Meg, Gendry, and Hot Pie were heading north, planning to eventually reach the Red Fork of the Trident River and then follow it west to Riverrun.
"So, this Mask guy said he would kill any three people you named, and you used up two of your names on minor Lannister guards when you could have named King Joffrey and ended the whole war?" Gendry asked Meg.
"Well, I had to kill Amory Lorch," Meg defended. "He saw me steal a letter. He had to die before he could tell Lord Tywin."
"Why didn't you just tell Mask to kill Tywin?"
Meg shushed Gendry. "Quiet. I hear singing."
Four men came down the road, singing "The Rains of Castamere."
"And who are you, the proud lord said,
that I must bow so low,
Only a cat of a different coat,
that's all the truth I know.
In a coat of gold or a coat of red,
a lion still 'as claws,
And mine are long and sharp, my lord,
as long and sharp as yours.
And so 'e spoke, and so 'e spoke,
that Lord of Castamere,
But now the rains weep o'er 'is hall,
with no one there to 'ear.
Yet now the rains weep o'er 'is hall,
and not a soul to 'ear."
One man carried a harp. The second had a sword in one hand and a dead duck in the other. The third had a bow. The last man didn't have a weapon at all, but he seemed to be the leader. He wore a red robe because he was a Red Priest, just like Melisandre.
Meg took out the dagger Mask had given her at Harrenhal. "Girl," the Red Priest said, "put up that blunt butter knife now, unless you're wanting to be hurt. Anguy here-" He indicated the archer. "Anguy could put three shafts through you before you could hope to reach us."
"He could not," Meg said. "You go on down the road. Just walk right past here, and you keep on singing, so we'll know where you are. Go away and leave us be and I won't kill you."
Anguy the archer laughed. "Lem, she won't kill us, did you 'ear?"
"I 'eard," said the guy with the sword.
"Child," said the priest, "put up your knife, and we'll take you to a safe place and get some food in your bellies. There are wolves in these parts, and lions, and worse things. No place for three children to be wandering alone. What are your names?"
"I'm Hot Pie," Hot Pie said at once.
"Aye, and good for you," the guy with the harp said. "It's not every day I meet a lad with such a tasty name. And what would your friends be called, Mutton Chop and Squab?"
Gendry scowled. "Why should I tell you my name? I haven't heard yours."
"Well, as to that, I'm Tom of Sevenstreams, but Tom Sevenstrings is what they call me, or Tom o' Sevens. The Red Priest is Thoros of Myr. This great lout with the brown teeth is Lem Lemoncloak. And young fellow me lad over there is Anguy the Archer. We belong to the Brotherhood Without Banners."
Meg remembered that the interrogators at Harrenhal had been asking about the Brotherhood Without Banners.
"Now who are you?" demanded Lem Lemoncloak.
Meg was not about to give up her true name as easy as that. "You can call me Squab, if you want," she said. "I don't care."
Lem laughed. "A squab with a sword," he said. "Now there's somethin' you don't often see."
"I'm the Bull," said Gendry, taking his lead from Meg. She could not blame him for preferring Bull to Mutton Chop.
Tom O' Sevens strummed his harp. "'Ot Pie, Squab, and the Bull. Where are you 'eaded?"
Hot Pie piped up eagerly. "We're lookin' for Riverrun," he said. "How many days is it, d'you know?"
Meg could have cheerfully murdered him.
"Riverrun is a long way upstream," said Thoros. "A long hungry way. Maybe you'd like a hot meal before you set out? There's a tavern not far ahead kept by a friend of ours. We could share some beer and a bite of bread, instead of fighting one another."
"A tavern?" The thought of hot food made Meg's belly rumble, but she didn't trust these guys. Not everyone who spoke you friendly was really your friend. "It's near, you say?"
"Two miles upstream," said Thoros. "A league at most."
"The innkeeper's name is Moe Syzlak," Tom put in. "'E 'as a sharp tongue and a fierce eye, I'll grant you that, but 'is 'eart's a good one, and 'e's fond of little girls."
"I'm not a LITTLE girl," Meg said angrily.
"Then you're the ugliest boy I've ever seen," Tom chuckled.
"Come with us," Thoros urged. "Moe won't harm you. There's Duff Beer, if you think you're old enough. Fresh bread and maybe a bit of meat."
"We'll come see this tavern," Meg conceded, trying to hide the doubt in her heart behind bold words.
So, they went to Moe's Tavern. Meg was the last to enter. She hesitated in the doorway, and she kept a hand close to the hilt of her dagger in case she didn't like whatever they found within.
Moe was a yellow-man just like Lord Homer Simpson. He glared at Meg, hands on hips. "Don't just stand there, boy," he snapped. "Or are you a girl? Either one, you're blockin' my door. Get in or get out. Lem, what did I tell ya about gettin' mud on my floor?"
"We shot a duck." Lem held it out like a peace banner.
Moe snatched it from his hand. "Anguy shot a duck, ya mean. Take your boots off, are ya deaf or just stupid?"
"You've got excellent customer service here," Gendry commented.
They all sat down at the bar. Moe poured them some beers and then he went into the back room to cook the duck.
While they waited for the meat to come out, Thoros told the kids more about their organization. "We were sent with Lord Beric Dondarrion to punish Gregor Clegane for ransacking the town of Gravity Falls. But then King Robert died and Joffrey became king. Now the Lannisters were in control of the country. Suddenly Gregor was the one with authority on his side, and we were the outlaws. But as long as we still live, we won't stop fighting him."
Just then some other members of the Brotherhood came into the bar, dragging a captive with him. The captive was Sandor Clegane, the Hound! Meg remembered how he had threatened her the day of the tournament. And he recognized her too. "What in seven hells are you doin' with the Griffin bitch?" he asked, revealing Meg's identity to all.
