Chapter 258: qualifications
Then, torches appeared in the darkness.
The sudden flash of fire made Simon Dondarrion squint his eyes.
Before he could recognize who it was, he saw that the dungeon guard had already opened the cell door and said:
"Sir Simon, come out."
Simon Dondarryen calmed down and asked in a nonchalant tone:
"What? Is the **** duke going to kill me? Or let me go back?"
"The **** is dead." A rough voice said, "Storm\'s End is now in charge of Lord Caesar, come out, Lord Caesar invites you to have breakfast."
Simon recognized that it was the voice of Sir Grad of the Wilder family, and what this person said shocked him extremely:
"Edric Storm is dead?"
"Yes." Sir Gerard said, and then turned to other prisons, loudly said, "You are the same, Lord Caesar invited you to breakfast, come out, move quickly!"
The resounding voice echoed in the dungeon, prompting a series of questions:
"What do you mean? The people of the Reach have captured Storm\'s End?"
"How is this possible? Gerard, Storm\'s End is invincible!"
"That Caesar had a dragon, wouldn\'t it be the dragon that spewed fire and destroyed the city wall?"
"Even Black Death can\'t burn down the walls of Storm\'s End..."
…
Sir Gerald shouted impatiently: "Okay, okay! Lord Caesar is still waiting for you, come out quickly!"
The knights left the prison just now. After being shocked, many people showed surprise on their faces, but some had complicated expressions.
They were all imprisoned because they refused to obey the illegitimate duke. Now that Storm\'s End has changed owners, they have the hope of regaining their freedom.
Of course, as an aristocrat of the Stormlands, hearing that Storm\'s End was breached by the people of the Reach, he felt somewhat complicated.
Simon Dondarrion followed the crowd out of the prison, the bright sunlight outside made him unable to open his eyes.
Passing through the long corridor that still smelled of blood, and climbing up the third floor along the spiral staircase, everyone came to the banquet hall.
Of course, this is not the first time for Sir Simon to come here. There are still bloodstains on the blue and white marble walls, and the wool carpet on the floor is clean, probably just replaced. The burning torch exudes a hot breath.
But in Simon\'s eyes, the hottest thing in the hall was the giant white dragon prostrated by the long table.
It was as big as two war horses, covered with milky white scales, two red-gold lines extending from the triangular head to the end of the slender tail, a pair of transparent smoky leather wings folded on the side of the body. Concentrating on eating the deer legs on the ground.
"Come and sit down."
Sir Simon heard a deep voice, and then he noticed a man in bronze armor sitting beside the white dragon.
Samwell Caesar!
Simon immediately guessed the identity of this person, and he had heard the name of the river lord many times.
Like thunder.
At the same time, there are unbelievable legends.
Three years ago, this person was just a pioneer knight who was expelled from the family, but now, he has sat on the throne that once belonged to the Storm King.
Throughout the history of the Seven Kingdoms, it is difficult to find a character like him who rose from the humble beginnings but became so brilliant in a short period of time.
Perhaps only the "Conqueror" Aegon Targaryen three hundred years ago can compare with it.
Sir Simon thought of this, and couldn\'t help but glanced at the white dragon—
They both have dragons.
All the noble knights from the Stormlands also sat down at the long table with mixed emotions.
They looked at the man in the first seat, but saw that the man had already bowed his head to enjoy his breakfast.
And before they came in, there were already many people sitting in the hall, and they were all nobles from the Stormlands. war.
Seeing this, Simon also lowered his head to look at the food in front of him.
The breakfast is very rich. There is oatmeal, milk, boiled eggs, roast meat and fresh berries.
Simon has been locked in the dungeon these days, and it has been a long time since he has seen such a rich food, so he put aside his other thoughts for the time being and gorged himself.
The only sound left in the hall was the sound of soft chewing and the sound of knives and forks hitting the dinner plate.
After Samwell finished eating, he put down the knife and fork, picked up the napkin and wiped his mouth.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he smiled and waved his hands:
"You guys continue."
"I\'ve finished eating too, Lord Caesar." Sir Gerald also put down his knife and fork, and wiped his mouth.
"I\'m done eating too, thank you for your hospitality." Another knight from the Wilder family also put down his knife and fork.
"I\'m fine too."
…
More and more people put down their knives and forks. Later, even those who wanted to continue eating had to end their breakfast.
Even Cleopatra swallowed the last leg bone, and lay quietly behind Samwell, digesting food while rubbing her slender tail against her master\'s back.
Like scratching his itch.
Sir Simon also put down his knife and fork tactfully, wiped his mouth, and prepared to hear how the legendary Lord of the Riverbend was going to deal with people like himself.
But at this moment, he realized that someone was still eating.
Simon turned his head and saw Sir Lomas Eastmond.
This person is the distant cousin of Lord Elton Eastmond, Lord of Greenstone Isle in the Stormlands.
But the strange thing is that this person\'s cousin and lord, Earl Elton, has put down his knife and fork at this time, and is looking at him with angry and warning eyes.
But Sir Lomas turned a blind eye to this.
Sir Lomas\' son, Andrew Esmond, saw his father being so arrogant, so he followed suit and started eating and drinking again.
In the quiet hall, the sound of the father and son eating and drinking was particularly harsh.
Sir Simon looked at Samwell, and saw that the Knight of the River Bend was not angry either, just sitting quietly with a smile on his face.
In fact, Simon can also guess the reason for Sir Lomas\'s arrogance, because this person is the cousin of Stannis Baratheon, who was thrown into the dungeon by the illegitimate son of the duke because he was inclined to Dragonstone Island.
Although he was released by the people of Hewan, this person obviously intends to stick to his original position.
However, when the Earl of Greenstone Island has succumbed to Caesar, it is very interesting that the father and son are still so stubborn.
I don\'t know if it was infected by the attitude of the Lomas father and son, or because the Viscount of the River Bend didn\'t intervene, and several storm knights started eating again.
Sir Simon hesitated for a while, but still didn\'t pick up the knife and fork again, even though he was not full.
After about a quarter of an hour, several nobles from the storm finally finished their breakfast. Sir Lomas was the last one to put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth, and belched loudly.
It seems to be announcing the end of this breakfast meeting.
Samwell smiled slightly, as if he had just recovered, and said:
"All finished? Well, let\'s discuss the future of the Stormlands."
As soon as Samwell finished speaking, he heard Sir Lomas shouting immediately:
"What qualifications do you, a river bender, have to decide the future of the Stormlands?"
As soon as this remark was made, the hall suddenly fell silent.
The aristocrats of the Stormlands had different expressions, some applauded secretly, some gloated, and some looked on coldly... In short, they were all looking forward to the fact that the legendary River Bend nobleman was going to deal with those who disagreed with them.
"Sir Lomas, right?" Samwell didn\'t seem to be angry, "Who do you think is qualified?"
"Of course His Majesty Stannis Baratheon!"
"Your Majesty Stannis is bathing in the Blackwater River." Samwell sneered.
Sir Lomas choked for a moment.
The results of the Battle of the Blackwater River have spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Stannis suffered a disastrous defeat, and his fleet was almost wiped out. Even his whereabouts are still unknown, and it is not known whether he drowned in the Blackwater River.
"That should also be decided by the people of the Baratheon family! His Majesty Stannis has a daughter, and there are also members of the Baratheon family\'s collateral line present!"
Speaking of this, Sir Lomas looked at the two knights from the collateral line of the Baratheon family, but these two actually lowered their heads, avoiding his gaze.
Samwell smiled dismissively and said:
"Then let me ask you, why is the Baratheon family so qualified to decide the future of the Stormlands?"
Sir Lomas said in a natural tone:
"The Baratheon family has always been the guardian family of the Stormlands, of course..."
"All this time?" Samwell interrupted, "How do I remember that three hundred years ago, the Stormlands were still ruled by the Durandon family?"
"But Orys Baratheon married the daughter of the last Storm King." Suddenly a Stormland knight said, "So, the Baratheon family has continued the ancient bloodline of the Storm King and is qualified to rule the Stormland."
Samwell turned his head and saw the black and white swan coat of arms on the other party\'s breastplate, so he knew that this person came from the Swen family of Stonehelm City, and he looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn\'t remember the name , and asked:
"Which knight are you from the Sven family?"
"Baron Swann, the son of Earl Gulion Swann." Sir Balon said, his eyes were calm, looking directly at Samwell.
Samwell knew in his heart that this man was quite a famous knight in the Stormlands. In the original book, it seemed that he was promoted to the Kingsguard by Queen Cersei.
"Sir Balon, let me ask you, how did Orys Baratheon marry the daughter of the last Storm King?"
Baron Swan moved his mouth, but he didn\'t speak.
Samwell laughed and said: "He killed the last Storm King, conquered the Stormlands, and then occupied Storm\'s End, and married a woman from the Durandon family. You call this behavior \'the continuation of the Storm King\'s lineage. \'?
I wonder how your noble ancestors who swore allegiance to House Durandon tolerated such behavior? And how did he willingly bow the knee to Baratheon? "
Baron Swann blushed.
Lomas and his son couldn\'t find any words to refute for a while.
The rest of the Stormland nobles were also silent for a while.
Samwell leaned back on the back of the chair and said coldly:
"So don\'t talk to me about blood. Baratheons rule from their conquest of the Stormlands, and from the dragons of their lord, House Targaryen!
And now, I have conquered the Stormlands, too, and I have-"
Samwell stretched out his hand to support Cleopatra\'s head, his eyes slowly swept across the faces of every stormy nobleman:
"Dragon."