Samantha will fight Butterfly without Sasha's help
I am really surprised by that choice. Sure, in the end winning the help of Sasha would only provide Martin and Co. with one additional fighter, but perhaps it's that single figher that would have made a difference. That said, now that she's not busy fighting Butterfly, Sasha can do her part in finding Lunett. This choice might appear to be not that important on it's own, but I will reveal it's full importance soon >:D
The next part is almost completely written. I would have finished it yesterday, but I had a few friends at my house and not much time to write. This part will finish the storylines for Kersea and Marak in this chapter and will be out in a few hours. By the way, since I'm trying my best to finish this chapter in this month, I'm going to write faster for the next part and close the next voting a bit earlier as a result.
And now it's time for something I haven't done in a longer time. It's a little shout-out for the forum's newest story, written by @NoHopeLeft. The story is named Silicon and is set in the eponymous small town located in a secluded area in Wisconsin. It is a mystery story, so it is probably safe to say that Silicon is a completely normal small town without any dark secrets that could be uncovered over the course of the story at all. Since it has just started a few days ago, I can't really say any more about the plot, except that I am already hooked on it. It's probably for the best if you take a look for yourself. As expected, the writing is amazing, the storyline is very intriguing and the potential of the story is immense. If I have succeeded in gaining your interest, click on this link to get to the story!
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea already felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You think with a little bit of defiance and your iron will you could refuse to break. Perhaps you think that you can break me instead” A smirk formed at the edges of his mouth, even though he visibly tried to suppress it. That bastard enjoyed it, as always! “I think I need to give you a harder lesson”, he hissed and slowly started to twist her hand. Pain flashed through Kersea's wrist as he moved her hand upwards and tears formed in her eyes as she let out a pained whimpering.
“Clayton...”, Alysanne mumbled, but the man did not stop. She saw it in his eyes, he didn't even thought about stopping in this moment. And he enjoyed it, no matter how much he tried to convince her of the difference. The pained whimpering turned into a suppressed scream. No! She wouldn't show weakness in front of him. And in front of Wolfius... She wouldn't!
“Clayton!”, Alysanne yelled, taking a step forwards and grabbing him at the shoulder. “You're going to break her hand if you continue!” Clayton gave her an irritated stare, but at least for a moment he stopped twisting her hand. A regretful expression flashed across his face, as he opened his grip, causing Kersea to sink to the ground, wailing as pain flashed through her wrist. Clayton hadn't broken it, but he came close, closer than he ever did before.
“I'm sorry”, he mumbled shortly and it almost sounded sincere. Perhaps he even believed himself. “Fuck you...”, Kersea answered, earning herself a glare from Alysanne. “She's of no use if you break her hand, remember that”, her new friend warned Clayton and Kersea understood. It wasn't their newfound friendship that caused Alysanne's help, at least Kersea suspected this. No, it was cold, logical thinking, something Clayton wasn't capable of in his current state of mind. She simply reminded him of Kersea's use... again, she didn't know what she expected.
“Wait, that's it?”, another voice growled. Wolfius. Still holding her hand, Kersea let out a sigh. She had almost forgotten him. “You're going to let this little bitch go like this?” Before she could even attempt to do it on her own, Clayton pulled her back to her feet. He looked her in the eyes and it seemed to be his idea of an apology. “I'm sorry, you know that. I never wanted to take it too far with you”
She gave him no answer, instead she only shot him a hateful glare. One day... on days like these, when her hate grew stronger than her fear, she knew it, one day she would kill him for what he did. To her, but most importantly to Briar. She could forgive what he did to herself, the old Kersea was never a vengeful girl. But Briar? Even the old Kersea would have killed him for what he did to her sister. One day...
“Are you serious?”, Wolfius yelled. “It's her fault that our mission failed. We could have killed that little Harking bitch and her father as well! Instead...” He paused pointing at his now blind eye. Despite the pain he was obviously in, he was trembling with rage. “Fine, if you're not going to do anything against this, I have to do it myself” Clayton narrowed his eyes. “What are you going to do, Wolfius?”, he asked with a dangerously calm voice
“I'm going to kill them!”, Wolfius screamed and his sudden yelling caused Kersea to take a step away from him. “Harking, his fucking daughter, that blacksmith Mettel and her whore of a daughter, the guard bitch, Commander Nathamer and his whole fucking family, Harkings friends and that Katya bitch from the tavern!”, he hissed, still shivering with fury. He pointed his knife at Kersea. “And when I am done with them, I will make you pay, you and your worthless sister!”
Clayton gave her a stare that was probably supposed to be friendly and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her into an unwanted hug. “Try it, Wolfius”, he growled with barely concealed anger. “Try it and I will cut you down myself”
“Clayton”, she hissed, gaining his attention for a moment. “If you ever touch me again, I'm going to cut out your other eye while you sleep” The threat was serious and he realized it immediately, letting go of her and taking a step backwards.
Wolfius didn't even seem to notice that Clayton had shifted his attention. A cruel smirk was seen on his face, paired with his pale white eye it formed one of the most terrifying facial expressions Kersea had ever seen from him. “You think I am scared of you, Ellyrio Terys. You are a coward, you have always been a coward and you will die as a coward. Get in my way and I will show you what I'm truly capable off”
“And what could this be?”, Clayton chuckled with a mocking smile. “Your most remarkable skill is that you can stab someone with a knife. Do you think I am scared of you?”
“You should”, Wolfius answered in a low tone that caused Kersea to shiver. These two words, they were the worst thing she had heard all day, worse than Jenna Harking's bloodcurdling screams, worse than the physical pain Clayton gave her once again. It was a statement, a promise, something that was inherently true. Only a fool would doubt it. And Clayton was no fool.
“Do you wish to leave us?”, Clayton asked and it was meant to sound threatening. But next to Wolfius, who was nearly a head shorter, more lean and armed only with his rusty dagger, Clayton felt like a babbling child. She remembered, it had been the same with the old man, the one who had trained Clayton and Raenna, the only man who had shown kindness to Kersea in the last five years. She remembered, next to him Clayton had always looked less threatening, almost meek. The old man had been the most dangerous man she had ever known. And now the same applied to Wolfius.
“Do you want to stop me?”, Wolfius answered, revealing his unsettling grin. The two men stared each other in the eyes and Kersea saw Clayton flinching. Of course, he looked away first. “As expected”, Wolfius commented, as if he just read her thoughts. “You have no idea what I am capable of, what I am”
With these words, he turned around, slowly walking towards the doors of the warehouse. “If you're not trying to prepare this city for Butterfly's plans, I will, on my own. I will kill every Harking, every Mettel, every Nathamer I can find. I will kill anyone who dares to get in my way and anyone I want”, he growled and turned around again. “Perhaps even you”
Clayton narrowed his eyes. “If you leave this building, you will be on your own. A single man, all alone. If you become a danger for our mission, we will stop you”, he promised him and Wolfius let out a cold chuckle. “Oh, you think I will be alone?”, he asked. “There is someone in this city, someone who can help me. Someone like me”
“A deranged and reckless killer?”, Clayton asked, but his mockery felt weak for Kersea. Wolfius gave him a nod. “I hope that he's similar in that field too. But no, I'm talking about something else entirely” His sickening smile reappeared and it felt worse than a thousand times of Clayton's punishment.
“Sleep well tonight, Ellyrio Terys. Be the little coward you are, hiding behind your fake identities, your fake smiles and your fake manners. I wonder what I will find when I will tear all these fakes down. I wonder if there's going to be anything left of you”, he said calmly, in an almost polite tone, nonetheless threatening. “Sleep well tonight, one last time” With these words, Wolfius turned around and left the building, leaving a shivering Kersea, a visibly disturbed Clayton and an indifferent Alysanne behind.
“He's becoming a danger...”, Clayton mumbled, looking at Kersea. She shot him another glare full of hatred and he let out a sigh. As long as she knew him, no one had dared to talk to him like that. “Look, I am sorry...”, he started to say, but stopped himself as he saw her facial expression. “I am not your enemy, but I have my orders”
Kersea was opening and closing her hand, trying her best to ignore the pain. “Fuck your orders and fuck you”, she answered. “I will kill you if you don't keep your end of the deal. And lay hand on me one more time and you will regret it”
Clayton did not answer. She saw the hurt expression on his face and for the first time in months she felt satisfaction. “I will send a raven to Butterfly”, he explained. “And I will inform him that it was Wolfius' fault that our mission failed. Only Wolfius' fault” With these words, he turned around, walking to the second floor of the warehouse, where he kept his raven, leaving Kersea and Alysanne behind.
“It's going to get easier, puppy”, Alysanne said, putting a hand onto her shoulder and Kersea rolled with her eyes. “Where have you heard that line?”, she asked with frustration. Alysanne didn't seem to notice her mocking tone, instead she seemed to honestly think about the question. “The old man told me, last time I saw him. Called me 'Sweet Alysanne'. Never thought anyone would call me sweet” She giggled slightly. “But he was right, you know. It got easier for me. Just swallow your pride and you'll start enjoying it”
Kersea gave her no answer. She watched the stairs that lead to the second floor. Her right hand still throbbed in pain and her left cheek burned like all the seven hells. Despite the pain, she felt different than before. One day she would make them pay, Butterfly, Wolfius and Clayton, a thousand times Clayton. One day...
No choices for this part
Marak
Marak took a last look at the recruits and then looked back at the far more pleasant sight of Nora. Fuck the recruits, they could train themselves! There was a girl right in front of him who couldn't wait to resist his famous charm! He walked towards her, ignoring the icy glare she shot him. Yeah, she played hard to get, he liked that. But he wouldn't be Marak if he would allow such a minor obstacle to stop him!
“So... Nora, isn't it?”, he asked as he walked closer. She was still trying her best to ignore him, but Marak already felt her resistance dwindling. “Buffoon, isn't it?”, she answered, trying to imitate his voice. That only encouraged Marak and he gave her a nod, noticing too late what exactly she had said. “No!”, he exclaimed. “Marak. My name is Marak. Not buffoon”
For a moment she seemed to be genuinely baffled, but then a short laugh forced it's way out of her throat. “What do you want?”, she asked with a grin. Yeah, he almost had her and he barely needed to say a word. Marak was proud at himself in this moment. He knew, his looks did their part. No woman could resist his muscles for long. Well, Noelle could, but she didn't count!
“I asked you a question, buffoon”, Nora repeated herself and Marak knew she was interested, or else she wouldn't have repeated her question, right? “Oh, nothing. Just came by, seeing you and I asked myself, why is such a beautiful young woman like you forced to stand guard on a day like this?”
As she gave him a look that was probably curious, he decided to continue “Well... you know, there is someone who's... ahem... 'standing guard' from the moment he saw you. Perhaps you'd like to meet him?” Yes, yes that sounded good! Suggestive, not too direct, including a wordplay and it gave her something to think about! Marak felt proud that he had managed to compliment her beauty and her intelligence in a single sentence.
Nora raised an eyebrow and a light smile formed on her face. “Are you serious?”, she asked and Marak gave her a hasty nod. “Absolutely!”, he said, immediately noticing that he said something wrong as she burst into laughter.
“You must think of me as some dim-witted harlot that I fall for a line as horrible as that one”, she chuckled and Marak hastily shook his head. “No! You are not dim-witted”, he clarified and her laugher stopped. “Have you just called me a harlot?”, she asked with a frown and Marak realized that he did a mistake.
He opened his mouth, closing it again, staring at her for a moment. “No!”, he exclaimed. “No, that was not what I wanted to say!” He gave her his irresistible grin and slightly flexed his muscles. His naturally good looks should do the rest. “Albeit I'm sure that a lad as fine as you could get filthy rich in that profession”
Nora let out a sigh, as her smile returned. “I guess the priestess is the brain in your team”, she remarked with a mocking tone. Marak gave her a proud nod. He was completely willing to admit that Noelle was better when it came to forming plans. Of course, he was still more intelligent, as he was not the one worshipping a pickled fish.
“Listen, Marak, I'm very entertained..”, she started to say and Marak took a step closer towards her. “I knew you would be. What do you say, I can show you how entertaining I can be...”, he said and she sighed. “I am very entertained, even if you have less charm than a pox-ridden piglet”, she continued and Marak gave her a confused look. “Wait, what?”, he asked.
“Sadly, you are hindering the captain of the guard at doing her duty. I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave the castle”, Nora explained to him, the polite tone of her voice somewhat marred by the fact that she was talking very slowly, as if she was explaining these things to an imbecile.
“Wait a moment, you're throwing me out of the castle?”, Marak exclaimed and for a moment he wasn't sure what was worse. The realization that his irresistible charm had failed on her, or the fact that a girl half his size was attempting to throw him out of the castle.
“Exactly”, Nora answered and flashed him a genuinely stunning smile. “We can do it the easy way, or we can do it the hard way” A gleam of hope grew in Marak as he reciprocated her smile. “That's some sort of code, eh? Easy way, hard way... Oh, I know exactly what that stands for”, he whispered towards her. “Not wanting to show any weakness in front of the recruits, huh? Well, as you wish, m'lady” He leant forwards and her smile got even wider. “We should do it the hard way, after you 'threw me out'”, he grinned. “I know a few positions a girl from Meereen once taught me. Perhaps I can teach you”
“You want the hard way?”, she asked and her smile got even wider. Yes, he had her! Marak had done it again! “Are you sure?” He gave her an excited nod, allowing himself to imagine what she would look like without that shirt. Oh yes... that alone would be worth the past weeks!
She shrugged, looking almost apologetic for a moment. “I warned you...”, she chirped and moved her knee upwards with surprising speed. A sudden burst of pain flashed through Marak's crotch, as he went down on the ground, whimpering in pain. For a moment, all feelings of lust were suppressed by the deep seated wish to bash that whore's head in. But as he tried to stand up, her elbow hit him in the neck, sending him to the ground again. Not that it was necessary, given how weak his legs were after her kick.
“That was the hard way”, Nora remarked dryly. “Sorry for that. I assume it hurts” Marak managed to give her a nod, despite the fact that his neck almost managed to hurt even worse than his genitals. “See it as a lesson. Here in Raylansfair we don't react kindly to harassment”, Nora explained as tears of sheer agony formed in Marak's eyes. By the Drowned God, that woman had a mean kick!
“You know what? Stay here as long as you want, I think you've learned a lesson, haven't you?”, she said in the upbeat tone of an overly enthusiastic commanding officer. He gave her a weak nod and she pointed towards herself. “On this courtyard, in this castle, I'm the captain of the guard. I don't intend to degrade myself by swooning over some ripped barbarian with the wits of an Ibbenese”
“Understood”, Marak mumbled and groaned as he tried to move, causing the pain in his loins to intensify. “Understood what?”, Nora asked, giving him a stern glare. “Understood, Ser!”, Marak yelled as loud as he could in his current state. “And don't you ever forget it”, Nora warned him, before she walked away, leaving him lying on the ground. He looked after her and a grin formed on his face. By the Drowned God, what a woman!
And so he lay on the ground, trying his best to ignore the pain in his loin and the humiliating words of the recruits. Damn rookie's, he could have shown them how to handle a weapon. And he could have shown Nora how to handle... A new wave of pain flashed through his crotch and he let out a pained groan. No, better not to think about it...
After a short while he was able to breath without pain, after a little longer he could even stand up. While his stance was a bit hunched, he was finally able to move again. Nora stood at the other side of the courtyard, shooting him another icy glare and Marak decided that it would be wiser to leave her alone. And he noticed someone else standing not far from him... Noelle! How long was she already standing there?
The priestess was walking towards him, a mocking smile on her lips. “Long enough”, she greeted him, mustering him from head to toe. “I see you made quite a fool out of yourself again” He gave her a grudging nod and she turned around, signalling him to follow her without any additional word.
“I have talked to the acting lord”, she told him as they were walking across the courtyard and out of the gate, leaving the castle behind. “A fascinating man, conflicted between guilt and duty. It's a shame he does not want to help me”
“He refused you?”, Marak said in surprise and Noelle gave him a nod, her face looking slightly irritated. “He refused to listen, refused to look, refused to help in any way. I told him what I want and he told me that he does not trust me or any other follower of R'hllor. And I guess I learned a few words in your language I wasn't quite acquainted with yet”
“Smart man”, Marak answered, not even bothering with not thinking aloud. She would read his thoughts anyway, after all. Noelle ignored his remark and continued. “Because of his refusal to help, things got a bit harder for us, a bit... bloodier”
“Bloodier?”, Marak asked and his face lit up again. Bloodier sounded good! Noelle gave him a nod. “I don't like it, but the acting lords refusal left me with no other choice if I want my plans to succeed. His choice just doomed several people. And that's why I have hired you”, she answered. “After all, you make a living from being a killer, right?”
Marak gave her a proud nod and his mouth formed a wide grin. “Who is it, Noelle? Who needs to die?”, he asked. Noelle sighed and she looked visibly reluctant to answer. “I don't have names, but I know where to find them. I saw them in the fire. A field of flowers, a butterfly in disguise, a girl who's half a dragon and...” She paused and looked at him sternly, albeit a hint of regret was seen in her eyes. “Marak, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to be honest with me. You know you can't lie to me”, she told him and Marak gave her a nod. “Tell me, Marak, do you have a problem with killing a child?”
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
“I'm going to kill them!”, Wolfius screamed and his sudden yelling caused Kersea to take a step away from him. “Harking, his fucking daughter, that blacksmith Mettel and her whore of a daughter, the guard bitch, Commander Nathamer and his whole fucking family, Harkings friends and that Katya bitch from the tavern!”, he hissed, still shivering with fury. He pointed his knife at Kersea. “And when I am done with them, I will make you pay, you and your worthless sister!”
Please kill them all. Harkings especially.
field of flowers, a butterfly in disguise, a girl who's half a dragon and...”
I think I understand what you're trying to say.
field of flowers
Reach bastards. Two come to mind. Lucas and Harris. Field implies plural. Killing the acting lord and then one of the people next in line to gain another to corrupt....
Shit. You guys know who that would be.
a butterfly in disguise
So this can be two people: The Burned Man (Butterfly mock) or the Butterfly himself, which doesn't seem as likely.
a girl who's half a dragon
I want to say a Targarygen bastard girl, but I doubt it. I really have no clue what it would be.
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
[“Yes”] I don't believe she really want us to kill a child, she can't be serious and don't want to have a child blood on my hands. Almost forgot, Marak flirting with Nora was indeed legendary, that was love and sometime love hurts!
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
Normally I prefer not to comment when readers make assumptions like these, in the fear of revealing a spoiler by accident,
@LiquidChicagoTed said this earlier, to me, and he's not responding.
Coincidence? I think not.
Or maybe he just hasn't seen it XD.
Anyway, if my 4 likers plus other readers of my vast expertise on this story haven't figured out yet, the person Noelle would be corrupting would in fact be Leonard. He's no bastard, and if Lucas were to die, considering he would be the final knight of House Raylan, he would be the acting lord. Noelle clearly wants to be able to influence that person, and eliminating the two remaining Flowers and threats to her plans, she would succeed.
[“No”] No big deal.
“I'm going to kill them!”, Wolfius screamed and his sudden yelling caused Kersea to take a step away from him. “Ha… morerking, his fucking daughter, that blacksmith Mettel and her whore of a daughter, the guard bitch, Commander Nathamer and his whole fucking family, Harkings friends and that Katya bitch from the tavern!”, he hissed, still shivering with fury. He pointed his knife at Kersea. “And when I am done with them, I will make you pay, you and your worthless sister!”
Please kill them all. Harkings especially.
field of flowers, a butterfly in disguise, a girl who's half a dragon and...”
I think I understand what you're trying to say.
field of flowers
Reach bastards. Two come to mind. Lucas and Harris. Field implies plural. Killing the acting lord and then one of the people next in line to gain another to corrupt....
Shit. You guys know who that would be.
a butterfly in disg… [view original content]
Hmm, perhaps I can comment your thoughts a little bit. You had some very good ideas here! The identities of the characters on Noelle's hit list will be revealed over the course of Book 1. Her plan is a bit complicated and will be revealed in greater detail in the next chapter. However, she obviously faces a problem similar to that of Melisandre. She sees stuff in the fire, but the meaning of her visions are up to her own interpretation, which may or may not lead to mistakes on her part. I can also reveal that the characters who are mentioned by her aren't the only ones who stand in the way of her plan, I just decided to cut some of them from this part, as Noelle wanted to ask Marak that question as quickly as possible before going into greater detail. Some of the characters from her list might even die before she gets a chance to kill them or at least before they get a chance to be a danger to her plans, but that will depend on your choices.
Reach bastards. Two come to mind. Lucas and Harris. Field implies plural. Killing the acting lord and then one of the people next in line to gain another to corrupt....
I think Harris is the one who's most obviously on her list. He clearly stands in the way of her plans and he's a Reach bastard, so he fits the criteria. And getting a new lord to manipulate would make things a lot easier for her. However, at least in my opinion Leonard would be the one who's harder to manipulate, as he is more cunning and to a certain extent willing to manipulate people himself to get what he wants. Leonard is higher in the order of succession either way, since he is not a bastard. Unfortunately, Ser Darren Tallwood would become acting lord before Leonard, as he has been in the service of House Raylan for far longer.
Anyway, if my 4 likers plus other readers of my vast expertise on this story haven't figured out yet, the person Noelle would be corrupting would in fact be Leonard. He's no bastard, and if Lucas were to die, considering he would be the final knight of House Raylan, he would be the acting lord. Noelle clearly wants to be able to influence that person, and eliminating the two remaining Flowers and threats to her plans, she would succeed.
Right now, Leonard is second in line for the position of the acting lord, after Ser Darren, but before Lucas. That means, if Lucas is on her list, he will become a danger to her plan in some other way.
So this can be two people: The Burned Man (Butterfly mock) or the Butterfly himself, which doesn't seem as likely.
This will make a lot more sense by the end of this chapter.
I want to say a Targarygen bastard girl, but I doubt it. I really have no clue what it would be.
And this character hasn't been introduced yet, but she will be introduced in Book 1. The half dragon apparently hints at a Targaryen heritage, or at least at enough valyrian blood in her to count as half dragon.
Normally I prefer not to comment when readers make assumptions like these, in the fear of revealing a spoiler by accident,
@LiquidCh… moreicagoTed said this earlier, to me, and he's not responding.
Coincidence? I think not.
Or maybe he just hasn't seen it XD.
Anyway, if my 4 likers plus other readers of my vast expertise on this story haven't figured out yet, the person Noelle would be corrupting would in fact be Leonard. He's no bastard, and if Lucas were to die, considering he would be the final knight of House Raylan, he would be the acting lord. Noelle clearly wants to be able to influence that person, and eliminating the two remaining Flowers and threats to her plans, she would succeed.
Thoughts?
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
I think Harris is the one who's most obviously on her list. He clearly stands in the way of her plans and he's a Reach bastard, so he fits the criteria. And getting a new lord to manipulate would make things a lot easier for her. However, at least in my opinion Leonard would be the one who's harder to manipulate, as he is more cunning and to a certain extent willing to manipulate people himself to get what he wants. Leonard is higher in the order of succession either way, since he is not a bastard. Unfortunately, Ser Darren Tallwood would become acting lord before Leonard, as he has been in the service of House Raylan for far longer.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I mean Darren isn't exactly someone I want to be in charge, mostly because he isn't Leonard. At the same time, maybe he'll die and Leonard will be seduced by a Red witch. I doubt it. Remind me where Darren is again? I've forgotten.
Anyway, I hope Leonard will become Littlefinger instead of Eddard Stark or Jaime Lannister. He can play this game of thrones quite well.
Right now, Leonard is second in line for the position of the acting lord, after Ser Darren, but before Lucas. That means, if Lucas is on her list, he will become a danger to her plan in some other way.
Well, Lucas seems to like to sniff things around. I have a feeling he would investigate if Harris died and discover the ploy. I take this mostly from the first chapter of Act 1 with the looking for information and stuff. Kill him like Jon Arryn.
I mean as long as Leonard the Stately is alive, it's all good.
Hmm, perhaps I can comment your thoughts a little bit. You had some very good ideas here! The identities of the characters on Noelle's hit l… moreist will be revealed over the course of Book 1. Her plan is a bit complicated and will be revealed in greater detail in the next chapter. However, she obviously faces a problem similar to that of Melisandre. She sees stuff in the fire, but the meaning of her visions are up to her own interpretation, which may or may not lead to mistakes on her part. I can also reveal that the characters who are mentioned by her aren't the only ones who stand in the way of her plan, I just decided to cut some of them from this part, as Noelle wanted to ask Marak that question as quickly as possible before going into greater detail. Some of the characters from her list might even die before she gets a chance to kill them or at least before they get a chance to be a danger to her plans, but that will depend on your choices.
… [view original content]
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
Darren is currently in Raylansfair, after he escorted Noelle and Marak to the castle. While Noelle and Marak have their talk, Harris and Darren have another important (yet offscreen) talk about Darren's future position in Raylansfair which will also give him a larger role in the coming chapters.
I think Harris is the one who's most obviously on her list. He clearly stands in the way of her plans and he's a Reach bastard, so he fits t… morehe criteria. And getting a new lord to manipulate would make things a lot easier for her. However, at least in my opinion Leonard would be the one who's harder to manipulate, as he is more cunning and to a certain extent willing to manipulate people himself to get what he wants. Leonard is higher in the order of succession either way, since he is not a bastard. Unfortunately, Ser Darren Tallwood would become acting lord before Leonard, as he has been in the service of House Raylan for far longer.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I mean Darren isn't exactly someone I want to be in charge, mostly because he isn't Leonard. At the same time, maybe he'll die and Leonard will be seduced by a Red witch. I doubt it. Remind me where Darren is again? I've forgotten.
Anyway, I hope Leon… [view original content]
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea al… moreready felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You thin… [view original content]
Marak will tell Noelle that he has no problem with killing a child
This choice won't change a lot in the story, but it will be important for Marak's character, because he honestly told Noelle now that he has absolutely no problem in doing something heinous, which will influence his readiness to do some puppy-kicking actions in later parts of his storyline. Noelle on the other hand is reluctant to do such things and I hope that got clear from this part. I might get a lot of inspiration for writing her from Melisandre, but Noelle is a far better person in the end. She's less charming, more openly manipulative, but in the end she would definitely draw the line at some of Mel's actions in the show. Her plan however is... well, complicated to say the least and I'm unsure myself if I should see it as good or bad. There's going to be a lot of tension between her and some of the other characters later in the story.
The next part will feature PoV's from Willfred and Garthon. Writing is half done and it will be finished later today.
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure with that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that tavern can become a danger to us”, he answered. “Come on, Willfred. Give the order”
Willfred took a deep breath, looking at the small building in front of him. The arguments Jaro and I'Lian almost caused him to reconsider his decision, but the stern look the general had on his face caused any of these thoughts to vanish. The general was still angered by Willfred's earlier decision to fight in the battle and angering him even further seemed to be unwise.
“Follow me”, he ordered his men as he climbed down from his horse, drawing his sword as he reached the ground. “But stay silent. We don't want any more attention” This seemed to please Tallian, as well as Jaro and I'Lian. “If you don't mind, me and my brother would like to go through the backdoor. Perhaps some of the men Roger has been chasing could escape otherwise”
Tallian shook his head. “We do mind. You two won't go anywhere until Roger confirms that you are trustworthy”, he barked at them. “If I catch you not following my orders...” Willfred cut him off by putting a hand on his shoulder. “It's okay, general”, he said. “I think we can trust them. Still, I prefer to take the enemy head on instead of sneaking around like a coward. We have an advantage in sheer numbers and should use it. However, we can also use Jaron and I'Lian to surprise them from behind”
To Willfred's surprise, the general seemed to think about what he just said. “Good”, he growled. “If you think that this is the best course of action...” He still seemed to look unhappy about this, but Willfred's decision stood.
Jaro seemed to be relieved by this. His stern face cracked a slight smile. “We won't disappoint you”, he promised. I'Lian appeared to add something, but Jaro quickly pulled him away before he could even open his mouth, giving Willfred an apologizing stare as they started to sneak up on the inn, trying to stay out of sight from the window.
“They know how to remain unseen, I have to give them that”, Tallian mumbled, before looking back at Willfred. “I hope you are right in trusting them” Willfred gave him a short smile. “Have a little faith in me, general. They won't disappoint us”, he said. Tallian slowly shook his head. “I hope so”, he muttered.
On Willfred's signal, the soldiers started to approach the inn in a crouched position, their swords drawn. He followed shortly after them, but walked faster to be the first to arrive at the inn. His heart thumped furiously and he couldn't contain a smile of excitement. There would be a fight soon and no matter how insignificant it might be, he wouldn't sneak around like a coward. He would take whoever was in there head on.
He stopped directly to the left of the door, while Tallian sneaked up to the right side of it. Unlike Willfred, the general looked worried and not ready for a fight. Willfred wondered how good he was either way. As far as he knew, Vashord Tallian had never won a tournament and his actually fighting skill was debatable. He was in his forties, way out of his prime when it came to physical shape, heavy-weight and sweating, his dark blonde hair sticking to his head. And he was obviously not ready for a fight to the death.
Despite this, Tallian was the first to storm the room as Willfred gave him a nod. His craven nature aside, the general had always been someone who was good at following orders and Willfred appreciated this. From inside of the tavern, he heard loud surprised shouts coming from several men, as he quickly followed after Tallian.
The room was small and scarcely decorated. Many small details showed Willfred that this wasn't a very well-visited inn, that probably had to serve as an ordinary farmhouse as well in times where customers shunned it. Which probably happened quite often in these parts of the Reach. Three men, covered in dirt and blood, were standing next to a table, behind them a ladder that lead up to a hayloft. Two of them were holding small crossbows, pointing them at Tallian. The third of them was holding a small kitchen knife, pointing it at the throat of a young girl he just grabbed. The girl couldn't be older than thirteen, her brown eyes widened in fear as a drop of blood was flowing down from a small cut where the knife pointed at her flesh.
“Who the fuck are you?”, the man shouted. “Don't come closer or I'll cut her throat!” Willfred quickly raised his arms in an attempt to calm him down. This did not went as planned! As much as he just wanted to attack these people head on, he never took into consideration that they might have a hostage with them. He knew, he needed to do something to defuse this situation. “Easy now”, he said. “It appears we made a small mistake” The man narrowed his eyes. “You haven't answered my question!”, he growled. “Are you with that archer? The one who shot some of our men?”
“I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. It appears you are not the people we're looking for”, Willfred quickly answered, glancing at Tallian, who seemed to be similarly unwilling to attack these men now that they had a hostage.
“Bullshit!”, the man exclaimed. “One step closer and she's...” He didn't get to finish his sentence, as an arrow impaled his head from behind, right through the left eye. The force of the impact was strong enough to make him stagger forwards, causing him to drop the knife, albeit he dragged the girl to the ground with him.
One of the two crossbowmen turned around, pointing his crossbow towards the hayloft and received an arrow in the neck for this. The third men blindly shot his crossbow towards Willfred and Tallian before throwing it away and running towards the small backdoor below the hayloft. He didn't get far, as Jaro entered the room through the very same door, impaling the fleeing man with his broadsword.
Willfred took a quick look around. “That was close. Everyone okay?”, he asked, before noticing that Tallian knelt on the ground. The bolt from the crossbow had grazed his shoulder and slashed the chainmail that protected it, causing a bleeding cut. Luckily, it hadn't directly hit him, but the shock in his face spoke volumes. Still, as the general looked past Willfred, his face lit up.
Willfred followed his stare and saw a man climbing down from the hayloft. He was in his early thirties, had the light blonde hair that was common with people from the western Rock, paired with green eyes that gave him almost the appearance of a Lannister. A simple leather armour was covering his lean and wiry body, while a long scar was running down his gaunt face, narrowly missing his left eye. Despite the differences in build and hair colour, he had a lot in common with the man that was obviously his brother, with Darren Reyne.
Before even reacting to Willfred and his soldiers, he leant down to the young girl, who was shivering in fear. He gently grabbed her hand, pulling her up to her feet again and giving her a light hug. “It's all good, girl”, he whispered to her. “It's over. Where is your father?”
She pointed outside of the window, towards the forest and his face darkened slightly. “He's out for a hunt, right?”, he asked and she gave him a nod. A kind smile appeared on his face as he reached to his belt, pulling out his heavy purse and handing it to her. “I think he won't return for a few more hours. While he's gone, could you make us the capon I have seen in your kitchen? For me and for your new guests here? Keep the rest of the money, for your inconvenience”
Only as she gave him a shy nod and ran to a backroom, presumably the kitchen, the man looked at Willfred and Tallian. Despite hit pain, the general walked towards him, opening his arms to a brotherly hug. “Roger Hill, you son of a bitch!”, he shouted as he was enfolding him in his arms. “How long has it been? Five years?”
“Too long, Vashord!”, Roger answered, albeit his smile faded as he finally looked at Willfred. “This is...”, he mumbled, pulling away from Tallian and walking towards Willfred. “Ser Roger”, Willfred greeted him with a polite bow. “My name is...” Roger cut him off with a handwave. “I know exactly who you are, boy. You look exactly like your father” His smile returned, widely and brightly. “And if you don't give your uncle a big hug right now, I'm going to be very upset”
With these words, he pulled Willfred into a tight hug, as he patted him on the back. “Willfred Reyne”, he muttered. “By the Warrior, you've grown into a formidable young man” He pulled away from him, albeit his hands were still resting on his shoulders. “Why are you here?”, he asked.
Willfred let out a sigh. “It's been quite some trouble to find you, uncle”, he said. “We have problems back in the Rock. Problems you might be able to help us with” He pointed towards the table the three bandits had set on just a few minutes ago. “Perhaps we should sit down. It's going to be a long talk”
No Choices for this part
Garthon
Thanks to the company of Jon the Harper, Dacey and Jared, the past hours had been quite pleasant. While Dacey still wasn't very friendly towards him, she had warmed up to George, much to the boys joy. She wasn't a very talkative girl, but had happily listened to George's tales, how he grew up without knowing his father, how he entered Lord Tully's service to support his poor mother, how he killed his first man to save Tully's life, but also happier stories, like the adventures he had with his dog when he was a young child. Once started, it was almost impossible to stop George from talking. Jon had tried it with an extra loud rendition of 'Six Maids in a Pool', but it had only silenced him for a few minutes.
Jared had proven to be better company. The man and Garthon enjoyed their fair share of silence, only occasionally breaking it by asking each other a question. Garthon learned that Jared was an exceptionally gifted archer and even witnessed his skills first hand, as he shot a running squirrel over fifty feet without any trouble. He also learned that Jared was born near Raventree Hall and that his father died eight years ago, while he was forced to fight against the armies of the Rock at the Gold Tooth. In return he had to reveal how his own father drank himself to death while he and Torvin were younger and how both brothers had to use their individual talents to keep their family from dying.
Finally, there was the Harper. Jon was still an enigma for Garthon. He liked to sing more than he liked to talk, especially when it came to his backstory. But his manners and wording made Garthon suspect that Jon had noble heritage, perhaps either a trueborn or at least a bastard son of some Riverlord. He was polite, even friendly, but Garthon never forgot that he dealt with a true outlaw here, part of a group that was infamous for hanging every Ironborn they got hold off. His neck already felt a bit stiff as he imagined the amount of luck he had that Jon had believed him.
And now they were in Maidenpool. For Garthon it was the most beautiful city in the Riverlands, no, in all of Westeros. It was remarkably clean for a city of it's size, it's small streets retaining a sense of cosiness usually reserved for smaller villages. The peaceful atmosphere had almost something magical on it, a romantic vibe that caused excitement in Garthon. A few years ago, he and Torvin had been here before. The journey had mostly been Garthon's wish, as Torvin had little sense for the finer arts that were celebrated in this city. Music was a nuisance to him at best, while Garthon loved it. Torvin found no joy in paintings or in the work of mummers. Yet even he had smiled as Garthon had joined a group of them for a few hours, making a small fortune by singin 'The Dornishman's Wife' while a dwarf from the Summer Isles and a fat woman from Mantarys backed him with a flute and a lute respectively.
Of course, Maidenpool had it's darker sides as well as Garthon knew just too well. The city just managed to hide them better. As one of the kingdoms only cities with access to the Bay of Crabs and the Narrow Sea, it served as a gateway to the Free Cities and the continent of Essos in general. As a result, the city was full of bright-coloured merchants from the free cities, as well as artists, painters, street musicians and mummers, their skin tone ranging from the pale white skin of the Northerners to the almost midnight black skin of the Summer Islanders. And the city was also full of the Free Cities' scum. A man who knew where to look was able to find paid killers, professional thieves and especially smugglers, oh, so many smugglers. And Garthon was a man who knew exactly where to look for them.
For a while, he took lead of the group as they rode through the city gates, past the surprisingly narrow main street. Even a modest carriage had a lot of trouble navigating in the main street, so even the nobles of Maidenpool were used to walking. Only the laziest and fattest of them insisted on being carried around in sedans, like the pentoshi magisters were known to do. They walked through the genuinely beautiful upper neighbourhoods of Maidenpool, where even the smell that was so common for a city seemed to be less horrible. They passed numerous taverns and brothels, and Garthon was almost willing to spend the night there, in the arms of a lovely self-proclaimed maiden, who would give him anything he needed as long as he had the money. They passed an especially stubborn street merchant with a broad Norvoshi accent, who insisted on selling Dacey a brazen brooch, formed like a stylized river. George ended up buying it for her and she blushed almost as much as he did as he handed it to her. And they passed a cocky thief, who only narrowly managed to escape after Jared had caught him in the attempt of stealing his money.
It was only as they entered the shadier parts of the city that George took the lead. Of course, shadier parts sounded a bit too dark for Maidenpool, as even here Garthon found numerous ways which he would have used to entertain himself if he only had the time. He was genuinely surprised that George knew this city well enough to lead them without any trouble. The boy seemed far more determined than before now, strictly leading them through narrow alleyways, always further away from the main streets.
“The man we are looking for is named Mosso and he has rented a room in a nameless backalley somewhere around here”, George informed them. “It's nearly impossible to find it without the right directions or a ton of luck” Garthon grinned at this remark. “Luckily, I always have a ton of luck”, he said sarcastically and earned himself a nearly simultaneous glare from George and Dacey.
Jon patted him on the back. “We'll see how much luck you have with your mission”, he answered without any sarcasm at all. “What kind of poison do you plan to buy either way?”, he asked, looking at George again. For a moment, the boy seemed to be unsure how to answer. “Ma... Manticor venom if I'm not mistaken”, he answered, his shy nature shining through for a moment as he seemed to be uneasy in naming the deadly posion.
The Harper nodded in the way only a true professional could nod. “Good choice”, he complimented him. “In it's undiluted state it can kill a man in a heartbeat. Harren Hoare will be dead if you only manage to cut him. Same goes for his sons. But it's also an expensive choice”
Garthon narrowed his eyes, but before he could prevent anything, George opened his coat, revealing a large purse sewn into its inside. “Lord Tully took care of everything”, he answered, not realizing that he would be in a lot of trouble now if Jon would just decide to rob them. Luckily, neither the Harper nor his companions seemed to have any intentions to do this.
“You know, it's a good thing that Tully decided to do something against the king”, Jared said. “Being an outlaw, hanging Ironborn and being a general nuisance to them is nice and all, but we're never more than that, only a nuisance. With a powerful lord on the other hand... A man like Tully could become king of the Trident if he wishes. The Riverlords would follow him”
“Lord Tully as a king?”, George exclaimed in genuine surprise and Garthon believed that he never even considered this thought. George wasn't someone who thought of people based on their ability to rule. Garthon on the other hand had thought about this for a longer time. If their plan succeeds, Tully would be a likely candidate to succeed Harren Hoare. He was one of the most powerful Riverlords, together with the lords Frey and Mallister and at least objectively he was the one best suited for the task. Which, according to the general dickishness of fate and Garthon's experience with kings in particular, meant that Tully would never get even close to becoming one, or at least not for very long. A decent king in the Riverlands would be something completely new, as far as Garthon knew.
George suddenly stopped in front of a run-down building. They were standing in a small backalley, a nameless backalley as the boy had promised. It was evening already and the sun nearly set, scarcely illuminating the street and the door George was walking towards. “We're here”, he proclaimed.
“How can you be so sure?”, Dacey asked, looking around. “These streets look all the same to me” George gave her a proud smile. “Lord Tully took me here once and I memorized the way, which is why he chose me to get here now”
He walked closer towards the door, slowly knocking on it. The sound of his knocking was barely audible and Garthon wasn't surprised that no one opened them at first. “George...”, he said, gently pushing the boy away. “Allow me” He knocked on the door decidedly more powerful and was satisfied as he heard heavy footsteps coming from the other side.
The door was opened, revealing a stocky and incredibly hairy man with the wide face of an Ibbenese. He was almost a head shorter than Garthon, but his shoulders were broader and there was no doubt that he was far stronger. In his right hand he was holding a cleaver and even something as simple as this household item looked like a dangerous weapon in his hands.
“Umm...”, Garthon began. “We're looking for Gosso... Mosso! We're looking for a man named Mosso. Could you get him?”, he asked. The Ibbenese spat on the ground in front of him, slowly shaking his head. “Fuck off”, he growled with a strong accent, before closing the door right in front of Garthon again.
“Well, that did not went like planned”, Jared remarked and got a glare from George. “What an asshole”, the boy hissed. “Try it again!”, he urged Garthon. “Knocking won't help”, Jon clarified. “You gotta kick in this door, that'll teach him. Alternatively I could handle the situation. Mosso is not the first smuggler who refused to cooperate with us at first”
[Try to kick the door in][Knock again][Allow Jon to deal with the situation]
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
[Allow Jon to deal with the situation] normally I'd pick kick the door in but because it says 'try' my paranoid side makes me think it won't work plus it's an opportunity for our new ally to prove himself and for us to see what kind of person he is.
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
It's clearly that knock again will not work, but if we [Allow Jon to deal with the situation] it may work, also this guy may be shorter, but if there is no doubt that he is far stronger, kicking the door won't work, I meant event if it work it won't make Gosso, Mosso or what so ever is this guy happy, if you know what I mean. I don't know why you say [Try to kick the door in], why try instead of just [Kick the door in]?
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure w… moreith that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that ta… [view original content]
The next part is going to be the finale of Lucas' storyline in this chapter. It's as good as finished, albeit a bit of polishing is still needed here and there. Expect it to be finished in a few hours! And well, after that there will be only three parts left in this chapter until I have to write the first part of this story which I'm not looking forward to write at all...
And well, after that there will be only three parts left in this chapter until I have to write the first part of this story which I'm not looking forward to write at all...
The Voting is closed!
Garthon will allow Jon to deal with the situation
The next part is going to be the finale of Lucas' storyline in… more this chapter. It's as good as finished, albeit a bit of polishing is still needed here and there. Expect it to be finished in a few hours! And well, after that there will be only three parts left in this chapter until I have to write the first part of this story which I'm not looking forward to write at all...
“I'm afraid not, Ser Maron”, Lucas answered. “We have decided to leave the city regardless, at least for the moment” Mullendore gave him a nod and took another sip from his glass. “May I ask why you want to leave without having found who you came for?”, he asked and slightly coughed, putting his wine back down and wiping his mouth.
“It's because of Lunett, Ser Maron. Lunett Kawl, a girl who is accompanying us. She and I, we grew close over our travels and I don't want to endanger her in this city”, Lucas answered, at least partially honest. Mullendore's eyes showed understanding and he even allowed himself a light smile. “I understand”, he answered. “Wise choice. No man should bring his loved ones into this city. Do you know what Butterfly would do to her, should he ever get his hands on her?”
Lucas shook his head. “Not sure if I even want to hear it”, he answered truthfully. Mullendore ignored this and continued to talk, much to Lucas' displeasure, while looking him sternly in the eyes. “He's going to rape her. Multiple times. For fun and for information. If she won't answer him, he's going to mutilate her. He will start with her feet, then her eyes, then her hands, he's going to destroy her until nothing is left of the girl you love” A pained expression flashed over the old knights face as he avoided Lucas' stare for a moment. Lucas gulped as he had to imagine these things happening to Lunett. No, he wouldn't let that happen! He would die before allowing this beast to touch her!
“You're making the right choice in leaving this city, but it won't be easy if Butterfly is looking for you. He is already suspecting that you know more about Dairon and without my help you have no chance of leaving this city”, Mullendore mumbled weakly. “And can we count on your help?”, Leonard asked impatiently. “Or do you expect a favour in return?” Mullendore gave him a nod. “A small one. Do it and I will help you in getting your girl out of Butterfly's range. Trust me, you do not want to keep her around here for long”
“And what do you want us to do?”, Lucas asked. Mullendore's melancholic facial expression vanished as his mouth formed a light smirk. “The letter, the one that got here by accident, is addressed to his holiness, the High Septon. You will bring this letter to the Sept for me, so that I don't have to send one of my own men. In the meantime, I will put together a group of two dozen men, lead by Captain Farris, who is one of my best. Where should they meet you?”
“Blind Helmsman”, Lucas answered. “A small soldier's...” Mullendore cut him off with a short laughter. “I know where the fucking Helmsman is, Ser Lucas! Have spent quite a few evenings there myself. The ale is shitty, but the people there are the best in the city, loyal like hounds and honest like Northerners. I will send Captain Farris there, but it will probably take me about five hours to get him and his men ready”
“Five hours sounds good to me”, Lucas said and Leonard nodded approvingly. “Better than trying to leave this city alone, that's for sure”, the other knight added. He looked towards the door, where the guardsman Ryder was still standing, holding the letter. “Can we read the letter now?”, he asked. Mullendore gave him a nod and ordered Ryder to take a step closer with a handwave.
“The contents of this letter are interesting, shocking, probably highly dangerous. Out of the people in my guard, only Ryder knows of it since...”, Mullendore said and paused for a moment, looking almost embarrassed. “I had to read it to Ser Maron”, Ryder answered in his stead.
“You can't read?”, Leonard asked in surprise. Mullendore shrugged and let out a rough and brittle laughter. “Give me a sword and I can kill. Give me a bow and I will hit a moving target from two hundred feet away. I can surgically amputate a limb and sew wounds back together, I can lead people in battle and inspire them. I was trained as a soldier, a fighter, not as a scholar. No one ever told me that reading could come in handy”, he explained with a grin. “Anyway, Ryder, please hand Ser Lucas this letter” The guardsman quickly complied and Lucas took a quick glance at the sigil. Broken, obviously, but the seven-pointed star was still visible.
“You can read aloud”, Mullendore urged him. “That way you can make it quicker until you and Ser Leonard are both informed about the contents of this letter” He and Ryder exchanged a quick look. “I can confirm that Ryder is not working for Butterfly”, the knight said. Lucas gave him a nod and started to read the letter aloud.
“To his holiness, the High Septon”, he began and his eyes widened as he continued to read. “What is it?”, Leonard snarled. “Come on, Flowers. Don't tease me” Lucas gulped audibly, looking at Leonard and then at Mullendore, before continuing.
“With sadness I have to inform your holiness that Ser Ilhan Lagoon, proud and loyal servant of House Raylan of Raylansfair, defender of the faith and true knight, no longer walks on our beautiful earth. The Stranger took him five days ago. His death wasn't an accident however, it was cold-blooded murder and the killer was none other than...”
Lucas stopped again as he breathed heavily. No, this could not be! Ser Ilhan was dead and his killer was... “Ser Harris Flowers, castellan and currently acting lord of Raylansfair”, he continued, seeing how Leonard's face dropped. The other knight grabbed the letter, ripping it away from Lucas' hand, before continuing to read himself in complete silence, looking thoroughly shocked and disturbed.
“Lady Halla and Jenna Harking witnessed it”, he mumbled. “Jenna confessed this to Septon Corbin and he writes that he has no reason to distrust her” A mix of anger and confusion appeared on Leonard's face and for a moment, Lucas was worried that he might tear the letter to pieces. He knew, Harris and Leonard had been friends and he knew Leonard had a lot of trust in him. The devastated look on his face gave away how this affected him.
“This can't be true”, Leonard mumbled. The tone of his voice made it clear that he was only trying to convince himself. “Fuck... Fuck!”, he growled. Mullendore let out a sigh and slid his cup of wine over to him. Leonard gave him a short, almost thankful look before emptying the whole cup at a draught.
“Sorry that I had to be the one breaking the bad fucking news to you”, Mullendore said with concern in his voice. Lucas pressed his lips together, avoiding to look at the man. He had expected that Harris would go far to secure his power, but that far? It proved his point that Harris wasn't trustworthy.
“Five hours”, Leonard muttered, looking at Mullendore. “Then we're going to leave this city with your help. Once we're back in Raylansfair, I'm going to behead that murderous bastard myself” The old knight shrugged. “What you do once you're out of my city isn't of my concern. But I wish you best of luck with it”, he said.
Without saying another word, Leonard raised from his chair and started to walk to the door, the letter still in his hand. Lucas could almost hear him grinding his teeth in anger. He gave Mullendore an apologizing look. “It's hard for him”, he said as Leonard just left the room. “He looked up to Ser Harris and considered him a friend. My apologies if he came off as rude. He meant no offence”
Mullendore raised both of his hands up to his shoulders, smirking at Lucas. “Ser Lucas, if I'd take offence by something that small and understandable, I wouldn't be fit to lead this city guard”, he said and despite everything that he just learned, Lucas had to chuckle. “I wish you the best of luck in your dealings with Ser Harris”, Mullendore said, raising from his chair. He reached out his hand and Lucas grabbed it, shaking it with a smile. “And I wish you best of luck in your dealings with Butterfly. Surely you have it even worse”, he answered.
“The Burned Man is a bigger problem for me, but I appreciate it”, Mullendore grinned and Lucas bowed his head in respect. “It has been an honour Ser Maron”, he said and meant every word. “Same here, Ser Lucas”, Mullendore answered and gave Ryder a nod. “Please, escort Ser Lucas out of the building. Then try to contact Captain Farris. I want this done as quick as possible”
Ryder saluted in front of his commander and gave Lucas a handwave, ordering him to follow. Lucas complied, but looked over his shoulder one last time, seeing Mullendore pouring some wine into his cup again.
They caught up to Leonard in the main hall, where the knight seemed to wait for him, walking up and down in anger. Ryder gave him an apologetic stare, before looking back at Lucas. “I assume you're going to be fine from now on. Ser Maron keeps his promises and so do I. My friend, Captain Farris Flowers, will arrive at your inn in five hours, escorting you and your girl out of this city and out of Butterfly's reach”, he reassured him.
Lucas gave him a thankful nod, but it was Leonard who answered. “Thank you”, he mumbled shortly, before a puzzled look appeared on his face. “It's Harrington, right? Ryder Harrington? I've heard your name before”
Ryder let out a sigh. “You probably know a great deal about mercenaries then. Have you ever heard about my brother, Samuel?” Leonard raised an eyebrow as he heard this. “Fang of Shadows...”, he mumbled. “Samuel Harrington is your brother!”
“And working for Butterfly”, Ryder remarked sullenly. “Not exactly a topic I want to talk about” Leonard gave him a nod. “Understandable. But why does the brother of an elite mercenary even need to work as a lowly city guard?”, he answered. Ryder shot him an angry glare. “None of your concern”, he answered and it was clear that the talk was over.
The three of them left the Hightower and Ryder gave them a last look as he was quickly walking down the large square in front of it. It was already shortly after noon and the shadow of the Hightower was now falling directly onto the square, keeping it in a gloomy twilight despite the blue sky above it.
“Well...”, Lucas muttered, looking at Leonard. The other knight still seemed to be absolutely devastated and Lucas noticed that his hands were shivering. “Are you okay?” The anger in Leonard's glare made him take a step back before he realized that it wasn't directed at him. “Hell no, I'm not okay”, Leonard answered. “I trusted this man. He was a friend, a mentor. How can you be so calm about that?”
Lucas gulped as he thought of an answer. “I was never as close to him. I distrusted him from the moment I found the letter in his room”, he answered and let out a sigh. “Still... to think that he would kill Ser Ilhan...”
“He did not deserve to die like that...”, Leonard muttered. “He was a good man and yet he was murdered by a man he saw as his friend” The anger in his stare intensified as he looked towards the Starry Sept at the other end of the square. “We have to talk to the High Septon while we're here. He can help us. And once we're out of this, we're going to confront Harris. He will answer for his crimes”
“He will”, Lucas confirmed as they silently continued their way across the square, towards the Starry Sept. The Sept was the biggest in Westeros as far as Lucas knew, a hulking building formed like a seven-pointed star, with seven high towers and a large spiked roof in the middle, built completely out of black marble, with huge, arched windows and a large flight of stairs that lead up to it. It was a monument to the Faith of the Seven, intimidating and depressingly dark. Lucas had always preferred a small sept, like the one in Raylansfair, over a pompous building like this.
The door of the Sept was similarly huge, consisting entirely out of blackened iron, decorated with elaborate depictions of the Seven. The gods were looking down on every mortal who entered the building and Lucas looked up to them. His gaze stuck on the hollow eye sockets of the Stranger, who was depicted as an ever grinning skeleton on the door. Somehow, Lucas had the feeling as if his empty stare would follow him.
During this hour of the day, only a few faithful had found their way into the building to pray to the Seven. Small candles were lit in each of the seven corners, the one for the Father and the Smith burning the brightest, while only the corner reserved for the Stranger was empty and dark as the night. A few septas were walking around, some of them busy with various tasks, some of them talking to the praying people.
Still visibly furious, Leonard walked up to an older Septa before Lucas could hold him back. “Leonard”, he hissed and the knight only stopped long enough to look over his shoulder. “I'm done with this rotten city, Flowers!”, he answered, albeit he managed to control his voice after noticing that he was talking far too loud for the Sept.
He turned around again to face the Septa, who was now looking at him directly. She was an old woman with a wrinkled face and a hooked nose. Her grey eyes glared at Leonard, albeit her mouth formed a somewhat kind smile. Leonard pointed at himself and then at Lucas. “Ser Leonard Constantine and Ser Lucas Flowers”, he introduced them. “We have a letter for the High Septon and demand to speak him”
Lucas knew immediately that Leonard did a mistake in his anger. The smile of the Septa didn't disappear, albeit every trace of kindness vanished immediately. “You demand?”, she asked. “Are you sure?”
Leonard let out a sigh. “No, of course not. Forgive my...”, he started to apologize but the Septa cut him off. “The gods demand. The mortals follow their wishes”, she intoned sharply. “You wish to speak to his Holiness?” Lucas gave her a nod. “We do”, he answered. “My apologies. My friend is agitated as a result of recent events. He didn't mean to disrespect you”
This seemed to please the Septa, as her smile regained a little bit of kindness. “I will see what I can do. His Holiness is in a deep prayer right now, but I am sure he will find some time for you. Allow me to look for him while you wait”, she answered and bowed her head before walking towards one of the stairs that lead to the crypts below the Sept.
“You demand?”, he asked Leonard and the knight gave him an annoyed glare. “Listen, Flowers. I know I was a little bit too direct here. You saved the situation, good”, he growled with a low voice, still looking visibly distraught. “May Harris burn in the Seven Hells...”, he added and his face got a sullen expression.
And so they waited in silence. After a few minutes, Lucas started to look around for any trace of the Septa, while Leonard simply sat down on a bench, his head hanging low. Minutes passed and Lucas started to grow impatient. He slowly walked around the Sept in an attempt to find the old woman, but soon gave up as he realized that she hadn't returned from her talk with the High Septon yet. More minutes passed and Lucas looked towards the shrines of the Seven. Right now, he felt as if he could need the goodwill of the gods and so he spent the next hour walking from shrine to shrine, lighting candles for each of the Seven, even for the Stranger. It was only after he finished the seventh prayer that Lucas noticed that hours must have passed. By the Seven, they had to hurry!
As if she had watched him praying, the old Septa walked up from the stairs that lead down to the crypts. Leonard jumped up as he saw her and joined Lucas in approaching her. The old woman had a kind smile on her face again, albeit her eyes looked cold and calculating. “I see you have used your time well, Ser Lucas”, she congratulated him. “Finding inner peace in your faith can be helpful whenever you feel the need to demand something”
For a moment it appeared as if Leonard would jump at the old woman in sheer anger and Lucas wasn't even sure if he would have hold him back. Luckily, the knight managed to control his anger, albeit the helpless rage in his face mirrored Lucas' own feelings. “Can we speak to his holiness now?”, Lucas asked carefully. To his horror, the Septa shook her head. “His holiness is in a deep meditation. Perhaps he will have time for you, if you wait for a few more hours”
Lucas and Leonard exchanged a look and this time it was Lucas who let out some of his anger. He walked towards the Septa and simply handed her the letter. He knew, the support of the High Septon would have been important, but they had to hurry to arrive at the inn before Mullendore's guardsmen would arrive. “Not needed”, he said coldly. “We will return another time”
With these words he turned around and stormed out of the building, Leonard close behind him. One look at the sky told him that at least four hours had passed since they entered the Starry Sept. The square between Sept and Hightower was crowded now, full of smallfolk, guardsmen, septons and septas, noblemen. For a moment, Lucas stopped at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the sept. He breathed heavily and Leonard patted him on the back. “Well, there goes nothing. Now let's get the hell back to the inn”, he mumbled.
Before they could resume their walk, a small figure caught Lucas attention. It was a girl, scrawny and dirty, with dark blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was clad only in rags, but the way she looked directly at Lucas immediately gave away that she was more than a simple street child.
“Seven Blessings, Ser Lucas Flowers and Ser Leonard Constantine”, she greeted them with a high-pitched voice. She couldn't be older than ten years! Lucas and Leonard exchanged a surprised glare as she already continued. “The Burned Man sends his regards. He wants you to leave his city”
Leonard started to grind his teeth as he heard this and Lucas leant down to talk to the child. “You are working for the Burned Man?”, he asked. The girl gave him a short nod. “Then tell him we want to leave this city too. He does not need to force us”
This seemed to confuse the girl, as she cocked her eyebrows. “Why would he want to force you? He is well aware that you plan to leave this city and it pleases him. He wants you gone, because Butterfly has a strong interest in you”
“Yeah, we already know that”, Leonard answered impatiently. “Listen, if there's nothing else, we have a meeting with a group of guardsmen...” “At the Blind Helmsman Inn, we know”, the girl finished his sentence, causing Lucas to open his mouth in surprise. “You... you know?”, he stuttered and the girl gave him a nod. “And Butterfly knows it too”, she revealed to Lucas horror. “I was sent to inform you that Samuel Harrington, the Fang of Shadows, was seen approaching the inn not long ago. The Burned Man wishes to inform you of this and hopes that you manage to save your friends in time”, she added and took a polite bow. “You better hurry”, she warned them and disappeared in the crowd again, leaving a shocked Lucas and Leonard behind.
For a moment, Lucas contemplated about what he just heard. And then he started to run to the inn, only to be hold back by Leonard. “What do you think you're doing, Flowers?”, he growled. “You want to storm the inn all on your own?”
“And what are you doing?”, Lucas demanded to know. “We have to hurry, we have to get to Lunett and Dairon before Butterfly's men reach them!” Leonard gave him a nod, but at the same time he looked towards the Hightower. “We are two men, we have no armour, just our swords. We are no match for Butterfly's men. I want to save them as much as you do, but we can't do it alone. We need help”
“Mullendore's help?”, Lucas asked. “Are you serious?” Leonard gave him a reluctant nod. “Listen, I don't think we have much of a choice here. Perhaps we'll find a way to get his help without giving Dairon away. But we can't help them all alone!”, the knight urged him.
[Seek help from Mullendore][Run to the inn without additional help]
[Seek help from Mullendore] Leonard wants this do that's what we're going to do.
“With sadness I have to inform your holiness that Ser Ilhan Lagoon, proud and loyal servant of House Raylan of Raylansfair, defender of the faith and true knight, no longer walks on our beautiful earth. The Stranger took him five days ago. His death wasn't an accident however, it was cold-blooded murder and the killer was none other than...”
Lucas stopped again as he breathed heavily. No, this could not be! Ser Ilhan was dead and his killer was... “Ser Harris Flowers, castellan and currently acting lord of Raylansfair”, he continued, seeing how Leonard's face dropped. The other knight grabbed the letter, ripping it away from Lucas' hand, before continuing to read himself in complete silence, looking thoroughly shocked and disturbed.
“Lady Halla and Jenna Harking witnessed it”, he mumbled. “Jenna confessed this to Septon Corbin and he writes that he has no reason to distrust her” A mix of anger and confusion appeared on Leonard's face and for a moment, Lucas was worried that he might tear the letter to pieces. He knew, Harris and Leonard had been friends and he knew Leonard had a lot of trust in him. The devastated look on his face gave away how this affected him.
“This can't be true”, Leonard mumbled. The tone of his voice made it clear that he was only trying to convince himself. “Fuck...”, he growled. “Fuck!” Mullendore let out a sigh and slid his cup of wine over to him. Leonard gave him a short, almost thankful look before emptying the whole cup at a draught.
“Sorry that I had to be the one breaking the bad fucking news to you”, Mullendore said with concern in his voice. Lucas pressed his lips together, avoiding to look at the man. He had expected that Harris would go far to secure his power, but that far? It proved his point that Harris wasn't trustworthy.
“Five hours”, Leonard muttered, looking at Mullendore. “Then we're going to leave this city with your help. Once we're back in Raylansfair, I'm going to behead that murderous bastard myself” The old knight shrugged. “What you do once you're out of my city isn't of my concern. But I wish you best of luck with it”, he said.
These lines really show Leonard's characters. However, if he does kill Harris, he will be fulfilling Noelle's plans as you pointed out last time. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
As for the safety of Lunett and Dairon, I think they're dead. If we go immediately they'll be killed (not sure how), but if we do get the men like I voted, they'll be held hostage and lots of shot will go down. However that will be for the next chapter.
I have more to say, but to be first, which I pride myself on being for Lucas parts, I'll edit it later.
Lucas
“I'm afraid not, Ser Maron”, Lucas answered. “We have decided to leave the city regardless, at least for the moment” Mullendore gav… moree him a nod and took another sip from his glass. “May I ask why you want to leave without having found who you came for?”, he asked and slightly coughed, putting his wine back down and wiping his mouth.
“It's because of Lunett, Ser Maron. Lunett Kawl, a girl who is accompanying us. She and I, we grew close over our travels and I don't want to endanger her in this city”, Lucas answered, at least partially honest. Mullendore's eyes showed understanding and he even allowed himself a light smile. “I understand”, he answered. “Wise choice. No man should bring his loved ones into this city. Do you know what Butterfly would do to her, should he ever get his hands on her?”
Lucas shook his head. “Not sure if I even want to hear it”, he answered truthfully. Mullendore ignored this and continued to talk, much … [view original content]
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The Voting is closed!
Samantha will fight Butterfly without Sasha's help
I am really surprised by that choice. Sure, in the end winning the help of Sasha would only provide Martin and Co. with one additional fighter, but perhaps it's that single figher that would have made a difference. That said, now that she's not busy fighting Butterfly, Sasha can do her part in finding Lunett. This choice might appear to be not that important on it's own, but I will reveal it's full importance soon >:D
The next part is almost completely written. I would have finished it yesterday, but I had a few friends at my house and not much time to write. This part will finish the storylines for Kersea and Marak in this chapter and will be out in a few hours. By the way, since I'm trying my best to finish this chapter in this month, I'm going to write faster for the next part and close the next voting a bit earlier as a result.
And now it's time for something I haven't done in a longer time. It's a little shout-out for the forum's newest story, written by @NoHopeLeft. The story is named Silicon and is set in the eponymous small town located in a secluded area in Wisconsin. It is a mystery story, so it is probably safe to say that Silicon is a completely normal small town without any dark secrets that could be uncovered over the course of the story at all. Since it has just started a few days ago, I can't really say any more about the plot, except that I am already hooked on it. It's probably for the best if you take a look for yourself. As expected, the writing is amazing, the storyline is very intriguing and the potential of the story is immense. If I have succeeded in gaining your interest, click on this link to get to the story!
Kersea
“How much more is necessary until you learn to be a good little girl?”, Clayton snarled as he raised his hand once more. Kersea already felt the pain before he even attempted to hit her. Felt it in her right cheek, slightly below the bone. That was where he always hit her. It was always the same. And that was his weakness.
As his closed fist moved towards her face, she jumped up, ramming her own fist right underneath his chin, to the spot where he would never expect it. Or at least she tried it. Faster than her, faster than almost anyone she had ever seen, he raised his left hand, catching her fist and grabbing her hand with his iron grip. At the same time, he lowered his right fist, so that it didn't hit her in the face, but rather in the stomach, pressing the air out of her lungs and causing her to groan, half in surprise, half in pain.
“You think it's going to be that easy, right?”, he mumbled with a sullen voice. “You think with a little bit of defiance and your iron will you could refuse to break. Perhaps you think that you can break me instead” A smirk formed at the edges of his mouth, even though he visibly tried to suppress it. That bastard enjoyed it, as always! “I think I need to give you a harder lesson”, he hissed and slowly started to twist her hand. Pain flashed through Kersea's wrist as he moved her hand upwards and tears formed in her eyes as she let out a pained whimpering.
“Clayton...”, Alysanne mumbled, but the man did not stop. She saw it in his eyes, he didn't even thought about stopping in this moment. And he enjoyed it, no matter how much he tried to convince her of the difference. The pained whimpering turned into a suppressed scream. No! She wouldn't show weakness in front of him. And in front of Wolfius... She wouldn't!
“Clayton!”, Alysanne yelled, taking a step forwards and grabbing him at the shoulder. “You're going to break her hand if you continue!” Clayton gave her an irritated stare, but at least for a moment he stopped twisting her hand. A regretful expression flashed across his face, as he opened his grip, causing Kersea to sink to the ground, wailing as pain flashed through her wrist. Clayton hadn't broken it, but he came close, closer than he ever did before.
“I'm sorry”, he mumbled shortly and it almost sounded sincere. Perhaps he even believed himself. “Fuck you...”, Kersea answered, earning herself a glare from Alysanne. “She's of no use if you break her hand, remember that”, her new friend warned Clayton and Kersea understood. It wasn't their newfound friendship that caused Alysanne's help, at least Kersea suspected this. No, it was cold, logical thinking, something Clayton wasn't capable of in his current state of mind. She simply reminded him of Kersea's use... again, she didn't know what she expected.
“Wait, that's it?”, another voice growled. Wolfius. Still holding her hand, Kersea let out a sigh. She had almost forgotten him. “You're going to let this little bitch go like this?” Before she could even attempt to do it on her own, Clayton pulled her back to her feet. He looked her in the eyes and it seemed to be his idea of an apology. “I'm sorry, you know that. I never wanted to take it too far with you”
She gave him no answer, instead she only shot him a hateful glare. One day... on days like these, when her hate grew stronger than her fear, she knew it, one day she would kill him for what he did. To her, but most importantly to Briar. She could forgive what he did to herself, the old Kersea was never a vengeful girl. But Briar? Even the old Kersea would have killed him for what he did to her sister. One day...
“Are you serious?”, Wolfius yelled. “It's her fault that our mission failed. We could have killed that little Harking bitch and her father as well! Instead...” He paused pointing at his now blind eye. Despite the pain he was obviously in, he was trembling with rage. “Fine, if you're not going to do anything against this, I have to do it myself” Clayton narrowed his eyes. “What are you going to do, Wolfius?”, he asked with a dangerously calm voice
“I'm going to kill them!”, Wolfius screamed and his sudden yelling caused Kersea to take a step away from him. “Harking, his fucking daughter, that blacksmith Mettel and her whore of a daughter, the guard bitch, Commander Nathamer and his whole fucking family, Harkings friends and that Katya bitch from the tavern!”, he hissed, still shivering with fury. He pointed his knife at Kersea. “And when I am done with them, I will make you pay, you and your worthless sister!”
Clayton gave her a stare that was probably supposed to be friendly and put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her into an unwanted hug. “Try it, Wolfius”, he growled with barely concealed anger. “Try it and I will cut you down myself”
“Clayton”, she hissed, gaining his attention for a moment. “If you ever touch me again, I'm going to cut out your other eye while you sleep” The threat was serious and he realized it immediately, letting go of her and taking a step backwards.
Wolfius didn't even seem to notice that Clayton had shifted his attention. A cruel smirk was seen on his face, paired with his pale white eye it formed one of the most terrifying facial expressions Kersea had ever seen from him. “You think I am scared of you, Ellyrio Terys. You are a coward, you have always been a coward and you will die as a coward. Get in my way and I will show you what I'm truly capable off”
“And what could this be?”, Clayton chuckled with a mocking smile. “Your most remarkable skill is that you can stab someone with a knife. Do you think I am scared of you?”
“You should”, Wolfius answered in a low tone that caused Kersea to shiver. These two words, they were the worst thing she had heard all day, worse than Jenna Harking's bloodcurdling screams, worse than the physical pain Clayton gave her once again. It was a statement, a promise, something that was inherently true. Only a fool would doubt it. And Clayton was no fool.
“Do you wish to leave us?”, Clayton asked and it was meant to sound threatening. But next to Wolfius, who was nearly a head shorter, more lean and armed only with his rusty dagger, Clayton felt like a babbling child. She remembered, it had been the same with the old man, the one who had trained Clayton and Raenna, the only man who had shown kindness to Kersea in the last five years. She remembered, next to him Clayton had always looked less threatening, almost meek. The old man had been the most dangerous man she had ever known. And now the same applied to Wolfius.
“Do you want to stop me?”, Wolfius answered, revealing his unsettling grin. The two men stared each other in the eyes and Kersea saw Clayton flinching. Of course, he looked away first. “As expected”, Wolfius commented, as if he just read her thoughts. “You have no idea what I am capable of, what I am”
With these words, he turned around, slowly walking towards the doors of the warehouse. “If you're not trying to prepare this city for Butterfly's plans, I will, on my own. I will kill every Harking, every Mettel, every Nathamer I can find. I will kill anyone who dares to get in my way and anyone I want”, he growled and turned around again. “Perhaps even you”
Clayton narrowed his eyes. “If you leave this building, you will be on your own. A single man, all alone. If you become a danger for our mission, we will stop you”, he promised him and Wolfius let out a cold chuckle. “Oh, you think I will be alone?”, he asked. “There is someone in this city, someone who can help me. Someone like me”
“A deranged and reckless killer?”, Clayton asked, but his mockery felt weak for Kersea. Wolfius gave him a nod. “I hope that he's similar in that field too. But no, I'm talking about something else entirely” His sickening smile reappeared and it felt worse than a thousand times of Clayton's punishment.
“Sleep well tonight, Ellyrio Terys. Be the little coward you are, hiding behind your fake identities, your fake smiles and your fake manners. I wonder what I will find when I will tear all these fakes down. I wonder if there's going to be anything left of you”, he said calmly, in an almost polite tone, nonetheless threatening. “Sleep well tonight, one last time” With these words, Wolfius turned around and left the building, leaving a shivering Kersea, a visibly disturbed Clayton and an indifferent Alysanne behind.
“He's becoming a danger...”, Clayton mumbled, looking at Kersea. She shot him another glare full of hatred and he let out a sigh. As long as she knew him, no one had dared to talk to him like that. “Look, I am sorry...”, he started to say, but stopped himself as he saw her facial expression. “I am not your enemy, but I have my orders”
Kersea was opening and closing her hand, trying her best to ignore the pain. “Fuck your orders and fuck you”, she answered. “I will kill you if you don't keep your end of the deal. And lay hand on me one more time and you will regret it”
Clayton did not answer. She saw the hurt expression on his face and for the first time in months she felt satisfaction. “I will send a raven to Butterfly”, he explained. “And I will inform him that it was Wolfius' fault that our mission failed. Only Wolfius' fault” With these words, he turned around, walking to the second floor of the warehouse, where he kept his raven, leaving Kersea and Alysanne behind.
“It's going to get easier, puppy”, Alysanne said, putting a hand onto her shoulder and Kersea rolled with her eyes. “Where have you heard that line?”, she asked with frustration. Alysanne didn't seem to notice her mocking tone, instead she seemed to honestly think about the question. “The old man told me, last time I saw him. Called me 'Sweet Alysanne'. Never thought anyone would call me sweet” She giggled slightly. “But he was right, you know. It got easier for me. Just swallow your pride and you'll start enjoying it”
Kersea gave her no answer. She watched the stairs that lead to the second floor. Her right hand still throbbed in pain and her left cheek burned like all the seven hells. Despite the pain, she felt different than before. One day she would make them pay, Butterfly, Wolfius and Clayton, a thousand times Clayton. One day...
No choices for this part
Marak
Marak took a last look at the recruits and then looked back at the far more pleasant sight of Nora. Fuck the recruits, they could train themselves! There was a girl right in front of him who couldn't wait to resist his famous charm! He walked towards her, ignoring the icy glare she shot him. Yeah, she played hard to get, he liked that. But he wouldn't be Marak if he would allow such a minor obstacle to stop him!
“So... Nora, isn't it?”, he asked as he walked closer. She was still trying her best to ignore him, but Marak already felt her resistance dwindling. “Buffoon, isn't it?”, she answered, trying to imitate his voice. That only encouraged Marak and he gave her a nod, noticing too late what exactly she had said. “No!”, he exclaimed. “Marak. My name is Marak. Not buffoon”
For a moment she seemed to be genuinely baffled, but then a short laugh forced it's way out of her throat. “What do you want?”, she asked with a grin. Yeah, he almost had her and he barely needed to say a word. Marak was proud at himself in this moment. He knew, his looks did their part. No woman could resist his muscles for long. Well, Noelle could, but she didn't count!
“I asked you a question, buffoon”, Nora repeated herself and Marak knew she was interested, or else she wouldn't have repeated her question, right? “Oh, nothing. Just came by, seeing you and I asked myself, why is such a beautiful young woman like you forced to stand guard on a day like this?”
As she gave him a look that was probably curious, he decided to continue “Well... you know, there is someone who's... ahem... 'standing guard' from the moment he saw you. Perhaps you'd like to meet him?” Yes, yes that sounded good! Suggestive, not too direct, including a wordplay and it gave her something to think about! Marak felt proud that he had managed to compliment her beauty and her intelligence in a single sentence.
Nora raised an eyebrow and a light smile formed on her face. “Are you serious?”, she asked and Marak gave her a hasty nod. “Absolutely!”, he said, immediately noticing that he said something wrong as she burst into laughter.
“You must think of me as some dim-witted harlot that I fall for a line as horrible as that one”, she chuckled and Marak hastily shook his head. “No! You are not dim-witted”, he clarified and her laugher stopped. “Have you just called me a harlot?”, she asked with a frown and Marak realized that he did a mistake.
He opened his mouth, closing it again, staring at her for a moment. “No!”, he exclaimed. “No, that was not what I wanted to say!” He gave her his irresistible grin and slightly flexed his muscles. His naturally good looks should do the rest. “Albeit I'm sure that a lad as fine as you could get filthy rich in that profession”
Nora let out a sigh, as her smile returned. “I guess the priestess is the brain in your team”, she remarked with a mocking tone. Marak gave her a proud nod. He was completely willing to admit that Noelle was better when it came to forming plans. Of course, he was still more intelligent, as he was not the one worshipping a pickled fish.
“Listen, Marak, I'm very entertained..”, she started to say and Marak took a step closer towards her. “I knew you would be. What do you say, I can show you how entertaining I can be...”, he said and she sighed. “I am very entertained, even if you have less charm than a pox-ridden piglet”, she continued and Marak gave her a confused look. “Wait, what?”, he asked.
“Sadly, you are hindering the captain of the guard at doing her duty. I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave the castle”, Nora explained to him, the polite tone of her voice somewhat marred by the fact that she was talking very slowly, as if she was explaining these things to an imbecile.
“Wait a moment, you're throwing me out of the castle?”, Marak exclaimed and for a moment he wasn't sure what was worse. The realization that his irresistible charm had failed on her, or the fact that a girl half his size was attempting to throw him out of the castle.
“Exactly”, Nora answered and flashed him a genuinely stunning smile. “We can do it the easy way, or we can do it the hard way” A gleam of hope grew in Marak as he reciprocated her smile. “That's some sort of code, eh? Easy way, hard way... Oh, I know exactly what that stands for”, he whispered towards her. “Not wanting to show any weakness in front of the recruits, huh? Well, as you wish, m'lady” He leant forwards and her smile got even wider. “We should do it the hard way, after you 'threw me out'”, he grinned. “I know a few positions a girl from Meereen once taught me. Perhaps I can teach you”
“You want the hard way?”, she asked and her smile got even wider. Yes, he had her! Marak had done it again! “Are you sure?” He gave her an excited nod, allowing himself to imagine what she would look like without that shirt. Oh yes... that alone would be worth the past weeks!
She shrugged, looking almost apologetic for a moment. “I warned you...”, she chirped and moved her knee upwards with surprising speed. A sudden burst of pain flashed through Marak's crotch, as he went down on the ground, whimpering in pain. For a moment, all feelings of lust were suppressed by the deep seated wish to bash that whore's head in. But as he tried to stand up, her elbow hit him in the neck, sending him to the ground again. Not that it was necessary, given how weak his legs were after her kick.
“That was the hard way”, Nora remarked dryly. “Sorry for that. I assume it hurts” Marak managed to give her a nod, despite the fact that his neck almost managed to hurt even worse than his genitals. “See it as a lesson. Here in Raylansfair we don't react kindly to harassment”, Nora explained as tears of sheer agony formed in Marak's eyes. By the Drowned God, that woman had a mean kick!
“You know what? Stay here as long as you want, I think you've learned a lesson, haven't you?”, she said in the upbeat tone of an overly enthusiastic commanding officer. He gave her a weak nod and she pointed towards herself. “On this courtyard, in this castle, I'm the captain of the guard. I don't intend to degrade myself by swooning over some ripped barbarian with the wits of an Ibbenese”
“Understood”, Marak mumbled and groaned as he tried to move, causing the pain in his loins to intensify. “Understood what?”, Nora asked, giving him a stern glare. “Understood, Ser!”, Marak yelled as loud as he could in his current state. “And don't you ever forget it”, Nora warned him, before she walked away, leaving him lying on the ground. He looked after her and a grin formed on his face. By the Drowned God, what a woman!
And so he lay on the ground, trying his best to ignore the pain in his loin and the humiliating words of the recruits. Damn rookie's, he could have shown them how to handle a weapon. And he could have shown Nora how to handle... A new wave of pain flashed through his crotch and he let out a pained groan. No, better not to think about it...
After a short while he was able to breath without pain, after a little longer he could even stand up. While his stance was a bit hunched, he was finally able to move again. Nora stood at the other side of the courtyard, shooting him another icy glare and Marak decided that it would be wiser to leave her alone. And he noticed someone else standing not far from him... Noelle! How long was she already standing there?
The priestess was walking towards him, a mocking smile on her lips. “Long enough”, she greeted him, mustering him from head to toe. “I see you made quite a fool out of yourself again” He gave her a grudging nod and she turned around, signalling him to follow her without any additional word.
“I have talked to the acting lord”, she told him as they were walking across the courtyard and out of the gate, leaving the castle behind. “A fascinating man, conflicted between guilt and duty. It's a shame he does not want to help me”
“He refused you?”, Marak said in surprise and Noelle gave him a nod, her face looking slightly irritated. “He refused to listen, refused to look, refused to help in any way. I told him what I want and he told me that he does not trust me or any other follower of R'hllor. And I guess I learned a few words in your language I wasn't quite acquainted with yet”
“Smart man”, Marak answered, not even bothering with not thinking aloud. She would read his thoughts anyway, after all. Noelle ignored his remark and continued. “Because of his refusal to help, things got a bit harder for us, a bit... bloodier”
“Bloodier?”, Marak asked and his face lit up again. Bloodier sounded good! Noelle gave him a nod. “I don't like it, but the acting lords refusal left me with no other choice if I want my plans to succeed. His choice just doomed several people. And that's why I have hired you”, she answered. “After all, you make a living from being a killer, right?”
Marak gave her a proud nod and his mouth formed a wide grin. “Who is it, Noelle? Who needs to die?”, he asked. Noelle sighed and she looked visibly reluctant to answer. “I don't have names, but I know where to find them. I saw them in the fire. A field of flowers, a butterfly in disguise, a girl who's half a dragon and...” She paused and looked at him sternly, albeit a hint of regret was seen in her eyes. “Marak, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to be honest with me. You know you can't lie to me”, she told him and Marak gave her a nod. “Tell me, Marak, do you have a problem with killing a child?”
[“Yes”] [“No”]
Great parts!
[No] He is ironborn...
[“No”] No big deal.
Please kill them all. Harkings especially.
I think I understand what you're trying to say.
Reach bastards. Two come to mind. Lucas and Harris. Field implies plural. Killing the acting lord and then one of the people next in line to gain another to corrupt....
Shit. You guys know who that would be.
So this can be two people: The Burned Man (Butterfly mock) or the Butterfly himself, which doesn't seem as likely.
I want to say a Targarygen bastard girl, but I doubt it. I really have no clue what it would be.
The child too, I think Ellena but I doubt it.
http://strawpoll.me/4710837
["No"]
Marak flirting with Nora was legendary.
["No"]
["No"]
[“No”]
[“No”]
[Yes] he's not a monster but I have a feeling he'd still do it but he won't like it.
I love these prophecies I'm starting to really like Noelle which is surprising because I wasn't too keen on her at first.
[“Yes”] I don't believe she really want us to kill a child, she can't be serious and don't want to have a child blood on my hands. Almost forgot, Marak flirting with Nora was indeed legendary, that was love and sometime love hurts!
@LiquidChicagoTed said this earlier, to me, and he's not responding.
Coincidence? I think not.
Or maybe he just hasn't seen it XD.
Anyway, if my 4 likers plus other readers of my vast expertise on this story haven't figured out yet, the person Noelle would be corrupting would in fact be Leonard. He's no bastard, and if Lucas were to die, considering he would be the final knight of House Raylan, he would be the acting lord. Noelle clearly wants to be able to influence that person, and eliminating the two remaining Flowers and threats to her plans, she would succeed.
Thoughts?
Hmm, perhaps I can comment your thoughts a little bit. You had some very good ideas here! The identities of the characters on Noelle's hit list will be revealed over the course of Book 1. Her plan is a bit complicated and will be revealed in greater detail in the next chapter. However, she obviously faces a problem similar to that of Melisandre. She sees stuff in the fire, but the meaning of her visions are up to her own interpretation, which may or may not lead to mistakes on her part. I can also reveal that the characters who are mentioned by her aren't the only ones who stand in the way of her plan, I just decided to cut some of them from this part, as Noelle wanted to ask Marak that question as quickly as possible before going into greater detail. Some of the characters from her list might even die before she gets a chance to kill them or at least before they get a chance to be a danger to her plans, but that will depend on your choices.
I think Harris is the one who's most obviously on her list. He clearly stands in the way of her plans and he's a Reach bastard, so he fits the criteria. And getting a new lord to manipulate would make things a lot easier for her. However, at least in my opinion Leonard would be the one who's harder to manipulate, as he is more cunning and to a certain extent willing to manipulate people himself to get what he wants. Leonard is higher in the order of succession either way, since he is not a bastard. Unfortunately, Ser Darren Tallwood would become acting lord before Leonard, as he has been in the service of House Raylan for far longer.
Right now, Leonard is second in line for the position of the acting lord, after Ser Darren, but before Lucas. That means, if Lucas is on her list, he will become a danger to her plan in some other way.
This will make a lot more sense by the end of this chapter.
And this character hasn't been introduced yet, but she will be introduced in Book 1. The half dragon apparently hints at a Targaryen heritage, or at least at enough valyrian blood in her to count as half dragon.
[“Yes”]
[“Yes”] I know this is Westeros and all, but let's not kill a kid.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I mean Darren isn't exactly someone I want to be in charge, mostly because he isn't Leonard. At the same time, maybe he'll die and Leonard will be seduced by a Red witch. I doubt it. Remind me where Darren is again? I've forgotten.
Anyway, I hope Leonard will become Littlefinger instead of Eddard Stark or Jaime Lannister. He can play this game of thrones quite well.
Well, Lucas seems to like to sniff things around. I have a feeling he would investigate if Harris died and discover the ploy. I take this mostly from the first chapter of Act 1 with the looking for information and stuff. Kill him like Jon Arryn.
I mean as long as Leonard the Stately is alive, it's all good.
("No")
Darren is currently in Raylansfair, after he escorted Noelle and Marak to the castle. While Noelle and Marak have their talk, Harris and Darren have another important (yet offscreen) talk about Darren's future position in Raylansfair which will also give him a larger role in the coming chapters.
["No"]
The Voting is closed!
Marak will tell Noelle that he has no problem with killing a child
This choice won't change a lot in the story, but it will be important for Marak's character, because he honestly told Noelle now that he has absolutely no problem in doing something heinous, which will influence his readiness to do some puppy-kicking actions in later parts of his storyline. Noelle on the other hand is reluctant to do such things and I hope that got clear from this part. I might get a lot of inspiration for writing her from Melisandre, but Noelle is a far better person in the end. She's less charming, more openly manipulative, but in the end she would definitely draw the line at some of Mel's actions in the show. Her plan however is... well, complicated to say the least and I'm unsure myself if I should see it as good or bad. There's going to be a lot of tension between her and some of the other characters later in the story.
The next part will feature PoV's from Willfred and Garthon. Writing is half done and it will be finished later today.
Willfred
“We're going in through the front. We have enough men to pull it off”, Willfred decided and Jaro let out a sigh. “Are you sure with that? You really know what you're doing?”, he asked. Before Willfred could answer, Tallian gave the man an annoyed nod. “Ser Willfred knows exactly what he is doing”, he snarled. “And you'd do better not to question him”
Jaro and I'Lian exchanged a glance and shrugged nearly simultaneously. “Well, we can't stop you by force. But make sure that Roger knows that we tried to stop you”, I'Lian explained. “If something goes wrong, it's your fault” Willfred gave him a nod. “We can deal with that”, he answered quickly.
“If you say so...”, I'Lian mumbled. “But don't say we didn't warn you. Roger has something planned and you might endanger him and yourself” Tallian gave him a glare and slightly shook his head as he looked back to Willfred. “We have a dozen men with us. I doubt anything inside of that tavern can become a danger to us”, he answered. “Come on, Willfred. Give the order”
Willfred took a deep breath, looking at the small building in front of him. The arguments Jaro and I'Lian almost caused him to reconsider his decision, but the stern look the general had on his face caused any of these thoughts to vanish. The general was still angered by Willfred's earlier decision to fight in the battle and angering him even further seemed to be unwise.
“Follow me”, he ordered his men as he climbed down from his horse, drawing his sword as he reached the ground. “But stay silent. We don't want any more attention” This seemed to please Tallian, as well as Jaro and I'Lian. “If you don't mind, me and my brother would like to go through the backdoor. Perhaps some of the men Roger has been chasing could escape otherwise”
Tallian shook his head. “We do mind. You two won't go anywhere until Roger confirms that you are trustworthy”, he barked at them. “If I catch you not following my orders...” Willfred cut him off by putting a hand on his shoulder. “It's okay, general”, he said. “I think we can trust them. Still, I prefer to take the enemy head on instead of sneaking around like a coward. We have an advantage in sheer numbers and should use it. However, we can also use Jaron and I'Lian to surprise them from behind”
To Willfred's surprise, the general seemed to think about what he just said. “Good”, he growled. “If you think that this is the best course of action...” He still seemed to look unhappy about this, but Willfred's decision stood.
Jaro seemed to be relieved by this. His stern face cracked a slight smile. “We won't disappoint you”, he promised. I'Lian appeared to add something, but Jaro quickly pulled him away before he could even open his mouth, giving Willfred an apologizing stare as they started to sneak up on the inn, trying to stay out of sight from the window.
“They know how to remain unseen, I have to give them that”, Tallian mumbled, before looking back at Willfred. “I hope you are right in trusting them” Willfred gave him a short smile. “Have a little faith in me, general. They won't disappoint us”, he said. Tallian slowly shook his head. “I hope so”, he muttered.
On Willfred's signal, the soldiers started to approach the inn in a crouched position, their swords drawn. He followed shortly after them, but walked faster to be the first to arrive at the inn. His heart thumped furiously and he couldn't contain a smile of excitement. There would be a fight soon and no matter how insignificant it might be, he wouldn't sneak around like a coward. He would take whoever was in there head on.
He stopped directly to the left of the door, while Tallian sneaked up to the right side of it. Unlike Willfred, the general looked worried and not ready for a fight. Willfred wondered how good he was either way. As far as he knew, Vashord Tallian had never won a tournament and his actually fighting skill was debatable. He was in his forties, way out of his prime when it came to physical shape, heavy-weight and sweating, his dark blonde hair sticking to his head. And he was obviously not ready for a fight to the death.
Despite this, Tallian was the first to storm the room as Willfred gave him a nod. His craven nature aside, the general had always been someone who was good at following orders and Willfred appreciated this. From inside of the tavern, he heard loud surprised shouts coming from several men, as he quickly followed after Tallian.
The room was small and scarcely decorated. Many small details showed Willfred that this wasn't a very well-visited inn, that probably had to serve as an ordinary farmhouse as well in times where customers shunned it. Which probably happened quite often in these parts of the Reach. Three men, covered in dirt and blood, were standing next to a table, behind them a ladder that lead up to a hayloft. Two of them were holding small crossbows, pointing them at Tallian. The third of them was holding a small kitchen knife, pointing it at the throat of a young girl he just grabbed. The girl couldn't be older than thirteen, her brown eyes widened in fear as a drop of blood was flowing down from a small cut where the knife pointed at her flesh.
“Who the fuck are you?”, the man shouted. “Don't come closer or I'll cut her throat!” Willfred quickly raised his arms in an attempt to calm him down. This did not went as planned! As much as he just wanted to attack these people head on, he never took into consideration that they might have a hostage with them. He knew, he needed to do something to defuse this situation. “Easy now”, he said. “It appears we made a small mistake” The man narrowed his eyes. “You haven't answered my question!”, he growled. “Are you with that archer? The one who shot some of our men?”
“I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. It appears you are not the people we're looking for”, Willfred quickly answered, glancing at Tallian, who seemed to be similarly unwilling to attack these men now that they had a hostage.
“Bullshit!”, the man exclaimed. “One step closer and she's...” He didn't get to finish his sentence, as an arrow impaled his head from behind, right through the left eye. The force of the impact was strong enough to make him stagger forwards, causing him to drop the knife, albeit he dragged the girl to the ground with him.
One of the two crossbowmen turned around, pointing his crossbow towards the hayloft and received an arrow in the neck for this. The third men blindly shot his crossbow towards Willfred and Tallian before throwing it away and running towards the small backdoor below the hayloft. He didn't get far, as Jaro entered the room through the very same door, impaling the fleeing man with his broadsword.
Willfred took a quick look around. “That was close. Everyone okay?”, he asked, before noticing that Tallian knelt on the ground. The bolt from the crossbow had grazed his shoulder and slashed the chainmail that protected it, causing a bleeding cut. Luckily, it hadn't directly hit him, but the shock in his face spoke volumes. Still, as the general looked past Willfred, his face lit up.
Willfred followed his stare and saw a man climbing down from the hayloft. He was in his early thirties, had the light blonde hair that was common with people from the western Rock, paired with green eyes that gave him almost the appearance of a Lannister. A simple leather armour was covering his lean and wiry body, while a long scar was running down his gaunt face, narrowly missing his left eye. Despite the differences in build and hair colour, he had a lot in common with the man that was obviously his brother, with Darren Reyne.
Before even reacting to Willfred and his soldiers, he leant down to the young girl, who was shivering in fear. He gently grabbed her hand, pulling her up to her feet again and giving her a light hug. “It's all good, girl”, he whispered to her. “It's over. Where is your father?”
She pointed outside of the window, towards the forest and his face darkened slightly. “He's out for a hunt, right?”, he asked and she gave him a nod. A kind smile appeared on his face as he reached to his belt, pulling out his heavy purse and handing it to her. “I think he won't return for a few more hours. While he's gone, could you make us the capon I have seen in your kitchen? For me and for your new guests here? Keep the rest of the money, for your inconvenience”
Only as she gave him a shy nod and ran to a backroom, presumably the kitchen, the man looked at Willfred and Tallian. Despite hit pain, the general walked towards him, opening his arms to a brotherly hug. “Roger Hill, you son of a bitch!”, he shouted as he was enfolding him in his arms. “How long has it been? Five years?”
“Too long, Vashord!”, Roger answered, albeit his smile faded as he finally looked at Willfred. “This is...”, he mumbled, pulling away from Tallian and walking towards Willfred. “Ser Roger”, Willfred greeted him with a polite bow. “My name is...” Roger cut him off with a handwave. “I know exactly who you are, boy. You look exactly like your father” His smile returned, widely and brightly. “And if you don't give your uncle a big hug right now, I'm going to be very upset”
With these words, he pulled Willfred into a tight hug, as he patted him on the back. “Willfred Reyne”, he muttered. “By the Warrior, you've grown into a formidable young man” He pulled away from him, albeit his hands were still resting on his shoulders. “Why are you here?”, he asked.
Willfred let out a sigh. “It's been quite some trouble to find you, uncle”, he said. “We have problems back in the Rock. Problems you might be able to help us with” He pointed towards the table the three bandits had set on just a few minutes ago. “Perhaps we should sit down. It's going to be a long talk”
No Choices for this part
Garthon
Thanks to the company of Jon the Harper, Dacey and Jared, the past hours had been quite pleasant. While Dacey still wasn't very friendly towards him, she had warmed up to George, much to the boys joy. She wasn't a very talkative girl, but had happily listened to George's tales, how he grew up without knowing his father, how he entered Lord Tully's service to support his poor mother, how he killed his first man to save Tully's life, but also happier stories, like the adventures he had with his dog when he was a young child. Once started, it was almost impossible to stop George from talking. Jon had tried it with an extra loud rendition of 'Six Maids in a Pool', but it had only silenced him for a few minutes.
Jared had proven to be better company. The man and Garthon enjoyed their fair share of silence, only occasionally breaking it by asking each other a question. Garthon learned that Jared was an exceptionally gifted archer and even witnessed his skills first hand, as he shot a running squirrel over fifty feet without any trouble. He also learned that Jared was born near Raventree Hall and that his father died eight years ago, while he was forced to fight against the armies of the Rock at the Gold Tooth. In return he had to reveal how his own father drank himself to death while he and Torvin were younger and how both brothers had to use their individual talents to keep their family from dying.
Finally, there was the Harper. Jon was still an enigma for Garthon. He liked to sing more than he liked to talk, especially when it came to his backstory. But his manners and wording made Garthon suspect that Jon had noble heritage, perhaps either a trueborn or at least a bastard son of some Riverlord. He was polite, even friendly, but Garthon never forgot that he dealt with a true outlaw here, part of a group that was infamous for hanging every Ironborn they got hold off. His neck already felt a bit stiff as he imagined the amount of luck he had that Jon had believed him.
And now they were in Maidenpool. For Garthon it was the most beautiful city in the Riverlands, no, in all of Westeros. It was remarkably clean for a city of it's size, it's small streets retaining a sense of cosiness usually reserved for smaller villages. The peaceful atmosphere had almost something magical on it, a romantic vibe that caused excitement in Garthon. A few years ago, he and Torvin had been here before. The journey had mostly been Garthon's wish, as Torvin had little sense for the finer arts that were celebrated in this city. Music was a nuisance to him at best, while Garthon loved it. Torvin found no joy in paintings or in the work of mummers. Yet even he had smiled as Garthon had joined a group of them for a few hours, making a small fortune by singin 'The Dornishman's Wife' while a dwarf from the Summer Isles and a fat woman from Mantarys backed him with a flute and a lute respectively.
Of course, Maidenpool had it's darker sides as well as Garthon knew just too well. The city just managed to hide them better. As one of the kingdoms only cities with access to the Bay of Crabs and the Narrow Sea, it served as a gateway to the Free Cities and the continent of Essos in general. As a result, the city was full of bright-coloured merchants from the free cities, as well as artists, painters, street musicians and mummers, their skin tone ranging from the pale white skin of the Northerners to the almost midnight black skin of the Summer Islanders. And the city was also full of the Free Cities' scum. A man who knew where to look was able to find paid killers, professional thieves and especially smugglers, oh, so many smugglers. And Garthon was a man who knew exactly where to look for them.
For a while, he took lead of the group as they rode through the city gates, past the surprisingly narrow main street. Even a modest carriage had a lot of trouble navigating in the main street, so even the nobles of Maidenpool were used to walking. Only the laziest and fattest of them insisted on being carried around in sedans, like the pentoshi magisters were known to do. They walked through the genuinely beautiful upper neighbourhoods of Maidenpool, where even the smell that was so common for a city seemed to be less horrible. They passed numerous taverns and brothels, and Garthon was almost willing to spend the night there, in the arms of a lovely self-proclaimed maiden, who would give him anything he needed as long as he had the money. They passed an especially stubborn street merchant with a broad Norvoshi accent, who insisted on selling Dacey a brazen brooch, formed like a stylized river. George ended up buying it for her and she blushed almost as much as he did as he handed it to her. And they passed a cocky thief, who only narrowly managed to escape after Jared had caught him in the attempt of stealing his money.
It was only as they entered the shadier parts of the city that George took the lead. Of course, shadier parts sounded a bit too dark for Maidenpool, as even here Garthon found numerous ways which he would have used to entertain himself if he only had the time. He was genuinely surprised that George knew this city well enough to lead them without any trouble. The boy seemed far more determined than before now, strictly leading them through narrow alleyways, always further away from the main streets.
“The man we are looking for is named Mosso and he has rented a room in a nameless backalley somewhere around here”, George informed them. “It's nearly impossible to find it without the right directions or a ton of luck” Garthon grinned at this remark. “Luckily, I always have a ton of luck”, he said sarcastically and earned himself a nearly simultaneous glare from George and Dacey.
Jon patted him on the back. “We'll see how much luck you have with your mission”, he answered without any sarcasm at all. “What kind of poison do you plan to buy either way?”, he asked, looking at George again. For a moment, the boy seemed to be unsure how to answer. “Ma... Manticor venom if I'm not mistaken”, he answered, his shy nature shining through for a moment as he seemed to be uneasy in naming the deadly posion.
The Harper nodded in the way only a true professional could nod. “Good choice”, he complimented him. “In it's undiluted state it can kill a man in a heartbeat. Harren Hoare will be dead if you only manage to cut him. Same goes for his sons. But it's also an expensive choice”
Garthon narrowed his eyes, but before he could prevent anything, George opened his coat, revealing a large purse sewn into its inside. “Lord Tully took care of everything”, he answered, not realizing that he would be in a lot of trouble now if Jon would just decide to rob them. Luckily, neither the Harper nor his companions seemed to have any intentions to do this.
“You know, it's a good thing that Tully decided to do something against the king”, Jared said. “Being an outlaw, hanging Ironborn and being a general nuisance to them is nice and all, but we're never more than that, only a nuisance. With a powerful lord on the other hand... A man like Tully could become king of the Trident if he wishes. The Riverlords would follow him”
“Lord Tully as a king?”, George exclaimed in genuine surprise and Garthon believed that he never even considered this thought. George wasn't someone who thought of people based on their ability to rule. Garthon on the other hand had thought about this for a longer time. If their plan succeeds, Tully would be a likely candidate to succeed Harren Hoare. He was one of the most powerful Riverlords, together with the lords Frey and Mallister and at least objectively he was the one best suited for the task. Which, according to the general dickishness of fate and Garthon's experience with kings in particular, meant that Tully would never get even close to becoming one, or at least not for very long. A decent king in the Riverlands would be something completely new, as far as Garthon knew.
George suddenly stopped in front of a run-down building. They were standing in a small backalley, a nameless backalley as the boy had promised. It was evening already and the sun nearly set, scarcely illuminating the street and the door George was walking towards. “We're here”, he proclaimed.
“How can you be so sure?”, Dacey asked, looking around. “These streets look all the same to me” George gave her a proud smile. “Lord Tully took me here once and I memorized the way, which is why he chose me to get here now”
He walked closer towards the door, slowly knocking on it. The sound of his knocking was barely audible and Garthon wasn't surprised that no one opened them at first. “George...”, he said, gently pushing the boy away. “Allow me” He knocked on the door decidedly more powerful and was satisfied as he heard heavy footsteps coming from the other side.
The door was opened, revealing a stocky and incredibly hairy man with the wide face of an Ibbenese. He was almost a head shorter than Garthon, but his shoulders were broader and there was no doubt that he was far stronger. In his right hand he was holding a cleaver and even something as simple as this household item looked like a dangerous weapon in his hands.
“Umm...”, Garthon began. “We're looking for Gosso... Mosso! We're looking for a man named Mosso. Could you get him?”, he asked. The Ibbenese spat on the ground in front of him, slowly shaking his head. “Fuck off”, he growled with a strong accent, before closing the door right in front of Garthon again.
“Well, that did not went like planned”, Jared remarked and got a glare from George. “What an asshole”, the boy hissed. “Try it again!”, he urged Garthon. “Knocking won't help”, Jon clarified. “You gotta kick in this door, that'll teach him. Alternatively I could handle the situation. Mosso is not the first smuggler who refused to cooperate with us at first”
[Try to kick the door in] [Knock again] [Allow Jon to deal with the situation]
(Try to kick the door in)
[Try to kick the door in]
[Allow Jon to deal with the situation]
[Try to kick the door in]
I expect This ìs Sparta line while doing that.
This is madness. [Try to kick the door in]
[Allow Jon to deal with the situation] normally I'd pick kick the door in but because it says 'try' my paranoid side makes me think it won't work plus it's an opportunity for our new ally to prove himself and for us to see what kind of person he is.
[Allow Jon to deal with the situation]
[Allow Jon to deal with the situation]
Let him do all the work.
It's clearly that knock again will not work, but if we [Allow Jon to deal with the situation] it may work, also this guy may be shorter, but if there is no doubt that he is far stronger, kicking the door won't work, I meant event if it work it won't make Gosso, Mosso or what so ever is this guy happy, if you know what I mean. I don't know why you say [Try to kick the door in], why try instead of just [Kick the door in]?
Madness...?
This is Sparta!
[Allow Jon to deal with the situation]
[Knock again] Let´s try to be gentle first.
Awesome chapter!
[Allow Jon to deal with the situation]
I just realised that Dimitri the Wise's status is unknown.
[Allow Jon to deal with the situation]
The Voting is closed!
Garthon will allow Jon to deal with the situation
The next part is going to be the finale of Lucas' storyline in this chapter. It's as good as finished, albeit a bit of polishing is still needed here and there. Expect it to be finished in a few hours! And well, after that there will be only three parts left in this chapter until I have to write the first part of this story which I'm not looking forward to write at all...
Lucas part = great
I have a feeling why. Is it like a rape thing?
Lucas
“I'm afraid not, Ser Maron”, Lucas answered. “We have decided to leave the city regardless, at least for the moment” Mullendore gave him a nod and took another sip from his glass. “May I ask why you want to leave without having found who you came for?”, he asked and slightly coughed, putting his wine back down and wiping his mouth.
“It's because of Lunett, Ser Maron. Lunett Kawl, a girl who is accompanying us. She and I, we grew close over our travels and I don't want to endanger her in this city”, Lucas answered, at least partially honest. Mullendore's eyes showed understanding and he even allowed himself a light smile. “I understand”, he answered. “Wise choice. No man should bring his loved ones into this city. Do you know what Butterfly would do to her, should he ever get his hands on her?”
Lucas shook his head. “Not sure if I even want to hear it”, he answered truthfully. Mullendore ignored this and continued to talk, much to Lucas' displeasure, while looking him sternly in the eyes. “He's going to rape her. Multiple times. For fun and for information. If she won't answer him, he's going to mutilate her. He will start with her feet, then her eyes, then her hands, he's going to destroy her until nothing is left of the girl you love” A pained expression flashed over the old knights face as he avoided Lucas' stare for a moment. Lucas gulped as he had to imagine these things happening to Lunett. No, he wouldn't let that happen! He would die before allowing this beast to touch her!
“You're making the right choice in leaving this city, but it won't be easy if Butterfly is looking for you. He is already suspecting that you know more about Dairon and without my help you have no chance of leaving this city”, Mullendore mumbled weakly. “And can we count on your help?”, Leonard asked impatiently. “Or do you expect a favour in return?” Mullendore gave him a nod. “A small one. Do it and I will help you in getting your girl out of Butterfly's range. Trust me, you do not want to keep her around here for long”
“And what do you want us to do?”, Lucas asked. Mullendore's melancholic facial expression vanished as his mouth formed a light smirk. “The letter, the one that got here by accident, is addressed to his holiness, the High Septon. You will bring this letter to the Sept for me, so that I don't have to send one of my own men. In the meantime, I will put together a group of two dozen men, lead by Captain Farris, who is one of my best. Where should they meet you?”
“Blind Helmsman”, Lucas answered. “A small soldier's...” Mullendore cut him off with a short laughter. “I know where the fucking Helmsman is, Ser Lucas! Have spent quite a few evenings there myself. The ale is shitty, but the people there are the best in the city, loyal like hounds and honest like Northerners. I will send Captain Farris there, but it will probably take me about five hours to get him and his men ready”
“Five hours sounds good to me”, Lucas said and Leonard nodded approvingly. “Better than trying to leave this city alone, that's for sure”, the other knight added. He looked towards the door, where the guardsman Ryder was still standing, holding the letter. “Can we read the letter now?”, he asked. Mullendore gave him a nod and ordered Ryder to take a step closer with a handwave.
“The contents of this letter are interesting, shocking, probably highly dangerous. Out of the people in my guard, only Ryder knows of it since...”, Mullendore said and paused for a moment, looking almost embarrassed. “I had to read it to Ser Maron”, Ryder answered in his stead.
“You can't read?”, Leonard asked in surprise. Mullendore shrugged and let out a rough and brittle laughter. “Give me a sword and I can kill. Give me a bow and I will hit a moving target from two hundred feet away. I can surgically amputate a limb and sew wounds back together, I can lead people in battle and inspire them. I was trained as a soldier, a fighter, not as a scholar. No one ever told me that reading could come in handy”, he explained with a grin. “Anyway, Ryder, please hand Ser Lucas this letter” The guardsman quickly complied and Lucas took a quick glance at the sigil. Broken, obviously, but the seven-pointed star was still visible.
“You can read aloud”, Mullendore urged him. “That way you can make it quicker until you and Ser Leonard are both informed about the contents of this letter” He and Ryder exchanged a quick look. “I can confirm that Ryder is not working for Butterfly”, the knight said. Lucas gave him a nod and started to read the letter aloud.
“To his holiness, the High Septon”, he began and his eyes widened as he continued to read. “What is it?”, Leonard snarled. “Come on, Flowers. Don't tease me” Lucas gulped audibly, looking at Leonard and then at Mullendore, before continuing.
“With sadness I have to inform your holiness that Ser Ilhan Lagoon, proud and loyal servant of House Raylan of Raylansfair, defender of the faith and true knight, no longer walks on our beautiful earth. The Stranger took him five days ago. His death wasn't an accident however, it was cold-blooded murder and the killer was none other than...”
Lucas stopped again as he breathed heavily. No, this could not be! Ser Ilhan was dead and his killer was... “Ser Harris Flowers, castellan and currently acting lord of Raylansfair”, he continued, seeing how Leonard's face dropped. The other knight grabbed the letter, ripping it away from Lucas' hand, before continuing to read himself in complete silence, looking thoroughly shocked and disturbed.
“Lady Halla and Jenna Harking witnessed it”, he mumbled. “Jenna confessed this to Septon Corbin and he writes that he has no reason to distrust her” A mix of anger and confusion appeared on Leonard's face and for a moment, Lucas was worried that he might tear the letter to pieces. He knew, Harris and Leonard had been friends and he knew Leonard had a lot of trust in him. The devastated look on his face gave away how this affected him.
“This can't be true”, Leonard mumbled. The tone of his voice made it clear that he was only trying to convince himself. “Fuck... Fuck!”, he growled. Mullendore let out a sigh and slid his cup of wine over to him. Leonard gave him a short, almost thankful look before emptying the whole cup at a draught.
“Sorry that I had to be the one breaking the bad fucking news to you”, Mullendore said with concern in his voice. Lucas pressed his lips together, avoiding to look at the man. He had expected that Harris would go far to secure his power, but that far? It proved his point that Harris wasn't trustworthy.
“Five hours”, Leonard muttered, looking at Mullendore. “Then we're going to leave this city with your help. Once we're back in Raylansfair, I'm going to behead that murderous bastard myself” The old knight shrugged. “What you do once you're out of my city isn't of my concern. But I wish you best of luck with it”, he said.
Without saying another word, Leonard raised from his chair and started to walk to the door, the letter still in his hand. Lucas could almost hear him grinding his teeth in anger. He gave Mullendore an apologizing look. “It's hard for him”, he said as Leonard just left the room. “He looked up to Ser Harris and considered him a friend. My apologies if he came off as rude. He meant no offence”
Mullendore raised both of his hands up to his shoulders, smirking at Lucas. “Ser Lucas, if I'd take offence by something that small and understandable, I wouldn't be fit to lead this city guard”, he said and despite everything that he just learned, Lucas had to chuckle. “I wish you the best of luck in your dealings with Ser Harris”, Mullendore said, raising from his chair. He reached out his hand and Lucas grabbed it, shaking it with a smile. “And I wish you best of luck in your dealings with Butterfly. Surely you have it even worse”, he answered.
“The Burned Man is a bigger problem for me, but I appreciate it”, Mullendore grinned and Lucas bowed his head in respect. “It has been an honour Ser Maron”, he said and meant every word. “Same here, Ser Lucas”, Mullendore answered and gave Ryder a nod. “Please, escort Ser Lucas out of the building. Then try to contact Captain Farris. I want this done as quick as possible”
Ryder saluted in front of his commander and gave Lucas a handwave, ordering him to follow. Lucas complied, but looked over his shoulder one last time, seeing Mullendore pouring some wine into his cup again.
They caught up to Leonard in the main hall, where the knight seemed to wait for him, walking up and down in anger. Ryder gave him an apologetic stare, before looking back at Lucas. “I assume you're going to be fine from now on. Ser Maron keeps his promises and so do I. My friend, Captain Farris Flowers, will arrive at your inn in five hours, escorting you and your girl out of this city and out of Butterfly's reach”, he reassured him.
Lucas gave him a thankful nod, but it was Leonard who answered. “Thank you”, he mumbled shortly, before a puzzled look appeared on his face. “It's Harrington, right? Ryder Harrington? I've heard your name before”
Ryder let out a sigh. “You probably know a great deal about mercenaries then. Have you ever heard about my brother, Samuel?” Leonard raised an eyebrow as he heard this. “Fang of Shadows...”, he mumbled. “Samuel Harrington is your brother!”
“And working for Butterfly”, Ryder remarked sullenly. “Not exactly a topic I want to talk about” Leonard gave him a nod. “Understandable. But why does the brother of an elite mercenary even need to work as a lowly city guard?”, he answered. Ryder shot him an angry glare. “None of your concern”, he answered and it was clear that the talk was over.
The three of them left the Hightower and Ryder gave them a last look as he was quickly walking down the large square in front of it. It was already shortly after noon and the shadow of the Hightower was now falling directly onto the square, keeping it in a gloomy twilight despite the blue sky above it.
“Well...”, Lucas muttered, looking at Leonard. The other knight still seemed to be absolutely devastated and Lucas noticed that his hands were shivering. “Are you okay?” The anger in Leonard's glare made him take a step back before he realized that it wasn't directed at him. “Hell no, I'm not okay”, Leonard answered. “I trusted this man. He was a friend, a mentor. How can you be so calm about that?”
Lucas gulped as he thought of an answer. “I was never as close to him. I distrusted him from the moment I found the letter in his room”, he answered and let out a sigh. “Still... to think that he would kill Ser Ilhan...”
“He did not deserve to die like that...”, Leonard muttered. “He was a good man and yet he was murdered by a man he saw as his friend” The anger in his stare intensified as he looked towards the Starry Sept at the other end of the square. “We have to talk to the High Septon while we're here. He can help us. And once we're out of this, we're going to confront Harris. He will answer for his crimes”
“He will”, Lucas confirmed as they silently continued their way across the square, towards the Starry Sept. The Sept was the biggest in Westeros as far as Lucas knew, a hulking building formed like a seven-pointed star, with seven high towers and a large spiked roof in the middle, built completely out of black marble, with huge, arched windows and a large flight of stairs that lead up to it. It was a monument to the Faith of the Seven, intimidating and depressingly dark. Lucas had always preferred a small sept, like the one in Raylansfair, over a pompous building like this.
The door of the Sept was similarly huge, consisting entirely out of blackened iron, decorated with elaborate depictions of the Seven. The gods were looking down on every mortal who entered the building and Lucas looked up to them. His gaze stuck on the hollow eye sockets of the Stranger, who was depicted as an ever grinning skeleton on the door. Somehow, Lucas had the feeling as if his empty stare would follow him.
During this hour of the day, only a few faithful had found their way into the building to pray to the Seven. Small candles were lit in each of the seven corners, the one for the Father and the Smith burning the brightest, while only the corner reserved for the Stranger was empty and dark as the night. A few septas were walking around, some of them busy with various tasks, some of them talking to the praying people.
Still visibly furious, Leonard walked up to an older Septa before Lucas could hold him back. “Leonard”, he hissed and the knight only stopped long enough to look over his shoulder. “I'm done with this rotten city, Flowers!”, he answered, albeit he managed to control his voice after noticing that he was talking far too loud for the Sept.
He turned around again to face the Septa, who was now looking at him directly. She was an old woman with a wrinkled face and a hooked nose. Her grey eyes glared at Leonard, albeit her mouth formed a somewhat kind smile. Leonard pointed at himself and then at Lucas. “Ser Leonard Constantine and Ser Lucas Flowers”, he introduced them. “We have a letter for the High Septon and demand to speak him”
Lucas knew immediately that Leonard did a mistake in his anger. The smile of the Septa didn't disappear, albeit every trace of kindness vanished immediately. “You demand?”, she asked. “Are you sure?”
Leonard let out a sigh. “No, of course not. Forgive my...”, he started to apologize but the Septa cut him off. “The gods demand. The mortals follow their wishes”, she intoned sharply. “You wish to speak to his Holiness?” Lucas gave her a nod. “We do”, he answered. “My apologies. My friend is agitated as a result of recent events. He didn't mean to disrespect you”
This seemed to please the Septa, as her smile regained a little bit of kindness. “I will see what I can do. His Holiness is in a deep prayer right now, but I am sure he will find some time for you. Allow me to look for him while you wait”, she answered and bowed her head before walking towards one of the stairs that lead to the crypts below the Sept.
“You demand?”, he asked Leonard and the knight gave him an annoyed glare. “Listen, Flowers. I know I was a little bit too direct here. You saved the situation, good”, he growled with a low voice, still looking visibly distraught. “May Harris burn in the Seven Hells...”, he added and his face got a sullen expression.
And so they waited in silence. After a few minutes, Lucas started to look around for any trace of the Septa, while Leonard simply sat down on a bench, his head hanging low. Minutes passed and Lucas started to grow impatient. He slowly walked around the Sept in an attempt to find the old woman, but soon gave up as he realized that she hadn't returned from her talk with the High Septon yet. More minutes passed and Lucas looked towards the shrines of the Seven. Right now, he felt as if he could need the goodwill of the gods and so he spent the next hour walking from shrine to shrine, lighting candles for each of the Seven, even for the Stranger. It was only after he finished the seventh prayer that Lucas noticed that hours must have passed. By the Seven, they had to hurry!
As if she had watched him praying, the old Septa walked up from the stairs that lead down to the crypts. Leonard jumped up as he saw her and joined Lucas in approaching her. The old woman had a kind smile on her face again, albeit her eyes looked cold and calculating. “I see you have used your time well, Ser Lucas”, she congratulated him. “Finding inner peace in your faith can be helpful whenever you feel the need to demand something”
For a moment it appeared as if Leonard would jump at the old woman in sheer anger and Lucas wasn't even sure if he would have hold him back. Luckily, the knight managed to control his anger, albeit the helpless rage in his face mirrored Lucas' own feelings. “Can we speak to his holiness now?”, Lucas asked carefully. To his horror, the Septa shook her head. “His holiness is in a deep meditation. Perhaps he will have time for you, if you wait for a few more hours”
Lucas and Leonard exchanged a look and this time it was Lucas who let out some of his anger. He walked towards the Septa and simply handed her the letter. He knew, the support of the High Septon would have been important, but they had to hurry to arrive at the inn before Mullendore's guardsmen would arrive. “Not needed”, he said coldly. “We will return another time”
With these words he turned around and stormed out of the building, Leonard close behind him. One look at the sky told him that at least four hours had passed since they entered the Starry Sept. The square between Sept and Hightower was crowded now, full of smallfolk, guardsmen, septons and septas, noblemen. For a moment, Lucas stopped at the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the sept. He breathed heavily and Leonard patted him on the back. “Well, there goes nothing. Now let's get the hell back to the inn”, he mumbled.
Before they could resume their walk, a small figure caught Lucas attention. It was a girl, scrawny and dirty, with dark blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was clad only in rags, but the way she looked directly at Lucas immediately gave away that she was more than a simple street child.
“Seven Blessings, Ser Lucas Flowers and Ser Leonard Constantine”, she greeted them with a high-pitched voice. She couldn't be older than ten years! Lucas and Leonard exchanged a surprised glare as she already continued. “The Burned Man sends his regards. He wants you to leave his city”
Leonard started to grind his teeth as he heard this and Lucas leant down to talk to the child. “You are working for the Burned Man?”, he asked. The girl gave him a short nod. “Then tell him we want to leave this city too. He does not need to force us”
This seemed to confuse the girl, as she cocked her eyebrows. “Why would he want to force you? He is well aware that you plan to leave this city and it pleases him. He wants you gone, because Butterfly has a strong interest in you”
“Yeah, we already know that”, Leonard answered impatiently. “Listen, if there's nothing else, we have a meeting with a group of guardsmen...” “At the Blind Helmsman Inn, we know”, the girl finished his sentence, causing Lucas to open his mouth in surprise. “You... you know?”, he stuttered and the girl gave him a nod. “And Butterfly knows it too”, she revealed to Lucas horror. “I was sent to inform you that Samuel Harrington, the Fang of Shadows, was seen approaching the inn not long ago. The Burned Man wishes to inform you of this and hopes that you manage to save your friends in time”, she added and took a polite bow. “You better hurry”, she warned them and disappeared in the crowd again, leaving a shocked Lucas and Leonard behind.
For a moment, Lucas contemplated about what he just heard. And then he started to run to the inn, only to be hold back by Leonard. “What do you think you're doing, Flowers?”, he growled. “You want to storm the inn all on your own?”
“And what are you doing?”, Lucas demanded to know. “We have to hurry, we have to get to Lunett and Dairon before Butterfly's men reach them!” Leonard gave him a nod, but at the same time he looked towards the Hightower. “We are two men, we have no armour, just our swords. We are no match for Butterfly's men. I want to save them as much as you do, but we can't do it alone. We need help”
“Mullendore's help?”, Lucas asked. “Are you serious?” Leonard gave him a reluctant nod. “Listen, I don't think we have much of a choice here. Perhaps we'll find a way to get his help without giving Dairon away. But we can't help them all alone!”, the knight urged him.
[Seek help from Mullendore] [Run to the inn without additional help]
[Seek help from Mullendore] Leonard wants this do that's what we're going to do.
These lines really show Leonard's characters. However, if he does kill Harris, he will be fulfilling Noelle's plans as you pointed out last time. I'm not sure that's a good thing.
As for the safety of Lunett and Dairon, I think they're dead. If we go immediately they'll be killed (not sure how), but if we do get the men like I voted, they'll be held hostage and lots of shot will go down. However that will be for the next chapter.
I have more to say, but to be first, which I pride myself on being for Lucas parts, I'll edit it later.