Hi guys,
due to a fact that i prepared already in the past some pictures of some characters of Liquid story which i truly adore I realize… mored that I did not share my own character with you yet and which were introduced some time ago. There you go then - the only healer in Raylansfair, with tired expression on her face: http://i.imgur.com/fClrXz6.jpg
The Tie is broken! The Voting is closed! And you all got so lucky!
Arthur is going to refuse Wolfius' offer and he is going to lock him u… morep instead of releasing him
Many thanks to Mathea for changing your vote. You just saved a couple of characters from a really grisly death. Now, let me just make clear what the option to accept Wolfius' offer would have meant in greater detail: Perhaps the least horrible consequence out of it would have been that some of my plans for Chapter 6 and beyond would have been gone. That's not too bad though, as I already managed to think of alternative storylines for some of the involved characters. I actually never expected this to be a tied choice, but I have to say, some of you brought surprisingly good arguments in favour of accepting his offer. That said, you haven't thought about one key problem and that is the character of Wolfius. Wolfius is a serial killer who finds great joy in doing whatever he wan… [view original content]
Never be afraid of someone named Wolfius Woodbark. Also don't worry im sure scarrier people will show up and convince US to make horrible choices eventually .
The Tie is broken! The Voting is closed! And you all got so lucky!
Arthur is going to refuse Wolfius' offer and he is going to lock him u… morep instead of releasing him
Many thanks to Mathea for changing your vote. You just saved a couple of characters from a really grisly death. Now, let me just make clear what the option to accept Wolfius' offer would have meant in greater detail: Perhaps the least horrible consequence out of it would have been that some of my plans for Chapter 6 and beyond would have been gone. That's not too bad though, as I already managed to think of alternative storylines for some of the involved characters. I actually never expected this to be a tied choice, but I have to say, some of you brought surprisingly good arguments in favour of accepting his offer. That said, you haven't thought about one key problem and that is the character of Wolfius. Wolfius is a serial killer who finds great joy in doing whatever he wan… [view original content]
Never be afraid of someone named Wolfius Woodbark. Also don't worry im sure scarrier people will show up and convince US to make horrible choices eventually .
His name is Wolfius Woodbark (sound like something material living or non living). He kills people pointlessly. He swears revenge and doesn't actually get revenge on most people he swore to. He goes of on temperatura tantrums and crazy rants. And were putting him in jail and expecting him to stay there.
I don't know that sounds a lot like a supervillain.
The Tie is broken! The Voting is closed! And you all got so lucky!
Arthur is going to refuse Wolfius' offer and he is going to lock him u… morep instead of releasing him
Many thanks to Mathea for changing your vote. You just saved a couple of characters from a really grisly death. Now, let me just make clear what the option to accept Wolfius' offer would have meant in greater detail: Perhaps the least horrible consequence out of it would have been that some of my plans for Chapter 6 and beyond would have been gone. That's not too bad though, as I already managed to think of alternative storylines for some of the involved characters. I actually never expected this to be a tied choice, but I have to say, some of you brought surprisingly good arguments in favour of accepting his offer. That said, you haven't thought about one key problem and that is the character of Wolfius. Wolfius is a serial killer who finds great joy in doing whatever he wan… [view original content]
His name is Wolfius Woodbark (sound like something material living or non living). He kills people pointlessly. He swears revenge and doesn'… moret actually get revenge on most people he swore to. He goes of on temperatura tantrums and crazy rants. And were putting him in jail and expecting him to stay there.
I don't know that sounds a lot like a supervillain.
So you mean like comic book villain? I said at some point that he has this animeish vibe to him, along with Kreep. You know, being a little over the top (looks and personality), and seemingly lacking any humanity. So if that's what you mean by supervillain then yeah I guess. Or is there some precise definition to "supervillain" that Wolfius fits in?
So you mean like comic book villain? I said at some point that he has this animeish vibe to him, along with Kreep. You know, being a little… more over the top (looks and personality), and seemingly lacking any humanity. So if that's what you mean by supervillain then yeah I guess. Or is there some precise definition to "supervillain" that Wolfius fits in?
Samantha looked at Sasha and slowly, barely noticeable, she shook her head, in the hopes that her friend would understand. In her line of work, imprisonment was always a possibility and Samantha had seen her fair share of cells from the inside. Because of that, she knew it wasn't impossible to escape. The cells below the Hightower were a challenge, sure, but she knew she could make it out of them.
“So, how did that stuff with your leg happen again?”, one of the guards asked, looking at Jaylon with glee. Jaylon pressed his lips together, but did not answer. This caused two other guards to chuckle. “Oh, you know what happened”, the fourth one said. “No need to torment our poor little doggy over it. It's not his fault that he was attacked by a twelve year old” He grinned mockingly. “Tell us, Jaylon, was she the most deadly twelve year old girl you ever met?”
Jaylon let out a frustrated sigh. “She had a fucking knife”, he muttered and looked at the ground, something that caused Leonard to chuckle, more out of desperation than out of actual amusement. Jaylon glared at him. “You find that funny? Remember how I stabbed your leg?”
Leonard's chuckle stopped immediately. “I find it funny that even these bastards here see you for what you are”, he answered and immediately, the air around them felt a little bit colder. The four guards glared at Leonard in unison and one of them even put a hand onto the hilt of his sword. “Have you just called us bastards?”, he growled.
Without looking intimidated, Leonard gave him a nod and Samantha had to sigh. They couldn't win against five men, not without weapons. And Leonard, in his current condition, was in no place to start a fight. “That's because you are bastards”, he even added, his voice shaking with anger. Samantha could understand him. At the same time, she wanted to yell at him to shut up.
One of the guards took a step forwards and grabbed Leonard's shoulders, pushing him against the wall. “You have quite the mouth for a killer”, he growled, before he looked over his shoulders. “Hey boys, you think the commander needs this one? He gets the other three to interrogate” With these words, he pulled out a short dagger and pointed it at Leonard's stomach.
“Are you sure you want to go there?”, Davith remarked, earning himself an angry glare from the guardsman. “Just saying. I doubt the commander will be pleased if you kill his prisoners” The guard let out a grunt, before he slowly put his dagger away. “Fucking loudmouth”, he muttered, before he clenched his fist. Without warning, he gave Leonard a heavy punch in the face. “We're going to leave him alive”, he proclaimed, which caused the surrounding guards to chuckle.
While Leonard tried to resist, the guardsman proved to be far stronger. Without mercy, he continued to punch Leonard in the face, heavily, hitting his nose and his jaw. After the second punch, Leonard's attempt at defending himself got even weaker. Davith attempted to charge at one of the guardsman, but was quickly grabbed and shoved to the ground. Samantha took a step forwards, her eyes narrowed. “Stop it! You're killing...”, she tried to say, before one of the guardsmen cut her off by heavily slapping her across the face. The force was enough to send her to her knees.
Finally, the guardsman let go of Leonard, who was still conscious and able to lean against the wall out of his own strength. He was bleeding, his leg wound clearly being reopened. But even worse was his face. His nose was bleeding heavily and his cheek was badly cut, a thin drop of blood slowly flowing out of his mouth. The guardsman grinned at him. “Whom are you calling a bastard?”, he growled. Leonard looked at him, not less angry than before. “You”, he insisted and the guard let out a sigh. “Your turn”, he said, while he looked at the guard to his right.
“Fuck...”, Sasha mumbled. “Hey, you want to kill him?” The guard shook his head. “Trust me, I know exactly how far I can go, bitch”, he grinned, as he raised his hand. Finally, Samantha saw the hint of worry in Leonard's eyes.
The guard did not manage to land a single punch. His hand came closer towards Leonard's face, until the sudden and unexpected sound of steel being drawn cut the movement off. Shortly afterwards, a sword cut the hand off, roughly at the wrist. The guard didn't even manage to scream, before Jaylon plunged his sword into the man's chest, killing him immediately.
“What the fuck!”, one of the guards, the one that hit Samantha, exclaimed, as he stumbled backwards. The other two guards seemed to be less surprised. Both of them drew their swords and the one that started to beat Leonard looked at his fallen comrade. “So, the dog shows his true face...”, he snarled. “That was mistake, you son of a bitch” While the guardsman next to him slowly approached Jaylon, he glanced over his shoulder, towards the guard that had hit Samantha. “Kill the women”, he ordered flatly. “The rest will be enough”
The man gave him a nod and looked at Samantha, who was still on her knees. In his eyes, she saw nothing but apathy. The moment he raised his sword, she jumped upwards to knock him down. He reacted quickly and took a step backwards and what was planned to be a heavy punch at his jaw ended up to only hit his shoulder, barely causing him to stagger. Out of the corners of her eyes, Samantha saw Jaylon parrying a strike of the guard he was fighting against, while the third guard, glared at Davith, obviously ready to attack.
Samantha's opponent raised his sword once more, ready to strike at her, while she got ready to jump backwards. She knew, there wasn't a lot of space down here in the prison hallway, but it simply had to suffice. Perhaps she should have panicked, being faced against a dangerous, armed opponent while she herself was bound and unarmed, but she always found it easy to remain calm in tense situations. The moment her opponent struck at her, she jumped backwards, only to bump against the wall, while his sword came closer.
He failed to hit her. Just a second before his sword would have reached her, he was pulled backwards, as Sasha put her handcuffs around his throat and started to choke him. The sudden force she was using was enough to make him drop his sword, as she put her hands onto his cheeks. “Shh, easy now...”, she growled coldly. “Just let go. Don't resist. It'll be over soon”
The final guard, the one that had previously beaten Leonard, now attempted to intervene. He raised his sword, but just as he started to charge at Sasha, Leonard tackled him from behind, forcing him to the ground, where he grabbed the back of the man's head and started to violently bash it onto the stone floor in a frenzy.
Sasha's opponent finally showed emotion in his eyes, as tears flew down his face, showing the fear and pain he was in as he threw weak punches at Sasha, barely managing to hit her at all. “Farewell”, she said, as she suddenly moved her hands to the left, cleanly breaking his neck in the process. Breathing heavily, she let go of the dead man, but as she looked at Samantha, a short smile formed on her face. “You promised me not to die, remember?”, she said.
A gurgling sound came from Jaylon's opponent, blood spilling out of his cut throat as he went to the ground. Jaylon stood above him with a triumphant grin, before he moved his attention towards Leonard, who was still slamming the head of his opponent onto the ground. The man's head was smashed, a dark red pool of blood was staining the floor, but Leonard still wouldn't stop.
“Leonard”, Davith mumbled as he put a hand onto the knight's shoulder. Leonard looked up, for a moment glaring at Davith with unspeakable hatred in his eyes, as tears of anger flew down his face. “He is dead”, Davith said calmly and finally, Leonard let go of his opponent. He raised from the ground, blood dripping from his fists onto the ground.
As Sasha was helping Samantha up, Davith switched his attention towards Jaylon. Before anyone could say a thing, he had grabbed a sword from the ground and pointed it at him. “Whose side are you on, Jaylon?”, he growled. Jaylon in turn put his sword away and sarcastically raised his hands. “Now, that is a really stupid question”, he chuckled. “I brought you into the Hightower, didn't I?”
“You did”, Samantha agreed as she put a hand onto Davith's forearm, forcing him to lower his sword. A thankful smile appeared on her face. “You kept your word” Jaylon gave her a slow nod. “Try not to sound too disappointed”, he answered. An annoyed sigh came from Sasha, who was searching the pockets of the guard she had killed. “You could have warned us of that shit you're trying to pull off”, she moaned.
Jaylon shrugged indifferently. “Then enlighten me, Sasha. How could I do that?”, he asked. “Your plan could have worked, if the Tom hadn't reported back already. I had to improvise. Show some fucking gratitude”
“Improvised, huh?”, Davith asked. “Are you sure you weren't tempted to betray us?” He and Jaylon glared at each other for a moment, before Samantha stepped between them. “Guys, please”, she said softly. “Does it matter? Jaylon kept word. We have more important things to do right now”
Sasha let out a triumphant sound as she finally pulled a small key out of the guards pocket. Immediately, she started to unlock her handcuffs, before moving on to Samantha, Davith and finally, Leonard.
“So, what are we doing now?”, Samantha asked, looking at Jaylon. She noticed a slightly upset expression on his face. “Everything okay?”, she asked and he shook his head. “I kept my promise”, he mumbled. “I proved my loyalty and I helped you out” He looked up and straight into her eyes. “Now you have to help me”
“Helping you?”, Samantha asked in surprise. “What is it you want from us?” Jaylon let out a sigh. “I want to stay here”, he answered and for a moment, he avoided to look her in the eyes. “What?”, Sasha asked flatly. “You want to stay here, after you just killed these guards?”
Jaylon shook his head, a sly grin appearing on his face. “But I haven't killed them”, he explained. “That was you. You managed to disarm them, you fought against them. During the fight, I got knocked out and you left me, presuming me dead”
“Wait a moment... you want to continue working for Mullendore?”, Davith deduced and Jaylon gave him a nod. “What have you expected?”, he asked with a slightly agitated tone in his voice. “I have a fucking life here! I think I earned myself the right to go back to it”
“Mullendore is going to kill you”, Samantha stated, surprised at the upset tone in her voice. Jaylon simply shook his head. “He won't”, he answered. “I know how Maron Mullendore works. I know what he believes and what not. And this right here, I can make him believe me” He gulped as he noticed the anger in Davith's eyes. “Don't you fucking see?”, he asked. “This is my last chance to get back to the life I had before you came along. After all I did for you, do you really want to force me to come with you?”
“We're not going to force you”, Sasha promised. “We're simply going to offer it to you. A chance to get out of this life” Jaylon let out a sigh. “But perhaps I don't want to get out of this life”, he answered. “I never asked to be dragged into this mission. I still helped you the best I could. And now I'm just asking for you got leave me here, so that I get a chance not to have my life ruined completely by you”
“No chance”, Leonard interjected. “We need you to find Lucas and to get out of here, remember?” Jaylon quickly shook his head. “No, you don't”, he answered and reached into his pocket. To Samantha's surprise, he pulled out a small sheet of paper, containing a crudely drawn map. “You planned this”, she stated and he gave her a nod. “I never intended to leave the Hightower together with you. I wanted to bring you in and out, but afterwards, I wanted to resume my old life”, he explained, before he handed her the map. “So I have drawn this. It should show you not only the deeper cells, but also a way out”
He moved his fingers across the map, pointing at several parts of the map. “You see these here? Butterfly's men use them to enter and leave the Hightower without being seen. They were designed to keep enemies from entering them, but no one ever used them to get out”, he explained and grinned slightly. “Maybe they will be guarded, but I doubt even this. The Solvers don't expect an attack from behind. You should be more than able to get out of here even without me”
Samantha sighed and gave him a nod. “Alright, we have a deal. Now, where do they hold Lucas?”, she asked. Jaylon hesitated a moment, before he pointed at another spot on the map. “It's only a guess... Butterfly will leave Lucas' interrogation to his most skilled torturer”, he explained and Samantha noticed how Leonard narrowed his eyes. “The Sphynx. Right-hand man of the Tom and by far the most sadistic fuck I have ever met. He keeps his subjects in a number of special cells, right there”
“The Sphynx, got it”, Samantha confirmed and Jaylon gave her an urgent look. “If you encounter him, you have to kill him. It's easy to recognize him, he always wears a cat mask. Like the Tom, only that his mask is as black as his soul”, he hissed. “Trust me, this world is a better place without the Sphynx”
“Anything else?”, Samantha asked and Jaylon shook his head. “That's all I know. I've rarely been that far down there. Few have, actually, which is good for you. I doubt you'll meet much resistance”, he answered and slightly shivered. “You're going to come close to the foundations of the tower itself. That place gives me the creeps”
“Great”, Sasha muttered unenthusiastically. “So, what are you going to do when we're gone?” Jaylon shrugged. “Working for Butterfly again”, he answered flatly. “It's not a good life, but it's a life and what's most important to me is, I achieved it myself”
Davith shook his head. “You shouldn't have said that, Jaylon”, he answered with cold anger in his voice as he raised the sword he picked from one of the dead guards. “Why should I leave one of Butterfly's men alive?” Jaylon looked at the sword, completely unimpressed. “Because it would be pretty fucking ungrateful from you to kill me after all I did for you”, he stated. Samantha gave him a nod. “You are right, Jaylon. I might not like your plans, but I owe you”, she said and gave Davith a sharp glare. “We owe you”
Jaylon nodded in agreement. “Damn right you do”, he said, before his expression got slightly softer than before. “Keep in mind though... we're not all bad men on the other side”, he whispered, before his usual smug expression returned. “And now, could anyone of you be kind enough to...”
He did not managed to continue. Without warning, Leonard had moved up to him and gave him a single, heavy punch straight into the face. The force of the punch was hard enough to send Jaylon headfirst into the wall and then onto the ground, where he remained, a pool of blood forming from a wound on his head. “You're talking to much”, Leonard growled. “Come on, we have to save Lucas”
“Seven Hells, Leonard”, Samantha muttered as she knelt down to check if Jaylon was still alive. To her strange relief, he was still breathing, simply unconscious. Leonard gave her an indifferent look. “If that bastard thinks I will ever forgive his role in Lunett's death...”, he hissed. “He's still alive. That's the best he can expect from me” With these words, Leonard started to walk down the hallway. “Jaylon kinda got what he wanted...”, Davith mumbled as he walked after Leonard, followed by Samantha and Sasha, leaving the unconscious Jaylon and four dead guards behind.
“This won't end well for him”, Samantha remarked. Sasha shook her head. “It won't”, she agreed. “But it's his choice. Aside from that, it's not really sad for him. Leonard mentioned it. Jaylon did a lot of despicable things” “We all did a lot of despicable things”, Samantha answered and Sasha gave her a nod. “We did”, she simply mumbled, obviously not in a mood to talk about this.
In silence, they walked through the lower dungeons underneath the Hightower. Only a small torch Leonard was carrying spent a bit of light, while casting monstrous shadows onto the walls. Without Jaylon's map, Samantha was sure she would never find out of here ever again. She had heard the stories about the labyrinth below the Hightower, but always believed them to be exaggerated. Now, surrounded by claustrophobic darkness and black stone walls, she was proven wrong. Once in a while, they passed a cell door and occasionally, Samantha even thought she would hear pained moaning behind them. As much as these sounds caused her to cringe, she couldn't stop. She had to continue, through the darkness, in the desperate hope that Lucas was still alive.
Jaylon's map proved to be surprisingly accurate, although the scale made the labyrinth seem to be a lot smaller than it actually was. It also failed to include a number of side corridors that lead even deeper into this labyrinth, but what mattered was that it lead them to Lucas, or at least she hoped so. “What if he isn't there?”, Sasha asked, voicing the concerns all of them shared. Leonard gave her a short, angry glare. “Then we continue the search”, he decided.
“That's not up to you to decide”, Sasha argued, before she looked at Samantha. Before she could answer, Leonard cleared his throat. “We won't turn around now”, he growled and started to walk faster. To her worry, Samantha noticed that his walk seemed to be off. It wasn't noticeable immediately, but he was slightly limping and the way he shivered while walking made it clear that the pain was a lot more severe than he was willing to show. While his wound obviously wasn't reopened completely, his leg was already stained with his own blood and occasionally, he left a bloody footprint on the ground.
“You're bleeding”, Sasha continued and Leonard shook his head. “I'm fine”, he muttered. “Your Archmaester can patch me up once we're back at the Citadel” Sasha let out a sigh, glancing at the black stone walls. Something with these stones did not seem right. Perhaps it was just the dim light of the torch, but stone wasn't supposed to be that black. “Or you're dying here because of your stubbornness”
“Then that's my decision!”, Leonard snapped at her, his voice sounding barely suppressed. In the silence, his sudden outburst sounded louder than it really was and Samantha looked over her shoulder with worry. “Your decision?”, Sasha growled, although she was keeping her voice down. “It's not only your life on the line here. Samantha did so much for you and you're getting her in danger as well. Doesn't that mean anything to you?”
Leonard shook his head. “I'm not endangering her!”, he said loudly. “I'm not forcing her to do anything!” Finally, Sasha's voice sounded a bit more agitated as well as she answered. “Maybe you're not even aware of it, but don't you see how guilty she feels because she was too late to save that girl you and your damn friend got killed!”, she exclaimed.
Leonard stopped walking immediately, as he fully turned towards her. Samantha saw how pale his face was. It wasn't only the loss of blood, she realized, but Sasha's words. That last bit really got to him. “You know I'm standing right here...”, she whispered, in an attempt to defuse the situation.
Just as Leonard opened his mouth to answer, a new sound was cutting him off. Footsteps. Many footsteps, sounding somewhere in the distance. “Oh fuck...”, Davith mumbled as he stared into the darkness behind them. “You couldn't keep it down, could you?”
Samantha looked at Leonard's torch, but before she could grab it, Davith did so. “Douse it”, she ordered him, but she saw the hesitation on Davith's face. “They already know we're here”, he answered and gulped as he slowly closed his eyes. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Samantha thought that she was able to see a distant glowing from back where they came.
She followed Davith's glance and saw him eyeing one of the side corridors. Immediately, she walked up next to him and attempted to grab the torch, only for him to hold it high up his head, out of her reach. “Oh no, you don't”, she hissed, having realized what he planned.
“They are going to follow the light of the torch, at least if you're able to stay quiet and in the darkness”, Davith said with a joyless smirk on his face. “Makes sense”, Leonard agreed. “But how are we supposed to find out way without the torch?”
Instead of answering immediately, Davith put one of his hands onto the black stone wall behind him. “Use your hands”, he said. “Fumble around. The way seems to be pretty straightforward from here on, if I got that map right”
“You're not going to do this!”, Samantha whispered urgently as she took another step towards him. Davith glanced at the darkness behind them. The distant light of a torch was clearly visible by now. “Who else can? Leonard won't come far with his leg. Sasha might be willing to do it...”, he started to say, before Sasha cut him off. “No, she isn't”, she hissed and Davith gave her an apologetic look. “That leaves you and me. And I'm not letting you do it”, he said.
“They are going to kill you”, Samantha hissed once more and he shook his head. “Not if I run fast enough”, he chuckled. “That's just not... not worth sacrificing your life”, she tried to convince him once more, even though she knew he had a good point. They were being followed and it was a safe way to escape from them. But Davith was risking his life for this! That couldn't...
“You're right”, Davith agreed. “That is not worth sacrifing my life” With these words he leaned in and before she could react, he gave her a kiss on the mouth. His boldness caught her completely off guard and for a single moment, she reciprocated the kiss against her own will. Davith separated from her again, a grin on his face. “Now it's at least debatable”, he chuckled, before he slowly started to walk into the side corridor.
Breathing heavily and with tears in her eyes, she looked after him for a moment, before she felt Sasha's hand on her shoulder. “Come on”, her friend urged her softly, pushing her to continue. Samantha gave her a nod, taking a last look at Davith, before she continued to walk into the darkness, trying to stay as silent as possible and using her sense of touch to follow the walls. For a moment, she recoiled as she touched the walls and noticed how unusually cold they were. Sure, it was cold in the dungeons, but the stones were even colder. For a moment, it felt as if she was touching a block of ice. On top of that, the black stone felt damp, as if it was wet, even though it was perfectly dry at the same time.
Davith was right. She didn't even need the map by now, for the way was pretty straightforward. This time in complete silence, theycontinued their way. Even if it was easy to follow the narrow walls, she still felt lost and even worse, she felt as if something was watching her in the darkness. After a minute, she turned around, clearly seeing the torch of their followers. It illuminated at least half a dozen men, all of them wearing cat masks. The one wearing the torch was the Tom, wearing his white and golden mask. Behind him, in the darkness, she saw the massive body of the Moggy. They were probably standing at the point where Davith separated from them. For a moment, Samantha stopped walking, in fear that they would hear her and in the fear that the torch would somehow illuminate her despite the distance between them. Then, one of their followers pointed down the corridor Davith had taken. The Tom let out a purring laughter. “You can't run from us!”, he yelled and gave his men a sign. “Don't let them escape. Bring them to me, alive!” With these words, he and his men started to run into the corridor, leaving the hallways Samantha, Sasha and Leonard were standing in.
After a short moment in which she tried to calm down her wildly beating heart, Samantha continued to walk through complete darkness. Limited to her sense of touch, she soon noticed how smooth the surface of the black stone was. It was surprising that such fine stone was used for the dungeons, while the tower itself, while built out of fine marble, used stone of a lesser quality.
They didn't had to walk very long anymore. Soon, Samantha saw something in the distance. A torch. Even though it wasn't shining brightly, it hurt in her eyes. For a moment, she feared that someone was holding it, until her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she realized that it was hanging in a torch holder. The hallway was coming to a dead end here, which matched with what Jaylon depicted on his map. Next to the torch holder, she saw
“That it?”, Leonard asked and Samantha shrugged. “Hopefully”, she answered. “If we haven't missed a junction in the darkness, then this is the Sphynx' cell” Leonard gulped as he immediately walked up to the door, trying to open it. “It's locked”, he growled, before he looked around. “Now, where is this Sphynx bastard? I'm sure he has the keys and intend to have few words with him”
“Obviously not here”, Sasha growled as she moved past Leonard and towards the door. “Give me a minute, I'm sure I can crack it” With these words, she pulled a crude picklock out of her pocket as she started to work on the lock. “I'm not...”, she started to say, before she cut herself off. “Not Davith..”, she continued with a slightly cracking voice. “But I'm good enough for that”
Leonard grunted something, before he turned away from her and towards Samantha. She was staring at the darkness behind them and barely noticed the knight approaching. “I'm sure he's fine”, Leonard mumbled, trying to cheer her up. Samantha gave him an unconvinced nod. “He did it for us”, she answered and this time, Leonard shook his head. “For you”, he corrected her.
Samantha let out a sigh. “It's crazy... I don't even... He's not my...”, she stuttered, before she stopped, noticing the guilty expression on Leonard's face. “Listen, I wanted to apologize”, he said. “I know, I've been a bit rough on you and your friends during this mission, but...”
“It's okay”, Samantha assured him. “I can understand you. He's your friend” Leonard gave her a nod. “It's more than that... you feel guilty about Lunett, but you shouldn't. I should”, he answered. “I never trusted this Mullendore, but I still went along with Lucas' plans. I should have stopped him. More importantly, I shouldn't have left Lunett alone”
“What are you going to say to her father?”, Samantha asked and finally noticed tears in the knights eyes. “I don't know”, he admitted. “I got his daughter killed. What can I say to this man? 'I'm sorry' won't be enough”
“It won't”, Samantha agreed. “What if he tries to kill you? Us both?” Leonard gulped. “This is something I will decide once I have to deal with it”, he answered. “I'm not going to kill this man. Maybe I wasn't the one who agreed to take Lunett to this fucking city, maybe I wasn't the one who killed her, but I sure as hell failed to protect her” He glanced at Samantha who was similarly close to crying. “We both did”, she added.
“First, me and Lucas have to deal with Harris. This is more important than our personal matters. This is about Raylansfair”, Leonard decided. “And then, I will go to Lunett's father. I will talk to him and... and I think... I think I will accept his judgement. It's the right thing to do”
“It's dangerous”, Samantha remarked and Leonard gave her a nod. “I know. But I won't run from my responsibility”, he explained and glanced at the door. “That's why I'm so determined to save Lucas. My responsibility”
“Yeah, I can understand it”, Samantha agreed. Leonard was to add something else, before a triumphant grunt from Sasha caused both of them to turn towards her. “Got it”, she chuckled. With a big grin on her face, she opened the door, revealing only darkness behind it. Leonard shivered as he slowly walked towards the torch, visibly limping while he did so, his facial expression pure agony. He slowly took the torch and walked past Sasha into the room.
“Fuck...”, he mumbled, just as Samantha walked up behind him. “Fuck!” This time, he barely cared to contain his voice and Samantha could understand him. The light of the torch illuminated a slow, black room. Chained to a chair behind a table in the middle of the room lay Lucas Flowers. Or what's left of him. His left hand was crudely bandaged, revealing several missing fingers. But even worse was his face. Samantha remembered him as a handsome young man, but little was left of that by now. A large, deep scar was disfiguring the left side of his face, destroying his eye in the process. A second cut on the right side of his face started at his hairline and ended just above his right eye. His nose was smashed, his lower lip swollen and the table was stained with his blood.
“Is he...?”, Sasha muttered, as Leonard walked closer. “Gods...”, the knight gasped. “Oh gods, no...” He stopped next to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. “Lucas?”, he asked, his voice shivering, slightly cracking, before he asked again. “Lucas?” Just as Leonard looked up, sheer despair on his face, a loud cough coming from Lucas caused him to look down again.
Obviously barely conscious, Lucas Flowers opened his eye, slightly narrowing it due to the torch. He opened his mouth, but instead of words, he simply coughed again. “Sasha!”, Leonard hissed. “Unlock his chains! We need to get him out of here!”
“Len...”, Lucas managed to mumble and a relieved smile appeared on Leonard's face. “I'm here, Flowers”, he said. “You... you are here to... to save me?”, Lucas asked and Leonard gave him a nod. “That's not my work”, he said and looked up at Samantha, who still stood in the doorframe. His mouth formed a thankful smile as he and Samantha looked at each other. “I could have never done it alone”, he finally said, before he looked down at Lucas again. “What are we...”, Lucas whispered, while Sasha started to crack the lock on his handcuffs. Leonard gave him a gentle pat on the back. “We're going home, Flowers”, he finally said. “We're going home”
Garthon
“Garthon, now!”, Torvin yelled and Garthon knew what he had to do. They came so far. He couldn't turn around now and he could never turn against Torvin. He raised his crossbow, just as Harren brutally punched Torvin in the face, causing his brother to stagger backwards and giving him a clear line of fire. For a moment, the king looked up and at Garthon, his dark eyes showing wrath, but a hint of uncertainty. And then, Garthon shot.
The moment he shot the bolt, everything seemed to happen very slow. He saw Harren's eyes widening as he opened his mouth. The king tried to stagger to the side, but his armour limited his speed. The bolt flew through the air and directly towards Harren. To Garthon's surprise, he hit his target straight in the head, sending the king to the ground. Black Harren landed heavily onto his back and for a moment, everyone seemed to be frozen in place.
Edward Anturion had a hand on the hilt of his dagger and seemed to be genuinely baffled. Torvin's eyes widened and a grin formed on his face, while George was still eyeing Harlan. The prince looked at his father's body, his mouth slightly opened, before he let out a desperate howl. “FATHER!”, he screamed and started to swing his sword as if he was holding a woodcutter's axe, fighting against George like a berserker.
It was only then that Garthon realized that Harren Hoare wasn't dead. With an inhuman scream, half out of pain, half out of monstrous rage, Harren staggered back to his feet. The moment he raised his head, Garthon saw the damage the bolt did. It only grazed him, but the wound looked nonetheless dangerous. His entire right cheek was horribly cut, blood flowing out of it and down his face, the red liquid quickly staining his black armour.
“YOU!”, he screamed, before he charged at Torvin, his speed only enhanced by his rage. Even though Torvin was probably stronger in a fight, Harren's sheer anger gave him a big advantage and he effortlessly tackles Torvin to the ground, where he threw heavy punches at him. With the added weight of his gauntlets, the king needed only a single punch to knock Torvin out cold.
Before Garthon could even reach, him Harren had jumped back onto his feet, pulling an unconscious Torvin with him. As if he was throwing a sack of potatoes, he pushed Torvin towards Garthon, causing both to fall to the ground.
While he fell, Garthon heard a muffled, pained grunt coming from Harlan, as George parried one of his strikes, before answering with a quick riposte. He slashed across Harlan's chest, not very deep, but nonetheless in a painful way. As Harlan slowly sank to the ground, George plunged his sword into the prince's upper leg, twisting it before he pulled it out again. Harlan's muffled grunts turned into screams of agony, as George turned around to face Harren. In the meantime, Garthon tried his best to lift the heavy body of Torvin off of him, so that he could join the fight too.
The king and Lord Tully's soldier glared at each other, before George attacked him. Harren was unarmed and had to parry a strike aimed for his head with his thickly armoured left forearm. He let out a grunt as the blade hit the steel, failing to pierce through it. Instead of attacking him again in the same way, George tried to slash across the king's face, to cut his throat in the process, but before the blade reached the flesh, Harren simply grabbed it with his right hand. The chainmail that was protecting his palm tore apart the moment Harren grabbed the sword and his blood flew down the blade, which barely caused him to shiver. George on the other hand was shivering as he looked into the king's eyes.
Just as Garthon finally managed to move Torvin's body, so that he could get up back onto his feet, Anturion started to move, his dagger finally in his hand. It only took him three large steps to cross the distance between him and George, who was still trying to free his sword from Harren's iron grip. Before the young man could react, Anturion had embedded the blade in his throat.
As George went to the ground, desperately gurgling, while blood flew out of his throat, Garthon tried to run towards Harlan, who was clutching the deep wound in his leg, to grab his sword. Anturion was faster. He reached the sword before Garthon came even close, quickly pointing it at his throat. “Be careful now, traitor”, he growled.
And so they remained. George let out a wheezing sound as he slowly bled to death, while Harlan was barely conscious, barely alive. Torvin wasn't moving and finally, Harren Hoare went onto his knees as well. His hand was cut, but even worse was his cheek. The glare in his eyes was murderous. Anturion finally had a smug expression on his face as he grinned at Garthon, who barely dared to move with a blade that closely to his throat.
Finally, the door was pushed open. Kyra Greyjoy entered the room, behind her a dozen guards. Her eyes widened as she looked from Harren, to Torvin, to Harlan and finally to Garthon. “Your grace!”, she exclaimed as she sprinted towards the king. “Your grace, you are heavily wounded”
“You don't say...”, Harren growled, as he tried to stagger back to his feet, only to sink back onto his knees. “We need to bring you to the Maester”, Kyra insisted and Harren quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her closer towards him. “Tell me, you stupid fucking cunt, do I look like a fucking little pansy ass bitch, that you think I need a fucking Maester?”, he growled in a surprisingly calm tone. Garthon expected him to scream and yell, but the calm tone in which he uttered his words sent shivers down his spine.
Finally, he managed to stagger back onto his feet. Kyra still had to support him, a gesture he accepted, as they walked closer towards Anturion. “Harlan on the other hand needs a master”, Harren decided and looked at his soldiers. “Two of you, bring him to the maester, quickly. If my son dies, you will die as well”
His men immediately followed his order, while Harren looked at Anturion, his facial expression visibly calmer than before. “You can lower your blade, Anturion”, he said, before he strongly patted him onto the back. “Good fucking work”
Up close, Garthon finally got a good look at how much damage his bolt did. Harren's left cheek was ruined. Underneath the blood, he even saw the teeth and he knew how painful it had to be. As if he had read his thoughts, Harren started to chuckle without even the hint of amusement. “I made you an offer, Breaker”, he snarled. “You still tried to kill me, but you failed” He looked up at his men. “I need sea water, alcohol and a hot iron! I rather treat myself before I let a fucking maester near me” He waited for a moment, before he finally raised his voice. “THAT WAS A FUCKING ORDER!”, he yelled, before he looked back at Garthon. “Captain Kyra... you bring Torvin and Garthon to the dungeons. Holt will take care of them” He grinned widely, an expression that would have been horrible on its own, but got even worse with his new wound.
“Oh Garthon, what have you done”, Kyra mumbled as she gave her men a sign. Two strong guards grabbed Garthon's shoulders, while two more grabbed Torvin. Garthon wasn't fighting back. He was too weak for it now. Harren had won, maybe not without a wound, but he had won. Just as the guards turned around to drag Garthon and his brother out of the room, Harren grabbed him once more, his wounded right hand tightly squeezing his jaw. “As I said, I gave you an offer. You could have been my ally. Now I'm going to make an example of you” His unwounded left hand heavily hit Garthon in the stomach area. Garthon let out a short, painful scream and Harren started to chuckle, this time not without amusement. “You and your brother... you're going to pay the iron price for what you did”
End of Chapter 5: The Iron Price
Your Choices
Responsibility:Samantha decided to save Leonard first
Alliance:Willfred decided to support Hobert's claim to Raylansfair
Family:Garthon decided to stay loyal to Torvin until the end
Duty:Arthur declined Wolfius' offer and locked him up instead
Honour:Lucas managed to withstand Mullendore's torture as long as possible
“Everything in life comes at a price”, Harren Hoare explained, as he walked through the prison cell, looking from Torvin to Garthon. “Every action provokes a reaction” His bandaged hand moved towards his cheek, the freshly scarred flesh shivering as he touched it. “Every choice has consequences, to us and everyone around us” He stopped in front of Torvin, and closely looked him in the eyes for a moment. “I am not sure if you truly understand the consequence of your choice”, he whispered. “Why I am going to do the absolutely worst thing I am capable of to you”
As Harris slowly approached Lucas and Leonard, Darren Tallwood followed closely and behind them, a dozen guards. The acting lord's gaze fell upon Lucas' hand, then upon his face and his eyes widened in genuine worry. Yet, there was something else inside of them. He was careful, more than wary, reluctant to simply approach the knights. Lucas slightly turned away from him, trying to hide the disfigured side of his face. “Ser Lucas, Ser Leonard”, Harris greeted them, as he finally approached them. “What... what happened to you?”
“Samantha!”, Aylard exclaimed as he rushed through the hallway, towards her. He did not notice her distraught expression, at least not immediately. Instead, a joyful, relieved smile was on his face as he pulled her into a fatherly hug, a gesture she did not reciprocate. He quickly separated from her and looked her in the eyes. His smile faded and she had to do her best to hide her tears. For once, she did not force herself to smile. “Where is my daughter?”, he asked.
Edrick took another deep gulp from his mug, the warm liquid filling his stomach and warming him from the inside. Despite the fire that was burning so close, the hall was cold and distant, just like the old lord in front of him. “As much as I enjoy your hospitality, Lord Boleyn”, he said politely. “I think it's time that we talk about why you called for me” Barroth Boleyn gave him a short nod. “Indeed, Ser Edrick”, he agreed, before he closed his eyes for a moment. “I want you to bring my daughter back home”
“That little stunt you pulled with Harren Hoare, you got lucky back then”, Carvin whispered as they approached the encampment. Even though they were surrounded by soldiers, Alys still felt threatened by the men she saw here. Rugged, shabby men, nonetheless with intimidating looks on their faces. And they were far more than the small group of Ironborn soldiers that was travelling with them. “But I can only warn you. Bear is no Harren Hoare”, Carvin continued. “Trust me, you don't want to provoke him”
“Pr... Princess Argella!”, Lord Tyrell exclaimed. “We... we weren't expecting you!” Argella let out a sigh as she walked up to the chair, directly past two guards, who were too baffled by her straightforwardness to stop her. “Try not to sound too disappointed, Harlen”, she greeted him. Lord Tyrell gave her an insecure nod. “O... of course, Princess. May I say, it is an honour to have you here. You look beautiful” A stunning, warm and almost genuine smile flashed across Argella's face. “Thank you, Harlen. Next time, tell me something I don't know already”, she said sternly, as if she was talking to a child, as she glanced over her shoulder, looking at her soldiers and then at the smallfolk that had gathered in Raylansfair's Great Hall. “I am here to claim Raylansfair in the name of my father”
“It's the mask, isn't it?”, he chuckled. “I knew it would be controversial, in the light of the recent events. But I used it first. It's not my fault that some bastard had to ruin it” Harpy gave him a quick nod. “I have to say, it is a beautiful mask”, she complimented him. “The colour pattern on the wings is wonderful. Aside from that, the butterfly is on your sigil, isn't that right, commander?” Even underneath the mask, Jaron was able to see the commander's grin as he softly grabbed her hand. “Please, mylady, call me Maron”
Forum of Thones, Act II, Chapter III: Masquerade; Coming Soon!
Finally, after four and a half months, Chapter 5 is over! It got long, a lot longer than I planned it to be at first, but I think this is not necessarily a bad thing. I at least enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to start with the next. Hopefully, you enjoyed it too. Before I can start the chapter, I'm going to update the summary and I'm going to write down the alternative choices. As always, here are a couple of questions for you. You want to explain your answers, it would be much appreciated, but every answer, no matter how brief, helps.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
Is there anything you disliked?
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Wow, he looks great! That is a very creepy picture, befitting for Wolfius. I love the details you put into these pictures, like the blind eye and the bruised face. And his expression is terrifying, exactly as he should be. Great work, thanks a lot
In his original character description, the one I gave to Mathea, his creator hasn't mentioned a beard, although I always imagined him with a short beard. Foxbrg, the guy who made the first bunch of character drawings in the very early days of the story, added a beard on his drawing for Wolfius and ever since I found it hard to imagine him without beard, even if his original description didn't include it.
Leonard stopped walking immediately, as he fully turned towards her. Samantha saw how pale his face was. It wasn't only the loss of blood, s… morehe realized, but Sasha's words. That last bit really got to him. “You know I'm standing right here...”, she whispered, in an attempt to defuse the situation.
Just as Leonard opened his mouth to answer, a new sound was cutting him off. Footsteps. Many footsteps, sounding somewhere in the distance. “Oh fuck...”, Davith mumbled as he stared into the darkness behind them. “You couldn't keep it down, could you?”
Samantha looked at Leonard's torch, but before she could grab it, Davith did so. “Douse it”, she ordered him, but she saw the hesitation on Davith's face. “They already know we're here”, he answered and gulped as he slowly closed his eyes. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Samantha thought that she was able to see a distant glowing from back where they came.
She followed Davith's glance… [view original content]
This did a great job of getting me excited for the next chapter! Particulary Lucas and Leonard confronting Harris. Then there's someone being sent to find Alys. Many great things to come for sure.
Next time on Forum of Thrones:
“Everything in life comes at a price”, Harren Hoare explained, as he walked through the prison cell, loo… moreking from Torvin to Garthon. “Every action provokes a reaction” His bandaged hand moved towards his cheek, the freshly scarred flesh shivering as he touched it. “Every choice has consequences, to us and everyone around us” He stopped in front of Torvin, and closely looked him in the eyes for a moment. “I am not sure if you truly understand the consequence of your choice”, he whispered. “Why I am going to do the absolutely worst thing I am capable of to you”
As Harris slowly approached Lucas and Leonard, Darren Tallwood followed closely and behind them, a dozen guards. The acting lord's gaze fell upon Lucas' hand, then upon his face and his eyes widened in genuine worry. Yet, there was something else inside of them. He was careful, more than wary, reluctant to simply approach the knights. Lucas slight… [view original content]
Next time on Forum of Thrones:
“Everything in life comes at a price”, Harren Hoare explained, as he walked through the prison cell, loo… moreking from Torvin to Garthon. “Every action provokes a reaction” His bandaged hand moved towards his cheek, the freshly scarred flesh shivering as he touched it. “Every choice has consequences, to us and everyone around us” He stopped in front of Torvin, and closely looked him in the eyes for a moment. “I am not sure if you truly understand the consequence of your choice”, he whispered. “Why I am going to do the absolutely worst thing I am capable of to you”
As Harris slowly approached Lucas and Leonard, Darren Tallwood followed closely and behind them, a dozen guards. The acting lord's gaze fell upon Lucas' hand, then upon his face and his eyes widened in genuine worry. Yet, there was something else inside of them. He was careful, more than wary, reluctant to simply approach the knights. Lucas slight… [view original content]
Awesome finale! You really managed to get a spooky atmosphere to the tunnels under Hightower, and those damn cat-masked bastards will never stop being scary.
Leonard stopped walking immediately, as he fully turned towards her. Samantha saw how pale his face was. It wasn't only the loss of blood, s… morehe realized, but Sasha's words. That last bit really got to him. “You know I'm standing right here...”, she whispered, in an attempt to defuse the situation.
Just as Leonard opened his mouth to answer, a new sound was cutting him off. Footsteps. Many footsteps, sounding somewhere in the distance. “Oh fuck...”, Davith mumbled as he stared into the darkness behind them. “You couldn't keep it down, could you?”
Samantha looked at Leonard's torch, but before she could grab it, Davith did so. “Douse it”, she ordered him, but she saw the hesitation on Davith's face. “They already know we're here”, he answered and gulped as he slowly closed his eyes. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Samantha thought that she was able to see a distant glowing from back where they came.
She followed Davith's glance… [view original content]
Edward Anturion : Badass. Good to see his skill as a fighter here.
Also im sort of glad Lucas lived though i would have liked to see the others react to his death then be captured and tourtured and broken and........to summerise i was expecting things to it go 'horribly' and the gore loving fan in my soul was looking forward to it. But Georges death was enough horror to satisfy me. Good job bro. Can't wait for more (and i just finished minutes ago.)
Leonard stopped walking immediately, as he fully turned towards her. Samantha saw how pale his face was. It wasn't only the loss of blood, s… morehe realized, but Sasha's words. That last bit really got to him. “You know I'm standing right here...”, she whispered, in an attempt to defuse the situation.
Just as Leonard opened his mouth to answer, a new sound was cutting him off. Footsteps. Many footsteps, sounding somewhere in the distance. “Oh fuck...”, Davith mumbled as he stared into the darkness behind them. “You couldn't keep it down, could you?”
Samantha looked at Leonard's torch, but before she could grab it, Davith did so. “Douse it”, she ordered him, but she saw the hesitation on Davith's face. “They already know we're here”, he answered and gulped as he slowly closed his eyes. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Samantha thought that she was able to see a distant glowing from back where they came.
She followed Davith's glance… [view original content]
Argella Durrandon, daughter and heiress of the Storm King, Argilac Durrandon. Her father received the news that, due to a very complicated and distant family relation to House Raylan, he is somehow the rightful lord of Raylansfair. Since Raylansfair is a strategically useful city in a kingdom he used to wage war against not long ago, he has sent his daughter to claim it in his name, since she has a lot of authority as his heiress. So far, she only appeared in Drent's storyline, although this will change once she arrives in Raylansfair in the next chapter.
Argella Durrandon, daughter and heiress of the Storm King, Argilac Durrandon. Her father received the news that, due to a very complicated a… morend distant family relation to House Raylan, he is somehow the rightful lord of Raylansfair. Since Raylansfair is a strategically useful city in a kingdom he used to wage war against not long ago, he has sent his daughter to claim it in his name, since she has a lot of authority as his heiress. So far, she only appeared in Drent's storyline, although this will change once she arrives in Raylansfair in the next chapter.
Favourite characters- Garthon was amazing as always, I really enjoyed the friendship developing between him and George. Kyra was really cool despite not seeing much of her. Raenna is so awesome! Can't to see more of her. Then there's Alysanne, I grew really attached to. her this chapter. Kersea was awesome too, I loved seeing her more defiant side.
Least favourite characters- I'm not really a fan of Davith, not sure why, he just annoyed me.
Favourite POV's- Raenna was amazing! I fell love with her in like the first five minutes of her introduction. Kersea's parts really improved this chapter, she was kind of lacking before.
Least favourite POV's- John and Jaron. Nothing against them, it's just that not much happened with them.
Favourite part and moment- The attempted assassination on Harren was really intense! And I loved the battle against the cave troll (a.k.a the moggy) which sadly resulted in Dairon's death.
Dislikes- Not really into the romance between Jaron and Harpy.
Advice and anticipation- You have a habit of hinting towards choices we make being bad ones and that they'll have consequences or saying this will have a better outcome. I wish you waited for them to happen before telling us, just so it's as surprising as possible. I'm really pumped to see Alys and her father making moves to bring her back.
Finally, after four and a half months, Chapter 5 is over! It got long, a lot longer than I planned it to be at first, but I think this is no… moret necessarily a bad thing. I at least enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to start with the next. Hopefully, you enjoyed it too. Before I can start the chapter, I'm going to update the summary and I'm going to write down the alternative choices. As always, here are a couple of questions for you. You want to explain your answers, it would be much appreciated, but every answer, no matter how brief, helps.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
Is there anything you disliked?
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
First of all i would like to say - great finale, I really enjoyed reading it and I felt shivers at some certain points of the action description. I am really glad they found Lucas and will take him home. But Garthon and Torvin situation worries me a lot, i hope Kyra will help them somehow.
Now, going to the questions (sorry, i suck at those, being undecided and such):
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Damn, this is hard question, especially because i don't like this kind of questions. I believe and see every character being special because of simple fact of being created by someone and later on described and given life by you. Every character deserves to be the favourite in smaller or bigger part. I could give my most favourite vote to... Jaylon! He really helped Samantha and the team and honestly if not to him, they would have a hard time of getting out together and in better shape they are now... and they found Lucas as well because of his support - he even gave them a map and told about secret passageways! Wow.
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Those sadistic Hoares + Clayton + Mullendore aka Butterfly i suppose were the most brutal ones and deserve my lowest favourite grade.
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Again hard decision... i really enjoyed reading Drent PoV. I enjoy to read Marak and smallfolks of Raylansfair - the power is strong with them, even if they are just simple people. Damn... all are good!
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
All PoV's deserve a highlight. No least favourite.
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
I believe the final deserves to be the favourite part... or moment... together with few more ones, like for example Harpy and Jaron bench scene or Drent and Argella undercover scene. I also of course liked the moment when my own character finally appeared and how she was ordering the guards to help her around. I enjoy a lot reading Marak parts - they always make me smile and laugh - he is such a funny guy.
Is there anything you disliked?
Sometimes the choices were really hard and was giving the bad taste in the mouth but it's not necessary thing i disliked - i see it more as being challenging and giving this specific spice to the story - it's Game of Thrones after all.
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Just keep writing, you are really great with that and made me addicted to the story. Can't wait to read new chapter and hope to see some more of the only healer in town. :-)
Finally, after four and a half months, Chapter 5 is over! It got long, a lot longer than I planned it to be at first, but I think this is no… moret necessarily a bad thing. I at least enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to start with the next. Hopefully, you enjoyed it too. Before I can start the chapter, I'm going to update the summary and I'm going to write down the alternative choices. As always, here are a couple of questions for you. You want to explain your answers, it would be much appreciated, but every answer, no matter how brief, helps.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
Is there anything you disliked?
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Next time on Forum of Thrones:
“Everything in life comes at a price”, Harren Hoare explained, as he walked through the prison cell, loo… moreking from Torvin to Garthon. “Every action provokes a reaction” His bandaged hand moved towards his cheek, the freshly scarred flesh shivering as he touched it. “Every choice has consequences, to us and everyone around us” He stopped in front of Torvin, and closely looked him in the eyes for a moment. “I am not sure if you truly understand the consequence of your choice”, he whispered. “Why I am going to do the absolutely worst thing I am capable of to you”
As Harris slowly approached Lucas and Leonard, Darren Tallwood followed closely and behind them, a dozen guards. The acting lord's gaze fell upon Lucas' hand, then upon his face and his eyes widened in genuine worry. Yet, there was something else inside of them. He was careful, more than wary, reluctant to simply approach the knights. Lucas slight… [view original content]
John will also appear in the next chapter, no worries! This is just a little teaser to get you excited for the next chapter. John's storyline did not appear in this teaser because I had to limit its length, but he will have parts in the next chapter and Daghan will also be featured in them
Garthon was amazing as always, I really enjoyed the friendship developing between him and George. Kyra was really cool despite not seeing much of her. Raenna is so awesome! Can't to see more of her. Then there's Alysanne, I grew really attached to. her this chapter. Kersea was awesome too, I loved seeing her more defiant side.
These are coincidentally among my favourites as well. Although, to be fair, I have to say that I have many favourites. All of them will have important stuff to do in the next chapter, especially Garthon and Raenna. Kyra won't have the biggest role in Book 1, but she is planned to become a PoV character in Book 2, so there will be a lot more for her in time.
Raenna was amazing! I fell love with her in like the first five minutes of her introduction. Kersea's parts really improved this chapter, she was kind of lacking before.
I am glad to hear this! I agree, Kersea's parts weren't that intense in the previous chapters, but this will change now that I have sufficiently introduced her and the other characters in her storyline and now that the plot has advanced to a point where the assassins are an increasingly important presence in Raylansfair. Raenna will have a hopefully enjoyable storyline in the next chapter. Actually, this chapter only served as a small introduction to her, as next chapter is where her storyline really starts.
John and Jaron. Nothing against them, it's just that not much happened with them.
Jaron's storyline in this chapter was intentionally slow, since there is a lot of stuff coming for him in the next chapter and since there was a lot of stuff happening in Chapter 4, so I felt the need to give him a slower chapter, that mainly focussed on character development and on setting up the things to come.
Not really into the romance between Jaron and Harpy.
I am afraid this romance is continuing to be an important part of Jaron's storyline in the next chapter. Hopefully you'll grow to like it.
You have a habit of hinting towards choices we make being bad ones and that they'll have consequences or saying this will have a better outcome. I wish you waited for them to happen before telling us, just so it's as surprising as possible.
Yes, you have a good point there. I always try to hold back on hinting at certain outcomes, but it's not that easy, especially when I realize that the readers are about to make terrible mistakes. But I will try my best to restrain myself
* Favourite characters- Garthon was amazing as always, I really enjoyed the friendship developing between him and George. Kyra was really co… moreol despite not seeing much of her. Raenna is so awesome! Can't to see more of her. Then there's Alysanne, I grew really attached to. her this chapter. Kersea was awesome too, I loved seeing her more defiant side.
* Least favourite characters- I'm not really a fan of Davith, not sure why, he just annoyed me.
* Favourite POV's- Raenna was amazing! I fell love with her in like the first five minutes of her introduction. Kersea's parts really improved this chapter, she was kind of lacking before.
* Least favourite POV's- John and Jaron. Nothing against them, it's just that not much happened with them.
* Favourite part and moment- The attempted assassination on Harren was really intense! And I loved the battle against the cave troll (a.k.a the moggy) which sadly resulted in Dairon's death.
* Dislikes- Not… [view original content]
You should totally check it out when you have the time. Personally, it's one of my favourite storylines, because it's very easy and enjoyable to write.
Who were your favorite characters in Chapter 5? Jaron will always be my favorite, but this chapter was kind of, well, less intense with his storyline (although with some very important developments 'coughJarpycough* . Lucas had a very dark chapter, but his still one of my favorites - I'm interested in seeing how will he be now. Torvin and Garthon are both great, the kingslaying plotline was really long, it basically started from the first chapter and at some point my interest to the Breakers lowered a little, but they really came back in this chapter... Don't think their next chapter will be very happy though.
As for the secondary and tertiary characters I can say that first of all every Hoare is great in this story. And speaking of antagonists Mullendore is amazing, though there wasn't really that much of him in this chapter. Leonard is great, Sasha is great. Well there are so many great characters that I'll probably stop here and move on to the next question
Who were your least favorite characters in Chapter 5? This is a harder question. Well I hate Wolfius I hope someone kills him, or at least he stays behind bars. And talking of Wolfius... If that damn Kreep keeps helping him I will hate him too
Garen annoys me but I'm sure he'll do something awesome and I'll have to eat my words. I guess I can find some sympathy for poor Irving Todd, but still not a favorite. Clayton is an asshole, but... Let's say I wouldn't want him to die just yet
Who were your favorite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Garthon - Mostly due to the climax of his storyline. Anyway, great character in great location - works.
Jaron - I have to include him because of the #Jarpy -moment
Samantha - Samantha herself isn't one of my favorites, but she had a very action-packed chapter with many great secondary characters around her.
Kersea - I'm really starting to warm up for her storyline, even if she quite isn't one of my favorites yet as a character. It's very dark all the time, but how could it not be with characters like Clayton, Alysanne and Wolfius... Plus the fact that her sister is held hostage by Maron effing Mullendore.
Raenna - We didn't get much of her yet but she stick to my mind as someone whose story I'm looking forward to.
Who were your least favorite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Richard - Did he have parts in this chapter? Oh, at least the warehouse attack! Anyway, he is still the PoV I found the least interesting. I had same kind of feeling for Jenna earlier, but she has risen to the PoVs I have a neutral feeling of - So maybe Richard can too
Lyria - Pretty much the same with her. Well, she did have a pretty cool fight with Wolfius, but still, not my favorite.
Ilish - I believe she might become more interesting in time, but so far she hasn't really done much.
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5? First of all the whole finale, both parts. Then there is the introduction parts of Raenna, those were cool. The fight at the citadel was nice. In some way the Lucas parts had their own creepy charm too. There are probably many more that I forget, but there is one that I wont forget to mention in every damn answer... #Jarpy.
Is there anything you disliked? Nah, not really. Nothing that comes to mind at least.
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6? Well, I'm very interested to see where does the Oldtown plotline go now, since apparently many characters are leaving the location. However the chapter will probably have much Oldtown, considering the name, and I hope we'll get some more Mullendore.
Finally, after four and a half months, Chapter 5 is over! It got long, a lot longer than I planned it to be at first, but I think this is no… moret necessarily a bad thing. I at least enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to start with the next. Hopefully, you enjoyed it too. Before I can start the chapter, I'm going to update the summary and I'm going to write down the alternative choices. As always, here are a couple of questions for you. You want to explain your answers, it would be much appreciated, but every answer, no matter how brief, helps.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
Is there anything you disliked?
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Damn, this is hard question, especially because i don't like this kind of questions. I believe and see every character being special because of simple fact of being created by someone and later on described and given life by you. Every character deserves to be the favourite in smaller or bigger part. I could give my most favourite vote to... Jaylon! He really helped Samantha and the team and honestly if not to him, they would have a hard time of getting out together and in better shape they are now... and they found Lucas as well because of his support - he even gave them a map and told about secret passageways! Wow.
Jaylon! Wow, this is unexpected. I mean, he was really a huge jerk in the past two chapters, so I am surprised many were willing to give him a chance in this chapter. I was trying to make him more likeable, while also still maintaining the more agressive and rude parts of his personality and it appears I managed to do so. I'm glad to hear that he left an impression on you
Again hard decision... i really enjoyed reading Drent PoV. I enjoy to read Marak and smallfolks of Raylansfair - the power is strong with them, even if they are just simple people. Damn... all are good!
Drent's PoV is definitely among my favourites as well. Marak and some of the smallfolk parts are a bit hard to write at times, which is also one of the reasons why Marak hasn't appeared that much, but I'm glad to hear that it was worth the effort. At least the way I have planned it should mean that there will be more Marak in the next chapter.
Sometimes the choices were really hard and was giving the bad taste in the mouth but it's not necessary thing i disliked - i see it more as being challenging and giving this specific spice to the story - it's Game of Thrones after all.
And the choices won't get any easier. The next chapter should feature a few very hard choices as well and it's only going to get worse from there.
Just keep writing, you are really great with that and made me addicted to the story. Can't wait to read new chapter and hope to see some more of the only healer in town. :-)
Thank you very much! It's great to hear this. And I can tease, there is more to come for your character in the next chapter.
First of all i would like to say - great finale, I really enjoyed reading it and I felt shivers at some certain points of the action descrip… moretion. I am really glad they found Lucas and will take him home. But Garthon and Torvin situation worries me a lot, i hope Kyra will help them somehow.
Now, going to the questions (sorry, i suck at those, being undecided and such):
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Damn, this is hard question, especially because i don't like this kind of questions. I believe and see every character being special because of simple fact of being created by someone and later on described and given life by you. Every character deserves to be the favourite in smaller or bigger part. I could give my most favourite vote to... Jaylon! He really helped Samantha and the team and honestly if not to him, they would have a hard time of getting out together and in better shape they are now... and they found Luc… [view original content]
Don't think their next chapter will be very happy though.
You might be onto something there
Kersea - I'm really starting to warm up for her storyline, even if she quite isn't one of my favorites yet as a character. It's very dark all the time, but how could it not be with characters like Clayton, Alysanne and Wolfius... Plus the fact that her sister is held hostage by Maron effing Mullendore.
This is good to hear. I have always been fond of Kersea, mostly because there is some awesome stuff planned for her, so it is good to see that people start to warm up to her.
Richard - Did he have parts in this chapter? Oh, at least the warehouse attack! Anyway, he is still the PoV I found the least interesting. I had same kind of feeling for Jenna earlier, but she has risen to the PoVs I have a neutral feeling of - So maybe Richard can too
Woohoo, another reader who does not hate Jenna Richard won't have a very long storyline in the next chapter, but there are still some things to come, so hopefully he can win you over.
Ilish - I believe she might become more interesting in time, but so far she hasn't really done much.
Ilish is one of the characters I still haven't completely figured out where to go with them. I have some stuff planned for her in time, but there might be chapters in which her storyline won't be very long unless I get some brilliant idea. Actually, now that I write this, I start to get some ideas.
Well, I'm very interested to see where does the Oldtown plotline go now, since apparently many characters are leaving the location. However the chapter will probably have much Oldtown, considering the name, and I hope we'll get some more Mullendore.
Yes, the next chapter will have a lot of Oldtown and especially Jaron will have a long storyline, perhaps even the longest of the chapter. However, overall there might be a stronger focus on Raylansfair. The ratio is hard to guess in advance, but I think it will have slightly less Oldtown than the last two chapters. Mullendore will have a stronger presence than in the last chapter though, that is something I can promise.
Who were your favorite characters in Chapter 5? Jaron will always be my favorite, but this chapter was kind of, well, less intense with his … morestoryline (although with some very important developments 'coughJarpycough* . Lucas had a very dark chapter, but his still one of my favorites - I'm interested in seeing how will he be now. Torvin and Garthon are both great, the kingslaying plotline was really long, it basically started from the first chapter and at some point my interest to the Breakers lowered a little, but they really came back in this chapter... Don't think their next chapter will be very happy though.
As for the secondary and tertiary characters I can say that first of all every Hoare is great in this story. And speaking of antagonists Mullendore is amazing, though there wasn't really that much of him in this chapter. Leonard is great, Sasha is great. Well there are so many great characters that I'll probably stop here and move on… [view original content]
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5? Hard question. I am with the majority about Kersea, I love her portrait of "good assassin". Leonard was absolute badass doing so much while basicly crippled in this chapter, so was Lucas for surviving the torture. I liked Samantha in this chapter as well because her storyline was so much action packed. And, well I might be only one saying this, but I enjoy character of Princess Argella, I like her arogance and badassness.
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5? Well, Maron fucking Mullendore, I don't think I need to explain myself about this one. Garen is also unlikeable at the moment, always against Drent. Wolfius and Clayton also don't need any explanation
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5? Lucas, Samantha and Kersea are already explained, well I would add Breaker brothers in here, ending of this chapter was so intense for them. And, and.... and I will say Jenna, because I'm a rebel :P And i also feel pitty for her because everyone hate her.
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5? I don't really have PoV's that I don't like because I usually really get in their character and don't look that much from my side, I always had disliked Lyria a little bit, I just don't like her personality,
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5? Last part, both PoV's, without a question. Warehouse attack and citadel battle were also really good moments.
Is there anything you disliked? No, not really, except for the characters I dislike and want them terribly dead, well there is few more characters I want dead but I don't dislike, like Harren Hoare who is super badass villain. Back to the question, everything is really good, keep up the good work
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6? I remember that somewhere in the past I adviced for little bit more of brutallity in the story, oh god did I got that in this chapter. It was probably best chapter so far, and very brutal as well. What am I anticipating in Chapter 6? Only awesomness
Finally, after four and a half months, Chapter 5 is over! It got long, a lot longer than I planned it to be at first, but I think this is no… moret necessarily a bad thing. I at least enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to start with the next. Hopefully, you enjoyed it too. Before I can start the chapter, I'm going to update the summary and I'm going to write down the alternative choices. As always, here are a couple of questions for you. You want to explain your answers, it would be much appreciated, but every answer, no matter how brief, helps.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
Is there anything you disliked?
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Though I'd hate to say it, Jaylon has definantly grown on me, especially since the last part. I've also always like Samantha.
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
That degenerate Butterfly.
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Samantha, definitely.
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Can't say that I had one, I liked them all really.
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
Okay, so the last part totally caught me off guard. They found Flowers and Jaylon isn't the huge ass hat I thought he was, though he kind of still is. So, I'd have to say. I've been proved wrong.
Is there anything you disliked?
No sir.
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Finally, after four and a half months, Chapter 5 is over! It got long, a lot longer than I planned it to be at first, but I think this is no… moret necessarily a bad thing. I at least enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to start with the next. Hopefully, you enjoyed it too. Before I can start the chapter, I'm going to update the summary and I'm going to write down the alternative choices. As always, here are a couple of questions for you. You want to explain your answers, it would be much appreciated, but every answer, no matter how brief, helps.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
Is there anything you disliked?
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Comments
I really like this. She looks great! your pictures of the people in the story are definitely my favourite.
Well thx for making the right choice guys...i was too scared of him ><
Never be afraid of someone named Wolfius Woodbark. Also don't worry im sure scarrier people will show up and convince US to make horrible choices eventually
.
This voting inspired me, therefore i present you imprisoned Wolfius :-D Yes, it's dark, but believe me he is behind the bars :-D
I bet that was what Alexander was thinking when he saw Wolfius.
i thought wolfius has a beard and looked more like a homeless dude
From description i got some time ago he did not have... :-D
His name is Wolfius Woodbark (sound like something material living or non living). He kills people pointlessly. He swears revenge and doesn't actually get revenge on most people he swore to. He goes of on temperatura tantrums and crazy rants. And were putting him in jail and expecting him to stay there.
I don't know that sounds a lot like a supervillain.
What super is there really at Wolfius? Other than his ego
You don't have to be 'super' to be a 'supervillain'. But you do have a point about his ego
So you mean like comic book villain?
I said at some point that he has this animeish vibe to him, along with Kreep. You know, being a little over the top (looks and personality), and seemingly lacking any humanity. So if that's what you mean by supervillain then yeah I guess. Or is there some precise definition to "supervillain" that Wolfius fits in?
The classifications above
Samantha
Samantha looked at Sasha and slowly, barely noticeable, she shook her head, in the hopes that her friend would understand. In her line of work, imprisonment was always a possibility and Samantha had seen her fair share of cells from the inside. Because of that, she knew it wasn't impossible to escape. The cells below the Hightower were a challenge, sure, but she knew she could make it out of them.
“So, how did that stuff with your leg happen again?”, one of the guards asked, looking at Jaylon with glee. Jaylon pressed his lips together, but did not answer. This caused two other guards to chuckle. “Oh, you know what happened”, the fourth one said. “No need to torment our poor little doggy over it. It's not his fault that he was attacked by a twelve year old” He grinned mockingly. “Tell us, Jaylon, was she the most deadly twelve year old girl you ever met?”
Jaylon let out a frustrated sigh. “She had a fucking knife”, he muttered and looked at the ground, something that caused Leonard to chuckle, more out of desperation than out of actual amusement. Jaylon glared at him. “You find that funny? Remember how I stabbed your leg?”
Leonard's chuckle stopped immediately. “I find it funny that even these bastards here see you for what you are”, he answered and immediately, the air around them felt a little bit colder. The four guards glared at Leonard in unison and one of them even put a hand onto the hilt of his sword. “Have you just called us bastards?”, he growled.
Without looking intimidated, Leonard gave him a nod and Samantha had to sigh. They couldn't win against five men, not without weapons. And Leonard, in his current condition, was in no place to start a fight. “That's because you are bastards”, he even added, his voice shaking with anger. Samantha could understand him. At the same time, she wanted to yell at him to shut up.
One of the guards took a step forwards and grabbed Leonard's shoulders, pushing him against the wall. “You have quite the mouth for a killer”, he growled, before he looked over his shoulders. “Hey boys, you think the commander needs this one? He gets the other three to interrogate” With these words, he pulled out a short dagger and pointed it at Leonard's stomach.
“Are you sure you want to go there?”, Davith remarked, earning himself an angry glare from the guardsman. “Just saying. I doubt the commander will be pleased if you kill his prisoners” The guard let out a grunt, before he slowly put his dagger away. “Fucking loudmouth”, he muttered, before he clenched his fist. Without warning, he gave Leonard a heavy punch in the face. “We're going to leave him alive”, he proclaimed, which caused the surrounding guards to chuckle.
While Leonard tried to resist, the guardsman proved to be far stronger. Without mercy, he continued to punch Leonard in the face, heavily, hitting his nose and his jaw. After the second punch, Leonard's attempt at defending himself got even weaker. Davith attempted to charge at one of the guardsman, but was quickly grabbed and shoved to the ground. Samantha took a step forwards, her eyes narrowed. “Stop it! You're killing...”, she tried to say, before one of the guardsmen cut her off by heavily slapping her across the face. The force was enough to send her to her knees.
Finally, the guardsman let go of Leonard, who was still conscious and able to lean against the wall out of his own strength. He was bleeding, his leg wound clearly being reopened. But even worse was his face. His nose was bleeding heavily and his cheek was badly cut, a thin drop of blood slowly flowing out of his mouth. The guardsman grinned at him. “Whom are you calling a bastard?”, he growled. Leonard looked at him, not less angry than before. “You”, he insisted and the guard let out a sigh. “Your turn”, he said, while he looked at the guard to his right.
“Fuck...”, Sasha mumbled. “Hey, you want to kill him?” The guard shook his head. “Trust me, I know exactly how far I can go, bitch”, he grinned, as he raised his hand. Finally, Samantha saw the hint of worry in Leonard's eyes.
The guard did not manage to land a single punch. His hand came closer towards Leonard's face, until the sudden and unexpected sound of steel being drawn cut the movement off. Shortly afterwards, a sword cut the hand off, roughly at the wrist. The guard didn't even manage to scream, before Jaylon plunged his sword into the man's chest, killing him immediately.
“What the fuck!”, one of the guards, the one that hit Samantha, exclaimed, as he stumbled backwards. The other two guards seemed to be less surprised. Both of them drew their swords and the one that started to beat Leonard looked at his fallen comrade. “So, the dog shows his true face...”, he snarled. “That was mistake, you son of a bitch” While the guardsman next to him slowly approached Jaylon, he glanced over his shoulder, towards the guard that had hit Samantha. “Kill the women”, he ordered flatly. “The rest will be enough”
The man gave him a nod and looked at Samantha, who was still on her knees. In his eyes, she saw nothing but apathy. The moment he raised his sword, she jumped upwards to knock him down. He reacted quickly and took a step backwards and what was planned to be a heavy punch at his jaw ended up to only hit his shoulder, barely causing him to stagger. Out of the corners of her eyes, Samantha saw Jaylon parrying a strike of the guard he was fighting against, while the third guard, glared at Davith, obviously ready to attack.
Samantha's opponent raised his sword once more, ready to strike at her, while she got ready to jump backwards. She knew, there wasn't a lot of space down here in the prison hallway, but it simply had to suffice. Perhaps she should have panicked, being faced against a dangerous, armed opponent while she herself was bound and unarmed, but she always found it easy to remain calm in tense situations. The moment her opponent struck at her, she jumped backwards, only to bump against the wall, while his sword came closer.
He failed to hit her. Just a second before his sword would have reached her, he was pulled backwards, as Sasha put her handcuffs around his throat and started to choke him. The sudden force she was using was enough to make him drop his sword, as she put her hands onto his cheeks. “Shh, easy now...”, she growled coldly. “Just let go. Don't resist. It'll be over soon”
The final guard, the one that had previously beaten Leonard, now attempted to intervene. He raised his sword, but just as he started to charge at Sasha, Leonard tackled him from behind, forcing him to the ground, where he grabbed the back of the man's head and started to violently bash it onto the stone floor in a frenzy.
Sasha's opponent finally showed emotion in his eyes, as tears flew down his face, showing the fear and pain he was in as he threw weak punches at Sasha, barely managing to hit her at all. “Farewell”, she said, as she suddenly moved her hands to the left, cleanly breaking his neck in the process. Breathing heavily, she let go of the dead man, but as she looked at Samantha, a short smile formed on her face. “You promised me not to die, remember?”, she said.
A gurgling sound came from Jaylon's opponent, blood spilling out of his cut throat as he went to the ground. Jaylon stood above him with a triumphant grin, before he moved his attention towards Leonard, who was still slamming the head of his opponent onto the ground. The man's head was smashed, a dark red pool of blood was staining the floor, but Leonard still wouldn't stop.
“Leonard”, Davith mumbled as he put a hand onto the knight's shoulder. Leonard looked up, for a moment glaring at Davith with unspeakable hatred in his eyes, as tears of anger flew down his face. “He is dead”, Davith said calmly and finally, Leonard let go of his opponent. He raised from the ground, blood dripping from his fists onto the ground.
As Sasha was helping Samantha up, Davith switched his attention towards Jaylon. Before anyone could say a thing, he had grabbed a sword from the ground and pointed it at him. “Whose side are you on, Jaylon?”, he growled. Jaylon in turn put his sword away and sarcastically raised his hands. “Now, that is a really stupid question”, he chuckled. “I brought you into the Hightower, didn't I?”
“You did”, Samantha agreed as she put a hand onto Davith's forearm, forcing him to lower his sword. A thankful smile appeared on her face. “You kept your word” Jaylon gave her a slow nod. “Try not to sound too disappointed”, he answered. An annoyed sigh came from Sasha, who was searching the pockets of the guard she had killed. “You could have warned us of that shit you're trying to pull off”, she moaned.
Jaylon shrugged indifferently. “Then enlighten me, Sasha. How could I do that?”, he asked. “Your plan could have worked, if the Tom hadn't reported back already. I had to improvise. Show some fucking gratitude”
“Improvised, huh?”, Davith asked. “Are you sure you weren't tempted to betray us?” He and Jaylon glared at each other for a moment, before Samantha stepped between them. “Guys, please”, she said softly. “Does it matter? Jaylon kept word. We have more important things to do right now”
Sasha let out a triumphant sound as she finally pulled a small key out of the guards pocket. Immediately, she started to unlock her handcuffs, before moving on to Samantha, Davith and finally, Leonard.
“So, what are we doing now?”, Samantha asked, looking at Jaylon. She noticed a slightly upset expression on his face. “Everything okay?”, she asked and he shook his head. “I kept my promise”, he mumbled. “I proved my loyalty and I helped you out” He looked up and straight into her eyes. “Now you have to help me”
“Helping you?”, Samantha asked in surprise. “What is it you want from us?” Jaylon let out a sigh. “I want to stay here”, he answered and for a moment, he avoided to look her in the eyes. “What?”, Sasha asked flatly. “You want to stay here, after you just killed these guards?”
Jaylon shook his head, a sly grin appearing on his face. “But I haven't killed them”, he explained. “That was you. You managed to disarm them, you fought against them. During the fight, I got knocked out and you left me, presuming me dead”
“Wait a moment... you want to continue working for Mullendore?”, Davith deduced and Jaylon gave him a nod. “What have you expected?”, he asked with a slightly agitated tone in his voice. “I have a fucking life here! I think I earned myself the right to go back to it”
“Mullendore is going to kill you”, Samantha stated, surprised at the upset tone in her voice. Jaylon simply shook his head. “He won't”, he answered. “I know how Maron Mullendore works. I know what he believes and what not. And this right here, I can make him believe me” He gulped as he noticed the anger in Davith's eyes. “Don't you fucking see?”, he asked. “This is my last chance to get back to the life I had before you came along. After all I did for you, do you really want to force me to come with you?”
“We're not going to force you”, Sasha promised. “We're simply going to offer it to you. A chance to get out of this life” Jaylon let out a sigh. “But perhaps I don't want to get out of this life”, he answered. “I never asked to be dragged into this mission. I still helped you the best I could. And now I'm just asking for you got leave me here, so that I get a chance not to have my life ruined completely by you”
“No chance”, Leonard interjected. “We need you to find Lucas and to get out of here, remember?” Jaylon quickly shook his head. “No, you don't”, he answered and reached into his pocket. To Samantha's surprise, he pulled out a small sheet of paper, containing a crudely drawn map. “You planned this”, she stated and he gave her a nod. “I never intended to leave the Hightower together with you. I wanted to bring you in and out, but afterwards, I wanted to resume my old life”, he explained, before he handed her the map. “So I have drawn this. It should show you not only the deeper cells, but also a way out”
He moved his fingers across the map, pointing at several parts of the map. “You see these here? Butterfly's men use them to enter and leave the Hightower without being seen. They were designed to keep enemies from entering them, but no one ever used them to get out”, he explained and grinned slightly. “Maybe they will be guarded, but I doubt even this. The Solvers don't expect an attack from behind. You should be more than able to get out of here even without me”
Samantha sighed and gave him a nod. “Alright, we have a deal. Now, where do they hold Lucas?”, she asked. Jaylon hesitated a moment, before he pointed at another spot on the map. “It's only a guess... Butterfly will leave Lucas' interrogation to his most skilled torturer”, he explained and Samantha noticed how Leonard narrowed his eyes. “The Sphynx. Right-hand man of the Tom and by far the most sadistic fuck I have ever met. He keeps his subjects in a number of special cells, right there”
“The Sphynx, got it”, Samantha confirmed and Jaylon gave her an urgent look. “If you encounter him, you have to kill him. It's easy to recognize him, he always wears a cat mask. Like the Tom, only that his mask is as black as his soul”, he hissed. “Trust me, this world is a better place without the Sphynx”
“Anything else?”, Samantha asked and Jaylon shook his head. “That's all I know. I've rarely been that far down there. Few have, actually, which is good for you. I doubt you'll meet much resistance”, he answered and slightly shivered. “You're going to come close to the foundations of the tower itself. That place gives me the creeps”
“Great”, Sasha muttered unenthusiastically. “So, what are you going to do when we're gone?” Jaylon shrugged. “Working for Butterfly again”, he answered flatly. “It's not a good life, but it's a life and what's most important to me is, I achieved it myself”
Davith shook his head. “You shouldn't have said that, Jaylon”, he answered with cold anger in his voice as he raised the sword he picked from one of the dead guards. “Why should I leave one of Butterfly's men alive?” Jaylon looked at the sword, completely unimpressed. “Because it would be pretty fucking ungrateful from you to kill me after all I did for you”, he stated. Samantha gave him a nod. “You are right, Jaylon. I might not like your plans, but I owe you”, she said and gave Davith a sharp glare. “We owe you”
Jaylon nodded in agreement. “Damn right you do”, he said, before his expression got slightly softer than before. “Keep in mind though... we're not all bad men on the other side”, he whispered, before his usual smug expression returned. “And now, could anyone of you be kind enough to...”
He did not managed to continue. Without warning, Leonard had moved up to him and gave him a single, heavy punch straight into the face. The force of the punch was hard enough to send Jaylon headfirst into the wall and then onto the ground, where he remained, a pool of blood forming from a wound on his head. “You're talking to much”, Leonard growled. “Come on, we have to save Lucas”
“Seven Hells, Leonard”, Samantha muttered as she knelt down to check if Jaylon was still alive. To her strange relief, he was still breathing, simply unconscious. Leonard gave her an indifferent look. “If that bastard thinks I will ever forgive his role in Lunett's death...”, he hissed. “He's still alive. That's the best he can expect from me” With these words, Leonard started to walk down the hallway. “Jaylon kinda got what he wanted...”, Davith mumbled as he walked after Leonard, followed by Samantha and Sasha, leaving the unconscious Jaylon and four dead guards behind.
“This won't end well for him”, Samantha remarked. Sasha shook her head. “It won't”, she agreed. “But it's his choice. Aside from that, it's not really sad for him. Leonard mentioned it. Jaylon did a lot of despicable things” “We all did a lot of despicable things”, Samantha answered and Sasha gave her a nod. “We did”, she simply mumbled, obviously not in a mood to talk about this.
In silence, they walked through the lower dungeons underneath the Hightower. Only a small torch Leonard was carrying spent a bit of light, while casting monstrous shadows onto the walls. Without Jaylon's map, Samantha was sure she would never find out of here ever again. She had heard the stories about the labyrinth below the Hightower, but always believed them to be exaggerated. Now, surrounded by claustrophobic darkness and black stone walls, she was proven wrong. Once in a while, they passed a cell door and occasionally, Samantha even thought she would hear pained moaning behind them. As much as these sounds caused her to cringe, she couldn't stop. She had to continue, through the darkness, in the desperate hope that Lucas was still alive.
Jaylon's map proved to be surprisingly accurate, although the scale made the labyrinth seem to be a lot smaller than it actually was. It also failed to include a number of side corridors that lead even deeper into this labyrinth, but what mattered was that it lead them to Lucas, or at least she hoped so. “What if he isn't there?”, Sasha asked, voicing the concerns all of them shared. Leonard gave her a short, angry glare. “Then we continue the search”, he decided.
“That's not up to you to decide”, Sasha argued, before she looked at Samantha. Before she could answer, Leonard cleared his throat. “We won't turn around now”, he growled and started to walk faster. To her worry, Samantha noticed that his walk seemed to be off. It wasn't noticeable immediately, but he was slightly limping and the way he shivered while walking made it clear that the pain was a lot more severe than he was willing to show. While his wound obviously wasn't reopened completely, his leg was already stained with his own blood and occasionally, he left a bloody footprint on the ground.
“You're bleeding”, Sasha continued and Leonard shook his head. “I'm fine”, he muttered. “Your Archmaester can patch me up once we're back at the Citadel” Sasha let out a sigh, glancing at the black stone walls. Something with these stones did not seem right. Perhaps it was just the dim light of the torch, but stone wasn't supposed to be that black. “Or you're dying here because of your stubbornness”
“Then that's my decision!”, Leonard snapped at her, his voice sounding barely suppressed. In the silence, his sudden outburst sounded louder than it really was and Samantha looked over her shoulder with worry. “Your decision?”, Sasha growled, although she was keeping her voice down. “It's not only your life on the line here. Samantha did so much for you and you're getting her in danger as well. Doesn't that mean anything to you?”
Leonard shook his head. “I'm not endangering her!”, he said loudly. “I'm not forcing her to do anything!” Finally, Sasha's voice sounded a bit more agitated as well as she answered. “Maybe you're not even aware of it, but don't you see how guilty she feels because she was too late to save that girl you and your damn friend got killed!”, she exclaimed.
Leonard stopped walking immediately, as he fully turned towards her. Samantha saw how pale his face was. It wasn't only the loss of blood, she realized, but Sasha's words. That last bit really got to him. “You know I'm standing right here...”, she whispered, in an attempt to defuse the situation.
Just as Leonard opened his mouth to answer, a new sound was cutting him off. Footsteps. Many footsteps, sounding somewhere in the distance. “Oh fuck...”, Davith mumbled as he stared into the darkness behind them. “You couldn't keep it down, could you?”
Samantha looked at Leonard's torch, but before she could grab it, Davith did so. “Douse it”, she ordered him, but she saw the hesitation on Davith's face. “They already know we're here”, he answered and gulped as he slowly closed his eyes. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Samantha thought that she was able to see a distant glowing from back where they came.
She followed Davith's glance and saw him eyeing one of the side corridors. Immediately, she walked up next to him and attempted to grab the torch, only for him to hold it high up his head, out of her reach. “Oh no, you don't”, she hissed, having realized what he planned.
“They are going to follow the light of the torch, at least if you're able to stay quiet and in the darkness”, Davith said with a joyless smirk on his face. “Makes sense”, Leonard agreed. “But how are we supposed to find out way without the torch?”
Instead of answering immediately, Davith put one of his hands onto the black stone wall behind him. “Use your hands”, he said. “Fumble around. The way seems to be pretty straightforward from here on, if I got that map right”
“You're not going to do this!”, Samantha whispered urgently as she took another step towards him. Davith glanced at the darkness behind them. The distant light of a torch was clearly visible by now. “Who else can? Leonard won't come far with his leg. Sasha might be willing to do it...”, he started to say, before Sasha cut him off. “No, she isn't”, she hissed and Davith gave her an apologetic look. “That leaves you and me. And I'm not letting you do it”, he said.
“They are going to kill you”, Samantha hissed once more and he shook his head. “Not if I run fast enough”, he chuckled. “That's just not... not worth sacrificing your life”, she tried to convince him once more, even though she knew he had a good point. They were being followed and it was a safe way to escape from them. But Davith was risking his life for this! That couldn't...
“You're right”, Davith agreed. “That is not worth sacrifing my life” With these words he leaned in and before she could react, he gave her a kiss on the mouth. His boldness caught her completely off guard and for a single moment, she reciprocated the kiss against her own will. Davith separated from her again, a grin on his face. “Now it's at least debatable”, he chuckled, before he slowly started to walk into the side corridor.
Breathing heavily and with tears in her eyes, she looked after him for a moment, before she felt Sasha's hand on her shoulder. “Come on”, her friend urged her softly, pushing her to continue. Samantha gave her a nod, taking a last look at Davith, before she continued to walk into the darkness, trying to stay as silent as possible and using her sense of touch to follow the walls. For a moment, she recoiled as she touched the walls and noticed how unusually cold they were. Sure, it was cold in the dungeons, but the stones were even colder. For a moment, it felt as if she was touching a block of ice. On top of that, the black stone felt damp, as if it was wet, even though it was perfectly dry at the same time.
Davith was right. She didn't even need the map by now, for the way was pretty straightforward. This time in complete silence, theycontinued their way. Even if it was easy to follow the narrow walls, she still felt lost and even worse, she felt as if something was watching her in the darkness. After a minute, she turned around, clearly seeing the torch of their followers. It illuminated at least half a dozen men, all of them wearing cat masks. The one wearing the torch was the Tom, wearing his white and golden mask. Behind him, in the darkness, she saw the massive body of the Moggy. They were probably standing at the point where Davith separated from them. For a moment, Samantha stopped walking, in fear that they would hear her and in the fear that the torch would somehow illuminate her despite the distance between them. Then, one of their followers pointed down the corridor Davith had taken. The Tom let out a purring laughter. “You can't run from us!”, he yelled and gave his men a sign. “Don't let them escape. Bring them to me, alive!” With these words, he and his men started to run into the corridor, leaving the hallways Samantha, Sasha and Leonard were standing in.
After a short moment in which she tried to calm down her wildly beating heart, Samantha continued to walk through complete darkness. Limited to her sense of touch, she soon noticed how smooth the surface of the black stone was. It was surprising that such fine stone was used for the dungeons, while the tower itself, while built out of fine marble, used stone of a lesser quality.
They didn't had to walk very long anymore. Soon, Samantha saw something in the distance. A torch. Even though it wasn't shining brightly, it hurt in her eyes. For a moment, she feared that someone was holding it, until her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she realized that it was hanging in a torch holder. The hallway was coming to a dead end here, which matched with what Jaylon depicted on his map. Next to the torch holder, she saw
“That it?”, Leonard asked and Samantha shrugged. “Hopefully”, she answered. “If we haven't missed a junction in the darkness, then this is the Sphynx' cell” Leonard gulped as he immediately walked up to the door, trying to open it. “It's locked”, he growled, before he looked around. “Now, where is this Sphynx bastard? I'm sure he has the keys and intend to have few words with him”
“Obviously not here”, Sasha growled as she moved past Leonard and towards the door. “Give me a minute, I'm sure I can crack it” With these words, she pulled a crude picklock out of her pocket as she started to work on the lock. “I'm not...”, she started to say, before she cut herself off. “Not Davith..”, she continued with a slightly cracking voice. “But I'm good enough for that”
Leonard grunted something, before he turned away from her and towards Samantha. She was staring at the darkness behind them and barely noticed the knight approaching. “I'm sure he's fine”, Leonard mumbled, trying to cheer her up. Samantha gave him an unconvinced nod. “He did it for us”, she answered and this time, Leonard shook his head. “For you”, he corrected her.
Samantha let out a sigh. “It's crazy... I don't even... He's not my...”, she stuttered, before she stopped, noticing the guilty expression on Leonard's face. “Listen, I wanted to apologize”, he said. “I know, I've been a bit rough on you and your friends during this mission, but...”
“It's okay”, Samantha assured him. “I can understand you. He's your friend” Leonard gave her a nod. “It's more than that... you feel guilty about Lunett, but you shouldn't. I should”, he answered. “I never trusted this Mullendore, but I still went along with Lucas' plans. I should have stopped him. More importantly, I shouldn't have left Lunett alone”
“What are you going to say to her father?”, Samantha asked and finally noticed tears in the knights eyes. “I don't know”, he admitted. “I got his daughter killed. What can I say to this man? 'I'm sorry' won't be enough”
“It won't”, Samantha agreed. “What if he tries to kill you? Us both?” Leonard gulped. “This is something I will decide once I have to deal with it”, he answered. “I'm not going to kill this man. Maybe I wasn't the one who agreed to take Lunett to this fucking city, maybe I wasn't the one who killed her, but I sure as hell failed to protect her” He glanced at Samantha who was similarly close to crying. “We both did”, she added.
“First, me and Lucas have to deal with Harris. This is more important than our personal matters. This is about Raylansfair”, Leonard decided. “And then, I will go to Lunett's father. I will talk to him and... and I think... I think I will accept his judgement. It's the right thing to do”
“It's dangerous”, Samantha remarked and Leonard gave her a nod. “I know. But I won't run from my responsibility”, he explained and glanced at the door. “That's why I'm so determined to save Lucas. My responsibility”
“Yeah, I can understand it”, Samantha agreed. Leonard was to add something else, before a triumphant grunt from Sasha caused both of them to turn towards her. “Got it”, she chuckled. With a big grin on her face, she opened the door, revealing only darkness behind it. Leonard shivered as he slowly walked towards the torch, visibly limping while he did so, his facial expression pure agony. He slowly took the torch and walked past Sasha into the room.
“Fuck...”, he mumbled, just as Samantha walked up behind him. “Fuck!” This time, he barely cared to contain his voice and Samantha could understand him. The light of the torch illuminated a slow, black room. Chained to a chair behind a table in the middle of the room lay Lucas Flowers. Or what's left of him. His left hand was crudely bandaged, revealing several missing fingers. But even worse was his face. Samantha remembered him as a handsome young man, but little was left of that by now. A large, deep scar was disfiguring the left side of his face, destroying his eye in the process. A second cut on the right side of his face started at his hairline and ended just above his right eye. His nose was smashed, his lower lip swollen and the table was stained with his blood.
“Is he...?”, Sasha muttered, as Leonard walked closer. “Gods...”, the knight gasped. “Oh gods, no...” He stopped next to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. “Lucas?”, he asked, his voice shivering, slightly cracking, before he asked again. “Lucas?” Just as Leonard looked up, sheer despair on his face, a loud cough coming from Lucas caused him to look down again.
Obviously barely conscious, Lucas Flowers opened his eye, slightly narrowing it due to the torch. He opened his mouth, but instead of words, he simply coughed again. “Sasha!”, Leonard hissed. “Unlock his chains! We need to get him out of here!”
“Len...”, Lucas managed to mumble and a relieved smile appeared on Leonard's face. “I'm here, Flowers”, he said. “You... you are here to... to save me?”, Lucas asked and Leonard gave him a nod. “That's not my work”, he said and looked up at Samantha, who still stood in the doorframe. His mouth formed a thankful smile as he and Samantha looked at each other. “I could have never done it alone”, he finally said, before he looked down at Lucas again. “What are we...”, Lucas whispered, while Sasha started to crack the lock on his handcuffs. Leonard gave him a gentle pat on the back. “We're going home, Flowers”, he finally said. “We're going home”
Garthon
“Garthon, now!”, Torvin yelled and Garthon knew what he had to do. They came so far. He couldn't turn around now and he could never turn against Torvin. He raised his crossbow, just as Harren brutally punched Torvin in the face, causing his brother to stagger backwards and giving him a clear line of fire. For a moment, the king looked up and at Garthon, his dark eyes showing wrath, but a hint of uncertainty. And then, Garthon shot.
The moment he shot the bolt, everything seemed to happen very slow. He saw Harren's eyes widening as he opened his mouth. The king tried to stagger to the side, but his armour limited his speed. The bolt flew through the air and directly towards Harren. To Garthon's surprise, he hit his target straight in the head, sending the king to the ground. Black Harren landed heavily onto his back and for a moment, everyone seemed to be frozen in place.
Edward Anturion had a hand on the hilt of his dagger and seemed to be genuinely baffled. Torvin's eyes widened and a grin formed on his face, while George was still eyeing Harlan. The prince looked at his father's body, his mouth slightly opened, before he let out a desperate howl. “FATHER!”, he screamed and started to swing his sword as if he was holding a woodcutter's axe, fighting against George like a berserker.
It was only then that Garthon realized that Harren Hoare wasn't dead. With an inhuman scream, half out of pain, half out of monstrous rage, Harren staggered back to his feet. The moment he raised his head, Garthon saw the damage the bolt did. It only grazed him, but the wound looked nonetheless dangerous. His entire right cheek was horribly cut, blood flowing out of it and down his face, the red liquid quickly staining his black armour.
“YOU!”, he screamed, before he charged at Torvin, his speed only enhanced by his rage. Even though Torvin was probably stronger in a fight, Harren's sheer anger gave him a big advantage and he effortlessly tackles Torvin to the ground, where he threw heavy punches at him. With the added weight of his gauntlets, the king needed only a single punch to knock Torvin out cold.
Before Garthon could even reach, him Harren had jumped back onto his feet, pulling an unconscious Torvin with him. As if he was throwing a sack of potatoes, he pushed Torvin towards Garthon, causing both to fall to the ground.
While he fell, Garthon heard a muffled, pained grunt coming from Harlan, as George parried one of his strikes, before answering with a quick riposte. He slashed across Harlan's chest, not very deep, but nonetheless in a painful way. As Harlan slowly sank to the ground, George plunged his sword into the prince's upper leg, twisting it before he pulled it out again. Harlan's muffled grunts turned into screams of agony, as George turned around to face Harren. In the meantime, Garthon tried his best to lift the heavy body of Torvin off of him, so that he could join the fight too.
The king and Lord Tully's soldier glared at each other, before George attacked him. Harren was unarmed and had to parry a strike aimed for his head with his thickly armoured left forearm. He let out a grunt as the blade hit the steel, failing to pierce through it. Instead of attacking him again in the same way, George tried to slash across the king's face, to cut his throat in the process, but before the blade reached the flesh, Harren simply grabbed it with his right hand. The chainmail that was protecting his palm tore apart the moment Harren grabbed the sword and his blood flew down the blade, which barely caused him to shiver. George on the other hand was shivering as he looked into the king's eyes.
Just as Garthon finally managed to move Torvin's body, so that he could get up back onto his feet, Anturion started to move, his dagger finally in his hand. It only took him three large steps to cross the distance between him and George, who was still trying to free his sword from Harren's iron grip. Before the young man could react, Anturion had embedded the blade in his throat.
As George went to the ground, desperately gurgling, while blood flew out of his throat, Garthon tried to run towards Harlan, who was clutching the deep wound in his leg, to grab his sword. Anturion was faster. He reached the sword before Garthon came even close, quickly pointing it at his throat. “Be careful now, traitor”, he growled.
And so they remained. George let out a wheezing sound as he slowly bled to death, while Harlan was barely conscious, barely alive. Torvin wasn't moving and finally, Harren Hoare went onto his knees as well. His hand was cut, but even worse was his cheek. The glare in his eyes was murderous. Anturion finally had a smug expression on his face as he grinned at Garthon, who barely dared to move with a blade that closely to his throat.
Finally, the door was pushed open. Kyra Greyjoy entered the room, behind her a dozen guards. Her eyes widened as she looked from Harren, to Torvin, to Harlan and finally to Garthon. “Your grace!”, she exclaimed as she sprinted towards the king. “Your grace, you are heavily wounded”
“You don't say...”, Harren growled, as he tried to stagger back to his feet, only to sink back onto his knees. “We need to bring you to the Maester”, Kyra insisted and Harren quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her closer towards him. “Tell me, you stupid fucking cunt, do I look like a fucking little pansy ass bitch, that you think I need a fucking Maester?”, he growled in a surprisingly calm tone. Garthon expected him to scream and yell, but the calm tone in which he uttered his words sent shivers down his spine.
Finally, he managed to stagger back onto his feet. Kyra still had to support him, a gesture he accepted, as they walked closer towards Anturion. “Harlan on the other hand needs a master”, Harren decided and looked at his soldiers. “Two of you, bring him to the maester, quickly. If my son dies, you will die as well”
His men immediately followed his order, while Harren looked at Anturion, his facial expression visibly calmer than before. “You can lower your blade, Anturion”, he said, before he strongly patted him onto the back. “Good fucking work”
Up close, Garthon finally got a good look at how much damage his bolt did. Harren's left cheek was ruined. Underneath the blood, he even saw the teeth and he knew how painful it had to be. As if he had read his thoughts, Harren started to chuckle without even the hint of amusement. “I made you an offer, Breaker”, he snarled. “You still tried to kill me, but you failed” He looked up at his men. “I need sea water, alcohol and a hot iron! I rather treat myself before I let a fucking maester near me” He waited for a moment, before he finally raised his voice. “THAT WAS A FUCKING ORDER!”, he yelled, before he looked back at Garthon. “Captain Kyra... you bring Torvin and Garthon to the dungeons. Holt will take care of them” He grinned widely, an expression that would have been horrible on its own, but got even worse with his new wound.
“Oh Garthon, what have you done”, Kyra mumbled as she gave her men a sign. Two strong guards grabbed Garthon's shoulders, while two more grabbed Torvin. Garthon wasn't fighting back. He was too weak for it now. Harren had won, maybe not without a wound, but he had won. Just as the guards turned around to drag Garthon and his brother out of the room, Harren grabbed him once more, his wounded right hand tightly squeezing his jaw. “As I said, I gave you an offer. You could have been my ally. Now I'm going to make an example of you” His unwounded left hand heavily hit Garthon in the stomach area. Garthon let out a short, painful scream and Harren started to chuckle, this time not without amusement. “You and your brother... you're going to pay the iron price for what you did”
End of Chapter 5: The Iron Price
Your Choices
Responsibility: Samantha decided to save Leonard first
Alliance: Willfred decided to support Hobert's claim to Raylansfair
Family: Garthon decided to stay loyal to Torvin until the end
Duty: Arthur declined Wolfius' offer and locked him up instead
Honour: Lucas managed to withstand Mullendore's torture as long as possible
Next time on Forum of Thrones:
“Everything in life comes at a price”, Harren Hoare explained, as he walked through the prison cell, looking from Torvin to Garthon. “Every action provokes a reaction” His bandaged hand moved towards his cheek, the freshly scarred flesh shivering as he touched it. “Every choice has consequences, to us and everyone around us” He stopped in front of Torvin, and closely looked him in the eyes for a moment. “I am not sure if you truly understand the consequence of your choice”, he whispered. “Why I am going to do the absolutely worst thing I am capable of to you”
As Harris slowly approached Lucas and Leonard, Darren Tallwood followed closely and behind them, a dozen guards. The acting lord's gaze fell upon Lucas' hand, then upon his face and his eyes widened in genuine worry. Yet, there was something else inside of them. He was careful, more than wary, reluctant to simply approach the knights. Lucas slightly turned away from him, trying to hide the disfigured side of his face. “Ser Lucas, Ser Leonard”, Harris greeted them, as he finally approached them. “What... what happened to you?”
“Samantha!”, Aylard exclaimed as he rushed through the hallway, towards her. He did not notice her distraught expression, at least not immediately. Instead, a joyful, relieved smile was on his face as he pulled her into a fatherly hug, a gesture she did not reciprocate. He quickly separated from her and looked her in the eyes. His smile faded and she had to do her best to hide her tears. For once, she did not force herself to smile. “Where is my daughter?”, he asked.
Edrick took another deep gulp from his mug, the warm liquid filling his stomach and warming him from the inside. Despite the fire that was burning so close, the hall was cold and distant, just like the old lord in front of him. “As much as I enjoy your hospitality, Lord Boleyn”, he said politely. “I think it's time that we talk about why you called for me” Barroth Boleyn gave him a short nod. “Indeed, Ser Edrick”, he agreed, before he closed his eyes for a moment. “I want you to bring my daughter back home”
“That little stunt you pulled with Harren Hoare, you got lucky back then”, Carvin whispered as they approached the encampment. Even though they were surrounded by soldiers, Alys still felt threatened by the men she saw here. Rugged, shabby men, nonetheless with intimidating looks on their faces. And they were far more than the small group of Ironborn soldiers that was travelling with them. “But I can only warn you. Bear is no Harren Hoare”, Carvin continued. “Trust me, you don't want to provoke him”
“Pr... Princess Argella!”, Lord Tyrell exclaimed. “We... we weren't expecting you!” Argella let out a sigh as she walked up to the chair, directly past two guards, who were too baffled by her straightforwardness to stop her. “Try not to sound too disappointed, Harlen”, she greeted him. Lord Tyrell gave her an insecure nod. “O... of course, Princess. May I say, it is an honour to have you here. You look beautiful” A stunning, warm and almost genuine smile flashed across Argella's face. “Thank you, Harlen. Next time, tell me something I don't know already”, she said sternly, as if she was talking to a child, as she glanced over her shoulder, looking at her soldiers and then at the smallfolk that had gathered in Raylansfair's Great Hall. “I am here to claim Raylansfair in the name of my father”
“It's the mask, isn't it?”, he chuckled. “I knew it would be controversial, in the light of the recent events. But I used it first. It's not my fault that some bastard had to ruin it” Harpy gave him a quick nod. “I have to say, it is a beautiful mask”, she complimented him. “The colour pattern on the wings is wonderful. Aside from that, the butterfly is on your sigil, isn't that right, commander?” Even underneath the mask, Jaron was able to see the commander's grin as he softly grabbed her hand. “Please, mylady, call me Maron”
Forum of Thones, Act II, Chapter III: Masquerade; Coming Soon!
Finally, after four and a half months, Chapter 5 is over! It got long, a lot longer than I planned it to be at first, but I think this is not necessarily a bad thing. I at least enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to start with the next. Hopefully, you enjoyed it too. Before I can start the chapter, I'm going to update the summary and I'm going to write down the alternative choices. As always, here are a couple of questions for you. You want to explain your answers, it would be much appreciated, but every answer, no matter how brief, helps.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
Is there anything you disliked?
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Wow, he looks great! That is a very creepy picture, befitting for Wolfius. I love the details you put into these pictures, like the blind eye and the bruised face. And his expression is terrifying, exactly as he should be. Great work, thanks a lot
In his original character description, the one I gave to Mathea, his creator hasn't mentioned a beard, although I always imagined him with a short beard. Foxbrg, the guy who made the first bunch of character drawings in the very early days of the story, added a beard on his drawing for Wolfius and ever since I found it hard to imagine him without beard, even if his original description didn't include it.
That was incredible! One of my favourite parts for sure. Super worried about Garthon though, he's in my top 5
This did a great job of getting me excited for the next chapter! Particulary Lucas and Leonard confronting Harris. Then there's someone being sent to find Alys. Many great things to come for sure.
I might have missed something but.....who is Princess Argella? i never herd of her before...... i think.....
Awesome finale!
You really managed to get a spooky atmosphere to the tunnels under Hightower, and those damn cat-masked bastards will never stop being scary.
And oh my, Breaker bros are fucked.
Edward Anturion : Badass. Good to see his skill as a fighter here.
Also im sort of glad Lucas lived though i would have liked to see the others react to his death then be captured and tourtured and broken and........to summerise i was expecting things to it go 'horribly' and the gore loving fan in my soul was looking forward to it. But Georges death was enough horror to satisfy me. Good job bro. Can't wait for more (and i just finished minutes ago.)
Daughter of Storm King. She's in Drent's storyline.
Argella Durrandon, daughter and heiress of the Storm King, Argilac Durrandon. Her father received the news that, due to a very complicated and distant family relation to House Raylan, he is somehow the rightful lord of Raylansfair. Since Raylansfair is a strategically useful city in a kingdom he used to wage war against not long ago, he has sent his daughter to claim it in his name, since she has a lot of authority as his heiress. So far, she only appeared in Drent's storyline, although this will change once she arrives in Raylansfair in the next chapter.
I might have not caught to his story line..........for several months...........
First of all i would like to say - great finale, I really enjoyed reading it and I felt shivers at some certain points of the action description. I am really glad they found Lucas and will take him home. But Garthon and Torvin situation worries me a lot, i hope Kyra will help them somehow.
Now, going to the questions (sorry, i suck at those, being undecided and such):
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Damn, this is hard question, especially because i don't like this kind of questions. I believe and see every character being special because of simple fact of being created by someone and later on described and given life by you. Every character deserves to be the favourite in smaller or bigger part. I could give my most favourite vote to... Jaylon! He really helped Samantha and the team and honestly if not to him, they would have a hard time of getting out together and in better shape they are now... and they found Lucas as well because of his support - he even gave them a map and told about secret passageways! Wow.
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Those sadistic Hoares + Clayton + Mullendore aka Butterfly i suppose were the most brutal ones and deserve my lowest favourite grade.
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Again hard decision... i really enjoyed reading Drent PoV. I enjoy to read Marak and smallfolks of Raylansfair - the power is strong with them, even if they are just simple people. Damn... all are good!
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
All PoV's deserve a highlight. No least favourite.
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
I believe the final deserves to be the favourite part... or moment... together with few more ones, like for example Harpy and Jaron bench scene or Drent and Argella undercover scene. I also of course liked the moment when my own character finally appeared and how she was ordering the guards to help her around. I enjoy a lot reading Marak parts - they always make me smile and laugh - he is such a funny guy.
Is there anything you disliked?
Sometimes the choices were really hard and was giving the bad taste in the mouth but it's not necessary thing i disliked - i see it more as being challenging and giving this specific spice to the story - it's Game of Thrones after all.
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Just keep writing, you are really great with that and made me addicted to the story. Can't wait to read new chapter and hope to see some more of the only healer in town. :-)
What's with John?
John will also appear in the next chapter, no worries! This is just a little teaser to get you excited for the next chapter. John's storyline did not appear in this teaser because I had to limit its length, but he will have parts in the next chapter and Daghan will also be featured in them
These are coincidentally among my favourites as well. Although, to be fair, I have to say that I have many favourites. All of them will have important stuff to do in the next chapter, especially Garthon and Raenna. Kyra won't have the biggest role in Book 1, but she is planned to become a PoV character in Book 2, so there will be a lot more for her in time.
I am glad to hear this! I agree, Kersea's parts weren't that intense in the previous chapters, but this will change now that I have sufficiently introduced her and the other characters in her storyline and now that the plot has advanced to a point where the assassins are an increasingly important presence in Raylansfair. Raenna will have a hopefully enjoyable storyline in the next chapter. Actually, this chapter only served as a small introduction to her, as next chapter is where her storyline really starts.
Jaron's storyline in this chapter was intentionally slow, since there is a lot of stuff coming for him in the next chapter and since there was a lot of stuff happening in Chapter 4, so I felt the need to give him a slower chapter, that mainly focussed on character development and on setting up the things to come.
I am afraid this romance is continuing to be an important part of Jaron's storyline in the next chapter. Hopefully you'll grow to like it.
Yes, you have a good point there. I always try to hold back on hinting at certain outcomes, but it's not that easy, especially when I realize that the readers are about to make terrible mistakes. But I will try my best to restrain myself
You should totally check it out when you have the time. Personally, it's one of my favourite storylines, because it's very easy and enjoyable to write.
Who were your favorite characters in Chapter 5? Jaron will always be my favorite, but this chapter was kind of, well, less intense with his storyline (although with some very important developments 'coughJarpycough*
. Lucas had a very dark chapter, but his still one of my favorites - I'm interested in seeing how will he be now. Torvin and Garthon are both great, the kingslaying plotline was really long, it basically started from the first chapter and at some point my interest to the Breakers lowered a little, but they really came back in this chapter... Don't think their next chapter will be very happy though.
As for the secondary and tertiary characters I can say that first of all every Hoare is great in this story. And speaking of antagonists Mullendore is amazing, though there wasn't really that much of him in this chapter. Leonard is great, Sasha is great. Well there are so many great characters that I'll probably stop here and move on to the next question
Who were your least favorite characters in Chapter 5? This is a harder question. Well I hate Wolfius
I hope someone kills him, or at least he stays behind bars. And talking of Wolfius... If that damn Kreep keeps helping him I will hate him too 
Garen annoys me but I'm sure he'll do something awesome and I'll have to eat my words. I guess I can find some sympathy for poor Irving Todd, but still not a favorite. Clayton is an asshole, but... Let's say I wouldn't want him to die just yet
Who were your favorite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Garthon - Mostly due to the climax of his storyline. Anyway, great character in great location - works.
Jaron - I have to include him because of the #Jarpy -moment
Samantha - Samantha herself isn't one of my favorites, but she had a very action-packed chapter with many great secondary characters around her.
Kersea - I'm really starting to warm up for her storyline, even if she quite isn't one of my favorites yet as a character. It's very dark all the time, but how could it not be with characters like Clayton, Alysanne and Wolfius... Plus the fact that her sister is held hostage by Maron effing Mullendore.
Raenna - We didn't get much of her yet but she stick to my mind as someone whose story I'm looking forward to.
Who were your least favorite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Richard - Did he have parts in this chapter? Oh, at least the warehouse attack! Anyway, he is still the PoV I found the least interesting. I had same kind of feeling for Jenna earlier, but she has risen to the PoVs I have a neutral feeling of - So maybe Richard can too
Lyria - Pretty much the same with her. Well, she did have a pretty cool fight with Wolfius, but still, not my favorite.
Ilish - I believe she might become more interesting in time, but so far she hasn't really done much.
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5? First of all the whole finale, both parts. Then there is the introduction parts of Raenna, those were cool. The fight at the citadel was nice. In some way the Lucas parts had their own creepy charm too. There are probably many more that I forget, but there is one that I wont forget to mention in every damn answer... #Jarpy.
Is there anything you disliked? Nah, not really. Nothing that comes to mind at least.
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6? Well, I'm very interested to see where does the Oldtown plotline go now, since apparently many characters are leaving the location. However the chapter will probably have much Oldtown, considering the name, and I hope we'll get some more Mullendore.
Any actual advice I don't really have
Jaylon! Wow, this is unexpected. I mean, he was really a huge jerk in the past two chapters, so I am surprised many were willing to give him a chance in this chapter. I was trying to make him more likeable, while also still maintaining the more agressive and rude parts of his personality and it appears I managed to do so. I'm glad to hear that he left an impression on you
Drent's PoV is definitely among my favourites as well. Marak and some of the smallfolk parts are a bit hard to write at times, which is also one of the reasons why Marak hasn't appeared that much, but I'm glad to hear that it was worth the effort. At least the way I have planned it should mean that there will be more Marak in the next chapter.
And the choices won't get any easier. The next chapter should feature a few very hard choices as well and it's only going to get worse from there.
Thank you very much! It's great to hear this. And I can tease, there is more to come for your character in the next chapter.
You might be onto something there
This is good to hear. I have always been fond of Kersea, mostly because there is some awesome stuff planned for her, so it is good to see that people start to warm up to her.
Woohoo, another reader who does not hate Jenna
Richard won't have a very long storyline in the next chapter, but there are still some things to come, so hopefully he can win you over.
Ilish is one of the characters I still haven't completely figured out where to go with them. I have some stuff planned for her in time, but there might be chapters in which her storyline won't be very long unless I get some brilliant idea. Actually, now that I write this, I start to get some ideas.
Yes, the next chapter will have a lot of Oldtown and especially Jaron will have a long storyline, perhaps even the longest of the chapter. However, overall there might be a stronger focus on Raylansfair. The ratio is hard to guess in advance, but I think it will have slightly less Oldtown than the last two chapters. Mullendore will have a stronger presence than in the last chapter though, that is something I can promise.
So.......nobody seems sad George died.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5? Hard question. I am with the majority about Kersea, I love her portrait of "good assassin". Leonard was absolute badass doing so much while basicly crippled in this chapter, so was Lucas for surviving the torture. I liked Samantha in this chapter as well because her storyline was so much action packed. And, well I might be only one saying this, but I enjoy character of Princess Argella, I like her arogance and badassness.
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5? Well, Maron fucking Mullendore, I don't think I need to explain myself about this one. Garen is also unlikeable at the moment, always against Drent. Wolfius and Clayton also don't need any explanation
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5? Lucas, Samantha and Kersea are already explained, well I would add Breaker brothers in here, ending of this chapter was so intense for them. And, and.... and I will say Jenna, because I'm a rebel :P And i also feel pitty for her because everyone hate her.
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5? I don't really have PoV's that I don't like because I usually really get in their character and don't look that much from my side, I always had disliked Lyria a little bit, I just don't like her personality,
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5? Last part, both PoV's, without a question. Warehouse attack and citadel battle were also really good moments.
Is there anything you disliked? No, not really, except for the characters I dislike and want them terribly dead, well there is few more characters I want dead but I don't dislike, like Harren Hoare who is super badass villain. Back to the question, everything is really good, keep up the good work
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6? I remember that somewhere in the past I adviced for little bit more of brutallity in the story, oh god did I got that in this chapter. It was probably best chapter so far, and very brutal as well. What am I anticipating in Chapter 6? Only awesomness
Is Lucas' personality going to be different in any way? Or will he mostly be the same just... damaged?
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 5?
Though I'd hate to say it, Jaylon has definantly grown on me, especially since the last part. I've also always like Samantha.
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 5?
That degenerate Butterfly.
Who were your favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Samantha, definitely.
Who were your least favourite PoV's in Chapter 5?
Can't say that I had one, I liked them all really.
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 5?
Okay, so the last part totally caught me off guard. They found Flowers and Jaylon isn't the huge ass hat I thought he was, though he kind of still is. So, I'd have to say. I've been proved wrong.
Is there anything you disliked?
No sir.
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Chapter 6?
Keep on keeping on.
Well i doubt he can remain unchanged after something like this. But i have hope.