A Clash of Kings Chapter 41 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Daenerys III

  • Dany enters Xaro's palanquin upset—after requesting a fleet of ships from the Pureborn, the rulers of Qarth, she realized they were only curious about her dragons, not her cause.
  • She now understands how all the years of running and begging made Viserys so bitter.
  • Xaro proposes she marry him and forget the Seven Kingdoms; he says they can sail on his pleasure barge.
  • Dany turns him down—both because she will not be deterred, and also because she knows Xaro is not truly interested in her as a bride, or person for that matter.
  • The palanquin stops for a crowd that has gathered around a firemage. Dany gets onto Jhogo's horse to watch, observing the firemage's tricks and his cutpurses working the crowd.
  • Quaithe appears next to Dany and warns her that she must leave Qarth soon. To reach the west, she says, Dany must go east. Is it just us, or do vague oxymorons just make for the best advice?
  • At Xaro's manse, Jorah tells Dany of Xaro's scheme: When a Qarth couple weds, custom allows each spouse to request one token of love, and the request cannot be denied. Xaro could ask for a Nintendo 64 or, more likely, one of her dragons, and Dany would be honor bound to grant it.
  • Dany decides she will visit Pyat Pree and the House of the Undying.