Chapter 4: The Wall of the World

What a difference a world makes. The power of the northbound current weakened greatly as they travelled south from the passage until it disappeared entirely. Marwin went on and on about how the current formed a circular pattern around the Sunset Sea, but nobody much cared. They were out of it. That's all that mattered.

It also helped that the wind was now in an optimal position, albeit still off their bow. They no longer had to waste time tacking back and forth. Their journey south was correspondingly rapid. They easily managed to double the distance they had come since entering the Realm of Permanent Ice in a fourth the time.

But that didn't mean they were finding more of interest. To their right, standing like the greatest bulwark giants could devise, was a mountain range so awesome that none of them could conceive its like. They towered so high that not even Snowflake could reach their summits. Marwin was convinced that they were greater even than the Bone Mountains, heretofore the tallest mounts anyone from Westeros had ever seen. In true Westerosi fashion he named them the Tall Mountains. Arya simply referred to them as the Wall of the World.

They bothered her. Not that she felt any menace from them. It was just the way they cut off all view of what was beyond. Snowflake had vanished from the fleet days before. It was because there were no safe landing places near the coast. At least none she could find.

Arya asked Marwin how much longer the mountains were likely to last. "No knowing. They could easily line the entire eastern coast of Essos. Assuming this is Essos."

"You doubt it?"

He shook his head. "Just thinking of the Fairwind. Alysa Farman was convinced that a new land lay between Westeros and Essos in the middle of the Sunset Sea."

"Wasn't her ship discovered in Asshai by Corlys Valerion?"

"Allegedly. I do not truck with such a dubious account."

"Then you can't take Alysa's belief too seriously. After all, it was just intuition on her part. Since she never returned to Westeros I think it is safe to dismiss your assumption. Wake me should anything happen."

Arya vanished below decks. Brienne watched her concerned. Sandor asked her about it, "What's wrong?"

"She's spending so much time in her cabin."

"There's nothing to do. Why not?"

"You think she's missing her dragon?"

"I wouldn't worry about it. The dragon's not going anywhere we're not going."

"You sure of that?"

"I'm sure the queen would never allow that beast to get away from her. She'd know if it was wandering off."

He was more right than he realized. Arya never told any of them about the true depths of her link with Snowflake. Bran had told them, her and Jon, that their ability to skinchange was what let them know what was in their dragons' minds. And allowed them to see through their eyes. Arya was doing this with increasing frequency, despite the warning Bran had given them. It was so much more interesting to live through her dragon than wait bored for something to happen.

She lay down, not bothering to remove her clothes, closed her eyes, and allowed her mind to drift. She found it much easier now. For the longest time she hadn't realized she was doing it. Knowing hadn't brought skill. She'd had to teach herself to project her mind. It hadn't been a natural process. Now it was second nature.

Snowflake was soaring over the mounts. She passed valleys and peaks. Some slopes descended thousands of feet. Snow covered any crack or crevice available. No life was visible. It made an exhilarating spectacle.

This activity too lost its charm after a while. Her mind wandered as memories played before her eyes. Her hands, almost of their own volition, wandered over her body. Her fingers finding her most sensitive places. Jon and Dany had not kept secret their amours. It was something she was proud of; having remained faithful to her lovers. It did not bother her that they'd had previous loves. She was happy for them. She certainly enjoyed them talking about it as she pleasured herself.

Arya and Dany had discussed it, whether or not to accept Jon taking a mistress. Or three. Both had agreed that neither would object, though neither would they understand it if he did. They were willing to accede to his needing other bedmates. Fortunately the question never arose. Jon was much like his famous ancestor. He was faithful to his wives absolutely.

And his wives were faithful to him. As Arya could testify, there were a multitude of young knights looking to advance their station by being the courtesan of a queen. Not a few bedmaids and courtiers thought the same thing. Arya had no interest in such. And she knew better than anyone that Daenerys didn't either. She often wondered why as Dany had bedded more lovers than either of her partners. But Dany had told her, 'two is almost too many'.

Arya was honest enough with herself to admit that the biggest reason she had been a virgin when she married was because she simply hadn't met anyone else she was attracted too. She had loved Jon even when she was a little girl. He was the only man she had loved, as a woman does a man. Unlike Sansa, Arya had no objections to people having extra marital affairs. Except her father. The story of him having one still left her burning in anger. Not as much as was true once. She had always considered herself more realistic than Sansa, whom she always derided as having a head full of nonsense. The only other man she had been in any way attracted to was Gendry. And that was a passing fancy. The fancy of a little girl too young to practice love.

Had she been a few years older she might easily have been tempted. Arya married young even by Westerosi standards. She had been barely of marital age. Hell, even Alysanne had waited until her fourteenth nameday before consummating her marriage. They could have waited, the three of them. But Arya wasn't willing to wait. She and Dany had already discovered a desire for one another before their joint wedding and Arya discovered she liked it. A lot. She wasn't about to put it off. Though the maesters were uncomfortable with the possibility of pregnancy in a girl so young.

For Arya, her two lovers were all she wanted or needed. No one else excited her or appealed to her. That being said, there were times when she almost regretted not having explored love with others. Almost.

There was a knock on the door. "Yes?"

Maud opened the door. "Your grace, there appear to be stairs carved into the mountainside."

Arya ran up on deck with Maud at her heels. Everybody else had already gathered at the gunwale.

What they were staring at was unquestionably a stair. It extended several hundred feet up the mountainside. It switched back and forth as it went. It climbed up out of the water as if the sea level had once been lower. Nothing of the bottom could be seen. It led up to a notch in the mountains. A great cleave, as if a monstrous giant had chopped it with a great ax.

Arya pushed her way up next to Sandor and Brienne. "Think that pass is artificial?"

The thought hadn't occurred to Brienne before. "It would have taken magic."

"Like the Valyrians?"

The Hound was skeptical. "You think the Valyrians made it here?"

"I've already found a city of black stone. The Valyrians had to have learned their magic from somewhere."

Maud felt the impulse to interject, "It sure looks like someone carved that passage."

The Hound gave her a poisonous glare and she shut her mouth. "You want to go up there?"

"Naturally. By the Old Gods, I need to get off this boat. Let's stretch our legs."

Getting off the long boat onto the stair proved difficult. The surf was rough against the rock and there was no landing. Nobody wanted to discover how deep the water was. Eventually, the Hound and Arya managed to jump off the boat onto the stair. This almost landed them in the drink for the stairs were slick. Climbing further up the stair the Hound was able to pull the boat in close enough for the others to disembark.

Arya led the way with Sandor directly behind. Brienne came next. The Queensguard followed her. Marwin and Jake were at the rear. It was an arduous climb, even for the maesters. Fortunately, the stairs were smooth and deep, wide enough for four men abreast. There were also plentiful landings to rest on. The day was well along before they finally reached the top.

It is perhaps due to all the effort to get there that caused Arya to be careless. She could see at the top there was a wide, flat landing. To her left was the passage through the mountain peaks. She put her hand on the rock as she was about to step up onto the landing. In the crevice in the rock where she put her hand was a small snake, barely as long as her arm. Its color blended into the rock perfectly. As soon as she laid her hand down it struck.

"Ahh!" Arya pulled her hand away. She had been bit right in the middle of her palm. Within seconds her hand swelled. The poison was immensely potent. She hardly had time to realize what had happened before she collapsed.

The Hound grabbed her before she hit the ground with one hand while chopping the snake in half with the other. There was a loud animal-like scream. From around the corner came a man. Or something like a man. Or a half-man. Or a man-beast. Maybe it was an ape man. Whatever it was it was a creature none of them had ever seen before. Naked and armed only with a stone ax, it was no match for Valyrian steel. The Hound threw Arya back at Brienne and lifted Heartsbane to face the creature. Without blinking an eye, Sandor chopped it in half.

It was only the first. At least half-a-dozen followed it from around the corner. But that wasn't the worst part. From above came a flurry of rocks, most as big as a person's head. They couldn't see the casters, though they heard them well enough. The man-beasts stayed well hidden, but that also hindered their aim. Yimi and Joella fired at any heads they could see, saving their Valyrian tipped arrows. They didn't want to waste them against such targets. Obella and Alys were at the back, in no position to meet the enemy. They used their shields to deflect what stones came near them. They made certain to protect the maesters, who had no other defense. Brienne didn't bother drawing her blade. She spent her time shielding Arya. Maud and Lyanna moved past her to flank Sandor. Not that he needed it. The stairs were wide, but he could cover a great deal of ground.

"Back to the ship!" He wasn't concerned with fighting the ape men. They were piss-poor opponents armed only with stone weapons. What he was worried about was Arya. He didn't like the look of her and the staircase was not the place to treat her. The creatures showed no interest in following them down. Instead, they were satisfied with throwing more rocks at them. Sandor had killed several before they had retreated far enough away from them.

Back aboard Summer Arya was not looking good. She was pale. Her breathing was shallow. When Marwin checked her heart he found her heartbeat barely registered.

Brienne was as concerned as she had ever been with Arya. "What kind of poison is it?"

Marwin shook his head. "I've never encountered snake venom like this. It is incredibly potent. Almost as bad as manticore venom. I can remove her hand to stop the poison, but it might already be too late."

"Then don't."

"But… we need to stop it before it reaches her heart."

"Archmaester, I think it is already too late for that. And if she survives she won't be thanking you for removing her sword hand. Do the best you can to get the poison out of her. But leave her hand."

He sighed with resignation. Using his knives he cut into Arya's palm, draining the swollen flesh. He washed the wound with brandy and stitched it up. Thankfully, Arya remained unconscious the entire time. Brienne had to admit, he did have some skill.

"That's the most I can do. All there is now is to wait."

"You'll stay to attend her?"

"I will," Maud volunteered.

Brienne wasn't so sure of that. Marwin said, "There really is very little to do. Just keep watch. If her breathing slows any further come get me."

With that he left the room. Sandor indicated that the rest should leave as well. With some hesitation, Brienne followed them. Sandor looked like he was about to say something, but in the end he silently left. Maud was alone with Arya. She sat herself down by her queen's bedside and watched.

On deck Sandor was having a meeting with Asha and Brienne. Asha asked, "Do we move on?"

"On to where?" Sandor asked. "I don't think the queen is finished with this place yet. Not without finding out what's through that pass."

"What if she doesn't recover?"

"We'll ask that question when it arises."

Crackjaw walked up to them. "Orders?"

Asha gave Sandor a hard look. "Stay at anchor. We wait here."

It was well into the night when Arya finally awoke. Although that is probably putting it too strongly. Maud didn't even notice at first. She had taken to wandering around the cabin for it was rather tedious just staring at the queen all night. Because of this she failed to notice Arya's breathing becoming stronger, more regular.

When Arya opened her eyes she saw a figure standing at her vanity. Blurred and fuzzy at first, it soon resolved itself into… Daenerys.

"I'm sorry."

Her voice was so weak that Maud barely heard it. She didn't understand and moved to Arya's side without answering.

Arya's eyes were unfocused. Her mind was far distant from where she was. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't… I shouldn't have…"

'Daenerys' shook her head. "There is no reason to apologize." She sat down next to Arya. Her hand brushing aside the hair that fell over her face.

"But I forced you."

It was something the two of them had not spoken of in all the days since. Arya had expected Dany to attack her, drive her out, denounce her to Jon. Anything.

'Daenerys' shook her head. "You are my life. My heart. I am nothing without you."

Maud leaned down and kissed Arya on the lips.

Arya awoke the next morning with a spitting headache. She hadn't felt this bad since the Waif had put a knife in her gut.

She felt a presence next to her and naturally assumed it was one of her lovers. Until she remembered where she was. She opened her eyes and saw Maud lying naked beside her. She immediately pulled up the covers to glance at her own body. She was naked as well. Realization hit.

Brienne barged in as she always did. She took one look at the two, Maud now awake as well, and immediately left. Maud couldn't resist laughing. Her laughter died as soon as she looked upon Arya. Arya was staring up at the ceiling. But the look in her eyes was unmistakable. Maud had seen it before. The Stare.

Without a word, Maud pulled herself out of bed and proceeded to dress.

Brienne stood alone at the bow. She didn't know what to do. Her mind raced with the possibilities, yet she was uncertain whether she should even act. Sandor noticed her behavior, but said nothing.

Arya, in full armor, now came on deck with Maud following behind. Everyone could see from her expression she wasn't happy. She had even put on her metal gauntlets despite the bandage on her hand.

Sandor stood before her. "Your orders?"

"We're going back. I'm not going to be stopped by a little snake."

"What of the natives?"

"Kill them."

As the Queensguard were clambering into the longboat, Brienne pulled Maud aside. She spoke so that only the Bracken could hear. "I don't know what happened between you. It may be that the queen has chosen to forgive you. Don't bother to claim otherwise. I know her better than that. But if I ever find you have done it again, orders or no orders, I'll cut off your head."

Maud didn't answer. As soon as Brienne released her arm she climbed into the longboat.

Climbing up the stairs was no easier this time around. But the fight at the top went as expected. Arya refused to allow the Hound to go before her. Instead she plowed ahead of everyone, wielding Visenya's Dagger in one hand and Dark Sister in the other. The beasts fell like weeds. The others had very little to do for Arya apparently was acting out her frustrations. It was only minutes before the ape men had enough, vanishing into the rocks. The group never again faced anymore hostility from them, though they could tell the beasts followed them throughout their travels in the mountains.

As soon as the fighting stopped Arya led them further into the pass. It didn't take long before they came across an encampment. Made up of primitive shelters, it was sizable, large enough for several hundred individuals. But it was empty.

"The natives fled at our approach," Marwin stated unnecessarily.

Arya was feeling regretful for her previous violence. "They were only protecting their homes no doubt."

Brienne asked, "Should we burn it?" That was the way of war in Westeros.

"On no account. We are the invaders here. If they leave us alone we leave them alone. No looting."

She said this as Yimi lifted up a line with several fresh-caught fish. Yimi, who saw no harm in taking food from their enemies, put it back with disgust.

Jake had wandered off as the others examined the camp. "Archmaester."

The others converged on his location. He had spotted a large cave entrance. The village almost blocked all approach to it, yet remained noticeably distant.

Arya and Marwin moved to the front. The inside was black at pitch. "Light a torch." This was quickly done and handed to her. She stepped in front of them all and held it up high.

It illuminated a huge room of worked black stone. Fused black stone.

Sandor muttered, "What was it you said about the Valyrians?"

The room was impressive in spite of being bear of anything. It was huge, as big as the Sept of Baelor once had been, with no pillars or columns to speak of. And its walls were perfectly smooth, not a crack, crease, crevice, or join to be seen. A hallway of equally giant proportions led straight from the entrance into the interior of the mountain. It was impossible to see much of it, but they all noticed hints of passageways leading off from it.

Looking down, Arya spotted a pile of tiny bones in the dust. "What are those?" Joella asked.

"They look like animal bones." Marwin moved to examine them. "Probably offerings to their gods."

"Their gods live down there?" Her voice came out in a squeak.

"Let's find out." Lyanna, ever ready for a scrap, drew Longclaw.

"Hold your place!" Brienne commanded.

Lyanna's face was screwed up in her normal expression of displeasure. But Arya was in no mood for her intransigence. "We're not going down there."

Marwin was irate. "How can we stand here? We are on the brink of some of the greatest discoveries in history!"

"We could also get lost," Arya pointed out. "Who knows how deep into the mountain it goes. I for one have no desire to find myself wandering down there for all eternity."

This sobered all of them save Marwin. Jake felt compelled to defend his master. "There could be an entire city below us."

"All the more reason not to go. It is as I said before. Others will come after us. But only if we return to tell them."

With that she left the cave, her Queensguards following after. Marwin and Jake hesitated a bit longer. In the end they saw the wisdom of not going into the unknown alone and unprepared.

As they exited the cave Snowflake passed above them. The dragon circled a few times before alighting near the entrance to the rest of the pass. Arya walked up to stroke her dragon. "She will be accompanying us."

The others were not universally approving.

Asha knew better than to ask when they'd be back. Arya made it clear before they sailed that there would likely be times when they'd have to leave the ships for an extended period. But Asha had a crew to worry about. This wasn't the best place for shore leave and most of the sailors were no more interested in staying afloat than Arya was.

She watched as the royal party wended its way up the stairs, their battle with the ape men, and their entering of the pass. But nothing else after that. As day followed day nothing continued to happen. It was about a week after Arya's team went ashore that word reached her.

Crackjaw entered her cabin, somewhat more spacious even than Arya's. "The lookout's spotted something."

The two went up on deck, finding most of the crew already there. After looking up at the crow's nest, Crackjaw pointed out to sea. Asha could just make out a tiny spot on the water. "A boat?"

"Yes. A small one. Lookout says it's some kind of skiff or fishing boat."

"Signal Dolphin. Tell Goodbody to investigate it. He isn't to attack. Only observe."

Crackjaw nodded and left.

Dolphin was one of the smaller ships of the fleet. And also the fastest. Its design was more familiar to the Ironborn, but included a few of Arya's innovations. The sloop sped away, almost like a hunting dog let off the leash.

Goodbody was no noble. Born of fisher folk, he had risen the way most Ironborn do. By commanding his own boat. Like his boat, he too was eager for the hunt.

It was some distance away, so it took a good few hours to reach the spot. Once they were spotted they saw the other boat turn tail. Even so, it was no match for Dolphin.

"All crew up on deck! Arm yourselves! Prepare for boarding!"

Goodbody had seen Asha's message, but he basically ignored it. To him, chasing and catching boats, killing their crews and raping their women, was the whole point of being Ironborn.

As they got near they could see that the boat they were chasing was even smaller than they had first thought. Barely twenty feet nose to stern.

"A fishing boat, like as not," his first mate said.

"Oh yeah," Goodbody answered sarcastically. "Then why do they have so many men?"

It was a valid question. They could now see that the tiny boat had at least a dozen crewmen on boat. At least four times what it needed. None of the Ironborn needed to ask what that meant.

"Kill them all." Goodbody was in no mood to take prisoners.

Turns out he never got the option. The men on the boat were disinclined to be taken captive. They started firing crossbows, something else fishermen don't normally carry, long before Dolphin got into range. The Ironborn patiently waited to close the distance, then fired a volley of their own. Within seconds all the unknown sailors were dead or dying.

Goodbody and his crew boarded the little boat, finding little beyond the dead men. Those who hadn't been killed outright were quickly dispatched. Goodbody, who had done a good deal of sailing in his life, noticed how alien they looked. "I'd swear these fellows were from Yi Ti. But they're not tall enough." The men in the boat were almost child sized compared to the Westerosi. Their clothes were also unlike any he had ever seen.

Asha was not happy when he got back. "You were supposed to watch them."

"They attacked first," he pointed out.

She sighed in resignation. She knew him better than that. "What did you find?"

"Precious little. It could have come from Yi Ti. Could have come from anywhere. One thing I am certain of. They were no fishermen."

Tytos Blackwood sat quietly in King Jon's office. The king was going on about the small council and all the adjustments the people were making to Daenerys' new order. Tytos smiled and patiently waited for the king to stop before giving his answer.

"I would be honored, your grace." The old man was indeed honored. No Blackwood had been Hand of the King in centuries. "Relieving her grace of this burden would be my pleasure."

Jon was relieved himself, even though he knew Tytos would never have refused. "It is a load off my mind to leave the kingdom in such capable hands."

"I don't know about that. Her grace is a very difficult act to follow."

"Indeed."

"I will, of course, keep all of her grace's policies."

"Naturally. I trust you understand my feelings."

"Absolutely, your grace. I do confess to being puzzled. Her grace showed every sign of wanting to remain Hand."

"That was before she actually was." The two men laughed. "My wife has decided she is tired of such boring work. She wants to do something more interesting."

Given the baby born just weeks ago, Tytos did not need to ask his grace what he meant. "I will happily do the boring work. Ruling a kingdom is so much more interesting in the abstract."

Jon laughed again. "You're telling me." They both shared another laugh.

Dany was in the garden nursing Rhaella when Jon found her. "He accepted." Dany always nursed her own babes. This was very unlike most women of her station, including her co-queen. Arya hated nursing.

Dany didn't look up. "As we knew he would."

"Are you sure about this?" He still didn't grasp why she was now so determined to quit the job when she had been so determined to have it before.

"I am." Her voice was very determined.

She looked up and he turned his gaze in the same direction. There, across the garden, Annis was showing Rhaegar and Catelyn various planets and flowers.

Jon's worry though was for his wife. "I don't know why you don't trust her."

"I have learned to not trust."

Davos stood in the hallway behind Jon. He cleared his throat to gain the king's attention. "Yes?"

"Your grace…" Davos did not finished, looking at Daenerys' back.

"Pardon me, my love." She nodded acknowledgement as he left. The two men moved further down the hall, away from any ears. "What is it?"

Jaqen suddenly appeared beside Davos. "We have word for his grace."

Davos continued without waiting for Jon to ask. "Our spies in Essos have heard tales. Of meetings between certain nobles."

"Who?"

Jaqen answered, "Archons of Tyrosh. Magisters of Myr and Lys. Tigers of Volantis. The one summoning them is a man called Ilyrio Mopatis."

This was not good news. "So the Slave King shows himself at last."

It was a nickname Arya had given him. He was known to be one of the wealthiest spice merchants in the world. He was also suspected of being the biggest slaver in the world.

"A man has been unable to track where the man of spice has been. Though whispers have reached his ears of a safe house in Qarth."

Davos was gloomy, as Davos was always gloomy when talking politics. "It looks like the old coalition is reforming itself."

"Didn't they learn the last time?"

"With respect your grace, Queen Arya isn't here."

"But I am. And I have dragons."

He was turning to leave when Davos stopped him. "There's more." Davos paused. "Ser Justin Massey has also reappeared."

"I thought he was dead."

"No one ever saw him die. And there were only rumors."

"Go on."

Jaqen once more carried the news. "The man of swirls speaks of a king long dead come back to life. And his daughter burned, but not burned."

"Stannis?" Jon had to laugh. "He's even deader than Cersei."

Davis had to point out, "No one ever found his body."

It had taken two weeks for the group to travel through the pass. It was straight and true, with no side passages. The ground was smooth, showing its artificial nature. Because of this it was easy and quick travel to the other side.

On reaching it though they had to ask themselves if they really had reached the other side. The mountains seemed to fall away, leaving them standing on a mountain looking down into a very deep valley. The path continued to the left, hugging the mountain side as it descended into the valley. Before them lay even more mountains of a smaller, but no less imposing, size. And beyond them…

"The Grey Waste," Marwin pronounced.

"How can you be sure?" Joella asked.

"There is nowhere like it."

It certainly looked it. The gray was utterly oppressive. Not like the gray on the Stark banner. It was a sick, muddy gray. Almost like puke. It was unpleasant to even look at.

"Why is it so cold?" Obella was hopping up and down, rubbing her arms like mad.

None of the others felt so chill. "You'll never survive the North." Lyanna was almost biting.

Obella grimaced, looking like she wanted to bite her back.

Marwin, as was his way, took the question seriously. "The mountains act like a funnel, channeling the cold air…"

"Thank you archmaester," Arya cut him off.

Her expression was very serious. The Stare was in her eye, yet her gaze never left the gray ahead. Brienne didn't understand the reason for it. "Do you want to continue?"

"On no account." Snowflake landed on the ledge behind them. The dragon lowered her head until her chin was almost touching Arya's shoulder. The dragon's eye was also locked on something deep in the Waste.

Of course Marwin had to argue. "You can't turn away now."

"I can and am." Arya's tone was one that few dared to challenge.

Marwin was one of those few. "Why did we even come here?" It was a question many of them were asking. "You never want to discover anything!"

"Archmaester!" Brienne's voice cut through his anger. "Anywhere the dragon doesn't like is a place I choose not to go."

Everyone's attention was turned to the dragon. A deep rumble came from Snowflakes gullet. She and her rider had not once shifted their gaze from whatever it was they saw in the sand. All the others strained their eyes to see, but all they saw was waste.

The Hound leaned down close to Arya's ear. "What do you see?"

"Something's moving out there. Men maybe. Or man-shaped."

They all thought of the man beasts who had followed them throughout their travel through the pass. Stories of the east of Essos filled their minds. None of which gave any clues as to what might be out there. One thing was certain. None of them, not even Marwin, wanted to face what caused Arya pause.

After taking some measurements they turned their backs on the gloomy sight.

A couple weeks later found them back on the ship. "How was your journey?" Asha asked them.

"Gloomy and boring," Obella answered. "It was too damn cold."

By the time they had returned to the stairs they were all feeling it. "Cold isn't the word." Alys gulped down some warm spiced wine. "It could have been the depths of the hells up there."

"We haven't gone near the hells," Brienne answered. She was coming to the opinion that her Queensguards were getting soft.

"Anything happen here?" Arya asked before any argument could ensue.

"Nothing save a fishing boat that wasn't."

"Meaning?" Asha shrugged. "You mean pirates." It wasn't a question.

END OF CHAPTER 4