Clogg and his pirates were standing in Tsarmina's throne room at Kotir with their three human prisoners. One look at the wildcat queen was enough for Tyrion to know he disliked her. She reminded him of Cersei.

Tsarmina eyed Clogg scornfully. "Why have you brought your worthless mob of sea scum to my castle?"

Clogg indicated Tyrion, Varys, and Jorah. "M'lady, I bring you these three… I'll guess we'll have to call them men, for want of a better word. These three men are followers of Daenerys Targaryen."

"Daenerys Targaryen?" Tsarmina cried. "Where is she?"

Clogg grinned. "Ah, I see you're acquainted with her. She's holed up at Fort Marshank."

"Marshank? Isn't that Lord Badrang's domain?"

"Not anymore," Clogg said. "The dragon bitch killed Badrang and took the fortress and the slaves for herself. She's planning to form the animals there into an army to conquer Westeros. But if we move fast, we can get the jump on her."

"Why should I work with you?" Tsarmina demanded.

"You've got soldiers, and I've got ships," said Clogg. "My Seascarab is moored by the river not far from here, along with another ship that I stole off some otters. If we team up, we can sail to the Eastern Coast and take revenge on Daenerys together."

Tsarmina smiled maliciously. "I like the way you think, stoat. Okay, we'll join forces and crush the Targaryen girl. Just don't get any ideas about betraying me."

Clogg adopted an injured look. "Me? Betray you? Perish the thought. I'm as pure as the driveled snow, matey."

"What are we going to do with those three?" Tsarmina asked, pointing at Tyrion and his companions.

"I thought we could take 'em along with us. Use 'em as bargaining chips if we need to."

"Okay," said Tsarmina. "I'll have my guards take them to the cells for tonight. First thing tomorrow morning, we'll set out."

The Kotir soldiers brought Tyrion, Varys, and Jorah to the dungeon. They put them in a cell with Tsarmina's brother Gingivere.

Tyrion attempted to bribe the guards. "If you release us, I'll make it worth your while. How would you like to be rich? My home, Casterly Rock, is full of gold. A Lannister always pays his debts. Ask Bronn the sellsword. Ask Bane the fox."

"We know Bane," said a stoat named Squint. "'E put quite a bit of work up our way back when 'e still lived in Mossflower. If I were you, I'd just sit tight. Maybe when we meet up with your Targaryen friend, she'll pay a ransom for you. That's the only way I can see you getting free!" He and the other guards laughed and left.

"Yeah, only Daenerys Targaryen isn't a friend of mine," Tyrion muttered. "I've never even met the woman."

Jorah was looking at Gingivere. "You're the queen's brother. What are you doing in here?"

"Tsarmina framed me for the death of our father," Gingivere said sadly. "She's the worst sister ever."

"You should try spending an hour with my sister sometime," Tyrion said. "Wait, you can't. She's dead."

"You had a mean sister too?" said Gingivere. "How did she die?"

"Somebody, I still don't know who, murdered her, and I got blamed for it," said Tyrion. "I know what it's like to go to jail for something you didn't do."

"So, you had nothing to do with Verdauga's murder?" Jorah asked.

Gingivere shook his head. "No. I'd never kill my own father. That's the worst thing anyone could do!" Tyrion shifted uncomfortably.

"Sounds like you've got a grudge against your sister, Gingivere," said Varys. "How would you like to join up with us? We're going to escape from here, find Daenerys before Tsarmina and Clogg do, and offer our services to her."

"Sounds good to me, as long as I don't have to fight Tsarmina myself," Gingivere said. "I could never hurt my own sister. So, how are we going to break out?"

"That I don't know yet," Varys had to admit. "But we'll find a way."

Just then, two weasel guards that Tyrion had not seen before came down the hall, carrying a mouse between them. They threw the mouse into the cell with the others, then left.

The mouse jumped to his feet, played a short jig on a reed flute he had, then began singing.

"I knew a mouse in prison here,

More than a hundred years.

His whiskers grew along the ground

And right back to his ears

His eyes grew dim, his teeth fell out,

His fur went silver gray.

'If my granddad were here,' he said,

'I wonder what he'd say?'"

"How could the grandfather of a hundred-year-old mouse say anything?" Jorah asked.

"Who are you?" Tyrion asked.

The mouse extended a paw for Tyrion to shake. "My name's Gonff the Mousethief, matey. They caught me running down the larder stocks of bread and cheese, so they threw me in here. But I won't be here long. I can open any lock in Kotir."

"You mean you can escape from here?" Varys asked. "Will you take us with you?"

"Certainly," said Gonff. He took a bit of old wire out of his pocket and thrust it between the bars of the cell. He slipped the end of the wire into the keyhole and used it to pick the lock.

A moment later the door was open, and the mouse, the cat, the dwarf, the eunuch, and the exiled knight were creeping down the hall.