Marak
Well... how should he put that? Noelle... she wasn't exactly dangerous, right? That stuff with the fire... a well-placed fisticuff … morewas still more dangerous than that. She wasn't exactly dangerous, simply a little bit... “She's crazy”, Marak said. “Completely deranged. Left her common sense in Braavos, or Asshai or wherever the fuck she comes from”
Ser Darren narrowed his eyes and Marak noticed that he had forgotten an important detail. “But she's not dangerous!”, he was quick to add. “Seriously, just don't look in her fire and there's nothing to worry about” The knight still did not look convinced. “Her... fire...”, he muttered and Marak gave him a confident nod. “Absolutely! Don't look in her fire too long and there's nothing she can do”, he said.
“And she's the crazy one”, Ser Darren replied. Marak gave him a bright smile. “Exactly. She's the crazy one, while I'm the brains in our team”, he answered. Marak knew, he wasn't exa… [view original content]
Marak
Well... how should he put that? Noelle... she wasn't exactly dangerous, right? That stuff with the fire... a well-placed fisticuff … morewas still more dangerous than that. She wasn't exactly dangerous, simply a little bit... “She's crazy”, Marak said. “Completely deranged. Left her common sense in Braavos, or Asshai or wherever the fuck she comes from”
Ser Darren narrowed his eyes and Marak noticed that he had forgotten an important detail. “But she's not dangerous!”, he was quick to add. “Seriously, just don't look in her fire and there's nothing to worry about” The knight still did not look convinced. “Her... fire...”, he muttered and Marak gave him a confident nod. “Absolutely! Don't look in her fire too long and there's nothing she can do”, he said.
“And she's the crazy one”, Ser Darren replied. Marak gave him a bright smile. “Exactly. She's the crazy one, while I'm the brains in our team”, he answered. Marak knew, he wasn't exa… [view original content]
[Make an excuse and meet up with the Lord Captain] Harmund is not quite the blood thirsty fool as his brother. We should try to limit the time spent with him to a minim. And it would be a bad idea to be on the Lord Captain's bad side. Perhaps we could find some allies up there. Maybe the Lord Captain himself.
Marak
Well... how should he put that? Noelle... she wasn't exactly dangerous, right? That stuff with the fire... a well-placed fisticuff … morewas still more dangerous than that. She wasn't exactly dangerous, simply a little bit... “She's crazy”, Marak said. “Completely deranged. Left her common sense in Braavos, or Asshai or wherever the fuck she comes from”
Ser Darren narrowed his eyes and Marak noticed that he had forgotten an important detail. “But she's not dangerous!”, he was quick to add. “Seriously, just don't look in her fire and there's nothing to worry about” The knight still did not look convinced. “Her... fire...”, he muttered and Marak gave him a confident nod. “Absolutely! Don't look in her fire too long and there's nothing she can do”, he said.
“And she's the crazy one”, Ser Darren replied. Marak gave him a bright smile. “Exactly. She's the crazy one, while I'm the brains in our team”, he answered. Marak knew, he wasn't exa… [view original content]
Marak
Well... how should he put that? Noelle... she wasn't exactly dangerous, right? That stuff with the fire... a well-placed fisticuff … morewas still more dangerous than that. She wasn't exactly dangerous, simply a little bit... “She's crazy”, Marak said. “Completely deranged. Left her common sense in Braavos, or Asshai or wherever the fuck she comes from”
Ser Darren narrowed his eyes and Marak noticed that he had forgotten an important detail. “But she's not dangerous!”, he was quick to add. “Seriously, just don't look in her fire and there's nothing to worry about” The knight still did not look convinced. “Her... fire...”, he muttered and Marak gave him a confident nod. “Absolutely! Don't look in her fire too long and there's nothing she can do”, he said.
“And she's the crazy one”, Ser Darren replied. Marak gave him a bright smile. “Exactly. She's the crazy one, while I'm the brains in our team”, he answered. Marak knew, he wasn't exa… [view original content]
I know which fight I am looking forward for the most
But I am quite interested in that as well. What's with you? Which fight do you really want to see?
Marak
Well... how should he put that? Noelle... she wasn't exactly dangerous, right? That stuff with the fire... a well-placed fisticuff … morewas still more dangerous than that. She wasn't exactly dangerous, simply a little bit... “She's crazy”, Marak said. “Completely deranged. Left her common sense in Braavos, or Asshai or wherever the fuck she comes from”
Ser Darren narrowed his eyes and Marak noticed that he had forgotten an important detail. “But she's not dangerous!”, he was quick to add. “Seriously, just don't look in her fire and there's nothing to worry about” The knight still did not look convinced. “Her... fire...”, he muttered and Marak gave him a confident nod. “Absolutely! Don't look in her fire too long and there's nothing she can do”, he said.
“And she's the crazy one”, Ser Darren replied. Marak gave him a bright smile. “Exactly. She's the crazy one, while I'm the brains in our team”, he answered. Marak knew, he wasn't exa… [view original content]
I know which fight I am looking forward for the most
But I am quite interested in that as well. What's with you? Which fight do you really want to see?
I would say Samuel and Jaron can make an intense fight
Not picking my character though, I would really love to see Marak mop the floor with Harris since he is heading there and when shit hits the fan, Harris is going to go down!
I know which fight I am looking forward for the most
But I am quite interested in that as well. What's with you? Which fight do you really want to see?
Marak
Well... how should he put that? Noelle... she wasn't exactly dangerous, right? That stuff with the fire... a well-placed fisticuff … morewas still more dangerous than that. She wasn't exactly dangerous, simply a little bit... “She's crazy”, Marak said. “Completely deranged. Left her common sense in Braavos, or Asshai or wherever the fuck she comes from”
Ser Darren narrowed his eyes and Marak noticed that he had forgotten an important detail. “But she's not dangerous!”, he was quick to add. “Seriously, just don't look in her fire and there's nothing to worry about” The knight still did not look convinced. “Her... fire...”, he muttered and Marak gave him a confident nod. “Absolutely! Don't look in her fire too long and there's nothing she can do”, he said.
“And she's the crazy one”, Ser Darren replied. Marak gave him a bright smile. “Exactly. She's the crazy one, while I'm the brains in our team”, he answered. Marak knew, he wasn't exa… [view original content]
Marak
Well... how should he put that? Noelle... she wasn't exactly dangerous, right? That stuff with the fire... a well-placed fisticuff … morewas still more dangerous than that. She wasn't exactly dangerous, simply a little bit... “She's crazy”, Marak said. “Completely deranged. Left her common sense in Braavos, or Asshai or wherever the fuck she comes from”
Ser Darren narrowed his eyes and Marak noticed that he had forgotten an important detail. “But she's not dangerous!”, he was quick to add. “Seriously, just don't look in her fire and there's nothing to worry about” The knight still did not look convinced. “Her... fire...”, he muttered and Marak gave him a confident nod. “Absolutely! Don't look in her fire too long and there's nothing she can do”, he said.
“And she's the crazy one”, Ser Darren replied. Marak gave him a bright smile. “Exactly. She's the crazy one, while I'm the brains in our team”, he answered. Marak knew, he wasn't exa… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Lucas and Leonard will storm into Archmaester Quent's chambers
The new part is about halfway written. I am 50% s… moreure that I'm going to finish it today. As always, I'll try my best, especially since I really want to finish the chapter this month.
Today, I don't have a shout-out, but again something you're all going to like. You recall the amazing drawings created by @foxbrg2, right? If not, there is a link to where you can see them literally underneath the character list. Check them out, they are awesome! So far I was certain that fox is very busy with university stuff and therefore sadly unable to continue the drawings for a while. He contacted me today, explaining that he is indeed extremely busy right now and has been busy for the past weeks, but he would also like to continue drawing these sometime in the future, when he has the time again. For now, he has sent me four character drawings, who are also in the… [view original content]
Marak
Well... how should he put that? Noelle... she wasn't exactly dangerous, right? That stuff with the fire... a well-placed fisticuff … morewas still more dangerous than that. She wasn't exactly dangerous, simply a little bit... “She's crazy”, Marak said. “Completely deranged. Left her common sense in Braavos, or Asshai or wherever the fuck she comes from”
Ser Darren narrowed his eyes and Marak noticed that he had forgotten an important detail. “But she's not dangerous!”, he was quick to add. “Seriously, just don't look in her fire and there's nothing to worry about” The knight still did not look convinced. “Her... fire...”, he muttered and Marak gave him a confident nod. “Absolutely! Don't look in her fire too long and there's nothing she can do”, he said.
“And she's the crazy one”, Ser Darren replied. Marak gave him a bright smile. “Exactly. She's the crazy one, while I'm the brains in our team”, he answered. Marak knew, he wasn't exa… [view original content]
I don't make these drawings, they are created by @foxbrg2, who is currently very busy with university. While he likes to continue drawing, it will take some time, probably until May, possibly longer, until he has the time again.
As soon as he has the time, he contacts me and I send him 5 character descriptions which he uses to draw the characters. I pick these without a clear pattern, though unique looking characters have probably a good chance to get drawn earlier. And Ser Aldrik certainly has a unique look, so there is a very good possibility that he will be in rather sooner than later
Torvin will join Harmund and Harlan Hoare in their magical quest to bring joy and pleasure to the Riverlands
It will be fun. The Hoare definition of fun. Thinking about it, it probably won't be very funny for a lot of people involved.
Thanks to all for voting! The next part is halfway written and I expect it to be up later today or early tomorrow. It will be the penultimate part of Chapter 3.
For today's shout-out I have new story that hasn't actually started yet. However, it will start soon and sounds very interesting, so I thought you might be interested in it.
This story is named Heroes: The Captives and is written by @MasterStone. The title already tells you everything you need to know basically. Do you know the TV show 'Heroes'? If yes, I'm sure you're going to love this story. If no, I'm sure you're going to love this story either way. Basically, it is about people with superhuman abilities, superheroes if you want to call them that way. And I'm sure you all love superheroes, I mean who doesn't? The best thing: You can create characters for this story, superhero characters, and you can also read and vote once the story starts, and all you need to do for that is to click on this link!
The Field of Fire, of course. It's most exciting for me because I submitted Reynes and they obviously are going to fight for king Loren which might not end well...
The Voting is closed!
Torvin will join Harmund and Harlan Hoare in their magical quest to bring joy and pleasure to the Riverlands
It … morewill be fun. The Hoare definition of fun. Thinking about it, it probably won't be very funny for a lot of people involved.
Thanks to all for voting! The next part is halfway written and I expect it to be up later today or early tomorrow. It will be the penultimate part of Chapter 3.
For today's shout-out I have new story that hasn't actually started yet. However, it will start soon and sounds very interesting, so I thought you might be interested in it.
This story is named Heroes: The Captives and is written by @MasterStone. The title already tells you everything you need to know basically. Do you know the TV show 'Heroes'? If yes, I'm sure you're going to love this story. If no, I'm sure you're going to love this story either way. Basically, it is about people with superhuman abilities, superh… [view original content]
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the pleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He would not look away! Janae said nothing. Her bow made no sound as the arrow moved through the air, too fast for Gutten to do anything, to fast for Bear to cut Cass' throat. And it did not hit him in the head.
“No!”, John exclaimed and for a moment everything seemed to slow down as he could only look on in horror. Janae's arrow went deep into Bear's shoulder, causing the man to let out a roar, half out of surprise, half out of anger. And he closed his hand, the hand he held around Cass neck, maybe out of reflex, maybe on purpose. Five tiny knives piercing the skin, clawing deep into her throat. Her eyes widened and a gust of blood left her mouth as she tried to scream. And John screamed, a desperate scream and burning with rage. He would kill this monster!
For one moment, Bear held Cass in his hand, watching her kicking him helplessly, gasping for air, struggling to stay alive as the blood was flowing out of her destroyed throat. Then he threw her away, like a piece of trash and right in front of John. Gutten went on his knees as Cass landed in front of him, barely seeing the expression of pain and utter terror on her face, his vision blurring from the tears in his eye. “Cass...”, he muttered. “No...” She looked at him, the expression on her face hardening, almost accusing and she was piercing him with her eyes. John needed a moment to realize that she was dead. No... no, that could not be... that could not be his fault... he had ordered the shot... but... no, no, no! This could not be...
And before he realized it, he was weeping and sobbing, desperately looking at Cass' dead body. He heard a cry of rage as Temari leapt forwards, intending to kill Bear. The bandit simply let out a roaring laugh, parrying a vicious strike with the plated armour on his lower arm. In return, he punched Temari in the side, the same side that had been targeted by the bandits earlier. Temari's cry of rage turned into a cry of pain, as Bear punched him in the side again, before punching him in the face. Gutten looked down at Cass' body and then up at Bear, who was just kicking Temari in the kneecap, sending the mercenary down on the ground at last, stomping on his head. No... this man would not get away with it! He would kill him, here, now! He would kill him! For Cass...
Despite the pain in his face, in his chest and in his ribs, he jumped up in a single movement, charging at Bear. The bandit didn't even bother to draw his sword, he was simply smiling his cruel smile. Gutten raised his sword, swinging it in a desperate attempt to decapitate him. Deep down he knew, it wasn't a very good strike. He was slow, he was clumsy, the could hardly breathe and he was too angry to care. He would kill him, he would hack him to pieces, he would kill every single one o his men, they were all going to die, but this man would be the first!
Bear simply dodged his amateurish strike, quickly punching against his broken ribs. A sudden, terrible pain flashed through his body and Gutten almost went to his knees, the sword falling out of his feeble hands. He would have fallen too, if it weren't for Bear, who grabbed him, the knives in his gloves piercing his shoulders. Gutten screamed in pain, as Bear pulled him up, his feet leaving the ground, the knives digging deeper into his shoulder, scratching the bones, leaving Gutten in more physical agony than he had ever felt before.
“You brought this onto yourself, John Gutten”, Bear growled. “The only thing you needed to do was telling your bitch to drop her bow” His mouth formed a smirk as he pulled Gutten closer and for the first time John saw the facial features underneath the helmet. Bear was young, maybe in his mid-twenties. His skin was dark, like the skin from some people from Essos. His face was haunting, with a barbaric look on it and his brutal smirk sent shivers down Gutten's spine. “But you just couldn't let me go, right? You had to be the hero for once. You couldn't let me roam free, you just had to try it”, Bear roared. “Or perhaps you didn't trust me. Perhaps you thought that this would be her only chance... well, John, I told you the truth. I told you I would kill your little whore and I did it. I am a man of my word”
With these words, he started to move his right hand, pulled the knives out of Gutten's bruised flesh and put the index finger on his shoulder. “But don't you worry, John. You won't miss her long” Bear looked up, over his shoulder. “You fucking bitch, don't you dare to shoot. I have your precious John as a shield. You want to kill him? Go on, shoot!”, he roared. Gutten closed his eyes. He knew what Janae was thinking. It was her arrow that caused Bear to kill Cass. It wasn't her fault, but he knew she was devastated regardless. And she wouldn't shoot Bear again, not while he used Gutten as a shield.
He felt the knife on Bear's index finger digging deep into his left shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. The knife moved upwards, slowly, very slowly, causing a nagging pain, before leaving his flesh again. Gutten felt the knife pointing at his jugular. “You want any last words, John? Or do you want to die as a little bitch, crying in pain?”, Bear growled. John closed his eyes. This was it. Maybe this was the price for all he did. For all the lives he had taken. Maybe this was some god's justice. But if this was justice, there would also be justice for Bear, one day.
“My men will kill you for that”, John said. These weren't very good words, but they were the only ones he could think of right now. Vengeance. Janae would take vengeance. Temari would take vengeance. Samantha would take... Bear's laughter roared through his head. “Men? What men? I count an unconscious fuck and a whore that tries to be a man. You think they cou...”
The laughter turned into a surprised grunt and Gutten opened his eye again as he felt the grip around his shoulder gone, as he slowly sunk to the ground, seeing his opponent turning around. Behind Bear's hulking body, a much smaller figure was visible. Samantha. She had embedded one of her hatchets deep in Bear's ribs and held the remaining hatchet with both hands. “He doesn't need any man”, she hissed delivering a fierce strike against the surprised Bear's chest. “Not as long as he has me!”
A second strike hit him at the shoulder managing to make him stagger. “And trust me...”, Samantha growled, striking him again. This time, Bear parried the hatchet's strike with the knives in his glove, albeit John saw him staggering another step back. She delivered a strike against his thigh, causing Bear to go on his knees. Even now he was taller than Samantha and taller than most men Gutten knew. Of course, her hatchet wasn't enough to break his armour, but it was enough to cause him pain, maybe even to break his bones. “I am...”, she hissed
A strike hit Bear's arm as he tried to defend himself. This time she even managed to pierce the weak armor at his lower arm, giving him a nasty cut, maybe even breaking his hand. “...good enough...”, she gasped out.
The next strike hit the shoulder at the same arm, causing Bear to grunt in disoriented pain. Samantha looked Bear straight in the eyes and even though Gutten could not see the face of the bandit, he was sure that the smirk was gone “...to kill you!”, she screamed, taking another strike, this time against his face.
As she hit him, Gutten heard a satisfying crunch, heard Bear letting out a scream of pure agony, before falling backwards, Samantha jumping on top of him. Gutten knew, her hatchet wasn't enough to fully break his helmet and to crack his skull, but as she pulled it back to swing again, he saw blood on the weapon, the blood of a monster.
The monster wasn't defeated though. Bear moved both of his hands forwards, hitting her in the abdomen, causing her to drop her weapon in shocked pain. Bear jumped up now, punching her again in the stomach, grabbing her and delivering a fierce punch to her face, before throwing her on the meadow in front of the inn.
“YOU FUCKING WHORE!”, Bear screamed out of the top of his lungs, his speech sounding slightly inarticulate. “I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! YOU'RE DEAD!” As he looked around for one moment, John saw the damage done by Samantha's hatchet. His helmet prevented her from hacking off his nose, but there was a large cut over his chin and lips, blood was flowing out and the bloodlust in his eyes would have been enough to make a dragon shiver.
John saw something flying through the air above him, as he desperately tried to get up again, to stay conscious. And Bear paused for a moment, his scream turning into a grunt. He looked down, seeing the arrow that pierced his upper leg, and turned around to notice Janae who walked closer, pulling out the last arrow in her quiver. In that moment, John realized that his enemy was far more intelligent than he looked like. He did not try to kill Samantha, he did not try to charge Janae. He ran, as fast as he could with his wounded leg, he limped towards the forest. “This is not over, John!”, he screamed as Janae put her bow down, eyeing him furiously. “I will come back, I will burn you alive and I will rape your fucking corpses!” And then he was gone, vanished in the forest, leaving behind only the dead and the doomed.
Janae knelt next to John, looking at him with a worried look on her face. “John!”, she shouted. “Fuck, stay with me John” Gutten looked past her into the taproom, looking at Cass' frail body. Blood was still flowing out of her destroyed throat and her last look at him, this accusing look, would haunt him forever.
“Samantha”, he mumbled, looking to the meadow in front of the tavern. She was still conscious, trying to get back on her knees. Her cheek was cut up from the brutal hit and swollen, but her blue eyes looked at John with pride and she gave him a bright smile. “Told you I would not fail you”, she whispered. “I brought Aylard and his family to safety, but I saw this... beast coming after you and I couldn't let you die, I had to do something” With these words, she fell forwards again, lying down in the meadow, shivering in pain.
Despite his agony, despite his sorrow, depsite the hollow feeling inside of him, John gave her a kind smile. “Good girl...”, he mumbled, before almost drifting away into unconsciousness. Janae put a hand on his shoulder, trying to shake him, but accidentally putting pressure on his wounded flesh. The sudden agony was enough to make Gutten jump forwards, almost punching her in a reflex, but it also caused the dizzy feeling in his head to go away. But not the pain. His face wasn't the worst, his shoulder neither. It was the feeling of loss, the knowledge that it had been his fault again. For once, he should have yielded. But Bear had been right. He couldn't just listen. He had to try it. That was him, a stubborn fool, filled with regret, doomed to loose everything, over and over.
He saw movement, people coming out of hiding. Aylard, pale from loosing blood. Behara, holding a short sword, her stare worried beyond measure. She ran up to him, kneeling down, tears flowing down her face. “Tem... where's Temari?”, she asked. Janae put a hand on her shoulder. “He lives”, she simply said. “He fought bravely, Behara”
Before she could continue, Behara stormed inside, kneeling down next to her brother. Gutten heard her desperate sobs as she was weeping over Temari. Slightly limping, Aylard moved next to John, reaching down in an attempt to help him up, his face similarly worried. “Seven Hells...”, he mumbled as he looked at him, his facial expression shocked. Gutten stayed silent. He knew the look in Aylard's eyes and he knew how he must look. And he knew it would hurt a lot more in a few hours.
“Cass...”, Aylard started but stopped as Gutten shook his head. The innkeeper's eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief, looking into the innroom. “No...”, he mumbled. “No, no!” With these words he let go of John and ran into the innroom, where his loud screams of sorrow could be heard.
With Janae's help, John managed to stand up, ignoring his shaky feet, walking into the innroom. Temari was barely conscious, but managed to look at Gutten, his eye widened as he saw his face. Fuck, he really needed a mirror...
Aylard was holding Cass body, desperate tears flowing down his face and he looked at John, his expression a mixture of sorrow and anger. “You should have kept her safe”, he hissed, not screaming for once. The calm tone of his voice was worse than his screams, it was pure desperation. “You should have kept her safe, she trusted you, she loved you” Every word felt worse than Bear's knives.
He wanted to answer something, wanted to defend himself, wanted to tell Aylard that he had tried his best, that Bear had killed her that there was nothing to do. He wanted to tell Aylard was right, that there was only one to blame, the one who ordered the shot, the kinslayer, a man who tried to run from his past, a man who ran to the edge of the world and back, a godless man, never escaping his demons. But he stayed silent. There was nothing to say about her. She was gone, just like that.
Janae answered in his stead, her voice sounding softer than usual. John expected her to lash out at the inkeeper, but she sounded almost kind. “I am sorry, Aylard”, she said and the innkeeper shook his head. “Sorry...”, he mumbled. “Sorry! She was family! What do you know about family?”
For one moment, John saw the hurt look on Janae's face. “Nothing... But I know John is not to blame”, she answered. Aylard gently lay the dead body in his arms down on the ground, looking at her softly, before his gaze hardened. “She was naive, she thought John would care for her!”, he growled and looked at John. “You gave her false hope. You made her believe that anything you said was genuine!” And every word hurt more his wounds, because John knew Aylard had a point. He cared for Cass, he really did. But there was another voice in his head. It wouldn't have worked and he had known that from the very beginning. He only wanted someone to warm his bed at night, like always. Sure, at first her intentions had been similar. But he saw how she changed the way she viewed him. He saw it and did nothing. He should have let her down gently, she wouldn't have stayed back with him, she would have been alive!
“Aylard...”, Janae said. “John fought like a...” She stopped for a moment. “Like a... lion... for her. He cared for her, Aylard, trust me. If you have to blame someone, blame me. I can deal with it. But don't blame John. He lost her, just as you did, Aylard” The innkeeper shook his head and tears where flowing down his face. “He lost a pretty girl he knew for two weeks. I've lost a brilliant young woman, with a wonderful heart, the big sister Lunett never had” As he mentioned his daughter, Aylard's face got even darker and Gutten felt a sting of regret. He looked up and saw that Samantha got up again, holding her stomach area, slowly walking towards him. Her eyes met his and despite the pain she obviously was in, she managed to look proud.
“How are you feeling, Sammy?”, he asked. Samantha's attempted to shrug, but stopped in the middle of the movement, letting out a painful moan. “Could be better”, she admitted. “I just puked some blood in that meadow. Hope nobody minds. Thought I should let you know” She sat down on a chair, still holding her stomach. “Seven Hells, that punch felt like a horsekick” , she moaned. “At least I'm still prettier than you” A slight smile flashed across her face, but immediately vanished as she looked down on Cass.
Gutten shook his head as she opened her mouth. He knew what she wanted to say and he didn't want to hear it. She was sorry. Of course she was, they all were, they always were. But there was no need to be sorry for him. It was his fault. And he was the only one who had to live with that. He looked down at Cass. Another girl dead because of him...
“John”, Samantha said softly. “I want to go after Lunett. I know you've made your point, but now I make mine. Your girl, Cass, she wanted it, she wanted it even more than I did. I know you don't like it, but I saved your life for fuck's sake! I think you owe me that one and I think you owe it to Cass. Don't make me beg for this, John”
Janae gave her a cold look. “You're considering this, John? Out of loyalty for your girl? Come on, that's... that's misplaced loyalty. Think about how much worse today would have been without Sammy”, she warned him and John knew she was right. Samantha was right as well. It would be the least he could do for Cass. She wanted it. It wasn't exactly her last will, but it was close enough. “Would you judge me?”, he asked, looking at Janae. She shook her head and her eyes got a sad look in them. “I would never judge you, John”, she answered. “I can only advice you. Sending her away will be a mistake. Sure, she can keep Lunett safe, but who is Lunett to you? I'm sure Lucas and that other knight can manage without her. Besides, she's wounded. Can you even ride, Sammy?”
Samantha gave her an almost furious glare. “Trust me, even with a broken spine I would be a better rider than all of you combined could ever be!”, she hissed. As if she wanted to prove, she tried to jump up, only to hold her stomach in pain. “It will probably be a slow ride. But I can do it. I'll bring her back. Please...”, she said. “John, now is not the time for pragmatism. Aylard has lost enough. You have lost enough. I have lost enough. And I have enough of that. You kept me here and I was able to help, yes. But in the same time, who knows what happened to Lunett? Who knows what happened to Lucas and Leonard in the meantime. I see the look in your face. You blame yourself for her death and trust me, it won't get any easier if you keep being a stone-cold bastard about this”
This time, Gutten looked her straight in the eyes. “I don't need life advice from you, girl”, he growled, but he knew that she was right. Cass' death was his fault, his responsibility. And if anything happened to Lunett or to Lucas it would be his fault too. Could he live with that? He was a beast, a godless kinslayer, a truly bad man, he knew he needed her here, she had proven it again today, and he knew Janae was right. And then there was the look in Samantha's eyes. The look that told him that she wouldn't accept a 'No' again. But would she go as far to abandon him for this cause? “Don't make me beg, John”, she said again.
[Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown][Listen to Janae's advice and keep Samantha with you]
John
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the p… moreleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He wo… [view original content]
Sorry for that part taking a bit longer than expected. It was basically finished very early today, but I was too tired to reread it and decided to post it today. I also had to alter the ending after rereading it. And I'm not entirely happy with the choice, seeing how it's very similar to the first John choice in this chapter. However, the context is a little bit different this time, so I hope you don't mind. Choose carefully >:D
John
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the p… moreleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He wo… [view original content]
John
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the p… moreleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He wo… [view original content]
The next part will most likely feature a short Oldtown PoV and the next chapter will stay true to it's name and will give the Oldtown PoV's a lot of needed focus, similarly to the long Gutten storyline in this chapter, since the planned Oldtown plot needs to advance tremendously in Act 2.
John
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the p… moreleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He wo… [view original content]
**[Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown] ** RIP Cass. I think we should send Sammy since she will not stop reminding John in Raylansfair. Also I think she won't find Lucas to quick and more likely Terroma or Jaron, who in this case really need some help. Plus I really want to see some Terroma Sammy stuff, like a Tough and Uncle Forelord who's name slips me right now from avatar
John
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the p… moreleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He wo… [view original content]
John
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the p… moreleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He wo… [view original content]
John
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the p… moreleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He wo… [view original content]
Kersea
Wolfius looked at her with his unsettling smile getting wider and wider. He already seemed to know her answer. Kersea suppressed a… more sigh and forced herself to look him in the eyes. The look in them could be her own one day...
“Fine. I'll work with you”, she answered and hated herself for it almost as much as she hated him or Clayton. Wolfius gave her an approving nod. “Good choice”, he hissed and looked at Clayton. “I can do with her whatever I like?”, he asked. Clayton gave him a nod and Kersea noticed slight disgust in his face. This might be his only redeeming feature. Clayton was a professional and he hated people who killed for pleasure, especially for pleasures as sick as Wolfius'. “But she needs to die”, he reminded him again.
Wolfius let out a growl. “Sure, Clayton. Don't talk to me like I'm stupid”, he hissed, while looking at Kersea with a cold glare. She felt Clayton's hand on her shoulder and shivered. “You are nerv… [view original content]
[Listen to Janae's advice and keep Samantha with you]
If I recall last time this decision happened, we saved someone and doomed another. And I believe the urban duo was saved, that is L & L, Lucas and Leonard, the people.
And I believe Samantha was quite upset with ol' Leonard, and I cannot allow her to kill the man.
John
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the p… moreleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He wo… [view original content]
[Listen to Janae's advice and keep Samantha with you]
If I recall last time this decision happened, we saved someone and doomed another. … moreAnd I believe the urban duo was saved, that is L & L, Lucas and Leonard, the people.
And I believe Samantha was quite upset with ol' Leonard, and I cannot allow her to kill the man.
Valar Morghulis Cass.
Another interesting theory and you give a good reason. And I would love to say more about this theory, but I will wait until the saving and dooming scenes happened. But you will recognize these scenes when you see them.
Maybe I should mention that the outcome of this new choice will make things a lot easier for one character and a lot harder for another character, though this time you won't necessarily save or doom a character.
Comments
[Go with Harmund and Harlan into the Riverlands]
[Go with Harmund and Harlan into the Riverlands]
[Make and excuse and meet up with the Lord Captain]
[Make an excuse and meet up with the Lord Captain] Harmund is not quite the blood thirsty fool as his brother. We should try to limit the time spent with him to a minim. And it would be a bad idea to be on the Lord Captain's bad side. Perhaps we could find some allies up there. Maybe the Lord Captain himself.
[Go with Harmund and Harlan into the Riverlands]
I wanted to ask a question to all of you
Which fight are you most looking forward to see so far in the story?
I know which fight I am looking forward for the most
But I am quite interested in that as well. What's with you? Which fight do you really want to see?
Harris vs the King's wrath.
Ilhan
[Make up an excuse and meet up with The Lord Captain]
I know this isn't addressed to me, but the obvious fight between Leonard and his 'acquaintances'.
I imagine it going down like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CfNarCjSHM
Or when Lucas vs. Leonard have a bro fight reminisce of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Dl9eC-YKA
I would say Samuel and Jaron can make an intense fight
Not picking my character though, I would really love to see Marak mop the floor with Harris since he is heading there and when shit hits the fan, Harris is going to go down!
( make a excuse and meet up with the Lord Captain)
[Make an excuse and meet up with the Lord Captain]
I completely missed these! Awesome as always!
[Make an excuse and meet up with the Lord Captain]
Hey @LiquidChicagoTed any chance you'll draw Ser Aldrik since he's now the part of team Maya?
I don't make these drawings, they are created by @foxbrg2, who is currently very busy with university. While he likes to continue drawing, it will take some time, probably until May, possibly longer, until he has the time again.
As soon as he has the time, he contacts me and I send him 5 character descriptions which he uses to draw the characters. I pick these without a clear pattern, though unique looking characters have probably a good chance to get drawn earlier. And Ser Aldrik certainly has a unique look, so there is a very good possibility that he will be in rather sooner than later
The Voting is closed!
Torvin will join Harmund and Harlan Hoare in their magical quest to bring joy and pleasure to the Riverlands
It will be fun. The Hoare definition of fun. Thinking about it, it probably won't be very funny for a lot of people involved.
Thanks to all for voting! The next part is halfway written and I expect it to be up later today or early tomorrow. It will be the penultimate part of Chapter 3.
For today's shout-out I have new story that hasn't actually started yet. However, it will start soon and sounds very interesting, so I thought you might be interested in it.
This story is named Heroes: The Captives and is written by @MasterStone. The title already tells you everything you need to know basically. Do you know the TV show 'Heroes'? If yes, I'm sure you're going to love this story. If no, I'm sure you're going to love this story either way. Basically, it is about people with superhuman abilities, superheroes if you want to call them that way. And I'm sure you all love superheroes, I mean who doesn't? The best thing: You can create characters for this story, superhero characters, and you can also read and vote once the story starts, and all you need to do for that is to click on this link!
The Field of Fire, of course. It's most exciting for me because I submitted Reynes and they obviously are going to fight for king Loren which might not end well...
I find how you phrased the words 'going on a magical adventure' the best way you can describe the Hoares in a nice way.
The Emperor is pleased.
This story is so damn interesting I can't even
John
He didn't look at Janae. In this moment, he couldn't look at her. He only looked at Cass, saw the tears flowing down her face, the pleading look in her eyes. He hardly even noticed Bear behind her, holding her in his claws, ready to tear her throat out. But he noticed the warm tears running out of his eye, burning in the deep wounds on his face. John Gutten wasn't a religious man. The Old Way of his people had little meaning for a mercenary. He had travelled from Pyke to Asshai and everywhere he walked, people prayed to a different god or some sort of demon. He knew several hundred gods and demons, gods of war, demons of death, gods of love, demons of vengeance. Every religion claimed to have the true god. Gutten never cared for finding the true god, but right now he prayed to all of them.
“Yes...”, he said and his voice sounded bleak. “Yes, I do remember the Qohorik” For a moment he closed his eye, only to open it again. No! He would not look away! Janae said nothing. Her bow made no sound as the arrow moved through the air, too fast for Gutten to do anything, to fast for Bear to cut Cass' throat. And it did not hit him in the head.
“No!”, John exclaimed and for a moment everything seemed to slow down as he could only look on in horror. Janae's arrow went deep into Bear's shoulder, causing the man to let out a roar, half out of surprise, half out of anger. And he closed his hand, the hand he held around Cass neck, maybe out of reflex, maybe on purpose. Five tiny knives piercing the skin, clawing deep into her throat. Her eyes widened and a gust of blood left her mouth as she tried to scream. And John screamed, a desperate scream and burning with rage. He would kill this monster!
For one moment, Bear held Cass in his hand, watching her kicking him helplessly, gasping for air, struggling to stay alive as the blood was flowing out of her destroyed throat. Then he threw her away, like a piece of trash and right in front of John. Gutten went on his knees as Cass landed in front of him, barely seeing the expression of pain and utter terror on her face, his vision blurring from the tears in his eye. “Cass...”, he muttered. “No...” She looked at him, the expression on her face hardening, almost accusing and she was piercing him with her eyes. John needed a moment to realize that she was dead. No... no, that could not be... that could not be his fault... he had ordered the shot... but... no, no, no! This could not be...
And before he realized it, he was weeping and sobbing, desperately looking at Cass' dead body. He heard a cry of rage as Temari leapt forwards, intending to kill Bear. The bandit simply let out a roaring laugh, parrying a vicious strike with the plated armour on his lower arm. In return, he punched Temari in the side, the same side that had been targeted by the bandits earlier. Temari's cry of rage turned into a cry of pain, as Bear punched him in the side again, before punching him in the face. Gutten looked down at Cass' body and then up at Bear, who was just kicking Temari in the kneecap, sending the mercenary down on the ground at last, stomping on his head. No... this man would not get away with it! He would kill him, here, now! He would kill him! For Cass...
Despite the pain in his face, in his chest and in his ribs, he jumped up in a single movement, charging at Bear. The bandit didn't even bother to draw his sword, he was simply smiling his cruel smile. Gutten raised his sword, swinging it in a desperate attempt to decapitate him. Deep down he knew, it wasn't a very good strike. He was slow, he was clumsy, the could hardly breathe and he was too angry to care. He would kill him, he would hack him to pieces, he would kill every single one o his men, they were all going to die, but this man would be the first!
Bear simply dodged his amateurish strike, quickly punching against his broken ribs. A sudden, terrible pain flashed through his body and Gutten almost went to his knees, the sword falling out of his feeble hands. He would have fallen too, if it weren't for Bear, who grabbed him, the knives in his gloves piercing his shoulders. Gutten screamed in pain, as Bear pulled him up, his feet leaving the ground, the knives digging deeper into his shoulder, scratching the bones, leaving Gutten in more physical agony than he had ever felt before.
“You brought this onto yourself, John Gutten”, Bear growled. “The only thing you needed to do was telling your bitch to drop her bow” His mouth formed a smirk as he pulled Gutten closer and for the first time John saw the facial features underneath the helmet. Bear was young, maybe in his mid-twenties. His skin was dark, like the skin from some people from Essos. His face was haunting, with a barbaric look on it and his brutal smirk sent shivers down Gutten's spine. “But you just couldn't let me go, right? You had to be the hero for once. You couldn't let me roam free, you just had to try it”, Bear roared. “Or perhaps you didn't trust me. Perhaps you thought that this would be her only chance... well, John, I told you the truth. I told you I would kill your little whore and I did it. I am a man of my word”
With these words, he started to move his right hand, pulled the knives out of Gutten's bruised flesh and put the index finger on his shoulder. “But don't you worry, John. You won't miss her long” Bear looked up, over his shoulder. “You fucking bitch, don't you dare to shoot. I have your precious John as a shield. You want to kill him? Go on, shoot!”, he roared. Gutten closed his eyes. He knew what Janae was thinking. It was her arrow that caused Bear to kill Cass. It wasn't her fault, but he knew she was devastated regardless. And she wouldn't shoot Bear again, not while he used Gutten as a shield.
He felt the knife on Bear's index finger digging deep into his left shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. The knife moved upwards, slowly, very slowly, causing a nagging pain, before leaving his flesh again. Gutten felt the knife pointing at his jugular. “You want any last words, John? Or do you want to die as a little bitch, crying in pain?”, Bear growled. John closed his eyes. This was it. Maybe this was the price for all he did. For all the lives he had taken. Maybe this was some god's justice. But if this was justice, there would also be justice for Bear, one day.
“My men will kill you for that”, John said. These weren't very good words, but they were the only ones he could think of right now. Vengeance. Janae would take vengeance. Temari would take vengeance. Samantha would take... Bear's laughter roared through his head. “Men? What men? I count an unconscious fuck and a whore that tries to be a man. You think they cou...”
The laughter turned into a surprised grunt and Gutten opened his eye again as he felt the grip around his shoulder gone, as he slowly sunk to the ground, seeing his opponent turning around. Behind Bear's hulking body, a much smaller figure was visible. Samantha. She had embedded one of her hatchets deep in Bear's ribs and held the remaining hatchet with both hands. “He doesn't need any man”, she hissed delivering a fierce strike against the surprised Bear's chest. “Not as long as he has me!”
A second strike hit him at the shoulder managing to make him stagger. “And trust me...”, Samantha growled, striking him again. This time, Bear parried the hatchet's strike with the knives in his glove, albeit John saw him staggering another step back. She delivered a strike against his thigh, causing Bear to go on his knees. Even now he was taller than Samantha and taller than most men Gutten knew. Of course, her hatchet wasn't enough to break his armour, but it was enough to cause him pain, maybe even to break his bones. “I am...”, she hissed
A strike hit Bear's arm as he tried to defend himself. This time she even managed to pierce the weak armor at his lower arm, giving him a nasty cut, maybe even breaking his hand. “...good enough...”, she gasped out.
The next strike hit the shoulder at the same arm, causing Bear to grunt in disoriented pain. Samantha looked Bear straight in the eyes and even though Gutten could not see the face of the bandit, he was sure that the smirk was gone “...to kill you!”, she screamed, taking another strike, this time against his face.
As she hit him, Gutten heard a satisfying crunch, heard Bear letting out a scream of pure agony, before falling backwards, Samantha jumping on top of him. Gutten knew, her hatchet wasn't enough to fully break his helmet and to crack his skull, but as she pulled it back to swing again, he saw blood on the weapon, the blood of a monster.
The monster wasn't defeated though. Bear moved both of his hands forwards, hitting her in the abdomen, causing her to drop her weapon in shocked pain. Bear jumped up now, punching her again in the stomach, grabbing her and delivering a fierce punch to her face, before throwing her on the meadow in front of the inn.
“YOU FUCKING WHORE!”, Bear screamed out of the top of his lungs, his speech sounding slightly inarticulate. “I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! YOU'RE DEAD!” As he looked around for one moment, John saw the damage done by Samantha's hatchet. His helmet prevented her from hacking off his nose, but there was a large cut over his chin and lips, blood was flowing out and the bloodlust in his eyes would have been enough to make a dragon shiver.
John saw something flying through the air above him, as he desperately tried to get up again, to stay conscious. And Bear paused for a moment, his scream turning into a grunt. He looked down, seeing the arrow that pierced his upper leg, and turned around to notice Janae who walked closer, pulling out the last arrow in her quiver. In that moment, John realized that his enemy was far more intelligent than he looked like. He did not try to kill Samantha, he did not try to charge Janae. He ran, as fast as he could with his wounded leg, he limped towards the forest. “This is not over, John!”, he screamed as Janae put her bow down, eyeing him furiously. “I will come back, I will burn you alive and I will rape your fucking corpses!” And then he was gone, vanished in the forest, leaving behind only the dead and the doomed.
Janae knelt next to John, looking at him with a worried look on her face. “John!”, she shouted. “Fuck, stay with me John” Gutten looked past her into the taproom, looking at Cass' frail body. Blood was still flowing out of her destroyed throat and her last look at him, this accusing look, would haunt him forever.
“Samantha”, he mumbled, looking to the meadow in front of the tavern. She was still conscious, trying to get back on her knees. Her cheek was cut up from the brutal hit and swollen, but her blue eyes looked at John with pride and she gave him a bright smile. “Told you I would not fail you”, she whispered. “I brought Aylard and his family to safety, but I saw this... beast coming after you and I couldn't let you die, I had to do something” With these words, she fell forwards again, lying down in the meadow, shivering in pain.
Despite his agony, despite his sorrow, depsite the hollow feeling inside of him, John gave her a kind smile. “Good girl...”, he mumbled, before almost drifting away into unconsciousness. Janae put a hand on his shoulder, trying to shake him, but accidentally putting pressure on his wounded flesh. The sudden agony was enough to make Gutten jump forwards, almost punching her in a reflex, but it also caused the dizzy feeling in his head to go away. But not the pain. His face wasn't the worst, his shoulder neither. It was the feeling of loss, the knowledge that it had been his fault again. For once, he should have yielded. But Bear had been right. He couldn't just listen. He had to try it. That was him, a stubborn fool, filled with regret, doomed to loose everything, over and over.
He saw movement, people coming out of hiding. Aylard, pale from loosing blood. Behara, holding a short sword, her stare worried beyond measure. She ran up to him, kneeling down, tears flowing down her face. “Tem... where's Temari?”, she asked. Janae put a hand on her shoulder. “He lives”, she simply said. “He fought bravely, Behara”
Before she could continue, Behara stormed inside, kneeling down next to her brother. Gutten heard her desperate sobs as she was weeping over Temari. Slightly limping, Aylard moved next to John, reaching down in an attempt to help him up, his face similarly worried. “Seven Hells...”, he mumbled as he looked at him, his facial expression shocked. Gutten stayed silent. He knew the look in Aylard's eyes and he knew how he must look. And he knew it would hurt a lot more in a few hours.
“Cass...”, Aylard started but stopped as Gutten shook his head. The innkeeper's eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief, looking into the innroom. “No...”, he mumbled. “No, no!” With these words he let go of John and ran into the innroom, where his loud screams of sorrow could be heard.
With Janae's help, John managed to stand up, ignoring his shaky feet, walking into the innroom. Temari was barely conscious, but managed to look at Gutten, his eye widened as he saw his face. Fuck, he really needed a mirror...
Aylard was holding Cass body, desperate tears flowing down his face and he looked at John, his expression a mixture of sorrow and anger. “You should have kept her safe”, he hissed, not screaming for once. The calm tone of his voice was worse than his screams, it was pure desperation. “You should have kept her safe, she trusted you, she loved you” Every word felt worse than Bear's knives.
He wanted to answer something, wanted to defend himself, wanted to tell Aylard that he had tried his best, that Bear had killed her that there was nothing to do. He wanted to tell Aylard was right, that there was only one to blame, the one who ordered the shot, the kinslayer, a man who tried to run from his past, a man who ran to the edge of the world and back, a godless man, never escaping his demons. But he stayed silent. There was nothing to say about her. She was gone, just like that.
Janae answered in his stead, her voice sounding softer than usual. John expected her to lash out at the inkeeper, but she sounded almost kind. “I am sorry, Aylard”, she said and the innkeeper shook his head. “Sorry...”, he mumbled. “Sorry! She was family! What do you know about family?”
For one moment, John saw the hurt look on Janae's face. “Nothing... But I know John is not to blame”, she answered. Aylard gently lay the dead body in his arms down on the ground, looking at her softly, before his gaze hardened. “She was naive, she thought John would care for her!”, he growled and looked at John. “You gave her false hope. You made her believe that anything you said was genuine!” And every word hurt more his wounds, because John knew Aylard had a point. He cared for Cass, he really did. But there was another voice in his head. It wouldn't have worked and he had known that from the very beginning. He only wanted someone to warm his bed at night, like always. Sure, at first her intentions had been similar. But he saw how she changed the way she viewed him. He saw it and did nothing. He should have let her down gently, she wouldn't have stayed back with him, she would have been alive!
“Aylard...”, Janae said. “John fought like a...” She stopped for a moment. “Like a... lion... for her. He cared for her, Aylard, trust me. If you have to blame someone, blame me. I can deal with it. But don't blame John. He lost her, just as you did, Aylard” The innkeeper shook his head and tears where flowing down his face. “He lost a pretty girl he knew for two weeks. I've lost a brilliant young woman, with a wonderful heart, the big sister Lunett never had” As he mentioned his daughter, Aylard's face got even darker and Gutten felt a sting of regret. He looked up and saw that Samantha got up again, holding her stomach area, slowly walking towards him. Her eyes met his and despite the pain she obviously was in, she managed to look proud.
“How are you feeling, Sammy?”, he asked. Samantha's attempted to shrug, but stopped in the middle of the movement, letting out a painful moan. “Could be better”, she admitted. “I just puked some blood in that meadow. Hope nobody minds. Thought I should let you know” She sat down on a chair, still holding her stomach. “Seven Hells, that punch felt like a horsekick” , she moaned. “At least I'm still prettier than you” A slight smile flashed across her face, but immediately vanished as she looked down on Cass.
Gutten shook his head as she opened her mouth. He knew what she wanted to say and he didn't want to hear it. She was sorry. Of course she was, they all were, they always were. But there was no need to be sorry for him. It was his fault. And he was the only one who had to live with that. He looked down at Cass. Another girl dead because of him...
“John”, Samantha said softly. “I want to go after Lunett. I know you've made your point, but now I make mine. Your girl, Cass, she wanted it, she wanted it even more than I did. I know you don't like it, but I saved your life for fuck's sake! I think you owe me that one and I think you owe it to Cass. Don't make me beg for this, John”
Janae gave her a cold look. “You're considering this, John? Out of loyalty for your girl? Come on, that's... that's misplaced loyalty. Think about how much worse today would have been without Sammy”, she warned him and John knew she was right. Samantha was right as well. It would be the least he could do for Cass. She wanted it. It wasn't exactly her last will, but it was close enough. “Would you judge me?”, he asked, looking at Janae. She shook her head and her eyes got a sad look in them. “I would never judge you, John”, she answered. “I can only advice you. Sending her away will be a mistake. Sure, she can keep Lunett safe, but who is Lunett to you? I'm sure Lucas and that other knight can manage without her. Besides, she's wounded. Can you even ride, Sammy?”
Samantha gave her an almost furious glare. “Trust me, even with a broken spine I would be a better rider than all of you combined could ever be!”, she hissed. As if she wanted to prove, she tried to jump up, only to hold her stomach in pain. “It will probably be a slow ride. But I can do it. I'll bring her back. Please...”, she said. “John, now is not the time for pragmatism. Aylard has lost enough. You have lost enough. I have lost enough. And I have enough of that. You kept me here and I was able to help, yes. But in the same time, who knows what happened to Lunett? Who knows what happened to Lucas and Leonard in the meantime. I see the look in your face. You blame yourself for her death and trust me, it won't get any easier if you keep being a stone-cold bastard about this”
This time, Gutten looked her straight in the eyes. “I don't need life advice from you, girl”, he growled, but he knew that she was right. Cass' death was his fault, his responsibility. And if anything happened to Lunett or to Lucas it would be his fault too. Could he live with that? He was a beast, a godless kinslayer, a truly bad man, he knew he needed her here, she had proven it again today, and he knew Janae was right. And then there was the look in Samantha's eyes. The look that told him that she wouldn't accept a 'No' again. But would she go as far to abandon him for this cause? “Don't make me beg, John”, she said again.
[Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown] [Listen to Janae's advice and keep Samantha with you]
[Listen to Janae's advice and keep Samantha with you] Samantha , i already told you no. Listen to me NO
Sorry for that part taking a bit longer than expected. It was basically finished very early today, but I was too tired to reread it and decided to post it today. I also had to alter the ending after rereading it. And I'm not entirely happy with the choice, seeing how it's very similar to the first John choice in this chapter. However, the context is a little bit different this time, so I hope you don't mind. Choose carefully >:D
Hmmm I think I'll have to [Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown] I'll feel to bad otherwise. Although The Bear could return soon
[Listen to Janae's advice and keep Samantha with you]
[Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown] Farwell Cass </3
Where are the Oldtown parts? Can't wait for them
The next part will most likely feature a short Oldtown PoV and the next chapter will stay true to it's name and will give the Oldtown PoV's a lot of needed focus, similarly to the long Gutten storyline in this chapter, since the planned Oldtown plot needs to advance tremendously in Act 2.
[Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown]
[listen to janeas advice and keep Samantha with you]
**[Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown] ** RIP Cass. I think we should send Sammy since she will not stop reminding John in Raylansfair. Also I think she won't find Lucas to quick and more likely Terroma or Jaron, who in this case really need some help. Plus I really want to see some Terroma Sammy stuff, like a Tough and Uncle Forelord who's name slips me right now from avatar
[Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown]
Dammit!...
Great chapter!!
hmmm tough one but I say [Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown]
[Respect Samantha's wish and send her to Oldtown]
Heh.
RIP Halla.
I was kinda neglecting this story lately, now I'm trying to catch up.
[Listen to Janae's advice and keep Samantha with you]
If I recall last time this decision happened, we saved someone and doomed another. And I believe the urban duo was saved, that is L & L, Lucas and Leonard, the people.
And I believe Samantha was quite upset with ol' Leonard, and I cannot allow her to kill the man.
Valar Morghulis Cass.
An interesting theory. Time will tell if you have been right. Now I am curious, who do you think could be the character you doomed?
I think we saved John or one of Aylard´s family and we doomed Lunnet
Well, probably Lunett cause I feel like someone is going to be hunting Len and Lucas. And Samantha will go to a rage and attack them.
Another interesting theory and you give a good reason. And I would love to say more about this theory, but I will wait until the saving and dooming scenes happened. But you will recognize these scenes when you see them.
Maybe I should mention that the outcome of this new choice will make things a lot easier for one character and a lot harder for another character, though this time you won't necessarily save or doom a character.