Tyrion is exhausted, he has not slept even though he tried to doze by the old man's fire. He is too nervous and alert to the dangers all around him. Then, just before dawn, a man arrives, thick set and dangerous looking, his hands as big as rocks.

"I am Vardis," he says, glaring at Tyrion from beneath heavy eyebrows. "Friend of all who fight against the Lannisters. I curse all Lannisters!"

He spits dramatically on the floor, near Tyrion's foot. Tyrion swallows nervously. Now might not be the time to tell Vardis that he is a Lannister.

"Good, and do you know how to get into the Red Keep through the tunnel?" Tyrion asks anxiously.

"I should, I was a prisoner there for seven years."

From the look of him, things might not have improved much since then, Tyrion thinks, looking at the man's ragged clothes.

"I will give you gold if you can show me the way," he says standing up.

Vardis steps back in surprise when he registers Tyrion's size.

"I thought you had magic powers," Vardis says, "what do you need me for, when you can creep through places unseen?"

"I think you've been reading the wrong book, I'm afraid I have no magic powers, that's why I need you."

He crosses Vardis's hand with gold. Vardis nods in satisfaction and closes his huge hand around the coins.

"Come, we must go before the sun comes up."

Tyrion pulls his cloak about him and stifles a yawn. He follows Vardis out onto the street and they set off at a brisk pace. Tyrion must run to keep up with him. When they hear footsteps, they hide in the shadows between the buildings, watching some men walk past.

"The walls have ears," Vardis whispers in his ear dramatically. "They are probably looking for you already."

Tyrion is relieved when they are on their way again. Vardis cuts left and then right, his big lumbering frame fills the narrow alleyways and his footsteps are loud. Tyrion wonders how anyone can fail to hear him coming. He wonders if he can trust Vardis, or if he is leading him straight to Cersei, who will torture him to death. Tyrion is amazed that Vardis hasn't worked out who he is. How many dwarfs can there be in Kings Landing?

Vardis stops short and Tyrion almost bumps into him. Above them, Tyrion sees the Red Keep, rising out of the morning mist like a sinister reminder of all that he hates. But in there is Daenerys and he must find her and rescue her, even if it means confronting his sister again. He is prepared to kill Cersei if he has to.

Tyrion follows Vardis down another alley, but this time Vardis stops and points to an iron grate at the bottom of the wall.

"This is it," he whispers.

Out of breath and dreading the thought of what lies beyond, Tyrion watches as Vardis removes the grate.

"Come."

Vardis holds out his hand. Tyrion peers down into the dark depths reluctantly.

"Are you sure this is the way?" he asks apprehensively.

In reply Vardis grabs his hands and lowers him down through the gap. Tyrion kicks his feet in terror, feeling nothing beneath them, then suddenly Vardis lets him go. He tumbles through the air, falling, down, down, then just as quickly lands in deep water with an almighty splash. He comes up for air, gasping and spluttering as Vardis lands beside him, causing a tidal wave that sweeps him towards a dimly lit tunnel. Suddenly he is caught as Vardis grabs him and pulls him towards the edge and they clamber out. Coughing, Tyrion lies back on the cold stone, shivering with shock.

"Did you really have to do that?" he demands.

"It was the only way."

"But what if I couldn't swim?"

Vardis shrugs.

Tyrion sighs heavily and gets up. He tries to ignore the smell. He knows where they are, in the sewers beneath the city. If he doesn't die of shock, then he will surely die from an unpleasant disease. He spots a rat, scurrying away in the dark, and hurries after Vardis.

They walk for miles through endless tunnels, as the water cascades past them, only feet away. Sometimes it is so dark that he doesn't know where to walk. He stays close to Vardis, touching the wall with his hands, feeling his way. Then they stop.

"This is it," Vardis says, tapping the wall with his knuckles.

Slowly and very quietly, he starts to remove the stones one by one, placing them at Tyrion's feet. Soon the hole is big enough to crawl through.

"You can go first this time," Tyrion says wisely.

"Very well."

Vardis crawls through and Tyrion follows him. The air is cold and damp, but there is more light coming through a window at the far end of the corridor. Tyrion knows where they are, they are near the dungeons of the Red Keep. They are near to Daenerys. For the first time, Tyrion feels hope in his heart.

"Who goes there?"

A guard accosts them, appearing out of nowhere. Before Tyrion has time to draw his sword, Vardis knocks the man out cold with his huge fist. They hurry on, as Tyrion feels a chill in his soul as he remembers the night he killed his father. He remembers Shae in his father's bed-chamber, calling for her 'lion' before he strangled her with Tywin's chain. Sometimes revenge is not sweet.

Vardis stops, gesturing for Tyrion to be quiet. Ahead of them, there are voices, three men at least, maybe four. Tyrion watches Vardis pull out a dagger. Tyrion wants to tell him that they will be no match for them, but Vardis moves away from him, towards the voices. Tyrion grabs his dagger feeling his hand tremble as they approach the men.

Then Vardis is upon them, cursing as he violently attacks them. Tyrion steps in to help him and the dagger of dragon glass, cuts through the air, meeting its target with little effort from him.

They move on, taking the keys from the guard's belt. As Vardis deftly turns the key in the lock and the heavy door swings open, Tyrion knows that Daenerys is here. Beyond, lies the cells, the very same place he was incarcerated to await his trial.

Feverishly, he runs to the first cell looking through the bars, trying to make out who is slumped on the floor inside.

"Daenerys!" he calls in a stage whisper.

The bundle stirs, then sits up. It is not her. He runs to the next. Behind him, as the prisoners wake up, they start to plead to be let out. Tyrion wishes they would be quiet. Then, eventually, he sees her, chained to the wall, her face eerily pale in the dim light, her silver hair matted around her shoulders.

Vardis unlocks the cell.

"My Queen?"

Tyrion bends down beside her.

"Tyrion, is that you?"

"It is my lady."

She smiles at him weakly.

Vardis finds the key and releases her from her chains. Deanery's stands up feebly, holding onto Tyrion's shoulder for support. Tyrion helps her to the door of the cell, but they are slow, too slow. Before he can point this out however, Vardis lifts her onto his shoulder like she is a sack of grain and walks towards the exit. The prisoners clamour to be released, banging on their doors and shouting. Tyrion knows they will be discovered any minute. As they enter the corridor, they hear the guards coming. Vardis turns left suddenly, into a small annex and they hide there as a group of guards run by towards the cells. They creep out when the danger has passed and continue on their way, turning down familiar corridors, and crawling back through the wall into the sewers. Together they quickly fill in the hole with the stones. Just as they have finished they hear footsteps on the other side and freeze. Angry voices fill the air, as the noise of dozens of feet tramp backwards and forwards, searching for their enemy who appears to have disappeared into thin air.

When the danger has passed, Vardis tries to lift Deanery's onto his back again, but she fights him off.

"Unhand me sir," she hisses. "I can walk."

They retrace their steps back to where the sunlight streams through above their heads, the way back into Kings Landing, impossible to reach. Vardis gestures to the dimly lit tunnel, the one that Tyrion was almost swept into.

"It's a different way out," Vardis explains.

"Promise me, no more surprises," Tyrion insists.

"No problem, you told me you can swim little man!"

Vardis shoves Tyrion into the water before he can protest, and the current takes him, swirling around him, carrying him faster and faster down the tunnel, towards the light. He tries to grab the walls as they fly past, but it is impossible. Then suddenly he is spat out into a small bay, beneath the Red Keep and he swims for the shore, fighting the current that threatens to carry him out into the open sea. He climbs ashore panting and gasping. Minutes later he sees Vardis swimming towards him with Daenerys and he helps to pull her ashore. She slumps towards him and he puts his arms around her as they shiver together, trying to get warm.

"We must go," Vardis says, pointing to the Red Keep. "They will find us here."

"Wait," Daenerys says.

She struggles to her feet and puts her puts her fingers to her temples and closes her eyes.

"What is she doing?" Vardis asks.

"Summoning her dragon," Tyrion says.

Vardis laughs, an odd high-pitched sound that doesn't suit his huge frame.

"My dragon is near," Daenerys says urgently, raising her arms in the air and babbling in a strange outlandish language.

"Dragons and dwarfs," Vardis laughs, "I've heard it all now."

"Yes, but have you seen it?" Tyrion asks.

Vardis stops suddenly as he spots Rhaegal appear out of the clouds and swoop down towards them. With a high-pitched scream of terror, he runs away as Rhaegal lands beside them shattering several rocks with his gigantic claws.

"I don't think he likes dragons," Daenerys says as she climbs onto Rhaegal's back.

As Tyrion follows her, holding onto the creature's scales, he doesn't admit to her that he is afraid too. As they climb up into the sky, Tyrion looks down at the Red Keep getting smaller and smaller beneath them. He can't believe that he has saved Daenerys from Cersei. She will be so mad when she finds out that Daenerys is missing. He allows himself a smile.