just as lost and stupid in their villages. And if you doubt that, go hoe a row and shear a sheep, and tell me the names of all the weeds and wildflowers in Wat's Wood".

The boy considered for a moment. "I could teach them the arms of the great Houses, and how Queen Alysanne convinced King Jaehaerys to abolish the first night. And they could teach me which weeds are best for making poisons, and whether those green berries are safe to eat".

"They could", Dunk agreed, "but before you get to King Jaehaerys, you'd best help us teach them how to use a spear. And don't go eating anything that Maester won't".

The next day a dozen would-be warriors found their way to Standfast to assemble among the chickens. One was too old, two were too young, and one skinny boy turned out to be a skinny girl. Those Dunk sent back to their villages, leaving eight: three Wats, two Wills, a Lem, a Pate, and Big Rob the lackwit. A sorry lot, he could not help but think. The strapping handsome peasant boys who won the hearts of highborn maidens in the songs were nowhere to be seen. Each man was dirtier than the last. Lem was fifty if he was a day, and Pate had weepy eyes; they were the only two who had ever soldiered before. Both had been gone with Ser Eustace and his sons to fight in the Blackfyre Rebellion. The other six were as green as Dunk had feared. All eight had lice. Two of the Wats were brothers. "Guess your mother didn't know no other name", Bennis said, cackling.

As far as arms went, they brought a scythe, three hoes, an old knife, some stout wooden clubs. Lem had a sharpened stick that might serve for a spear, and one of the Wills allowed that he was good at chucking rocks. "Well and good", Bennis said, "we got us a bloody trebuchet". After that the man was known as Treb.

"Are any of you skilled with a longbow?" Dunk asked them.