Argus
The beautiful purple eyes of this strange foreign girl stared at Argus, making it hard for him to think. They had just met and the … moregirl was already trying to make Argus reveal Emilio’s plans. Not that Argus really knew much about Emilio or his plans – he had after all just met him yesterday. Argus gulped and surrendered under the magic of those beautiful eyes of Ella.
“Um, Emilio, he is marching to war with us… me and Alistair.” Argus said and Alistair nodded in agreement. For a small moment Ella’s eyes narrowed, but then the smile returned to her face – although now it was less convincing.
“To war? Are you sure about this?” She asked with a touch of confusion in her words. Argus was thinking what to answer to this, but Alistair was quicker.
“Of course.” He blurted, and took a big gulp from his ale. “What else would a sellsword be doing in Winterfell?” Now Ella’s expression turned even more confused.
“Sellsword?” She said… [view original content]
Argus
The beautiful purple eyes of this strange foreign girl stared at Argus, making it hard for him to think. They had just met and the … moregirl was already trying to make Argus reveal Emilio’s plans. Not that Argus really knew much about Emilio or his plans – he had after all just met him yesterday. Argus gulped and surrendered under the magic of those beautiful eyes of Ella.
“Um, Emilio, he is marching to war with us… me and Alistair.” Argus said and Alistair nodded in agreement. For a small moment Ella’s eyes narrowed, but then the smile returned to her face – although now it was less convincing.
“To war? Are you sure about this?” She asked with a touch of confusion in her words. Argus was thinking what to answer to this, but Alistair was quicker.
“Of course.” He blurted, and took a big gulp from his ale. “What else would a sellsword be doing in Winterfell?” Now Ella’s expression turned even more confused.
“Sellsword?” She said… [view original content]
Oh yes, I am glad it is back And this was a nice part. Sure, not as action-packed as others, but definitely not boring. I especially liked the scene between Argus, Alistair and Icestark at the end.
[Suggest a compromise]
A compromise indeed sounds like the most reasonable choice. Personally, I'm leaning a bit more in favour of Lord Icestark here, but I don't want to piss Alistair off either. Though I am not sure if Alistair is even going to accept a compromise, he seems to be determined to get his price and I think this is mostly about his pride, or else he would have accepted Argus' offer.
Argus
The beautiful purple eyes of this strange foreign girl stared at Argus, making it hard for him to think. They had just met and the … moregirl was already trying to make Argus reveal Emilio’s plans. Not that Argus really knew much about Emilio or his plans – he had after all just met him yesterday. Argus gulped and surrendered under the magic of those beautiful eyes of Ella.
“Um, Emilio, he is marching to war with us… me and Alistair.” Argus said and Alistair nodded in agreement. For a small moment Ella’s eyes narrowed, but then the smile returned to her face – although now it was less convincing.
“To war? Are you sure about this?” She asked with a touch of confusion in her words. Argus was thinking what to answer to this, but Alistair was quicker.
“Of course.” He blurted, and took a big gulp from his ale. “What else would a sellsword be doing in Winterfell?” Now Ella’s expression turned even more confused.
“Sellsword?” She said… [view original content]
I'm going to agree with Liquid on the note that Alistair is doing this out of self pride rather than greed? Unless the compromise benefits both it's going to be difficult to make a new deal. I don't want Argus to lose this contract, though I think allies on the battlefield (even if amateur) are worth more than none at all. [Suggest a compromise], let's just hope that Alistair will be open to suggestions, as Liquid pointed out he does not appear to. Anyway, glad that you and this story is back!
Argus
The beautiful purple eyes of this strange foreign girl stared at Argus, making it hard for him to think. They had just met and the … moregirl was already trying to make Argus reveal Emilio’s plans. Not that Argus really knew much about Emilio or his plans – he had after all just met him yesterday. Argus gulped and surrendered under the magic of those beautiful eyes of Ella.
“Um, Emilio, he is marching to war with us… me and Alistair.” Argus said and Alistair nodded in agreement. For a small moment Ella’s eyes narrowed, but then the smile returned to her face – although now it was less convincing.
“To war? Are you sure about this?” She asked with a touch of confusion in her words. Argus was thinking what to answer to this, but Alistair was quicker.
“Of course.” He blurted, and took a big gulp from his ale. “What else would a sellsword be doing in Winterfell?” Now Ella’s expression turned even more confused.
“Sellsword?” She said… [view original content]
I'd say this one is clear, so vote closed! And Argus will suggest a compromise. I was pretty sure this one would win. At first though I wasn't even going to put this option to the voting, but I didn't want to force you to choose between Alistair and Icestark when in this situation it makes sense to suggest a compromise. Well, we'll see how it goes.
Next we'll be going back to Iron Islands. I have two parts coming from there: Matthias and a new PoV - Phoenix Hwarden. I have the Phoenix part written already, and I'll start writing the Matt part soon. The idea is to post them at the same time, but if the writing of the Matt part doesn't go as fast as I hope then I'll just post them separately.
The room that King Dagon had chosen for the meeting was in the Bloody Keep. Apparently the king didn’t want anyone to get drunk, since they would have to walk the rope bridge back to the main keep. Dagon sat at the end of the table and his brother Aldrich and the red priest Asshkaan were closest to him. There were also couple captains who had returned with Aldrich from the Westerlands, but Phoenix Hwarden – along with his uncle Ledrik Seryl – still was able to get reasonably close to his king. Past years he had worked hard to gain the respect of Dagon, and this war would be his chance to prove himself as an ironborn. Phoenix was still quite young, twenty-six years, but he knew that it was time for him to step up, time to fight and conquest. And perhaps, time for revenge.
“Welcome, friends.” The king said with his strong voice, a wolfish look on his eyes. “We have much to discuss.”
“What, exactly?” The king’s brother, Aldrich Greyjoy asked with almost bored tone.
“Roles, strategy, war.” Dagon answered half-heartedly, eyeing each of the captains, and finally Phoenix. “We have succeeded at raiding everywhere on the western coast of Westeros, we have brought back the glorious old days of the ironborn. But now Westeros is starting to heal from its wounds, it’s time for us to focus our efforts to the North, so we can secure our conquest there.”
“So, should we all sail to the Stony Shore?” One of the captains asked.
“We must secure the hold of Moat Cailin.” Aldrich said before his brother could answer.
“That is correct.” The king said without even giving a look at his brother. “I have already sent small forces to Saltspear to secure the way to the Neck, but they won’t be able hold their own against the crannogmen and the northmen, we need to send more.”
“My king.” Phoenix said politely. “How about our hold on the Stony Shore? The reports tell that our forces on the Wolfswood have retreated closer and closer to the shore the past weeks, many forts have fallen back to the northmen.”
“Yes, we need to send men to the Stony Shore as well. My brother will take that mission.” The king stated, and his brother stood up from his chair.
“So I know my job now.” Aldrich Greyjoy said with calm but heavy words. “I suppose that means I don’t have to watch your face any longer.” He said with cold tone and calmly walked out of the room. Phoenix gulped as a tense silence fell to the room and the king stared at the door that his brother had just closed behind him. Finally Dagon turned his head to the red priest.
“There is one more mission that needs to be taken care of.” He said with quiet and calm words. “Asshkaan has seen in his flames that wildlings of the far north will climb over the Wall, led by a king with hair red as fire.”
“That is what I have seen.” Asshkaan confirmed with his disturbingly creepy voice. Asshkaan was a slim and pale man with blonde hair and long beard, and a tattoo on his face told that he had once been a slave. King Dagon’s men had found this red priest couple months ago when they had taken a merchant ship on the northern coast of Westerlands. The man had been brought to the Pyke and Dagon had spent a lot of his time listening to what this man saw in his flames. Phoenix didn’t trust the priest and his weird religion, but he certainly wouldn’t tell that to his king.
“We need one ship to sail all the way to the Frozen Shore. I want to help this wildling king, if he can disturb the peace of the North that’s good for us.” The king spoke with a cunning smile on his face.
“But wouldn’t he be a problem for us?” One of the captains asked.
“The wildlings will be problem for the Umbers, Karstarks. And for Starks since they will have to turn their eyes to north. But for us? No, we will only get to taste the fruits of their hard work as we push our conquest to the Wolfswood and the Rills.” Dagon had all the confidence in his words, and it made Phoenix believe this would work. And then the king turned his eyes to Phoenix.
“Hwarden, so far I have kept you here as my advisor, but I think now is your time to step to the battlefield.” Dagon’s words were hard, but there was also respect and trust in them.
“Yes, my king. I am ready.” Phoenix answered as convincingly as he could, and the king smiled to him.
“I hope so.” He said quietly. “I will give you a choice. One, you can lead the forces I will send to the Saltspear. Two, I’ll give you one ship and you’ll sail with my brother to the Stony Shore. Or three, you’ll sail to the Frozen Shore with Asshkaan and try to get in connection with this wildling king. Any of these options is a respectable task, but you’ll need to make your decision quickly.”
[Saltspear][Stony Shore][Frozen Shore]
-
Matthias
So far the evening had been boring. Matthias and Seamus had sat at the tavern of Lordsport, which was packed with the soldiers that would sail to war in the morning. Surely Matt was starting to feel drunk after several ales, but Seamus was still stubborn and tried to ignore him. That doesn’t matter, I don’t need to be friends with him.
“You know Seamus, we are not friends… And I don’t like you.” Matt started, his voice slightly wavering as an effect of the ale. “But! But, I’m not doing this just to screw you over.” Seamus turned his eyes to Matt, and the anger in his eyes told that the alcohol had wiped off his fear.
“Yes, I get it!” He yelled, even if not loud enough to be heard to the other tables. “You want me to be a ‘true ironborn’, I fucking get it!”
“Do you really?” Matt asked and let out a drunken laughter. “Do you even understand what that truly means, you weak cunt?”
“Oh, I guess it means I should rape more, murder more, and then rape some more again.” Seamus spoke with mocking tone, making Matt slam his fist to the table. For a brief moment the fear returned to Seamus' eyes as he winced at Matt’s intense reaction.
“Any sad fucker can rape a woman. That… does not make you an ironborn. It’s something that is inside you, something that makes you a beast, makes the mainland’s bastards fear you! Do you fucking understand, Seamus?!” Matt yelled at Seamus’ face. Then he backed away and took another deep gulp from his ale. “And the sad truth is Seamus, no one is afraid of you.” Seamus stayed silent, turning his look away from Matt. This is getting fucking annoying.
“Trying to ignore me, cunt?” Matt said with cheeky tone. “All I’m telling you is… the truth! So… so, just, take it like a man! If you even are one.” Seamus stayed silent. “Perhaps you need a lesson.” Matt said with ominous tone. Now Seamus looked at him again, and a wolfish grin appeared on Matt’s face.
“So now you are listening.” He said and chuckled. “Well, let me show you something. I will show you… I will show you what it is to be a true fucking ironborn.” Matt stood up and dragged his chair away from the table. With slightly staggering step he climbed up to stood on the chair, so that he was above anyone else on the tavern. He glanced at Seamus who was looking at him like he was a madman. Perhaps I am.
“HEY!” He shouted from the bottom of his lungs, making the whole tavern look at him. “All of you cunts! I’m talking to you!”
“We hear ye!” Someone shouted, resulting a small laughter in the crowd.
“Good.” Matt said calmly. “Because I… I have something to say! Any of you, and I mean anyone on this shitty tavern! Try to fight me! I’ll beat any of you cunts! Me, Matthias Verlen!” For a moment it was quiet, people were just whispering to each other. Finally a large and hairy man walked from the crowd to Matt.
“You called me a cunt, you asshole!” He roared and kicked the chair under Matt, causing him to land on his back with a painful thump. In great pain Matt tried to scramble up, but the large man kicked him straight to the face, sending him back to the floor. Matt noticed that his mouth and nose were bleeding. He rolled away from the man, and finally he managed to get up. He saw the large man stomping towards him. Here we go. Matthias moved towards the man and tried to land a punch on his face. However, he underestimated the speed of his opponent – and the effect of the alcohol. His punch missed the target and now the large man once again had an opening. Another punch landed on Matt, this time to his left shoulder. Matt backed away from the man and cleared his head. This time he let the man come to him, and when he noticed that he was about to swing another punch, he made his move. He managed to avoid the punch and got close to the large man – then he kicked the man under the belt with his knee. This made the large man cringe from pain, and once again Matt used his opportunity. He grabbed the man from the neck, and smashed his head to the floor. The large man let out a scream of agony, which brought a grin to Matt’s face. But he wouldn’t let the man go so easily. As the man desperately tried to get up, Matt kicked him to his ribs. Then he kicked him again, and again.
“That’s enough, you fucker!” Someone shouted, but Matt didn’t care.This is what it is to be a fucking ironborn! Now he kicked the man straight to the teeth. And just as he was about to get down and start punching the man, someone grabbed him from behind. As a reflex Matt elbowed the man to the face, and as he turned around he noticed it was Seamus. Seamus had fell to the floor and his nose was bleeding from Matt’s hit.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” Matt asked with the lust for blood still running through his veins.
“I saved you, you asshole!” He answered, still holding his nose.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Matt asked, and for an answer Seamus pointed towards the large man that Matt had beat up. A smaller man, dressed in Greyjoy’s colors was trying to wake him up, and he had his sword unsheathed.
“That man was coming towards you, with his sword.” Seamus explained. “I interrupted the fight so he didn’t have to.” Matt looked at Seamus with bafflement. Why would he do that? “I suppose I shouldn’t expect you to be thankful.” Seamus said as he climbed back to his chair. Matt still didn’t know how to feel about this.
[Stony Shore] As long as Fleshbearer is leader of wildlings nothing will happen there, and I prefer Stony shore over Saltspear because I think jumping to leadership straight away would be a mistake, let him prove himself first. Now obviously since I'm in the side of the Northerners, I could deliberately mislead Ironborns, but I'll stay on side of POV this time.
[Thank Seamus] Why not, we don't want bad relationship with him, just to make him a man.
Phoenix
The room that King Dagon had chosen for the meeting was in the Bloody Keep. Apparently the king didn’t want anyone to get drunk, … moresince they would have to walk the rope bridge back to the main keep. Dagon sat at the end of the table and his brother Aldrich and the red priest Asshkaan were closest to him. There were also couple captains who had returned with Aldrich from the Westerlands, but Phoenix Hwarden – along with his uncle Ledrik Seryl – still was able to get reasonably close to his king. Past years he had worked hard to gain the respect of Dagon, and this war would be his chance to prove himself as an ironborn. Phoenix was still quite young, twenty-six years, but he knew that it was time for him to step up, time to fight and conquest. And perhaps, time for revenge.
“Welcome, friends.” The king said with his strong voice, a wolfish look on his eyes. “We have much to discuss.”
“What, exactly?” The king’s brother, Aldrich … [view original content]
[Frozen Shore] The thought of Ironborn beyond the Wall just sends shivers down my spine, I would like to see that. Personally I don't think we need to PoV's raiding the North, and I am intrigued with this 'Asshkaan.'
[Thank Seamus] I have to agree with API, I don't think we want a bad relationship with Seamus. If anything, tonight has made Mattheas as target rather than a respectable Ironborn, he'll probably need Seamus in the upcoming future.
This does sound very interesting. I mean, Raymun Redbeard and the Ironborn? I really want this to happen. Asskhaan is also a pretty interesting character and I guess this option might lead to a larger role for him. I wonder what kind of agenda a red priest could have here.
[Thank Seamus]
Let's get Matthias out of the jerk zone XD Seamus did kinda save his ass, so he definitely deserves to be thanked.
Phoenix
The room that King Dagon had chosen for the meeting was in the Bloody Keep. Apparently the king didn’t want anyone to get drunk, … moresince they would have to walk the rope bridge back to the main keep. Dagon sat at the end of the table and his brother Aldrich and the red priest Asshkaan were closest to him. There were also couple captains who had returned with Aldrich from the Westerlands, but Phoenix Hwarden – along with his uncle Ledrik Seryl – still was able to get reasonably close to his king. Past years he had worked hard to gain the respect of Dagon, and this war would be his chance to prove himself as an ironborn. Phoenix was still quite young, twenty-six years, but he knew that it was time for him to step up, time to fight and conquest. And perhaps, time for revenge.
“Welcome, friends.” The king said with his strong voice, a wolfish look on his eyes. “We have much to discuss.”
“What, exactly?” The king’s brother, Aldrich … [view original content]
Phoenix
The room that King Dagon had chosen for the meeting was in the Bloody Keep. Apparently the king didn’t want anyone to get drunk, … moresince they would have to walk the rope bridge back to the main keep. Dagon sat at the end of the table and his brother Aldrich and the red priest Asshkaan were closest to him. There were also couple captains who had returned with Aldrich from the Westerlands, but Phoenix Hwarden – along with his uncle Ledrik Seryl – still was able to get reasonably close to his king. Past years he had worked hard to gain the respect of Dagon, and this war would be his chance to prove himself as an ironborn. Phoenix was still quite young, twenty-six years, but he knew that it was time for him to step up, time to fight and conquest. And perhaps, time for revenge.
“Welcome, friends.” The king said with his strong voice, a wolfish look on his eyes. “We have much to discuss.”
“What, exactly?” The king’s brother, Aldrich … [view original content]
Okay, looks like no more votes coming, so vote closed! And we have some interesting results. Phoenix will sail to Frozen Shore with Asshkaan, and Matthias will thank Seamus for saving his ass
I'm a bit surprised about the first choice, though I'm glad you chose it since it will give more screentime for Asshkaan. I would have liked Saltspear too though, since there is currently no PoVs in that area, but it's not really a problem - things will just happen there offscreen for some time. The choice for Matt's part was more expected, but again, I'm glad you chose it - these two have an interesting journey ahead of them, and it's good to have some development in their relationship
The next part will be another new PoV that brings us to the Frozen Shore for the first time in the story.
Okay, looks like no more votes coming, so vote closed! And we have some interesting results. Phoenix will sail to Frozen Shore with Asshkaan… more, and Matthias will thank Seamus for saving his ass
I'm a bit surprised about the first choice, though I'm glad you chose it since it will give more screentime for Asshkaan. I would have liked Saltspear too though, since there is currently no PoVs in that area, but it's not really a problem - things will just happen there offscreen for some time. The choice for Matt's part was more expected, but again, I'm glad you chose it - these two have an interesting journey ahead of them, and it's good to have some development in their relationship
The next part will be another new PoV that brings us to the Frozen Shore for the first time in the story.
Eira Eld walked the narrow path, Germun walking couple feet in front of him. Wind was blowing from the Bay of Ice that was on the left of them. Eira watched Germun’s red hair waving in the wind. Kissed by fire, just like his brother. Apart from the hair Germun was very different to his brother. Whereas Raymun reached for the stars, Germun kept his feet on the ground. Raymun was a warrior and a king, Germun was a lover and an adventurer. Eira believed in Raymun’s cause and was loyal to him, but Germun was the one who could make her feel truly free. Eira was a spearwife on her mid-twenties and she had been raised by warriors, but somehow she still felt more at home with Germun than Raymun. And the reason wasn’t any kind of flaw in Raymun.
“Looks like we found another village. A small one though.” Germun said with his confident and carefree tone, pointing towards another fishing village on the horizon. They had seen several of them on their journey, and every time they had stopped to tell about King Raymun, as that was their mission. However, the people of the Frozen Shore didn’t seem to be interested in joining Raymun’s war. Eira didn’t blame them, out here the biggest threat were the clans of the Ice Rivers. Most of the people here had never even seen a crow, and the only southerners they saw were the smugglers that visited now and then – and they weren’t exactly a problem.
As they got closer Eira and Germun noticed that this village was actually just two small huts and couple boats. A bald, big and tall man with long grey beard had seen them coming and stood next to the other one of the huts, waiting for them. As they walked closer they could see the distrustful and cagey look on the man’s face. Eira also noticed that the man was clenching his huge fists.
“Who are you?” The man grunted before they had the chance to say anything.
“I am Germun, and this beautiful lady is Eira Eld, daughter of the legendary warrior Rogar Eld – peace for his soul.” Germun spoke softly, but the man still looked resentful.
“You’re Nightrunners, aren’t ya?” The man asked, his voice slightly more relaxed now. Germun nodded, and before he could say anything the man continued. “The last time I saw a Nightrunner, I crushed his skull. Tried to steal from me, bloody bastard.”
“I assure you, we are not here to steal anything, or hurt anyone.” Eira said with a gentle smile on her face. The man let out a sigh, and stopped clenching his fists.
“Alright then, my name is Ha’akh.” The man said, still a touch of distrust in his words.
“Haak?” Germun asked, making the man glare at him.
“No – Ha’akh.” The man answered, pronouncing his name slowly. Germun nodded, though he glanced at Eira as if he still hadn’t understood. “So, what’re you here for?” Ha’akh asked.
“I would like to ask something.” Germun said calmly. “Have you ever heard of Raymun Redbeard?”
“No.” Ha’akh answered shortly with a cold tone. “Should I have?” So far everyone they had talked to had at least heard rumors of the red-bearded Nightrunner king, but apparently this one didn’t meet much people outside this small home of his.
“He is my brother.” Germun stated. “And he has claimed himself the King of the Free Folk.” Before Germun could continue Ha’akh interrupted him with a deep laughter.
“How funny, I have a king and I didn’t even know about it!” The large man said sarcastically. Germun glanced at the ground with slightly frustrated look on his eyes, and then he raised his glare back to Ha’akh.
“Yes, I have to say I find that quite hilarious myself.” Germun said calmly. “But anyway, he has claimed himself king and his plan is to unite the Free Folk and attack the south, the crows.” Ha’akh was still grinning and he shook his head briefly.
“Great, sounds like utter stupidity to me.” He said and looked at Germun and Eira like they were idiots. “And you? Have you traveled all the way here to tell an old fisherman that he now apparently has a king with a stupid plan?”
“Our mission is simply to tell the people of the Frozen Shore that King Raymun wants to conquer lands from south of the Wall… and he needs all the help he can get.” Eira spoke with gentle words, but the look Ha’akh gave her was stern.
“Aye, I bet he does, but he won’t get any from me.” The man said and looked at his hut. “I have my small family here, I have my boat, and I have my nets. I’m a fisher now, and even if I still was a warrior, I would not fight for a Nightrunner king.” Germun sighed, they had heard these kind of words many times during their journey.
“I understand.” Germun said with calm tone. “But there is one more question.” Ha’akh nodded and Germun continued. “We have yet to meet any of the bigger clan leaders, would you happen to know where we could find them?”
“There is a large village fairly close, a day’s journey to west.” Ha’akh answered with dry tone. “But I warn you, it is the clan of the Greymyst’s and they are one hell of a crazy family. I wouldn’t count on them being as hospitable towards Nightrunners as I have been.” Germun gave the man a nod, and after getting a small piece of food from the old man, they left him behind to continue their journey.
-
“He might have let us stay the night if we just had asked, you know.” Eira said to Germun, but the man looked like he was hardly listening. “What is it, Germun?” She asked.
“This isn’t working, Eira.” He said with a sigh. “Just like I said to my brother, this isn’t going to work.”
“But we must try, Germun.” Eira said, but she didn’t manage to be very convincing.
“Everyone so far has made it clear… The men of the Frozen Shore won’t fight for Raymun Redbeard.” For a moment Germun closed his eyes in frustration. “And now this warning, it might get dangerous… And we know it will be for nothing, is it really worth it, Eira?”
Eira was left speechless, she didn’t have a clear answer. It was true that this mission of theirs seemed hopeless, but at the same time it was the command of their king. I don’t want to let down Raymun… but Germun is not wrong either.
[Convince Germun to continue the mission][Accept to give up]
-
This one took a bit longer than the last one, the new season of Daredevil is mostly to blame
Personally for me, I'm going to be bias here and [Convince Germun to continue the mission]. The rationale behind that you already know, but I honestly think that they need to go to the Greymysts. Why? Well because we decided to have Phoenix and his Ironborn sail to the Frozen Shore to assist Raymun Redbeard cause chaos in the North, and how will that happen if the Frozen Shore Men have no idea what a bunch of Ironborn are doing on their lands? If the Ironborn are to assist Raymun Redbeard, they need Germun to be there.
Great part, even if it did take a little longer but hey we all know what that's like! Looking forward to seeing how this all pans out!
Eira
Eira Eld walked the narrow path, Germun walking couple feet in front of him. Wind was blowing from the Bay of Ice that was on the le… moreft of them. Eira watched Germun’s red hair waving in the wind. Kissed by fire, just like his brother. Apart from the hair Germun was very different to his brother. Whereas Raymun reached for the stars, Germun kept his feet on the ground. Raymun was a warrior and a king, Germun was a lover and an adventurer. Eira believed in Raymun’s cause and was loyal to him, but Germun was the one who could make her feel truly free. Eira was a spearwife on her mid-twenties and she had been raised by warriors, but somehow she still felt more at home with Germun than Raymun. And the reason wasn’t any kind of flaw in Raymun.
“Looks like we found another village. A small one though.” Germun said with his confident and carefree tone, pointing towards another fishing village on the horizon. They had seen several of them on… [view original content]
Eira
Eira Eld walked the narrow path, Germun walking couple feet in front of him. Wind was blowing from the Bay of Ice that was on the le… moreft of them. Eira watched Germun’s red hair waving in the wind. Kissed by fire, just like his brother. Apart from the hair Germun was very different to his brother. Whereas Raymun reached for the stars, Germun kept his feet on the ground. Raymun was a warrior and a king, Germun was a lover and an adventurer. Eira believed in Raymun’s cause and was loyal to him, but Germun was the one who could make her feel truly free. Eira was a spearwife on her mid-twenties and she had been raised by warriors, but somehow she still felt more at home with Germun than Raymun. And the reason wasn’t any kind of flaw in Raymun.
“Looks like we found another village. A small one though.” Germun said with his confident and carefree tone, pointing towards another fishing village on the horizon. They had seen several of them on… [view original content]
Stigz' reasoning makes sense to me. Aside from that, I also don't think they should give up because one fisher does not wish to join Raymun's army. Of course, Ha'akh warned them but he hardly seems to be all-knowing, so maybe it is worth a shot. They can at the very least try to win these Greymyst people.
Eira
Eira Eld walked the narrow path, Germun walking couple feet in front of him. Wind was blowing from the Bay of Ice that was on the le… moreft of them. Eira watched Germun’s red hair waving in the wind. Kissed by fire, just like his brother. Apart from the hair Germun was very different to his brother. Whereas Raymun reached for the stars, Germun kept his feet on the ground. Raymun was a warrior and a king, Germun was a lover and an adventurer. Eira believed in Raymun’s cause and was loyal to him, but Germun was the one who could make her feel truly free. Eira was a spearwife on her mid-twenties and she had been raised by warriors, but somehow she still felt more at home with Germun than Raymun. And the reason wasn’t any kind of flaw in Raymun.
“Looks like we found another village. A small one though.” Germun said with his confident and carefree tone, pointing towards another fishing village on the horizon. They had seen several of them on… [view original content]
Eira
Eira Eld walked the narrow path, Germun walking couple feet in front of him. Wind was blowing from the Bay of Ice that was on the le… moreft of them. Eira watched Germun’s red hair waving in the wind. Kissed by fire, just like his brother. Apart from the hair Germun was very different to his brother. Whereas Raymun reached for the stars, Germun kept his feet on the ground. Raymun was a warrior and a king, Germun was a lover and an adventurer. Eira believed in Raymun’s cause and was loyal to him, but Germun was the one who could make her feel truly free. Eira was a spearwife on her mid-twenties and she had been raised by warriors, but somehow she still felt more at home with Germun than Raymun. And the reason wasn’t any kind of flaw in Raymun.
“Looks like we found another village. A small one though.” Germun said with his confident and carefree tone, pointing towards another fishing village on the horizon. They had seen several of them on… [view original content]
Okay, vote closed! And Eira will convince Germun to continue the mission.
I haven't yet decided which PoV will be next, but it's most likely Trystan, Skjorn or Federico. I'll post a small recap when I've decided which one will be next.
So, the next part will be a Federico PoV. I was visiting relatives this weekend so there hasn't been much progress but I'm positive that I'll get this ready pretty fast!
So here is a small recap:
Federico Reed, one of the newer rangers in the Night's Watch, was one of those who ran after the traitors after the massacre at Castle Black. After finding and executing few traitors he headed towards the Last Hearth with Gareth Oaketh, another ranger. In the Last Hearth they met Lord Osric Umber who had already found Mul Strad, and Federico confirmed to him that Mul is indeed a deserter. The two rangers had a small chat with Lord Umber and ultimately decided to hunt down the deserters on the Umber's lands.
Two days had passed since Federico had left the Last Hearth to hunt down deserters in the Umber lands. So far he had found none. Lord Umber had given three men to him and three to Gareth, and they had taken different directions. Federico had been traveling east, towards the Karstark lands, whereas Gareth went to south. From the three men given to Federico two were green boys at the age of fifteen, and the last one was at his early fifties – an experienced man who knew the lands well. I hope they will prove themselves useful. The young boys were named Morsh and Noel, the older man’s name was Darron.
“We should soon arrive to a small inn.” Darron said with his deep but friendly tone as they slowly rode through the small paths in the woods. “It doesn’t really have a name, but some people call it Skull Tavern. Apparently some legend says that some king died here and his skull is still under that tavern… or something like that, it’s horseshit of course.”
“How can you tell, old man?” Morsh asked, he was the more arrogant one of the young boys. Darron chuckled at the question.
“I know you are young, boy, but I didn’t think you’d be one to believe in fairytales.” He said with a small grin on his face.
“Never said I believe in it, I just asked that how can you know it’s not true.” Morsh answered with slightly frustrated tone. Darron let out a deep sigh, and turned his eyes to the path ahead of them.
“Alright, lad. I can’t be sure. Maybe there are a dozen king skulls under that tavern, who knows. But we are not here to find out that.” Darron’s voice turned more serious with those last words. “This could be the place where we find some of those deserters, so be ready. A deserter has nothing to lose, understand that. These men will not be afraid to kill you.”
“A-are you sure we are ready for this?” Noel asked, unable to hide his nervousness.
“Stop shitting your pants, Noel.” Morsh said with bored tone. “We haven’t seen a single deserters so far, I doubt we’ll see one now.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Federico said calmly. “You have to be ready.” Morsh glanced at Federico but didn’t say anything.
“I agree with him.” Darron said. “But don’t worry, you have been trained well and Lord Osric trusted you with this mission.” As he heard this Morsh let out a sarcastic laugh.
“Aye, he trusted us because all his good men are in war at the Wolfswood.” He spoke with cynical words and Darron had to let out another sigh, whereas Noel just gulped nervously.
Now the small inn came to their field of vision. In the middle of the wild forest and tall trees the inn really did look small. Smoke was rising from its chimney, there were no windows, and it looked to only have one floor. Two horses were tied to the wooden fence. Federico couldn’t tell if he had seen them before or not. They all dismounted their horses and tied them. Their hands found themselves to the hilts of their swords as they moved closer to the door. They were silent.
As they opened the door the first thing they saw was just smoke and darkness, candles and lanterns here and there to bring some light to the room. The innkeeper, an old and sturdy man, slowly raised his gaze to them as they walked in. At first sight the inn looked empty. But then Federico saw something in the dark corner table. A group of four, none of them looked towards Federico and the Umber men. They were clearly hiding their faces, two of the men even wore a hood to cover their head. Quietly Federico took a couple steps closer to the men, and then one of them glanced at him. It was just a second, but Federico recognized him. It was Devyn. A traitor, a murderer. A man who killed Maester Jon. Feeling the anger, Federico turned back to Darron, Morsh and Noel, nodding to them – and they understood what he meant. Darron walked past Federico with a serious look on his face, took out his sword and stopped about eight feet away from the table.
“We know you are deserters of Night’s Watch.” Darron said with his calm and deep voice. They all turned their faces towards Darron now. “It looks you’ve been smart enough to get rid of the black, but this lad here recognizes you.” Darron pointed at Federico, who stared at the faces of the traitors with great anger.
“So, you are one old man, two young boys, and one fuckwit little lordling.” Devyn spoke with a vicious grin on his face. “Did you think we wouldn’t be armed?” As he said this the other three stood up from their chairs, two of them unsheathing a sword, one grabbing a hatchet. After this Devyn stood up, also unsheathing a sword. Darron took a couple steps back. Federico, Morsh and Noel had also taken out their swords. This will get bloody. First one to charge was the man with the hatchet. He ran towards Morsh, who easily dodged his swing. Federico didn’t see what happened after that because another one of the men charged towards him. The man was at least on his thirties, a strong man, but Federico was faster so he could fairly easily parry his swings. He backed out from the chaos, the strong man coming after him. Federico dodged couple of the man’s swings, but fairly quickly he managed to outmaneuver the man and knocked him to the ground. As he kicked the man’s sword away from him he heard Noel’s scream from behind. Quickly Federico turned his head and saw one of the deserters, a bald young man, impaling Noel with his sword. The bald man pulled his sword out and Noel fell to the floor, dead.
Federico knew he had to act quickly. He knocked out the man he had fought earlier and rushed towards the bald one. This one was better with the sword. He forced Federico to fight defensively and back away. Federico felt like he was only one mistake away from being dead. Then he saw Morsh rushing from the side, apparently he had killed the man with the hatchet.
“Take this, you fucker!” Morsh screamed and before the bald man could react his belly was opened by Morsh’s sword. Federico finished the job by slicing the man’s throat. Before he could even catch a breath he saw that Darron was in trouble with Devyn. Devyn had managed to get Darron on the floor and was about to kill him. But just before he could do it, the innkeeper had sneaked behind him and smashed a mug to the back of Devyn’s head. The hit was hard enough to make Devyn fell to his knees, and it gave enough time for Federico to run to Devyn and knock him out.
For a moment no one said anything. Couple tables and chairs had fell during the fight and the floor was filled with blood.
“Thanks for saving my life, and sorry for the mess.” Darron said to the innkeeper as he got up.
“I had my suspicions on those people. And I don’t like traitors.” The innkeeper spoke with his raspy and worn out voice. Then they all turned their eyes to the body of Noel. Darron closed his eyes and shook his head.
“He wasn’t ready for this.” He said, deep sadness and regret in his words. Federico could also see tears welling up in Morsh’s eyes. Federico had known these men for just couple days, but he understood and sympathized. After all, just a while ago these same traitor bastards had been killing his loyal brothers of the Watch. And as Federico looked at the shocked, dead, eyes of Noel it truly hit him. This young boy probably has a mother somewhere, a mother that will never again see his son alive. Angrily Federico turned his eyes to the two dead deserters and the knocked out Devyn.
“Should we kill him?” Morsh asked, the sadness still in his voice. Darron sighed.
“Well, actually we should take him to Lord Umber. If he had died in combat it wouldn’t have mattered, but now that he is basically our prisoner… Lord Osric is the one that enforces the King’s law in these lands.” Federico could tell from Darron’s words that deep inside he wanted to kill Devyn right there. Then Federico remembered that he had also knocked out the first deserter he fought with. And just as he turned his eyes to look, he saw the man running away from the door and slamming the door behind him.
“I’m going after him.” Morsh stated with cold and angry words, rushing after the deserter without waiting for anyone’s approval. Federico looked at Darron.
“I’m getting old… and slow” The man said with tired look on his eyes. “But you... you go and help him out.”
“What if Devyn wakes up? Are you sure you can handle him?” Federico asked, making Darron chuckle.
“Yes, young Reed, I can handle him. And I’m sure the innkeeper will help me if it comes to that.” He said with reassuring tone, but at the same time Federico could tell that he had suffered injuries in the earlier fight which definitely slowed him down. “Maybe we’ll find a rope and tie him to chair or something, but you just go after Morsh!” Federico stood up and looked at Devyn.
“Or maybe we should just kill him.” Federico whispered.
Choice 1:[Go after Morsh][Don't go after Morsh]
-
Bonus choice (only vote if you voted option 1 in the first choice):
Federico
Two days had passed since Federico had left the Last Hearth to hunt down deserters in the Umber lands. So far he had found none.… more Lord Umber had given three men to him and three to Gareth, and they had taken different directions. Federico had been traveling east, towards the Karstark lands, whereas Gareth went to south. From the three men given to Federico two were green boys at the age of fifteen, and the last one was at his early fifties – an experienced man who knew the lands well. I hope they will prove themselves useful. The young boys were named Morsh and Noel, the older man’s name was Darron.
“We should soon arrive to a small inn.” Darron said with his deep but friendly tone as they slowly rode through the small paths in the woods. “It doesn’t really have a name, but some people call it Skull Tavern. Apparently some legend says that some king died here and his skull is still under that tavern… or something like that, it’s… [view original content]
The price for desertion is death, and Devyn has done more than just desert. The mutiny at Castle Black, him slaying fellow brothers. I don't know, I'd like to see Federico as a good and just fellow, though his duty to the Watch entitles him to hunt down and kill deserting brothers... And I don't want Devyn to get away. I think going after Morsh is the most suitable option, even though it would appear Morsh is likely a more experienced fighter than the escaped deserter, we don't know whether this deserter is running back to more brothers or not. So I think Morsh will need backup in the least.
Anyway, great part. Really enjoyed the structure of this one! (I like the structure of all, but something about the Night's Watch working with Northmen really triggers me XD). Looking forward to the next one!
I'm mostly picking this because I really, really want to kill Devyn. The mutiny at Castle Black has, so far, been one of the most shocking scenes in the entire story for me (as well as, strangely enough, my favourite, in a Red Wedding kind of way) and I genuinely hate the deserters for it. And this particular deserter killed the Maester and is therefore one of the worst of the whole bunch. Desertion is punishable by death and as Stigz said, Devyn did a lot more than just deserting the Watch. He killed his fellow brothers and he must be killed as quickly as possible. Leaving him with Darron might give him the chance to escape later and that must be prevented. Meanwhile Mosh could definitely need the backup, because backup can never be a bad thing. I'm sure he is more skilled than the deserter that escaped, but the deserter is definitely desparate, and this could give him an advantage in a fight, so this combination of options appears to be both, the most safe, as well as the most reasonable for me.
Federico
Two days had passed since Federico had left the Last Hearth to hunt down deserters in the Umber lands. So far he had found none.… more Lord Umber had given three men to him and three to Gareth, and they had taken different directions. Federico had been traveling east, towards the Karstark lands, whereas Gareth went to south. From the three men given to Federico two were green boys at the age of fifteen, and the last one was at his early fifties – an experienced man who knew the lands well. I hope they will prove themselves useful. The young boys were named Morsh and Noel, the older man’s name was Darron.
“We should soon arrive to a small inn.” Darron said with his deep but friendly tone as they slowly rode through the small paths in the woods. “It doesn’t really have a name, but some people call it Skull Tavern. Apparently some legend says that some king died here and his skull is still under that tavern… or something like that, it’s… [view original content]
This one is clear, vote closed! Federico will go after Morsh, but before that he will kill Devyn. I was fairly certain these would be the winning choices. If you are wondering why you had to choose to go after Morsh to get to choose the "kill Devyn" option, it's basically because if Federico had stayed with Darron much of his next part would have been a conversation about what to do with Devyn. Also killing Devyn right away and then not going after Morsh would have been a bit weird combination
Anyway, the next part will be Skjorn part, which takes us back to the Vale of Thenn and Magnar's Hall. I don't think I can finish it today, but I'll try to be as fast with this as I can!
Magnar’s Hall was finally in front of him. He looked at the stairs that led to the door with dark thoughts in his mind. All this time that they had traveled he had been thinking about how he would tell Sigira and Storg what happened to their father. And I still don’t have the answer to that. Denyal Delen and Gregory stood behind him. Dogga had left them, swearing he would kill Fleshbearer. As much as Skjorn wished that the young Hornfoot would succeed in that, he doubted it.
“I’m with you, Skjorn.” Denyal said with calm and reassuring voice, putting his hand on Skjorn’s shoulder. Skjorn gave him a small nod and started walking up the stony stairs. Before he was at the door, someone opened it and stepped outside. It was Yrma, the most trusted warrior of Skyrnor – Princess Sigira’s cousin.
“Skjorn the Scholar.” She stated with tedious and almost mocking tone. “I assume the Magnar sent you with some kind of message.” For a couple seconds Skjorn turned his gaze to the ground, remembering again the last time he spoke with Krygorn. Then he raised his eyes to Yrma.
“Magnar Krygorn is dead.” Skjorn said with toneless words. The look on Yrma’s eyes changed to something between shock and disbelief. “I believe we need to arrange a meeting. Now.”
-
Skjorn sat at the middle of the table, Denyal next to him. Yrma was opposed to him. Skyrnor had taken the other end of the table, Sigira the other. Gorgar the Frozen sat close to the princess. Sigira had decided that due to his young age Storg should not take part in this meeting.
“You said he fell in battle… But not against the Nightrunners or Hornfoots.” Sigira spoke with sadness still in her voice, and her eyes were still red from crying. “So the Ice River bastards betrayed us.”
“Yes.” Skjorn answered quietly. Tears started running down Sigira’s cheeks again.
“I should have killed him… Back when he was here, I should have killed that monster when I had the chance.” Sigira’s voice was trembling from the anger and sadness, and she clenched her fists so hard that Skjorn feared her hands would bleed.
“None of us could see this coming, you are the last person to blame of your father’s death.” Skjorn tried to calm her, but it was clear that she ignored him.
“That women who has been in your company for a while now.” Skyrnor spoke up, looking at Sigira. “She used to be part of Fleshbearer’s clan, right? Are you sure she is to be trusted?” For a moment Sigira’s eyes were filled with doubt, but then she shook her head.
“Lenlie is my friend, a loyal friend. She has nothing to do with this.” She spoke quietly, keeping her eyes at the table.
“I don’t think we should take that risk.” Skyrnor said with cold tone. “We should prison her, question her.”
“She has nothing to do with this!” Sigira shouted, now furiously staring at Skyrnor, who raised his hands up.
“Your call, princess.” He said, with a touch of mockery in his voice. Skjorn felt slightly angered as he looked at Skyrnor, but he decided not to say anything – and Princess Sigira also stayed silent.
“We need a new Magnar.” Yrma broke the silence with her blunt statement. Skjorn raised his eyebrow.
“Do we?” He asked with veiled sarcasm. “And let me guess, you think Storg is too young to take that role.”
“That’s the truth, scholar.” Skyrnor said, and even if his words came out calmly Skjorn could tell that he was tense, gripping to the arms of his chair. Sigira raised his look up again, realizing what was happening.
“Storg is the son of Krygorn, he and no one else can be the next Magnar.” Sigira spoke quietly, but the anger could be heard in her words.
“Face it, princess.” Yrma said with cocky tone. “Skyrnor is the right choice to lead the Thenns now.”
“NO!” Sigira screamed, standing up from the chair, tears running down her cheeks again. “My father dies, and now you… You are taking everything from Storg!”
“Calm down, Sigira.” Skjorn said, but he was once again ignored.
“So what is your solution then, princess?” Yrma asked with mocking tone. “You would have eight-year-old boy to lead the Thenns on the battlefield?” Sigira closed her eyes for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths. Then she opened her eyes, looking at everyone around the table with determination in her eyes.
“Storg is not ready, not yet.” She said with calm tone. “But not many years and he will be. And before that, I can rule in his stead.” Skyrnor turned his gaze to the table and Yrma let out a mocking laugh.
“Princess leading the Thenns?” She asked and shook her head. “No, we need a Magnar. We need Skyrnor.”
“Denyal.” Skyrnor said suddenly with friendly tone, which clearly surprised the young man. “Since your father has not returned I assume you lead the family of Delen now. Delens were always very important supporters of Magnar Krygorn, so I ask you, who are you going to support?” Denyal looked like he was caught off guard. He glanced at both Skyrnor and Sigira, but finally he turned his eyes to Skjorn.
“I will support whomever Skjorn decides to support.” He said quietly. “I have learned that he is the one we should all listen, and Krygorn knew that too.” Now Skjorn could see both Sigira and Skyrnor turning their eyes to him. He raised his eyebrow and let out a sigh. I suppose I must make a choice.
First of all, I greatly like Sigira and consider her my favourite character in the Thenn storyline. She's awesome and I think she has what it takes to be a good and wise leader, especially with advisors like Lenlie, Skjorn and Gorgar. There is also the thing that I don't trust Skyrnor to do the right decision in the events to come and neither do I like him. Sigira might be willing to submit the remaining Thenns to Raymun, to gain a chance to take revenge on Fleshbearer for killing Krygorn and to ultimately strengthen the wildling alliance. I don't see a reason why Skyrnor would ever peacefully submit to Raymun however. He seems to be out only for his own power and that means he is dangerous, at least for Storg and Sigira, because I doubt he is going to spare them, should he become Magnar. After all, Storg is the legitimate Magnar once he comes off age, so he would be a threat to Skyrnor's rule. The fact that he is so casually willing to ignore his cousins birthright is a major red flag for me. I'm not sure if he's truly a bad guy, but I don't trust him with leading the Thenns. Maybe he will be a strong ruler, but right now, they don't need a strong ruler, they need a wise one. Also, from a biased point of view, I would like for Skjorn to support the rightful Magnar, which is Storg, instead of becoming a back-stabbing opportunist. Krygorn has been his friend and he wouldn't have wanted his sons birthright to be taken away.
Skjorn
Magnar’s Hall was finally in front of him. He looked at the stairs that led to the door with dark thoughts in his mind. All this t… moreime that they had traveled he had been thinking about how he would tell Sigira and Storg what happened to their father. And I still don’t have the answer to that. Denyal Delen and Gregory stood behind him. Dogga had left them, swearing he would kill Fleshbearer. As much as Skjorn wished that the young Hornfoot would succeed in that, he doubted it.
“I’m with you, Skjorn.” Denyal said with calm and reassuring voice, putting his hand on Skjorn’s shoulder. Skjorn gave him a small nod and started walking up the stony stairs. Before he was at the door, someone opened it and stepped outside. It was Yrma, the most trusted warrior of Skyrnor – Princess Sigira’s cousin.
“Skjorn the Scholar.” She stated with tedious and almost mocking tone. “I assume the Magnar sent you with some kind of message.” For a couple… [view original content]
Skjorn
Magnar’s Hall was finally in front of him. He looked at the stairs that led to the door with dark thoughts in his mind. All this t… moreime that they had traveled he had been thinking about how he would tell Sigira and Storg what happened to their father. And I still don’t have the answer to that. Denyal Delen and Gregory stood behind him. Dogga had left them, swearing he would kill Fleshbearer. As much as Skjorn wished that the young Hornfoot would succeed in that, he doubted it.
“I’m with you, Skjorn.” Denyal said with calm and reassuring voice, putting his hand on Skjorn’s shoulder. Skjorn gave him a small nod and started walking up the stony stairs. Before he was at the door, someone opened it and stepped outside. It was Yrma, the most trusted warrior of Skyrnor – Princess Sigira’s cousin.
“Skjorn the Scholar.” She stated with tedious and almost mocking tone. “I assume the Magnar sent you with some kind of message.” For a couple… [view original content]
Ehhhhhhhhhh, should have known this was going to come. Never did I ever expect this to happen to Skyrnor, corrupted with power. Ah well, shit happens I guess.
Well, I agree with Liquid on that the birthrights belong to Storg, and as much as I'd like my 'ideal' Skyrnor to sit as Magnar, the man he has turned out to be makes me worry. I would like to see the Thenn's ally with Raymun in the attack south of the Wall, and I agree Skyrnor would likely be hard pushed to agree with that. So I guess supporting Sigira is the best option right now, I only worry for what will happen to Skyrnor and Yrma.
(Oh and remind me, did you make Yrma? Or did I? I don't remember making her, but I believe she is sister to Skyrnor?)
Ehhhhhhhhhh, should have known this was going to come. Never did I ever expect this to happen to Skyrnor, corrupted with power. Ah well, shit happens I guess.
Man, I'm sorry he seems like such an arse at the moment, but I can assure you that he has not turned evil or anything - he just genuinely believes that he is the right man to take charge in this situation (and to do that he believes he must be the Magnar). If Storg would be older, somewhere around 15 perhaps, then Skyrnor most likely would not be doing this. Also, Yrma doesn't have the best possible influence on him.
Oh and remind me, did you make Yrma? Or did I? I don't remember making her, but I believe she is sister to Skyrnor?
I'm not really sure who submitted Yrma, there was no name. Anyway, she isn't Skyrnor's sister, she is just a loyal warrior to him. She was quite simple character who wasn't connected to anyone on her backstory so I decided to connect her with Skyrnor. She is actually much older than Skyrnor (who is 19) - she is on her mid-thirties.
Ehhhhhhhhhh, should have known this was going to come. Never did I ever expect this to happen to Skyrnor, corrupted with power. Ah well, shi… moret happens I guess.
Well, I agree with Liquid on that the birthrights belong to Storg, and as much as I'd like my 'ideal' Skyrnor to sit as Magnar, the man he has turned out to be makes me worry. I would like to see the Thenn's ally with Raymun in the attack south of the Wall, and I agree Skyrnor would likely be hard pushed to agree with that. So I guess supporting Sigira is the best option right now, I only worry for what will happen to Skyrnor and Yrma.
(Oh and remind me, did you make Yrma? Or did I? I don't remember making her, but I believe she is sister to Skyrnor?)
Okay, not much votes this time, but I guess the result is clear anyway. Vote closed! And Skjorn will support Sigira.
As you could probably guess this was a very important choice. I was fairly sure you'd choose Sigira, and she is a good choice in many ways. However, this choice will also have its negative consequences - but we'll get back to those when this storyline continues.
For now, the next part's PoV will be Trystan Oldstark, the First Steward of the Night's Watch. Here's a small recap: His story started from the Eastwatch-by-the-sea, where he was with his squire Broken Hill and the injured knight Ser Arthor Obsydian. However, when the news of the mutiny at Castle Black reached him he immediately returned there. In his latest part he took part in a meeting in the Shield Hall. The consensus in the meeting was that Castle Black needs a temporary leader while the Lord Commander Jack Musgood and the First Ranger George Rivers are away. Commander of Shadow Tower Edric Dayne said they should choose the leader in this small meeting, whereas the First Builder Jorrel insisted an open election with all the brothers in Castle Black. You voted Trystan to side with Jorrel, and you voted that he will not name himself as candidate in this election.
I've started to write his part, but I have a lot to do this week and weekend. However, I'm still pretty sure it'll be ready during the weekend.
Okay, not much votes this time, but I guess the result is clear anyway. Vote closed! And Skjorn will support Sigira.
As you could probabl… morey guess this was a very important choice. I was fairly sure you'd choose Sigira, and she is a good choice in many ways. However, this choice will also have its negative consequences - but we'll get back to those when this storyline continues.
For now, the next part's PoV will be Trystan Oldstark, the First Steward of the Night's Watch. Here's a small recap: His story started from the Eastwatch-by-the-sea, where he was with his squire Broken Hill and the injured knight Ser Arthor Obsydian. However, when the news of the mutiny at Castle Black reached him he immediately returned there. In his latest part he took part in a meeting in the Shield Hall. The consensus in the meeting was that Castle Black needs a temporary leader while the Lord Commander Jack Musgood and the First Ranger George Rivers are away.… [view original content]
Skjorn
Magnar’s Hall was finally in front of him. He looked at the stairs that led to the door with dark thoughts in his mind. All this t… moreime that they had traveled he had been thinking about how he would tell Sigira and Storg what happened to their father. And I still don’t have the answer to that. Denyal Delen and Gregory stood behind him. Dogga had left them, swearing he would kill Fleshbearer. As much as Skjorn wished that the young Hornfoot would succeed in that, he doubted it.
“I’m with you, Skjorn.” Denyal said with calm and reassuring voice, putting his hand on Skjorn’s shoulder. Skjorn gave him a small nod and started walking up the stony stairs. Before he was at the door, someone opened it and stepped outside. It was Yrma, the most trusted warrior of Skyrnor – Princess Sigira’s cousin.
“Skjorn the Scholar.” She stated with tedious and almost mocking tone. “I assume the Magnar sent you with some kind of message.” For a couple… [view original content]
Thanks! And yeah, last season the title of episode 7 "The Gift" truly tricked me. I was sure it would be related to the wildlings and the lands south of the Wall or Arya giving the gift of death to someone, but instead it was Jorah's "gift" (Tyrion) to Dany
I do believe that Melisandre will have a big presence on this episode though, what she'll do is another question.
Wow, he looks great man! I totally agree with Liquid with the axe and face paint
As for the next episode, hella pumped! Though I dunno about titles, they can oft be manipulative and tricking haha.
Personally, I don't believe she can bring Jon back. I believe that Jon will come back, but it's been speculated so much that Melisandre will do it and I dunno so much. From the looks of the trailer, Davos and Melisandre are obvs protecting Snow's body and the Watch mutineers are wanting to burn the corpse. I think in the final bit where Davos draws Longclaw with those brothers around him, I might be slow but are those brothers siding with him to help defend Jon's body? Or else they're against him and Ghost is gonna rip some flesh up!
As for his resurrection, I always liked the idea of him joining the Others and somehow settling peace between the Others and men, though I imagine the only way will be through resurrection via r'hllor. Anyway, your thoughts?
Thanks! And yeah, last season the title of episode 7 "The Gift" truly tricked me. I was sure it would be related to the wildlings and the la… morends south of the Wall or Arya giving the gift of death to someone, but instead it was Jorah's "gift" (Tyrion) to Dany
I do believe that Melisandre will have a big presence on this episode though, what she'll do is another question.
Comments
Finally back! No, this part is definitely not boring, it's nice build up
[Suggest a compromise] Looks like most reasonable choice.
[Suggest a compromise] Glad this is back!
Oh yes, I am glad it is back
And this was a nice part. Sure, not as action-packed as others, but definitely not boring. I especially liked the scene between Argus, Alistair and Icestark at the end.
[Suggest a compromise]
A compromise indeed sounds like the most reasonable choice. Personally, I'm leaning a bit more in favour of Lord Icestark here, but I don't want to piss Alistair off either. Though I am not sure if Alistair is even going to accept a compromise, he seems to be determined to get his price and I think this is mostly about his pride, or else he would have accepted Argus' offer.
Welcome back!
I'm going to agree with Liquid on the note that Alistair is doing this out of self pride rather than greed? Unless the compromise benefits both it's going to be difficult to make a new deal. I don't want Argus to lose this contract, though I think allies on the battlefield (even if amateur) are worth more than none at all. [Suggest a compromise], let's just hope that Alistair will be open to suggestions, as Liquid pointed out he does not appear to. Anyway, glad that you and this story is back!
I'd say this one is clear, so vote closed! And Argus will suggest a compromise. I was pretty sure this one would win. At first though I wasn't even going to put this option to the voting, but I didn't want to force you to choose between Alistair and Icestark when in this situation it makes sense to suggest a compromise. Well, we'll see how it goes.
Next we'll be going back to Iron Islands. I have two parts coming from there: Matthias and a new PoV - Phoenix Hwarden. I have the Phoenix part written already, and I'll start writing the Matt part soon. The idea is to post them at the same time, but if the writing of the Matt part doesn't go as fast as I hope then I'll just post them separately.
Phoenix
The room that King Dagon had chosen for the meeting was in the Bloody Keep. Apparently the king didn’t want anyone to get drunk, since they would have to walk the rope bridge back to the main keep. Dagon sat at the end of the table and his brother Aldrich and the red priest Asshkaan were closest to him. There were also couple captains who had returned with Aldrich from the Westerlands, but Phoenix Hwarden – along with his uncle Ledrik Seryl – still was able to get reasonably close to his king. Past years he had worked hard to gain the respect of Dagon, and this war would be his chance to prove himself as an ironborn. Phoenix was still quite young, twenty-six years, but he knew that it was time for him to step up, time to fight and conquest. And perhaps, time for revenge.
“Welcome, friends.” The king said with his strong voice, a wolfish look on his eyes. “We have much to discuss.”
“What, exactly?” The king’s brother, Aldrich Greyjoy asked with almost bored tone.
“Roles, strategy, war.” Dagon answered half-heartedly, eyeing each of the captains, and finally Phoenix. “We have succeeded at raiding everywhere on the western coast of Westeros, we have brought back the glorious old days of the ironborn. But now Westeros is starting to heal from its wounds, it’s time for us to focus our efforts to the North, so we can secure our conquest there.”
“So, should we all sail to the Stony Shore?” One of the captains asked.
“We must secure the hold of Moat Cailin.” Aldrich said before his brother could answer.
“That is correct.” The king said without even giving a look at his brother. “I have already sent small forces to Saltspear to secure the way to the Neck, but they won’t be able hold their own against the crannogmen and the northmen, we need to send more.”
“My king.” Phoenix said politely. “How about our hold on the Stony Shore? The reports tell that our forces on the Wolfswood have retreated closer and closer to the shore the past weeks, many forts have fallen back to the northmen.”
“Yes, we need to send men to the Stony Shore as well. My brother will take that mission.” The king stated, and his brother stood up from his chair.
“So I know my job now.” Aldrich Greyjoy said with calm but heavy words. “I suppose that means I don’t have to watch your face any longer.” He said with cold tone and calmly walked out of the room. Phoenix gulped as a tense silence fell to the room and the king stared at the door that his brother had just closed behind him. Finally Dagon turned his head to the red priest.
“There is one more mission that needs to be taken care of.” He said with quiet and calm words. “Asshkaan has seen in his flames that wildlings of the far north will climb over the Wall, led by a king with hair red as fire.”
“That is what I have seen.” Asshkaan confirmed with his disturbingly creepy voice. Asshkaan was a slim and pale man with blonde hair and long beard, and a tattoo on his face told that he had once been a slave. King Dagon’s men had found this red priest couple months ago when they had taken a merchant ship on the northern coast of Westerlands. The man had been brought to the Pyke and Dagon had spent a lot of his time listening to what this man saw in his flames. Phoenix didn’t trust the priest and his weird religion, but he certainly wouldn’t tell that to his king.
“We need one ship to sail all the way to the Frozen Shore. I want to help this wildling king, if he can disturb the peace of the North that’s good for us.” The king spoke with a cunning smile on his face.
“But wouldn’t he be a problem for us?” One of the captains asked.
“The wildlings will be problem for the Umbers, Karstarks. And for Starks since they will have to turn their eyes to north. But for us? No, we will only get to taste the fruits of their hard work as we push our conquest to the Wolfswood and the Rills.” Dagon had all the confidence in his words, and it made Phoenix believe this would work. And then the king turned his eyes to Phoenix.
“Hwarden, so far I have kept you here as my advisor, but I think now is your time to step to the battlefield.” Dagon’s words were hard, but there was also respect and trust in them.
“Yes, my king. I am ready.” Phoenix answered as convincingly as he could, and the king smiled to him.
“I hope so.” He said quietly. “I will give you a choice. One, you can lead the forces I will send to the Saltspear. Two, I’ll give you one ship and you’ll sail with my brother to the Stony Shore. Or three, you’ll sail to the Frozen Shore with Asshkaan and try to get in connection with this wildling king. Any of these options is a respectable task, but you’ll need to make your decision quickly.”
[Saltspear] [Stony Shore] [Frozen Shore]
-
Matthias
So far the evening had been boring. Matthias and Seamus had sat at the tavern of Lordsport, which was packed with the soldiers that would sail to war in the morning. Surely Matt was starting to feel drunk after several ales, but Seamus was still stubborn and tried to ignore him. That doesn’t matter, I don’t need to be friends with him.
“You know Seamus, we are not friends… And I don’t like you.” Matt started, his voice slightly wavering as an effect of the ale. “But! But, I’m not doing this just to screw you over.” Seamus turned his eyes to Matt, and the anger in his eyes told that the alcohol had wiped off his fear.
“Yes, I get it!” He yelled, even if not loud enough to be heard to the other tables. “You want me to be a ‘true ironborn’, I fucking get it!”
“Do you really?” Matt asked and let out a drunken laughter. “Do you even understand what that truly means, you weak cunt?”
“Oh, I guess it means I should rape more, murder more, and then rape some more again.” Seamus spoke with mocking tone, making Matt slam his fist to the table. For a brief moment the fear returned to Seamus' eyes as he winced at Matt’s intense reaction.
“Any sad fucker can rape a woman. That… does not make you an ironborn. It’s something that is inside you, something that makes you a beast, makes the mainland’s bastards fear you! Do you fucking understand, Seamus?!” Matt yelled at Seamus’ face. Then he backed away and took another deep gulp from his ale. “And the sad truth is Seamus, no one is afraid of you.” Seamus stayed silent, turning his look away from Matt. This is getting fucking annoying.
“Trying to ignore me, cunt?” Matt said with cheeky tone. “All I’m telling you is… the truth! So… so, just, take it like a man! If you even are one.” Seamus stayed silent. “Perhaps you need a lesson.” Matt said with ominous tone. Now Seamus looked at him again, and a wolfish grin appeared on Matt’s face.
“So now you are listening.” He said and chuckled. “Well, let me show you something. I will show you… I will show you what it is to be a true fucking ironborn.” Matt stood up and dragged his chair away from the table. With slightly staggering step he climbed up to stood on the chair, so that he was above anyone else on the tavern. He glanced at Seamus who was looking at him like he was a madman. Perhaps I am.
“HEY!” He shouted from the bottom of his lungs, making the whole tavern look at him. “All of you cunts! I’m talking to you!”
“We hear ye!” Someone shouted, resulting a small laughter in the crowd.
“Good.” Matt said calmly. “Because I… I have something to say! Any of you, and I mean anyone on this shitty tavern! Try to fight me! I’ll beat any of you cunts! Me, Matthias Verlen!” For a moment it was quiet, people were just whispering to each other. Finally a large and hairy man walked from the crowd to Matt.
“You called me a cunt, you asshole!” He roared and kicked the chair under Matt, causing him to land on his back with a painful thump. In great pain Matt tried to scramble up, but the large man kicked him straight to the face, sending him back to the floor. Matt noticed that his mouth and nose were bleeding. He rolled away from the man, and finally he managed to get up. He saw the large man stomping towards him. Here we go. Matthias moved towards the man and tried to land a punch on his face. However, he underestimated the speed of his opponent – and the effect of the alcohol. His punch missed the target and now the large man once again had an opening. Another punch landed on Matt, this time to his left shoulder. Matt backed away from the man and cleared his head. This time he let the man come to him, and when he noticed that he was about to swing another punch, he made his move. He managed to avoid the punch and got close to the large man – then he kicked the man under the belt with his knee. This made the large man cringe from pain, and once again Matt used his opportunity. He grabbed the man from the neck, and smashed his head to the floor. The large man let out a scream of agony, which brought a grin to Matt’s face. But he wouldn’t let the man go so easily. As the man desperately tried to get up, Matt kicked him to his ribs. Then he kicked him again, and again.
“That’s enough, you fucker!” Someone shouted, but Matt didn’t care.This is what it is to be a fucking ironborn! Now he kicked the man straight to the teeth. And just as he was about to get down and start punching the man, someone grabbed him from behind. As a reflex Matt elbowed the man to the face, and as he turned around he noticed it was Seamus. Seamus had fell to the floor and his nose was bleeding from Matt’s hit.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” Matt asked with the lust for blood still running through his veins.
“I saved you, you asshole!” He answered, still holding his nose.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Matt asked, and for an answer Seamus pointed towards the large man that Matt had beat up. A smaller man, dressed in Greyjoy’s colors was trying to wake him up, and he had his sword unsheathed.
“That man was coming towards you, with his sword.” Seamus explained. “I interrupted the fight so he didn’t have to.” Matt looked at Seamus with bafflement. Why would he do that? “I suppose I shouldn’t expect you to be thankful.” Seamus said as he climbed back to his chair. Matt still didn’t know how to feel about this.
[Thank Seamus] [Don't thank Seamus]
[Stony Shore] As long as Fleshbearer is leader of wildlings nothing will happen there, and I prefer Stony shore over Saltspear because I think jumping to leadership straight away would be a mistake, let him prove himself first. Now obviously since I'm in the side of the Northerners, I could deliberately mislead Ironborns, but I'll stay on side of POV this time.
[Thank Seamus] Why not, we don't want bad relationship with him, just to make him a man.
[Frozen Shore] The thought of Ironborn beyond the Wall just sends shivers down my spine, I would like to see that. Personally I don't think we need to PoV's raiding the North, and I am intrigued with this 'Asshkaan.'
[Thank Seamus] I have to agree with API, I don't think we want a bad relationship with Seamus. If anything, tonight has made Mattheas as target rather than a respectable Ironborn, he'll probably need Seamus in the upcoming future.
It's great that the story is back, I missed the previous voting so I'm glad that this time I'm here on time
Anywas [Frozen Shore] I think it might get really interesting.
[Thank Seamus] it might be hard for Matt to do so, but Seamus just helped him and that counts at least a little I think.
[Frozen Shore]
This does sound very interesting. I mean, Raymun Redbeard and the Ironborn? I really want this to happen. Asskhaan is also a pretty interesting character and I guess this option might lead to a larger role for him. I wonder what kind of agenda a red priest could have here.
[Thank Seamus]
Let's get Matthias out of the jerk zone XD Seamus did kinda save his ass, so he definitely deserves to be thanked.
[Frozen Shore]
[Thank Seamus]
Okay, looks like no more votes coming, so vote closed! And we have some interesting results. Phoenix will sail to Frozen Shore with Asshkaan, and Matthias will thank Seamus for saving his ass
I'm a bit surprised about the first choice, though I'm glad you chose it since it will give more screentime for Asshkaan. I would have liked Saltspear too though, since there is currently no PoVs in that area, but it's not really a problem - things will just happen there offscreen for some time. The choice for Matt's part was more expected, but again, I'm glad you chose it - these two have an interesting journey ahead of them, and it's good to have some development in their relationship
The next part will be another new PoV that brings us to the Frozen Shore for the first time in the story.
Eira
Eira Eld walked the narrow path, Germun walking couple feet in front of him. Wind was blowing from the Bay of Ice that was on the left of them. Eira watched Germun’s red hair waving in the wind. Kissed by fire, just like his brother. Apart from the hair Germun was very different to his brother. Whereas Raymun reached for the stars, Germun kept his feet on the ground. Raymun was a warrior and a king, Germun was a lover and an adventurer. Eira believed in Raymun’s cause and was loyal to him, but Germun was the one who could make her feel truly free. Eira was a spearwife on her mid-twenties and she had been raised by warriors, but somehow she still felt more at home with Germun than Raymun. And the reason wasn’t any kind of flaw in Raymun.
“Looks like we found another village. A small one though.” Germun said with his confident and carefree tone, pointing towards another fishing village on the horizon. They had seen several of them on their journey, and every time they had stopped to tell about King Raymun, as that was their mission. However, the people of the Frozen Shore didn’t seem to be interested in joining Raymun’s war. Eira didn’t blame them, out here the biggest threat were the clans of the Ice Rivers. Most of the people here had never even seen a crow, and the only southerners they saw were the smugglers that visited now and then – and they weren’t exactly a problem.
As they got closer Eira and Germun noticed that this village was actually just two small huts and couple boats. A bald, big and tall man with long grey beard had seen them coming and stood next to the other one of the huts, waiting for them. As they walked closer they could see the distrustful and cagey look on the man’s face. Eira also noticed that the man was clenching his huge fists.
“Who are you?” The man grunted before they had the chance to say anything.
“I am Germun, and this beautiful lady is Eira Eld, daughter of the legendary warrior Rogar Eld – peace for his soul.” Germun spoke softly, but the man still looked resentful.
“You’re Nightrunners, aren’t ya?” The man asked, his voice slightly more relaxed now. Germun nodded, and before he could say anything the man continued. “The last time I saw a Nightrunner, I crushed his skull. Tried to steal from me, bloody bastard.”
“I assure you, we are not here to steal anything, or hurt anyone.” Eira said with a gentle smile on her face. The man let out a sigh, and stopped clenching his fists.
“Alright then, my name is Ha’akh.” The man said, still a touch of distrust in his words.
“Haak?” Germun asked, making the man glare at him.
“No – Ha’akh.” The man answered, pronouncing his name slowly. Germun nodded, though he glanced at Eira as if he still hadn’t understood. “So, what’re you here for?” Ha’akh asked.
“I would like to ask something.” Germun said calmly. “Have you ever heard of Raymun Redbeard?”
“No.” Ha’akh answered shortly with a cold tone. “Should I have?” So far everyone they had talked to had at least heard rumors of the red-bearded Nightrunner king, but apparently this one didn’t meet much people outside this small home of his.
“He is my brother.” Germun stated. “And he has claimed himself the King of the Free Folk.” Before Germun could continue Ha’akh interrupted him with a deep laughter.
“How funny, I have a king and I didn’t even know about it!” The large man said sarcastically. Germun glanced at the ground with slightly frustrated look on his eyes, and then he raised his glare back to Ha’akh.
“Yes, I have to say I find that quite hilarious myself.” Germun said calmly. “But anyway, he has claimed himself king and his plan is to unite the Free Folk and attack the south, the crows.” Ha’akh was still grinning and he shook his head briefly.
“Great, sounds like utter stupidity to me.” He said and looked at Germun and Eira like they were idiots. “And you? Have you traveled all the way here to tell an old fisherman that he now apparently has a king with a stupid plan?”
“Our mission is simply to tell the people of the Frozen Shore that King Raymun wants to conquer lands from south of the Wall… and he needs all the help he can get.” Eira spoke with gentle words, but the look Ha’akh gave her was stern.
“Aye, I bet he does, but he won’t get any from me.” The man said and looked at his hut. “I have my small family here, I have my boat, and I have my nets. I’m a fisher now, and even if I still was a warrior, I would not fight for a Nightrunner king.” Germun sighed, they had heard these kind of words many times during their journey.
“I understand.” Germun said with calm tone. “But there is one more question.” Ha’akh nodded and Germun continued. “We have yet to meet any of the bigger clan leaders, would you happen to know where we could find them?”
“There is a large village fairly close, a day’s journey to west.” Ha’akh answered with dry tone. “But I warn you, it is the clan of the Greymyst’s and they are one hell of a crazy family. I wouldn’t count on them being as hospitable towards Nightrunners as I have been.” Germun gave the man a nod, and after getting a small piece of food from the old man, they left him behind to continue their journey.
-
“He might have let us stay the night if we just had asked, you know.” Eira said to Germun, but the man looked like he was hardly listening. “What is it, Germun?” She asked.
“This isn’t working, Eira.” He said with a sigh. “Just like I said to my brother, this isn’t going to work.”
“But we must try, Germun.” Eira said, but she didn’t manage to be very convincing.
“Everyone so far has made it clear… The men of the Frozen Shore won’t fight for Raymun Redbeard.” For a moment Germun closed his eyes in frustration. “And now this warning, it might get dangerous… And we know it will be for nothing, is it really worth it, Eira?”
Eira was left speechless, she didn’t have a clear answer. It was true that this mission of theirs seemed hopeless, but at the same time it was the command of their king. I don’t want to let down Raymun… but Germun is not wrong either.
[Convince Germun to continue the mission] [Accept to give up]
-
This one took a bit longer than the last one, the new season of Daredevil is mostly to blame
Personally for me, I'm going to be bias here and [Convince Germun to continue the mission]. The rationale behind that you already know, but I honestly think that they need to go to the Greymysts. Why? Well because we decided to have Phoenix and his Ironborn sail to the Frozen Shore to assist Raymun Redbeard cause chaos in the North, and how will that happen if the Frozen Shore Men have no idea what a bunch of Ironborn are doing on their lands? If the Ironborn are to assist Raymun Redbeard, they need Germun to be there.
Great part, even if it did take a little longer but hey we all know what that's like! Looking forward to seeing how this all pans out!
[Accept to give up]
[Convince Germun to continue the mission]
Stigz' reasoning makes sense to me. Aside from that, I also don't think they should give up because one fisher does not wish to join Raymun's army. Of course, Ha'akh warned them but he hardly seems to be all-knowing, so maybe it is worth a shot. They can at the very least try to win these Greymyst people.
[Convince Germun to continue the mission] I completely agree with statements mentioned before.
Okay, vote closed! And Eira will convince Germun to continue the mission.
I haven't yet decided which PoV will be next, but it's most likely Trystan, Skjorn or Federico. I'll post a small recap when I've decided which one will be next.
So, the next part will be a Federico PoV. I was visiting relatives this weekend so there hasn't been much progress but I'm positive that I'll get this ready pretty fast!
So here is a small recap:
Federico Reed, one of the newer rangers in the Night's Watch, was one of those who ran after the traitors after the massacre at Castle Black. After finding and executing few traitors he headed towards the Last Hearth with Gareth Oaketh, another ranger. In the Last Hearth they met Lord Osric Umber who had already found Mul Strad, and Federico confirmed to him that Mul is indeed a deserter. The two rangers had a small chat with Lord Umber and ultimately decided to hunt down the deserters on the Umber's lands.
Federico
Two days had passed since Federico had left the Last Hearth to hunt down deserters in the Umber lands. So far he had found none. Lord Umber had given three men to him and three to Gareth, and they had taken different directions. Federico had been traveling east, towards the Karstark lands, whereas Gareth went to south. From the three men given to Federico two were green boys at the age of fifteen, and the last one was at his early fifties – an experienced man who knew the lands well. I hope they will prove themselves useful. The young boys were named Morsh and Noel, the older man’s name was Darron.
“We should soon arrive to a small inn.” Darron said with his deep but friendly tone as they slowly rode through the small paths in the woods. “It doesn’t really have a name, but some people call it Skull Tavern. Apparently some legend says that some king died here and his skull is still under that tavern… or something like that, it’s horseshit of course.”
“How can you tell, old man?” Morsh asked, he was the more arrogant one of the young boys. Darron chuckled at the question.
“I know you are young, boy, but I didn’t think you’d be one to believe in fairytales.” He said with a small grin on his face.
“Never said I believe in it, I just asked that how can you know it’s not true.” Morsh answered with slightly frustrated tone. Darron let out a deep sigh, and turned his eyes to the path ahead of them.
“Alright, lad. I can’t be sure. Maybe there are a dozen king skulls under that tavern, who knows. But we are not here to find out that.” Darron’s voice turned more serious with those last words. “This could be the place where we find some of those deserters, so be ready. A deserter has nothing to lose, understand that. These men will not be afraid to kill you.”
“A-are you sure we are ready for this?” Noel asked, unable to hide his nervousness.
“Stop shitting your pants, Noel.” Morsh said with bored tone. “We haven’t seen a single deserters so far, I doubt we’ll see one now.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Federico said calmly. “You have to be ready.” Morsh glanced at Federico but didn’t say anything.
“I agree with him.” Darron said. “But don’t worry, you have been trained well and Lord Osric trusted you with this mission.” As he heard this Morsh let out a sarcastic laugh.
“Aye, he trusted us because all his good men are in war at the Wolfswood.” He spoke with cynical words and Darron had to let out another sigh, whereas Noel just gulped nervously.
Now the small inn came to their field of vision. In the middle of the wild forest and tall trees the inn really did look small. Smoke was rising from its chimney, there were no windows, and it looked to only have one floor. Two horses were tied to the wooden fence. Federico couldn’t tell if he had seen them before or not. They all dismounted their horses and tied them. Their hands found themselves to the hilts of their swords as they moved closer to the door. They were silent.
As they opened the door the first thing they saw was just smoke and darkness, candles and lanterns here and there to bring some light to the room. The innkeeper, an old and sturdy man, slowly raised his gaze to them as they walked in. At first sight the inn looked empty. But then Federico saw something in the dark corner table. A group of four, none of them looked towards Federico and the Umber men. They were clearly hiding their faces, two of the men even wore a hood to cover their head. Quietly Federico took a couple steps closer to the men, and then one of them glanced at him. It was just a second, but Federico recognized him. It was Devyn. A traitor, a murderer. A man who killed Maester Jon. Feeling the anger, Federico turned back to Darron, Morsh and Noel, nodding to them – and they understood what he meant. Darron walked past Federico with a serious look on his face, took out his sword and stopped about eight feet away from the table.
“We know you are deserters of Night’s Watch.” Darron said with his calm and deep voice. They all turned their faces towards Darron now. “It looks you’ve been smart enough to get rid of the black, but this lad here recognizes you.” Darron pointed at Federico, who stared at the faces of the traitors with great anger.
“So, you are one old man, two young boys, and one fuckwit little lordling.” Devyn spoke with a vicious grin on his face. “Did you think we wouldn’t be armed?” As he said this the other three stood up from their chairs, two of them unsheathing a sword, one grabbing a hatchet. After this Devyn stood up, also unsheathing a sword. Darron took a couple steps back. Federico, Morsh and Noel had also taken out their swords. This will get bloody. First one to charge was the man with the hatchet. He ran towards Morsh, who easily dodged his swing. Federico didn’t see what happened after that because another one of the men charged towards him. The man was at least on his thirties, a strong man, but Federico was faster so he could fairly easily parry his swings. He backed out from the chaos, the strong man coming after him. Federico dodged couple of the man’s swings, but fairly quickly he managed to outmaneuver the man and knocked him to the ground. As he kicked the man’s sword away from him he heard Noel’s scream from behind. Quickly Federico turned his head and saw one of the deserters, a bald young man, impaling Noel with his sword. The bald man pulled his sword out and Noel fell to the floor, dead.
Federico knew he had to act quickly. He knocked out the man he had fought earlier and rushed towards the bald one. This one was better with the sword. He forced Federico to fight defensively and back away. Federico felt like he was only one mistake away from being dead. Then he saw Morsh rushing from the side, apparently he had killed the man with the hatchet.
“Take this, you fucker!” Morsh screamed and before the bald man could react his belly was opened by Morsh’s sword. Federico finished the job by slicing the man’s throat. Before he could even catch a breath he saw that Darron was in trouble with Devyn. Devyn had managed to get Darron on the floor and was about to kill him. But just before he could do it, the innkeeper had sneaked behind him and smashed a mug to the back of Devyn’s head. The hit was hard enough to make Devyn fell to his knees, and it gave enough time for Federico to run to Devyn and knock him out.
For a moment no one said anything. Couple tables and chairs had fell during the fight and the floor was filled with blood.
“Thanks for saving my life, and sorry for the mess.” Darron said to the innkeeper as he got up.
“I had my suspicions on those people. And I don’t like traitors.” The innkeeper spoke with his raspy and worn out voice. Then they all turned their eyes to the body of Noel. Darron closed his eyes and shook his head.
“He wasn’t ready for this.” He said, deep sadness and regret in his words. Federico could also see tears welling up in Morsh’s eyes. Federico had known these men for just couple days, but he understood and sympathized. After all, just a while ago these same traitor bastards had been killing his loyal brothers of the Watch. And as Federico looked at the shocked, dead, eyes of Noel it truly hit him. This young boy probably has a mother somewhere, a mother that will never again see his son alive. Angrily Federico turned his eyes to the two dead deserters and the knocked out Devyn.
“Should we kill him?” Morsh asked, the sadness still in his voice. Darron sighed.
“Well, actually we should take him to Lord Umber. If he had died in combat it wouldn’t have mattered, but now that he is basically our prisoner… Lord Osric is the one that enforces the King’s law in these lands.” Federico could tell from Darron’s words that deep inside he wanted to kill Devyn right there. Then Federico remembered that he had also knocked out the first deserter he fought with. And just as he turned his eyes to look, he saw the man running away from the door and slamming the door behind him.
“I’m going after him.” Morsh stated with cold and angry words, rushing after the deserter without waiting for anyone’s approval. Federico looked at Darron.
“I’m getting old… and slow” The man said with tired look on his eyes. “But you... you go and help him out.”
“What if Devyn wakes up? Are you sure you can handle him?” Federico asked, making Darron chuckle.
“Yes, young Reed, I can handle him. And I’m sure the innkeeper will help me if it comes to that.” He said with reassuring tone, but at the same time Federico could tell that he had suffered injuries in the earlier fight which definitely slowed him down. “Maybe we’ll find a rope and tie him to chair or something, but you just go after Morsh!” Federico stood up and looked at Devyn.
“Or maybe we should just kill him.” Federico whispered.
Choice 1: [Go after Morsh] [Don't go after Morsh]
-
Bonus choice (only vote if you voted option 1 in the first choice):
[Kill Devyn] [Leave Devyn alive]
[Go after Morsh]
[Kill Devyn]
[Go after Morsh]
[Leave Devyn alive]
[Go after Morsh]
[Kill Devyn]
The price for desertion is death, and Devyn has done more than just desert. The mutiny at Castle Black, him slaying fellow brothers. I don't know, I'd like to see Federico as a good and just fellow, though his duty to the Watch entitles him to hunt down and kill deserting brothers... And I don't want Devyn to get away. I think going after Morsh is the most suitable option, even though it would appear Morsh is likely a more experienced fighter than the escaped deserter, we don't know whether this deserter is running back to more brothers or not. So I think Morsh will need backup in the least.
Anyway, great part. Really enjoyed the structure of this one! (I like the structure of all, but something about the Night's Watch working with Northmen really triggers me XD). Looking forward to the next one!
[Go after Morsh]
[Kill Devyn]
I'm mostly picking this because I really, really want to kill Devyn. The mutiny at Castle Black has, so far, been one of the most shocking scenes in the entire story for me (as well as, strangely enough, my favourite, in a Red Wedding kind of way) and I genuinely hate the deserters for it. And this particular deserter killed the Maester and is therefore one of the worst of the whole bunch. Desertion is punishable by death and as Stigz said, Devyn did a lot more than just deserting the Watch. He killed his fellow brothers and he must be killed as quickly as possible. Leaving him with Darron might give him the chance to escape later and that must be prevented. Meanwhile Mosh could definitely need the backup, because backup can never be a bad thing. I'm sure he is more skilled than the deserter that escaped, but the deserter is definitely desparate, and this could give him an advantage in a fight, so this combination of options appears to be both, the most safe, as well as the most reasonable for me.
This one is clear, vote closed! Federico will go after Morsh, but before that he will kill Devyn. I was fairly certain these would be the winning choices. If you are wondering why you had to choose to go after Morsh to get to choose the "kill Devyn" option, it's basically because if Federico had stayed with Darron much of his next part would have been a conversation about what to do with Devyn. Also killing Devyn right away and then not going after Morsh would have been a bit weird combination
Anyway, the next part will be Skjorn part, which takes us back to the Vale of Thenn and Magnar's Hall. I don't think I can finish it today, but I'll try to be as fast with this as I can!
Skjorn
Magnar’s Hall was finally in front of him. He looked at the stairs that led to the door with dark thoughts in his mind. All this time that they had traveled he had been thinking about how he would tell Sigira and Storg what happened to their father. And I still don’t have the answer to that. Denyal Delen and Gregory stood behind him. Dogga had left them, swearing he would kill Fleshbearer. As much as Skjorn wished that the young Hornfoot would succeed in that, he doubted it.
“I’m with you, Skjorn.” Denyal said with calm and reassuring voice, putting his hand on Skjorn’s shoulder. Skjorn gave him a small nod and started walking up the stony stairs. Before he was at the door, someone opened it and stepped outside. It was Yrma, the most trusted warrior of Skyrnor – Princess Sigira’s cousin.
“Skjorn the Scholar.” She stated with tedious and almost mocking tone. “I assume the Magnar sent you with some kind of message.” For a couple seconds Skjorn turned his gaze to the ground, remembering again the last time he spoke with Krygorn. Then he raised his eyes to Yrma.
“Magnar Krygorn is dead.” Skjorn said with toneless words. The look on Yrma’s eyes changed to something between shock and disbelief. “I believe we need to arrange a meeting. Now.”
-
Skjorn sat at the middle of the table, Denyal next to him. Yrma was opposed to him. Skyrnor had taken the other end of the table, Sigira the other. Gorgar the Frozen sat close to the princess. Sigira had decided that due to his young age Storg should not take part in this meeting.
“You said he fell in battle… But not against the Nightrunners or Hornfoots.” Sigira spoke with sadness still in her voice, and her eyes were still red from crying. “So the Ice River bastards betrayed us.”
“Yes.” Skjorn answered quietly. Tears started running down Sigira’s cheeks again.
“I should have killed him… Back when he was here, I should have killed that monster when I had the chance.” Sigira’s voice was trembling from the anger and sadness, and she clenched her fists so hard that Skjorn feared her hands would bleed.
“None of us could see this coming, you are the last person to blame of your father’s death.” Skjorn tried to calm her, but it was clear that she ignored him.
“That women who has been in your company for a while now.” Skyrnor spoke up, looking at Sigira. “She used to be part of Fleshbearer’s clan, right? Are you sure she is to be trusted?” For a moment Sigira’s eyes were filled with doubt, but then she shook her head.
“Lenlie is my friend, a loyal friend. She has nothing to do with this.” She spoke quietly, keeping her eyes at the table.
“I don’t think we should take that risk.” Skyrnor said with cold tone. “We should prison her, question her.”
“She has nothing to do with this!” Sigira shouted, now furiously staring at Skyrnor, who raised his hands up.
“Your call, princess.” He said, with a touch of mockery in his voice. Skjorn felt slightly angered as he looked at Skyrnor, but he decided not to say anything – and Princess Sigira also stayed silent.
“We need a new Magnar.” Yrma broke the silence with her blunt statement. Skjorn raised his eyebrow.
“Do we?” He asked with veiled sarcasm. “And let me guess, you think Storg is too young to take that role.”
“That’s the truth, scholar.” Skyrnor said, and even if his words came out calmly Skjorn could tell that he was tense, gripping to the arms of his chair. Sigira raised his look up again, realizing what was happening.
“Storg is the son of Krygorn, he and no one else can be the next Magnar.” Sigira spoke quietly, but the anger could be heard in her words.
“Face it, princess.” Yrma said with cocky tone. “Skyrnor is the right choice to lead the Thenns now.”
“NO!” Sigira screamed, standing up from the chair, tears running down her cheeks again. “My father dies, and now you… You are taking everything from Storg!”
“Calm down, Sigira.” Skjorn said, but he was once again ignored.
“So what is your solution then, princess?” Yrma asked with mocking tone. “You would have eight-year-old boy to lead the Thenns on the battlefield?” Sigira closed her eyes for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths. Then she opened her eyes, looking at everyone around the table with determination in her eyes.
“Storg is not ready, not yet.” She said with calm tone. “But not many years and he will be. And before that, I can rule in his stead.” Skyrnor turned his gaze to the table and Yrma let out a mocking laugh.
“Princess leading the Thenns?” She asked and shook her head. “No, we need a Magnar. We need Skyrnor.”
“Denyal.” Skyrnor said suddenly with friendly tone, which clearly surprised the young man. “Since your father has not returned I assume you lead the family of Delen now. Delens were always very important supporters of Magnar Krygorn, so I ask you, who are you going to support?” Denyal looked like he was caught off guard. He glanced at both Skyrnor and Sigira, but finally he turned his eyes to Skjorn.
“I will support whomever Skjorn decides to support.” He said quietly. “I have learned that he is the one we should all listen, and Krygorn knew that too.” Now Skjorn could see both Sigira and Skyrnor turning their eyes to him. He raised his eyebrow and let out a sigh. I suppose I must make a choice.
[Support Sigira] [Support Skyrnor]
[Support Sigira]
First of all, I greatly like Sigira and consider her my favourite character in the Thenn storyline. She's awesome and I think she has what it takes to be a good and wise leader, especially with advisors like Lenlie, Skjorn and Gorgar. There is also the thing that I don't trust Skyrnor to do the right decision in the events to come and neither do I like him. Sigira might be willing to submit the remaining Thenns to Raymun, to gain a chance to take revenge on Fleshbearer for killing Krygorn and to ultimately strengthen the wildling alliance. I don't see a reason why Skyrnor would ever peacefully submit to Raymun however. He seems to be out only for his own power and that means he is dangerous, at least for Storg and Sigira, because I doubt he is going to spare them, should he become Magnar. After all, Storg is the legitimate Magnar once he comes off age, so he would be a threat to Skyrnor's rule. The fact that he is so casually willing to ignore his cousins birthright is a major red flag for me. I'm not sure if he's truly a bad guy, but I don't trust him with leading the Thenns. Maybe he will be a strong ruler, but right now, they don't need a strong ruler, they need a wise one. Also, from a biased point of view, I would like for Skjorn to support the rightful Magnar, which is Storg, instead of becoming a back-stabbing opportunist. Krygorn has been his friend and he wouldn't have wanted his sons birthright to be taken away.
[Support Sigira]
Ehhhhhhhhhh, should have known this was going to come. Never did I ever expect this to happen to Skyrnor, corrupted with power. Ah well, shit happens I guess.
Well, I agree with Liquid on that the birthrights belong to Storg, and as much as I'd like my 'ideal' Skyrnor to sit as Magnar, the man he has turned out to be makes me worry. I would like to see the Thenn's ally with Raymun in the attack south of the Wall, and I agree Skyrnor would likely be hard pushed to agree with that. So I guess supporting Sigira is the best option right now, I only worry for what will happen to Skyrnor and Yrma.
(Oh and remind me, did you make Yrma? Or did I? I don't remember making her, but I believe she is sister to Skyrnor?)
Man, I'm sorry he seems like such an arse at the moment, but I can assure you that he has not turned evil or anything - he just genuinely believes that he is the right man to take charge in this situation (and to do that he believes he must be the Magnar). If Storg would be older, somewhere around 15 perhaps, then Skyrnor most likely would not be doing this. Also, Yrma doesn't have the best possible influence on him.
I'm not really sure who submitted Yrma, there was no name. Anyway, she isn't Skyrnor's sister, she is just a loyal warrior to him. She was quite simple character who wasn't connected to anyone on her backstory so I decided to connect her with Skyrnor. She is actually much older than Skyrnor (who is 19) - she is on her mid-thirties.
Okay, not much votes this time, but I guess the result is clear anyway. Vote closed! And Skjorn will support Sigira.
As you could probably guess this was a very important choice. I was fairly sure you'd choose Sigira, and she is a good choice in many ways. However, this choice will also have its negative consequences - but we'll get back to those when this storyline continues.
For now, the next part's PoV will be Trystan Oldstark, the First Steward of the Night's Watch. Here's a small recap: His story started from the Eastwatch-by-the-sea, where he was with his squire Broken Hill and the injured knight Ser Arthor Obsydian. However, when the news of the mutiny at Castle Black reached him he immediately returned there. In his latest part he took part in a meeting in the Shield Hall. The consensus in the meeting was that Castle Black needs a temporary leader while the Lord Commander Jack Musgood and the First Ranger George Rivers are away. Commander of Shadow Tower Edric Dayne said they should choose the leader in this small meeting, whereas the First Builder Jorrel insisted an open election with all the brothers in Castle Black. You voted Trystan to side with Jorrel, and you voted that he will not name himself as candidate in this election.
I've started to write his part, but I have a lot to do this week and weekend. However, I'm still pretty sure it'll be ready during the weekend.
Also, I managed to finish this drawing that I had started long ago:
[Support Sigira]
He looks amazing! I especially like the face paint and the axe looks awesome as well. And that fur coat... Impressive work
Thanks mate!
Btw, have you heard that HBO just revealed the title for s6 first episode? It's "The Red Woman" - now what could that be about ;D
Yes, I've just seen it and it made me super excited. The official synopsis made me chuckle though, because it starts with this sentence:
Suuuure HBO, of course he is dead. They are trying a bit too hard XD
Wow, he looks great man! I totally agree with Liquid with the axe and face paint
As for the next episode, hella pumped! Though I dunno about titles, they can oft be manipulative and tricking haha.
Thanks! And yeah, last season the title of episode 7 "The Gift" truly tricked me. I was sure it would be related to the wildlings and the lands south of the Wall or Arya giving the gift of death to someone, but instead it was Jorah's "gift" (Tyrion) to Dany
I do believe that Melisandre will have a big presence on this episode though, what she'll do is another question.
Personally, I don't believe she can bring Jon back. I believe that Jon will come back, but it's been speculated so much that Melisandre will do it and I dunno so much. From the looks of the trailer, Davos and Melisandre are obvs protecting Snow's body and the Watch mutineers are wanting to burn the corpse. I think in the final bit where Davos draws Longclaw with those brothers around him, I might be slow but are those brothers siding with him to help defend Jon's body? Or else they're against him and Ghost is gonna rip some flesh up!
As for his resurrection, I always liked the idea of him joining the Others and somehow settling peace between the Others and men, though I imagine the only way will be through resurrection via r'hllor. Anyway, your thoughts?