Awesome part! I gotta say, as others have, I'm really starting to dislike Edward. I knew he was never the nicest man and all but now he's turned into a complete scumbag.
Hehe, Edward is indeed a pretty bad guy. He successfuly appeared like a nice and affable man in his early chapters (save for that one time he cut George's throat), but he has always been like this and now he's getting a chance to show it. That said, compared to the other members of the Anturion family, he is very much the nice guy among them
It was awesome to see Willfred fight after a while. He hasn't been as major of a POV character since the early days of FoT but he's still awesome and it's great to see him back in action
Glad you enjoyed it! It's true, Willfred hasn't been the most major PoV character in Book 1 and a lot of things I had planned for him haven't worked out as well as they should have, but I can hint at big things for him to follow in the coming chapters. If everything works out the way I have planned, he will be among the most central PoV characters at some point in the future.
Awesome part! I gotta say, as others have, I'm really starting to dislike Edward. I knew he was never the nicest man and all but now he's tu… morerned into a complete scumbag.
[Get Roger and the package back to the castle] This is by far the more urgent choice. Those guys can wait. I'm just afraid they'll be very angry later on in the story and this choice will come back to bite us. But, this is still the better choice for now IMO.
It was awesome to see Willfred fight after a while. He hasn't been as major of a POV character since the early days of FoT but he's still awesome and it's great to see him back in action
With all of these choices concerning the castle it makes me think either those smallfolk there are going to need all the help they can get or something really bad is going to happen.
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
That said, compared to the other members of the Anturion family, he is very much the nice guy among them
Ah, fuck me. I feel like I'll hate the other Anturions with a passion. But it should be a good read nonetheless.
Glad you enjoyed it! It's true, Willfred hasn't been the most major PoV character in Book 1 and a lot of things I had planned for him haven't worked out as well as they should have, but I can hint at big things for him to follow in the coming chapters. If everything works out the way I have planned, he will be among the most central PoV characters at some point in the future.
This is very awesome to hear Willfred has always been a POV I've liked so it's nice to see that he'll be more involved in upcoming chapters.
Awesome part! I gotta say, as others have, I'm really starting to dislike Edward. I knew he was never the nicest man and all but now he's tu… morerned into a complete scumbag.
Hehe, Edward is indeed a pretty bad guy. He successfuly appeared like a nice and affable man in his early chapters (save for that one time he cut George's throat), but he has always been like this and now he's getting a chance to show it. That said, compared to the other members of the Anturion family, he is very much the nice guy among them
It was awesome to see Willfred fight after a while. He hasn't been as major of a POV character since the early days of FoT but he's still awesome and it's great to see him back in action
Glad you enjoyed it! It's true, Willfred hasn't been the most major PoV character in Book 1 and a lot of things I had planned for him haven't worked out as well as they should have, but I can hint at big things for him to follow in… [view original content]
Willfred is going to bring Roger and the package back to the castle
No super huge surprise here, to be honest. I mean, Willfred is wounded, Roger is wounded even worse, whereas Carvin is mostly fine (aside from that terrible headache he's going to have after Willfred's shield attack), so confronting him and Edward would have been a risk. This is clearly the safer choice. Is it the better one? You'll see in time. All I can say is, this part laid the foundations for a seriously important upcoming plotline which I am highly excited for. The groundwork for Book 2 is already being laid out in these current parts and I'm pretty sure there will be a great payoff coming out of this and other things that currently happen in the story.
Anyways, I'm sorry if you haven't gotten the time to vote yet. I feel like this voting has been open long enough, especially as I'm having a rare day off today, which I plan to completely use for writing the next part. This next part was originally planned to be the penultimate part of the chapter, with PoV's from Drent and John. However, I am currently relatively sure that I will only manage to include Drent before hitting the length limit, as the events in his part deserve, once again, to be expanded into a full length part. This means John will return in the next part, especially as the events in his next part also might justify to be expanded. For those of you who hope for a return of Maya in this chapter, this might give me the opening I was hoping for to show the aftermath of her latest part as well, because I am not yet sure if I will manage to give John a full-length part. Anyways, this next Drent part is unlikely to feature a choice, as much as I hate to give you parts completely without a choice. Nonetheless, I hope you're going to enjoy it
The last time we've seen Drent, he fought near the southern gate, where Argella, Leonard and the Stormlanders were holding it against the bandits outside and the Ironborn that were attacking them from the inside. Drent's position got overrun, yet he was saved, first by Argella, then by Gordar Celtigar. Gordar recognized the princess and reacted understandably angry at her presence, revealing that his cousing Corilyan died from the wounds he suffered all the way back in Chapter 4. After uttering an ominous threat (very similar to Shortwood in the beginning of the part), he left again when the other Stormlanders arrived. He wasn't the only one angry at Argella in this part, as Montclair brought up the good point that she recklessly left his protection to save one soldier, at the risk of her own life. He informed her that they wouldn't be able to hold the gate much longer, not without suffering massive casualties, so he and Leonard both urged her to retreat, stating that a majority of the smallfolk had been brought to safety. Argella was highly reluctant to go through with this and she turned to Drent for back-up. However, seeing the logic behind the position of Montclair and Leonard, he adviced her to retreat as well. This next part is going to happen directly afterwards.
First however, there will be something else to read, which I hope you're going to enjoy. It is a new part of A Wolf in Lord's Clothing, the Lupin Frostborn mini-series by @TheFurryOne.
Greysor was beginning to run out of breath. He has chased Lord Woodbark through the distressed crowd and back into Thaumaturge keep. He had arrived at the entrance to one of the hallways, and noticed that at the very end of it had stopped running and stood still, facing Greysor with a fiendish grin across his face. Greysor began to charge at him at full speed, before slipping on a puddle and slamming his face into the stone floor. As Greysor heaved himself up off of the floor, he noticed that the puddle was… red. Was it blood? Where had it come from?
That was when Greysor heard a dripping sound. He turned to see the recently painted tapestry, which showed off the entire Frostborn family. At the corner of the tapestry was a wet, red patch. He noticed that more blood was soaking through the corner of the tapestry. Greysor came to the conclusion the blood must be coming from something behind the tapestry. He remembered that there was a small space in the wall where a window had once been before the tapestry had been hung up. Greysor gulped and slowly took the tapestry down, anxious to see what was behind there. After seeing it, Greysor felt sick, then felt shock, then felt despair.
“THALINA?!” Greysor cried as he dragged his younger sister’s lifeless, bleeding body away from the space in the wall. He cradled her corpse in his arms. Her throat had been cut from ear to ear. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he stared into her blue eyes and ran his fingers through her dark hair. She was only fourteen years old.
Suddenly, all the sadness and despair disappeared from Greysor, replaced by anger, rage and bloodlust. He looked up from her corpse at Wolfius, who seemed confused and shocked at the corpse in Greysor’s arms. Wolfius’ confusion did not matter to Greysor however, as head already come to the conclusion that he was looking at the culprit behind his sister’s murder. Greysor gently laid down Thalina’s corpse before arising to his feet and charging at Wolfius. He wrapped one hand around the man’s neck before slamming his other hand, which had been closed into a fist, into Wolfius’ face.
“It wasn’t me who killed her!” Wolfius yelled between the punches.
“LYING CUNT!” Greysor roared, as he continuously pummelled Wolfius’ face. Greysor then felt a sharp, piercing pain in his arm which caused him to yelp and withdraw himself from his attempt to kill Wolfius. Wolfius had stabbed him with something. Greysor found out it was a syringe once Wolfius withdrew it from Greysor’s arm. Greysor stopped feeling angry, now he felt more confused if anything. Wolfius, who was leaning against a wall as he wiped the blood from his now bruised and battered face, looked up at Greysor and smirked.
“You do realize I am a lord?” Wolfius said. “And lords have guards.”
Greysor heard footsteps behind, and turned to see a tall man wearing a mask in the shape of the head of a cat.
“Knock the boy out Erik, we’ve had enough deaths for today” Wolfius commanded.
“Yes my lord” the man, apparently named Erik, replied in a deep, but youthful voice. Before Greysor had time to do anything to react to this bizarre situation, Erik sent a fist flying into his face, knocking him to the floor. Then everything went black.
Lupin Frostborn
Lupin grinned as flashes of that stuck-up firstborn’s final moments stained his mind. A rush of pain surged through his face. He grunted in pain and put his hands up to the blood-soaked bandages.
I need to see what that fuck did to me Lupin thought.
He dragged himself out of bed and stumbled towards the mirror. All he could see was darkness with these bandages on. He slowly tore them off, wincing at the pain as they pulled at his wounds. When they were off, he opened his working eye and gasped at himself in the mirror. He face was covered in deep, thick, crimson red cuts, swollen bruises and splotches of bleeding face holes. His left eye was swollen and of a purplish colour. He opened his mouth only to have a thick, syrup-like mixture of saliva and blood pour out.
“Seven fucking hells!” the voice of Alphyn Frostborn called out. Lupin turned to see his brother standing in the door way, with pure shock upon his features.
“Whath der fuk dyou wanth” Lupin spat out.
“Looks like even your speech is fucked” Alphyn said, before a grin stretched across his face. “Maybe if you hadn’t had been such a cunt to Alistair maybe he wouldn’t have put you in your place.”
Maybe if Alistair hadn’t had been such a cunt to me maybe HE would still be alive Lupin thought. Lupin spat out another mixture of blood and saliva before realizing a bloody tooth was floating in the spit.
“Did you hear about the body they found behind the tapestry?” Alphyn asked. Lupin’s heart skipped a beat.
“They… found a body?” Lupin asked.
“Yeah… it was that poor, sweet girl Thalina Darkmoor” Alphyn said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “If I find the son of a whore who killed her, I’ll cut his fucking head off myself. I can only imagine how Greysor must be feeling right now. They say it has something to do with those missing girls.”
“What did they do with Alistair’s body?” Lupin asked.
“Well, after the Wolfraven guards managed to pry him from Lord Gregory’s arms, they wrapped him in a cloth and sent him on a carriage back to his home, Gregory was silent the whole time” Alphyn replied. “They also found the beast that did it.”
Those words caused Lupin to tense up. Witherfang was only a baby and under his control, if they killed him, Lupin would never forgive himself.
“A shadowcat, they found it roaming around the forest where Alistair had been killed” Alphyn said. Lupin relaxed at the mention of a shadowcat. It wasn’t Witherfang
“A… shadowcat? In these parts?” Lupin questioned. “I thought they were only found beyond the Wall.”
“Yep, currently locked in a cage, they haven’t killed it yet since so many people want to see it before it is put down tomorrow” Alphyn said. Lupin turned to face his twin brother, only to notice that Alphyn was wrinkling his nose.
“What the fuck is that stench?” Alphyn choked, before glancing down at something at the floor. Alphyn slowly walked towards it, then kneeled down to inspect it closer. Lupin looked at it too. It was a clump of hair, trapped between the floorboards. Before Lupin could do anything, Alphyn had already removed the floorboard.
Alphyn took several steps back until he was against a wall. He then let out a stream of vomit. Lupin looked at what was beneath the floorboards. The decomposing body of a young girl Lupin had killed months ago. Lupin couldn’t see much of her but her hair and face, which was being feasted on by rats and has worms wriggling through the eye sockets. Lupin looked at his brother, who was now also looking at him with utter shock. The shock then turned into disgust.
Oh man, this was, so far, my favourite part of the A Wolf in Lord's clothing series. Both PoV's were top work, I enjoyed this very, very much. Greysor's PoV set up a lot of exciting stuff and I especially liked Wolfius in it. I find it highly intriguing to see this younger, somewhat less experienced and professional version of him. And Erik, hehe... This part showed quite a number of interesting stuff. Lupin's PoV meanwhile was so messed up, but that's what made it so great. This whole series is a really great build-up for Lupin in the main story, considering how long it will take me to show him in it. But until then, I have the feeling that these parts will give the readers a good impression of him and what to expect. All in all, wonderful job, I'm loving it!
A Wolf in Lord’s Clothing Part 4
Greysor Darkmoor
Greysor was beginning to run out of breath. He has chased Lord Woodbark through the … moredistressed crowd and back into Thaumaturge keep. He had arrived at the entrance to one of the hallways, and noticed that at the very end of it had stopped running and stood still, facing Greysor with a fiendish grin across his face. Greysor began to charge at him at full speed, before slipping on a puddle and slamming his face into the stone floor. As Greysor heaved himself up off of the floor, he noticed that the puddle was… red. Was it blood? Where had it come from?
That was when Greysor heard a dripping sound. He turned to see the recently painted tapestry, which showed off the entire Frostborn family. At the corner of the tapestry was a wet, red patch. He noticed that more blood was soaking through the corner of the tapestry. Greysor came to the conclusion the blood must be coming from something be… [view original content]
I am afraid there is a change of plans. First of all the good news, I have finished Drent's part. The bad news is, it is longer than an ordinary part and I absolutely refuse to cut it down onto the length of one post, or to rush things. This would be a disrespect to a certain character that will be very important for this part. At the same time, it won't even be close to the length of two full parts. So, I'm having all of this space left in the second half of this part which I intend to fill with John's PoV, showing us the aftermath of the Stormlander retreat and of Torvin's maneuver. As a side effect, I might not be able to finish the part today. It will be ready tomorrow. However, I also have my final exams tomorrow, which means I will be gone for a significant part of the day, so you probably have to wait until the evening for me to finish this part. On the positive side, having twice the amount of usual stuff to read should be a good thing, shouldn't it? It also means that this will be the penultimate part of the chapter and that the chapter will end either on Monday or Tuesday, which is another good thing, I guess
I am afraid there is a change of plans. First of all the good news, I have finished Drent's part. The bad news is, it is longer than an ordi… morenary part and I absolutely refuse to cut it down onto the length of one post, or to rush things. This would be a disrespect to a certain character that will be very important for this part. At the same time, it won't even be close to the length of two full parts. So, I'm having all of this space left in the second half of this part which I intend to fill with John's PoV, showing us the aftermath of the Stormlander retreat and of Torvin's maneuver. As a side effect, I might not be able to finish the part today. It will be ready tomorrow. However, I also have my final exams tomorrow, which means I will be gone for a significant part of the day, so you probably have to wait until the evening for me to finish this part. On the positive side, having twice the amount of usual stuff to read should be a good thin… [view original content]
I am afraid there is a change of plans. First of all the good news, I have finished Drent's part. The bad news is, it is longer than an ordi… morenary part and I absolutely refuse to cut it down onto the length of one post, or to rush things. This would be a disrespect to a certain character that will be very important for this part. At the same time, it won't even be close to the length of two full parts. So, I'm having all of this space left in the second half of this part which I intend to fill with John's PoV, showing us the aftermath of the Stormlander retreat and of Torvin's maneuver. As a side effect, I might not be able to finish the part today. It will be ready tomorrow. However, I also have my final exams tomorrow, which means I will be gone for a significant part of the day, so you probably have to wait until the evening for me to finish this part. On the positive side, having twice the amount of usual stuff to read should be a good thin… [view original content]
Sorry for the late reply Liquid. I have been very sick this week. Going back to sleep every 10 minutes sick. Just caught up to everything. Anyway that was an Amazing part. I really loved it. And I'm really looking forward to seeing Alisa and Alys relationship develop. Also loved Edward, you really write him fantastically. I love how even his bodyguards want him to die but never risk angering or betraying him. Even the other readers seem to loathe him for being so evil, which is as you've said funny considering his family. Willfred also really impressed me here to the point in which he's now on my 'most looked forward to POV's' list.
Really the only question I have is why did Edward just take Alisa's blood originally? Even when trusting Alys it just seems like the safer bet.
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
Thank you! I just returned from my exam, which means I can now resume writing the part, which should be done in a couple of hours. That said, it wasn't one of these exams I needed luck for, as I'm absolutely sure I nailed it. It's been on the topic of english grammar, also known as the sort of stuff I have intensively dealt with almost every single day for the past two and a half years. Failing that exam would be quite embarrassing
Your worry is... understandable. Leonard will appear in Drent's part, that much I can hint at. Perhaps there are others you should be more worried for, but your worry for Leonard is not misplaced either. You'll find out what I mean very soon
Sorry for the late reply Liquid. I have been very sick this week. Going back to sleep every 10 minutes sick. Just caught up to everything.
Oh, I am sorry to hear this! I hope you're feeling better again soon. I'm glad you still managed to catch up with everything, especially as this has been such an Edward-heavy part. But mostly I hope you're soon feeling better
Also loved Edward, you really write him fantastically. I love how even his bodyguards want him to die but never risk angering or betraying him. Even the other readers seem to loathe him for being so evil, which is as you've said funny considering his family.
Ah, this is very good to hear. Edward is quite a complex character, as his more friendly interactions in the earlier chapters hopefully showed, but true to form, he just had to be a villain in this chapter. That said, well, his family might change the opinion on him a little bit, at least in comparison
Really the only question I have is why did Edward just take Alisa's blood originally? Even when trusting Alys it just seems like the safer bet.
Well, it didn't occur to him that Alys' blood might not have been as pure as he hoped it to be. Alisa would have been the safer bet and before meeting Alys, it was planned to take her blood, but as we've seen in Alys' parts, this procedure weakened her a lot. Alisa is among Edward's most trusted and valued underlings, so he was trying to spare her from having to do this, knowing that her talents might be useful elsewhere during this job.
[Get Roger and the package to the castle]
(Yes I know the voting is closed I just like to.)
Sorry for the late reply Liquid. I have be… moreen very sick this week. Going back to sleep every 10 minutes sick. Just caught up to everything. Anyway that was an Amazing part. I really loved it. And I'm really looking forward to seeing Alisa and Alys relationship develop. Also loved Edward, you really write him fantastically. I love how even his bodyguards want him to die but never risk angering or betraying him. Even the other readers seem to loathe him for being so evil, which is as you've said funny considering his family. Willfred also really impressed me here to the point in which he's now on my 'most looked forward to POV's' list.
Really the only question I have is why did Edward just take Alisa's blood originally? Even when trusting Alys it just seems like the safer bet.
Drent knew he'd disappoint her. But staying would be a reckless thing to do. He shook his head, watching Argella's hopeful smile fading. “Sergeant Montclair is right, my princess”, he advised her. “I trust his judgement”
Argella pressed her lips together, pausing a moment before she gave him a nod. “Okay”, she mumbled. “This is your advice?” She glanced at the sergeant, who nodded affirmatively. “It will be hard to hold this gate for much longer”, he replied. “Now is our best chance at a coordinated retreat. We have done a lot today”
“We haven't done enough!”, Argella barked, her voice getting louder and sharper, as she clenched her fists. The anger that flared up in her eyes wasn't directed at anyone in particular and it faded as quickly as it came. She closed her eyes and sighed. “I haven't done enough”, she added in quiet tone.
Montclair smiled at her, softly and with understanding. “You have done more than all of us”, he claimed. “And tonight, you can be proud of...” The rest of his sentence was drowned, as a deafening sound echoed across the city. For a second, the scenery was drowned in green lightning as the soldiers instinctively sought cover.
In the distance, Drent saw a massive, bulky cloud of green fire erupting from somewhere beyond the southern city walls. It went higher into a sky that was no longer nightly, splitting up into several smaller fireballs, that were thrown across the horizon by a terrifying force. Some of them crossed over the walls, landing somewhere in the city, though nowhere near their current position.
While the Stormlanders were staring into the sky, with eyes wide open, the green glow slowly faded, though the distant shimmer of flames remained. Even the air smelled sickly scorched, a sort of smell Drent had never smelled before and never wished to again. He had heard the stories about Wildfire, but had never seen its power in action. It was something that shook him to the core.
Argella was the first to pull herself together. “What...”, she gasped. “What was that?” Leonard only barely averted his gaze from the sky. “The lighthouse”, he mumbled. “Wildfire” His eyes widened. “Oh no...” Argella threw a confused glare at him. “Wildfire at the lighthouse? What is going on here?”
“Something just went terribly wrong”, Leonard answered. “There were two women, they helped me earlier... They wanted to go to the lighthouse” He visibly tensed up. “Harris has stored wildfire in there”, he explained, visibly struggling with his words. “This was not supposed to happen!”
“I bet nothing of this day was supposed to happen”, Argella replied. “What do you want to do now?” Leonard reluctantly averted his gaze from the distance. “The plan still stands. We have to get out of here”, he told her. “Gather your men. Lead them back to the castle”
She nodded, still visibly unhappy about this turn of events. “If this is the only option, I shall do it”, she gave in. “Sergeant Montclair, sound the retreat. We go back to the castle” A grin flashed across Montclair's face. “A good decision”, he assured her, as his hand moved to the small horn on his belt. He moved the instrument to his mouth and blew it.
“I will gather my men as well”, Leonard said. “They shall lead yours on the quickest route back to the castle” Argella raised an eyebrow. “And you?”, she asked. He shook his head. “My path will lead me to the eastern gate”, he answered. “Lucas is there. He might wear your colours now, but he is still my friend”
A rare, pleased look appeared on Argella's face. “So be it. Ser Lucas is a good man”, she told him. “Go and save his life” Leonard nodded, but before he turned to leave, he momentarily bowed his head. “Thank you, for what you did today”, he said and the princess couldn't contain a proud smile.
As Leonard walked down the alleyway, she looked at Montclair. “It's a shame this one won't come with us when we leave the city”, she said. “He'd make a fine knight in yellow” Montclair chuckled, as he watched the Stormlanders gathering near the main street. “Shall we go?”, he asked.
“We shall”, Argella confirmed. “Send the men ahead. I will command the rearguard” Montclair sighed. “I think we can agree on this”, he said, as he began to shout orders at the men. Argella turned to the others. “Edonia and Torrence, you shall remain by my side. Garen as well”, she said. Finally, she looked at Drent. “Will you do me the honour?”, she asked. He smiled in return. “Always”, he promised.
The Stormlanders started their march back to the castle and Drent had to admit that he felt good as he walked, getting away from a gate that would fall in only a few minutes. They had made the right decision in retreating now, there was no doubt about it.
Was was walking to Argella's right, with Montclair walking to her left. Torrence was in front of them, his sister trying to support him after noticing that his wounds caused him pain. With an annoyed growl, he pulled away from her. “Leave me”, he barked. “I don't need your help” His anger and the hurt expression on Edonia's face caused Garen to chuckle, though he remained silent.
“Our retreat might be the only reason these two are still alive”, Montclair said, as he nervously glanced over his shoulder, at the gate in the distance. They had fortified it and it would hold on its own for a little longer, but Drent wanted to be as far away as possible when it would give in.
“Perhaps”, Argella admitted. “Perhaps you have been right. It doesn't sit right with me, but... well, I'm hardly all-knowing” Her smile was weaker than his, but just as genuine. “I trust you, Jax” It was odd for Drent and Montclair both to hear the sergeant by his first name, but the man quickly regained his composure. He gave her a nod. “May I call you Argella now?”, he asked.
She smirked. “Don't get bold now”, she replied. “It's Princess Argella” She gave him a wink. “Though perhaps I can make an exception, for your loyal service” She looked at the road ahead. “It appears I could need good advisers in the wars to come. May there be few under my rule”
“A peaceful Storm Queen?”, Montclair asked. “That would be a first” She flashed him a full smile. “A Storm Queen in general would be a first”, she stated, though her smile faded quickly. “May there be many years until the day comes” The Sergeant looked at her with curiosity. “You don't want to be queen?”, he asked.
She shook her head, to Drent's surprise. “It would come at a price, for we already have a king”, she replied. “When the day comes, it will be hard for me. Any joy I could have at ruling would fade. I'd do it out of duty. I suppose you know a thing or two about that”
Montclair sighed. “Frankly, I'd like to remain in Storm's End, rather than moving out again. Got my boys there, but how can I feed them if not for the pay?”, he admitted. “To be honest, this is not the position I dreamed of as a boy” A rare, relaxed smile appeared on his face. “I always wanted to be a knight”
To this, the Storm Princess laughed. “A little boy at heart, I see”, she teased him, though her good mood faded quickly. “To answer your earlier question, I want to be queen. It's something I'm good at, something I find joy in” She sighed, remorsefully. “But the Storm King...”, she started, only to cut her own sentence off. “I just don't want to be alone at the top”
By now, they had reached a small road, flanked by large houses, surely an area where the more wealthy citizens would dwell. The one to their right even had a small, waist-high wall around its property. The main host of the Stormlanders had crossed a corner, out of sight, but still relatively close, which was at least some relief for Drent.
He looked at Argella, going for a daring move. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he noticed that she tensed up in surprise. “You will not be alone”, he promised. She relaxed quickly, making no move to shake his hand off, as she looked him deeply in the eyes. For a second, she stopped walking. “Maybe”, she said.
Montclair had stopped as well and while Drent could have lost himself in her eyes right now, he had to pay attention to his commanding officer, who looked at him in displeasure, before glancing across the houses to their left. All of a sudden, his eyes narrowed. “WATCH OUT!”, he yelled, as he raised his sturdy, wooden shield into Argella's direction.
A wooden thud sounded, followed by Montclair's grown of pain, as a thin, ivory-white arrow went straight through the shield, piercing his arm below. Argella gasped and Drent saw that the arrow had partially gone through the sergeant's arm, the tip leaving his flesh on the other side. Even with the shocked confusion he felt, he knew that such a force could barely be reached by a normal bow.
“DRENT!”, Montclair shouted and Drent knew what he had to do. He grabbed Argella at the waist, while she only managed to exclaim a short, confused grunt, as he lifted her up, to push her above the small wall. “What the...?”, she gasped, as Montclair stumbled into the way of yet another arrow. His wound prevented him from properly raising his shield, but he still blocked the arrow and instead of hitting Argella, it pierced through his shoulder. As Drent himself jumped over the wall, Montclair fell to the ground.
Drent landed next to Argella. He noticed Edonia and Garen jumping over the wall as well, landing slightly next to them, though Torrence was nowhere to be seen. The princess glanced around, as she realized what happened. “Gods...”, she gasped. “Oh gods, Jax...”
Edonia glanced around, as the realization slowly sunk in that her brother hadn't jumped over the wall with them. “Torrence?”, she asked. She frantically looked around. “Where's Torrence?” Garen sighed, as he looked around as well. “Keep it down, Red, nobody cares for your brother”, he hissed. “You better help me getting out of here”
He was silenced when Argella and Edonia simultaneously glared at him, to which he only rolled his eyes. “Just saying...”, he mumbled. Argella exchanged a look with Drent and her eyes widened. “An archer...”, she mumbled. “The Ironborn don't have archers”
Shortwood's threat flashed through Drent's mind, though he refused to believe that the mysterious hedge knight would go that far. Apparently though, Argella came to a different conclusion. “Celtigar”, she growled. “He spoke about this, didn't he?” The anger in her gaze, quickly faded, replaced by helplessness. “No... no he wouldn't... would he?”
“My brother...”, Edonia mumbled, her voice shaking, as she was clearly distraught. “Torrence is out there” For a second, they were all silent, cowered behind the low wall. In this silence, Drent heard a groan of pain, a low wailing. Argella clenched her fists, as concern flared up in her eyes. “Jax is still alive”, she realized.
Edonia clenched her fists around her bow. “I'm having a look. Maybe I can spot that archer”, she decided. Carefully, she raised her head, only to lower it almost instantly, when another thin, ivory arrow missed her head only by an inch. The look on her face was equal parts horrified at the close brush with death and satisfied.
“Torrence is still alive”, she said. “He cowers at the other end of the street. Jax is lying on the road, still breathing. Princess, we must be caref...” Her words were cut off when a thud sounded, followed by Montclair's scream. Argella tensed up, letting out a low, helpless growl. “He's being tortured”, she managed to press through her clenched teeth.
“The archer is using him to lure you out. That bastard is playing with us”, Garen warned her and for once, Drent had to agree with him. Instead of listening to him, Argella looked at Edonia. “Have you seen the archer?”, she asked and the other woman gave her a nod. “Somewhat”, she admitted. “I know where he is, but I haven't seen more than his silhouette”
“Can you shoot him?”, Argella asked and this time, Edonia shook her head. “He knows where I am. The moment I look up, I'm dead”, she replied. To this, Argella narrowed her eyes and Drent held his breath. “Argella, don't”, he warned her. She ignored him. “How long would you need to take aim?”, she asked.
Edonia gulped. “It's hard to say. Two seconds maybe? Three or four? Longer than I have, because if I stand up, I'm dead before I can raise my bow” Argella shook her head. “Not if there would be a different target”, she said. “One this archer won't expect” Edonia raised her eyebrows. “You mean... you would?”, she stuttered and her expression dropped. “What if I miss the shot?”
Argella smiled bravely. “You better don't”, she said. Drent instinctively grabbed her upper arm. “Princess, don't do that”, he urged her in a low tone, though, she pulled her arm away. “Don't tell me what to do”, she snarled, before she looked back at Edonia. “Can you do it?” The other woman gave her a nod. “I can try. But, I can't...”
“Then do it!”, Argella ordered her, as she jumped up and over the wall. Edonia let out a heartfelt curse, as she jumped up barely a second later, desperately raising her bow. Drent tensed up as he heard Argella's scream. He opened his eyes a moment later and to his endless relief, he saw her still standing there, shaking, but alive. The arrow had missed her barely and went on to pierce the wooden wall of the house behind her.
Slowly, Edonia lowered her bow again. “Got him”, she said as a smile of disbelief formed on her face. “I got him” She smiled and it grew wider as she glanced at Drent. “I nailed it!” In his relief, Drent couldn't help but to chuckle. “You bloody nailed it”, he confirmed. Had she killed the archer? Maybe, but that was not the important part. He wasn't shooting anymore, which was enough for now. He looked around to see Torrence, cowering at the other side of the street.
Argella stood still and she was shivering. “Drent”, she said tonelessly, as he walked up next to her. “Princess?”, he asked and she looked at him, visibly distraught, her dark blue eyes wet with the hint of tears. “I felt the arrow, that's how close it was”, she replied and shook her head. “If I ever do that again, you have my permission to punch me” It was then that she pulled herself back together. “Jax”, she gasped.
Montclair lay on the ground. Three arrows hat hit him, one in the left arm, piercing through the shield, one through the left shoulder and the third one just below his right knee. He was groaning in pain, though he was still breathing and conscious.
Argella moved closer, to glance at the arrows that had dug deeply into his flesh. “We have to get him back to the castle”, she decided. “Torrence, Garen, you carry him. Edonia and Drent, you will cover us on the way back!” Garen finally joined them as well and Argella looked at him, softer than usual. “Be gentle with him, please”, she urged him, to which he simply gave her a nod.
Torrence staggered towards them and he looked at Edonia, a strange mixture of emotions on his face. “That was some fancy shooting”, he said. “You're... pretty good” She grinned, silently enjoying his compliments, as the two men grabbed Montclair. Garen reached for the sergeant's upper body, Torrence for the lower and together, they lifted him up. The wounded man groaned in pain, but Drent knew they had to get him to the castle somehow.
“The archer?”, Drent asked an Argella shook her head. “F... screw him!”, she spat. “We'll retrieve his corpse later” She looked at Edonia, who was still smiling happily. “You have killed him, haven't you?”, she asked. The other woman thought about it for a moment. “Yes”, she replied. “He's either dead or dying”
Argella threw a glance at the door to the house the archer had been hiding in. “No doubt it's locked”, she said. “Someone planned this. Celtigar or Hobert. Harris maybe” She glanced down at her shaking hands. “Or someone else”, Drent replied. “You have made a number of enemies here” She gave him a mild nod. “It doesn't matter right now”, she said, as she looked at the barely conscious Montclair. “We have to get him out of here first”
The next minutes passed in a hurry, almost a blur, as the adrenaline finally hit him. Nobody said anything, as Drent, Argella and Edonia covered Garen and Torrence, while they carried Montclair to the castle. The silence was eery, especially since even the sound of fighting in the distance had died down. It was as if Raylansfair had turned into a ghost town, devoid of life. Perhaps it wasn't too far away from the truth. The smallfolk had undoubtedly gathered inside the castle by now. The only ones left in the city were the dead and the dying, as well as those who killed them.
The main host of the Stormlanders had reached the castle by the time Argella and her group had caught up. The way they flanked them, to allow them to pass through the gates first, was almost solemn, although Drent sped up as he saw how deathly pale Montclair had gotten. He glanced around, seeing genuine worry in the faces of the men around him. Most of them had known the sergeant personally and the concern they had for their commanding officer was real.
It was then that he saw the gates of the castle. He gasped, spotting corpses, dozens of them. The gate was not closed, though the rest of the sight was ven more unnerving. There were corpses piled up at the gate and he spotted the black leather of the Ironborn, the green tunics of House Raylan's guards and red-cloaked soldiers of the Rock, cut down in one big feast of slaughter.
Argella approached the gates carefully, as Garen and Torrence carried the half-conscious Sergeant Montclair closely behind her. She audibly held her breath as she saw the man that was half-sitting half lying above the main pile of bodies, all clad in black leather. “Ser Emphryus!”, the princess exclaimed, as she rushed towards him, with Drent following.
The knight had removed his helmet, revealing purple and yellow bruises below. His breaths were short, irregular and each of them caused him to grimace with pain, yet as he saw her approaching, he managed to form an audacious grin. “Well, there's a sight”, he chuckled.
The look on Argella's face was a mixture of relief and concern. “How?”, she said, genuinely baffled by the display of violence around her. Drent stared at the Ironborn corpses, his mouth open a bit as he noticed the horrified expressions they died with. Did Emphryus kill them all? He couldn't... could he? “How did this happen?”, Argella finally managed to stutter.
Emphryus glanced around the pile of bodies he was resting upon. “They tried to kill me”, he explained, before he shrugged, with what little strength he still had. “Bad mistake” Argella regained her composure as the knight spoke. “Have you killed all of them?”, she asked and Emphryus' smile grew wider. “It's said that one knight is as good as ten commoners”, he replied. “Well, one Dresfel is as good as ten knights”
The princess chuckled at his words, just as Emphryus shook his head. “But I did not get all of them, no”, he admitted. “Perhaps the last dozen. They tried to get through the armour. When that failed, they tried to hammer me to death. That almost worked. Almost” His arm weakly pointed across the courtyard, where Drent saw a man in heavy, green armour lying on the ground. He was holding a spear, embedded in the chest of an Ironborn, both men joined in death.
“He took one that got past me”, the knight explained. “I thought that guy was already dead and so did the Ironborn fucker, when he suddenly showed some teeth. Took that raider with him. I've seen worse deaths. A lot worse” His hand sank onto one of the corpses again. “These guards did good work as well, as did the soldiers from the Rock”, he continued. “Their general fled from the battlefield like a sissy girl” He sighed. “I only got leftovers, but it was still a good fight”
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I presume?” Drent hesitated, before he shook his head. “I think she did more to bring me back in one piece”, he said. “And Montclair did more for her today than I ever have... or could”
Still smiling, Emphryus' head sank back onto the pile of bodies he was resting upon. “Well, whatever it is, I'm proud. Of you. Of her”, he said and grimaced again. “Now... ah, I think I must rest a little bit. Brief me in on the rest later on, will ya?”
Drent confirmed this with a nod, before he continued to approach the rest of his group, who had gathered near the centre of the courtyard. Torrence and Garen had put Montclair to the ground, Argella and Edonia were kneeling next to him. The latter was wrapping a piece of cloth around the sergeant's wounded leg, a distraught look on her face.
“I can't stop the bleeding”, she muttered. “Something's wrong, it doesn't stop” Argella looked up as Drent approached them and he saw that she was nervous. “There has to be something you can do”, she replied and Edonia shook her head. “If we had a healer, maybe”, she answered. “But I barely know the basics”
A groan came out of Montclair's throat, as he opened his eyes. The look inside of them was weak and Drent realized that his wounds were a lot worse than they seemed initially. A shot in the leg, the arm and the shoulder, not the kind of wound that would kill a man of his size. Yet he was ghastly pale and there were drops of sweat running down his forehead. “I... can't... breathe”, he managed to utter.
Alarmed, Argella looked at Edonia, who looked absolutely helpless in her current role. “This is supposed to happen”, she said, her voice breaking as she spoke. Drent shook his head. He had seen men dying before. It made no sense, absolutely none, that Montclair would die from such a minor gathering of flesh wounds.
“Sergeant, you're in a shock”, he said. “Just try to calm down and it'll be better” Despite how weak he was, Montclair managed to chuckle, though no sound left his throat save for a croaky gasp. “I am dying, Golton”, he managed to say and instantly, Argella wrapped her hands around his unwounded arm. “You're not dying”, she said in a tone that was equal parts commanding and deeply shaken.
He shot her a crooked smile. “You might be my princess, but there are many things I know more about than you”, he said. “I think I can say that now. For one, I know more about dying than you” She hesitated a moment, before she shook her head. “No”, she replied. “You are not dying” She spoke these words as if it would change anything. The more time Drent spent with looking at the wounds Edonia tried to treat, the more he knew that no healer in the world could help him.
Argella's worry erupted into anger. “Why have you done it?”, she hissed. “You fool! You shouldn't have!” Her voice shivered and broke, as she looked at the ground, blinking her tears away. He raised an eyebrow. “Is that concern I hear there?”, he asked and she growled something, in anger that was not directed at him. He smirked and gave Drent a wink. “Yeah, she's totally concerned for me”, he continued.
Argella's angry mumbling finally turned into words. “You were right...”, she managed to say. “I should have called for the retreat earlier. I should have listened” An expression of pain flashed over Montclair's face, though he managed to nod. “You should have”, he agreed. All of a sudden, there was something else on his face. Regret?
“Sergeant?”, Drent asked, having noticed it. Argella looked up and Drent saw how barely she held her tears back. “My sons...”, Montclair gasped. “They depend on... on the coin I bring... home” Argella bit down onto her lip, heavily, before she took a deep breath. “They will be taken care of”, she said in a tone so forcibly calm that Drent could feel how truly distraught she was. “After all, they are the sons of a knight”
For a moment, there was true surprise on Montclair's usually calm face. Edonia looked up, raising her eyebrows and Drent tilted his head sideways. The sergeant's eyes showed almost childlike wonder for a second. “Can you do this?”, he asked. Her smile was forced, yet sweet. “Good question”, she admitted. “A better one would be, who could stop me? Who would dare?”
She reached for her sword, the tip shaking heavily as she moved it towards Montclair's shoulder. “Nobody deserves it more than you, Sergeant”, she told him. Montclair smiled, though the pain on his face grew stronger. As he opened his mouth, the first sound that came out of it was a gasp of agony. “And... my sons?”, he asked.
“As the sons of a knight, they will be sent to squire for one of my father's bannermen”, Argella proclaimed. “I've never been there, but my brothers used to tell me stories about Tarth. It's the most beautiful part of our kingdom and the safest”
Montclair's smile was tarnished by the pain the dying man was in and Drent had to ask himself, not for the first time, where this pain came from. Without hesitating, Argella put the sword onto his unwounded shoulder. “In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave”, she said. “In the name of...” She paused, looking around for help.
“In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just”, Drent helped her. Argella sighed and gave him a nod. “In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just”, she repeated. “In the name of the Mother, I charge you to protect the young an innocent” Just then, Montclair's soft breathing grew heavier. He started to pant. His eyes opened widely and his hands dug into the dirt. A short scream of pain came out of his throat and his head moved towards the arrow in his shoulder, the one Edonia hadn't removed yet. As his head fell back, Argella took a deep breath. “In the name of the Maiden, I charge you to protect all women”, she finished her part.
Montclair's scream died down, as he looked up, perhaps not at her, but at the nightly sky. His smile returned, for the last time, as the freshly knighted man took his last breath. Argella closed her eyes, as she moved down, giving him a kiss onto the forehead. “May you rest in peace, Ser Jax”, she whispered.
Drent knelt down next to her and after a moment of hesitation, he put a hand onto her back for comfort. She opened her eyes and looked at him. “How could this happen?”, she asked, as she looked around, at Edonia and then Torrence and Garen. “How?”
Edonia did not answer as she remove the arrow from Montclair's shoulder. In silence, she wiped away the fresh blood and Drent's gaze fell onto the wound. He tensed up as he saw the black markings around the flesh, even more as he faintly smelled something that reminded him of rotten eggs. “Poison”, he said.
“Poison”, Argella repeated and the sorrow on her face got replaced by genuine, violent anger. “Someone did this... Someone wanted me dead and this man paid the price for it” Drent had come to the same conclusion. His hand moved upwards to her shoulder and she let him. “Who...?”, he asked, though this time, she cut him off. “It doesn't matter who”, she mumbled. “We will find the one that did this, the one that wanted my death and caused his” The gaze on her face, still shaken, hardened again. “There will be fury. There will be justice”, she said. “And we shall show no mercy”
No Choices for this part
John
“How long do you think we can keep this up?”, Daghan said, bringing his sword down onto the head of his opponent. John grinned, as he pulled his weapon out of the chest of the man he himself had just killed. The man wasn't Ironborn, but to his concern, he wasn't a Second Son either. None of the four they had just killed were. It was as if there was a third party that had joined the battle. Not the most concerning thing, ever since the wildfire had exploded a few minutes ago, but unlike the green fireballs in the distance, this third party was a very close and real threat.
“Perhaps another decade or two”, he said. “We're growing older. Can't fight on the battlefield when we're sixty, can we?” Daghan rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean”, he replied. “These fuckers just keep coming. Maybe it's time to get Janae and Behara and go back to that shoddy tavern”
Just as he said this, the sound of hasty footsteps caused both men to spin around, their swords pointed at the corner behind them. A second later, a young woman stepped around the corner, instantly raising her hands as she saw two blades pointed at her. She was easy on the eyes, very easy actually, with dark brown hair and deep, crystal blue eyes. “Can you not do that?”, she asked in a sharp tone, yet there was something quite clever in her voice as well.
Daghan lowered his sword first. “Hells, Saerya, don't sneak up on us like that” She flashed him a smile. “I trust your judgement, old man. I doubt you'd kill me by accident”, she answered and he sighed. “No, I'd bloody do it on purpose”, he said, before he looked at John, who slowly lowered his sword. “Saerya, this is...”
“John Gutten”, John cut him off, introducing himself. He gave her a charming smile, followed by a gallant bow. “I am surprised Daghan kept someone like you hidden from me all this time” Unimpressed, she delicately rolled her eyes. “I definitely can't see why”, she said in a mocking tone, before she turned back to Daghan. “And you, we have to talk”
Daghan gave her a nod. “We have to”, he agreed. “Like, what the fuck are you doing here, Saerya? You were supposed to stay at the castle” She sighed. “And you were supposed to stay in that crappy tower outside of the city”, she said. “Looks like we've both been naughty. But now you got to listen to me. I heard your talk. The tavern” She shook her head. “That's not the place where you should retreat to. The city guard can't hold that place, not for much longer. It's not worth it”
Before Daghan was able to answer, John spoke. “Listen, lady, I don't know who you are, but Daghan and I have friends there”, he said. To his surprise, she did not argue. Instead, she lowered her head. “Apologies, I did not know”, she simply said. “Though it doesn't change the fact that I'm right here. You can't hide in the tavern”
“Well, then we get Sam and the others before retreating”, Daghan offered. “We can take some route that leads us past the tavern” He and Saerya exchanged a look. “They've got wounded. I can't leave them behind” Saerya sighed, clearly unhappy with this. “Look, I know you don't want to do this, but do I have to remind you what is at stake here?”, she said. “You are aware of what happens when you die here, are you not?”
To his own surprise, it was John who offered a solution. He knew how much they had to hurry. They were running out of time, the entire city was. He wouldn't argue, not with a girl that could silence him just by fluttering her gorgeous eyelashes.
“Perhaps you should retreat”, he offered and Daghan threw him a surprised look. “No really, I mean it. We can speak later, about her, about your role in all of this. But if it saves time now, then so be it. Me, Janae and Jaro, Tem and Hara, we should be enough to get the wounded to safety. Sammy and that scary pale girl can help as well”
This time, Saerya gave him a surprised look, followed by a delicate smile. “My, what a surprise”, she said. “I haven't expected Daghan to befriend a voice of reason” John raised an eyebrow. “That a compliment?”, he asked and she shrugged. “Maybe”, she just replied.
“Are you sure about this?”, Daghan asked and John gave him a nod. “Yeah”, he said. “I won't argue with the lady. You did a lot for us today. Just get yourself to safety” Daghan sighed, before he gave Saerya a nod. “I don't like this”, he confirmed. “But maybe you got a point. I wanted to retreat half an hour ago, but it was John who kept on fighting”
John grinned. “Well, it was them who kept on coming”, he said, pointing at the men he had slain in the past two hours. Daghan chuckled. “Take care of yourself out here, friend”, he said. “And meet me back in the castle once you found the rest of your men”
This time, John glanced at the beautiful woman next to his friend. “Will she be there as well?”, he asked and she raised an eyebrow. “She will lead this next meeting”, she said. “And now come on, you bald buffoon” Daghan shrugged. “Alright then”, he said, as he started to follow her. “Don't take too long, John, or else I'd have to search for you. And she'd hate that”
“I do”, Saerya confirmed, as she already walked around the corner. John's smirk faded as Daghan was gone as well. He turned to one of the other streets and started to approach it. Though that woman didn't get out of his mind that easily, he knew he had to focus now. Temari and Jaro would be the first he'd get. From there on, they had to see...
He didn't have to search for long. It was only a few minutes later that he almost stumbled into Jaro. Despite his wounds, the dark-skinned man had insisted on fighting and John didn't feel regret that he allowed him this chance, especially as he and Temari had split up from the rest to protect another small street that led deeper into the city.
“John...”, Jaro gasped and put a hand onto his slightly wounded leg. “Where's Daghan?” John noticed that he was out of breath, though he sent him a smirk regardless. “Went to the castle, together with the future Lady Gutten”, he replied, much to Jaro's confusion. Of course he did not join in. I'lian might have done it, but Jaro always had as much sense of humour as a rock.
“What... cut the crap!”, Jaro growled. “Tem's in danger. I was hoping to find both of you, because it seems we're going to need more people” They both started to walk down the street and John threw him a curious look. “The people that attack us, I think I've seen a glance of the man that leads them”, Jaro said. “And I recognized him, from what you told me. A tall guy, black armour, the helmet shaped like a bear's head”
John held his breath as he froze. “What?”, he growled. “Bear... he's here?” Just in the same moment he got his confirmation. Temari fell into his field of view, thrown with brute force by someone from beyond the corner. He landed heavily on the ground, though his groans proved that he was only barely wounded. “Fucking pathetic...”, the deep voice of Bear growled.
Jaro's eyes widely opened, as John breathed faster. “That voice...”, the dark-skinned man said. He tried to grab John's wrist, though it was too late. “John, wait!”, he called, just as John turned around the corner.
There he stood. His dark armour was splattered with blood, the visor of his helmet was lowered and yet the dark charcoal eyes behind it gleamed as he saw John. Bear was accompanied by at least a dozen an from somewhere within John, beyond the rage, he realized that this were too many.
“Look whom we have here”, Bear growled, presenting his knife gloves. “The fucking one-eyed cunt. I was hoping to find you here. You still remember that girl of yours? What was her name... Cathy?” John narrowed his eyes. “Cass”, he spat. “And you're going to pay for her” Bear's men laughed at this and their leader joined in. His dark eyes gleamed with excitement as he reached for his sword.
It was then that Jaro turned around the corner. “Wait!”, he said, his eyes widely open with shock. “The voice. This... can't be!” With one hand, he prevented John from attacking the leader of the bandits, though he solely looked at Bear himself. “Akjen?”
For the first time, surprise was seen in Bear's eyes, as he raised his visor. And now, it was up to John to gasp, as he realized just why Bear had looked so familiar back when he first met him. There was something about him that was just like Jaro, the same savage features, though played straight and without Jaro's soft, brown eyes. No, they were just as savage as the rest of his face. “Jaro”, he growled.
“You weren't supposed to be here”, Jaro gasped and Bear clenched his teeth. “Neither were you, brother”, he replied. There was no warmth in his words and yet there was a clear change of behaviour. Jaro sighed. “I'lian is here as well”, he said and looked at John. “John this... is my little brother” John did not reply, he was too speechless for that, so Jaro continued, addressing his brother. “Akjen, whatever quarrel you have, we can sort it out. Between you and me, between you and John. Please, stand down. Come with us”
Bear's face, having grown almost soft for a second, hardened instantly. “Coming with you”, he snarled. “Following your fucking rules again? Maybe I'lian likes to be your pet, but not me!” His men glared at them, anticipating the fight that would surely follow. Jaro however looked understandably unhappy. “Then you have to go through us”, he said. “And we won't stand down”
Bear seemed uncertain for a second. Then, he shook his head. “This won't end in violence. Not this time”, he snarled. “I will never live by your rules again, brother. But today, I won't spill your blood” He looked at his men. “Change of plans!”, he exclaimed. “Let's go find Anturion and get the fuck out of here!”
One of his men raised an eyebrow. “But, Ser, what about the enemy reinforcem...” He did not manage to continue, as Bear's knives cut into his throat, ripping it out without effort. “I said fucking change of plans!”, he barked. This time, his men complied, which satisfied him. He turned back towards Jaro again. “This is the only time I'll spare you. If I see you, any of you, ever again, I will murder you” He turned and left, without a further word, while Jaro was still struggling with keeping John back.
It was only once his brother was gone that Jaro let got. John instantly turned towards him grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him back, mad rage in his eye. “Bear is your brother?”, he barked and Jaro sighed. “His name is Akjen”, he explained. “And he didn't go by Bear the last time I saw him” He glanced at Temari, who had silently witnessed the scene. “Listen, can this wait? I'll answer your questions, but not here”
He had a point in this, as much as John hated to admit it. “Daghan is already at the castle”, he said. “We'll grab the others and follow” He glared at Jaro. “And then we'll have a long talk” Temari gave him a nod. “Yeah, Hara and Janae shouldn't be too far away from here” Jaro gulped, before he shook his head. “Hara and Janae can defend themselves”, he said. “My brother and Sammy have wounded with them. They should be our priority”
Temari glared at him. “Then you can go there”, he said. “Behara is my priority” John instantly shook his head. “We won't split up”, he said decisively, which, of course, put him into the unenviable position of having to force one of them to go with him. Janae was his priority, but as Jaro had said, that woman could look after herself. He sighed, knowing that he was barely able to make such a decision right now, but he knew he had to.
[Go to the tavern first][Find Janae and Behara first]
I am so, so sorry I always feel bad for killing off characters and it's made worse as you just caught up with the parts of the last weeks. This has been planned for a very long time though and there was no way around it, as it will establish some very important things, so I had no choice.
That said, I am glad I managed to give him an emotional sendoff. Jax has been a characters whom I enjoyed writing very, very much, so I wanted to give him exactly the important death scene he deserved. That said, my original plan was probably even more emotional, though I changed it, since I didn't want to go too much into the melodramatic stuff and instead wanted to give a respectful end to a character that has been in the story for almost two years. Getting it right has been one of my main reasons for expanding this part, as I otherwise would have been forced to rush his actual death scene. And given how much I enjoyed him, he definitely deserved a part that centered mostly around him getting an appropriate farewell.
Dear god. sniff sniff FOR CRYING OUT LOUD STOP CHOPPING ONIONS! Takes a moment to wipe his eyes
What a part, Jax's death hit me hard and … moreyou couldn't have written it any better, the feels are to strong.
As for John's part... Ah hell, I couldn't read it right with these onions. I'll get back to it.
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
I am curious, perhaps you can send me a PM about your suspicion? I likely can't confirm anything about it, but I am curious to hear about your thoughts there.
[Find Janae and Behara first] I really enjoy John and Janae's relationship so I want him to show some concern and look for her. Plus they shouldn't split up and Temari will likely go with or without John.
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
About the choice:[Find Janae and Behara first] Despite I know that nothing will stop the Essos plotline I believe that John have to show How much he care for Janae (and we already know that the wounded are all dead)
RT:
This was a really good last Drent part!I really like the assasination attempt!
Despite I found obvious the identity of the assasin I'm curious to discover if Edonia really succed to kill her
It will be interesting read of how Argella will try to discover the mandator of the assasination
Officialy RIP Hackor
farewell Ser Jax Montclair,you were my favorite Stormlanders (however I really like his death scene and I believe that you do the right thing from a writer POV)
Meanwhile in the last John part the Targaryen team drop the ball and we have a shocking relevation!Bear is Jaro's brother! Dun dun DUN! (Btw this will be interesting)
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
RIP Ser Jax. Seriously though, Montclair had one of the best death scenes in the story so far. Makes me sad that we lost him Oh, and Sherryl (I assume it was her) is more dangerous with that bow of hers than I expected. And of course that bitch is using poison.
[Find Janae and Behara] We probably can't save Janae, but perhaps Behara?
Bear and Jaro being brothers was a big surprise, I'm not sure what to think about that
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
I'm a bad person the only thing i could think of when it was stated that jax was hit in the knee was the skyrim city guard that said I was an adventurer just like until i got an arrow to the knee
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
[Find Janae and Behara first]Welp, Hackor is dead. Gotta admit that the reveal seen was kinda lack luster. Probably because it was shown in a POV where they didn't know who he was. Bad news bears for the city, really excited to see the results of this. Jax had a badass death scene, maybe one of the best in the story so far. Glad he got his last wish. This is going to have a lasting effect on Argella. And Dresfel was such a badass, just chillaxing on top of a pile of bodies. Pretty sure that Sherryl was the shooter. She has a secret agenda and she has the bow to do that fancy shooting. Now in hindsight, I kinda wish we brought Saera with Jenna, that way she could've helped out with Hackor. There were better things to do than just telling Daghan to follow her around. I'm pretty sure he would've made his way back there eventually. Also, I think we should go after Behara and Janae. If not to just please Temari, but on the chance to save Behara.
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
Janae and Behara are toast, let's just leave them.
Ah, Leonard going off the eastern gate to Lucas, who is going to the castle. Damn. Just a little longer...
Plot twist, but it came off as kind of casual. Still neat though.
Now the main event, RIP Montclair. It's obvious to me who killed him and my theories concerning the things were correct, as I anticipated as I read this part. I hope the archer is dead. That'd be great.
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
This was a really good last Drent part!I really like the assasination attempt!
Ah, I am glad to hear this. I have planned (and hinted at) this assassination attempt for quite a while now and it was meant to be a fitting climax to Drent's Chapter 8 storyline, so I am happy to hear I managed to pull it off correctly. That was not an easy scene to write though.
Despite I found obvious the identity of the assasin I'm curious to discover if Edonia really succed to kill her
Well, both, the identity of the assassin and their eventual fate has been deliberately left open for now. I can confirm however that this is not meant to be a secret for long and I plan to reveal the identity of the assassin (who, of course, has been hinted at) and their status in Chapter 9.
It will be interesting read of how Argella will try to discover the mandator of the assasination
Oh, she already has an idea. Let's just say, she's not going to do that without help. On top of that, new twists in Chapter 9 might require her attention even more than that. But still, finding the one behind the assassination will remain one of her main goals in the next chapter.
Officialy RIP Hackor
RIP I felt like I had to give at least confirmation on his fate here. There was no way for him to survive after you chose Aditha, but just showing his corpse in the next chapter wouldn't have felt right, so I kept him in the list of living characters until then.
farewell Ser Jax Montclair,you were my favorite Stormlanders (however I really like his death scene and I believe that you do the right thing from a writer POV)
I certainly liked him as well, so it was painful to kill him off here. At the same time, I think I gave him the epic death scene and spotlight he deserved, given his status and how long he has been a part of the storyline. I am certainly pleasantly surprised by how well-liked he was as a character, that shows I did a lot of things right with him
Meanwhile in the last John part the Targaryen team drop the ball and we have a shocking relevation!Bear is Jaro's brother! Dun dun DUN! (Btw this will be interesting)
Indeed. Though I am not fully happy with the execution (the forum's rigid post length limit kind of limited me), I was looking forward to reveal this for a very long time now. Bear is not just a villain, he actually has a rather detailed backstory and there's more to him than just a foul-mouthed, short-tempered murderer.
Was was walking to Argella's right,
Wut?
About the choice:[Find Janae and Behara first] Despite I know that nothing will stop th… moree Essos plotline I believe that John have to show How much he care for Janae (and we already know that the wounded are all dead)
RT:
* This was a really good last Drent part!I really like the assasination attempt!
* Despite I found obvious the identity of the assasin I'm curious to discover if Edonia really succed to kill her
* It will be interesting read of how Argella will try to discover the mandator of the assasination
* Officialy RIP Hackor
* farewell Ser Jax Montclair,you were my favorite Stormlanders (however I really like his death scene and I believe that you do the right thing from a writer POV)
* Meanwhile in the last John part the Targaryen team drop the ball and we have a shocking relevation!Bear is Jaro's brother! Dun dun DUN! (Btw this will be interesting)
RIP Ser Jax. Seriously though, Montclair had one of the best death scenes in the story so far. Makes me sad that we lost him Oh, and Sherryl (I assume it was her) is more dangerous with that bow of hers than I expected. And of course that bitch is using poison.
As I said above, I am glad you liked his death scene. I got emotional while writing and I already decided to tone it down, for the sake of not making it too melodramatic, but it was still hard. And well, the assassin (Sherryl is definitely a possibility), has indeed used poison, as they wanted to make sure that Argella would die. Jax ruined a very important plan with his actions here.
Bear and Jaro being brothers was a big surprise, I'm not sure what to think about that
Oh, this will lead to big things, I can promise it I was not too sure if I should reveal it in such a way, but it was always planned to come completely without any hints at all, but I can confirm that it will be very important later on.
RIP Ser Jax. Seriously though, Montclair had one of the best death scenes in the story so far. Makes me sad that we lost him Oh, and Sherry… morel (I assume it was her) is more dangerous with that bow of hers than I expected. And of course that bitch is using poison.
[Find Janae and Behara] We probably can't save Janae, but perhaps Behara?
Bear and Jaro being brothers was a big surprise, I'm not sure what to think about that
I'm a bad person the only thing i could think of when it was stated that jax was hit in the knee was the skyrim city guard that said I was an adventurer just like until i got an arrow to the knee
Ah, Leonard going off the eastern gate to Lucas, who is going to the castle. Damn. Just a little longer...
True, there is the possibility that they are going to miss each other. Then again, Leonard is a lot faster on his way through the city, since he's all by himself, whereas Lucas is a wounded man who has to carry another wounded man, so even if he's no longer at the gate when Leonard arrives (likely), it is possible that he won't get too far before the two will reunite.
Plot twist, but it came off as kind of casual. Still neat though.
I was afraid it would seem that way. Originally, I have even planned more for this, but couldn't think of a logical way to include it in the story. It seemed like Bear's personality not to b dragged into a long talk, but to nope the hell out of there once Jaro would recognize him. But this will lead to important things for both characters and for others.
Now the main event, RIP Montclair. It's obvious to me who killed him and my theories concerning the things were correct, as I anticipated as I read this part. I hope the archer is dead. That'd be great.
Well, Edonia at least thinks they are dead and she is good enough of an archer to have a reason to believe this. The archer did not shoot either once Argella stood there in the open, so they are at least heavily wounded and unable to shoot, or even outright dead.
[Go to the tavern first]
Janae and Behara are toast, let's just leave them.
Ah, Leonard going off the eastern gate to Lucas, who is go… moreing to the castle. Damn. Just a little longer...
Plot twist, but it came off as kind of casual. Still neat though.
Now the main event, RIP Montclair. It's obvious to me who killed him and my theories concerning the things were correct, as I anticipated as I read this part. I hope the archer is dead. That'd be great.
Welp, Hackor is dead. Gotta admit that the reveal seen was kinda lack luster. Probably because it was shown in a POV where they didn't know who he was.
Yeah, I was afraid this would happen. I mostly felt that I had to give an update on him, to make it clear that he died as a result of his wounds, instead of just showing his corpse in the next chapter and keeping him in the living list until then. I feel like he got his scene in Jenna's latest part and the reaction of Arthur and Aditha should be absolutely heartbreaking as well in the next chapter. So, while this scene might hasn't lived up to the expectations, I can promise it won't be the last about him
Jax had a badass death scene, maybe one of the best in the story so far. Glad he got his last wish. This is going to have a lasting effect on Argella. And Dresfel was such a badass, just chillaxing on top of a pile of bodies.
Ah, I haven't expected so many to react so favourably to his death scene, but I am glad I decided to expand the part to fully write it the way I intended it to be. And it's true, compared to other characters, Jax died relatively happy with his fate. I think Jarow is the only one who had a similarly good feeling while dying. Jax knew that he not only saved his princess, he also made sure that his sons would be taken care of. Argella knew how much that would mean to him, so she put emphasis on what it would mean for them to be the sons of a knight, to give him some peace of mind. Speaking of her, you are right, this is going to have a heavy effect on her. If there is one thing Argella has a problem with, it's others dying for her. Call it a trauma, as her brother did the very same thing. So, her reaction and way of coping with this should be quite interesting, I hope. As for Dresfel, well, he is more or less one of the most ultimate badasses in the story. Though it was less chillaxing and more lying on these bodies because they were slightly softer than the ground and because he was way too wounded to stand, but he at least managed to make it look cool
Pretty sure that Sherryl was the shooter. She has a secret agenda and she has the bow to do that fancy shooting.
As I said, Sherryl is a possibility, a pretty good one. She has a bow, she has a motive, she has the right attitude. In-story, Shortwood and Gordar will be suspect as well for the time being, though the true identity of the shooter will be soon revealed.
Now in hindsight, I kinda wish we brought Saera with Jenna, that way she could've helped out with Hackor. There were better things to do than just telling Daghan to follow her around. I'm pretty sure he would've made his way back there eventually.
It's true, Saerya could have done something to help Jenna there. With her help, both, Aditha and Hackor, could have been saved, though without Mathea's presence, Hackor would have died for sure in the very early next chapter. All in all, Saerya's presence could have led to a more happy part for the Nathamer family, as both children could have said their goodbyes to Hackor, but I'm sure the scene I have in mind should be satisfying for you regardless
[Find Janae and Behara first]Welp, Hackor is dead. Gotta admit that the reveal seen was kinda lack luster. Probably because it was shown in … morea POV where they didn't know who he was. Bad news bears for the city, really excited to see the results of this. Jax had a badass death scene, maybe one of the best in the story so far. Glad he got his last wish. This is going to have a lasting effect on Argella. And Dresfel was such a badass, just chillaxing on top of a pile of bodies. Pretty sure that Sherryl was the shooter. She has a secret agenda and she has the bow to do that fancy shooting. Now in hindsight, I kinda wish we brought Saera with Jenna, that way she could've helped out with Hackor. There were better things to do than just telling Daghan to follow her around. I'm pretty sure he would've made his way back there eventually. Also, I think we should go after Behara and Janae. If not to just please Temari, but on the chance to save Behara.
I'm afraid Montclair would have died regardless, as his wound was heavily poisoned with a truly wicked poison. Not even Mathea would have been able to help him and she wouldn't have even met him, as he would have died before she would have gotten the chance to check up on him. Hackor however could have survived if she would have stayed at the castle and if Jenna would have saved him over Aditha (which would have had its own shair of bad consequences). He would have been heavily wounded though, to the point where he would have been unable to actively do his duty anymore, as not even Mathea would have managed to allow him a full recovery.
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
Wow... what a part! This was very entertaining to read throughout. RIP Jax Montclair, I've always liked him and it sucks to see him go out this way. However, you gave him a great sendoff that was very well written. The extra day wait was definitely worth it.
Jaro and Bear are brothers? That is something I did not expect. Things are gonna get very interesting. Just a great part overall.
[Find Janae and Behara first]
I gotta admit, I don't think it's entirely worth it to go find them. I feel like Janae deserves John's effort to find her but I just feel like it might be too late, and we're just wasting our time. However, Temari will most likely go either way and I don't want to split up. So I'm gonna choose this.
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really… more fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I p… [view original content]
Comments
Hehe, Edward is indeed a pretty bad guy. He successfuly appeared like a nice and affable man in his early chapters (save for that one time he cut George's throat), but he has always been like this and now he's getting a chance to show it. That said, compared to the other members of the Anturion family, he is very much the nice guy among them
Glad you enjoyed it! It's true, Willfred hasn't been the most major PoV character in Book 1 and a lot of things I had planned for him haven't worked out as well as they should have, but I can hint at big things for him to follow in the coming chapters. If everything works out the way I have planned, he will be among the most central PoV characters at some point in the future.
[Get Roger and the package to the castle]
With all of these choices concerning the castle it makes me think either those smallfolk there are going to need all the help they can get or something really bad is going to happen.
Ah, fuck me. I feel like I'll hate the other Anturions with a passion. But it should be a good read nonetheless.
This is very awesome to hear
Willfred has always been a POV I've liked so it's nice to see that he'll be more involved in upcoming chapters.
The Voting is closed!
Willfred is going to bring Roger and the package back to the castle
No super huge surprise here, to be honest. I mean, Willfred is wounded, Roger is wounded even worse, whereas Carvin is mostly fine (aside from that terrible headache he's going to have after Willfred's shield attack), so confronting him and Edward would have been a risk. This is clearly the safer choice. Is it the better one? You'll see in time. All I can say is, this part laid the foundations for a seriously important upcoming plotline which I am highly excited for. The groundwork for Book 2 is already being laid out in these current parts and I'm pretty sure there will be a great payoff coming out of this and other things that currently happen in the story.
Anyways, I'm sorry if you haven't gotten the time to vote yet. I feel like this voting has been open long enough, especially as I'm having a rare day off today, which I plan to completely use for writing the next part. This next part was originally planned to be the penultimate part of the chapter, with PoV's from Drent and John. However, I am currently relatively sure that I will only manage to include Drent before hitting the length limit, as the events in his part deserve, once again, to be expanded into a full length part. This means John will return in the next part, especially as the events in his next part also might justify to be expanded. For those of you who hope for a return of Maya in this chapter, this might give me the opening I was hoping for to show the aftermath of her latest part as well, because I am not yet sure if I will manage to give John a full-length part. Anyways, this next Drent part is unlikely to feature a choice, as much as I hate to give you parts completely without a choice. Nonetheless, I hope you're going to enjoy it
The last time we've seen Drent, he fought near the southern gate, where Argella, Leonard and the Stormlanders were holding it against the bandits outside and the Ironborn that were attacking them from the inside. Drent's position got overrun, yet he was saved, first by Argella, then by Gordar Celtigar. Gordar recognized the princess and reacted understandably angry at her presence, revealing that his cousing Corilyan died from the wounds he suffered all the way back in Chapter 4. After uttering an ominous threat (very similar to Shortwood in the beginning of the part), he left again when the other Stormlanders arrived. He wasn't the only one angry at Argella in this part, as Montclair brought up the good point that she recklessly left his protection to save one soldier, at the risk of her own life. He informed her that they wouldn't be able to hold the gate much longer, not without suffering massive casualties, so he and Leonard both urged her to retreat, stating that a majority of the smallfolk had been brought to safety. Argella was highly reluctant to go through with this and she turned to Drent for back-up. However, seeing the logic behind the position of Montclair and Leonard, he adviced her to retreat as well. This next part is going to happen directly afterwards.
First however, there will be something else to read, which I hope you're going to enjoy. It is a new part of A Wolf in Lord's Clothing, the Lupin Frostborn mini-series by @TheFurryOne.
A Wolf in Lord’s Clothing Part 4
Greysor Darkmoor
Greysor was beginning to run out of breath. He has chased Lord Woodbark through the distressed crowd and back into Thaumaturge keep. He had arrived at the entrance to one of the hallways, and noticed that at the very end of it had stopped running and stood still, facing Greysor with a fiendish grin across his face. Greysor began to charge at him at full speed, before slipping on a puddle and slamming his face into the stone floor. As Greysor heaved himself up off of the floor, he noticed that the puddle was… red. Was it blood? Where had it come from?
That was when Greysor heard a dripping sound. He turned to see the recently painted tapestry, which showed off the entire Frostborn family. At the corner of the tapestry was a wet, red patch. He noticed that more blood was soaking through the corner of the tapestry. Greysor came to the conclusion the blood must be coming from something behind the tapestry. He remembered that there was a small space in the wall where a window had once been before the tapestry had been hung up. Greysor gulped and slowly took the tapestry down, anxious to see what was behind there. After seeing it, Greysor felt sick, then felt shock, then felt despair.
“THALINA?!” Greysor cried as he dragged his younger sister’s lifeless, bleeding body away from the space in the wall. He cradled her corpse in his arms. Her throat had been cut from ear to ear. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he stared into her blue eyes and ran his fingers through her dark hair. She was only fourteen years old.
Suddenly, all the sadness and despair disappeared from Greysor, replaced by anger, rage and bloodlust. He looked up from her corpse at Wolfius, who seemed confused and shocked at the corpse in Greysor’s arms. Wolfius’ confusion did not matter to Greysor however, as head already come to the conclusion that he was looking at the culprit behind his sister’s murder. Greysor gently laid down Thalina’s corpse before arising to his feet and charging at Wolfius. He wrapped one hand around the man’s neck before slamming his other hand, which had been closed into a fist, into Wolfius’ face.
“It wasn’t me who killed her!” Wolfius yelled between the punches.
“LYING CUNT!” Greysor roared, as he continuously pummelled Wolfius’ face. Greysor then felt a sharp, piercing pain in his arm which caused him to yelp and withdraw himself from his attempt to kill Wolfius. Wolfius had stabbed him with something. Greysor found out it was a syringe once Wolfius withdrew it from Greysor’s arm. Greysor stopped feeling angry, now he felt more confused if anything. Wolfius, who was leaning against a wall as he wiped the blood from his now bruised and battered face, looked up at Greysor and smirked.
“You do realize I am a lord?” Wolfius said. “And lords have guards.”
Greysor heard footsteps behind, and turned to see a tall man wearing a mask in the shape of the head of a cat.
“Knock the boy out Erik, we’ve had enough deaths for today” Wolfius commanded.
“Yes my lord” the man, apparently named Erik, replied in a deep, but youthful voice. Before Greysor had time to do anything to react to this bizarre situation, Erik sent a fist flying into his face, knocking him to the floor. Then everything went black.
Lupin Frostborn
Lupin grinned as flashes of that stuck-up firstborn’s final moments stained his mind. A rush of pain surged through his face. He grunted in pain and put his hands up to the blood-soaked bandages.
I need to see what that fuck did to me Lupin thought.
He dragged himself out of bed and stumbled towards the mirror. All he could see was darkness with these bandages on. He slowly tore them off, wincing at the pain as they pulled at his wounds. When they were off, he opened his working eye and gasped at himself in the mirror. He face was covered in deep, thick, crimson red cuts, swollen bruises and splotches of bleeding face holes. His left eye was swollen and of a purplish colour. He opened his mouth only to have a thick, syrup-like mixture of saliva and blood pour out.
“Seven fucking hells!” the voice of Alphyn Frostborn called out. Lupin turned to see his brother standing in the door way, with pure shock upon his features.
“Whath der fuk dyou wanth” Lupin spat out.
“Looks like even your speech is fucked” Alphyn said, before a grin stretched across his face. “Maybe if you hadn’t had been such a cunt to Alistair maybe he wouldn’t have put you in your place.”
Maybe if Alistair hadn’t had been such a cunt to me maybe HE would still be alive Lupin thought. Lupin spat out another mixture of blood and saliva before realizing a bloody tooth was floating in the spit.
“Did you hear about the body they found behind the tapestry?” Alphyn asked. Lupin’s heart skipped a beat.
“They… found a body?” Lupin asked.
“Yeah… it was that poor, sweet girl Thalina Darkmoor” Alphyn said, a hint of sadness in his voice. “If I find the son of a whore who killed her, I’ll cut his fucking head off myself. I can only imagine how Greysor must be feeling right now. They say it has something to do with those missing girls.”
“What did they do with Alistair’s body?” Lupin asked.
“Well, after the Wolfraven guards managed to pry him from Lord Gregory’s arms, they wrapped him in a cloth and sent him on a carriage back to his home, Gregory was silent the whole time” Alphyn replied. “They also found the beast that did it.”
Those words caused Lupin to tense up. Witherfang was only a baby and under his control, if they killed him, Lupin would never forgive himself.
“A shadowcat, they found it roaming around the forest where Alistair had been killed” Alphyn said. Lupin relaxed at the mention of a shadowcat. It wasn’t Witherfang
“A… shadowcat? In these parts?” Lupin questioned. “I thought they were only found beyond the Wall.”
“Yep, currently locked in a cage, they haven’t killed it yet since so many people want to see it before it is put down tomorrow” Alphyn said. Lupin turned to face his twin brother, only to notice that Alphyn was wrinkling his nose.
“What the fuck is that stench?” Alphyn choked, before glancing down at something at the floor. Alphyn slowly walked towards it, then kneeled down to inspect it closer. Lupin looked at it too. It was a clump of hair, trapped between the floorboards. Before Lupin could do anything, Alphyn had already removed the floorboard.
Alphyn took several steps back until he was against a wall. He then let out a stream of vomit. Lupin looked at what was beneath the floorboards. The decomposing body of a young girl Lupin had killed months ago. Lupin couldn’t see much of her but her hair and face, which was being feasted on by rats and has worms wriggling through the eye sockets. Lupin looked at his brother, who was now also looking at him with utter shock. The shock then turned into disgust.
“Murderer” Alphyn gasped.
END OF PART 4
Oh man, this was, so far, my favourite part of the A Wolf in Lord's clothing series. Both PoV's were top work, I enjoyed this very, very much. Greysor's PoV set up a lot of exciting stuff and I especially liked Wolfius in it. I find it highly intriguing to see this younger, somewhat less experienced and professional version of him. And Erik, hehe... This part showed quite a number of interesting stuff. Lupin's PoV meanwhile was so messed up, but that's what made it so great. This whole series is a really great build-up for Lupin in the main story, considering how long it will take me to show him in it. But until then, I have the feeling that these parts will give the readers a good impression of him and what to expect. All in all, wonderful job, I'm loving it!
I am afraid there is a change of plans. First of all the good news, I have finished Drent's part. The bad news is, it is longer than an ordinary part and I absolutely refuse to cut it down onto the length of one post, or to rush things. This would be a disrespect to a certain character that will be very important for this part. At the same time, it won't even be close to the length of two full parts. So, I'm having all of this space left in the second half of this part which I intend to fill with John's PoV, showing us the aftermath of the Stormlander retreat and of Torvin's maneuver. As a side effect, I might not be able to finish the part today. It will be ready tomorrow. However, I also have my final exams tomorrow, which means I will be gone for a significant part of the day, so you probably have to wait until the evening for me to finish this part. On the positive side, having twice the amount of usual stuff to read should be a good thing, shouldn't it? It also means that this will be the penultimate part of the chapter and that the chapter will end either on Monday or Tuesday, which is another good thing, I guess
Jokes aside don't worry Liquid!Take yourself all the time that you need and good luck for your exam!
Now I am worried for a certain Leonard who happens to currently be in Drent's current locale. Ahhhh the tension.
[Get Roger and the package to the castle]
(Yes I know the voting is closed I just like to.)
Sorry for the late reply Liquid. I have been very sick this week. Going back to sleep every 10 minutes sick. Just caught up to everything. Anyway that was an Amazing part. I really loved it. And I'm really looking forward to seeing Alisa and Alys relationship develop. Also loved Edward, you really write him fantastically. I love how even his bodyguards want him to die but never risk angering or betraying him. Even the other readers seem to loathe him for being so evil, which is as you've said funny considering his family. Willfred also really impressed me here to the point in which he's now on my 'most looked forward to POV's' list.
Really the only question I have is why did Edward just take Alisa's blood originally? Even when trusting Alys it just seems like the safer bet.
Thank you! I just returned from my exam, which means I can now resume writing the part, which should be done in a couple of hours. That said, it wasn't one of these exams I needed luck for, as I'm absolutely sure I nailed it. It's been on the topic of english grammar, also known as the sort of stuff I have intensively dealt with almost every single day for the past two and a half years. Failing that exam would be quite embarrassing
Your worry is... understandable. Leonard will appear in Drent's part, that much I can hint at. Perhaps there are others you should be more worried for, but your worry for Leonard is not misplaced either. You'll find out what I mean very soon
Oh, I am sorry to hear this! I hope you're feeling better again soon. I'm glad you still managed to catch up with everything, especially as this has been such an Edward-heavy part. But mostly I hope you're soon feeling better
Ah, this is very good to hear. Edward is quite a complex character, as his more friendly interactions in the earlier chapters hopefully showed, but true to form, he just had to be a villain in this chapter. That said, well, his family might change the opinion on him a little bit, at least in comparison
Well, it didn't occur to him that Alys' blood might not have been as pure as he hoped it to be. Alisa would have been the safer bet and before meeting Alys, it was planned to take her blood, but as we've seen in Alys' parts, this procedure weakened her a lot. Alisa is among Edward's most trusted and valued underlings, so he was trying to spare her from having to do this, knowing that her talents might be useful elsewhere during this job.
Drent
Drent knew he'd disappoint her. But staying would be a reckless thing to do. He shook his head, watching Argella's hopeful smile fading. “Sergeant Montclair is right, my princess”, he advised her. “I trust his judgement”
Argella pressed her lips together, pausing a moment before she gave him a nod. “Okay”, she mumbled. “This is your advice?” She glanced at the sergeant, who nodded affirmatively. “It will be hard to hold this gate for much longer”, he replied. “Now is our best chance at a coordinated retreat. We have done a lot today”
“We haven't done enough!”, Argella barked, her voice getting louder and sharper, as she clenched her fists. The anger that flared up in her eyes wasn't directed at anyone in particular and it faded as quickly as it came. She closed her eyes and sighed. “I haven't done enough”, she added in quiet tone.
Montclair smiled at her, softly and with understanding. “You have done more than all of us”, he claimed. “And tonight, you can be proud of...” The rest of his sentence was drowned, as a deafening sound echoed across the city. For a second, the scenery was drowned in green lightning as the soldiers instinctively sought cover.
In the distance, Drent saw a massive, bulky cloud of green fire erupting from somewhere beyond the southern city walls. It went higher into a sky that was no longer nightly, splitting up into several smaller fireballs, that were thrown across the horizon by a terrifying force. Some of them crossed over the walls, landing somewhere in the city, though nowhere near their current position.
While the Stormlanders were staring into the sky, with eyes wide open, the green glow slowly faded, though the distant shimmer of flames remained. Even the air smelled sickly scorched, a sort of smell Drent had never smelled before and never wished to again. He had heard the stories about Wildfire, but had never seen its power in action. It was something that shook him to the core.
Argella was the first to pull herself together. “What...”, she gasped. “What was that?” Leonard only barely averted his gaze from the sky. “The lighthouse”, he mumbled. “Wildfire” His eyes widened. “Oh no...” Argella threw a confused glare at him. “Wildfire at the lighthouse? What is going on here?”
“Something just went terribly wrong”, Leonard answered. “There were two women, they helped me earlier... They wanted to go to the lighthouse” He visibly tensed up. “Harris has stored wildfire in there”, he explained, visibly struggling with his words. “This was not supposed to happen!”
“I bet nothing of this day was supposed to happen”, Argella replied. “What do you want to do now?” Leonard reluctantly averted his gaze from the distance. “The plan still stands. We have to get out of here”, he told her. “Gather your men. Lead them back to the castle”
She nodded, still visibly unhappy about this turn of events. “If this is the only option, I shall do it”, she gave in. “Sergeant Montclair, sound the retreat. We go back to the castle” A grin flashed across Montclair's face. “A good decision”, he assured her, as his hand moved to the small horn on his belt. He moved the instrument to his mouth and blew it.
“I will gather my men as well”, Leonard said. “They shall lead yours on the quickest route back to the castle” Argella raised an eyebrow. “And you?”, she asked. He shook his head. “My path will lead me to the eastern gate”, he answered. “Lucas is there. He might wear your colours now, but he is still my friend”
A rare, pleased look appeared on Argella's face. “So be it. Ser Lucas is a good man”, she told him. “Go and save his life” Leonard nodded, but before he turned to leave, he momentarily bowed his head. “Thank you, for what you did today”, he said and the princess couldn't contain a proud smile.
As Leonard walked down the alleyway, she looked at Montclair. “It's a shame this one won't come with us when we leave the city”, she said. “He'd make a fine knight in yellow” Montclair chuckled, as he watched the Stormlanders gathering near the main street. “Shall we go?”, he asked.
“We shall”, Argella confirmed. “Send the men ahead. I will command the rearguard” Montclair sighed. “I think we can agree on this”, he said, as he began to shout orders at the men. Argella turned to the others. “Edonia and Torrence, you shall remain by my side. Garen as well”, she said. Finally, she looked at Drent. “Will you do me the honour?”, she asked. He smiled in return. “Always”, he promised.
The Stormlanders started their march back to the castle and Drent had to admit that he felt good as he walked, getting away from a gate that would fall in only a few minutes. They had made the right decision in retreating now, there was no doubt about it.
Was was walking to Argella's right, with Montclair walking to her left. Torrence was in front of them, his sister trying to support him after noticing that his wounds caused him pain. With an annoyed growl, he pulled away from her. “Leave me”, he barked. “I don't need your help” His anger and the hurt expression on Edonia's face caused Garen to chuckle, though he remained silent.
“Our retreat might be the only reason these two are still alive”, Montclair said, as he nervously glanced over his shoulder, at the gate in the distance. They had fortified it and it would hold on its own for a little longer, but Drent wanted to be as far away as possible when it would give in.
“Perhaps”, Argella admitted. “Perhaps you have been right. It doesn't sit right with me, but... well, I'm hardly all-knowing” Her smile was weaker than his, but just as genuine. “I trust you, Jax” It was odd for Drent and Montclair both to hear the sergeant by his first name, but the man quickly regained his composure. He gave her a nod. “May I call you Argella now?”, he asked.
She smirked. “Don't get bold now”, she replied. “It's Princess Argella” She gave him a wink. “Though perhaps I can make an exception, for your loyal service” She looked at the road ahead. “It appears I could need good advisers in the wars to come. May there be few under my rule”
“A peaceful Storm Queen?”, Montclair asked. “That would be a first” She flashed him a full smile. “A Storm Queen in general would be a first”, she stated, though her smile faded quickly. “May there be many years until the day comes” The Sergeant looked at her with curiosity. “You don't want to be queen?”, he asked.
She shook her head, to Drent's surprise. “It would come at a price, for we already have a king”, she replied. “When the day comes, it will be hard for me. Any joy I could have at ruling would fade. I'd do it out of duty. I suppose you know a thing or two about that”
Montclair sighed. “Frankly, I'd like to remain in Storm's End, rather than moving out again. Got my boys there, but how can I feed them if not for the pay?”, he admitted. “To be honest, this is not the position I dreamed of as a boy” A rare, relaxed smile appeared on his face. “I always wanted to be a knight”
To this, the Storm Princess laughed. “A little boy at heart, I see”, she teased him, though her good mood faded quickly. “To answer your earlier question, I want to be queen. It's something I'm good at, something I find joy in” She sighed, remorsefully. “But the Storm King...”, she started, only to cut her own sentence off. “I just don't want to be alone at the top”
By now, they had reached a small road, flanked by large houses, surely an area where the more wealthy citizens would dwell. The one to their right even had a small, waist-high wall around its property. The main host of the Stormlanders had crossed a corner, out of sight, but still relatively close, which was at least some relief for Drent.
He looked at Argella, going for a daring move. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he noticed that she tensed up in surprise. “You will not be alone”, he promised. She relaxed quickly, making no move to shake his hand off, as she looked him deeply in the eyes. For a second, she stopped walking. “Maybe”, she said.
Montclair had stopped as well and while Drent could have lost himself in her eyes right now, he had to pay attention to his commanding officer, who looked at him in displeasure, before glancing across the houses to their left. All of a sudden, his eyes narrowed. “WATCH OUT!”, he yelled, as he raised his sturdy, wooden shield into Argella's direction.
A wooden thud sounded, followed by Montclair's grown of pain, as a thin, ivory-white arrow went straight through the shield, piercing his arm below. Argella gasped and Drent saw that the arrow had partially gone through the sergeant's arm, the tip leaving his flesh on the other side. Even with the shocked confusion he felt, he knew that such a force could barely be reached by a normal bow.
“DRENT!”, Montclair shouted and Drent knew what he had to do. He grabbed Argella at the waist, while she only managed to exclaim a short, confused grunt, as he lifted her up, to push her above the small wall. “What the...?”, she gasped, as Montclair stumbled into the way of yet another arrow. His wound prevented him from properly raising his shield, but he still blocked the arrow and instead of hitting Argella, it pierced through his shoulder. As Drent himself jumped over the wall, Montclair fell to the ground.
Drent landed next to Argella. He noticed Edonia and Garen jumping over the wall as well, landing slightly next to them, though Torrence was nowhere to be seen. The princess glanced around, as she realized what happened. “Gods...”, she gasped. “Oh gods, Jax...”
Edonia glanced around, as the realization slowly sunk in that her brother hadn't jumped over the wall with them. “Torrence?”, she asked. She frantically looked around. “Where's Torrence?” Garen sighed, as he looked around as well. “Keep it down, Red, nobody cares for your brother”, he hissed. “You better help me getting out of here”
He was silenced when Argella and Edonia simultaneously glared at him, to which he only rolled his eyes. “Just saying...”, he mumbled. Argella exchanged a look with Drent and her eyes widened. “An archer...”, she mumbled. “The Ironborn don't have archers”
Shortwood's threat flashed through Drent's mind, though he refused to believe that the mysterious hedge knight would go that far. Apparently though, Argella came to a different conclusion. “Celtigar”, she growled. “He spoke about this, didn't he?” The anger in her gaze, quickly faded, replaced by helplessness. “No... no he wouldn't... would he?”
“My brother...”, Edonia mumbled, her voice shaking, as she was clearly distraught. “Torrence is out there” For a second, they were all silent, cowered behind the low wall. In this silence, Drent heard a groan of pain, a low wailing. Argella clenched her fists, as concern flared up in her eyes. “Jax is still alive”, she realized.
Edonia clenched her fists around her bow. “I'm having a look. Maybe I can spot that archer”, she decided. Carefully, she raised her head, only to lower it almost instantly, when another thin, ivory arrow missed her head only by an inch. The look on her face was equal parts horrified at the close brush with death and satisfied.
“Torrence is still alive”, she said. “He cowers at the other end of the street. Jax is lying on the road, still breathing. Princess, we must be caref...” Her words were cut off when a thud sounded, followed by Montclair's scream. Argella tensed up, letting out a low, helpless growl. “He's being tortured”, she managed to press through her clenched teeth.
“The archer is using him to lure you out. That bastard is playing with us”, Garen warned her and for once, Drent had to agree with him. Instead of listening to him, Argella looked at Edonia. “Have you seen the archer?”, she asked and the other woman gave her a nod. “Somewhat”, she admitted. “I know where he is, but I haven't seen more than his silhouette”
“Can you shoot him?”, Argella asked and this time, Edonia shook her head. “He knows where I am. The moment I look up, I'm dead”, she replied. To this, Argella narrowed her eyes and Drent held his breath. “Argella, don't”, he warned her. She ignored him. “How long would you need to take aim?”, she asked.
Edonia gulped. “It's hard to say. Two seconds maybe? Three or four? Longer than I have, because if I stand up, I'm dead before I can raise my bow” Argella shook her head. “Not if there would be a different target”, she said. “One this archer won't expect” Edonia raised her eyebrows. “You mean... you would?”, she stuttered and her expression dropped. “What if I miss the shot?”
Argella smiled bravely. “You better don't”, she said. Drent instinctively grabbed her upper arm. “Princess, don't do that”, he urged her in a low tone, though, she pulled her arm away. “Don't tell me what to do”, she snarled, before she looked back at Edonia. “Can you do it?” The other woman gave her a nod. “I can try. But, I can't...”
“Then do it!”, Argella ordered her, as she jumped up and over the wall. Edonia let out a heartfelt curse, as she jumped up barely a second later, desperately raising her bow. Drent tensed up as he heard Argella's scream. He opened his eyes a moment later and to his endless relief, he saw her still standing there, shaking, but alive. The arrow had missed her barely and went on to pierce the wooden wall of the house behind her.
Slowly, Edonia lowered her bow again. “Got him”, she said as a smile of disbelief formed on her face. “I got him” She smiled and it grew wider as she glanced at Drent. “I nailed it!” In his relief, Drent couldn't help but to chuckle. “You bloody nailed it”, he confirmed. Had she killed the archer? Maybe, but that was not the important part. He wasn't shooting anymore, which was enough for now. He looked around to see Torrence, cowering at the other side of the street.
Argella stood still and she was shivering. “Drent”, she said tonelessly, as he walked up next to her. “Princess?”, he asked and she looked at him, visibly distraught, her dark blue eyes wet with the hint of tears. “I felt the arrow, that's how close it was”, she replied and shook her head. “If I ever do that again, you have my permission to punch me” It was then that she pulled herself back together. “Jax”, she gasped.
Montclair lay on the ground. Three arrows hat hit him, one in the left arm, piercing through the shield, one through the left shoulder and the third one just below his right knee. He was groaning in pain, though he was still breathing and conscious.
Argella moved closer, to glance at the arrows that had dug deeply into his flesh. “We have to get him back to the castle”, she decided. “Torrence, Garen, you carry him. Edonia and Drent, you will cover us on the way back!” Garen finally joined them as well and Argella looked at him, softer than usual. “Be gentle with him, please”, she urged him, to which he simply gave her a nod.
Torrence staggered towards them and he looked at Edonia, a strange mixture of emotions on his face. “That was some fancy shooting”, he said. “You're... pretty good” She grinned, silently enjoying his compliments, as the two men grabbed Montclair. Garen reached for the sergeant's upper body, Torrence for the lower and together, they lifted him up. The wounded man groaned in pain, but Drent knew they had to get him to the castle somehow.
“The archer?”, Drent asked an Argella shook her head. “F... screw him!”, she spat. “We'll retrieve his corpse later” She looked at Edonia, who was still smiling happily. “You have killed him, haven't you?”, she asked. The other woman thought about it for a moment. “Yes”, she replied. “He's either dead or dying”
Argella threw a glance at the door to the house the archer had been hiding in. “No doubt it's locked”, she said. “Someone planned this. Celtigar or Hobert. Harris maybe” She glanced down at her shaking hands. “Or someone else”, Drent replied. “You have made a number of enemies here” She gave him a mild nod. “It doesn't matter right now”, she said, as she looked at the barely conscious Montclair. “We have to get him out of here first”
The next minutes passed in a hurry, almost a blur, as the adrenaline finally hit him. Nobody said anything, as Drent, Argella and Edonia covered Garen and Torrence, while they carried Montclair to the castle. The silence was eery, especially since even the sound of fighting in the distance had died down. It was as if Raylansfair had turned into a ghost town, devoid of life. Perhaps it wasn't too far away from the truth. The smallfolk had undoubtedly gathered inside the castle by now. The only ones left in the city were the dead and the dying, as well as those who killed them.
The main host of the Stormlanders had reached the castle by the time Argella and her group had caught up. The way they flanked them, to allow them to pass through the gates first, was almost solemn, although Drent sped up as he saw how deathly pale Montclair had gotten. He glanced around, seeing genuine worry in the faces of the men around him. Most of them had known the sergeant personally and the concern they had for their commanding officer was real.
It was then that he saw the gates of the castle. He gasped, spotting corpses, dozens of them. The gate was not closed, though the rest of the sight was ven more unnerving. There were corpses piled up at the gate and he spotted the black leather of the Ironborn, the green tunics of House Raylan's guards and red-cloaked soldiers of the Rock, cut down in one big feast of slaughter.
Argella approached the gates carefully, as Garen and Torrence carried the half-conscious Sergeant Montclair closely behind her. She audibly held her breath as she saw the man that was half-sitting half lying above the main pile of bodies, all clad in black leather. “Ser Emphryus!”, the princess exclaimed, as she rushed towards him, with Drent following.
The knight had removed his helmet, revealing purple and yellow bruises below. His breaths were short, irregular and each of them caused him to grimace with pain, yet as he saw her approaching, he managed to form an audacious grin. “Well, there's a sight”, he chuckled.
The look on Argella's face was a mixture of relief and concern. “How?”, she said, genuinely baffled by the display of violence around her. Drent stared at the Ironborn corpses, his mouth open a bit as he noticed the horrified expressions they died with. Did Emphryus kill them all? He couldn't... could he? “How did this happen?”, Argella finally managed to stutter.
Emphryus glanced around the pile of bodies he was resting upon. “They tried to kill me”, he explained, before he shrugged, with what little strength he still had. “Bad mistake” Argella regained her composure as the knight spoke. “Have you killed all of them?”, she asked and Emphryus' smile grew wider. “It's said that one knight is as good as ten commoners”, he replied. “Well, one Dresfel is as good as ten knights”
The princess chuckled at his words, just as Emphryus shook his head. “But I did not get all of them, no”, he admitted. “Perhaps the last dozen. They tried to get through the armour. When that failed, they tried to hammer me to death. That almost worked. Almost” His arm weakly pointed across the courtyard, where Drent saw a man in heavy, green armour lying on the ground. He was holding a spear, embedded in the chest of an Ironborn, both men joined in death.
“He took one that got past me”, the knight explained. “I thought that guy was already dead and so did the Ironborn fucker, when he suddenly showed some teeth. Took that raider with him. I've seen worse deaths. A lot worse” His hand sank onto one of the corpses again. “These guards did good work as well, as did the soldiers from the Rock”, he continued. “Their general fled from the battlefield like a sissy girl” He sighed. “I only got leftovers, but it was still a good fight”
Momentarily, concern won over relief on Argella's face. “Will you survive?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Not going to lie, this really fucking hurts”, he replied. “But yeah. I intend to die in glory, not some pisswater backwoods town” His head moved slightly. “Is that Monty?”, he said as he spotted the sergeant. Argella gave him a nod and he sighed. “Shame. Will he make it?”, he replied.
Neither Drent nor Argella had an answer to this. “I better check up on him”, the princess said. She turned towards Montclair, who had just been carried past her and onto the courtyard, though stopped to look at Emphryus again. “You did good, Ser”, she complimented him and he lit up with pride. Then, she turned to leave and Drent attempted to follow her.
“Golton”, Emphryus said in a hoarsy voice and Drent stopped. The wounded knight gave him an approving nod. “You did good”, he told him. “Brought her back in one piece. Hasn't been an easy task, I presume?” Drent hesitated, before he shook his head. “I think she did more to bring me back in one piece”, he said. “And Montclair did more for her today than I ever have... or could”
Still smiling, Emphryus' head sank back onto the pile of bodies he was resting upon. “Well, whatever it is, I'm proud. Of you. Of her”, he said and grimaced again. “Now... ah, I think I must rest a little bit. Brief me in on the rest later on, will ya?”
Drent confirmed this with a nod, before he continued to approach the rest of his group, who had gathered near the centre of the courtyard. Torrence and Garen had put Montclair to the ground, Argella and Edonia were kneeling next to him. The latter was wrapping a piece of cloth around the sergeant's wounded leg, a distraught look on her face.
“I can't stop the bleeding”, she muttered. “Something's wrong, it doesn't stop” Argella looked up as Drent approached them and he saw that she was nervous. “There has to be something you can do”, she replied and Edonia shook her head. “If we had a healer, maybe”, she answered. “But I barely know the basics”
A groan came out of Montclair's throat, as he opened his eyes. The look inside of them was weak and Drent realized that his wounds were a lot worse than they seemed initially. A shot in the leg, the arm and the shoulder, not the kind of wound that would kill a man of his size. Yet he was ghastly pale and there were drops of sweat running down his forehead. “I... can't... breathe”, he managed to utter.
Alarmed, Argella looked at Edonia, who looked absolutely helpless in her current role. “This is supposed to happen”, she said, her voice breaking as she spoke. Drent shook his head. He had seen men dying before. It made no sense, absolutely none, that Montclair would die from such a minor gathering of flesh wounds.
“Sergeant, you're in a shock”, he said. “Just try to calm down and it'll be better” Despite how weak he was, Montclair managed to chuckle, though no sound left his throat save for a croaky gasp. “I am dying, Golton”, he managed to say and instantly, Argella wrapped her hands around his unwounded arm. “You're not dying”, she said in a tone that was equal parts commanding and deeply shaken.
He shot her a crooked smile. “You might be my princess, but there are many things I know more about than you”, he said. “I think I can say that now. For one, I know more about dying than you” She hesitated a moment, before she shook her head. “No”, she replied. “You are not dying” She spoke these words as if it would change anything. The more time Drent spent with looking at the wounds Edonia tried to treat, the more he knew that no healer in the world could help him.
Argella's worry erupted into anger. “Why have you done it?”, she hissed. “You fool! You shouldn't have!” Her voice shivered and broke, as she looked at the ground, blinking her tears away. He raised an eyebrow. “Is that concern I hear there?”, he asked and she growled something, in anger that was not directed at him. He smirked and gave Drent a wink. “Yeah, she's totally concerned for me”, he continued.
Argella's angry mumbling finally turned into words. “You were right...”, she managed to say. “I should have called for the retreat earlier. I should have listened” An expression of pain flashed over Montclair's face, though he managed to nod. “You should have”, he agreed. All of a sudden, there was something else on his face. Regret?
“Sergeant?”, Drent asked, having noticed it. Argella looked up and Drent saw how barely she held her tears back. “My sons...”, Montclair gasped. “They depend on... on the coin I bring... home” Argella bit down onto her lip, heavily, before she took a deep breath. “They will be taken care of”, she said in a tone so forcibly calm that Drent could feel how truly distraught she was. “After all, they are the sons of a knight”
For a moment, there was true surprise on Montclair's usually calm face. Edonia looked up, raising her eyebrows and Drent tilted his head sideways. The sergeant's eyes showed almost childlike wonder for a second. “Can you do this?”, he asked. Her smile was forced, yet sweet. “Good question”, she admitted. “A better one would be, who could stop me? Who would dare?”
She reached for her sword, the tip shaking heavily as she moved it towards Montclair's shoulder. “Nobody deserves it more than you, Sergeant”, she told him. Montclair smiled, though the pain on his face grew stronger. As he opened his mouth, the first sound that came out of it was a gasp of agony. “And... my sons?”, he asked.
“As the sons of a knight, they will be sent to squire for one of my father's bannermen”, Argella proclaimed. “I've never been there, but my brothers used to tell me stories about Tarth. It's the most beautiful part of our kingdom and the safest”
Montclair's smile was tarnished by the pain the dying man was in and Drent had to ask himself, not for the first time, where this pain came from. Without hesitating, Argella put the sword onto his unwounded shoulder. “In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave”, she said. “In the name of...” She paused, looking around for help.
“In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just”, Drent helped her. Argella sighed and gave him a nod. “In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just”, she repeated. “In the name of the Mother, I charge you to protect the young an innocent” Just then, Montclair's soft breathing grew heavier. He started to pant. His eyes opened widely and his hands dug into the dirt. A short scream of pain came out of his throat and his head moved towards the arrow in his shoulder, the one Edonia hadn't removed yet. As his head fell back, Argella took a deep breath. “In the name of the Maiden, I charge you to protect all women”, she finished her part.
Montclair's scream died down, as he looked up, perhaps not at her, but at the nightly sky. His smile returned, for the last time, as the freshly knighted man took his last breath. Argella closed her eyes, as she moved down, giving him a kiss onto the forehead. “May you rest in peace, Ser Jax”, she whispered.
Drent knelt down next to her and after a moment of hesitation, he put a hand onto her back for comfort. She opened her eyes and looked at him. “How could this happen?”, she asked, as she looked around, at Edonia and then Torrence and Garen. “How?”
Edonia did not answer as she remove the arrow from Montclair's shoulder. In silence, she wiped away the fresh blood and Drent's gaze fell onto the wound. He tensed up as he saw the black markings around the flesh, even more as he faintly smelled something that reminded him of rotten eggs. “Poison”, he said.
“Poison”, Argella repeated and the sorrow on her face got replaced by genuine, violent anger. “Someone did this... Someone wanted me dead and this man paid the price for it” Drent had come to the same conclusion. His hand moved upwards to her shoulder and she let him. “Who...?”, he asked, though this time, she cut him off. “It doesn't matter who”, she mumbled. “We will find the one that did this, the one that wanted my death and caused his” The gaze on her face, still shaken, hardened again. “There will be fury. There will be justice”, she said. “And we shall show no mercy”
No Choices for this part
John
“How long do you think we can keep this up?”, Daghan said, bringing his sword down onto the head of his opponent. John grinned, as he pulled his weapon out of the chest of the man he himself had just killed. The man wasn't Ironborn, but to his concern, he wasn't a Second Son either. None of the four they had just killed were. It was as if there was a third party that had joined the battle. Not the most concerning thing, ever since the wildfire had exploded a few minutes ago, but unlike the green fireballs in the distance, this third party was a very close and real threat.
“Perhaps another decade or two”, he said. “We're growing older. Can't fight on the battlefield when we're sixty, can we?” Daghan rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean”, he replied. “These fuckers just keep coming. Maybe it's time to get Janae and Behara and go back to that shoddy tavern”
Just as he said this, the sound of hasty footsteps caused both men to spin around, their swords pointed at the corner behind them. A second later, a young woman stepped around the corner, instantly raising her hands as she saw two blades pointed at her. She was easy on the eyes, very easy actually, with dark brown hair and deep, crystal blue eyes. “Can you not do that?”, she asked in a sharp tone, yet there was something quite clever in her voice as well.
Daghan lowered his sword first. “Hells, Saerya, don't sneak up on us like that” She flashed him a smile. “I trust your judgement, old man. I doubt you'd kill me by accident”, she answered and he sighed. “No, I'd bloody do it on purpose”, he said, before he looked at John, who slowly lowered his sword. “Saerya, this is...”
“John Gutten”, John cut him off, introducing himself. He gave her a charming smile, followed by a gallant bow. “I am surprised Daghan kept someone like you hidden from me all this time” Unimpressed, she delicately rolled her eyes. “I definitely can't see why”, she said in a mocking tone, before she turned back to Daghan. “And you, we have to talk”
Daghan gave her a nod. “We have to”, he agreed. “Like, what the fuck are you doing here, Saerya? You were supposed to stay at the castle” She sighed. “And you were supposed to stay in that crappy tower outside of the city”, she said. “Looks like we've both been naughty. But now you got to listen to me. I heard your talk. The tavern” She shook her head. “That's not the place where you should retreat to. The city guard can't hold that place, not for much longer. It's not worth it”
Before Daghan was able to answer, John spoke. “Listen, lady, I don't know who you are, but Daghan and I have friends there”, he said. To his surprise, she did not argue. Instead, she lowered her head. “Apologies, I did not know”, she simply said. “Though it doesn't change the fact that I'm right here. You can't hide in the tavern”
“Well, then we get Sam and the others before retreating”, Daghan offered. “We can take some route that leads us past the tavern” He and Saerya exchanged a look. “They've got wounded. I can't leave them behind” Saerya sighed, clearly unhappy with this. “Look, I know you don't want to do this, but do I have to remind you what is at stake here?”, she said. “You are aware of what happens when you die here, are you not?”
To his own surprise, it was John who offered a solution. He knew how much they had to hurry. They were running out of time, the entire city was. He wouldn't argue, not with a girl that could silence him just by fluttering her gorgeous eyelashes.
“Perhaps you should retreat”, he offered and Daghan threw him a surprised look. “No really, I mean it. We can speak later, about her, about your role in all of this. But if it saves time now, then so be it. Me, Janae and Jaro, Tem and Hara, we should be enough to get the wounded to safety. Sammy and that scary pale girl can help as well”
This time, Saerya gave him a surprised look, followed by a delicate smile. “My, what a surprise”, she said. “I haven't expected Daghan to befriend a voice of reason” John raised an eyebrow. “That a compliment?”, he asked and she shrugged. “Maybe”, she just replied.
“Are you sure about this?”, Daghan asked and John gave him a nod. “Yeah”, he said. “I won't argue with the lady. You did a lot for us today. Just get yourself to safety” Daghan sighed, before he gave Saerya a nod. “I don't like this”, he confirmed. “But maybe you got a point. I wanted to retreat half an hour ago, but it was John who kept on fighting”
John grinned. “Well, it was them who kept on coming”, he said, pointing at the men he had slain in the past two hours. Daghan chuckled. “Take care of yourself out here, friend”, he said. “And meet me back in the castle once you found the rest of your men”
This time, John glanced at the beautiful woman next to his friend. “Will she be there as well?”, he asked and she raised an eyebrow. “She will lead this next meeting”, she said. “And now come on, you bald buffoon” Daghan shrugged. “Alright then”, he said, as he started to follow her. “Don't take too long, John, or else I'd have to search for you. And she'd hate that”
“I do”, Saerya confirmed, as she already walked around the corner. John's smirk faded as Daghan was gone as well. He turned to one of the other streets and started to approach it. Though that woman didn't get out of his mind that easily, he knew he had to focus now. Temari and Jaro would be the first he'd get. From there on, they had to see...
He didn't have to search for long. It was only a few minutes later that he almost stumbled into Jaro. Despite his wounds, the dark-skinned man had insisted on fighting and John didn't feel regret that he allowed him this chance, especially as he and Temari had split up from the rest to protect another small street that led deeper into the city.
“John...”, Jaro gasped and put a hand onto his slightly wounded leg. “Where's Daghan?” John noticed that he was out of breath, though he sent him a smirk regardless. “Went to the castle, together with the future Lady Gutten”, he replied, much to Jaro's confusion. Of course he did not join in. I'lian might have done it, but Jaro always had as much sense of humour as a rock.
“What... cut the crap!”, Jaro growled. “Tem's in danger. I was hoping to find both of you, because it seems we're going to need more people” They both started to walk down the street and John threw him a curious look. “The people that attack us, I think I've seen a glance of the man that leads them”, Jaro said. “And I recognized him, from what you told me. A tall guy, black armour, the helmet shaped like a bear's head”
John held his breath as he froze. “What?”, he growled. “Bear... he's here?” Just in the same moment he got his confirmation. Temari fell into his field of view, thrown with brute force by someone from beyond the corner. He landed heavily on the ground, though his groans proved that he was only barely wounded. “Fucking pathetic...”, the deep voice of Bear growled.
Jaro's eyes widely opened, as John breathed faster. “That voice...”, the dark-skinned man said. He tried to grab John's wrist, though it was too late. “John, wait!”, he called, just as John turned around the corner.
There he stood. His dark armour was splattered with blood, the visor of his helmet was lowered and yet the dark charcoal eyes behind it gleamed as he saw John. Bear was accompanied by at least a dozen an from somewhere within John, beyond the rage, he realized that this were too many.
“Look whom we have here”, Bear growled, presenting his knife gloves. “The fucking one-eyed cunt. I was hoping to find you here. You still remember that girl of yours? What was her name... Cathy?” John narrowed his eyes. “Cass”, he spat. “And you're going to pay for her” Bear's men laughed at this and their leader joined in. His dark eyes gleamed with excitement as he reached for his sword.
It was then that Jaro turned around the corner. “Wait!”, he said, his eyes widely open with shock. “The voice. This... can't be!” With one hand, he prevented John from attacking the leader of the bandits, though he solely looked at Bear himself. “Akjen?”
For the first time, surprise was seen in Bear's eyes, as he raised his visor. And now, it was up to John to gasp, as he realized just why Bear had looked so familiar back when he first met him. There was something about him that was just like Jaro, the same savage features, though played straight and without Jaro's soft, brown eyes. No, they were just as savage as the rest of his face. “Jaro”, he growled.
“You weren't supposed to be here”, Jaro gasped and Bear clenched his teeth. “Neither were you, brother”, he replied. There was no warmth in his words and yet there was a clear change of behaviour. Jaro sighed. “I'lian is here as well”, he said and looked at John. “John this... is my little brother” John did not reply, he was too speechless for that, so Jaro continued, addressing his brother. “Akjen, whatever quarrel you have, we can sort it out. Between you and me, between you and John. Please, stand down. Come with us”
Bear's face, having grown almost soft for a second, hardened instantly. “Coming with you”, he snarled. “Following your fucking rules again? Maybe I'lian likes to be your pet, but not me!” His men glared at them, anticipating the fight that would surely follow. Jaro however looked understandably unhappy. “Then you have to go through us”, he said. “And we won't stand down”
Bear seemed uncertain for a second. Then, he shook his head. “This won't end in violence. Not this time”, he snarled. “I will never live by your rules again, brother. But today, I won't spill your blood” He looked at his men. “Change of plans!”, he exclaimed. “Let's go find Anturion and get the fuck out of here!”
One of his men raised an eyebrow. “But, Ser, what about the enemy reinforcem...” He did not manage to continue, as Bear's knives cut into his throat, ripping it out without effort. “I said fucking change of plans!”, he barked. This time, his men complied, which satisfied him. He turned back towards Jaro again. “This is the only time I'll spare you. If I see you, any of you, ever again, I will murder you” He turned and left, without a further word, while Jaro was still struggling with keeping John back.
It was only once his brother was gone that Jaro let got. John instantly turned towards him grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him back, mad rage in his eye. “Bear is your brother?”, he barked and Jaro sighed. “His name is Akjen”, he explained. “And he didn't go by Bear the last time I saw him” He glanced at Temari, who had silently witnessed the scene. “Listen, can this wait? I'll answer your questions, but not here”
He had a point in this, as much as John hated to admit it. “Daghan is already at the castle”, he said. “We'll grab the others and follow” He glared at Jaro. “And then we'll have a long talk” Temari gave him a nod. “Yeah, Hara and Janae shouldn't be too far away from here” Jaro gulped, before he shook his head. “Hara and Janae can defend themselves”, he said. “My brother and Sammy have wounded with them. They should be our priority”
Temari glared at him. “Then you can go there”, he said. “Behara is my priority” John instantly shook his head. “We won't split up”, he said decisively, which, of course, put him into the unenviable position of having to force one of them to go with him. Janae was his priority, but as Jaro had said, that woman could look after herself. He sighed, knowing that he was barely able to make such a decision right now, but he knew he had to.
[Go to the tavern first] [Find Janae and Behara first]
Dear god. sniff sniff FOR CRYING OUT LOUD STOP CHOPPING ONIONS! Takes a moment to wipe his eyes
What a part, Jax's death hit me hard and you couldn't have written it any better, the feels are to strong.
As for John's part... Ah hell, I couldn't read it right with these onions. I'll get back to it.
I am so, so sorry
I always feel bad for killing off characters and it's made worse as you just caught up with the parts of the last weeks. This has been planned for a very long time though and there was no way around it, as it will establish some very important things, so I had no choice.
That said, I am glad I managed to give him an emotional sendoff. Jax has been a characters whom I enjoyed writing very, very much, so I wanted to give him exactly the important death scene he deserved. That said, my original plan was probably even more emotional, though I changed it, since I didn't want to go too much into the melodramatic stuff and instead wanted to give a respectful end to a character that has been in the story for almost two years. Getting it right has been one of my main reasons for expanding this part, as I otherwise would have been forced to rush his actual death scene. And given how much I enjoyed him, he definitely deserved a part that centered mostly around him getting an appropriate farewell.
I think I might know who killed Jax, but I could be wrong, (he's also not introduced yet)
[Find Janae and Behara first] maybe John can save them.
I am curious, perhaps you can send me a PM about your suspicion? I likely can't confirm anything about it, but I am curious to hear about your thoughts there.
[Find Janae and Behara first] I really enjoy John and Janae's relationship so I want him to show some concern and look for her. Plus they shouldn't split up and Temari will likely go with or without John.
[Find Janae and Behara first]
Poor sergeant. He was my favourite out fo Argella's men
[Go to the tavern first]
Have to make sure Sam and Sasha survive
[Find Janae and Behara first]
[Go to the tavern first]
Wut?
About the choice:[Find Janae and Behara first] Despite I know that nothing will stop the Essos plotline I believe that John have to show How much he care for Janae (and we already know that the wounded are all dead)
RT:
RIP Ser Jax. Seriously though, Montclair had one of the best death scenes in the story so far. Makes me sad that we lost him
Oh, and Sherryl (I assume it was her) is more dangerous with that bow of hers than I expected. And of course that bitch is using poison.
[Find Janae and Behara] We probably can't save Janae, but perhaps Behara?
Bear and Jaro being brothers was a big surprise, I'm not sure what to think about that
I'm a bad person the only thing i could think of when it was stated that jax was hit in the knee was the skyrim city guard that said I was an adventurer just like until i got an arrow to the knee
[Find Janae and Behara first]
[Find Janae and Behara first]Welp, Hackor is dead. Gotta admit that the reveal seen was kinda lack luster. Probably because it was shown in a POV where they didn't know who he was. Bad news bears for the city, really excited to see the results of this. Jax had a badass death scene, maybe one of the best in the story so far. Glad he got his last wish. This is going to have a lasting effect on Argella. And Dresfel was such a badass, just chillaxing on top of a pile of bodies. Pretty sure that Sherryl was the shooter. She has a secret agenda and she has the bow to do that fancy shooting. Now in hindsight, I kinda wish we brought Saera with Jenna, that way she could've helped out with Hackor. There were better things to do than just telling Daghan to follow her around. I'm pretty sure he would've made his way back there eventually. Also, I think we should go after Behara and Janae. If not to just please Temari, but on the chance to save Behara.
If Mathea would stay at the Castle, would Hackor or Montclair survive?
[Go to the tavern first]
Janae and Behara are toast, let's just leave them.
Ah, Leonard going off the eastern gate to Lucas, who is going to the castle. Damn. Just a little longer...
Plot twist, but it came off as kind of casual. Still neat though.
Now the main event, RIP Montclair. It's obvious to me who killed him and my theories concerning the things were correct, as I anticipated as I read this part. I hope the archer is dead. That'd be great.
Drent! I meant Drent, he was walking to her right
Ah, I am glad to hear this. I have planned (and hinted at) this assassination attempt for quite a while now and it was meant to be a fitting climax to Drent's Chapter 8 storyline, so I am happy to hear I managed to pull it off correctly. That was not an easy scene to write though.
Well, both, the identity of the assassin and their eventual fate has been deliberately left open for now. I can confirm however that this is not meant to be a secret for long and I plan to reveal the identity of the assassin (who, of course, has been hinted at) and their status in Chapter 9.
Oh, she already has an idea. Let's just say, she's not going to do that without help. On top of that, new twists in Chapter 9 might require her attention even more than that. But still, finding the one behind the assassination will remain one of her main goals in the next chapter.
RIP
I felt like I had to give at least confirmation on his fate here. There was no way for him to survive after you chose Aditha, but just showing his corpse in the next chapter wouldn't have felt right, so I kept him in the list of living characters until then.
I certainly liked him as well, so it was painful to kill him off here. At the same time, I think I gave him the epic death scene and spotlight he deserved, given his status and how long he has been a part of the storyline. I am certainly pleasantly surprised by how well-liked he was as a character, that shows I did a lot of things right with him
Indeed. Though I am not fully happy with the execution (the forum's rigid post length limit kind of limited me), I was looking forward to reveal this for a very long time now. Bear is not just a villain, he actually has a rather detailed backstory and there's more to him than just a foul-mouthed, short-tempered murderer.
As I said above, I am glad you liked his death scene. I got emotional while writing and I already decided to tone it down, for the sake of not making it too melodramatic, but it was still hard. And well, the assassin (Sherryl is definitely a possibility), has indeed used poison, as they wanted to make sure that Argella would die. Jax ruined a very important plan with his actions here.
Oh, this will lead to big things, I can promise it
I was not too sure if I should reveal it in such a way, but it was always planned to come completely without any hints at all, but I can confirm that it will be very important later on.
Oh man, I had the same thought when I wrote that sentence. It's a shame he died, as the city guard could have needed men like him after this battle
True, there is the possibility that they are going to miss each other. Then again, Leonard is a lot faster on his way through the city, since he's all by himself, whereas Lucas is a wounded man who has to carry another wounded man, so even if he's no longer at the gate when Leonard arrives (likely), it is possible that he won't get too far before the two will reunite.
I was afraid it would seem that way. Originally, I have even planned more for this, but couldn't think of a logical way to include it in the story. It seemed like Bear's personality not to b dragged into a long talk, but to nope the hell out of there once Jaro would recognize him. But this will lead to important things for both characters and for others.
Well, Edonia at least thinks they are dead and she is good enough of an archer to have a reason to believe this. The archer did not shoot either once Argella stood there in the open, so they are at least heavily wounded and unable to shoot, or even outright dead.
Yeah, I was afraid this would happen. I mostly felt that I had to give an update on him, to make it clear that he died as a result of his wounds, instead of just showing his corpse in the next chapter and keeping him in the living list until then. I feel like he got his scene in Jenna's latest part and the reaction of Arthur and Aditha should be absolutely heartbreaking as well in the next chapter. So, while this scene might hasn't lived up to the expectations, I can promise it won't be the last about him
Ah, I haven't expected so many to react so favourably to his death scene, but I am glad I decided to expand the part to fully write it the way I intended it to be. And it's true, compared to other characters, Jax died relatively happy with his fate. I think Jarow is the only one who had a similarly good feeling while dying. Jax knew that he not only saved his princess, he also made sure that his sons would be taken care of. Argella knew how much that would mean to him, so she put emphasis on what it would mean for them to be the sons of a knight, to give him some peace of mind. Speaking of her, you are right, this is going to have a heavy effect on her. If there is one thing Argella has a problem with, it's others dying for her. Call it a trauma, as her brother did the very same thing. So, her reaction and way of coping with this should be quite interesting, I hope. As for Dresfel, well, he is more or less one of the most ultimate badasses in the story. Though it was less chillaxing and more lying on these bodies because they were slightly softer than the ground and because he was way too wounded to stand, but he at least managed to make it look cool
As I said, Sherryl is a possibility, a pretty good one. She has a bow, she has a motive, she has the right attitude. In-story, Shortwood and Gordar will be suspect as well for the time being, though the true identity of the shooter will be soon revealed.
It's true, Saerya could have done something to help Jenna there. With her help, both, Aditha and Hackor, could have been saved, though without Mathea's presence, Hackor would have died for sure in the very early next chapter. All in all, Saerya's presence could have led to a more happy part for the Nathamer family, as both children could have said their goodbyes to Hackor, but I'm sure the scene I have in mind should be satisfying for you regardless
I'm afraid Montclair would have died regardless, as his wound was heavily poisoned with a truly wicked poison. Not even Mathea would have been able to help him and she wouldn't have even met him, as he would have died before she would have gotten the chance to check up on him. Hackor however could have survived if she would have stayed at the castle and if Jenna would have saved him over Aditha (which would have had its own shair of bad consequences). He would have been heavily wounded though, to the point where he would have been unable to actively do his duty anymore, as not even Mathea would have managed to allow him a full recovery.
[Find Janae and Behara first]
Ah death..... So much of you this chapter. Mostly people who would have been the backround if this were live action but still.
Yea it's too bad but hey game of thrones nobody is save.
Wow... what a part! This was very entertaining to read throughout. RIP Jax Montclair, I've always liked him and it sucks to see him go out this way. However, you gave him a great sendoff that was very well written. The extra day wait was definitely worth it.
Jaro and Bear are brothers? That is something I did not expect. Things are gonna get very interesting. Just a great part overall.
[Find Janae and Behara first]
I gotta admit, I don't think it's entirely worth it to go find them. I feel like Janae deserves John's effort to find her but I just feel like it might be too late, and we're just wasting our time. However, Temari will most likely go either way and I don't want to split up. So I'm gonna choose this.