Brienne
For the hundredth time, Brienne wished that Podrick hadn't managed to lose their horses. Arya had been assumed dead for nearly two years, and until the previous day, Brienne hadn't hoped to find any trace of the younger Stark girl, but then there Arya was, standing amid the rocks with Sandor Clegane of all people. The Hound had fought well. Not nobly or honorably, but well, and she had felt no small measure of satisfaction at defeating him. He had probably used every dirty trick at his disposal, but she could respect that, in a way. However, her joy at winning had been short-lived when she realized that Arya had used her preoccupation with the fight to run off. Podrick thought he saw the direction the girl had taken. It turned out he had been wrong, and no tracks led that way, so they had doubled back and found the spot where the Hound had landed. Small footsteps, like those belonging to a young girl, led away from his fallen form, so that was the way they were traveling now. On foot, carrying all of their gear and sorely missing their horses.
They trudged along, carrying their satchels and looking for any trace which might indicate which way Arya had gone. However, the mossy rocks didn't betray much in the way of tracks, so Brienne began to think that they should head back towards the Bloody Gate and the Eyrie, seat of House Arryn and home to Arya and Sansa's Aunt Lysa. Lady Catelyn had confided in Brienne that her sister was a troubled woman and not necessarily to be trusted completely, but that she would most likely be willing to help find the girls, if only in a small way. At this point, Brienne hoped that the Lady of the Vale would be willing to provide food, shelter, and possibly horses to speed them on their way. She had never been to the Vale before, nor had Podrick, apparently, so neither of them knew what to expect.
As they came to the top of a rocky bluff, she let out a breath and shook her head. There was a small patch of grass on the southern facing slope, warmed by the sun and graced by two horses contentedly eating their fill. She pointed their errant mounts out to Podrick, who seemed even more relieved than she was to see the horses again, although she suspected his relief had more to do with his dutiful nature than with the fact that he was unaccustomed to traveling long distances on foot.
The horses still wore their saddles, and she and Podrick made quick work of fastening their bundles and satchels and bedrolls in place once more, so before too long they were riding again.
"Milady, do you see that harbor?"
She noted where he was pointing and nodded. "Yes. What of it?"
"Do you think that Lady Arya might have taken ship there?"
"Why would she when her aunt's home is so close?"
Podrick shook his head. "I don't know, my lady, but it isn't far out of our way, and this may be where Arya was heading. We could at least ask if anyone at the docks has seen her. If they haven't, we can still go to the Eyrie afterwards."
She sighed. "Very well." She turned her mount's head toward the harbor and spurred her horse onwards.
After they reached the harbor, it didn't take long to find someone who had seen a girl matching Arya's description.
The dock worker, a grimy and heavily muscled man named Karlan, scratched his belly absently while he spoke. "Aye, she was here. She wanted to take ship up to the Wall, but weren't none of us goin' that way. The last captain she talked to come up from Kings' Landing an' was headed for Braavos. Dunno what they said, but she boarded his tub a few hours back, just 'fore he cast off at midday."
Brienne and Podrick shared a look. "Are there any other vessels bound for Braavos?"
"Mebbe." The man gave a greasy smile. "What's in it fer me?"
Brienne reluctantly took a silver stag coin from her purse and held it out for the man to see, but made sure to keep it just out of his reach. "If you show us to a ship bound for Braavos and we are able to book passage aboard it, I will pay you for your kind service." Ser Jaime had given them two bags of coin to aid in their search for Sansa, but Brienne didn't mean to spend it rashly. She was loth to waste it on someone who stood a good chance of either being mistaken or trying to lead them astray, either through greed or for more sinister reasons.
Karlan's eyes glinted unpleasantly at the sight of coin and he nodded, his gaze never leaving the silver in her grasp. "Easy enough. Wait here."
Podrick spoke up as their new friend turned and walked down the dock. "Are we bringing the horses along, my lady, or shall I find a stable to care for them?"
"Bringing them along, I should think. We will need to move quickly if we hope to find Lady Arya. Besides," she gave him a sideways glance and a small smile, "the horses seem to enjoy wandering away from you."
Her squire ducked his head and mumbled an apology. Although she had never had, or in fact wanted, a squire before, she was growing to like Podrick. Despite an abysmal first impression and that farce with the rabbit, he was proving to be more useful and better company than she had expected him to be, especially considering that he had previously squired for the Imp. Jaime's younger brother had a notorious reputation, first as a debauched drunk, then as a kin and Kingslayer, so she hadn't wanted to travel with a close associate of such a man, much less trust him with her life. However, Podrick learned fairly quickly, did as he was told and always addressed her respectfully, and when he did disagree with her, he did that respectfully as well. His knowledge of the ruling families had led them to the Vale, and to Arya. There was no denying that he was an odd boy, but then, she had always been something of an odd girl, so in a way they were well-suited.
Brienne held her hand out for the reins to his horse. "See if you can find us something to eat. I'll mind the horses and wait here for news about our passage."
Podrick nodded, handing the reins over, and set off in search of food. She watched him go, and was jostled by someone hoisting a crate.
"Oi, we're tryin' ta work 'ere! 'Nless you're getting on or getting off, shift yerself an' the horses."
She moved back towards the harbor steps, leading their horses off of the dock. "Apologies. I'll leave you to your work." Never mind that the man had collided with her, Brienne felt herself foolish for getting in his way. She had grown up on the island of Tarth in the Stormlands, so she knew how important it was to not interfere with the loading and unloading of ships in port. She found a disused crate by the harbor steps and moved to sit on it. It would be easy enough for both Podrick and the dockworker who had seen Arya to find her again, and now she wasn't underfoot.
Podrick returned before too long, having found a vendor selling roasted fish on spits, as well as one who dealt in animal feed. After giving Brienne one of the fish, he put grain in the horses' nosebags and set out a bucket of water for them to drink from. Brienne watched him absently as she dug in to her meal. He pet the horses, speaking softly to them as they munched their grain, and then began to pare an apple with his small knife.
Unlike the courser Ser Jaime had given her when they set out from King's Landing, which was a fine bright chestnut mare, the horse Podrick rode was far from a lord's mount. It was a dark brown, nearly black gelding, and hardly better than a stot, which seemed to explain why it had given him so much trouble on their journey, leaving the road at every opportunity to munch on grass and weeds. She had attributed that to Podrick being an inexperienced rider, but as time went on it became clear that the mount's hunger was more of a problem than the rider's ineptitude. The poor beast was a shade too thin, and more interested in grazing than plodding along at a good pace. Whenever they made camp near grass and low shrubs, the nag seemed content, and she suspected that was why it had run off while they slept on the rocky lowlands; to find food. She had mentioned these thoughts to Podrick, and now the boy had devised a new way of keeping them close.
"If I can't hobble them well enough, maybe feeding them their fill will stop them running off again." He nodded at a small sack of feed as he set it aside and sat down to eat his own fish.
"Maybe," She agreed, watching with some amusement as Podrick's horse moved a bit closer to them and started snuffling through its nosebag at the apple he was holding. The animal's large head gently butted against Pod's shoulder, surprising the boy, and it pawed the ground with one hoof. It seemed her squire's plan was working all too well; now that his horse realized that Pod was all too willing to feed it, the beast couldn't seem to get close enough. "Just be sure you don't feed them too much. They won't be any use if our saddles won't fit around their bellies."
"Yes, my lady." He gently scratched under his mount's bridle as he ate one-handed. He undid the feedbag and slipped a few bits of apple into it before fastening the strap again with an awkward smile. "At least I know what to call him now."
Brienne finished her last mouthful of fish and wiped her hands on her padded surcoat. "Oh?"
The boy gave a pleased smile. "Beggar."
Brienne nodded and filled her cup from the horses' water, looking the newly-named 'Beggar' over. "It suits him. I haven't given mine a name." She had thought about giving her mare a name related to flame, since it was a bright chestnut, but had reconsidered when thinking of fire reminded her too keenly of Stannis' worship of the eastern fire god. She would not wish to ride an animal which reminded her of Renly's murderer. Unlike Beggar, her mare was sedately munching at her nosebag, eyes half-closed while she ate and tail absently twitching flies away. "I'll call her Ahne."
She caught sight of Karlan hurrying over to them and stood to meet him. "Well?"
He was red-faced and puffing for breath when he reached them. "There's a ship leaving for Braavos within the hour. They're taking passengers, but I don't know about the horses."
"Lead us to it." She looked back at her squire. Judging from how happy he was to have Beggar snuffling at his shoulder and whickering, it seemed as though the boy had never had a pet of his own. "Podrick, lash the feed bag to your saddle and bring the water."
"Yes, my lady." He quickly got to his feet and began fastening a wooden lid atop the water bucket.
Karlan led them down the docks to a large ship whose captain smiled at them and gave a slight bow as they approached. They exchanged greetings and one of the crew started to lead Beggar and Ahne up the gangplank. At her quick nod, Podrick followed to keep an eye on their mounts and sparse luggage. Negotiating payment for their passage was a simple enough matter, and once she had paid Karlan his silver stag, they were ready to continue their search across the Shivering Sea.
