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| - "I don't want anyone bleeding out. The loser will receive your care, tradition or no."
- "How far is this likely to go, Ser Hugo?"
- "Ser Hugo, can we avoid an injury tonight?"
- "Yes, though it'll upset some. They can jump over the axe, and it can end when they tire of it." He makes a sour face. "It would be a disappointment."
- "The crowd wants blood, but my floor will be clean tonight. I'll keep this dance short."
- The room's full of feasting warriors. One hulking man rises, slow but graceful, and brandishes an axe. The crowd begins to call for the finger dance!
- "I am, my lady/lord. The traditionalists prefer to treat such wounds with hot metal and salt water ... but I'll boil wine and ready the silk and needles."
- Taller than some, broader than most, smiling and confident. Despite his missing fingers he holds the axe with surprising delicacy.
- "Maester Lucas, are you ready for what is to come?"
- "My dancer will show them that an Ironborn fears not the blade!"
- "You know the tradition, my lady/lord. The dancers throw the axe back and forth, jumping or catching. Whoever loses a finger loses the game."
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