That ending was sooooooooo emotional after SPOILERS
everything. We lost everyone, everyone. And the last fake death had me on the edge of my seat. And the ending had me shell shocked. Cannot wait for next season, as I need to have Rhysha to finalize.
Alright, I got some kinda bad news, although there's also something good to say. Sadly, I am almost sure this part won't be finished today. … moreThe main reason is, it is huge. Extremely long, kinda like the last Samantha part. I am currently 5000 letters over the post-length limit. Now, I am always above this limit in every single part and I always have to cut a few hundred letters to make it into the limit, or else my post gets cut off at some point. This time, I realized that I can't cut anything, especially no 5000 letters, instead I can only enhance to make it two full parts worth of content. Greatly enhance to be precise, because one particular scene in the next Ilish part is extremely important and deserves more than just a single page to be dealt with. It's going to be a revelation of some sorts and I am afraid I am not satisfied with keeping it short. As a result, I will without a doubt not manage to finish the next part today. On the pos… [view original content]
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep] Alexander is on the offensive but Lawsen is in a pretty bad position and it was previously stated that Kreep isn't a great fighter, maybe Illish can take him down.
This was a great chapter! I've got to say Kreep is pretty cool interesting.
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep] So much to say about this chapter. First off, this was written fantastically. It is safe to assume that Kreep is Wolfius' secret colleague. Alexander is starting to become one of my more favored characters, so now I am just waiting for Liquid to show us his deep, dark secret that ruins him for me. But I am glad there are some people who are able to give these assassins a run for their money. Hopefully we can finally get them out of town, or even better, dead. I am starting to not Lawsen so much. He just appears out of nowhere a sword. Hopefully someone will keep an eye on him.
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
I can promise, the wait for your character won't be long anymore, because he perfectly fits into a role that I need for one of the storyline… mores in this chapter, so expect him in one of the next few parts. While he is not appearing in this part, he will be in the story very, very soon
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep] I think he needs more help, and perhaps with Kreep Ilish even has a chance.
Heh, I get kinda anime villain vibe from Kreep and Wolfius, but it's okay And for some reason neither Lawsen or Alexander has won my sympathy yet. I mean they seem nice, but I don't know. There was this one character in the books who gave me the same feeling, I just don't remember his name... The guy from Stannis' army who had some interactions with Asha in ADWD.
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep] I think he needs more help, and perhaps with Kreep Ilish even has a chance.
Heh, I get kinda anime … morevillain vibe from Kreep and Wolfius, but it's okay And for some reason neither Lawsen or Alexander has won my sympathy yet. I mean they seem nice, but I don't know. There was this one character in the books who gave me the same feeling, I just don't remember his name... The guy from Stannis' army who had some interactions with Asha in ADWD.
Anyway, good part!
That's the one. Though I have to say I do respect him for being loyal to Stannis. However the way he acted with Asha just gave me similar feeling to how especially Alexander is acting with Ilish. He is being nice, but I can't help but think there is just one reason for it
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
But I cant really decide. I want that fucker Wolfius to be dead already but dont want Lawsen the hero of day, dead. I think I go with this. [Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep]
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
“Today was surely a busy day”, Ilish answered. “But it looks like you can handle it from here. It's already late. Would it be fine if I leav… moree now?” Megur pressed her lips together and shook her head, but Audrey gave her a nod. “Of course, dear”, she said. “You did enough today. Get some sleep, I see you tomorrow”
Ilish gave her a thankful smile, before turning towards the tavern's small side entrance. Audrey was right. She really needed some sleep. It wasn't only Alan Harking's neverending and obnoxious flirting she had to endure the whole day, or the encounter with Kreep, or the stressful situation with Rodrik. No, what truly tired her was the talk with Alexander. Sure, he wasn't too bad, even a bit charming, as she had to admit, but the things he said... As she walked down the dark street, Ilish was worried.
Back when her old life in the North ended, she had felt similarly worried. But over the past five years, she had built herself a… [view original content]
This choice is going to have immediate consequences in the next Ilish part. Speaking of the next Ilish part, the wait won't be that long. This chapter is coming to an end soon, even though many of the PoV's will get at least one more part. Ilish's next part will be among the final parts of this chapter and since I am very motivated to write it, I hope to write the next parts faster, even if I most likely won't manage to finish this chapter until the end of the month. Still, finishing this act until the end of December is still a possible goal in my eyes, as Chapter 6 is planned to be shorter than Chapter 5 and shorter than Chapter 4.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It is going to be a John part, who returns after a very long absence. I got to be honest here, the main reason for his long absence has been the result of poor planning. His storyline in the rest of this chapter will be influenced by developments in some other Raylansfair storylines which had to be written first. Now I can finally write stuff for him again, which makes me quite happy, since he is always enjoyable to write. Anyways, the last time we saw him, he and his second-in-command/bff Janae had an audience with Harris, who hired them to discreetly find a treasure that is rumoured to be in a ruined tower outside of Raylansfair. Even if it was already getting dark, John decided to go on this little treasure hunt as quick as possible.
Now... if you take a closer look at the introductory post, you will see that something has changed and something has been added. Specifically, the name of Chapter 6 has been changed. A lot of Book 1 is already planned, even in finer detail, but in some cases, my plans change and this has to be reflected in the Chapter titles as well. While writing Chapter 5, I realized that some storylines in Chapter 6 need to be pushed back to Chapter 7, or else I would run out of stuff for some storylines before Chapter 9, the Book 1 Finale, would start. As a result, I realized that I needed to change the Chapter 6 title as well, because it won't contain that many acts of mercy anymore. The new title for Chapter 6 is "Masquerade", which does not only hint at Jaron's storyline for this chapter and the high-society event he is going to visit. After all, there are many characters who wear some sort of mask, from the literal masks which are worn by the Tom and his associates, to the figurative masks with which people like Mullendore, Harris and many more hide their true nature and their plans. All in all, this new title fits the storyline for Chapter 6 a lot better and I am a lot more happy with it.
And while I have originally planned to reveal the titles for the three chapters of Act 3 at some point in Chapter 6, with this announcement I see no more reason to hold them back for any longer. After all, these titles have been set in stone for months now, shortly after I have finished the titles for Act 2. Behold, the immense vagueness that will be Act 3:
Act 3: Wildfire
Chapter 7: Valar Morghulis
Chapter 8: What Is Dead May Never Die
Chapter 9: Valar Dohaeris
I am pretty sure most of you will recognize these titles as popular sayings from the books and even though it might look a bit lazy to reuse these sayings, they simply fit the respective chapters and I can't think of better titles. Maybe I just suck at finding names for my chapters. I don't think you'll be able to get that much information out of them for now, but they contain some strong hints for storylines in Act 3. While Chapter 7 and Chapter 9 are planned in detail, Chapter 8 is basically already written in my head and will be one big, enjoyable slaughter. It will follow the tradition from the show to make the penultimate episode (or chapter in this case) the most dramatic of the whole Season and I fully intend to stay close to the 'Anyone can be killed'-mentality of the books with this Chapter. The only characters who will be completely safe in this chapter will be those who won't appear in it. On a positive side, Act 3 is planned to be a lot shorter than Act 2. After Act 3, there will also be an Epilogue, to hint at the things to come in Book 2, but for spoiler reasons I can't reveal the title of this epilogue until it is written.
The Voting is closed!
Ilish will help Lawsen and fight against Kreep
This choice is going to have immediate consequences in the next I… morelish part. Speaking of the next Ilish part, the wait won't be that long. This chapter is coming to an end soon, even though many of the PoV's will get at least one more part. Ilish's next part will be among the final parts of this chapter and since I am very motivated to write it, I hope to write the next parts faster, even if I most likely won't manage to finish this chapter until the end of the month. Still, finishing this act until the end of December is still a possible goal in my eyes, as Chapter 6 is planned to be shorter than Chapter 5 and shorter than Chapter 4.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It is going to be a John part, who returns after a very long absence. I got to be honest here, the main reason for his long absence has been the result of poor planning. His s… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Ilish will help Lawsen and fight against Kreep
This choice is going to have immediate consequences in the next I… morelish part. Speaking of the next Ilish part, the wait won't be that long. This chapter is coming to an end soon, even though many of the PoV's will get at least one more part. Ilish's next part will be among the final parts of this chapter and since I am very motivated to write it, I hope to write the next parts faster, even if I most likely won't manage to finish this chapter until the end of the month. Still, finishing this act until the end of December is still a possible goal in my eyes, as Chapter 6 is planned to be shorter than Chapter 5 and shorter than Chapter 4.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It is going to be a John part, who returns after a very long absence. I got to be honest here, the main reason for his long absence has been the result of poor planning. His s… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Ilish will help Lawsen and fight against Kreep
This choice is going to have immediate consequences in the next I… morelish part. Speaking of the next Ilish part, the wait won't be that long. This chapter is coming to an end soon, even though many of the PoV's will get at least one more part. Ilish's next part will be among the final parts of this chapter and since I am very motivated to write it, I hope to write the next parts faster, even if I most likely won't manage to finish this chapter until the end of the month. Still, finishing this act until the end of December is still a possible goal in my eyes, as Chapter 6 is planned to be shorter than Chapter 5 and shorter than Chapter 4.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It is going to be a John part, who returns after a very long absence. I got to be honest here, the main reason for his long absence has been the result of poor planning. His s… [view original content]
So did John decide to go into the cave several days later, or was John's chapter several days before the other chapters? Or is it that a day hasn't passed yet?
The Voting is closed!
Ilish will help Lawsen and fight against Kreep
This choice is going to have immediate consequences in the next I… morelish part. Speaking of the next Ilish part, the wait won't be that long. This chapter is coming to an end soon, even though many of the PoV's will get at least one more part. Ilish's next part will be among the final parts of this chapter and since I am very motivated to write it, I hope to write the next parts faster, even if I most likely won't manage to finish this chapter until the end of the month. Still, finishing this act until the end of December is still a possible goal in my eyes, as Chapter 6 is planned to be shorter than Chapter 5 and shorter than Chapter 4.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It is going to be a John part, who returns after a very long absence. I got to be honest here, the main reason for his long absence has been the result of poor planning. His s… [view original content]
John decided to go onto the treasure hunt immediately after the meeting with Harris, which took place earlier on the same day the other storylines in Raylansfair take place. All of the Raylansfair storylines in this chapter take place on the same day. In Gutten's case, his part happens a few hours after Ilish's last part, in the middle of the night.
So did John decide to go into the cave several days later, or was John's chapter several days before the other chapters? Or is it that a day hasn't passed yet?
The Voting is closed!
Ilish will help Lawsen and fight against Kreep
This choice is going to have immediate consequences in the next I… morelish part. Speaking of the next Ilish part, the wait won't be that long. This chapter is coming to an end soon, even though many of the PoV's will get at least one more part. Ilish's next part will be among the final parts of this chapter and since I am very motivated to write it, I hope to write the next parts faster, even if I most likely won't manage to finish this chapter until the end of the month. Still, finishing this act until the end of December is still a possible goal in my eyes, as Chapter 6 is planned to be shorter than Chapter 5 and shorter than Chapter 4.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It is going to be a John part, who returns after a very long absence. I got to be honest here, the main reason for his long absence has been the result of poor planning. His s… [view original content]
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the nightly Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For once, we don't have to fight for our lives to earn some money”
Janae gave him a reluctant nod. “You're right with that”, she admitted and let out a sigh. “It's just that I don't trust this lord. He gives me a bad feeling” She looked around, as if she expected someone to spy on them. “Doesn't matter”, John answered. “Money is money. As long as we get paid, I couldn't care less for whatever shady scheme he pursues”
“Usually, I'd agree with you”, Janae answered. “But I mean, he gives me a really bad feeling. The last time I had this feeling was in Tolos, the job with the merchant” Gutten gulped as he remembered what she talked about. Back then, their employer refused to pay them and lured them into an ambush. It ended with three of Gutten's men dead, surrounded by the merchant and a dozen of his guards. “That bad, huh...”, he mumbled, trying his best to keep his previously good mood. But her frown was contagious.
“I mean, their previous lord died under shady circumstances and you have seen the castle. Not exactly impressive. It's not too far fetched to assume that he plans to double cross us”, Janae explained and Gutten had to agree with her. “So, what do you suggest? Not working for him?”, he asked, mildly annoyed that his good mood was all but gone in a matter of seconds. As always, Janae realized how he felt. A rare, warm smile appeared on her face. “Look, I still enjoy this”, she said “It's a pleasant night, just for you and me. I guess I'm just not used to a job like this anymore. It sounds almost too good to be true”
Gutten gave her a nod, but his frown remained. Now that his bad mood had returned, so did the memories of Cass. And in the darkness and silence, it was worse than ever. Her death had been his fault. And this was the worst, the knowledge that it could have been different if he wouldn't have ordered Janae to shoot Bear. In a matter of seconds, his good mood was replaced by grumpy brooding and he knew, Janae felt it.
“John...”, she mumbled, obviously upset that she caused some bad memories to resurface. Another rare expression, a hopeful smile, appeared on her face as she slightly nudged his shoulder. “Hey John, why don't you tell me about this crazy job in Norvos again?”, she asked and against his will, the hint of a smile forced its way onto Gutten's face. By the gods, this woman knew how to cheer him up!
“You mean the part where I seduced that noblewoman? Or the part where burned down her mansion? Or the part where me and Tem had to escape from the whorehouse, with nothing but a single life goat to cover our private parts?”, he said and a small chuckle was heard from Janae. “Sadly, I remember that one all too well and I always found it to be the least impressive part of the story”, she said with a mocking tone. “But I'd love to hear it again”
John let out a sigh as he finally realized what she was doing. He gave her a genuine, heartfelt smile and even though she did not smile back, the look in her eyes meant the world to him. “Sometimes, I wonder where I would be without you”, he remarked and Janae slightly shrugged. “Dead of course”, she answered firmly. This time, Gutten shook his head. “I think I'd be worse”, he answered. “I'd be one of these ruthless cutthroat sellswords”
“But John, you are a ruthless cutthroat sellsword”, Janae answered quickly and John had to laugh at this. “I am serious right now. Can't believe that you're the one cracking a joke this time”, he remarked. “Felt like you could need a joke”, Janae explained and this time she smiled back at him. “Besides, I'm not exactly keeping your moral compass intact. You got Hara for that”
“No, I mean, as long as you're with me, I know that I have someone to fight for, someone who would always have my back”, John explained, before he gave her a serious look. “You are my best friend, you know that, don't you?” He and Janae looked at each other, before the woman let out a sigh. “I swear to every god that's willing to listen, if you start to sing 'The Bear and the Maiden Fair' now...”
“It's true”, John insisted, focussing on the road in front of him. “I don't say it very often, but I would be nothing without you. Now, there's only you and me out here and I feel like thanking you, for always having my back. For understanding me” He looked back at Janae, who had a smile on her face. As soon as she noticed that he watched her, her usual frown returned. “You're getting old and sentimental, my bear”, she muttered. “I mean... what I want to say is, I know. You claim to be nothing without me, but what would I be without you?”
“Dead most likely”, John answered and Janae gave him a sullen nod. “True”, she simply mumbled. Both walked in silence after this comment, but John appreciated her company more than ever. For over ten years now she had been his best friend and he knew, Janae felt similarly, even if she had trouble expressing it.
“That our tower?”, Janae asked and he looked up again, having been lost in thoughts for a moment. The forest had gotten lighter by now and from the sound of the waves, it was obvious that they were near the cliffs. The tower itself was in a better shape than Gutten expected. It stood about a hundred feet in front of them, on a glade, directly atop the cliffs, five stories high, a thin building, reminding him of a lighthouse. Gutten narrowed his eyes as he looked at the building and put a hand on the hilt of his sword as Janae pulled an arrow out of her quiver. A single window in the tower's first floor was illuminated by a candle.
Words weren't needed. Both of them had been in a situation like this countless times, on both sides. Quickly, John extinguished the light of the candle in his storm lantern. Without making a sound, Janae approached the tower, quickly crossing the hundred feet between her and the building. John followed a bit slower, careful not to make any noise. No one was supposed to be here!
They stopped in front of the tower's only door, Janae to its right, Gutten to its left. In other situations, he would have kicked it in immediately, but right now, he knew nothing about the person who had lit the candle. Instead, he simply put a hand on the doorknob, while Janae stood behind him, her bow raised as he opened the door. To his surprise, it was unlocked, even though it squeaked horribly as he pushed it open. Behind them lay a small, dark room, empty, with a ladder leading down into the lower parts of the tower and a staircase that lead up to the higher floors. From above, a surprised gasp was audible, someone quickly standing up and the sound of someone drawing a sword.
Both, Gutten and the stranger, knew that secrecy wouldn't work anymore. But to Gutten's surprise, the stranger decided to talk to them. “Who is there?”, he called with a deep, booming voice. “We could ask you the same question”, Janae answered. “No one is supposed to be here. I have to warn you, we are armed”
As a response, the stranger started to laugh and from the sound of his footsteps, it became clear that he was approaching the stairway. Janae narrowed her eyes, while John gulped as the man slowly started to walk down the stairs, into their field of view. He was tall, taller than Gutten, close to seven feet. His head was shaved bald and he had the build of a true warrior. Two deep, noticeable scars were spread across his face, one of them on his right cheek, the other starting on the left side of his face, all the way up behind his ear. In his right hand, he wore a large greatsword, allowing him to wear a sturdy wooden shield with his left. He wasn't wearing armour, but the thick, woolen clothing he was wearing reminded Gutten of the stuff knights wore underneath their armour. “Do you think I fear two opponents?”, he growled with an eager voice.
Gutten quickly shook his head. “We are not here to look for a fight, Ser...”, he started to say, noticing that the man's facial expression showed slight disappointment. “Daghan Oxus”, he introduced himself, still keeping his shield up.
John pointed first at himself, then at Janae. “My name is John Gutten, the leader of a small sellsword group. This is my second-in-command Janae”, he introduced them, before he glanced at Janae. “Lower your weapon, Janae”, he ordered her. “I doubt this man is an enemy” With visible reluctance, Janae followed his order, before Gutten put his sword away too. Finally, Daghan let out a sigh, lowering his shield and sword. “How disappointing”, he remarked.
“Excuse me, Ser, we have not expected anyone to be here”, John explained and Daghan shook his head. “Neither have I”, he answered. “What are you two doing here?” Before John could answer, Janae cut him off. “We could ask you the same question”, she hissed.
“Can you?”, Daghan asked, narrowing his eyes. “Tell me why you are here and I will answer to your questions” Janae shook her head. “None of your...”, she started to say, but this time, Gutten cut her off. He knew, honesty wasn't always the best course of action, but this time, he saw no reason to lie to this man, especially since he had no wish to count him to his enemies. Perhaps he could even be helpful in finding the treasure. “We have been hired by Lord Harris Flowers”, he revealed and Janae gave him an alarmed stare. “We are treasure hunters, tasked with finding Lord Merrett Raylan's famous treasure”
For a moment, Daghan only looked at them in surprise. Then, he started to laugh, a slightly mocking, but genuine laugh. “Treasure hunters!”, he exclaimed. “How much is he paying you to chase after a legend?”
“Enough”, Janae hissed with an irritated tone. “We have to look around here” Daghan shook his head. “Well, it is not in the upper floors”, he revealed, before he pointed at himself. “Ah, excuse my manners. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Ser Daghan Oxus and I am...” He paused for a moment. “I am a hedge knight”
“A hedge knight”, Janae repeated toneless, clearly not believing a word he said. “You claim it is not up there. Would you mind if we take a look around?” Daghan gave her a decisive nod. “Yeah, I would mind”, he snarled. “I currently live up there and don't appreciate strangers meddling with my belongings”
“Sure...”, Janae said slowly, before she looked at John, who subtly shook his head. This man was huge and obviously very strong. John himself was still wounded and he wouldn't risk a fight with this man. “We'll stick to the lower floors then”, he said and the knight gave him a pleased nod. “One question though... we were told this tower is abandoned. Why are you here?”
Ser Daghan pressed his lips together. It was clear that he was not a skilled liar, but his physique was threatening enough to overplay this weakness. “I am expecting a friend. We were supposed to meet here in two days, but I arrived a bit earlier”, he explained.
“A friend...”, Janae repeated tonelessly, slightly shaking her head in frustration, before she looked at the ladder that lead downstairs. “I'm checking the basement. You stay up here with your new hedge knight friend” She quickly lit a torch and approached the ladder, while John gave her the hint of a smile, before she climbed down, leaving him alone with Ser Daghan.
“You see anything?”, Gutten called after a while. “Nothing”, Janae answered immediately. “Just a single, empty room... I'm going to look around with a shovel, just keep an eye on that asshole up there” Daghan raised his eyebrows, even though he smirked while doing it. “Looks like she does not like me”, he remarked.
“Can you blame her?”, Gutten asked. “She does not like being lied to” Immediately, before Daghan could answer anything, he raised his hands. “I on the other hand have no problem with you not telling us the truth about you. Your business is your business and as long as you don't get in our way, we won't get in yours”
This seemed to impress the self-proclaimed hedge knight and he looked pleased as he answered. “I am glad we understand each other, Gutten”, he answered. “I guess I have to apologize for threatening you earlier. One can never be too careful these days” John slowly nodded in agreement. “True”, he mumbled. “And we never intended to fight you. No one would have won in a fight between us”
A grim smile appeared on Daghan's face, as he shook his head. “I disagree. You two look like capable warriors. It would have been a glorious fight and I would have won with pleasure”, he answered and his smile got wider for a moment. “However, it also appears to me that you are no bad people. If I would have fought you with sharp weapons, I would have killed you. That would have been a shame”
Gutten had to chuckle at this remark and he decidedly shook his head. “How can you be so sure that you would have killed us? I bet I have at least as much fighting experience as you have”, he answered. Daghan gave him a nod. “That could be true. But these wounds on your face, they are two weeks old at best. And the way you stand... your ribs are damaged, right?”, he explained.
Before John could answer, a surprised scream from the cellar caused both him and Daghan to look up. “Janae!, Gutten exclaimed as he rushed to the ladder, leaving the knight alone upstairs. “Janae, what happened?” He nearly jumped down the ladder and it took him only seconds until he arrived down there. It would have been pitch black in the room if it wasn't for Janae's torch lying on the ground. It wasn't very big, had no further doors and no furniture at all. Next to the torch, a hole in the ground was visible and Gutten immediately rushed towards it. “Is everything alright, Gutten?”, he heard Daghan's voice from upstairs. “I don't know!”, he answered. “Janae!”
“I'm down here”, he thankfully heard her muffled voice coming out of the hole. Before he came closer, Daghan's voice sounded from upstairs. “Gutten, do you have more men with you?”, the knight asked and Gutten looked up. “What?”, he asked alarmed and heard Daghan sighing. “I suppose that's a 'No'”, he growled. “This is not good... get your friend up here. We got company!”
He didn't need to repeat his order. Immediately, Gutten rushed towards the hole. He grabbed the torch and looked down. Roughly ten feet below him, he saw Janae on her knees. She looked up to him, more surprised than actually hurt. “I'm fine”, she reassured him. “The ground gave in, be careful!” She narrowed her eyes as she looked around. “This looks like a room and...”, she started to say, before she cut herself off. “John, hold the torch directly above the hole” Her voice sounded nervous. As soon as he held the torch right above the hole, he heard a suppressed curse in her Ghiscari mother tongue. “Get that torch away, by the gods, or we're all dead!”
“Janae, what is down there?”, Gutten asked, as he immediately put the torch away from the hole. She did not answer. Instead, she looked up and raised her hand. “Help me up and I'll show you”, she answered. He lowered his arm to pull her up. Under other circumstances, he would have done so without effort, but now, even someone as light as Janae caused his ribs to ache. Eventually, he managed to pull her up, noticing that she only held onto his arm with one hand. In the other, she held a tiny object.
“That's the smallest of them”, she answered and Gutten saw the shock on her face. “John, I think we found the treasure” She opened her hand and it took John a moment to realized what she was holding. His eyes widened as he looked at the tiny flask filled with a green liquid. From his time in Qohor, Gutten knew exactly how Wildfire looked.
“This is not a treasure. It's a weapon”, he mumbled and Janae gave him a nod. “There are thousands of flasks down there, enough wildfire to burn Raylansfair to the ground twice”, she remarked “I doubt Lord Harris expected this...”
“Gutten! Janae!”, Daghan's voice sounded from upstairs. “We have a problem!” John and Janae looked at each other, before she carefully put down the flask. “Let's get up there and see what he wants”, she decided, still shaken by what she had seen down there. Gutten gave her a nod and together, they approached the ladder. “Is it 'We' already, Ser Daghan?”, Janae asked as she climbed the ladder. “Indeed it is”, the knight answered. “Because we're in this tower, while they are not”
As soon as Gutten finished climbing the ladder, he was greeted by a surprising sight. Daghan had used the time to don his fine, heavily plated armour, coloured entirely in black and red. His shield was leaning against the wall next to him and he was holding his sword with one hand, using the other to put on his helmet, shaped like a bull. “Interesting choice of colour”, Janae remarked. "Isn't it?", Daghan answered and pointed at a small window. “Look”, he ordered and Gutten followed.
Outside of the tower, he saw at least a dozen men and women, slowly approaching the building. They were armed, each of them wearing a tabard with an all-too-familiar sigil on them. “What are the fucking Second Sons doing here?”, Janae asked, as she eyed a man who had to be the leader. He was tall, wearing a heavy armour and the Second Sons tabard. His head was shaved bald, save for a bushy, brown beard. But what really made him stand out was his sword. John recognized Valyrian Steel when he saw it
“Greetings!”, he yelled at the top of his lungs. “I know you're in there! My name is Ser Rodrik Stone, Captain of the Second Sons. Come out with sheathed weapons and you'll be allowed to leave unharmed! Refuse this order and we will kill you!”
Daghan let out a thundering laugh. “Looks like I get my fight after all!”, he exclaimed. “I counted them, they are only a dozen. And they all need to get through this tiny door. We can get them!” Janae gave him an alarmed stare. “You mean to fight?”, she asked and Daghan gave her a nod. “What other choice do we have? Surrender? I can't leave this tower for now and I am sure you're not going to give up on your legendary treasure”, he answered. Janae shook her head. “No, I don't intend to surrender”, she mumbled, before a cold, pragmatic smile appeared on her face. “But perhaps we can end this quickly. John, there are thousands of flasks down there. Lord Harris won't even notice one or two missing. Surely you don't mean to surrender, to give the Second Sons such a weapon!”
No, giving up was no option, right? Gutten had never trusted the Second Sons. But if he would fight, there would be a strong chance that he or Janae would die. Was protecting this weapon from the Second Sons worth it? Of course, he could always use the Wildfire on them, Janae was right. But he knew how volatile, how dangerous it was, even for those who tried to use it. By the Drowned God, he had to make a decision!
[Give up the Wildfire and surrender][Refuse to surrender and fight][Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them]
John decided to go onto the treasure hunt immediately after the meeting with Harris, which took place earlier on the same day the other stor… moreylines in Raylansfair take place. All of the Raylansfair storylines in this chapter take place on the same day. In Gutten's case, his part happens a few hours after Ilish's last part, in the middle of the night.
The Voting is closed!
Ilish will help Lawsen and fight against Kreep
This choice is going to have immediate consequences in the next I… morelish part. Speaking of the next Ilish part, the wait won't be that long. This chapter is coming to an end soon, even though many of the PoV's will get at least one more part. Ilish's next part will be among the final parts of this chapter and since I am very motivated to write it, I hope to write the next parts faster, even if I most likely won't manage to finish this chapter until the end of the month. Still, finishing this act until the end of December is still a possible goal in my eyes, as Chapter 6 is planned to be shorter than Chapter 5 and shorter than Chapter 4.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It is going to be a John part, who returns after a very long absence. I got to be honest here, the main reason for his long absence has been the result of poor planning. His s… [view original content]
To answer this question as vague as possible: It's most likely going to be both, literal and symbolic, although the symbolic meaning is a bit more important.
To answer this question as vague as possible: It's most likely going to be both, literal and symbolic, although the symbolic meaning is a bit more important.
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
[Refuse to surrender and use the wildfire on them] Janae's right, against such a number they need every advantage they can get, plus... NEVER BACK DOWN!!!
Why is John being so stupid?
This chapter really got me to like Janae.
I wonder what Harris would do with the wildfire, surely he wouldn't burned down Raylansfair as he's done whatever it takes to protect it.
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
[Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them] I'm probably just a pyro, but fire is fun. Burn Baby Burn! Oh, eh, sorry for not voting. I keep forgetting about this. Sorry.
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
Hm, that was most likely unintentional. While John is definitely not the smartest of the PoV's, he is not stupid either. Why do you got the impression?
This chapter really got me to like Janae.
This on the other hand was intentional and one of the things I wanted to achieve with this part. Glad to see I succeeded
[Refuse to surrender and use the wildfire on them] Janae's right, against such a number they need every advantage they can get, plus... NEVE… moreR BACK DOWN!!!
Why is John being so stupid?
This chapter really got me to like Janae.
I wonder what Harris would do with the wildfire, surely he wouldn't burned down Raylansfair as he's done whatever it takes to protect it.
You know i'm torn. I wan't to tell everyone to think of the possible consequences of acting so rashly, but i also wan't them to get horrible outcomes for making such a violent and badly though out choice.
[Refuse to surrender and fight] Wow, people really want to use that wildfire, eh? Personally I think it's way too hazard weapon for a situation like this. If you use wildfire you better have good plan how to use it or you end up burning yourself.
Great part! My opinion about John has been unstable, sometimes I think he is great and sometimes he feels boring, but in this part I liked him - and Janae too
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
Why is John being so stupid?
Hm, that was most likely unintentional. While John is definitely not the smartest of the PoV's, he is n… moreot stupid either. Why do you got the impression?
This chapter really got me to like Janae.
This on the other hand was intentional and one of the things I wanted to achieve with this part. Glad to see I succeeded
Meh, I think it's pretty natural for people to let guard down when he/she feels that the person is no threat. The characters don't think "Omg, I'm in GoT, better trust no one."
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the night… morely Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For on… [view original content]
Comments
That ending was sooooooooo emotional after SPOILERS
everything. We lost everyone, everyone. And the last fake death had me on the edge of my seat. And the ending had me shell shocked. Cannot wait for next season, as I need to have Rhysha to finalize.
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep] Alexander is on the offensive but Lawsen is in a pretty bad position and it was previously stated that Kreep isn't a great fighter, maybe Illish can take him down.
This was a great chapter! I've got to say Kreep is pretty cool interesting.
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep] So much to say about this chapter. First off, this was written fantastically. It is safe to assume that Kreep is Wolfius' secret colleague. Alexander is starting to become one of my more favored characters, so now I am just waiting for Liquid to show us his deep, dark secret that ruins him for me. But I am glad there are some people who are able to give these assassins a run for their money. Hopefully we can finally get them out of town, or even better, dead. I am starting to not Lawsen so much. He just appears out of nowhere a sword. Hopefully someone will keep an eye on him.
[Help Alexander and fight against Wolfius]
Your words safes me everytime
spreads arms for the hug
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep]
I think Alexander will be okay and i hope nothing will happen to him, cause i like him already for his style of being.
Great written part - and so long! Loved to read it, as well interesting connection between Wolfius and Kreep.
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep]
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep] I think he needs more help, and perhaps with Kreep Ilish even has a chance.
Heh, I get kinda anime villain vibe from Kreep and Wolfius, but it's okay
And for some reason neither Lawsen or Alexander has won my sympathy yet. I mean they seem nice, but I don't know. There was this one character in the books who gave me the same feeling, I just don't remember his name... The guy from Stannis' army who had some interactions with Asha in ADWD.
Anyway, good part!
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep]
Ser Justin Massey? The guy who wants to get into Asha's pants?
That's the one. Though I have to say I do respect him for being loyal to Stannis. However the way he acted with Asha just gave me similar feeling to how especially Alexander is acting with Ilish. He is being nice, but I can't help but think there is just one reason for it
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep]
I think that was one of ur best chapters yet :]
But I cant really decide. I want that fucker Wolfius to be dead already but dont want Lawsen the hero of day, dead. I think I go with this.
[Help Lawsen and fight against Kreep]
[Help Alexander and fight against Wolfius]
The Voting is closed!
Ilish will help Lawsen and fight against Kreep
This choice is going to have immediate consequences in the next Ilish part. Speaking of the next Ilish part, the wait won't be that long. This chapter is coming to an end soon, even though many of the PoV's will get at least one more part. Ilish's next part will be among the final parts of this chapter and since I am very motivated to write it, I hope to write the next parts faster, even if I most likely won't manage to finish this chapter until the end of the month. Still, finishing this act until the end of December is still a possible goal in my eyes, as Chapter 6 is planned to be shorter than Chapter 5 and shorter than Chapter 4.
The next part is hopefully going to be finished later today. It is going to be a John part, who returns after a very long absence. I got to be honest here, the main reason for his long absence has been the result of poor planning. His storyline in the rest of this chapter will be influenced by developments in some other Raylansfair storylines which had to be written first. Now I can finally write stuff for him again, which makes me quite happy, since he is always enjoyable to write. Anyways, the last time we saw him, he and his second-in-command/bff Janae had an audience with Harris, who hired them to discreetly find a treasure that is rumoured to be in a ruined tower outside of Raylansfair. Even if it was already getting dark, John decided to go on this little treasure hunt as quick as possible.
Now... if you take a closer look at the introductory post, you will see that something has changed and something has been added. Specifically, the name of Chapter 6 has been changed. A lot of Book 1 is already planned, even in finer detail, but in some cases, my plans change and this has to be reflected in the Chapter titles as well. While writing Chapter 5, I realized that some storylines in Chapter 6 need to be pushed back to Chapter 7, or else I would run out of stuff for some storylines before Chapter 9, the Book 1 Finale, would start. As a result, I realized that I needed to change the Chapter 6 title as well, because it won't contain that many acts of mercy anymore. The new title for Chapter 6 is "Masquerade", which does not only hint at Jaron's storyline for this chapter and the high-society event he is going to visit. After all, there are many characters who wear some sort of mask, from the literal masks which are worn by the Tom and his associates, to the figurative masks with which people like Mullendore, Harris and many more hide their true nature and their plans. All in all, this new title fits the storyline for Chapter 6 a lot better and I am a lot more happy with it.
And while I have originally planned to reveal the titles for the three chapters of Act 3 at some point in Chapter 6, with this announcement I see no more reason to hold them back for any longer. After all, these titles have been set in stone for months now, shortly after I have finished the titles for Act 2. Behold, the immense vagueness that will be Act 3:
Act 3: Wildfire
Chapter 7: Valar Morghulis
Chapter 8: What Is Dead May Never Die
Chapter 9: Valar Dohaeris
I am pretty sure most of you will recognize these titles as popular sayings from the books and even though it might look a bit lazy to reuse these sayings, they simply fit the respective chapters and I can't think of better titles. Maybe I just suck at finding names for my chapters. I don't think you'll be able to get that much information out of them for now, but they contain some strong hints for storylines in Act 3. While Chapter 7 and Chapter 9 are planned in detail, Chapter 8 is basically already written in my head and will be one big, enjoyable slaughter. It will follow the tradition from the show to make the penultimate episode (or chapter in this case) the most dramatic of the whole Season and I fully intend to stay close to the 'Anyone can be killed'-mentality of the books with this Chapter. The only characters who will be completely safe in this chapter will be those who won't appear in it. On a positive side, Act 3 is planned to be a lot shorter than Act 2. After Act 3, there will also be an Epilogue, to hint at the things to come in Book 2, but for spoiler reasons I can't reveal the title of this epilogue until it is written.
Yay! We finally get some death
Sounds good!
If titles are hinting something I fear of chapter 7 just like of chapter 8
So did John decide to go into the cave several days later, or was John's chapter several days before the other chapters? Or is it that a day hasn't passed yet?
John decided to go onto the treasure hunt immediately after the meeting with Harris, which took place earlier on the same day the other storylines in Raylansfair take place. All of the Raylansfair storylines in this chapter take place on the same day. In Gutten's case, his part happens a few hours after Ilish's last part, in the middle of the night.
YEXS! YES! YES! I WANT IT!
John
“Perhaps we should have waited until tomorrow”, Janae remarked, letting out a loud yawn as she walked next to John through the nightly Reach. About an hour ago, they had left the walls of Raylansfair behind. Currently, they were walking through a small coastal forest, the path in front of them only dimly illuminated by a storm lantern.
“Just try to relax, Janae”, John said, in a surprisingly good mood. The cold autumn night made him feel alive, more than anything else in the past two weeks. He had a task and for the first time since Cass died, it felt easy to concentrate on something, to simply suppress all the bad thoughts for once. Deep down, John Gutten knew, it couldn't stay like this for long, but for now, he wanted to enjoy the moment. “There's no one here. Just you and me”, he continued with a grin, to which Janae answered with a frown. “Come on, don't be like that”, John chuckled. “A good old-fashioned treasure hunt. For once, we don't have to fight for our lives to earn some money”
Janae gave him a reluctant nod. “You're right with that”, she admitted and let out a sigh. “It's just that I don't trust this lord. He gives me a bad feeling” She looked around, as if she expected someone to spy on them. “Doesn't matter”, John answered. “Money is money. As long as we get paid, I couldn't care less for whatever shady scheme he pursues”
“Usually, I'd agree with you”, Janae answered. “But I mean, he gives me a really bad feeling. The last time I had this feeling was in Tolos, the job with the merchant” Gutten gulped as he remembered what she talked about. Back then, their employer refused to pay them and lured them into an ambush. It ended with three of Gutten's men dead, surrounded by the merchant and a dozen of his guards. “That bad, huh...”, he mumbled, trying his best to keep his previously good mood. But her frown was contagious.
“I mean, their previous lord died under shady circumstances and you have seen the castle. Not exactly impressive. It's not too far fetched to assume that he plans to double cross us”, Janae explained and Gutten had to agree with her. “So, what do you suggest? Not working for him?”, he asked, mildly annoyed that his good mood was all but gone in a matter of seconds. As always, Janae realized how he felt. A rare, warm smile appeared on her face. “Look, I still enjoy this”, she said “It's a pleasant night, just for you and me. I guess I'm just not used to a job like this anymore. It sounds almost too good to be true”
Gutten gave her a nod, but his frown remained. Now that his bad mood had returned, so did the memories of Cass. And in the darkness and silence, it was worse than ever. Her death had been his fault. And this was the worst, the knowledge that it could have been different if he wouldn't have ordered Janae to shoot Bear. In a matter of seconds, his good mood was replaced by grumpy brooding and he knew, Janae felt it.
“John...”, she mumbled, obviously upset that she caused some bad memories to resurface. Another rare expression, a hopeful smile, appeared on her face as she slightly nudged his shoulder. “Hey John, why don't you tell me about this crazy job in Norvos again?”, she asked and against his will, the hint of a smile forced its way onto Gutten's face. By the gods, this woman knew how to cheer him up!
“You mean the part where I seduced that noblewoman? Or the part where burned down her mansion? Or the part where me and Tem had to escape from the whorehouse, with nothing but a single life goat to cover our private parts?”, he said and a small chuckle was heard from Janae. “Sadly, I remember that one all too well and I always found it to be the least impressive part of the story”, she said with a mocking tone. “But I'd love to hear it again”
John let out a sigh as he finally realized what she was doing. He gave her a genuine, heartfelt smile and even though she did not smile back, the look in her eyes meant the world to him. “Sometimes, I wonder where I would be without you”, he remarked and Janae slightly shrugged. “Dead of course”, she answered firmly. This time, Gutten shook his head. “I think I'd be worse”, he answered. “I'd be one of these ruthless cutthroat sellswords”
“But John, you are a ruthless cutthroat sellsword”, Janae answered quickly and John had to laugh at this. “I am serious right now. Can't believe that you're the one cracking a joke this time”, he remarked. “Felt like you could need a joke”, Janae explained and this time she smiled back at him. “Besides, I'm not exactly keeping your moral compass intact. You got Hara for that”
“No, I mean, as long as you're with me, I know that I have someone to fight for, someone who would always have my back”, John explained, before he gave her a serious look. “You are my best friend, you know that, don't you?” He and Janae looked at each other, before the woman let out a sigh. “I swear to every god that's willing to listen, if you start to sing 'The Bear and the Maiden Fair' now...”
“It's true”, John insisted, focussing on the road in front of him. “I don't say it very often, but I would be nothing without you. Now, there's only you and me out here and I feel like thanking you, for always having my back. For understanding me” He looked back at Janae, who had a smile on her face. As soon as she noticed that he watched her, her usual frown returned. “You're getting old and sentimental, my bear”, she muttered. “I mean... what I want to say is, I know. You claim to be nothing without me, but what would I be without you?”
“Dead most likely”, John answered and Janae gave him a sullen nod. “True”, she simply mumbled. Both walked in silence after this comment, but John appreciated her company more than ever. For over ten years now she had been his best friend and he knew, Janae felt similarly, even if she had trouble expressing it.
“That our tower?”, Janae asked and he looked up again, having been lost in thoughts for a moment. The forest had gotten lighter by now and from the sound of the waves, it was obvious that they were near the cliffs. The tower itself was in a better shape than Gutten expected. It stood about a hundred feet in front of them, on a glade, directly atop the cliffs, five stories high, a thin building, reminding him of a lighthouse. Gutten narrowed his eyes as he looked at the building and put a hand on the hilt of his sword as Janae pulled an arrow out of her quiver. A single window in the tower's first floor was illuminated by a candle.
Words weren't needed. Both of them had been in a situation like this countless times, on both sides. Quickly, John extinguished the light of the candle in his storm lantern. Without making a sound, Janae approached the tower, quickly crossing the hundred feet between her and the building. John followed a bit slower, careful not to make any noise. No one was supposed to be here!
They stopped in front of the tower's only door, Janae to its right, Gutten to its left. In other situations, he would have kicked it in immediately, but right now, he knew nothing about the person who had lit the candle. Instead, he simply put a hand on the doorknob, while Janae stood behind him, her bow raised as he opened the door. To his surprise, it was unlocked, even though it squeaked horribly as he pushed it open. Behind them lay a small, dark room, empty, with a ladder leading down into the lower parts of the tower and a staircase that lead up to the higher floors. From above, a surprised gasp was audible, someone quickly standing up and the sound of someone drawing a sword.
Both, Gutten and the stranger, knew that secrecy wouldn't work anymore. But to Gutten's surprise, the stranger decided to talk to them. “Who is there?”, he called with a deep, booming voice. “We could ask you the same question”, Janae answered. “No one is supposed to be here. I have to warn you, we are armed”
As a response, the stranger started to laugh and from the sound of his footsteps, it became clear that he was approaching the stairway. Janae narrowed her eyes, while John gulped as the man slowly started to walk down the stairs, into their field of view. He was tall, taller than Gutten, close to seven feet. His head was shaved bald and he had the build of a true warrior. Two deep, noticeable scars were spread across his face, one of them on his right cheek, the other starting on the left side of his face, all the way up behind his ear. In his right hand, he wore a large greatsword, allowing him to wear a sturdy wooden shield with his left. He wasn't wearing armour, but the thick, woolen clothing he was wearing reminded Gutten of the stuff knights wore underneath their armour. “Do you think I fear two opponents?”, he growled with an eager voice.
Gutten quickly shook his head. “We are not here to look for a fight, Ser...”, he started to say, noticing that the man's facial expression showed slight disappointment. “Daghan Oxus”, he introduced himself, still keeping his shield up.
John pointed first at himself, then at Janae. “My name is John Gutten, the leader of a small sellsword group. This is my second-in-command Janae”, he introduced them, before he glanced at Janae. “Lower your weapon, Janae”, he ordered her. “I doubt this man is an enemy” With visible reluctance, Janae followed his order, before Gutten put his sword away too. Finally, Daghan let out a sigh, lowering his shield and sword. “How disappointing”, he remarked.
“Excuse me, Ser, we have not expected anyone to be here”, John explained and Daghan shook his head. “Neither have I”, he answered. “What are you two doing here?” Before John could answer, Janae cut him off. “We could ask you the same question”, she hissed.
“Can you?”, Daghan asked, narrowing his eyes. “Tell me why you are here and I will answer to your questions” Janae shook her head. “None of your...”, she started to say, but this time, Gutten cut her off. He knew, honesty wasn't always the best course of action, but this time, he saw no reason to lie to this man, especially since he had no wish to count him to his enemies. Perhaps he could even be helpful in finding the treasure. “We have been hired by Lord Harris Flowers”, he revealed and Janae gave him an alarmed stare. “We are treasure hunters, tasked with finding Lord Merrett Raylan's famous treasure”
For a moment, Daghan only looked at them in surprise. Then, he started to laugh, a slightly mocking, but genuine laugh. “Treasure hunters!”, he exclaimed. “How much is he paying you to chase after a legend?”
“Enough”, Janae hissed with an irritated tone. “We have to look around here” Daghan shook his head. “Well, it is not in the upper floors”, he revealed, before he pointed at himself. “Ah, excuse my manners. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Ser Daghan Oxus and I am...” He paused for a moment. “I am a hedge knight”
“A hedge knight”, Janae repeated toneless, clearly not believing a word he said. “You claim it is not up there. Would you mind if we take a look around?” Daghan gave her a decisive nod. “Yeah, I would mind”, he snarled. “I currently live up there and don't appreciate strangers meddling with my belongings”
“Sure...”, Janae said slowly, before she looked at John, who subtly shook his head. This man was huge and obviously very strong. John himself was still wounded and he wouldn't risk a fight with this man. “We'll stick to the lower floors then”, he said and the knight gave him a pleased nod. “One question though... we were told this tower is abandoned. Why are you here?”
Ser Daghan pressed his lips together. It was clear that he was not a skilled liar, but his physique was threatening enough to overplay this weakness. “I am expecting a friend. We were supposed to meet here in two days, but I arrived a bit earlier”, he explained.
“A friend...”, Janae repeated tonelessly, slightly shaking her head in frustration, before she looked at the ladder that lead downstairs. “I'm checking the basement. You stay up here with your new hedge knight friend” She quickly lit a torch and approached the ladder, while John gave her the hint of a smile, before she climbed down, leaving him alone with Ser Daghan.
“You see anything?”, Gutten called after a while. “Nothing”, Janae answered immediately. “Just a single, empty room... I'm going to look around with a shovel, just keep an eye on that asshole up there” Daghan raised his eyebrows, even though he smirked while doing it. “Looks like she does not like me”, he remarked.
“Can you blame her?”, Gutten asked. “She does not like being lied to” Immediately, before Daghan could answer anything, he raised his hands. “I on the other hand have no problem with you not telling us the truth about you. Your business is your business and as long as you don't get in our way, we won't get in yours”
This seemed to impress the self-proclaimed hedge knight and he looked pleased as he answered. “I am glad we understand each other, Gutten”, he answered. “I guess I have to apologize for threatening you earlier. One can never be too careful these days” John slowly nodded in agreement. “True”, he mumbled. “And we never intended to fight you. No one would have won in a fight between us”
A grim smile appeared on Daghan's face, as he shook his head. “I disagree. You two look like capable warriors. It would have been a glorious fight and I would have won with pleasure”, he answered and his smile got wider for a moment. “However, it also appears to me that you are no bad people. If I would have fought you with sharp weapons, I would have killed you. That would have been a shame”
Gutten had to chuckle at this remark and he decidedly shook his head. “How can you be so sure that you would have killed us? I bet I have at least as much fighting experience as you have”, he answered. Daghan gave him a nod. “That could be true. But these wounds on your face, they are two weeks old at best. And the way you stand... your ribs are damaged, right?”, he explained.
Before John could answer, a surprised scream from the cellar caused both him and Daghan to look up. “Janae!, Gutten exclaimed as he rushed to the ladder, leaving the knight alone upstairs. “Janae, what happened?” He nearly jumped down the ladder and it took him only seconds until he arrived down there. It would have been pitch black in the room if it wasn't for Janae's torch lying on the ground. It wasn't very big, had no further doors and no furniture at all. Next to the torch, a hole in the ground was visible and Gutten immediately rushed towards it. “Is everything alright, Gutten?”, he heard Daghan's voice from upstairs. “I don't know!”, he answered. “Janae!”
“I'm down here”, he thankfully heard her muffled voice coming out of the hole. Before he came closer, Daghan's voice sounded from upstairs. “Gutten, do you have more men with you?”, the knight asked and Gutten looked up. “What?”, he asked alarmed and heard Daghan sighing. “I suppose that's a 'No'”, he growled. “This is not good... get your friend up here. We got company!”
He didn't need to repeat his order. Immediately, Gutten rushed towards the hole. He grabbed the torch and looked down. Roughly ten feet below him, he saw Janae on her knees. She looked up to him, more surprised than actually hurt. “I'm fine”, she reassured him. “The ground gave in, be careful!” She narrowed her eyes as she looked around. “This looks like a room and...”, she started to say, before she cut herself off. “John, hold the torch directly above the hole” Her voice sounded nervous. As soon as he held the torch right above the hole, he heard a suppressed curse in her Ghiscari mother tongue. “Get that torch away, by the gods, or we're all dead!”
“Janae, what is down there?”, Gutten asked, as he immediately put the torch away from the hole. She did not answer. Instead, she looked up and raised her hand. “Help me up and I'll show you”, she answered. He lowered his arm to pull her up. Under other circumstances, he would have done so without effort, but now, even someone as light as Janae caused his ribs to ache. Eventually, he managed to pull her up, noticing that she only held onto his arm with one hand. In the other, she held a tiny object.
“That's the smallest of them”, she answered and Gutten saw the shock on her face. “John, I think we found the treasure” She opened her hand and it took John a moment to realized what she was holding. His eyes widened as he looked at the tiny flask filled with a green liquid. From his time in Qohor, Gutten knew exactly how Wildfire looked.
“This is not a treasure. It's a weapon”, he mumbled and Janae gave him a nod. “There are thousands of flasks down there, enough wildfire to burn Raylansfair to the ground twice”, she remarked “I doubt Lord Harris expected this...”
“Gutten! Janae!”, Daghan's voice sounded from upstairs. “We have a problem!” John and Janae looked at each other, before she carefully put down the flask. “Let's get up there and see what he wants”, she decided, still shaken by what she had seen down there. Gutten gave her a nod and together, they approached the ladder. “Is it 'We' already, Ser Daghan?”, Janae asked as she climbed the ladder. “Indeed it is”, the knight answered. “Because we're in this tower, while they are not”
As soon as Gutten finished climbing the ladder, he was greeted by a surprising sight. Daghan had used the time to don his fine, heavily plated armour, coloured entirely in black and red. His shield was leaning against the wall next to him and he was holding his sword with one hand, using the other to put on his helmet, shaped like a bull. “Interesting choice of colour”, Janae remarked. "Isn't it?", Daghan answered and pointed at a small window. “Look”, he ordered and Gutten followed.
Outside of the tower, he saw at least a dozen men and women, slowly approaching the building. They were armed, each of them wearing a tabard with an all-too-familiar sigil on them. “What are the fucking Second Sons doing here?”, Janae asked, as she eyed a man who had to be the leader. He was tall, wearing a heavy armour and the Second Sons tabard. His head was shaved bald, save for a bushy, brown beard. But what really made him stand out was his sword. John recognized Valyrian Steel when he saw it
“Greetings!”, he yelled at the top of his lungs. “I know you're in there! My name is Ser Rodrik Stone, Captain of the Second Sons. Come out with sheathed weapons and you'll be allowed to leave unharmed! Refuse this order and we will kill you!”
Daghan let out a thundering laugh. “Looks like I get my fight after all!”, he exclaimed. “I counted them, they are only a dozen. And they all need to get through this tiny door. We can get them!” Janae gave him an alarmed stare. “You mean to fight?”, she asked and Daghan gave her a nod. “What other choice do we have? Surrender? I can't leave this tower for now and I am sure you're not going to give up on your legendary treasure”, he answered. Janae shook her head. “No, I don't intend to surrender”, she mumbled, before a cold, pragmatic smile appeared on her face. “But perhaps we can end this quickly. John, there are thousands of flasks down there. Lord Harris won't even notice one or two missing. Surely you don't mean to surrender, to give the Second Sons such a weapon!”
No, giving up was no option, right? Gutten had never trusted the Second Sons. But if he would fight, there would be a strong chance that he or Janae would die. Was protecting this weapon from the Second Sons worth it? Of course, he could always use the Wildfire on them, Janae was right. But he knew how volatile, how dangerous it was, even for those who tried to use it. By the Drowned God, he had to make a decision!
[Give up the Wildfire and surrender] [Refuse to surrender and fight] [Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them]
Man, this was surely one busy day huh.
Not that i wan't any spoilers but is Act 3 title literal, symbolic or both.
To answer this question as vague as possible: It's most likely going to be both, literal and symbolic, although the symbolic meaning is a bit more important.
Thank you
[Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them] Fire baby.
(Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them)
[Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them]
[Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them]
It will be so much fire and blood soon
[Refuse to surrender and use the wildfire on them] Janae's right, against such a number they need every advantage they can get, plus... NEVER BACK DOWN!!!
Why is John being so stupid?
This chapter really got me to like Janae.
I wonder what Harris would do with the wildfire, surely he wouldn't burned down Raylansfair as he's done whatever it takes to protect it.
[Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them] imma firestarter, twisted firestarter
[Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them]
I like fire.
[Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them] I'm probably just a pyro, but fire is fun. Burn Baby Burn! Oh, eh, sorry for not voting. I keep forgetting about this. Sorry.
Hm, that was most likely unintentional. While John is definitely not the smartest of the PoV's, he is not stupid either. Why do you got the impression?
This on the other hand was intentional and one of the things I wanted to achieve with this part. Glad to see I succeeded
You know i'm torn. I wan't to tell everyone to think of the possible consequences of acting so rashly, but i also wan't them to get horrible outcomes for making such a violent and badly though out choice.
[Refuse to surrender and fight] Wow, people really want to use that wildfire, eh? Personally I think it's way too hazard weapon for a situation like this. If you use wildfire you better have good plan how to use it or you end up burning yourself.
Great part! My opinion about John has been unstable, sometimes I think he is great and sometimes he feels boring, but in this part I liked him - and Janae too
The fact that John is so quick to let his guard down and trust Daghan really irks me.
Meh, I think it's pretty natural for people to let guard down when he/she feels that the person is no threat. The characters don't think "Omg, I'm in GoT, better trust no one."
[Refuse to surrender and use the Wildfire on them]