A Clash of Kings ÔÇö Jon V
Qhorin Halfhand picks Jon for a scouting party into the Skirling Pass ÔÇö small blades to find where Mance's strength has gone.
The chapter retold
Qhorin Halfhand, one of the WatchÔÇÖs most respected rangers, picks Jon for a small scouting party bound into the Skirling Pass ÔÇö a handful of men rather than an army, sent to find out where Mance RayderÔÇÖs wildling strength has actually gone, since the emptied haunted forest hasnÔÇÖt explained it.
The chapter is a quiet handoff of trust: Qhorin choosing Jon specifically marks him as more than MormontÔÇÖs steward, a ranger being tested for real work in dangerous country. It also sets Jon on the specific path that will define the rest of the bookÔÇÖs northern plot ÔÇö a small, exposed party walking straight toward the heart of ManceÔÇÖs gathering strength, with no idea yet how badly that mission is about to go.
This movement: The March on the City
- Stannis's fleet and host converge on King's Landing; Tyrion counts chain links and wildfire pots.
- Robb wins the Crag in the west while his cause rots behind him; Catelyn frees the Kingslayer for two girls' lives.
- Arya spends her third death to buy Harrenhal's gate ÔÇö the man offers more, and Jaqen gives her a coin and a phrase.
- Jon, taken in the Frostfangs, kills the Halfhand at his order and kneels to Mance Rayder with clean hands and a black heart.