The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Mountain, accompanied by thirty cavalrymen and his wine steward, Bernie, departed from the River Road, exiting the Westerlands and heading east along the Red Fork River.

The Riverlands was a pleasant place, with endless fields of rice paddies stretching across the plains, the golden waves of grain a delightful sight, heralding a bountiful harvest season.

It was nearly July, the summer dry and hot, also a beautiful time for murder and arson.

Upon entering the Riverlands, the Mountain and his cavalry made a high-profile entrance, the banners of House Clegane of Clegane's Keep, bearing the three dogs, and the golden lion of House Lannister of the Westerlands, flying high in the wind. Wherever they went, villages closed their gates and families locked their doors, women smearing their faces with black ash, fearing they weren't ugly enough.

Dozens of miles past the border, the Riverlanders' memory of the Mountain's infamy began to fade. During peacetime, the Mountain's atrocities were mainly committed in the border areas, where his reputation was so terrible that children would cry at night, and young girls were forced to marry early to avoid being defiled by the Mountain and his bestial men.

Several days later, the Mountain's banners passed through Riverrun, the capital of the Riverlands.

Riverrun, as the name suggested, referred to the rushing of the river. It was located at the confluence of the Red Fork and the Tumblestone, which originated in the Crag Mountains of House Marbrand in the Westerlands. The water flow was large and rapid, and the two great rivers merged here into one: the Red Fork.

Riverrun was situated on the delta formed by the two rivers. Except for the west side, which faced land, Riverrun was bordered by the Tumblestone River to the north, the Red Fork River to the south, and the confluence of the two rivers to the east. Surrounded by rivers on three sides with rapid currents, this was the origin of the name Riverrun.

The entire city of Riverrun resembled a giant triangular ship sailing against the wind and waves.

Lord Hoster Tully had a deep moat dug on the west side of the city, connecting the Tumblestone and Red Fork rivers. As a result, Riverrun was surrounded by water on all four sides, an isolated city on a delta. To enter or leave this capital city of the Riverlands, a ferry was required, regardless of the direction. Other cities had drawbridges over their moats for entry and exit, but Riverrun's moat was too wide and the current too swift for any bridge to span the banks. From all directions, there was no way to cross except by ferry.

On the walls of Riverrun stood Edmure Tully, the heir of House Tully, the brother of Catelyn and Lysa, and the third son of Duke Hoster. He watched the Mountain's party on the banks of the Red Fork with a grim expression. He had always disliked the Mountain and the Westerlands, but this time the Mountain was passing through the Riverlands to see the King. Lord Tywin of the Westerlands had sent a raven in advance, and Duke Hoster had ordered that they be allowed to pass without any obstruction or deliberate retaliation or harassment.

Edmure Tully had the signature auburn hair of the Tully family and was of medium build. An auburn beard made him look fierce. Across the Red Fork, the Mountain greeted this highborn nobleman standing on the city wall, but Edmure stared down at the Mountain's party without any return greeting.

In his memory, the Edmure of the real world was much more formidable than the character in the TV series. He was not bad at all, brave and resourceful, a good hand in battle, and strong-willed, but he was obviously portrayed as mentally deficient in the TV series.

In the year 273 of Aegon's Conquest, two children from great families were born: Tyrion Lannister, the Imp of the Westerlands, and Edmure Tully of Riverrun in the Riverlands. Both of these noble scions were now twenty-five years old and unmarried.

If Edmure Tully had any shortcomings, the Mountain remembered that it was his fondness for visiting brothels with the noble youths of the Riverlands, drinking and singing. He was very fond of chasing after beautiful women. This might not be a bad habit. For the sons of great nobles, pursuing beautiful women was a common hobby. Tyrion the Imp was even more debauched than him.

Edmure Tully completely ignored the Mountain's greeting as he passed through Riverrun, turning a deaf ear. He was not lacking in courage, and his martial skills were also very good. He dared to fight the Mountain. His proud demeanor in the face of the Mountain across the river showed his inner pride and boldness.

Only one thing, Edmure, like Tyrion, had never received his father's approval from childhood to adulthood. Although he was the heir apparent—there was no other way, he was the only male in the family—his father, Hoster Tully, was still very dissatisfied with him. He had very high standards and was almost harsh in choosing a marriage partner. Extraordinary beauty was his only criterion, of course, on the premise of noble status. His debauchery with the noble youths was especially disliked by his traditionally minded father, Duke Hoster.

Even across the Red Fork, the Mountain could feel that Edmure really wanted to smash his head.

"You'll have your chance, Ser Edmure!" the Mountain thought with a smile.

The Mountain's skin had been cultivated to be thicker than the city wall, impervious to swords and spears. He led his brothers eastward, singing very vulgar songs, as if afraid others wouldn't know. Along the way, Riverrun scouts constantly appeared before, behind, and beside the Mountain's party, but they kept a considerable distance.

Edmure Tully's men behaved very restrained and professional, with high military qualities. Edmure was good at leading troops and treated his men well.

Ten days later, the Mountain and his party sang the popular song of the Seven Kingdoms, "The Queen Undresses, the King Drops His Pants," as if afraid others wouldn't know, and arrived at the small woods of the Ruby Ford, where they set up camp. According to reports from Bernie and two scouts, King Robert's party would arrive at the Crossroads in two days. There were too many of them, and the only place they could stay was the town of Lord Harroway after crossing the river.

The Mountain did not go to stay in the town. When the King's main force arrived, the town would not be able to accommodate them, and many soldiers would be setting up tents outside the town. He would not join in that excitement.

The Ruby Ford had a slow current, shallow sandy beaches, and was surrounded by green grass and small trees, with gentle breezes in the morning and evening, a place several times more comfortable and quieter than the town.

The Mountain was waiting here for the King's arrival, and then he would represent Lord Tywin of the Westerlands to meet the King, presenting fine wines, delicacies, and a bag of gold coins he had minted himself. The thing that made the fat King Robert happiest was seeing someone give him gold coins.

*

The sound of hooves rang out, and two riders came from the direction of the town. A girl's sharp scolding and shouts of killing came, interspersed with a boy's painful cries.

The Mountain raised his hand to stop his brothers' reaction to the enemy: "Continue practicing your swords! Nothing's wrong!"

*

The Mountain sat on the grass at the edge of the woods, with his three good horses grazing beside him.

The wine steward Bernie and others and his brothers were practicing swords in the woods.

The King's large party had already checked into Lord Harroway's town last night, but the Mountain did not rush to meet the King and the Hand. The local noble youths would be busy meeting the King. The King was already half-dead from the journey, and many nobles were gathered in the town waiting for the King's summons. Everyone would have to wait until midnight to have a chance to see the King, and the Mountain did not have that patience.

After the King checked into the town, he would not leave until he had rested well. The Mountain knew this. Every time he arrived at a comfortable place to stay, no longer in the wilderness, the King would inevitably stay and play without any sense of time: local women, delicacies, fine wines, and the flattery of the nobles, as well as some polite and well-behaved nobles who sent gold and silver treasures, the King enjoyed these things.

The sky was blue, the sun was good, and the Mountain was grazing his horses on the grass outside the small woods. Before him was the famous Ruby Ford, but the Mountain and his brothers did not look for the rubies that were said to still be there.

The Mountain relaxed, while his brothers continued as always: training!

*

Two horses galloped into the Ruby Ford. In front was a boy, strong, with a sharpened wooden stick in his hand, dressed simply, exposing his arms and calves. Behind him was a lean girl, with the auburn hair of the Tully family, a delicate face, agile movements, and a training sword in her hand.

The two children struck each other on horseback, fighting like the generals on the battlefield.

Obviously, the strong boy was no match for the lean girl. Every few rounds, he would be hit, and his arm or calf would have a bruise.

"Arya, be a man and get off the horse," the boy spat, spitting out a mouthful of saliva resentfully. "You learned to ride a horse since you were a kid, but I don't even know how."

"Coward!" the girl said with a face full of disdain. "Myca, you're no match for me even without a horse."

Whoosh!

The girl jumped off the horse nimbly and neatly, holding her sword to face the enemy.

The boy clumsily grabbed the saddle and slowly dismounted, carefully, saying in his mouth, "No sneak attacks, Arya, this time we agreed, no sneak attacks on me."

Myca, the butcher's son, naturally did not have a horse, but Eddard Stark always treated his subordinates and servants as family, plus an unruly Arya, it was easy to ask the attendants for two horses to ride.

In front of the Mountain, who was sitting on the grass, was a not-too-tall bush, and he could see everything on the Ruby Ford clearly.

The Mountain knew that the wild boy was the son of a butcher, and the butcher's son had never learned the skills of using a sword, so naturally he was no match for Arya, who came from a great noble family.

Soon, the two children were fighting together, and Arya kept hitting Myca, which angered Myca. The wild boy swung his stick wildly, and although he could not hit the agile Arya, he forced Arya into a flustered state.

Again, the sound of hooves rang out, and two horses came from the direction of the town. The Mountain knew that Joffrey and Sansa were coming this time.

The Ruby Ford was too famous. Noble youths passing through Harroway Town would come here to play if they were not in a hurry to get on the road, to feel the beautiful scenery and to recall the great battle between Prince Rhaegar and Robert back then. With good luck, it was said that one or two of Prince Rhaegar's rubies could still be found in the pebbles and white sand of the shallows.

Sure enough, two tall horses appeared at the entrance of the Ruby Ford, with two young men in brocade and splendid clothes riding on them. The boy had golden hair and blue eyes, and was extraordinarily handsome; the girl had red hair and blue eyes, and was elegant and charming.

Prince Joffrey and Lady Sansa were here!

The Mountain simply lay down comfortably and watched the upcoming struggle between Arya and Joffrey!

Thank you 'Satan's Necromancer' for the reward, thank you, handshake!