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• The recently miraculously unburned Aeneurin fell into a delerious fever under the influence of a soaking in the frigid water of the Bay of Seals and there was increasing doubt that any of them would survive to make landfall in their crippled boat.
• As the afternoon westered into evening, however, two black sails were spotted. They turned out to be Night's Watch galleys out of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and, at the sight of a waved black cloak, they turned aside their rams. Ser Merryck and his surviving men were brought aboard along with Owain, Jeyne, Benjen and the unconscious Aneurin.  Despite their agreement with Ser Meryck, however, the wildlings were shot through with arrows and their boat scuttled.
• Soon enough, the galleys made port at Eastwatch where a Wull and his companions were made most welcome.  Aneurin was given into the care of Maester Harmune who also tended Benjen and Owain's wounds, while damaged equipment was repaired or replaced.
• The Commander of Eastwatch, Cotter Pyke, judged that Ser Meryck had not in fact broken his vows. Gilly had killed herself precisely because Ser Meryck had refused to take her to wife and since her child died unborn, he was father to no children.  Ser Meryck had, however, been sent south to source supplies and recruits.  Since he had returned empty handed and with fewer men than he set out with, Commander Pyke stripped him of his rank and attendant within the Watch and reduced him to only basic duties.
• Privately, Commander Pyke confided to Owain Wull and Jeyne Reed that he considered Ser Meryck responsible for the girl's death, but that the Night's Watch could ill afford to lose a man of Ser Meryck's training and ability.
• Later that night, Owain's brother Porrl arrived, having just completed a patrol from Castle Black to Eastwatch.  He had a couple of days furlough before beginning the return patrol, but admitted that didn't mean he was free to get drunk.  Despite having sworn an oath to the dying Gereint Wull that he would pass on the dragonglass dagger he had been entrusted with, Owain chose once again not to tell his brother anything about their uncle's fate.
• After the group spent a morning training with the Black Brothers, Jeyne asked if she might join a hunting expedition, feeling a great need to get out into the wild once more. This was agreed to and that afternoon, she, Owain and Benjen left the lands of men and passed beneath the Wall. They didn't have to go far before the hunting party encountered the spoor of a huge boar.
• The story of the short work Benjen had made of a pair of shadowcats had already earned him much respect, but when his second spear thrust spitted the boar from throat to arse, the rangers began to view him with a kind of awe.  That evening, the entire Eastwatch garrison dined on roasted pork and Benjen was served the champions portion of the pig's bollocks.  Later, Cotter Pyke asked if he would consider joining the Night's Watch - an invitation that Benjen awkwardly refused, not very convincingly citing previous oaths to House Tallhart.
   

• Immediately upon making port, Ser Jonjon was summoned to make his report at the Red Keep, taking Aegon with him in order to get him better medical care. 
• Barely five minutes later, Durran, Jeyne and Sparrow were nearly killed as heavy crates tumbled from a defective cargo net and smashed to the quayside.  It became apparent that the damage had in fact been sabotage and probably meant to kill a dockside stevedore named Duncan. he refused to discuss the matter there and then, but agreed to meet in a tavern that evening.
• A curfew had been established while the group had been in Braavos and they barely made it to the tavern in time. Duncan revealed that he was also an agent for the Hand and that the curfew was due to a string of grisly murders.  While murders were not unusual in the city, some of them had taken place in the Red Keep, the Great Sept and the Alchemists Guild.  In almost every case, the victims fingers had been cut off, which was macabre enough but which also sent a very particular message to those who were part of Romney Marsh's network of agents. Someone was killing Fingers.
• The following morning, the three headed for Jeyne's shop only to discover that "Mistress Brisket's World of Meat!" was closed up and had apparently not been open for several days.  Since Jeyne had left the place in the care of an old family friend, this did not bode well.
• His corpse had been hanging on a meat hook for several days, his fingers neatly snipped from his hands.  For all that he hadn't been a Finger, it was evidently a threat against Jeyne herself.
• Unable to face returning to work at a place that had been defiled by the murder of a friend, Jeyne arranged to sell the shop to a business associate and negotiated with him for sleeping space in his store house.
• Jeyne's contacts with the Gold Cloaks and Durran's contacts with the Alchemists led to a little bit of protection but not much more information. An attempt to compare notes with Romney Marsh and Ser Jonjon was foiled by the Red Keep being closed and guarded by command of the Queen.
• Returning to their billet, the trio were wary to hear that a nobly dressed woman was waiting for them in their loft.  This 'woman' turned out to be a disguised Lord Varys, 'the King's Spider'.  He professed that he had no idea who was behind the steady elimination of Marsh's network of agents, but felt that he could offer some protection should the three agree to spy for him and become 'little birds' instead of 'fingers'.  He knew enough about each of them to offer in exchange something each of them wanted very badly and, one by one, they agreed...
   

• Erlan Ironskye was not at all pleased that his ship had been taken without his permission, and even his share of captured slaves and silver did little to soften his anger.  For while the others had been off a-reaving, he had been waiting for them at Lordsport with a summons for them all from the Lord Reaper.
• Before they could even leave Lordsport, however, Norne Goodbrother and a band of his men cornered the crew for a pointed discussion about abuse of hospitality and a certain heirloom helm that had been stolen from Shatterstone.  Some quick grovelling by Harald sent the armed party in the direction of Hammerhorne, leaving Erlan and his officers free to make their way to Pyke.
• King Balon Greyjoy had been deeply displeased to hear of Driftwood's attempt on his sons' lives and, since the Grey Gull was not answering the royal summons, it seemed that Saltwater was to answer for the Drowned Priests in his stead.
• Balon demanded to knowhere Saltwater's first loyalty lay - with the Grey Gull or with him.  Saltwater wisely swore that his loyalty was to his King, but Balon's anger was not so easily assuaged. He judged that Saltwater should serve as an example to the rest of the priests and had the carcass of the Grey Gull's albatross familiar tied around his neck, to hang there until it rot off.
• The King also gave the crew of the Sea Whore a new mission. They were to travel to Harrenhal, the great fortress built by Harren the Black, and search there for any relics relating to the last Iron King.  It was an insanely dangerous mission and the crew were left wondering - had they proven themselves so much that they were being entrusted with this, or had they become so inconvenient that they were being sent to their deaths?
  
   

• With the Manderley men away, White Harbour was under the governance of Lady Leona Woolfield. She wasn't touching the judgement of Ser Meryck Frey with a barge pole and asked the party to take him and his men with them on their journey to the wall where he could be judged by the Night's Watch.
• The Myrish seeing lens the group had gained as a reward for reuniting Pipkin with his grandfather turned out to be adequate payment for passage aboard Karl's red ship.
• On arrival at Skagos, it transpired that the group had been expected. Euan Magnar, eldest son of Lord Magnar was awaiting them and revealed that his mother had seen their arrival in a vision.
• While generally leaving Ser Meryck frey locked in a store room, the party learned that long-isolated stoneborn Skagosi had, like the Crannogmen of the Neck, cleaved closer to the old ways than most Westerosi.  They had more in common with the wildlings than the men of the North, but the group were given cause to think that might be no bad thing.
• The stoneborn carved faces into the walls of their caves rather than into the trunks of weirwoods.
• Although Coryn Magnar had the title 'Lord', he freely admitted that he was only Lord over those who chose to follow him and would not punish anyone who didn't.  It seemed that the Skagosi had very firm ideas that one should seek to master oneself rather than master others.
• En route to Deepdown, the seat of House Crowl, the group were attacked by a pair of shadowcats. Owain was savaged almost to death and had an eye scratched out, but Benjen speared both cats before they could inflict serious injury on anyone else. 
• House Crowl of Deepdown was led by the elderly Kastri, a woman with many daughters who she would train in the Greensight. She probably breathed too deeply and too often of the volcanic fumes than brought on her visions, but she had an undeniable insight and power.
• Her son was weary of her governance of House Crowl and, wishing to inherit, did not interfere when the group located and removed a spiral carved of dragonglass in her cavern of visions. Benjen was badly burned in achieving this, but Aneurin turned out to be strangely fireproof.
• Already knowing that the ancient spiral talismans had been historically instrumental in breaking the Arm of Dorne and flooding the Neck, it was a reasonable assumption that the subsequent eruption of Deepdown was due to their having removed the dragonglass spiral. Oops.
• Reaching Coldharbour, they didn't have time to make too much of a fuss about the waiting ship actually being a wildling vessel out of Hardhome.  They simply abandoned their horses and sailed away from Skagos as quickly as possible.  Not fast enough, however, to escape the great wave that subsequently swamped and capsized the boat.
• Some remarkable sure footedness on the part of Ser Meryck Frey saved the mailed Owain from drowning and, there having been significant friction between Ser Meryck and Owain concerning the subtler interpretations of the Night's Watch oath, Ser Meryck was smugly dismissive of having saved his life.
• Once the boat had been righted and makeshift repairs made, the boat limped its way westward while ash fell rom the sky like snow onto the bedraggled party..

• Aegon and Sparrow escaped from Florian's Fools, leading to a very individual performance of 'A Fistful of Dragons'.
  The five made their way to the meeting with Septon Merriman, only pausing to take out a watcher they spotted on the roof of another temple. Embarrassingly, said watcher turned out to be working for Septon Merriman.
• Ser Jonjon swore his oaths and was subsequently told where he might find Ser Willem Darry.
• Darry had plainly been forewarned, however, for the children were long gone and Ser Jonjon and his companions were expected. A couple of Darry's men were killed as Durran and Jonjon fought their way in and Aegon was wounded almost to death before Darry and Ser Jonjon agreed to settle the matter in single combat and allow their companions to leave without further hurt.
• Although ravaged by a wasting disease, Darry proved why he had been Master of Arms at the Red Keep and would have defeated Ser Jonjon had his illness not been such that, once knocked from his feet he could not rise.
• With the house burning as a consequence of a lamp that had been knocked over during the fight, the group hurried back to their ship, eager to put Braavos and their murder of a sick old man behind them.