Here it is, finally! I am incredibly sorry for the long wait, but as you can see, this part ended up extremely long after all, even if I tried my best not to make it too long. I can promise, the next part will be out sooner and I hope you enjoy this one
Raenna
There it was again. The kind, wrinkly, fatherly smile she had grown to love in her early teens. Now that she was older, Raenna wasn't sure if this kindness was genuine, but back then, it meant the world to her. She knew, she couldn't refuse his pleas. “Alright, I will help you”, she answered with a sigh, before her gaze hardened. “But this is the last time. I have left this live behind”
Terroma gave her a sad, but understanding smile, undoubtedly pleased at her decision, but sullen at the same time. “People like us... We never leave this live behind, little Raenna”, he said warmly. “I tried it and I failed. Sooner or later, it always catches up again” He noticed her facial expression and let out a sigh. “Nonetheless, I appreciate your help. I know this is not easy for you”, he consoled her and attempted to put a hand on her shoulder.
Raenna quickly shrugged his hand off and shook her head. “One thing should be clear. I like you, but I'm not doing this for you, old man”, she hissed. “I'm not doing this for you and I'm not doing this to get revenge on Clayton. I'm only doing this for Kersea” She avoided to look into his gentle eyes and stared down the alleyway instead. It felt weird that he was once again a part of her life, it felt as wonderful as it felt wrong.
“I am well aware of that”, Terroma answered with a gentle look in his eyes. “Still, it feels good to know that you'll support me, one last time” Raenna had to reciprocate his smile as she started to get used to his presence again. “You do this for Kersea too, right?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “And for Clayton”, he mumbled. “Back when I first met him, he wasn't that different from you”
Raenna gave him a nod. He was right. She remembered Clayton how he had been. Always a bit aloof, but nonetheless caring towards those close to him, even kind at times. He had been her friend and as strange as it felt now, she used to have a huge crush on him in her mid-teens. Before Terroma left the group. Before Clayton started to lead them and before he changed.
“What are your plans for him?”, she asked and Terroma let out a sigh. “For a while, I loved Clayton like a son”, he mumbled and she saw deep sadness in his eyes. “If only half of the things I have heard about him are true, he is little more than a rabid dog by now... and there is only one merciful thing to do with a rabid dog”
In silence, the two started to walk down the street and Raenna slowly glanced at him. Optically, the Old Man hadn't changed a bit. She knew him for over ten years now and he had always looked old, even though he was barely sixty years old. He grew the remains of his hair a bit longer now, tied to a short ponytail and a few fine, additional wrinkles were visible on his face, but overall, he still looked like she remembered him. But she saw subtle and slightly unnerving changes on him. The way he spoke, the way he looked at her... it was clear to her that Terroma felt something he had always warned her of. He felt remorse.
Remorse... Raenna had a difficult relationship with remorse. Terroma had taught her that remorse was a luxury she couldn't afford in her line of work and even if she wasn't always able to follow his advice, she tried her best. Kersea on the other hand never listened to him and over the past five years, it broke Raenna's heart to see how she tormented herself with what she did. And now the Old Man started to feel it himself. The thought terrified her.
They stopped in front of a rundown house in a narrow alleyway. A faded sign informed Raenna that this building had been a butcher's shop once. “This is were I currently live”, Terroma informed her as he pulled a small key out of his pocket and started to unlock the door. “I have to warn you though, I do not live alone”
Raenna raised an eyebrow as she watched him opening the door. “You have a friend in this city?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Do you remember what I have told you, what I did before I trained you and Clayton?”, he asked. Yes, Raenna remembered. Terroma had been part of a different group, its members long since scattered around the world, most of them dead by now. “You found one of your old friends?”, she asked and Terroma shook his head. “I found his son”, he explained.
With these words, they entered the dark room behind the door. Raenna narrowed her eyes for a moment, before she let out a sigh and quickly drew her dagger. Before Terroma could react, she spun around, pointing the edge of the blade at the man who was standing in the darkness behind the door, pointing a crossbow at her. Her knife was inches away from his throat, but his bolt was similarly pointed directly at hers. In the darkness, she was still able to see his facial features. He was taller than her and perhaps in his late twenties, with pale skin, brown hair and a short, rugged beard. The look in his brown eyes wasn't hostile, just highly distrustful.
“Is that your friend?”, she hissed and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Terroma slowly nodding. “Put down your weapons”, he ordered sternly. “Both of you” The man followed his order immediately, while Raenna did it somewhat reluctantly. She wasn't used to this authoritative tone in Terroma's voice anymore.
“Samuel, this is Raenna Minsworth, my old protégée”, he introduced her. “Raenna, this is Samuel Puffer” Raenna glanced from Samuel to Terroma, before she realized where she had heard this name before. “Puffer... I have heard about your father”, she mumbled and Samuel gave her a slightly surprised look. “You knew him?”, he asked. Raenna shook her head, finally pulling her hood down. She noticed that he glanced at her hair for a moment. “I spent half a decade with the Old Man. Never met any of his friends, but I've heard the stories”
“And you have trained under Terroma?”, Samuel asked. “Like Clayton?” Raenna narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything, Terroma answered for her. “Not like Clayton”, he explained. “Raenna had always been better than him” A soft smile formed at her face for a moment as she looked at her mentor.
“So, what is your plan?”, she asked, to quickly change the subject. “Do you even know where Briar is located? Or Clayton?” Terroma did not answer. Instead, he looked at Samuel. The man had a light smirk on his face. “It was my job to find that out”, he explained. “I know this city better than Terroma and had a few old friends to ask”
His smirk vanished again and his gaze hardened as he looked from Raenna to Terroma. “I had a long talk with one of Butterfly's men. He knew where they hold Briar”, he explained. “The cells below the Hightower”
Raenna noticed the expression on Terroma's face and gave him a consoling look. “This is bad, huh?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Worse”, he mumbled, before he looked at Samuel. “Are you sure?” The other man nodded shortly and let out a sigh. “I am sure the man I kindly asked told me the truth, let's keep it at that”, he growled. “Briar Catelins is held below the Hightower”
“This means Commander Mullendore works with Butterfly?”, Terroma asked and finally, Raenna understood why he was so baffled by this reveal. Samuel shook his head. “I asked the same question”, he said. “The answer is 'No'. The cells are a labyrinth that got down all the way to the Hightowers foundation and more than half of them is out of order. Butterfly uses them as one of his main hideouts, right under Mullendore's nose”
“He's hidden in plain sight”, Terroma mumbled. “I have to give the man some credit, that's actually brilliant” He looked up, just as he noticed that Samuel was about to say something. “One more thing, Terroma”, he mumbled. “While you were gone, we had a visitor. A young girl, perhaps around twelve years old, tall for her age. Braavosi, judging by the accent”
Terroma's eyes widened. “Ellena...”, he mumbled and Raenna slightly shook her head. “The girl you lied to?”, she asked and immediately regret it, when she saw the hurt expression on his face. “Sorry...”, she mumbled weakly. “The girl I lied to”, Terroma agreed with a toneless voice. “Partially, at least. I... why was she here?”
“She had a letter for you, written by the Burned Man”, Samuel explained and Terroma narrowed his eyes. “Arkan...”, he growled. “Has she... said anything? Is she working for him now?” Samuel quickly shook his head. “She barely said anything. One of his men was with her”
“You think she was afraid?”, Terroma asked and Samuel gave him a short nod. “Not of him”, he quickly explained. “Of me. I guess I wasn't looking too trustworthy. In the end, she refused to give me that letter”
“Smart girl...”, Terroma mumbled and a forced smile appeared on his face. “It does not matter. We have out target. As smart as Butterfly is, we know where to strike now. We deal with the letter later”
Raenna raised her eyebrows as she looked from him to Samuel. “You plan to infiltrate the Hightower?”, she asked and noticed the enthusiastic look in Terroma's eyes. Somehow, it was even more unnerving than his remorse. “I am actually looking forward for it”, he revealed. “I have been gone for so long, tried to hide what I was, what I am, until I almost forgot it. But this is now over”
“Doesn't change the fact that you still need a plan”, Raenna said sceptically. Terroma gave her a short nod. “Indeed, I will”, he agreed. “We will infiltrate the Hightower, but we shouldn't do it hastily. First, we need to create a good plan. We need to find out when the guards change, we should look for alternative entrances and we need plans of the Hightower and of the labyrinth beneath”
“I can do that”, Samuel promised. “As soon as we have everything we need, we will get Kersea's sister out of there and we then we will track down Clayton”, Terroma continued. Raenna gave him a nod. “I agree”, she mumbled. “But... what comes then? After you freed Kersea and her sister, after you stopped Clayton, what are your plans?”
Terroma closed his eyes for a moment, looking a lot older than he truly was. “Valar Morghulis”, he slowly answered.
No Choices for this part
Richard
“Go, get Urid!”, Richard yelled and Philip immediately darted downwards again. He put his focus on Darren now, ignoring the worry he had for his friends. The knight wore a heavily plated armour and Richard wasn't sure if he would be able to lift him alone, with his wounded leg. He reached down and grabbed Darren's shoulders, as he slowly started to pull him up.
“Come on, come on...”, he hissed as he put far too much weight on his wounded leg. Pain flashed through his whole body, as he slowly managed to pull the knight up. Darren let out a groan and thankfully opened his eyes, blinking and coughing from the smoke. Out of his own power, he staggered back onto his feet, holding his shoulder in obvious pain.
“Harking...”, he growled. Richard grabbed his unwounded shoulder, thankful that he woke up again. “Not now!”, he barked. “We have to get out of here!” Darren quickly gave him a nod and slowly stumbled towards the stairs, Richard closely behind him. He realized that the knight could have run faster, his legs weren't wounded after all, but it looked like he chose to stay behind with him, to make sure that Richard himself wouldn't burn to death in this warehouse. As he looked down, he saw dark red blood staining his leg. His wound had reopened and the pain was worse than ever. This was not good...
As they arrived in the warehouse's ground floor, Richard immediately saw a body lying in the flames. For a moment, panic threatened to overcome him, as he feared the worst for Philip or Urid. Then he saw his friends. Philip was kneeling on the ground, a desperate expression on his face as he tried to remove the heavy bar that had crashed down onto Urid's leg. The bar was burning brightly and Urid obviously had passed out from the pain. Despite his own pain, Philip attempted to reach down, trying to grab the boiling hot wood, only to recoil in pain.
“Get out of here, Harking!”, Darren yelled over the sound of the crackling fire, as he rushed towards Urid. Richard himself looked at the main entrance, quickly realizing that he wouldn't get out of there. The fire had almost surrounded them and definitely cut them off the main entrance.
Despite his wounded shoulder, Darren effortlessly reached down and grabbed the bar with both hands. His plated gloves obviously helped, but the pained scream he let out as he threw the bar deep into the warehouse proved how much it still hurt him. For a moment, he went on his knees, before Richard stopped next to him, pulling him back onto his feet. In the meantime, Philip picked up the unconscious Urid as he made a dash for the side entrance. Richard and Darren followed closely and Richard actually had to rely on the knight to keep him on his feet, as his own wounded leg was barely able to support his weight anymore.
Blinded by smoke, unable to breathe and in pain because of the heat, Richard staggered out of the backdoor just as a cracking sound behind him signalized the roof giving in. With a bit of luck, the assassins would crash down with it, but he knew, it was a foolish hope. He finally went onto his knees, just as Darren did the same, allowing painfully cold air to fill his lungs, as he started to cough violently.
He looked up to Philip, who was still the least wounded out of them. His hands were covered in burn blisters, but he did not seem to be in a lot of pain. Instead, he looked at Urid, who was unconscious. Both of his friends upper legs had deep cuts and burns on them, from the log that crashed down on him and he was bleeding heavily. Richard was no healer, but he knew Urid needed someone to look at these wounds, or else he wouldn't survive this night. It was a mercy that he was unconscious at the moment, because the pain had to be excruciating.
“Harking!”, a familiar voice rasped and as he looked down the alleyway, he saw half a dozen guards, with them Commander Hackor and Jarow. The Lord of Bridges had a rudimentary bandaged shoulder, but other than that, he looked alive and somewhat fine, save for the anger on his face. Hackor on the other hand was pale, holding his chest and coughing violently.
“You bastards...”, Philip hissed. “You left Urid to die!” Hackor shook his head and staggered to the side, causing one of the guardsmen to grab his arm. “We saved the commander!”, another guardsman barked. “So mind your place, peasant”
Before Philip could answer again, obviously angered at these words, Hackor managed to raise a hand. “No...”, he coughed, his voice regaining more of his former strength and authority with every word. “You saved your own skin and one of you had the decency to pull me out of this warehouse. Philip is right. It should have been your duty... my duty to protect the smallfolk!” He cut himself off and looked at Richard and his friends. “I failed you, Harking, and for that, I am sorry”
“Good for you, but that does not change the fact that Urid still needs help!”, Philip urged them. “Look at him, he's not going to survive the night without a healer” Richard shivered at these words. He had feared such a moment ever since he heard about Eaton's death. “We have no healer”, he mumbled sullenly, only for Hackor to shake his head. “We have one”, he answered to Richard's surprise. “Sort of, at least. A young woman, a visitor in our city”
He looked at two of his guardsmen. “You know where Mathea lives, don't you?”, he asked and his men gave him dutiful nods. “The what are you waiting for?”, he snarled. “She has to look at Urid, and probably at Harking and Philip too”
“But... commander, what's with you?”, one of the guardsmen asked. Hackor, still surprisingly strong, grabbed him by the shoulder. “You see this?”, he asked and moved his hand over his chest, only slightly shivering while he did so. “My armour saved my life. It hurts like hell, but I will survive it. I won't bother our only healer because of a broken rib, not when a life is on the line”
“Me neither”, Darren coughed. “My shoulder is dislocated, perhaps even broken, I don't know. But I will survive. I survived worse and I have no intentions of dying from a single crossbow bolt” As if he wanted to prove this, he started to walk to the guardsmen on his own. His walk was a bit off and the heavy armour obviously dragged him down, but he managed to do it, looking triumphantly at Hackor.
“I don't need any help either”, Jarow cawed, even though the bandages around his shoulder were soaked in blood. As he realized the looks Hackor and Richard were giving him, he glared at them almost angrily. “No!”, he yelled. “I do not allow anyone to die because of me! I know what I can survive and I know, I will survive this”
“It's settled then...”, Hackor mumbled, looking at his guards. “You two carry Urid to Mathea. And you help Harking, I doubt he makes it far with his leg!” Immediately, his guards saluted and what previously looked like a beaten and bruised bunch of weaklings immediately became something that resembled a unit of soldiers.
Hackor let out a sigh and walked towards Richard. “Listen, Harking”, he mumbled, looking at the ground. “I knew, this did not work out today. I lost some of my men, Darren lost some of his men and your friend here is more dead than alive” He extended his hand and his gaze moved upwards until he looked Richard straight in the eye. Slowly, Richard grabbed his hand and shook it. “I see the look in your eyes. What happened today wasn't your fault. Only the enemy is to blame”
Richard weakly shook his head, glancing at Urid. “Say that to the dead”, he muttered, before he let out a sigh. “Commander, I am sorry for today. I tried to help and in the end...” He looked over his shoulder at the burning warehouse. Hackor gave him a nod. “We will talk about this as soon as you're back on your feet”, he growled and looked down onto Richard's bleeding leg. “We will get the people who did this, I swear it”
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, supporting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way” He paused again, closing his eyes for a moment. “Urid has a family. He mustn't die tonight. I on the other hand... what do I have?” “You have us”, Richard answered. “You know you can always count on your friends” Philip gave him a solemn nod. “Nonetheless... that does not change the fact that you and Urid, you have people who depend on you. Your children need you”, he mumbled. “I can't stand the thought of seeing them grow up without a father”
“And they won't”, Richard tried to convince him, or perhaps he was just trying to convince himself. “We will get Urid to this healer and she will help him. He's going to be fine again” Philip only slightly shook his head, but said nothing. In silence, they continued their way through the city. Richard had lived here his whole live, but in the darkness, in his current, dizzy state, he barely realized where they were going. Finally, he saw the city walls in the distance, ten feet tall, solid stone. Richard knew few people in this part of the city. There was nothing of interest here, usually at least. Now, they apparently looked for the only healer in the whole city down here.
The guardsmen knew the way, thankfully. The man who supported Richard pointed at a small house. In the darkness, it managed to stick out by being brightly illuminated from the inside. Candles, at least a dozen, burning brightly in the night. “Here she lives”, the man explained and slowly separated from Richard, before walking up to the door. “Mathea!”, he shouted and knocked onto the door.
“The door is open”, a female voice answered from the inside. The guardsmen who carried Urid walked closer, followed by Philip and a limping Richard, just as the guardsman opened the door. Behind it, Richard saw a young, dark-haired woman, standing next to a table, inside a sparsely furnished room. Atop the table lay...
“Rosie?”, Philip gasped as he rushed past Richard and into the room. Atop the table, Richard saw Rosalie Mettel, unconscious, a blood-soaked bandaged over her belly. Mathea gave him a stern, yet understanding look out of strangely coloured, orange eyes, extending her arm to keep him away from Rosalie. “You know her?”, she asked and Philip gave her a nod. “She is a friend...”, he mumbled, his eyes widely opened. Behind him, laying on a small bed and deeply asleep, despite the noise Richard, Philip and three guardsmen made, lay Lyria. She had a fresh cut on her cheek and a second one on her temple, only barely cleaned.
Mathea looked up and noticed the look on Richard's face, while she heavily bandaged Rosalie's belly. “You know both of them, I see”, she deduced, before she let out a sigh. “Lyria is alright, but I gave her the milk of the poppy, to help her sleep. Rosalie will most likely survive this night” Philip pressed his lips together and Mathea looked down again. “She will survive this night. I'm going to make sure of that”
For the first time since they entered the house, she moved her attention towards Urid and her face dropped. “He's the one you came for?”, she asked and one of the guardsmen shook his head. “All three of them need your help, Mathea”, he explained. “Commander Hackor promises a rich rew...” “No”, she cut him off. “I'm not doing this for the reward. I'm doing it for them”
She pointed at the guard who supported Richard during the way. “You're going to assist me”, she ordered in a voice that sounded surprisingly authoritative, compared to her slender frame. The guardsman clumsily saluted in front of her, just as she pointed at a small cupboard. “In the middle drawer, you'll find blankets. Take two of them and put them onto the ground” Still bandaging Rosalie's belly at the same time, she looked at the guardsmen who carried Urid. “And you put him onto these blankets, gently”, she ordered with a stern voice, before finally taking a step back from the unconscious Rosalie. “She will survive”, she said and the hint of a tired smile appeared on her face. “Seven blessings, this girl is tougher than she looks like...” She looked up at Philip and her smile got wider, even though Richard saw the dark rings under her eyes, indicating a serious lack of sleep. “You can be relieved, your friend will survive this night”, she promised and for the first time since they had left the warehouse, Richard saw how Philip let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you”, he said with a firm voice, just as Mathea glanced from him to Richard. “Your leg is bleeding”, she said, looking at Richard, before moving her gaze to Philip. “And your hands have some mild burns”
Philip quickly shook his head. “I am fine. I don't need your attention, Urid needs it”, he urged her and Mathea gave him a quick nod. “You're right, you'll be fine”, she agreed, before reaching down to a large bag that stood under the table. She pulled a small box out of it and carefully handed it to him. “Burn ointment”, she explained. “You can apply it yourself. Be generous with it and your hands will be fine in a few days”
“And now you...”, she said and looked at Richard. He wanted to shake his head, just as Philip did, but found himself stumbling towards the wall of the house, leaning on it, as he finally noticed the blood loss. “You're not fine”, Mathea said dryly. “I need to bandage your leg, or else you might bleed to death”
This time, Richard managed to shake his head. “Urid needs your help first. I only need some linen and I can bandage myself” Mathea gave him a complimenting look, carefully handing him a bandage roll. “Good thinking”, she said, before she rushed towards Urid. “And now to you...”, she mumbled, visibly suppressing a curse. “You two assist me. Hold him down, carefully”, she ordered two of the guards, shortly glancing at the third one. “You bring me more candles. This does not look good...”
Philip closed his eyes and sighed, before he turned around. “I need some fresh air...”, he muttered and Mathea gave him a nod without even looking at him. “Out there is a small bench. You can bandage your leg on it”, she said, obviously speaking to Richard. He understood the hint and followed Philip outside, giving her the space she needed to help Urid.
The air outside of Mathea's hosue seemed to be even colder than before. Richard looked around and quickly spotted Philip sitting on a bench, looking at the sky. He limped towards him and forced himself to smile at him. “Urid is going to be fine”, he reassured him and Philip shook his head. “You already said that”, he muttered. “It's not only Urid, it's Lyria and Rosie too...”
Richard let out a sigh, trying his best not to think about what he saw inside this house. Lyria lying on this bed, Rosalie on the table, the blood... “Philip, I know you like her...”, he started to say, before Philip cut him off. “Not like you think”, he explained. “Yes, I know about her feelings of me, but... she's what, ten years younger than me? She's a child. What kind of man do you think I am?”
“One of the best I know”, Richard answered truthfully. Philip did not answer to this, instead he looked back at the sky. “She reminds me of my daughter, in some way...”, he revealed and Richard gave him a surprised look. “You have a daughter?”, he asked, immediately noticing the sad look on his friends face. “Had”, Philip answered. “Her name was Lilith. I also had a wife, Lara, back when I still lived in the North”
“I... what happened to them?”, Richard asked. It was kinda strange, now that he thought about it. For years, Philip Loren was one of his closest friends. But he never talked about his past before. “They were killed...”, Philip revealed. “Murdered... Don't you understand, Richard? The reason why I want to bring these assassins down is because I have experienced such a thing before. The people who killed my family had been ordinary bandits, they... they did it while I was out hunting. I don't know what they did to my wife and my daughter and I don't want to think about it, but they killed them and burned their corpses together with our house” A determined gaze appeared on Philip's face. “I returned from my hunting trip to find only a smouldering ruin and two charred corpses. So I tracked them down, the people who did this. It was all I had left. I found their hideout, an abandoned building. Sneaked through the window at night. I slit their leaders throat, slowly, before locking the doors and setting the building on fire. I... I made sure none of them had a chance to escape”
He paused again, looking down on the ground. “I told myself that I did it to stop them from hurting someone else the way they hurt me, the way they hurt my family. But I also did it for revenge. When they burned alive in that building, it felt... justified”, he mumbled, before looking at Richard, the hint of tears visible in his eyes. “I know how I must sound to you now, but can you imagine loosing everything? I... it had to be done. These men had to die, they had to pay for what they did”
“Philip... I don't know what to say...”, Richard mumbled, putting a hand on his friends shoulder. “I am sorry for your loss. I understand you. If someone would kill Jenna... I honestly don't know what I would do. I think I would kill whoever did it. But afterwards... how have you managed to carry on?”
Philip shrugged, shaking Richard's hand off in the process. “I have no idea. There are days where I miss them more than you can imagine. My daughter's laughter, my wife's sweet voice...”, he mumbled, pausing for a moment. “For a while, I thought about giving up, you know. Back in these days, after I killed the men who took my family, I couldn't imagine any kind of future for me. But I carried on. For Lilith. For Lana. I build a new life, as far away from the North as possible. Not with a new family, but with friends. With you, Urid, Lyria and Rosie...” He paused as his voice slightly cracked. “And now it happens again”
Richard let out a sigh as he finally understood Philip's behaviour over the past days. “I am sorry for what happened today, what I did”, he muttered a weak apology. “I lead you into this warehouse, into this ambush. We're no fighters and yet I treated us as such. If you hate me now, I can...”
“Hating you?”, Philip cut him off with a low, aggressive voice. “Hating you? Richard, perhaps you are partially to blame for what happened today. But what kind of person would blame you for it? For what these... these monsters did? Never could I hate you. You are my best friend!” After almost yelling these last words, he lowered his voice again. “After today, you are perhaps the only friend I have left”
His voice sounded just like Richard felt at the moment. Desperate. “I...”, he stuttered, before he cut himself off, burying his face in his hands. He started to weep and he felt weak, terribly weak. In moments like this, he missed his wife the most. Erna had always been his rock in situations like this. “If you don't hate me, then you are a better man than me. I lead my friends into this ambush. I almost killed Urid and... Philip, I am sorry for the sadness I caused”
“Sadness?”, Philip growled. “I am not sad, Richard. Back when my family got killed, I was broken. Do you remember the pain when you lost Erna? Now imagine loosing Jenna too on the same day, not even knowing if she had a quick death or if she... This is sadness. But I survived it. I carried on. Now, in my new life, I don't feel this kind of sadness anymore. What I feel is anger”
He looked at Richard and the glare in his eyes made him shiver. “I am angry, not at you, but at the beast that attacked Jenna. At that monster that put an arrow through your leg. At this woman that almost killed Urid today. I am angry at the men who hurt the people I care for”, he said with a vicious tone in his voice. “And I won't allow them to do it ever again. I feel no sadness, only burning anger. After today, with Lyria, Rosie, Urid, they made it personal”
Finally, the anger faded from his eyes, although a glimmer of it remained, lingering deep inside them. “I want to stop these people, more than ever. I have no intentions of giving up. I want to stop them from hurting anyone else, ever again”, he explained, before he let out a sigh. “And I want revenge. But... Richard, I don't think I can do this alone”
“You want to continue?”, Richard asked, not sure if he should support his friend, or talk him out of it. Philip gave him a determined nod. “More than ever”, he growled. “They are used to be the hunters, but I intend to make them the prey for once. They are wolves, but what they don't understand is, we're no lambs anymore. We're lions”
Richard gave him a nod, feeling the hint of his former determination to return. “But how do you want to do it? We tried to stop them tonight and we failed”, he interjected. Philip sighed and looked up to the sky again. “Today, we made a mistake, but they made one as well. They made it personal”, he explained. “I don't know how we can stop them, but I know that I have no intentions to give up now. We have to continue and we have to make it better this time. You and me both know, the city guard won't get them. I can't just stop and hide, just lock myself in my room and try to survive. People are dying on the streets, our friends are dying! I can't do nothing, so please don't ask of me to leave them be, not while they are still a danger to the people I care for”
The look in his eyes mirrored how Richard felt himself. He still had this image in his head, of Jenna, after he saved her life. She was so frail, so thin, so pale, his only daughter. And Rosalie, back in Mathea's house, more dead than alive. And Urid... Richard couldn't deny it, he wanted revenge. The thought of giving up, of letting these assassins do whatever they wanted to, it was horrible. But he also had to think about what Philip said earlier, the other horrible thought. If he would continue to try his best to stop these assassins, there was a high chance that he would die, that Philip would die and that Jenna would be all alone in this world. But would it be safer to stay out of this entirely? To leave this town to the wolves? And finally, he wasn't even sure if he would manage to succeed in talking Philip out of his plans...
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
I'm a little stuck trying to choose if they continue they risk becoming monsters themselves on a mad quest for vengance but I don't want to just let the assassins go.
[Try to talk him out of it] Their better than this... (I'm almost certain everyone will pick Support Phillip though so I doubt my choice will win)
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
I'm a little stuck trying to choose if they continue they risk becoming monsters themselves on a mad quest for vengance but I don't want to … morejust let the assassins go.
[Try to talk him out of it] Their better than this... (I'm almost certain everyone will pick Support Phillip though so I doubt my choice will win)
Does Richard have children other than Jenna?
I try to stay out of votes because i feel i will always get the minority by picking the mercyfull/peacefull anti vengence hungry way choice but i am going to give it a chance for AgentZ46's sake.
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
I try to stay out of votes because i feel i will always get the minority by picking the mercyfull/peacefull anti vengence hungry way choice … morebut i am going to give it a chance for AgentZ46's sake.
[Try to talk him out of it]
PLEASE PEOPLE at least consider this.
You don't have to blush , i'm just happy we agree on this. Were going to lose...by a LOT. But at least we voted for what we belived in. Pity nobody else does.
You don't have to blush , i'm just happy we agree on this. Were going to lose...by a LOT. But at least we voted for what we belived in. Pity nobody else does.
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
[Try to talk him out of it] I like the spirit of Philip and if they happened to be real warriors instead of peasants who have hardly any experience on combat I would totally support him. However, as it is I think they just simply don't stand a chance against these assassins. "Sometimes you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. And right now, it's folding time."
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
[Support Philip] More chance of death of Clayton and Wolfius=better
Although I'm aware this choice is also against Kersea, and I'm scared this choice can be against Terroma and Raenna in the long term. I assume we will get a chance to change this things so we can turn just to Clayton and Wolfius maybe even with Help of people mentioned above, so I really hope this will happen and I won't just turn some of my favourite characters against some of my favourite characters. This choice is really hard and risky but I think i will follow my usual hunger for killing villains.
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
Yes, Richard has three sons, one of them older than Jenna, two of them a bit younger. However, they have joined the army of the Reach and currently fight in the Dornish Marches to keep the kingdoms southern border safe. He hasn't heard any news from the Marches in a while and is deeply worried for his sons.
I'm a little stuck trying to choose if they continue they risk becoming monsters themselves on a mad quest for vengance but I don't want to … morejust let the assassins go.
[Try to talk him out of it] Their better than this... (I'm almost certain everyone will pick Support Phillip though so I doubt my choice will win)
Does Richard have children other than Jenna?
[Support Philip] More chance of death of Clayton and Wolfius=better
Although I'm aware this choice is also against Kersea, and I'm scared t… morehis choice can be against Terroma and Raenna in the long term. I assume we will get a chance to change this things so we can turn just to Clayton and Wolfius maybe even with Help of people mentioned above, so I really hope this will happen and I won't just turn some of my favourite characters against some of my favourite characters. This choice is really hard and risky but I think i will follow my usual hunger for killing villains.
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
They are no warriors, they said it themselves. Now half of their friends are wounded and bleeding to death which showed that continuing the revenge patch will finally lead to someone's death. I think it's best to stay out of it, more or less, for now at least and leave fighting with the assassins for skilled warriors.
And - yay - Mathea seems to be quite commanding one, i like how you presented her.
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
[Try to talk him out of it]
They are no warriors, they said it themselves. Now half of their friends are wounded and bleeding to death wh… moreich showed that continuing the revenge patch will finally lead to someone's death. I think it's best to stay out of it, more or less, for now at least and leave fighting with the assassins for skilled warriors.
And - yay - Mathea seems to be quite commanding one, i like how you presented her.
Although this will be putting my character (and the Harkings) at risk, I'd honestly rather have Philip die trying to kill the assassins than to back down. Besides, there's a good chance that Richard won't be able to talk Philip out of it.
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
[Support Philip]
Although this will be putting my character (and the Harkings) at risk, I'd honestly rather have Philip die trying to kil… morel the assassins than to back down. Besides, there's a good chance that Richard won't be able to talk Philip out of it.
Yeah, but again, if Richard can't talk Philip out of it and he tried to take them out on his own, he would surely die without a chance of survival. I feel like this choice will determine whether Richard keeps at it or not, because I doubt Philip would back down that easily, as he revealed, he's very angry.
Anyway, it appears the majority of voters want Richard to try to talk him out of it, so you probably have nothing to worry about.
I usually close the voting when I can be pretty sure that I'm going to finish the next part the same day. I have started to write the new part today, but I am not sure if I will finish it tomorrow. I also want to give everyone a chance to vote, so usually I keep the voting open for 2-3 days. Depending on how much progress I make with writing, I might close it tomorrow, but the day after is a bit more likely.
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
Probably. But one time i made an insane attempt to save a character i liked. I had the majority. The next day i woke up happy. And then found out almost everyone betrayed me and changed. Oh and the vote had just closed..................Since then im always paranoid with these.
Yeah, but again, if Richard can't talk Philip out of it and he tried to take them out on his own, he would surely die without a chance of su… morervival. I feel like this choice will determine whether Richard keeps at it or not, because I doubt Philip would back down that easily, as he revealed, he's very angry.
Anyway, it appears the majority of voters want Richard to try to talk him out of it, so you probably have nothing to worry about.
Im preatty sure people will vote against me by then. Shame but it was expected. I just hope theres horrible concequences to their choices. I may hate character deaths but i do love it when an evil character gives ironic Karma.
I usually close the voting when I can be pretty sure that I'm going to finish the next part the same day. I have started to write the new pa… morert today, but I am not sure if I will finish it tomorrow. I also want to give everyone a chance to vote, so usually I keep the voting open for 2-3 days. Depending on how much progress I make with writing, I might close it tomorrow, but the day after is a bit more likely.
Great part as usual, glad to see more backstories getting revealed. However, I do not think Philip is capable of dealing with the likes of Clayton or Alysanne, he may have killed some bandits, but highly trained assassins are a completely different story. So I'll go with [Try to talk him out of it]
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, suppo… morerting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way”… [view original content]
I'm pretty sure Phillip is a Harking. And those two can distract the assassins for maybe an hour or so, so perhaps they may save some lives with sacrificng their own. And if they don't, oh well.
We've already sacrificed so much already, so we must keep on going so we can get some results. If not all of their pain would've been pointless. I'm bummed out it failed too as my character Hackor was there, but I know what he would do and he wouldn't let all of his men die pointlessly.
Probably. But one time i made an insane attempt to save a character i liked. I had the majority. The next day i woke up happy. And then foun… mored out almost everyone betrayed me and changed. Oh and the vote had just closed..................Since then im always paranoid with these.
Comments
Here it is, finally! I am incredibly sorry for the long wait, but as you can see, this part ended up extremely long after all, even if I tried my best not to make it too long. I can promise, the next part will be out sooner and I hope you enjoy this one
Raenna
There it was again. The kind, wrinkly, fatherly smile she had grown to love in her early teens. Now that she was older, Raenna wasn't sure if this kindness was genuine, but back then, it meant the world to her. She knew, she couldn't refuse his pleas. “Alright, I will help you”, she answered with a sigh, before her gaze hardened. “But this is the last time. I have left this live behind”
Terroma gave her a sad, but understanding smile, undoubtedly pleased at her decision, but sullen at the same time. “People like us... We never leave this live behind, little Raenna”, he said warmly. “I tried it and I failed. Sooner or later, it always catches up again” He noticed her facial expression and let out a sigh. “Nonetheless, I appreciate your help. I know this is not easy for you”, he consoled her and attempted to put a hand on her shoulder.
Raenna quickly shrugged his hand off and shook her head. “One thing should be clear. I like you, but I'm not doing this for you, old man”, she hissed. “I'm not doing this for you and I'm not doing this to get revenge on Clayton. I'm only doing this for Kersea” She avoided to look into his gentle eyes and stared down the alleyway instead. It felt weird that he was once again a part of her life, it felt as wonderful as it felt wrong.
“I am well aware of that”, Terroma answered with a gentle look in his eyes. “Still, it feels good to know that you'll support me, one last time” Raenna had to reciprocate his smile as she started to get used to his presence again. “You do this for Kersea too, right?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “And for Clayton”, he mumbled. “Back when I first met him, he wasn't that different from you”
Raenna gave him a nod. He was right. She remembered Clayton how he had been. Always a bit aloof, but nonetheless caring towards those close to him, even kind at times. He had been her friend and as strange as it felt now, she used to have a huge crush on him in her mid-teens. Before Terroma left the group. Before Clayton started to lead them and before he changed.
“What are your plans for him?”, she asked and Terroma let out a sigh. “For a while, I loved Clayton like a son”, he mumbled and she saw deep sadness in his eyes. “If only half of the things I have heard about him are true, he is little more than a rabid dog by now... and there is only one merciful thing to do with a rabid dog”
In silence, the two started to walk down the street and Raenna slowly glanced at him. Optically, the Old Man hadn't changed a bit. She knew him for over ten years now and he had always looked old, even though he was barely sixty years old. He grew the remains of his hair a bit longer now, tied to a short ponytail and a few fine, additional wrinkles were visible on his face, but overall, he still looked like she remembered him. But she saw subtle and slightly unnerving changes on him. The way he spoke, the way he looked at her... it was clear to her that Terroma felt something he had always warned her of. He felt remorse.
Remorse... Raenna had a difficult relationship with remorse. Terroma had taught her that remorse was a luxury she couldn't afford in her line of work and even if she wasn't always able to follow his advice, she tried her best. Kersea on the other hand never listened to him and over the past five years, it broke Raenna's heart to see how she tormented herself with what she did. And now the Old Man started to feel it himself. The thought terrified her.
They stopped in front of a rundown house in a narrow alleyway. A faded sign informed Raenna that this building had been a butcher's shop once. “This is were I currently live”, Terroma informed her as he pulled a small key out of his pocket and started to unlock the door. “I have to warn you though, I do not live alone”
Raenna raised an eyebrow as she watched him opening the door. “You have a friend in this city?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Do you remember what I have told you, what I did before I trained you and Clayton?”, he asked. Yes, Raenna remembered. Terroma had been part of a different group, its members long since scattered around the world, most of them dead by now. “You found one of your old friends?”, she asked and Terroma shook his head. “I found his son”, he explained.
With these words, they entered the dark room behind the door. Raenna narrowed her eyes for a moment, before she let out a sigh and quickly drew her dagger. Before Terroma could react, she spun around, pointing the edge of the blade at the man who was standing in the darkness behind the door, pointing a crossbow at her. Her knife was inches away from his throat, but his bolt was similarly pointed directly at hers. In the darkness, she was still able to see his facial features. He was taller than her and perhaps in his late twenties, with pale skin, brown hair and a short, rugged beard. The look in his brown eyes wasn't hostile, just highly distrustful.
“Is that your friend?”, she hissed and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Terroma slowly nodding. “Put down your weapons”, he ordered sternly. “Both of you” The man followed his order immediately, while Raenna did it somewhat reluctantly. She wasn't used to this authoritative tone in Terroma's voice anymore.
“Samuel, this is Raenna Minsworth, my old protégée”, he introduced her. “Raenna, this is Samuel Puffer” Raenna glanced from Samuel to Terroma, before she realized where she had heard this name before. “Puffer... I have heard about your father”, she mumbled and Samuel gave her a slightly surprised look. “You knew him?”, he asked. Raenna shook her head, finally pulling her hood down. She noticed that he glanced at her hair for a moment. “I spent half a decade with the Old Man. Never met any of his friends, but I've heard the stories”
“And you have trained under Terroma?”, Samuel asked. “Like Clayton?” Raenna narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything, Terroma answered for her. “Not like Clayton”, he explained. “Raenna had always been better than him” A soft smile formed at her face for a moment as she looked at her mentor.
“So, what is your plan?”, she asked, to quickly change the subject. “Do you even know where Briar is located? Or Clayton?” Terroma did not answer. Instead, he looked at Samuel. The man had a light smirk on his face. “It was my job to find that out”, he explained. “I know this city better than Terroma and had a few old friends to ask”
His smirk vanished again and his gaze hardened as he looked from Raenna to Terroma. “I had a long talk with one of Butterfly's men. He knew where they hold Briar”, he explained. “The cells below the Hightower”
Raenna noticed the expression on Terroma's face and gave him a consoling look. “This is bad, huh?”, she asked and he gave her a nod. “Worse”, he mumbled, before he looked at Samuel. “Are you sure?” The other man nodded shortly and let out a sigh. “I am sure the man I kindly asked told me the truth, let's keep it at that”, he growled. “Briar Catelins is held below the Hightower”
“This means Commander Mullendore works with Butterfly?”, Terroma asked and finally, Raenna understood why he was so baffled by this reveal. Samuel shook his head. “I asked the same question”, he said. “The answer is 'No'. The cells are a labyrinth that got down all the way to the Hightowers foundation and more than half of them is out of order. Butterfly uses them as one of his main hideouts, right under Mullendore's nose”
“He's hidden in plain sight”, Terroma mumbled. “I have to give the man some credit, that's actually brilliant” He looked up, just as he noticed that Samuel was about to say something. “One more thing, Terroma”, he mumbled. “While you were gone, we had a visitor. A young girl, perhaps around twelve years old, tall for her age. Braavosi, judging by the accent”
Terroma's eyes widened. “Ellena...”, he mumbled and Raenna slightly shook her head. “The girl you lied to?”, she asked and immediately regret it, when she saw the hurt expression on his face. “Sorry...”, she mumbled weakly. “The girl I lied to”, Terroma agreed with a toneless voice. “Partially, at least. I... why was she here?”
“She had a letter for you, written by the Burned Man”, Samuel explained and Terroma narrowed his eyes. “Arkan...”, he growled. “Has she... said anything? Is she working for him now?” Samuel quickly shook his head. “She barely said anything. One of his men was with her”
“You think she was afraid?”, Terroma asked and Samuel gave him a short nod. “Not of him”, he quickly explained. “Of me. I guess I wasn't looking too trustworthy. In the end, she refused to give me that letter”
“Smart girl...”, Terroma mumbled and a forced smile appeared on his face. “It does not matter. We have out target. As smart as Butterfly is, we know where to strike now. We deal with the letter later”
Raenna raised her eyebrows as she looked from him to Samuel. “You plan to infiltrate the Hightower?”, she asked and noticed the enthusiastic look in Terroma's eyes. Somehow, it was even more unnerving than his remorse. “I am actually looking forward for it”, he revealed. “I have been gone for so long, tried to hide what I was, what I am, until I almost forgot it. But this is now over”
“Doesn't change the fact that you still need a plan”, Raenna said sceptically. Terroma gave her a short nod. “Indeed, I will”, he agreed. “We will infiltrate the Hightower, but we shouldn't do it hastily. First, we need to create a good plan. We need to find out when the guards change, we should look for alternative entrances and we need plans of the Hightower and of the labyrinth beneath”
“I can do that”, Samuel promised. “As soon as we have everything we need, we will get Kersea's sister out of there and we then we will track down Clayton”, Terroma continued. Raenna gave him a nod. “I agree”, she mumbled. “But... what comes then? After you freed Kersea and her sister, after you stopped Clayton, what are your plans?”
Terroma closed his eyes for a moment, looking a lot older than he truly was. “Valar Morghulis”, he slowly answered.
No Choices for this part
Richard
“Go, get Urid!”, Richard yelled and Philip immediately darted downwards again. He put his focus on Darren now, ignoring the worry he had for his friends. The knight wore a heavily plated armour and Richard wasn't sure if he would be able to lift him alone, with his wounded leg. He reached down and grabbed Darren's shoulders, as he slowly started to pull him up.
“Come on, come on...”, he hissed as he put far too much weight on his wounded leg. Pain flashed through his whole body, as he slowly managed to pull the knight up. Darren let out a groan and thankfully opened his eyes, blinking and coughing from the smoke. Out of his own power, he staggered back onto his feet, holding his shoulder in obvious pain.
“Harking...”, he growled. Richard grabbed his unwounded shoulder, thankful that he woke up again. “Not now!”, he barked. “We have to get out of here!” Darren quickly gave him a nod and slowly stumbled towards the stairs, Richard closely behind him. He realized that the knight could have run faster, his legs weren't wounded after all, but it looked like he chose to stay behind with him, to make sure that Richard himself wouldn't burn to death in this warehouse. As he looked down, he saw dark red blood staining his leg. His wound had reopened and the pain was worse than ever. This was not good...
As they arrived in the warehouse's ground floor, Richard immediately saw a body lying in the flames. For a moment, panic threatened to overcome him, as he feared the worst for Philip or Urid. Then he saw his friends. Philip was kneeling on the ground, a desperate expression on his face as he tried to remove the heavy bar that had crashed down onto Urid's leg. The bar was burning brightly and Urid obviously had passed out from the pain. Despite his own pain, Philip attempted to reach down, trying to grab the boiling hot wood, only to recoil in pain.
“Get out of here, Harking!”, Darren yelled over the sound of the crackling fire, as he rushed towards Urid. Richard himself looked at the main entrance, quickly realizing that he wouldn't get out of there. The fire had almost surrounded them and definitely cut them off the main entrance.
Despite his wounded shoulder, Darren effortlessly reached down and grabbed the bar with both hands. His plated gloves obviously helped, but the pained scream he let out as he threw the bar deep into the warehouse proved how much it still hurt him. For a moment, he went on his knees, before Richard stopped next to him, pulling him back onto his feet. In the meantime, Philip picked up the unconscious Urid as he made a dash for the side entrance. Richard and Darren followed closely and Richard actually had to rely on the knight to keep him on his feet, as his own wounded leg was barely able to support his weight anymore.
Blinded by smoke, unable to breathe and in pain because of the heat, Richard staggered out of the backdoor just as a cracking sound behind him signalized the roof giving in. With a bit of luck, the assassins would crash down with it, but he knew, it was a foolish hope. He finally went onto his knees, just as Darren did the same, allowing painfully cold air to fill his lungs, as he started to cough violently.
He looked up to Philip, who was still the least wounded out of them. His hands were covered in burn blisters, but he did not seem to be in a lot of pain. Instead, he looked at Urid, who was unconscious. Both of his friends upper legs had deep cuts and burns on them, from the log that crashed down on him and he was bleeding heavily. Richard was no healer, but he knew Urid needed someone to look at these wounds, or else he wouldn't survive this night. It was a mercy that he was unconscious at the moment, because the pain had to be excruciating.
“Harking!”, a familiar voice rasped and as he looked down the alleyway, he saw half a dozen guards, with them Commander Hackor and Jarow. The Lord of Bridges had a rudimentary bandaged shoulder, but other than that, he looked alive and somewhat fine, save for the anger on his face. Hackor on the other hand was pale, holding his chest and coughing violently.
“You bastards...”, Philip hissed. “You left Urid to die!” Hackor shook his head and staggered to the side, causing one of the guardsmen to grab his arm. “We saved the commander!”, another guardsman barked. “So mind your place, peasant”
Before Philip could answer again, obviously angered at these words, Hackor managed to raise a hand. “No...”, he coughed, his voice regaining more of his former strength and authority with every word. “You saved your own skin and one of you had the decency to pull me out of this warehouse. Philip is right. It should have been your duty... my duty to protect the smallfolk!” He cut himself off and looked at Richard and his friends. “I failed you, Harking, and for that, I am sorry”
“Good for you, but that does not change the fact that Urid still needs help!”, Philip urged them. “Look at him, he's not going to survive the night without a healer” Richard shivered at these words. He had feared such a moment ever since he heard about Eaton's death. “We have no healer”, he mumbled sullenly, only for Hackor to shake his head. “We have one”, he answered to Richard's surprise. “Sort of, at least. A young woman, a visitor in our city”
He looked at two of his guardsmen. “You know where Mathea lives, don't you?”, he asked and his men gave him dutiful nods. “The what are you waiting for?”, he snarled. “She has to look at Urid, and probably at Harking and Philip too”
“But... commander, what's with you?”, one of the guardsmen asked. Hackor, still surprisingly strong, grabbed him by the shoulder. “You see this?”, he asked and moved his hand over his chest, only slightly shivering while he did so. “My armour saved my life. It hurts like hell, but I will survive it. I won't bother our only healer because of a broken rib, not when a life is on the line”
“Me neither”, Darren coughed. “My shoulder is dislocated, perhaps even broken, I don't know. But I will survive. I survived worse and I have no intentions of dying from a single crossbow bolt” As if he wanted to prove this, he started to walk to the guardsmen on his own. His walk was a bit off and the heavy armour obviously dragged him down, but he managed to do it, looking triumphantly at Hackor.
“I don't need any help either”, Jarow cawed, even though the bandages around his shoulder were soaked in blood. As he realized the looks Hackor and Richard were giving him, he glared at them almost angrily. “No!”, he yelled. “I do not allow anyone to die because of me! I know what I can survive and I know, I will survive this”
“It's settled then...”, Hackor mumbled, looking at his guards. “You two carry Urid to Mathea. And you help Harking, I doubt he makes it far with his leg!” Immediately, his guards saluted and what previously looked like a beaten and bruised bunch of weaklings immediately became something that resembled a unit of soldiers.
Hackor let out a sigh and walked towards Richard. “Listen, Harking”, he mumbled, looking at the ground. “I knew, this did not work out today. I lost some of my men, Darren lost some of his men and your friend here is more dead than alive” He extended his hand and his gaze moved upwards until he looked Richard straight in the eye. Slowly, Richard grabbed his hand and shook it. “I see the look in your eyes. What happened today wasn't your fault. Only the enemy is to blame”
Richard weakly shook his head, glancing at Urid. “Say that to the dead”, he muttered, before he let out a sigh. “Commander, I am sorry for today. I tried to help and in the end...” He looked over his shoulder at the burning warehouse. Hackor gave him a nod. “We will talk about this as soon as you're back on your feet”, he growled and looked down onto Richard's bleeding leg. “We will get the people who did this, I swear it”
With these words, he gave a short sign and the two guards grabbed Urid, rather gently, while another guard put his arm around Richard, supporting his weak leg during their walk. “Get them to the healer. Tell her, if she saves their lives, she will be richly rewarded”, Hackor barked. Richard only managed to give him a thankful nod, as the commander, Darren and Jarow stayed behind. Philip walked next to him in silence, blowing cold air onto his wounded hands.
“Are you alright, Philip?”, Richard asked, as the two followed the guardsmen through the night. His friend looked up, before slowly shaking his head, the hint of tears in his eyes as he glanced at the unconscious Urid. “He ran in right before me. He was so eager to help... I should have stopped him”, he mumbled. “I should have hold him back. At the very least, I should have ran inside before him. It could have easily been me instead of him and perhaps it would have been better that way” He paused again, closing his eyes for a moment. “Urid has a family. He mustn't die tonight. I on the other hand... what do I have?” “You have us”, Richard answered. “You know you can always count on your friends” Philip gave him a solemn nod. “Nonetheless... that does not change the fact that you and Urid, you have people who depend on you. Your children need you”, he mumbled. “I can't stand the thought of seeing them grow up without a father”
“And they won't”, Richard tried to convince him, or perhaps he was just trying to convince himself. “We will get Urid to this healer and she will help him. He's going to be fine again” Philip only slightly shook his head, but said nothing. In silence, they continued their way through the city. Richard had lived here his whole live, but in the darkness, in his current, dizzy state, he barely realized where they were going. Finally, he saw the city walls in the distance, ten feet tall, solid stone. Richard knew few people in this part of the city. There was nothing of interest here, usually at least. Now, they apparently looked for the only healer in the whole city down here.
The guardsmen knew the way, thankfully. The man who supported Richard pointed at a small house. In the darkness, it managed to stick out by being brightly illuminated from the inside. Candles, at least a dozen, burning brightly in the night. “Here she lives”, the man explained and slowly separated from Richard, before walking up to the door. “Mathea!”, he shouted and knocked onto the door.
“The door is open”, a female voice answered from the inside. The guardsmen who carried Urid walked closer, followed by Philip and a limping Richard, just as the guardsman opened the door. Behind it, Richard saw a young, dark-haired woman, standing next to a table, inside a sparsely furnished room. Atop the table lay...
“Rosie?”, Philip gasped as he rushed past Richard and into the room. Atop the table, Richard saw Rosalie Mettel, unconscious, a blood-soaked bandaged over her belly. Mathea gave him a stern, yet understanding look out of strangely coloured, orange eyes, extending her arm to keep him away from Rosalie. “You know her?”, she asked and Philip gave her a nod. “She is a friend...”, he mumbled, his eyes widely opened. Behind him, laying on a small bed and deeply asleep, despite the noise Richard, Philip and three guardsmen made, lay Lyria. She had a fresh cut on her cheek and a second one on her temple, only barely cleaned.
Mathea looked up and noticed the look on Richard's face, while she heavily bandaged Rosalie's belly. “You know both of them, I see”, she deduced, before she let out a sigh. “Lyria is alright, but I gave her the milk of the poppy, to help her sleep. Rosalie will most likely survive this night” Philip pressed his lips together and Mathea looked down again. “She will survive this night. I'm going to make sure of that”
For the first time since they entered the house, she moved her attention towards Urid and her face dropped. “He's the one you came for?”, she asked and one of the guardsmen shook his head. “All three of them need your help, Mathea”, he explained. “Commander Hackor promises a rich rew...” “No”, she cut him off. “I'm not doing this for the reward. I'm doing it for them”
She pointed at the guard who supported Richard during the way. “You're going to assist me”, she ordered in a voice that sounded surprisingly authoritative, compared to her slender frame. The guardsman clumsily saluted in front of her, just as she pointed at a small cupboard. “In the middle drawer, you'll find blankets. Take two of them and put them onto the ground” Still bandaging Rosalie's belly at the same time, she looked at the guardsmen who carried Urid. “And you put him onto these blankets, gently”, she ordered with a stern voice, before finally taking a step back from the unconscious Rosalie. “She will survive”, she said and the hint of a tired smile appeared on her face. “Seven blessings, this girl is tougher than she looks like...” She looked up at Philip and her smile got wider, even though Richard saw the dark rings under her eyes, indicating a serious lack of sleep. “You can be relieved, your friend will survive this night”, she promised and for the first time since they had left the warehouse, Richard saw how Philip let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you”, he said with a firm voice, just as Mathea glanced from him to Richard. “Your leg is bleeding”, she said, looking at Richard, before moving her gaze to Philip. “And your hands have some mild burns”
Philip quickly shook his head. “I am fine. I don't need your attention, Urid needs it”, he urged her and Mathea gave him a quick nod. “You're right, you'll be fine”, she agreed, before reaching down to a large bag that stood under the table. She pulled a small box out of it and carefully handed it to him. “Burn ointment”, she explained. “You can apply it yourself. Be generous with it and your hands will be fine in a few days”
“And now you...”, she said and looked at Richard. He wanted to shake his head, just as Philip did, but found himself stumbling towards the wall of the house, leaning on it, as he finally noticed the blood loss. “You're not fine”, Mathea said dryly. “I need to bandage your leg, or else you might bleed to death”
This time, Richard managed to shake his head. “Urid needs your help first. I only need some linen and I can bandage myself” Mathea gave him a complimenting look, carefully handing him a bandage roll. “Good thinking”, she said, before she rushed towards Urid. “And now to you...”, she mumbled, visibly suppressing a curse. “You two assist me. Hold him down, carefully”, she ordered two of the guards, shortly glancing at the third one. “You bring me more candles. This does not look good...”
Philip closed his eyes and sighed, before he turned around. “I need some fresh air...”, he muttered and Mathea gave him a nod without even looking at him. “Out there is a small bench. You can bandage your leg on it”, she said, obviously speaking to Richard. He understood the hint and followed Philip outside, giving her the space she needed to help Urid.
The air outside of Mathea's hosue seemed to be even colder than before. Richard looked around and quickly spotted Philip sitting on a bench, looking at the sky. He limped towards him and forced himself to smile at him. “Urid is going to be fine”, he reassured him and Philip shook his head. “You already said that”, he muttered. “It's not only Urid, it's Lyria and Rosie too...”
Richard let out a sigh, trying his best not to think about what he saw inside this house. Lyria lying on this bed, Rosalie on the table, the blood... “Philip, I know you like her...”, he started to say, before Philip cut him off. “Not like you think”, he explained. “Yes, I know about her feelings of me, but... she's what, ten years younger than me? She's a child. What kind of man do you think I am?”
“One of the best I know”, Richard answered truthfully. Philip did not answer to this, instead he looked back at the sky. “She reminds me of my daughter, in some way...”, he revealed and Richard gave him a surprised look. “You have a daughter?”, he asked, immediately noticing the sad look on his friends face. “Had”, Philip answered. “Her name was Lilith. I also had a wife, Lara, back when I still lived in the North”
“I... what happened to them?”, Richard asked. It was kinda strange, now that he thought about it. For years, Philip Loren was one of his closest friends. But he never talked about his past before. “They were killed...”, Philip revealed. “Murdered... Don't you understand, Richard? The reason why I want to bring these assassins down is because I have experienced such a thing before. The people who killed my family had been ordinary bandits, they... they did it while I was out hunting. I don't know what they did to my wife and my daughter and I don't want to think about it, but they killed them and burned their corpses together with our house” A determined gaze appeared on Philip's face. “I returned from my hunting trip to find only a smouldering ruin and two charred corpses. So I tracked them down, the people who did this. It was all I had left. I found their hideout, an abandoned building. Sneaked through the window at night. I slit their leaders throat, slowly, before locking the doors and setting the building on fire. I... I made sure none of them had a chance to escape”
He paused again, looking down on the ground. “I told myself that I did it to stop them from hurting someone else the way they hurt me, the way they hurt my family. But I also did it for revenge. When they burned alive in that building, it felt... justified”, he mumbled, before looking at Richard, the hint of tears visible in his eyes. “I know how I must sound to you now, but can you imagine loosing everything? I... it had to be done. These men had to die, they had to pay for what they did”
“Philip... I don't know what to say...”, Richard mumbled, putting a hand on his friends shoulder. “I am sorry for your loss. I understand you. If someone would kill Jenna... I honestly don't know what I would do. I think I would kill whoever did it. But afterwards... how have you managed to carry on?”
Philip shrugged, shaking Richard's hand off in the process. “I have no idea. There are days where I miss them more than you can imagine. My daughter's laughter, my wife's sweet voice...”, he mumbled, pausing for a moment. “For a while, I thought about giving up, you know. Back in these days, after I killed the men who took my family, I couldn't imagine any kind of future for me. But I carried on. For Lilith. For Lana. I build a new life, as far away from the North as possible. Not with a new family, but with friends. With you, Urid, Lyria and Rosie...” He paused as his voice slightly cracked. “And now it happens again”
Richard let out a sigh as he finally understood Philip's behaviour over the past days. “I am sorry for what happened today, what I did”, he muttered a weak apology. “I lead you into this warehouse, into this ambush. We're no fighters and yet I treated us as such. If you hate me now, I can...”
“Hating you?”, Philip cut him off with a low, aggressive voice. “Hating you? Richard, perhaps you are partially to blame for what happened today. But what kind of person would blame you for it? For what these... these monsters did? Never could I hate you. You are my best friend!” After almost yelling these last words, he lowered his voice again. “After today, you are perhaps the only friend I have left”
His voice sounded just like Richard felt at the moment. Desperate. “I...”, he stuttered, before he cut himself off, burying his face in his hands. He started to weep and he felt weak, terribly weak. In moments like this, he missed his wife the most. Erna had always been his rock in situations like this. “If you don't hate me, then you are a better man than me. I lead my friends into this ambush. I almost killed Urid and... Philip, I am sorry for the sadness I caused”
“Sadness?”, Philip growled. “I am not sad, Richard. Back when my family got killed, I was broken. Do you remember the pain when you lost Erna? Now imagine loosing Jenna too on the same day, not even knowing if she had a quick death or if she... This is sadness. But I survived it. I carried on. Now, in my new life, I don't feel this kind of sadness anymore. What I feel is anger”
He looked at Richard and the glare in his eyes made him shiver. “I am angry, not at you, but at the beast that attacked Jenna. At that monster that put an arrow through your leg. At this woman that almost killed Urid today. I am angry at the men who hurt the people I care for”, he said with a vicious tone in his voice. “And I won't allow them to do it ever again. I feel no sadness, only burning anger. After today, with Lyria, Rosie, Urid, they made it personal”
Finally, the anger faded from his eyes, although a glimmer of it remained, lingering deep inside them. “I want to stop these people, more than ever. I have no intentions of giving up. I want to stop them from hurting anyone else, ever again”, he explained, before he let out a sigh. “And I want revenge. But... Richard, I don't think I can do this alone”
“You want to continue?”, Richard asked, not sure if he should support his friend, or talk him out of it. Philip gave him a determined nod. “More than ever”, he growled. “They are used to be the hunters, but I intend to make them the prey for once. They are wolves, but what they don't understand is, we're no lambs anymore. We're lions”
Richard gave him a nod, feeling the hint of his former determination to return. “But how do you want to do it? We tried to stop them tonight and we failed”, he interjected. Philip sighed and looked up to the sky again. “Today, we made a mistake, but they made one as well. They made it personal”, he explained. “I don't know how we can stop them, but I know that I have no intentions to give up now. We have to continue and we have to make it better this time. You and me both know, the city guard won't get them. I can't just stop and hide, just lock myself in my room and try to survive. People are dying on the streets, our friends are dying! I can't do nothing, so please don't ask of me to leave them be, not while they are still a danger to the people I care for”
The look in his eyes mirrored how Richard felt himself. He still had this image in his head, of Jenna, after he saved her life. She was so frail, so thin, so pale, his only daughter. And Rosalie, back in Mathea's house, more dead than alive. And Urid... Richard couldn't deny it, he wanted revenge. The thought of giving up, of letting these assassins do whatever they wanted to, it was horrible. But he also had to think about what Philip said earlier, the other horrible thought. If he would continue to try his best to stop these assassins, there was a high chance that he would die, that Philip would die and that Jenna would be all alone in this world. But would it be safer to stay out of this entirely? To leave this town to the wolves? And finally, he wasn't even sure if he would manage to succeed in talking Philip out of his plans...
[Support Philip] [Try to talk him out of it]
[Support Philip]
I'm a little stuck trying to choose if they continue they risk becoming monsters themselves on a mad quest for vengance but I don't want to just let the assassins go.
[Try to talk him out of it] Their better than this... (I'm almost certain everyone will pick Support Phillip though so I doubt my choice will win)
Does Richard have children other than Jenna?
I hope they don't but you are right most people ALWAYS pick the revenge/kill option. Which has nearly never lead to anything good.
I try to stay out of votes because i feel i will always get the minority by picking the mercyfull/peacefull anti vengence hungry way choice but i am going to give it a chance for AgentZ46's sake.
[Try to talk him out of it]
PLEASE PEOPLE at least consider this.
Oh stop, you're making me blush
You don't have to blush , i'm just happy we agree on this. Were going to lose...by a LOT. But at least we voted for what we belived in. Pity nobody else does.
I can't blame anyone for picking the opposite choice, it's a fair system.
[Try to talk him out of it]
Wow i thought no one else would vote for that. Thanks
No of course, your right. Still i hope people consider this.
(Try to talk him out of it)
Na fuck it [Support Phillip]
[Support Philip] Death to the assassins and death to the Harkings!
[Try to talk him out of it] I like the spirit of Philip and if they happened to be real warriors instead of peasants who have hardly any experience on combat I would totally support him. However, as it is I think they just simply don't stand a chance against these assassins. "Sometimes you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. And right now, it's folding time."
[Support Philip] More chance of death of Clayton and Wolfius=better
Although I'm aware this choice is also against Kersea, and I'm scared this choice can be against Terroma and Raenna in the long term. I assume we will get a chance to change this things so we can turn just to Clayton and Wolfius maybe even with Help of people mentioned above, so I really hope this will happen and I won't just turn some of my favourite characters against some of my favourite characters. This choice is really hard and risky but I think i will follow my usual hunger for killing villains.
Yes, Richard has three sons, one of them older than Jenna, two of them a bit younger. However, they have joined the army of the Reach and currently fight in the Dornish Marches to keep the kingdoms southern border safe. He hasn't heard any news from the Marches in a while and is deeply worried for his sons.
But a lot of good people could die in this attempt. Are you sure you want to risk that?
or death to philip and everyone he cares for or loves. Please think about this.
[Try to talk him out of it]
Yay thank you
[Try to talk him out of it]
They are no warriors, they said it themselves. Now half of their friends are wounded and bleeding to death which showed that continuing the revenge patch will finally lead to someone's death. I think it's best to stay out of it, more or less, for now at least and leave fighting with the assassins for skilled warriors.
And - yay - Mathea seems to be quite commanding one, i like how you presented her.
Yeah i fully agree. This choice will only lead to good peoples deaths.
Liquid how long does this vote have to close? Sry if i'm rushing you it's just than for the first time in months my option seems to be winning.
[Support Philip]
Although this will be putting my character (and the Harkings) at risk, I'd honestly rather have Philip die trying to kill the assassins than to back down. Besides, there's a good chance that Richard won't be able to talk Philip out of it.
But he could get a lot of other innocent people killed. The risk is not worth it.
Yeah, but again, if Richard can't talk Philip out of it and he tried to take them out on his own, he would surely die without a chance of survival. I feel like this choice will determine whether Richard keeps at it or not, because I doubt Philip would back down that easily, as he revealed, he's very angry.
Anyway, it appears the majority of voters want Richard to try to talk him out of it, so you probably have nothing to worry about.
I usually close the voting when I can be pretty sure that I'm going to finish the next part the same day. I have started to write the new part today, but I am not sure if I will finish it tomorrow. I also want to give everyone a chance to vote, so usually I keep the voting open for 2-3 days. Depending on how much progress I make with writing, I might close it tomorrow, but the day after is a bit more likely.
[Try to talk him out of it] Lord wants this. Richard will blame himself for Urid´s death anyways. . ;D
Awesome chapter! pls survive Urid.
Probably. But one time i made an insane attempt to save a character i liked. I had the majority. The next day i woke up happy. And then found out almost everyone betrayed me and changed. Oh and the vote had just closed..................Since then im always paranoid with these.
[Support Phillip]
Im preatty sure people will vote against me by then. Shame but it was expected. I just hope theres horrible concequences to their choices. I may hate character deaths but i do love it when an evil character gives ironic Karma.
Great part as usual, glad to see more backstories getting revealed. However, I do not think Philip is capable of dealing with the likes of Clayton or Alysanne, he may have killed some bandits, but highly trained assassins are a completely different story. So I'll go with [Try to talk him out of it]
Why bro?
THANK YOU
[Try to talk him out of it] oh hell no
I'm pretty sure Phillip is a Harking. And those two can distract the assassins for maybe an hour or so, so perhaps they may save some lives with sacrificng their own. And if they don't, oh well.
We've already sacrificed so much already, so we must keep on going so we can get some results. If not all of their pain would've been pointless. I'm bummed out it failed too as my character Hackor was there, but I know what he would do and he wouldn't let all of his men die pointlessly.
[Support Phillip]