Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, Greg, isn't it?”, she answered. Gregar shook his head, his own grin fading. “That wasn't what I meant. Give him small tasks. Carrying our stuff for example”, he spoke. “But letting him be on guard? You know he's just going to fall asleep, do you?”
A soft cough caught Maya's attention before she was able to answer. Keat looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “As much as I enjoy your talk about how you don't trust the guy that is our lookout”, he said with a smirk. “I'm about to open that door. Behind that door might be people. Bad things happen if these people hear us, so please, be silent”
Maya felt her cheeks blushing at the thief's remark. It was her first real burglary, but not the first time she had to sneak into a building. It felt embarrassing that this stranger had to remind her of the basic rules. She gave him a short nod, but there was one more thing she had to ask. “Wait... do you know where exactly we have to go?”
Keat shook his head. “One of the lower levels”, he answered in a low tone. “Most documents from the Vale are kept their. The older, the farther down they are. If we're especially unlucky, they are kept in the oldest parts of the archive”
“That a problem?”, Gregar growled. Keat gave him a short nod. “I hate the locks down there. Old and creaky and dusty”, he answered. “And there's more. Down there, they have rats who never see the light of the day, rats who grow as large as a small dog”
“So what? You afraid of rats?”, Gregar asked again. This time, Keat shook his head. “I grew up in the more nasty parts of Oldtown. If anything, a rat always meant dinner for me”, he answered, but his smile faded as fast as it came. “It's the general atmosphere down there. A little hard to explain, but I always feel as if something is not quite right in the lowest levels”
His words sent a shiver down Maya's spine, especially as he sounded convincing. “How often have you been down there?”, she asked. Keat bit his lower lip, before he raised three fingers. “Too often for my liking”, he answered. “As I said, I hate it. But for you and your money, I'd do everything, Lady Ambassador” He turned back towards the door, before he paused again. “Speaking about... if anything goes wrong, where can I get my payment?”
“Ser Aldrik Wolver, at the tavern”, Gregar answered casually. “You can't miss him. Dour-faced Northerner, with a dour-faced direwolf” Keat gave him a nod, before he turned back to the door, pulling two hairpins out of his pocket. Only a few seconds later, a smile flashed over his face, as the door opened with a muffled creak.
Following Keat, Maya moved through the doorway, with Gregar behind her. They entered a dusty, narrow hallway. During daylight, the marble walls would surely look impressive, but in the darkness, they only added to the ancient atmosphere of the archive.
In complete silence, the trio sneaked through the hallway, only stopping at Keat's sign, as they stood at the corner. The thief put a finger onto his lips and pointed around the corner. In the distance, voices were audible.
“You're coming to the tavern, Philip? A round or two to put a smile on your face. Daisy's serving today”, a man asked and footsteps followed. “It's been a long day”, a second voice answered and Maya heard a tired sigh. “No tavern for me. But I'm not going home yet either. I got to take care of something first”
Silence followed, as two men were walking in the distance. At the other end of the hallway, Maya saw the light of a torch. “The blacksmith and her daughter?”, the first voice asked. The second man did not answer. “Listen, Philip, you know that wasn't your fault, right?”, the first voice continued. “This fucker is at fault and the guard got him”
“I could have stopped them”, the second man finally answered. “I could have convinced them not to go home. Maybe not Lyria, but Rosie would have listened” In the distance, Maya saw two men crossing their hallway to immediately enter another one. “This is not over until this guy, this killer, until he's dead”
Keat gave her a sign and started to move down the hallway again. Maya followed him and finally, Gregar started moving as well. The sound of a large door being opened sounded in the distance. The muffled talk of the two men was cut off as soon as the door was closed. Keat breathed out in relief, as he led them to the end of the hallway, before he turned to the right and down a small set of stairs.
At the feet of the stairs, the thief stopped. He raised a hand, ordering Maya and Gregar to stop as well. Shambling footsteps were audible, slowly coming closer, the light of a torch moving into Maya's field of view. Keat moved closer to the wall, pressing himself against it, while simultaneously crouching down, making himself as small as possible. Maya followed his example and moved to the wall and to the ground. She noticed that the considerably larger Gregar tried his best to imitate their behaviour as well, with questionable success.
An old, bearded man finally shambled around the corner. He was holding a torch, but thankfully wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. Instead, he simply walked into their direction for a moment, before he turned towards a door to his left, mumbling something before he entered.
Carefully, Keat rose again and continued his way through the archive. He certainly knew his way around, as he quickly led them through a set of doors and down another large step of stairs, to a closed door at its feet. Again, he pulled out his hairpins and started to pick the door's lock. This time, it took him longer. Neither Maya, nor Gregar said a word, as they constantly shifted their attention from the thief to the top of the stairs. In the distance, she heard footsteps once more, slowly coming closer.
At the door, Keat's movements started to get faster, almost hectic, though his face was still looking calm. The footsteps grew louder and at first, Maya was paying so much attention towards this sound that she didn't even noticed Keat, who meanwhile had finished opening the door. She gasped loudly as Gregar grabbed her by the shoulders and harshly pulled her through the doorway. Immediately once they had passed it, Keat closed the door behind them as silent as possible, leaving them surrounded by darkness.
“Now for the fun part”, Keat mumbled. Maya wasn't able to see him in the darkness, but he heard him slowly crouching down. Gregar's hands still rested heavily on her shoulders and it helped her in calming down. This has been a close call, there was no doubt about it. Without Keat and without Gregar, their mission might be over by now.
“Got it”, the thief whispered. Just a moment later, Maya heard a clicking sound in front of her, followed by a bright spark in the darkness, which soon turned into a small flame. Keat was holding a torch in his hand, not more than a little stick. It wasn't spending a lot of light, just enough to see Keat and Gregar and hopefully enough not to walk into a wall. She was also able to see that she was standing in a narrow hallway.
“There shouldn't be any guards down here”, Keat whispered. “As I said, they don't really expect anyone to steal some dusty old documents, but still, keep your voice down and your talking to a minimum”
Maya gave him a nod, noticing the questioning look on Keat's face. “Perhaps now would be a good time to tell me exactly what type of document you're looking for”, he said slowly, which caused a frown to appear on Gregar's face. “Listen, I know you don't like this”, the thief sighed. “But I can only guide you if I know the details. The archivists here are meticulously precise when it comes to the arrangement of their documents”
“Not a...”, Gregar started to say, but Maya cut him off. “A couple of old documents, signed by the Freehold and Ghis”, she revealed. Sure, it was risky to reveal the true worth of these documents to Keat, but she figured that now was a bad time not to trust the only guy who could help them. “They promise help in case of a war”
“So, your precious kingdom is going to war? Or it is about to get attacked”, Keat deduced. “From the look on your face, I'd say it's probably the latter. So, either that arrogant old warmonger or that black bastard are about to invade, correct?”
“Correct”, Maya confirmed. “Now, do you know where these documents might be located?” To her relief, Keat gave her a nod. “There are two possibilities”, he revealed and walked a few steps down the hallway. From the way the light fell, Maya realized that he was standing at a crossway. Maya and Gregar followed, which caused Keat to point to the left. “Down there, they keep everything related to the Vale. It's quite a lot and looking through it might take some time”, he explained. “To the right, we eventually have another set of stairs, which leads us into the floor they have reserved for stuff about the Freehold. Even lower, we have a floor dedicated to containing tons of documents from the Ghiscari Empire. Chances are, your documents are kept somewhere in these sections”
“You know an awful lot of stuff about this archive”, Gregar growled. A smirk flashed across Keat's face. “Well, someone has to, right?”, he answered. “After you hired me, I took a few days to befriend one of these archivists. It's amazing how much they reveal when you offer them a drink”
“So, which way are we going to take?”, Maya asked. Keat shrugged. “Preferably the left one”, he answered. “Not because our chances are better. In fact, I don't know if they keep these documents in the Vale section, or in the lower levels. It's just...” He lowered his voice and glanced to the right. Maya visibly saw him shiver. “I really don't like it down there. As I said before, the lower you get here, the more... wrong it feels. But it's your call. These documents you need have to be somewhere and as long as I get paid, I go wherever you want”
[Go to the right][Go to the left]
Alys
Until today, Alys thought of the Ironborn as the most bestial men she had ever encountered. Some of them, especially the princeling and his entourage, appeared to her as little more than snarling monsters. But right now, in the presence of almost literal monsters, she was glad to have a whole group of Ironborn around.
The men that currently surrounded them, the 'Band of Claws', as Edward had called them, they were savages in the truest sense of the word. Some of them were clad in ragged fur, sharpening their simple, yet brutally effective weapons as they glared at the Ironborn and especially at her. Some of them made obscene gestures and the smell was enough to seriously disgust her. Even though she was surrounded by nominally friendly soldiers, she still felt threatened.
Edward did not stop, even after Captain Alynne had ordered her soldiers to stand still. He slowly approached a large tent, made out of fur and leather. In the dim light behind it, Alys saw a tall, dark-skinned and surprisingly young man sitting on a comfortable chair. The look in his dark eyes, as he momentarily glanced at her, reminded her of Harren Hoare's eldest son. A frightening smirk appeared on his scarred face.
“Don't look at him”, Carvin warned her and this time, Alys followed his warning. “Clever girl”, he complimented her. “That little stunt you pulled with Harren Hoare, you got lucky back then. But I can only warn you. Bear is no Harren Hoare. Trust me, you don't want to provoke him”
Alisa had a look of concern on her face, though she did not quite manage to hide her own fear as she saw Edward and Alynne approaching the man in the tent. Before she followed, she leant in to Carvin and Alys. “Keep an eye on her”, she warned him and Carvin gave her a nod. “Don't you worry, I'll keep her safe”, he promised. Alisa let out a sigh, before she looked at Alys. “And you, mylady, keep your head down. Try not to get noticed” With these words, she quickly walked after Edward, catching up to him before he reached the tent.
“So... now we wait?”, one of the soldiers asked. Alys recognized him as Wilbur, the young scout who had previously gotten on her nerves quite heavily. However, right now he seemed meek and intimidated, even though he tried his best to look as strong and confident as his comrades. Alys knew people like him. All bark and no bite. The other Ironborn seemed to notice it as well, as they threw vicious glances towards him.
“We wait”, Carvin clarified and pointed at himself and Alys. “You do what you're here for. Guard us. Protect us and especially her, in case one of these... men here tries something funny” He looked down at the muddy ground, before he let out a sigh. “I'd really love to sit down right now, but I can't even tell if that's water I'm standing in or... you get what I'm saying, right?”
“Could be worse”, Alys grinned. “At least we're not in Harrenhal anymore” A smile formed on Carvin's face, as he gave her a nod. “Aye, at least we're not in Harrenhal anymore”, he agreed. This caused some of the Ironborn to glare at them, though most remained completely indifferent at his statement. In fact, Alys even caught some amused smirks, which made sense to her, now that she thought about it. A king like Harren Hoare could hardly be popular, even among his own people.
Still there were some who seemed to disagree. “You don't like the king's hospitality?”, an old, scarred and bearded raider growled. “Well, perhaps we should leave you then. See how bad you find Harrenhal once Bear's men shoved a spear down your throat and something else down the girl's”
Alys gulped, but chose to remain silent. She had no real experience in dealing with these Ironborn, but she knew that any careless word would only provoke them further. Carvin on the other hand sighed, while an angry glare appeared on his face. “Was that a threat, soldier?”, he asked in a low tone. With a more rational opponent, this would have been enough to end any further discussion. However, Carvin was talking to an Ironborn. Alys clenched her fists, as she glanced around from Carvin, to the raider that had threatened him and finally, to the bandits. Some of them had stopped whatever they were doing at the moment, to look at the confrontation. Some of them shot vicious glares into Alys' direction and she shivered.
“And if it was?”, the raider asked with a bloodthirsty grin. Without hesitating, Carvin pointed his crossbow at the man. “Then it would be the most stupid thing you ever did in your entire life”, he snarled in return. “As well as the last”
The bloodthirsty grin got smaller and the raider took a step backwards. “Fine then... fucker”, he mumbled, still backing away. With a pleased smirk, Carvin lowered his weapon. The very same moment, Alys saw the raider clenching his fists. She held her breath, knowing that violence was a strong possibility. If Carvin would shoot this man, the rest of the Ironborn would likely turn against them, right? Or perhaps they wouldn't care...
Help came in the form of an unexpected ally. “You know, they are kinda right. Harrenhal is a shithole”, Wilbur said. He glanced at Alys and smirked. “I mean, it's not as bad as Old Wyk, but still...” This caused the raider's attention to shift towards him and at least for the moment, he seemed to ignore Carvin, who also started to relax again.
“What have you said, runt?”, the raider growled and took a step towards the noticeably shorter man. The scout gulped and his formerly confident smile got a couple of cracks. Still, if anything, Wilbur struck Alys as someone who would not back down easily. “I said Old Wyk's a shithole even worse than Harrenhal”, he said. “Although it's not as bad as your mother”
Finally, the raider fully ignored Carvin, which was a blessing. Internal fights between the Ironborn were common and the atmosphere finally felt less threatening. Even some of the bandits stopped paying attention at least to her. Perhaps that had been Wilbur's intention. Perhaps it was just a side effect. In any way, she was thankful for his help, as unexpected as it was.
“Oh Wilbur...”, the raider said calmly. “You're just like your father” Wilbur's confident smile vanished instantly. Instead, the expression on his face got any bit as hateful as the raider's. “What have you said?”, he snarled. “What the fuck have you just said?”
“I compared you to your weakling of a father”, the raider said with a gleeful grin. “What? Not so snooty now, are you? Just like your old man...” Instead of answering, Wilbur let out an angry howl, as he attempted to charge at his opponent.
The raider let out a booming laugh, as he grabbed Wilbur's fist before it even came close to his face. With a brutal punch, he sent the young scout face first into the mud. Then, he knelt down on top of him and grabbed his arm, violently twisting the limb onto his back, until Wilbur screamed in pain. With his free hand, the raider sent punch after punch towards the back of the scout's head, pressing his face deeper and deeper into the mud.
A look of anger, mixed with heartfelt compassion flashed across Alys' face. The whole week, Wilbur had gotten on her nerves but intended or not, he just helped her. He did not deserve to get beaten like this. “Do something”, she hissed, as she glanced at Carvin.
To her shock, the sellsword just shook his head. “What do you expect me to do? Kill him?”, he whispered in return. “Perhaps these people will be fine with it. They seem to be indifferent towards their comrades at best. Perhaps I'm going to start a fight I could never hope to win. Bad idea, little lady, bad idea”
“Then... perhaps you can just wound this bastard?”, Alys pleaded. “Wilbur helped us” Carvin shook his head and while Alys had to look away from the brutal beating, he was firmly looking at it. “I don't think we should help a fool who has nothing better to do than to provoke an Ironborn raider. Perhaps a little beating will humble him. Ain't that bad” He noticed the shocked expression on her face and sighed, as he once again shook his head. “I'm your bodyguard. I will follow your orders”, he said softly. “Although I have to advice you to stay out of it. We will have our own fights soon enough, but this is none of them” Behind him, Wilber tried to howl in pain after an especially vicious punch, but the raider immediately shoved his face deeper down into the dirt, preventing any sort of noise to come from him.
“Let's see if you're still such a fucking loudmouth now, runt!”, the raider laughed. Carvin finally raised his crossbow and pointed it at him. The man wasn't noticing it, he was too busy beating Wilbur to near death. The rest of the Ironborn did not seem to care. “Your orders, mylady?”, Carvin asked.
[Order Carvin to kill the raider][Order Carvin to wound the raider][Order Carvin to stay out of it]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
[Go to the left] first let's check the safe places then the dangerous ones
[Order Carvin to stay out of it] even if this choice means that we will not help Wilbur making the scout resentful against us I suppose that hurt or even kill the raider will led our PoV to even more dangerous situations
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
[Go to the right] Just because more dangerous means there is more value in the stock.
[Order Carvin to stay out of it] For Alys sake... Wilbur helped but we cannot put Alys in the center of attention again, from which Wilbur just helped her out.
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
The next part is definitely going to include an Edrick PoV. I am not yet sure how long it is going to be and it likely won't include a choice, as it mostly sets up Edrick's final part later in this chapter. However, if there is still room for another PoV, I will likely put a Lyria PoV into it as well.
The next part is definitely going to include an Edrick PoV. I am not yet sure how long it is going to be and it likely won't include a choic… moree, as it mostly sets up Edrick's final part later in this chapter. However, if there is still room for another PoV, I will likely put a Lyria PoV into it as well.
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Since I've recently purchased A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, the prequel book for GoT, I'm all in the Westeros mood again, so I sent two new characters that I hope are better written than my previous ones
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today… more. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, … [view original content]
No huge surprises here, as I would have probably decided similar. Poor Wilbur really brought this up to himself, while Maya genuinely has no clue where to search for her documents, so yeah. One of these choices was a good one, the other was more of a neutral choice, with both, good and bad things coming from it. Both, Maya and Alys, will have one more part in this chapter and both choices will have immediate consequences, so you don't have to wait very long to see them.
The next part is most likely going to be out today. I'm closing the voting a bit earlier than usual, because I think the outcome is clear. Also, I try to release as many parts as possible over the next few days. The thing is, it's this time of the year again, where I go on a vacation. This time, I'll be gone for the last week of March. This sadly means that I won't be able to finish the chapter in March, as I originally planned. However, I will be able to check the forums through my phone and I might even be able to write one or two parts on my laptop. Since I really want to finish this chapter as quick as possible, I will try to write the next parts as quick as possible. Since today is Saint Patrick's Day, I might not be able to finish this part today, but I will try my best. I'm going to vacation starting with Monday or Tuesday next week and I will try to release three more parts until then, including the one I'm writing right now. The next part is going to include PoV's from Edrick and Lyria, both of which are PoV's whom we haven't seen in ages. Lyria didn't even appear in this chapter so far. Not much has changed for her, she's still more or less chilling at Mathea's house. Meanwhile, Edrick arrived at Lord Boleyn's keep in the last part, where he met Alys' betrothed, Dante Karstark, as well as his squire Darreth Kailen. He was informed that Lord Boleyn would be ready to talk to him now, and he decided to meet with him immediately.
Hi Crips, glad to see you around Thanks for submitting the characters, they are very nice. Then again, all of your characters are very nice, so that was to be expected.
Since I've recently purchased A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, the prequel book for GoT, I'm all in the Westeros mood again, so I sent two new characters that I hope are better written than my previous ones
The Voting is closed!
Maya is going to go to the left
Alys is going to order Carvin to stay out of it
No huge surprises here, as I … morewould have probably decided similar. Poor Wilbur really brought this up to himself, while Maya genuinely has no clue where to search for her documents, so yeah. One of these choices was a good one, the other was more of a neutral choice, with both, good and bad things coming from it. Both, Maya and Alys, will have one more part in this chapter and both choices will have immediate consequences, so you don't have to wait very long to see them.
The next part is most likely going to be out today. I'm closing the voting a bit earlier than usual, because I think the outcome is clear. Also, I try to release as many parts as possible over the next few days. The thing is, it's this time of the year again, where I go on a vacation. This time, I'll be gone for the last week of March. This sadly means that I won't… [view original content]
All right, question time, I think it's first one from me in a while.
What's in your opinion biggest and best plot twist in the story so far?
I'll quote one I'll always remember:
“This is it?”, Jaylon asked as Lucas stopped in front of a door. The knight gave him a light nod, before busting into the room. It was dark, a single candle illuminating the scenery. The room was thrashed, a horrifyingly fresh pool of blood visible on the ground. Lucas couldn't see Lunett, but he saw a figure standing at the sole window, slowly turning around as the knight entered. Lucas froze in terror, nearly dropping his blade as he saw the face. No... No, this could not be! How...
“Hello, boys”, Maron Mullendore said with a devilish smile on his face. “What took you so long?”
“Ser... Ser Maron?”, Lucas exclaimed weakly. “What are you... doing...” He noticed movement behind him and as he swiftly turned around, he saw Jaylon pointing the crossbow at him. The smile on the face of the ugly guard almost made him appear like a rabid wolf. “Turn around, bastard, face him or else I'm going to blow your brains out”
“Good job, Jaylon”, Mullendore complimented his underling, before giving him a questioning stare.”Where's the other boy, Constantine?”, he asked. Jaylon slightly chuckled, sounding like a hyena in the process. “Fighting Samuel”, he remarked and Mullendore let out a sigh. “Another dead man”, he mumbled.
“What in the...”, Lucas stuttered completely dumbfounded, in a clear state of shock as he was trying to understand what was happening right now. The realization hit him like a punch in the face and he nearly jumped up in terror as he looked back at Mullendore. “You... you're Butterfly!”, he exclaimed.
I really like the probably first plot twist of the story aka where Lucas discover the true about Lord Robert Raylan last will!
Other two facts that take me of surprise even if they doesn't make a big change inside the story was discover that Dairon was one of the Mullendore's children and that Archmaster Quent is the brother of the deceased Maester Eaton
All right, question time, I think it's first one from me in a while.
What's in your opinion biggest and best plot twist in the story so f… morear?
I'll quote one I'll always remember:
“This is it?”, Jaylon asked as Lucas stopped in front of a door. The knight gave him a light nod, before busting into the room. It was dark, a single candle illuminating the scenery. The room was thrashed, a horrifyingly fresh pool of blood visible on the ground. Lucas couldn't see Lunett, but he saw a figure standing at the sole window, slowly turning around as the knight entered. Lucas froze in terror, nearly dropping his blade as he saw the face. No... No, this could not be! How...
“Hello, boys”, Maron Mullendore said with a devilish smile on his face. “What took you so long?”
“Ser... Ser Maron?”, Lucas exclaimed weakly. “What are you... doing...” He noticed movement behind him and as he swiftly turned around, he saw Jaylon pointing the crossbo… [view original content]
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire that was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to the fire. He looked older than Edrick remembered him, a lot older in fact. Perhaps it was just the tired look on the lords face that gave him such a worn out, haggard look. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man, a true northerner. His hair, once raven black, now showed signs of grey, which suited his similarly grey eyes. An unkempt beard went down to his chest, but the rest of his hair was starting to fall out. As he looked up, Edrick saw deep, dark lines underneath his eyes. A tired smile formed on Lord Boleyn's face.
“Ser Edrick”, he greeted him in a friendly tone, much less loud than Edrick remembered him. “Finally” He sighed as he saw Dante and Darreth. “And Ser Dante, always a pleasure” Dante took a short bow in front of him and the lord gave him a nod.
Slowly, the three men approached him and Edrick noticed that there were only two empty chairs. Lord Boleyn seemed to realize this as well, as he looked past them, towards Norren. “Norren, bring another chair for Ser Dante's squire”, he ordered calmly. “And four mugs of mulled wine”
The old soldier saluted, before he turned around, shuffling down the hallway, but not before he closed the door behind him. Finally, Lord Boleyn raised from his chair. A small, but honest grin formed on his face, as he approached Edrick. “The years have been kind to you, old friend”, he said. Edrick extended his hand, for the lord to shake, before he reciprocated his grin. “I wish I could say the same”
For one moment, Boleyn just stared at him. Then, his grin got wider and he started to chuckle, as he grabbed Edrick's hand, shaking it enthusiastically. “It's been too long, Edrick, way too long”, he said, as his chuckle died down. “Please, grab a seat”
Without hesitating, Edrick took the chair closest to the fire. Coming from the north, he was used to the cold, but that did not mean that he wouldn't appreciate a chance to warm his bones. It was a cold autumn outside, so he was glad that this hall, while small and smoky, offered at least some comfort. Boleyn raised an eyebrow and glanced at Dante and Darreth, who were both still standing.
“Please, sit down”, he offered once more. “You are my guests and I want you to feel comfortable in my hall. I'm going to stand until Norren returns” Darreth accepted the gesture immediately, though Dante hesitated for a moment. “Thank you, mylord”, he finally said and sat down. Edrick noticed the tension between the two men and it did not surprise him. If what Leo said was true, then Dante was at least part of what prompted Lady Alys to run away. He could imagine that the situation between the two men was complicated, to say the least.
Indeed, the atmosphere in the hall immediately cooled down, as Boleyn's grin faded. Now, he seemed a lot more distant than before. “How has your journey been, Edrick?”, he asked, though it seemed as if he simply asked it out of duty and not out of genuine interest. It was clear that something preoccupied his mind and Edrick knew exactly what it was.
“Could have been worse. I really needed to get out of White Harbour for once”, Edrick said. Dante raised his head, with sudden interest in his eyes. “White Harbour?”, he asked. “Are you in service of Lord Manderly, Ser?”
Edrick shook his head. “Not at all”, he answered. “Lord Waylar is not the type of man to have a hedge knight in his service. Truth be told, I haven't had much to do in the past couple of years. Been living with my sister and her family, doing the occasional odd job. Have you ever been to White Harbour?”
This time, Dante shook his head. “Not yet”, he revealed. “Though I wish to travel there one day. I've read about it and heard that it is supposed to be the most beautiful city in the North” He and Edrick shared a brief grin and from the look in his eye, the hedge knight noticed that they shared the same thought as well. “That's not an accomplishment”, Edrick answered. “Though perhaps I can show you around one day”
The arrival of Norren drew their attention towards him, as he made his way through the hall, carrying a chair in one hand and a plate in the other, balancing four steaming cups of mulled wine on top of it. Boleyn approached him, taking the plate and handing a cup to each of his guests. Then, he sat down on the chair Norren planted next to Edrick.
“Thank you, Norren”, he said. “Leave us, please” The soldier saluted once more, before he left the room. Finally, Lord Boleyn leaned back into his chair and took a deep gulp from his cup. He was staring into the fire, past Dante and Darreth.
“So, I was wondering”, Darreth asked and looked at Edrick. Unlike other squires whom he had met before, this one wasn't afraid of maintaining eye contact. “How exactly does someone become a hedge knight? I mean, someone must have knighted you, right? What happened to him?” To Edrick's surprise, Darreth's question did not came off as rude. Instead, he showed genuine interest.
“The Skagosi happened”, Edrick revealed. “Ser Gregor Manderly, a distant cousin of Lord Waylar knighted me. He died during one of their raids and I had no desire to go directly declare for White Harbour. I met Barroth shortly afterwards” He looked at the lord and corrected himself. “Lord Boleyn, I mean”
“Barroth is just fine”, Boleyn answered. He sighed again, still staring into the fire and Edrick realized that it was time to discuss what really mattered here. He took another deep gulp from his mug, the warm liquid filling his stomach and warming him from the inside. “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” The lord 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”
It was no surprise. From his talk with Leo, Edrick already knew what the lord wanted him to do. Dante and Darreth seemed similarly unsurprised, which clued him in that both of them already knew about it.
“Lady Alys, am I right?”, he asked. Boleyn gave him a nod. “My only daughter, my eldest child”, he answered calmly, but with a sorrowful tone. “She ran away two months ago. I don't have many soldiers under my command, but those I was able to spare are already looking for her. So far, they found nothing but cold trails”
“So you approached me”, Edrick deduced. “I trust you”, Boleyn answered. “You saved my life during the Skagosi raids and you've proven yourself to be an excellent tracker. Above anyone else, I trust you to save my daughter”
“If she even needs saving”, Edrick answered without thinking. Both, Dante and Lord Boleyn appeared to be saddened by this careless comment. He sighed, before he looked into the fire. “Considering I agree to look for her, do you even have a lead for me?”, he asked.
“I do”, Lord Boleyn said slowly. “One which I'm unable to follow myself. She spend a night at Lord Forstborn's castle” Edrick looked up, narrowing his eyes at the unfamiliar name. Dante caught his look and cleared his throat to answer. “House Frostborn is, like House Boleyn, sworn to my family”, he answered. “Their lands are a bit to the southwest, on the shore of the Last River. Farther to the south are Bolton lands”
“So, is she with Forstborn?”, Edrick asked and Boleyn shook his head. “Not anymore. But Lionel Frostborn offered to give me information that might lead to her whereabouts, if I in turn agree to help him with a problem his family is facing”, he answered. “Though he has been decidedly vague about the nature of this problem”
“That means you want me to travel to the Frostborn lands”, Edrick summarized. “To find out what Lord Frostborn wants, to help him with his problem and to follow the lead he gives me” Boleyn gave him a nod. “Indeed”, he confirmed. “Ser Dante and his squire have volunteered to accompany you” His revelation wasn't a surprise either. Edrick preferred to work alone, but he could see how the presence of a nobleman like Dante could help during such a mission.
“Volunteered?”, Edrick asked and raised an eyebrow. Dante gave him a nod. “My uncle volunteered me”, he answered with the brief hint of a smirk. “Though truth be told, I would have helped in either case. I'm not entirely innocent in this situation, we don't have to sugarcoat it. This is my way of making amends”
“And I literally had no choice”, Darreth interjected with a shrug, which caused Dante to chuckle. “It's true, he was forced. The joys of having a squire”, he said sarcastically, before a stern look appeared on his face. “Together, I believe we can find her”
Lord Boleyn leant forwards and sternly looked from Dante to Edrick. “My old friend, I need your help this time”, he said calmly. “Do you accept this mission?” Edrick leant forwards as well, until their foreheads almost touched. He took a sip from his steaming hot mug of wine, an optimistic grin forming on his face. It was contagious and soon, Lord Boleyn had to grin as well, which temporarily removed the sadness and the tiredness from his eyes. “I do”, he answered. “But there's only one question left... How much is the payment?”
No choices for this part
Lyria
Lyria opened her eyes to the sound of someone knocking at the door. She let out a pained sigh as she raised her thumping head. How long had she been asleep? She glanced out of the window and was greeted by darkness, though the small candle she had lit before going to sleep hadn't burned down completely.
For one tiny moment, panic threatened to overcome her, as Lyria realized that she wasn't at home. Then, she remembered that she was still a guest in Mathea's home. The tiny hut was barely big enough for one person, but currently it housed four.
The only bed belonged to her daughter. Rosalie was alive for now, but her condition still worried both, Mathea and Lyria. The healer managed to save her, but she still required the Milk of the Poppy to be without pain. She wasn't even able to sleep without it. When she was awake, she was silent and sullen and Lyria had to force her to eat. Right now, a mixture of grief and rage filled Lyria, as she saw her daughter lying there, so pale and vulnerable.
Urid Strad was also still there, sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor, similar to the ones Mathea had acquired for Lyria and herself. His wounds were less grievous than Rosalie's, but like her, he needed the milk against his terrible pain. His legs were basically shattered and a few nights ago, Mathea had confided in her that she wasn't even sure if he'd ever be able to walk again. His wife came to visit every day, making the already small hut outright crowded for a few hours.
Another knock on the door caused her to shift her attention towards it. Mathea wasn't back yet and she wouldn't have knocked. She narrowed her eyes, as she sluggishly raised from the ground, trying her best not to put any weight onto her right wrist. It was healing nicely and she was already able to open and close the hand without pain, but she surely wouldn't push her luck.
“Mathea, are you there?”, a familiar voice asked in front of the door and Lyria let out a sigh. She walked towards the door and unlocked it, only opening it in a small gap. Out there, in the cold night, stood Philip Loren. His mismatched eyes looked at her urgently, but not without relief. “Good evening, Lyria”, he said calmly. “I know it's late, but can I come in?”
He has been another regular visitor and Lyria wasn't sure if he wanted to visit his friend Urid or her daughter. In another time, she would have objected, but right now she was thankful for the company. Thanks to the milk, Rosalie and Urid were sleeping tightly and there was no need to be quiet. Still, Philip watched his steps as he entered the room, looking around until he spotted Urid and then Rosalie. Lyria closed the door as soon as he stood inside. Out of a habit, she immediately locked it again.
“How is she?”, Philip asked. His voice was barely more than a whisper, soft, caring, but filled with the very same anger that moved her own heart. “She's still alive”, Lyria answered. “That's all I can hope for”
“And...”, Philip started to say, but she cut him off. “Urid is also still alive. No changes about his condition”, Lyria explained. Philip shook his head, before he sat down on a chair next to the small table. Lyria grabbed the chair that opposed him and her stare fell upon the hint of blood on the wood. Mathea had tried her best to clean it after she had saved Rosalie's life, but not everything was able to be removed. She grimaced, as pain flashed through the small scars on her face. Not every wound would fade completely.
“That's not what I meant”, Philip clarified. “How are you feeling?” Lyria sighed a this question. How was she feeling. “I don't know”, she answered truthfully. “I'm still alive” Philip narrowed his eyes. “But that's not enough, isn't it?”, he asked.
This time, she shook her head. “I had a life. It wasn't a good one, but it was better than most and it sufficed”, she said, now whispering as well, not out of fear to wake the others, but to hide her shaky voice. “All it took to destroy it was one beast”
Philip sighed as he glanced at Rosalie. “They are going to hang him, you know”, he revealed. His words gave Lyria a relief she had been longing for for the past week. “Maybe even tomorrow. Commander Nathamer only needs a signed death sentence. With Lord Tyrell around, Wolfius might hang tomorrow”
“Good”, Lyria answered shortly and grimly, though she also raised an eyebrow in surprise. “How do you know about this?” Philip leant back. “Torold told me”, he answered. The name sounded somewhat familiar. Her late husband had known this man. “Torold Stratford?”, she asked and Philip gave her a nod. “His brother is a member of the city guard”, he answered. “He keeps us updated about the situation. It was him who brought the death sentence to the castle and now he only waits for it to get signed” He put his arms onto the table, clenching his fists in nervousness. “Nathamer is a good man. There will be justice”
Lyria sighed. If only she could be so sure. There was something unsettling about Wolfius' confidence, something that told her that he still had a trick up in his sleeve. There were still a lot of questions about Wolfius and she wouldn't be surprised if he would manage to escape, to haunt her once again, not only in her dreams.
“What is your business with Torold Stratford?”, she asked. Philip opened his clenched fists, as he fully shifted his attention towards her. “He agreed to help me”, he revealed ominously. “He's caring for this city, one of the last few who are willing to do everything to save it”
“What about Richard?”, she asked. Unlike Philip, Richard had only visited them once and his absence was surprisingly painful. Philip looked saddened as well, as he shook his head. “I haven't really talked to Richard for a couple of days now”, he revealed. “I mean, he's still my friend, but it appears we have a different outlook on some important things in this city”
Unable to reciprocate Philip's unsettling stare, her own glance fell upon Urid. “Do you blame him?”, she asked. Philip took his time with an answer. “If I'd blame him, I had to blame myself as well”, he answered. “I followed him, blindly”
“You haven't answered my question”, Lyria stated. Philip sighed, as he shook his head once again. “There's still one more out there”, he revealed, effectively changing the topic. Lyria gave him a nod, realizing that he didn't want to talk about Richard or his own feelings. She had heard about this other one, this killer. The son of Wolfius, as they called him.
“The one they call Kreep”, she mumbled. Philip narrowed his eyes, his fists clenching with anger. “After Wolfius' arrest, Kreep laid low so far, but he was directly involved in the death of this sellsword. It's likely that he's involved in the rest as well”
“So you're going to hunt him?”, she asked. This time, Philip have her a decisive nod. “I realized one thing. These people that attacked us at the warehouse, they were out of my league. I was in over my head there and I can never be able to catch them”, he revealed. “But this Kreep? He's basically an animal, like his father. He's dangerous, lethal even, but in a different way. I believe he can be taken down, even by smallfolk, as long as we stick together”
“And Torold helps you”, she deduced. Again, Philip nodded affirmatively. “I'm going to meet him in an hour, at the fair”, he revealed. “Then we're going to plan our next move. Through his brother, we're going to support the city guard and in turn, they will support us. We're going to find this monster and we're going to hang him next to his beast of a father”
He wasn't sounding foolishly optimistic. In fact, he wasn't sounding optimistic at all, though he wasn't sounding particularly pessimistic either. Instead, he sounded determined, even if he obviously had his doubts. Lyria had to admire this trait of Philip. He stood by his convictions, even if they would put him into danger. And never, under any circumstance, would he allow harm to befall his friends or anyone he cared for. She simply knew that he would do whatever it would take to bring the son of Wolfius to justice.
A thought flashed through her mind, a thought that was as unsettling as soothing. He had contacts to the city guard. He could end whatever threat Wolfius still posed. The beast was trying to escape for sure, but he would never expect someone like Philip to kill him long before the city guard would even try to execute him. Perhaps Philip could end this nightmare. She knew, he would at least consider it if she would ask him to do it. The anger in his eyes whenever he looked towards Rosalie told her that he'd do it, because she felt the same.
At the same time, no matter how much she wanted to beg him to end Wolfius' worthless life, she still hesitated. There would be consequences, obviously. Few people would care if a monster like Wolfius would get lynched, but unfortunately, Hackor Nathamer was one of these people. While it was unlikely that he would hang Philip as a murderer, there would be other lawful punishments that would undoubtedly await him, should he get caught. The deep-seated wish to end the fear and terror that Wolfius mere presence in this city caused her, paired with the violent anger she felt over what he did to her daughter, conflicted with her concern for Philip. Perhaps this was her only chance to prevent Wolfius from finishing what he started. Perhaps she was too paranoid. She forced herself to look back into Philip's eyes, the left one blue, the right one green. “Is there everything on your mind, Lyria?”, he asked with concern and she knew it would be now or never.
Good question! Personally, I had the most fun with the Butterfly twist. It has been planned roughly in that form ever since Mullendore got submitted and I had months to slowly build it up. Judging from your reactions, absolutely no one expected it and it also redefined a lot of things in the story, which would definitely qualify it as the biggest and best plot twist in my opinion as well as certainly the most memorable. There are a couple of other twists planned for later, with which I hope to surpass the Butterfly twist, but for now it is definitely my favourite.
All right, question time, I think it's first one from me in a while.
What's in your opinion biggest and best plot twist in the story so f… morear?
I'll quote one I'll always remember:
“This is it?”, Jaylon asked as Lucas stopped in front of a door. The knight gave him a light nod, before busting into the room. It was dark, a single candle illuminating the scenery. The room was thrashed, a horrifyingly fresh pool of blood visible on the ground. Lucas couldn't see Lunett, but he saw a figure standing at the sole window, slowly turning around as the knight entered. Lucas froze in terror, nearly dropping his blade as he saw the face. No... No, this could not be! How...
“Hello, boys”, Maron Mullendore said with a devilish smile on his face. “What took you so long?”
“Ser... Ser Maron?”, Lucas exclaimed weakly. “What are you... doing...” He noticed movement behind him and as he swiftly turned around, he saw Jaylon pointing the crossbo… [view original content]
These are interesting and unexpected choices. I can reveal that Dairon's relation to Mullendore would have had much bigger importance if he would have had survived. As for Quent... I don't want to reveal too much, but he's still alive, doing Quent stuff. Probably, he's still a colossal jerk. It's likely that you haven't seen the last of him.
I really like the probably first plot twist of the story aka where Lucas discover the true about Lord Robert Raylan last will!
Other two … morefacts that take me of surprise even if they doesn't make a big change inside the story was discover that Dairon was one of the Mullendore's children and that Archmaster Quent is the brother of the deceased Maester Eaton
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
Since I've recently purchased A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, the prequel book for GoT, I'm all in the Westeros mood again, so I sent two new characters that I hope are better written than my previous ones
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
I know some people will hate me for it, to bring phillip to this situation. But i can only sleep well when this psycho is dead for sure. Hell I still dont believe he is going to hang. I still expect some plottwist so he escaped. That's why I vote for [Urge Philip to kill Wolfius]
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
[Change the topic] Since Wolfius is the fanfictional version of Ramsay (be crazy,has a plot shield ecc.) I think that is useless try to kill him now,he will only die under the right conditions (and probably if we play the right cards at the execution)
PS:About Philip..sure he is a fast man!XD Just a part ago he was inside the library and now puff he is at Mathea's house!XD
PS:About Eldrick Pov I'm really curios about the Frostborn,a family that you are mentioned already some times and even already show one member of that family doing a really honest profession:the apprentice torturer
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
I think that is useless try to kill him now,he will only die under the right conditions (and probably if we play the right cards at the execution)
You can never know. Perhaps these are the right conditions and you're just missing a chance to kill him once and for all
PS:About Philip..sure he is a fast man!XD Just a part ago he was inside the library and now puff he is at Mathea's house!XD
It appears he's basically on his way to become a superhero right now Like, Batman with super speed, fighting his archnemesis who is totally not the Joker.
PS:About Eldrick Pov I'm really curios about the Frostborn,a family that you are mentioned already some times and even already show one member of that family doing a really honest profession:the apprentice torturer
I see you remember Conor. I was afraid his role wouldn't be as noticeable as, say, the Sphynx, but it's good to see that he still left enough impression to be remembered. Surprisingly, he is not the black sheep of the family, or at least not the blackest It's hopefully going to be interesting to introduce the rest of the Frostborn family in the next chapter, so I'm glad you're curious about them.
[Change the topic] Since Wolfius is the fanfictional version of Ramsay (be crazy,has a plot shield ecc.) I think that is useless try to kill… more him now,he will only die under the right conditions (and probably if we play the right cards at the execution)
PS:About Philip..sure he is a fast man!XD Just a part ago he was inside the library and now puff he is at Mathea's house!XD
PS:About Eldrick Pov I'm really curios about the Frostborn,a family that you are mentioned already some times and even already show one member of that family doing a really honest profession:the apprentice torturer
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire … morethat was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to … [view original content]
Comments
Apologies, I'm late. Unfortunately, yesterday has been even more busy than expected and I ended up having to do a majority of the part today. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.
Maya
“Are you sure that was a wise idea?”, Gregar asked whisperingly, as soon as they had entered the room behind the window. It was a small storeroom, nothing too surprising, only old and dusty crates. “With Irving, I mean. Giving him the important task”, he specified. Maya shook her head. “Not sure, no”, she admitted. “But I feel he deserves a chance. Perhaps we've been putting him through too much crap”
This time, Gregard grinned, a thin, toothy grin that was barely visible in the dark. “Or perhaps we haven't put him through enough”, he argued. “The boy is weak, but I saw him using a bow a couple of days ago. He has potential. Maybe there's still some hope for him, if we force him to move his ass”
Maya reciprocated his grin. “That's exactly what I'm doing, Greg, isn't it?”, she answered. Gregar shook his head, his own grin fading. “That wasn't what I meant. Give him small tasks. Carrying our stuff for example”, he spoke. “But letting him be on guard? You know he's just going to fall asleep, do you?”
A soft cough caught Maya's attention before she was able to answer. Keat looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “As much as I enjoy your talk about how you don't trust the guy that is our lookout”, he said with a smirk. “I'm about to open that door. Behind that door might be people. Bad things happen if these people hear us, so please, be silent”
Maya felt her cheeks blushing at the thief's remark. It was her first real burglary, but not the first time she had to sneak into a building. It felt embarrassing that this stranger had to remind her of the basic rules. She gave him a short nod, but there was one more thing she had to ask. “Wait... do you know where exactly we have to go?”
Keat shook his head. “One of the lower levels”, he answered in a low tone. “Most documents from the Vale are kept their. The older, the farther down they are. If we're especially unlucky, they are kept in the oldest parts of the archive”
“That a problem?”, Gregar growled. Keat gave him a short nod. “I hate the locks down there. Old and creaky and dusty”, he answered. “And there's more. Down there, they have rats who never see the light of the day, rats who grow as large as a small dog”
“So what? You afraid of rats?”, Gregar asked again. This time, Keat shook his head. “I grew up in the more nasty parts of Oldtown. If anything, a rat always meant dinner for me”, he answered, but his smile faded as fast as it came. “It's the general atmosphere down there. A little hard to explain, but I always feel as if something is not quite right in the lowest levels”
His words sent a shiver down Maya's spine, especially as he sounded convincing. “How often have you been down there?”, she asked. Keat bit his lower lip, before he raised three fingers. “Too often for my liking”, he answered. “As I said, I hate it. But for you and your money, I'd do everything, Lady Ambassador” He turned back towards the door, before he paused again. “Speaking about... if anything goes wrong, where can I get my payment?”
“Ser Aldrik Wolver, at the tavern”, Gregar answered casually. “You can't miss him. Dour-faced Northerner, with a dour-faced direwolf” Keat gave him a nod, before he turned back to the door, pulling two hairpins out of his pocket. Only a few seconds later, a smile flashed over his face, as the door opened with a muffled creak.
Following Keat, Maya moved through the doorway, with Gregar behind her. They entered a dusty, narrow hallway. During daylight, the marble walls would surely look impressive, but in the darkness, they only added to the ancient atmosphere of the archive.
In complete silence, the trio sneaked through the hallway, only stopping at Keat's sign, as they stood at the corner. The thief put a finger onto his lips and pointed around the corner. In the distance, voices were audible.
“You're coming to the tavern, Philip? A round or two to put a smile on your face. Daisy's serving today”, a man asked and footsteps followed. “It's been a long day”, a second voice answered and Maya heard a tired sigh. “No tavern for me. But I'm not going home yet either. I got to take care of something first”
Silence followed, as two men were walking in the distance. At the other end of the hallway, Maya saw the light of a torch. “The blacksmith and her daughter?”, the first voice asked. The second man did not answer. “Listen, Philip, you know that wasn't your fault, right?”, the first voice continued. “This fucker is at fault and the guard got him”
“I could have stopped them”, the second man finally answered. “I could have convinced them not to go home. Maybe not Lyria, but Rosie would have listened” In the distance, Maya saw two men crossing their hallway to immediately enter another one. “This is not over until this guy, this killer, until he's dead”
Keat gave her a sign and started to move down the hallway again. Maya followed him and finally, Gregar started moving as well. The sound of a large door being opened sounded in the distance. The muffled talk of the two men was cut off as soon as the door was closed. Keat breathed out in relief, as he led them to the end of the hallway, before he turned to the right and down a small set of stairs.
At the feet of the stairs, the thief stopped. He raised a hand, ordering Maya and Gregar to stop as well. Shambling footsteps were audible, slowly coming closer, the light of a torch moving into Maya's field of view. Keat moved closer to the wall, pressing himself against it, while simultaneously crouching down, making himself as small as possible. Maya followed his example and moved to the wall and to the ground. She noticed that the considerably larger Gregar tried his best to imitate their behaviour as well, with questionable success.
An old, bearded man finally shambled around the corner. He was holding a torch, but thankfully wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. Instead, he simply walked into their direction for a moment, before he turned towards a door to his left, mumbling something before he entered.
Carefully, Keat rose again and continued his way through the archive. He certainly knew his way around, as he quickly led them through a set of doors and down another large step of stairs, to a closed door at its feet. Again, he pulled out his hairpins and started to pick the door's lock. This time, it took him longer. Neither Maya, nor Gregar said a word, as they constantly shifted their attention from the thief to the top of the stairs. In the distance, she heard footsteps once more, slowly coming closer.
At the door, Keat's movements started to get faster, almost hectic, though his face was still looking calm. The footsteps grew louder and at first, Maya was paying so much attention towards this sound that she didn't even noticed Keat, who meanwhile had finished opening the door. She gasped loudly as Gregar grabbed her by the shoulders and harshly pulled her through the doorway. Immediately once they had passed it, Keat closed the door behind them as silent as possible, leaving them surrounded by darkness.
“Now for the fun part”, Keat mumbled. Maya wasn't able to see him in the darkness, but he heard him slowly crouching down. Gregar's hands still rested heavily on her shoulders and it helped her in calming down. This has been a close call, there was no doubt about it. Without Keat and without Gregar, their mission might be over by now.
“Got it”, the thief whispered. Just a moment later, Maya heard a clicking sound in front of her, followed by a bright spark in the darkness, which soon turned into a small flame. Keat was holding a torch in his hand, not more than a little stick. It wasn't spending a lot of light, just enough to see Keat and Gregar and hopefully enough not to walk into a wall. She was also able to see that she was standing in a narrow hallway.
“There shouldn't be any guards down here”, Keat whispered. “As I said, they don't really expect anyone to steal some dusty old documents, but still, keep your voice down and your talking to a minimum”
Maya gave him a nod, noticing the questioning look on Keat's face. “Perhaps now would be a good time to tell me exactly what type of document you're looking for”, he said slowly, which caused a frown to appear on Gregar's face. “Listen, I know you don't like this”, the thief sighed. “But I can only guide you if I know the details. The archivists here are meticulously precise when it comes to the arrangement of their documents”
“Not a...”, Gregar started to say, but Maya cut him off. “A couple of old documents, signed by the Freehold and Ghis”, she revealed. Sure, it was risky to reveal the true worth of these documents to Keat, but she figured that now was a bad time not to trust the only guy who could help them. “They promise help in case of a war”
“So, your precious kingdom is going to war? Or it is about to get attacked”, Keat deduced. “From the look on your face, I'd say it's probably the latter. So, either that arrogant old warmonger or that black bastard are about to invade, correct?”
“Correct”, Maya confirmed. “Now, do you know where these documents might be located?” To her relief, Keat gave her a nod. “There are two possibilities”, he revealed and walked a few steps down the hallway. From the way the light fell, Maya realized that he was standing at a crossway. Maya and Gregar followed, which caused Keat to point to the left. “Down there, they keep everything related to the Vale. It's quite a lot and looking through it might take some time”, he explained. “To the right, we eventually have another set of stairs, which leads us into the floor they have reserved for stuff about the Freehold. Even lower, we have a floor dedicated to containing tons of documents from the Ghiscari Empire. Chances are, your documents are kept somewhere in these sections”
“You know an awful lot of stuff about this archive”, Gregar growled. A smirk flashed across Keat's face. “Well, someone has to, right?”, he answered. “After you hired me, I took a few days to befriend one of these archivists. It's amazing how much they reveal when you offer them a drink”
“So, which way are we going to take?”, Maya asked. Keat shrugged. “Preferably the left one”, he answered. “Not because our chances are better. In fact, I don't know if they keep these documents in the Vale section, or in the lower levels. It's just...” He lowered his voice and glanced to the right. Maya visibly saw him shiver. “I really don't like it down there. As I said before, the lower you get here, the more... wrong it feels. But it's your call. These documents you need have to be somewhere and as long as I get paid, I go wherever you want”
[Go to the right] [Go to the left]
Alys
Until today, Alys thought of the Ironborn as the most bestial men she had ever encountered. Some of them, especially the princeling and his entourage, appeared to her as little more than snarling monsters. But right now, in the presence of almost literal monsters, she was glad to have a whole group of Ironborn around.
The men that currently surrounded them, the 'Band of Claws', as Edward had called them, they were savages in the truest sense of the word. Some of them were clad in ragged fur, sharpening their simple, yet brutally effective weapons as they glared at the Ironborn and especially at her. Some of them made obscene gestures and the smell was enough to seriously disgust her. Even though she was surrounded by nominally friendly soldiers, she still felt threatened.
Edward did not stop, even after Captain Alynne had ordered her soldiers to stand still. He slowly approached a large tent, made out of fur and leather. In the dim light behind it, Alys saw a tall, dark-skinned and surprisingly young man sitting on a comfortable chair. The look in his dark eyes, as he momentarily glanced at her, reminded her of Harren Hoare's eldest son. A frightening smirk appeared on his scarred face.
“Don't look at him”, Carvin warned her and this time, Alys followed his warning. “Clever girl”, he complimented her. “That little stunt you pulled with Harren Hoare, you got lucky back then. But I can only warn you. Bear is no Harren Hoare. Trust me, you don't want to provoke him”
Alisa had a look of concern on her face, though she did not quite manage to hide her own fear as she saw Edward and Alynne approaching the man in the tent. Before she followed, she leant in to Carvin and Alys. “Keep an eye on her”, she warned him and Carvin gave her a nod. “Don't you worry, I'll keep her safe”, he promised. Alisa let out a sigh, before she looked at Alys. “And you, mylady, keep your head down. Try not to get noticed” With these words, she quickly walked after Edward, catching up to him before he reached the tent.
“So... now we wait?”, one of the soldiers asked. Alys recognized him as Wilbur, the young scout who had previously gotten on her nerves quite heavily. However, right now he seemed meek and intimidated, even though he tried his best to look as strong and confident as his comrades. Alys knew people like him. All bark and no bite. The other Ironborn seemed to notice it as well, as they threw vicious glances towards him.
“We wait”, Carvin clarified and pointed at himself and Alys. “You do what you're here for. Guard us. Protect us and especially her, in case one of these... men here tries something funny” He looked down at the muddy ground, before he let out a sigh. “I'd really love to sit down right now, but I can't even tell if that's water I'm standing in or... you get what I'm saying, right?”
“Could be worse”, Alys grinned. “At least we're not in Harrenhal anymore” A smile formed on Carvin's face, as he gave her a nod. “Aye, at least we're not in Harrenhal anymore”, he agreed. This caused some of the Ironborn to glare at them, though most remained completely indifferent at his statement. In fact, Alys even caught some amused smirks, which made sense to her, now that she thought about it. A king like Harren Hoare could hardly be popular, even among his own people.
Still there were some who seemed to disagree. “You don't like the king's hospitality?”, an old, scarred and bearded raider growled. “Well, perhaps we should leave you then. See how bad you find Harrenhal once Bear's men shoved a spear down your throat and something else down the girl's”
Alys gulped, but chose to remain silent. She had no real experience in dealing with these Ironborn, but she knew that any careless word would only provoke them further. Carvin on the other hand sighed, while an angry glare appeared on his face. “Was that a threat, soldier?”, he asked in a low tone. With a more rational opponent, this would have been enough to end any further discussion. However, Carvin was talking to an Ironborn. Alys clenched her fists, as she glanced around from Carvin, to the raider that had threatened him and finally, to the bandits. Some of them had stopped whatever they were doing at the moment, to look at the confrontation. Some of them shot vicious glares into Alys' direction and she shivered.
“And if it was?”, the raider asked with a bloodthirsty grin. Without hesitating, Carvin pointed his crossbow at the man. “Then it would be the most stupid thing you ever did in your entire life”, he snarled in return. “As well as the last”
The bloodthirsty grin got smaller and the raider took a step backwards. “Fine then... fucker”, he mumbled, still backing away. With a pleased smirk, Carvin lowered his weapon. The very same moment, Alys saw the raider clenching his fists. She held her breath, knowing that violence was a strong possibility. If Carvin would shoot this man, the rest of the Ironborn would likely turn against them, right? Or perhaps they wouldn't care...
Help came in the form of an unexpected ally. “You know, they are kinda right. Harrenhal is a shithole”, Wilbur said. He glanced at Alys and smirked. “I mean, it's not as bad as Old Wyk, but still...” This caused the raider's attention to shift towards him and at least for the moment, he seemed to ignore Carvin, who also started to relax again.
“What have you said, runt?”, the raider growled and took a step towards the noticeably shorter man. The scout gulped and his formerly confident smile got a couple of cracks. Still, if anything, Wilbur struck Alys as someone who would not back down easily. “I said Old Wyk's a shithole even worse than Harrenhal”, he said. “Although it's not as bad as your mother”
Finally, the raider fully ignored Carvin, which was a blessing. Internal fights between the Ironborn were common and the atmosphere finally felt less threatening. Even some of the bandits stopped paying attention at least to her. Perhaps that had been Wilbur's intention. Perhaps it was just a side effect. In any way, she was thankful for his help, as unexpected as it was.
“Oh Wilbur...”, the raider said calmly. “You're just like your father” Wilbur's confident smile vanished instantly. Instead, the expression on his face got any bit as hateful as the raider's. “What have you said?”, he snarled. “What the fuck have you just said?”
“I compared you to your weakling of a father”, the raider said with a gleeful grin. “What? Not so snooty now, are you? Just like your old man...” Instead of answering, Wilbur let out an angry howl, as he attempted to charge at his opponent.
The raider let out a booming laugh, as he grabbed Wilbur's fist before it even came close to his face. With a brutal punch, he sent the young scout face first into the mud. Then, he knelt down on top of him and grabbed his arm, violently twisting the limb onto his back, until Wilbur screamed in pain. With his free hand, the raider sent punch after punch towards the back of the scout's head, pressing his face deeper and deeper into the mud.
A look of anger, mixed with heartfelt compassion flashed across Alys' face. The whole week, Wilbur had gotten on her nerves but intended or not, he just helped her. He did not deserve to get beaten like this. “Do something”, she hissed, as she glanced at Carvin.
To her shock, the sellsword just shook his head. “What do you expect me to do? Kill him?”, he whispered in return. “Perhaps these people will be fine with it. They seem to be indifferent towards their comrades at best. Perhaps I'm going to start a fight I could never hope to win. Bad idea, little lady, bad idea”
“Then... perhaps you can just wound this bastard?”, Alys pleaded. “Wilbur helped us” Carvin shook his head and while Alys had to look away from the brutal beating, he was firmly looking at it. “I don't think we should help a fool who has nothing better to do than to provoke an Ironborn raider. Perhaps a little beating will humble him. Ain't that bad” He noticed the shocked expression on her face and sighed, as he once again shook his head. “I'm your bodyguard. I will follow your orders”, he said softly. “Although I have to advice you to stay out of it. We will have our own fights soon enough, but this is none of them” Behind him, Wilber tried to howl in pain after an especially vicious punch, but the raider immediately shoved his face deeper down into the dirt, preventing any sort of noise to come from him.
“Let's see if you're still such a fucking loudmouth now, runt!”, the raider laughed. Carvin finally raised his crossbow and pointed it at him. The man wasn't noticing it, he was too busy beating Wilbur to near death. The rest of the Ironborn did not seem to care. “Your orders, mylady?”, Carvin asked.
[Order Carvin to kill the raider] [Order Carvin to wound the raider] [Order Carvin to stay out of it]
[Go to the left] Left seems good, don't know why.
[Order Carvin to stay out of it] Wilbur deserves it.
[Go to the left] Let's see what the Vale has to offer.
[Order Carvin to wound the raider] I find him equally as annoying. Shut him up.
[Go to the left] first let's check the safe places then the dangerous ones
[Order Carvin to stay out of it] even if this choice means that we will not help Wilbur making the scout resentful against us I suppose that hurt or even kill the raider will led our PoV to even more dangerous situations
[Go to the right]
[Order Carvin to stay out of it]
[Go to the left] It's like trying to find a book from library without knowing the exact section... painful.
[Order Carvin to stay out of it] Yeah, let's just stay out of that, Alys' situation is hazard enough already.
[Go to the left] lefty loosey, righty tighty.
[Order Carvin to stay out of it]
Great Part once again!
[Go to the right]
[Order Carvin to stay out of it] Wilbur deserves this shit I mean he just insulted the raiders mother and then got angry when his father was insulted.
[Go to the right]
[Order Carvin to kill the raider]
[Go to the left] The Vale sounds more promising to me.
[Order Carvin to stay out of it] We need to be careful. Any other choice puts Alys in danger.
[Go to the right]
[Order Carvin to stay out of it]
Whose part is next?
[Go to the right] Just because more dangerous means there is more value in the stock.
[Order Carvin to stay out of it] For Alys sake... Wilbur helped but we cannot put Alys in the center of attention again, from which Wilbur just helped her out.
[Go to the left] Is my lucky side
[Order Carvin to stay out of it]
The next part is definitely going to include an Edrick PoV. I am not yet sure how long it is going to be and it likely won't include a choice, as it mostly sets up Edrick's final part later in this chapter. However, if there is still room for another PoV, I will likely put a Lyria PoV into it as well.
[Go to the right]
[Order Carvin to stay out of it]
I'm looking forward to meeting Lord Boeyln. Although I can imagine he won't be in the greatest of moods.
[Go to the right]
[Order Carvin to stay out of it]
Since I've recently purchased A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, the prequel book for GoT, I'm all in the Westeros mood again, so I sent two new characters that I hope are better written than my previous ones
(Go to the right)
(Order Carvin to stay out of it)
[go to the right]
[order carvin to wound the raider]
The Voting is closed!
Maya is going to go to the left
Alys is going to order Carvin to stay out of it
No huge surprises here, as I would have probably decided similar. Poor Wilbur really brought this up to himself, while Maya genuinely has no clue where to search for her documents, so yeah. One of these choices was a good one, the other was more of a neutral choice, with both, good and bad things coming from it. Both, Maya and Alys, will have one more part in this chapter and both choices will have immediate consequences, so you don't have to wait very long to see them.
The next part is most likely going to be out today. I'm closing the voting a bit earlier than usual, because I think the outcome is clear. Also, I try to release as many parts as possible over the next few days. The thing is, it's this time of the year again, where I go on a vacation. This time, I'll be gone for the last week of March. This sadly means that I won't be able to finish the chapter in March, as I originally planned. However, I will be able to check the forums through my phone and I might even be able to write one or two parts on my laptop. Since I really want to finish this chapter as quick as possible, I will try to write the next parts as quick as possible. Since today is Saint Patrick's Day, I might not be able to finish this part today, but I will try my best. I'm going to vacation starting with Monday or Tuesday next week and I will try to release three more parts until then, including the one I'm writing right now. The next part is going to include PoV's from Edrick and Lyria, both of which are PoV's whom we haven't seen in ages. Lyria didn't even appear in this chapter so far. Not much has changed for her, she's still more or less chilling at Mathea's house. Meanwhile, Edrick arrived at Lord Boleyn's keep in the last part, where he met Alys' betrothed, Dante Karstark, as well as his squire Darreth Kailen. He was informed that Lord Boleyn would be ready to talk to him now, and he decided to meet with him immediately.
Hi Crips, glad to see you around
Thanks for submitting the characters, they are very nice. Then again, all of your characters are very nice, so that was to be expected.
Three more parts till Monday/Tuesday?! Is it Christmas already?! :-O
All right, question time, I think it's first one from me in a while.
What's in your opinion biggest and best plot twist in the story so far?
I'll quote one I'll always remember:
“Hello, boys”, Maron Mullendore said with a devilish smile on his face. “What took you so long?”
“Ser... Ser Maron?”, Lucas exclaimed weakly. “What are you... doing...” He noticed movement behind him and as he swiftly turned around, he saw Jaylon pointing the crossbow at him. The smile on the face of the ugly guard almost made him appear like a rabid wolf. “Turn around, bastard, face him or else I'm going to blow your brains out”
“Good job, Jaylon”, Mullendore complimented his underling, before giving him a questioning stare.”Where's the other boy, Constantine?”, he asked. Jaylon slightly chuckled, sounding like a hyena in the process. “Fighting Samuel”, he remarked and Mullendore let out a sigh. “Another dead man”, he mumbled.
“What in the...”, Lucas stuttered completely dumbfounded, in a clear state of shock as he was trying to understand what was happening right now. The realization hit him like a punch in the face and he nearly jumped up in terror as he looked back at Mullendore. “You... you're Butterfly!”, he exclaimed.
I really like the probably first plot twist of the story aka where Lucas discover the true about Lord Robert Raylan last will!
Other two facts that take me of surprise even if they doesn't make a big change inside the story was discover that Dairon was one of the Mullendore's children and that Archmaster Quent is the brother of the deceased Maester Eaton
Edrick
The Great Hall of Burmstone Keep barely deserved the name. It was small, dark and stuffy, the air filled with smoke from the fire that was burning in the hearth. A single, small window was located at the other end of the door, through which the Shivering Sea was visible. On a positive note, it was pleasantly warm, hot even, a stark contrast to the cold northern autumn wind that was raging on the outside.
Led by Norren, the old master-at-arms, Edrick, Dante and his squire Darreth entered the room. The smoky air immediately sent tears into Edrick's eyes, while Darreth slightly coughed. Dante was able to keep his composure a bit better, though Edrick saw that he had to blink as well.
“Ser Edrick of the Wolfswood has arrived, mylord”, Norren introduced them. “He is accompanied by Ser Dante Karstark and his squire Darreth” He stepped aside, to allow Edrick, Dante and Darreth to walk past him.
Barroth Boleyn was sitting close to the fire. He looked older than Edrick remembered him, a lot older in fact. Perhaps it was just the tired look on the lords face that gave him such a worn out, haggard look. He was a tall, broad-shouldered man, a true northerner. His hair, once raven black, now showed signs of grey, which suited his similarly grey eyes. An unkempt beard went down to his chest, but the rest of his hair was starting to fall out. As he looked up, Edrick saw deep, dark lines underneath his eyes. A tired smile formed on Lord Boleyn's face.
“Ser Edrick”, he greeted him in a friendly tone, much less loud than Edrick remembered him. “Finally” He sighed as he saw Dante and Darreth. “And Ser Dante, always a pleasure” Dante took a short bow in front of him and the lord gave him a nod.
Slowly, the three men approached him and Edrick noticed that there were only two empty chairs. Lord Boleyn seemed to realize this as well, as he looked past them, towards Norren. “Norren, bring another chair for Ser Dante's squire”, he ordered calmly. “And four mugs of mulled wine”
The old soldier saluted, before he turned around, shuffling down the hallway, but not before he closed the door behind him. Finally, Lord Boleyn raised from his chair. A small, but honest grin formed on his face, as he approached Edrick. “The years have been kind to you, old friend”, he said. Edrick extended his hand, for the lord to shake, before he reciprocated his grin. “I wish I could say the same”
For one moment, Boleyn just stared at him. Then, his grin got wider and he started to chuckle, as he grabbed Edrick's hand, shaking it enthusiastically. “It's been too long, Edrick, way too long”, he said, as his chuckle died down. “Please, grab a seat”
Without hesitating, Edrick took the chair closest to the fire. Coming from the north, he was used to the cold, but that did not mean that he wouldn't appreciate a chance to warm his bones. It was a cold autumn outside, so he was glad that this hall, while small and smoky, offered at least some comfort. Boleyn raised an eyebrow and glanced at Dante and Darreth, who were both still standing.
“Please, sit down”, he offered once more. “You are my guests and I want you to feel comfortable in my hall. I'm going to stand until Norren returns” Darreth accepted the gesture immediately, though Dante hesitated for a moment. “Thank you, mylord”, he finally said and sat down. Edrick noticed the tension between the two men and it did not surprise him. If what Leo said was true, then Dante was at least part of what prompted Lady Alys to run away. He could imagine that the situation between the two men was complicated, to say the least.
Indeed, the atmosphere in the hall immediately cooled down, as Boleyn's grin faded. Now, he seemed a lot more distant than before. “How has your journey been, Edrick?”, he asked, though it seemed as if he simply asked it out of duty and not out of genuine interest. It was clear that something preoccupied his mind and Edrick knew exactly what it was.
“Could have been worse. I really needed to get out of White Harbour for once”, Edrick said. Dante raised his head, with sudden interest in his eyes. “White Harbour?”, he asked. “Are you in service of Lord Manderly, Ser?”
Edrick shook his head. “Not at all”, he answered. “Lord Waylar is not the type of man to have a hedge knight in his service. Truth be told, I haven't had much to do in the past couple of years. Been living with my sister and her family, doing the occasional odd job. Have you ever been to White Harbour?”
This time, Dante shook his head. “Not yet”, he revealed. “Though I wish to travel there one day. I've read about it and heard that it is supposed to be the most beautiful city in the North” He and Edrick shared a brief grin and from the look in his eye, the hedge knight noticed that they shared the same thought as well. “That's not an accomplishment”, Edrick answered. “Though perhaps I can show you around one day”
The arrival of Norren drew their attention towards him, as he made his way through the hall, carrying a chair in one hand and a plate in the other, balancing four steaming cups of mulled wine on top of it. Boleyn approached him, taking the plate and handing a cup to each of his guests. Then, he sat down on the chair Norren planted next to Edrick.
“Thank you, Norren”, he said. “Leave us, please” The soldier saluted once more, before he left the room. Finally, Lord Boleyn leaned back into his chair and took a deep gulp from his cup. He was staring into the fire, past Dante and Darreth.
“So, I was wondering”, Darreth asked and looked at Edrick. Unlike other squires whom he had met before, this one wasn't afraid of maintaining eye contact. “How exactly does someone become a hedge knight? I mean, someone must have knighted you, right? What happened to him?” To Edrick's surprise, Darreth's question did not came off as rude. Instead, he showed genuine interest.
“The Skagosi happened”, Edrick revealed. “Ser Gregor Manderly, a distant cousin of Lord Waylar knighted me. He died during one of their raids and I had no desire to go directly declare for White Harbour. I met Barroth shortly afterwards” He looked at the lord and corrected himself. “Lord Boleyn, I mean”
“Barroth is just fine”, Boleyn answered. He sighed again, still staring into the fire and Edrick realized that it was time to discuss what really mattered here. He took another deep gulp from his mug, the warm liquid filling his stomach and warming him from the inside. “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” The lord 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”
It was no surprise. From his talk with Leo, Edrick already knew what the lord wanted him to do. Dante and Darreth seemed similarly unsurprised, which clued him in that both of them already knew about it.
“Lady Alys, am I right?”, he asked. Boleyn gave him a nod. “My only daughter, my eldest child”, he answered calmly, but with a sorrowful tone. “She ran away two months ago. I don't have many soldiers under my command, but those I was able to spare are already looking for her. So far, they found nothing but cold trails”
“So you approached me”, Edrick deduced. “I trust you”, Boleyn answered. “You saved my life during the Skagosi raids and you've proven yourself to be an excellent tracker. Above anyone else, I trust you to save my daughter”
“If she even needs saving”, Edrick answered without thinking. Both, Dante and Lord Boleyn appeared to be saddened by this careless comment. He sighed, before he looked into the fire. “Considering I agree to look for her, do you even have a lead for me?”, he asked.
“I do”, Lord Boleyn said slowly. “One which I'm unable to follow myself. She spend a night at Lord Forstborn's castle” Edrick looked up, narrowing his eyes at the unfamiliar name. Dante caught his look and cleared his throat to answer. “House Frostborn is, like House Boleyn, sworn to my family”, he answered. “Their lands are a bit to the southwest, on the shore of the Last River. Farther to the south are Bolton lands”
“So, is she with Forstborn?”, Edrick asked and Boleyn shook his head. “Not anymore. But Lionel Frostborn offered to give me information that might lead to her whereabouts, if I in turn agree to help him with a problem his family is facing”, he answered. “Though he has been decidedly vague about the nature of this problem”
“That means you want me to travel to the Frostborn lands”, Edrick summarized. “To find out what Lord Frostborn wants, to help him with his problem and to follow the lead he gives me” Boleyn gave him a nod. “Indeed”, he confirmed. “Ser Dante and his squire have volunteered to accompany you” His revelation wasn't a surprise either. Edrick preferred to work alone, but he could see how the presence of a nobleman like Dante could help during such a mission.
“Volunteered?”, Edrick asked and raised an eyebrow. Dante gave him a nod. “My uncle volunteered me”, he answered with the brief hint of a smirk. “Though truth be told, I would have helped in either case. I'm not entirely innocent in this situation, we don't have to sugarcoat it. This is my way of making amends”
“And I literally had no choice”, Darreth interjected with a shrug, which caused Dante to chuckle. “It's true, he was forced. The joys of having a squire”, he said sarcastically, before a stern look appeared on his face. “Together, I believe we can find her”
Lord Boleyn leant forwards and sternly looked from Dante to Edrick. “My old friend, I need your help this time”, he said calmly. “Do you accept this mission?” Edrick leant forwards as well, until their foreheads almost touched. He took a sip from his steaming hot mug of wine, an optimistic grin forming on his face. It was contagious and soon, Lord Boleyn had to grin as well, which temporarily removed the sadness and the tiredness from his eyes. “I do”, he answered. “But there's only one question left... How much is the payment?”
No choices for this part
Lyria
Lyria opened her eyes to the sound of someone knocking at the door. She let out a pained sigh as she raised her thumping head. How long had she been asleep? She glanced out of the window and was greeted by darkness, though the small candle she had lit before going to sleep hadn't burned down completely.
For one tiny moment, panic threatened to overcome her, as Lyria realized that she wasn't at home. Then, she remembered that she was still a guest in Mathea's home. The tiny hut was barely big enough for one person, but currently it housed four.
The only bed belonged to her daughter. Rosalie was alive for now, but her condition still worried both, Mathea and Lyria. The healer managed to save her, but she still required the Milk of the Poppy to be without pain. She wasn't even able to sleep without it. When she was awake, she was silent and sullen and Lyria had to force her to eat. Right now, a mixture of grief and rage filled Lyria, as she saw her daughter lying there, so pale and vulnerable.
Urid Strad was also still there, sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor, similar to the ones Mathea had acquired for Lyria and herself. His wounds were less grievous than Rosalie's, but like her, he needed the milk against his terrible pain. His legs were basically shattered and a few nights ago, Mathea had confided in her that she wasn't even sure if he'd ever be able to walk again. His wife came to visit every day, making the already small hut outright crowded for a few hours.
Another knock on the door caused her to shift her attention towards it. Mathea wasn't back yet and she wouldn't have knocked. She narrowed her eyes, as she sluggishly raised from the ground, trying her best not to put any weight onto her right wrist. It was healing nicely and she was already able to open and close the hand without pain, but she surely wouldn't push her luck.
“Mathea, are you there?”, a familiar voice asked in front of the door and Lyria let out a sigh. She walked towards the door and unlocked it, only opening it in a small gap. Out there, in the cold night, stood Philip Loren. His mismatched eyes looked at her urgently, but not without relief. “Good evening, Lyria”, he said calmly. “I know it's late, but can I come in?”
He has been another regular visitor and Lyria wasn't sure if he wanted to visit his friend Urid or her daughter. In another time, she would have objected, but right now she was thankful for the company. Thanks to the milk, Rosalie and Urid were sleeping tightly and there was no need to be quiet. Still, Philip watched his steps as he entered the room, looking around until he spotted Urid and then Rosalie. Lyria closed the door as soon as he stood inside. Out of a habit, she immediately locked it again.
“How is she?”, Philip asked. His voice was barely more than a whisper, soft, caring, but filled with the very same anger that moved her own heart. “She's still alive”, Lyria answered. “That's all I can hope for”
“And...”, Philip started to say, but she cut him off. “Urid is also still alive. No changes about his condition”, Lyria explained. Philip shook his head, before he sat down on a chair next to the small table. Lyria grabbed the chair that opposed him and her stare fell upon the hint of blood on the wood. Mathea had tried her best to clean it after she had saved Rosalie's life, but not everything was able to be removed. She grimaced, as pain flashed through the small scars on her face. Not every wound would fade completely.
“That's not what I meant”, Philip clarified. “How are you feeling?” Lyria sighed a this question. How was she feeling. “I don't know”, she answered truthfully. “I'm still alive” Philip narrowed his eyes. “But that's not enough, isn't it?”, he asked.
This time, she shook her head. “I had a life. It wasn't a good one, but it was better than most and it sufficed”, she said, now whispering as well, not out of fear to wake the others, but to hide her shaky voice. “All it took to destroy it was one beast”
Philip sighed as he glanced at Rosalie. “They are going to hang him, you know”, he revealed. His words gave Lyria a relief she had been longing for for the past week. “Maybe even tomorrow. Commander Nathamer only needs a signed death sentence. With Lord Tyrell around, Wolfius might hang tomorrow”
“Good”, Lyria answered shortly and grimly, though she also raised an eyebrow in surprise. “How do you know about this?” Philip leant back. “Torold told me”, he answered. The name sounded somewhat familiar. Her late husband had known this man. “Torold Stratford?”, she asked and Philip gave her a nod. “His brother is a member of the city guard”, he answered. “He keeps us updated about the situation. It was him who brought the death sentence to the castle and now he only waits for it to get signed” He put his arms onto the table, clenching his fists in nervousness. “Nathamer is a good man. There will be justice”
Lyria sighed. If only she could be so sure. There was something unsettling about Wolfius' confidence, something that told her that he still had a trick up in his sleeve. There were still a lot of questions about Wolfius and she wouldn't be surprised if he would manage to escape, to haunt her once again, not only in her dreams.
“What is your business with Torold Stratford?”, she asked. Philip opened his clenched fists, as he fully shifted his attention towards her. “He agreed to help me”, he revealed ominously. “He's caring for this city, one of the last few who are willing to do everything to save it”
“What about Richard?”, she asked. Unlike Philip, Richard had only visited them once and his absence was surprisingly painful. Philip looked saddened as well, as he shook his head. “I haven't really talked to Richard for a couple of days now”, he revealed. “I mean, he's still my friend, but it appears we have a different outlook on some important things in this city”
Unable to reciprocate Philip's unsettling stare, her own glance fell upon Urid. “Do you blame him?”, she asked. Philip took his time with an answer. “If I'd blame him, I had to blame myself as well”, he answered. “I followed him, blindly”
“You haven't answered my question”, Lyria stated. Philip sighed, as he shook his head once again. “There's still one more out there”, he revealed, effectively changing the topic. Lyria gave him a nod, realizing that he didn't want to talk about Richard or his own feelings. She had heard about this other one, this killer. The son of Wolfius, as they called him.
“The one they call Kreep”, she mumbled. Philip narrowed his eyes, his fists clenching with anger. “After Wolfius' arrest, Kreep laid low so far, but he was directly involved in the death of this sellsword. It's likely that he's involved in the rest as well”
“So you're going to hunt him?”, she asked. This time, Philip have her a decisive nod. “I realized one thing. These people that attacked us at the warehouse, they were out of my league. I was in over my head there and I can never be able to catch them”, he revealed. “But this Kreep? He's basically an animal, like his father. He's dangerous, lethal even, but in a different way. I believe he can be taken down, even by smallfolk, as long as we stick together”
“And Torold helps you”, she deduced. Again, Philip nodded affirmatively. “I'm going to meet him in an hour, at the fair”, he revealed. “Then we're going to plan our next move. Through his brother, we're going to support the city guard and in turn, they will support us. We're going to find this monster and we're going to hang him next to his beast of a father”
He wasn't sounding foolishly optimistic. In fact, he wasn't sounding optimistic at all, though he wasn't sounding particularly pessimistic either. Instead, he sounded determined, even if he obviously had his doubts. Lyria had to admire this trait of Philip. He stood by his convictions, even if they would put him into danger. And never, under any circumstance, would he allow harm to befall his friends or anyone he cared for. She simply knew that he would do whatever it would take to bring the son of Wolfius to justice.
A thought flashed through her mind, a thought that was as unsettling as soothing. He had contacts to the city guard. He could end whatever threat Wolfius still posed. The beast was trying to escape for sure, but he would never expect someone like Philip to kill him long before the city guard would even try to execute him. Perhaps Philip could end this nightmare. She knew, he would at least consider it if she would ask him to do it. The anger in his eyes whenever he looked towards Rosalie told her that he'd do it, because she felt the same.
At the same time, no matter how much she wanted to beg him to end Wolfius' worthless life, she still hesitated. There would be consequences, obviously. Few people would care if a monster like Wolfius would get lynched, but unfortunately, Hackor Nathamer was one of these people. While it was unlikely that he would hang Philip as a murderer, there would be other lawful punishments that would undoubtedly await him, should he get caught. The deep-seated wish to end the fear and terror that Wolfius mere presence in this city caused her, paired with the violent anger she felt over what he did to her daughter, conflicted with her concern for Philip. Perhaps this was her only chance to prevent Wolfius from finishing what he started. Perhaps she was too paranoid. She forced herself to look back into Philip's eyes, the left one blue, the right one green. “Is there everything on your mind, Lyria?”, he asked with concern and she knew it would be now or never.
[Urge Philip to kill Wolfius] [Change the topic]
Good question! Personally, I had the most fun with the Butterfly twist. It has been planned roughly in that form ever since Mullendore got submitted and I had months to slowly build it up. Judging from your reactions, absolutely no one expected it and it also redefined a lot of things in the story, which would definitely qualify it as the biggest and best plot twist in my opinion as well as certainly the most memorable. There are a couple of other twists planned for later, with which I hope to surpass the Butterfly twist, but for now it is definitely my favourite.
These are interesting and unexpected choices. I can reveal that Dairon's relation to Mullendore would have had much bigger importance if he would have had survived. As for Quent... I don't want to reveal too much, but he's still alive, doing Quent stuff. Probably, he's still a colossal jerk. It's likely that you haven't seen the last of him.
[Change the topic]
[Change the topic]
[Change the topic]
hi, my polish firiend, i haven't seen you in years
how's it going?
[Change the topic]
(Change the topic)
I know some people will hate me for it, to bring phillip to this situation. But i can only sleep well when this psycho is dead for sure. Hell I still dont believe he is going to hang. I still expect some plottwist so he escaped. That's why I vote for [Urge Philip to kill Wolfius]
[Change the topic] Since Wolfius is the fanfictional version of Ramsay (be crazy,has a plot shield ecc.) I think that is useless try to kill him now,he will only die under the right conditions (and probably if we play the right cards at the execution)
PS:About Philip..sure he is a fast man!XD Just a part ago he was inside the library and now puff he is at Mathea's house!XD
PS:About Eldrick Pov I'm really curios about the Frostborn,a family that you are mentioned already some times and even already show one member of that family doing a really honest profession:the apprentice torturer
You can never know. Perhaps these are the right conditions and you're just missing a chance to kill him once and for all
It appears he's basically on his way to become a superhero right now
Like, Batman with super speed, fighting his archnemesis who is totally not the Joker.
I see you remember Conor. I was afraid his role wouldn't be as noticeable as, say, the Sphynx, but it's good to see that he still left enough impression to be remembered. Surprisingly, he is not the black sheep of the family, or at least not the blackest
It's hopefully going to be interesting to introduce the rest of the Frostborn family in the next chapter, so I'm glad you're curious about them.
[Change topic] How are they any better than Wolfius if they reduce themselves to breaking into prisons to murder people?
I'm loving Dante and Darreth so much! I'm particularly enjoying Darreth's blunt nature. Exactly how I imagined him.
[Change the topic]
[Urge Philip to kill Wolfius] Do it now or further hold your peace.