I said it once and I will say it again. Clayton is a badass. I'm glad I never decided against him. So I wont do it now either. Just do what the man says, he is epic [Kill him slowly]
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
[Kill him slowly] Hopefully listening to Clayton this time will get us the chance to disobey him later without him getting that pissed. Septon will die either way so why not...
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
[Kill him slowly] You know, sick people like Clayton is what makes this story so damn great. I mean he's a rogue assassin hell bent on causing misery to others. That said so, I don't think it is a good idea to piss him off at the moment. I know this choice seems so out of character for someone like Keresa, but honestly she needs to play this safely for now if she ever wants to see her sister again. I have faith in Raenna, Samuel (both) and Terroma to free her.
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
[Kill him slowly] You know, sick people like Clayton is what makes this story so damn great. I mean he's a rogue assassin hell bent on causi… moreng misery to others. That said so, I don't think it is a good idea to piss him off at the moment. I know this choice seems so out of character for someone like Keresa, but honestly she needs to play this safely for now if she ever wants to see her sister again. I have faith in Raenna, Samuel (both) and Terroma to free her.
They have to save Briar and bring her back to Keresa or contact her about her sister. If Keresa is dead thanks to Clayton, then what's the point? It would have been a complete waste of time and effort. Furthermore, Clayton is an extremely dangerous individual, if he eliminates Keresa and Alysanne, then the only sensible options are either to flee or join up with these allies, making it a bigger problem to deal with. Clayton must be stopped at all cost for the sake of ruining Butterfly's plans.
I get your point but I don't really see Clayton killing Kersea. He might beat her, torture her, maybe even kill Alysanne to punish her (which would break my heart!) but he seems far too obsessed with Kersea to kill her.
They have to save Briar and bring her back to Keresa or contact her about her sister. If Keresa is dead thanks to Clayton, then what's the p… moreoint? It would have been a complete waste of time and effort. Furthermore, Clayton is an extremely dangerous individual, if he eliminates Keresa and Alysanne, then the only sensible options are either to flee or join up with these allies, making it a bigger problem to deal with. Clayton must be stopped at all cost for the sake of ruining Butterfly's plans.
No, Clayton's feelings have never been mutual in any way, which is actually one of the main reasons for his obsession with her. Even when they first met, Kersea had already been a bit resentful of him, considering that a member of his group was responsible for killing her parents. However, she did not outright hate him back then, she simply was very aloof whenever she was forced to interact with him and tried to stay away from him as much as possible. On top of that, she was still in mourning and simply not interested in any kind of relationship with him or any other member of his group. Her cold attitude towards him sparked his initial interest, especially since he saw that she behaved quite differently around Raenna, with whom she, to her own surprise, bonded quickly. At first, he actually tried his best to win her heart, almost like a polar opposite of how he currently acts around her. However, Kersea had simply never been interested in him, for numerous reasons, most importantly of course the fact that he was willingly working for the man who kept her little sister hostage. At one point in their past, she even flat out rejected him and he took it very badly, which caused a major turning point in their relationship. The moment she rejected him, his interest turned into a very twisted obsession and his behaviour towards her gradually became more bitter and hateful the more resentful she became. In turn, his increasingly sadistic actions towards her only further fuelled her own hatred for him, which made her even more resentful of him. This resulted in the vicious cycle they are currently in.
Perhaps I'm too paranoid, but I just don't want to see Keresa get treated like Lucas did. There's no telling what Clayton would do to Keresa if she disobeyed him further. I want her to play it safe, so she can assist in striking down Clayton.
I get your point but I don't really see Clayton killing Kersea. He might beat her, torture her, maybe even kill Alysanne to punish her (which would break my heart!) but he seems far too obsessed with Kersea to kill her.
I get what you're saying. I'm just scared that Kersea will go dark and maybe even just like Clayton. I love Kersea and don't want to see that happen to her.
Perhaps I'm too paranoid, but I just don't want to see Keresa get treated like Lucas did. There's no telling what Clayton would do to Keresa if she disobeyed him further. I want her to play it safe, so she can assist in striking down Clayton.
[Kill him quickly] stupid forum keep unfollow all over the topics and Control+C create a new comment on the button, curse the forum developers and their bugged scripts!
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
Indeed, the character as a whole has some similarities to Geralt of Rivia Roman called him a dragonlord because of his looks, but he is definitely not a Targaryen. A bit more about him is going to be revealed in Richard's next part.
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
Kersea
After they had left their current hideout, it only took Kersea a few minutes to regret her decision. It wasn't only the fact that … moreshe still felt guilty about Alysanne's current condition, and bad for just leaving her alone now. No, far worse was her current company. Being close to Clayton was a terrible feeling on its own, but it grew almost unbearable now, since she knew what they were about to do. Once more, they were doing Butterfly's wet work.
Kersea hadn't asked whom they were going to kill. She knew it wouldn't change a thing. During the past couple of years, she had the questionable honour of working with Clayton on several assassinations like this one. She knew the look on his face all too well. She knew, someone would die tonight.
Soon, she realized at least where they were going. “The castle?”, she asked. Clayton, who walked next to her, smirked at her words. “Surprised?”, he asked in return. “Where else in this city… [view original content]
It remains to be seen if this truly was the wisest choice for Kersea, but she successfully averted another opportunity to do things like Clayton would do. Needless to say, he's going to be livid about it. How livid exactly? Well, you'll see the consequences in time. A lot of Kersea's choices are building up to something very important in the future and this was one of them.
The next part is going to be out today. I'm sorry for anyone who hasn't voted yet. However, the part makes good progress and I'm positive that I'll be able to put it out today, so I don't want to hold it back longer than necessary. Considering that we have only a small majority in favour of killing him quickly, I close it now to prevent a vote tie later on. The next part is going to be a Raenna part. The last time we saw her, she and Terroma met up with Samuel Harrington, Butterfly's top enforcer/potential ally against him, who offered to help them getting into the labyrinth below the Hightower. Naturally, Raenna did not really trust him, especially as he was more than reluctant to reveal his full reasons for helping them, but he brought up the good argument that they couldn't afford not to trust him. Together, they travelled to a house which supposedly holds a secret entrance into the labyrinth, a house which Samuel Puffer was previously send to clear out. When they arrived, they noticed a suspicious lack of people around the house, something which is very unusual according to Harrington. While Raenna and Terroma are now going to sneak behind the house, to enter through a backdoor in the garden, Harrington is going to approach it from the other side, directly through the front door.
WOW! I'm so surprised that [Kill him quickly] won. I'm glad Kersea will be defiant and retain her humanity, but that doesn't mean I'm not terrified for her now.
The Voting is closed!
Kersea is going to kill Septon Corbin quickly
It remains to be seen if this truly was the wisest choice for Kers… moreea, but she successfully averted another opportunity to do things like Clayton would do. Needless to say, he's going to be livid about it. How livid exactly? Well, you'll see the consequences in time. A lot of Kersea's choices are building up to something very important in the future and this was one of them.
The next part is going to be out today. I'm sorry for anyone who hasn't voted yet. However, the part makes good progress and I'm positive that I'll be able to put it out today, so I don't want to hold it back longer than necessary. Considering that we have only a small majority in favour of killing him quickly, I close it now to prevent a vote tie later on. The next part is going to be a Raenna part. The last time we saw her, she and Terroma met up with Samuel Harrington, Butterfly's top enforcer/… [view original content]
I'm almost sure that she will soon regret her choice..be a more human person doesn't always mean be an alive one >:D
(don't take it wrong,I think too that this is the most obvious choice from Kersea Pov even if this means that,first of then,we will probably face the obvious consequences)
PS:Talking about the next PoV I'm really curious how the rescue will start,if Samuel (the less famous one) is fine and,most important, what happen at Davith and Jaylon (since last time we see them they were in the dungeon)
WOW! I'm so surprised that [Kill him quickly] won. I'm glad Kersea will be defiant and retain her humanity, but that doesn't mean I'm not terrified for her now.
I'm almost sure that she will soon regret her choice..be a more human person doesn't always mean be an alive one >:D
(don't take it wro… moreng,I think too that this is the most obvious choice from Kersea Pov even if this means that,first of then,we will probably face the obvious consequences)
PS:Talking about the next PoV I'm really curious how the rescue will start,if Samuel (the less famous one) is fine and,most important, what happen at Davith and Jaylon (since last time we see them they were in the dungeon)
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get a look behind it. “The garden Harrington mentioned should be right here. Come on, I'll give you a lift”
“It should be the other way 'round, Old Man”, Raenna remarked, but she gratefully accepted his help nonetheless. Terroma presented his hands and Raenna stepped onto them, after which he lifted her into the air with surprising strength, so that she was able to look above the wall.
Harrington told the truth. There was a garden behind it. At the very least, it had been a garden at one point in its past. Years in which no one even remotely tended to it left it in an overgrown state, full of weeds and small bushes. However, it had a pleasant lack of people in it and Raenna also spotted a door that led inside.
“No one's there”, she explained, before she fully moved onto the wall. Thankfully, it was just thick enough to allow her to lie on top of it. She reached down and grabbed Terroma's outstretched hand, before she started to pull him up. Raenna was surprised by how light he was and even though she never considered herself a physically strong person, she managed to pull him up just fine.
Together, they jumped down the wall and into the garden below, landing safely on their feet, in a crouching position. Without saying a word, Terroma approached the door. Raenna followed, to stay close to the walls of the house itself.
Terroma reached into the pocket of his coat, pulling out a small lock pick. With the skill of a metalworker, he began to unlock the door. His hands weren't moving particularly fast, but calm and precise and it only took him a few seconds until the door was open. Behind it, Raenna saw a small, empty hallway. She also heard muffled voices from the inside. One of them sounded like Harrington, but she couldn't make out any details.
On Terroma's sign, the two moved inside, into the dimly lit hallway. The little furniture it contained was old and moldy, giving off the impression that no one really lived here. To their left, two closed doors were located, while on their right, a set of stairs led to the second floor. However, Terroma headed directly through the corridor, towards the source of the voices. As they came closer, Raenna started to understand what they were talking about.
“...haven't expected you”, a male voice snarled. “What are you doing here?” A second voice sounded and Raenna recognized Harrington. “I have to enter the labyrinth”, he explained. “Is anything the matter? You seem agitated”
“The Tom hasn't announced you. We hate unannounced visitors”, a third voice said. “I'm not working for the Tom”, Harrington replied. “And I hate it when people point their swords at me” A metallic sound followed, the sound of sword that were put away. “Sorry for that, Fang”, the first voice apologized. “We have a situation here. Perhaps you can help out?”
“We got an intruder”, the third voice explained. “Killed an awful lot of us, but we eventually got him. He's locked himself upstairs, but it's only a matter of time until he'll bleed out” As he said this, Raenna noticed how Terroma tensed up. She herself felt a sudden sting of guilt. If Samuel was wounded, then she could have prevented it by accompanying him.
“How many of you are dead?”, Harrington asked calmly. Terroma slowly approached the door that led to the room the men were talking in. He was opening it just a gap, but Raenna was able to see what lay behind it. Two men had their back turned on them. Despite this, Raenna saw that they were wearing some sort of mask. She immediately put a hand onto the hilt of her dagger. Terroma had told her about the Alley Cats, ruthless psychopaths for hire, who currently worked for Butterfly.
Harrington was standing in front of them. There was little indication that he saw the gap Terroma and Raenna were looking through, but she noticed subtle a movement of his eyes. Just a moment longer than necessary, he was looking into her direction.
“Almost all. Bastard put up one hell of a fight”, the masked man explained. “We got one man left upstairs, ready to kill that fucker if he ever leaves the room he has barricaded himself in. He's wounded, but we didn't want to risk anything, so we decided to wait for reinforcements” He and his masked companion shared a quick look. “With you around, that won't be necessary”
“Lead the way then and I'll deal with him”, Harrington ordered and put a hand onto the hilt of his sword. The moment the Cats turned their back on him, he drew it. The first man died without even noticing his opponent, as Harrington put the sword right through his spine. The second man at least managed to almost draw his sword, until his sound of surprise turned into a gasp, as Harrington cut his throat with a swift strike.
“Is that enough proof of my loyalty?”, he asked, almost sarcastically, as Terroma fully opened the door. He wasn't looking at the old man though, but focussed on Raenna instead, who felt obliged to give him a nod. “Yeah...”, she admitted. “I... suppose it is” She forced herself to reciprocate his earlier smirk. “Good job”
“It's not over yet”, Terroma growled, as he turned around towards the stairs. Then, he quickly started to climb them, while Raenna and Harrington could only do their best to follow. As soon as she had reached the top of the stairs, she saw Terroma, who steadily approached a masked man, who was standing in front of a closed door. She also saw three dead bodies, all of them wearing cat masks, who were scattered across the hallway. The man had his sword drawn, pointing it at Terroma, as he slowly backed off. “Who the hell are you?”, he yelled. “This is Solver property! You fucker have no idea whom you're messing with”
He took a swing towards Terroma, who effortlessly evaded the blade. The moment the weapon had passed him, before his opponent had finished the swing, he took a step forwards and rammed his own, small knife into the man's chest, between the third and fourth rib. Wordlessly he turned around and for a moment, Raenna looked into the face of a monster. Of course, it was still Terroma's face, but all the warmth, the kindness, the things that made him the man she'd do everything for, it was hidden underneath a mask of cold, calculated brutality. At least that was what she had always thought when she was younger. Now she wasn't so sure anymore. Perhaps it has been the other way around all this time.
“Samuel”, he growled, as he knocked onto the door. “Sam!” He knocked again, stronger this time, as he slowly lost control of his facial expression, revealing that he was distraught, almost close to a panic. “Open the door!” He took a step back and pressed his lips together. “Damn it...”, he growled.
Finally, Raenna heard something behind the door and a reliefed expression flashed across Terroma's face. The lock was turned and the door opened just a creak, before getting fully opened. Behind it stood Samuel Puffer. With one hand, he was holding onto the door, while the other was pressed onto his side. Blood was seeping through his fingers, but he managed to give them a tired smile.
“What took you so long?”, he grinned, his voice sounding shaky, but not weak. The familiar, kind smile appeared on Terroma's face as he took a step closer towards Samuel. “Sam, you crazy idiot”, he sighed, before he looked at Harrington. “Sam, this is... uh, Samuel”
“Let's stay with Harrington”, Harrington answered. “We've met, briefly, while arranging our meeting. Glad you're not dead” Samuel gave him a tired nod. “I'm glad too. Though a lot of luck was involved. These cats are better fighters than I thought”, he answered and slightly moved his hand, allowing Raenna to take a glimpse at his wound. It wasn't too bad looking, not too deep. She had seen men surviving worse, though she had also seen men dying from less.
“So... what's next?”, Samuel asked, as he dragged himself out of the room. Terroma sighed. “Me, Raenna and Harrington are going to continue the mission”, he explained and Samuel's tired smile was gone in an instant. “You're not going to take me with you?”, he asked in surprise, now fully removing the hand from his wound. “Look, I can still fight”
While he sounded convinced, Raenna had to disagree. Now that she was able to have a good look on his wound, she knew that someone had to look at it. It wouldn't kill him, but it had to affect him in some way.
Terroma obviously shared her thoughts, because he immediately shook his head. “No one doubts your bravery”, he tried to calm him down. “But Samuel, I won't allow you to kill yourself” He put a hand onto the younger man's shoulder, but it was immediately shaken off.
“I won't kill myself!”, Samuel hissed. “I just took on a dozen Alley Cats without any kind of backup and you still don't trust my skills?” He took a shaky step out of the room and Terroma gave him an upset look. “I fully trust your skills, or else I wouldn't have given you this task”, he explained. “But you are wounded now. Out of sympathy for you, I'd let you go with me, but out of respect for your father, I can't. Besides, what we're about to do requires all participants to be at their full strength. You are wounded and this makes you more prone to failure. There's more than your life on the line here”
“Fine”, Samuel growled as he walked past Raenna and Harrington. “If you don't need my skills, so be it. I'll wait at the hideout” A regretful look flashed across his face, as his gaze met Raenna's. “Watch after the Old Man”, he told her. “This city needs more men like him”
“I will”, Raenna promised wholeheartedly and as she said this, a tired smile formed on Samuel's mouth, before he started to climb down the stairs. Terroma closed his eyes and shook his head. “You did the right thing”, Harrington remarked. “He had the right attitude, but his wounds would have endangered the mission”
“I don't need encouragement from you, Fang of Shadows”, Terroma answered coldly. “Now, where's the entrance?” For a second, Harrington was visibly taken aback by Terroma's reply and Raenna shared his surprise. She felt a hint of worry, as she realized what a toll all of this had to take on her friend. He was responsible for Clayton leading the group, making him indirectly responsible for the situation Kersea and Briar Catelins were in right now. And she understood the anger in his voice, the stressed look in his eyes.
“In the basement”, Harrington answered briefly. “The only room. You can't miss it. The door is unlocked, since it was always meant to be guarded. Now however...” He didn't manage to continue, as Terroma simply walked past him. “I'll meet you downstairs”, he said.
“Seven Hells”, Harrington mumbled. “Is he always like that?” Raenna started to shake her head, before she hesitated. “Truth be told, I don't know. He wasn't when I last saw him, but we've been separated for five years now” She shook her head. “He's a good man”
“Then he's a rarity, if not a miracle”, Harrington answered. Raenna turned her back on him, towards the stairs and was about to follow Terroma, when he called her out. “Raenna, wait!”, he said. As she turned around again, she saw that he had knelt down next to the dead Alley Cat. “Down there, we need to take some safety measures”, he said, as he removed the mask, revealing the face below. It was a fair-skinned face, pale from a lack of sunlight, with widely opened, blue eyes. The man was a bit older than Raenna and looked unremarkable, almost ordinary.
“Put it on”, Harrington said as he handed her the plain, white mask. She shot him a questioning look and he sighed. “There are no women among the Solvers”, he explained. “It's not that we have a lack of violent female thugs on our streets, but none of them join Butterfly. His Alley Cats are the main reason for that. Down in the labyrinth, we might meet Solvers. With your looks, you'd make them suspicious” The hint of curiosity appeared on his face. “How does someone with your looks end up as an assassin either way?”
With anyone else, she'd be sure that this line was meant as a clumsy flirt. However, the curiosity on Harrington's face was refreshingly genuine. “Truth be told, others made the choice for me”, she explained as they climbed down the stairs, noticing a deep understanding on Harrington's face. “My mother, who hid me in a shabby backroom of the brothel she was working in. My uncle, who saw Targaryen bastards as abominations, who forced me to flee”
“Targaryen? So, you're related to Aegon the Dragonlord?”, Harrington asked in surprise, as they reached the ground floor. Together, they walked through the hallway, towards another, open door. A second set of stairs was located behind it, leading downstairs into the basement, where Terroma was waiting.
“My father was Baelon Targaryen”, Raenna revealed, after hesitating shortly. It had been years since she last used her father's name. Even calling him a father felt weird, considering that she never even met him. “My mother happened to be among the countless whores he impregnated. I guess that makes me Lord Aegon's cousin, though I never saw any of these people as my family. In my eyes, blood does not define family”
Harrington gave her a nod, his curiosity replaced by sullen resignation. “You're right”, he mumbled, as they entered the basement. Terroma was waiting next to an already opened trapdoor. Below it, Raenna saw only gaping darkness and the dim torch Terroma was holding was the only thing that spent light, illuminating a narrow ladder.
“I suppose that's it”, Terroma said and Harrington gave him a nod. “Go ahead”, the sellsword answered. Holding the torch in one hand, Terroma began to climb down the ladder. Raenna sighed, as she glanced at the mask in her hand. Then, she put it on. To her surprise, it wasn't limiting her sight in the slightest. It was hot underneath it, but heat never bothered her. However, it limited her breath, which was unfortunate, but inevitable. A thought crossed her mind.
“This won't work”, she remarked as she pulled up her hood. Harrington gave her a curious look and Raenna sighed, feeling uncomfortable that she even had to bring it up. “I mean... my face is not the only part I have to hide...” She put a hand onto her chest and Harrington's eyes widened. “Oh”, he stuttered and to her surprise, he seemed embarrassed. “That... that won't be much of a problem. It's dark down there. And you're not too... wait, that's not what I mean. I mean, you're wearing concealing clothes. The hood helps and your vest is not exactly form-fitting”
His answer caused Raenna to crack a smile underneath her mask. “You flatter me”, she answered. “I still see it as a risk. I'd always recognize another woman, even when she wears a mask, so let's hope you're right” With these words, she started to climb down the ladder. Harrington followed, closing the trap door behind him.
The ladder itself wasn't very long. Terroma had already reached the ground, Raenna and Harrington followed shortly afterwards. They found themselves in a narrow tunnel. Obviously, it was not yet a part of the labyrinth, but rather a crude, self-made tunnel that only lead into one direction. It was narrow enough to prevent them from walking next to each other and the walls consisted out of almost entirely undressed stone.
“Butterfly did not build these”, Terroma deduced. “He's been around for what, five years? This took decades” Harrington gave him a short nod. “You're right”, he confirmed briefly. “Butterfly merely uses the tunnels previous crimelords built. Using their network gave him a huge advantage in the beginning of his campaign here”
He sighed and Raenna glanced over her shoulder towards him. “Anything the matter?”, she asked. Harrington shook his head. “It's just... I'm still a bit baffled that I just met the Blood of the Dragon”, he explained, a bit too quickly
“Half-blood”, Raenna corrected him. “But that's not it, isn't it? There's something on your mind” Before their talk, she had barely seen any sort of emotion at all on his face. Now, he was clearly troubled by something. Was it something she had said?
“Indeed”, Harrington confirmed, as if he had read her mind. “It's... perhaps a story for another time. Let's just say, what you said about others making your choices... I can relate to it, very well in fact. And to the other thing you said as well... about family, I mean”
He was silent after this, making it clear that he didn't want to specify this topic any further. Raenna was okay with this, very okay in fact. In silence, they walked after each other. Terroma led them through the tunnel, similarly silent, haunted by regret, the worst feeling of all.
It didn't take them long until they reached a second, open door, which finally led into a new tunnel, more like a subterranean hallway, built entirely out of strange, black and eerily cold stone. Raenna shivered as her hand accidentally touched it.
“Which way?”, Terroma growled, looking at Harrington. The sellsword glanced to the right, then to the left, before he gulped, leaning against the wall. “That is actually up for debate”, he revealed. “If you remember correctly, we have two goals. You need to go to the lower cells, while I need to reach the archive of the city guard, in the upper levels of the labyrinth. For the cells, we need to go to the left. For the archive, we need to go to the right”
“The left it is then”, Terroma decided, but before he could start walking, Harrington grabbed his shoulder. “Wait, wait, wait... you really want to go to the cells first?”, he asked in disbelief. “Then you want to go to the archive, carrying a potentially wounded and undoubtedly scared child with you? I'm sorry that won't work”
“So, you think we should go to the archive first? Unsurprising”, Terroma answered coldly. “Considering that this is all you need us for, what guarantee do I have that you won't abandon us after you got what you wanted, or worse?”
“Abandoning...”, Harrington mumbled and narrowed his eyes. “I thought Raenna would be the one that did not trust me. Never thought you'd be worse. I think I've proven myself enough. We have a deal and I don't double-cross people I have a deal with”
“Didn't stop you with Butterfly”, Terroma answered and looked at Raenna, who shivered under his steely glare. Terroma noticed it, as he immediately softened. “Sorry. I'm just... I can't just trust you without having some kind of security. Besides, I think we have to get Briar out of there as fast as possible. We're so close and keeping her in there for longer than necessary...” He sighed. “We have a problem then. You're in favour of doing your task first, I think mine should be prioritized”, he summarized. “Sweet Raenna, what do you think? You got the swing vote and I'm going to accept whatever you see as the better option”
[Support Harrington] Terroma himself said he trusts Harrington before so let's go with this. I'm also loving the growing relationship between Harrington and Raenna (I ship it!) so I'd love for Raenna to get on his good side.
Would Samuel still be wounded if Raenna went with him instead? Would the current choice still happen?
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
About the choice everything depend about what we prioritize;if we Support Harrington means that probably our rescue mission will be much more hard to accomplish (I'm of the opinion that the reason Harrington want to go to the archive is because his own brother has his guard duty there,plus during the obvious fight our heroes will be probably identified) while if we Support Terroma our true mission will be much more easier (since no one alive still know that our heroes are inside the dungeons) but Harrington will probably left us first or then to follow his own objective.
At the end my choice is [Support Harrington] because,even if the Old Man will not like it,is the only way to support Harrington (and do each of the missions) making him an ally for all the rest of the rescue.I want to add that probably the next choices of the Raenna's PoV will be crucial for the succees of the mission.
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
[Support Harrington] At this point he is right, going into archives with Briar won't be a good idea but it will endanger her even more. I enjoyed this part a lot, especially what is starting to appear between Raenna and Harrington. Aww.... :-D
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
[Support Harrington] I think Harrington has earned our trust and has actually been able to get us into the castle and god knows what could happen without him. In return, we should follow his plan. Plus, we'll encounter enemies on both sides and saving Briar first will leave her defenseless when we go on Harrington's mission.
Hopefully we'll uncover the fates of Jaylon and Davith or at least find some clues.
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
Would Samuel still be wounded if Raenna went with him instead? Would the current choice still happen?
If Raenna would have accompanied Samuel, then he wouldn't have been wounded. In such a case, he would have accompanied them for the rest of the mission. The current choice wouldn't have happened in that way. As you said, Terroma previously trusted Harrington. His current, distrustful mood is simply a result of the stress he's in right now, after realizing that Samuel nearly died for this. If Samuel would have accompanied them, Terroma would have been way calmer and would have agreed to do Harrington's task first. Chances are that this part would have been twice as long, and that the choice in the next Raenna part would have been the choice at the end of the current part instead.
[Support Harrington] Terroma himself said he trusts Harrington before so let's go with this. I'm also loving the growing relationship betwee… moren Harrington and Raenna (I ship it!) so I'd love for Raenna to get on his good side.
Would Samuel still be wounded if Raenna went with him instead? Would the current choice still happen?
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a… more short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get… [view original content]
Comments
I said it once and I will say it again. Clayton is a badass. I'm glad I never decided against him. So I wont do it now either. Just do what the man says, he is epic
[Kill him slowly]
(Kill him quickly)
[Kill him slowly] Hopefully listening to Clayton this time will get us the chance to disobey him later without him getting that pissed. Septon will die either way so why not...
[Kill him quickly] Decided to change my vote.
[Kill him slowly] You know, sick people like Clayton is what makes this story so damn great. I mean he's a rogue assassin hell bent on causing misery to others. That said so, I don't think it is a good idea to piss him off at the moment. I know this choice seems so out of character for someone like Keresa, but honestly she needs to play this safely for now if she ever wants to see her sister again. I have faith in Raenna, Samuel (both) and Terroma to free her.
If you have faith that Raenna, Samuel (both) and Terroma will free Kersea's sister then why worry about pissing Clayton off?
Was there ever a time that Clayton's feelings for Kersea were mutual? Did Kersea ever see him differently than she does now?
They have to save Briar and bring her back to Keresa or contact her about her sister. If Keresa is dead thanks to Clayton, then what's the point? It would have been a complete waste of time and effort. Furthermore, Clayton is an extremely dangerous individual, if he eliminates Keresa and Alysanne, then the only sensible options are either to flee or join up with these allies, making it a bigger problem to deal with. Clayton must be stopped at all cost for the sake of ruining Butterfly's plans.
I get your point but I don't really see Clayton killing Kersea. He might beat her, torture her, maybe even kill Alysanne to punish her (which would break my heart!) but he seems far too obsessed with Kersea to kill her.
No, Clayton's feelings have never been mutual in any way, which is actually one of the main reasons for his obsession with her. Even when they first met, Kersea had already been a bit resentful of him, considering that a member of his group was responsible for killing her parents. However, she did not outright hate him back then, she simply was very aloof whenever she was forced to interact with him and tried to stay away from him as much as possible. On top of that, she was still in mourning and simply not interested in any kind of relationship with him or any other member of his group. Her cold attitude towards him sparked his initial interest, especially since he saw that she behaved quite differently around Raenna, with whom she, to her own surprise, bonded quickly. At first, he actually tried his best to win her heart, almost like a polar opposite of how he currently acts around her. However, Kersea had simply never been interested in him, for numerous reasons, most importantly of course the fact that he was willingly working for the man who kept her little sister hostage. At one point in their past, she even flat out rejected him and he took it very badly, which caused a major turning point in their relationship. The moment she rejected him, his interest turned into a very twisted obsession and his behaviour towards her gradually became more bitter and hateful the more resentful she became. In turn, his increasingly sadistic actions towards her only further fuelled her own hatred for him, which made her even more resentful of him. This resulted in the vicious cycle they are currently in.
Perhaps I'm too paranoid, but I just don't want to see Keresa get treated like Lucas did. There's no telling what Clayton would do to Keresa if she disobeyed him further. I want her to play it safe, so she can assist in striking down Clayton.
I get what you're saying. I'm just scared that Kersea will go dark and maybe even just like Clayton. I love Kersea and don't want to see that happen to her.
[Kill him quickly] stupid forum keep unfollow all over the topics and Control+C create a new comment on the button, curse the forum developers and their bugged scripts!
[Kill him quickly]
What a creep.
An ally...an ally...
[Kill him slowly]
So Daghan is 7"0 but how old is he?
[Kill him quickly] Clayton. What the hell man?
Great part!
[Kill him quickly]
Daghan is exactly 40 years old.
[Kill him quickly]
The Voting is closed!
Kersea is going to kill Septon Corbin quickly
It remains to be seen if this truly was the wisest choice for Kersea, but she successfully averted another opportunity to do things like Clayton would do. Needless to say, he's going to be livid about it. How livid exactly? Well, you'll see the consequences in time. A lot of Kersea's choices are building up to something very important in the future and this was one of them.
The next part is going to be out today. I'm sorry for anyone who hasn't voted yet. However, the part makes good progress and I'm positive that I'll be able to put it out today, so I don't want to hold it back longer than necessary. Considering that we have only a small majority in favour of killing him quickly, I close it now to prevent a vote tie later on. The next part is going to be a Raenna part. The last time we saw her, she and Terroma met up with Samuel Harrington, Butterfly's top enforcer/potential ally against him, who offered to help them getting into the labyrinth below the Hightower. Naturally, Raenna did not really trust him, especially as he was more than reluctant to reveal his full reasons for helping them, but he brought up the good argument that they couldn't afford not to trust him. Together, they travelled to a house which supposedly holds a secret entrance into the labyrinth, a house which Samuel Puffer was previously send to clear out. When they arrived, they noticed a suspicious lack of people around the house, something which is very unusual according to Harrington. While Raenna and Terroma are now going to sneak behind the house, to enter through a backdoor in the garden, Harrington is going to approach it from the other side, directly through the front door.
WOW! I'm so surprised that [Kill him quickly] won. I'm glad Kersea will be defiant and retain her humanity, but that doesn't mean I'm not terrified for her now.
I'm almost sure that she will soon regret her choice..be a more human person doesn't always mean be an alive one >:D
(don't take it wrong,I think too that this is the most obvious choice from Kersea Pov even if this means that,first of then,we will probably face the obvious consequences)
PS:Talking about the next PoV I'm really curious how the rescue will start,if Samuel (the less famous one) is fine and,most important, what happen at Davith and Jaylon (since last time we see them they were in the dungeon)
As much as it would suck I'd prefer Kersea died being who she is over living as something she's not.
Raenna
Silently, Raenna and Terroma moved down the alleyway, while Harrington directly walked up to the door of the house. Raenna threw a short, distrustful glare into his direction, before he was out of sight. To her irritation, Harrington actually noticed it and answered with a small, confident smirk.
“I still don't trust him”, Raenna whispered, as she followed Terroma, who moved at a fast pace, very close to the house they were about to enter. “Well, I do”, he answered. “Do you trust me?” Raenna let out a sigh. “Always”, she answered. “I guess we'll soon find out what he's up to. You can still kill, can you?”
This remark caused Terroma to chuckle. “Sweet Raenna, I guess this is a skill no man can ever forget”, he said and stopped walking, so suddenly that Raenna almost ran into him. He crouched down and glanced at the wall next to him. It wasn't a high wall, but still at roughly seven feet, so that the common man was unable to get a look behind it. “The garden Harrington mentioned should be right here. Come on, I'll give you a lift”
“It should be the other way 'round, Old Man”, Raenna remarked, but she gratefully accepted his help nonetheless. Terroma presented his hands and Raenna stepped onto them, after which he lifted her into the air with surprising strength, so that she was able to look above the wall.
Harrington told the truth. There was a garden behind it. At the very least, it had been a garden at one point in its past. Years in which no one even remotely tended to it left it in an overgrown state, full of weeds and small bushes. However, it had a pleasant lack of people in it and Raenna also spotted a door that led inside.
“No one's there”, she explained, before she fully moved onto the wall. Thankfully, it was just thick enough to allow her to lie on top of it. She reached down and grabbed Terroma's outstretched hand, before she started to pull him up. Raenna was surprised by how light he was and even though she never considered herself a physically strong person, she managed to pull him up just fine.
Together, they jumped down the wall and into the garden below, landing safely on their feet, in a crouching position. Without saying a word, Terroma approached the door. Raenna followed, to stay close to the walls of the house itself.
Terroma reached into the pocket of his coat, pulling out a small lock pick. With the skill of a metalworker, he began to unlock the door. His hands weren't moving particularly fast, but calm and precise and it only took him a few seconds until the door was open. Behind it, Raenna saw a small, empty hallway. She also heard muffled voices from the inside. One of them sounded like Harrington, but she couldn't make out any details.
On Terroma's sign, the two moved inside, into the dimly lit hallway. The little furniture it contained was old and moldy, giving off the impression that no one really lived here. To their left, two closed doors were located, while on their right, a set of stairs led to the second floor. However, Terroma headed directly through the corridor, towards the source of the voices. As they came closer, Raenna started to understand what they were talking about.
“...haven't expected you”, a male voice snarled. “What are you doing here?” A second voice sounded and Raenna recognized Harrington. “I have to enter the labyrinth”, he explained. “Is anything the matter? You seem agitated”
“The Tom hasn't announced you. We hate unannounced visitors”, a third voice said. “I'm not working for the Tom”, Harrington replied. “And I hate it when people point their swords at me” A metallic sound followed, the sound of sword that were put away. “Sorry for that, Fang”, the first voice apologized. “We have a situation here. Perhaps you can help out?”
“We got an intruder”, the third voice explained. “Killed an awful lot of us, but we eventually got him. He's locked himself upstairs, but it's only a matter of time until he'll bleed out” As he said this, Raenna noticed how Terroma tensed up. She herself felt a sudden sting of guilt. If Samuel was wounded, then she could have prevented it by accompanying him.
“How many of you are dead?”, Harrington asked calmly. Terroma slowly approached the door that led to the room the men were talking in. He was opening it just a gap, but Raenna was able to see what lay behind it. Two men had their back turned on them. Despite this, Raenna saw that they were wearing some sort of mask. She immediately put a hand onto the hilt of her dagger. Terroma had told her about the Alley Cats, ruthless psychopaths for hire, who currently worked for Butterfly.
Harrington was standing in front of them. There was little indication that he saw the gap Terroma and Raenna were looking through, but she noticed subtle a movement of his eyes. Just a moment longer than necessary, he was looking into her direction.
“Almost all. Bastard put up one hell of a fight”, the masked man explained. “We got one man left upstairs, ready to kill that fucker if he ever leaves the room he has barricaded himself in. He's wounded, but we didn't want to risk anything, so we decided to wait for reinforcements” He and his masked companion shared a quick look. “With you around, that won't be necessary”
“Lead the way then and I'll deal with him”, Harrington ordered and put a hand onto the hilt of his sword. The moment the Cats turned their back on him, he drew it. The first man died without even noticing his opponent, as Harrington put the sword right through his spine. The second man at least managed to almost draw his sword, until his sound of surprise turned into a gasp, as Harrington cut his throat with a swift strike.
“Is that enough proof of my loyalty?”, he asked, almost sarcastically, as Terroma fully opened the door. He wasn't looking at the old man though, but focussed on Raenna instead, who felt obliged to give him a nod. “Yeah...”, she admitted. “I... suppose it is” She forced herself to reciprocate his earlier smirk. “Good job”
“It's not over yet”, Terroma growled, as he turned around towards the stairs. Then, he quickly started to climb them, while Raenna and Harrington could only do their best to follow. As soon as she had reached the top of the stairs, she saw Terroma, who steadily approached a masked man, who was standing in front of a closed door. She also saw three dead bodies, all of them wearing cat masks, who were scattered across the hallway. The man had his sword drawn, pointing it at Terroma, as he slowly backed off. “Who the hell are you?”, he yelled. “This is Solver property! You fucker have no idea whom you're messing with”
He took a swing towards Terroma, who effortlessly evaded the blade. The moment the weapon had passed him, before his opponent had finished the swing, he took a step forwards and rammed his own, small knife into the man's chest, between the third and fourth rib. Wordlessly he turned around and for a moment, Raenna looked into the face of a monster. Of course, it was still Terroma's face, but all the warmth, the kindness, the things that made him the man she'd do everything for, it was hidden underneath a mask of cold, calculated brutality. At least that was what she had always thought when she was younger. Now she wasn't so sure anymore. Perhaps it has been the other way around all this time.
“Samuel”, he growled, as he knocked onto the door. “Sam!” He knocked again, stronger this time, as he slowly lost control of his facial expression, revealing that he was distraught, almost close to a panic. “Open the door!” He took a step back and pressed his lips together. “Damn it...”, he growled.
Finally, Raenna heard something behind the door and a reliefed expression flashed across Terroma's face. The lock was turned and the door opened just a creak, before getting fully opened. Behind it stood Samuel Puffer. With one hand, he was holding onto the door, while the other was pressed onto his side. Blood was seeping through his fingers, but he managed to give them a tired smile.
“What took you so long?”, he grinned, his voice sounding shaky, but not weak. The familiar, kind smile appeared on Terroma's face as he took a step closer towards Samuel. “Sam, you crazy idiot”, he sighed, before he looked at Harrington. “Sam, this is... uh, Samuel”
“Let's stay with Harrington”, Harrington answered. “We've met, briefly, while arranging our meeting. Glad you're not dead” Samuel gave him a tired nod. “I'm glad too. Though a lot of luck was involved. These cats are better fighters than I thought”, he answered and slightly moved his hand, allowing Raenna to take a glimpse at his wound. It wasn't too bad looking, not too deep. She had seen men surviving worse, though she had also seen men dying from less.
“So... what's next?”, Samuel asked, as he dragged himself out of the room. Terroma sighed. “Me, Raenna and Harrington are going to continue the mission”, he explained and Samuel's tired smile was gone in an instant. “You're not going to take me with you?”, he asked in surprise, now fully removing the hand from his wound. “Look, I can still fight”
While he sounded convinced, Raenna had to disagree. Now that she was able to have a good look on his wound, she knew that someone had to look at it. It wouldn't kill him, but it had to affect him in some way.
Terroma obviously shared her thoughts, because he immediately shook his head. “No one doubts your bravery”, he tried to calm him down. “But Samuel, I won't allow you to kill yourself” He put a hand onto the younger man's shoulder, but it was immediately shaken off.
“I won't kill myself!”, Samuel hissed. “I just took on a dozen Alley Cats without any kind of backup and you still don't trust my skills?” He took a shaky step out of the room and Terroma gave him an upset look. “I fully trust your skills, or else I wouldn't have given you this task”, he explained. “But you are wounded now. Out of sympathy for you, I'd let you go with me, but out of respect for your father, I can't. Besides, what we're about to do requires all participants to be at their full strength. You are wounded and this makes you more prone to failure. There's more than your life on the line here”
“Fine”, Samuel growled as he walked past Raenna and Harrington. “If you don't need my skills, so be it. I'll wait at the hideout” A regretful look flashed across his face, as his gaze met Raenna's. “Watch after the Old Man”, he told her. “This city needs more men like him”
“I will”, Raenna promised wholeheartedly and as she said this, a tired smile formed on Samuel's mouth, before he started to climb down the stairs. Terroma closed his eyes and shook his head. “You did the right thing”, Harrington remarked. “He had the right attitude, but his wounds would have endangered the mission”
“I don't need encouragement from you, Fang of Shadows”, Terroma answered coldly. “Now, where's the entrance?” For a second, Harrington was visibly taken aback by Terroma's reply and Raenna shared his surprise. She felt a hint of worry, as she realized what a toll all of this had to take on her friend. He was responsible for Clayton leading the group, making him indirectly responsible for the situation Kersea and Briar Catelins were in right now. And she understood the anger in his voice, the stressed look in his eyes.
“In the basement”, Harrington answered briefly. “The only room. You can't miss it. The door is unlocked, since it was always meant to be guarded. Now however...” He didn't manage to continue, as Terroma simply walked past him. “I'll meet you downstairs”, he said.
“Seven Hells”, Harrington mumbled. “Is he always like that?” Raenna started to shake her head, before she hesitated. “Truth be told, I don't know. He wasn't when I last saw him, but we've been separated for five years now” She shook her head. “He's a good man”
“Then he's a rarity, if not a miracle”, Harrington answered. Raenna turned her back on him, towards the stairs and was about to follow Terroma, when he called her out. “Raenna, wait!”, he said. As she turned around again, she saw that he had knelt down next to the dead Alley Cat. “Down there, we need to take some safety measures”, he said, as he removed the mask, revealing the face below. It was a fair-skinned face, pale from a lack of sunlight, with widely opened, blue eyes. The man was a bit older than Raenna and looked unremarkable, almost ordinary.
“Put it on”, Harrington said as he handed her the plain, white mask. She shot him a questioning look and he sighed. “There are no women among the Solvers”, he explained. “It's not that we have a lack of violent female thugs on our streets, but none of them join Butterfly. His Alley Cats are the main reason for that. Down in the labyrinth, we might meet Solvers. With your looks, you'd make them suspicious” The hint of curiosity appeared on his face. “How does someone with your looks end up as an assassin either way?”
With anyone else, she'd be sure that this line was meant as a clumsy flirt. However, the curiosity on Harrington's face was refreshingly genuine. “Truth be told, others made the choice for me”, she explained as they climbed down the stairs, noticing a deep understanding on Harrington's face. “My mother, who hid me in a shabby backroom of the brothel she was working in. My uncle, who saw Targaryen bastards as abominations, who forced me to flee”
“Targaryen? So, you're related to Aegon the Dragonlord?”, Harrington asked in surprise, as they reached the ground floor. Together, they walked through the hallway, towards another, open door. A second set of stairs was located behind it, leading downstairs into the basement, where Terroma was waiting.
“My father was Baelon Targaryen”, Raenna revealed, after hesitating shortly. It had been years since she last used her father's name. Even calling him a father felt weird, considering that she never even met him. “My mother happened to be among the countless whores he impregnated. I guess that makes me Lord Aegon's cousin, though I never saw any of these people as my family. In my eyes, blood does not define family”
Harrington gave her a nod, his curiosity replaced by sullen resignation. “You're right”, he mumbled, as they entered the basement. Terroma was waiting next to an already opened trapdoor. Below it, Raenna saw only gaping darkness and the dim torch Terroma was holding was the only thing that spent light, illuminating a narrow ladder.
“I suppose that's it”, Terroma said and Harrington gave him a nod. “Go ahead”, the sellsword answered. Holding the torch in one hand, Terroma began to climb down the ladder. Raenna sighed, as she glanced at the mask in her hand. Then, she put it on. To her surprise, it wasn't limiting her sight in the slightest. It was hot underneath it, but heat never bothered her. However, it limited her breath, which was unfortunate, but inevitable. A thought crossed her mind.
“This won't work”, she remarked as she pulled up her hood. Harrington gave her a curious look and Raenna sighed, feeling uncomfortable that she even had to bring it up. “I mean... my face is not the only part I have to hide...” She put a hand onto her chest and Harrington's eyes widened. “Oh”, he stuttered and to her surprise, he seemed embarrassed. “That... that won't be much of a problem. It's dark down there. And you're not too... wait, that's not what I mean. I mean, you're wearing concealing clothes. The hood helps and your vest is not exactly form-fitting”
His answer caused Raenna to crack a smile underneath her mask. “You flatter me”, she answered. “I still see it as a risk. I'd always recognize another woman, even when she wears a mask, so let's hope you're right” With these words, she started to climb down the ladder. Harrington followed, closing the trap door behind him.
The ladder itself wasn't very long. Terroma had already reached the ground, Raenna and Harrington followed shortly afterwards. They found themselves in a narrow tunnel. Obviously, it was not yet a part of the labyrinth, but rather a crude, self-made tunnel that only lead into one direction. It was narrow enough to prevent them from walking next to each other and the walls consisted out of almost entirely undressed stone.
“Butterfly did not build these”, Terroma deduced. “He's been around for what, five years? This took decades” Harrington gave him a short nod. “You're right”, he confirmed briefly. “Butterfly merely uses the tunnels previous crimelords built. Using their network gave him a huge advantage in the beginning of his campaign here”
He sighed and Raenna glanced over her shoulder towards him. “Anything the matter?”, she asked. Harrington shook his head. “It's just... I'm still a bit baffled that I just met the Blood of the Dragon”, he explained, a bit too quickly
“Half-blood”, Raenna corrected him. “But that's not it, isn't it? There's something on your mind” Before their talk, she had barely seen any sort of emotion at all on his face. Now, he was clearly troubled by something. Was it something she had said?
“Indeed”, Harrington confirmed, as if he had read her mind. “It's... perhaps a story for another time. Let's just say, what you said about others making your choices... I can relate to it, very well in fact. And to the other thing you said as well... about family, I mean”
He was silent after this, making it clear that he didn't want to specify this topic any further. Raenna was okay with this, very okay in fact. In silence, they walked after each other. Terroma led them through the tunnel, similarly silent, haunted by regret, the worst feeling of all.
It didn't take them long until they reached a second, open door, which finally led into a new tunnel, more like a subterranean hallway, built entirely out of strange, black and eerily cold stone. Raenna shivered as her hand accidentally touched it.
“Which way?”, Terroma growled, looking at Harrington. The sellsword glanced to the right, then to the left, before he gulped, leaning against the wall. “That is actually up for debate”, he revealed. “If you remember correctly, we have two goals. You need to go to the lower cells, while I need to reach the archive of the city guard, in the upper levels of the labyrinth. For the cells, we need to go to the left. For the archive, we need to go to the right”
“The left it is then”, Terroma decided, but before he could start walking, Harrington grabbed his shoulder. “Wait, wait, wait... you really want to go to the cells first?”, he asked in disbelief. “Then you want to go to the archive, carrying a potentially wounded and undoubtedly scared child with you? I'm sorry that won't work”
“So, you think we should go to the archive first? Unsurprising”, Terroma answered coldly. “Considering that this is all you need us for, what guarantee do I have that you won't abandon us after you got what you wanted, or worse?”
“Abandoning...”, Harrington mumbled and narrowed his eyes. “I thought Raenna would be the one that did not trust me. Never thought you'd be worse. I think I've proven myself enough. We have a deal and I don't double-cross people I have a deal with”
“Didn't stop you with Butterfly”, Terroma answered and looked at Raenna, who shivered under his steely glare. Terroma noticed it, as he immediately softened. “Sorry. I'm just... I can't just trust you without having some kind of security. Besides, I think we have to get Briar out of there as fast as possible. We're so close and keeping her in there for longer than necessary...” He sighed. “We have a problem then. You're in favour of doing your task first, I think mine should be prioritized”, he summarized. “Sweet Raenna, what do you think? You got the swing vote and I'm going to accept whatever you see as the better option”
[Support Harrington] [Support Terroma]
[Support Harrington] Terroma himself said he trusts Harrington before so let's go with this. I'm also loving the growing relationship between Harrington and Raenna (I ship it!) so I'd love for Raenna to get on his good side.
Would Samuel still be wounded if Raenna went with him instead? Would the current choice still happen?
[Support Harrington]
[Support Harrington]
Finally the rescue mission is started!
About the choice everything depend about what we prioritize;if we Support Harrington means that probably our rescue mission will be much more hard to accomplish (I'm of the opinion that the reason Harrington want to go to the archive is because his own brother has his guard duty there,plus during the obvious fight our heroes will be probably identified) while if we Support Terroma our true mission will be much more easier (since no one alive still know that our heroes are inside the dungeons) but Harrington will probably left us first or then to follow his own objective.
At the end my choice is [Support Harrington] because,even if the Old Man will not like it,is the only way to support Harrington (and do each of the missions) making him an ally for all the rest of the rescue.I want to add that probably the next choices of the Raenna's PoV will be crucial for the succees of the mission.
[Support Harrington] At this point he is right, going into archives with Briar won't be a good idea but it will endanger her even more. I enjoyed this part a lot, especially what is starting to appear between Raenna and Harrington. Aww.... :-D
but becomming a badass murderer sounds not so bad to me ^^'
[Support Harrington]
awww
[Support Harrington] Oh man.. The ship between Samuel and Raenna... I can feel it growing. MAKE IT HAPPEN LIQUID!
If it was anyone else, maybe but not Kersea.
[Support Harrington] I think Harrington has earned our trust and has actually been able to get us into the castle and god knows what could happen without him. In return, we should follow his plan. Plus, we'll encounter enemies on both sides and saving Briar first will leave her defenseless when we go on Harrington's mission.
Hopefully we'll uncover the fates of Jaylon and Davith or at least find some clues.
[Support Harrington]
[Support Harrington]
If Raenna would have accompanied Samuel, then he wouldn't have been wounded. In such a case, he would have accompanied them for the rest of the mission. The current choice wouldn't have happened in that way. As you said, Terroma previously trusted Harrington. His current, distrustful mood is simply a result of the stress he's in right now, after realizing that Samuel nearly died for this. If Samuel would have accompanied them, Terroma would have been way calmer and would have agreed to do Harrington's task first. Chances are that this part would have been twice as long, and that the choice in the next Raenna part would have been the choice at the end of the current part instead.
.
[Support Harrington]