A Clash of Kings – The Three Whores
Tyrion Lannister walked his horse slowly toward the Mud Gate. Winterfell is nothing to you, he reminded himself. Be glad the place has fallen, and look to your own walls. The gate was open. Inside, three great trebuchets stood side by side in the market square, peering over the battlements like three huge birds. Their throwing arms were made from the trunks of old oaks, and banded with iron to keep them from splitting. The gold cloaks had named them the Three Whores, because they’d be giving Lord Stannis such a lusty welcome. Or so we hope.
A Clash of Kings – Chapter 59 – Tyrion
Tyrion inspects the progress of King’s Landings’s preparation for Stannis’s invasion. Riding through the Mud Gate he sees the trebuchets, nicknamed the three whores, members of the gold cloaks because they are supposed to give Stannis Baratheon a lusty welcome when he comes, being set up in the marketplace.
After two plot-heavy chapters, we have a slight lull. There really wasn’t much to show besides establishing shots and Tyrion talking to people. Fortunately, trebuchets are always cool. Looking at the map of Kings Landing, I’m not sure if the marketplace by the Mud Gate is the best place to put them unless they’re meant to be targeting Stannis’s ships in the river. Perhaps this is just where they’re being assembled and they’ll be spread out more later. At least they haven’t been placed on the city walls just because that would look cool.