I considered informing you about this Liquid, but in the end I decided I'd rather have it as a surprise for you as well. "Inform about what?" You ask. Well, the latest part inspired me to do another portrait, and from the comments I can see that the character that I drew this time has been surprisingly well-liked among the readers. So, here she is, Alysanne Waters:
RIP Alysanne, you were broken beyond fixing, but it was still worth trying.
The Voting is closed!
Kersea is going to try to save Raenna
This was a very active voting, something that makes me very happy. And con… moresidering how big of a part this was, I am also glad I managed to cause the reaction I've been aiming for. Safe to say, this part will change a lot for many people, especially due to the death of Harris. As for the choice, you chose the option I have expected, but it was way closer than I thought, which pleases me. I knew, on paper this sounds like a hard choice, but I wasn't sure if you'd consider it to be such a hard choice. After all, Raenna is a fairly well-liked PoV as far as I know, so I expected you to try and save her even over taking the chance to kill that complete bastard Clayton. The fact that there have been strong arguments in favour of killing him makes me pretty happy. That said, there's still going to be a twist in this storyline, a really big twist. Kersea will have one more part in this … [view original content]
The Serpent and The Slave: Part 4: A Feast for Kings
The water swished down Vaasrand’s throat as fragile hands held his mouth open, the water helped little, as it now swam around his stomach, he was still in pain, and didn’t remember much.
“You’re awake!” the woman exclaimed, removing her hands from his mouth, and proceeding to grab the bowl of soup that sat next to Vaasrand, “Here, drink.” She said, handing him the bowl.
“Thanks.” Vaasrand said, gulping the soup like an animal, it was good, tasting of garlic and ginger, mixed with chicken and carrots, the woman looked pleased to see Vaasrand enjoying it, whilst drinking the soup, Vaasrand thought about what had occurred earlier, the dragon was all he remembered and how it demolished that force with ease, everything else was a blur. “What happened exactly?”
“You were poisoned. Mayran will tell you the rest, you’re supposed to meet him by noon, you have nearly an hour left, so get ready.”
“Nothing else you can tell me?”
“No, Serpent. I am sorry but Mayran specifically said he wanted to tell you, there are clean clothes in the dresser over there” she pointed near the back of the room, towards the window. “You should get ready.” She smiled before leaving the room.
Now Vaasrand was left alone, in his bed, the soup he sipped at whilst looking around, the floor was made of wood as were the walls, a large wooden dresser could be soon aside the glass window that shined with crimson red curtains, the room itself was as wide as a chantry.
Vaasrand began getting up, putting his soup down first, he slowly took of the bedsheets, got up and stretched, his muscles still ached from the long fight that happened earlier, before walking to the dresser he opened the curtains, he saw legions of men beyond the keep gates, Vaasrand was high up so he saw them effortlessly, all sorts of men, from the rough Sellswords, to the tough Ghiscari, and even the beautiful Lyseni were there, all forming rows as if preparing for battle, of course this was due to the tournament that Vaasrand had forgotten all about. Archery contests, sword duels, and fist fights were the main three, but nearly every weapon had its own tournament. And then each winner of those smaller contests would join a grand melee of twenty, a free for all, the winner takes home a title, and a grand prize, Vaasrand thought about joining but he had the basilisks to take care of.
He left the curtains open, and many loud chants found their way into Vaasrand’s room, unknown tongue to Vaasrand, Ghiscari primarily was the one he truly struggled to understand, so he didn’t try, but those Ghiscari were damn loud, they never shut up, always screaming, Vaasrand barely had to deal with them (thankfully) but when he did, his ears would always ring.
He ignored them for now, and continued to the dresser, he opened it. There weren’t many choices, of course Mayran hadn’t put Vaasrand’s armour into the closet, instead there were many different styles of outfits, doublets, robes, even dresses, (dresses, why dresses) ,there were many different colours of all these outfits. Vaasrand took the black doublet, with matching gloves and boots.
He slipped into the doublet, tightened the belt around his waist, and fastened the gloves and boots around his feet and hands. It wasn’t time to leave just yet, a half hour remained, Vaasrand decided to spend the remaining minutes at the window, before that he grabbed the remaining water he had left, returning to the window, he looked to see if he knew anyone, his eyes passed many men and women, none managing to grab his attention, except maybe two or three, he sipped his water slowly while observing them.
One was a sellsword of some sort, he wore a black tabard, and was balding, holding a short axe, roaring a chant to his men, he stood in the city far away from Vaasrand.
Another was a ghiscari, a big oaf, from the looks of it, he screamed aimlessly at other ghiscari, completely bald and stiff, he was standing even further away than the sellsword, but since his screams were so loud Vaasrand heard him as if he were in the room.
And finally, one that was in the courtyard, a YiTish native, a strong build, with flowing black hair, she had a lute in her hand, and a large flock of females around her, strange, but not unheard of, still Vaasrand wondered why all these females were worshipping a female, usually that profession is for men, regardless she must have been good at her work, with so many around her.
Vaasrand finished of his water, tied his hair into a bun, and unarmed he went, closing the door to his room, Vaasrand wasn’t sure where Mayran was exactly since the healer hadn’t told him, so he checked Dyon’s room, which was on the second floor, up the staircase, past some guards coloured red, the walls of the keep were exactly like the walls in his room, black wood, with red curtains, stylish like all of Yi Ti. He continued to the Prince’s room, it didn’t take long before he arrived and knocked on the door.
“Is Mayran in there?” Vaasrand asked the door.
Shifting could be heard behind the door, and faint whispering, and then the door opened, it was a female that appeared, a cupbearer, “Yes, come inside.” He followed her order and entered the room, walking past the cupbearer Vaasrand saw Mayran, a very fat man he was, sitting there on a comfy chair, eating pears from a bowl that sat on a glass table in front of him, he signalled Vaasrand over before speaking, “Vaasrand, good to see you’re up.” He said with a jolly smile, he was pulling apart a pear as he spoke to Vaasrand, soon he began sucking the juice out of it, “Now, the girl’s safe, we’ve been looking after her while you slept.” Mayran continued eating his pears ruthlessly, “Say, before we get down to business, you’re just in time for lunch, would you like anything? We have, stew, deer, rabbit and roast beef, any of those spark your fancy?” he said licking his fat fingers as he just finished his pears.
“No, actually I just ate.” Vaasrand told him.
“Soup, Vaasrand, you had soup, surely you’re still hungry, starving even, you’ve been out for three days.” The cupbearer grabbed Mayran’s empty bowl and left the room.
“Then, I’ll take roast beef.” Vaasrand said with a sullen tone, truthfully he was excited, Vaasrand had never had roast beef before, most dishes like that were reserved for princes, he was surprised Mayran had even offered.
“That’s more like it.” Mayran turned his attention to the cupbearer who had just returned to the room, “Gima, return to Mase and tell him, we’ll take one roasted beef, with a side of vegetables, and one beef stew, and do not forget the wine.”
“What wine would that be, my Prince?” she asked obediently. Mayran is not actually a prince, he was once a normal tax collector before being promoted advisor to Prince Dyon.
“Nevrey of course! What other wine would there be?” he asked the cupbearer angrily, Mayran obviously wasn’t use to this much power, and maybe liked it a little too much.
“Sorry, Prince Mayran, but the others are Brune, Shunjigey, Qousus, Hocat-“
“By the Lion of Night, you’re daft girl! I know all of our damn wines, you don’t need to recite them to me.” He said critically, “Now, go!” he waved her away, “And don’t forget to inform Mase!” he yelled as she scurried out the door. “Sorry about that Vaasrand.”
“Rough day?” Vaasrand asked.
“Yes, with the tournament going on, I haven’t had any rest, and the damn thing hasn’t even started yet.”
“That’s unfortunate, how long will it be on?”
“Three weeks, sometimes more, so many damn tournaments with these festivals, shame we hold them every five years.” Mayran said in an unsupported tone. It was true, these festivals were always out of hand, and with these Basilisks running around it would only worsen things.
“Yea, let’s talk about the contract, what information do you have for me?”
“The contract, yes, about that, a lot has changed since your sleep Vaasrand. There have been multiple attacks at Kyorr, the city has had unrelenting attacks for unknown reasons. It’s bad, in Kyorr half their city is gone, the city was never particularly well defended, but that wouldn’t cause the city walls to fall. My theory is that there’s more than Basilisks at play here.”
Mayran finished just as the cupbearer, Gima, had re-entered the room “Prince Mayran, I have informed Mase of your request, is there anything else I can get you?”
“Yes, we would like the Nevrey now, it will be a stressful day, getting wine in early will make it less stressful.” He told her earnestly.
“Yes, my prince right away.” And again, she was off to retrieve the wine.
“And it gets even worse Vaasrand, something otherworldly is happening in the forest, some bumpkins are calling it magic, absurd if you ask me, magic is scarce in this world, and if it were not for those sorcerers up at Ziobhar, I would not believe in it at all. It could also be connected to the strange happenings in the fallen city of Rueyn, some say what happened there is similar.” Mayran proclaimed.
“Anything specific, any examples of what’s happening in the forest? Vaasrand asked inquistively
“Only a few, Misou Corsh is one, she’s that girl sitting in the courtyard singing to the women, she’s farely young, around nineteen, you may have seen her, she willingly scouted the forest while you were out, she said the jungle was completely devoid of beasts, in fact basilisks were the only ones she encountered, she didn’t say much else, but talking to her may be a good idea, I feel she did not tell me everything, but of course, even if you talk to her, you might have to wait until she wins the tournament, that arrogant ass wins nearly every year.”
Now that Vaasrand thought about it, there weren’t any other beasts, of course he hadn’t wandered deep into the forest, but he still went in there, insects were the only thing visible. “What do you think is happening? In the forest? With these Basilisks? There seems to be something far more at play here than mere basilisks, I was attacked, poisoned and nearly dead. Thanks to that assassin who ambushed us, none of this is adding up.” Vaasrand said sternly.
“Listen, I don’t know Vaasrand, that assassin was strange, for you are nothing but a hunter there would be no reason for someone to kill you. Let alone hire an assassin.” He told Vaasrand boldly.
“Well someone did, and I believe they are a prime reason these basilisks are attacking.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you of all people know basilisks are not sentient creatures, no one could control or give them commands. Their queen has obviously been disturbed, that’s all.” He said this with an assurance that could rival even a god.
“Then explain the attacks, on Kyorr, Rueyn, or the disappearing creatures, and the burning villages in the forest? Can one single basilisk queen be responsible for all of that?” Vaasrand asked inquisitively.
He had gotten Mayran here, and for a second he paused unaware of what to say, before he finally sighed “That’s your job to find out Vaasrand, that’s why we hired you, to stop this basilisk menace, before it disturbs Yi Ti further, I’ve given you leads to investigate which I believe are strong ones. Now can we drop this, as the wine is just about to arrive.”
The wine came in, on a silver tray with two glass mugs, the cupbearer placed the tray on the table in front of Vaasrand and Mayran, now a luxurious bottle of golden vintage, with the name Nevrey as its label, was in front of Vaasrand, he had heard of YiTish wines supposedly they were so good that other wines tasted like vinegar when compared to the fine YiTish gold, Vaasrand didn’t know his wines, nor did he like them much, ale was more his style, but he was curious to see what it tasted like.
Mayran cocked the wine lid, and it popped right of, a bit of the wine trickled out the top, on to Mayran’s hands, “I love when it does that.” Mayran said, he began pouring the vintage into Vaasrand’s cup, the liquid was a strong golden colour, Mayran filled the cup half way, and then went to his own cup he filled that all the way to the brim, it seems Mayran may be quite drunk at the tournament later, but he didn’t seem to care.
Vaasrand inhaled the golden vintage and it had a wonderful aroma, smelling of the most wonderful fruit combination, he put the vintage to his lips, and took a small sip. It was sweet, very sweet, and crisp, it seemed to have just the right about of alcohol for Vaasrand, as the wine went down his throat he could still taste the fruitiness as if he had just put it to his lips, it was good wine it seemed, and Mayran definitely agreed as he had already finished his mug and was filling another.
“Good wine, isn’t it, Vaasrand?” He asked, as he filled his mug to the brim.
“Yes, very good, think I prefer ale though.” Vaasrand stated, this seemed to offend Mayran.
“Ale? You prefer ale to this.” He pointed to the mug of Nevrey before taking another gulp, “You prefer a farmer’s drink, to a gods” Mayran looked disappointed “Shameful.” he finished and went back to his drink.
Soon the food arrived, on two separate silver plates, requiring two men to carry it, the food itself was covered with a silver lid, so Vaasrand couldn’t see it yet, but he was long anticipating it, he hadn’t eaten for three days, and now he gets a meal other than bread and rat meat.
The two men placed the silver plates on the table, bowed and then left the room closing the door as they left, Vaasrand removed the silver lid of his plate, and a divine scent touched his nostrils, wonderful beef roasted to perfection, with peas on the side, he couldn’t wait to dig his teeth into this meaty goodness, as of right now Vaasrand forgot about everything and just focused on the roasted beef in front of him, he tried to eat it slow and enjoy every bite, but it was far to delicious and Vaasrand ended up wolfing down the whole thing as if he himself were a wolf.
Mayran surprisingly took his time with his beef stew, eating it slowly while drinking the Nevrey. straight from the bottle. Vaasrand washed down his roasted beef with his remaining mug of Nevrey, and waited for Mayran to finish his stew, it felt like forever, but he did finish it.
“Argh, Delicious. Now Vaasrand the tournament is about to start in roughly a half hour, would you like to stay and watch, or would you prefer to talk to Misou now and get the hunt started?”
“Firstly I have a few more questions. Where’s Eliora, and who extracted the poison from my body?” Vaasrand asked.
“I told you the girl is safe, and we will watch over her until you return, but she can’t stay here long. As for the poison it was extracted by one of the sorcerers from Ziobhar, luckily he was here just when you were, and managed to rid you of the poison. Now Vaasrand you must decide, the tournament is about to start, and I must get ready, please we haven’t much time.”
Vaasrand had to decide, the tournament could be enjoyable he would be able to catch up with Eliora, get to talk to this Misou more thoroughly. Or he could start the hunt now, briefly chat with Misou, and not see Eliora, but he would be able to stop this menace quicker, since now he had four leads. Kyorr, Rueyn, the disappearing beasts and the burning villages, he hadn’t much time to decide.
[Stay and watch the tournament – Catch up with Eliora, Talk to Misou extensively]
Wow, this is awesome! A fitting tribute to the character. I have not expected this at all, but it makes me even more glad to see how well-received (if not necessarily well-liked) Alysanne has been as a character. Compared to your earlier drawing of her, you also definitely succeeded at showing this different side of hers. The first one definitely showed the prominent psychotic side of hers, but this one really captured her more pitiable, fragile characteristics. Ah, I'm going to miss writing her so much, especially now, after such a great tribute. Damn the story for leaving me with no other choice
I considered informing you about this Liquid, but in the end I decided I'd rather have it as a surprise for you as well. "Inform about what?… more" You ask. Well, the latest part inspired me to do another portrait, and from the comments I can see that the character that I drew this time has been surprisingly well-liked among the readers. So, here she is, Alysanne Waters:
RIP Alysanne, you were broken beyond fixing, but it was still worth trying.
Another great part! I really can envision all of this so well, I think your writing is very lively and I love it. Seriously excited for the next parts
[Begin the hunt -- Head for Kyorr]
I somehow think all of these happenings are connected with each other in some capacity. Such a mass of strange incidents in one region is unlikely to happen all at once, unless there is a common source. And out of these leads, Kyorr sounds like the best lead, as well as the freshest. It seems the city is under attack right now as they speak, whereas the other things have already happened, giving any evidence more time to get cold. In Kyorr, Vaasrand might get a chance for a very recent piece of evidence.
The Serpent and The Slave: Part 4: A Feast for Kings
The water swished down Vaasrand’s throat as fragile hands held his mouth open, the w… moreater helped little, as it now swam around his stomach, he was still in pain, and didn’t remember much.
“You’re awake!” the woman exclaimed, removing her hands from his mouth, and proceeding to grab the bowl of soup that sat next to Vaasrand, “Here, drink.” She said, handing him the bowl.
“Thanks.” Vaasrand said, gulping the soup like an animal, it was good, tasting of garlic and ginger, mixed with chicken and carrots, the woman looked pleased to see Vaasrand enjoying it, whilst drinking the soup, Vaasrand thought about what had occurred earlier, the dragon was all he remembered and how it demolished that force with ease, everything else was a blur. “What happened exactly?”
“You were poisoned. Mayran will tell you the rest, you’re supposed to meet him by noon, you have nearly an hour left, so get … [view original content]
Oh, you are correct, well-received is probably a better word than well-liked to describe Alysanne And yeah, I aimed to portray the side of her that we saw a bit on the latest part. Ironically, she looks a bit like a puppy in this
Wow, this is awesome! A fitting tribute to the character. I have not expected this at all, but it makes me even more glad to see how well-re… moreceived (if not necessarily well-liked) Alysanne has been as a character. Compared to your earlier drawing of her, you also definitely succeeded at showing this different side of hers. The first one definitely showed the prominent psychotic side of hers, but this one really captured her more pitiable, fragile characteristics. Ah, I'm going to miss writing her so much, especially now, after such a great tribute. Damn the story for leaving me with no other choice
The Serpent and The Slave: Part 4: A Feast for Kings
The water swished down Vaasrand’s throat as fragile hands held his mouth open, the w… moreater helped little, as it now swam around his stomach, he was still in pain, and didn’t remember much.
“You’re awake!” the woman exclaimed, removing her hands from his mouth, and proceeding to grab the bowl of soup that sat next to Vaasrand, “Here, drink.” She said, handing him the bowl.
“Thanks.” Vaasrand said, gulping the soup like an animal, it was good, tasting of garlic and ginger, mixed with chicken and carrots, the woman looked pleased to see Vaasrand enjoying it, whilst drinking the soup, Vaasrand thought about what had occurred earlier, the dragon was all he remembered and how it demolished that force with ease, everything else was a blur. “What happened exactly?”
“You were poisoned. Mayran will tell you the rest, you’re supposed to meet him by noon, you have nearly an hour left, so get … [view original content]
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands onto his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod, before putting the hilt of his axe onto the ground, both hands on top of the blade, silently watching him.
Once again, Torvin sighed, though not entirely out of pain. “You know, it took me a while to figure it out. No doubt Garthon already has an idea, but I think this time, I knew it earlier than him”, he said, as he stared into the man's dark eyes. “Ever since we left, I had to wonder why the king would send his royal executioner with me” His gaze hardened. “You're here for me, aren't you? To make sure that I won't return”
Bullister slowly nodded and Torvin grimaced once again. “I guessed that much”, he sighed, as he tried to stand up again. The pain that flared up in his ribs forced him to the ground almost instantly, this time with a groan that turned into a scream quickly. He looked at the ground next to him, as he just lay there, leaning against the wall, looking more like a corpse than truly alive. That would still mean that he looked better than he felt. “Well, what are you waiting for then?”, he snarled.
This time, the executioner hesitated. He shook his head and this time, Torvin understood. His eys widened with horror. “Garthon”, he gasped and Bullister gave him a nod. “If I don't take the city, you have the order to kill Garthon” A pained expression formed on his face. “And if I take the city, you kill me. Any chance I make it out of this alive?”
Bullister immediately shook his head, confirming Torvin's suspicions. They would have been fears, but Torvin feared nothing anymore, especially not his own death. “What happens to Garthon in that case?”, he asked. This time, Bullister just shrugged and Torvin knew, he wouldn't get a better answer out of the man. “At least you're honest”, he growled, before he paused again. “And... Clarisse?”
The look in Bullister's dark eyes remained hard, as he shook his head. Torvin put his head back, leaning it against the wall, as he looked up into the dark sky. He did not cry, even though he felt like doing it. He hadn't given in to such an urge in many years and he wouldn't start now. He should have figured it out. He actually had figured it out even, but realizing something and actually giving in to this knowledge were two different things entirely.
Still, he closed his eyes for a second and the expression on his face was more than just physical pain. Worse than anything was the realization that it was him, and no one else, who was to blame. Even more than the Hoare himself, who acted just like he always did.
He opened his eyes and looked at Bullister, who still stood above him, leaning onto his axe. “Let us take this city then”, he growled. The executioner gave him a nod and extended his hand. Torvin grabbed in and got pulled upwards. His ribs ached with agony, but it truly didn't matter anymore at this point. What was this, but the final bit of pain he would feel? Torvin was prepared to die, either at the hands of Bullister or the defenders of Raylansfair.
Slowly and with a noticeable limp, Torvin dragged himself to his axe, leaning a few feet away from him. He grabbed it and using it more as a walking cane than a weapon, as he and Bullister left the narrow alleyway his men had brought him into.
Dozens of heads turned towards him. His men were tired, yet they stood there proudly, like true iron. And they were more than before they dragged him into the alleyway, even more than before their attack. He narrowed his eyes at one man who definitely hadn't been there before. “Where have you come from?”, he growled.
“We've went with Cleaver, Captain”, the man answered faithfully and Torvin sighed with relief. Cleaver Clint's men had finally joined them, as it seemed. Maybe there still was a chance to take this city. It wouldn't be a chance for him, but for Garthon. He looked around, though he saw neither his brother, nor the massive body of the Lord of Volmark.
“Where's Cleaver?”, he asked. “Or my brother? You seen them?” The man shook his head. “Cleaver led his men to the eastern side of the city, but many split off from him. So did I. Got tired after a while, thought I'd check out what you're up to here”, he answered and spat onto the ground. “Sitting in a bloody alleyway, as it seems”
Torvin narrowed his eyes, but before he could reply, one of the other men spoke up. “I saw them, Cap”, he claimed and Torvin directed his attention at him now, instead of doing anything about the insolent raider. He raised an eyebrow and the man continued. “Cleav only had a hand full of men when I left him. Figured I didn't want to be caught in whatever he's up to. Can't end well”, he said. “Your brother came a bit later, while I was looting some house. Had that lanky kid with him, the archer and they went after Cleav”
“Hjalgar...”, Torvin mumbled, glad that his brother at least had one trustworthy man by his side. He gave the man a nod. “Good”, he growled. “Good. Now we're enough for another charge” One of the men, from the end of the alleyway, looked up as he hurried towards him. “Their cavalry's gone”, he reported. “Their leader, the knight you fought against, he took a horse and rode off. The other knight took the last one and followed. Had a wounded man with him” A sly look formed on his face. “Shall we go after them?”
Torvin shook his head. “No”, he snarled. “I can't spare any of you” He raised his axe, pointing it at the end of the alleyway and to the street. From there on, it would only be a short way to the gate itself. “Now, men, we'll take this gate. Then the city”
He raised the axe high above his head. “What is dead may never die!”, he screamed and his men joined in. “What is dead may never die!”, they answered. “But rises again, harder and stronger!” A few took it even further. “With Chains of Iron!”, they chanted and Torvin grimaced at the Hoare words. With a sigh, he lowered his axe again, which his men took as a sign to charge.
Torvin would have loved to charge as well, though his wounds prevented him from doing so. Instead, he limped after his own army, now more numerous than ever. Unless the defenders had another set of horses hidden somewhere, ready to charge again, he knew they would win this time.
Indeed, his men had already thrown the defenders back a considerable amount as he reached the street. The force of the new attack and the absence of their knights left the guards completely overwhelmed, unable to do anything to stop their attack. Torvin threw a glance at Bullister, who was his silent shadow by now. “It seems you'll get to kill me after all”, he growled. The executioner did not react.
Quickly, the guard started to waver. If anything, the brave cavalry charge from before gave them merely time, not more of a chance. The riders had surprised him, but now, there was nothing he didn't expect from these people. Already, the first of them started to flee. They either managed to break through the ranks of the raiders, or turned to the side streets directly at the wall, fleeing from the fight like cowards. At least they would remain alive, unlike most of their companions. The first of his men already stormed the walls, to slaughter the archers that had taken position up there.
And then, the fight was over as quick as it started. The ranks of the city guard broke and the men started to flee, with Torvin's raiders cutting down everyone that wasn't fast enough. They had crushed the tiny resistance that remained at the gate. These men had been nothing without their leaders. “Open the gate!”, he barked.
All of a sudden, something happened that Torvin hadn't expected after all. The raiders atop the wall, turned towards him, waving and shaking his head. “Don't open!”, they screamed, though it was already too late. The first raiders had reached the massive plank that blocked the gates from opening and they had lifted it up.
The moment the plank stopped blocking the gates, they sprung open and... something came in. It was huge, as large as a bull, with black fur and a form that resembled a brutish wolf, at least as much as Torvin was able to recognize it in such a short time. It let out a terrifying howl, as it charged through the ranks of the Ironborn.
Most jumped to the side, though a few were knocked down heavily by the massive beast. Torvin himself was pulled to the side at the last possible moment, when Bullister slammed him against a nearby wall, hard enough to press the air out of his aching lungs. The beast charged down the street, until it faded around a corner, out of sight.
“What... what the fuck was that?”, Torvin exclaimed, with widely opened eyes. Bullister did not answer, though for the first time, there was more than apathy in his eyes. Surprise, perhaps even a primal fear. The two men exchanged a glance, before Torvin directed his attention at the gates.
The Second Sons had entered the city. They were dozens, maybe even fifty men or more, heavily armed and with tall shields, their banner, a broken sword on white, waving high over them. Torvin had a bit of experience with sellsword groups, so he quickly realized that the man who approached him was a lower-ranking officer. Nonetheless, he seemed to be the spokesman of this group.
“You're the captain?”, he asked and Torvin gave him a nod. “Breaker”, he introduced himself and the man shrugged. “Yeah, fine”, he snarled without any interest. “We're your reinforcements. Ordered to help you taking this city” Torvin narrowed his eyes. “Ordered by whom?”, he asked.
“Ser Rodrik Stone, our leader. He's already in the city”, the sellsword answered. “And Edward Anturion” He seemed visibly unhappy to say this last name and Torvin could only agree with him on this. “Anturion...”, he growled. “I think when I meet this man again, I'm going to kill him myself”
The sellsword gave him a nod. “Can't hold it against you”, he replied. “So, we're following your order. Whom shall we kill for you?” Torvin glanced down the main street. “The city centre must fall”, he answered. “Once we have it, the road to the castle will be open”
This time, the sellsword raised an eyebrow. “What's with the fleeing guards?”, he asked and Torvin shrugged. “What about them?”, he asked in return. “They are cowards. Let them flee and live with their shame” The sellsword shook his head. “They fight for their city”, he replied. “I doubt they flee and I bet they will regroup somewhere. Maybe it'll be wise to chase them down first, to prevent them from flanking us later”
[Attack the city centre][Chase after the fleeing guards]
Arthur
“Where are you going?”, Arthur asked and Mathea looked over her shoulder. “My house. It's in this direction”, she replied and Arthur quickly shook his head. “My way's faster”, he explained and she raised an eyebrow, a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. He gave her a weak smile. “My way is a shortcut. We bypass the larger streets entirely, probably even avoiding Ironborn in the process”, he told her, “You might know everything there is about healing, mylady, but trust me, few know Raylansfair better than I do”
Mathea hesitated for a second. “I don't know everything about healing. Not yet”, she replied with confidence. Then, she gave him a nod. “But thank you. We'll take your way then” She had yielded quickly, which surprised Arthur, though after looking into her strange eyes, he saw a hint of her reason and he understood it, yes, even shared it. Mathea was nervous and whatever calmness she tried to show here, it was barely convincing, instead it was just a mask to hide how worried she was for those she cared for.
“We'll find them”, he said in the attempt to cheer her up. “And we'll save them. Lyria, Urid and Rosalie” Mathea sighed. “We have to find them before the Ironborn do”, she replied, as they headed down the alleyway Arthur led them down to. “And it's not only them. With Wolfius on the loose...”
“Well, I...”, Arthur started, before he saw anger flaring up in Mathea's eyes. “Don't you say it!”, she barked, finally revealing just how anxious she was. “I know you told me to kill him” Arthur raised a finger. “Leave him to die”, he corrected her. “But that's really not what I wanted to...” Once again she cut him off. “And I know I didn't do it. But none of this would have been a problem if you would have just done your job and made sure that he wouldn't escape! But no, you didn't and now he runs around freely, with two of my patients on top of that damn list of his!”
Arthur gulped, as he avoided her stare. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that her anger faded quickly. “I'm sorry”, she said. “Didn't want to directly attack you. It's just... this situation. It really... gets to me” He noticed how distraught she looked and he momentarily put an arm onto her back. “I know”, he assured her softly. “I understand. You care for your patients and you're worried for them. But I promise you, we will find them!”
She gave him the hint of a smile. “Thank your for saying that and... for understanding”, she replied. “And thank you for coming with me” Arthur removed his hand from her back again as he shrugged, trying his best to seem as confident as possible, even if he was anything but. He shared more than just her care for the people they tried to save. Truth be told, he shared her nervousness, but probably for different reasons. The thought that he might actually had to fight today was unsettling. “Ah, you know, I couldn't let you go alone and unarmed”, he smiled.
As he said these words, Mathea raised an eyebrow, she pulled up one of her sleeves, revealing the thin dagger she held in the hand, a simple, yet effective weapon. “I'm not unarmed”, she answered and Arthur looked surprised at the weapon. “A healer with a weapon?”, he asked and she pulled her sleeve down again. “I'm not stupid, Arthur”, she answered sternly. “I know what the Ironborn would do to me if they would get me. Of course I wouldn't go unarmed!”
“But... I thought you don't want to kill”, Arthur replied. “Knowing how to wield a knife, it's an odd skill for a healer to have” She gave him a nod. “A very odd one indeed. A friend taught me how to use this, a kindly old man whom I met a while ago. I saved his life and he taught me how I might save my own one day”, she explained. “And another friend, my mentor, he taught me more than enough about the human body that I know where I can stab someone without killing them”
“That sounds... painful”, Arthur said and Mathea smirked thinly. “If they attack me, it's hard to feel sympathy for them”, she answered. “Luckily, I never had to use it though and thanks to your help, maybe today will be another day were I don't have to” As she spoke, her smile faded, as quick as it came, replaced by her usual, stoic expression. “But it shouldn't surprise you. A healer's work can be bloody and painful, very much so. There are days where I bring more pain than anything else”
“I suppose these aren't the days you became a healer for”, Arthur stated and she gave him a nod. “There are good days and bad days. Those particular days are the worst”, she explained glumly. As she looked around, her expression darkened. “And I suppose today's not the kind of day you became a guardsman for”, she said in response.
“How do you know that?”, Arthur asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise at the fact that she has been right. “Because you're not a killer either”, Mathea explained. “After all, you haven't killed Wolfius either, back in his cell” She looked at him with a strange expression. “It may have brought problems it may will bring even more, but... I am glad you haven't done it. Maybe things would be better if more people would have your mercy. There are already enough killers in this world”
Arthur nodded affirmatively. “That's not who I am”, he said. “If I wanted to kill, I would have become a soldier. But a guardsman's priority should be to protect” Mathea glanced at his belt. “That's why you're having that weapon?”, she asked and Arthur removed the blunt mace from the belt. “Yeah”, he said. “When I joined the guard, my father offered me a spear, but I refused. He offered me a sword, but I refused. Instead, I took this one” He raised the mace. “It's easy knocking someone out with this, but killing them? Hardly”
“I bet your father wasn't amuse by this”, Mathea deduced and Arthur smirked. “That would be an understatement. He almost kicked me out of the guard again. Never wanted me in it and I almost pushed it too far already on that day”, he sighed. “Father... Commander Hackor told me it would be ineffective to use, that it would be a weak weapon for a weak guardsman and that he won't tolerate weakness in his guard”
“Well, he's right with one thing”, Mathea said and Arthur narrowed his eyes. “It is pretty ineffective. Have you ever used such a thing?” Arthur gave her a nod. “One or two times. But there were others who helped me”, he stated. Mathea glanced at the mace again. “Knocking someone out is not as easy as you think. You need a lot of strength for that, even with a mace”, she explained. “Even if I don't agree with him, I can understand your father. A few spikes would make it way more effective”
Arthur's eyes widened and only when he noticed her soft smirk did he chuckle. “You know, you can be scary when you say stuff like that”, he grinned. Mathea shrugged. “Eh, I have my moments”, she said. “You can't be in my line of work without getting a very dark sense of humour”
“Well, I think it's charming”, Arthur smirked and now, Mathea raised an eyebrow. He couldn't tell if she was flattered, amused or annoyed by his comment. “Really?”, she asked tonelessly, still not giving away how she felt about the compliment in the slightest. Arthur wanted to reply something, but that was when he was cut off by the sound of clashing steel not far from their position.
“Ironborn?”, she asked and Arthur gave her a grim nod. “Stay low. Try to find a place to hide”, he advised her, though she bravely shook her head. “Someone could need help”, she hissed, as she crouched down. “Come on, let's check it out carefully”
Arthur gulped, as she started to sneak forwards. “Mathea, wait!”, he hissed, as loud as he dared and she throw a glance over her shoulder. “What is it?”, she whispered back. “Maybe we can help somehow. There could be allies, or wounded we can save!”
Once again, steel clashed against steel, but this time, there was something else. A loud, angry bark that ended as a growl and someone screaming in pain. A dog? Must have been a large one, which surprised Arthur quite a lot. There were no hounds suitable for battle inside the city walls, not as far as he knew. Something was odd with the situation, yet Mathea seemed determined to check it out.
[Check it out] - if it sounds like a dog then I'm pretty sure it's Ryler's hound. If it was Direwolfius it would probably have made a more distinguishable monstrous sound.
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
Yes, yes good. Let's do this. It's the right thing to do. Garthon is so dead. Clint killed him. Totally dead.
I like how I knew why they said don't open the gate before it was explicitly said. Well I guess that is where that is.
[Hold her back]
Yeah I don't really want to go help Maya and her friends. I want to see Mathea's reaction to some dead ones. That'll be good. Oh Knifefang, your death has been the most tragic of this chapter.
I'm starting to believe there is going to be a clear winner in this battle. Damnit Hobert, even if you stayed hiding in the castle that would have been safer. Stupid Second Sons I thought more of you died. So unless Donnel Selwyn is coming coming on the first light the fifth day at dawn to the east, it's clear for me.
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
I considered informing you about this Liquid, but in the end I decided I'd rather have it as a surprise for you as well. "Inform about what?… more" You ask. Well, the latest part inspired me to do another portrait, and from the comments I can see that the character that I drew this time has been surprisingly well-liked among the readers. So, here she is, Alysanne Waters:
RIP Alysanne, you were broken beyond fixing, but it was still worth trying.
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
[Chase after the fleeing guards] No mercy! Not sure if it's necessarily a wise move, but it should be entertaining, and I'm not exactly rooting for the Ironborn.
[Check it out] It's probably Ryler, and I'm interested to see what's going on there, and if Arthur and Mathea could possibly help.
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
I was half tempted to post a new image showing that I came back but,since this is the third or fourth time that I resume my read of this story,I will refrain to do that!XD
Random Thoughs about the last parts of this story:
I will not be surprised if Alan,now that he escape the city (and probably we won't see him for a long time),will meet Dimitri the Wise
Lord Jarow of the Bridges will never be forgotten (such an epic way to die)
Lucas VS Torvin was a very cool fight
I'm curious to know what Anturion want to take from the archive
And another of the five original PoV's (aka Lyra) bite the dust! I must admit that I expected her death first or then but,Wow,such a gruesome way to die!(Rosalie will remember that forever).
I'm the only one that feel a little sorry for Urid?After he was injured at the warehouse Urid's fate was to die and the only thing that we managed to change is the chapter of his death
The others readers of this story choice well to not follow Ian during the last Drent's choice,Golton must be near his princess if he want to protect her from a certain assasin (and obviously I'm not talking about Kersea and co.!XD)
Speaking of Kersea obviously I'm happy that she managed to finally meet her sister...but will she meet her again?
Always speaking about Kersea her last PoV was epic! I really like how you decide to write the fight at the lighthouse and I really want to know what will happen now
About the deaths of the lighthouse fight:while obviously I found sad Alyasanne's death (even if I suspected that she couldn't have an happy ending) I really find ironic that,if Raylainsfair survive the Ironbros attack, Harris will probably be remembered as one of the heroes that save the city (despite he killed a loyal knight of the same city and,inside the last Lucas part,injured Darren outside threatened Lucas).
Since Harris (that was for me one of the best written character of the story) is dead Clayton is now the oldest character of the story...but for how much time he will be (expecially since he lose a hand)?
Where are Aylard,his son and the staff members of his tavern?And the ranger guy that I forget the name?
Congatulation Liquid!If I'm not mistaken more or less a week ago your story celebrate his second anniversary!
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
I think it'll be out of character for Torvin to go with the other choice. His only goal right now should be taking the city so he could save Garthon's life.
[Check it out]
Why not? I mean, they're on their way to two dead bodies.
[Attack the city centre] Gotta try to make as much tension between the 2nd Sons and the Ironborn. Also, Torvin would probably go for an all out attack, so if we can repel this one assault we should be good.
[Check it out] My guess it is either Wolfius, Ryler, or Maya and crew as Knifefang dies. If it is Wolfius, hopefully Ryler will come in time to help. If it's Ryler, maybe we can team up to stop Wolfius. Can't see any obvious downsides from this.
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
I was half tempted to post a new image showing that I came back but,since this is the third or fourth time that I resume my read of this story,I will refrain to do that!XD
Welcome back! Ah, it's great that you have returned, it's always a pleasure reading your random thoughts
I will not be surprised if Alan,now that he escape the city (and probably we won't see him for a long time),will meet Dimitri the Wise
Actually, Alan has ran to the city, not from it, the part where he ran away took place in Richard's farmhouse. While I can't comment on where, when and what Dimitri is, it's safe to say that he is not in the city, so Alan is unlikely to stumble upon him. I can also reveal that it won't be that long until we will see him again.
Lord Jarow of the Bridges will never be forgotten (such an epic way to die)
Yes, he will be remembered for sure! At the very least, the citizens of Raylansfair will remember him, because his sacrifice basically saved all of their lives, as it gave the Stormlanders enough time to reinforce the southern gates before the bandits arrived in full force.
Lucas VS Torvin was a very cool fight
Glad to hear you liked it. Technically though, it was more like a Harris VS Torvin fight, since Lucas got his ass handed pretty quickly.
I'm curious to know what Anturion want to take from the archive
It's rather vague for now, though it has something to do with magic. Alys is one of the PoV's with more than one part left in the chapter, so we're definitely going to learn more about it later. Anturion has some pretty huge ambitions, so you can bet that it is something he is going to use to further these ambitions.
And another of the five original PoV's (aka Lyra) bite the dust! I must admit that I expected her death first or then but,Wow,such a gruesome way to die!(Rosalie will remember that forever).
Interestingly, Lyria is among the PoV's I have originally planned to spare for longer. In my original concept, Wolfius would have killed Rosalie instead, though I ultimately decided against it when I realized that Rosalie holds greater potential as a character and I'd only drag Lyria's storyline for longer than it had to be by leaving her alive in this chapter. So, I used it for the reveal that Wolfius is not only some deranged killer, but some deranged killer with super-warg powers.
I'm the only one that feel a little sorry for Urid?After he was injured at the warehouse Urid's fate was to die and the only thing that we managed to change is the chapter of his death
Yeah, I feel bad for him too. Ultimately, Urid was one of these characters I just couldn't have done more with, he didn't gave me much room for growth. The fact that his death has bacially been overshadowed by Lyria's is something I feel sorry for, but it was inevitable ever since he got injured. His injuries could have been prevented though, which would have led him to live longer.
The others readers of this story choice well to not follow Ian during the last Drent's choice,Golton must be near his princess if he want to protect her from a certain assasin (and obviously I'm not talking about Kersea and co.!XD)
Hehe, you bring up a very good point there. I'm not sure how many remember this detail, but I have plans with it. Expect something big coming from this, even if I obviously can't go into any detail here.
Speaking of Kersea obviously I'm happy that she managed to finally meet her sister...but will she meet her again?
That's a good question. Both are alive, but neither is actually save right now. We'll get an update on Briar relatively soon, in Ellena's next part. Because yes, Ellena will have a storyline in this chapter, I just had to wait to start it until the Ironborn have broken through the gates. Same goes for that new PoV I've mentioned a while ago, who also has to start after the Ironborn finally took the eastern gates.
Always speaking about Kersea her last PoV was epic! I really like how you decide to write the fight at the lighthouse and I really want to know what will happen now
I am very glad to hear this! I consider this part to be one of the most important ones in this chapter, so it is good to hear that it was so well-received and that I got it exactly the way I wanted to.
About the deaths of the lighthouse fight:while obviously I found sad Alyasanne's death (even if I suspected that she couldn't have an happy ending) I really find ironic that,if Raylainsfair survive the Ironbros attack, Harris will probably be remembered as one of the heroes that save the city (despite he killed a loyal knight of the same city and,inside the last Lucas part,injured Darren outside threatened Lucas).
With Alysanne, it's true. She knew something like this would happen one day, that her luck would run out sooner or later, even if she obviously did not expect it to happen exactly like this. She died to save Kersea's life though, so in her eyes, she could have died a much worse death. Harris meanwhile is tragic in an entirely different way, because it is actually not that likely that he will be remembered as a hero. Part of Sherryl's manipulations, paired with his own actions have made sure that everyone in a position of power in the entire city pretty much loathes him. Lucas, Leonard and Darren will never forget nor forgive what he did, Argella and Hobert naturally have a grudge against him and Sherryl, well, she's probably trying to ruin his reputation out of pure spite. He did a lot to save the city, but his bad actions will always overshadow the good ones.
Since Harris (that was for me one of the best written character of the story) is dead Clayton is now the oldest character of the story...but for how much time he will be (expecially since he lose a hand)?
You know what, it is amazing that I haven't thought about this detail. For me, I considered Lucas to be the longest living character now, but you are absolutely right. Clayton appeared in the prologue, so that makes him the longest living character, even above Lucas. It also means that he is the only living character from the prologue.
Where are Aylard,his son and the staff members of his tavern?And the ranger guy that I forget the name?
Aylard, Sawyer and the tavern crew are at the... well, the tavern. Raylansfair's tavern that is, of course. I am not sure if we'll see them in this chapter though. And the ranger guy, whose name is Christian, he is going to appear at a later point. His involvement in Chapter 4 and 5 has been only a teaser, but he will reappear in Chapter 10 and he will have a much more important role in Book 2.
Congatulation Liquid!If I'm not mistaken more or less a week ago your story celebrate his second anniversary!
Thank you! It's still amazing for me that the story has been going for so long now. May there be many more anniversaries to celebrate And I am so excited for some of the things that will come up in the future. The remainder of Book 1, but so many scenes in Book 2 and even 3 which I can't wait to write down at last and they come closer with every part.
I was half tempted to post a new image showing that I came back but,since this is the third or fourth time that I resume my read of this sto… morery,I will refrain to do that!XD
Random Thoughs about the last parts of this story:
* I will not be surprised if Alan,now that he escape the city (and probably we won't see him for a long time),will meet Dimitri the Wise
* Lord Jarow of the Bridges will never be forgotten (such an epic way to die)
* Lucas VS Torvin was a very cool fight
* I'm curious to know what Anturion want to take from the archive
* And another of the five original PoV's (aka Lyra) bite the dust! I must admit that I expected her death first or then but,Wow,such a gruesome way to die!(Rosalie will remember that forever).
* I'm the only one that feel a little sorry for Urid?After he was injured at the warehouse Urid's fate was to die and the only thing that we managed to change is the chapter of his death
* The others reade… [view original content]
Yes, yes good. Let's do this. It's the right thing to do. Garthon is so dead. Clint killed him. Totally dead.
Hm, maybe. Garthon will have one more part in this chapter, during which we'll see how that stuff actually went down. It should be considered that he is roughly half of Clint's size, so he is at a disadvantage, though he gets to do the first strike. If he makes it count, there's nothing to worry about. If not... well, that would make things a lot more complicated.
I like how I knew why they said don't open the gate before it was explicitly said. Well I guess that is where that is.
Yeah, I think I forgot to mention that Torvin's part happened chronologically before Lyria's. I mean, I somehow had to show just how the beast got into the city, since the last time we've seen it has been in the forest in Richard's storyline. I hope everything makes more sense now.
Yeah I don't really want to go help Maya and her friends. I want to see Mathea's reaction to some dead ones. That'll be good. Oh Knifefang, your death has been the most tragic of this chapter.
Maya? Interesting theory. Though keep in mind, Maya actually survived the end of her latest part, where they threw back the Second Sons that were assaulting them, although it ended with Knightfang dead and Rodrik escaping. That means, they are not exactly in immediate need of help, if that's truly them down there.
I'm starting to believe there is going to be a clear winner in this battle. Damnit Hobert, even if you stayed hiding in the castle that would have been safer. Stupid Second Sons I thought more of you died. So unless Donnel Selwyn is coming coming on the first light the fifth day at dawn to the east, it's clear for me.
It's starting to look better for the Ironborn again, doesn't it? They have a huge advantage in terms of numbers and even in terms of skill when compared to the common city guard. Their lack of discipline was a problem in the beginning, but in the current chaos, it doesn't mean that much of a disadvantage anymore. The Stormlanders are the only ones that can truly hold against them, but even they can, at best, only give the city more time, since they are still massively outnumbered. Basically, the only chance Raylansfair has in such a case is to return to the castle and close the gates, which Sherryl kind of ruined for them.
[Chase after the fleeing guards]
Yes, yes good. Let's do this. It's the right thing to do. Garthon is so dead. Clint killed him. Totally … moredead.
I like how I knew why they said don't open the gate before it was explicitly said. Well I guess that is where that is.
[Hold her back]
Yeah I don't really want to go help Maya and her friends. I want to see Mathea's reaction to some dead ones. That'll be good. Oh Knifefang, your death has been the most tragic of this chapter.
I'm starting to believe there is going to be a clear winner in this battle. Damnit Hobert, even if you stayed hiding in the castle that would have been safer. Stupid Second Sons I thought more of you died. So unless Donnel Selwyn is coming coming on the first light the fifth day at dawn to the east, it's clear for me.
Hm, maybe. Garthon will have one more part in this chapter, during which we'll see how that stuff actually went down. It should be considered that he is roughly half of Clint's size, so he is at a disadvantage, though he gets to do the first strike. If he makes it count, there's nothing to worry about. If not... well, that would make things a lot more complicated.
One does not simply kill Cleaver Clint.
Yeah, I think I forgot to mention that Torvin's part happened chronologically before Lyria's. I mean, I somehow had to show just how the beast got into the city, since the last time we've seen it has been in the forest in Richard's storyline. I hope everything makes more sense now.
And I was thinking it was the beast getting out of the city. Well, what goes in must come out, preferably in the path of the raiders.
Maya? Interesting theory. Though keep in mind, Maya actually survived the end of her latest part, where they threw back the Second Sons that were assaulting them, although it ended with Knightfang dead and Rodrik escaping. That means, they are not exactly in immediate need of help, if that's truly them down there.
Yeah I remember, but I don't really Mathea to help them with their injuries. I just want to see how pissed Mathea is going to be when she finds a half-eaten snack.
It's starting to look better for the Ironborn again, doesn't it? They have a huge advantage in terms of numbers and even in terms of skill when compared to the common city guard. Their lack of discipline was a problem in the beginning, but in the current chaos, it doesn't mean that much of a disadvantage anymore. The Stormlanders are the only ones that can truly hold against them, but even they can, at best, only give the city more time, since they are still massively outnumbered. Basically, the only chance Raylansfair has in such a case is to return to the castle and close the gates, which Sherryl kind of ruined for them.
Ah Sherryl. Going to start that war soon. Well at least Leonard is where the Stormlanders. If only Vaasrand would join them so he could be safe, I like him. It's interesting how the objective is to capture the city and not just pillage the archive and leave. Besides Edward Anturion's ambitious plans, it's puzzling at a glance. But we know Sherryl works for Mullendore and she is on fine grounds with Anturion. Mullendore gets Anturion to attack city for archive thing and also to get rid of problems such as Harris and the knights, people who would oppose him. Then I imagine that if Mullendore hadn't been injured he and Petyr Vyrwel's army would be close and come in to "liberate" the city from the raiders, who Anturion obviously doesn't care about because. Now that he is injured, as much as I don't want to say it, Mullendore and Vyrwel are/were the city's "hope" and even when they do come, which, they will, it will be far too late and many people will die for nothing, unless Anturion decides to withdraw or another Reach army (which I think is possible, but unlikely as I have joked with House Selwyn), as they said in Aliens, game over man.
Yes, yes good. Let's do this. It's the right thing to do. Garthon is so dead. Clint killed him. Totally dead.
Hm, maybe. Garthon wil… morel have one more part in this chapter, during which we'll see how that stuff actually went down. It should be considered that he is roughly half of Clint's size, so he is at a disadvantage, though he gets to do the first strike. If he makes it count, there's nothing to worry about. If not... well, that would make things a lot more complicated.
I like how I knew why they said don't open the gate before it was explicitly said. Well I guess that is where that is.
Yeah, I think I forgot to mention that Torvin's part happened chronologically before Lyria's. I mean, I somehow had to show just how the beast got into the city, since the last time we've seen it has been in the forest in Richard's storyline. I hope everything makes more sense now.
Yeah I don't really want to go help Maya and her … [view original content]
While I can't comment on where, when and what Dimitri is, it's safe to say that he is not in the city, so Alan is unlikely to stumble upon him. I can also reveal that it won't be that long until we will see him again.
I was half tempted to post a new image showing that I came back but,since this is the third or fourth time that I resume my read of this sto… morery,I will refrain to do that!XD
Welcome back! Ah, it's great that you have returned, it's always a pleasure reading your random thoughts
I will not be surprised if Alan,now that he escape the city (and probably we won't see him for a long time),will meet Dimitri the Wise
Actually, Alan has ran to the city, not from it, the part where he ran away took place in Richard's farmhouse. While I can't comment on where, when and what Dimitri is, it's safe to say that he is not in the city, so Alan is unlikely to stumble upon him. I can also reveal that it won't be that long until we will see him again.
Lord Jarow of the Bridges will never be forgotten (such an epic way to die)
Yes, he will be remembered for sure! At the very least, the citizens of Raylansfair will remember him,… [view original content]
[Attack the city centre] This is definitely the better option for Torvin. Honestly, in his position, I couldn't care less about those soldiers. He should worry about Garthon more.
[Check it out] Eh, why not. Could be something good, I don't see anything really bad coming out of this option.
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands o… morento his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod… [view original content]
Lyria is among the PoV's I have originally planned to spare for longer.
Really?I found obvious that you will kill her because she was the only PoV without a storyline and,from a writer PoV,it was obvious her end;btw I like that you choice to spare Rosalie since it will be interesting read how she will change from now on.
You know what, it is amazing that I haven't thought about this detail. For me, I considered Lucas to be the longest living character now, but you are absolutely right. Clayton appeared in the prologue, so that makes him the longest living character, even above Lucas. It also means that he is the only living character from the prologue.
If you,and others, are curious this is the top five of the longest living characters inside this story:
Clayton Teryl
Lucas Flowers
Jenna Harking
Torvin Breaker
Harren Hoare
His involvement in Chapter 4 and 5 has been only a teaser, but he will reappear in Chapter 10 and he will have a much more important role in Book 2
I was half tempted to post a new image showing that I came back but,since this is the third or fourth time that I resume my read of this sto… morery,I will refrain to do that!XD
Welcome back! Ah, it's great that you have returned, it's always a pleasure reading your random thoughts
I will not be surprised if Alan,now that he escape the city (and probably we won't see him for a long time),will meet Dimitri the Wise
Actually, Alan has ran to the city, not from it, the part where he ran away took place in Richard's farmhouse. While I can't comment on where, when and what Dimitri is, it's safe to say that he is not in the city, so Alan is unlikely to stumble upon him. I can also reveal that it won't be that long until we will see him again.
Lord Jarow of the Bridges will never be forgotten (such an epic way to die)
Yes, he will be remembered for sure! At the very least, the citizens of Raylansfair will remember him,… [view original content]
Really?I found obvious that you will kill her because she was the only PoV without a storyline and,from a writer PoV,it was obvious her end;btw I like that you choice to spare Rosalie since it will be interesting read how she will change from now on.
Yes indeed, my original plan has involved Rosalie getting killed and Lyria spending her time in Book 2 trying to get vengeance on Wolfius. It got cut because I realized that Rosalie makes for a far more intriguing character now. Parts of Lyria's planned storyline, if heavily changed, have ended up getting reworked into another characters storyline now, though less focussed on a revenge angle. I just figured that it would have been rather repetitive after a while and wouldn't have added that much for Lyria's character.
If you,and others, are curious this is the top five of the longest living characters inside this story:
This really drives home how many of the old characters have perished on the way. Dairon, Septon Corbin, Lady Halla, now Harris. Ah, killing off these characters from the very early parts of the story is never an easy thing, though I'm afraid Harris won't remain the only long-running character to meet his end in the coming chapters.
Wait a sec,this book will have a tenth chapter?
Oh, no, that was a typo Book 1 will have only 9 chapters. However, it is likely that Book 2 will have a tenth chapter, since I will probably need more than three chapters for the second act of it (which would be Act 5). But Book 1 will be over after Chapter 9.
Lyria is among the PoV's I have originally planned to spare for longer.
Really?I found obvious that you will kill her because she wa… mores the only PoV without a storyline and,from a writer PoV,it was obvious her end;btw I like that you choice to spare Rosalie since it will be interesting read how she will change from now on.
You know what, it is amazing that I haven't thought about this detail. For me, I considered Lucas to be the longest living character now, but you are absolutely right. Clayton appeared in the prologue, so that makes him the longest living character, even above Lucas. It also means that he is the only living character from the prologue.
If you,and others, are curious this is the top five of the longest living characters inside this story:
* Clayton Teryl
* Lucas Flowers
* Jenna Harking
* Torvin Breaker
* Harren Hoare
His involvement in Chapter 4 and 5 has been only a teaser, but he will r… [view original content]
And I was thinking it was the beast getting out of the city. Well, what goes in must come out, preferably in the path of the raiders.
Oh no, it broke through the gates and charged through the raiders then. I originally wantd to show this part before Lyria's part, but decided against it because I wanted to keep the appearance of the beast as much a secret as possible (even though some of you had it figured out already).
Yeah I remember, but I don't really Mathea to help them with their injuries. I just want to see how pissed Mathea is going to be when she finds a half-eaten snack.
I believe you'll surely get your wish. There are not many things that can truly piss her off, but murdering her patients, well, that one's certainly among them. Wolfius is lucky that he hasn't pissed off someone like Daghan Oxus with his actions so far. But Mathea... well, she has made it clear that she is against killing, but Wolfius' actions will definitely test her convictions.
Ah Sherryl. Going to start that war soon. Well at least Leonard is where the Stormlanders. If only Vaasrand would join them so he could be safe, I like him. It's interesting how the objective is to capture the city and not just pillage the archive and leave. Besides Edward Anturion's ambitious plans, it's puzzling at a glance. But we know Sherryl works for Mullendore and she is on fine grounds with Anturion. Mullendore gets Anturion to attack city for archive thing and also to get rid of problems such as Harris and the knights, people who would oppose him. Then I imagine that if Mullendore hadn't been injured he and Petyr Vyrwel's army would be close and come in to "liberate" the city from the raiders, who Anturion obviously doesn't care about because. Now that he is injured, as much as I don't want to say it, Mullendore and Vyrwel are/were the city's "hope" and even when they do come, which, they will, it will be far too late and many people will die for nothing, unless Anturion decides to withdraw or another Reach army (which I think is possible, but unlikely as I have joked with House Selwyn), as they said in Aliens, game over man.
Hm, I obviously can't reveal any spoiler here, but you might be on to something. Clearly, Edward's goal of getting whatever he wants from the archive doesn't fully match with Torvin's objective to raid the city, at least not at first glance. There is more behind it, behind all of it. This doesn't necessarily mean that Anturion and Mullendore are allies, but it doesn't speak against it either. All I can say is, you will have your answer until the end of Book 1.
Hm, maybe. Garthon will have one more part in this chapter, during which we'll see how that stuff actually went down. It should be considere… mored that he is roughly half of Clint's size, so he is at a disadvantage, though he gets to do the first strike. If he makes it count, there's nothing to worry about. If not... well, that would make things a lot more complicated.
One does not simply kill Cleaver Clint.
Yeah, I think I forgot to mention that Torvin's part happened chronologically before Lyria's. I mean, I somehow had to show just how the beast got into the city, since the last time we've seen it has been in the forest in Richard's storyline. I hope everything makes more sense now.
And I was thinking it was the beast getting out of the city. Well, what goes in must come out, preferably in the path of the raiders.
Maya? Interesting theory. Though keep in mind, Maya actually survived the end of her latest part, where … [view original content]
Hm... this is a hard one. Arryk is pretty much a badass, but the same goes to Samuel. I'd actually give Samuel the advantage here, because he is not only strong, but also fast. They are both really skilled, but in a fight against someone like Samuel, Arryk's armour is probably going to put him at a disadvantage, since Samuel will easily outmaneuver him.
Terroma vs Vaasrand
It depends. A Terroma in his prime would likely win against Vaasrand, but the Terroma we have seen in the story has been way past his prime. Against such an opponent, Vaasrand has not only good chances, I'd even say he would win. It would still be a challenge, but Vaasrand is in a physically far better condition and that can't be ignored.
John Gutten vs Raenna Minsworth
Well... I like Raenna, she's a tough one and she can fight, but I must admit, she wouldn't stand a chance against John in a proper fight. She can slice through common mooks, but John is far more than that. And his sword would give him far more of an advantage over her. At the best, Raenna would manage to wound him, but John can be a beast in combat and I am pretty sure he would take her down in the end.
Damon Greyjoy vs Wolfius Woodbark
Obviously, Wolfius is the more dangerous fighter, with his warg powers and such. However, I would say that Damon would win if they were to fight, specifically because of Wolfius' flaws. He is reckless and he loves to play with his victims. It works well with scared smallfolk like Lyria, but even Richard was able to give him a serious beating. Damon is calm and ruthless, he wouldn't be scared by Wolfius' attempts and would kill him the moment he would try to put on a show. Wolfius' own arrogance would be his downfall, whereas Damon doesn't have such a prominent flaw. If Wolfius would get over his need to assert dominance over his victims, he would win for sure, by just warging into a direwolf and ripping Damon to shreds, or by directly warging into Damon and shattering his mind, but he doesn't do that very often, not when it is far more fun to put a victim through hell first.
Valarr Roux vs Aldus Ermo
Haha, poor Aldus. The only chance he has to win against Valarr would be if Valarr would die of laughter. Nah, Aldus might be strong, but he is quite possible among the weakest fighters in the story, because he lacks the spine to actually fight.
[Attack the city centre]
[Check it out]
Fantasy Fights!!!
Arryk Bulwer vs Samuel Harrington
Terroma vs Vaasrand
John Gutten vs Raenna Minsworth
Damon Greyjoy vs Wolfius Woodbark
Valarr Roux vs Aldus Ermo
Arryk Bulwer vs Samuel Harrington
Hm... this is a hard one. Arryk is pretty much a badass, but the same goes to Samuel. I'd actually… more give Samuel the advantage here, because he is not only strong, but also fast. They are both really skilled, but in a fight against someone like Samuel, Arryk's armour is probably going to put him at a disadvantage, since Samuel will easily outmaneuver him.
Terroma vs Vaasrand
It depends. A Terroma in his prime would likely win against Vaasrand, but the Terroma we have seen in the story has been way past his prime. Against such an opponent, Vaasrand has not only good chances, I'd even say he would win. It would still be a challenge, but Vaasrand is in a physically far better condition and that can't be ignored.
John Gutten vs Raenna Minsworth
Well... I like Raenna, she's a tough one and she can fight, but I must admit, she wouldn't stand a chance against John in a proper fight.… [view original content]
No, I wouldn't go that far as to say every human in the story. He can quite likely warg into weaker minds who are unable to resist him, but stronger ones have to be worn down first. But even if he can't, just the attempt is extremely painful for the one he tries to warg into and should give him plenty of advantage.
No, I wouldn't go that far as to say every human in the story. He can quite likely warg into weaker minds who are unable to resist him, but … morestronger ones have to be worn down first. But even if he can't, just the attempt is extremely painful for the one he tries to warg into and should give him plenty of advantage.
Obviously Vaasrand of Lys, Marak (can't be warged if you're DEAD), Alysanne Waters (too crazy), Dimitri the Wise, Donnel Selwyn, Leonard Constantine, and the most clearly of them Wolfius Woodbark.
Plenty! Every character with a will strong enough. Actually, Damon could quite easily resist him, but as I said, it would confuse and hurt him, giving Wolfius a big advantage even though he's not a particularly skilled physical fighter. The typical prey for Wolfius in such a position would be weak-minded characters like Roach, completely willing subjects like Kreep, or people whom he has either physically hurt or emotionally broken.
Plenty! Every character with a will strong enough. Actually, Damon could quite easily resist him, but as I said, it would confuse and hurt h… moreim, giving Wolfius a big advantage even though he's not a particularly skilled physical fighter. The typical prey for Wolfius in such a position would be weak-minded characters like Roach, completely willing subjects like Kreep, or people whom he has either physically hurt or emotionally broken.
I wouldn't say they'd stomp, but they'd win, I think. Vaasrand and the direwolf are evenly matched, whereas Leonard is definitely superior to Kreep as a fighter. So, they have an advantage, even if it isn't too big. If Leonard manages to kill Kreep quickly, he and Vaasrand can team up on the direwolf. If the direwolf manages to kill Vaasrand quickly, Leonard will be in trouble, but it is unlikely that it would manage to do that without getting seriously hurt in the process.
Plenty! Every character with a will strong enough. Actually, Damon could quite easily resist him, but as I said, it would confuse and hurt h… moreim, giving Wolfius a big advantage even though he's not a particularly skilled physical fighter. The typical prey for Wolfius in such a position would be weak-minded characters like Roach, completely willing subjects like Kreep, or people whom he has either physically hurt or emotionally broken.
I certainly have expected you to choose the second one, though I was not sure which one you'd choose in the first. Both hold potential to really screw Raylansfair over, though to be fair, attacking the city centre makes things a bit more likely to get really dire for a lot of characters soon. However, it is the choice that will work the best with my plans for Torvin's next part.
The next part should be out later today. I have started writing and I am positive that I will manage to finish it in the near future. It will include PoV's for Willfred and Alys. The last time we saw Willfred was a long time ago and I think he is the PoV who hadn't had a part in the longest time save for Jaron and Edrick, who are going to make their big return in the next chapter. Willfred was informed of the attack in his last part. He decided to gather his men to plan their next move, when he witnessed a discussion between one of the guardsmen and Mathea, during which he supported Mathea's wish to leave the castle. Meanwhile, Alys was last seen in front of the archive, where Edward explained a little bit on how the archives' defensive strategies work. Apparently her blood, being almost pure First Men blood, can form a useful protection against the apparently dangerous illusions that can be encountered down there. After a bit of hesitating, Alys agreed to give Edward some of her blood, but when he asked for more, to protect some of their Ironborn companions who haven't gotten any protection yet, she refused, fearing for her own life in the process. Her next part should be... interesting. I should also note that I will try not to leave the voting open for too long, probably only until Sunday to put out another part in this week, just so that you know.
He would fall under the "Easy prey"-category on account of being dim-witted and already being used to follow orders. Actually, he would probably be one of the most dangerous people Wolfius could warg into, because someone with his strength paired with Wolfius' arguably cunning mind would be terrifying.
At a steady pace, Willfred walked down the hallway that led from his room. The heavy armour slightly hindered his movement, but there was no way he'd leave the castle without it. And there was no way he wouldn't leave the castle. Willfred had thought about it closely, as he had carefully put on each piece of his armour, from the quilted gambeson to the leather and finally the heavy plate.
The city was in danger. More than that, Willfred wasn't even sure if the guardsmen could hold it on their own. The Stormlander princess had realized that and Willfred had to admit that she was right. Of course she hadn't asked for his help, but Willfred wouldn't just stay behind, leaving all of the glory to her and her soldiers.
“Fuck...”, someone mumbled, walking through the open doorway to his right and stumbling into Willfred, who was paying attention too late. He remained standing, but the man who bumped into him staggered backwards. Willfred saw that he was in his age, though a bit smaller, with a skinny build and dark brown hair with thick sideburns. Crystal blue eyes were staring at him in surprise.
“Oh, I didn't see you”, he said and took a deep bow. “My apologies, Ser” Willfred gave him a nod to calm him down, having noticed the man's nervousness, though it did little to calm him down. “Is everything alright?”, he asked then.
The man sighed and shook his head. “I'm afraid no, Ser”, he answered in a soft tone. “I've lost something really important and just can't find it” He gulped. “And I bet Helen's going to be so pissed about it...” The name caused Willfred to listen up. “Helenys Bellward?”, he asked and the man gave him a nod. “Yeah, you know her?”
“Met her briefly during the meeting this morning”, Willfred answered, before he extended his hand. “The name is Willfred Reyne” Slightly nervous, the man grabbed his hand and shook his briefly. “Aren Charlton”, he introduced himself. “I am Lady Helenys' servant. It's a pleasure, Ser Willfred. The lady was speaking about you”
Willfred's smile faded. “Surely nothing good”, he answered, grimly remembering his failure during the meeting. Aren shook his head. “Oh, that's not it”, he said. “She only mentioned that you're looking for allies for your kingdom, which she found to be an admirable goal” Willfred raised an eyebrow. “She does?”, he asked. “I didn't have the feeling Lady Helenys would be particularly moved by my attempts”
“I can assure you she absolutely is”, Aren answered and his friendly smile managed to outshine the still lingering nervousness behind his eyes. “In fact, if you wish to speak to her once this is all over, I'm sure you can count on her support” Willfred gave him a surprised look, before nodding. “That would be highly appreciated. Can you arrange a meeting?”
Quickly, Aren gave him a nod, though his smile faded just as it came. “Yeah, though I can guarantee that she's going to be pissed at me”, he said. “That thing I'm looking for, it is very dear to her” Willfred gave him a curious look. “You got me there”, he admitted. “What is this thing you're looking for?”
Aren sighed. “It's not exactly a thing”, he revealed. “Taros, Lady Helenys' pet is missing” He gulped. “Her pet manticore” Willfred's eyes widened, as he remembered what the Maester at Castamere had said about manticores. Small, but fast and venomous enough to kill a grown man in seconds. “You're telling me there's a manticore on the loose in this castle?”
Now, Aren shook his head. “I don't think he's on the loose”, he answered firmly. “That would make even less sense. One of the guardsmen helped me to carry him and the lady's other belongings to her room. He was firmly in his box then, I personally locked it” He clenched his fist. “Someone must have unlocked the box somehow”
“This is... even more concerning”, Willfred remarked. “That means someone's walking around with a manticore at their disposal” He did not mention it, but the thought was unsettling in general. It wasn't just the fact that someone stole it, it was the fact that such an animal existed in this castle in general.
“My concern entirely”, Aren said. “Worst part is, in the current situation, there's too much going on to actually search for it” His expression darkened. “Whomever it was that took Taros, he did it on purpose during this attack”, he muttered and a slightly hopeful look appeared on his face. “Say, Ser, you seem to realize what problems this could bring. Would you be willing to help me? Who knows that this thief wants to do with manticore venom”
Just in this moment and before Willfred could make up his mind about helping the man or not, voices reached his ear, coming from the courtyard. He glanced out of the window to his right and suppressed a heavy curse as he saw two familiar people, locked in a heated argument.
“This is madness, Roger!”, Tallian barked. “Our men should remain here in the castle. They have no obligation to fight for these people” Roger looked similarly angered. “Don't be such a coward, Vashord!”, he snarled in return. “I know you don't give a damn about the smallfolk here, but even then, fighting is the right thing to do. Considering how things went down for us so far, we surely need to make a good impression”
Willfred sighed heavily as he clenched his fists in growing anger. “I'm sorry, Aren”, he said wholeheartedly. “I'm afraid there's something down there that forces my attention” He shook his head. “Those two are going to drive me mad one of these days with their arguing”, he added in frustration.
To his surprise, Aren seemed to understand him. He gave him a nod. “Ah, of course”, he said and seemed only slightly disappointed. “I didn't want to interrupt your own concerns. Just... when this is over, I'd be glad if you could mention my problem to some of the higher-ups. In the wrong hands, Taros can be the most deadly weapon in this entire city”
“I will”, Willfred promised, as he turned to the hallway again, leaving Aren on his own. What the man had said was concerning and under other circumstances, he would have helped him, if only so that the creature would be properly contained again. But right now, the Ironborn were a more immediate problem.
He reached the courtyard shortly afterwards, having dragged himself in his heavy armour down the stairs. It was the second time he wore it for more than just a tourney. The first had been at Lord Crakehall's side, weeks ago and unlike then, the current encounter held quite the danger for him and his men.
“It's good that you're not in command here!”, Tallian snarled, as Willfred stepped through the door and onto the courtyard. “Just look at the garrison they have left here” He made the word 'garrison' sound like a curse. Then, he spotted Willfred. “Speaking of the Stranger”, he said as he raised his hand, waving it towards Willfred. “Hurry up, boy. We got a problem”
Willfred came closer, noticing the angered expressions on both men's faces. A wave of relief flashed through him, as he could only imagine how much worse the discussion would have been if he would have remained upstairs for longer. “Uncle”, he greeted Roger, before he gave Tallian a nod. “General. What's the matter?”
“The matter is that your uncle wishes to take our men out there, into the fray!”, Tallian explained and Roger gave him a nod. “Yeah, and I told you some good reasons about it”, he replied. “Right now, our mission is at stake. We don't know anything about the future of this city, or its next lord. Harris, Hobert, even Princess Argella, they won't help us after the events that happened”
“You mean after you tried to screw them all over”, Tallian replied and glared at Willfred. “I don't even blame you, boy, but your uncle here, he should have known better” The condescending tone he spoke these words with caused anger to flare up inside of Willfred. “Actually, general, I already made up my mind. I will leave this castle and fight down in the streets”, he said.
Roger gave him a proud look, while Tallian shook his head in increasing frustration. “Do as you like, boy”, he spat. “It's me who has to tell your father how you died later on” He shrugged. “See if I care. But at least leave the soldiers behind”
Roger narrowed his eyes. “What is it, Vashord? Are you too afraid to fight?”, he asked and Tallian clenched his fists. “I will not go down there either way”, he said and looked at Willfred. “I am a general of the Rock and you will not order me around. If you insist on being a fool, then be a fool, but at least don't drag your men to the grave with you”
“Well and why should we leave them?”, Roger asked. “They are Willfred's soldiers. A dozen of them, yes, but every man counts down there” Tallian sighed. “Every man counts up here as well”, he explained. “Seriously, look at the garrison. Most of them are out in the city, to fight a hopeless battle. That Stormlander girl is out there too, with all of her men. Think about it, who is actually left to defend the castle?”
“The walls. The gates. A dozen men can hold this castle against a hundred”, Roger replied, before he looked at Willfred. “As I said, I will go out there with you. You're doing the right thing. But what do you think about Vashord's concern?” Both men looked at him with anticipation, the one with pride, the other with growing anger and Willfred knew, he had to make a decision.
[Take the soldiers with you][Leave the soldiers at the castle]
Alys
Alys' hand was still aching as the small group made their way through the archive, though at least the bleeding had stopped and she felt a lot less light-headed. This was a good sign, wasn't it? Nonetheless, she felt fear rising as they made their way past high shelves stacked with dusty old tomes. So many books in one place, it was an intimidating sight.
“So, can you tell me now what you're actually looking for?”, she asked half-heartedly, not even daring to hope for an explanation at this point. Edward glanced over at her and in the light of the torches that Carvin and Alisa were holding, she saw that he was smiling.
“It's actually not only for me”, he revealed. “My brother, Nain, he has just as much interest in this as I have” Alys sighed. “That... doesn't really answer anything”, she replied and he chuckle. “I suppose you deserve a better answer”, he finally said. “But before we get there, let me ask you a question. Do you know what made the Valyrian Hegemony so magnicent?”
Alys narrowed her eyes. “Dragons”, she replied without even having to think about it. “The hegemony had dragons, thousands upon thousands, and they tore through every single opponent they faced” She sighed, glancing past Alisa and towards a set of old books. “But the Hegemony is no more”
“Yet dragons remain”, Alys replied and Edward gave her an enthusiastic nod. “Precisely”, he said. “Dragons remain. Not many of them, but he who controls the dragons...” Alys' eyes widened as she realized what he was trying to imply. “You mean...”, she started, but he cut her off, by pointing to a set of stairs that led downstairs. “We're here”, he said.
Carefully, he walked down the stairs, the first to reach the door, though he stopped in front of it, looking at one of the Ironborn. “You do it”, he ordered and the man gave him a distrustful look. Next to Alys, Wilbur tensed up. “I don't like this”, he whispered and she gave him a nod. “Me neither”, she admitted, as she noticed Alisa's stern glare. The woman put a finger onto her lips.
Visibly nervous, the Ironborn approached the door. He moved the hand to the doorknob and turned it. With a slight creak, it swung open, revealing only darkness behind. “Splendid”, Edward said, as he gave the man a push, causing him to stumble into the hallway behind. “Now go ahead”
Seeing how the man didn't immediately drop dead, Edward followed. Carvin gave Alys a short nod, as the whole group started moving. Though Alys was tensed up and she noticed how the same applied to Wilbur. “I really don't like this”, he hissed, before both walked into the hallway behind the door.
“We need to go to the left”, Edward said with determination, as he turned into the direction. Alys followed his gaze and shivered, not only from the cold, stale air that filled the entire hallway. Slowly, they continued to walk and Alys' breath went faster, as the bad feeling inside of her grew.
“What I wanted to say is, yes, the dragons remain”, Edward continued their earlier conversation, as they walked down the hallway, quickly speeding up their steps. “Only three of them of course, but imagine what a man can do with these” Alys raised an eyebrow. “But House Targaryen has them”, she stated and he chuckled. “They do. Me and Nain, we aim to change that”
“And some old book can help you exactly how?”, Alys asked. Edward smirked at her. “Oh, it won't be the only thing I need”, he said cryptically. “But it will be a step. Not the first. By far not the last” He opened his mouth to say more, but one of the Ironborn cut him off. “What... what is that?”, the man, a young raider with long hair and a full beard asked, as he pointed at Edward.
No... he pointed at something behind him. Alys followed his stare, though she saw only darkness outside of the dim light the torches provided. “What is that?”, the man asked again, this time his voice sounding more shrill and with obvious fear. He stumbled backwards, while the others only stared at him with confusion and growing nervousness.
Finally, his eyes widened and he outright started to scream, in a way Alys never heard a man screaming before. It was not pain, not rage, it was pure fear, more than anything she had ever felt herself, more than she ever thought would be possible to fear. “RUN!”, he screamed, as his eyes moved upwards, to the ceiling. “NO!”
He turned around to run, but he didn't get far. Just a few steps later, he fell to the ground, his screams getting even more high-pitched and Alys notice that he hasn't fallen on his own accord. Something had tackled him.
Alys confusion grew to outright horror, when deep claw marks started to appear on the frantically screaming man. “GET IT OFF ME!”, he screamed. “GET IT OFF ME!” An then, Alys started to scream as well, shrill and almost louder than the dying man, as she watched him getting ripped to shreds by something neither of them was able to see. Blood splattered across the floor, just as she turned around to run away from the gruesome scene.
Carvin stopped her, as she bumped directly into him. “Don't look!”, he yelled, as he pulled her into a stern hug. “Don't look at him!” The raider's screams got cut off just as hers turned into sobs. In the silence that followed, these sobs were the only thing audible. That was until Wilbur broke it. “Fuck”, he mumbled rapidly. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
Heavily breathing, Alys looked up, though she refused to turn around, refused to look at the body of the man that had just died. Instead, she glared at Edward, who was staring at the scenery with an amazed smile. “Fascinating”, he said. “I suppose he wasn't really a First Man then” He gave Alys a wink, as he turned around, ready to continue his journey.
“Wait a moment!”, one of the raiders spoke up. Alys recognized the man that had spoken earlier, the one that had insulted Edward. He had a bloodied sygil on his head, but it was visibly different from the one Edward had given himself, Carvin and Wilbur. Crooked, twisted, sloppily painted. “What was that?”, he growled in a deep, threatening tone.
Edward stopped and raised an eyebrow. “This was an experiment”, he answered. “He became a victim of this buildings defence mechanism” Alisa looked up, clearly shaken from what she had just witnessed. “You said they were illusions”, she said and there was a bitter tone in her voice. Edward gave her a nod. “For us. For him,whatever he saw has been quite real”, he said in a discomfortingly jovial tone. He glanced at Alys. “I warned you of the consequences, mylady”
Alys tensed up, still half lying in Carvin's arms, as tears continued to pour down her face. She didn't look at him, didn't look at anyone. She only focussed on the darkness that awaited them down the hallway. “Let's go”, Edward said, as he tried to continue walking. The raider that had argued with him grabbed him by the shoulder, hard enough to make Alisa put a hand onto her sword. “Not so fast”, he ordered.
Edward paused, as he gave him a mildly curious look. Mostly, he was focussing on the crudely drawn sigil on the man's forehead. “Yes?”, he asked and the raider narrowed his eyes. “This man just died and you expect us to follow you?” He shook his head. “Well, I'm leaving! Protection or not, I'm done with you!”
With a twisted smile, Edward took a step back from the raider as he noticed confusion flashing over his face. “Ah yes, about the protection”, he hissed, as he followed the raiders stare, into the darkness. “No...”, the man mumbled and tightened the grip around his axe. “You are dead!”
Curiosity formed on Edward's face. “What are you seeing?”, he asked, though the raider ignored him at first. Fear, but also rage were clearly visible in his eyes. “You are dead!”, he hissed and Edward raised an eyebrow. Both, Alys and Wilbur took a step away from the scene and the young Ironborn looked absolutely shaken.
“What are you seeing?”, Edward asked again and this time, the raider gave him an answer. “My brother”, he gasped and he looked back at the darkness. He raised his axe. “I killed you once, you bastard. Come closer and I'll do it again!” He waited for a second, before he raised his axe. With a scream, half terror half rage, he slammed his axe down onto something only he was able to see. Whatever it was, the weapon went right through it.
“No!”, the raider yelled and just a second later, something terrible happened. Something invisible but undeniably sharp sliced through his neck, ripping out a good part of his throat. He went onto his knees, still looking up, his eyes widening with horror. Edward meanwhile looked simply fascinated, as he moved his hand to the position the invisible attacker must have stood. He only grabbed thin air. “Fascinating”, he gasped.
Now, there was nothing keeping the remaining Ironborn from fleeing. The two men that hadn't received any protection turned to run away, only Wilbur remained. And Alys felt terrible. She could have saved them. Should have saved them! It was only a bit of blood... She started to shake, but in the midst of this, she heard something. “Alys....”, someone whispered.
She looked up and at Wilbur. “What?”, she asked and the raider gave her a look that was confused, despite the horror he otherwise felt. “What?”, he asked in return. “Is there anything?” Alys shook her head. “I thought you've said something”, she mumbled. “Alys....”, the voice whispered again and this time she tensed up.
“I heard something”, she said and her voice shivered with fear. “Someone's calling my name” Seeking for help, she glanced at Edward, who narrowed his eyes. “You are from the blood of the First Men, right?”, he asked and she gave him a nod. “Y... yes”, she stuttered. “As far as I know”
“Concerning”, Edward mumbled, visibly disturbed by her revelation. “Alisa, get ready, just in case. I don't want to end like these men” Alisa gulped, though she reached for her knife regardless. “And now come on, we have to continue”
“Not me”, Wilbur said firmly. “I'm out of here” He glared at Edward, but to Alys' surprise, the pirate just shrugged. “Do what you want then. You're not worth the effort it would take to stop you”, he snarled. “The rest, come on! I don't have all day” He turned to leave, just as Alys felt Wilbur's hand on her shoulder. “Alys, come on”, he hissed. “Let's get the hell out of here!”
[Take the soldiers with you] If they don't bring the soldiers then there's no point in going at all. The only reason to help would be to make a difference in the fight and two men won't make that much of a difference.
[Leave with Wilbur] Man, screw Edward! This is insane and Edward's proven that he has no concern for the lives of those around him. I see no good reason to stay.
Willfred
At a steady pace, Willfred walked down the hallway that led from his room. The heavy armour slightly hindered his movement, but … morethere was no way he'd leave the castle without it. And there was no way he wouldn't leave the castle. Willfred had thought about it closely, as he had carefully put on each piece of his armour, from the quilted gambeson to the leather and finally the heavy plate.
The city was in danger. More than that, Willfred wasn't even sure if the guardsmen could hold it on their own. The Stormlander princess had realized that and Willfred had to admit that she was right. Of course she hadn't asked for his help, but Willfred wouldn't just stay behind, leaving all of the glory to her and her soldiers.
“Fuck...”, someone mumbled, walking through the open doorway to his right and stumbling into Willfred, who was paying attention too late. He remained standing, but the man who bumped into him staggered backwards. Wi… [view original content]
Comments
I considered informing you about this Liquid, but in the end I decided I'd rather have it as a surprise for you as well. "Inform about what?" You ask. Well, the latest part inspired me to do another portrait, and from the comments I can see that the character that I drew this time has been surprisingly well-liked among the readers. So, here she is, Alysanne Waters:
RIP Alysanne, you were broken beyond fixing, but it was still worth trying.
The Serpent and The Slave: Part 4: A Feast for Kings
The water swished down Vaasrand’s throat as fragile hands held his mouth open, the water helped little, as it now swam around his stomach, he was still in pain, and didn’t remember much.
“You’re awake!” the woman exclaimed, removing her hands from his mouth, and proceeding to grab the bowl of soup that sat next to Vaasrand, “Here, drink.” She said, handing him the bowl.
“Thanks.” Vaasrand said, gulping the soup like an animal, it was good, tasting of garlic and ginger, mixed with chicken and carrots, the woman looked pleased to see Vaasrand enjoying it, whilst drinking the soup, Vaasrand thought about what had occurred earlier, the dragon was all he remembered and how it demolished that force with ease, everything else was a blur. “What happened exactly?”
“You were poisoned. Mayran will tell you the rest, you’re supposed to meet him by noon, you have nearly an hour left, so get ready.”
“Nothing else you can tell me?”
“No, Serpent. I am sorry but Mayran specifically said he wanted to tell you, there are clean clothes in the dresser over there” she pointed near the back of the room, towards the window. “You should get ready.” She smiled before leaving the room.
Now Vaasrand was left alone, in his bed, the soup he sipped at whilst looking around, the floor was made of wood as were the walls, a large wooden dresser could be soon aside the glass window that shined with crimson red curtains, the room itself was as wide as a chantry.
Vaasrand began getting up, putting his soup down first, he slowly took of the bedsheets, got up and stretched, his muscles still ached from the long fight that happened earlier, before walking to the dresser he opened the curtains, he saw legions of men beyond the keep gates, Vaasrand was high up so he saw them effortlessly, all sorts of men, from the rough Sellswords, to the tough Ghiscari, and even the beautiful Lyseni were there, all forming rows as if preparing for battle, of course this was due to the tournament that Vaasrand had forgotten all about. Archery contests, sword duels, and fist fights were the main three, but nearly every weapon had its own tournament. And then each winner of those smaller contests would join a grand melee of twenty, a free for all, the winner takes home a title, and a grand prize, Vaasrand thought about joining but he had the basilisks to take care of.
He left the curtains open, and many loud chants found their way into Vaasrand’s room, unknown tongue to Vaasrand, Ghiscari primarily was the one he truly struggled to understand, so he didn’t try, but those Ghiscari were damn loud, they never shut up, always screaming, Vaasrand barely had to deal with them (thankfully) but when he did, his ears would always ring.
He ignored them for now, and continued to the dresser, he opened it. There weren’t many choices, of course Mayran hadn’t put Vaasrand’s armour into the closet, instead there were many different styles of outfits, doublets, robes, even dresses, (dresses, why dresses) ,there were many different colours of all these outfits. Vaasrand took the black doublet, with matching gloves and boots.
He slipped into the doublet, tightened the belt around his waist, and fastened the gloves and boots around his feet and hands. It wasn’t time to leave just yet, a half hour remained, Vaasrand decided to spend the remaining minutes at the window, before that he grabbed the remaining water he had left, returning to the window, he looked to see if he knew anyone, his eyes passed many men and women, none managing to grab his attention, except maybe two or three, he sipped his water slowly while observing them.
One was a sellsword of some sort, he wore a black tabard, and was balding, holding a short axe, roaring a chant to his men, he stood in the city far away from Vaasrand.
Another was a ghiscari, a big oaf, from the looks of it, he screamed aimlessly at other ghiscari, completely bald and stiff, he was standing even further away than the sellsword, but since his screams were so loud Vaasrand heard him as if he were in the room.
And finally, one that was in the courtyard, a YiTish native, a strong build, with flowing black hair, she had a lute in her hand, and a large flock of females around her, strange, but not unheard of, still Vaasrand wondered why all these females were worshipping a female, usually that profession is for men, regardless she must have been good at her work, with so many around her.
Vaasrand finished of his water, tied his hair into a bun, and unarmed he went, closing the door to his room, Vaasrand wasn’t sure where Mayran was exactly since the healer hadn’t told him, so he checked Dyon’s room, which was on the second floor, up the staircase, past some guards coloured red, the walls of the keep were exactly like the walls in his room, black wood, with red curtains, stylish like all of Yi Ti. He continued to the Prince’s room, it didn’t take long before he arrived and knocked on the door.
“Is Mayran in there?” Vaasrand asked the door.
Shifting could be heard behind the door, and faint whispering, and then the door opened, it was a female that appeared, a cupbearer, “Yes, come inside.” He followed her order and entered the room, walking past the cupbearer Vaasrand saw Mayran, a very fat man he was, sitting there on a comfy chair, eating pears from a bowl that sat on a glass table in front of him, he signalled Vaasrand over before speaking, “Vaasrand, good to see you’re up.” He said with a jolly smile, he was pulling apart a pear as he spoke to Vaasrand, soon he began sucking the juice out of it, “Now, the girl’s safe, we’ve been looking after her while you slept.” Mayran continued eating his pears ruthlessly, “Say, before we get down to business, you’re just in time for lunch, would you like anything? We have, stew, deer, rabbit and roast beef, any of those spark your fancy?” he said licking his fat fingers as he just finished his pears.
“No, actually I just ate.” Vaasrand told him.
“Soup, Vaasrand, you had soup, surely you’re still hungry, starving even, you’ve been out for three days.” The cupbearer grabbed Mayran’s empty bowl and left the room.
“Then, I’ll take roast beef.” Vaasrand said with a sullen tone, truthfully he was excited, Vaasrand had never had roast beef before, most dishes like that were reserved for princes, he was surprised Mayran had even offered.
“That’s more like it.” Mayran turned his attention to the cupbearer who had just returned to the room, “Gima, return to Mase and tell him, we’ll take one roasted beef, with a side of vegetables, and one beef stew, and do not forget the wine.”
“What wine would that be, my Prince?” she asked obediently. Mayran is not actually a prince, he was once a normal tax collector before being promoted advisor to Prince Dyon.
“Nevrey of course! What other wine would there be?” he asked the cupbearer angrily, Mayran obviously wasn’t use to this much power, and maybe liked it a little too much.
“Sorry, Prince Mayran, but the others are Brune, Shunjigey, Qousus, Hocat-“
“By the Lion of Night, you’re daft girl! I know all of our damn wines, you don’t need to recite them to me.” He said critically, “Now, go!” he waved her away, “And don’t forget to inform Mase!” he yelled as she scurried out the door. “Sorry about that Vaasrand.”
“Rough day?” Vaasrand asked.
“Yes, with the tournament going on, I haven’t had any rest, and the damn thing hasn’t even started yet.”
“That’s unfortunate, how long will it be on?”
“Three weeks, sometimes more, so many damn tournaments with these festivals, shame we hold them every five years.” Mayran said in an unsupported tone. It was true, these festivals were always out of hand, and with these Basilisks running around it would only worsen things.
“Yea, let’s talk about the contract, what information do you have for me?”
“The contract, yes, about that, a lot has changed since your sleep Vaasrand. There have been multiple attacks at Kyorr, the city has had unrelenting attacks for unknown reasons. It’s bad, in Kyorr half their city is gone, the city was never particularly well defended, but that wouldn’t cause the city walls to fall. My theory is that there’s more than Basilisks at play here.”
Mayran finished just as the cupbearer, Gima, had re-entered the room “Prince Mayran, I have informed Mase of your request, is there anything else I can get you?”
“Yes, we would like the Nevrey now, it will be a stressful day, getting wine in early will make it less stressful.” He told her earnestly.
“Yes, my prince right away.” And again, she was off to retrieve the wine.
“And it gets even worse Vaasrand, something otherworldly is happening in the forest, some bumpkins are calling it magic, absurd if you ask me, magic is scarce in this world, and if it were not for those sorcerers up at Ziobhar, I would not believe in it at all. It could also be connected to the strange happenings in the fallen city of Rueyn, some say what happened there is similar.” Mayran proclaimed.
“Anything specific, any examples of what’s happening in the forest? Vaasrand asked inquistively
“Only a few, Misou Corsh is one, she’s that girl sitting in the courtyard singing to the women, she’s farely young, around nineteen, you may have seen her, she willingly scouted the forest while you were out, she said the jungle was completely devoid of beasts, in fact basilisks were the only ones she encountered, she didn’t say much else, but talking to her may be a good idea, I feel she did not tell me everything, but of course, even if you talk to her, you might have to wait until she wins the tournament, that arrogant ass wins nearly every year.”
Now that Vaasrand thought about it, there weren’t any other beasts, of course he hadn’t wandered deep into the forest, but he still went in there, insects were the only thing visible. “What do you think is happening? In the forest? With these Basilisks? There seems to be something far more at play here than mere basilisks, I was attacked, poisoned and nearly dead. Thanks to that assassin who ambushed us, none of this is adding up.” Vaasrand said sternly.
“Listen, I don’t know Vaasrand, that assassin was strange, for you are nothing but a hunter there would be no reason for someone to kill you. Let alone hire an assassin.” He told Vaasrand boldly.
“Well someone did, and I believe they are a prime reason these basilisks are attacking.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, you of all people know basilisks are not sentient creatures, no one could control or give them commands. Their queen has obviously been disturbed, that’s all.” He said this with an assurance that could rival even a god.
“Then explain the attacks, on Kyorr, Rueyn, or the disappearing creatures, and the burning villages in the forest? Can one single basilisk queen be responsible for all of that?” Vaasrand asked inquisitively.
He had gotten Mayran here, and for a second he paused unaware of what to say, before he finally sighed “That’s your job to find out Vaasrand, that’s why we hired you, to stop this basilisk menace, before it disturbs Yi Ti further, I’ve given you leads to investigate which I believe are strong ones. Now can we drop this, as the wine is just about to arrive.”
The wine came in, on a silver tray with two glass mugs, the cupbearer placed the tray on the table in front of Vaasrand and Mayran, now a luxurious bottle of golden vintage, with the name Nevrey as its label, was in front of Vaasrand, he had heard of YiTish wines supposedly they were so good that other wines tasted like vinegar when compared to the fine YiTish gold, Vaasrand didn’t know his wines, nor did he like them much, ale was more his style, but he was curious to see what it tasted like.
Mayran cocked the wine lid, and it popped right of, a bit of the wine trickled out the top, on to Mayran’s hands, “I love when it does that.” Mayran said, he began pouring the vintage into Vaasrand’s cup, the liquid was a strong golden colour, Mayran filled the cup half way, and then went to his own cup he filled that all the way to the brim, it seems Mayran may be quite drunk at the tournament later, but he didn’t seem to care.
Vaasrand inhaled the golden vintage and it had a wonderful aroma, smelling of the most wonderful fruit combination, he put the vintage to his lips, and took a small sip. It was sweet, very sweet, and crisp, it seemed to have just the right about of alcohol for Vaasrand, as the wine went down his throat he could still taste the fruitiness as if he had just put it to his lips, it was good wine it seemed, and Mayran definitely agreed as he had already finished his mug and was filling another.
“Good wine, isn’t it, Vaasrand?” He asked, as he filled his mug to the brim.
“Yes, very good, think I prefer ale though.” Vaasrand stated, this seemed to offend Mayran.
“Ale? You prefer ale to this.” He pointed to the mug of Nevrey before taking another gulp, “You prefer a farmer’s drink, to a gods” Mayran looked disappointed “Shameful.” he finished and went back to his drink.
Soon the food arrived, on two separate silver plates, requiring two men to carry it, the food itself was covered with a silver lid, so Vaasrand couldn’t see it yet, but he was long anticipating it, he hadn’t eaten for three days, and now he gets a meal other than bread and rat meat.
The two men placed the silver plates on the table, bowed and then left the room closing the door as they left, Vaasrand removed the silver lid of his plate, and a divine scent touched his nostrils, wonderful beef roasted to perfection, with peas on the side, he couldn’t wait to dig his teeth into this meaty goodness, as of right now Vaasrand forgot about everything and just focused on the roasted beef in front of him, he tried to eat it slow and enjoy every bite, but it was far to delicious and Vaasrand ended up wolfing down the whole thing as if he himself were a wolf.
Mayran surprisingly took his time with his beef stew, eating it slowly while drinking the Nevrey. straight from the bottle. Vaasrand washed down his roasted beef with his remaining mug of Nevrey, and waited for Mayran to finish his stew, it felt like forever, but he did finish it.
“Argh, Delicious. Now Vaasrand the tournament is about to start in roughly a half hour, would you like to stay and watch, or would you prefer to talk to Misou now and get the hunt started?”
“Firstly I have a few more questions. Where’s Eliora, and who extracted the poison from my body?” Vaasrand asked.
“I told you the girl is safe, and we will watch over her until you return, but she can’t stay here long. As for the poison it was extracted by one of the sorcerers from Ziobhar, luckily he was here just when you were, and managed to rid you of the poison. Now Vaasrand you must decide, the tournament is about to start, and I must get ready, please we haven’t much time.”
Vaasrand had to decide, the tournament could be enjoyable he would be able to catch up with Eliora, get to talk to this Misou more thoroughly. Or he could start the hunt now, briefly chat with Misou, and not see Eliora, but he would be able to stop this menace quicker, since now he had four leads. Kyorr, Rueyn, the disappearing beasts and the burning villages, he hadn’t much time to decide.
[Stay and watch the tournament – Catch up with Eliora, Talk to Misou extensively]
[Begin the hunt -- Head for Kyorr]
[Begin the hunt -- Investigate Rueyn]
[Begin the hunt -- Search the Burning Villages]
[Begin the hunt – Search for the Missing Beasts]
Wow, this is awesome! A fitting tribute to the character. I have not expected this at all, but it makes me even more glad to see how well-received (if not necessarily well-liked) Alysanne has been as a character. Compared to your earlier drawing of her, you also definitely succeeded at showing this different side of hers. The first one definitely showed the prominent psychotic side of hers, but this one really captured her more pitiable, fragile characteristics. Ah, I'm going to miss writing her so much, especially now, after such a great tribute. Damn the story for leaving me with no other choice
Another great part! I really can envision all of this so well, I think your writing is very lively and I love it. Seriously excited for the next parts
[Begin the hunt -- Head for Kyorr]
I somehow think all of these happenings are connected with each other in some capacity. Such a mass of strange incidents in one region is unlikely to happen all at once, unless there is a common source. And out of these leads, Kyorr sounds like the best lead, as well as the freshest. It seems the city is under attack right now as they speak, whereas the other things have already happened, giving any evidence more time to get cold. In Kyorr, Vaasrand might get a chance for a very recent piece of evidence.
Oh, you are correct, well-received is probably a better word than well-liked to describe Alysanne
And yeah, I aimed to portray the side of her that we saw a bit on the latest part. Ironically, she looks a bit like a puppy in this 
[Begin the hunt -- Investigate Rueyn]
Let's go hunting in a place we know where is and can the most advantage of.
Torvin
Heavily groaning, Torvin sank against the wall behind him. He could feel his ribs, aching in his chest and when he out his hands onto his side, he almost screamed with pain. That goddamn warhorse had almost trampled him and the man on top had nearly cleaved him in half. Deep down, below the pain, Torvin knew he could be happy to still be alive.
He sighed and would have chuckled with grim amusement. Happy... The thought itself added insult to his situation. A part of him had yearned to die there, at the hands of this knight, or even just trampled by his horse. His men had dragged him away from the battlefield instead of leaving him. Loyal to the end and more than he deserved.
A shadow fell upon him and Torvin looked up, into a familiar figure, wearing a full helmet and a massive axe. “Bullister”, he growled and grimaced as he breathed in too deeply. The mute executioner did not answer, of course not. He merely gave Torvin a nod, before putting the hilt of his axe onto the ground, both hands on top of the blade, silently watching him.
Once again, Torvin sighed, though not entirely out of pain. “You know, it took me a while to figure it out. No doubt Garthon already has an idea, but I think this time, I knew it earlier than him”, he said, as he stared into the man's dark eyes. “Ever since we left, I had to wonder why the king would send his royal executioner with me” His gaze hardened. “You're here for me, aren't you? To make sure that I won't return”
Bullister slowly nodded and Torvin grimaced once again. “I guessed that much”, he sighed, as he tried to stand up again. The pain that flared up in his ribs forced him to the ground almost instantly, this time with a groan that turned into a scream quickly. He looked at the ground next to him, as he just lay there, leaning against the wall, looking more like a corpse than truly alive. That would still mean that he looked better than he felt. “Well, what are you waiting for then?”, he snarled.
This time, the executioner hesitated. He shook his head and this time, Torvin understood. His eys widened with horror. “Garthon”, he gasped and Bullister gave him a nod. “If I don't take the city, you have the order to kill Garthon” A pained expression formed on his face. “And if I take the city, you kill me. Any chance I make it out of this alive?”
Bullister immediately shook his head, confirming Torvin's suspicions. They would have been fears, but Torvin feared nothing anymore, especially not his own death. “What happens to Garthon in that case?”, he asked. This time, Bullister just shrugged and Torvin knew, he wouldn't get a better answer out of the man. “At least you're honest”, he growled, before he paused again. “And... Clarisse?”
The look in Bullister's dark eyes remained hard, as he shook his head. Torvin put his head back, leaning it against the wall, as he looked up into the dark sky. He did not cry, even though he felt like doing it. He hadn't given in to such an urge in many years and he wouldn't start now. He should have figured it out. He actually had figured it out even, but realizing something and actually giving in to this knowledge were two different things entirely.
Still, he closed his eyes for a second and the expression on his face was more than just physical pain. Worse than anything was the realization that it was him, and no one else, who was to blame. Even more than the Hoare himself, who acted just like he always did.
He opened his eyes and looked at Bullister, who still stood above him, leaning onto his axe. “Let us take this city then”, he growled. The executioner gave him a nod and extended his hand. Torvin grabbed in and got pulled upwards. His ribs ached with agony, but it truly didn't matter anymore at this point. What was this, but the final bit of pain he would feel? Torvin was prepared to die, either at the hands of Bullister or the defenders of Raylansfair.
Slowly and with a noticeable limp, Torvin dragged himself to his axe, leaning a few feet away from him. He grabbed it and using it more as a walking cane than a weapon, as he and Bullister left the narrow alleyway his men had brought him into.
Dozens of heads turned towards him. His men were tired, yet they stood there proudly, like true iron. And they were more than before they dragged him into the alleyway, even more than before their attack. He narrowed his eyes at one man who definitely hadn't been there before. “Where have you come from?”, he growled.
“We've went with Cleaver, Captain”, the man answered faithfully and Torvin sighed with relief. Cleaver Clint's men had finally joined them, as it seemed. Maybe there still was a chance to take this city. It wouldn't be a chance for him, but for Garthon. He looked around, though he saw neither his brother, nor the massive body of the Lord of Volmark.
“Where's Cleaver?”, he asked. “Or my brother? You seen them?” The man shook his head. “Cleaver led his men to the eastern side of the city, but many split off from him. So did I. Got tired after a while, thought I'd check out what you're up to here”, he answered and spat onto the ground. “Sitting in a bloody alleyway, as it seems”
Torvin narrowed his eyes, but before he could reply, one of the other men spoke up. “I saw them, Cap”, he claimed and Torvin directed his attention at him now, instead of doing anything about the insolent raider. He raised an eyebrow and the man continued. “Cleav only had a hand full of men when I left him. Figured I didn't want to be caught in whatever he's up to. Can't end well”, he said. “Your brother came a bit later, while I was looting some house. Had that lanky kid with him, the archer and they went after Cleav”
“Hjalgar...”, Torvin mumbled, glad that his brother at least had one trustworthy man by his side. He gave the man a nod. “Good”, he growled. “Good. Now we're enough for another charge” One of the men, from the end of the alleyway, looked up as he hurried towards him. “Their cavalry's gone”, he reported. “Their leader, the knight you fought against, he took a horse and rode off. The other knight took the last one and followed. Had a wounded man with him” A sly look formed on his face. “Shall we go after them?”
Torvin shook his head. “No”, he snarled. “I can't spare any of you” He raised his axe, pointing it at the end of the alleyway and to the street. From there on, it would only be a short way to the gate itself. “Now, men, we'll take this gate. Then the city”
He raised the axe high above his head. “What is dead may never die!”, he screamed and his men joined in. “What is dead may never die!”, they answered. “But rises again, harder and stronger!” A few took it even further. “With Chains of Iron!”, they chanted and Torvin grimaced at the Hoare words. With a sigh, he lowered his axe again, which his men took as a sign to charge.
Torvin would have loved to charge as well, though his wounds prevented him from doing so. Instead, he limped after his own army, now more numerous than ever. Unless the defenders had another set of horses hidden somewhere, ready to charge again, he knew they would win this time.
Indeed, his men had already thrown the defenders back a considerable amount as he reached the street. The force of the new attack and the absence of their knights left the guards completely overwhelmed, unable to do anything to stop their attack. Torvin threw a glance at Bullister, who was his silent shadow by now. “It seems you'll get to kill me after all”, he growled. The executioner did not react.
Quickly, the guard started to waver. If anything, the brave cavalry charge from before gave them merely time, not more of a chance. The riders had surprised him, but now, there was nothing he didn't expect from these people. Already, the first of them started to flee. They either managed to break through the ranks of the raiders, or turned to the side streets directly at the wall, fleeing from the fight like cowards. At least they would remain alive, unlike most of their companions. The first of his men already stormed the walls, to slaughter the archers that had taken position up there.
And then, the fight was over as quick as it started. The ranks of the city guard broke and the men started to flee, with Torvin's raiders cutting down everyone that wasn't fast enough. They had crushed the tiny resistance that remained at the gate. These men had been nothing without their leaders. “Open the gate!”, he barked.
All of a sudden, something happened that Torvin hadn't expected after all. The raiders atop the wall, turned towards him, waving and shaking his head. “Don't open!”, they screamed, though it was already too late. The first raiders had reached the massive plank that blocked the gates from opening and they had lifted it up.
The moment the plank stopped blocking the gates, they sprung open and... something came in. It was huge, as large as a bull, with black fur and a form that resembled a brutish wolf, at least as much as Torvin was able to recognize it in such a short time. It let out a terrifying howl, as it charged through the ranks of the Ironborn.
Most jumped to the side, though a few were knocked down heavily by the massive beast. Torvin himself was pulled to the side at the last possible moment, when Bullister slammed him against a nearby wall, hard enough to press the air out of his aching lungs. The beast charged down the street, until it faded around a corner, out of sight.
“What... what the fuck was that?”, Torvin exclaimed, with widely opened eyes. Bullister did not answer, though for the first time, there was more than apathy in his eyes. Surprise, perhaps even a primal fear. The two men exchanged a glance, before Torvin directed his attention at the gates.
The Second Sons had entered the city. They were dozens, maybe even fifty men or more, heavily armed and with tall shields, their banner, a broken sword on white, waving high over them. Torvin had a bit of experience with sellsword groups, so he quickly realized that the man who approached him was a lower-ranking officer. Nonetheless, he seemed to be the spokesman of this group.
“You're the captain?”, he asked and Torvin gave him a nod. “Breaker”, he introduced himself and the man shrugged. “Yeah, fine”, he snarled without any interest. “We're your reinforcements. Ordered to help you taking this city” Torvin narrowed his eyes. “Ordered by whom?”, he asked.
“Ser Rodrik Stone, our leader. He's already in the city”, the sellsword answered. “And Edward Anturion” He seemed visibly unhappy to say this last name and Torvin could only agree with him on this. “Anturion...”, he growled. “I think when I meet this man again, I'm going to kill him myself”
The sellsword gave him a nod. “Can't hold it against you”, he replied. “So, we're following your order. Whom shall we kill for you?” Torvin glanced down the main street. “The city centre must fall”, he answered. “Once we have it, the road to the castle will be open”
This time, the sellsword raised an eyebrow. “What's with the fleeing guards?”, he asked and Torvin shrugged. “What about them?”, he asked in return. “They are cowards. Let them flee and live with their shame” The sellsword shook his head. “They fight for their city”, he replied. “I doubt they flee and I bet they will regroup somewhere. Maybe it'll be wise to chase them down first, to prevent them from flanking us later”
[Attack the city centre] [Chase after the fleeing guards]
Arthur
“Where are you going?”, Arthur asked and Mathea looked over her shoulder. “My house. It's in this direction”, she replied and Arthur quickly shook his head. “My way's faster”, he explained and she raised an eyebrow, a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. He gave her a weak smile. “My way is a shortcut. We bypass the larger streets entirely, probably even avoiding Ironborn in the process”, he told her, “You might know everything there is about healing, mylady, but trust me, few know Raylansfair better than I do”
Mathea hesitated for a second. “I don't know everything about healing. Not yet”, she replied with confidence. Then, she gave him a nod. “But thank you. We'll take your way then” She had yielded quickly, which surprised Arthur, though after looking into her strange eyes, he saw a hint of her reason and he understood it, yes, even shared it. Mathea was nervous and whatever calmness she tried to show here, it was barely convincing, instead it was just a mask to hide how worried she was for those she cared for.
“We'll find them”, he said in the attempt to cheer her up. “And we'll save them. Lyria, Urid and Rosalie” Mathea sighed. “We have to find them before the Ironborn do”, she replied, as they headed down the alleyway Arthur led them down to. “And it's not only them. With Wolfius on the loose...”
“Well, I...”, Arthur started, before he saw anger flaring up in Mathea's eyes. “Don't you say it!”, she barked, finally revealing just how anxious she was. “I know you told me to kill him” Arthur raised a finger. “Leave him to die”, he corrected her. “But that's really not what I wanted to...” Once again she cut him off. “And I know I didn't do it. But none of this would have been a problem if you would have just done your job and made sure that he wouldn't escape! But no, you didn't and now he runs around freely, with two of my patients on top of that damn list of his!”
Arthur gulped, as he avoided her stare. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that her anger faded quickly. “I'm sorry”, she said. “Didn't want to directly attack you. It's just... this situation. It really... gets to me” He noticed how distraught she looked and he momentarily put an arm onto her back. “I know”, he assured her softly. “I understand. You care for your patients and you're worried for them. But I promise you, we will find them!”
She gave him the hint of a smile. “Thank your for saying that and... for understanding”, she replied. “And thank you for coming with me” Arthur removed his hand from her back again as he shrugged, trying his best to seem as confident as possible, even if he was anything but. He shared more than just her care for the people they tried to save. Truth be told, he shared her nervousness, but probably for different reasons. The thought that he might actually had to fight today was unsettling. “Ah, you know, I couldn't let you go alone and unarmed”, he smiled.
As he said these words, Mathea raised an eyebrow, she pulled up one of her sleeves, revealing the thin dagger she held in the hand, a simple, yet effective weapon. “I'm not unarmed”, she answered and Arthur looked surprised at the weapon. “A healer with a weapon?”, he asked and she pulled her sleeve down again. “I'm not stupid, Arthur”, she answered sternly. “I know what the Ironborn would do to me if they would get me. Of course I wouldn't go unarmed!”
“But... I thought you don't want to kill”, Arthur replied. “Knowing how to wield a knife, it's an odd skill for a healer to have” She gave him a nod. “A very odd one indeed. A friend taught me how to use this, a kindly old man whom I met a while ago. I saved his life and he taught me how I might save my own one day”, she explained. “And another friend, my mentor, he taught me more than enough about the human body that I know where I can stab someone without killing them”
“That sounds... painful”, Arthur said and Mathea smirked thinly. “If they attack me, it's hard to feel sympathy for them”, she answered. “Luckily, I never had to use it though and thanks to your help, maybe today will be another day were I don't have to” As she spoke, her smile faded, as quick as it came, replaced by her usual, stoic expression. “But it shouldn't surprise you. A healer's work can be bloody and painful, very much so. There are days where I bring more pain than anything else”
“I suppose these aren't the days you became a healer for”, Arthur stated and she gave him a nod. “There are good days and bad days. Those particular days are the worst”, she explained glumly. As she looked around, her expression darkened. “And I suppose today's not the kind of day you became a guardsman for”, she said in response.
“How do you know that?”, Arthur asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise at the fact that she has been right. “Because you're not a killer either”, Mathea explained. “After all, you haven't killed Wolfius either, back in his cell” She looked at him with a strange expression. “It may have brought problems it may will bring even more, but... I am glad you haven't done it. Maybe things would be better if more people would have your mercy. There are already enough killers in this world”
Arthur nodded affirmatively. “That's not who I am”, he said. “If I wanted to kill, I would have become a soldier. But a guardsman's priority should be to protect” Mathea glanced at his belt. “That's why you're having that weapon?”, she asked and Arthur removed the blunt mace from the belt. “Yeah”, he said. “When I joined the guard, my father offered me a spear, but I refused. He offered me a sword, but I refused. Instead, I took this one” He raised the mace. “It's easy knocking someone out with this, but killing them? Hardly”
“I bet your father wasn't amuse by this”, Mathea deduced and Arthur smirked. “That would be an understatement. He almost kicked me out of the guard again. Never wanted me in it and I almost pushed it too far already on that day”, he sighed. “Father... Commander Hackor told me it would be ineffective to use, that it would be a weak weapon for a weak guardsman and that he won't tolerate weakness in his guard”
“Well, he's right with one thing”, Mathea said and Arthur narrowed his eyes. “It is pretty ineffective. Have you ever used such a thing?” Arthur gave her a nod. “One or two times. But there were others who helped me”, he stated. Mathea glanced at the mace again. “Knocking someone out is not as easy as you think. You need a lot of strength for that, even with a mace”, she explained. “Even if I don't agree with him, I can understand your father. A few spikes would make it way more effective”
Arthur's eyes widened and only when he noticed her soft smirk did he chuckle. “You know, you can be scary when you say stuff like that”, he grinned. Mathea shrugged. “Eh, I have my moments”, she said. “You can't be in my line of work without getting a very dark sense of humour”
“Well, I think it's charming”, Arthur smirked and now, Mathea raised an eyebrow. He couldn't tell if she was flattered, amused or annoyed by his comment. “Really?”, she asked tonelessly, still not giving away how she felt about the compliment in the slightest. Arthur wanted to reply something, but that was when he was cut off by the sound of clashing steel not far from their position.
“Ironborn?”, she asked and Arthur gave her a grim nod. “Stay low. Try to find a place to hide”, he advised her, though she bravely shook her head. “Someone could need help”, she hissed, as she crouched down. “Come on, let's check it out carefully”
Arthur gulped, as she started to sneak forwards. “Mathea, wait!”, he hissed, as loud as he dared and she throw a glance over her shoulder. “What is it?”, she whispered back. “Maybe we can help somehow. There could be allies, or wounded we can save!”
Once again, steel clashed against steel, but this time, there was something else. A loud, angry bark that ended as a growl and someone screaming in pain. A dog? Must have been a large one, which surprised Arthur quite a lot. There were no hounds suitable for battle inside the city walls, not as far as he knew. Something was odd with the situation, yet Mathea seemed determined to check it out.
[Check it out] [Hold her back]
[Chase after the fleeing guards]
[Check it out] - if it sounds like a dog then I'm pretty sure it's Ryler's hound. If it was Direwolfius it would probably have made a more distinguishable monstrous sound.
[Chase after the fleeing guards]
Yes, yes good. Let's do this. It's the right thing to do. Garthon is so dead. Clint killed him. Totally dead.
I like how I knew why they said don't open the gate before it was explicitly said. Well I guess that is where that is.
[Hold her back]
Yeah I don't really want to go help Maya and her friends. I want to see Mathea's reaction to some dead ones. That'll be good. Oh Knifefang, your death has been the most tragic of this chapter.
I'm starting to believe there is going to be a clear winner in this battle. Damnit Hobert, even if you stayed hiding in the castle that would have been safer. Stupid Second Sons I thought more of you died. So unless Donnel Selwyn is coming coming on the first light the fifth day at dawn to the east, it's clear for me.
I love it.
[Attack the city centre] It's the smart thing to do.
[Check it out] I'm with Mathea on this. There may be lives that can be saved.
[Attack the city centre]
[Check it out]
[Attack the city centre]
[Check it out]
[Chase after the fleeing guards] No mercy! Not sure if it's necessarily a wise move, but it should be entertaining, and I'm not exactly rooting for the Ironborn.
[Check it out] It's probably Ryler, and I'm interested to see what's going on there, and if Arthur and Mathea could possibly help.
I was half tempted to post a new image showing that I came back but,since this is the third or fourth time that I resume my read of this story,I will refrain to do that!XD
Random Thoughs about the last parts of this story:
Well,I think that I will stop my RT for now.
About the last choices:
[Attack the city centre]
[Check it out]
What could possibly go wrong?
[Attack the city centre]
I think it'll be out of character for Torvin to go with the other choice. His only goal right now should be taking the city so he could save Garthon's life.
[Check it out]
Why not? I mean, they're on their way to two dead bodies.
[Attack the city centre] Gotta try to make as much tension between the 2nd Sons and the Ironborn. Also, Torvin would probably go for an all out attack, so if we can repel this one assault we should be good.
[Check it out] My guess it is either Wolfius, Ryler, or Maya and crew as Knifefang dies. If it is Wolfius, hopefully Ryler will come in time to help. If it's Ryler, maybe we can team up to stop Wolfius. Can't see any obvious downsides from this.
[Attack the city centre]
[Hold her back]
Welcome back! Ah, it's great that you have returned, it's always a pleasure reading your random thoughts
Actually, Alan has ran to the city, not from it, the part where he ran away took place in Richard's farmhouse. While I can't comment on where, when and what Dimitri is, it's safe to say that he is not in the city, so Alan is unlikely to stumble upon him. I can also reveal that it won't be that long until we will see him again.
Yes, he will be remembered for sure! At the very least, the citizens of Raylansfair will remember him, because his sacrifice basically saved all of their lives, as it gave the Stormlanders enough time to reinforce the southern gates before the bandits arrived in full force.
Glad to hear you liked it. Technically though, it was more like a Harris VS Torvin fight, since Lucas got his ass handed pretty quickly.
It's rather vague for now, though it has something to do with magic. Alys is one of the PoV's with more than one part left in the chapter, so we're definitely going to learn more about it later. Anturion has some pretty huge ambitions, so you can bet that it is something he is going to use to further these ambitions.
Interestingly, Lyria is among the PoV's I have originally planned to spare for longer. In my original concept, Wolfius would have killed Rosalie instead, though I ultimately decided against it when I realized that Rosalie holds greater potential as a character and I'd only drag Lyria's storyline for longer than it had to be by leaving her alive in this chapter. So, I used it for the reveal that Wolfius is not only some deranged killer, but some deranged killer with super-warg powers.
Yeah, I feel bad for him too. Ultimately, Urid was one of these characters I just couldn't have done more with, he didn't gave me much room for growth. The fact that his death has bacially been overshadowed by Lyria's is something I feel sorry for, but it was inevitable ever since he got injured. His injuries could have been prevented though, which would have led him to live longer.
Hehe, you bring up a very good point there. I'm not sure how many remember this detail, but I have plans with it. Expect something big coming from this, even if I obviously can't go into any detail here.
That's a good question. Both are alive, but neither is actually save right now. We'll get an update on Briar relatively soon, in Ellena's next part. Because yes, Ellena will have a storyline in this chapter, I just had to wait to start it until the Ironborn have broken through the gates. Same goes for that new PoV I've mentioned a while ago, who also has to start after the Ironborn finally took the eastern gates.
I am very glad to hear this! I consider this part to be one of the most important ones in this chapter, so it is good to hear that it was so well-received and that I got it exactly the way I wanted to.
With Alysanne, it's true. She knew something like this would happen one day, that her luck would run out sooner or later, even if she obviously did not expect it to happen exactly like this. She died to save Kersea's life though, so in her eyes, she could have died a much worse death. Harris meanwhile is tragic in an entirely different way, because it is actually not that likely that he will be remembered as a hero. Part of Sherryl's manipulations, paired with his own actions have made sure that everyone in a position of power in the entire city pretty much loathes him. Lucas, Leonard and Darren will never forget nor forgive what he did, Argella and Hobert naturally have a grudge against him and Sherryl, well, she's probably trying to ruin his reputation out of pure spite. He did a lot to save the city, but his bad actions will always overshadow the good ones.
You know what, it is amazing that I haven't thought about this detail. For me, I considered Lucas to be the longest living character now, but you are absolutely right. Clayton appeared in the prologue, so that makes him the longest living character, even above Lucas. It also means that he is the only living character from the prologue.
Aylard, Sawyer and the tavern crew are at the... well, the tavern. Raylansfair's tavern that is, of course. I am not sure if we'll see them in this chapter though. And the ranger guy, whose name is Christian, he is going to appear at a later point. His involvement in Chapter 4 and 5 has been only a teaser, but he will reappear in Chapter 10 and he will have a much more important role in Book 2.
Thank you! It's still amazing for me that the story has been going for so long now. May there be many more anniversaries to celebrate
And I am so excited for some of the things that will come up in the future. The remainder of Book 1, but so many scenes in Book 2 and even 3 which I can't wait to write down at last and they come closer with every part.
Ah, you know... I'm sure nothing can go wrong
Hm, maybe. Garthon will have one more part in this chapter, during which we'll see how that stuff actually went down. It should be considered that he is roughly half of Clint's size, so he is at a disadvantage, though he gets to do the first strike. If he makes it count, there's nothing to worry about. If not... well, that would make things a lot more complicated.
Yeah, I think I forgot to mention that Torvin's part happened chronologically before Lyria's. I mean, I somehow had to show just how the beast got into the city, since the last time we've seen it has been in the forest in Richard's storyline. I hope everything makes more sense now.
Maya? Interesting theory. Though keep in mind, Maya actually survived the end of her latest part, where they threw back the Second Sons that were assaulting them, although it ended with Knightfang dead and Rodrik escaping. That means, they are not exactly in immediate need of help, if that's truly them down there.
It's starting to look better for the Ironborn again, doesn't it? They have a huge advantage in terms of numbers and even in terms of skill when compared to the common city guard. Their lack of discipline was a problem in the beginning, but in the current chaos, it doesn't mean that much of a disadvantage anymore. The Stormlanders are the only ones that can truly hold against them, but even they can, at best, only give the city more time, since they are still massively outnumbered. Basically, the only chance Raylansfair has in such a case is to return to the castle and close the gates, which Sherryl kind of ruined for them.
One does not simply kill Cleaver Clint.
And I was thinking it was the beast getting out of the city. Well, what goes in must come out, preferably in the path of the raiders.
Yeah I remember, but I don't really Mathea to help them with their injuries. I just want to see how pissed Mathea is going to be when she finds a half-eaten snack.
Ah Sherryl. Going to start that war soon. Well at least Leonard is where the Stormlanders. If only Vaasrand would join them so he could be safe, I like him. It's interesting how the objective is to capture the city and not just pillage the archive and leave. Besides Edward Anturion's ambitious plans, it's puzzling at a glance. But we know Sherryl works for Mullendore and she is on fine grounds with Anturion. Mullendore gets Anturion to attack city for archive thing and also to get rid of problems such as Harris and the knights, people who would oppose him. Then I imagine that if Mullendore hadn't been injured he and Petyr Vyrwel's army would be close and come in to "liberate" the city from the raiders, who Anturion obviously doesn't care about because. Now that he is injured, as much as I don't want to say it, Mullendore and Vyrwel are/were the city's "hope" and even when they do come, which, they will, it will be far too late and many people will die for nothing, unless Anturion decides to withdraw or another Reach army (which I think is possible, but unlikely as I have joked with House Selwyn), as they said in Aliens, game over man.
DIMITRI THE WISE GREATEST CHARACTER CONFIRMED YES
[Attack the city centre] This is definitely the better option for Torvin. Honestly, in his position, I couldn't care less about those soldiers. He should worry about Garthon more.
[Check it out] Eh, why not. Could be something good, I don't see anything really bad coming out of this option.
[Attack the city centre]
[Check it out]
Fantasy Fights!!!
Arryk Bulwer vs Samuel Harrington
Terroma vs Vaasrand
John Gutten vs Raenna Minsworth
Damon Greyjoy vs Wolfius Woodbark
Valarr Roux vs Aldus Ermo
Really?I found obvious that you will kill her because she was the only PoV without a storyline and,from a writer PoV,it was obvious her end;btw I like that you choice to spare Rosalie since it will be interesting read how she will change from now on.
If you,and others, are curious this is the top five of the longest living characters inside this story:
Wait a sec,this book will have a tenth chapter?
Yes indeed, my original plan has involved Rosalie getting killed and Lyria spending her time in Book 2 trying to get vengeance on Wolfius. It got cut because I realized that Rosalie makes for a far more intriguing character now. Parts of Lyria's planned storyline, if heavily changed, have ended up getting reworked into another characters storyline now, though less focussed on a revenge angle. I just figured that it would have been rather repetitive after a while and wouldn't have added that much for Lyria's character.
This really drives home how many of the old characters have perished on the way. Dairon, Septon Corbin, Lady Halla, now Harris. Ah, killing off these characters from the very early parts of the story is never an easy thing, though I'm afraid Harris won't remain the only long-running character to meet his end in the coming chapters.
Oh, no, that was a typo
Book 1 will have only 9 chapters. However, it is likely that Book 2 will have a tenth chapter, since I will probably need more than three chapters for the second act of it (which would be Act 5). But Book 1 will be over after Chapter 9.
Oh no, it broke through the gates and charged through the raiders then. I originally wantd to show this part before Lyria's part, but decided against it because I wanted to keep the appearance of the beast as much a secret as possible (even though some of you had it figured out already).
I believe you'll surely get your wish. There are not many things that can truly piss her off, but murdering her patients, well, that one's certainly among them. Wolfius is lucky that he hasn't pissed off someone like Daghan Oxus with his actions so far. But Mathea... well, she has made it clear that she is against killing, but Wolfius' actions will definitely test her convictions.
Hm, I obviously can't reveal any spoiler here, but you might be on to something. Clearly, Edward's goal of getting whatever he wants from the archive doesn't fully match with Torvin's objective to raid the city, at least not at first glance. There is more behind it, behind all of it. This doesn't necessarily mean that Anturion and Mullendore are allies, but it doesn't speak against it either. All I can say is, you will have your answer until the end of Book 1.
Hm... this is a hard one. Arryk is pretty much a badass, but the same goes to Samuel. I'd actually give Samuel the advantage here, because he is not only strong, but also fast. They are both really skilled, but in a fight against someone like Samuel, Arryk's armour is probably going to put him at a disadvantage, since Samuel will easily outmaneuver him.
It depends. A Terroma in his prime would likely win against Vaasrand, but the Terroma we have seen in the story has been way past his prime. Against such an opponent, Vaasrand has not only good chances, I'd even say he would win. It would still be a challenge, but Vaasrand is in a physically far better condition and that can't be ignored.
Well... I like Raenna, she's a tough one and she can fight, but I must admit, she wouldn't stand a chance against John in a proper fight. She can slice through common mooks, but John is far more than that. And his sword would give him far more of an advantage over her. At the best, Raenna would manage to wound him, but John can be a beast in combat and I am pretty sure he would take her down in the end.
Obviously, Wolfius is the more dangerous fighter, with his warg powers and such. However, I would say that Damon would win if they were to fight, specifically because of Wolfius' flaws. He is reckless and he loves to play with his victims. It works well with scared smallfolk like Lyria, but even Richard was able to give him a serious beating. Damon is calm and ruthless, he wouldn't be scared by Wolfius' attempts and would kill him the moment he would try to put on a show. Wolfius' own arrogance would be his downfall, whereas Damon doesn't have such a prominent flaw. If Wolfius would get over his need to assert dominance over his victims, he would win for sure, by just warging into a direwolf and ripping Damon to shreds, or by directly warging into Damon and shattering his mind, but he doesn't do that very often, not when it is far more fun to put a victim through hell first.
Haha, poor Aldus. The only chance he has to win against Valarr would be if Valarr would die of laughter. Nah, Aldus might be strong, but he is quite possible among the weakest fighters in the story, because he lacks the spine to actually fight.
So, can Wolfius warg into every human in the story?
No, I wouldn't go that far as to say every human in the story. He can quite likely warg into weaker minds who are unable to resist him, but stronger ones have to be worn down first. But even if he can't, just the attempt is extremely painful for the one he tries to warg into and should give him plenty of advantage.
Who would be able to resist him?
Obviously Vaasrand of Lys, Marak (can't be warged if you're DEAD), Alysanne Waters (too crazy), Dimitri the Wise, Donnel Selwyn, Leonard Constantine, and the most clearly of them Wolfius Woodbark.
Plenty! Every character with a will strong enough. Actually, Damon could quite easily resist him, but as I said, it would confuse and hurt him, giving Wolfius a big advantage even though he's not a particularly skilled physical fighter. The typical prey for Wolfius in such a position would be weak-minded characters like Roach, completely willing subjects like Kreep, or people whom he has either physically hurt or emotionally broken.
I got another fight for you.
Vaasrand and Leonard vs Wolfius(with direwolf) and Kreep
It's certain Vaasrand and Leonard stomp right?
I wouldn't say they'd stomp, but they'd win, I think. Vaasrand and the direwolf are evenly matched, whereas Leonard is definitely superior to Kreep as a fighter. So, they have an advantage, even if it isn't too big. If Leonard manages to kill Kreep quickly, he and Vaasrand can team up on the direwolf. If the direwolf manages to kill Vaasrand quickly, Leonard will be in trouble, but it is unlikely that it would manage to do that without getting seriously hurt in the process.
What about the Moggy?
The Voting is closed!
Torvin is going to attack the city centre
Arthur is going to check it out
I certainly have expected you to choose the second one, though I was not sure which one you'd choose in the first. Both hold potential to really screw Raylansfair over, though to be fair, attacking the city centre makes things a bit more likely to get really dire for a lot of characters soon. However, it is the choice that will work the best with my plans for Torvin's next part.
The next part should be out later today. I have started writing and I am positive that I will manage to finish it in the near future. It will include PoV's for Willfred and Alys. The last time we saw Willfred was a long time ago and I think he is the PoV who hadn't had a part in the longest time save for Jaron and Edrick, who are going to make their big return in the next chapter. Willfred was informed of the attack in his last part. He decided to gather his men to plan their next move, when he witnessed a discussion between one of the guardsmen and Mathea, during which he supported Mathea's wish to leave the castle. Meanwhile, Alys was last seen in front of the archive, where Edward explained a little bit on how the archives' defensive strategies work. Apparently her blood, being almost pure First Men blood, can form a useful protection against the apparently dangerous illusions that can be encountered down there. After a bit of hesitating, Alys agreed to give Edward some of her blood, but when he asked for more, to protect some of their Ironborn companions who haven't gotten any protection yet, she refused, fearing for her own life in the process. Her next part should be... interesting. I should also note that I will try not to leave the voting open for too long, probably only until Sunday to put out another part in this week, just so that you know.
He would fall under the "Easy prey"-category on account of being dim-witted and already being used to follow orders. Actually, he would probably be one of the most dangerous people Wolfius could warg into, because someone with his strength paired with Wolfius' arguably cunning mind would be terrifying.
Willfred
At a steady pace, Willfred walked down the hallway that led from his room. The heavy armour slightly hindered his movement, but there was no way he'd leave the castle without it. And there was no way he wouldn't leave the castle. Willfred had thought about it closely, as he had carefully put on each piece of his armour, from the quilted gambeson to the leather and finally the heavy plate.
The city was in danger. More than that, Willfred wasn't even sure if the guardsmen could hold it on their own. The Stormlander princess had realized that and Willfred had to admit that she was right. Of course she hadn't asked for his help, but Willfred wouldn't just stay behind, leaving all of the glory to her and her soldiers.
“Fuck...”, someone mumbled, walking through the open doorway to his right and stumbling into Willfred, who was paying attention too late. He remained standing, but the man who bumped into him staggered backwards. Willfred saw that he was in his age, though a bit smaller, with a skinny build and dark brown hair with thick sideburns. Crystal blue eyes were staring at him in surprise.
“Oh, I didn't see you”, he said and took a deep bow. “My apologies, Ser” Willfred gave him a nod to calm him down, having noticed the man's nervousness, though it did little to calm him down. “Is everything alright?”, he asked then.
The man sighed and shook his head. “I'm afraid no, Ser”, he answered in a soft tone. “I've lost something really important and just can't find it” He gulped. “And I bet Helen's going to be so pissed about it...” The name caused Willfred to listen up. “Helenys Bellward?”, he asked and the man gave him a nod. “Yeah, you know her?”
“Met her briefly during the meeting this morning”, Willfred answered, before he extended his hand. “The name is Willfred Reyne” Slightly nervous, the man grabbed his hand and shook his briefly. “Aren Charlton”, he introduced himself. “I am Lady Helenys' servant. It's a pleasure, Ser Willfred. The lady was speaking about you”
Willfred's smile faded. “Surely nothing good”, he answered, grimly remembering his failure during the meeting. Aren shook his head. “Oh, that's not it”, he said. “She only mentioned that you're looking for allies for your kingdom, which she found to be an admirable goal” Willfred raised an eyebrow. “She does?”, he asked. “I didn't have the feeling Lady Helenys would be particularly moved by my attempts”
“I can assure you she absolutely is”, Aren answered and his friendly smile managed to outshine the still lingering nervousness behind his eyes. “In fact, if you wish to speak to her once this is all over, I'm sure you can count on her support” Willfred gave him a surprised look, before nodding. “That would be highly appreciated. Can you arrange a meeting?”
Quickly, Aren gave him a nod, though his smile faded just as it came. “Yeah, though I can guarantee that she's going to be pissed at me”, he said. “That thing I'm looking for, it is very dear to her” Willfred gave him a curious look. “You got me there”, he admitted. “What is this thing you're looking for?”
Aren sighed. “It's not exactly a thing”, he revealed. “Taros, Lady Helenys' pet is missing” He gulped. “Her pet manticore” Willfred's eyes widened, as he remembered what the Maester at Castamere had said about manticores. Small, but fast and venomous enough to kill a grown man in seconds. “You're telling me there's a manticore on the loose in this castle?”
Now, Aren shook his head. “I don't think he's on the loose”, he answered firmly. “That would make even less sense. One of the guardsmen helped me to carry him and the lady's other belongings to her room. He was firmly in his box then, I personally locked it” He clenched his fist. “Someone must have unlocked the box somehow”
“This is... even more concerning”, Willfred remarked. “That means someone's walking around with a manticore at their disposal” He did not mention it, but the thought was unsettling in general. It wasn't just the fact that someone stole it, it was the fact that such an animal existed in this castle in general.
“My concern entirely”, Aren said. “Worst part is, in the current situation, there's too much going on to actually search for it” His expression darkened. “Whomever it was that took Taros, he did it on purpose during this attack”, he muttered and a slightly hopeful look appeared on his face. “Say, Ser, you seem to realize what problems this could bring. Would you be willing to help me? Who knows that this thief wants to do with manticore venom”
Just in this moment and before Willfred could make up his mind about helping the man or not, voices reached his ear, coming from the courtyard. He glanced out of the window to his right and suppressed a heavy curse as he saw two familiar people, locked in a heated argument.
“This is madness, Roger!”, Tallian barked. “Our men should remain here in the castle. They have no obligation to fight for these people” Roger looked similarly angered. “Don't be such a coward, Vashord!”, he snarled in return. “I know you don't give a damn about the smallfolk here, but even then, fighting is the right thing to do. Considering how things went down for us so far, we surely need to make a good impression”
Willfred sighed heavily as he clenched his fists in growing anger. “I'm sorry, Aren”, he said wholeheartedly. “I'm afraid there's something down there that forces my attention” He shook his head. “Those two are going to drive me mad one of these days with their arguing”, he added in frustration.
To his surprise, Aren seemed to understand him. He gave him a nod. “Ah, of course”, he said and seemed only slightly disappointed. “I didn't want to interrupt your own concerns. Just... when this is over, I'd be glad if you could mention my problem to some of the higher-ups. In the wrong hands, Taros can be the most deadly weapon in this entire city”
“I will”, Willfred promised, as he turned to the hallway again, leaving Aren on his own. What the man had said was concerning and under other circumstances, he would have helped him, if only so that the creature would be properly contained again. But right now, the Ironborn were a more immediate problem.
He reached the courtyard shortly afterwards, having dragged himself in his heavy armour down the stairs. It was the second time he wore it for more than just a tourney. The first had been at Lord Crakehall's side, weeks ago and unlike then, the current encounter held quite the danger for him and his men.
“It's good that you're not in command here!”, Tallian snarled, as Willfred stepped through the door and onto the courtyard. “Just look at the garrison they have left here” He made the word 'garrison' sound like a curse. Then, he spotted Willfred. “Speaking of the Stranger”, he said as he raised his hand, waving it towards Willfred. “Hurry up, boy. We got a problem”
Willfred came closer, noticing the angered expressions on both men's faces. A wave of relief flashed through him, as he could only imagine how much worse the discussion would have been if he would have remained upstairs for longer. “Uncle”, he greeted Roger, before he gave Tallian a nod. “General. What's the matter?”
“The matter is that your uncle wishes to take our men out there, into the fray!”, Tallian explained and Roger gave him a nod. “Yeah, and I told you some good reasons about it”, he replied. “Right now, our mission is at stake. We don't know anything about the future of this city, or its next lord. Harris, Hobert, even Princess Argella, they won't help us after the events that happened”
“You mean after you tried to screw them all over”, Tallian replied and glared at Willfred. “I don't even blame you, boy, but your uncle here, he should have known better” The condescending tone he spoke these words with caused anger to flare up inside of Willfred. “Actually, general, I already made up my mind. I will leave this castle and fight down in the streets”, he said.
Roger gave him a proud look, while Tallian shook his head in increasing frustration. “Do as you like, boy”, he spat. “It's me who has to tell your father how you died later on” He shrugged. “See if I care. But at least leave the soldiers behind”
Roger narrowed his eyes. “What is it, Vashord? Are you too afraid to fight?”, he asked and Tallian clenched his fists. “I will not go down there either way”, he said and looked at Willfred. “I am a general of the Rock and you will not order me around. If you insist on being a fool, then be a fool, but at least don't drag your men to the grave with you”
“Well and why should we leave them?”, Roger asked. “They are Willfred's soldiers. A dozen of them, yes, but every man counts down there” Tallian sighed. “Every man counts up here as well”, he explained. “Seriously, look at the garrison. Most of them are out in the city, to fight a hopeless battle. That Stormlander girl is out there too, with all of her men. Think about it, who is actually left to defend the castle?”
“The walls. The gates. A dozen men can hold this castle against a hundred”, Roger replied, before he looked at Willfred. “As I said, I will go out there with you. You're doing the right thing. But what do you think about Vashord's concern?” Both men looked at him with anticipation, the one with pride, the other with growing anger and Willfred knew, he had to make a decision.
[Take the soldiers with you] [Leave the soldiers at the castle]
Alys
Alys' hand was still aching as the small group made their way through the archive, though at least the bleeding had stopped and she felt a lot less light-headed. This was a good sign, wasn't it? Nonetheless, she felt fear rising as they made their way past high shelves stacked with dusty old tomes. So many books in one place, it was an intimidating sight.
“So, can you tell me now what you're actually looking for?”, she asked half-heartedly, not even daring to hope for an explanation at this point. Edward glanced over at her and in the light of the torches that Carvin and Alisa were holding, she saw that he was smiling.
“It's actually not only for me”, he revealed. “My brother, Nain, he has just as much interest in this as I have” Alys sighed. “That... doesn't really answer anything”, she replied and he chuckle. “I suppose you deserve a better answer”, he finally said. “But before we get there, let me ask you a question. Do you know what made the Valyrian Hegemony so magnicent?”
Alys narrowed her eyes. “Dragons”, she replied without even having to think about it. “The hegemony had dragons, thousands upon thousands, and they tore through every single opponent they faced” She sighed, glancing past Alisa and towards a set of old books. “But the Hegemony is no more”
“Yet dragons remain”, Alys replied and Edward gave her an enthusiastic nod. “Precisely”, he said. “Dragons remain. Not many of them, but he who controls the dragons...” Alys' eyes widened as she realized what he was trying to imply. “You mean...”, she started, but he cut her off, by pointing to a set of stairs that led downstairs. “We're here”, he said.
Carefully, he walked down the stairs, the first to reach the door, though he stopped in front of it, looking at one of the Ironborn. “You do it”, he ordered and the man gave him a distrustful look. Next to Alys, Wilbur tensed up. “I don't like this”, he whispered and she gave him a nod. “Me neither”, she admitted, as she noticed Alisa's stern glare. The woman put a finger onto her lips.
Visibly nervous, the Ironborn approached the door. He moved the hand to the doorknob and turned it. With a slight creak, it swung open, revealing only darkness behind. “Splendid”, Edward said, as he gave the man a push, causing him to stumble into the hallway behind. “Now go ahead”
Seeing how the man didn't immediately drop dead, Edward followed. Carvin gave Alys a short nod, as the whole group started moving. Though Alys was tensed up and she noticed how the same applied to Wilbur. “I really don't like this”, he hissed, before both walked into the hallway behind the door.
“We need to go to the left”, Edward said with determination, as he turned into the direction. Alys followed his gaze and shivered, not only from the cold, stale air that filled the entire hallway. Slowly, they continued to walk and Alys' breath went faster, as the bad feeling inside of her grew.
“What I wanted to say is, yes, the dragons remain”, Edward continued their earlier conversation, as they walked down the hallway, quickly speeding up their steps. “Only three of them of course, but imagine what a man can do with these” Alys raised an eyebrow. “But House Targaryen has them”, she stated and he chuckled. “They do. Me and Nain, we aim to change that”
“And some old book can help you exactly how?”, Alys asked. Edward smirked at her. “Oh, it won't be the only thing I need”, he said cryptically. “But it will be a step. Not the first. By far not the last” He opened his mouth to say more, but one of the Ironborn cut him off. “What... what is that?”, the man, a young raider with long hair and a full beard asked, as he pointed at Edward.
No... he pointed at something behind him. Alys followed his stare, though she saw only darkness outside of the dim light the torches provided. “What is that?”, the man asked again, this time his voice sounding more shrill and with obvious fear. He stumbled backwards, while the others only stared at him with confusion and growing nervousness.
Finally, his eyes widened and he outright started to scream, in a way Alys never heard a man screaming before. It was not pain, not rage, it was pure fear, more than anything she had ever felt herself, more than she ever thought would be possible to fear. “RUN!”, he screamed, as his eyes moved upwards, to the ceiling. “NO!”
He turned around to run, but he didn't get far. Just a few steps later, he fell to the ground, his screams getting even more high-pitched and Alys notice that he hasn't fallen on his own accord. Something had tackled him.
Alys confusion grew to outright horror, when deep claw marks started to appear on the frantically screaming man. “GET IT OFF ME!”, he screamed. “GET IT OFF ME!” An then, Alys started to scream as well, shrill and almost louder than the dying man, as she watched him getting ripped to shreds by something neither of them was able to see. Blood splattered across the floor, just as she turned around to run away from the gruesome scene.
Carvin stopped her, as she bumped directly into him. “Don't look!”, he yelled, as he pulled her into a stern hug. “Don't look at him!” The raider's screams got cut off just as hers turned into sobs. In the silence that followed, these sobs were the only thing audible. That was until Wilbur broke it. “Fuck”, he mumbled rapidly. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
Heavily breathing, Alys looked up, though she refused to turn around, refused to look at the body of the man that had just died. Instead, she glared at Edward, who was staring at the scenery with an amazed smile. “Fascinating”, he said. “I suppose he wasn't really a First Man then” He gave Alys a wink, as he turned around, ready to continue his journey.
“Wait a moment!”, one of the raiders spoke up. Alys recognized the man that had spoken earlier, the one that had insulted Edward. He had a bloodied sygil on his head, but it was visibly different from the one Edward had given himself, Carvin and Wilbur. Crooked, twisted, sloppily painted. “What was that?”, he growled in a deep, threatening tone.
Edward stopped and raised an eyebrow. “This was an experiment”, he answered. “He became a victim of this buildings defence mechanism” Alisa looked up, clearly shaken from what she had just witnessed. “You said they were illusions”, she said and there was a bitter tone in her voice. Edward gave her a nod. “For us. For him,whatever he saw has been quite real”, he said in a discomfortingly jovial tone. He glanced at Alys. “I warned you of the consequences, mylady”
Alys tensed up, still half lying in Carvin's arms, as tears continued to pour down her face. She didn't look at him, didn't look at anyone. She only focussed on the darkness that awaited them down the hallway. “Let's go”, Edward said, as he tried to continue walking. The raider that had argued with him grabbed him by the shoulder, hard enough to make Alisa put a hand onto her sword. “Not so fast”, he ordered.
Edward paused, as he gave him a mildly curious look. Mostly, he was focussing on the crudely drawn sigil on the man's forehead. “Yes?”, he asked and the raider narrowed his eyes. “This man just died and you expect us to follow you?” He shook his head. “Well, I'm leaving! Protection or not, I'm done with you!”
With a twisted smile, Edward took a step back from the raider as he noticed confusion flashing over his face. “Ah yes, about the protection”, he hissed, as he followed the raiders stare, into the darkness. “No...”, the man mumbled and tightened the grip around his axe. “You are dead!”
Curiosity formed on Edward's face. “What are you seeing?”, he asked, though the raider ignored him at first. Fear, but also rage were clearly visible in his eyes. “You are dead!”, he hissed and Edward raised an eyebrow. Both, Alys and Wilbur took a step away from the scene and the young Ironborn looked absolutely shaken.
“What are you seeing?”, Edward asked again and this time, the raider gave him an answer. “My brother”, he gasped and he looked back at the darkness. He raised his axe. “I killed you once, you bastard. Come closer and I'll do it again!” He waited for a second, before he raised his axe. With a scream, half terror half rage, he slammed his axe down onto something only he was able to see. Whatever it was, the weapon went right through it.
“No!”, the raider yelled and just a second later, something terrible happened. Something invisible but undeniably sharp sliced through his neck, ripping out a good part of his throat. He went onto his knees, still looking up, his eyes widening with horror. Edward meanwhile looked simply fascinated, as he moved his hand to the position the invisible attacker must have stood. He only grabbed thin air. “Fascinating”, he gasped.
Now, there was nothing keeping the remaining Ironborn from fleeing. The two men that hadn't received any protection turned to run away, only Wilbur remained. And Alys felt terrible. She could have saved them. Should have saved them! It was only a bit of blood... She started to shake, but in the midst of this, she heard something. “Alys....”, someone whispered.
She looked up and at Wilbur. “What?”, she asked and the raider gave her a look that was confused, despite the horror he otherwise felt. “What?”, he asked in return. “Is there anything?” Alys shook her head. “I thought you've said something”, she mumbled. “Alys....”, the voice whispered again and this time she tensed up.
“I heard something”, she said and her voice shivered with fear. “Someone's calling my name” Seeking for help, she glanced at Edward, who narrowed his eyes. “You are from the blood of the First Men, right?”, he asked and she gave him a nod. “Y... yes”, she stuttered. “As far as I know”
“Concerning”, Edward mumbled, visibly disturbed by her revelation. “Alisa, get ready, just in case. I don't want to end like these men” Alisa gulped, though she reached for her knife regardless. “And now come on, we have to continue”
“Not me”, Wilbur said firmly. “I'm out of here” He glared at Edward, but to Alys' surprise, the pirate just shrugged. “Do what you want then. You're not worth the effort it would take to stop you”, he snarled. “The rest, come on! I don't have all day” He turned to leave, just as Alys felt Wilbur's hand on her shoulder. “Alys, come on”, he hissed. “Let's get the hell out of here!”
[Stay with Edward] [Leave with Wilbur]
[Take the soldiers with you] If they don't bring the soldiers then there's no point in going at all. The only reason to help would be to make a difference in the fight and two men won't make that much of a difference.
[Leave with Wilbur] Man, screw Edward! This is insane and Edward's proven that he has no concern for the lives of those around him. I see no good reason to stay.