Also does anyone else think Lupn is actually the sphnyx and that Connor his assistant is the Frostborn kid? Like it would make sense seeing how Lupin likes to cause people harm.
Allow me to quote this scene from Chapter 4, which should explain a bit more:
“Maron, this is Connor, my new apprentice”, the Sphynx revealed. “He hasn't yet earned his mask, but he has talent” Even though the mask was concealing the man's face, perhaps thankfully, Lucas could see that he was grinning. “He is Lupin's brother”
“Lupin?”, Mullendore asked in confusion, before widely opening his eyes. “You mean... Seven fucking Hells, the resemblance is uncanny. Are you sure it's a good idea to give something like him a taste for blood?”
So, to avoid confusion, it has been revealed in Chapter 4 that the Sphynx is not Lupin. A few parts later, Connor explained to Lucas how the Alley Cats work and he revealed that the Sphynx is not a name, but a title that gets passed on to the torturer of the group. Lupin has been the Sphynx for a long while, but under circumstances yet unknown, the current Sphynx took this position. Lupin's current whereabouts are unknown, but the Sphynx does not remember him fondly.
I hope there is a choice not to bring Alphyn because all he is going to bring is a lot of arguing better the group. There is no need to bring two hunters and there is no way we can just boot leo out of the group without him trying to follow us.
Alphyn is also a trained knight and a very fine one at that. In terms of fighting skill, he might even be the best in the group, since he had the best teacher and years of practice. Dante is trained, but not a particularly renowned fighter, while Darreth, as a squire, is still in training even if he shows potential. Leo obviously has no fighting experience at all. The only one who could come close to Alphyn would be Edrick himself, who has a lot of practice and is basically a self-taught fighter. So, that actually makes Alphyn a valuable addition to the group in terms of fighting power. The tracking has been highlighted as his main skill, though he is actually more comfortable in the heat of a battle.
[Break up the fight without reading the letter] It'd be a better idea not to piss off the young lord who we are probably going to spend a bo… moreok long journey with, and seeing how he is going to tell us anyway I see no harm in waiting. And if he is lying Leo will call it out. Also does anyone else think Lupn is actually the sphnyx and that Connor his assistant is the Frostborn kid? Like it would make sense seeing how Lupin likes to cause people harm. I hope there is a choice not to bring Alphyn because all he is going to bring is a lot of arguing better the group. There is no need to bring two hunters and there is no way we can just boot leo out of the group without him trying to follow us. Really regretting bringing Leo along.
[Break up the fight without reading the letter] Fraction in the Northern dream team! Tbh, I choose this because I'd much rather be friends with Dante than with Leo. And I believe Dante if he says this is nothing negative, just something he doesn't feel comfortable sharing with Edrick. So, Edrick reading the letter most likely wouldn't be useful, it would just cause an awkward situation. And Leo might spill it anyway, if he indeed understood what he read.
Edrick
When Edrick took the first bite out of the piece of roasted deer in front of him, he noticed just how hungry he was. While it was … morenot a bad deer, it was more than just a bit too bloody for Edrick's taste, yet he ate it as if it was the best thing he ever had in his life, just to ease the pain in his stomach. It had been a blessing that
Darreth, who was eating with a similar appetite, noticed it and smirked, though his smirk quickly died down when he directed it at Evelyn Frostborn, who was still frowning. Visibly uncomfortable in the presence of the strangers, Lord Frostborn's daughter was seated between her mother and her youngest brother. She quietly ate her meal, while focussing mostly on the plate itself, rarely making eye contact with any of them.
It was Dante who spoke first. “Lord Frostborn, you mentioned a favour we could do for you, is that correct?”, he asked curiously, yet politely. Behind him, gloomy twilight came … [view original content]
[Break up the fight without reading the letter] Fraction in the Northern dream team! Tbh, I choose this because I'd much rather be friends … morewith Dante than with Leo. And I believe Dante if he says this is nothing negative, just something he doesn't feel comfortable sharing with Edrick. So, Edrick reading the letter most likely wouldn't be useful, it would just cause an awkward situation. And Leo might spill it anyway, if he indeed understood what he read.
Oh then I have a really good guess as to who Lupin may be. Can't wait for a confrontation, but I just hope that we can avoid going to Oldtown, because that place sucks. And not having Alphyn was more so towards the side of not having arguing among the group, but if we could find a way to get rid of Leo all will be good.
Also does anyone else think Lupn is actually the sphnyx and that Connor his assistant is the Frostborn kid? Like it would make sense seeing … morehow Lupin likes to cause people harm.
Allow me to quote this scene from Chapter 4, which should explain a bit more:
“Maron, this is Connor, my new apprentice”, the Sphynx revealed. “He hasn't yet earned his mask, but he has talent” Even though the mask was concealing the man's face, perhaps thankfully, Lucas could see that he was grinning. “He is Lupin's brother”
“Lupin?”, Mullendore asked in confusion, before widely opening his eyes. “You mean... Seven fucking Hells, the resemblance is uncanny. Are you sure it's a good idea to give something like him a taste for blood?”
So, to avoid confusion, it has been revealed in Chapter 4 that the Sphynx is not Lupin. A few parts later, Connor explained to Lucas how the Alley Cats work and he revealed that the Sphynx is not a name, but a… [view original content]
So, to avoid confusion, it has been revealed in Chapter 4 that the Sphynx is not Lupin. A few parts later, Connor explained to Lucas how the Alley Cats work and he revealed that the Sphynx is not a name, but a title that gets passed on to the torturer of the group. Lupin has been the Sphynx for a long while, but under circumstances yet unknown, the current Sphynx took this position. Lupin's current whereabouts are unknown, but the Sphynx does not remember him fondly.
I knew the names were familiar! That was such a long time ago (both story and real life), thanks for jolting that back in mind.
Also does anyone else think Lupn is actually the sphnyx and that Connor his assistant is the Frostborn kid? Like it would make sense seeing … morehow Lupin likes to cause people harm.
Allow me to quote this scene from Chapter 4, which should explain a bit more:
“Maron, this is Connor, my new apprentice”, the Sphynx revealed. “He hasn't yet earned his mask, but he has talent” Even though the mask was concealing the man's face, perhaps thankfully, Lucas could see that he was grinning. “He is Lupin's brother”
“Lupin?”, Mullendore asked in confusion, before widely opening his eyes. “You mean... Seven fucking Hells, the resemblance is uncanny. Are you sure it's a good idea to give something like him a taste for blood?”
So, to avoid confusion, it has been revealed in Chapter 4 that the Sphynx is not Lupin. A few parts later, Connor explained to Lucas how the Alley Cats work and he revealed that the Sphynx is not a name, but a… [view original content]
Sorry for my long absence but I just don't had time these last days to read the last parts but hey!Better arrive late than never right?XD
RT:
Kersea:For the friends "the first true PoV that will lose the life inside this fic" (I'm really sorry that people decide to ignore even now Clayton,let's hope that she will at least left us with a bang (*wink**wink*));btw I like the talk between Kersea and Alysanne (even if our PoV chose to not follow the wise advise).
Drent:I'm very curious to know Ian backstory and I'm really looking forward for the brawl between the mercenaries and the Stormlanders. About the choice that win this time I'm happy since is the only way for us to not only know Shortwood intentions (making Drent fulfill his mission) but to even enjoy a good tavern fight (I suppose in a future John part).
Edrick:Yay!More Frostborn trivia!Even if I hope that Lupin is not,like the members of his family said,just another psycopah..this fic start to have too many of them for my tastes!XD
About the choice:
[Break up the fight without reading the letter] Since Edrick is a knight I found this choice obvious to make (I'm not going this time to write a long version of my decision since others readers already write the many good reasons because this is the best choice (aka today I'm lazy))
Edrick
When Edrick took the first bite out of the piece of roasted deer in front of him, he noticed just how hungry he was. While it was … morenot a bad deer, it was more than just a bit too bloody for Edrick's taste, yet he ate it as if it was the best thing he ever had in his life, just to ease the pain in his stomach. It had been a blessing that
Darreth, who was eating with a similar appetite, noticed it and smirked, though his smirk quickly died down when he directed it at Evelyn Frostborn, who was still frowning. Visibly uncomfortable in the presence of the strangers, Lord Frostborn's daughter was seated between her mother and her youngest brother. She quietly ate her meal, while focussing mostly on the plate itself, rarely making eye contact with any of them.
It was Dante who spoke first. “Lord Frostborn, you mentioned a favour we could do for you, is that correct?”, he asked curiously, yet politely. Behind him, gloomy twilight came … [view original content]
I'M BACK! Sorry for my long absence but I just don't had time these last days to read the last parts but hey!Better arrive late than never right?XD
I can definitely understand you, I almost had no time to write these past days either. The same applied to an oddly large amount of my friends, so I guess August is just a busy month in general. But anyways, I am very glad you're back
For the friends "the first true PoV that will lose the life inside this fic" (I'm really sorry that people decide to ignore even now Clayton,let's hope that she will at least left us with a bang (*wink**wink*));btw I like the talk between Kersea and Alysanne (even if our PoV chose to not follow the wise advise).
Well, I can confirm that the next Kersea part will take your past choices into consideration. And naturally, Clayton highly disapproves of a majority of her choices, some of which have even been taken with the specific intention of pissing him off. What can I say, if your goal was to make Clayton really angry, you more than succeeded. I can't confirm or deny if that means that Kersea's days are numbered, but I can confirm her next part is definitely going to be one of these parts. Luckily, I'm still having a few parts to write before I can come back to her storyline.
I'm very curious to know Ian backstory and I'm really looking forward for the brawl between the mercenaries and the Stormlanders. About the choice that win this time I'm happy since is the only way for us to not only know Shortwood intentions (making Drent fulfill his mission) but to even enjoy a good tavern fight (I suppose in a future John part).
You are right, the tavern brawl will be shown from John's PoV now, which is a reason I'm very happy about the winning choice. Now I can show you both, a bit more of Ian and maybe a glimpse of his secret, as well as a good old-fashioned bar fight, even if that fight should be relatively one-sided, with a juggernaut like Daghan involved.
Yay!More Frostborn trivia!Even if I hope that Lupin is not,like the members of his family said,just another psycopah..this fic start to have too many of them for my tastes!XD
Ah, Lupin. He's quite something, that much is for sure. Alphyn has mentioned him murdering several people, but his arguably worst actions have, at most, only been hinted at. He's not just another psychopath, he could very well be the guy to give even Wolfius a run for his money. Lupin is genuinely terrifying. And he is in the waiting list, so he is guaranteed to appear at some point in the story, which probably doesn't mean wonderful news for many characters. I hope to give him sufficient build-up until then.
Sorry for my long absence but I just don't had time these last days to read the last parts but hey!Better arrive late than never right?XD
… more RT:
Kersea:For the friends "the first true PoV that will lose the life inside this fic" (I'm really sorry that people decide to ignore even now Clayton,let's hope that she will at least left us with a bang (*wink**wink*));btw I like the talk between Kersea and Alysanne (even if our PoV chose to not follow the wise advise).
Drent:I'm very curious to know Ian backstory and I'm really looking forward for the brawl between the mercenaries and the Stormlanders. About the choice that win this time I'm happy since is the only way for us to not only know Shortwood intentions (making Drent fulfill his mission) but to even enjoy a good tavern fight (I suppose in a future John part).
Edrick:Yay!More Frostborn trivia!Even if I hope that Lupin is not,like the members of his family said,just another psycopah… [view original content]
Edrick
When Edrick took the first bite out of the piece of roasted deer in front of him, he noticed just how hungry he was. While it was … morenot a bad deer, it was more than just a bit too bloody for Edrick's taste, yet he ate it as if it was the best thing he ever had in his life, just to ease the pain in his stomach. It had been a blessing that
Darreth, who was eating with a similar appetite, noticed it and smirked, though his smirk quickly died down when he directed it at Evelyn Frostborn, who was still frowning. Visibly uncomfortable in the presence of the strangers, Lord Frostborn's daughter was seated between her mother and her youngest brother. She quietly ate her meal, while focussing mostly on the plate itself, rarely making eye contact with any of them.
It was Dante who spoke first. “Lord Frostborn, you mentioned a favour we could do for you, is that correct?”, he asked curiously, yet politely. Behind him, gloomy twilight came … [view original content]
Edrick
When Edrick took the first bite out of the piece of roasted deer in front of him, he noticed just how hungry he was. While it was … morenot a bad deer, it was more than just a bit too bloody for Edrick's taste, yet he ate it as if it was the best thing he ever had in his life, just to ease the pain in his stomach. It had been a blessing that
Darreth, who was eating with a similar appetite, noticed it and smirked, though his smirk quickly died down when he directed it at Evelyn Frostborn, who was still frowning. Visibly uncomfortable in the presence of the strangers, Lord Frostborn's daughter was seated between her mother and her youngest brother. She quietly ate her meal, while focussing mostly on the plate itself, rarely making eye contact with any of them.
It was Dante who spoke first. “Lord Frostborn, you mentioned a favour we could do for you, is that correct?”, he asked curiously, yet politely. Behind him, gloomy twilight came … [view original content]
Edrick
When Edrick took the first bite out of the piece of roasted deer in front of him, he noticed just how hungry he was. While it was … morenot a bad deer, it was more than just a bit too bloody for Edrick's taste, yet he ate it as if it was the best thing he ever had in his life, just to ease the pain in his stomach. It had been a blessing that
Darreth, who was eating with a similar appetite, noticed it and smirked, though his smirk quickly died down when he directed it at Evelyn Frostborn, who was still frowning. Visibly uncomfortable in the presence of the strangers, Lord Frostborn's daughter was seated between her mother and her youngest brother. She quietly ate her meal, while focussing mostly on the plate itself, rarely making eye contact with any of them.
It was Dante who spoke first. “Lord Frostborn, you mentioned a favour we could do for you, is that correct?”, he asked curiously, yet politely. Behind him, gloomy twilight came … [view original content]
Edrick is going to break up the fight without reading the letter
This was very much a choice that is going to determine the future relationship between Dante and Edrick, but also between Leo and Edrick. Both men are going to be important for Edrick's mission, so both options would have brought equally good and bad consequences. Now, Dante is obviously going to be thankful, while Leo is not going to be pleased. The other way round however would have absolutely disappointed Dante. It probably comes down to your personal sympathies, which currently seem to lie more in Dante's favour.
The next part should be out today. It's going to be a part from Samantha's PoV. Now, I have actually debated about putting her part at this point, since it is going to be the last in her storyline, while others still have two. There is Jenna, who hand't had a part in longer, or Willfred to whom applies the same. Marak needs another part soon and will probably get the one after the next and I wish to get back to Raenna's storyline soon. Garthon and Maya will both have only two parts in this chapter and even that is more than I originally planned. But ultimately, I chose Samantha, simply because I want to write a part for her and I wanted to do so ever since I wrote her last part over a month ago.
The last time we saw Samantha, she travelled through the forest, together with Sasha, Jaro, I'lian and their prisoner, Lenrianda who helped Ser Rodrik Stone in Chapter 5. To get Lenrianda to give them information about Rodrik's plans, they agreed to search for her friend, Nymeria Aspys, who was left in their camp somewhere in the forest near Raylansfair. Travelling down the forest road, Samantha decided to cut Lenrianda's ties to make a good first impression on Nymeria. That proved to be a good choice when they actually met her. Nymeria is a bit of an usual person. She's a dornish noblewoman, an albino and a badass sellsword. Shortly after she got reunited with Lenrianda, a genuine problem came up, namely Ser Rodrik and his Second Sons, who had followed Nymeria in order to silence her and Lenrianda. Rodrik gave Samantha and her people the offer to abandon the two and leave in peace, though you wisely chose against trusting him. Instead, Samantha decided to fight against the Second Sons, who have at least three times her number, which is going to make for a part I'm looking forward to write.
The Voting is closed!
Edrick is going to break up the fight without reading the letter
This was very much a choice that is going to de… moretermine the future relationship between Dante and Edrick, but also between Leo and Edrick. Both men are going to be important for Edrick's mission, so both options would have brought equally good and bad consequences. Now, Dante is obviously going to be thankful, while Leo is not going to be pleased. The other way round however would have absolutely disappointed Dante. It probably comes down to your personal sympathies, which currently seem to lie more in Dante's favour.
The next part should be out today. It's going to be a part from Samantha's PoV. Now, I have actually debated about putting her part at this point, since it is going to be the last in her storyline, while others still have two. There is Jenna, who hand't had a part in longer, or Willfred to whom applies the same. Marak needs another par… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Edrick is going to break up the fight without reading the letter
This was very much a choice that is going to de… moretermine the future relationship between Dante and Edrick, but also between Leo and Edrick. Both men are going to be important for Edrick's mission, so both options would have brought equally good and bad consequences. Now, Dante is obviously going to be thankful, while Leo is not going to be pleased. The other way round however would have absolutely disappointed Dante. It probably comes down to your personal sympathies, which currently seem to lie more in Dante's favour.
The next part should be out today. It's going to be a part from Samantha's PoV. Now, I have actually debated about putting her part at this point, since it is going to be the last in her storyline, while others still have two. There is Jenna, who hand't had a part in longer, or Willfred to whom applies the same. Marak needs another par… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Edrick is going to break up the fight without reading the letter
This was very much a choice that is going to de… moretermine the future relationship between Dante and Edrick, but also between Leo and Edrick. Both men are going to be important for Edrick's mission, so both options would have brought equally good and bad consequences. Now, Dante is obviously going to be thankful, while Leo is not going to be pleased. The other way round however would have absolutely disappointed Dante. It probably comes down to your personal sympathies, which currently seem to lie more in Dante's favour.
The next part should be out today. It's going to be a part from Samantha's PoV. Now, I have actually debated about putting her part at this point, since it is going to be the last in her storyline, while others still have two. There is Jenna, who hand't had a part in longer, or Willfred to whom applies the same. Marak needs another par… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Edrick is going to break up the fight without reading the letter
This was very much a choice that is going to de… moretermine the future relationship between Dante and Edrick, but also between Leo and Edrick. Both men are going to be important for Edrick's mission, so both options would have brought equally good and bad consequences. Now, Dante is obviously going to be thankful, while Leo is not going to be pleased. The other way round however would have absolutely disappointed Dante. It probably comes down to your personal sympathies, which currently seem to lie more in Dante's favour.
The next part should be out today. It's going to be a part from Samantha's PoV. Now, I have actually debated about putting her part at this point, since it is going to be the last in her storyline, while others still have two. There is Jenna, who hand't had a part in longer, or Willfred to whom applies the same. Marak needs another par… [view original content]
That is very likely. However, since Darreth is not as impulsive as Dante, the results wouldn't have been that severe in his case. He would have lost a bit of respect for Edrick if he would have decided to read the letter, but it would not affect their relationship in a meaningful way, as Edrick would have eventually managed to find a way to regain this respect.
The Voting is closed!
Edrick is going to break up the fight without reading the letter
This was very much a choice that is going to de… moretermine the future relationship between Dante and Edrick, but also between Leo and Edrick. Both men are going to be important for Edrick's mission, so both options would have brought equally good and bad consequences. Now, Dante is obviously going to be thankful, while Leo is not going to be pleased. The other way round however would have absolutely disappointed Dante. It probably comes down to your personal sympathies, which currently seem to lie more in Dante's favour.
The next part should be out today. It's going to be a part from Samantha's PoV. Now, I have actually debated about putting her part at this point, since it is going to be the last in her storyline, while others still have two. There is Jenna, who hand't had a part in longer, or Willfred to whom applies the same. Marak needs another par… [view original content]
“One moment, Ser”, Samantha asked and the knight yawned in boredom. “Hurry, or else you're all dead”, he growled. Samantha turned around, glancing at Jaro and I'lian. And at Sasha, whose bright eyes were filled with nervous anticipation.
She looked at Lenrianda and Nymeria. Both were armed and ready to fight to the death. On their own, they'd die for sure. If Samantha would stay and help, she'd probably die as well. She looked to the road, with Ser Rodrik in the middle. A thick underbrush was located to both sides, as well as an unknown number of enemies. “Ah, screw this”, she mumbled. “Get ready, we'll fight”
A grin flashed across Nymeria's face, while Sasha widely opened her eyes. “What?”, she hissed. “Are you crazy?” Samantha shook her head. “If one of us duels him, he's going to win. He knows that, just look at him”, she responded in a low voice. “And if we're going to leave... there is a reason Rodrik wants them dead. Do you want him to succeed?”
“I want us to live”, Sasha answered decisively and Samantha gave her a hopeful smile. “So do I”, she said. “But ever since Oldtown, I can sleep a bit better again. Would be a shame to lose that feeling” The playful wink she aimed at her friend was a tiny bit forced, but she was always good at forcing these things. “Besides, Nymeria is kinda cute, don't you agree?”
Sasha frowned at her words and Samantha chuckled. The truth was, she felt good doing this, she felt alive. And someone should do it, that was important. Someone should stand up to people like Rodrik. She turned towards the knight. “Ser”, she said sweetly. “After careful consideration, we decided that you can go and fuck yourself”
Rodrik looked baffled and paused, just for a moment. Then, his grin widened and a small chuckle came out of his throat. “Stupid blondie”, he said. “If you want to die, I'm happy to oblige” He rose his hand. “Lower the arrows”, he barked. “We'll take them up close”
One of the Second Sons threw a surprised glance towards his leader. “But Ser, that would...”, he started to say, though the knight harshly cut him off. “I want to see the fear in their eyes when they die”, he growled. “I want to be close when they realize that no one crosses me and lives... And now do what I said!”
His hand moved to the sword on his belt and he pulled it out in a single movement. The valyrian steel shimmered darkly in the gloomy twilight beneath the trees, though the heart-shaped ruby in its pommel almost seemed to glow. “My Lady Forlorn thirsts for this battle and your blood”, he proclaimed. “If it's a fight you want, you'll get more than you asked for” He pointed the blade at Samantha. “And you, you're mine, blondie”
Samantha smirked at him, as she glanced at the axe in her hand. It was larger than her hatchets and heavier. While still a deadly weapon in the right hands, it seemed a bit too imbalanced for her, especially when compared to Rodrik's longsword. “At least buy me a drink first”, she joked, to overplay the nervous thumping of her heart.
“Charge!”, the knight yelled at the top of his lungs, while Samantha gripped her axe tighter. Sasha stood to her right, focussed entirely on the men that just broke out of the underbrush. A dozen at the very least, armed to the teeth, with murder in their eyes, roaring like animals. Behind her, Lenrianda and Nymeria stood back to back and behind them, Jaro and I'lian.
Nymeria did not wait until they reached her. Shortly before the Second Sons were close enough to attack, she broke out of the formation, her shield firmly in front of her and a double-edged axe high above her head, as she almost jumped at the first man, parrying his short blade, before smashing her axe down into his face heavily enough to split it in half.
Suppressing a curse, Samantha rose the hilt of her axe to parry the strike of a longsword. The rosy cheeks on her opponent's beardless face gave him away as younger than her, probably barely more than a child, yet the grip of around his sword was strong and the look in his blue eyes was determined.
Before she could attack him in return, a second sellsword had reached her, forcing her to use the blade of her axe to parry his sword, before she quickly used the hilt of her weapon to parry her first opponent. Next to her Sasha jumped back to evade a blow, nearly bumping into her. “That was a shitty idea!”, she spat, before she jumped forwards with a growl, to use her free hand to grab her opponent's arm, to prevent him from attacking. Her blade pierced the flesh of the sellsword underneath the arm, before digging deeper into his ribs.
Unable to turn around, Samantha only heard Lenrianda gasping, while Nymeria still roared with anger, her weapon slicing through flesh. A man screamed in terror and Samantha's attention switched back to her opponent. The younger man attacked again, aiming at her upper leg, though she parried the strike with her axe, holding the weapon with one hand. She used the other to reach upwards and she managed to grab the second sellsword's wrist just as he was about to slam his blade down onto her. Her knee jerked upwards, as she kicked him between the legs.
The man's eyes widened and his sword fell out of his weak hands as her axe cut through the air. Though she intended to bury the blade of the axe in his throat, the younger man thwarted her plan by attacking first, forcing her to parry his strike instead. Their weapons clashed against each other, before separating again. Instead of attacking, Samantha yanked the other sellsword between them and the man, still stunned from the painful kick, staggered to the direction she wanted.
With a human shield between them, Samantha had a moment to regain her breath, while the young sellsword glared at her. Just then, the other man snapped back to his senses. Samantha did not wait for him to make his move. She placed the sharp blade of her axe underneath his chin and deeply cut his throat, before pushing him into the direction of the young sellsword.
For a moment the young man was stunned by his dying companion almost sinking into his arms. However, Samantha had to admit that she underestimated him, when he regained his composure just the moment she attacked. She held her axe with both hands, which gave her enough strength to make him stagger as he parried, but if he wouldn't have done it, she would have probably decapitated him.
Before she was able to focus on taking him down, a new sellsword ran into her field of view. “I'lian!”, she heard Jaro's voice behind her and then, she had to parry. Her opponent, a heavily tanned man with small, dark eyes and a twisted grin on his face, held a slightly curved sword in his hand and it cut through the air faster than any other sword Samantha had ever seen.
She parried, though the speed gave it a shocking amount of force and he nearly knocked the axe out of her hand. To avoid getting disarmed, she had to give in, had to dodge the attack instead of parrying. She took a quick step back in the hopes of evading the strike and she almost succeeded. Instead of cleanly cutting off her head, the blade grazed her face and a sharp pain flashed through her cheek. A superficial cut, or else it would have been far worse, but still it burned and warm blood poured out of the wound.
Samantha took a step backwards, her teeth clenched. Her two opponents now slowly came closer, both of them ready and willing to kill her. Just as she raised her axe to parry the strike of the younger sellsword, his eyes widened, when suddenly, a sword was thrusted through his chest from the back, the tip just barely leaving his body again. He gasped and went to the ground, with widened eyes and Samantha saw the slender frame of Sasha standing behind him. Behind her, a dead sellsword lay on the ground.
Now, Samantha and Sasha attacked together, turning the tables on the tanned man. He parried Samantha's strike, but was unable to stop Sasha from ramming her sword into his abdomen, before she yanked her sword upwards, effectively disemboweling him.
For a moment, Samantha had the opportunity to look around, to see how her allies fared. The first thing she saw when she turned around was Nymeria. Her white face was splattered with red blood, as was the rest of her body, though none of it appeared to be hers. Three men lay dead to her feet and pieces of flesh were slowly dropping down from the blade of her axe, which was embedded into a fourth man's upper leg. The man was still alive, but only barely, as Nymeria had grabbed her shield with both hands and slammed it into his face, again and again, even after a sickening crunsh was heard.
Behind her, Samantha spotted Lenrianda on the ground. Her head wound, the one Behara had carefully stitched over the past weak, had reopened from a particularly nasty blow, probably with a mace. She was still alive, but barely conscious and the only thing that stopped the Second Sons from finishing her was the fear they obviously felt when they looked at Nymeria, who was roaring like a rabid bear as she smashed a man's head in.
Behind them, Jaro was still fighting and Samantha tensed up as she saw I'lian to his feet. A spear had pierced his upper leg, but that was not the only thing forcing him to the ground. Two of his fingers, the pinky and ring finger, were missing, cleanly cut off by the same blade that had slashed across his chest. While the light armour likely saved his life, he still pressed both of his hands, or what remained of them, onto the wound and had clear troubles with breathing.
Just in that moment, an older sellsword jumped forwards, parrying one of Jaro's strikes, before pushing his blade to the side. The man's own sword cut low and into Jaro's calf, forcing him to the ground. While sinking down, Jaro's own blade found the man's throat and he opened it with a quick movement.
Half of their group were wounded, most likely unable to continue the fight, even though Jaro managed to remain kneeling. Grabbing his brother's sword, he held both blades into the direction of the remaining Second Sons. Three stood a few feet away from him, just regaining his breath. Another three had surrounded Nymeria, whose axe was spinning whenever one of them even tried to get closer to her, or to Lenrianda, who still struggled to stay conscious. By now, the blood of her opponents was pouring down her face and into her eyes, a fact neither Samantha nor the Second Sons failed to notice. The pale dornishwoman was getting slower and it was only a matter of time until she would make a lethal mistake.
At least they had wreaked bloody havoc among the Second Sons, who had clearly underestimated them. Nine of them lay on the ground, either incapacitated by their wounds, crippled even in some cases, or dead. “Hold it, men”, the voice of their leader sounded and the sellswords obeyed instantly, taking a step back from their remaining foes.
In the distance, Ser Rodrik walked closer, a bloodthirsty smile on his face. “Excellent”, he complimented them. “Truly excellent and fascinating to watch. It's a shame, because under other circumstances, I could have used people like you. Maybe you would have never been Second Sons, but still...” His grin grew even colder and more bloodthirsty than before. “Nymeria, you and your bitch should have accepted my offer”, he snarled. “Now both of you are going to die. Maybe I'll make you watch while I flay Lenrianda alive” His eyes narrowed. “Because that's what happens to snitches”
“We've killed your men”, Samantha proclaimed. “We're going to kill the rest as well and then I'll have your head, you bastard!” Rodrik's eyes narrowed. “Bastard is a serious insult”, he said in return. He did not sound angry, but in his restraint, Samantha noticed that she had touched a raw nerve. A desperate smirk formed on her face. Making him angry, that could work. Angry men were more likely to make a mistake. “Bastard!”, she barked. “Is that a problem, Rodrik Stone? Are you not a bastard?”
Rodrik frowned at her words. “Blondie, you're going to suffer for that”, he barked. “I'm going to beat you to death and I'm going to cherish every moment of it” Now Sasha pointed her blade at him. “You'll die trying”, she snarled viciously. “We have killed so many of your men. We're going to kill the rest as well” She glanced around, to Nymeria and Jaro, who were still ready to fight. “Think about it. This was costly for you. Do you want to lose any more of your men? If not, call them back. We'll fight to the death!”
Her bargain failed. With a wide, almost jovial grin, Rodrik shook his head. “You don't get it, do you?”, he asked. “It's true, a majority of my men remains in our camp. But I have taken more than a dozen with me” He took another step forwards. “I have reserves” He raised his hand. “Men!”, he yelled and they came. Samantha gulped, as she spotted almost another dozen slowly stepping out of the forest.
“You killed the green recruits”, Rodrik chuckled. “I won't waste my best on scum like you. Now that you're tired, I won't risk losing a vital part of my team” Samantha looked at Sasha, who sternly looked her straight in the eyes. Her friend slowly shook her head as she realized what she was going to do.
“Perhaps there's another way, Ser Rodrik”, Samantha offered. “You and me, to the death. Spare us all the bloodshed. We can end this cleanly” Rodrik raised an eyebrow, before he shook his head. “A few minutes ago, I would have considered it, but now? If we do it by your rules now, you're still going to have a chance”, he declined her wish. “So I'm not going to do it by your rules, or by anyone else's. Just by mine” He smirked as he rose his blade, grabbing it with both hands. “Try to leave one of them alive!”, he ordered. “I'll need one of them when I meet the one-eyed whoreson again” Then his blade cut through the air and Samantha could swear that she was able to hear how sharp it was until it pointed right at her. “Charge!”, he yelled and they charged.
Sasha took a step backwards until she and Samantha stood back to back. Jaro was still kneeling, but ready to go down fighting. Lenrianda meanwhile had lost her struggle to stay conscious, though a slight raising of her chest indicated that she was at least still alive. I'lian was very much alive and now that the adrenaline slowly faded, he started to scream in pain, as he realized his terrible wounds. Only Nymeria was truly terrifying on their side. She had wiped the blood from her eyes and had her axe grabbed tightly. “Fuck you all!”, she screamed in desperate defiance.
“Sammy”, Sasha whispered and Samantha glanced over her shoulder. “Just wanted to say, I...” She did not manage to finish her sentence, as the sellsword reached her in that moment. Three of them had charged at her simultaneously, but they did not attack at the same moment, to make it even harder for her. Samantha meanwhile was attacked by two, while four men made Nymeria their target.
With courage born from fear, Samantha swung her axe before she had to parry. To her surprise, she managed to land a hit, though her axe only succeeded in shattering the chainmail her opponent was wearing. His own short sword cut through the air, aimed at her head and once again, she managed to grab his forearm, stopping the blade only inches away from her temple. In a swift movement, she used her strength and superior position to push him into her second opponent's attack. The man, armed with a great axe, had already swung, a strike that would have cost her at least her arm if she wouldn't have used her other opponent as a shield. The large blade of the axe cut into the man's already damaged chainmail, piercing his chest, shattering his ribs and mortally wounding him in an instant.
The second man's eyes widened as he pulled the axe out of his dead companions body. Without wasting a second, he rose his axe again, a move Samantha anticipated. She jumped forwards, too close for him to strike and her head smashed against his chin. Stunning him like that, she embedded her axe into his belly at close range. The strike itself was not particularly damaging, but she got the opportunity to slice across his body with her weapon, causing a large and deep gash. The man sank to the ground, as Samantha raised her axe, to embed it in his head.
Without missing a beat, she spun around, her axe raised to parry the strike of the man behind her. He was an older man with bushy, grey hair, missing an eye, but wielding a round, wooden shield. The longsword in his hand was just as old as him, but freshly sharpened and he knew how to wield it. Heavily, it clashed against her axe, before he immediately attacked again, forcing Samantha to parry low. Her counterattack was thwarted, when her axe simply smashed against his shield without causing any damage at all.
By now, Samantha could taste the blood that still poured out of the cut on her cheek. Her head hurt, her arms hurt and she still considered herself to be in the best condition. Next to her, Sasha desperately parried the attacks from three opponents at once, while behind her, Nymeria was gasping for air, as she finally started to feel the exhaustion. Judging by the sounds, Jaro was still fighting as well.
A scream came out of her throat, as she attacked again. Once again the sellsword parried her attack with his shield. Instead of giving him the chance to attack, she grabbed her axe with both hands and smashed it against him once more. He parried yet again, but this time, he staggered backwards under the force of her attack. And now she had him.
Not letting go of her opponent, Samantha attacked again and again, smashing her axe against his shield with all her strength, with all her courage and with all her rage. The third strike caused his shield to crack, the fifth caused it to splinter. He had to parry the sixth strike with his sword and it got knocked out of his hand. The seventh hit him in the centre of the chest. Both, Samantha and her opponent fell to the ground. With eyes opened widely, the man spat blood into her face, before he passed away.
Gasping for air and with shaky hands, Samantha grabbed her axe once again. She used it to push herself up to her feet again, as she glanced around. To her horror, she realized that the Second Sons were still holding back. Instead of limiting their own movement by swarming them in full force, they chose the less dangerous tactic of holding back, of slowly wearing them down. The only one where they didn't do it was Nymeria, who was attacked by four men. One opponent already lay on the ground, his sword hand severed form his body together with half of the arm. He was in shock an bleeding out, but his companions only cared to take down their opponent.
Nymeria was magnificent. With axe and shield, she parried each strike, even though they had surrounded her. In the rare times she actually was able to counterattack, she did so in decisively mean ways, by specifically targeting her opponents limbs instead of choosing an area that was more easily defendable. She was an image of blood on the snow, the very essence of killing, swift, deadly and precise. Yet slowly, but steadily, even she pushed herself harder than she actually should.
The first of her remaining group to fall was Jaro, just as she focussed his attention to him for a brief secon. Forced to kneel on the ground, he had a considerable problem defending himself, especially since his leg wound was painful. He knelt over I'lian, who was still screaming in pain, clutching his wounded side with his mutilated hand. The dissonant sound of clashing steel completed a shrill cacophony.
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one particular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forwards and the pommel of a sword was smashed into her face. She went to the ground and her four opponents all started to punch and kick her, slowly beating her to death.
Unable to speak, out of exhaustion and out of a mixture of rage and fear, Samantha could only growl, as she charged towards them instead, in the hopes to save at least Nymeria's life. Immediately, one of the Second Sons that were beating Nymeria turned towards her, a cocky grin on his face. He parried her strike with his bastard sword. “You're next”, he spat.
Before he could attack again, Samantha heard a sharp, deep voice. “Hold it”, the man yelled. “She's mine!” The Second Son complied, a bloodthirsty smirk on his face. Samantha narrowed her eyes, as she spun around, to face Rodrik Stone.
“You wanted a duel, blondie”, he said in feigned politeness. “I'd like to grant you your dying wish” His sword, ancient valyrian steel, was pointed at her and Samantha gave him a nod. She was out of breath, exhausted, bleeding and in pain. But most of it all, she was livid with anger. It were people like him. People like him who always pushed her down just when things started to get brighter for her. The man that murdered her family, the Butterfly that hired him, the Tom and his Moggy. All they did was to bring pain to everyone they touched, everyone they ruined. Her parents, her siblings. Lucas and Leonard and Lunett and Dairon. Lenrianda and Nymeria, Jaro and I'lian. And Sasha...
Samantha narrowed her eyes. “YOU'RE DEAD!”, she screamed at the top of her lungs, as she charged at the sellsword leader. “YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD!” But rage alone couldn't win a fight. Deep down, in the last bit of her mind that wasn't consumed with blind anger, Samantha knew that she was simply hacking at Ser Rodrik like a woodcutter, lacking any sort of skill or tactic. She did not care. He had to die. He had to die and it was all that mattered.
Ser Rodrik was laughing as he parried her strikes, laughing as if it was all just child's play for him. Perhaps it was and it only made her more angry. “Pathetic!”, he mocked her under his laughter. “Fucking pathetic! Perhaps you should have stayed in the kitchen!” He parried another attack and this time, he took a step closer, so that he could glare her straight in the eyes. “You do not strike, blondie”, he chuckled. “You flail” He shook his head, not even using both hands to parry. “Pathetic!”
By now, Sasha had noticed the danger Samantha was in. “Sammy!”, she yelled and just for a moment, she neglected her cover. It was a moment too long. The man to her left raised his weapon, a hatchet not unlike the one Samantha lost, and he embedded it in Sasha's upper arm and shoulder. Her small leathery shoulder pad saved her life, or at least her arm, as it took a majority of the blow, but the axe still dug into her flesh, causing her to bellow in pain.
The rage cleared and it was replaced by worry, worry for the only friend she ever wanted. “Sasha!”, Samantha yelled and attempted to dash past Rodrik. His sword stopped her, when it pointed right at her throat, only inches away from her flesh. “Not going to happen”, he grinned. “We still have a duel to finish!” He glanced over his shoulder. “Kill the eastern cunt. I want to see the look in blondie's eyes”
Just as he looked back to her, Samantha saw how Sasha thrusted her blade upwards, into the belly of the opponent to her right. Her left arm was wounded, too wounded to be used right now, but she was still very much alive and very much willing to fight. She'd go down that way, if necessary and so would Samantha.
Focussing back on Ser Rodrik, she gave him a nod. “I won't go down easy”, she warned him and Rodrik chuckled. “I disagree”, he mocked her, as he attacked. It was a quick attack, but Samantha managed to get her axe in the way in time. Steel clashed against valyrian steel, but her axe held. The same couldn't be said after the second strike. Rodrik attacked again and Samantha parried with the long hilt of her axe. Lady Forlorn cut through the wood like a hot knife through butter and all Samantha was able to do was to jump backwards to evade the blow.
“That's what happens when little girls play with grown men”, Rodrik spat, as he pointed the blade at her. Samantha glanced down at her weapon. In one hand, she held a majority of the hilt and it was entirely useless. Against valyrian steel, it was not even good enough to parry. In her other hand, she held the blade of the axe, together with a tiny rest of the hilt, which made it unable to be used as a weapon. “Farewell”, Rodrik said with mocking politeness. Samantha gulped, as she closed her eyes. That was it. No way out. The end.
A shrill noise. Steel against steel. The surprised roar of a lion mingling with the angry roar of a lioness. Not the end.
Samantha opened her eyes again. Sasha stood between her and Rodrik. Behind the false knight, his men lay on the ground, dead. Sasha was bleeding, from more than one wound. The left arm was the worst. Blood was running freely down the entire arm, covering it in crimson. She held her sword in the right hand and she had parried Rodrik's strike.
Immediately, she attacked. It was a weak move and Samantha knew that Sasha did it to buy her time, not to win the fight, but to escape. But Samantha wouldn't escape. She wouldn't leave Sasha behind, never. Glancing at the pathetic and useless rest of an axe in her hand, she readied herself to attack.
Rodrik parried Sasha's strike casually. His first counterattack knocked the sword out of her hand. She jumped to the side to evade the second and to Samantha's horror, she did not manage to do it completely. Rodrik's sword cut in a high arch and as it came to a stop, the very tip of it was stained with Sasha's blood. Samantha glanced at her friend and her eyes widened in horror. Rodrik had managed to slash Sasha's neck.
Gasping, Sasha pressed a hand onto the wound. She was still breathing, so Samantha knew her throat wasn't damaged. The wound wasn't even deep, but it was bleeding. Oh gods, it was bleeding and Sasha sank to the ground, as she desperately tried to stop it.
Rodrik turned towards Samantha with a wide grin, just as she charged towards him, in blind fury. Instead of attacking her with his sword, he lunged forwards with his free hand, grabbing her at the throat and lifting her up. Immediately and using her own speed, he slammed her down to the ground.
“Blondie”, he laughed mockingly as he got down on his knees, one on the ground, the other one on the chest, preventing her from breathing properly. “Both of you were fucking pathetic. Nym, she had a good death, but you? Weak” His smile turned darker, even darker and Samantha gulped. “But you're a pretty thing and you gave me quite a lot of trouble. I think you owe me at least that much”
With these words, he rammed Lady Forlorn into the ground next to him, out of Samantha's reach. He rammed his hand, now free, right between her legs and Samantha gasped in pain. He was a knight in full armour. With his heavily armed knee on her chest, she was unable to even scream. But she was able to do one thing...
Just as the ruined blade of her axe cut through the air, Rodrik's arm dashed forwards, parrying it. It was a weak strike, unable to pierce the thick leather glove he was wearing. Still, he narrowed his eyes. “Still got some fight left, huh?”, he hissed. “I don't like that, but you don't have to be conscious for what follows”
His right fist slammed down towards her face and Samantha raised her arm to parry. It was a hard, painful strike, but it was still better than getting hit in the face. With her elbow, she parried his next attack and her entire arm thumped in pain as she blocked the heavy attack.
She failed to parry the third one. His clenched fist hit her right below the eye and it was more painful than getting kicked by a horse. Struggling to even stay awake, Samantha was unable to parry the next punch, which hit her at the centre of the chest, pressing all of the remaining air out of her lungs. She barely felt the fifth strike, when he smashed his fist into her abdomen.
Instead of the sixth strike, Rodrik looked up and Samantha noticed that his men weren't looking at him beating her to death or worse. They were looking past him, down the road where he had come from. A deep voice sounded, but Samantha was unable to understand it in her dizzy state. The sellsword leader narrowed his eyes. “Who the fuck are you?”, he barked.
She followed his glance and her sight cleared as she spotted three men on horseback. She immediately realized that these horses were bred for war, expensive, heavy animals, able to crush a knight with their weight. The men on top of them were wearing cloaks that were concealing any tabard, but not their faces.
The man on the right was maybe a bit younger than her, with silver curls and a boyishly handsome face. Violet eyes glared at Ser Rodrik. A sword was dangling at his side, a greatsword was strapped to his horse and he was holding a long spear in his hands.
The man on the left was similarly handsome, but less boyish. Like the man on the right, he was clean shaven and his looks were distinctively valyrian, though his hair was a bit darker, going into a shade of gold instead of silver. One of his hands was hovering above the hilt of a longsword.
Finally, there was the man in the middle, who was a sharp contrast to the other two. Even though she wasn't swinging that way, Samantha had to admit that he was, in a way, the most handsome of the trio, in a more traditionally manly way. Instead of the clean-shaven faces of his companions, he had a short, but full beard. His hair fell down onto his shoulders and unlike his companions, it was pitch black. The same applied to his eyes, who were dark as charcoal. The cloak barely hid his broad shoulders and muscular frame.
“We've asked the first question”, he said sternly. His voice was deep, thunderous and booming, but pleasant to listen to. “What are you doing here?” Rodrik pressed his lips together. “None of your fucking business”, he answered. The silver-haired man shook his head. “Common bandits, Ser”, he answered. “Probably robbing these poor people”
A grin formed on Rodrik's face. “We're Second Sons, you fucker”, he spat. “Sellswords!” The golden-haired raised an eyebrow. “These terms are not mutually exclusive”, he responded. “Ser, we have to intervene”
The black-haired man gave him a nod. “Yes, Gordar, I agree”, he spoke. “By our honour, we have to intervene” He glared at Rodrik. “Who are you?”, he asked. Rodrik sluggishly rose from Samantha, allowing her to finally breathe freely. Gasping for air, she looked around for Sasha. She found her friend still on the ground a few feet away and to her relief, she was still alive and conscious, even if she had gotten pale in the attempt to stop the blood from pouring out of her slashed neck. “Sasha”, she whispered, unable to scream. Her friend still managed to hear her and weakly looked up. “Sam...”, she gasped.
Behind Rodrik, his men took position to both sides of the road, grabbing their weapons firmly. “Ser Rodrik Stone”, Rodrik answered. The black-haired man gave him a nod. “A knight”, he said in surprise. “I haven't expected that. My name is...” Rodrik cut him off. “I don't fucking care! Go your way, or we will kill you”
The black-haired man shook his head. “Unlikely”, he said. “By my honour, whatever you're trying to do here must be stopped” He looked at the golden-haired man. “Gordar, take the reins” The golden-haired man, Gordar, glanced at him in surprise. “Ser?”, he asked, though he complied. The black-haired man put his hands onto a longsword. “Ser Rodrik Stone”, he said loudly. “I challenge you to a duel!”
Rodrik's eyes widened. “A duel?”, he asked. “You're giving up your horse to fight me on foot? What kind of a knight are you?” The black-haired man narrowed his eyes. “A true one, as I'd like to style me. Sworn to protect women, not to beat them to death on a forest road”, he growled and anger was audible in his words. “Do you accept the duel?”
“Fuck man, I'm going to kill you”, Rodrik chuckled. “Yes, I accept your fucking duel!” A smirk, even more bloodthirsty than Rodrik's appeared on the face of the black-haired man. “You should have yielded”, he said. “I suppose the longsword will be your weapon of choice?” When Rodrik gave him a nod, he pulled out a sword that was strapped to the saddle of his warhorse.
“As a knight, you will be challenged on equal terms. Longsword against longsword, until you yield”, he proclaimed. “Your men are common thugs and won't get this kind of mercy” He looked up to his companions. “Rahaerys, Gordar?”
“Fully ready, Ser”, the silver-haired man, Rahaerys, answered, while Rodrik's men took position. The sellsword leader was still shaking his head, but he grabbed Lady Forlorn with both hands. “I've killed enough knights to know how this fight will end”, he proclamied.
“So be it”, the black-haired man answered, as his hand reached to the brooch that held his cloak around his body. He removed it and the piece of clothing fell to the ground,revealing the tabard below. He rose his sword, pointing it at Ser Rordrik, while the sun fell through the trees and onto his chest, illuminating a red dragon on a field of black. “FIRE AND BLOOD!”, he yelled as he charged.
“FIRE AND BLOOD!”, his companions joined in on his warcry, as they started to move their horses. They charged past Rodrik, with Gordar sticking to the right side of the road and Rahaerys sticking to the left. It was Gordar who reached his enemies first. Though they tried to jump to the side when over two thousand pounds of horse charged towards them, one unlucky man did not make it. The animal hit him with its chest, lifting him through the air for several feet, before trampling him when he reached the ground again. Gordar's sword found its way to one of the sellsword's throats and he ripped it out.
Meanwhile, the men on Rahaerys' side had more luck when it came to evade his horse. However, his spear impaled a man's chest, dragging him with the horse for several feet and smashing his entire ribcage.
And then, the black-haired man had reached Rodrik. His sword heavily clashed against Rodrik's and Samantha noticed that he was even stronger than the false knight. He attacked again, before Rodrik had the chance and this time, the parade was sloppy. Just with his second attack, the black-haired man had managed to knock Lady Forlorn out of Rodrik's hands.
“Do you yield?”, he growled and Rodrik clenched his fists. “Fuck you!”, he answered and the black-haired man sighed. Just as Rodrik was about to charge him unarmed, he answered. “Then pick up your sword, Ser”, he said.
Rodrik raised his eyebrows. “You let me pick up my sword?”, he asked and the black-haired man gave him a nod. “At least one of us can keep his honour today”, he confirmed, as the sellsword leader dashed towards his blade. “You're fucking stupid!”, he barked, as he attacked.
The black-haired man shook his head. “I'm not dishonouring myself just because it's the easy way”, he replied. “I don't expect you to understand it” He parried a particularly vicious strike and this time, Lady Forlorn managed to break the steel, cutting his sword cleanly in two. Rodrik's grin widened. “No, that's just stupid”, he said. He did not repay the strange knight's earlier kindness. Instead, he attacked again, forcing his opponent to parry with half a sword.
“Ser!”, Rahaerys yelled, as he pulled his sword out of the sheath. He charged towards the dueling knights, fatally wounding one of the Second Sons as he rode past them. The chanceless sellswords took a look a their leader, before most of them wisely decided to flee. Just as he rode past them, Rahaerys threw the sword at his leader, who caught it at the hilt.
Immediately, he smashed it around, the blunt side hitting Rodrik's head and causing him to stagger. Without waiting for him to regain his senses, the black-haired man struck again, this time ramming the pommel of his broken sword into Rodrik's face, cleanly breaking his nose in the process. Rodrik tried to remain standing, though a third punch finally forced him down and the black-haired knight went down with him, kneeling onto his chest, just like Rodrik had knelt on Samantha's not long ago.
“I gave you enough chances to end this honourably!”, the knight growled with terrifying anger in his voice. “I gave you enough chances to yield, but you refused! You dishonoured yourself!” The tip of his broken sword almost pierced Rodrik's eye. “So, do you want to die standing, with a bit of dignity, or lying here on the ground”
Rodrik's eyes were opened widely, fear visible in them. “I yield...”, he whispered. “Please, I yield” The black-haired man hesitated for a moment, before he gave him a nod. Then, he threw his broken sword to the ground, before punching Rodrik straight in the face, once, twice, thrice and a fourth time, completely smashing the nose and knocking out the sellsword leader's front teeth. “I accept your surrender”, he said calmly. “Rahaerys, tie him up! We'll take him to the local authorities”
Out of the corner of her eyes, Samantha saw how Gordar, the golden-haired man descended from his horse. Next to him, a figure rose from the ground. Nymeria, over and over covered in her own blood and in the blood of her enemies, her body mangled with bruises, but still alive. “Please...”, she said weakly and pointed at the unconscious Lenrianda. “Please, she needs help”
Gordar gave her a nod. “Ser, we have wounded here”, he said and his gaze fell upon Sasha. “Heavily wounded” The black-haired knight glanced towards him. “Gather them. They'll come with us to the next city. Raylansfair should be a few miles into that direction”, he ordered and his face softened. “And be gentle, Gordar. Maybe we'll save a few lives today”
Gordar immediately knelt down next to Sasha. Samantha was only able to look at him in awe. “Who...”, she gasped, still barely able to speak after Ser Rodrik knelt on top of her. “Who are you?” Gordar flashed her a kind smile. “Why, nice of you to ask”, he said. “My name is Gordar Celtigar, knight in service of King Aegon Targaryen” He pointed at Rahaerys. “The man with the silver hair and the stern face over there is Rahaerys Velaryon, a brother-in-arms, also sworn to King Aegon”, he explained. “And this...”
He got cut off when a dark shadow fell upon him and Samantha. When she looked up, she saw the black-haired man looking down at her. His hand reached down and she grabbed it. Effortlessly, but still careful not to hurt her, he pulled her up. “It's a pleasure to meet you, mylady”, he said and he sounded honest. “My name is Orys Baratheon”
Good, good. I think I know what these 3 are up too. But still, awesome. Glad to see another canon character, especially one that does some pretty awesome stuff (one scene I can think of, not sure if it'll be in this story). I do wonder if a certain Durrandon will run into good ol' Orys.
As much as I sometimes have to think on how many of these parts have massive sword fights where a handful of characters beat out a much larger group, still it was cool. RIP those who died,
I must wonder what would have happened if did the other choices.
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one pa… morerticular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forward… [view original content]
Aside from that great part! This makes me curious about the alternate choices. I recall you saying there were two negative choices and two positive choices (with the differences being only very slight).
Also I see that you've made some progress on the FoT wikia. Needless to say I snooped around and managed to find it.
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one pa… morerticular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forward… [view original content]
Samatha and co. this time really risk to kick the bucket!They were lucky that you provide a Knights ex machina!XD
Speaking of the knights I really like how you introduce Orys inside the story!
Since Rodrick is going to be a new prisoner (he will be a good company to Harris!XD) I'm curious to discover what the Second Sons will do without their leader
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one pa… morerticular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forward… [view original content]
Then, he threw his broken sword to the ground, before punching Rodrik straight in the face, once, twice, thrice and a fourth time, completely smashing the nose and knocking out the sellsword leader's front teeth. “I accept your surrender”, he said calmly.
ha!
Gordar gave her a nod. “Ser, we have wounded here”, he said and his gaze fell upon Sasha. “Heavily wounded” The black-haired knight glanced towards him. “Gather them. They'll come with us to the next city. Raylansfair should be a few miles into that direction”, he ordered and his face softened. “And be gentle, Gordar. Maybe we'll save a few lives today”
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one pa… morerticular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forward… [view original content]
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one pa… morerticular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forward… [view original content]
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one pa… morerticular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forward… [view original content]
(one scene I can think of, not sure if it'll be in this story)
If it's a scene that takes place during the War of Conquest, then I can confirm it will happen. There are two I could think of that involve Orys in the canon and both will certainly be written. As a matter of fact, they are both among my favourite scenes for future books, even if it is definitely going to take a long while until we get there. Probably Book 3 material.
I do wonder if a certain Durrandon will run into good ol' Orys.
Well, I have put them into the same location, so it is very likely. After Argella rejected him simply because he's a bastard and after her father mutilated the Targaryen ambassador simply for delivering the offer, things are going to be really awkward if they meet up. It's unlikely I let that opportunity go to waste.
As much as I sometimes have to think on how many of these parts have massive sword fights where a handful of characters beat out a much larger group, still it was cool. RIP those who died,
I know, I know. This can be a genuine problem for me at times, to just screw over so many characters. In this case, I have played with the thought to kill just about everyone aside from Samantha and maybe Nymeria because she's new, and Sasha because I adore her. Ultimately, my desire to stick to plans I have already made was stronger than my willingness to massacre the cast of an entire storyline. But it will happen in the future, I promise. I'm glad you still enjoyed this one It was actually more justified this time, since Rodrik first sent recruits against them, who stood no chance against experienced sellswords like Samantha or Sasha, in order to tire them. Later on, his order to leave one of them alive probably saved more than one live, ironically.
I must wonder what would have happened if did the other choices.
As you may remember, I said that there were two positive and two negative outcomes to this situation. You actually managed to pick one of the positive outcomes. The other positive outcome would have been the duel between Samantha and Rodrik, while the other two options would have basically forced me to kill off quite a few of the cast. Sasha would have died if she would have duelled Rodrik, while leaving in peace would have caused the death of Lenrianda and I'lian. Nymeria would have been unknown as well, but ultimately, she's too new to kill her off right now.
Awesome.
“My name is Orys Baratheon”
Good, good. I think I know what these 3 are up too. But still, awesome. Glad to see anoth… moreer canon character, especially one that does some pretty awesome stuff (one scene I can think of, not sure if it'll be in this story). I do wonder if a certain Durrandon will run into good ol' Orys.
As much as I sometimes have to think on how many of these parts have massive sword fights where a handful of characters beat out a much larger group, still it was cool. RIP those who died,
I must wonder what would have happened if did the other choices.
I'm telling you, the moment another healer arrives in Raylansfair, Mathea is going to sink to the ground, sobbing with happiness and thanking the gods for their mercy. Being the only healer in town is nice for a while, but very soon it starts to suck.
Aside from that great part! This makes me curious about the alternate choices. I recall you saying there were two negative choices and two positive choices (with the differences being only very slight).
Glad you enjoyed the part! And as I said above to InGen, you managed to pick one of the positive choices. The only one that would have been better would have been to challenge Rodrik to a duel, because that would have caused less severe injuries among some of the cast. A duel between Sasha and Rodrik would have had a similar outcome, but Sasha would have died, which I would have really hated to write. And leaving would have caused Rodrik to attack them from behind, because well, he's Ser Rodrik the Asshole after all, and that would have caused severe losses among the characters.
Also I see that you've made some progress on the FoT wikia. Needless to say I snooped around and managed to find it.
Ah, it is actually not quite in a presentable state, but I have made the groundwork. A lot is still missing, because my time to actually write the articles is limited, especially in this month. That means it might take me a little longer than the end of this month to finish it. But I am happy with the way it looks and is structured, I think once it is done it will be a very good addition to Forum of Thrones.
Mathea can just never get a break can't she? XD
Aside from that great part! This makes me curious about the alternate choices. I recall y… moreou saying there were two negative choices and two positive choices (with the differences being only very slight).
Also I see that you've made some progress on the FoT wikia. Needless to say I snooped around and managed to find it.
Yes, one big battle scene. The part of me that loves to write fighting scenes was in a state of bliss while writing this entire part. Actually, I have managed to write this entire part yesterday, that's how much I enjoyed writing it.
Samatha and co. this time really risk to kick the bucket!They were lucky that you provide a Knights ex machina!XD
It was a genuine risk and if you would have picked another choice, there would have been deaths. As for the knights ex machina, I really didn't want to give them that much build-up before, because frankly, I think that scene works far better if you don't have even the slightest idea that they might intervene. However, there has been something about them before. Do you remember John's latest part, where Daghan mentioned that there is a really high-ranking Targaryen officer on his way to Raylansfair? Yeah, that's Orys
Speaking of the knights I really like how you introduce Orys inside the story!
I'm glad to hear it! Considering how important Orys is, I knew I needed to give him the right introduction. Honorably duelling an asbolutely dishonourable enemy at a disadvantage and still wiping the floor with him and sparing said enemies live after roughing him up a little bit, that should give you a pretty good idea what kind of a man Orys is.
Since Rodrick is going to be a new prisoner (he will be a good company to Harris!XD) I'm curious to discover what the Second Sons will do without their leader
Man, I haven't thought that this will mean Rodrik and Harris are going to meet. Yeah, these two are not going to get along well XD As for the Second Sons, they are in service of Anturion, if you remember. The very same Anturion who is on his way to Raylansfair...
Wow!This was a very action centric part!XD
RT:
* Samatha and co. this time really risk to kick the bucket!They were lucky that you p… morerovide a Knights ex machina!XD
* Speaking of the knights I really like how you introduce Orys inside the story!
* Since Rodrick is going to be a new prisoner (he will be a good company to Harris!XD) I'm curious to discover what the Second Sons will do without their leader
Then, he threw his broken sword to the ground, before punching Rodrik straight in the face, once, twice, thrice and a fourth time, completel… morey smashing the nose and knocking out the sellsword leader's front teeth. “I accept your surrender”, he said calmly.
ha!
Gordar gave her a nod. “Ser, we have wounded here”, he said and his gaze fell upon Sasha. “Heavily wounded” The black-haired knight glanced towards him. “Gather them. They'll come with us to the next city. Raylansfair should be a few miles into that direction”, he ordered and his face softened. “And be gentle, Gordar. Maybe we'll save a few lives today”
I summon youse, healers!
For now, no one but a bunch of Second Sons. Sasha and Jaro are in critical condition, I'lian urgently needs a healer as well. Ironically, the only one who has actually lost consciousness in the fight, Lenrianda, has good chances to survive, because with her it is only an older wound that reopened. Nymeria is tough enough to survive and the same goes to Samantha, while Rodrik needs new front teeth and a new ego but is otherwise unharmed. You have picked the right choice, congratulations! The other choices would have provided chances for several characters to die in this part, including Sasha, Lenrianda, I'lian and Jaro (though one brother would have survived in either case). I have also thought about killing off Rodrik for a while, but have decided against it, since I still have something planned for him. I hope the lack of death is not bothering you, I promise it'll change soon
That was really interesting and long part combined with introduction of new faces. How exciting!
Glad you liked it! I was looking forward to introduce these three, because especially Orys is obviously going to be a key player in the events to come. I was looking forward to introduce them so much that I simply had to write this part before some of the others and I'm glad it did not disappoint.
So... yeah, I honestly thought they all won't make it but seems that fortune smiled to them.
Oh yes. Some are in very bad condition and will be out of action for a seriously long time, but you have certainly picked the right option. Now they need a healer. Speaking of...
Good luck, healer! Poor her, seriously she should faint from exhaustion soon.
Mathea has by far the most ungrateful task in the entire town. And she is pushing herself too hard, so it remains to be seen how she will react to the arrival of even more critical patients. But as jorian has hinted at, she won't remain the only healer in town. For now however, the worst is yet to come, for her and for everyone else.
That was really interesting and long part combined with introduction of new faces. How exciting!
So... yeah, I honestly thought they all … morewon't make it but seems that fortune smiled to them.
Good luck, healer! Poor her, seriously she should faint from exhaustion soon.
That was really interesting and long part combined with introduction of new faces. How exciting!
Glad you liked it! I was looking fo… morerward to introduce these three, because especially Orys is obviously going to be a key player in the events to come. I was looking forward to introduce them so much that I simply had to write this part before some of the others and I'm glad it did not disappoint.
So... yeah, I honestly thought they all won't make it but seems that fortune smiled to them.
Oh yes. Some are in very bad condition and will be out of action for a seriously long time, but you have certainly picked the right option. Now they need a healer. Speaking of...
Good luck, healer! Poor her, seriously she should faint from exhaustion soon.
Mathea has by far the most ungrateful task in the entire town. And she is pushing herself too hard, so it remains to be seen how she will react to the arrival of even more cr… [view original content]
For now, no one but a bunch of Second Sons. Sasha and Jaro are in critical condition, I'lian urgently needs a healer as well. Ironically, th… moree only one who has actually lost consciousness in the fight, Lenrianda, has good chances to survive, because with her it is only an older wound that reopened. Nymeria is tough enough to survive and the same goes to Samantha, while Rodrik needs new front teeth and a new ego but is otherwise unharmed. You have picked the right choice, congratulations! The other choices would have provided chances for several characters to die in this part, including Sasha, Lenrianda, I'lian and Jaro (though one brother would have survived in either case). I have also thought about killing off Rodrik for a while, but have decided against it, since I still have something planned for him. I hope the lack of death is not bothering you, I promise it'll change soon
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one pa… morerticular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forward… [view original content]
OH thank god Jaro/I'lian survived. Though I don't know who is the one I like, I think it is I'lian, is the one who is mortally injured so curse their resemblance. I also kinda guessed the Targaryens were coming once I saw Nymeria fight against those four Sons because I had the idea that Nymeria was actually a Targaryen agent, but kinda realized afterward that she wasn't because there wasn't much reaction to her injuries. But I was still right! Also I kinda noticed how you described every Son Sam fought. I kinda found it unnecessary to describe each character who Sam fought but that is my own opinion though. Loved the fighting scene though and really excited for the Targaryen reinforcements because I am definitely team Targaryen. Hopefully Arthur gets back to the guardsmen HQ to meet Orys so there is a chance to join Team Targaryen.
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one pa… morerticular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forward… [view original content]
For now, no one but a bunch of Second Sons. Sasha and Jaro are in critical condition, I'lian urgently needs a healer as well. Ironically, th… moree only one who has actually lost consciousness in the fight, Lenrianda, has good chances to survive, because with her it is only an older wound that reopened. Nymeria is tough enough to survive and the same goes to Samantha, while Rodrik needs new front teeth and a new ego but is otherwise unharmed. You have picked the right choice, congratulations! The other choices would have provided chances for several characters to die in this part, including Sasha, Lenrianda, I'lian and Jaro (though one brother would have survived in either case). I have also thought about killing off Rodrik for a while, but have decided against it, since I still have something planned for him. I hope the lack of death is not bothering you, I promise it'll change soon
Oh no, she's fine Well, as fine as can be in this situation. She got pretty badly beaten up, but ultimately her wounds aren't life-threatening. She was even able to stand on her own at the end of the part and aside from Samantha, she's probably the one who needs medical attention the least.
Comments
Allow me to quote this scene from Chapter 4, which should explain a bit more:
So, to avoid confusion, it has been revealed in Chapter 4 that the Sphynx is not Lupin. A few parts later, Connor explained to Lucas how the Alley Cats work and he revealed that the Sphynx is not a name, but a title that gets passed on to the torturer of the group. Lupin has been the Sphynx for a long while, but under circumstances yet unknown, the current Sphynx took this position. Lupin's current whereabouts are unknown, but the Sphynx does not remember him fondly.
Alphyn is also a trained knight and a very fine one at that. In terms of fighting skill, he might even be the best in the group, since he had the best teacher and years of practice. Dante is trained, but not a particularly renowned fighter, while Darreth, as a squire, is still in training even if he shows potential. Leo obviously has no fighting experience at all. The only one who could come close to Alphyn would be Edrick himself, who has a lot of practice and is basically a self-taught fighter. So, that actually makes Alphyn a valuable addition to the group in terms of fighting power. The tracking has been highlighted as his main skill, though he is actually more comfortable in the heat of a battle.
[Break up the fight without reading the letter] Fraction in the Northern dream team!
Tbh, I choose this because I'd much rather be friends with Dante than with Leo. And I believe Dante if he says this is nothing negative, just something he doesn't feel comfortable sharing with Edrick. So, Edrick reading the letter most likely wouldn't be useful, it would just cause an awkward situation. And Leo might spill it anyway, if he indeed understood what he read.
TEAM KARSTARK!
Indeed ;D
Oh then I have a really good guess as to who Lupin may be. Can't wait for a confrontation, but I just hope that we can avoid going to Oldtown, because that place sucks. And not having Alphyn was more so towards the side of not having arguing among the group, but if we could find a way to get rid of Leo all will be good.
I knew the names were familiar! That was such a long time ago (both story and real life), thanks for jolting that back in mind.
Sorry for my long absence but I just don't had time these last days to read the last parts but hey!Better arrive late than never right?XD
RT:
Kersea:For the friends "the first true PoV that will lose the life inside this fic" (I'm really sorry that people decide to ignore even now Clayton,let's hope that she will at least left us with a bang (*wink**wink*));btw I like the talk between Kersea and Alysanne (even if our PoV chose to not follow the wise advise).
Drent:I'm very curious to know Ian backstory and I'm really looking forward for the brawl between the mercenaries and the Stormlanders. About the choice that win this time I'm happy since is the only way for us to not only know Shortwood intentions (making Drent fulfill his mission) but to even enjoy a good tavern fight (I suppose in a future John part).
Edrick:Yay!More Frostborn trivia!Even if I hope that Lupin is not,like the members of his family said,just another psycopah..this fic start to have too many of them for my tastes!XD
About the choice:
[Break up the fight without reading the letter] Since Edrick is a knight I found this choice obvious to make (I'm not going this time to write a long version of my decision since others readers already write the many good reasons because this is the best choice (aka today I'm lazy))
I can definitely understand you, I almost had no time to write these past days either. The same applied to an oddly large amount of my friends, so I guess August is just a busy month in general. But anyways, I am very glad you're back
Well, I can confirm that the next Kersea part will take your past choices into consideration. And naturally, Clayton highly disapproves of a majority of her choices, some of which have even been taken with the specific intention of pissing him off. What can I say, if your goal was to make Clayton really angry, you more than succeeded. I can't confirm or deny if that means that Kersea's days are numbered, but I can confirm her next part is definitely going to be one of these parts. Luckily, I'm still having a few parts to write before I can come back to her storyline.
You are right, the tavern brawl will be shown from John's PoV now, which is a reason I'm very happy about the winning choice. Now I can show you both, a bit more of Ian and maybe a glimpse of his secret, as well as a good old-fashioned bar fight, even if that fight should be relatively one-sided, with a juggernaut like Daghan involved.
Ah, Lupin. He's quite something, that much is for sure. Alphyn has mentioned him murdering several people, but his arguably worst actions have, at most, only been hinted at. He's not just another psychopath, he could very well be the guy to give even Wolfius a run for his money. Lupin is genuinely terrifying. And he is in the waiting list, so he is guaranteed to appear at some point in the story, which probably doesn't mean wonderful news for many characters. I hope to give him sufficient build-up until then.
[Break up the fight without reading the letter]
[Take the letter and read it]
[Take the letter and read it]
[Take the letter and read it]
Because he is clearly hiding something.
The Voting is closed!
Edrick is going to break up the fight without reading the letter
This was very much a choice that is going to determine the future relationship between Dante and Edrick, but also between Leo and Edrick. Both men are going to be important for Edrick's mission, so both options would have brought equally good and bad consequences. Now, Dante is obviously going to be thankful, while Leo is not going to be pleased. The other way round however would have absolutely disappointed Dante. It probably comes down to your personal sympathies, which currently seem to lie more in Dante's favour.
The next part should be out today. It's going to be a part from Samantha's PoV. Now, I have actually debated about putting her part at this point, since it is going to be the last in her storyline, while others still have two. There is Jenna, who hand't had a part in longer, or Willfred to whom applies the same. Marak needs another part soon and will probably get the one after the next and I wish to get back to Raenna's storyline soon. Garthon and Maya will both have only two parts in this chapter and even that is more than I originally planned. But ultimately, I chose Samantha, simply because I want to write a part for her and I wanted to do so ever since I wrote her last part over a month ago.
The last time we saw Samantha, she travelled through the forest, together with Sasha, Jaro, I'lian and their prisoner, Lenrianda who helped Ser Rodrik Stone in Chapter 5. To get Lenrianda to give them information about Rodrik's plans, they agreed to search for her friend, Nymeria Aspys, who was left in their camp somewhere in the forest near Raylansfair. Travelling down the forest road, Samantha decided to cut Lenrianda's ties to make a good first impression on Nymeria. That proved to be a good choice when they actually met her. Nymeria is a bit of an usual person. She's a dornish noblewoman, an albino and a badass sellsword. Shortly after she got reunited with Lenrianda, a genuine problem came up, namely Ser Rodrik and his Second Sons, who had followed Nymeria in order to silence her and Lenrianda. Rodrik gave Samantha and her people the offer to abandon the two and leave in peace, though you wisely chose against trusting him. Instead, Samantha decided to fight against the Second Sons, who have at least three times her number, which is going to make for a part I'm looking forward to write.
Oh, this is gonna be good.
Yikes, last in her storyline and she's fighting a bunch of people. I don't know what's going to happen, but I am curious.
I just hope Jaro/ I'lian ( Whoever was the one who interrogated Len, can never remember) survives.
Would the choice have affected Darreth's relationship with Edrick in any way?
That is very likely. However, since Darreth is not as impulsive as Dante, the results wouldn't have been that severe in his case. He would have lost a bit of respect for Edrick if he would have decided to read the letter, but it would not affect their relationship in a meaningful way, as Edrick would have eventually managed to find a way to regain this respect.
If I remember correctly was I'lian the one that do the interrogation
Samantha
“One moment, Ser”, Samantha asked and the knight yawned in boredom. “Hurry, or else you're all dead”, he growled. Samantha turned around, glancing at Jaro and I'lian. And at Sasha, whose bright eyes were filled with nervous anticipation.
She looked at Lenrianda and Nymeria. Both were armed and ready to fight to the death. On their own, they'd die for sure. If Samantha would stay and help, she'd probably die as well. She looked to the road, with Ser Rodrik in the middle. A thick underbrush was located to both sides, as well as an unknown number of enemies. “Ah, screw this”, she mumbled. “Get ready, we'll fight”
A grin flashed across Nymeria's face, while Sasha widely opened her eyes. “What?”, she hissed. “Are you crazy?” Samantha shook her head. “If one of us duels him, he's going to win. He knows that, just look at him”, she responded in a low voice. “And if we're going to leave... there is a reason Rodrik wants them dead. Do you want him to succeed?”
“I want us to live”, Sasha answered decisively and Samantha gave her a hopeful smile. “So do I”, she said. “But ever since Oldtown, I can sleep a bit better again. Would be a shame to lose that feeling” The playful wink she aimed at her friend was a tiny bit forced, but she was always good at forcing these things. “Besides, Nymeria is kinda cute, don't you agree?”
Sasha frowned at her words and Samantha chuckled. The truth was, she felt good doing this, she felt alive. And someone should do it, that was important. Someone should stand up to people like Rodrik. She turned towards the knight. “Ser”, she said sweetly. “After careful consideration, we decided that you can go and fuck yourself”
Rodrik looked baffled and paused, just for a moment. Then, his grin widened and a small chuckle came out of his throat. “Stupid blondie”, he said. “If you want to die, I'm happy to oblige” He rose his hand. “Lower the arrows”, he barked. “We'll take them up close”
One of the Second Sons threw a surprised glance towards his leader. “But Ser, that would...”, he started to say, though the knight harshly cut him off. “I want to see the fear in their eyes when they die”, he growled. “I want to be close when they realize that no one crosses me and lives... And now do what I said!”
His hand moved to the sword on his belt and he pulled it out in a single movement. The valyrian steel shimmered darkly in the gloomy twilight beneath the trees, though the heart-shaped ruby in its pommel almost seemed to glow. “My Lady Forlorn thirsts for this battle and your blood”, he proclaimed. “If it's a fight you want, you'll get more than you asked for” He pointed the blade at Samantha. “And you, you're mine, blondie”
Samantha smirked at him, as she glanced at the axe in her hand. It was larger than her hatchets and heavier. While still a deadly weapon in the right hands, it seemed a bit too imbalanced for her, especially when compared to Rodrik's longsword. “At least buy me a drink first”, she joked, to overplay the nervous thumping of her heart.
“Charge!”, the knight yelled at the top of his lungs, while Samantha gripped her axe tighter. Sasha stood to her right, focussed entirely on the men that just broke out of the underbrush. A dozen at the very least, armed to the teeth, with murder in their eyes, roaring like animals. Behind her, Lenrianda and Nymeria stood back to back and behind them, Jaro and I'lian.
Nymeria did not wait until they reached her. Shortly before the Second Sons were close enough to attack, she broke out of the formation, her shield firmly in front of her and a double-edged axe high above her head, as she almost jumped at the first man, parrying his short blade, before smashing her axe down into his face heavily enough to split it in half.
Suppressing a curse, Samantha rose the hilt of her axe to parry the strike of a longsword. The rosy cheeks on her opponent's beardless face gave him away as younger than her, probably barely more than a child, yet the grip of around his sword was strong and the look in his blue eyes was determined.
Before she could attack him in return, a second sellsword had reached her, forcing her to use the blade of her axe to parry his sword, before she quickly used the hilt of her weapon to parry her first opponent. Next to her Sasha jumped back to evade a blow, nearly bumping into her. “That was a shitty idea!”, she spat, before she jumped forwards with a growl, to use her free hand to grab her opponent's arm, to prevent him from attacking. Her blade pierced the flesh of the sellsword underneath the arm, before digging deeper into his ribs.
Unable to turn around, Samantha only heard Lenrianda gasping, while Nymeria still roared with anger, her weapon slicing through flesh. A man screamed in terror and Samantha's attention switched back to her opponent. The younger man attacked again, aiming at her upper leg, though she parried the strike with her axe, holding the weapon with one hand. She used the other to reach upwards and she managed to grab the second sellsword's wrist just as he was about to slam his blade down onto her. Her knee jerked upwards, as she kicked him between the legs.
The man's eyes widened and his sword fell out of his weak hands as her axe cut through the air. Though she intended to bury the blade of the axe in his throat, the younger man thwarted her plan by attacking first, forcing her to parry his strike instead. Their weapons clashed against each other, before separating again. Instead of attacking, Samantha yanked the other sellsword between them and the man, still stunned from the painful kick, staggered to the direction she wanted.
With a human shield between them, Samantha had a moment to regain her breath, while the young sellsword glared at her. Just then, the other man snapped back to his senses. Samantha did not wait for him to make his move. She placed the sharp blade of her axe underneath his chin and deeply cut his throat, before pushing him into the direction of the young sellsword.
For a moment the young man was stunned by his dying companion almost sinking into his arms. However, Samantha had to admit that she underestimated him, when he regained his composure just the moment she attacked. She held her axe with both hands, which gave her enough strength to make him stagger as he parried, but if he wouldn't have done it, she would have probably decapitated him.
Before she was able to focus on taking him down, a new sellsword ran into her field of view. “I'lian!”, she heard Jaro's voice behind her and then, she had to parry. Her opponent, a heavily tanned man with small, dark eyes and a twisted grin on his face, held a slightly curved sword in his hand and it cut through the air faster than any other sword Samantha had ever seen.
She parried, though the speed gave it a shocking amount of force and he nearly knocked the axe out of her hand. To avoid getting disarmed, she had to give in, had to dodge the attack instead of parrying. She took a quick step back in the hopes of evading the strike and she almost succeeded. Instead of cleanly cutting off her head, the blade grazed her face and a sharp pain flashed through her cheek. A superficial cut, or else it would have been far worse, but still it burned and warm blood poured out of the wound.
Samantha took a step backwards, her teeth clenched. Her two opponents now slowly came closer, both of them ready and willing to kill her. Just as she raised her axe to parry the strike of the younger sellsword, his eyes widened, when suddenly, a sword was thrusted through his chest from the back, the tip just barely leaving his body again. He gasped and went to the ground, with widened eyes and Samantha saw the slender frame of Sasha standing behind him. Behind her, a dead sellsword lay on the ground.
Now, Samantha and Sasha attacked together, turning the tables on the tanned man. He parried Samantha's strike, but was unable to stop Sasha from ramming her sword into his abdomen, before she yanked her sword upwards, effectively disemboweling him.
For a moment, Samantha had the opportunity to look around, to see how her allies fared. The first thing she saw when she turned around was Nymeria. Her white face was splattered with red blood, as was the rest of her body, though none of it appeared to be hers. Three men lay dead to her feet and pieces of flesh were slowly dropping down from the blade of her axe, which was embedded into a fourth man's upper leg. The man was still alive, but only barely, as Nymeria had grabbed her shield with both hands and slammed it into his face, again and again, even after a sickening crunsh was heard.
Behind her, Samantha spotted Lenrianda on the ground. Her head wound, the one Behara had carefully stitched over the past weak, had reopened from a particularly nasty blow, probably with a mace. She was still alive, but barely conscious and the only thing that stopped the Second Sons from finishing her was the fear they obviously felt when they looked at Nymeria, who was roaring like a rabid bear as she smashed a man's head in.
Behind them, Jaro was still fighting and Samantha tensed up as she saw I'lian to his feet. A spear had pierced his upper leg, but that was not the only thing forcing him to the ground. Two of his fingers, the pinky and ring finger, were missing, cleanly cut off by the same blade that had slashed across his chest. While the light armour likely saved his life, he still pressed both of his hands, or what remained of them, onto the wound and had clear troubles with breathing.
Just in that moment, an older sellsword jumped forwards, parrying one of Jaro's strikes, before pushing his blade to the side. The man's own sword cut low and into Jaro's calf, forcing him to the ground. While sinking down, Jaro's own blade found the man's throat and he opened it with a quick movement.
Half of their group were wounded, most likely unable to continue the fight, even though Jaro managed to remain kneeling. Grabbing his brother's sword, he held both blades into the direction of the remaining Second Sons. Three stood a few feet away from him, just regaining his breath. Another three had surrounded Nymeria, whose axe was spinning whenever one of them even tried to get closer to her, or to Lenrianda, who still struggled to stay conscious. By now, the blood of her opponents was pouring down her face and into her eyes, a fact neither Samantha nor the Second Sons failed to notice. The pale dornishwoman was getting slower and it was only a matter of time until she would make a lethal mistake.
At least they had wreaked bloody havoc among the Second Sons, who had clearly underestimated them. Nine of them lay on the ground, either incapacitated by their wounds, crippled even in some cases, or dead. “Hold it, men”, the voice of their leader sounded and the sellswords obeyed instantly, taking a step back from their remaining foes.
In the distance, Ser Rodrik walked closer, a bloodthirsty smile on his face. “Excellent”, he complimented them. “Truly excellent and fascinating to watch. It's a shame, because under other circumstances, I could have used people like you. Maybe you would have never been Second Sons, but still...” His grin grew even colder and more bloodthirsty than before. “Nymeria, you and your bitch should have accepted my offer”, he snarled. “Now both of you are going to die. Maybe I'll make you watch while I flay Lenrianda alive” His eyes narrowed. “Because that's what happens to snitches”
“We've killed your men”, Samantha proclaimed. “We're going to kill the rest as well and then I'll have your head, you bastard!” Rodrik's eyes narrowed. “Bastard is a serious insult”, he said in return. He did not sound angry, but in his restraint, Samantha noticed that she had touched a raw nerve. A desperate smirk formed on her face. Making him angry, that could work. Angry men were more likely to make a mistake. “Bastard!”, she barked. “Is that a problem, Rodrik Stone? Are you not a bastard?”
Rodrik frowned at her words. “Blondie, you're going to suffer for that”, he barked. “I'm going to beat you to death and I'm going to cherish every moment of it” Now Sasha pointed her blade at him. “You'll die trying”, she snarled viciously. “We have killed so many of your men. We're going to kill the rest as well” She glanced around, to Nymeria and Jaro, who were still ready to fight. “Think about it. This was costly for you. Do you want to lose any more of your men? If not, call them back. We'll fight to the death!”
Her bargain failed. With a wide, almost jovial grin, Rodrik shook his head. “You don't get it, do you?”, he asked. “It's true, a majority of my men remains in our camp. But I have taken more than a dozen with me” He took another step forwards. “I have reserves” He raised his hand. “Men!”, he yelled and they came. Samantha gulped, as she spotted almost another dozen slowly stepping out of the forest.
“You killed the green recruits”, Rodrik chuckled. “I won't waste my best on scum like you. Now that you're tired, I won't risk losing a vital part of my team” Samantha looked at Sasha, who sternly looked her straight in the eyes. Her friend slowly shook her head as she realized what she was going to do.
“Perhaps there's another way, Ser Rodrik”, Samantha offered. “You and me, to the death. Spare us all the bloodshed. We can end this cleanly” Rodrik raised an eyebrow, before he shook his head. “A few minutes ago, I would have considered it, but now? If we do it by your rules now, you're still going to have a chance”, he declined her wish. “So I'm not going to do it by your rules, or by anyone else's. Just by mine” He smirked as he rose his blade, grabbing it with both hands. “Try to leave one of them alive!”, he ordered. “I'll need one of them when I meet the one-eyed whoreson again” Then his blade cut through the air and Samantha could swear that she was able to hear how sharp it was until it pointed right at her. “Charge!”, he yelled and they charged.
Sasha took a step backwards until she and Samantha stood back to back. Jaro was still kneeling, but ready to go down fighting. Lenrianda meanwhile had lost her struggle to stay conscious, though a slight raising of her chest indicated that she was at least still alive. I'lian was very much alive and now that the adrenaline slowly faded, he started to scream in pain, as he realized his terrible wounds. Only Nymeria was truly terrifying on their side. She had wiped the blood from her eyes and had her axe grabbed tightly. “Fuck you all!”, she screamed in desperate defiance.
“Sammy”, Sasha whispered and Samantha glanced over her shoulder. “Just wanted to say, I...” She did not manage to finish her sentence, as the sellsword reached her in that moment. Three of them had charged at her simultaneously, but they did not attack at the same moment, to make it even harder for her. Samantha meanwhile was attacked by two, while four men made Nymeria their target.
With courage born from fear, Samantha swung her axe before she had to parry. To her surprise, she managed to land a hit, though her axe only succeeded in shattering the chainmail her opponent was wearing. His own short sword cut through the air, aimed at her head and once again, she managed to grab his forearm, stopping the blade only inches away from her temple. In a swift movement, she used her strength and superior position to push him into her second opponent's attack. The man, armed with a great axe, had already swung, a strike that would have cost her at least her arm if she wouldn't have used her other opponent as a shield. The large blade of the axe cut into the man's already damaged chainmail, piercing his chest, shattering his ribs and mortally wounding him in an instant.
The second man's eyes widened as he pulled the axe out of his dead companions body. Without wasting a second, he rose his axe again, a move Samantha anticipated. She jumped forwards, too close for him to strike and her head smashed against his chin. Stunning him like that, she embedded her axe into his belly at close range. The strike itself was not particularly damaging, but she got the opportunity to slice across his body with her weapon, causing a large and deep gash. The man sank to the ground, as Samantha raised her axe, to embed it in his head.
Without missing a beat, she spun around, her axe raised to parry the strike of the man behind her. He was an older man with bushy, grey hair, missing an eye, but wielding a round, wooden shield. The longsword in his hand was just as old as him, but freshly sharpened and he knew how to wield it. Heavily, it clashed against her axe, before he immediately attacked again, forcing Samantha to parry low. Her counterattack was thwarted, when her axe simply smashed against his shield without causing any damage at all.
By now, Samantha could taste the blood that still poured out of the cut on her cheek. Her head hurt, her arms hurt and she still considered herself to be in the best condition. Next to her, Sasha desperately parried the attacks from three opponents at once, while behind her, Nymeria was gasping for air, as she finally started to feel the exhaustion. Judging by the sounds, Jaro was still fighting as well.
A scream came out of her throat, as she attacked again. Once again the sellsword parried her attack with his shield. Instead of giving him the chance to attack, she grabbed her axe with both hands and smashed it against him once more. He parried yet again, but this time, he staggered backwards under the force of her attack. And now she had him.
Not letting go of her opponent, Samantha attacked again and again, smashing her axe against his shield with all her strength, with all her courage and with all her rage. The third strike caused his shield to crack, the fifth caused it to splinter. He had to parry the sixth strike with his sword and it got knocked out of his hand. The seventh hit him in the centre of the chest. Both, Samantha and her opponent fell to the ground. With eyes opened widely, the man spat blood into her face, before he passed away.
Gasping for air and with shaky hands, Samantha grabbed her axe once again. She used it to push herself up to her feet again, as she glanced around. To her horror, she realized that the Second Sons were still holding back. Instead of limiting their own movement by swarming them in full force, they chose the less dangerous tactic of holding back, of slowly wearing them down. The only one where they didn't do it was Nymeria, who was attacked by four men. One opponent already lay on the ground, his sword hand severed form his body together with half of the arm. He was in shock an bleeding out, but his companions only cared to take down their opponent.
Nymeria was magnificent. With axe and shield, she parried each strike, even though they had surrounded her. In the rare times she actually was able to counterattack, she did so in decisively mean ways, by specifically targeting her opponents limbs instead of choosing an area that was more easily defendable. She was an image of blood on the snow, the very essence of killing, swift, deadly and precise. Yet slowly, but steadily, even she pushed herself harder than she actually should.
The first of her remaining group to fall was Jaro, just as she focussed his attention to him for a brief secon. Forced to kneel on the ground, he had a considerable problem defending himself, especially since his leg wound was painful. He knelt over I'lian, who was still screaming in pain, clutching his wounded side with his mutilated hand. The dissonant sound of clashing steel completed a shrill cacophony.
Still, Jaro held his own for a good time, using both of his swords to attack and to parry. Ultimately, he was too slow to fully parry one particular strike though. The sword of one of the Second Sons hit him at close range and he only managed to deflect it, to prevent it from piercing his skull. Instead, the sharp side of the weapon hit the side of his head, cleanly cutting his left ear and the entire cheek in half, as well as knocking out more than one of his back teeth. In horror, Samantha could only watch as he went to the ground next to his brother. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead, but it filled her with primal rage.
Samantha charged towards the man that had just struck down Jaro. For this, she had to get past Nymeria and her opponents. Just as she had made her first step, the albino woman fell. It was not a blade that defeated Nymeria Aspys, but a mace, a sturdy, iron weapon that hit her in the back. She staggered forwards and the pommel of a sword was smashed into her face. She went to the ground and her four opponents all started to punch and kick her, slowly beating her to death.
Unable to speak, out of exhaustion and out of a mixture of rage and fear, Samantha could only growl, as she charged towards them instead, in the hopes to save at least Nymeria's life. Immediately, one of the Second Sons that were beating Nymeria turned towards her, a cocky grin on his face. He parried her strike with his bastard sword. “You're next”, he spat.
Before he could attack again, Samantha heard a sharp, deep voice. “Hold it”, the man yelled. “She's mine!” The Second Son complied, a bloodthirsty smirk on his face. Samantha narrowed her eyes, as she spun around, to face Rodrik Stone.
“You wanted a duel, blondie”, he said in feigned politeness. “I'd like to grant you your dying wish” His sword, ancient valyrian steel, was pointed at her and Samantha gave him a nod. She was out of breath, exhausted, bleeding and in pain. But most of it all, she was livid with anger. It were people like him. People like him who always pushed her down just when things started to get brighter for her. The man that murdered her family, the Butterfly that hired him, the Tom and his Moggy. All they did was to bring pain to everyone they touched, everyone they ruined. Her parents, her siblings. Lucas and Leonard and Lunett and Dairon. Lenrianda and Nymeria, Jaro and I'lian. And Sasha...
Samantha narrowed her eyes. “YOU'RE DEAD!”, she screamed at the top of her lungs, as she charged at the sellsword leader. “YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD!” But rage alone couldn't win a fight. Deep down, in the last bit of her mind that wasn't consumed with blind anger, Samantha knew that she was simply hacking at Ser Rodrik like a woodcutter, lacking any sort of skill or tactic. She did not care. He had to die. He had to die and it was all that mattered.
Ser Rodrik was laughing as he parried her strikes, laughing as if it was all just child's play for him. Perhaps it was and it only made her more angry. “Pathetic!”, he mocked her under his laughter. “Fucking pathetic! Perhaps you should have stayed in the kitchen!” He parried another attack and this time, he took a step closer, so that he could glare her straight in the eyes. “You do not strike, blondie”, he chuckled. “You flail” He shook his head, not even using both hands to parry. “Pathetic!”
By now, Sasha had noticed the danger Samantha was in. “Sammy!”, she yelled and just for a moment, she neglected her cover. It was a moment too long. The man to her left raised his weapon, a hatchet not unlike the one Samantha lost, and he embedded it in Sasha's upper arm and shoulder. Her small leathery shoulder pad saved her life, or at least her arm, as it took a majority of the blow, but the axe still dug into her flesh, causing her to bellow in pain.
The rage cleared and it was replaced by worry, worry for the only friend she ever wanted. “Sasha!”, Samantha yelled and attempted to dash past Rodrik. His sword stopped her, when it pointed right at her throat, only inches away from her flesh. “Not going to happen”, he grinned. “We still have a duel to finish!” He glanced over his shoulder. “Kill the eastern cunt. I want to see the look in blondie's eyes”
Just as he looked back to her, Samantha saw how Sasha thrusted her blade upwards, into the belly of the opponent to her right. Her left arm was wounded, too wounded to be used right now, but she was still very much alive and very much willing to fight. She'd go down that way, if necessary and so would Samantha.
Focussing back on Ser Rodrik, she gave him a nod. “I won't go down easy”, she warned him and Rodrik chuckled. “I disagree”, he mocked her, as he attacked. It was a quick attack, but Samantha managed to get her axe in the way in time. Steel clashed against valyrian steel, but her axe held. The same couldn't be said after the second strike. Rodrik attacked again and Samantha parried with the long hilt of her axe. Lady Forlorn cut through the wood like a hot knife through butter and all Samantha was able to do was to jump backwards to evade the blow.
“That's what happens when little girls play with grown men”, Rodrik spat, as he pointed the blade at her. Samantha glanced down at her weapon. In one hand, she held a majority of the hilt and it was entirely useless. Against valyrian steel, it was not even good enough to parry. In her other hand, she held the blade of the axe, together with a tiny rest of the hilt, which made it unable to be used as a weapon. “Farewell”, Rodrik said with mocking politeness. Samantha gulped, as she closed her eyes. That was it. No way out. The end.
A shrill noise. Steel against steel. The surprised roar of a lion mingling with the angry roar of a lioness. Not the end.
Samantha opened her eyes again. Sasha stood between her and Rodrik. Behind the false knight, his men lay on the ground, dead. Sasha was bleeding, from more than one wound. The left arm was the worst. Blood was running freely down the entire arm, covering it in crimson. She held her sword in the right hand and she had parried Rodrik's strike.
Immediately, she attacked. It was a weak move and Samantha knew that Sasha did it to buy her time, not to win the fight, but to escape. But Samantha wouldn't escape. She wouldn't leave Sasha behind, never. Glancing at the pathetic and useless rest of an axe in her hand, she readied herself to attack.
Rodrik parried Sasha's strike casually. His first counterattack knocked the sword out of her hand. She jumped to the side to evade the second and to Samantha's horror, she did not manage to do it completely. Rodrik's sword cut in a high arch and as it came to a stop, the very tip of it was stained with Sasha's blood. Samantha glanced at her friend and her eyes widened in horror. Rodrik had managed to slash Sasha's neck.
Gasping, Sasha pressed a hand onto the wound. She was still breathing, so Samantha knew her throat wasn't damaged. The wound wasn't even deep, but it was bleeding. Oh gods, it was bleeding and Sasha sank to the ground, as she desperately tried to stop it.
Rodrik turned towards Samantha with a wide grin, just as she charged towards him, in blind fury. Instead of attacking her with his sword, he lunged forwards with his free hand, grabbing her at the throat and lifting her up. Immediately and using her own speed, he slammed her down to the ground.
“Blondie”, he laughed mockingly as he got down on his knees, one on the ground, the other one on the chest, preventing her from breathing properly. “Both of you were fucking pathetic. Nym, she had a good death, but you? Weak” His smile turned darker, even darker and Samantha gulped. “But you're a pretty thing and you gave me quite a lot of trouble. I think you owe me at least that much”
With these words, he rammed Lady Forlorn into the ground next to him, out of Samantha's reach. He rammed his hand, now free, right between her legs and Samantha gasped in pain. He was a knight in full armour. With his heavily armed knee on her chest, she was unable to even scream. But she was able to do one thing...
Just as the ruined blade of her axe cut through the air, Rodrik's arm dashed forwards, parrying it. It was a weak strike, unable to pierce the thick leather glove he was wearing. Still, he narrowed his eyes. “Still got some fight left, huh?”, he hissed. “I don't like that, but you don't have to be conscious for what follows”
His right fist slammed down towards her face and Samantha raised her arm to parry. It was a hard, painful strike, but it was still better than getting hit in the face. With her elbow, she parried his next attack and her entire arm thumped in pain as she blocked the heavy attack.
She failed to parry the third one. His clenched fist hit her right below the eye and it was more painful than getting kicked by a horse. Struggling to even stay awake, Samantha was unable to parry the next punch, which hit her at the centre of the chest, pressing all of the remaining air out of her lungs. She barely felt the fifth strike, when he smashed his fist into her abdomen.
Instead of the sixth strike, Rodrik looked up and Samantha noticed that his men weren't looking at him beating her to death or worse. They were looking past him, down the road where he had come from. A deep voice sounded, but Samantha was unable to understand it in her dizzy state. The sellsword leader narrowed his eyes. “Who the fuck are you?”, he barked.
She followed his glance and her sight cleared as she spotted three men on horseback. She immediately realized that these horses were bred for war, expensive, heavy animals, able to crush a knight with their weight. The men on top of them were wearing cloaks that were concealing any tabard, but not their faces.
The man on the right was maybe a bit younger than her, with silver curls and a boyishly handsome face. Violet eyes glared at Ser Rodrik. A sword was dangling at his side, a greatsword was strapped to his horse and he was holding a long spear in his hands.
The man on the left was similarly handsome, but less boyish. Like the man on the right, he was clean shaven and his looks were distinctively valyrian, though his hair was a bit darker, going into a shade of gold instead of silver. One of his hands was hovering above the hilt of a longsword.
Finally, there was the man in the middle, who was a sharp contrast to the other two. Even though she wasn't swinging that way, Samantha had to admit that he was, in a way, the most handsome of the trio, in a more traditionally manly way. Instead of the clean-shaven faces of his companions, he had a short, but full beard. His hair fell down onto his shoulders and unlike his companions, it was pitch black. The same applied to his eyes, who were dark as charcoal. The cloak barely hid his broad shoulders and muscular frame.
“We've asked the first question”, he said sternly. His voice was deep, thunderous and booming, but pleasant to listen to. “What are you doing here?” Rodrik pressed his lips together. “None of your fucking business”, he answered. The silver-haired man shook his head. “Common bandits, Ser”, he answered. “Probably robbing these poor people”
A grin formed on Rodrik's face. “We're Second Sons, you fucker”, he spat. “Sellswords!” The golden-haired raised an eyebrow. “These terms are not mutually exclusive”, he responded. “Ser, we have to intervene”
The black-haired man gave him a nod. “Yes, Gordar, I agree”, he spoke. “By our honour, we have to intervene” He glared at Rodrik. “Who are you?”, he asked. Rodrik sluggishly rose from Samantha, allowing her to finally breathe freely. Gasping for air, she looked around for Sasha. She found her friend still on the ground a few feet away and to her relief, she was still alive and conscious, even if she had gotten pale in the attempt to stop the blood from pouring out of her slashed neck. “Sasha”, she whispered, unable to scream. Her friend still managed to hear her and weakly looked up. “Sam...”, she gasped.
Behind Rodrik, his men took position to both sides of the road, grabbing their weapons firmly. “Ser Rodrik Stone”, Rodrik answered. The black-haired man gave him a nod. “A knight”, he said in surprise. “I haven't expected that. My name is...” Rodrik cut him off. “I don't fucking care! Go your way, or we will kill you”
The black-haired man shook his head. “Unlikely”, he said. “By my honour, whatever you're trying to do here must be stopped” He looked at the golden-haired man. “Gordar, take the reins” The golden-haired man, Gordar, glanced at him in surprise. “Ser?”, he asked, though he complied. The black-haired man put his hands onto a longsword. “Ser Rodrik Stone”, he said loudly. “I challenge you to a duel!”
Rodrik's eyes widened. “A duel?”, he asked. “You're giving up your horse to fight me on foot? What kind of a knight are you?” The black-haired man narrowed his eyes. “A true one, as I'd like to style me. Sworn to protect women, not to beat them to death on a forest road”, he growled and anger was audible in his words. “Do you accept the duel?”
“Fuck man, I'm going to kill you”, Rodrik chuckled. “Yes, I accept your fucking duel!” A smirk, even more bloodthirsty than Rodrik's appeared on the face of the black-haired man. “You should have yielded”, he said. “I suppose the longsword will be your weapon of choice?” When Rodrik gave him a nod, he pulled out a sword that was strapped to the saddle of his warhorse.
“As a knight, you will be challenged on equal terms. Longsword against longsword, until you yield”, he proclaimed. “Your men are common thugs and won't get this kind of mercy” He looked up to his companions. “Rahaerys, Gordar?”
“Fully ready, Ser”, the silver-haired man, Rahaerys, answered, while Rodrik's men took position. The sellsword leader was still shaking his head, but he grabbed Lady Forlorn with both hands. “I've killed enough knights to know how this fight will end”, he proclamied.
“So be it”, the black-haired man answered, as his hand reached to the brooch that held his cloak around his body. He removed it and the piece of clothing fell to the ground,revealing the tabard below. He rose his sword, pointing it at Ser Rordrik, while the sun fell through the trees and onto his chest, illuminating a red dragon on a field of black. “FIRE AND BLOOD!”, he yelled as he charged.
“FIRE AND BLOOD!”, his companions joined in on his warcry, as they started to move their horses. They charged past Rodrik, with Gordar sticking to the right side of the road and Rahaerys sticking to the left. It was Gordar who reached his enemies first. Though they tried to jump to the side when over two thousand pounds of horse charged towards them, one unlucky man did not make it. The animal hit him with its chest, lifting him through the air for several feet, before trampling him when he reached the ground again. Gordar's sword found its way to one of the sellsword's throats and he ripped it out.
Meanwhile, the men on Rahaerys' side had more luck when it came to evade his horse. However, his spear impaled a man's chest, dragging him with the horse for several feet and smashing his entire ribcage.
And then, the black-haired man had reached Rodrik. His sword heavily clashed against Rodrik's and Samantha noticed that he was even stronger than the false knight. He attacked again, before Rodrik had the chance and this time, the parade was sloppy. Just with his second attack, the black-haired man had managed to knock Lady Forlorn out of Rodrik's hands.
“Do you yield?”, he growled and Rodrik clenched his fists. “Fuck you!”, he answered and the black-haired man sighed. Just as Rodrik was about to charge him unarmed, he answered. “Then pick up your sword, Ser”, he said.
Rodrik raised his eyebrows. “You let me pick up my sword?”, he asked and the black-haired man gave him a nod. “At least one of us can keep his honour today”, he confirmed, as the sellsword leader dashed towards his blade. “You're fucking stupid!”, he barked, as he attacked.
The black-haired man shook his head. “I'm not dishonouring myself just because it's the easy way”, he replied. “I don't expect you to understand it” He parried a particularly vicious strike and this time, Lady Forlorn managed to break the steel, cutting his sword cleanly in two. Rodrik's grin widened. “No, that's just stupid”, he said. He did not repay the strange knight's earlier kindness. Instead, he attacked again, forcing his opponent to parry with half a sword.
“Ser!”, Rahaerys yelled, as he pulled his sword out of the sheath. He charged towards the dueling knights, fatally wounding one of the Second Sons as he rode past them. The chanceless sellswords took a look a their leader, before most of them wisely decided to flee. Just as he rode past them, Rahaerys threw the sword at his leader, who caught it at the hilt.
Immediately, he smashed it around, the blunt side hitting Rodrik's head and causing him to stagger. Without waiting for him to regain his senses, the black-haired man struck again, this time ramming the pommel of his broken sword into Rodrik's face, cleanly breaking his nose in the process. Rodrik tried to remain standing, though a third punch finally forced him down and the black-haired knight went down with him, kneeling onto his chest, just like Rodrik had knelt on Samantha's not long ago.
“I gave you enough chances to end this honourably!”, the knight growled with terrifying anger in his voice. “I gave you enough chances to yield, but you refused! You dishonoured yourself!” The tip of his broken sword almost pierced Rodrik's eye. “So, do you want to die standing, with a bit of dignity, or lying here on the ground”
Rodrik's eyes were opened widely, fear visible in them. “I yield...”, he whispered. “Please, I yield” The black-haired man hesitated for a moment, before he gave him a nod. Then, he threw his broken sword to the ground, before punching Rodrik straight in the face, once, twice, thrice and a fourth time, completely smashing the nose and knocking out the sellsword leader's front teeth. “I accept your surrender”, he said calmly. “Rahaerys, tie him up! We'll take him to the local authorities”
Out of the corner of her eyes, Samantha saw how Gordar, the golden-haired man descended from his horse. Next to him, a figure rose from the ground. Nymeria, over and over covered in her own blood and in the blood of her enemies, her body mangled with bruises, but still alive. “Please...”, she said weakly and pointed at the unconscious Lenrianda. “Please, she needs help”
Gordar gave her a nod. “Ser, we have wounded here”, he said and his gaze fell upon Sasha. “Heavily wounded” The black-haired knight glanced towards him. “Gather them. They'll come with us to the next city. Raylansfair should be a few miles into that direction”, he ordered and his face softened. “And be gentle, Gordar. Maybe we'll save a few lives today”
Gordar immediately knelt down next to Sasha. Samantha was only able to look at him in awe. “Who...”, she gasped, still barely able to speak after Ser Rodrik knelt on top of her. “Who are you?” Gordar flashed her a kind smile. “Why, nice of you to ask”, he said. “My name is Gordar Celtigar, knight in service of King Aegon Targaryen” He pointed at Rahaerys. “The man with the silver hair and the stern face over there is Rahaerys Velaryon, a brother-in-arms, also sworn to King Aegon”, he explained. “And this...”
He got cut off when a dark shadow fell upon him and Samantha. When she looked up, she saw the black-haired man looking down at her. His hand reached down and she grabbed it. Effortlessly, but still careful not to hurt her, he pulled her up. “It's a pleasure to meet you, mylady”, he said and he sounded honest. “My name is Orys Baratheon”
No Choices for this part
Awesome.
Good, good. I think I know what these 3 are up too. But still, awesome. Glad to see another canon character, especially one that does some pretty awesome stuff (one scene I can think of, not sure if it'll be in this story). I do wonder if a certain Durrandon will run into good ol' Orys.
As much as I sometimes have to think on how many of these parts have massive sword fights where a handful of characters beat out a much larger group, still it was cool. RIP those who died,
I must wonder what would have happened if did the other choices.
Mathea can just never get a break can't she? XD
Aside from that great part! This makes me curious about the alternate choices. I recall you saying there were two negative choices and two positive choices (with the differences being only very slight).
Also I see that you've made some progress on the FoT wikia. Needless to say I snooped around and managed to find it.
Wow!This was a very action centric part!XD
RT:
ha!
I summon youse, healers!
So who is dead?
That was really interesting and long part combined with introduction of new faces. How exciting!
So... yeah, I honestly thought they all won't make it but seems that fortune smiled to them.
Good luck, healer! Poor her, seriously she should faint from exhaustion soon.
If it's a scene that takes place during the War of Conquest, then I can confirm it will happen. There are two I could think of that involve Orys in the canon and both will certainly be written. As a matter of fact, they are both among my favourite scenes for future books, even if it is definitely going to take a long while until we get there. Probably Book 3 material.
Well, I have put them into the same location, so it is very likely. After Argella rejected him simply because he's a bastard and after her father mutilated the Targaryen ambassador simply for delivering the offer, things are going to be really awkward if they meet up. It's unlikely I let that opportunity go to waste.
I know, I know. This can be a genuine problem for me at times, to just screw over so many characters. In this case, I have played with the thought to kill just about everyone aside from Samantha and maybe Nymeria because she's new, and Sasha because I adore her. Ultimately, my desire to stick to plans I have already made was stronger than my willingness to massacre the cast of an entire storyline. But it will happen in the future, I promise. I'm glad you still enjoyed this one
It was actually more justified this time, since Rodrik first sent recruits against them, who stood no chance against experienced sellswords like Samantha or Sasha, in order to tire them. Later on, his order to leave one of them alive probably saved more than one live, ironically.
As you may remember, I said that there were two positive and two negative outcomes to this situation. You actually managed to pick one of the positive outcomes. The other positive outcome would have been the duel between Samantha and Rodrik, while the other two options would have basically forced me to kill off quite a few of the cast. Sasha would have died if she would have duelled Rodrik, while leaving in peace would have caused the death of Lenrianda and I'lian. Nymeria would have been unknown as well, but ultimately, she's too new to kill her off right now.
I'm telling you, the moment another healer arrives in Raylansfair, Mathea is going to sink to the ground, sobbing with happiness and thanking the gods for their mercy. Being the only healer in town is nice for a while, but very soon it starts to suck.
Glad you enjoyed the part! And as I said above to InGen, you managed to pick one of the positive choices. The only one that would have been better would have been to challenge Rodrik to a duel, because that would have caused less severe injuries among some of the cast. A duel between Sasha and Rodrik would have had a similar outcome, but Sasha would have died, which I would have really hated to write. And leaving would have caused Rodrik to attack them from behind, because well, he's Ser Rodrik the Asshole after all, and that would have caused severe losses among the characters.
Ah, it is actually not quite in a presentable state, but I have made the groundwork. A lot is still missing, because my time to actually write the articles is limited, especially in this month. That means it might take me a little longer than the end of this month to finish it. But I am happy with the way it looks and is structured, I think once it is done it will be a very good addition to Forum of Thrones.
Yes, one big battle scene. The part of me that loves to write fighting scenes was in a state of bliss while writing this entire part. Actually, I have managed to write this entire part yesterday, that's how much I enjoyed writing it.
It was a genuine risk and if you would have picked another choice, there would have been deaths. As for the knights ex machina, I really didn't want to give them that much build-up before, because frankly, I think that scene works far better if you don't have even the slightest idea that they might intervene. However, there has been something about them before. Do you remember John's latest part, where Daghan mentioned that there is a really high-ranking Targaryen officer on his way to Raylansfair? Yeah, that's Orys
I'm glad to hear it! Considering how important Orys is, I knew I needed to give him the right introduction. Honorably duelling an asbolutely dishonourable enemy at a disadvantage and still wiping the floor with him and sparing said enemies live after roughing him up a little bit, that should give you a pretty good idea what kind of a man Orys is.
Man, I haven't thought that this will mean Rodrik and Harris are going to meet. Yeah, these two are not going to get along well XD As for the Second Sons, they are in service of Anturion, if you remember. The very same Anturion who is on his way to Raylansfair...
Very, very soon. They really need another healer. While Mathea does what she can, she's only one person and she certainly has her limits.
For now, no one but a bunch of Second Sons. Sasha and Jaro are in critical condition, I'lian urgently needs a healer as well. Ironically, the only one who has actually lost consciousness in the fight, Lenrianda, has good chances to survive, because with her it is only an older wound that reopened. Nymeria is tough enough to survive and the same goes to Samantha, while Rodrik needs new front teeth and a new ego but is otherwise unharmed. You have picked the right choice, congratulations! The other choices would have provided chances for several characters to die in this part, including Sasha, Lenrianda, I'lian and Jaro (though one brother would have survived in either case). I have also thought about killing off Rodrik for a while, but have decided against it, since I still have something planned for him. I hope the lack of death is not bothering you, I promise it'll change soon
Glad you liked it! I was looking forward to introduce these three, because especially Orys is obviously going to be a key player in the events to come. I was looking forward to introduce them so much that I simply had to write this part before some of the others and I'm glad it did not disappoint.
Oh yes. Some are in very bad condition and will be out of action for a seriously long time, but you have certainly picked the right option. Now they need a healer. Speaking of...
Mathea has by far the most ungrateful task in the entire town. And she is pushing herself too hard, so it remains to be seen how she will react to the arrival of even more critical patients. But as jorian has hinted at, she won't remain the only healer in town. For now however, the worst is yet to come, for her and for everyone else.
I hope new healer in town won't push her on 2nd line of the occupation :-P
I was just freaking out XD
I actually though Nymeria died.
:O GORDAR!
Also nice introduction for Orys XD
I was sure Sasha would die, but I'm so glad that she didn't
OH thank god Jaro/I'lian survived. Though I don't know who is the one I like, I think it is I'lian, is the one who is mortally injured so curse their resemblance. I also kinda guessed the Targaryens were coming once I saw Nymeria fight against those four Sons because I had the idea that Nymeria was actually a Targaryen agent, but kinda realized afterward that she wasn't because there wasn't much reaction to her injuries. But I was still right! Also I kinda noticed how you described every Son Sam fought. I kinda found it unnecessary to describe each character who Sam fought but that is my own opinion though. Loved the fighting scene though and really excited for the Targaryen reinforcements because I am definitely team Targaryen. Hopefully Arthur gets back to the guardsmen HQ to meet Orys so there is a chance to join Team Targaryen.
I somehow kinda like when no one dies, with GRRM at start you never expected that certain people die, then readers began to expect everyone to die
now, in your story that no one dies in such scenes is actually the least expected
Oh no, she's fine
Well, as fine as can be in this situation. She got pretty badly beaten up, but ultimately her wounds aren't life-threatening. She was even able to stand on her own at the end of the part and aside from Samantha, she's probably the one who needs medical attention the least.