And nice to meet you, my Lord Anyway, looking forward to the discussions in the future as the story goes on - this fanfiction if any deserves passionate debates around it
Nice to meet you WildlingKing (Mance?). Yeah i like explaining my reasoning for choices. I also like debating with others. Its fun to hear others perspectives. Hope we can share them in the future .
And nice to meet you, my Lord Anyway, looking forward to the discussions in the future as the story goes on - this fanfiction if any deserves passionate debates around it
It's always great to have another reader for this great story, but maybe don't go on with "I know my choice isn't going to win" It kinda makes us feel pity for your vote as said above. However, I enjoyed our little debate and it was cool to hear your opinions and all. Sorry that I am repeating Xemnes.
I can honestly say i didn't expect this. I kept thinking i was going to lose to the majority eventually. I knew this choice is going to have… more some negative results but my main reason for it was to save people's lives so at least i achieve that. Hopefully this also has good results.
On a side note i'm glad to finally join this community fully and i hope i get to know everyone in it better.
No problem, Xemnes had a valid point. I did not in anyway intend for that. Ill try my best not to change votes except with legitament arguments. So don't worry if a vote i am backing is losing won't go to get all bummed out again (unless a character of mine dies).
It's always great to have another reader for this great story, but maybe don't go on with "I know my choice isn't going to win" It kinda mak… morees us feel pity for your vote as said above. However, I enjoyed our little debate and it was cool to hear your opinions and all. Sorry that I am repeating Xemnes.
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the streets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “And it was a bad idea to take you with us” Leonard gave him a glare, but Samantha answered before he could say anything. “Alright, you made your point clear”, she said, trying to calm the situation down. She knew, Davith had good intentions. He was worried for Leonard's health and for the mission in general. But this was Leonard's decision and Samantha could understand how important this was for him.
“Are your handcuffs too tight?”, she asked with concern and Leonard shook his head, slightly moving his chained hands. Jaylon had insisted on making this as realistic as possible. It was risky at best, but their only hope. With more time, they could have made a better plan, she was sure of it, but after their encounter with the Tom, Samantha knew that every passing second would bring Lucas closer to death.
“Once we're inside, you leave the talking to me, you hear me?”, Jaylon explained again. “Loud and clear”, Davith answered. “But I warn you, if you try to betray us...” “Then you can do nothing against it”, Jaylon completed his sentence. “In there, if you do anything stupid, you are dead and I won't be able to help you. You just have to trust me”
“Yeah... no problem”, Sasha said sarcastically, before she glanced at Samantha. “Last chance to return”, she mumbled. Samantha shook her head, a smirk on her face. “Come on, don't be so negative. Where's your sense of adventure?”, she chuckled in the attempt to lighten the mood a bit. “Never had it”, Sasha answered.
“So it's just like your sense of humour”, Davith grinned and Sasha frowned at his words. “Actually, I have a good very sense of humour”, she claimed. Davith raised an eyebrow and playfully shook his head. “Yeah? Then prove it”, he ordered her. “Tell me a joke. A good one”
Sasha let out a sigh, apparently thinking about something. “Oh, here's a good one”, she said flatly and without smiling “Five people try to infiltrate the Hightower without a plan. They all die. The end” Davith rolled with his eyes, while Jaylon had a surprising smirk on his face. “What's the matter, Jaylon? Are you amused?”, Samantha asked and he shook his head. “She said 'Five people'”, he whispered.
While Jaylon, Davith and Leonard walked in the front, Samantha slowed down a bit to walk next to Sasha. “Are you alright?”, she asked and Sasha gave her a short nod. “I'm fine, it's just... I don't think this is a good idea”
“It's the only one we have”, Samantha answered. “I mean, I'd like to have more time to plan, but the longer we wait, the less likely it is that we manage to get Lucas out of here” Sasha closed her eyes before she continued. “Samantha, we should take into consideration that Lucas is dead already. The Tom knew where to find Dairon, so Lucas most likely gave his location away”, she explained. “The thing is, why should Mullendore keep him alive now?”
Samantha knew, Sasha had a point. It was a cynical, pessimistic point, but nonetheless a good one. But she couldn't turn around now. “What if he isn't dead?”, she asked. “Leonard is safe, right now. Lucas might be dead already for all we know. You risk Leonard's life and even more importantly, you risk your own life”, Sasha urged her. Samantha gave her a soft smile. “Perhaps it's worth risking. I came to this city to save four people. I want to succeed with two of them at least”
“You came to save one girl”, Sasha answered. “And she's dead. Everything that came after her, Lucas, Leonard, Dairon, that's just because you feel guilty for Lunett” She noticed the expression on Samantha's face and pressed her lips together. “I'm sorry”, she mumbled. “I'm just... worried, you know”
“So am I”, Samantha agreed, before she let out a long sigh. “Sasha, you don't have to do this. You can leave, if you want and I will still pay you, with everything I have with me. You did enough to earn it” Sasha slowly shook her head, the hint of a smirk on her face. “I'm not leaving now. After what I did for you, you are very deep in my debt. There's no way that the measly amount of money you carry with you will suffice.”, she stated and looked up towards the Hightower and narrowed her eyes. “Just... promise me you won't die in there”
“I won't”, Samantha promised. “But only if you won't die either” Sasha's smirk got a bit wider for a second and she raised her eyebrows. “Then it looks like I have to try my best to survive”, she answered.
“Hey, you two!”, Davith caught their attention. “Stop the chitchat. We're there” Indeed, during the past minute, they walked across the huge square that surrounded the Hightower. Now, during the evening, a lot of people were present, most of them heading towards the Starry Sept at the other end of the square. No one was looking at a city guard captain and his companions, escorting a chained prisoner towards the tower. No one except other guards. As soon as they had reached the broad stairs that lead up to the tower's open front gate, Samantha noticed that the guards in front of the tower were looking at them.
“Jaylon?”, she asked. He glanced at her, an inscrutable smirk on his face. “Everything alright”, he mumbled. “It's all going to be fine” Just as he said this, half a dozen armed men walked out of the tower's front gate, on their tabards the sigil of House Hightower. Samantha gulped as she saw their facial expressions.
“Ryder!”, Jaylon greeted their leader a tall man with an unremarkable face, pale skin and dark hair. He had his dark blue eyes narrowed as he immediately drew his sword. He did not point it at Jaylon, but the gesture was unmistakable. “It's Captain Harrington for you, Jaylon”, he growled and Jaylon's smirk faded. “Well, then it's Captain Gordus for you”, he answered. “Let us pass, I bring an important prisoner”
Captain Harrington slowly shook his head. “I don't think so. There are heavy accusations against you, Jaylon. Commander Mullendore awaits some answers from you”, he snarled and slightly moved his head. Out of the front door stepped another guardsman, with a full beard, dark brown hair and green eyes. Samantha recognized him from the Blind Helmsman Inn.
“Farris, would you take Jaylon into custody”, Harrington ordered and the man gave him a casual nod. “Of course, Ser”, he answered, as his gaze fell upon the rest of the group. “Sasha”, he greeted her shortly and with surprise in his voice. “And Samantha Ducard. I have not expected to see you in Jaylon's company. Do you have any explanations for the accusations against him?”
“There is no good explanation she could give you, Farris”, Jaylon answered before Samantha could even think of a good lie. “Now, could you get us the commander? I have something to explain to him. Whatever crime I am accused of, I can assure you, I am innocent and I can prove my innocence” He looked at Captain Harrington. “Don't I deserve to prove my innocence?”
Harrington glared at him for a short time, before he gave Farris a nod. “He's right... Get the commander. He might be interested”, he ordered and Farris saluted, before he went back into the tower. “The rest, disarm them and bring them inside while we wait for the Commander. Don't be too harsh on them, they might be innocent pawns in Jaylon's scheme”
Samantha did not resist. She knew, they would kill her if she would resist. Besides, there was always the chance that this was part of Jaylon's plan to get them inside. “Jaylon...”, she mumbled to gain his attention, as she noticed that the man had a surprising smirk on his face. “Everything works according to plan, Samantha”, he answered. “At the end of the day, all will be as it should be”
Finally, Harrington was convinced that the guards sufficiently disarmed Samantha and her group. The captain gave them a handwave and Samantha felt a guard heavily grabbing her shoulders, leading her inside, into the gargantuan entrance hall of the Hightower. And there he stood, in the middle of the hall, smiling like a demon. His primarily white wardrobe contrasted nicely with the black marble walls of the hall, although a dark shade of red was visible on his white tabard, two of the butterflies were completely covered with it. With growing joy, he only looked at Leonard, who went pale the moment he saw him. The knight trembled in helpless anger and from the way he moved his hands, Samantha saw that he desperately tried to free himself from his handcuffs. “Hello, boy”, Maron Mullendore greeted him. “Glad you found your way back to us”
Instead of looking him in the eyes, Leonard focussed his gaze on the red stains on Mullendore's tabard. “You... you... what have you done to Lucas?”, he stuttered, clearly afraid and enraged at the same time. Mullendore narrowed his eyes, as he slowly shook his head. “Not his blood. No matter how monstrous his crime was, Ser Lucas is a knight and I treat him like I am honourbound to do. He sits in the cells, awaiting Lord Hightower's judgement. He's alive and unharmed”, he explained and Samantha knew he was lying. “Now... considering what you did to that poor girl, you can thank the gods that I am not a vengeful man”
“To... to that girl?”, Leonard asked in nearly speechless shock, as he finally realized what Mullendore was hinting at. “You are framing us for what you did to Lunett?” Mullendore shook his head. “I'm framing you for nothing. I have seen many disgusting things in my live, but the way you tortured that girl... what kind of sick bastard are you?”, he growled. “I can promise you one thing... You'll pay for what you did, in time”
“You're dead!”, Leonard finally exploded. “You're fucking dead! I'm getting out of here and then I'm going to kill you!” Mullendore glanced at his guards, who slightly chuckled at Leonard's words. “You heard everything, huh? He just threatened me, once again. Leonard, you're not making things any easier for you” He looked down and before Leonard could react, Mullendore pressed one of his hands onto the wound on his upper leg. The knight let out an agonizing scream as he went on his knees. Calmly, Mullendore looked up and at the blood on his fingers. “You are wounded”, he remarked. “We will treat you in the dungeons. We don't want our prisoners to bleed to death, right?”
Finally, he looked at Jaylon. “And Jaylon... you brought me a valuable prisoner. And you have some new friends I see”, he greeted him, while Samantha tried her best not to glare at him. This was Butterfly... this was the beast that was responsible for what happened to her family, to Lunett, to Dairon... She had experience with hiding her feelings, but Davith on the other hand utterly failed at remaining calm. Heavily breathing, he glared at Mullendore, his eyes full of hatred. Of course, Mullendore immediately noticed it and his smirk got wider.
“This one is Davith Lanser”, Jaylon explained and the guardsmen gasped in surprise. Especially Farris gave Davith a hateful glare. “A guard killer”, the man growled. “Jaylon brought us a fucking guard killer!” He took a step forwards, his fists clenched, but the Commander stopped him by raising his hand.
“Lanser...”, Mullendore mumbled and looked Davith straight in the eye. “I know you, boy, and I knew your father. He was a fine man. You on the other hand... you're a disgrace” Davith said nothing, too angry to even scream at the commander. Two guards were necessary to hold him back, one of them slowly pulled out handcuffs, just as Mullendore looked at Samantha and Sasha. The moment his green eyes met Samantha's, she shivered, forcing herself to look on the ground.
“And these are Samantha and Sasha. Two crazy bitches, I can tell you that much, Commander”, Jaylon explained. “They are here to help Leonard and Lucas with their crimes. Ambushed me. Killed several of my men and kidnapped me. They wanted to force me to help them inside the tower, to break Lucas out of here” A devious glare appeared on his face, as he looked at Samantha in triumph. She noticed that she had started to shiver, as she finally realized what kind of game he was playing. He was using her. She had trusted him and now he was using her to get back in Mullendore's good graces. “They are responsible for Dairon's death as well”, he explained with a wide, obnoxious grin.
“That's a fucking lie!”, Samantha finally yelled. “You... you bastard!” Jaylon narrowed his eyes, as he attempted to walk closer. Only the guardsman that was still holding Samantha's shoulders prevented her from jumping at him, but her attempt alone was enough to cause him to stop. “I am not a bastard”, he hissed coldly. “And you... have you thought I would help you freeing a dangerous criminal? That I would betray my city and my commander for you? After you treated me like shit?”
Realizing that the strong guard prevented her from getting any closer at Jaylon, Samantha spat him in the face, causing Jaylon to take a step back in disgust, as he attempted to wipe the saliva out of his face. He looked at Mullendore, who raised his eyebrows. “So, you're telling me you never betrayed me?”, the Commander asked.
Jaylon quickly nodded. “Indeed I do, Commander. I was almost forced to betray you, but thankfully, I managed to trick them into trusting me”, he said with a mocking grin. “They were so gullible, so desperate. The plan was to use my status as a captain of the guard to bring them inside. I was supposed to claim that we managed to capture Leonard Constantine” He glanced at the knight and his grin got wider. “And in the end, I indeed managed to capture him and all of his friends on top”
“Please, Commander Mullendore, take them as my apology. Allow me to serve you once more”, Jaylon urged him. Mullendore looked at him for a moment, then at Leonard and Davith, finally at Samantha and Sasha. “I accept your apology. It seems the rumours about your defection have been born out of a misunderstanding”, he said and patted his loyal dog on the bag. “Captain Jaylon, welcome back in the city guard. I am sorry for any inconvenience these people caused for you” He looked at Harrington. “Captain Ryder, if you could do me the pleasure of escorting these prisoners to the dungeons. I will take care of them later. For now, I have something to discuss with Captain Jaylon”
“Commander, wait”, Jaylon intervened. “One request... these people... look at them” He and Mullendore glanced at Leonard's silent anger, Davith's heavy breathing, the hateful, stoic look in Sasha's eyes and finally the speechless despair on Samantha's face. “These people wounded me. They killed my men. Humiliated me. They wanted to force me to betray you”, Jaylon explained gleefully. “They mean nothing to Captain Harrington. I on the other hand have a score to settle. Allow me to escort them to the dungeons. I want to look them in the face as long as possible”
Mullendore closed his eyes for a moment, a smirk appearing on his face, before he answered. “Wish granted”, he said and opened his eyes again, glancing at Leonard. “Come, meet me in my office once you're done escorting them to the dungeons” He gave the guards a nod and Samantha felt heavy handcuffs around her wrists. “I want them in the deep dungeons. I think I have to interrogate them later. And someone has to notify the Sphynx, there will be a lot of work to do”
The way he smirked as he said this made Samantha shiver and she finally understood why Leonard was afraid of this man. It wasn't a cruel smirk, not evil in any way. The look in his eyes was honest, trustworthy. He did not look like a monster to her and that made him dangerous. The guards around them, they trusted him. Perhaps some of them were in on his secret, but even the ones that weren't seemed to be willing to trust him with their lives. One of these guards grabbed her at the shoulder and pushed her forwards, forcing her to accompany Jaylon and four other guards, through the entrance hall and finally, down a large set of stairs, leaving Maron Mullendore behind.
“You will burn for this, Jaylon”, Samantha hissed and he only gave her a cold glare. “What have you expected, Sammy?”, he asked. “It's Samantha”, she answered and Jaylon shrugged. “I don't fucking care”, he chuckled. “Do you think I had any intentions of helping you, after the way you and your friends treated me?”
“We treated you as you deserved it, dog!”, she spat in return, causing one of the guards, the one that lead Davith, to laugh. “I bet you did”, he answered, as they stopped in front of a heavy iron gate. One of the guards pulled out a key and started to open it, while the guard that lead Davith continued. “It's refreshing to see that even people like you see Jaylon for what he truly is” They passed through a second secured gate and Jaylon glared at the man. “And what am I?”, he asked, as they passed through a third secured gate, walking past a number of heavy, wooden cell doors. Finally, they had reached the dungeons.
The dungeons of the Hightower were nightmarish and claustrophobic, with low ceilings and narrow walls. Aside from the occasional torch, they were pitch black. And it soon got worse. There was wailing, pained wailing behind the doors, people whispering in the darkness, muffled prayers to the Stranger, fingernails scratching at the walls. The guards were completely unfazed by this.
“A dog, as your pretty friend here just said”, the guardsman grinned and gave Samantha an irritating wink. “A dog...”, Jaylon mumbled. “You know, you shouldn't treat me like that. After today, I'm going to be the commander's favourite” The guard shook his head. “The Commander is not here, dog”, he hissed and the other guards started to chuckle. “You may think you're such a cunning guy, but you're just a coward. The commander may forgive you, but that won't change how we see you, coward” “I'm not a coward!”, Jaylon insisted. “I tricked them into trusting me. You idiots would have been dead in my case, but I survived, I won their trust and I managed to capture them all”
They turned around another corner. By now, Samantha was completely lost in these dungeons. She tried her best not to panic. Perhaps if she would fight back... her hands were tied, but she could still punch someone with it. With Jaylon, there were only five guards around. Perhaps this would be her last chance to free herself and to free Lucas. Or perhaps they would kill her. At least, that way they would spare her whatever Mullendore would do to her, they would deny him the satisfaction of hearing her screams. A short glance at Sasha proved to her that she was thinking the same. On the other hand, Leonard was in obvious pain and she doubted he could defeat a guard on his own. She even doubted that she could do it, not unarmed and with her hands chained. But everything would be better than the torture Mullendore undoubtedly prepared for her, right? Perhaps even death would be better...
[Try to fight your way out] Fucking Jaylon that cunt I was really hoping he was going to free Samantha and co. on there way to the cells, he just proved to everyone that he is a true coward and has lost his final chance at redeeming himself I hope he burns in hell and endures a far worse pain than what was done to Lucas.
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
So I have a question. Raenna in her last part Terroma said they were going to the Hightower so if we fail to free Samantha and co here will Raenna and Terroma cross paths with Samantha. If they do I don't think Raenna will save them as she has no reason to.
Indeed, if you would have fought Jaylon when I gave you the chance, he would have died and this whole situation wouldn't have happened. Instead, Samantha and co. would have created an alternative plan that would have had a chance at succeeding. I'm going into greater detail once I write down the alternative choices, but the presence of Jaylon heavily altered Samantha's storyline in this chapter.
I don't know... intuition is telling me that he is still somehow helping them, for example when he told he want to take them downstairs instead of the Ryder, perhaps this was his plan all along... this could be the "way out", even if very mean and shitty by him, licking Mullendore ass this way in front of the rest, throwing accusations... after all they are being taken to the dungeon where Lucas is... and Mullendore believed him... or read him that he is doing it on purpose and will frame him later on anyway... oh my, i don't know, but this is my good ending theory for the group.
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
You are right, Raenna and Terroma will infiltrate the Hightower in the next chapter and objectively, Raenna has no reason to free Samantha and co., should she come across them. However, she is not a cruel person and just leaving someone in a torture dungeon is not her style. If she comes across them, there might be a choice to free them, although I can't confirm it of course. Although, Raenna not saving them is definitely not the groups biggest problem at the moment. First, they all need to survive this chapter, which is definitely not guaranteed at the moment and even if they survive, they would spend an entire week in the loving care of the Sphynx. Keep in mind how badly he tortured Lucas in a single day.
So I have a question. Raenna in her last part Terroma said they were going to the Hightower so if we fail to free Samantha and co here will … moreRaenna and Terroma cross paths with Samantha. If they do I don't think Raenna will save them as she has no reason to.
You are right, Raenna and Terroma will infiltrate the Hightower in the next chapter and objectively, Raenna has no reason to free Samantha a… morend co., should she come across them. However, she is not a cruel person and just leaving someone in a torture dungeon is not her style. If she comes across them, there might be a choice to free them, although I can't confirm it of course. Although, Raenna not saving them is definitely not the groups biggest problem at the moment. First, they all need to survive this chapter, which is definitely not guaranteed at the moment and even if they survive, they would spend an entire week in the loving care of the Sphynx. Keep in mind how badly he tortured Lucas in a single day.
[Stay submissive] I could be completely wrong but maybe... Jaylon will free us and his plan was to get back in Mullendores good graces then get us closer to Lucas with as few guards around them as possible, plus I feel like he'll lose his temper with the guards calling him names and attack them, I find it hard to believe he has any loyalty to these people. Again, this is a gamble and I could be totally wrong but even if I am I don't see us winning a fight right at this moment, hopefully one of the gang can lockpick for when they get locked up.
Things are not looking good... Jaylon makes a very good point though, they treated him like shit and he was cooperative from the moment they captured him (was there a choice to do otherwise?). Despite what's happening right now I still kinda like Jaylon, Liquid's got me liking all the murderers
Can someone remind me the name of the guy Ellena made piece with last we saw her?
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
And you make a valid point but from what we have seen Jaylon is very craven and even if he may want to follow through with the plan he seems to afraid to do it.
[Stay submissive] I could be completely wrong but maybe... Jaylon will free us and his plan was to get back in Mullendores good graces then … moreget us closer to Lucas with as few guards around them as possible, plus I feel like he'll lose his temper with the guards calling him names and attack them, I find it hard to believe he has any loyalty to these people. Again, this is a gamble and I could be totally wrong but even if I am I don't see us winning a fight right at this moment, hopefully one of the gang can lockpick for when they get locked up.
Things are not looking good... Jaylon makes a very good point though, they treated him like shit and he was cooperative from the moment they captured him (was there a choice to do otherwise?). Despite what's happening right now I still kinda like Jaylon, Liquid's got me liking all the murderers
Can someone remind me the name of the guy Ellena made piece with last we saw her?
I honestly think this is the best option we have. I'm preatty sure that we have a better chance of surviving if we surrender. Fighting usually gives an excuse to kill.
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
I'm currently imagining @InGen_Nate_Kenny's reaction to Leonard getting a spear thrown through his mouth out of no where.
Jokes aside I will lose my freaking mind if Leonard dies.
I'm wondering, if we left Leonard behind and Sam and co got captured what would he do? He'd have no way of finding out and he'd be alone with no friends and allies.
No, sadly there was no choice to treat him better. The reason behind that was that Samantha and Davith had a very personal grudge against Jaylon because of what Mullendore did to their families, while Sasha deeply despises Jaylon for her own reasons. While he was cooperative, he also used many opportunities to be plain rude to them, so in many cases, they only treated him like he treated them.
Liquid's got me liking all the murderers
Haha, that's, well... not fully intentional, but still good to know. At least some of the initially villainous characters, like Samuel, Jaylon or Alysanne are supposed to be very complex characters, not fully evil and with some redeeming features and I am glad that not everyone totally despises them
Can someone remind me the name of the guy Ellena made piece with last we saw her?
This was Samuel Harrington, whom many characters regard as Butterfly's most dangerous fighter. He is the younger brother of Ryder Harrington, the city guard captain that appeared in this part and in Lucas Chapter 4 storyline. According to the backstory Samuel told Ellena in her last part, Ryder is responsible for the death of his younger siblings and he himself is only working for Butterfly to get closer to Ryder and to get a chance to confront him. In his role as the commander, Mullendore employs Ryder and promises him to do everything to capture Samuel, while in his role as Butterfly, he employs Samuel and promises him to do everything to capture Ryder, while neither Harrington brother knows that they are both working for the same man.
[Stay submissive] I could be completely wrong but maybe... Jaylon will free us and his plan was to get back in Mullendores good graces then … moreget us closer to Lucas with as few guards around them as possible, plus I feel like he'll lose his temper with the guards calling him names and attack them, I find it hard to believe he has any loyalty to these people. Again, this is a gamble and I could be totally wrong but even if I am I don't see us winning a fight right at this moment, hopefully one of the gang can lockpick for when they get locked up.
Things are not looking good... Jaylon makes a very good point though, they treated him like shit and he was cooperative from the moment they captured him (was there a choice to do otherwise?). Despite what's happening right now I still kinda like Jaylon, Liquid's got me liking all the murderers
Can someone remind me the name of the guy Ellena made piece with last we saw her?
I'm wondering, if we left Leonard behind and Sam and co got captured what would he do? He'd have no way of finding out and he'd be alone with no friends and allies.
If you would have left Leonard behind, he wouldn't have appeared for the rest of this chapter and would have been completely safe, at least for a short amount of time. He also would have had some time to heal his wounded leg. Although, you bring up a good point, things would have been bad for him as well as Samantha is basically his only ally in this city, aside from possibly the Archmaesters Wulvren and Quent. And it would have taken a lot for him to even consider talking to Quent. There is no way he would ever leave Lucas behind, so he probably would have tried his best to find a way to free him on his own, no matter how dangerous such a plan could have been for him.
I'm currently imagining @InGen_Nate_Kenny's reaction to Leonard getting a spear thrown through his mouth out of no where.
Jokes aside I … morewill lose my freaking mind if Leonard dies.
I'm wondering, if we left Leonard behind and Sam and co got captured what would he do? He'd have no way of finding out and he'd be alone with no friends and allies.
I'm currently imagining @InGen_Nate_Kenny's reaction to Leonard getting a spear thrown through his mouth out of no where.
Jokes aside I … morewill lose my freaking mind if Leonard dies.
I'm wondering, if we left Leonard behind and Sam and co got captured what would he do? He'd have no way of finding out and he'd be alone with no friends and allies.
[Stay submissive] I fucking hate you Jaylon. I voted to kill you. Goddamnit Leonard could be fine. I'm not letting Leonard die. Not in a manner like this. God I hate Jaylon.
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
Two of my characters in one part? This is certainly interesting. All things aside, I do hope Jaylon sold out Samantha and co. just to get Mullendore's trust. If he doesn't free us, well I swear to god I'm going out of my way to vote Jaylon dead for every part I see him. So, I'm going with [Stay submissive] maybe he really is trying to help.
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
My face while reading Sammy and co. walk straight to Mullendore and Jaylon be like "Yeah, these idiots trusted me, they are yours now boss." Also taking Leonard feels so stupid now, and I was one of those who voted for it XD
Oh well, I'll take a risk and trust that this was all Jaylon's plan to trick Mullendore and help them save Lucas.
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
[Try to fight your way out] I was going to stay submissive, but once Liquid said that they would have to stay in a prison cell for a week made me think that Jaylon actually did screw us over. Fucking Jaylon is going to get us all killed, and Leonard can't die via torture. Let him fight to save his life and try to save Lucas', or what's left of him, life.
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
[Try to fight your way out] I was going to stay submissive, but once Liquid said that they would have to stay in a prison cell for a week ma… morede me think that Jaylon actually did screw us over. Fucking Jaylon is going to get us all killed, and Leonard can't die via torture. Let him fight to save his life and try to save Lucas', or what's left of him, life.
My face while reading Sammy and co. walk straight to Mullendore and Jaylon be like "Yeah, these idiots trusted me, they are yours now boss."… more Also taking Leonard feels so stupid now, and I was one of those who voted for it XD
Oh well, I'll take a risk and trust that this was all Jaylon's plan to trick Mullendore and help them save Lucas.
[Stay submissive]
[Stay submissive] I guess maybe this could work but I highly doubt it I don't know why Jaylon would turn back now as he has already cleared everything with Mullendore.
Samantha hasn't been the smartest person in her last few parts she has made a lot of mistakes and I think this plan was probably the worst of them she should've thought it through, And what did she expect was going to happen?
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
(was there a choice to do otherwise?)
No, sadly there was no choice to treat him better. The reason behind that was that Samantha an… mored Davith had a very personal grudge against Jaylon because of what Mullendore did to their families, while Sasha deeply despises Jaylon for her own reasons. While he was cooperative, he also used many opportunities to be plain rude to them, so in many cases, they only treated him like he treated them.
Liquid's got me liking all the murderers
Haha, that's, well... not fully intentional, but still good to know. At least some of the initially villainous characters, like Samuel, Jaylon or Alysanne are supposed to be very complex characters, not fully evil and with some redeeming features and I am glad that not everyone totally despises them
Can someone remind me the name of the guy Ellena made piece with last we saw her?
This was Samuel Harrington, whom many characters regard as … [view original content]
Indeed, Samantha's plan hasn't been the best and Sasha even lampshaded it. Samantha knows herself that her plan was a gamble and with a bit of time, she might have been able to develop a better plan. However, she has no time. She's out of options and she knows it. The presence of the Tom in her last part proved to her that Lucas already started talking, so she desperately seeks to free him, as long as there's something left to free.
However, her actions are not quite the result of stupidity. Sasha mentioned guilt, but that doesn't even begin to describe it. Samantha suffers from crippling guilt because she was too late to save Lunett and because of how gruesome her death was, which triggered bad memories from her own dead family. Because of this and because of Dairon's death, she is desperate enough to put her trust in Jaylon, especially as she sees no other option to free Lucas as soon as possible. After hearing about his backstory, after catching a glimpse of his better side and after he really helped out against the Moggy, she also started to genuinely sympathize with Jaylon, so his betrayal shocked her.
[Stay submissive] I guess maybe this could work but I highly doubt it I don't know why Jaylon would turn back now as he has already cleared … moreeverything with Mullendore.
Samantha hasn't been the smartest person in her last few parts she has made a lot of mistakes and I think this plan was probably the worst of them she should've thought it through, And what did she expect was going to happen?
Ryder is... an interesting case, that's all I can say. For someone who murdered his own siblings, he definitely appears to be reasonable and sane. Then again, Mullendore also appears to be honest and trustworthy, so a first impression can be wrong. More about Ryder and what happened with the Harrington family will be revealed in time.
Indeed, Samantha's plan hasn't been the best and Sasha even lampshaded it. Samantha knows herself that her plan was a gamble and with a bit … moreof time, she might have been able to develop a better plan. However, she has no time. She's out of options and she knows it. The presence of the Tom in her last part proved to her that Lucas already started talking, so she desperately seeks to free him, as long as there's something left to free.
However, her actions are not quite the result of stupidity. Sasha mentioned guilt, but that doesn't even begin to describe it. Samantha suffers from crippling guilt because she was too late to save Lunett and because of how gruesome her death was, which triggered bad memories from her own dead family. Because of this and because of Dairon's death, she is desperate enough to put her trust in Jaylon, especially as she sees no other option to free Lucas as soon as possible. After hearing about his backstory, after… [view original content]
[Stay submissive] i wasnt there when we had the chance to kill jaylo i think...but well, lets not making this any worse. Maybe we will still get out of this with sammy
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the str… moreeets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “… [view original content]
If Jaylon would have died, then Samantha would have made an alternative plan, that naturally wouldn't have involved trusting him. This plan would have had a chance at succeeding, but only if Leonard would have accompanied her to the Hightower as well. However, while they would have succeeded in reaching Lucas' cell, things wouldn't have ended smoothly and one member of Samantha's group would have been separated from the rest and ended up in the Status Unknown section. If Leonard wouldn't have accompanied her to the Hightower, then things would have ended like they did in this part, with Sam and co. getting captured and with the choice to either fight back or to stay submissive.
This choice will have consequences. I can tease that there will be death because of it, but that's all I'm going to say about it >:D The next Samantha part is going to be half of the chapter finale and as you know, big stuff happens in a chapter finale. Only a handful of other parts are left in this chapter, each of them enjoyable in their own way.
The next part is hopefully going to be out later today. It is going to be the finale of Jaron's storyline in this chapter. The only thing I am slightly unsure about right now is the choice. You know, I don't like giving you no choices at the end of a part, but it looks like this could be a part without a choice, if I don't find a good and logical way to include one. The last time we saw Jaron, he just had a meeting with the Burned Man about their next steps in the war against Butterfly's men, before he decided to finally talk to Harpy about his feelings. However, he tragically decided to listen to Bakr, who adviced him to let her wait for a while. By the time he finally got to talk to her, she was already fast asleep. Having the choice of either waking her up or letting her sleep, Jaron decided to let her sleep and instead will only bring her a blanket.
If my choice caused Leonard's choice....I...I don't know how I would react. This story is almost a year old (sidebar today is my half-birthday and 1st anniversary on the forums) and losing him would make me lose it.
At the same time, I feel like you wouldn't tease Leonard's death. You didn't exactly tease Lunett's death, which made all the more shocking and that whole episode, so I feel like it's Davith or Sasha. I feel like the other half of the chapter finale will be a Jenna part.
The Voting is closed!
Samantha is going to stay submissive
This choice will have consequences. I can tease that there will be death be… morecause of it, but that's all I'm going to say about it >:D The next Samantha part is going to be half of the chapter finale and as you know, big stuff happens in a chapter finale. Only a handful of other parts are left in this chapter, each of them enjoyable in their own way.
The next part is hopefully going to be out later today. It is going to be the finale of Jaron's storyline in this chapter. The only thing I am slightly unsure about right now is the choice. You know, I don't like giving you no choices at the end of a part, but it looks like this could be a part without a choice, if I don't find a good and logical way to include one. The last time we saw Jaron, he just had a meeting with the Burned Man about their next steps in the war against Butterfly's men, before he decided to finally talk to… [view original content]
(sidebar today is my half-birthday and 1st anniversary on the forums)
Happy half-birthday and happy 1st forum anniversary
At the same time, I feel like you wouldn't tease Leonard's death. You didn't exactly tease Lunett's death, which made all the more shocking and that whole episode, so I feel like it's Davith or Sasha.
I was actually afraid I teased Lunett's death too much, since you called it pretty early in Chapter 4 that she was a strong possibility for the character you doomed when you refused to send Samantha to Oldtown. As for the next Samantha part, no one will be safe and I will try my best not to make the wait for it too long.
I feel like the other half of the chapter finale will be a Jenna part.
Maybe. She's a good possibility. I won't confirm the second PoV until I start writing the chapter finale. However, the events that will happen in this second half are events that have been planned for many months now and I am highly excited that I finally get the chance to write them.
If my choice caused Leonard's choice....I...I don't know how I would react. This story is almost a year old (sidebar today is my half-birthd… moreay and 1st anniversary on the forums) and losing him would make me lose it.
At the same time, I feel like you wouldn't tease Leonard's death. You didn't exactly tease Lunett's death, which made all the more shocking and that whole episode, so I feel like it's Davith or Sasha. I feel like the other half of the chapter finale will be a Jenna part.
Comments
And nice to meet you, my Lord
Anyway, looking forward to the discussions in the future as the story goes on - this fanfiction if any deserves passionate debates around it 
Thanks, im glad so many people share my passion for this amazing story. I'm looking forward to the debates too.
It's always great to have another reader for this great story, but maybe don't go on with "I know my choice isn't going to win" It kinda makes us feel pity for your vote as said above. However, I enjoyed our little debate and it was cool to hear your opinions and all. Sorry that I am repeating Xemnes.
No problem, Xemnes had a valid point. I did not in anyway intend for that. Ill try my best not to change votes except with legitament arguments. So don't worry if a vote i am backing is losing won't go to get all bummed out again (unless a character of mine dies).
Samantha
“Is everything alright?”, Samantha asked, as Leonard let out a pained sigh, while the small group made their way through the streets of Oldtown. For the past hour, they came closer and closer to the Hightower and Samantha was once more baffled at its height. Today, the top of the tower was hidden in dark clouds and it was only a matter of time until there would be rain.
Leonard gave her a short nod, but his facial expression proved him a liar. “I'm fine”, he muttered. He managed to walk surprisingly well, even though she saw the pain on his face every time he put too much weight on his wounded leg. She had to admire his bravery and even though she tried to tell herself that she wasn't worried for him, she couldn't help it. She was worried that Leonard would die during this mission, that Lucas was dead already and that she would fail every task she imposed on herself.
“You're not fine”, Davith remarked, stating the obvious. “And it was a bad idea to take you with us” Leonard gave him a glare, but Samantha answered before he could say anything. “Alright, you made your point clear”, she said, trying to calm the situation down. She knew, Davith had good intentions. He was worried for Leonard's health and for the mission in general. But this was Leonard's decision and Samantha could understand how important this was for him.
“Are your handcuffs too tight?”, she asked with concern and Leonard shook his head, slightly moving his chained hands. Jaylon had insisted on making this as realistic as possible. It was risky at best, but their only hope. With more time, they could have made a better plan, she was sure of it, but after their encounter with the Tom, Samantha knew that every passing second would bring Lucas closer to death.
“Once we're inside, you leave the talking to me, you hear me?”, Jaylon explained again. “Loud and clear”, Davith answered. “But I warn you, if you try to betray us...” “Then you can do nothing against it”, Jaylon completed his sentence. “In there, if you do anything stupid, you are dead and I won't be able to help you. You just have to trust me”
“Yeah... no problem”, Sasha said sarcastically, before she glanced at Samantha. “Last chance to return”, she mumbled. Samantha shook her head, a smirk on her face. “Come on, don't be so negative. Where's your sense of adventure?”, she chuckled in the attempt to lighten the mood a bit. “Never had it”, Sasha answered.
“So it's just like your sense of humour”, Davith grinned and Sasha frowned at his words. “Actually, I have a good very sense of humour”, she claimed. Davith raised an eyebrow and playfully shook his head. “Yeah? Then prove it”, he ordered her. “Tell me a joke. A good one”
Sasha let out a sigh, apparently thinking about something. “Oh, here's a good one”, she said flatly and without smiling “Five people try to infiltrate the Hightower without a plan. They all die. The end” Davith rolled with his eyes, while Jaylon had a surprising smirk on his face. “What's the matter, Jaylon? Are you amused?”, Samantha asked and he shook his head. “She said 'Five people'”, he whispered.
While Jaylon, Davith and Leonard walked in the front, Samantha slowed down a bit to walk next to Sasha. “Are you alright?”, she asked and Sasha gave her a short nod. “I'm fine, it's just... I don't think this is a good idea”
“It's the only one we have”, Samantha answered. “I mean, I'd like to have more time to plan, but the longer we wait, the less likely it is that we manage to get Lucas out of here” Sasha closed her eyes before she continued. “Samantha, we should take into consideration that Lucas is dead already. The Tom knew where to find Dairon, so Lucas most likely gave his location away”, she explained. “The thing is, why should Mullendore keep him alive now?”
Samantha knew, Sasha had a point. It was a cynical, pessimistic point, but nonetheless a good one. But she couldn't turn around now. “What if he isn't dead?”, she asked. “Leonard is safe, right now. Lucas might be dead already for all we know. You risk Leonard's life and even more importantly, you risk your own life”, Sasha urged her. Samantha gave her a soft smile. “Perhaps it's worth risking. I came to this city to save four people. I want to succeed with two of them at least”
“You came to save one girl”, Sasha answered. “And she's dead. Everything that came after her, Lucas, Leonard, Dairon, that's just because you feel guilty for Lunett” She noticed the expression on Samantha's face and pressed her lips together. “I'm sorry”, she mumbled. “I'm just... worried, you know”
“So am I”, Samantha agreed, before she let out a long sigh. “Sasha, you don't have to do this. You can leave, if you want and I will still pay you, with everything I have with me. You did enough to earn it” Sasha slowly shook her head, the hint of a smirk on her face. “I'm not leaving now. After what I did for you, you are very deep in my debt. There's no way that the measly amount of money you carry with you will suffice.”, she stated and looked up towards the Hightower and narrowed her eyes. “Just... promise me you won't die in there”
“I won't”, Samantha promised. “But only if you won't die either” Sasha's smirk got a bit wider for a second and she raised her eyebrows. “Then it looks like I have to try my best to survive”, she answered.
“Hey, you two!”, Davith caught their attention. “Stop the chitchat. We're there” Indeed, during the past minute, they walked across the huge square that surrounded the Hightower. Now, during the evening, a lot of people were present, most of them heading towards the Starry Sept at the other end of the square. No one was looking at a city guard captain and his companions, escorting a chained prisoner towards the tower. No one except other guards. As soon as they had reached the broad stairs that lead up to the tower's open front gate, Samantha noticed that the guards in front of the tower were looking at them.
“Jaylon?”, she asked. He glanced at her, an inscrutable smirk on his face. “Everything alright”, he mumbled. “It's all going to be fine” Just as he said this, half a dozen armed men walked out of the tower's front gate, on their tabards the sigil of House Hightower. Samantha gulped as she saw their facial expressions.
“Ryder!”, Jaylon greeted their leader a tall man with an unremarkable face, pale skin and dark hair. He had his dark blue eyes narrowed as he immediately drew his sword. He did not point it at Jaylon, but the gesture was unmistakable. “It's Captain Harrington for you, Jaylon”, he growled and Jaylon's smirk faded. “Well, then it's Captain Gordus for you”, he answered. “Let us pass, I bring an important prisoner”
Captain Harrington slowly shook his head. “I don't think so. There are heavy accusations against you, Jaylon. Commander Mullendore awaits some answers from you”, he snarled and slightly moved his head. Out of the front door stepped another guardsman, with a full beard, dark brown hair and green eyes. Samantha recognized him from the Blind Helmsman Inn.
“Farris, would you take Jaylon into custody”, Harrington ordered and the man gave him a casual nod. “Of course, Ser”, he answered, as his gaze fell upon the rest of the group. “Sasha”, he greeted her shortly and with surprise in his voice. “And Samantha Ducard. I have not expected to see you in Jaylon's company. Do you have any explanations for the accusations against him?”
“There is no good explanation she could give you, Farris”, Jaylon answered before Samantha could even think of a good lie. “Now, could you get us the commander? I have something to explain to him. Whatever crime I am accused of, I can assure you, I am innocent and I can prove my innocence” He looked at Captain Harrington. “Don't I deserve to prove my innocence?”
Harrington glared at him for a short time, before he gave Farris a nod. “He's right... Get the commander. He might be interested”, he ordered and Farris saluted, before he went back into the tower. “The rest, disarm them and bring them inside while we wait for the Commander. Don't be too harsh on them, they might be innocent pawns in Jaylon's scheme”
Samantha did not resist. She knew, they would kill her if she would resist. Besides, there was always the chance that this was part of Jaylon's plan to get them inside. “Jaylon...”, she mumbled to gain his attention, as she noticed that the man had a surprising smirk on his face. “Everything works according to plan, Samantha”, he answered. “At the end of the day, all will be as it should be”
Finally, Harrington was convinced that the guards sufficiently disarmed Samantha and her group. The captain gave them a handwave and Samantha felt a guard heavily grabbing her shoulders, leading her inside, into the gargantuan entrance hall of the Hightower. And there he stood, in the middle of the hall, smiling like a demon. His primarily white wardrobe contrasted nicely with the black marble walls of the hall, although a dark shade of red was visible on his white tabard, two of the butterflies were completely covered with it. With growing joy, he only looked at Leonard, who went pale the moment he saw him. The knight trembled in helpless anger and from the way he moved his hands, Samantha saw that he desperately tried to free himself from his handcuffs. “Hello, boy”, Maron Mullendore greeted him. “Glad you found your way back to us”
Instead of looking him in the eyes, Leonard focussed his gaze on the red stains on Mullendore's tabard. “You... you... what have you done to Lucas?”, he stuttered, clearly afraid and enraged at the same time. Mullendore narrowed his eyes, as he slowly shook his head. “Not his blood. No matter how monstrous his crime was, Ser Lucas is a knight and I treat him like I am honourbound to do. He sits in the cells, awaiting Lord Hightower's judgement. He's alive and unharmed”, he explained and Samantha knew he was lying. “Now... considering what you did to that poor girl, you can thank the gods that I am not a vengeful man”
“To... to that girl?”, Leonard asked in nearly speechless shock, as he finally realized what Mullendore was hinting at. “You are framing us for what you did to Lunett?” Mullendore shook his head. “I'm framing you for nothing. I have seen many disgusting things in my live, but the way you tortured that girl... what kind of sick bastard are you?”, he growled. “I can promise you one thing... You'll pay for what you did, in time”
“You're dead!”, Leonard finally exploded. “You're fucking dead! I'm getting out of here and then I'm going to kill you!” Mullendore glanced at his guards, who slightly chuckled at Leonard's words. “You heard everything, huh? He just threatened me, once again. Leonard, you're not making things any easier for you” He looked down and before Leonard could react, Mullendore pressed one of his hands onto the wound on his upper leg. The knight let out an agonizing scream as he went on his knees. Calmly, Mullendore looked up and at the blood on his fingers. “You are wounded”, he remarked. “We will treat you in the dungeons. We don't want our prisoners to bleed to death, right?”
Finally, he looked at Jaylon. “And Jaylon... you brought me a valuable prisoner. And you have some new friends I see”, he greeted him, while Samantha tried her best not to glare at him. This was Butterfly... this was the beast that was responsible for what happened to her family, to Lunett, to Dairon... She had experience with hiding her feelings, but Davith on the other hand utterly failed at remaining calm. Heavily breathing, he glared at Mullendore, his eyes full of hatred. Of course, Mullendore immediately noticed it and his smirk got wider.
“This one is Davith Lanser”, Jaylon explained and the guardsmen gasped in surprise. Especially Farris gave Davith a hateful glare. “A guard killer”, the man growled. “Jaylon brought us a fucking guard killer!” He took a step forwards, his fists clenched, but the Commander stopped him by raising his hand.
“Lanser...”, Mullendore mumbled and looked Davith straight in the eye. “I know you, boy, and I knew your father. He was a fine man. You on the other hand... you're a disgrace” Davith said nothing, too angry to even scream at the commander. Two guards were necessary to hold him back, one of them slowly pulled out handcuffs, just as Mullendore looked at Samantha and Sasha. The moment his green eyes met Samantha's, she shivered, forcing herself to look on the ground.
“And these are Samantha and Sasha. Two crazy bitches, I can tell you that much, Commander”, Jaylon explained. “They are here to help Leonard and Lucas with their crimes. Ambushed me. Killed several of my men and kidnapped me. They wanted to force me to help them inside the tower, to break Lucas out of here” A devious glare appeared on his face, as he looked at Samantha in triumph. She noticed that she had started to shiver, as she finally realized what kind of game he was playing. He was using her. She had trusted him and now he was using her to get back in Mullendore's good graces. “They are responsible for Dairon's death as well”, he explained with a wide, obnoxious grin.
“That's a fucking lie!”, Samantha finally yelled. “You... you bastard!” Jaylon narrowed his eyes, as he attempted to walk closer. Only the guardsman that was still holding Samantha's shoulders prevented her from jumping at him, but her attempt alone was enough to cause him to stop. “I am not a bastard”, he hissed coldly. “And you... have you thought I would help you freeing a dangerous criminal? That I would betray my city and my commander for you? After you treated me like shit?”
Realizing that the strong guard prevented her from getting any closer at Jaylon, Samantha spat him in the face, causing Jaylon to take a step back in disgust, as he attempted to wipe the saliva out of his face. He looked at Mullendore, who raised his eyebrows. “So, you're telling me you never betrayed me?”, the Commander asked.
Jaylon quickly nodded. “Indeed I do, Commander. I was almost forced to betray you, but thankfully, I managed to trick them into trusting me”, he said with a mocking grin. “They were so gullible, so desperate. The plan was to use my status as a captain of the guard to bring them inside. I was supposed to claim that we managed to capture Leonard Constantine” He glanced at the knight and his grin got wider. “And in the end, I indeed managed to capture him and all of his friends on top”
“Please, Commander Mullendore, take them as my apology. Allow me to serve you once more”, Jaylon urged him. Mullendore looked at him for a moment, then at Leonard and Davith, finally at Samantha and Sasha. “I accept your apology. It seems the rumours about your defection have been born out of a misunderstanding”, he said and patted his loyal dog on the bag. “Captain Jaylon, welcome back in the city guard. I am sorry for any inconvenience these people caused for you” He looked at Harrington. “Captain Ryder, if you could do me the pleasure of escorting these prisoners to the dungeons. I will take care of them later. For now, I have something to discuss with Captain Jaylon”
“Commander, wait”, Jaylon intervened. “One request... these people... look at them” He and Mullendore glanced at Leonard's silent anger, Davith's heavy breathing, the hateful, stoic look in Sasha's eyes and finally the speechless despair on Samantha's face. “These people wounded me. They killed my men. Humiliated me. They wanted to force me to betray you”, Jaylon explained gleefully. “They mean nothing to Captain Harrington. I on the other hand have a score to settle. Allow me to escort them to the dungeons. I want to look them in the face as long as possible”
Mullendore closed his eyes for a moment, a smirk appearing on his face, before he answered. “Wish granted”, he said and opened his eyes again, glancing at Leonard. “Come, meet me in my office once you're done escorting them to the dungeons” He gave the guards a nod and Samantha felt heavy handcuffs around her wrists. “I want them in the deep dungeons. I think I have to interrogate them later. And someone has to notify the Sphynx, there will be a lot of work to do”
The way he smirked as he said this made Samantha shiver and she finally understood why Leonard was afraid of this man. It wasn't a cruel smirk, not evil in any way. The look in his eyes was honest, trustworthy. He did not look like a monster to her and that made him dangerous. The guards around them, they trusted him. Perhaps some of them were in on his secret, but even the ones that weren't seemed to be willing to trust him with their lives. One of these guards grabbed her at the shoulder and pushed her forwards, forcing her to accompany Jaylon and four other guards, through the entrance hall and finally, down a large set of stairs, leaving Maron Mullendore behind.
“You will burn for this, Jaylon”, Samantha hissed and he only gave her a cold glare. “What have you expected, Sammy?”, he asked. “It's Samantha”, she answered and Jaylon shrugged. “I don't fucking care”, he chuckled. “Do you think I had any intentions of helping you, after the way you and your friends treated me?”
“We treated you as you deserved it, dog!”, she spat in return, causing one of the guards, the one that lead Davith, to laugh. “I bet you did”, he answered, as they stopped in front of a heavy iron gate. One of the guards pulled out a key and started to open it, while the guard that lead Davith continued. “It's refreshing to see that even people like you see Jaylon for what he truly is” They passed through a second secured gate and Jaylon glared at the man. “And what am I?”, he asked, as they passed through a third secured gate, walking past a number of heavy, wooden cell doors. Finally, they had reached the dungeons.
The dungeons of the Hightower were nightmarish and claustrophobic, with low ceilings and narrow walls. Aside from the occasional torch, they were pitch black. And it soon got worse. There was wailing, pained wailing behind the doors, people whispering in the darkness, muffled prayers to the Stranger, fingernails scratching at the walls. The guards were completely unfazed by this.
“A dog, as your pretty friend here just said”, the guardsman grinned and gave Samantha an irritating wink. “A dog...”, Jaylon mumbled. “You know, you shouldn't treat me like that. After today, I'm going to be the commander's favourite” The guard shook his head. “The Commander is not here, dog”, he hissed and the other guards started to chuckle. “You may think you're such a cunning guy, but you're just a coward. The commander may forgive you, but that won't change how we see you, coward” “I'm not a coward!”, Jaylon insisted. “I tricked them into trusting me. You idiots would have been dead in my case, but I survived, I won their trust and I managed to capture them all”
They turned around another corner. By now, Samantha was completely lost in these dungeons. She tried her best not to panic. Perhaps if she would fight back... her hands were tied, but she could still punch someone with it. With Jaylon, there were only five guards around. Perhaps this would be her last chance to free herself and to free Lucas. Or perhaps they would kill her. At least, that way they would spare her whatever Mullendore would do to her, they would deny him the satisfaction of hearing her screams. A short glance at Sasha proved to her that she was thinking the same. On the other hand, Leonard was in obvious pain and she doubted he could defeat a guard on his own. She even doubted that she could do it, not unarmed and with her hands chained. But everything would be better than the torture Mullendore undoubtedly prepared for her, right? Perhaps even death would be better...
[Try to fight your way out] [Stay submissive]
[Try to fight your way out] Fucking Jaylon that cunt I was really hoping he was going to free Samantha and co. on there way to the cells, he just proved to everyone that he is a true coward and has lost his final chance at redeeming himself I hope he burns in hell and endures a far worse pain than what was done to Lucas.
All of this could have been avoided if we just killed Jaylon.
So I have a question. Raenna in her last part Terroma said they were going to the Hightower so if we fail to free Samantha and co here will Raenna and Terroma cross paths with Samantha. If they do I don't think Raenna will save them as she has no reason to.
Indeed, if you would have fought Jaylon when I gave you the chance, he would have died and this whole situation wouldn't have happened. Instead, Samantha and co. would have created an alternative plan that would have had a chance at succeeding. I'm going into greater detail once I write down the alternative choices, but the presence of Jaylon heavily altered Samantha's storyline in this chapter.
[Stay submissive]
I don't know... intuition is telling me that he is still somehow helping them, for example when he told he want to take them downstairs instead of the Ryder, perhaps this was his plan all along... this could be the "way out", even if very mean and shitty by him, licking Mullendore ass this way in front of the rest, throwing accusations... after all they are being taken to the dungeon where Lucas is... and Mullendore believed him... or read him that he is doing it on purpose and will frame him later on anyway... oh my, i don't know, but this is my good ending theory for the group.
You are right, Raenna and Terroma will infiltrate the Hightower in the next chapter and objectively, Raenna has no reason to free Samantha and co., should she come across them. However, she is not a cruel person and just leaving someone in a torture dungeon is not her style. If she comes across them, there might be a choice to free them, although I can't confirm it of course. Although, Raenna not saving them is definitely not the groups biggest problem at the moment. First, they all need to survive this chapter, which is definitely not guaranteed at the moment and even if they survive, they would spend an entire week in the loving care of the Sphynx. Keep in mind how badly he tortured Lucas in a single day.
So everything happens on the same day in this chapter. If so I can say it has been a very exciting day.
[Stay submissive] I could be completely wrong but maybe... Jaylon will free us and his plan was to get back in Mullendores good graces then get us closer to Lucas with as few guards around them as possible, plus I feel like he'll lose his temper with the guards calling him names and attack them, I find it hard to believe he has any loyalty to these people. Again, this is a gamble and I could be totally wrong but even if I am I don't see us winning a fight right at this moment, hopefully one of the gang can lockpick for when they get locked up.
Things are not looking good... Jaylon makes a very good point though, they treated him like shit and he was cooperative from the moment they captured him (was there a choice to do otherwise?). Despite what's happening right now I still kinda like Jaylon, Liquid's got me liking all the murderers
Can someone remind me the name of the guy Ellena made piece with last we saw her?
Pretty sure it was Samuel Harrington.
And you make a valid point but from what we have seen Jaylon is very craven and even if he may want to follow through with the plan he seems to afraid to do it.
[Stay Submissive]
I honestly think this is the best option we have. I'm preatty sure that we have a better chance of surviving if we surrender. Fighting usually gives an excuse to kill.
I'm currently imagining @InGen_Nate_Kenny's reaction to Leonard getting a spear thrown through his mouth out of no where.
Jokes aside I will lose my freaking mind if Leonard dies.
I'm wondering, if we left Leonard behind and Sam and co got captured what would he do? He'd have no way of finding out and he'd be alone with no friends and allies.
No, sadly there was no choice to treat him better. The reason behind that was that Samantha and Davith had a very personal grudge against Jaylon because of what Mullendore did to their families, while Sasha deeply despises Jaylon for her own reasons. While he was cooperative, he also used many opportunities to be plain rude to them, so in many cases, they only treated him like he treated them.
Haha, that's, well... not fully intentional, but still good to know. At least some of the initially villainous characters, like Samuel, Jaylon or Alysanne are supposed to be very complex characters, not fully evil and with some redeeming features and I am glad that not everyone totally despises them
This was Samuel Harrington, whom many characters regard as Butterfly's most dangerous fighter. He is the younger brother of Ryder Harrington, the city guard captain that appeared in this part and in Lucas Chapter 4 storyline. According to the backstory Samuel told Ellena in her last part, Ryder is responsible for the death of his younger siblings and he himself is only working for Butterfly to get closer to Ryder and to get a chance to confront him. In his role as the commander, Mullendore employs Ryder and promises him to do everything to capture Samuel, while in his role as Butterfly, he employs Samuel and promises him to do everything to capture Ryder, while neither Harrington brother knows that they are both working for the same man.
If you would have left Leonard behind, he wouldn't have appeared for the rest of this chapter and would have been completely safe, at least for a short amount of time. He also would have had some time to heal his wounded leg. Although, you bring up a good point, things would have been bad for him as well as Samantha is basically his only ally in this city, aside from possibly the Archmaesters Wulvren and Quent. And it would have taken a lot for him to even consider talking to Quent. There is no way he would ever leave Lucas behind, so he probably would have tried his best to find a way to free him on his own, no matter how dangerous such a plan could have been for him.
I swear to God I read this and immediately was angry and looked up to see if it happened. If that happens....if that happens...
No one will be safe.
Leonard might have been tracked down by the guard with Jaylon's help or via torture confessions. Damn.
[Stay submissive] I fucking hate you Jaylon. I voted to kill you. Goddamnit Leonard could be fine. I'm not letting Leonard die. Not in a manner like this. God I hate Jaylon.
(Try to fight your way out)
[Stay submissive]
Two of my characters in one part? This is certainly interesting. All things aside, I do hope Jaylon sold out Samantha and co. just to get Mullendore's trust. If he doesn't free us, well I swear to god I'm going out of my way to vote Jaylon dead for every part I see him. So, I'm going with [Stay submissive] maybe he really is trying to help.
My face while reading Sammy and co. walk straight to Mullendore and Jaylon be like "Yeah, these idiots trusted me, they are yours now boss."
Also taking Leonard feels so stupid now, and I was one of those who voted for it XD
Oh well, I'll take a risk and trust that this was all Jaylon's plan to trick Mullendore and help them save Lucas.
[Stay submissive]
[Try to fight your way out] I was going to stay submissive, but once Liquid said that they would have to stay in a prison cell for a week made me think that Jaylon actually did screw us over. Fucking Jaylon is going to get us all killed, and Leonard can't die via torture. Let him fight to save his life and try to save Lucas', or what's left of him, life.
[Try to fight your way out]
Leonard is the most likely to die from a fight. Also Jaylon might be pulling a trick.
Well I expected something like this to happen.
[Stay submissive] I guess maybe this could work but I highly doubt it I don't know why Jaylon would turn back now as he has already cleared everything with Mullendore.
Samantha hasn't been the smartest person in her last few parts she has made a lot of mistakes and I think this plan was probably the worst of them she should've thought it through, And what did she expect was going to happen?
So is Ryder actually crazy and killed his siblings or is that just something Samuel believes because Ryder seems pretty sane to me.
Indeed, Samantha's plan hasn't been the best and Sasha even lampshaded it. Samantha knows herself that her plan was a gamble and with a bit of time, she might have been able to develop a better plan. However, she has no time. She's out of options and she knows it. The presence of the Tom in her last part proved to her that Lucas already started talking, so she desperately seeks to free him, as long as there's something left to free.
However, her actions are not quite the result of stupidity. Sasha mentioned guilt, but that doesn't even begin to describe it. Samantha suffers from crippling guilt because she was too late to save Lunett and because of how gruesome her death was, which triggered bad memories from her own dead family. Because of this and because of Dairon's death, she is desperate enough to put her trust in Jaylon, especially as she sees no other option to free Lucas as soon as possible. After hearing about his backstory, after catching a glimpse of his better side and after he really helped out against the Moggy, she also started to genuinely sympathize with Jaylon, so his betrayal shocked her.
Ryder is... an interesting case, that's all I can say. For someone who murdered his own siblings, he definitely appears to be reasonable and sane. Then again, Mullendore also appears to be honest and trustworthy, so a first impression can be wrong. More about Ryder and what happened with the Harrington family will be revealed in time.
I won't lie I was surprised to.
How would this go down if Jaylon was dead?
[Stay submissive]
I still believe in Jaylon.
[Stay submissive] i wasnt there when we had the chance to kill jaylo i think...but well, lets not making this any worse. Maybe we will still get out of this with sammy
If Jaylon would have died, then Samantha would have made an alternative plan, that naturally wouldn't have involved trusting him. This plan would have had a chance at succeeding, but only if Leonard would have accompanied her to the Hightower as well. However, while they would have succeeded in reaching Lucas' cell, things wouldn't have ended smoothly and one member of Samantha's group would have been separated from the rest and ended up in the Status Unknown section. If Leonard wouldn't have accompanied her to the Hightower, then things would have ended like they did in this part, with Sam and co. getting captured and with the choice to either fight back or to stay submissive.
The Voting is closed!
Samantha is going to stay submissive
This choice will have consequences. I can tease that there will be death because of it, but that's all I'm going to say about it >:D The next Samantha part is going to be half of the chapter finale and as you know, big stuff happens in a chapter finale. Only a handful of other parts are left in this chapter, each of them enjoyable in their own way.
The next part is hopefully going to be out later today. It is going to be the finale of Jaron's storyline in this chapter. The only thing I am slightly unsure about right now is the choice. You know, I don't like giving you no choices at the end of a part, but it looks like this could be a part without a choice, if I don't find a good and logical way to include one. The last time we saw Jaron, he just had a meeting with the Burned Man about their next steps in the war against Butterfly's men, before he decided to finally talk to Harpy about his feelings. However, he tragically decided to listen to Bakr, who adviced him to let her wait for a while. By the time he finally got to talk to her, she was already fast asleep. Having the choice of either waking her up or letting her sleep, Jaron decided to let her sleep and instead will only bring her a blanket.
If my choice caused Leonard's choice....I...I don't know how I would react. This story is almost a year old (sidebar today is my half-birthday and 1st anniversary on the forums) and losing him would make me lose it.
At the same time, I feel like you wouldn't tease Leonard's death. You didn't exactly tease Lunett's death, which made all the more shocking and that whole episode, so I feel like it's Davith or Sasha. I feel like the other half of the chapter finale will be a Jenna part.
Happy half-birthday and happy 1st forum anniversary
I was actually afraid I teased Lunett's death too much, since you called it pretty early in Chapter 4 that she was a strong possibility for the character you doomed when you refused to send Samantha to Oldtown. As for the next Samantha part, no one will be safe and I will try my best not to make the wait for it too long.
Maybe. She's a good possibility. I won't confirm the second PoV until I start writing the chapter finale. However, the events that will happen in this second half are events that have been planned for many months now and I am highly excited that I finally get the chance to write them.