Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
He was only passively involved in this fight, as he lead Martin and his men to the warehouse. After all, he's only a young boy and would have had no chance against Butterfly's men. For now, he is perfectly fine and will reappear in Jaron's next part.
Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
Welcome back, it's great to see you returning here You have missed perhaps one, two somewhat important plot twists in the later Chapter 4, but I have recently updated the summary, if you want to catch up again
Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
Marak
Now, in the early afternoon, Raylansfair's surprisingly good excuse for an inn was well patronized. Of course, Noelle had no proble… morem in finding a free table. Usually, she drew people towards her like moths towards a flame, but if needed she had the fascinating ability to push them away as well, something that came in handy whenever she needed a table for herself. Marak knew, she would tell him something about her plans if he would ask. He knew, she wouldn't object if he would sit next to her. But right now, after the things she told him, the things she expected him to do, he needed a strong drink and more importantly, he needed someone to talk to, someone who wouldn't answer in cryptic phrases, someone who had a good sense of humour, someone who worshipped the right gods. Well, at least that last part was hard to find here in Raylansfair, but the Seven were alright, he guessed. Of course, inferior to the Drowned God, but still better… [view original content]
I hope you enjoyed this last part. I definitely had a lot of fun putting these three characters together
The next part is half written. It will introduce a completely new PoV character. Well, what can I tell you about her... It's obviously a female, she hasn't been introduced so far, but she has been mentioned a few times over the course of the past two chapters by a very specific PoV character in the Raylansfair storyline. However, this new PoV will be located in Oldtown, with heavy ties to one particular Raylansfair storyline and ties to the Oldtown plot as well. She will also be connected in a surprising way to one of the characters in the Oldtown storyline, even though this connection won't be obvious at first. Oh, and of course she got mentioned by another character in the last chapter, in a part that had managed to fuel a bit of speculation for the things to come.
The Voting is closed!
Marak will buy another round for Irving and Alan
I hope you enjoyed this last part. I definitely had a lot of fu… moren putting these three characters together
The next part is half written. It will introduce a completely new PoV character. Well, what can I tell you about her... It's obviously a female, she hasn't been introduced so far, but she has been mentioned a few times over the course of the past two chapters by a very specific PoV character in the Raylansfair storyline. However, this new PoV will be located in Oldtown, with heavy ties to one particular Raylansfair storyline and ties to the Oldtown plot as well. She will also be connected in a surprising way to one of the characters in the Oldtown storyline, even though this connection won't be obvious at first. Oh, and of course she got mentioned by another character in the last chapter, in a part that had managed to fuel a bit of speculation for the things to come.
Oh, and of course she got mentioned by another character in the last chapter, in a part that had managed to fuel a bit of speculation for the things to come.
Hmm... Are we talking about the girl that is half a dragon? The one that Noelle mentioned to Marak.
The Voting is closed!
Marak will buy another round for Irving and Alan
I hope you enjoyed this last part. I definitely had a lot of fu… moren putting these three characters together
The next part is half written. It will introduce a completely new PoV character. Well, what can I tell you about her... It's obviously a female, she hasn't been introduced so far, but she has been mentioned a few times over the course of the past two chapters by a very specific PoV character in the Raylansfair storyline. However, this new PoV will be located in Oldtown, with heavy ties to one particular Raylansfair storyline and ties to the Oldtown plot as well. She will also be connected in a surprising way to one of the characters in the Oldtown storyline, even though this connection won't be obvious at first. Oh, and of course she got mentioned by another character in the last chapter, in a part that had managed to fuel a bit of speculation for the things to come.
Oh, and of course she got mentioned by another character in the last chapter, in a part that had managed to fuel a bit of speculation for th… moree things to come.
Hmm... Are we talking about the girl that is half a dragon? The one that Noelle mentioned to Marak.
The Voting is closed!
Marak will buy another round for Irving and Alan
I hope you enjoyed this last part. I definitely had a lot of fu… moren putting these three characters together
The next part is half written. It will introduce a completely new PoV character. Well, what can I tell you about her... It's obviously a female, she hasn't been introduced so far, but she has been mentioned a few times over the course of the past two chapters by a very specific PoV character in the Raylansfair storyline. However, this new PoV will be located in Oldtown, with heavy ties to one particular Raylansfair storyline and ties to the Oldtown plot as well. She will also be connected in a surprising way to one of the characters in the Oldtown storyline, even though this connection won't be obvious at first. Oh, and of course she got mentioned by another character in the last chapter, in a part that had managed to fuel a bit of speculation for the things to come.
Hah, called it! I suppose the next question will be how exactly is she half a dragon? Valyrian blood? Targaryen blood? Something else? Can't wait to find out
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attention. As the Old Man had told her, attracting attention would be the last thing she would want in her line of work. He had advised her to dye it. Clayton had ordered her to cut it. But the Old Man was living his sunset years in Braavos and Clayton wasn't her master. So she kept it, partly because she hated the rules Clayton tried to enforce on her and partly because she loved the colour. Of course, in situations like this, she still wished for a common dishwater blonde.
Raenna could almost feel the men's grin and their stares. Of course, she had seen their swords the moment she entered the tavern. They weren't as subtly hidden as they thought and neither were their glances towards her. She knew men like this, she had encountered them in every larger city she had ever visited and in some of the smaller ones as well. And this city was especially bad. After all, this was Oldtown.
She walked past the men, half expecting someone to make the huge mistake of grabbing her. There were four of them and apparently their sheer presence had been enough to shoo out every other guest this shabby tavern would have had during the afternoon hours. They were even more shabby than this building, smelling even worse than the ale they were drinking. It costed Raenna a lot of self-restraint to keep her aloof look as she noticed the lewd grin on the face of the man who sat the closest to her. He was missing an eye and the look in the remaining one reminded her of Clayton, in a truly unsettling way.
As Raenna sat down on one of the high bar stools in front of the counter, the innkeeper looked up from whatever he was doing behind the counter. Probably hiding. He was a thin man with a bushy beard, his dark hair greying, the look in his eyes genuinely worried. “Can I help you, young lady?”, he asked and Raenna flashed him a kind smile. His gaze remained on her eyes for a while and she had to give him credit that he did not gave her the usual unsettled look other people gave her when they spotted the colour. True, it was a very blueish shade of lilac, but still highly unusual when examined closely.
“Yes, good man”, she answered. “I'd like a mug of your best ale, not the stuff you sold the guys over there. And I could kill for a hot meal” Someone who knew her would have been startled by this casual joke, even if there was no reason to get startled. Of course, there weren't many people who truly knew her.
“We don't get to see someone like you here very often”, the innkeeper remarked, looking over her shoulder at the four men in the middle of the room. They were talking with muffled voices, albeit the occasional scrap of conversation found its way to her ears. She did not like it at all. “What do you mean?”, she asked with narrowed eyes, even if she already knew the answer.
“Your hair, m'lady. And the eyes. We rarely get to see your kind here”, the innkeeper answered. “You from Dragonstone?” Raenna gave him a small nod and his face darkened. “You shouldn't be here, m'lady. It would be better if you leave”
“I will”, she answered and the man gave her a pleased sigh. “After I got my meal. There's no way I'm leaving hungry” The innkeeper's smile vanished as quickly as it came. He let out a sigh and slightly shook his head. “M'lady, it is dangerous for you to be here”, he warned her. A slightly amused smirk appeared on Raenna's face as she noticed the genuinely worried expression on her face. “These guys over there? Good man, they are not the first whoresons I encounter and they won't be the last”, she tried to reassure him.
“You're new in Oldtown, aren't you, m'lady?”, the innkeeper asked and she gave him a nod. “These aren't your usual whoresons. These are Solvers” She gave him a curious look and he pressed his lips together. “Solvers, huh? What do they solve?”, she asked. “Problems”, the innkeeper answered and the way he pronounced the word gave her a bad feeling. “Or at least what they see as problems. Vigilantes, in a way that is not godly anymore. They had a good start, but now they are worse than everyone else in this city”
He took another look over her shoulder as one of the men at the table started to laugh over something one of the others had told. “And worst of all, they are drunken and in a good mood. Have you seen the blonde one?”, he asked and Raenna gave him a nod. She had seen the lean man with his gaunt face, a crooked nose and even more crooked teeth. “His name is Karl and his wife gave birth to a healthy girl today. He has been celebrating for hours now”, the innkeeper explained and Raenna gave him a frown. It was hard to believe for her that a man like the blonde one could have loved ones.
“And you mean he would...?”, she asked and the innkeeper gave her a sad nod. “Trust me, he absolutely would. Not himself of course, but his friends. I am pretty sure some of them have never seen such a fine lady, if you don't mind me saying. And then there's your hair...”, he answered.
His worry was refreshingly genuine and Raenna felt slightly bad for not just leaving this tavern, for his sake mainly. But she had her pride and would not run from a bunch of stray dogs. No matter how watered it was, her blood was still the same that once ran through the veins of the dragonlords of Valyria. “I can take care of myself, good man, trust me”, she said towards him. “The only thing I can't manage is an empty stomach. Please, do something against it, unless you plan to starve me of course”
The innkeeper gave her a sullen nod. “As you wish, m'lady. But... I have to leave the room for that. Are you sure?”, he asked. She gave him another nod, accompanied by a smile that should express her confidence. With a sigh, the man turned around, leaving the room. And immediately, the atmosphere changed. The four dogs behind her picked up her scent. Their casual talk slowly died down.
“Hey, girl, why don't you come over here?”, one of them yelled. She did not react. “Are you deaf, girl? Come on, you can sit on my lap” She pressed her lips together to suppress an insulting remark and continued to stare at the wall behind the counter, which only seemed to infuriate the men even more.
“You're doing it wrong”, a second voice scolded the first one. “Let me handle this. Hey, silverhair! Did your whore of a mother fuck a dragon?” She let out an audible sigh of anger at this remark. Apparently, she just met the charming one of the bunch. Despite her anger, she found it amusing how close he came to the truth. She wasn't ashamed to admit that her mother had been a whore in more than one way, while the man who got her pregnant had been as close to a dragon as a human being could be. Or well, his brother had been. Her father on the other hand had just been the old dragonlords whoremongering brother and the only thing he ever gave her was his hair colour and a shade of his eye colour. And, of course, twelve fucked up years of a childhood she had to spent in a small room, hidden from his brother. Still gave her more than her mother. She definitely wasn't the only bastard he ever fathered in his life, but she was very likely the only one his brother hadn't burned alive to preserve the bloodline. Yeah, she got really lucky here...
“You heard me, dragon bitch?”, the man yelled again and she rolled with her eyes. Yes, he was obviously the charming one. Finally, she took a peak over her shoulder, mainly to identify him, which turned out to be a mistake as she saw four grins widening at the sight of her cold glare. “Ah, she heard me!”, a tall, brown-haired man, hairy like a bear, exclaimed. In case of trouble, Raenna decided to kill him first.
The return of the innkeeper caused her attention to shift back to the counter and she noticed that she felt relieved at the presence of this man, a relief that almost made her upset. She wasn't a child anymore and she didn't need the protection of this man. If anything, it was her who should protect him from these men.
He put a steaming bowl of soup in front of her and Raenna painfully noticed how long it had been since she had eaten for the last time. The cool ale he put next to the bowl only helped in stimulating her appetite and she gave the man a thankful look as she quickly pulled out a silver coin from her pocket, laying it in front of him. “Keep the rest”, she mumbled as she began to eat.
“Looks like silverhair is hungry”, the first man chuckled. “Perhaps I got something in my pants for her!” This exclamation caused his friends to cheer him on, like primitive barbarians. “I doubt that”, Raenna hissed barely audibly and the innkeeper shivered. “Don't”, he warned her. “The Solvers are Butterfly's men”
“Do I look like a girl who fears a butterfly?”, Raenna asked with a slight smirk, albeit she felt a strange relief that the men hadn't heard her remark. The innkeeper slightly shook his head. “You should”, he warned her. “Butterfly owns this part of the city and I'm not only talking about the buildings”
This time she rolled with her eyes. So, Butterfly was one of these men. A few years ago, she would have been afraid. That was until she had seen for the first time how effortlessly the Old Man had killed one of these self-proclaimed crimelords, a brutal slaver from Volantis who would have deserved a far worse death than he got. She wasn't afraid of this Butterfly and she was definitely not afraid of his disgusting men. However, she also had no quarrel with him. All she would like to do at the moment was finishing her meal in peace and perhaps finding a well-paid job. After all, this was the main reason why she went to Oldtown in the first place, after cutting ties with Clayton. After Blackwater...
And Kersea... She had left her behind as well...
“As I said, I am not afraid”, she answered regretfully. The Old Man had taught her not to be afraid. Fear cuts deeper than swords, he used to say. Well, he used to say a lot of things, but this one in particular stood out for her. As she remembered him, she let out a sigh. She only noticed now how much she actually missed him.
“Dragon bitch, come over here!”, a loud voice ripped her out of her thoughts. Oh, for fucks sake! Despite her line of work, Raenna had never been a violent girl. But now she was only seconds away from striking back, twice as hard. These imbeciles, who insisted on calling her 'dragon' were apparently unable to continue this thought. Was bullying a dragon truly a bright idea?
She put her spoon down, having finished her soup. A smile appeared on her face as she looked at the frowning innkeeper. “Thank you a lot, good man. It was very delicious”, she complimented him and he gave her a nervous nod. He narrowed his eyes as he looked over her shoulder again.
“Eh, the bitch is not listening”, a new voice growled. “You want some fun, friends?” The approving cheers the speaker got confirmed this. A grim smirk found it's way to Raenna's face, even though she felt not amused at all. “I know you hear me, girl!”, he yelled. “I got a purse full with coins the colour of your hair and your name is on it”
“Don't!”, the innkeeper hissed towards her and she slightly shook her head. “I'm not that stupid, good man”, she answered softly. “Don't be afraid for me” A frown appeared on her face as she remembered the swords. Long and sharp and cruel... “But if something goes wrong”, she warned him. “Stay down and don't intervene”
“I got enough of that girl ignoring us”, a man yelled. “If she does not want to come over, I'll come over to her!” Yeah, subtlety wasn't his greatest strength... She bit her lower lip as she heard the sound of someone standing up from his chair. “Get her, Karl!”, one of the men cheered and she gulped as she remembered what the innkeeper had told her earlier about this one. Her hand slowly moved to the well-hidden dagger on her belt.
“Hey silverhair”, the man said softly as he stood behind her. The innkeeper shot glares at him, but thankfully he did not intervene. She finally looked at the man and he gave her a smile of fake kindness. A few women in the brothel her mother had been working in would have fallen for this smile, would have ignored the look in his eyes. A few women in the brothel her mother had been working in wouldn't have survived this situation, at least not with their dignity intact.
He grinned, slightly less kind as he finally looked into her eyes. “You have lovely eyes, dragon girl”, he said and his hand moved slowly upwards. She clenched her teeth as he touched her hood, slowly pulling it back, revealing the long strands of silvery golden hair on her head, tied into a strict bun. “And your hair... very pretty”, he complimented her. She did not fall for any of his words.
“My men over there... they have never seen a Valyrian girl before”, he continued. “Today is a day of celebration for me and for them as well. You can get very rich if you give them what they want. My name is Karl, by the way” Raenna let out a sigh and slowly shook her head, her right hand still firmly gripping the dagger on her belt. “I am not a whore”, she told him sternly. “And I am not interested. Use your money to buy your friends a girl if they are so horny”
Karl's smile faded as he slightly shook his head, his right hand still firmly resting on her shoulder. “I'm afraid that wasn't an offer you can refuse, silverhair”, he growled and she narrowed her eyes. “But if you're not a whore...” He grinned as his hand moved down, firmly gripping her waist, uncomfortably squeezing her hip. Her eyes fell upon his left hand, which was still resting on the counter. “We don't have to pay you”, he growled and attempted to pull her back. She used this moment to strike, pulling out her dagger with a quick movement and embedding it deeply into his left hand and into the wood below, effectively nailing it to the counter.
Karl let out an agonizing cry and let go of her. She quickly used her newly gained freedom to jump up from her chair, to spin around and to deliver a high kick to his chin. The force of the kick was enough to send him to the ground and to cause his hand to rip away from the dagger, nearly splitting it in half in a wound that was painful just to look at.
“The fuck!”, the men at the table yelled, as they jumped up from their chairs. Three longswords were drawn as she calmly pulled out the dagger from the counter, ignoring Karl's pained sobs. The man was lying on the ground, clutching his destroyed hand, clearly not a danger anymore. Well, he had never been a danger to begin with. And these three... they had no idea whom they were messing with.
“Wrong fucking move, dragongirl!”, one of the men yelled. Raenna recognized him as the charming one and grounded her teeth as she saw him approaching. “Shame for such a nice piece of ass, but you're going to pay for that!”, he shouted as he charged at her, his companions closely behind him.
It would have been a hard fight if they would have been skilled. Three men as good as Clayton would have effortlessly killed her now. But these men... they trained by fighting beggars or each other. And the location was a disadvantage for them. Shortly before Charmer got close enough to strike at her, she ducked and jumped forwards, his strike narrowly missing her head. She jumped underneath one of the tables, the second man's sword only hitting the wood above her. In an often practised move, she plunged her dagger deeply into the back of Charmer's knee, sending him to the ground.
The second man used this moment to overthrow the table with his left hand, raising his right hand to strike with his sword again. She jumped up before he could lower his weapon again and embedded the dagger deeply into throat. While pulling it out, she took a quick step to the side, to evade her third and last opponents strike. The sword missed her and to an innocent bystander it must have looked as if she had sheer luck.
Not in the mood to toy around with an opponent like this, she charged forwards directly after the man's sword missed her, ramming the dagger deeply into his chest. His eyes widened as he looked at her and at the blade slightly above his heart. For a moment, he raised his sword again, just as Raenna raised an eyebrow. Then, the weapon fell out of his weak hands, as his body grew limp.
Breathing heavily, Raenna looked around. Four opponents. Roughly ten seconds. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. The Old Man would have needed five. How disappointing. Two of her opponents were dead. Charmer lay on the ground, clutching the hole in his knee. The innkeeper looked at her in complete shock. And Karl...
“You goddamn bitch...”, he growled as he raised from the ground. She was not a healer, but a glimpse on his left hand proved to her that it was basically destroyed. He wouldn't loose it, probably, but it was unlikely that he would ever regain full use of it. Still, his right hand firmly held a longsword and he pointed it at her, fury in his gaze. “I'm going to make you pay for this!”, he yelled and she shook her head.
“Don't be stupid, Karl”, she urged him, remembering what the innkeeper had told her earlier. “Two of your friends are dead. The third one...” She paused and looked back at him, noticing the fear on his face, the pain, the anger. “You have a daughter, am I right?”, she asked. Karl narrowed his eyes as he gave her a slow nod. “Yes... What's it to you?”, he asked, his unwounded hand shaking heavily. Despite her anger and her disgust, Raenna felt a sting of regret and forced herself to give him a kind and forgiving look.
“Don't throw your life away”, she urged him again. “I doubt someone like you would be a good father, but still... it's worth a try. Lower your weapon and go, look for a healer. Return to your wife and your little girl and don't look back”
Her words seem to move something inside of him, something she wasn't expecting to see. To her surprise, he gave her a nod, throwing his sword on the ground. “You have won, this time. But this is not over. Butterfly will hear about this”, he warned her, before walking past her. He glared at her, just as she glared at him. “I don't want to see you ever again”, Raenna warned him. “Next time, I won't be merciful” He did not answer. He didn't even look back as he walked out of the tavern, still clutching his bleeding hand. Raenna's gaze fell on the sobbing man on the ground, the charming one, and she slowly approached him.
“And now you... remember what you called me?”, she hissed. His eyes widened as he raised one of his hands, the other one still wrapped around his knee. “No, no, no!”, he yelled in fear, tears flowing down his face. “Don't kill me, I beg you! I have a family too! My... my old mother. She's sick! And I have three children... Four! Four children! Please! I don't want to die!”
Breathing heavily, Ranna looked around. Four opponents. Roughly ten seconds. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. The Old Man would have needed five. How disappointing. Two of her opponents were dead. Charmer lay on the ground, clutching the hole in his knee. The innkeeper looked at her in complete shock. And Karl...
May want to fix that.
[Kill him] It's alright. I don't worry.
Goddamn it, in my search for who this POV would be I saw this name but I thought it was a man....damn. Kersea mentioned that she left.
So from Dragonstone itself? I figured there was a chance she would be from Driftmark perhaps.
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her… more. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attenti… [view original content]
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her… more. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attenti… [view original content]
Breathing heavily, Ranna looked around. Four opponents. Roughly ten seconds. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. The Old Man w… moreould have needed five. How disappointing. Two of her opponents were dead. Charmer lay on the ground, clutching the hole in his knee. The innkeeper looked at her in complete shock. And Karl...
May want to fix that.
[Kill him] It's alright. I don't worry.
Goddamn it, in my search for who this POV would be I saw this name but I thought it was a man....damn. Kersea mentioned that she left.
So from Dragonstone itself? I figured there was a chance she would be from Driftmark perhaps.
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her… more. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attenti… [view original content]
Goddamn it, in my search for who this POV would be I saw this name but I thought it was a man....damn
Don't worry, so far she was really nothing more than an obscure background reference. According to a quick search in the doc, her name was written a total of 14 times over the past two chapters and very little has been revealed about her, so I'm impressed that you stumbled upon it. She won't remain the only obscure background reference that becomes important later in the story though.
Kersea mentioned that she left.
Actually, Kersea is pretty sure that Raenna is dead.
So from Dragonstone itself? I figured there was a chance she would be from Driftmark perhaps.
Nope, it's indeed Dragonstone itself and she is actually Aegon's bastard cousin. I have thought for a while about changing this particular aspect of her backstory, but in the end I liked it enough to keep it.
Breathing heavily, Ranna looked around. Four opponents. Roughly ten seconds. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. The Old Man w… moreould have needed five. How disappointing. Two of her opponents were dead. Charmer lay on the ground, clutching the hole in his knee. The innkeeper looked at her in complete shock. And Karl...
May want to fix that.
[Kill him] It's alright. I don't worry.
Goddamn it, in my search for who this POV would be I saw this name but I thought it was a man....damn. Kersea mentioned that she left.
So from Dragonstone itself? I figured there was a chance she would be from Driftmark perhaps.
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her… more. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attenti… [view original content]
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her… more. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attenti… [view original content]
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her… more. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attenti… [view original content]
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her… more. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attenti… [view original content]
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her… more. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attenti… [view original content]
“Don't kill me, I beg you! I have a family too! My... my old mother. She's sick! And I have three children... Four! Four children! Please! I don't want to die!”
He just can't seem to get his facts straight. He doesn't know how many children he has, the part about the sick mother just seems like stereotypical 'beg for your life' kinda thing... I just think he's lying. And plus, if he does in the off chance have a family. It's probably best he isn't around them anymore. A person like that, no. Sorry bro, you done fucked up.
Cool part, I find this Raenna very interesting. I am exited to see more of her sometime in the future.
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her… more. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attenti… [view original content]
maybe he has a deep and tragic backstory, that shows that he has a bastard that he has neglected, and in the face of death he decides that the bastard is truly his child... He can also be a lying asshole, but who knows
[Kill Him] Only because of this line:
“Don't kill me, I beg you! I have a family too! My... my old mother. She's sick! And I have thre… moree children... Four! Four children! Please! I don't want to die!”
He just can't seem to get his facts straight. He doesn't know how many children he has, the part about the sick mother just seems like stereotypical 'beg for your life' kinda thing... I just think he's lying. And plus, if he does in the off chance have a family. It's probably best he isn't around them anymore. A person like that, no. Sorry bro, you done fucked up.
Cool part, I find this Raenna very interesting. I am exited to see more of her sometime in the future.
Comments
[Leave them and talk to Noelle] Marak should be the good obedient dog that he is.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
[Buy another round for Irving and Alan] I love Irving!
What the hell happend to Himani? He was involved in the final fight against 'Butterfly' wasn't he?
[Leave them and talk to Noelle]
[Leave them and talk to Noelle]
He was only passively involved in this fight, as he lead Martin and his men to the warehouse. After all, he's only a young boy and would have had no chance against Butterfly's men. For now, he is perfectly fine and will reappear in Jaron's next part.
[Buy another round for Irving and Alan]
So adorable :-)))))
Thank you, I have just read the summary, sounds very interesting so far
can't wait to continue reading this story 
[Buy another round for Irving and Alan]
[Leave them and talk to Noelle]
[Buy another round for Irving and Alan]
[Buy another round for Irving and Alan]
Fuck women!
I don't really mean that :S
[Buy another round for Irving and Alan]
[Leave them and talk to Noelle] Hoes before bros.
[Buy another round for Irving and Alan]
The Voting is closed!
Marak will buy another round for Irving and Alan
I hope you enjoyed this last part. I definitely had a lot of fun putting these three characters together
The next part is half written. It will introduce a completely new PoV character. Well, what can I tell you about her... It's obviously a female, she hasn't been introduced so far, but she has been mentioned a few times over the course of the past two chapters by a very specific PoV character in the Raylansfair storyline. However, this new PoV will be located in Oldtown, with heavy ties to one particular Raylansfair storyline and ties to the Oldtown plot as well. She will also be connected in a surprising way to one of the characters in the Oldtown storyline, even though this connection won't be obvious at first. Oh, and of course she got mentioned by another character in the last chapter, in a part that had managed to fuel a bit of speculation for the things to come.
I would look into this, but I'm too busy into conspiracy theories on the name of the Glenmore seat and Lyman's ancestors.
https://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/98696/so-is-glenmore-keep-the-seat-of-house-glenmore-or-is-it-rillwater-crossing
https://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/87224/details-that-people-might-forget-don-t-notice-or-just-don-t-know-about-got-edition
Oh fuck it I'll find out.
Hmm... Are we talking about the girl that is half a dragon? The one that Noelle mentioned to Marak.
Very good catch! I can confirm that you are right with this assumption
I thought the same... ___ when reading it, it made me really curious who this char will be :-)
Fuck I went too far back.
My guess she'll be another one of Martin's lady friends.
Hah, called it!
I suppose the next question will be how exactly is she half a dragon? Valyrian blood? Targaryen blood? Something else? Can't wait to find out 
Raenna
The moment she entered the tavern, Raenna Minsworth knew she had made a mistake. Not a deadly one, hopefully, at least not for her. Still, from the way these men looked at her, like hungry animals, she could tell that there would be consequences. But she wouldn't turn around and leave, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction. As she walked towards the counter, she subtly checked what could have attracted their attention. Her daggers were well-hidden underneath the thick woolen cloak. Her slim body was well-hidden underneath the not very flattering, but surprisingly comfortable leather armour. And finally, perhaps most importantly, her hair, well-hidden underneath her hood, wasn't it?
She could feel her cheeks blushing as she moved her hand towards her hood, noticing a loose strand of silvery-golden hair peeping out from underneath it. Ah, damn it. Her hair was the only thing her father ever gave her and perfect to attract attention. As the Old Man had told her, attracting attention would be the last thing she would want in her line of work. He had advised her to dye it. Clayton had ordered her to cut it. But the Old Man was living his sunset years in Braavos and Clayton wasn't her master. So she kept it, partly because she hated the rules Clayton tried to enforce on her and partly because she loved the colour. Of course, in situations like this, she still wished for a common dishwater blonde.
Raenna could almost feel the men's grin and their stares. Of course, she had seen their swords the moment she entered the tavern. They weren't as subtly hidden as they thought and neither were their glances towards her. She knew men like this, she had encountered them in every larger city she had ever visited and in some of the smaller ones as well. And this city was especially bad. After all, this was Oldtown.
She walked past the men, half expecting someone to make the huge mistake of grabbing her. There were four of them and apparently their sheer presence had been enough to shoo out every other guest this shabby tavern would have had during the afternoon hours. They were even more shabby than this building, smelling even worse than the ale they were drinking. It costed Raenna a lot of self-restraint to keep her aloof look as she noticed the lewd grin on the face of the man who sat the closest to her. He was missing an eye and the look in the remaining one reminded her of Clayton, in a truly unsettling way.
As Raenna sat down on one of the high bar stools in front of the counter, the innkeeper looked up from whatever he was doing behind the counter. Probably hiding. He was a thin man with a bushy beard, his dark hair greying, the look in his eyes genuinely worried. “Can I help you, young lady?”, he asked and Raenna flashed him a kind smile. His gaze remained on her eyes for a while and she had to give him credit that he did not gave her the usual unsettled look other people gave her when they spotted the colour. True, it was a very blueish shade of lilac, but still highly unusual when examined closely.
“Yes, good man”, she answered. “I'd like a mug of your best ale, not the stuff you sold the guys over there. And I could kill for a hot meal” Someone who knew her would have been startled by this casual joke, even if there was no reason to get startled. Of course, there weren't many people who truly knew her.
“We don't get to see someone like you here very often”, the innkeeper remarked, looking over her shoulder at the four men in the middle of the room. They were talking with muffled voices, albeit the occasional scrap of conversation found its way to her ears. She did not like it at all. “What do you mean?”, she asked with narrowed eyes, even if she already knew the answer.
“Your hair, m'lady. And the eyes. We rarely get to see your kind here”, the innkeeper answered. “You from Dragonstone?” Raenna gave him a small nod and his face darkened. “You shouldn't be here, m'lady. It would be better if you leave”
“I will”, she answered and the man gave her a pleased sigh. “After I got my meal. There's no way I'm leaving hungry” The innkeeper's smile vanished as quickly as it came. He let out a sigh and slightly shook his head. “M'lady, it is dangerous for you to be here”, he warned her. A slightly amused smirk appeared on Raenna's face as she noticed the genuinely worried expression on her face. “These guys over there? Good man, they are not the first whoresons I encounter and they won't be the last”, she tried to reassure him.
“You're new in Oldtown, aren't you, m'lady?”, the innkeeper asked and she gave him a nod. “These aren't your usual whoresons. These are Solvers” She gave him a curious look and he pressed his lips together. “Solvers, huh? What do they solve?”, she asked. “Problems”, the innkeeper answered and the way he pronounced the word gave her a bad feeling. “Or at least what they see as problems. Vigilantes, in a way that is not godly anymore. They had a good start, but now they are worse than everyone else in this city”
He took another look over her shoulder as one of the men at the table started to laugh over something one of the others had told. “And worst of all, they are drunken and in a good mood. Have you seen the blonde one?”, he asked and Raenna gave him a nod. She had seen the lean man with his gaunt face, a crooked nose and even more crooked teeth. “His name is Karl and his wife gave birth to a healthy girl today. He has been celebrating for hours now”, the innkeeper explained and Raenna gave him a frown. It was hard to believe for her that a man like the blonde one could have loved ones.
“And you mean he would...?”, she asked and the innkeeper gave her a sad nod. “Trust me, he absolutely would. Not himself of course, but his friends. I am pretty sure some of them have never seen such a fine lady, if you don't mind me saying. And then there's your hair...”, he answered.
His worry was refreshingly genuine and Raenna felt slightly bad for not just leaving this tavern, for his sake mainly. But she had her pride and would not run from a bunch of stray dogs. No matter how watered it was, her blood was still the same that once ran through the veins of the dragonlords of Valyria. “I can take care of myself, good man, trust me”, she said towards him. “The only thing I can't manage is an empty stomach. Please, do something against it, unless you plan to starve me of course”
The innkeeper gave her a sullen nod. “As you wish, m'lady. But... I have to leave the room for that. Are you sure?”, he asked. She gave him another nod, accompanied by a smile that should express her confidence. With a sigh, the man turned around, leaving the room. And immediately, the atmosphere changed. The four dogs behind her picked up her scent. Their casual talk slowly died down.
“Hey, girl, why don't you come over here?”, one of them yelled. She did not react. “Are you deaf, girl? Come on, you can sit on my lap” She pressed her lips together to suppress an insulting remark and continued to stare at the wall behind the counter, which only seemed to infuriate the men even more.
“You're doing it wrong”, a second voice scolded the first one. “Let me handle this. Hey, silverhair! Did your whore of a mother fuck a dragon?” She let out an audible sigh of anger at this remark. Apparently, she just met the charming one of the bunch. Despite her anger, she found it amusing how close he came to the truth. She wasn't ashamed to admit that her mother had been a whore in more than one way, while the man who got her pregnant had been as close to a dragon as a human being could be. Or well, his brother had been. Her father on the other hand had just been the old dragonlords whoremongering brother and the only thing he ever gave her was his hair colour and a shade of his eye colour. And, of course, twelve fucked up years of a childhood she had to spent in a small room, hidden from his brother. Still gave her more than her mother. She definitely wasn't the only bastard he ever fathered in his life, but she was very likely the only one his brother hadn't burned alive to preserve the bloodline. Yeah, she got really lucky here...
“You heard me, dragon bitch?”, the man yelled again and she rolled with her eyes. Yes, he was obviously the charming one. Finally, she took a peak over her shoulder, mainly to identify him, which turned out to be a mistake as she saw four grins widening at the sight of her cold glare. “Ah, she heard me!”, a tall, brown-haired man, hairy like a bear, exclaimed. In case of trouble, Raenna decided to kill him first.
The return of the innkeeper caused her attention to shift back to the counter and she noticed that she felt relieved at the presence of this man, a relief that almost made her upset. She wasn't a child anymore and she didn't need the protection of this man. If anything, it was her who should protect him from these men.
He put a steaming bowl of soup in front of her and Raenna painfully noticed how long it had been since she had eaten for the last time. The cool ale he put next to the bowl only helped in stimulating her appetite and she gave the man a thankful look as she quickly pulled out a silver coin from her pocket, laying it in front of him. “Keep the rest”, she mumbled as she began to eat.
“Looks like silverhair is hungry”, the first man chuckled. “Perhaps I got something in my pants for her!” This exclamation caused his friends to cheer him on, like primitive barbarians. “I doubt that”, Raenna hissed barely audibly and the innkeeper shivered. “Don't”, he warned her. “The Solvers are Butterfly's men”
“Do I look like a girl who fears a butterfly?”, Raenna asked with a slight smirk, albeit she felt a strange relief that the men hadn't heard her remark. The innkeeper slightly shook his head. “You should”, he warned her. “Butterfly owns this part of the city and I'm not only talking about the buildings”
This time she rolled with her eyes. So, Butterfly was one of these men. A few years ago, she would have been afraid. That was until she had seen for the first time how effortlessly the Old Man had killed one of these self-proclaimed crimelords, a brutal slaver from Volantis who would have deserved a far worse death than he got. She wasn't afraid of this Butterfly and she was definitely not afraid of his disgusting men. However, she also had no quarrel with him. All she would like to do at the moment was finishing her meal in peace and perhaps finding a well-paid job. After all, this was the main reason why she went to Oldtown in the first place, after cutting ties with Clayton. After Blackwater...
And Kersea... She had left her behind as well...
“As I said, I am not afraid”, she answered regretfully. The Old Man had taught her not to be afraid. Fear cuts deeper than swords, he used to say. Well, he used to say a lot of things, but this one in particular stood out for her. As she remembered him, she let out a sigh. She only noticed now how much she actually missed him.
“Dragon bitch, come over here!”, a loud voice ripped her out of her thoughts. Oh, for fucks sake! Despite her line of work, Raenna had never been a violent girl. But now she was only seconds away from striking back, twice as hard. These imbeciles, who insisted on calling her 'dragon' were apparently unable to continue this thought. Was bullying a dragon truly a bright idea?
She put her spoon down, having finished her soup. A smile appeared on her face as she looked at the frowning innkeeper. “Thank you a lot, good man. It was very delicious”, she complimented him and he gave her a nervous nod. He narrowed his eyes as he looked over her shoulder again.
“Eh, the bitch is not listening”, a new voice growled. “You want some fun, friends?” The approving cheers the speaker got confirmed this. A grim smirk found it's way to Raenna's face, even though she felt not amused at all. “I know you hear me, girl!”, he yelled. “I got a purse full with coins the colour of your hair and your name is on it”
“Don't!”, the innkeeper hissed towards her and she slightly shook her head. “I'm not that stupid, good man”, she answered softly. “Don't be afraid for me” A frown appeared on her face as she remembered the swords. Long and sharp and cruel... “But if something goes wrong”, she warned him. “Stay down and don't intervene”
“I got enough of that girl ignoring us”, a man yelled. “If she does not want to come over, I'll come over to her!” Yeah, subtlety wasn't his greatest strength... She bit her lower lip as she heard the sound of someone standing up from his chair. “Get her, Karl!”, one of the men cheered and she gulped as she remembered what the innkeeper had told her earlier about this one. Her hand slowly moved to the well-hidden dagger on her belt.
“Hey silverhair”, the man said softly as he stood behind her. The innkeeper shot glares at him, but thankfully he did not intervene. She finally looked at the man and he gave her a smile of fake kindness. A few women in the brothel her mother had been working in would have fallen for this smile, would have ignored the look in his eyes. A few women in the brothel her mother had been working in wouldn't have survived this situation, at least not with their dignity intact.
He grinned, slightly less kind as he finally looked into her eyes. “You have lovely eyes, dragon girl”, he said and his hand moved slowly upwards. She clenched her teeth as he touched her hood, slowly pulling it back, revealing the long strands of silvery golden hair on her head, tied into a strict bun. “And your hair... very pretty”, he complimented her. She did not fall for any of his words.
“My men over there... they have never seen a Valyrian girl before”, he continued. “Today is a day of celebration for me and for them as well. You can get very rich if you give them what they want. My name is Karl, by the way” Raenna let out a sigh and slowly shook her head, her right hand still firmly gripping the dagger on her belt. “I am not a whore”, she told him sternly. “And I am not interested. Use your money to buy your friends a girl if they are so horny”
Karl's smile faded as he slightly shook his head, his right hand still firmly resting on her shoulder. “I'm afraid that wasn't an offer you can refuse, silverhair”, he growled and she narrowed her eyes. “But if you're not a whore...” He grinned as his hand moved down, firmly gripping her waist, uncomfortably squeezing her hip. Her eyes fell upon his left hand, which was still resting on the counter. “We don't have to pay you”, he growled and attempted to pull her back. She used this moment to strike, pulling out her dagger with a quick movement and embedding it deeply into his left hand and into the wood below, effectively nailing it to the counter.
Karl let out an agonizing cry and let go of her. She quickly used her newly gained freedom to jump up from her chair, to spin around and to deliver a high kick to his chin. The force of the kick was enough to send him to the ground and to cause his hand to rip away from the dagger, nearly splitting it in half in a wound that was painful just to look at.
“The fuck!”, the men at the table yelled, as they jumped up from their chairs. Three longswords were drawn as she calmly pulled out the dagger from the counter, ignoring Karl's pained sobs. The man was lying on the ground, clutching his destroyed hand, clearly not a danger anymore. Well, he had never been a danger to begin with. And these three... they had no idea whom they were messing with.
“Wrong fucking move, dragongirl!”, one of the men yelled. Raenna recognized him as the charming one and grounded her teeth as she saw him approaching. “Shame for such a nice piece of ass, but you're going to pay for that!”, he shouted as he charged at her, his companions closely behind him.
It would have been a hard fight if they would have been skilled. Three men as good as Clayton would have effortlessly killed her now. But these men... they trained by fighting beggars or each other. And the location was a disadvantage for them. Shortly before Charmer got close enough to strike at her, she ducked and jumped forwards, his strike narrowly missing her head. She jumped underneath one of the tables, the second man's sword only hitting the wood above her. In an often practised move, she plunged her dagger deeply into the back of Charmer's knee, sending him to the ground.
The second man used this moment to overthrow the table with his left hand, raising his right hand to strike with his sword again. She jumped up before he could lower his weapon again and embedded the dagger deeply into throat. While pulling it out, she took a quick step to the side, to evade her third and last opponents strike. The sword missed her and to an innocent bystander it must have looked as if she had sheer luck.
Not in the mood to toy around with an opponent like this, she charged forwards directly after the man's sword missed her, ramming the dagger deeply into his chest. His eyes widened as he looked at her and at the blade slightly above his heart. For a moment, he raised his sword again, just as Raenna raised an eyebrow. Then, the weapon fell out of his weak hands, as his body grew limp.
Breathing heavily, Raenna looked around. Four opponents. Roughly ten seconds. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. The Old Man would have needed five. How disappointing. Two of her opponents were dead. Charmer lay on the ground, clutching the hole in his knee. The innkeeper looked at her in complete shock. And Karl...
“You goddamn bitch...”, he growled as he raised from the ground. She was not a healer, but a glimpse on his left hand proved to her that it was basically destroyed. He wouldn't loose it, probably, but it was unlikely that he would ever regain full use of it. Still, his right hand firmly held a longsword and he pointed it at her, fury in his gaze. “I'm going to make you pay for this!”, he yelled and she shook her head.
“Don't be stupid, Karl”, she urged him, remembering what the innkeeper had told her earlier. “Two of your friends are dead. The third one...” She paused and looked back at him, noticing the fear on his face, the pain, the anger. “You have a daughter, am I right?”, she asked. Karl narrowed his eyes as he gave her a slow nod. “Yes... What's it to you?”, he asked, his unwounded hand shaking heavily. Despite her anger and her disgust, Raenna felt a sting of regret and forced herself to give him a kind and forgiving look.
“Don't throw your life away”, she urged him again. “I doubt someone like you would be a good father, but still... it's worth a try. Lower your weapon and go, look for a healer. Return to your wife and your little girl and don't look back”
Her words seem to move something inside of him, something she wasn't expecting to see. To her surprise, he gave her a nod, throwing his sword on the ground. “You have won, this time. But this is not over. Butterfly will hear about this”, he warned her, before walking past her. He glared at her, just as she glared at him. “I don't want to see you ever again”, Raenna warned him. “Next time, I won't be merciful” He did not answer. He didn't even look back as he walked out of the tavern, still clutching his bleeding hand. Raenna's gaze fell on the sobbing man on the ground, the charming one, and she slowly approached him.
“And now you... remember what you called me?”, she hissed. His eyes widened as he raised one of his hands, the other one still wrapped around his knee. “No, no, no!”, he yelled in fear, tears flowing down his face. “Don't kill me, I beg you! I have a family too! My... my old mother. She's sick! And I have three children... Four! Four children! Please! I don't want to die!”
[Kill him] [Spare him]
May want to fix that.
[Kill him] It's alright. I don't worry.
Goddamn it, in my search for who this POV would be I saw this name but I thought it was a man....damn. Kersea mentioned that she left.
So from Dragonstone itself? I figured there was a chance she would be from Driftmark perhaps.
Spare him
Yay my first vote on FOT.
Why kill him?
Why not?
[Spare him] Yes, he is an asshole, but I already like Raenna and to me she seems like someone who wouldn't kill for such a small reason.
Already did it, but thanks for mentioning it
Don't worry, so far she was really nothing more than an obscure background reference. According to a quick search in the doc, her name was written a total of 14 times over the past two chapters and very little has been revealed about her, so I'm impressed that you stumbled upon it. She won't remain the only obscure background reference that becomes important later in the story though.
Actually, Kersea is pretty sure that Raenna is dead.
Nope, it's indeed Dragonstone itself and she is actually Aegon's bastard cousin. I have thought for a while about changing this particular aspect of her backstory, but in the end I liked it enough to keep it.
(spare him)
[Spare him]
Let him live... he got a lesson. :-)
Because he begged and there's no real reason to?
[Kill him]
[Kill him] Blood to the blood god...i mean he obviously deserves it
[Kill him] Don't want his boss to find out.
[Kill him] One less man for Butterfly's army
[Kill Him] Only because of this line:
He just can't seem to get his facts straight. He doesn't know how many children he has, the part about the sick mother just seems like stereotypical 'beg for your life' kinda thing... I just think he's lying. And plus, if he does in the off chance have a family. It's probably best he isn't around them anymore. A person like that, no. Sorry bro, you done fucked up.
Cool part, I find this Raenna very interesting. I am exited to see more of her sometime in the future.
maybe he has a deep and tragic backstory, that shows that he has a bastard that he has neglected, and in the face of death he decides that the bastard is truly his child... He can also be a lying asshole, but who knows