Garthon
Nervously, Garthon looked from the captains to the Riverlords. Each of them obviously wanted to hear a different thing from him, … morewanted to see a different side of the king presented. Naturally, Harren had a very specific idea as well. The king gave him an impatient handwave. “Well, what are you waiting for?”, he growled, in a tone that sounded like feigned boredom.
Finally, Garthon settled for strength. There was little he could do wrong with praising Harren's strength, right? Everyone loved a strong king... right? The looks on their faces told him otherwise, but it seemed like his best option.
“Edmyn Tully planned this rebellion out of fear”, he started and the crowd started to murmur. “The very same sort of fear drew Torvin to his side. I don't know Tully very well, but I know my brother. Neither he, nor Tully were motivated by a higher goal. What united them was fear for their families”
The Riverlords erupted into loud … [view original content]
Garthon
Nervously, Garthon looked from the captains to the Riverlords. Each of them obviously wanted to hear a different thing from him, … morewanted to see a different side of the king presented. Naturally, Harren had a very specific idea as well. The king gave him an impatient handwave. “Well, what are you waiting for?”, he growled, in a tone that sounded like feigned boredom.
Finally, Garthon settled for strength. There was little he could do wrong with praising Harren's strength, right? Everyone loved a strong king... right? The looks on their faces told him otherwise, but it seemed like his best option.
“Edmyn Tully planned this rebellion out of fear”, he started and the crowd started to murmur. “The very same sort of fear drew Torvin to his side. I don't know Tully very well, but I know my brother. Neither he, nor Tully were motivated by a higher goal. What united them was fear for their families”
The Riverlords erupted into loud … [view original content]
Indeed, Torvin hadn't had a PoV in this chapter and he also was the first to have his storyline concluded in the last one, so there wasn't a Torvin part for over half a year now.
When you put it like that... Damn, time goes fast.
And yeah, I don't think Raylansfair has a very bright future
I'm glad you enjoyed this part! Indeed, Torvin hadn't had a PoV in this chapter and he also was the first to have his storyline concluded in… more the last one, so there wasn't a Torvin part for over half a year now. It's good to hear that you still like him though! And you are definitely right with your assumption. Things are bound to go from bad to worse in Raylansfair, with Anturion, Bear and the Ironborn on their way, Clayton and his killers planning to acquire the Wildfire and Mullendore still having a mysterious master plan for the city. It's hard to believe that Harris once seemed like the biggest threat for the city, isn't it?
Wow..I'm whitout words..this was,at least to me, one of the best part of the entire fic!(not beacause I like what happened to Torvin but beause I like how you descibe all the meeting with the king)
Garthon
Nervously, Garthon looked from the captains to the Riverlords. Each of them obviously wanted to hear a different thing from him, … morewanted to see a different side of the king presented. Naturally, Harren had a very specific idea as well. The king gave him an impatient handwave. “Well, what are you waiting for?”, he growled, in a tone that sounded like feigned boredom.
Finally, Garthon settled for strength. There was little he could do wrong with praising Harren's strength, right? Everyone loved a strong king... right? The looks on their faces told him otherwise, but it seemed like his best option.
“Edmyn Tully planned this rebellion out of fear”, he started and the crowd started to murmur. “The very same sort of fear drew Torvin to his side. I don't know Tully very well, but I know my brother. Neither he, nor Tully were motivated by a higher goal. What united them was fear for their families”
The Riverlords erupted into loud … [view original content]
Garthon
Nervously, Garthon looked from the captains to the Riverlords. Each of them obviously wanted to hear a different thing from him, … morewanted to see a different side of the king presented. Naturally, Harren had a very specific idea as well. The king gave him an impatient handwave. “Well, what are you waiting for?”, he growled, in a tone that sounded like feigned boredom.
Finally, Garthon settled for strength. There was little he could do wrong with praising Harren's strength, right? Everyone loved a strong king... right? The looks on their faces told him otherwise, but it seemed like his best option.
“Edmyn Tully planned this rebellion out of fear”, he started and the crowd started to murmur. “The very same sort of fear drew Torvin to his side. I don't know Tully very well, but I know my brother. Neither he, nor Tully were motivated by a higher goal. What united them was fear for their families”
The Riverlords erupted into loud … [view original content]
Garthon
Nervously, Garthon looked from the captains to the Riverlords. Each of them obviously wanted to hear a different thing from him, … morewanted to see a different side of the king presented. Naturally, Harren had a very specific idea as well. The king gave him an impatient handwave. “Well, what are you waiting for?”, he growled, in a tone that sounded like feigned boredom.
Finally, Garthon settled for strength. There was little he could do wrong with praising Harren's strength, right? Everyone loved a strong king... right? The looks on their faces told him otherwise, but it seemed like his best option.
“Edmyn Tully planned this rebellion out of fear”, he started and the crowd started to murmur. “The very same sort of fear drew Torvin to his side. I don't know Tully very well, but I know my brother. Neither he, nor Tully were motivated by a higher goal. What united them was fear for their families”
The Riverlords erupted into loud … [view original content]
Garthon
Nervously, Garthon looked from the captains to the Riverlords. Each of them obviously wanted to hear a different thing from him, … morewanted to see a different side of the king presented. Naturally, Harren had a very specific idea as well. The king gave him an impatient handwave. “Well, what are you waiting for?”, he growled, in a tone that sounded like feigned boredom.
Finally, Garthon settled for strength. There was little he could do wrong with praising Harren's strength, right? Everyone loved a strong king... right? The looks on their faces told him otherwise, but it seemed like his best option.
“Edmyn Tully planned this rebellion out of fear”, he started and the crowd started to murmur. “The very same sort of fear drew Torvin to his side. I don't know Tully very well, but I know my brother. Neither he, nor Tully were motivated by a higher goal. What united them was fear for their families”
The Riverlords erupted into loud … [view original content]
Garthon
Nervously, Garthon looked from the captains to the Riverlords. Each of them obviously wanted to hear a different thing from him, … morewanted to see a different side of the king presented. Naturally, Harren had a very specific idea as well. The king gave him an impatient handwave. “Well, what are you waiting for?”, he growled, in a tone that sounded like feigned boredom.
Finally, Garthon settled for strength. There was little he could do wrong with praising Harren's strength, right? Everyone loved a strong king... right? The looks on their faces told him otherwise, but it seemed like his best option.
“Edmyn Tully planned this rebellion out of fear”, he started and the crowd started to murmur. “The very same sort of fear drew Torvin to his side. I don't know Tully very well, but I know my brother. Neither he, nor Tully were motivated by a higher goal. What united them was fear for their families”
The Riverlords erupted into loud … [view original content]
Garthon is going to encourage Hjalgar to join him during their raid
I am by no means surprised by this decision and it was pretty unanimous. One of the immediate outcomes is that Hjalgar will play a role in the rest of Garthon's Book 1 storyline and will influence it appropriately. If he would have stayed back, this would have been the last we would have seen of him for months, until Book 2 starts. In fact, this was the last we've seen of Harrenhal in Book 1, though it will make its triumphant return in Book 2, while many of its characters will continue to play an important role for the remainder of Book 1. As for this part, I am relieved and amazed that you seem to have enjoyed it greatly! I wrote it all on the same day I left the hospital, with no sleep at all and under medication, so I was actually half convinced it would turn out to be shit. Of course, I was also worried for the very dark tone of the part, because there's a thin line between appropriate darkness and over-the-top cringe. Glad to see it was a well-received part. And well, I guess you all know now that Harren Hoare is not the good guy in this story. The next parts for our Breaker brothers will be exciting to write, even if it'll take a while until I get back to them. They have a big role to play in the next chapters, so stay tuned
The next part will most likely be out today. Might be a bit late today, since a whole lot of writing is still left to do, but I am motivated to write it. It is going to be a completely ordinary part, with no special events at all. By no means is it the longest part I have ever written, at roughly thrice the length of a regular part. Nothing big will happen. No one is going to die. There will be no plot twists. This is not a trick. Really. Believe me. It is definitely neither the chapter finale, nor the droids you're looking for.
Without any sarcasm though, it is going to be a long ass part...
On another note I have good news! I listened to your unspoken wishes and combined the Deceased list with the Unknown list, to make the fates of certain characters more ambigous in the future and to make it impossible to figure out if a character is truly dead or not before I decide to be merciful enough to reveal it in the story
Also, I would seriously like to thank you for your strong support over the last few days! Your good wishes have motivated me extremely and were a major part of why I pushed this last part out so quickly. I'm already feeling a lot better than before (I can breathe through both of my nostrils again. Both Nostrils! At once and without pain!) and I'm very certain that I will be fully recovered when I get my stitches removed on monday. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your support. You are awesome.
The Voting is closed!
Garthon is going to encourage Hjalgar to join him during their raid
I am by no means surprised by this decision … moreand it was pretty unanimous. One of the immediate outcomes is that Hjalgar will play a role in the rest of Garthon's Book 1 storyline and will influence it appropriately. If he would have stayed back, this would have been the last we would have seen of him for months, until Book 2 starts. In fact, this was the last we've seen of Harrenhal in Book 1, though it will make its triumphant return in Book 2, while many of its characters will continue to play an important role for the remainder of Book 1. As for this part, I am relieved and amazed that you seem to have enjoyed it greatly! I wrote it all on the same day I left the hospital, with no sleep at all and under medication, so I was actually half convinced it would turn out to be shit. Of course, I was also worried for the very dark tone of the part, beca… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Garthon is going to encourage Hjalgar to join him during their raid
I am by no means surprised by this decision … moreand it was pretty unanimous. One of the immediate outcomes is that Hjalgar will play a role in the rest of Garthon's Book 1 storyline and will influence it appropriately. If he would have stayed back, this would have been the last we would have seen of him for months, until Book 2 starts. In fact, this was the last we've seen of Harrenhal in Book 1, though it will make its triumphant return in Book 2, while many of its characters will continue to play an important role for the remainder of Book 1. As for this part, I am relieved and amazed that you seem to have enjoyed it greatly! I wrote it all on the same day I left the hospital, with no sleep at all and under medication, so I was actually half convinced it would turn out to be shit. Of course, I was also worried for the very dark tone of the part, beca… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Garthon is going to encourage Hjalgar to join him during their raid
I am by no means surprised by this decision … moreand it was pretty unanimous. One of the immediate outcomes is that Hjalgar will play a role in the rest of Garthon's Book 1 storyline and will influence it appropriately. If he would have stayed back, this would have been the last we would have seen of him for months, until Book 2 starts. In fact, this was the last we've seen of Harrenhal in Book 1, though it will make its triumphant return in Book 2, while many of its characters will continue to play an important role for the remainder of Book 1. As for this part, I am relieved and amazed that you seem to have enjoyed it greatly! I wrote it all on the same day I left the hospital, with no sleep at all and under medication, so I was actually half convinced it would turn out to be shit. Of course, I was also worried for the very dark tone of the part, beca… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Garthon is going to encourage Hjalgar to join him during their raid
I am by no means surprised by this decision … moreand it was pretty unanimous. One of the immediate outcomes is that Hjalgar will play a role in the rest of Garthon's Book 1 storyline and will influence it appropriately. If he would have stayed back, this would have been the last we would have seen of him for months, until Book 2 starts. In fact, this was the last we've seen of Harrenhal in Book 1, though it will make its triumphant return in Book 2, while many of its characters will continue to play an important role for the remainder of Book 1. As for this part, I am relieved and amazed that you seem to have enjoyed it greatly! I wrote it all on the same day I left the hospital, with no sleep at all and under medication, so I was actually half convinced it would turn out to be shit. Of course, I was also worried for the very dark tone of the part, beca… [view original content]
I wasn't sure if I should outright confirm it, but now I see no point in denying it, especially since everyone seems to have it figured out already. Yes, it is Jaron and I am very likely going to need three posts to put it online
I wasn't sure if I should outright confirm it, but now I see no point in denying it, especially since everyone seems to have it figured out already. Yes, it is Jaron and I am very likely going to need three posts to put it online
Yes, definitely. I currently have one part worth of content written and I just now started to get to the really juicy stuff. I don't know if it has the length of three full parts, but two and a half are highly likely.
Yes, definitely. I currently have one part worth of content written and I just now started to get to the really juicy stuff. I don't know if it has the length of three full parts, but two and a half are highly likely.
Jeez... finish it today, please :-o I hope to have something to read tonight! Especially that I am waking up in the middle of it for some reason already.
I wasn't sure if I should outright confirm it, but now I see no point in denying it, especially since everyone seems to have it figured out already. Yes, it is Jaron and I am very likely going to need three posts to put it online
I wasn't sure if I should outright confirm it, but now I see no point in denying it, especially since everyone seems to have it figured out already. Yes, it is Jaron and I am very likely going to need three posts to put it online
Actually... it's closer to 4 now, if I estimate it correctly. It's probably going to be the only part of this length I'm ever going to write. I'm halfway through the second part and still not at the real stuff, though I'm not sure how long this real stuff is going to be. This might either bomb tragically or it is going to be a part you all thoroughly enjoy. I hope for the latter and I know, I have way too much fun writing it. And the progress I make is delicious. Today. Very late today, but today. I won't go to bed until it is out, unless I drop unconscious first
Wow... I'm really looking forward to this, especially since it's Jaron Though I'm also nervous... Not that the part wouldn't be good, I'm sure it will be, but I'm afraid there will be major deaths, and there are couple characters there that I really don't want to die
Actually... it's closer to 4 now, if I estimate it correctly. It's probably going to be the only part of this length I'm ever going to write… more. I'm halfway through the second part and still not at the real stuff, though I'm not sure how long this real stuff is going to be. This might either bomb tragically or it is going to be a part you all thoroughly enjoy. I hope for the latter and I know, I have way too much fun writing it. And the progress I make is delicious. Today. Very late today, but today. I won't go to bed until it is out, unless I drop unconscious first
Too much hype for the last part...I can't survive!XD
PS:I like your choice of fuse the deceased and unknown lists (since this way even new readers that make the horrible mistake to read that list will never be sure that the character inside of it is dead)
The Voting is closed!
Garthon is going to encourage Hjalgar to join him during their raid
I am by no means surprised by this decision … moreand it was pretty unanimous. One of the immediate outcomes is that Hjalgar will play a role in the rest of Garthon's Book 1 storyline and will influence it appropriately. If he would have stayed back, this would have been the last we would have seen of him for months, until Book 2 starts. In fact, this was the last we've seen of Harrenhal in Book 1, though it will make its triumphant return in Book 2, while many of its characters will continue to play an important role for the remainder of Book 1. As for this part, I am relieved and amazed that you seem to have enjoyed it greatly! I wrote it all on the same day I left the hospital, with no sleep at all and under medication, so I was actually half convinced it would turn out to be shit. Of course, I was also worried for the very dark tone of the part, beca… [view original content]
I wasn't sure if I should outright confirm it, but now I see no point in denying it, especially since everyone seems to have it figured out already. Yes, it is Jaron and I am very likely going to need three posts to put it online
Welcome back, Bounden, it's great that you're caught up again Indeed, you're back just in time. The finale (which has indeed a length of around 4 parts) is going to be out at some point in the next two hours.
Jaron had his good arm wrapped around Harpy's shoulder, as they walked down the street. She was shivering, but he knew it was not from the cold and not from the light rainfall that went down upon them. His left hand was touching the hilt of his sword and while his arm was still aching, he was sure that he'd be able to use it again. He only hoped that it wouldn't come that far. One of her hands was resting on his, while the other was holding the edge of a knife, a small blade which she was hiding deeply in the sleeve of her dress.
“It's alright”, he said and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She closed her eyes for a second, before she shook her head. “We've been too confident about this”, she answered. “It's just... I wonder how he was able to find out. Aside from our group, only...” She paused and anger flared up in her eyes. “Abbas”, she hissed. “This bastard is the only one I'd see as capable enough for this”
Jaron shook his head. “We don't know what happened yet, okay?”, he tried to calm her down. “You're tired, it had been a long and stressful day. Perhaps you're interpreting too much into Mullendore's behaviour” Her glare hit him. “I know what I saw”, she growled.
“Sure you did”, Jarek's voice sounded from behind them. Jaron glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. The sellsword raised an eyebrow. “What?”, he said. “If she is right, if Mullendore is Butterfly, then I'm sorry, but someone, either she or the Burned Man fucked up tremendously”
“Jarek”, Keira hissed angrily. She was walking close to Martin, not holding his hand, but the shortsword he gave her and together, they were covering the groups right side. On the other side walked Ayden, holding a greatsword. Taria was next to him, always glancing back to where they came from. Neither of them had approved of Jaron's decision to take a shortcut back to the Burned Man's hideout, but they all followed him, so that they would at least stick together.
“What? It's the truth!”, Jarek snapped. “The plan was to save Mullendore's life and now you mean to tell me that we saved Butterfly?” Harpy shook her head. “I saved him”, she whispered. “Back at the masquerade, I saved his life... Whatever happens is not your fault”
“Sure as hell it isn't”, Jarek growled. “I know that quite well and I'm telling you, this was the last time I worked for your cripple. If you're right, then he literally fucked up beyond measure” Harpy sighed, not turning around to face him. Instead, she looked at Jaron. “He's right, isn't he?”, she mumbled. “I... we tried to do a good thing tonight. And now...”
“It can't be Butterfly”, Martin interjected. “Impossible. Whatever you saw was just a coincidence. I was there when Butterfly died and well, so were you” Harpy gulped, before she gave him a nod. “If the man from the warehouse wasn't Butterfly...”, she whispered and her eyes widened in shock. “Gods, what have I done?”
“You did what you thought was right”, Jaron tried to calm her down. “Look at me, I need you to remain focussed now. We're close to Tanner's Alley and we can't afford anyone freaking out in there. Don't draw their attention”
“Understood”, Harpy said decisively. The look in her eyes was one of confusion, anxiety and genuine fear, all thrown together, but there was bravery as well. “Whatever happens, we'll face it together, won't we?”, she asked and Jaron smiled. “Together”, he confirmed.
“Well, one thing is for sure”, Keira said and her tone was one of forced optimism. “If I'm going to die here, Hishi is going to be pissed” Martin grinned at her and his grin was equally forced. “Your boss, eh? Well, since you're not going to die tonight, he's not going to be pissed. Or... she. What's Hishi's gender either way?”, he asked in the attempt to start a normal conversation.
“Good question”, Keira answered. “I never asked him, but I could swear he's a man. My friend Donna swears Hishi is a woman, but she never saw him naked either. The only one who knows for sure is that grumpy old bastard Lanford, but he'd never tell me” Martin's grin turned into a genuine smile, as he threw a fond look at her. “Clever man”, he chuckled. “He knows you can't keep a secret”
“I keep many secrets”, Keira claimed in a tone that got more and more genuinely jovial. “At least that's how Hishi praises me in front of the customers” Martin shook his head and answered something, but at the same time, Ayden drew Jaron's attention. “You hear this?”, he asked. Jaron raised an eyebrow. “Martin and Keira?”, he asked in return and Ayden shook his head.
“Usually, this is one of the most crowded places in Oldtown”, he explained. “Aside from our lovebirds, I hear nothing and well...” He pointed down the empty street, just as Harpy tensed up. She stopped walking and so did the others. “Oh gods no...”, she whispered, just as Jaron saw the man standing in the shadows. As he stepped into the middle of the street, moonlight fell upon his mask, white and golden.
“Good evening”, the Tom said, in his melodic, purring voice. He drew his curved sword, casually holding it with one hand, while the other one was resting on his belt. “Ser Bastard, Lady Harpy... I'm afraid you made a terrible mistake coming here tonight”
Harpy gulped and instinctively took a step away from him, while Jarek walked up next to Jaron. “He's alone, isn't he?”, he growled and looked around. “Let's just kill him and be done with it” Martin shook his head. “He isn't...”, he whispered. “He's never alone”
Just as he said this, a second masked man walked around the corner. The Moggy seemed even more massive than the last time Jaron had seen him. While the Tom was by no means a small man, he almost looked like a child next to his gargantuan bodyguard, who wielded a sword as large as a grown man in one hand.
“Now...”, the Tom continued and took a step forwards. He stopped, when Jaron, Martin, Ayden and Jarek pointed their weapons at him. “Now there are two options. You drop your weapons and in return, I will end this quickly. Or you stand your ground and I will give you the fight you deserve” Even from afar, an almost hungry streak was visible in his eyes.
Jarek shook his head. “Still just two people. The big kitty might be a problem, but we can take them down, can't we?”, he whispered. Jaron glanced towards Harpy, who had her fists clenched inside her long sleeves. “We can take you down”, she said loudly and the Tom shook his head. “Oh, sweet child”, he purred. “Why do you assume we are alone?”
His words were followed by a distant sound that quickly came closer. Heavy footsteps on the rain-soaked ground, more than half a dozen of them. “Fuck...”, Ayden said, just as he and Taria took a step towards the Tom. Jaron noticed that the woman was crying and he couldn't blame her. She had a hand on her stomach and he remembered her earlier words. As early as it was, she was pregnant. She would die here and she was pregnant...
“Please”, Ayden said sternly, while the Tom's hand moved upwards, from the belt around his waist to the one strapped across his chest, that was holding his throwing knives. “She had nothing to do with this. She does not work for the Burned Man. Let her go”
The Tom narrowed his eyes and took a single step towards them, while the Moggy remained behind. Then, in one, swift movement, he had drawn the throwing knife he was grabbing. It flew into Ayden's direction and the sellsword was quick to push Taria out of the way. Not quick enough though, as the small knife hit her in the shoulder, digging deep into her flesh and causing her to cry in pain, as she went to the ground.
Ayden fell on one knee right next to her, gently holding her with one hand, while the other, holding the sword, pointed right at the Tom. “Taria!”, he yelled, while she pressed her hand onto the wound, blood seeping through her fingers. She was wailing in agony, tears were streaming down her face, The wound alone shouldn't be fatal, though it looked painful nonetheless. “Fuck, this was not part of the plan!”, Ayden growled, looking at Harpy, who was tightly clenching Jaron's arm in panic. “You never said that she'd be in danger!”
“No one will leave”, the Tom said in a casual tone. “Unless he says so” He pointed towards them, no, past them. Jaron had heard the footsteps, he heard Jarek's heartfelt curse, but he did not turn around until now. From an adjacent street, the way they came, walked a group of men. They were more than half a dozen, carrying short spears, each of them wearing a grey tabard with the sigil of House Hightower on top.
The city guard was here and they were led by a man that was all too familiar, but at the same time, entirely different from the last time he had seen him. Back at the masquerade, Maron Mullendore had been a genuinely charming man, right until the end. Jaron had started to like him, he had been relieved when he survived the attack. Now, the commander looked different. His red hair was combed back, falling down onto his shoulders and the look in his green eyes was bare of any warmth. A mocking smirk formed on his face and his hands were resting on his belly, the thumbs grabbing the belt. He was still wearing his elegant attire from the masquerade, but on top of it, he was wearing thin chainmail.
Martin growled something and both, he and Keira took position back-to-back, covering each other, while Jarek bravely stood the closest to the Tom and the Moggy. Next to Jaron, Harpy was shivering, she had turned away from the Tom and was now fully facing the commander, who gave her a slight nod, as he raised his hand and commanded his men to stop. Tanner's Alley was large for an alleyway, but the six guardsmen were more than enough to block it completely. On the other side, the presence of the Moggy alone was enough to prove a severe obstacle.
“Gwynna Caron...”, Mullendore snarled. “I must say, you had me for a while. You played a perfect Lady Gwynna and I command you for your act. All of you played a role tonight, but it's time to drop the masks now”
Harpy had her eyes closed, her hand found Jaron's and squeezed it tightly. As she opened her eyes again, she was glaring at Mullendore, with an expression full of hatred. “Butterfly”, she said and sounded almost calm.
He smiled. “Took you long enough to figure it out”, he answered. “In the end, I even had to push you into the right direction. The look on your face when you realized it was worth it though” He chuckled and Jaron noticed that none of his men looked surprised in any way. “You are Butterfly”, Harpy stated again and he gave her a nod. “Do you really need me to spell it out for you?”, he asked. “Yes, I am Butterfly, the one and only. There has never been another one”
Harpy tensed up, gasping slightly at his words. “And... the...”, she stuttered and Mullendore's grin got wider, more vicious. “Would it torment you when I say that he was an innocent man, forced into playing a role this day, a man that did not deserve what you did to him, another victim?”, he asked and each of his words caused Harpy to grow paler.
Finally, the commander burst into a chuckle. “I'm just fucking with you, you stupid, foreign cunt”, he stated. “I'm not petty enough to torment you with a lie like that. He was one of my best men. A hero, though not innocent from your twisted viewpoint. Not innocent at all. See, it is interesting that we meet face to face in this situation...”
Harpy's grip around his hand was almost painful by now and the look she gave him was wide-eyed, close to break down. She was holding back tears and he saw regret, shame, deep sorrow all engraved in her face. “Just spare me the monologue, spare me your sick mind games”, she mumbled. “There are a thousand questions I'd like to ask. For example, why. Why would a person do the things you did? Why do you hate my kind so much? There are a thousand insults I'd like to throw at you, at the monster that will haunt my dreams forever” A sad, desperate and defiant smile formed on her face. “However, I doubt you'll be able to give me satisfying answers so just shut up and get it over with, you son of a bitch”
Mullendore narrowed his eyes, but his smile remained. “Are you sure? I know you're going to like what I have to say”, he explained. “Because, as a matter of fact I have no intentions of killing or harming you tonight”
His words caused Jaron to raise an eyebrow, though Harpy did not look particularly impressed. “I said spare me the mind games”, she answered and for a moment he looked genuinely offended. “I would never lie about this”, he said. “I have no intentions of harming you. In fact, I have very good reason to let you go”
Now, his men looked confused, though none of them looked as confused as Harpy. Well, Jaron perhaps, who had his eyes narrowed and was baffled at hearing these words. He looked over his shoulder, where the Tom was still blocking the alleyway. The mask gave away no emotion, though the eyes behind it were thin slits, filled with disapproval.
“You came all the way just to let us go?”, Harpy asked and he immediately shook his head. “I see you still have a problem paying attention to the details. I don't intend to let all of you go”, he explained and pointed at her. “Just you. The rest will die, from your bastard pimp to the literal whore to your right” Harpy's eyes widened and she looked at Jaron.
Mullendore sighed. “See, under any other circumstance, I would kill you. Make no mistake, I would make you suffer for what you did and I would enjoy it. You'd be my warning example, my masterpiece”, he continued. “To my chagrin, you saved my life tonight. At the very least, you tried it. The attack on me, it wasn't staged. The Tom's man, the one I killed, he was unaware of my identity and acted on his own. I would have probably managed to kill him either way, but you intended to save my life” For just a moment, his smile was almost genuine, a reflection of what Jaron saw back at the masquerade. “And I'd be a hypocrite if I wouldn't honour good intentions”
“Harpy...”, Jaron hissed and she glared at him, immediately shaking his head. “Ser Jaron, if you think for a moment that I would leave you to save my own skin...”, she gasped and her hand heavily clung onto his forearm. “Then you must be the most stupid bastard alive. I did a lot of mistakes, some of which I can never excuse. But leaving you? I could never be such a fool” Her words meant the world to him, yet the pain they caused were almost unbearable.
She turned back towards the commander. “You are a hypocrite”, she called him out. “The worst kind. You are a monster and I despise you. Kill me if you must. Torture me if it pleases you. The only regret I have is that I will die before you”
Mullendore's grin got even wider. “Well, well, look who got quite the mouth”, he chuckled. “Have you asked yourself how I managed to find you?” She narrowed her eyes, but remained silent. “Surely, someone like you would expect a traitor. Say nothing, your face reveals it. Your kind is weak in terms of loyalty. Each of my men would die for me with a smile, but your first impulse is to suspect your own people” He shook his head. “It wasn't treason that brought you down tonight. I was just better than you”, he explained and turned to his men. “Jaylon! Bring him!”
The soldiers right behind him stepped aside and gave view on another man. Jaron roughly remembered the name. Jaylon Gordus. Captain of the city guard. Suspected double agent for Butterfly. He was an ugly man, wearing heavy armour. A longsword was dangling on his belt, a greatsword was strapped to his back and his right hand was holding a helmet, while the left one was resting on the shoulders of a familiar figure.
Harpy groaned in shock and Jaron found it hard to look at him. Himani's smile was gone. His mouth was still open, but mostly because closing it would have obviously caused too much pain. Even from afar, Jaron saw that roughly the half of his pearly-white teeth were gone, replace by broken, bloody ruins, where Butterfly or his torturers ripped them out in a violently unclean way. His face was bruised, one eye even swollen shut and several of his fingers were violently displaced. He shivered and desperate tears streamed out of his good eye.
“No...”, Harpy whispered, unable to avert her gaze. “No... not him” She wasn't crying, even though Jaron knew she had good reason for it. She was way beyond that. There were no tears left for her, just hatred at the man who did this.
“Himani here has been very cooperative, once the Sphynx asked the right questions. It was fascinating how much such a small boy knew”, Mullendore explained and a disgusting sneer formed on his face. Jaylon looked indifferent at this, which Jaron saw as equally despicable.
Harpy shook her head, slowly, before she sighed. “Himani...”, she whispered, but the silence carried her words far and the boy raised his head. “I'm sorry m'lady”, he mumbled and his words were barely audible through the missing teeth. “I did not want to. Forgive me...”
Now, Harpy's expression grew pained. “There's nothing to forgive”, she said in a low tone. “Look at me” She forced herself to smile. “You are still my boy. Do you remember what I promised? I will always look out for you. I will protect you” Her gaze grew harder again and the smile faded as quickly as it came. The anger below was genuine this time. “I will avenge you”, she growled, before she glared at Mullendore. “You're willing to let me go?”
He gave her a nod. “I knew this little bastard would change your mind”, he grinned. “Because look at him... That is going to be nothing compared to your fate” Now, she shook her head. “You don't understand”, she said calmly. “I accept your offer, but not for myself. I'm going to stay here. Do whatever you want. Hurt me and I will scream for you. Kill me and I'll beg you on my knees, but you won't hurt this boy, this sweet, brave, wonderful little boy” A vicious look appeared on her face, the same look she gave the fake Butterfly at the warehouse. “Let.Him.Go!”
For a moment, Mullendore looked almost impressed. He gave Jaylon a nod and the man turned back. Instead, the commander put his hand on Himani's shoulder and the boy nearly screamed in terror. Harpy tensed up and Jaron clenched his teeth as Mullendore's other hand moved to his belt. “A noble offer”, the commander spoke softly. “Unexpected from someone like you. But...”
Harpy and Keira both let out a scream, as Mullendore quickly pushed his dagger into Himani's throat. The young boy's eyes widened, as pain, even more pain appeared on his face. He tried to say something, but he only managed to gurgle helplessly. “You are in no position to make a deal with me”, Mullendore said as he slowly started to twist the blade with sadistic glee. Himani would have screamed, but instead of a voice, a gush of blood poured out of his mouth. “Your lives are mine, to take or give. You have nothing to offer” He let go of the dagger and Himani took it with him to the ground, where he violently twitched in his dying breaths.
Jaron's first impulse was a good one. His arm darted forwards and grabbed Harpy by the shoulder, before she was able to charge at Mullendore. Rage, pain and guilt were the emotions he saw on her face, a guilt that grew even larger when she looked at him. “Don't!”, he hissed and pulled her closer. She stumbled, indecisively, before she staggered forwards, bumping into him and putting her head down onto his chest. He gently stroke her hair to calm her down and he ignored the vicious grin on Mullendore's face.
“Weakness”, the commander chuckled. “Yours is disgusting me. Perhaps you see now, this is your only chance to live. Accept my offer. Your death won't achieve anything for your cause. You won't save anyone”
“Harpy...”, Jaron whispered and she barely reacted in his arms. “I want you to do it” Now she looked up in disbelief. The words were said easily, but he meant them. He would die here. The thought had always caused him to shiver in the past, but now he was oddly calm. He realized it, he would die tonight. As short as their time together was, she gave him something to live for. She gave him something to die for and now he wasn't afraid. He only wanted her to live.
“What?”, she asked and he smiled at her. “I want you to live. You can't save me, you can't save Martin, or Jarek, Keira, Ayden or Taria” He looked at his companions. Whereas Martin and Keira looked calm, focussing at each other, Jarek was seething with anger. Ayden finally was cradling a barely conscious Taria. He was crying, which was the last thing Jaron expected from him. He understood though.
“You can only save yourself. I want you to live for us. Please...”, he whispered softly. “It is my time of dying. It's going to be a messy death in a rain-soaked alleyway in a shithole of a city. Not the kind of death I wished for. Don't make this any harder on me by seeing you die first. Live for me and I'll go out with a smile”
“Jaron..”, she gasped and finally, she proved him wrong. She still had tears left and he felt them warming his cheek as she came closer. “Avy jorraelan”, she whispered and he raised an eyebrow. The words were softer than her usual Ghiscari, but their foreign nature was obvious “I don't know what that means”, he said with a smile and she shook her head. She smiled as well, even though she was crying. “You know exactly what it means”, she answered, as she leaned in to kiss him.
For one second, nothing else mattered. There was no rain. There was no blood, no sorrow. The Tom and the Moggy behind them, Mullendore and Jaylon in front, they were gone. Jaron would die tonight. He would do it with a smile, he would do it with the memory of this moment.
Then, the kiss was interrupted by her desperate sobs. “I'm waiting, mylady!”, Mullendore yelled loudly. “If you want, I give you your bastard knights head once I cut it off his shoulders. Be a good girl and I'll give you his cock as well” Harpy narrowed her eyes and tears streamed down her face, almost small rivers in nature. “I'm coming!”, she growled and Jarek threw an alarmed glare at her. “Excuse me?”, he snarled, but she ignored him. “I'm accepting your offer”, she said again and a pleased, but rotten grin appeared on Mullendore's face.
Jaron's smile was genuine. How could he not smile after sharing this moment with her? “It's okay”, he assured her. “This is what I want. I want you to live!” She shook her head and sighed, before she gave him one last, beautiful smile. “Forgive me”, she whispered and approached Butterfly.
“Goddamn bitch!”, Jarek snapped, but did nothing to stop her. Martin had a pleased grin on his face. “Valar Morghulis”, he said calmly. Keira seemed to pray, her eyes were closed, her lips were moving silently. And finally, Ayden was still gently holding his unconscious lover, fury in his eyes.
“As expected”, the commander chuckled. “Look at her, Ser Bastard! Look at what she really is” He turned to Harpy. “In this entire city, there is only one person worse than you and I'd never let him go that easily”, he mocked her. “You can thank me for my mercy, you turncoat whore”
She tensed up under his mockery and stopped as he took a step aside. His men formed a gap in their formation for her and Jaron clenched his fists, hoping, praying to every god that was willing to listen that she'd take the chance. She'd be free.
She stopped and sighed. “You had to do it, hadn't you?”, she asked and looked at Himani. Mullendore raised an eyebrow, before he gave her a nod. “You had to come personally. Had to rub your victory in my face, had to demonstrate what a rotten piece of shit you are, by killing a child”
Now, Mullendore's smug grin faded and he took a step towards her. “Watch your mouth, bitch”, he snarled. “And don't you dare blaming his death on me. I am a soldier and this is war. I killed my enemy. He stopped being a child the moment you and your cripple made a weapon out of him. You killed him long ago. I freed him”
“He was ten years old”, Harpy said, without looking away from the tiny body. Mullendore shook his head in an irritated fashion and she took a small step towards him. “He was like you, part of the sickness that infects this city”, Mullendore growled in return. “He was part of the very corruption I seek to destroy. You're a clever little whore, with a clever little mouth, but you will not dare to question my conviction”
Now, she looked up, right at him. “He was ten years old”, she repeated. “He was a child. You murdered him. You murdered so many of them” Mullendore sighed and this time, he took a step towards her. Jaron tensed up and exchanged a frightened glance with Martin. What was she doing? Oh, Seven, what was she doing?
“You will leave this city”, Mullendore ordered her. “For saving my life, you will stay alive as well. You will leave this city as I command you and you will never turn back. After tonight, there will be nothing left for you” He grinned. “And you will thank me for being graceful enough to spare your worthless life”
She took a step towards him and he did not seem to mind. “You had to show off. Had to prove to me how much better you are, isn't that correct?” Her voice was oozing hatred, but it grew weaker with every word. Mullendore gave her a nod. “I am better than you, mylady. I am better than all of you combined. I am Butterfly and this city is mine”
“By murdering children”, Harpy spat. “You're the bravest knight I ever met” She took another step towards him and Mullendore crossed his arms. “You know, I swore I wouldn't harm you. By trying to save my life, you earned one chance at survival”, he growled viciously. “But at least once in my life, I just have to hear you scream”
His open palm slapped across her face and the sound it made as it hit the flesh was like the cracking of a whip. He hit her again with the backhand, caused her to spun around. Her dark eyes met Jaron's and he saw the despair, the deepest layer of her self-loathing. Her cheeks were reddened, but she remained silent.
She turned around. “Did this please you, mast...”, she said in a monotonous voice, just as Mullendore's closed fist hit her without warning, slightly below the stomach. She almost went down on her knees and this time, she screamed in agony. “Yes...”, Mullendore huffed under heavy breath, sounding almost aroused. “Yes, you have no idea how much this pleases me” He hit her again, at the same spot, even harder than before. Her scream was even louder and she stumbled towards him, stopping only inches in front of him.
Jaron wasn't able to see her face, but he heard her cracking voice. “Did this please you?”, she asked again and he grinned. “Careful, girl”, he warned her. “No matter how much you try to please me, it won't save your friends” He pointed down the gap between his men. “Now leave, before I decide that I want to keep you after all”
She looked away from Himani and her back straightened. Jaron wasn't able to see her face, but her voice sent shivers down his spine. “You can't have me”, she whispered and he finally understood what she was going to do. She would die. He couldn't let her do it. Forgive me...
“NO!”, he yelled and charged at Mullendore and the guardsmen.
The commander looked at him in confusion and surprise, slightly moving his head in the process.
And the very same moment, Harpy put the knife she had been hiding in her sleeve right in his head.
Everything seemed to slow down. Her knife approached his head, he turned his face towards Jaron. The knife hit him by surprise. If he wouldn't have turned his head, he would have been dead. Now, the knife scratched across his nose, before entering his head through the right eyeball, cutting cleanly through the soft tissue, before meeting the side of his skull. It scratched through it as well, piercing it, before being stopped eventually. Most of the knife was embedded in his eye, her hand was still firmly grabbing the hilt, the tip was just barely leaving the side of his head again. “Oh...”, Mullendore said. Then, he slowly fell to the ground.
Harpy let go of her knife, looking at her hand that was stained with his blood. She seemed shocked, though it was not clear for him if she was shocked about her actions or about the fact that she had failed to kill Mullendore immediately. “Kill her!”, Jaylon screamed slowly. One of the guardsmen lowered his spear, aiming it at her abdomen. He thrusted it forwards...
... and then Jaron was between them. He knocked the spear away with his sword. He would have shielded her with his body if necessary. His sword swung forwards, hitting the surprised guardsmen below the helmet and plunging deep into the soft flesh of his neck. “Stay behind me!”, he barked and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her nodding at him, her eyes opened widely. Behind the man that was just sinking to the ground, Mullendore was crawling towards his men, his blood leaving a trail in the rain.
“Formation!”, Jaylon yelled and the remaining guardsmen lowered their spears, slowly approaching Jaron. Mullendore crawled through them, getting back to safety, where Jaylon immediately approached him. Jaron staggered backwards, pushing Harpy with him, closer to the others. Behind him, he heard a loud, beastly roar, followed by a battlecry. He took another step back and glanced over his shoulder.
Martin, Keira and Jarek fearlessly rushed at the Tom and the Moggy, who in turn approached them. The Moggy was roaring like an animal and Jarek was the only one bold enough to attack him directly. Martin and Keira rushed past the giant's flank, towards the Tom, whose curved sword was pointing at them in the way Essosi fighters would prepare for a challenging fight. His free hand was resting on another throwing knife, though he hadn't pulled it out so far. Only one fighter wasn't doing anything, at least not until Jaron yelled at him.
“Ayden!”, he screamed as he parried a spear. He swung his sword as if it was a torch, just barely keeping the guardsmen at bay. They played it safe. Brief, easy attacks, but several of them at once, forcing him to swing his weapon way faster than they did. He had received enough training in his life to know that he couldn't keep them busy forever.
Just then, a roaring battlecry thundered through the streets. A spear that would have almost hit Jaron was knocked away, the young man holding it staggering to the ground with it, as Ayden joined the fight. “BLACKWELL!”, he screamed at the top of his lungs. His greatsword gave him an advantage over the guardsmen's short spears and even though their careful position inside of a formation prevented him from causing damage, his sword swung widely and forced them into the defensive for once. For a moment, Jaron had room to breath.
“Taria!”, Ayden growled loudly. “Harpy, she's wounded! You have to stop the bleeding!” The intense sound of his voice was enough for her to snap out of her trance. Shock was replaced by determination. Sorrow was covered by a mask of bravery. She gave him a nod and rushed towards Taria, kneeling down next to her, in the attempt to treat her wound as good as possible.
In front of her, Jarek fearlessly took on the Moggy. The giant swung at him, a strong, but clumsy blow and Jarek jumped to the side. He tried to hit him in return, but the Moggy only slightly moved his huge blade to deflect the attack. And slightly behind them, the Tom parried one of Martin's strikes, moving his weapon as elegant as a water dancer, while he simultaneously stepped aside to avoid Keira's attack.
One brave guardsman tried to push his sword into Jaron's throat, but Ayden was there, forcing him into the defence again. Jaron rushed forwards, parrying two spears with his strike. He even managed to hit one of his opponents, but the parrying had taken a majority of his attack's strength and he failed to pierce their leather armour.
However, instead of counterattacking, the guardsmen stopped for a moment and so did Jaron and Ayden. Behind them, Maron Mullendore sluggishly raised back to his feet, Harpy's blood-soaked dagger in his hands. He turned towards them and Jaron was able to see the damage she had done. His entire right eye was hidden underneath blood and something yellow, but even despite this, it was clear that she had cut it in half. Just looking at it caused him to shiver and Mullendore was literally gasping in helpless agony. The tiny wound where the tip of his knife had pierced the bone seemed irrelevant, as did the scratch across his nose. His eye was all but gone and he was breathing heavily. Even behind them, his presence was enough to stop the fighting for once. The sound of rain hitting the street and the metal armour was the only thing Jaron heard. And then, behind him, a desperate, joyless and taunting chuckle.
“Look at him”, Harpy hissed. She was still kneeling on the ground, using her own priceless dress as a bandage for Taria's wound. Currently, she was glaring at Mullendore. It was the desperate glare of a woman that was ready to die, after playing one final trump card. “Look at him!”, she screamed and it became clear that she wasn't talking to Jaron, or the guardsmen. No, she was talking to the people. Jaron glanced around, seeing hollow, scared faces watching them from behind the windows of the surrounding houses. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of people witnessed their final stand.
“Look at your commander!”, Harpy yelled. “Look at your Butterfly!” She grinned, a vicious, hateful grin towards Mullendore, whose disfigured face showed no emotion aside from pain. “You have no...”, he stuttered and she shook her head. “Evidence? Maron, we both know how powerful a rumour can become in this city. The people are going to talk”, she explained coldly. She narrowed her eyes and stopped grinning. “You may kill us tonight, but you're going down with us, you fucking whoreson”
Mullendore narrowed his eyes, both eyes, which caused him visible and tremendous agony. Instead of backing down, he started to scream in primal rage. “KILL THEM!”, he ordered. “KILL THEM! SLAUGHTER THEM! BRING ME THEIR FUCKING HEADS! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!” He screamed something else, one word that Jaron did not understand at first, as he was too busy parrying the new, vicious attack from a particularly bold guardsman. Mullendore had to repeat it three times, until Jaylon snapped out of his trance. “SWORD!”, he screamed.
Jaron parried another strike and his enemy was so focussed on attacking him that he even left the formation. Ayden tried to use this opening, but had to defend himself, using his greatsword almost like a shield to block several incoming attacks at once, or to knock them away at least.
Another strike, another desperate parry, as Jaron realized that his opponent was not a bad fighter. He stumbled one step backwards, when suddenly, the massive, angry force of nature that was Maron Mullendore appeared behind his opponent. He was wielding a greatsword, the one Jaylon had just handed him. With one hand, he grabbed Jaron's opponent, throwing him to the ground, with the other, the one that was holding the sword, he viciously attacked.
Jaron made the mistake of parrying the first strike. Mullendore was stronger than him, a lot stronger and his anger gave him additional power, whereas Jaron was limited to using one arm, if he didn't want to risk even further damage to the wounded one. He instead dodged the second attack, a feat that was easier than it sounded. Mullendore was strong and usually, he was experienced. Yet currently, all the experience in the world faded underneath his rage. Right now, his rage made him slow, as did his advanced age, his wound and the horrible pain it inflicted upon him. His rage was perhaps the only thing that still allowed him to stand and fight. Another strike and Jaron was forced to parry. Another one that sent him down on his knees, holding his sword above him, in the desperate attempt to survive.
But Jaron was angry as well. This was the man that killed Himani. This was the beast that killed so many of the others, the one that tormented the girl he loved. The thought of the pain he had put Harpy through, it sent Jaron into an almost livid rage, as he struck at Mullendore, faster than the commander was able to counterattack. And to his surprise, he hit his target.
His sword hit against the chainmail that protected Mullendore's left side. With one arm, the strike wasn't powerful enough to cut through it, but it was enough to catch Mullendore by surprise. Jaron was similarly surprised and for one moment, the two men looked at each other. Before he was able to attack again, the commander had grabbed him by the shoulder, throwing him to the ground with ease. While he fell, Jaron sliced across the chainmail, effectively cutting a large gap into it, but the steel rings still prevented any damage to Mullendore's body below.
He landed on his arm, heavily, and the pain was enough for Jaron to gasp, as the air was pressed out of his lungs. Through a veil of tears, he saw Mullendore glaring at him. The commander did not even bother with fighting him. He simply stepped past him, with a cold glare, while the guardsman Jaron had just fought got up again, grabbing his spear with both hands in the attempt to finish Jaron off.
First, the guardsman tried to impale Jaron, who just barely managed to reach for his sword. He swung it upwards, knocking the spear aside and the tip of the weapon instead pierced the muddy ground right next to him. Jaron did not waste any time. Even though it sent shivers of pain through his body, he rolled into the direction of his opponent's weapon, momentarily putting all of his weight onto his wounded arm. He managed to roll against the spear before the guardsman was able to pull it put again and his weight was enough to push it to the ground, with him on top. Using the speed he momentarily gained, his sword moved upwards and the blade hit his opponent below the chainmail, cutting through the area between abdomen and groin. He pushed his sword upwards, as the man fell to the ground, fully impaling him with it. Then, the guardsman heavily landed on top of him, trapping his good arm in the process and sending a new wave of almost unbearable pain through his wounded one.
Disoriented, Jaron glanced around, gasping for air. He saw Ayden, barely keeping the remaining guardsmen away from him. They were at a stalemate. None of the men was brave enough to get into the reach of his greatsword, while Ayden was smart enough not to attack their formation heads on. Behind them, Jaylon stood, a look of disapproval on his face. He wasn't fighting, instead he was yelling commands, nestling on the loosely fitting glove that covered his left hand.
At the other side of the alleyway, Jarek was still dancing around the Moggy. He was fast, while the Moggy was slow enough to miss him, but still fast enough to parry Jarek's swift attacks. Behind him, Keira tried to get into the Tom's blind spot, while Martin kept him busy. The masked man was a masterful fighter though and he spun around, parrying their attacks with one hand on his back, which made him look strangely elegant.
And between them... Jaron froze in terror as his dizzy feeling was gone in an instant as he realized that Mullendore was approaching Harpy and Taria. Taria was still lying on the ground, even though she was conscious again. Harpy saw him coming. Without fear, she rose from the ground. She glanced at Taria, then at the slowly approaching Mullendore, who was now grabbing his sword with both hands. Then, she quickly rushed away from the wounded woman and Mullendore adjusted his course. He did not want Taria. He wanted Harpy.
She reached down for the only weapon she was able to find, the short spear of the first guard Jaron had killed. Meanwhile, Jaron desperately tried to free himself from underneath his dead opponent. Being limited to only using his wounded arm literally crippled his attempts and he was forced to watch as Mullendore took his first strike towards Harpy.
His attack would have cleaved her in half if she would have even attempted to parry. His anger severely limited his skill, but it also made him the strongest man in this alleyway, aside from the Moggy perhaps. She jumped to the side and he took a horizontal strike that forced her to jump back. At the very least, she was faster than he had ever been.
In his rage, Mullendore charged at her, using the sword almost like a spear. She jumped to the side and the sword hit the wall behind her instead. Swiftly, he thwarted her attempts at counter-attacking him, by striking her, horizontally again. Again, Harpy jumped backwards, into Ayden's direction this time. A vertical strike of Mullendore's greatsword followed and she stepped aside. The sword heavily hit the ground, which gave her an opening she used. Her spear darted forwards and pierced the side of leg, going right through the trousers, flesh, muscle and bone. The spearhead left his leg through the other side, almost piercing his second leg as well and creating a truly nasty wound.
Mullendore gasped and staggered to remain on his feet, the look on his face. The only thing that kept him standing was the piece of wood that was embedded into his leg. He opened and closed his eyes, the damaged one as well as the healthy one. Even from afar, Jaron saw the sweat on his face. Even from afar, he felt the hatred.
Harpy tried to pull her spear out of his leg again, just as his sword slammed down into her direction. She was forced to let go of her weapon, or else the strike would have severed her arms. Instead of her body, the steel hid the wooden hilt of the spear and the weapon cracked under the severe force. Half of it was still impaling Mullendore's leg and without Harpy to hold him, the commander immediately fell to the ground, though he managed to remain on one knee.
The second half flew through the air and Harpy jumped after it. She managed to grab it. Three foot of sharpened wood. Not much, but better than nothing. Jaron did another attempt at freeing himself from his dead opponent. He succeeded in slightly pushing the man away from him, when another shockwave of pain flashed through his arm, causing him to groan in pain.
Slowly regaining his breath and his strength, Jaron shifted his attention back to Harpy. She held the broken spear like a club and was circling around Mullendore, who laboriously turned around, so that she wasn't able to gain advantage of his new blind spot. He striked at her, horizontally, and she jumped back. Just as the blade passed her however, she jumped forwards again and delivered a heavy, merciless strike with her wooden club against his damaged eye.
The commander howled in sheer agony as he let go of his sword reflexively, to press both of his hands onto his eye. He went down on all fours, just as Harpy raised the broken spear again, the tip pointing right at him. Specifically, Jaron saw that she pointed at the gap in his chainmail his own brief fight with the commander had caused earlier. And without hesistating, she drove the sharp, wooden tip into his side.
Mullendore did not manage to prevent her from piercing his vulnerable side, but he managed to grab the spear as she just got through his clothes and into the flesh below. Blood flew out through the gap in his chainmail and he groaned, grabbing the spear with one hand and trying to push it back, while she used both of hers to press against it.
“No...”, he wheezed. “Not like this. Not you...” A triumphant smile formed on Harpy's face and Jaron realized that she had won. Mullendore grew weaker. His wounds were severe, crippling even. He wouldn't be able to hold against her for much longer. Just for a moment, Jaron relaxed. Then, he saw it and in sudden panic, he desperately started to lift the dead guardsman off him. Despite the pain, the sheer brutal agony this caused him, he succeeded in lifting the dead man high enough to roll away from underneath him, though as he looked up, it was too late.
Harpy noticed it, perhaps she felt the ground shaking. She jumped around, not fast enough this time, as the massive fist of the Moggy hit her right in the ribs, lifting her up in the air and slamming her against the side of the house. She collapsed on the ground, holding her ribs, her face twisted with pain, as she gasped for air.
“No!”, Jaron yelled and tried to stagger back up to his feet. The muddy ground gave in underneath him and he heavily fell back onto his face, as the Moggy raised his greatsword. The giant let out a roar, slammed the weapon down into her direction, only for Jarek to parry the strike. The sellsword had a cocky grin on his face, even though he was out of breath and bleeding from a small cut on his cheek. “We're not done yet, big kitty”, he chuckled.
So they remained for a moment, Jarek between Harpy and the Moggy, Mullendore lying behind his tallest henchman. The commander was breathing, but barely, with one half of the broken spear impaling his upper leg, while the other was still firmly embedded in his side. Two of his guardsmen left the formation on Jaylon's orders to approach him, while the rest, five of them, kept Ayden in check, preventing him from helping any of the others.
Jaron finally staggered back onto his feet and he glared at the two men that were softly grabbing Butterfly. He wouldn't let him get away, he would kill him! What he attempted was a charge, though his aching side only allowed for a slow jog, which gave Jaylon enough time to spot him. “Flank!”, he yelled and one of the guardsmen that fought against Ayden separated from his fight to glance at Jaron. Grabbing his spear close to the head, he approached read for a fight in close combat, while Jaron got into a defensive stance.
Behind his new opponent, a heavily bleeding Mullendore got carried away. Jaron wasn't able to see if he was still breathing, but he still groaned in frustration and despite the fact that he had prepared for a defensive fight, he went into the offensive. In a high arch, his sword cut through the air and with a sharp, metallic sound, it hit the spearhead. His opponent wasted no time and slammed the lower end of the spear against Jaron's side, though his attack lacked the range to cause any damage. In return, Jaron spun his sword around, attacking from the other side in a horizontal arch and aiming for the guardsman's head.
The man rose the lower end of his spear to deflect the blow and instead of hitting his head, the sword barely grazed it. It still cut across his forehead in a painful way, but left only a superficial bruise, not even a real cut. He twirled his spear, trying to impale Jaron, which was a mistake. Times in the dornish marches had taught him how to counter such an attack. Using his sword from above, Jaron deflected the blow aimed at his abdomen and instead knocked the spear down and past his leg, while he put his own sword between himself and his now defenceless opponent. He wasted to time to impale the guardsman. The man's eyes widened, as his free hand grabbed Jaron's upper arm. The look on his face, formerly one of confidence, showed confusion and pain, as a thin line of blood started to flow out of his mouth. He let go of Jaron and sank to the ground.
Immediately, Jaron charged towards Harpy. He knew, he couldn't help Jarek. The sellsword needed every free space possible to evade the Moggy's angry attacks and another fighter would have limited him. But he slowly and steadily managed to drew the giant man away from the downed Harpy, which gave Jaron an opportunity to help her. Behind him, Ayden kept his opponent's at bay, locked in a stalemate. At the other end of the alleyway, the Tom still spun around, hitting fast and hitting hard, forcing Martin to use all of his skill to parry the attacks, the one aimed at him and the ones aimed at Keira.
“Harpy...”, Jaron mumbled and she opened her eyes. A smile formed on her face. “Did we made it?”, she asked and he shook his head. “You were wonderful today”, he complimented her and her smile grew wider. “We have to get you out of here. Can you walk?”
She glanced around and her smile faded, as she finally seemed to realize what was happening around her. “No”, she immediately said. “That is, yes I can walk” As if she was trying to demonstrate it, she tried to stagger back onto her feet. She heavily had to rely on Jaron's help to do this, her hands tightly grabbing his shoulders, as he softly pulled her up again. “Jaron, I can fight”, she lied. “I can help. I'm not leaving you. I'm not leaving any of you behind”
She tried to prove her words by spreading her arms, only to let out a howl of pain. Tears formed in her eyes, as she relied on his support to remain standing. Through the thin fabric around her upper waist, Jaron saw a nasty bruise forming where the Moggy had hit her. Gasping for air, she looked around. “I can fight. I'm not leaving you”, she mumbled.
As if he had heard their conversation, Ayden fell back, closer towards them. While he did this, he parried a spear and his counterattack sent the formation of guardsmen to stagger back again. They played it safe. They had the time on their side and slowly, but steadily, Ayden grew tired. “Taria”, he growled, momentarily glancing at Harpy. “You can stand. You can walk and you can get her out of here!”
She tried to shake her head, but it was already enough to almost make her loose her balance. “I'm not...”, she mumbled. “Not leaving you...” She wanted to say something else, but Ayden cut her off. “Bullshit!”, he growled over his shoulder. “You can and you know it. Stop being stubborn and do the right thing! Taria helped us tonight, but this was never part of the plan. She is not supposed to die here!”
Harpy still hesitated, though she managed to stand on her own again. Jaron pointed his sword at the formation, ready to charge once Harpy would have made up her mind. “Please...”, Ayden said and his tone sounded desperate. “She's pregnant”
Jaron noticed a shift on Harpy's face. Her eyes widened in shock, as she glanced towards the barely conscious woman. Pain, physical and mental, was engraved on her face as she stared longingly into Jaron's direction. He gave her a nod, followed by a smile. She raised her mouth into a faint half-smirk, before she averted her eyes. Then, she ran towards Taria and did the right thing. “I'm getting you out of here”, she whispered and despite her own pain, she managed to help the other woman up. “You're not going to die here”
Taria said nothing. She was crying, in pain, in fear and the look she threw at Ayden reminded Jaron of the way Harpy just looked at him. It was goodbye. Both women were relying on each other to drag themselves forwards, towards the other end of the alleyway, where the Tom still fought against Martin and Keira. Right now, the masked man twirled around to parry one of Keira's attacks, before only slightly moving his head to evade one of Martin's strikes. Then, he spun towards Keira again and gave her a punch with his free hand, while she parried a strike from his sword.
Close to the western side of the alleyway, Jarek was still fighting against the Moggy. And just like the formation of guardsmen was slowly, but steadily winning against Ayden, Jarek seemed to gain the upper hand against the Moggy. He was faster, so much faster, forcing the Moggy to constantly spin around to parry a hailstorm of swordstrikes. Perhaps they could still win... perhaps they still had a chance...
The last thing he saw before he charged towards Ayden's position was the Tom. The masked man parried one of Martin's strikes, while Keira still staggered from the punch she just received. His counterattack was heavy enough to cause Martin to stumbled. Immediately, the Tom turned around, his free hand grabbing one of his throwing knives, which he threw directly at Taria.
He failed to hit her. The knife did not fly very far, as Keira, in her slightly stunned state of mind, simply staggered into its way. It entered her head through the right eye and the Tom had thrown it with enough force to embed it deeply in her head, down to the hilt. She remained standing for a second, before she unceremoniously dropped to the ground, dead before she reached it.
Jaron wasn't sure if Harpy even noticed it. She and Taria were already past the fighters. They were save. They were free. They had a chance. And Keira was dead. Without any doubt, Martin noticed it. His gasp was agonizing. “Keira?”, he gulped and the pain in his voice was audible even from afar. Despair on his face, he began to throw one dangerous hit after the other at the Tom, hacking at the masked man like a madman swinging a meatcleaver. The sheer force of his attacks where enough to force even the Tom into the defensive.
Jaron turned around towards Ayden. There would be time to mourn if they would survive this. However, Jaron was quite sure that he'd be the one to be mourned today. If Ayden was surprised by the sudden help, he did not show it. “Your girl, she's quite something”, he growled, as he casually parried a spear. “But she did the right thing tonight”
“Are they going to make it?”, Jaron asked and Ayden shook his head. “Not if we're going to be overpowered by these corrupt cocksuckers”, he growled in return. “And are we going to take them down?”, he asked. Ayden shook his head again. “Maybe. Perhaps if I...”
He was cut off by a loud yelp of pain. Jaron glanced over his shoulder and saw Jarek, being grabbed by the Moggy. He had lost his sword and his opponent's massive hand was clenched around his throat, choking the life out of him, while the Moggy, bleeding out of roughly half a dozen small cuts, was using his own sword almost like a crutch. “DIE!”, the masked man roared. “DIE! DIE! DIE!”
Despite the fact that he was choked, Jarek still managed to smirk. “Fuck you, big kitty”, he chuckled and in a single movement, he put a small dagger deeply into the Moggy's unprotected upper arm. The Moggy was howling in pain and Jarek fell to the ground, where he gasped for air and rushed towards his sword.
He managed to grab it, just as one guardsmen separated from the formation. Using the superior range of his spear, he thrusted the weapon towards Jarek and managed to hit him in the abdominal area, deeply impaling him. The sellsword's eyes widened as he realized that he was severely wounded, but before he could react, the massive, open palm of the Moggy came from behind.
“DIE!”, the Moggy screamed and faster than Jaron had ever seen him moving, he had wrapped his fingers around Jarek's head, painfully ramming his thumb into the sellsword's eyesocket. He used the force of his speed to spin around again, yanking Jarek with him, ripping him away from the spear and slamming his head heavily against the wall of the nearest house. With a sickening crunch, Jarek's head gave in. His broken body sank to the ground and the Moggy sank right next to him, clutching the painful, heavily bleeding wound in his upper swordarm.
A pained expression appeared on Ayden's face, as one of the more daring attacks nearly managed to hit the side of his neck. “No”, he admitted. “No, we're not going to make it” Jaron parried a strike that would have otherwise killed Ayden and he noticed just how exhausted the man was, after swinging his greatsword for all this time without a break.
“This was not how it's supposed to be. My baby was not supposed to grow up without a father”, Ayden growled and he sounded more determined than desparate. Jaron raised an eyebrow, while the formation of guardsmen slowly advanced, pushing them back to where Martin and the Tom where still locked in a deadly dance.
“What is your plan?”, he asked and a rare smirk formed on Ayden's face. “I'm going to do something stupid now”, he explained. “Something reckless. Something that kills either me or you” Jaron sighed. “Sounds wonderful” Ayden shook his head. “One of us will survive, to bring Taria and Harpy out of the city”, he continued to explain and suddenly, his plan sounded a lot better. In the middle of the fight, he glared at Jaron. “If I'm to die tonight, Ser Bastard, then swear to me that you will look after Taria and the child”, he growled.
“If I'm to die, you're going to do the same for Harpy”, Jaron demanded and Ayden smirked. “You're alright, Jaron”, he complimented him. “And we understand each other” He faced the formation. “I see you in another life. First round's on me”, he chuckled and a bloodthirsty grin formed on his face, vicious enough to cause the formation to stop advancing, to stop pushing them back for a moment. “Stay where you are. And now... BLACKWELL!”
With a battlecry on his lips, he charged the intimidated guardsmen without warning. In their surprise, he managed to advance. A spear grazed his side, sliding across his ribcage, while his sword found its way into one man's neck, cleanly severing the head from the rest of the body. He hacked at one of his opponent's but only managed to deflect the spear, turning a strike that would have killed him into a fleshwound on his left upper leg. In turn, his counterattack ripped out the man's throat.
Still charging, he evaded two spears that were thrusted too late. He spun around and parried their attacks and then, Ayden Blackwell had broken through the formation. Two nasty wounds decorated his body, he was breathing heavily, bleeding heavily and grinning widely. “I see why my brother loves this so much!”, he howled and laughed loudly. “Have I just killed your friends? Your worthless bastard friends? Have I sent them to the Seven Hells?”, he mocked the remaining guardsmen and Jaron realized what he was doing. He was taunting them. He was provoking them.
He jumped back. “Come and get me!”, he hissed. “Come and get me, cowards!” Jaylon sighed and gave his men a nod.” After him!”, he ordered them. “Don't let him get away. Make him pay for this” With a vicious glare in his eyes, he turned towards Jaron, who was already pointing his sword at him. “I'll deal with the bastard myself”
A pleased smile on his face, Ayden started to rush down the alleyway. His leg wound barely seemed to slow him down, likely a result of the adrenaline, while the guardsmen had light armour. At least with a tiny advantage, he ran away, with them chasing after him. He lured them away. He gave Jaron a chance. And then, he turned around a corner and was gone, perhaps forever.
“Bloody bastard”, Jaylon spat and put his helmet on. It was a heavy helmet, the whole armour was heavy and Jaron gulped. Usually, his speed might make things even, but right now, he was tired, exhausted even. He had killed two men today and he was ready to make it one more. “Captain Jaylon”, he greeted his opponent politely.
Jaylon drew his sword and Jaron realized something odd in the way he moved. He wasn't using his left hand. Or more precisely, he was using it, but he wasn't moving his fingers. Before he fully realized what that meant, Jaylon attacked him first. It was a high strike and a well-placed one, which forced Jaron to parry it with all his skill. The blades met each other in mid-air, the steel sang, it screeched as the sharpened edges slid across each other, until both men raised them again.
The second attack came from Jaron. It was aimed in a high arch, meant to hit a supposed weak spot near the neck. Jaylon parried and his counterattack was a mirror of Jaron's. It was equally parried with ease. The captain tried a stab next, but Jaron hit his sword from above, nearly knocking it out of his hand.
Now, Jaylon was forced to jump back to evade the attack. He yanked his sword upwards and Jaron parried his attack. Then, he spun around to attack him from the other direction. Jaron saw this move coming and again managed to move his sword between Jaylon's and his body.
“Well done”, he complimented him again. Right now, he wasn't sure if it was his exhaustion or something else, he almost felt peaceful. Harpy would live. She got away and Mullendore might be dead already. Right now, Jaron felt no hatred. It was odd, but he realized that he wasn't hating Jaylon. It was a fight to the death. He had never seen something so simple, so easy. There was no room for something as complex as hatred.
“Just shut up!”, Jaylon yelled, apparently a friend of needless complexity. “Just die, bastard!” His strike was easy to spot, but hard to parry. It was a feint and Jaron parried into the wrong direction. He barely managed to duck under the strike and felt the cold steel cutting through the air right above his head. In turn, he landed his fist hit against Jaylon, a strike against his protected chest. Without armour, the fight would have been over now. Thanks to his armour, Jaylon remained standing, even though the blow still had the force of a good punch.
The captain staggered backwards, but before Jaron could take advantage of this he regained his composure and attempted to quick attacks aimed at Jaron's neck to force him into the defensive again. He succeeded only partially.
Jaron yanked his sword upwards again and his sword clashed against Jaylon's, before the captain spun around, attacking Jaron's left side, where his wounded arm was located. While his sword cut through a wide arch, Jaron had a desperate idea. It was one of the ideas that came during moments of complete exhaustion, the ones that were either brilliant or suicidal. He raised his free, wounded arm above the blade, presenting his open side, while his sword rapidly approach the side of Jaylon's sword.
Again, the swords met mid-air and this time, the force of Jaylon's sword was stopped so abruptly that he needed a moment for his next attack, a moment Jaron would not give him. He lowered his left arm again, his hand grabbing the crossguard of Jaylon's sword, tucking it underneath his armpit, with his hand around the crossguard preventing Jaylon from just finishing him like that.
For one moment, Jaron saw confusion underneath the helmet, until Jaylon understood that he was a dead man. The captain tried to move his own sword and burning agony flashed through Jaron's arm, as the man desperately tried to free his sword from his iron grip. He ignored the pain, raised his sword and with all his remaining strength -Himani, Ayden, Taria, Jarek, Martin, Keira and Harpy, Harpy, Harpy- the tip of his sword found the weak spot at the side of Jaylon's armour, digging deeply through it and into the body below, piercing through skin, flesh, muscles, bones and finally, Jaylon's heart.
The two men looked at each other. Jaylon's eyes widened, his breath sounded wheezing and the sword fell out of his hand. He gasped for air, then sank to the ground, while Jaron pulled his sword out of his body. Jaylon Gordus was dead.
The adrenaline started to fade and instead, the pain hit Jaron like a kick between the legs. He screamed, screamed at the top of his lungs as every muscle in his arm and the half-broken bone protested against what he just did. His vision started to blur, he staggered backwards, stumbling against the wall of a house. Not only his vision became dizzy, he heard nothing aside from his thumping left side. Almost nothing. There was something else. A slow, mocking clap.
Jaron looked up and with the last strength he had, he looked up and sighed. The Tom was slowly approaching him, the look in his cat-like eyes amused. Behind him, Martin was clutching a terribly bleeding wound in his side, kneeling on the ground, next to the dead Keira.
“Well done, Ser Bastard”, the Tom purred and it almost sounded genuine. “You killed Jaylon, which is no small feat. Impaled his heart as I see” A soft chuckle sounded from underneath the mask. “I would say, too much heart has always been Jaylon's problem. He took things personal. He wasn't without compassion. In the end, he was gone too far and you gave him mercy”
His compliments sounded honest by now and Jaron raised an eyebrow, as the Tom sighed. “I would love to give you time to heal, to fight you when you're recovered. That would be glorious”, he hissed. “But alas, I'll work with what I get”
Despite his exhaustion, Jaron grinned. “You flatter me”, he mumbled weakly. “At least buy me a drink first” The Tom's eyes narrowed. “Fight well and I give you a good death”, he promised, as he raised his curved sword. Jaron thought of Harpy. At least she made it out. Smiling, he walked towards his death.
He ignored the pain it caused him to parry the first strike. By now, even his good arm was aching and the Tom's high strike came as fast as it came powerful. Jaron stumbled backwards and just barely managed to deflect the second strike. Even at his prime, the Tom would have been a powerful opponent. But now? He was exhausted, half-broken and ready to die. Though he wouldn't give up. Out of all the fighters that tried to stop them, only the Tom and the Moggy were still present and the giant was lying on the ground, wailing like a manchild about the grievous stab wound Jarek had given him.
The Tom spun around, sending a blurry strike against his upper arm. Jaron staggered to the side, raising his sword in the last moment and parrying more through sheer luck than through skill. Again, the Tom attacked him, this time from a completely different direction. He was fast. He was the fastest man Jaron had ever seen. Perhaps it was just his tiredness, but it almost seemed unnatural how fast the Tom managed to move. Quiet as a shadow, fierce as a wolverine, swift as a cat and with the grace of a dancer.
Another high strike and Jaron barely managed to parry. This time however, instead of stumbling backwards, he jumped into the strike and staggered towards the Tom as the blade passed him. His sword was too close to cause any damage to the masked man, so he instead focussed on using his crossguard, to heavily slam it into the mask. That wouldn't kill him, but he would feel it.
To Jaron's surprise, his desperate attack worked. Heavily, the crossguard of his sword slammed against the Tom's mask, causing him to interrupt his next attack and to stagger backwards. He hissed in displeasure, but it quickly turned into a mocking laughter, as an amused glare appeared in his eyes.
“Outstanding”, the Tom whispered. “You entertain me” His free hand moved to the belt across his chest, where one final throwing knife was located and he slowly pulled it. “It appears we should up the stakes a little bit”
He darted forwards and his curved sword cut through the air, until it clashed against Jaron's longsword. Simultaneously, the hand holding the throwing knife darted forwards and it was impossible to parry both. The knife scratched across Jaron's upper swordarm and caused a superficial, but long cut. Jaron gasped in pain and the Tom narrowed his eyes in amusement.
“That's more like it”, he chuckled. “A thousand little cuts and the more you struggle, the more you bleed. You just received your first” A low strike with his curved sword came next and just as Jaron parried it, the throwing knife dug into his chest, not very deep, and cut across it, superficial, but long and very painful.
Gasping for air, Jaron staggered backwards, bumping against the house behind him. The Tom almost laughed this time. “Your struggle is endearing”, he said in a mocking tone. “And I believe you deserve a better death than that” Instantly, any trace of fake warmth faded in his voice. “Come now, Ser Bastard”, he growled in a spine-chillingly deep and melodic voice. “Come now and face your death”
Jaron coughed and his chest hurt with every breath he took. Both arms were thumping in agony, the left one worse than ever. His sight was blurry at best and everything around him seemed almost muffled. He raised his sword and let out a loud battlecry as he charged at the Tom. The masked man raised his sword to parry and pulled his knife back, to impale Jaron.
One last time, their swords clashed. The knife spun forwards, but in the last possible moment, the Tom twirled around and instead of stabbing Jaron's unprotected stomach, the knife was used to save the Tom's life, for the opponent that had almost snuck up at him.
He was bleeding heavily, probably from a wound that would be fatal if left untreated. He was pale and beyond despair after the death of his lover. Even though he was looking almost dead, he was still alive for now and he was angry. “Forget about me?”, Martin asked.
The Tom jumped backwards, as both men simultaneously attacked him. The amusement in his eyes was gone. Now, he was taking this fight almost seriously. Jaron stopped next to his friend. “Martin...”, he said, too exhausted to express the relief he felt.
“Try not to be too disappointed, Ser Bastard”, Martin chuckled. “I would have given you the glory to kill him, but this monster murdered Keira and I want to see him bleed for it” The Tom jumped towards them, but was left with the need to defend himself when Martin attacked him, while Jaron tried to go around him, to attack from the behind. This trick failed, when the Tom jumped to the side, nearly cutting through Jaron's ribs in the process.
Martin, still staggering and bleeding heavily, circled around the masked man, until he stopped directly next to Jaron. “On my command”, he said. “One, two...” The Tom did not wait until three. He raised his final throwing knife and nonchalantly threw it at them. It wasn't aimed, but still managed to find its target, Martins shoulder.
The sellsword staggered backwards and nearly would have fallen, which would have likely been his death. Instead, he somehow managed to remain standing, while the Tom inspected his sword with mild boredom. “Together, you're underwhelming”, he stated. “Need a moment to regain your breath?”
“Jaron...”, Martin whispered in a low tone, so low that even Jaron had problems understanding him. Jaron gulped. “Can we take him?”, he asked and Martin subtly shook his head. “Listen up... there's just one way. We either die both, or you survive”
Despite the dizzy feeling, Jaron immediately realized what Martin just suggested. He gave him a shocked glare. “Are you serious right now?”, he asked. “I'm not going to leave you. We're doing it together” The Tom narrowed his eyes and Martin sighed. “I sure as hell won't be able to run anywhere”, he said and presented the deep gash in his side. Jaron saw exposed bones and... something else in the wound and he realized that Martin would die. The fact that he was still able to stand and fight was a testimony for his willpower, but it would likely take him only minutes until he'd drop to the ground, at best. Not even a Maester could save him from certain death.
“Martin...”, he whispered in shock as he realized what his friend, perhaps his last friend in this city, just suggested. The Tom hissed and pointed his sword at them. “What are you talking about?”, he growled loudly. “Talking won't save you, you know?”
A smile formed on Martin's face. “We can't take him down, but for what he did to Keira, I'm going to deny him this little triumph”, he chuckled. He pointed his sword at the Tom. “When you see Harpy, give her a kiss from me. Tell her she did good today”, he mumbled. “And the next time you see this masked monster, or Butterfly himself, finish the job for me, will ya?”
Jaron gave him a nod. “I promise”, he swore. “Thank you for everything, Martin” The sellsword smirked, a small, sad smirk. “Farewell, my friend”, he said. He raised his sword. The Tom attacked. And with a heavy heart, Jaron turned around and ran. His lungs ache after the very first step. Blood was flowing out of his wounds, but it did not matter. He had to run. He had to get away. Martin's sacrifice would not be in vain!
He heard clashing steel, heard a surprised gasp and then, the Tom's roar. “No!”, he yelled. “Coward! Get back here!” But Jaron did not turn around. Not when he heard another exchange of attacks, not when he heard a pained scream behind him. In fact, he only got faster. He had no strength left, was exhausted beyond anything he ever felt and he knew, if he'd fully concentrate on this fact, his body would give in to the tempting thought of dying. But he wouldn't die today. He would live. He would find Harpy and he would escape this nightmare.
It was late in the night and this was the only reason he encountered no one who dared to stop him outside on the streets. He had been here before, not long ago. With Martin and with Robb. He knew the way to the Burned Man's hideout. Soaked in blood and mud, in sweat and tears, he stumbled through the nightly streets, barely noticing his surroundings. They did not matter. There were people, who did not matter either. Once, someone tried to talk to him, to ask him something. It was a young man, he looked shocked to see Jaron. He was ignored. He did not matter. The only thing that mattered was to return, so make sure that Harpy was still alive, to save her, to take her away...
The next minutes went as a blur. He was running as often as he could, never stopping to regain his breath, but occasionally slowing down. Sticking to the main street despite the danger had the advantage that the Tom was unlikely to attack him directly. In fact, he doubted that the man was following him. Martin probably kept him busy long enough for Jaron to vanish in the streets.
And finally, he saw a familiar sight. The Burned Man's mansion, where everything started in the morning. He leant against the outer wall of the estate and closed his eyes. Himani had been there this morning. Now he was dead. Tortured, then drowned in his own blood. Keira had been there. Now she lay in Tanner's Alley, with a knife through her head. Jarek, whose head didn't even exist anymore after the Moggy had been done with him. Ayden, probably dead unless he managed to escape. And Martin...
Jaron turned around, towards the door and froze in terror. Momentarily, the exhaustion was gone, replaced by a new adrenaline rush. The door was opened widely. Through the gap, he was able to see the ravaged entrance hall.
“No...”, he mumbled. “No, no, no...” This was not right. Someone had stormed the mansion and... Himani! Himani knew everything, including the location! He must have told them, he had no other choice... Jaron stumbled towards the mansion, expecting the worst.
What he got was... unexpected. The inside of the mansion, while pillaged, was largely empty. Jaron saw pools of blood on the floor, where a fight had taken place, but someone had brought the bodies away. The interior was thrashed, looted, yet strangely enough, a small fire was burning in the fireplace and an intact lounger was standing close to it. He approached it and recognized the person lying on it.
With a sigh of relief, he rushed towards Taria's side. Her wound was freshly bandaged, but she was pale and shivering despite the warmth. She opened her eyes as Jaron approached and immediately, she was fully awake. “Taria”, he whispered. “What happened here?”
“Jaron?”, she mumbled. “What... where do you come from? Where's... where's Ayden?” Jaron ignored her question. “Where is Harpy?”, he asked sternly and she sighed. “Upstairs, I think, looking for the Burned Man. We came back half an hour ago and the place was already looted. Everyone is gone, Jaron”, she whispered and a tear formed in her eyes. “Butterfly has won...” She grabbed him by the arm, but he broke free of her weak grip. “Jaron, where's Ayden?”, she asked again. “Jaron?”
He already approached the stairs. If Harpy was in danger, he had to find her. He had to save her... She couldn't die, not now... Almost in a trance, he staggered upstairs. He felt bad for leaving Taria behind, but he'd come back for her too. He promised, he'd keep her safe and her baby. Ayden sacrificed himself for this and Jaron would not disappoint him. But first, he had to make sure that Harpy was safe.
He found her in the Burned Man's office, which was in an even more sorry state than the rest of the mansion. She was kneeling next to one of his Dothraki bodyguards, whose throat was slit and she was staring apathetically at something lying in front of her. As Jaron entered the room, she heard him. She jumped up and around, a knife in her hand, but as she saw him, pure shock appeared on her face.
“Jaron?”, she gasped. And then she rushed towards him. He almost fell into her arms, not remembering her wounds and as she gasped, both fell to the ground. He clung onto her, crying, wailing in sorrow. Right now, he wasn't a knight. He wasn't the man who just survived a massacre. He was eighteen years old and pushed beyond his limits, lying in the arms of the girl he loved.
“I thought you were dead”, she whispered, only barely more composed than him. He sobbed. “They are...”, he said. “All of them. Martin and Keira and Jarek and Ayden...” He looked up, noticing that she was beyond distraught. “Where... where is the Burned Man?”, he asked and a pained expression flashed across her face.
She pointed across the room, at the object she had been staring at when he entered and Jaron recognized it. A severed hand, charred black. Unmistakeable. A shocked expression flashed across his face as he looked at her and finally, she was crying as well. “They took him. They took him alive, or dead, or... I don't know. He's out there and I... I...”, she stuttered and together, they sank to the ground. “I thought I had lost you as well”
“Never”, Jaron promised. “Never. We are going to live. We are going to survive this and we will leave this city” He held her close, gently comforting her, just as she was comforting him. “Together”, he said.
End of Chapter 6: Masquerade
Your Choices
Pragmatism:Garthon decided to accept Harren Hoare's offer
Survival:Ellena decided to leave Himani behind
Mercy:Kersea decided to kill Septon Corbin quickly
Trust:Raenna decided to support Samuel Harrington over Terroma
“We're finding him. We have to, there's no other way!”, she said decisively, even though she was barely able to stand. She was convincing herself, he realized, or at the very least, she was trying to. “We still have friends in this city. This can't be the end! This mustn't be the end!” She paused and sobbed, as she looked down onto the Burned Man's severed hand. Jaron gave her a worried look. “Harpy...”, he said softly. “Why are you so intent on wasting your life to save him?”
Ellena opened her eyes and saw the red-haired man glaring at her from beyond the fire. Behind him, the priestess was building something, a long, thing pole, while the Maester was looking on in a decidedly grumpy way. The Maester wasn't the threat, she knew that by now. The other man however... it was warm, so close to the fire, but his blue eyes were as cold as the bottom of the sea. And she recognized what Noelle was building behind him. It was a stake...
“We're turning around”, Vaasrand growled and Roman once again shook his head. “You took our fucking gold!”, he yelled. “And now you're going to abandon the mission?” This time an annoyed streak appeared on Vaasrand's usually calm face. “I'm not abandoning anything”, he clarified. “But if we go ahead, then it's likely we're all going to get killed. Starting with you”
Roman narrowed his eyes, just as Vaasrand suddenly put a hand onto the hilt of his sword. “So, that's how you want to do it, monster hunter?”, he spat. “Take our gold, lure us out here, then kill us?” Only Richard saw that Vaasrand wasn't looking at Roman. He was looking at something behind him.
Just barely, Samantha managed to parry her opponent's strike and once again, she cursed her new weapons. The balance with these small axes was horrible and she saw that Sasha was struggling with her new sword as well. Slowly, both women back away from their opponents, closer to each other, until their backs touched. “Any ideas?”, Samantha hissed and Sasha shook her head. “Aside from taking as many with us as possible?”, she asked in return. “Try to die a clean death”
“I don't even know why we're talking about this. I have five dozen men in this courtyard”, Hobert said, clearly at his wit's end. Tyrell gave him an alarmed look, while Argella simply narrowed her eyes. “Was that a threat, mylord?”, she asked calmly and he stared at her in defiance. “I stated a fact, Lady Durrandon”, he spat and took another deep gulp from his mug, emptying it once more. “And you can interpret it any damn way you like”
“I see...”, Argella hissed. “Yes, I have seen the puny force you call your army. Those are all of them, right? Calling them a threat would be as ridiculous as calling you a man, you spineless weasel” She crossed her arms. “But, if you try to provoke me, oh Lord of Mander's Mouth, remember the words of my family. Consider the next question carefully. Do you want to be my enemy?”
“I've been awaiting you, Old Man”, the priestess purred in a deceptively warm tone, while her massive bodyguard clutched his axe. “Come closer, into the light. Warm yourself at our fire, for the night is dark and full of terrors” Even though she was sure that she was invisible in the darkness, Raenna could swear that the priestess looked directly at her while she said this.
Terroma approached her and as he answered, Raenna froze in terror. The tone in his voice... This was a man pushed beyond his breaking point. A very dangerous man, a man who had just given up on controlling his inner beast. “The night might be dark, priestess”, he said and his voice redefined the absence of warmth. “But I am the only terror you have to fear”
Forum of Thrones, Act III, Chapter I: Valar Morghulis; Coming Soon!
It's over... Oh my god, I can't believe it is actually over. And I can't believe how much I wrote today. Oh what a day, what a lovely day. At least three and a half full parts worth of content. This was fun. In fact, this was so much fun that I can't wait to dive into the next chapter. I hope you had as much fun as I had. For the weekend, I'll likely take it a bit slower, do some other forum stuff I meant to do for a while now. to give you a chance to read this super-long part. However, I will also write down the alternative choices and a small “What-If”-section before I start the next chapter. For now, as always, I have a few questions for you, this time for Chapter 6 and for all of Act 2. If you have the time, your answer would be greatly appreciated. Even better would be small explanations, but they are by no means required.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
What were your favourite storylines in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
What were your least favourite storylines in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
What has been your favourite chapter in Act 2?
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
Is there anything you disliked?
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Act 3, or anything that just does not fit into the previous questions?
Wow. Totally worth reading it at this hour. That was really great writing you did here and I am impressed by the length and time you managed to complete it in. Can't wait for next chapter now and alternate choices outputs... poor Himani. :-( I really wonder if Ellena going after him would change his fate.
Damn... ok I am going to sleep now, somehow. Expect answers for the questions later today.
Jaron definitely, Harrington I'm starting to like him, Torvin, Ayden (Obvious), Davith.
Mullendore, The Tom, The Moggy, All the Hoares, Argella she is really annoying and bitchy so it'll be great once she's stuck with Orys. Hobert it's really tempting to punch him, All of Butterflys men.
Jaron and Raenna, they were both exciting and intense for the most part I feel like Jaron's was better as each of his parts I found more and more intriguing as they came out, Raenna got way better towards end and was definitely one of the best storylines.
Drent, all of his parts felt like filler and nothing interesting seemed to happen.
They were all great I liked Chapter 5 the most though.
The finale for Chapter 6 was my favorite for Chapter 6 but for all of act 2 I would say when Richard stormed the warehouse and they failed I enjoyed that part alot.
Filler parts other than that everything is good to me.
The beast storyline has me very intrigued especially with that preview I have a feeling it will be one of the best storylines in Chapter 7 or all of Act 3.
And I just have to say thank you for this wonderful story it just keeps getting better and better and I look forward to all future parts.
It's over... Oh my god, I can't believe it is actually over. And I can't believe how much I wrote today. Oh what a day, what a lovely day. A… moret least three and a half full parts worth of content. This was fun. In fact, this was so much fun that I can't wait to dive into the next chapter. I hope you had as much fun as I had. For the weekend, I'll likely take it a bit slower, do some other forum stuff I meant to do for a while now. to give you a chance to read this super-long part. However, I will also write down the alternative choices and a small “What-If”-section before I start the next chapter. For now, as always, I have a few questions for you, this time for Chapter 6 and for all of Act 2. If you have the time, your answer would be greatly appreciated. Even better would be small explanations, but they are by no means required.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
Who were your least favourite characters i… [view original content]
Hey *! I planned to submit a character but there seem to be little bug , when i try to write something on ''What is your characters occupation? '' , and when i type a single letter , it tells me that "Must be less than 0 characters." , evenif i just typed the letter "a" , it wont let me send my submission , i dont get it , and cant seem to pass that part ...Do you have any idea what might be the problem ? I would be thankful .
Comments
[Encourage Hjalgar to join you]
I have a bad feeling about that.... but why not. And hey, this part was SO dark and dirty... good job.
Are we going to see Clarisse?
[Encourage Hjalgar to join you]
[Encourage Hjalgar to join you]
When you put it like that... Damn, time goes fast.
And yeah, I don't think Raylansfair has a very bright future
At least not in Book 1. There might be a possibility in later chapters, but for now all of the Harrenhal PoV's are on their way to Raylansfair.
Wow..I'm whitout words..this was,at least to me, one of the best part of the entire fic!(not beacause I like what happened to Torvin but beause I like how you descibe all the meeting with the king)
About the choice:[Encourage Hjalgar to join you]
Wow great part!
[Encourage Hjalgar to join you]
[Encourage Hjalgar to join you]
Great part!
[Encourage Hjalgar to join you] "Tedyn Bullister, last of his line," haha awesome
[Encourage Hjalgar to join you]
Excellent part! Fucking Harren, he is a sick bastard to say the least. Interesting to see where this is all going, and I'm so pumped for the finale!
The Voting is closed!
Garthon is going to encourage Hjalgar to join him during their raid
I am by no means surprised by this decision and it was pretty unanimous. One of the immediate outcomes is that Hjalgar will play a role in the rest of Garthon's Book 1 storyline and will influence it appropriately. If he would have stayed back, this would have been the last we would have seen of him for months, until Book 2 starts. In fact, this was the last we've seen of Harrenhal in Book 1, though it will make its triumphant return in Book 2, while many of its characters will continue to play an important role for the remainder of Book 1. As for this part, I am relieved and amazed that you seem to have enjoyed it greatly! I wrote it all on the same day I left the hospital, with no sleep at all and under medication, so I was actually half convinced it would turn out to be shit. Of course, I was also worried for the very dark tone of the part, because there's a thin line between appropriate darkness and over-the-top cringe. Glad to see it was a well-received part. And well, I guess you all know now that Harren Hoare is not the good guy in this story. The next parts for our Breaker brothers will be exciting to write, even if it'll take a while until I get back to them. They have a big role to play in the next chapters, so stay tuned
The next part will most likely be out today. Might be a bit late today, since a whole lot of writing is still left to do, but I am motivated to write it. It is going to be a completely ordinary part, with no special events at all. By no means is it the longest part I have ever written, at roughly thrice the length of a regular part. Nothing big will happen. No one is going to die. There will be no plot twists. This is not a trick. Really. Believe me. It is definitely neither the chapter finale, nor the droids you're looking for.
Without any sarcasm though, it is going to be a long ass part...
On another note I have good news! I listened to your unspoken wishes and combined the Deceased list with the Unknown list, to make the fates of certain characters more ambigous in the future and to make it impossible to figure out if a character is truly dead or not before I decide to be merciful enough to reveal it in the story
Also, I would seriously like to thank you for your strong support over the last few days! Your good wishes have motivated me extremely and were a major part of why I pushed this last part out so quickly. I'm already feeling a lot better than before (I can breathe through both of my nostrils again. Both Nostrils! At once and without pain!) and I'm very certain that I will be fully recovered when I get my stitches removed on monday. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your support. You are awesome.
Whose it will be, this long ass part?
Jaron's probably
I'm scared but excited.
This could be... and final chapter :-o
Super excited! Super long parts are awesome!
Damn it when Butterflys men are in finales shit always goes down. I hope Jaylon dies though.
I wasn't sure if I should outright confirm it, but now I see no point in denying it, especially since everyone seems to have it figured out already. Yes, it is Jaron and I am very likely going to need three posts to put it online
Oh the longest part ever?
Yes, definitely. I currently have one part worth of content written and I just now started to get to the really juicy stuff. I don't know if it has the length of three full parts, but two and a half are highly likely.
I thought Raenna's last part was super long and interesting so Jaron's must be even better.
Jeez... finish it today, please :-o I hope to have something to read tonight! Especially that I am waking up in the middle of it for some reason already.
Three posts? Holy shit balls.
...
That's all I can say xD
Actually... it's closer to 4 now, if I estimate it correctly. It's probably going to be the only part of this length I'm ever going to write. I'm halfway through the second part and still not at the real stuff, though I'm not sure how long this real stuff is going to be. This might either bomb tragically or it is going to be a part you all thoroughly enjoy. I hope for the latter and I know, I have way too much fun writing it. And the progress I make is delicious. Today. Very late today, but today. I won't go to bed until it is out, unless I drop unconscious first
Wow... I'm really looking forward to this, especially since it's Jaron
Though I'm also nervous... Not that the part wouldn't be good, I'm sure it will be, but I'm afraid there will be major deaths, and there are couple characters there that I really don't want to die 
Too much hype for the last part...I can't survive!XD
PS:I like your choice of fuse the deceased and unknown lists (since this way even new readers that make the horrible mistake to read that list will never be sure that the character inside of it is dead)
Woah dude, what a time to catch up, just in time to read the finale.
Welcome back, Bounden, it's great that you're caught up again
Indeed, you're back just in time. The finale (which has indeed a length of around 4 parts) is going to be out at some point in the next two hours.
Jaron
Jaron had his good arm wrapped around Harpy's shoulder, as they walked down the street. She was shivering, but he knew it was not from the cold and not from the light rainfall that went down upon them. His left hand was touching the hilt of his sword and while his arm was still aching, he was sure that he'd be able to use it again. He only hoped that it wouldn't come that far. One of her hands was resting on his, while the other was holding the edge of a knife, a small blade which she was hiding deeply in the sleeve of her dress.
“It's alright”, he said and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She closed her eyes for a second, before she shook her head. “We've been too confident about this”, she answered. “It's just... I wonder how he was able to find out. Aside from our group, only...” She paused and anger flared up in her eyes. “Abbas”, she hissed. “This bastard is the only one I'd see as capable enough for this”
Jaron shook his head. “We don't know what happened yet, okay?”, he tried to calm her down. “You're tired, it had been a long and stressful day. Perhaps you're interpreting too much into Mullendore's behaviour” Her glare hit him. “I know what I saw”, she growled.
“Sure you did”, Jarek's voice sounded from behind them. Jaron glanced over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. The sellsword raised an eyebrow. “What?”, he said. “If she is right, if Mullendore is Butterfly, then I'm sorry, but someone, either she or the Burned Man fucked up tremendously”
“Jarek”, Keira hissed angrily. She was walking close to Martin, not holding his hand, but the shortsword he gave her and together, they were covering the groups right side. On the other side walked Ayden, holding a greatsword. Taria was next to him, always glancing back to where they came from. Neither of them had approved of Jaron's decision to take a shortcut back to the Burned Man's hideout, but they all followed him, so that they would at least stick together.
“What? It's the truth!”, Jarek snapped. “The plan was to save Mullendore's life and now you mean to tell me that we saved Butterfly?” Harpy shook her head. “I saved him”, she whispered. “Back at the masquerade, I saved his life... Whatever happens is not your fault”
“Sure as hell it isn't”, Jarek growled. “I know that quite well and I'm telling you, this was the last time I worked for your cripple. If you're right, then he literally fucked up beyond measure” Harpy sighed, not turning around to face him. Instead, she looked at Jaron. “He's right, isn't he?”, she mumbled. “I... we tried to do a good thing tonight. And now...”
“It can't be Butterfly”, Martin interjected. “Impossible. Whatever you saw was just a coincidence. I was there when Butterfly died and well, so were you” Harpy gulped, before she gave him a nod. “If the man from the warehouse wasn't Butterfly...”, she whispered and her eyes widened in shock. “Gods, what have I done?”
“You did what you thought was right”, Jaron tried to calm her down. “Look at me, I need you to remain focussed now. We're close to Tanner's Alley and we can't afford anyone freaking out in there. Don't draw their attention”
“Understood”, Harpy said decisively. The look in her eyes was one of confusion, anxiety and genuine fear, all thrown together, but there was bravery as well. “Whatever happens, we'll face it together, won't we?”, she asked and Jaron smiled. “Together”, he confirmed.
“Well, one thing is for sure”, Keira said and her tone was one of forced optimism. “If I'm going to die here, Hishi is going to be pissed” Martin grinned at her and his grin was equally forced. “Your boss, eh? Well, since you're not going to die tonight, he's not going to be pissed. Or... she. What's Hishi's gender either way?”, he asked in the attempt to start a normal conversation.
“Good question”, Keira answered. “I never asked him, but I could swear he's a man. My friend Donna swears Hishi is a woman, but she never saw him naked either. The only one who knows for sure is that grumpy old bastard Lanford, but he'd never tell me” Martin's grin turned into a genuine smile, as he threw a fond look at her. “Clever man”, he chuckled. “He knows you can't keep a secret”
“I keep many secrets”, Keira claimed in a tone that got more and more genuinely jovial. “At least that's how Hishi praises me in front of the customers” Martin shook his head and answered something, but at the same time, Ayden drew Jaron's attention. “You hear this?”, he asked. Jaron raised an eyebrow. “Martin and Keira?”, he asked in return and Ayden shook his head.
“Usually, this is one of the most crowded places in Oldtown”, he explained. “Aside from our lovebirds, I hear nothing and well...” He pointed down the empty street, just as Harpy tensed up. She stopped walking and so did the others. “Oh gods no...”, she whispered, just as Jaron saw the man standing in the shadows. As he stepped into the middle of the street, moonlight fell upon his mask, white and golden.
“Good evening”, the Tom said, in his melodic, purring voice. He drew his curved sword, casually holding it with one hand, while the other one was resting on his belt. “Ser Bastard, Lady Harpy... I'm afraid you made a terrible mistake coming here tonight”
Harpy gulped and instinctively took a step away from him, while Jarek walked up next to Jaron. “He's alone, isn't he?”, he growled and looked around. “Let's just kill him and be done with it” Martin shook his head. “He isn't...”, he whispered. “He's never alone”
Just as he said this, a second masked man walked around the corner. The Moggy seemed even more massive than the last time Jaron had seen him. While the Tom was by no means a small man, he almost looked like a child next to his gargantuan bodyguard, who wielded a sword as large as a grown man in one hand.
“Now...”, the Tom continued and took a step forwards. He stopped, when Jaron, Martin, Ayden and Jarek pointed their weapons at him. “Now there are two options. You drop your weapons and in return, I will end this quickly. Or you stand your ground and I will give you the fight you deserve” Even from afar, an almost hungry streak was visible in his eyes.
Jarek shook his head. “Still just two people. The big kitty might be a problem, but we can take them down, can't we?”, he whispered. Jaron glanced towards Harpy, who had her fists clenched inside her long sleeves. “We can take you down”, she said loudly and the Tom shook his head. “Oh, sweet child”, he purred. “Why do you assume we are alone?”
His words were followed by a distant sound that quickly came closer. Heavy footsteps on the rain-soaked ground, more than half a dozen of them. “Fuck...”, Ayden said, just as he and Taria took a step towards the Tom. Jaron noticed that the woman was crying and he couldn't blame her. She had a hand on her stomach and he remembered her earlier words. As early as it was, she was pregnant. She would die here and she was pregnant...
“Please”, Ayden said sternly, while the Tom's hand moved upwards, from the belt around his waist to the one strapped across his chest, that was holding his throwing knives. “She had nothing to do with this. She does not work for the Burned Man. Let her go”
The Tom narrowed his eyes and took a single step towards them, while the Moggy remained behind. Then, in one, swift movement, he had drawn the throwing knife he was grabbing. It flew into Ayden's direction and the sellsword was quick to push Taria out of the way. Not quick enough though, as the small knife hit her in the shoulder, digging deep into her flesh and causing her to cry in pain, as she went to the ground.
Ayden fell on one knee right next to her, gently holding her with one hand, while the other, holding the sword, pointed right at the Tom. “Taria!”, he yelled, while she pressed her hand onto the wound, blood seeping through her fingers. She was wailing in agony, tears were streaming down her face, The wound alone shouldn't be fatal, though it looked painful nonetheless. “Fuck, this was not part of the plan!”, Ayden growled, looking at Harpy, who was tightly clenching Jaron's arm in panic. “You never said that she'd be in danger!”
“No one will leave”, the Tom said in a casual tone. “Unless he says so” He pointed towards them, no, past them. Jaron had heard the footsteps, he heard Jarek's heartfelt curse, but he did not turn around until now. From an adjacent street, the way they came, walked a group of men. They were more than half a dozen, carrying short spears, each of them wearing a grey tabard with the sigil of House Hightower on top.
The city guard was here and they were led by a man that was all too familiar, but at the same time, entirely different from the last time he had seen him. Back at the masquerade, Maron Mullendore had been a genuinely charming man, right until the end. Jaron had started to like him, he had been relieved when he survived the attack. Now, the commander looked different. His red hair was combed back, falling down onto his shoulders and the look in his green eyes was bare of any warmth. A mocking smirk formed on his face and his hands were resting on his belly, the thumbs grabbing the belt. He was still wearing his elegant attire from the masquerade, but on top of it, he was wearing thin chainmail.
Martin growled something and both, he and Keira took position back-to-back, covering each other, while Jarek bravely stood the closest to the Tom and the Moggy. Next to Jaron, Harpy was shivering, she had turned away from the Tom and was now fully facing the commander, who gave her a slight nod, as he raised his hand and commanded his men to stop. Tanner's Alley was large for an alleyway, but the six guardsmen were more than enough to block it completely. On the other side, the presence of the Moggy alone was enough to prove a severe obstacle.
“Gwynna Caron...”, Mullendore snarled. “I must say, you had me for a while. You played a perfect Lady Gwynna and I command you for your act. All of you played a role tonight, but it's time to drop the masks now”
Harpy had her eyes closed, her hand found Jaron's and squeezed it tightly. As she opened her eyes again, she was glaring at Mullendore, with an expression full of hatred. “Butterfly”, she said and sounded almost calm.
He smiled. “Took you long enough to figure it out”, he answered. “In the end, I even had to push you into the right direction. The look on your face when you realized it was worth it though” He chuckled and Jaron noticed that none of his men looked surprised in any way. “You are Butterfly”, Harpy stated again and he gave her a nod. “Do you really need me to spell it out for you?”, he asked. “Yes, I am Butterfly, the one and only. There has never been another one”
Harpy tensed up, gasping slightly at his words. “And... the...”, she stuttered and Mullendore's grin got wider, more vicious. “Would it torment you when I say that he was an innocent man, forced into playing a role this day, a man that did not deserve what you did to him, another victim?”, he asked and each of his words caused Harpy to grow paler.
Finally, the commander burst into a chuckle. “I'm just fucking with you, you stupid, foreign cunt”, he stated. “I'm not petty enough to torment you with a lie like that. He was one of my best men. A hero, though not innocent from your twisted viewpoint. Not innocent at all. See, it is interesting that we meet face to face in this situation...”
Harpy's grip around his hand was almost painful by now and the look she gave him was wide-eyed, close to break down. She was holding back tears and he saw regret, shame, deep sorrow all engraved in her face. “Just spare me the monologue, spare me your sick mind games”, she mumbled. “There are a thousand questions I'd like to ask. For example, why. Why would a person do the things you did? Why do you hate my kind so much? There are a thousand insults I'd like to throw at you, at the monster that will haunt my dreams forever” A sad, desperate and defiant smile formed on her face. “However, I doubt you'll be able to give me satisfying answers so just shut up and get it over with, you son of a bitch”
Mullendore narrowed his eyes, but his smile remained. “Are you sure? I know you're going to like what I have to say”, he explained. “Because, as a matter of fact I have no intentions of killing or harming you tonight”
His words caused Jaron to raise an eyebrow, though Harpy did not look particularly impressed. “I said spare me the mind games”, she answered and for a moment he looked genuinely offended. “I would never lie about this”, he said. “I have no intentions of harming you. In fact, I have very good reason to let you go”
Now, his men looked confused, though none of them looked as confused as Harpy. Well, Jaron perhaps, who had his eyes narrowed and was baffled at hearing these words. He looked over his shoulder, where the Tom was still blocking the alleyway. The mask gave away no emotion, though the eyes behind it were thin slits, filled with disapproval.
“You came all the way just to let us go?”, Harpy asked and he immediately shook his head. “I see you still have a problem paying attention to the details. I don't intend to let all of you go”, he explained and pointed at her. “Just you. The rest will die, from your bastard pimp to the literal whore to your right” Harpy's eyes widened and she looked at Jaron.
Mullendore sighed. “See, under any other circumstance, I would kill you. Make no mistake, I would make you suffer for what you did and I would enjoy it. You'd be my warning example, my masterpiece”, he continued. “To my chagrin, you saved my life tonight. At the very least, you tried it. The attack on me, it wasn't staged. The Tom's man, the one I killed, he was unaware of my identity and acted on his own. I would have probably managed to kill him either way, but you intended to save my life” For just a moment, his smile was almost genuine, a reflection of what Jaron saw back at the masquerade. “And I'd be a hypocrite if I wouldn't honour good intentions”
“Harpy...”, Jaron hissed and she glared at him, immediately shaking his head. “Ser Jaron, if you think for a moment that I would leave you to save my own skin...”, she gasped and her hand heavily clung onto his forearm. “Then you must be the most stupid bastard alive. I did a lot of mistakes, some of which I can never excuse. But leaving you? I could never be such a fool” Her words meant the world to him, yet the pain they caused were almost unbearable.
She turned back towards the commander. “You are a hypocrite”, she called him out. “The worst kind. You are a monster and I despise you. Kill me if you must. Torture me if it pleases you. The only regret I have is that I will die before you”
Mullendore's grin got even wider. “Well, well, look who got quite the mouth”, he chuckled. “Have you asked yourself how I managed to find you?” She narrowed her eyes, but remained silent. “Surely, someone like you would expect a traitor. Say nothing, your face reveals it. Your kind is weak in terms of loyalty. Each of my men would die for me with a smile, but your first impulse is to suspect your own people” He shook his head. “It wasn't treason that brought you down tonight. I was just better than you”, he explained and turned to his men. “Jaylon! Bring him!”
The soldiers right behind him stepped aside and gave view on another man. Jaron roughly remembered the name. Jaylon Gordus. Captain of the city guard. Suspected double agent for Butterfly. He was an ugly man, wearing heavy armour. A longsword was dangling on his belt, a greatsword was strapped to his back and his right hand was holding a helmet, while the left one was resting on the shoulders of a familiar figure.
Harpy groaned in shock and Jaron found it hard to look at him. Himani's smile was gone. His mouth was still open, but mostly because closing it would have obviously caused too much pain. Even from afar, Jaron saw that roughly the half of his pearly-white teeth were gone, replace by broken, bloody ruins, where Butterfly or his torturers ripped them out in a violently unclean way. His face was bruised, one eye even swollen shut and several of his fingers were violently displaced. He shivered and desperate tears streamed out of his good eye.
“No...”, Harpy whispered, unable to avert her gaze. “No... not him” She wasn't crying, even though Jaron knew she had good reason for it. She was way beyond that. There were no tears left for her, just hatred at the man who did this.
“Himani here has been very cooperative, once the Sphynx asked the right questions. It was fascinating how much such a small boy knew”, Mullendore explained and a disgusting sneer formed on his face. Jaylon looked indifferent at this, which Jaron saw as equally despicable.
Harpy shook her head, slowly, before she sighed. “Himani...”, she whispered, but the silence carried her words far and the boy raised his head. “I'm sorry m'lady”, he mumbled and his words were barely audible through the missing teeth. “I did not want to. Forgive me...”
Now, Harpy's expression grew pained. “There's nothing to forgive”, she said in a low tone. “Look at me” She forced herself to smile. “You are still my boy. Do you remember what I promised? I will always look out for you. I will protect you” Her gaze grew harder again and the smile faded as quickly as it came. The anger below was genuine this time. “I will avenge you”, she growled, before she glared at Mullendore. “You're willing to let me go?”
He gave her a nod. “I knew this little bastard would change your mind”, he grinned. “Because look at him... That is going to be nothing compared to your fate” Now, she shook her head. “You don't understand”, she said calmly. “I accept your offer, but not for myself. I'm going to stay here. Do whatever you want. Hurt me and I will scream for you. Kill me and I'll beg you on my knees, but you won't hurt this boy, this sweet, brave, wonderful little boy” A vicious look appeared on her face, the same look she gave the fake Butterfly at the warehouse. “Let. Him. Go!”
For a moment, Mullendore looked almost impressed. He gave Jaylon a nod and the man turned back. Instead, the commander put his hand on Himani's shoulder and the boy nearly screamed in terror. Harpy tensed up and Jaron clenched his teeth as Mullendore's other hand moved to his belt. “A noble offer”, the commander spoke softly. “Unexpected from someone like you. But...”
Harpy and Keira both let out a scream, as Mullendore quickly pushed his dagger into Himani's throat. The young boy's eyes widened, as pain, even more pain appeared on his face. He tried to say something, but he only managed to gurgle helplessly. “You are in no position to make a deal with me”, Mullendore said as he slowly started to twist the blade with sadistic glee. Himani would have screamed, but instead of a voice, a gush of blood poured out of his mouth. “Your lives are mine, to take or give. You have nothing to offer” He let go of the dagger and Himani took it with him to the ground, where he violently twitched in his dying breaths.
Jaron's first impulse was a good one. His arm darted forwards and grabbed Harpy by the shoulder, before she was able to charge at Mullendore. Rage, pain and guilt were the emotions he saw on her face, a guilt that grew even larger when she looked at him. “Don't!”, he hissed and pulled her closer. She stumbled, indecisively, before she staggered forwards, bumping into him and putting her head down onto his chest. He gently stroke her hair to calm her down and he ignored the vicious grin on Mullendore's face.
“Weakness”, the commander chuckled. “Yours is disgusting me. Perhaps you see now, this is your only chance to live. Accept my offer. Your death won't achieve anything for your cause. You won't save anyone”
“Harpy...”, Jaron whispered and she barely reacted in his arms. “I want you to do it” Now she looked up in disbelief. The words were said easily, but he meant them. He would die here. The thought had always caused him to shiver in the past, but now he was oddly calm. He realized it, he would die tonight. As short as their time together was, she gave him something to live for. She gave him something to die for and now he wasn't afraid. He only wanted her to live.
“What?”, she asked and he smiled at her. “I want you to live. You can't save me, you can't save Martin, or Jarek, Keira, Ayden or Taria” He looked at his companions. Whereas Martin and Keira looked calm, focussing at each other, Jarek was seething with anger. Ayden finally was cradling a barely conscious Taria. He was crying, which was the last thing Jaron expected from him. He understood though.
“You can only save yourself. I want you to live for us. Please...”, he whispered softly. “It is my time of dying. It's going to be a messy death in a rain-soaked alleyway in a shithole of a city. Not the kind of death I wished for. Don't make this any harder on me by seeing you die first. Live for me and I'll go out with a smile”
“Jaron..”, she gasped and finally, she proved him wrong. She still had tears left and he felt them warming his cheek as she came closer. “Avy jorraelan”, she whispered and he raised an eyebrow. The words were softer than her usual Ghiscari, but their foreign nature was obvious “I don't know what that means”, he said with a smile and she shook her head. She smiled as well, even though she was crying. “You know exactly what it means”, she answered, as she leaned in to kiss him.
For one second, nothing else mattered. There was no rain. There was no blood, no sorrow. The Tom and the Moggy behind them, Mullendore and Jaylon in front, they were gone. Jaron would die tonight. He would do it with a smile, he would do it with the memory of this moment.
Then, the kiss was interrupted by her desperate sobs. “I'm waiting, mylady!”, Mullendore yelled loudly. “If you want, I give you your bastard knights head once I cut it off his shoulders. Be a good girl and I'll give you his cock as well” Harpy narrowed her eyes and tears streamed down her face, almost small rivers in nature. “I'm coming!”, she growled and Jarek threw an alarmed glare at her. “Excuse me?”, he snarled, but she ignored him. “I'm accepting your offer”, she said again and a pleased, but rotten grin appeared on Mullendore's face.
Jaron's smile was genuine. How could he not smile after sharing this moment with her? “It's okay”, he assured her. “This is what I want. I want you to live!” She shook her head and sighed, before she gave him one last, beautiful smile. “Forgive me”, she whispered and approached Butterfly.
“Goddamn bitch!”, Jarek snapped, but did nothing to stop her. Martin had a pleased grin on his face. “Valar Morghulis”, he said calmly. Keira seemed to pray, her eyes were closed, her lips were moving silently. And finally, Ayden was still gently holding his unconscious lover, fury in his eyes.
“As expected”, the commander chuckled. “Look at her, Ser Bastard! Look at what she really is” He turned to Harpy. “In this entire city, there is only one person worse than you and I'd never let him go that easily”, he mocked her. “You can thank me for my mercy, you turncoat whore”
She tensed up under his mockery and stopped as he took a step aside. His men formed a gap in their formation for her and Jaron clenched his fists, hoping, praying to every god that was willing to listen that she'd take the chance. She'd be free.
She stopped and sighed. “You had to do it, hadn't you?”, she asked and looked at Himani. Mullendore raised an eyebrow, before he gave her a nod. “You had to come personally. Had to rub your victory in my face, had to demonstrate what a rotten piece of shit you are, by killing a child”
Now, Mullendore's smug grin faded and he took a step towards her. “Watch your mouth, bitch”, he snarled. “And don't you dare blaming his death on me. I am a soldier and this is war. I killed my enemy. He stopped being a child the moment you and your cripple made a weapon out of him. You killed him long ago. I freed him”
“He was ten years old”, Harpy said, without looking away from the tiny body. Mullendore shook his head in an irritated fashion and she took a small step towards him. “He was like you, part of the sickness that infects this city”, Mullendore growled in return. “He was part of the very corruption I seek to destroy. You're a clever little whore, with a clever little mouth, but you will not dare to question my conviction”
Now, she looked up, right at him. “He was ten years old”, she repeated. “He was a child. You murdered him. You murdered so many of them” Mullendore sighed and this time, he took a step towards her. Jaron tensed up and exchanged a frightened glance with Martin. What was she doing? Oh, Seven, what was she doing?
“You will leave this city”, Mullendore ordered her. “For saving my life, you will stay alive as well. You will leave this city as I command you and you will never turn back. After tonight, there will be nothing left for you” He grinned. “And you will thank me for being graceful enough to spare your worthless life”
She took a step towards him and he did not seem to mind. “You had to show off. Had to prove to me how much better you are, isn't that correct?” Her voice was oozing hatred, but it grew weaker with every word. Mullendore gave her a nod. “I am better than you, mylady. I am better than all of you combined. I am Butterfly and this city is mine”
“By murdering children”, Harpy spat. “You're the bravest knight I ever met” She took another step towards him and Mullendore crossed his arms. “You know, I swore I wouldn't harm you. By trying to save my life, you earned one chance at survival”, he growled viciously. “But at least once in my life, I just have to hear you scream”
His open palm slapped across her face and the sound it made as it hit the flesh was like the cracking of a whip. He hit her again with the backhand, caused her to spun around. Her dark eyes met Jaron's and he saw the despair, the deepest layer of her self-loathing. Her cheeks were reddened, but she remained silent.
She turned around. “Did this please you, mast...”, she said in a monotonous voice, just as Mullendore's closed fist hit her without warning, slightly below the stomach. She almost went down on her knees and this time, she screamed in agony. “Yes...”, Mullendore huffed under heavy breath, sounding almost aroused. “Yes, you have no idea how much this pleases me” He hit her again, at the same spot, even harder than before. Her scream was even louder and she stumbled towards him, stopping only inches in front of him.
Jaron wasn't able to see her face, but he heard her cracking voice. “Did this please you?”, she asked again and he grinned. “Careful, girl”, he warned her. “No matter how much you try to please me, it won't save your friends” He pointed down the gap between his men. “Now leave, before I decide that I want to keep you after all”
She looked away from Himani and her back straightened. Jaron wasn't able to see her face, but her voice sent shivers down his spine. “You can't have me”, she whispered and he finally understood what she was going to do. She would die. He couldn't let her do it. Forgive me...
“NO!”, he yelled and charged at Mullendore and the guardsmen.
The commander looked at him in confusion and surprise, slightly moving his head in the process.
And the very same moment, Harpy put the knife she had been hiding in her sleeve right in his head.
Everything seemed to slow down. Her knife approached his head, he turned his face towards Jaron. The knife hit him by surprise. If he wouldn't have turned his head, he would have been dead. Now, the knife scratched across his nose, before entering his head through the right eyeball, cutting cleanly through the soft tissue, before meeting the side of his skull. It scratched through it as well, piercing it, before being stopped eventually. Most of the knife was embedded in his eye, her hand was still firmly grabbing the hilt, the tip was just barely leaving the side of his head again. “Oh...”, Mullendore said. Then, he slowly fell to the ground.
Harpy let go of her knife, looking at her hand that was stained with his blood. She seemed shocked, though it was not clear for him if she was shocked about her actions or about the fact that she had failed to kill Mullendore immediately. “Kill her!”, Jaylon screamed slowly. One of the guardsmen lowered his spear, aiming it at her abdomen. He thrusted it forwards...
... and then Jaron was between them. He knocked the spear away with his sword. He would have shielded her with his body if necessary. His sword swung forwards, hitting the surprised guardsmen below the helmet and plunging deep into the soft flesh of his neck. “Stay behind me!”, he barked and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her nodding at him, her eyes opened widely. Behind the man that was just sinking to the ground, Mullendore was crawling towards his men, his blood leaving a trail in the rain.
“Formation!”, Jaylon yelled and the remaining guardsmen lowered their spears, slowly approaching Jaron. Mullendore crawled through them, getting back to safety, where Jaylon immediately approached him. Jaron staggered backwards, pushing Harpy with him, closer to the others. Behind him, he heard a loud, beastly roar, followed by a battlecry. He took another step back and glanced over his shoulder.
Martin, Keira and Jarek fearlessly rushed at the Tom and the Moggy, who in turn approached them. The Moggy was roaring like an animal and Jarek was the only one bold enough to attack him directly. Martin and Keira rushed past the giant's flank, towards the Tom, whose curved sword was pointing at them in the way Essosi fighters would prepare for a challenging fight. His free hand was resting on another throwing knife, though he hadn't pulled it out so far. Only one fighter wasn't doing anything, at least not until Jaron yelled at him.
“Ayden!”, he screamed as he parried a spear. He swung his sword as if it was a torch, just barely keeping the guardsmen at bay. They played it safe. Brief, easy attacks, but several of them at once, forcing him to swing his weapon way faster than they did. He had received enough training in his life to know that he couldn't keep them busy forever.
Just then, a roaring battlecry thundered through the streets. A spear that would have almost hit Jaron was knocked away, the young man holding it staggering to the ground with it, as Ayden joined the fight. “BLACKWELL!”, he screamed at the top of his lungs. His greatsword gave him an advantage over the guardsmen's short spears and even though their careful position inside of a formation prevented him from causing damage, his sword swung widely and forced them into the defensive for once. For a moment, Jaron had room to breath.
“Taria!”, Ayden growled loudly. “Harpy, she's wounded! You have to stop the bleeding!” The intense sound of his voice was enough for her to snap out of her trance. Shock was replaced by determination. Sorrow was covered by a mask of bravery. She gave him a nod and rushed towards Taria, kneeling down next to her, in the attempt to treat her wound as good as possible.
In front of her, Jarek fearlessly took on the Moggy. The giant swung at him, a strong, but clumsy blow and Jarek jumped to the side. He tried to hit him in return, but the Moggy only slightly moved his huge blade to deflect the attack. And slightly behind them, the Tom parried one of Martin's strikes, moving his weapon as elegant as a water dancer, while he simultaneously stepped aside to avoid Keira's attack.
One brave guardsman tried to push his sword into Jaron's throat, but Ayden was there, forcing him into the defence again. Jaron rushed forwards, parrying two spears with his strike. He even managed to hit one of his opponents, but the parrying had taken a majority of his attack's strength and he failed to pierce their leather armour.
However, instead of counterattacking, the guardsmen stopped for a moment and so did Jaron and Ayden. Behind them, Maron Mullendore sluggishly raised back to his feet, Harpy's blood-soaked dagger in his hands. He turned towards them and Jaron was able to see the damage she had done. His entire right eye was hidden underneath blood and something yellow, but even despite this, it was clear that she had cut it in half. Just looking at it caused him to shiver and Mullendore was literally gasping in helpless agony. The tiny wound where the tip of his knife had pierced the bone seemed irrelevant, as did the scratch across his nose. His eye was all but gone and he was breathing heavily. Even behind them, his presence was enough to stop the fighting for once. The sound of rain hitting the street and the metal armour was the only thing Jaron heard. And then, behind him, a desperate, joyless and taunting chuckle.
“Look at him”, Harpy hissed. She was still kneeling on the ground, using her own priceless dress as a bandage for Taria's wound. Currently, she was glaring at Mullendore. It was the desperate glare of a woman that was ready to die, after playing one final trump card. “Look at him!”, she screamed and it became clear that she wasn't talking to Jaron, or the guardsmen. No, she was talking to the people. Jaron glanced around, seeing hollow, scared faces watching them from behind the windows of the surrounding houses. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of people witnessed their final stand.
“Look at your commander!”, Harpy yelled. “Look at your Butterfly!” She grinned, a vicious, hateful grin towards Mullendore, whose disfigured face showed no emotion aside from pain. “You have no...”, he stuttered and she shook her head. “Evidence? Maron, we both know how powerful a rumour can become in this city. The people are going to talk”, she explained coldly. She narrowed her eyes and stopped grinning. “You may kill us tonight, but you're going down with us, you fucking whoreson”
Mullendore narrowed his eyes, both eyes, which caused him visible and tremendous agony. Instead of backing down, he started to scream in primal rage. “KILL THEM!”, he ordered. “KILL THEM! SLAUGHTER THEM! BRING ME THEIR FUCKING HEADS! KILL THEM! KILL THEM! KILL THEM!” He screamed something else, one word that Jaron did not understand at first, as he was too busy parrying the new, vicious attack from a particularly bold guardsman. Mullendore had to repeat it three times, until Jaylon snapped out of his trance. “SWORD!”, he screamed.
Jaron parried another strike and his enemy was so focussed on attacking him that he even left the formation. Ayden tried to use this opening, but had to defend himself, using his greatsword almost like a shield to block several incoming attacks at once, or to knock them away at least.
Another strike, another desperate parry, as Jaron realized that his opponent was not a bad fighter. He stumbled one step backwards, when suddenly, the massive, angry force of nature that was Maron Mullendore appeared behind his opponent. He was wielding a greatsword, the one Jaylon had just handed him. With one hand, he grabbed Jaron's opponent, throwing him to the ground, with the other, the one that was holding the sword, he viciously attacked.
Jaron made the mistake of parrying the first strike. Mullendore was stronger than him, a lot stronger and his anger gave him additional power, whereas Jaron was limited to using one arm, if he didn't want to risk even further damage to the wounded one. He instead dodged the second attack, a feat that was easier than it sounded. Mullendore was strong and usually, he was experienced. Yet currently, all the experience in the world faded underneath his rage. Right now, his rage made him slow, as did his advanced age, his wound and the horrible pain it inflicted upon him. His rage was perhaps the only thing that still allowed him to stand and fight. Another strike and Jaron was forced to parry. Another one that sent him down on his knees, holding his sword above him, in the desperate attempt to survive.
But Jaron was angry as well. This was the man that killed Himani. This was the beast that killed so many of the others, the one that tormented the girl he loved. The thought of the pain he had put Harpy through, it sent Jaron into an almost livid rage, as he struck at Mullendore, faster than the commander was able to counterattack. And to his surprise, he hit his target.
His sword hit against the chainmail that protected Mullendore's left side. With one arm, the strike wasn't powerful enough to cut through it, but it was enough to catch Mullendore by surprise. Jaron was similarly surprised and for one moment, the two men looked at each other. Before he was able to attack again, the commander had grabbed him by the shoulder, throwing him to the ground with ease. While he fell, Jaron sliced across the chainmail, effectively cutting a large gap into it, but the steel rings still prevented any damage to Mullendore's body below.
He landed on his arm, heavily, and the pain was enough for Jaron to gasp, as the air was pressed out of his lungs. Through a veil of tears, he saw Mullendore glaring at him. The commander did not even bother with fighting him. He simply stepped past him, with a cold glare, while the guardsman Jaron had just fought got up again, grabbing his spear with both hands in the attempt to finish Jaron off.
First, the guardsman tried to impale Jaron, who just barely managed to reach for his sword. He swung it upwards, knocking the spear aside and the tip of the weapon instead pierced the muddy ground right next to him. Jaron did not waste any time. Even though it sent shivers of pain through his body, he rolled into the direction of his opponent's weapon, momentarily putting all of his weight onto his wounded arm. He managed to roll against the spear before the guardsman was able to pull it put again and his weight was enough to push it to the ground, with him on top. Using the speed he momentarily gained, his sword moved upwards and the blade hit his opponent below the chainmail, cutting through the area between abdomen and groin. He pushed his sword upwards, as the man fell to the ground, fully impaling him with it. Then, the guardsman heavily landed on top of him, trapping his good arm in the process and sending a new wave of almost unbearable pain through his wounded one.
Disoriented, Jaron glanced around, gasping for air. He saw Ayden, barely keeping the remaining guardsmen away from him. They were at a stalemate. None of the men was brave enough to get into the reach of his greatsword, while Ayden was smart enough not to attack their formation heads on. Behind them, Jaylon stood, a look of disapproval on his face. He wasn't fighting, instead he was yelling commands, nestling on the loosely fitting glove that covered his left hand.
At the other side of the alleyway, Jarek was still dancing around the Moggy. He was fast, while the Moggy was slow enough to miss him, but still fast enough to parry Jarek's swift attacks. Behind him, Keira tried to get into the Tom's blind spot, while Martin kept him busy. The masked man was a masterful fighter though and he spun around, parrying their attacks with one hand on his back, which made him look strangely elegant.
And between them... Jaron froze in terror as his dizzy feeling was gone in an instant as he realized that Mullendore was approaching Harpy and Taria. Taria was still lying on the ground, even though she was conscious again. Harpy saw him coming. Without fear, she rose from the ground. She glanced at Taria, then at the slowly approaching Mullendore, who was now grabbing his sword with both hands. Then, she quickly rushed away from the wounded woman and Mullendore adjusted his course. He did not want Taria. He wanted Harpy.
She reached down for the only weapon she was able to find, the short spear of the first guard Jaron had killed. Meanwhile, Jaron desperately tried to free himself from underneath his dead opponent. Being limited to only using his wounded arm literally crippled his attempts and he was forced to watch as Mullendore took his first strike towards Harpy.
His attack would have cleaved her in half if she would have even attempted to parry. His anger severely limited his skill, but it also made him the strongest man in this alleyway, aside from the Moggy perhaps. She jumped to the side and he took a horizontal strike that forced her to jump back. At the very least, she was faster than he had ever been.
In his rage, Mullendore charged at her, using the sword almost like a spear. She jumped to the side and the sword hit the wall behind her instead. Swiftly, he thwarted her attempts at counter-attacking him, by striking her, horizontally again. Again, Harpy jumped backwards, into Ayden's direction this time. A vertical strike of Mullendore's greatsword followed and she stepped aside. The sword heavily hit the ground, which gave her an opening she used. Her spear darted forwards and pierced the side of leg, going right through the trousers, flesh, muscle and bone. The spearhead left his leg through the other side, almost piercing his second leg as well and creating a truly nasty wound.
Mullendore gasped and staggered to remain on his feet, the look on his face. The only thing that kept him standing was the piece of wood that was embedded into his leg. He opened and closed his eyes, the damaged one as well as the healthy one. Even from afar, Jaron saw the sweat on his face. Even from afar, he felt the hatred.
Harpy tried to pull her spear out of his leg again, just as his sword slammed down into her direction. She was forced to let go of her weapon, or else the strike would have severed her arms. Instead of her body, the steel hid the wooden hilt of the spear and the weapon cracked under the severe force. Half of it was still impaling Mullendore's leg and without Harpy to hold him, the commander immediately fell to the ground, though he managed to remain on one knee.
The second half flew through the air and Harpy jumped after it. She managed to grab it. Three foot of sharpened wood. Not much, but better than nothing. Jaron did another attempt at freeing himself from his dead opponent. He succeeded in slightly pushing the man away from him, when another shockwave of pain flashed through his arm, causing him to groan in pain.
Slowly regaining his breath and his strength, Jaron shifted his attention back to Harpy. She held the broken spear like a club and was circling around Mullendore, who laboriously turned around, so that she wasn't able to gain advantage of his new blind spot. He striked at her, horizontally, and she jumped back. Just as the blade passed her however, she jumped forwards again and delivered a heavy, merciless strike with her wooden club against his damaged eye.
The commander howled in sheer agony as he let go of his sword reflexively, to press both of his hands onto his eye. He went down on all fours, just as Harpy raised the broken spear again, the tip pointing right at him. Specifically, Jaron saw that she pointed at the gap in his chainmail his own brief fight with the commander had caused earlier. And without hesistating, she drove the sharp, wooden tip into his side.
Mullendore did not manage to prevent her from piercing his vulnerable side, but he managed to grab the spear as she just got through his clothes and into the flesh below. Blood flew out through the gap in his chainmail and he groaned, grabbing the spear with one hand and trying to push it back, while she used both of hers to press against it.
“No...”, he wheezed. “Not like this. Not you...” A triumphant smile formed on Harpy's face and Jaron realized that she had won. Mullendore grew weaker. His wounds were severe, crippling even. He wouldn't be able to hold against her for much longer. Just for a moment, Jaron relaxed. Then, he saw it and in sudden panic, he desperately started to lift the dead guardsman off him. Despite the pain, the sheer brutal agony this caused him, he succeeded in lifting the dead man high enough to roll away from underneath him, though as he looked up, it was too late.
Harpy noticed it, perhaps she felt the ground shaking. She jumped around, not fast enough this time, as the massive fist of the Moggy hit her right in the ribs, lifting her up in the air and slamming her against the side of the house. She collapsed on the ground, holding her ribs, her face twisted with pain, as she gasped for air.
“No!”, Jaron yelled and tried to stagger back up to his feet. The muddy ground gave in underneath him and he heavily fell back onto his face, as the Moggy raised his greatsword. The giant let out a roar, slammed the weapon down into her direction, only for Jarek to parry the strike. The sellsword had a cocky grin on his face, even though he was out of breath and bleeding from a small cut on his cheek. “We're not done yet, big kitty”, he chuckled.
So they remained for a moment, Jarek between Harpy and the Moggy, Mullendore lying behind his tallest henchman. The commander was breathing, but barely, with one half of the broken spear impaling his upper leg, while the other was still firmly embedded in his side. Two of his guardsmen left the formation on Jaylon's orders to approach him, while the rest, five of them, kept Ayden in check, preventing him from helping any of the others.
Jaron finally staggered back onto his feet and he glared at the two men that were softly grabbing Butterfly. He wouldn't let him get away, he would kill him! What he attempted was a charge, though his aching side only allowed for a slow jog, which gave Jaylon enough time to spot him. “Flank!”, he yelled and one of the guardsmen that fought against Ayden separated from his fight to glance at Jaron. Grabbing his spear close to the head, he approached read for a fight in close combat, while Jaron got into a defensive stance.
Behind his new opponent, a heavily bleeding Mullendore got carried away. Jaron wasn't able to see if he was still breathing, but he still groaned in frustration and despite the fact that he had prepared for a defensive fight, he went into the offensive. In a high arch, his sword cut through the air and with a sharp, metallic sound, it hit the spearhead. His opponent wasted no time and slammed the lower end of the spear against Jaron's side, though his attack lacked the range to cause any damage. In return, Jaron spun his sword around, attacking from the other side in a horizontal arch and aiming for the guardsman's head.
The man rose the lower end of his spear to deflect the blow and instead of hitting his head, the sword barely grazed it. It still cut across his forehead in a painful way, but left only a superficial bruise, not even a real cut. He twirled his spear, trying to impale Jaron, which was a mistake. Times in the dornish marches had taught him how to counter such an attack. Using his sword from above, Jaron deflected the blow aimed at his abdomen and instead knocked the spear down and past his leg, while he put his own sword between himself and his now defenceless opponent. He wasted to time to impale the guardsman. The man's eyes widened, as his free hand grabbed Jaron's upper arm. The look on his face, formerly one of confidence, showed confusion and pain, as a thin line of blood started to flow out of his mouth. He let go of Jaron and sank to the ground.
Immediately, Jaron charged towards Harpy. He knew, he couldn't help Jarek. The sellsword needed every free space possible to evade the Moggy's angry attacks and another fighter would have limited him. But he slowly and steadily managed to drew the giant man away from the downed Harpy, which gave Jaron an opportunity to help her. Behind him, Ayden kept his opponent's at bay, locked in a stalemate. At the other end of the alleyway, the Tom still spun around, hitting fast and hitting hard, forcing Martin to use all of his skill to parry the attacks, the one aimed at him and the ones aimed at Keira.
“Harpy...”, Jaron mumbled and she opened her eyes. A smile formed on her face. “Did we made it?”, she asked and he shook his head. “You were wonderful today”, he complimented her and her smile grew wider. “We have to get you out of here. Can you walk?”
She glanced around and her smile faded, as she finally seemed to realize what was happening around her. “No”, she immediately said. “That is, yes I can walk” As if she was trying to demonstrate it, she tried to stagger back onto her feet. She heavily had to rely on Jaron's help to do this, her hands tightly grabbing his shoulders, as he softly pulled her up again. “Jaron, I can fight”, she lied. “I can help. I'm not leaving you. I'm not leaving any of you behind”
She tried to prove her words by spreading her arms, only to let out a howl of pain. Tears formed in her eyes, as she relied on his support to remain standing. Through the thin fabric around her upper waist, Jaron saw a nasty bruise forming where the Moggy had hit her. Gasping for air, she looked around. “I can fight. I'm not leaving you”, she mumbled.
As if he had heard their conversation, Ayden fell back, closer towards them. While he did this, he parried a spear and his counterattack sent the formation of guardsmen to stagger back again. They played it safe. They had the time on their side and slowly, but steadily, Ayden grew tired. “Taria”, he growled, momentarily glancing at Harpy. “You can stand. You can walk and you can get her out of here!”
She tried to shake her head, but it was already enough to almost make her loose her balance. “I'm not...”, she mumbled. “Not leaving you...” She wanted to say something else, but Ayden cut her off. “Bullshit!”, he growled over his shoulder. “You can and you know it. Stop being stubborn and do the right thing! Taria helped us tonight, but this was never part of the plan. She is not supposed to die here!”
Harpy still hesitated, though she managed to stand on her own again. Jaron pointed his sword at the formation, ready to charge once Harpy would have made up her mind. “Please...”, Ayden said and his tone sounded desperate. “She's pregnant”
Jaron noticed a shift on Harpy's face. Her eyes widened in shock, as she glanced towards the barely conscious woman. Pain, physical and mental, was engraved on her face as she stared longingly into Jaron's direction. He gave her a nod, followed by a smile. She raised her mouth into a faint half-smirk, before she averted her eyes. Then, she ran towards Taria and did the right thing. “I'm getting you out of here”, she whispered and despite her own pain, she managed to help the other woman up. “You're not going to die here”
Taria said nothing. She was crying, in pain, in fear and the look she threw at Ayden reminded Jaron of the way Harpy just looked at him. It was goodbye. Both women were relying on each other to drag themselves forwards, towards the other end of the alleyway, where the Tom still fought against Martin and Keira. Right now, the masked man twirled around to parry one of Keira's attacks, before only slightly moving his head to evade one of Martin's strikes. Then, he spun towards Keira again and gave her a punch with his free hand, while she parried a strike from his sword.
Close to the western side of the alleyway, Jarek was still fighting against the Moggy. And just like the formation of guardsmen was slowly, but steadily winning against Ayden, Jarek seemed to gain the upper hand against the Moggy. He was faster, so much faster, forcing the Moggy to constantly spin around to parry a hailstorm of swordstrikes. Perhaps they could still win... perhaps they still had a chance...
The last thing he saw before he charged towards Ayden's position was the Tom. The masked man parried one of Martin's strikes, while Keira still staggered from the punch she just received. His counterattack was heavy enough to cause Martin to stumbled. Immediately, the Tom turned around, his free hand grabbing one of his throwing knives, which he threw directly at Taria.
He failed to hit her. The knife did not fly very far, as Keira, in her slightly stunned state of mind, simply staggered into its way. It entered her head through the right eye and the Tom had thrown it with enough force to embed it deeply in her head, down to the hilt. She remained standing for a second, before she unceremoniously dropped to the ground, dead before she reached it.
Jaron wasn't sure if Harpy even noticed it. She and Taria were already past the fighters. They were save. They were free. They had a chance. And Keira was dead. Without any doubt, Martin noticed it. His gasp was agonizing. “Keira?”, he gulped and the pain in his voice was audible even from afar. Despair on his face, he began to throw one dangerous hit after the other at the Tom, hacking at the masked man like a madman swinging a meatcleaver. The sheer force of his attacks where enough to force even the Tom into the defensive.
Jaron turned around towards Ayden. There would be time to mourn if they would survive this. However, Jaron was quite sure that he'd be the one to be mourned today. If Ayden was surprised by the sudden help, he did not show it. “Your girl, she's quite something”, he growled, as he casually parried a spear. “But she did the right thing tonight”
“Are they going to make it?”, Jaron asked and Ayden shook his head. “Not if we're going to be overpowered by these corrupt cocksuckers”, he growled in return. “And are we going to take them down?”, he asked. Ayden shook his head again. “Maybe. Perhaps if I...”
He was cut off by a loud yelp of pain. Jaron glanced over his shoulder and saw Jarek, being grabbed by the Moggy. He had lost his sword and his opponent's massive hand was clenched around his throat, choking the life out of him, while the Moggy, bleeding out of roughly half a dozen small cuts, was using his own sword almost like a crutch. “DIE!”, the masked man roared. “DIE! DIE! DIE!”
Despite the fact that he was choked, Jarek still managed to smirk. “Fuck you, big kitty”, he chuckled and in a single movement, he put a small dagger deeply into the Moggy's unprotected upper arm. The Moggy was howling in pain and Jarek fell to the ground, where he gasped for air and rushed towards his sword.
He managed to grab it, just as one guardsmen separated from the formation. Using the superior range of his spear, he thrusted the weapon towards Jarek and managed to hit him in the abdominal area, deeply impaling him. The sellsword's eyes widened as he realized that he was severely wounded, but before he could react, the massive, open palm of the Moggy came from behind.
“DIE!”, the Moggy screamed and faster than Jaron had ever seen him moving, he had wrapped his fingers around Jarek's head, painfully ramming his thumb into the sellsword's eyesocket. He used the force of his speed to spin around again, yanking Jarek with him, ripping him away from the spear and slamming his head heavily against the wall of the nearest house. With a sickening crunch, Jarek's head gave in. His broken body sank to the ground and the Moggy sank right next to him, clutching the painful, heavily bleeding wound in his upper swordarm.
A pained expression appeared on Ayden's face, as one of the more daring attacks nearly managed to hit the side of his neck. “No”, he admitted. “No, we're not going to make it” Jaron parried a strike that would have otherwise killed Ayden and he noticed just how exhausted the man was, after swinging his greatsword for all this time without a break.
“This was not how it's supposed to be. My baby was not supposed to grow up without a father”, Ayden growled and he sounded more determined than desparate. Jaron raised an eyebrow, while the formation of guardsmen slowly advanced, pushing them back to where Martin and the Tom where still locked in a deadly dance.
“What is your plan?”, he asked and a rare smirk formed on Ayden's face. “I'm going to do something stupid now”, he explained. “Something reckless. Something that kills either me or you” Jaron sighed. “Sounds wonderful” Ayden shook his head. “One of us will survive, to bring Taria and Harpy out of the city”, he continued to explain and suddenly, his plan sounded a lot better. In the middle of the fight, he glared at Jaron. “If I'm to die tonight, Ser Bastard, then swear to me that you will look after Taria and the child”, he growled.
“If I'm to die, you're going to do the same for Harpy”, Jaron demanded and Ayden smirked. “You're alright, Jaron”, he complimented him. “And we understand each other” He faced the formation. “I see you in another life. First round's on me”, he chuckled and a bloodthirsty grin formed on his face, vicious enough to cause the formation to stop advancing, to stop pushing them back for a moment. “Stay where you are. And now... BLACKWELL!”
With a battlecry on his lips, he charged the intimidated guardsmen without warning. In their surprise, he managed to advance. A spear grazed his side, sliding across his ribcage, while his sword found its way into one man's neck, cleanly severing the head from the rest of the body. He hacked at one of his opponent's but only managed to deflect the spear, turning a strike that would have killed him into a fleshwound on his left upper leg. In turn, his counterattack ripped out the man's throat.
Still charging, he evaded two spears that were thrusted too late. He spun around and parried their attacks and then, Ayden Blackwell had broken through the formation. Two nasty wounds decorated his body, he was breathing heavily, bleeding heavily and grinning widely. “I see why my brother loves this so much!”, he howled and laughed loudly. “Have I just killed your friends? Your worthless bastard friends? Have I sent them to the Seven Hells?”, he mocked the remaining guardsmen and Jaron realized what he was doing. He was taunting them. He was provoking them.
He jumped back. “Come and get me!”, he hissed. “Come and get me, cowards!” Jaylon sighed and gave his men a nod.” After him!”, he ordered them. “Don't let him get away. Make him pay for this” With a vicious glare in his eyes, he turned towards Jaron, who was already pointing his sword at him. “I'll deal with the bastard myself”
A pleased smile on his face, Ayden started to rush down the alleyway. His leg wound barely seemed to slow him down, likely a result of the adrenaline, while the guardsmen had light armour. At least with a tiny advantage, he ran away, with them chasing after him. He lured them away. He gave Jaron a chance. And then, he turned around a corner and was gone, perhaps forever.
“Bloody bastard”, Jaylon spat and put his helmet on. It was a heavy helmet, the whole armour was heavy and Jaron gulped. Usually, his speed might make things even, but right now, he was tired, exhausted even. He had killed two men today and he was ready to make it one more. “Captain Jaylon”, he greeted his opponent politely.
Jaylon drew his sword and Jaron realized something odd in the way he moved. He wasn't using his left hand. Or more precisely, he was using it, but he wasn't moving his fingers. Before he fully realized what that meant, Jaylon attacked him first. It was a high strike and a well-placed one, which forced Jaron to parry it with all his skill. The blades met each other in mid-air, the steel sang, it screeched as the sharpened edges slid across each other, until both men raised them again.
The second attack came from Jaron. It was aimed in a high arch, meant to hit a supposed weak spot near the neck. Jaylon parried and his counterattack was a mirror of Jaron's. It was equally parried with ease. The captain tried a stab next, but Jaron hit his sword from above, nearly knocking it out of his hand.
Now, Jaylon was forced to jump back to evade the attack. He yanked his sword upwards and Jaron parried his attack. Then, he spun around to attack him from the other direction. Jaron saw this move coming and again managed to move his sword between Jaylon's and his body.
“Well done”, he complimented him again. Right now, he wasn't sure if it was his exhaustion or something else, he almost felt peaceful. Harpy would live. She got away and Mullendore might be dead already. Right now, Jaron felt no hatred. It was odd, but he realized that he wasn't hating Jaylon. It was a fight to the death. He had never seen something so simple, so easy. There was no room for something as complex as hatred.
“Just shut up!”, Jaylon yelled, apparently a friend of needless complexity. “Just die, bastard!” His strike was easy to spot, but hard to parry. It was a feint and Jaron parried into the wrong direction. He barely managed to duck under the strike and felt the cold steel cutting through the air right above his head. In turn, he landed his fist hit against Jaylon, a strike against his protected chest. Without armour, the fight would have been over now. Thanks to his armour, Jaylon remained standing, even though the blow still had the force of a good punch.
The captain staggered backwards, but before Jaron could take advantage of this he regained his composure and attempted to quick attacks aimed at Jaron's neck to force him into the defensive again. He succeeded only partially.
Jaron yanked his sword upwards again and his sword clashed against Jaylon's, before the captain spun around, attacking Jaron's left side, where his wounded arm was located. While his sword cut through a wide arch, Jaron had a desperate idea. It was one of the ideas that came during moments of complete exhaustion, the ones that were either brilliant or suicidal. He raised his free, wounded arm above the blade, presenting his open side, while his sword rapidly approach the side of Jaylon's sword.
Again, the swords met mid-air and this time, the force of Jaylon's sword was stopped so abruptly that he needed a moment for his next attack, a moment Jaron would not give him. He lowered his left arm again, his hand grabbing the crossguard of Jaylon's sword, tucking it underneath his armpit, with his hand around the crossguard preventing Jaylon from just finishing him like that.
For one moment, Jaron saw confusion underneath the helmet, until Jaylon understood that he was a dead man. The captain tried to move his own sword and burning agony flashed through Jaron's arm, as the man desperately tried to free his sword from his iron grip. He ignored the pain, raised his sword and with all his remaining strength -Himani, Ayden, Taria, Jarek, Martin, Keira and Harpy, Harpy, Harpy- the tip of his sword found the weak spot at the side of Jaylon's armour, digging deeply through it and into the body below, piercing through skin, flesh, muscles, bones and finally, Jaylon's heart.
The two men looked at each other. Jaylon's eyes widened, his breath sounded wheezing and the sword fell out of his hand. He gasped for air, then sank to the ground, while Jaron pulled his sword out of his body. Jaylon Gordus was dead.
The adrenaline started to fade and instead, the pain hit Jaron like a kick between the legs. He screamed, screamed at the top of his lungs as every muscle in his arm and the half-broken bone protested against what he just did. His vision started to blur, he staggered backwards, stumbling against the wall of a house. Not only his vision became dizzy, he heard nothing aside from his thumping left side. Almost nothing. There was something else. A slow, mocking clap.
Jaron looked up and with the last strength he had, he looked up and sighed. The Tom was slowly approaching him, the look in his cat-like eyes amused. Behind him, Martin was clutching a terribly bleeding wound in his side, kneeling on the ground, next to the dead Keira.
“Well done, Ser Bastard”, the Tom purred and it almost sounded genuine. “You killed Jaylon, which is no small feat. Impaled his heart as I see” A soft chuckle sounded from underneath the mask. “I would say, too much heart has always been Jaylon's problem. He took things personal. He wasn't without compassion. In the end, he was gone too far and you gave him mercy”
His compliments sounded honest by now and Jaron raised an eyebrow, as the Tom sighed. “I would love to give you time to heal, to fight you when you're recovered. That would be glorious”, he hissed. “But alas, I'll work with what I get”
Despite his exhaustion, Jaron grinned. “You flatter me”, he mumbled weakly. “At least buy me a drink first” The Tom's eyes narrowed. “Fight well and I give you a good death”, he promised, as he raised his curved sword. Jaron thought of Harpy. At least she made it out. Smiling, he walked towards his death.
He ignored the pain it caused him to parry the first strike. By now, even his good arm was aching and the Tom's high strike came as fast as it came powerful. Jaron stumbled backwards and just barely managed to deflect the second strike. Even at his prime, the Tom would have been a powerful opponent. But now? He was exhausted, half-broken and ready to die. Though he wouldn't give up. Out of all the fighters that tried to stop them, only the Tom and the Moggy were still present and the giant was lying on the ground, wailing like a manchild about the grievous stab wound Jarek had given him.
The Tom spun around, sending a blurry strike against his upper arm. Jaron staggered to the side, raising his sword in the last moment and parrying more through sheer luck than through skill. Again, the Tom attacked him, this time from a completely different direction. He was fast. He was the fastest man Jaron had ever seen. Perhaps it was just his tiredness, but it almost seemed unnatural how fast the Tom managed to move. Quiet as a shadow, fierce as a wolverine, swift as a cat and with the grace of a dancer.
Another high strike and Jaron barely managed to parry. This time however, instead of stumbling backwards, he jumped into the strike and staggered towards the Tom as the blade passed him. His sword was too close to cause any damage to the masked man, so he instead focussed on using his crossguard, to heavily slam it into the mask. That wouldn't kill him, but he would feel it.
To Jaron's surprise, his desperate attack worked. Heavily, the crossguard of his sword slammed against the Tom's mask, causing him to interrupt his next attack and to stagger backwards. He hissed in displeasure, but it quickly turned into a mocking laughter, as an amused glare appeared in his eyes.
“Outstanding”, the Tom whispered. “You entertain me” His free hand moved to the belt across his chest, where one final throwing knife was located and he slowly pulled it. “It appears we should up the stakes a little bit”
He darted forwards and his curved sword cut through the air, until it clashed against Jaron's longsword. Simultaneously, the hand holding the throwing knife darted forwards and it was impossible to parry both. The knife scratched across Jaron's upper swordarm and caused a superficial, but long cut. Jaron gasped in pain and the Tom narrowed his eyes in amusement.
“That's more like it”, he chuckled. “A thousand little cuts and the more you struggle, the more you bleed. You just received your first” A low strike with his curved sword came next and just as Jaron parried it, the throwing knife dug into his chest, not very deep, and cut across it, superficial, but long and very painful.
Gasping for air, Jaron staggered backwards, bumping against the house behind him. The Tom almost laughed this time. “Your struggle is endearing”, he said in a mocking tone. “And I believe you deserve a better death than that” Instantly, any trace of fake warmth faded in his voice. “Come now, Ser Bastard”, he growled in a spine-chillingly deep and melodic voice. “Come now and face your death”
Jaron coughed and his chest hurt with every breath he took. Both arms were thumping in agony, the left one worse than ever. His sight was blurry at best and everything around him seemed almost muffled. He raised his sword and let out a loud battlecry as he charged at the Tom. The masked man raised his sword to parry and pulled his knife back, to impale Jaron.
One last time, their swords clashed. The knife spun forwards, but in the last possible moment, the Tom twirled around and instead of stabbing Jaron's unprotected stomach, the knife was used to save the Tom's life, for the opponent that had almost snuck up at him.
He was bleeding heavily, probably from a wound that would be fatal if left untreated. He was pale and beyond despair after the death of his lover. Even though he was looking almost dead, he was still alive for now and he was angry. “Forget about me?”, Martin asked.
The Tom jumped backwards, as both men simultaneously attacked him. The amusement in his eyes was gone. Now, he was taking this fight almost seriously. Jaron stopped next to his friend. “Martin...”, he said, too exhausted to express the relief he felt.
“Try not to be too disappointed, Ser Bastard”, Martin chuckled. “I would have given you the glory to kill him, but this monster murdered Keira and I want to see him bleed for it” The Tom jumped towards them, but was left with the need to defend himself when Martin attacked him, while Jaron tried to go around him, to attack from the behind. This trick failed, when the Tom jumped to the side, nearly cutting through Jaron's ribs in the process.
Martin, still staggering and bleeding heavily, circled around the masked man, until he stopped directly next to Jaron. “On my command”, he said. “One, two...” The Tom did not wait until three. He raised his final throwing knife and nonchalantly threw it at them. It wasn't aimed, but still managed to find its target, Martins shoulder.
The sellsword staggered backwards and nearly would have fallen, which would have likely been his death. Instead, he somehow managed to remain standing, while the Tom inspected his sword with mild boredom. “Together, you're underwhelming”, he stated. “Need a moment to regain your breath?”
“Jaron...”, Martin whispered in a low tone, so low that even Jaron had problems understanding him. Jaron gulped. “Can we take him?”, he asked and Martin subtly shook his head. “Listen up... there's just one way. We either die both, or you survive”
Despite the dizzy feeling, Jaron immediately realized what Martin just suggested. He gave him a shocked glare. “Are you serious right now?”, he asked. “I'm not going to leave you. We're doing it together” The Tom narrowed his eyes and Martin sighed. “I sure as hell won't be able to run anywhere”, he said and presented the deep gash in his side. Jaron saw exposed bones and... something else in the wound and he realized that Martin would die. The fact that he was still able to stand and fight was a testimony for his willpower, but it would likely take him only minutes until he'd drop to the ground, at best. Not even a Maester could save him from certain death.
“Martin...”, he whispered in shock as he realized what his friend, perhaps his last friend in this city, just suggested. The Tom hissed and pointed his sword at them. “What are you talking about?”, he growled loudly. “Talking won't save you, you know?”
A smile formed on Martin's face. “We can't take him down, but for what he did to Keira, I'm going to deny him this little triumph”, he chuckled. He pointed his sword at the Tom. “When you see Harpy, give her a kiss from me. Tell her she did good today”, he mumbled. “And the next time you see this masked monster, or Butterfly himself, finish the job for me, will ya?”
Jaron gave him a nod. “I promise”, he swore. “Thank you for everything, Martin” The sellsword smirked, a small, sad smirk. “Farewell, my friend”, he said. He raised his sword. The Tom attacked. And with a heavy heart, Jaron turned around and ran. His lungs ache after the very first step. Blood was flowing out of his wounds, but it did not matter. He had to run. He had to get away. Martin's sacrifice would not be in vain!
He heard clashing steel, heard a surprised gasp and then, the Tom's roar. “No!”, he yelled. “Coward! Get back here!” But Jaron did not turn around. Not when he heard another exchange of attacks, not when he heard a pained scream behind him. In fact, he only got faster. He had no strength left, was exhausted beyond anything he ever felt and he knew, if he'd fully concentrate on this fact, his body would give in to the tempting thought of dying. But he wouldn't die today. He would live. He would find Harpy and he would escape this nightmare.
It was late in the night and this was the only reason he encountered no one who dared to stop him outside on the streets. He had been here before, not long ago. With Martin and with Robb. He knew the way to the Burned Man's hideout. Soaked in blood and mud, in sweat and tears, he stumbled through the nightly streets, barely noticing his surroundings. They did not matter. There were people, who did not matter either. Once, someone tried to talk to him, to ask him something. It was a young man, he looked shocked to see Jaron. He was ignored. He did not matter. The only thing that mattered was to return, so make sure that Harpy was still alive, to save her, to take her away...
The next minutes went as a blur. He was running as often as he could, never stopping to regain his breath, but occasionally slowing down. Sticking to the main street despite the danger had the advantage that the Tom was unlikely to attack him directly. In fact, he doubted that the man was following him. Martin probably kept him busy long enough for Jaron to vanish in the streets.
And finally, he saw a familiar sight. The Burned Man's mansion, where everything started in the morning. He leant against the outer wall of the estate and closed his eyes. Himani had been there this morning. Now he was dead. Tortured, then drowned in his own blood. Keira had been there. Now she lay in Tanner's Alley, with a knife through her head. Jarek, whose head didn't even exist anymore after the Moggy had been done with him. Ayden, probably dead unless he managed to escape. And Martin...
Jaron turned around, towards the door and froze in terror. Momentarily, the exhaustion was gone, replaced by a new adrenaline rush. The door was opened widely. Through the gap, he was able to see the ravaged entrance hall.
“No...”, he mumbled. “No, no, no...” This was not right. Someone had stormed the mansion and... Himani! Himani knew everything, including the location! He must have told them, he had no other choice... Jaron stumbled towards the mansion, expecting the worst.
What he got was... unexpected. The inside of the mansion, while pillaged, was largely empty. Jaron saw pools of blood on the floor, where a fight had taken place, but someone had brought the bodies away. The interior was thrashed, looted, yet strangely enough, a small fire was burning in the fireplace and an intact lounger was standing close to it. He approached it and recognized the person lying on it.
With a sigh of relief, he rushed towards Taria's side. Her wound was freshly bandaged, but she was pale and shivering despite the warmth. She opened her eyes as Jaron approached and immediately, she was fully awake. “Taria”, he whispered. “What happened here?”
“Jaron?”, she mumbled. “What... where do you come from? Where's... where's Ayden?” Jaron ignored her question. “Where is Harpy?”, he asked sternly and she sighed. “Upstairs, I think, looking for the Burned Man. We came back half an hour ago and the place was already looted. Everyone is gone, Jaron”, she whispered and a tear formed in her eyes. “Butterfly has won...” She grabbed him by the arm, but he broke free of her weak grip. “Jaron, where's Ayden?”, she asked again. “Jaron?”
He already approached the stairs. If Harpy was in danger, he had to find her. He had to save her... She couldn't die, not now... Almost in a trance, he staggered upstairs. He felt bad for leaving Taria behind, but he'd come back for her too. He promised, he'd keep her safe and her baby. Ayden sacrificed himself for this and Jaron would not disappoint him. But first, he had to make sure that Harpy was safe.
He found her in the Burned Man's office, which was in an even more sorry state than the rest of the mansion. She was kneeling next to one of his Dothraki bodyguards, whose throat was slit and she was staring apathetically at something lying in front of her. As Jaron entered the room, she heard him. She jumped up and around, a knife in her hand, but as she saw him, pure shock appeared on her face.
“Jaron?”, she gasped. And then she rushed towards him. He almost fell into her arms, not remembering her wounds and as she gasped, both fell to the ground. He clung onto her, crying, wailing in sorrow. Right now, he wasn't a knight. He wasn't the man who just survived a massacre. He was eighteen years old and pushed beyond his limits, lying in the arms of the girl he loved.
“I thought you were dead”, she whispered, only barely more composed than him. He sobbed. “They are...”, he said. “All of them. Martin and Keira and Jarek and Ayden...” He looked up, noticing that she was beyond distraught. “Where... where is the Burned Man?”, he asked and a pained expression flashed across her face.
She pointed across the room, at the object she had been staring at when he entered and Jaron recognized it. A severed hand, charred black. Unmistakeable. A shocked expression flashed across his face as he looked at her and finally, she was crying as well. “They took him. They took him alive, or dead, or... I don't know. He's out there and I... I...”, she stuttered and together, they sank to the ground. “I thought I had lost you as well”
“Never”, Jaron promised. “Never. We are going to live. We are going to survive this and we will leave this city” He held her close, gently comforting her, just as she was comforting him. “Together”, he said.
End of Chapter 6: Masquerade
Your Choices
Pragmatism: Garthon decided to accept Harren Hoare's offer
Survival: Ellena decided to leave Himani behind
Mercy: Kersea decided to kill Septon Corbin quickly
Trust: Raenna decided to support Samuel Harrington over Terroma
Wrath: Lucas decided to spare Aylard's life
Next time on Forum of Thrones
“We're finding him. We have to, there's no other way!”, she said decisively, even though she was barely able to stand. She was convincing herself, he realized, or at the very least, she was trying to. “We still have friends in this city. This can't be the end! This mustn't be the end!” She paused and sobbed, as she looked down onto the Burned Man's severed hand. Jaron gave her a worried look. “Harpy...”, he said softly. “Why are you so intent on wasting your life to save him?”
Ellena opened her eyes and saw the red-haired man glaring at her from beyond the fire. Behind him, the priestess was building something, a long, thing pole, while the Maester was looking on in a decidedly grumpy way. The Maester wasn't the threat, she knew that by now. The other man however... it was warm, so close to the fire, but his blue eyes were as cold as the bottom of the sea. And she recognized what Noelle was building behind him. It was a stake...
“We're turning around”, Vaasrand growled and Roman once again shook his head. “You took our fucking gold!”, he yelled. “And now you're going to abandon the mission?” This time an annoyed streak appeared on Vaasrand's usually calm face. “I'm not abandoning anything”, he clarified. “But if we go ahead, then it's likely we're all going to get killed. Starting with you”
Roman narrowed his eyes, just as Vaasrand suddenly put a hand onto the hilt of his sword. “So, that's how you want to do it, monster hunter?”, he spat. “Take our gold, lure us out here, then kill us?” Only Richard saw that Vaasrand wasn't looking at Roman. He was looking at something behind him.
Just barely, Samantha managed to parry her opponent's strike and once again, she cursed her new weapons. The balance with these small axes was horrible and she saw that Sasha was struggling with her new sword as well. Slowly, both women back away from their opponents, closer to each other, until their backs touched. “Any ideas?”, Samantha hissed and Sasha shook her head. “Aside from taking as many with us as possible?”, she asked in return. “Try to die a clean death”
“I don't even know why we're talking about this. I have five dozen men in this courtyard”, Hobert said, clearly at his wit's end. Tyrell gave him an alarmed look, while Argella simply narrowed her eyes. “Was that a threat, mylord?”, she asked calmly and he stared at her in defiance. “I stated a fact, Lady Durrandon”, he spat and took another deep gulp from his mug, emptying it once more. “And you can interpret it any damn way you like”
“I see...”, Argella hissed. “Yes, I have seen the puny force you call your army. Those are all of them, right? Calling them a threat would be as ridiculous as calling you a man, you spineless weasel” She crossed her arms. “But, if you try to provoke me, oh Lord of Mander's Mouth, remember the words of my family. Consider the next question carefully. Do you want to be my enemy?”
“I've been awaiting you, Old Man”, the priestess purred in a deceptively warm tone, while her massive bodyguard clutched his axe. “Come closer, into the light. Warm yourself at our fire, for the night is dark and full of terrors” Even though she was sure that she was invisible in the darkness, Raenna could swear that the priestess looked directly at her while she said this.
Terroma approached her and as he answered, Raenna froze in terror. The tone in his voice... This was a man pushed beyond his breaking point. A very dangerous man, a man who had just given up on controlling his inner beast. “The night might be dark, priestess”, he said and his voice redefined the absence of warmth. “But I am the only terror you have to fear”
Forum of Thrones, Act III, Chapter I: Valar Morghulis; Coming Soon!
It's over... Oh my god, I can't believe it is actually over. And I can't believe how much I wrote today. Oh what a day, what a lovely day. At least three and a half full parts worth of content. This was fun. In fact, this was so much fun that I can't wait to dive into the next chapter. I hope you had as much fun as I had. For the weekend, I'll likely take it a bit slower, do some other forum stuff I meant to do for a while now. to give you a chance to read this super-long part. However, I will also write down the alternative choices and a small “What-If”-section before I start the next chapter. For now, as always, I have a few questions for you, this time for Chapter 6 and for all of Act 2. If you have the time, your answer would be greatly appreciated. Even better would be small explanations, but they are by no means required.
Who were your favourite characters in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
Who were your least favourite characters in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
What were your favourite storylines in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
What were your least favourite storylines in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
What has been your favourite chapter in Act 2?
What has been your favourite part and your favourite moment in Chapter 6 and all of Act 2?
Is there anything you disliked?
Do you have further advice, anything you'd like to see more, anything you're anticipating in Act 3, or anything that just does not fit into the previous questions?
Also, thank you for reading
That was insane but I bet Mullendore is still alive.
You like killed everyone quite brutally to, thankfully Ayden escaped (hopefully)
Wow. Totally worth reading it at this hour. That was really great writing you did here and I am impressed by the length and time you managed to complete it in. Can't wait for next chapter now and alternate choices outputs... poor Himani. :-( I really wonder if Ellena going after him would change his fate.
Damn... ok I am going to sleep now, somehow. Expect answers for the questions later today.
Jaron definitely, Harrington I'm starting to like him, Torvin, Ayden (Obvious), Davith.
Mullendore, The Tom, The Moggy, All the Hoares, Argella she is really annoying and bitchy so it'll be great once she's stuck with Orys. Hobert it's really tempting to punch him, All of Butterflys men.
Jaron and Raenna, they were both exciting and intense for the most part I feel like Jaron's was better as each of his parts I found more and more intriguing as they came out, Raenna got way better towards end and was definitely one of the best storylines.
Drent, all of his parts felt like filler and nothing interesting seemed to happen.
They were all great I liked Chapter 5 the most though.
The finale for Chapter 6 was my favorite for Chapter 6 but for all of act 2 I would say when Richard stormed the warehouse and they failed I enjoyed that part alot.
Filler parts other than that everything is good to me.
The beast storyline has me very intrigued especially with that preview I have a feeling it will be one of the best storylines in Chapter 7 or all of Act 3.
And I just have to say thank you for this wonderful story it just keeps getting better and better and I look forward to all future parts.
Hey *! I planned to submit a character but there seem to be little bug , when i try to write something on ''What is your characters occupation? '' , and when i type a single letter , it tells me that "Must be less than 0 characters." , evenif i just typed the letter "a" , it wont let me send my submission , i dont get it , and cant seem to pass that part ...Do you have any idea what might be the problem ? I would be thankful .