The Voting is closed!
Kersea will simply walk away
The next part will follow in a few minutes. After all, it was written yesterday alr… moreeady. And, I called it, since I am in a ridiculously productive phase right now, I have indeed almost finished another part, namely the conclusion of Jaron's storyline in chapter 3.
By the way, there was a little secret regarding Clayton and his involvement in another PoV's backstory hinted at in the first few paragraphs of this part. Thought I should point it out. Anyone got it while reading? If you think you got it, feel free to add a comment
Anyway, the next John Gutten part is following in a few minutes. It shall have the title 'Beware of the Bear'
And now for today's shout-out. There is one person in this forum, a very loyal reader who participates in simply every interactive story, on top of being a very great and supportive guy. And this person just decided to make his first interactive… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Kersea will simply walk away
The next part will follow in a few minutes. After all, it was written yesterday alr… moreeady. And, I called it, since I am in a ridiculously productive phase right now, I have indeed almost finished another part, namely the conclusion of Jaron's storyline in chapter 3.
By the way, there was a little secret regarding Clayton and his involvement in another PoV's backstory hinted at in the first few paragraphs of this part. Thought I should point it out. Anyone got it while reading? If you think you got it, feel free to add a comment
Anyway, the next John Gutten part is following in a few minutes. It shall have the title 'Beware of the Bear'
And now for today's shout-out. There is one person in this forum, a very loyal reader who participates in simply every interactive story, on top of being a very great and supportive guy. And this person just decided to make his first interactive… [view original content]
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smile and she answered with her usual frown. “There you are, you big old bear”, she hissed. “What took you so long?” Gutten looked at the inn's backroom. “Had a long talk with Cass”, he answered and Janae shook her head. “Well, while you were busy having fun with your girl, some of us actually fought for their lives”, she answered, handing Samantha her axes. The other woman took her with a stern nod and Janae raised an eyebrow as she was heading to the backroom. “You're sending Sammy away?”, she asked, but before Gutten could answer, Aylard did it for him. The innkeeper was pale and bleeding from his wound, but he didn't look like dropping unconscious every moment. “He sends her away to protect my son and my workers”, he growled and Janae looked at Gutten as if he had lost his mind. “We could use her, you know that”, she said and Gutten shook his head. “We could. But we won't. Think about it Janae. If these people get killed, could you live with it?”, he asked. Janae shrugged as an answer. “I know for sure if I die today because we're one fighter less, I can't live with that”, she answered, but turned to Samantha. “Don't get yourself killed, girl”, she said and Samantha let out a bright laugh. “Why is everybody telling me that?”, she asked, before looking at Aylard. “You're coming?”, she asked. To Gutten's surprise, the innkeeper shook his head. “It's like Janae said. You're one less. I can fight. I can stall them, so that you can lead my son to safety”, he explained.
Gutten looked to the inn's door. It would only be a matter of time until these bandits would attack again. Aylard was a fighter, that was sure, but he was also wounded. Still, it would be his own decision. He was about to give him an approving nod as his gaze fell upon little Sawyer. Aylard's son was clearly frightened, looking at the dead people, tears flowing down his face. What was it what Samantha always said? Family was important...
“Aylard...”, he said softly and the innkeeper gave him a glare. “Don't you even dare, Gutten. Don't you dare sending me away. I can fight. This is my inn and I'm dying here!” As Sawyer heard these words, he began sobbing and Samantha put a hand on his shoulder. The boy turned around and hugged her, weeping uncontrollably. “Aylard, think of your son. You are the only one he has left. I saw the graves in the backyard. Your family, right?”, Gutten asked. Aylard's stern face got a sad look. “My wife, Barbeth”, he answered sullenly. “Six of my children. Some sickness took them, not even a year ago” Gutten noticed tears in the man's eyes. “Sawyer and Lunett are all I have left. Please, John, I can only pray that my daughter returns to me, but I can protect my son. Let me protect him!”, the innkeeper urged him. Gutten looked at Sawyer. “You have to protect him”, he answered. “You have to protect him, by going with him. Think about what it will do to him when you die here!”
Aylar did not answer at first. He looked at the warhammer in his hands, looked at his son. Gutten saw how he hung his head low. “You are right...”, the innkeeper mumbled, before shuffling to the backroom, Samantha and Sawyer following him. Standing in the door, Aylard turned around again. “Seven with you, John Gutten. You aren't a bad man”, he said and went into the backroom. John looked after him, shaking his head. Aylard was wrong. He wasn't a good man, he would even go as far as calling himself a bad man.
She had called him kinslayer
He had a beast inside him, but he understood it better than most to hide it, to cage it and to only let it out when needed. And right now might be a good time to let it out. John saw someone walking out of the backroom. Cass... Oh no... Tears were running down her face and she was holding the sword she took from the dead bandit. She was holding it completely wrong of course, but the look she gave Gutten was fierce, fiercer than most looks he had ever seen. The little sept girl had some spirit, he knew it, but the anger in her face surprised him. “You're sending us away?”, she asked, her voice trembling. “You're sending me away? It's not enough that you're going to leave me, now you even want to die here without me?”
Gutten sighed and closed his eye. “Cass...”, he mumbled, but she cut him off. “No! Don't you even dare saying anything. I will stay here. I already saved your life out there and I will do it again!”, she hissed. Janae raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, John? You're getting old”, she said mockingly. “Anyway, if your girl wants to stay, let her. We don't have time to deal with her” Cass gave her a glare. “I won't stand in your way”, she insisted and Temari let out a laugh. “I'm pretty sure you won't, cause you're going to get yourself killed the moment you try to fight one of these bandits”, he chuckled. “But, hey, I don't judge you. It's your funeral”
Gutten sighed. “Cass. You can't stay here. I've sent Samantha with you for a good reason. It's going to get dangerous in here”, he told her, but her expression didn't soften. “Do I look like I care?”, she simply answered. Before Gutten could say something again, he was interrupted by Janae. “Shh”, she hissed. “Door”
As he looked to the door, he heard the sound of footsteps. Janae drew her bow, aiming at the door. John gave Cass a last worried look, before narrowing his eye, facing the door. Temari took a few steps closer. He was pale from his wound, but Gutten knew that he was able to withstand much more. Temari wasn't an Ironborn, but he could have easily passed as one.
The first man who entered the inn died in an instant as Janae put an arrow in his neck. The second man came a few steps farther until suffering the same fate. The third man came in range of Gutten's sword, before Janae put an arrow in his head. A fourth man decided to attack Temari, while to other bandits decided to take on Gutten. A fourth man charged at Cass, but Janae managed to kill him before he came even close to reach her. Gutten didn't wait until his opponents attacked. He took the offensive, taking the first swing at the man to his right. Steel hit flesh, the beast inside of him was satisfied. With a heavy move he pulled the sword out of his opponent's chest to parry a strike from the second man. Before Gutten could deliver his own attack, Cass jumped at the bandit, delivering a weak strike to his back. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it was enough to make him lash out at her in a mad fit of rage. The bandit's fist hit her in the face and she stumbled backwards, closer to the inn's door, falling onto the ground. Before the bandit could face Gutten again, the beast grabbed him by the throat delivering a heavy strike with the hilt of his sword to the man's face. Another strike. Another strike. Another strike. The bandit's body went limp. Another strike. Another strike. Gutten let go of the man, who sunk to the ground, only to never rise again.
He heard heavy footsteps and looked up to the inn's door. A large figure walked in, stepping over the corpses of fallen bandits. It was a man, taller than Gutten, more muscular, wearing a completely black and very heavy armour, with a helmet formed like a bear's head. Underneath the armour, dark skin was visible, similar to the skin some people from the Free Cities had. The man wore a large two-handed sword strapped over his back, but hadn't drawn it. Gutten remembered what the bandit in the barn said. “Let me guess...”, he said. “You must be Bear”
The man, whose face was barely visible underneath the helmet, gave him a cruel smile and Gutten took a look into the man's eyes. Darkness. A lust for violence. Insanity. The beast roared in it's cage. “And who the fuck are you?”, he growled. His voice was deep and dark, almost as dark as his eyes. “Who the actual fuck are you people?”, he continued, this time a bit louder. Temari was still fighting his opponent, but was slightly distracted by this bear. Gutten gripped his sword harder as he saw Cass moving next to the man's feet. “My name is John Gutten. I protect this inn. You and your men will leave, or die!”, he growled.
The man let out a loud, terrifying laugh. “The fuck we'll do”, he hissed before bowing his head mockingly into Janae's direction. “Good evening, bitch. My name is Bear”, he chuckled. John didn't turn around to face Janae, but from the amused reaction on Bear's face, he knew how Janae was looking at him. “You fucks slaughtered my men”, Bear hissed, his voice getting very low. “I thought a fucking army was in here. But it were just... just two one-eyed fucks and two little bitches. So, you managed to stall my men? To fucking slaughter them?” All of a sudden, he let out a deep, growling laugh. Befitting to his name, it sounded more like a bear roaring. “I'm going to tear you to pieces for this”, he said, while looking at Gutten. “You and the other fucker. The bitches can live until they start to bore me and my men” A sudden noise behind John almost caused him to look around. He heard the sound of glass shattering and a battlecry, as someone attacked Janae from behind. She could manage, she had to manage, she couldn't die here!
Bear took a few steps closer, almost into range of Gutten' sword and looked him deep in the eye. “And I'm fucking merciful with this”, he hissed, before jumping at Gutten, simply dodging a hit from him. How could he be so agile with armour like this? Bear still hadn't drawn his sword, instead he gave Gutten a punch to the chin, hard enough to almost break his jaw. Gutten went down on the ground, Bear jumping on top of him, pressing the air out of his lungs, knocking the sword out of his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Gutten saw Temari still fighting against his opponent. His wound affected him visibly, especially while parrying.
As he tried to breath, he noticed that he barely managed to get air, with his opponent sitting in top of him. Bear took a swing to Gutten's face, but John managed to block it with his hands, grabbing Bears fist. In that moment he saw it. Knives. Tiny little knives embedded into Bear's glove. A bears claws.... Bear simply raised his other hand delivering a punch with his open palm, right into Gutten's face. John felt the knives scratching across his face, narrowly missing his one good eye, cutting through the eyepatch above his right eye, plunging deep into his empty eyesocket, cutting his left cheek. And he screamed, for the first time in yeas he screamed in pain and let down his guard. Bear delivered a second punch, this time with his fist closed, right into John's face. While the first hit was painful, this one almost caused him to loose consciousness. The bears claws were stained with blood, as he raised his right hand, opening his palm in an attempt to hit him again. Gutten knew, Bear intended to maul him like an animal would. He had fought against animals, even against real bears, but never before against a human like that.
The claws came closer, terribly fast, only to stop as something slender pierced the armour at the forearm, piercing deep into the flesh. An arrow. Janae's arrow. His maiden fair had his back, as always. Bear let out a surprised cry of rage and looked up. Gutten used this time to reach out his hand. He felt the cold hilt of his sword, grabbed it and moved it towards Bear's head. He hadn't enough room and he hadn't enough strength left to make it a lethal blow, but he managed to hit Bear hard enough in the head to make him stagger backwards. Sweet, fresh air filled Gutten's lungs, almost making him ignore his bleeding face, the terribly numb feeling in his head and the pain he felt in his ribs while breathing in. He hadn't met an opponent like this in a long time. Ten years ago, he would have probably wiped the floor with Bear. Probably...
He heard a gurgling sound, followed by the dull sound of someone bashing someone else's head against a wooden table. Temari had defeated his opponent and was about to bash the man's head in, in a terrible fit of rage. For one moment, Gutten asked himself why Bear wasn't attacking him again. He had to... By the Drowned God, why was everything so blurry? He had to get up... Was that blood in his good eye? Why wasn't Janae shooting at this Bear? Why wasn't Temari attacking? He saw him, sword in hand, giving Gutten a worried look, before looking at someone in front of Gutten, someone right in his blind spot. Damned blind spot...
He forced himself to stand up, seeing Janae, her bow drawn. To her feet lay a dead bandit, an arrow sticking in his face. She was aiming... at him? No, at someone behind him. Why wasn't she shooting? Why was everything so damnably blurry? The blow wasn't that hard, was it?
He turned around and reality hit him harder than Bear had. The dizzy feeling was gone in an instant, replaced by cold fear and the sound of his heavily beating hard. Bear was standing in front of him, a cruel smile on his face, his eyes almost glowing with brutality. And in his left hand, the one that hadn't been hit by Janae's arrow, he held Cass.
The girl was conscious and gave John a frightened glare, a look so full of terror that John had to remember Orkmont. His brother gave him a look like this as Gutten smashed his head in. She gave him a look like this as she was hit by his own sword. His mother gave him a look like this, before she called him kinslayer. And right now, he gave Cass this look as well.
“One fucking step closer and I'll end this bitch”, Bear growled. The knives in his glove were touching Cass' throat, Bear's index finger scratching over her chin, leaving a red cut on her porcelain skin. Her eyes widened, but John could tell that the grip he had her in was too hard for her to gulp or to scream. And she wanted to scream, Gutten could tell it, she wanted to scream and to kick. But she was too afraid. Gutten was afraid too. He hadn't been afraid like this in a long time...
“Let her go”, he said and was shocked by how weak his voice sounded. He had tried to be strong, but Bear had been stronger. His face was burning in agony, his eyepatch torn apart, his nose broken. But he stood straight. “Please... let her go...”
Bear let out his terrifyingly roaring laugh. “And why should I do that?”, he asked. “Because I'm going to put an arrow through your eye if you don't”, Janae hissed. “Let her go, you son of a bitch, let her go or I will bring you pain like you can't imagine”
This caused Bear to laugh even louder. “You fucking bitch...”, he chuckled. “You try to intimidate me? You think I am scared of a whore like you?” Gutten narrowed his eye, seeing Temari unsure, maybe for the first time since he met him. “Don't attack him, Temari...”, Gutten hissed and Bear gave him a brutal smile. “Yeah, don't you fucking dare, Temari”, he said mockingly. “Or else I'll rip out this bitches throat and stuff your good eye into her, you freak!”
Gutten could tell that Temari was violently furious. But now wasn't the time to be angry. Now wasn't the time to attack... As much as he hated it, Bear had a hostage. Even worse, he had Cass as his hostage. One step, one tiny movement, and he would put his terrible knives into her throat. Gutten saw that she barely dared to breathe. He remembered Orkmont. He wouldn't loose her, he wouldn't loose her again!
“What do you want?”, he finally asked and Bear let out another laugh. “Now we're talking. You surprised me. You know, my Band of Claws has over a hundred men. But they are not here. I have maybe half a dozen more in these fucking woods. I've never suspected a shitty inn like this putting up any resistance” He made a mocking bow. “I will retreat. You have time to bring your people away. I will come back, with a hundred men. And, like this fucking Targaryen dragonlord on his stupid fucking island says, I will bring fire and blood with me. You have one day. You will let me go and I will spare your little whore. Would be a shame to rip out a throat as fine as hers, right?”, he growled.
Gutten had been a mercenary for fifteen years, but he had never met someone whom he instantly hated. Bear was the first. A monster. A true monster. Even the beast inside of him was impressed, maybe even intimidated. “Or you allow this fucking whore behind you to try her luck”, Bear explained. “What are you even supposed to be, girl? Whores shouldn't pretend to be men”, he chuckled. Gutten turned around and saw Janae furious. She was rarely furious, always cold, always distant, his maiden fair, his best and only friend. But right now she was boiling with anger. “I'm going to kill this son of a bitch, John, I'm going to kill him”, she hissed. “He can't take us three, he can't even take me. Give me the order. Allow me to end his life”
“You are really a stupid fucking whore, you know that?”, Bear growled, sounding almost amused, looking blissfully at Cass' bleeding chin. “I don't need to take you all. This one-eyed cunt, this John, he won't give you the order because he is too afraid to loose his little bitch” He looked Gutten straight in the eye. “So, John, I'm telling you how we're doing it. You will agree to my terms. The bitch will drop her bow. I will drop your whore, alive and as fine as a fuck. I will leave. You will have time to leave. Tomorrow, the band of claws will be back, we will burn this place to the ground and we will kill every fucker we can find. You can prevent this by leaving after I'm gone. I'm fucking merciful here, I'm giving you a chance”
Gutten looked at Janae who shook her head. “You know that he is lying. I shoot him, he drops Cass. Maybe alive. It's her best chance”, she said. Bear spat onto the ground. “The bitch talks to much. You should cut out her tongue, would make her a lot better, trust me. If she shoots, she might kill me, I'll give her that. But is her arrow fast enough? I only need one tiny movement, only need to stretch my hand and your whore is dead. You want that? You want a dead whore? The moment you order the bitch to shoot me, I will kill this whore, even though it would be a waste of one fine ass”, he growled, his smirk becoming wider.
“He is lying, John. He won't let her live. You remember the Qohorik we met in Pentos? The one who did these... things to rich girls? You remember how he lied to you about sparing that girl? Come on, John, you are smarter than that!”, Janae urged him. John recognized this. He never met a Qohorik in Pentos. It was a code. He only needed to tell her that he understood and she would shoot. Bear wouldn't realize it until it would be too late. Maybe he could save Cass like that... or maybe Janae was too reckless, maybe he needed to let Bear go to save the girl he... liked.
[Signal Janae to shoot][Order her to drop her bow]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
[Signal Janae to shoot] Cass is going to die either by being chased down in the woods by Bear and co or she is going to die here. Bear is probably going to comb the woods looking for revenge.
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will… more protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smil… [view original content]
Willfred
“Are you ready boy?”, Crakehall asked, lowering the visor of his helmet, shaped like stylized boar with small tusks at the lower… more side of his visor. “This will be something entirely different than the small fights you're used too. Your enemy knows no honour, will follow no rules. When it comes to battle, all he will think off is killing the man in front of him before getting killed himself. Do you understand that?”
Willfred gave him a slightly annoyed look. This wasn't his first fight! He scored third in the tourney Lannisport two years ago and fourth in the tourney of Ashemark last year. “Of course I do, Lord Crakehall. And I am not a boy”, he answered. The old lord let out a loud laugh. “Oh yes, boy, you are. Trust me, this is different than the stuff you and your knightly friends played in the tournaments. As far as I have heard you have never fought against the Ironborn before, right?”, he chuckled and before Willfred could … [view original content]
Since I had no time to write yesterday, the new part is still simply almost written. It should be done in the next 2-3 hours at max though.
Today's shout-out goes to a new story that has been written by a loyal Forum of Thrones reader: A Murder Mystery Fanfiction, written by @Nightshroud18. The story takes place in a small town that is troubled by a serial killer
The story already got a prologue that shows that Nightshroud is a very talented writer, however to continue with the story, he needs a few more characters. This is where you can help. If you want to support this story, you should check it out here!
The Voting is closed!
John will allow Janae to shoot Bear
Since I had no time to write yesterday, the new part is still simply almost … morewritten. It should be done in the next 2-3 hours at max though.
Today's shout-out goes to a new story that has been written by a loyal Forum of Thrones reader: A Murder Mystery Fanfiction, written by @Nightshroud18. The story takes place in a small town that is troubled by a serial killer
The story already got a prologue that shows that Nightshroud is a very talented writer, however to continue with the story, he needs a few more characters. This is where you can help. If you want to support this story, you should check it out here!
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “How is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, when Martin cleared his throat. “Okay then”, he said with a smile. “I'd like to propose a little game. We have time, we have wine and we know nothing about each other. Perfect opportunity”
Harpy raised an eyebrow and looked at Martin. “Seriously?”, she asked with a mocking tone in her voice. “That's ridiculous”
Martin shrugged. “It's a game. Fun. You know the word, mylady, right?” Harpy gave him a short smile. “You are ridiculous”, she said again, before sighing. “Fine. But I hope it's not one of these saucy tavern games”
Martin shook his head. “Not as long as we try to behave. It's a pretty easy game. I make a guess about you. If I guess right, you drink. If I guess wrong, I drink. If I want to drink, I drink. And after a while, we all know each other like a family. And naturally, none of us will remember anything tomorrow”, he explained and Harpy let out a short laugh. “It sounds boring!”, she moaned, but she smiled as she said it.
“It's not boring!”, Martin insisted again. “Here, let me ask you a question, okay?” Harpy sighed again and looked at Jaron. “You want to play this?”, she asked. Jaron couldn't contain a grin. He knew games like these and even though they weren't his favourite drinking games, he knew worse. “Sounds like a perfect opportunity to kill some time”, he answered and Harpy rolled with her eyes. “Fine then. Looks like I'm outvoted. Ask your question, Martin”
Martin leant forwards and looked Harpy deep in the eyes. “You were born in slavery”, he stated and Harpy raised her cup. “Come on, that hardly counts as a question. It's like asking Ser Jaron if he is a bastard”, she complained, but took a deep sip from her cup. “Ugh, we really shouldn't play with this stuff”, she exclaimed and made a grimace.
Martin looked at Jaron. “See? That's how the game works. Now make a statement about me”, he insisted. Jaron thought about that for a moment. “You come from the Free Cities”, he stated and Martin looked at him in surprise, before taking a sip. “What gave me away?”, he asked. “Your general stupidity and cockiness”, Harpy remarked and earned a short glare from Martin. “The hint of an accent”, Jaron explained after suppressing a smile. “I'd say you are a Pentoshi”
This time Martin grinned. “Drink, Ser Jaron. I may not look the part, but I was born and raised in Braavos. My parents have been Westerosi mercenaries though”, he explained and Jaron took a sip from his cup, noticing that Martin did the same. Seven Hells, this wine was terrible! And far stronger than expected...
“My turn”, Harpy proclaimed, looking at Jaron, who was still grimacing from the horrible wine. Still, he couldn't help but to give her a curious look. “What? Don't say the Burned Man doesn't know everything about me already”, he said and Harpy quickly shook her head. “Do you imply we would spy on you? Besides, do I look like the Burned Man?”, she answered and gave him a bright smile. “Not quite...”, Jaron mumbled, reciprocating her smile.
“At least you're not blind”, Harpy remarked. “Now, it's still my turn. Hmm...” She seemed to think for a moment. “Your mother's name was Janissa”, she stated and Jaron gave her a startled look. “You have spied on me!”, he exclaimed and Harpy looked genuinely insulted. “What? No, no, like I said, we would never spy on you. Are you implying we would spy on you? It was a lucky guess, nothing more”, she explained, looking at Martin who gave her a nod. “Yeah, totally. Lucky guess. The mylady can get lucky, you know... So, drink, Ser Jaron”, he chuckled, but took a sip from his cup as well. “Hey, that stuff get's better with every sip! Where'd you get that, Harpy?” Harpy shrugged. “Straight out of harbour basin, I guess”, she answered. Jaron took a gulp from his cup, noticing Harpy doing the same. No, it still tasted like vomit...
“My turn!”, Martin proclaimed, smiling at Jaron. “You've killed over a dozen men in your life”, he stated and Jaron raised an eyebrow. A dozen? He remembered, there was a bandit from some small group he and Ser Matthos had hunted. It had been his first kill and it was sheer luck. Shortly after that, he had killed a drunkard who had tried to stab him. Even later he had killed three dornish highwaymen, members of some dornish bandit group that terrorized small farms in the Marches. He still remembered it as his finest moment. He stood knee-deep in mud and blood, around him the corpses of his opponents, he was bleeding from a small wound, he was exhausted and Ser Matthos had knighted him. Jaron had never been prouder in all his life
“Half a dozen”, he said with a slight smile and Martin chuckled. “Not as experienced as I thought”, he said with a smirk before taking a gulp from his cup. “You think you're good enough to take on the insect? Longbow Jaylon? The Fang of Shadows?” Jaron shrugged. Of course, he knew he likely wasn't as good as this Fang of Shadows, especially after seeing how afraid Harpy was of that man. But he wasn't a bad fighter either. And he felt brave. Maybe it was just the wine, but he felt braver than ever. “I guess I will find out”, he said and Martin clapped his hands. “That's the spirit, my friend! Valar Morghulis, as they say in my city”, he exclaimed.
Harpy gave him a short glare. “Valar Dohaeris, Martin. That's not funny”, she said, before taking another sip from the cup. “Anyway. Your turn, Ser Jaron. Make a statement about me or, if you really want to, make a statement about Martin”
Jaron gave her a bold smile. Gods, this wine was strong indeed... “Alright then. You are not a pure-blooded Ghiscari”, he stated. Harpy gave him an impressed nod and took a sip, Martin did the same. “Impressive eyesight you have, Ser Jaron. My mother was from Yunkai. My father on the other hand...”, she started to explain, but Jaron cut her off. “Say nothing. Fair skin. It's Tyrosh, right?”
Harpy gave him a look of feigned offendedness. “Do I look like a Tyroshi to you? I've never felt the need to colour my hair”, she snarled and Jaron took a deep gulp out of his cup, before grabbing the carafe in front of him. “That's probably a good thing”, he said, unsure what to answer. Harpy raised an eyebrow. “I know”, she hissed. “My father was a Lysene, as far as I know. Never met him, never missed him” For a moment her smile faded, before returning, visibly less convincing. “But the empire of Old Ghis was destroyed three thousand years ago. I'm probably no less pure-blooded than Abbas or Bakr”
“So... Lys? Do you know I have Lysene blood in me as well, mylady?”, Martin asked and Harpy gave him a short glare. “If you say so” She sounded mildly annoyed. Martin leant forwards and refilled his cup with the help of the carafe. “My turn!”, he proclaimed and looked Harpy deep in the eyes. “Lady Harpy, now that I know you are of Lysene blood, I'd say you are good at both of the Lysene specialities”, he said with a grin that was likely supposed to be charming. Jaron felt slight annoyance at this man.
Harpy's smile returned, more genuine than ever. “My, my. And you promised it wouldn't be a saucy game”, she smiled. Martin smiled back. “Guess I just can't behave. Proof that you shouldn't trust me”, he answered and now Jaron felt a little bit more annoyed at him. And the wine was still strong, far stronger than the stuff Jaron was used to.
Harpy raised her cup. “It's only one of the Lysene specialities I'm good at. Drink, Martin, and hope it's not the poisonmaking”, she proclaimed. Martin, visibly drunken, went pale. “What have you... I didn't mean to insult... you haven't... have you?”, he stuttered and Harpy gave him a charming smile. “Drink”, she simply said and Martin took a small sip.
Harpy looked at him carefully, not saying anything, before putting her cup down. “They say I'm quite good with poison”, she mumbled and Martin spluttered his wine all over the table. As he noticed her facial expression, Jaron couldn't help but laugh, while Martin looked at him, quickly understanding what just happened. “That will teach you to ask a damsel a question like that”, Harpy said, before putting her cup down. “And now, we should all stop playing this horrible game before you ask something I am not allowed to answer” She gave Jaron a sweet smile and the knight noticed that he was grinning. The alcohol suddenly didn't seem so strong anymore. “And I'd really hate poisoning you, you can believe me that”, she added as her smile turned to a smirk.
Martin gave her a hasty nod. “Sure, mylady. If you favour a simple conversation over my elaborate drinking game, why don't you suggest a topic?”, he said, still eyeing his wine suspiciously. Harpy took a slight sip from her cup, before putting it down. Her smile vanished, replaced by a stern look. “Butterfly”, she said. “I want to talk about Butterfly”
Martin let out a groan. “Really, Harpy? The insect?” Harpy gave him a sharp look. “Butterfly, Martin. Just as I don't appreciate it if the Burned Man is called a cripple, Butterfly won't appreciate it if you call him an insect”, she explained and Martin shrugged. “So what? You don't think he's listening to our little conversation, eh?”, he chuckled. Harpy shook her head. “Of course not. But insulting an enemy is something he would do. The Burned Man does not stoop so low” Her gaze hardened as she looked at Martin. “Neither do I. And neither will you”, she said with a commanding tone in her voice.
“So...”, Jaron said and as Harpy looked at him, her stare got considerably more friendly. “Butterfly. How long is he a threat in this city?”, he asked. “Four years. At first it wasn't that alarming. Some of our people disappeared. Things like that happened in Oldtown, you know... and the Burned Man wasn't the only crimelord in this city during that time. There was the Silver Lady, an old woman, rumoured to be of Valyrian descent, who commanded the cities smugglers. There was Iron Ivar, a retired raider who specialised in trading with slaves. Aeron Blacksails, the pirate king of the Stepstone Islands had operations in this city. They lost men too. At first we suspected Ivar, but he turned out to be innocent. Well, as innocent as a slaver can be. Then, one by one, the old crimelords vanished from Oldtown. Iron Ivar went down fighting, killed in a nameless alleyway not far from here. The Silver Lady was poisoned in her sleep. Blacksails was cunning enough to withdraw his involvement in Oldtown”, she explained and closed her eyes. “I wished that Ar... the Burned Man... I wish he would have retreated too. Whoever this new enemy was, he tried to scare us away at first. The Burned Man had opportunities to leave the city. I urged him to return to his hometown of Lorath. He had always promised to go there with me” As she opened her eyes, Jaron noticed a sadness in Harpies eyes, and a look more befitting to a woman thrice her age.
“One day, we found a survivor. A young boy. I happened to know him. His name was Endrew, he was an orphan and a bastard, like so many here in this city. He joined the Burned Man for a copper coin a day and a warm meal every two days, which is more than twice the payment he would have received from Blacksails or Ivar. His only job was to be one pair of eyes and ears near the Starry Sept. He was a kind boy and... so full of life and full of dreams. His forearms and his feet had been removed, as well as his eyes”, Harpy continued, but made a pause and stopped looking Jaron in the eyes. The knight noticed tears in the corners of her eyes. “Are you alright, mylady?”, he asked.
Harpy gave him a soft nod. “Yes. Yes, of course. He recognized my voice, you know. Before we gave him mercy, he told us a single word. Repeated it, again and again, until it was so deeply embedded into my mind that I had nightmares for weeks” She looked him in the eyes again and Jaron noticed something he hadn't noticed before. Her dark eyes were filled with anger, perhaps even hatred. “Butterfly”, she said. “Ever since, we were at war”
Jaron gave her a nod. He understood her anger, he understood it very well. Of course, he had no illusions about what Harpy might be capable of. She was in league with the Burned Man after all. But still, in this moment, he understood her. “And you never had any idea who he might be?”, he asked.
Harpy shook her head. “At first we suspected Mullendore. His sigil is a swarm of butterflies, you know. He and Butterfly target criminals”, she explained. “But who would actually use their sigil as a nickname when trying to remain incognito? I mean, you hear about that in your stories all the time, but who would actually do that? Later, we learned that Mullendore lost men too. And that he was trembling with rage at Butterfly, for killing his men and for using his sigil. This is also not the way he does things. Mullendore is a cruel man, someone I don't want to be locked in a room with. But he isn't a particularly cunning man, he can't even read his own letters. Butterfly on the other hand... we assume he deliberately picked this name to provoke Mullendore. Maybe he has some grudge against him, we don't know. We targeted...”, she explained, but was cut off by the sound of someone banging at the door.
Martin stood up, looking at Harpy who gave him a short nod. Visibly tipsy, he started to stagger to the door, a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Who's there?”, he asked. “Himani”, a soft voice answered and Jaron saw Harpy relaxing and Martin opening the door. The young boy Jaron met a few days ago came into the room, giving Jaron and Harpy a bow. “M'lady Harpy, Ser Jaron. You're having fun, I see”, he said with a smile.
Harpy opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but quickly closed it and looked at Jaron. She actually smiled genuinely now, even though a hint of sadness was still visible in her eyes. “Glad to have you here, Himani”, she remarked and the boy gave her a bright smile. “That'll change once I take one of these spoons with me”, he explained and looked at Jaron. “Ser Jaron, good to see that you're not dead”
A painful sting flashed through Jaron's ribs and he slightly shivered. “It was pretty close, Himani”, he explained. Himani gave him a happy nod. “I know. The Burned Man sent Abbas and Bakr to meet up with your friends, to save them”, he explained and Harpy gave him a startled look. “Abbas and Bakr? Why hasn't he told me anything about that?”, she demaned to know. Himani simply shrugged. “Guess he had no time. I've just found out that Fang and Longbow where heading towards the ship. So he had to act”, he explained.
Harpy gave him a confused nod. “Well... Fang and Longbow aren't our main problem here. I think Abbas and Bakr are suited to deal with them. Who knows, maybe they'll even kill them. Or get themselves killed”, she explained and her facial expression hardened. “There is one thing the Burned Man can't tolerate. Treason. Someone leaked information about Ser Jaron, information about several other members of our organisation. We lost a dozen pairs of eyes and ears in the past five days. As much as I hate it, but it appears we have a traitor in our organisation”
Jaron raised an eyebrow. Our organisation? Harpy looked at him and gave him a disarming smile. “From my perspective, you are more one of us than these slavers ever would be. You almost got killed and if it weren't for your friends from that ship, you would have been dead. That's why I trust you” She looked at Martin. “You are a pain in the ass. You have a terrible sense of humour. And I'd rather play an Ironborn fingerdance than playing one of your drinking games ever again. But you are smart enough to know that we pay better than Butterfly ever would” Before Martin could say anything, Harpy looked at Himani. “And after all the Burned Man did for you... you would still be in Astapor if it weren't for him. You know how to repay a debt like this”
Himani's smile vanished and for the first time since Jaron met him he seemed to be serious. “With loyalty, m'lady”, he said and Hary gave him a pleased nod. “With loyalty”, she repeated and looked at Jaron. “How are you feeling, Jaron? I mean your ribs. Are you able to fight?”, she asked. Jaron touched his ribs. The pain was still there, it was still bad. But he was on his best way to recover. “I hope so, mylady”
For a moment, Jaron was thinking she would give him a smile again, but to his disappointment, she simply gave him a nod. “Very good. We have a shortage of good fighters and even worse, we have a shortage of decent men. You are not a bad fighter and you are not a bad man. However, your wound will affect you, I am almost certain of that. That's why you will only support either Martin or Himani in the tasks I have thought out for them”
She stood up, facing Jaron, Martin and Himani. “We need to set up a trap for the traitor. I have checked our men in the past five days. There are two men who have aroused my suspicion”, she explained and looked at Martin. “You will target a man who goes by the name of Robb. A mercenary from the Riverlands, involved in smuggling goods out of Oldtown. For a few weeks now, he displayed suspicious behaviour. One of the urchins I sent to follow him told me that he was meeting someone without informing us about it”
Martin made a sigh. “I know Robb. He appears like a bad man until you get to know him better. I really don't want to hurt him”, he said with a sullen expression, but his face lit up as Harpy pulled a golden coin out of a small leathery purse on her belt. “A hundred of these for you if you help us”, she said. Martin gave her a short bow. “Mylady Harpy, I am yours!”, he proclaimed and gave her a charming smile.
Without looking at Martin, Harpy faced Himani. “You will target a man who is named Jarek, involved in dealing lessons to the Burned Man's enemies. He is involved in shady business... I mean shadier than ours and apparently he does freelance work for someone inside the Starry Sept. We know Butterfly has contacts to the Sept”, she explained and Martin let out a sigh again. “Another good man. Jarek is a bit cocky and impulsive, but nonetheless a good man. I don't think either of them is a traitor”, he explained. Himani gave Harpy a determined nod. “I'll spy on him, mylady. For you and for the Burned Man”
Lastly, Harpy looked at Jaron and this time she gave him a sweet smile. “You, Jaron, will accompany one of them. Robb is an experienced fighter, but Jarek is more cunning than him. I'd leave it up to you who you want to target here and who you want to support. In either case, I don't envy you, because you'll spend a day with either Martin, or with Himani”, she said and earned two glares with the last line.
[Help Martin and target Robb][Help Himani and target Jarek]
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
[Help Martin and target Robb] I think Jaron would just slow Himani down. Himani is just going to spy so his smaller frame should be enough for him. Martin however.... He is obviously going get himself noticed and will need some help.
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
“One day, we found a survivor. A young boy. I happened to know him. His name was Endrew, he was an orphan and a bastard, like so many here in this city. He joined the Burned Man for a copper coin a day and a warm meal every two days, which is more than twice the payment he would have received from Blacksails or Ivar. His only job was to be one pair of eyes and ears near the Starry Sept. He was a kind boy and... so full of life and full of dreams. His forearms and his feet had been removed, as well as his eyes”, Harpy continued, but made a pause and stopped looking Jaron in the eyes. The knight noticed tears in the corners of her eyes. “Are you alright, mylady?”, he asked.
Harpy gave him a soft nod. “Yes. Yes, of course. He recognized my voice, you know. Before we gave him mercy, he told us a single word. Repeated it, again and again, until it was so deeply embedded into my mind that I had nightmares for weeks” She looked him in the eyes again and Jaron noticed something he hadn't noticed before. Her dark eyes were filled with anger, perhaps even hatred. “Butterfly”, she said. “Ever since, we were at war”
well, i didn't want to sleep anyway
btw, [Help Martin and target Robb] because martin is going to fuck up, i'm calling it
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “H… moreow is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, wh… [view original content]
Comments
Thanks Liquid!!!:D. You are way muchcooler than me in everything anyways
Was it that Clayton killed Ellena's pa? I got it a little earlier but I wasn't entirely sure.
Yes, you got that right! Thought it might be a nice connection to another part of the Oldtown storyline
John
“Samantha!”, Gutten said. The woman looked at him, her blue eyes carefully maintaining eye contact with his one brown eye. “You will protect them. Don't fail me” Samantha gave him a bright smile. “You're doing the right thing, John. You won't regret it!”, she promised but was cut short as Temari gave her a glare. “He won't have time to regret it if anything happens to Behara. And neither will you”, he growled. Samantha's smile vanished. “I'll keep her safe, Tem. I know what she means to you and I'll keep her safe with my life”, she said with a stern voice and Temari's face softened. “I know you will. Don't get killed out there, please”, he whispered and Samantha's smile returned. “I haven't been killed so far and I don't intend on starting now”, she chuckled.
With light steps, Janae moved down the stairs. She wasn't wearing armour, but carried her bow, a quiver full of arrows and Samantha's small axes. Gutten gave her a bright smile and she answered with her usual frown. “There you are, you big old bear”, she hissed. “What took you so long?” Gutten looked at the inn's backroom. “Had a long talk with Cass”, he answered and Janae shook her head. “Well, while you were busy having fun with your girl, some of us actually fought for their lives”, she answered, handing Samantha her axes. The other woman took her with a stern nod and Janae raised an eyebrow as she was heading to the backroom. “You're sending Sammy away?”, she asked, but before Gutten could answer, Aylard did it for him. The innkeeper was pale and bleeding from his wound, but he didn't look like dropping unconscious every moment. “He sends her away to protect my son and my workers”, he growled and Janae looked at Gutten as if he had lost his mind. “We could use her, you know that”, she said and Gutten shook his head. “We could. But we won't. Think about it Janae. If these people get killed, could you live with it?”, he asked. Janae shrugged as an answer. “I know for sure if I die today because we're one fighter less, I can't live with that”, she answered, but turned to Samantha. “Don't get yourself killed, girl”, she said and Samantha let out a bright laugh. “Why is everybody telling me that?”, she asked, before looking at Aylard. “You're coming?”, she asked. To Gutten's surprise, the innkeeper shook his head. “It's like Janae said. You're one less. I can fight. I can stall them, so that you can lead my son to safety”, he explained.
Gutten looked to the inn's door. It would only be a matter of time until these bandits would attack again. Aylard was a fighter, that was sure, but he was also wounded. Still, it would be his own decision. He was about to give him an approving nod as his gaze fell upon little Sawyer. Aylard's son was clearly frightened, looking at the dead people, tears flowing down his face. What was it what Samantha always said? Family was important...
“Aylard...”, he said softly and the innkeeper gave him a glare. “Don't you even dare, Gutten. Don't you dare sending me away. I can fight. This is my inn and I'm dying here!” As Sawyer heard these words, he began sobbing and Samantha put a hand on his shoulder. The boy turned around and hugged her, weeping uncontrollably. “Aylard, think of your son. You are the only one he has left. I saw the graves in the backyard. Your family, right?”, Gutten asked. Aylard's stern face got a sad look. “My wife, Barbeth”, he answered sullenly. “Six of my children. Some sickness took them, not even a year ago” Gutten noticed tears in the man's eyes. “Sawyer and Lunett are all I have left. Please, John, I can only pray that my daughter returns to me, but I can protect my son. Let me protect him!”, the innkeeper urged him. Gutten looked at Sawyer. “You have to protect him”, he answered. “You have to protect him, by going with him. Think about what it will do to him when you die here!”
Aylar did not answer at first. He looked at the warhammer in his hands, looked at his son. Gutten saw how he hung his head low. “You are right...”, the innkeeper mumbled, before shuffling to the backroom, Samantha and Sawyer following him. Standing in the door, Aylard turned around again. “Seven with you, John Gutten. You aren't a bad man”, he said and went into the backroom. John looked after him, shaking his head. Aylard was wrong. He wasn't a good man, he would even go as far as calling himself a bad man.
She had called him kinslayer
He had a beast inside him, but he understood it better than most to hide it, to cage it and to only let it out when needed. And right now might be a good time to let it out. John saw someone walking out of the backroom. Cass... Oh no... Tears were running down her face and she was holding the sword she took from the dead bandit. She was holding it completely wrong of course, but the look she gave Gutten was fierce, fiercer than most looks he had ever seen. The little sept girl had some spirit, he knew it, but the anger in her face surprised him. “You're sending us away?”, she asked, her voice trembling. “You're sending me away? It's not enough that you're going to leave me, now you even want to die here without me?”
Gutten sighed and closed his eye. “Cass...”, he mumbled, but she cut him off. “No! Don't you even dare saying anything. I will stay here. I already saved your life out there and I will do it again!”, she hissed. Janae raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, John? You're getting old”, she said mockingly. “Anyway, if your girl wants to stay, let her. We don't have time to deal with her” Cass gave her a glare. “I won't stand in your way”, she insisted and Temari let out a laugh. “I'm pretty sure you won't, cause you're going to get yourself killed the moment you try to fight one of these bandits”, he chuckled. “But, hey, I don't judge you. It's your funeral”
Gutten sighed. “Cass. You can't stay here. I've sent Samantha with you for a good reason. It's going to get dangerous in here”, he told her, but her expression didn't soften. “Do I look like I care?”, she simply answered. Before Gutten could say something again, he was interrupted by Janae. “Shh”, she hissed. “Door”
As he looked to the door, he heard the sound of footsteps. Janae drew her bow, aiming at the door. John gave Cass a last worried look, before narrowing his eye, facing the door. Temari took a few steps closer. He was pale from his wound, but Gutten knew that he was able to withstand much more. Temari wasn't an Ironborn, but he could have easily passed as one.
The first man who entered the inn died in an instant as Janae put an arrow in his neck. The second man came a few steps farther until suffering the same fate. The third man came in range of Gutten's sword, before Janae put an arrow in his head. A fourth man decided to attack Temari, while to other bandits decided to take on Gutten. A fourth man charged at Cass, but Janae managed to kill him before he came even close to reach her. Gutten didn't wait until his opponents attacked. He took the offensive, taking the first swing at the man to his right. Steel hit flesh, the beast inside of him was satisfied. With a heavy move he pulled the sword out of his opponent's chest to parry a strike from the second man. Before Gutten could deliver his own attack, Cass jumped at the bandit, delivering a weak strike to his back. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it was enough to make him lash out at her in a mad fit of rage. The bandit's fist hit her in the face and she stumbled backwards, closer to the inn's door, falling onto the ground. Before the bandit could face Gutten again, the beast grabbed him by the throat delivering a heavy strike with the hilt of his sword to the man's face. Another strike. Another strike. Another strike. The bandit's body went limp. Another strike. Another strike. Gutten let go of the man, who sunk to the ground, only to never rise again.
He heard heavy footsteps and looked up to the inn's door. A large figure walked in, stepping over the corpses of fallen bandits. It was a man, taller than Gutten, more muscular, wearing a completely black and very heavy armour, with a helmet formed like a bear's head. Underneath the armour, dark skin was visible, similar to the skin some people from the Free Cities had. The man wore a large two-handed sword strapped over his back, but hadn't drawn it. Gutten remembered what the bandit in the barn said. “Let me guess...”, he said. “You must be Bear”
The man, whose face was barely visible underneath the helmet, gave him a cruel smile and Gutten took a look into the man's eyes. Darkness. A lust for violence. Insanity. The beast roared in it's cage. “And who the fuck are you?”, he growled. His voice was deep and dark, almost as dark as his eyes. “Who the actual fuck are you people?”, he continued, this time a bit louder. Temari was still fighting his opponent, but was slightly distracted by this bear. Gutten gripped his sword harder as he saw Cass moving next to the man's feet. “My name is John Gutten. I protect this inn. You and your men will leave, or die!”, he growled.
The man let out a loud, terrifying laugh. “The fuck we'll do”, he hissed before bowing his head mockingly into Janae's direction. “Good evening, bitch. My name is Bear”, he chuckled. John didn't turn around to face Janae, but from the amused reaction on Bear's face, he knew how Janae was looking at him. “You fucks slaughtered my men”, Bear hissed, his voice getting very low. “I thought a fucking army was in here. But it were just... just two one-eyed fucks and two little bitches. So, you managed to stall my men? To fucking slaughter them?” All of a sudden, he let out a deep, growling laugh. Befitting to his name, it sounded more like a bear roaring. “I'm going to tear you to pieces for this”, he said, while looking at Gutten. “You and the other fucker. The bitches can live until they start to bore me and my men” A sudden noise behind John almost caused him to look around. He heard the sound of glass shattering and a battlecry, as someone attacked Janae from behind. She could manage, she had to manage, she couldn't die here!
Bear took a few steps closer, almost into range of Gutten' sword and looked him deep in the eye. “And I'm fucking merciful with this”, he hissed, before jumping at Gutten, simply dodging a hit from him. How could he be so agile with armour like this? Bear still hadn't drawn his sword, instead he gave Gutten a punch to the chin, hard enough to almost break his jaw. Gutten went down on the ground, Bear jumping on top of him, pressing the air out of his lungs, knocking the sword out of his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Gutten saw Temari still fighting against his opponent. His wound affected him visibly, especially while parrying.
As he tried to breath, he noticed that he barely managed to get air, with his opponent sitting in top of him. Bear took a swing to Gutten's face, but John managed to block it with his hands, grabbing Bears fist. In that moment he saw it. Knives. Tiny little knives embedded into Bear's glove. A bears claws.... Bear simply raised his other hand delivering a punch with his open palm, right into Gutten's face. John felt the knives scratching across his face, narrowly missing his one good eye, cutting through the eyepatch above his right eye, plunging deep into his empty eyesocket, cutting his left cheek. And he screamed, for the first time in yeas he screamed in pain and let down his guard. Bear delivered a second punch, this time with his fist closed, right into John's face. While the first hit was painful, this one almost caused him to loose consciousness. The bears claws were stained with blood, as he raised his right hand, opening his palm in an attempt to hit him again. Gutten knew, Bear intended to maul him like an animal would. He had fought against animals, even against real bears, but never before against a human like that.
The claws came closer, terribly fast, only to stop as something slender pierced the armour at the forearm, piercing deep into the flesh. An arrow. Janae's arrow. His maiden fair had his back, as always. Bear let out a surprised cry of rage and looked up. Gutten used this time to reach out his hand. He felt the cold hilt of his sword, grabbed it and moved it towards Bear's head. He hadn't enough room and he hadn't enough strength left to make it a lethal blow, but he managed to hit Bear hard enough in the head to make him stagger backwards. Sweet, fresh air filled Gutten's lungs, almost making him ignore his bleeding face, the terribly numb feeling in his head and the pain he felt in his ribs while breathing in. He hadn't met an opponent like this in a long time. Ten years ago, he would have probably wiped the floor with Bear. Probably...
He heard a gurgling sound, followed by the dull sound of someone bashing someone else's head against a wooden table. Temari had defeated his opponent and was about to bash the man's head in, in a terrible fit of rage. For one moment, Gutten asked himself why Bear wasn't attacking him again. He had to... By the Drowned God, why was everything so blurry? He had to get up... Was that blood in his good eye? Why wasn't Janae shooting at this Bear? Why wasn't Temari attacking? He saw him, sword in hand, giving Gutten a worried look, before looking at someone in front of Gutten, someone right in his blind spot. Damned blind spot...
He forced himself to stand up, seeing Janae, her bow drawn. To her feet lay a dead bandit, an arrow sticking in his face. She was aiming... at him? No, at someone behind him. Why wasn't she shooting? Why was everything so damnably blurry? The blow wasn't that hard, was it?
He turned around and reality hit him harder than Bear had. The dizzy feeling was gone in an instant, replaced by cold fear and the sound of his heavily beating hard. Bear was standing in front of him, a cruel smile on his face, his eyes almost glowing with brutality. And in his left hand, the one that hadn't been hit by Janae's arrow, he held Cass.
The girl was conscious and gave John a frightened glare, a look so full of terror that John had to remember Orkmont. His brother gave him a look like this as Gutten smashed his head in. She gave him a look like this as she was hit by his own sword. His mother gave him a look like this, before she called him kinslayer. And right now, he gave Cass this look as well.
“One fucking step closer and I'll end this bitch”, Bear growled. The knives in his glove were touching Cass' throat, Bear's index finger scratching over her chin, leaving a red cut on her porcelain skin. Her eyes widened, but John could tell that the grip he had her in was too hard for her to gulp or to scream. And she wanted to scream, Gutten could tell it, she wanted to scream and to kick. But she was too afraid. Gutten was afraid too. He hadn't been afraid like this in a long time...
“Let her go”, he said and was shocked by how weak his voice sounded. He had tried to be strong, but Bear had been stronger. His face was burning in agony, his eyepatch torn apart, his nose broken. But he stood straight. “Please... let her go...”
Bear let out his terrifyingly roaring laugh. “And why should I do that?”, he asked. “Because I'm going to put an arrow through your eye if you don't”, Janae hissed. “Let her go, you son of a bitch, let her go or I will bring you pain like you can't imagine”
This caused Bear to laugh even louder. “You fucking bitch...”, he chuckled. “You try to intimidate me? You think I am scared of a whore like you?” Gutten narrowed his eye, seeing Temari unsure, maybe for the first time since he met him. “Don't attack him, Temari...”, Gutten hissed and Bear gave him a brutal smile. “Yeah, don't you fucking dare, Temari”, he said mockingly. “Or else I'll rip out this bitches throat and stuff your good eye into her, you freak!”
Gutten could tell that Temari was violently furious. But now wasn't the time to be angry. Now wasn't the time to attack... As much as he hated it, Bear had a hostage. Even worse, he had Cass as his hostage. One step, one tiny movement, and he would put his terrible knives into her throat. Gutten saw that she barely dared to breathe. He remembered Orkmont. He wouldn't loose her, he wouldn't loose her again!
“What do you want?”, he finally asked and Bear let out another laugh. “Now we're talking. You surprised me. You know, my Band of Claws has over a hundred men. But they are not here. I have maybe half a dozen more in these fucking woods. I've never suspected a shitty inn like this putting up any resistance” He made a mocking bow. “I will retreat. You have time to bring your people away. I will come back, with a hundred men. And, like this fucking Targaryen dragonlord on his stupid fucking island says, I will bring fire and blood with me. You have one day. You will let me go and I will spare your little whore. Would be a shame to rip out a throat as fine as hers, right?”, he growled.
Gutten had been a mercenary for fifteen years, but he had never met someone whom he instantly hated. Bear was the first. A monster. A true monster. Even the beast inside of him was impressed, maybe even intimidated. “Or you allow this fucking whore behind you to try her luck”, Bear explained. “What are you even supposed to be, girl? Whores shouldn't pretend to be men”, he chuckled. Gutten turned around and saw Janae furious. She was rarely furious, always cold, always distant, his maiden fair, his best and only friend. But right now she was boiling with anger. “I'm going to kill this son of a bitch, John, I'm going to kill him”, she hissed. “He can't take us three, he can't even take me. Give me the order. Allow me to end his life”
“You are really a stupid fucking whore, you know that?”, Bear growled, sounding almost amused, looking blissfully at Cass' bleeding chin. “I don't need to take you all. This one-eyed cunt, this John, he won't give you the order because he is too afraid to loose his little bitch” He looked Gutten straight in the eye. “So, John, I'm telling you how we're doing it. You will agree to my terms. The bitch will drop her bow. I will drop your whore, alive and as fine as a fuck. I will leave. You will have time to leave. Tomorrow, the band of claws will be back, we will burn this place to the ground and we will kill every fucker we can find. You can prevent this by leaving after I'm gone. I'm fucking merciful here, I'm giving you a chance”
Gutten looked at Janae who shook her head. “You know that he is lying. I shoot him, he drops Cass. Maybe alive. It's her best chance”, she said. Bear spat onto the ground. “The bitch talks to much. You should cut out her tongue, would make her a lot better, trust me. If she shoots, she might kill me, I'll give her that. But is her arrow fast enough? I only need one tiny movement, only need to stretch my hand and your whore is dead. You want that? You want a dead whore? The moment you order the bitch to shoot me, I will kill this whore, even though it would be a waste of one fine ass”, he growled, his smirk becoming wider.
“He is lying, John. He won't let her live. You remember the Qohorik we met in Pentos? The one who did these... things to rich girls? You remember how he lied to you about sparing that girl? Come on, John, you are smarter than that!”, Janae urged him. John recognized this. He never met a Qohorik in Pentos. It was a code. He only needed to tell her that he understood and she would shoot. Bear wouldn't realize it until it would be too late. Maybe he could save Cass like that... or maybe Janae was too reckless, maybe he needed to let Bear go to save the girl he... liked.
[Signal Janae to shoot] [Order her to drop her bow]
( Signal janae to shoot)
[Signal Janae to shoot]
[Signal Janae to shoot] Cass is going to die either by being chased down in the woods by Bear and co or she is going to die here. Bear is probably going to comb the woods looking for revenge.
[Signal Janae to shoot]
Shoot Her!
[Signal Janae to shoot] Such an awesome chapter!
[Signal Janae to shoot]
I know you can't see me right now, but I'm doing a little happy dance.
[Order her to drop her bow]
[Signal Janae to shoot]
[Signal Janae to shoot]
Chance worth taking
[Order her to drop her bow]
[Signal Janae to shoot]
[Signal Janea to shoot]
[Order her to drop her bow]
{Signal her to shoot}
[signal Janae to shoot]
[Signal Janae to shoot]
[Give them a quick death and send their heads back to Harrenhal]
Felt like the torture could be more appropriate but can't do that so
The Voting is closed!
John will allow Janae to shoot Bear
Since I had no time to write yesterday, the new part is still simply almost written. It should be done in the next 2-3 hours at max though.
Today's shout-out goes to a new story that has been written by a loyal Forum of Thrones reader: A Murder Mystery Fanfiction, written by @Nightshroud18. The story takes place in a small town that is troubled by a serial killer
The story already got a prologue that shows that Nightshroud is a very talented writer, however to continue with the story, he needs a few more characters. This is where you can help. If you want to support this story, you should check it out here!
Thanks Liquid! Your the best!
Jaron
Jaron grabbed a cup of wine from the tablet. “Why not? Guess I've slept enough in the past week. Damn poppy stuff”, he chuckled. “How is the Burned Man able to drink the milk like this anyway?”
“It's highly diluted, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his people like he does”, Harpy explained and for a very short moment her confident smile wasn't convincing. “When he isn't under the influence of the milk, he is brilliant. He has a wonderful mind. But there is also the pain. The first weeks in Oldtown, when we hadn't had enough money to buy milk from the Citadel had been terrible, for him, for me. I was eight years old and he begged me to end it for him...” She looked away, staring at her cup of wine.
“But you made it, right?”, Jaron asked, trying to comfort her. Her smile returned, but she still avoided to look him in the eyes. “Yes. We made it”, she mumbled and for a moment she seemed as if she wanted to say something else, when Martin cleared his throat. “Okay then”, he said with a smile. “I'd like to propose a little game. We have time, we have wine and we know nothing about each other. Perfect opportunity”
Harpy raised an eyebrow and looked at Martin. “Seriously?”, she asked with a mocking tone in her voice. “That's ridiculous”
Martin shrugged. “It's a game. Fun. You know the word, mylady, right?” Harpy gave him a short smile. “You are ridiculous”, she said again, before sighing. “Fine. But I hope it's not one of these saucy tavern games”
Martin shook his head. “Not as long as we try to behave. It's a pretty easy game. I make a guess about you. If I guess right, you drink. If I guess wrong, I drink. If I want to drink, I drink. And after a while, we all know each other like a family. And naturally, none of us will remember anything tomorrow”, he explained and Harpy let out a short laugh. “It sounds boring!”, she moaned, but she smiled as she said it.
“It's not boring!”, Martin insisted again. “Here, let me ask you a question, okay?” Harpy sighed again and looked at Jaron. “You want to play this?”, she asked. Jaron couldn't contain a grin. He knew games like these and even though they weren't his favourite drinking games, he knew worse. “Sounds like a perfect opportunity to kill some time”, he answered and Harpy rolled with her eyes. “Fine then. Looks like I'm outvoted. Ask your question, Martin”
Martin leant forwards and looked Harpy deep in the eyes. “You were born in slavery”, he stated and Harpy raised her cup. “Come on, that hardly counts as a question. It's like asking Ser Jaron if he is a bastard”, she complained, but took a deep sip from her cup. “Ugh, we really shouldn't play with this stuff”, she exclaimed and made a grimace.
Martin looked at Jaron. “See? That's how the game works. Now make a statement about me”, he insisted. Jaron thought about that for a moment. “You come from the Free Cities”, he stated and Martin looked at him in surprise, before taking a sip. “What gave me away?”, he asked. “Your general stupidity and cockiness”, Harpy remarked and earned a short glare from Martin. “The hint of an accent”, Jaron explained after suppressing a smile. “I'd say you are a Pentoshi”
This time Martin grinned. “Drink, Ser Jaron. I may not look the part, but I was born and raised in Braavos. My parents have been Westerosi mercenaries though”, he explained and Jaron took a sip from his cup, noticing that Martin did the same. Seven Hells, this wine was terrible! And far stronger than expected...
“My turn”, Harpy proclaimed, looking at Jaron, who was still grimacing from the horrible wine. Still, he couldn't help but to give her a curious look. “What? Don't say the Burned Man doesn't know everything about me already”, he said and Harpy quickly shook her head. “Do you imply we would spy on you? Besides, do I look like the Burned Man?”, she answered and gave him a bright smile. “Not quite...”, Jaron mumbled, reciprocating her smile.
“At least you're not blind”, Harpy remarked. “Now, it's still my turn. Hmm...” She seemed to think for a moment. “Your mother's name was Janissa”, she stated and Jaron gave her a startled look. “You have spied on me!”, he exclaimed and Harpy looked genuinely insulted. “What? No, no, like I said, we would never spy on you. Are you implying we would spy on you? It was a lucky guess, nothing more”, she explained, looking at Martin who gave her a nod. “Yeah, totally. Lucky guess. The mylady can get lucky, you know... So, drink, Ser Jaron”, he chuckled, but took a sip from his cup as well. “Hey, that stuff get's better with every sip! Where'd you get that, Harpy?” Harpy shrugged. “Straight out of harbour basin, I guess”, she answered. Jaron took a gulp from his cup, noticing Harpy doing the same. No, it still tasted like vomit...
“My turn!”, Martin proclaimed, smiling at Jaron. “You've killed over a dozen men in your life”, he stated and Jaron raised an eyebrow. A dozen? He remembered, there was a bandit from some small group he and Ser Matthos had hunted. It had been his first kill and it was sheer luck. Shortly after that, he had killed a drunkard who had tried to stab him. Even later he had killed three dornish highwaymen, members of some dornish bandit group that terrorized small farms in the Marches. He still remembered it as his finest moment. He stood knee-deep in mud and blood, around him the corpses of his opponents, he was bleeding from a small wound, he was exhausted and Ser Matthos had knighted him. Jaron had never been prouder in all his life
“Half a dozen”, he said with a slight smile and Martin chuckled. “Not as experienced as I thought”, he said with a smirk before taking a gulp from his cup. “You think you're good enough to take on the insect? Longbow Jaylon? The Fang of Shadows?” Jaron shrugged. Of course, he knew he likely wasn't as good as this Fang of Shadows, especially after seeing how afraid Harpy was of that man. But he wasn't a bad fighter either. And he felt brave. Maybe it was just the wine, but he felt braver than ever. “I guess I will find out”, he said and Martin clapped his hands. “That's the spirit, my friend! Valar Morghulis, as they say in my city”, he exclaimed.
Harpy gave him a short glare. “Valar Dohaeris, Martin. That's not funny”, she said, before taking another sip from the cup. “Anyway. Your turn, Ser Jaron. Make a statement about me or, if you really want to, make a statement about Martin”
Jaron gave her a bold smile. Gods, this wine was strong indeed... “Alright then. You are not a pure-blooded Ghiscari”, he stated. Harpy gave him an impressed nod and took a sip, Martin did the same. “Impressive eyesight you have, Ser Jaron. My mother was from Yunkai. My father on the other hand...”, she started to explain, but Jaron cut her off. “Say nothing. Fair skin. It's Tyrosh, right?”
Harpy gave him a look of feigned offendedness. “Do I look like a Tyroshi to you? I've never felt the need to colour my hair”, she snarled and Jaron took a deep gulp out of his cup, before grabbing the carafe in front of him. “That's probably a good thing”, he said, unsure what to answer. Harpy raised an eyebrow. “I know”, she hissed. “My father was a Lysene, as far as I know. Never met him, never missed him” For a moment her smile faded, before returning, visibly less convincing. “But the empire of Old Ghis was destroyed three thousand years ago. I'm probably no less pure-blooded than Abbas or Bakr”
“So... Lys? Do you know I have Lysene blood in me as well, mylady?”, Martin asked and Harpy gave him a short glare. “If you say so” She sounded mildly annoyed. Martin leant forwards and refilled his cup with the help of the carafe. “My turn!”, he proclaimed and looked Harpy deep in the eyes. “Lady Harpy, now that I know you are of Lysene blood, I'd say you are good at both of the Lysene specialities”, he said with a grin that was likely supposed to be charming. Jaron felt slight annoyance at this man.
Harpy's smile returned, more genuine than ever. “My, my. And you promised it wouldn't be a saucy game”, she smiled. Martin smiled back. “Guess I just can't behave. Proof that you shouldn't trust me”, he answered and now Jaron felt a little bit more annoyed at him. And the wine was still strong, far stronger than the stuff Jaron was used to.
Harpy raised her cup. “It's only one of the Lysene specialities I'm good at. Drink, Martin, and hope it's not the poisonmaking”, she proclaimed. Martin, visibly drunken, went pale. “What have you... I didn't mean to insult... you haven't... have you?”, he stuttered and Harpy gave him a charming smile. “Drink”, she simply said and Martin took a small sip.
Harpy looked at him carefully, not saying anything, before putting her cup down. “They say I'm quite good with poison”, she mumbled and Martin spluttered his wine all over the table. As he noticed her facial expression, Jaron couldn't help but laugh, while Martin looked at him, quickly understanding what just happened. “That will teach you to ask a damsel a question like that”, Harpy said, before putting her cup down. “And now, we should all stop playing this horrible game before you ask something I am not allowed to answer” She gave Jaron a sweet smile and the knight noticed that he was grinning. The alcohol suddenly didn't seem so strong anymore. “And I'd really hate poisoning you, you can believe me that”, she added as her smile turned to a smirk.
Martin gave her a hasty nod. “Sure, mylady. If you favour a simple conversation over my elaborate drinking game, why don't you suggest a topic?”, he said, still eyeing his wine suspiciously. Harpy took a slight sip from her cup, before putting it down. Her smile vanished, replaced by a stern look. “Butterfly”, she said. “I want to talk about Butterfly”
Martin let out a groan. “Really, Harpy? The insect?” Harpy gave him a sharp look. “Butterfly, Martin. Just as I don't appreciate it if the Burned Man is called a cripple, Butterfly won't appreciate it if you call him an insect”, she explained and Martin shrugged. “So what? You don't think he's listening to our little conversation, eh?”, he chuckled. Harpy shook her head. “Of course not. But insulting an enemy is something he would do. The Burned Man does not stoop so low” Her gaze hardened as she looked at Martin. “Neither do I. And neither will you”, she said with a commanding tone in her voice.
“So...”, Jaron said and as Harpy looked at him, her stare got considerably more friendly. “Butterfly. How long is he a threat in this city?”, he asked. “Four years. At first it wasn't that alarming. Some of our people disappeared. Things like that happened in Oldtown, you know... and the Burned Man wasn't the only crimelord in this city during that time. There was the Silver Lady, an old woman, rumoured to be of Valyrian descent, who commanded the cities smugglers. There was Iron Ivar, a retired raider who specialised in trading with slaves. Aeron Blacksails, the pirate king of the Stepstone Islands had operations in this city. They lost men too. At first we suspected Ivar, but he turned out to be innocent. Well, as innocent as a slaver can be. Then, one by one, the old crimelords vanished from Oldtown. Iron Ivar went down fighting, killed in a nameless alleyway not far from here. The Silver Lady was poisoned in her sleep. Blacksails was cunning enough to withdraw his involvement in Oldtown”, she explained and closed her eyes. “I wished that Ar... the Burned Man... I wish he would have retreated too. Whoever this new enemy was, he tried to scare us away at first. The Burned Man had opportunities to leave the city. I urged him to return to his hometown of Lorath. He had always promised to go there with me” As she opened her eyes, Jaron noticed a sadness in Harpies eyes, and a look more befitting to a woman thrice her age.
“One day, we found a survivor. A young boy. I happened to know him. His name was Endrew, he was an orphan and a bastard, like so many here in this city. He joined the Burned Man for a copper coin a day and a warm meal every two days, which is more than twice the payment he would have received from Blacksails or Ivar. His only job was to be one pair of eyes and ears near the Starry Sept. He was a kind boy and... so full of life and full of dreams. His forearms and his feet had been removed, as well as his eyes”, Harpy continued, but made a pause and stopped looking Jaron in the eyes. The knight noticed tears in the corners of her eyes. “Are you alright, mylady?”, he asked.
Harpy gave him a soft nod. “Yes. Yes, of course. He recognized my voice, you know. Before we gave him mercy, he told us a single word. Repeated it, again and again, until it was so deeply embedded into my mind that I had nightmares for weeks” She looked him in the eyes again and Jaron noticed something he hadn't noticed before. Her dark eyes were filled with anger, perhaps even hatred. “Butterfly”, she said. “Ever since, we were at war”
Jaron gave her a nod. He understood her anger, he understood it very well. Of course, he had no illusions about what Harpy might be capable of. She was in league with the Burned Man after all. But still, in this moment, he understood her. “And you never had any idea who he might be?”, he asked.
Harpy shook her head. “At first we suspected Mullendore. His sigil is a swarm of butterflies, you know. He and Butterfly target criminals”, she explained. “But who would actually use their sigil as a nickname when trying to remain incognito? I mean, you hear about that in your stories all the time, but who would actually do that? Later, we learned that Mullendore lost men too. And that he was trembling with rage at Butterfly, for killing his men and for using his sigil. This is also not the way he does things. Mullendore is a cruel man, someone I don't want to be locked in a room with. But he isn't a particularly cunning man, he can't even read his own letters. Butterfly on the other hand... we assume he deliberately picked this name to provoke Mullendore. Maybe he has some grudge against him, we don't know. We targeted...”, she explained, but was cut off by the sound of someone banging at the door.
Martin stood up, looking at Harpy who gave him a short nod. Visibly tipsy, he started to stagger to the door, a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Who's there?”, he asked. “Himani”, a soft voice answered and Jaron saw Harpy relaxing and Martin opening the door. The young boy Jaron met a few days ago came into the room, giving Jaron and Harpy a bow. “M'lady Harpy, Ser Jaron. You're having fun, I see”, he said with a smile.
Harpy opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but quickly closed it and looked at Jaron. She actually smiled genuinely now, even though a hint of sadness was still visible in her eyes. “Glad to have you here, Himani”, she remarked and the boy gave her a bright smile. “That'll change once I take one of these spoons with me”, he explained and looked at Jaron. “Ser Jaron, good to see that you're not dead”
A painful sting flashed through Jaron's ribs and he slightly shivered. “It was pretty close, Himani”, he explained. Himani gave him a happy nod. “I know. The Burned Man sent Abbas and Bakr to meet up with your friends, to save them”, he explained and Harpy gave him a startled look. “Abbas and Bakr? Why hasn't he told me anything about that?”, she demaned to know. Himani simply shrugged. “Guess he had no time. I've just found out that Fang and Longbow where heading towards the ship. So he had to act”, he explained.
Harpy gave him a confused nod. “Well... Fang and Longbow aren't our main problem here. I think Abbas and Bakr are suited to deal with them. Who knows, maybe they'll even kill them. Or get themselves killed”, she explained and her facial expression hardened. “There is one thing the Burned Man can't tolerate. Treason. Someone leaked information about Ser Jaron, information about several other members of our organisation. We lost a dozen pairs of eyes and ears in the past five days. As much as I hate it, but it appears we have a traitor in our organisation”
Jaron raised an eyebrow. Our organisation? Harpy looked at him and gave him a disarming smile. “From my perspective, you are more one of us than these slavers ever would be. You almost got killed and if it weren't for your friends from that ship, you would have been dead. That's why I trust you” She looked at Martin. “You are a pain in the ass. You have a terrible sense of humour. And I'd rather play an Ironborn fingerdance than playing one of your drinking games ever again. But you are smart enough to know that we pay better than Butterfly ever would” Before Martin could say anything, Harpy looked at Himani. “And after all the Burned Man did for you... you would still be in Astapor if it weren't for him. You know how to repay a debt like this”
Himani's smile vanished and for the first time since Jaron met him he seemed to be serious. “With loyalty, m'lady”, he said and Hary gave him a pleased nod. “With loyalty”, she repeated and looked at Jaron. “How are you feeling, Jaron? I mean your ribs. Are you able to fight?”, she asked. Jaron touched his ribs. The pain was still there, it was still bad. But he was on his best way to recover. “I hope so, mylady”
For a moment, Jaron was thinking she would give him a smile again, but to his disappointment, she simply gave him a nod. “Very good. We have a shortage of good fighters and even worse, we have a shortage of decent men. You are not a bad fighter and you are not a bad man. However, your wound will affect you, I am almost certain of that. That's why you will only support either Martin or Himani in the tasks I have thought out for them”
She stood up, facing Jaron, Martin and Himani. “We need to set up a trap for the traitor. I have checked our men in the past five days. There are two men who have aroused my suspicion”, she explained and looked at Martin. “You will target a man who goes by the name of Robb. A mercenary from the Riverlands, involved in smuggling goods out of Oldtown. For a few weeks now, he displayed suspicious behaviour. One of the urchins I sent to follow him told me that he was meeting someone without informing us about it”
Martin made a sigh. “I know Robb. He appears like a bad man until you get to know him better. I really don't want to hurt him”, he said with a sullen expression, but his face lit up as Harpy pulled a golden coin out of a small leathery purse on her belt. “A hundred of these for you if you help us”, she said. Martin gave her a short bow. “Mylady Harpy, I am yours!”, he proclaimed and gave her a charming smile.
Without looking at Martin, Harpy faced Himani. “You will target a man who is named Jarek, involved in dealing lessons to the Burned Man's enemies. He is involved in shady business... I mean shadier than ours and apparently he does freelance work for someone inside the Starry Sept. We know Butterfly has contacts to the Sept”, she explained and Martin let out a sigh again. “Another good man. Jarek is a bit cocky and impulsive, but nonetheless a good man. I don't think either of them is a traitor”, he explained. Himani gave Harpy a determined nod. “I'll spy on him, mylady. For you and for the Burned Man”
Lastly, Harpy looked at Jaron and this time she gave him a sweet smile. “You, Jaron, will accompany one of them. Robb is an experienced fighter, but Jarek is more cunning than him. I'd leave it up to you who you want to target here and who you want to support. In either case, I don't envy you, because you'll spend a day with either Martin, or with Himani”, she said and earned two glares with the last line.
[Help Martin and target Robb] [Help Himani and target Jarek]
(Help Martin)
More because I like Martin more than anything
[Help Himani and target Jarek]
[Help Himani and target Jarek]
[Help Himani and target Jarek] Martin is enough to interrogate one man.
[Help Martin and target Robb] I think Martin and Jaron would make a nice odd couple, a money-first sellsword and honorable hedge knight
Anyway, amazing chapter!
[Help Martin and target Robb] I think Jaron would just slow Himani down. Himani is just going to spy so his smaller frame should be enough for him. Martin however.... He is obviously going get himself noticed and will need some help.
[Help Himani and target Jarek]
[Help Himani and target Jarek]
[Help Martin and target Robb]
[Help Martin and target Robb]
[Help Himani and target Jarek]
Bringing back the boys, lovin' it!
well, i didn't want to sleep anyway
btw, [Help Martin and target Robb] because martin is going to fuck up, i'm calling it
[Help Martin and target Robb]
Dammit! I got unfollowed from this thread for some reason, and came back to 157 new comments.
I really like Martin, so I'll help him out!