Kersea
The glare she threw at Clayton held even more hatred than the one she received in return. There was nothing left to say between th… moreem. One of them had to die. But not now. Now, there was another priority. Kersea turned away from Clayton and towards the window. There were but two people left in this world that meant a thing to her and Raenna was one of them.
Quickly, she rushed to the window, putting her hands onto the windowsill to glance down. Raenna hadn't fallen very far, she was dangling about two feet below the edge, clinging onto a slightly protruding brick. Her lilac eyes were widened with terror. Below her, there was only darkness and eventually, as Kersea knew, the Sunset Sea.
With a grunt, she pushed herself up the windowsill, lying on it, as she reached down. “Grab my hand!”, she yelled. Raenna gave her a nod, as she reached upwards. Her own hand reached for Kersea's wrist, though she wasn't able to grab it at first.… [view original content]
Aha, so it was Kersea that I saved Funny thing is, I wasn't super happy with the drawing myself back then (and now I could definitely do it better). However, I'm glad you like it, and that it saved her
You have got to be kidding me. Kersea's part nearly made me outright distraught. Raenna! I really like her. I fell in love with her charact… moreer in her very first part.And then there was a point where I thought Kersea would die too and I was all "No! This is too much!
This chapter has not been kind to me.
It certainly hasn't been kind and after realizing this, I must say that I was a bit nervous for actually writing it down. I knew Alysanne would hit you and I knew her death was nearly inevitable, although I only realized the other things while actually publishing the parts. But all I can say is, absolutely nothing in this chapter happened without a very good reason. Give it a couple of weeks and you'll definitly see what I mean with this. Especially Raenna's fall from the tower has set something in motion that will massively influence the story for years, which is the main reason why I couldn't leave it open for choices. I hope you… [view original content]
[Travel down the eastern road] Time to send Ellena off on a brand new adventure, maybe to go slay some dragons, or seduce some Essos Warlord, sail across the Sunset Sea, Climb the Wall, the possibilities are endless. I think I have a good guess as to who Abbas is planning on enslaving, and it would make sense as he would have to go in that general direction to get back to Essos. Better watch your back Harpy. Kersea part was really good. I had guess trying to save Raenna would fail. But I am kinda okay with Clayton living. He doesn't seem like too much of a threat besides the fact he has knowledge on Kersea's evil deeds, and a reall bad grudge. But he also knows a lot about Butterfly's organization and if an interested party say Jaron or Lucas find him, Clayton can provide some answers. That explosion was super epic. Reminded me of the opening scene of Dragon Age Inquisition. I was really confused when Kersea said that Clayton saved lives by blowing it up, did it land into the harbor or something? And to think that Richard could've died so long ago. I wonder what the story would be like if Richard had died to Wolfius back then. Would Kersea just be collasped in the wilderness by her lonesome?
Kersea
The glare she threw at Clayton held even more hatred than the one she received in return. There was nothing left to say between th… moreem. One of them had to die. But not now. Now, there was another priority. Kersea turned away from Clayton and towards the window. There were but two people left in this world that meant a thing to her and Raenna was one of them.
Quickly, she rushed to the window, putting her hands onto the windowsill to glance down. Raenna hadn't fallen very far, she was dangling about two feet below the edge, clinging onto a slightly protruding brick. Her lilac eyes were widened with terror. Below her, there was only darkness and eventually, as Kersea knew, the Sunset Sea.
With a grunt, she pushed herself up the windowsill, lying on it, as she reached down. “Grab my hand!”, she yelled. Raenna gave her a nod, as she reached upwards. Her own hand reached for Kersea's wrist, though she wasn't able to grab it at first.… [view original content]
I think I have a good guess as to who Abbas is planning on enslaving, and it would make sense as he would have to go in that general direction to get back to Essos. Better watch your back Harpy.
Hm, a really interesting theory. Given her backstory, Harpy would certainly bring him a lot of money, if he'd sell her to the right person. That said, she's also, according to his knowledge, guarded by the Burned Man and at the very least currently in the company of Jaron, Lanford and Samuel, which does make such a move highly risky. You'll soon see if Abbas is truly willing to take the risk-
But I am kinda okay with Clayton living. He doesn't seem like too much of a threat besides the fact he has knowledge on Kersea's evil deeds, and a reall bad grudge. But he also knows a lot about Butterfly's organization and if an interested party say Jaron or Lucas find him, Clayton can provide some answers.
Hehehe, you think Clayton would agree to help? That man lost him arm, yes, but he is still incredibly dangerous, not only for Kersea. Actually, he is unlikely to be much of a threat for her, since he believes her dead, but anyone else? They won't be so lucky. And I wouldn't count on him helping the good guys or something like that. Keep in mind how he more or less mentally tortured Kersea. That man is definitely one of the bad guys, his sense of morality is more than screwed and hoping for his help is highly likely to be futile.
I was really confused when Kersea said that Clayton saved lives by blowing it up, did it land into the harbor or something?
Nah, it's a worry Kersea had for a while now, that the wrong person could gain control of the Wildfire. Just think of what would happen if a less-than-stable person like Harris, or an outright villain like Mullendore, would gain control of this weapon and how they could use it. By blowing it up now, Clayton has likely prevented massive destruction at a later point, which is ironic, considering that saving lives is the last thing he wanted to do.
And to think that Richard could've died so long ago. I wonder what the story would be like if Richard had died to Wolfius back then. Would Kersea just be collasped in the wilderness by her lonesome?
Oh, this would have changed quite a lot. If Lucas would have followed Harris, then he would have found Kersea here and he would have saved her life. Otherwise, she would have collapsed all alone and her fate would have been unknown for now, though she would have been revealed alive at a later point. Frankly, I haven't put much thought into that part, since Richard survived back at the time where I still have planned for Kersea to die here. Chances are it would have been Leonard or maybe Jenna.
[Travel down the eastern road] Time to send Ellena off on a brand new adventure, maybe to go slay some dragons, or seduce some Essos Warlord… more, sail across the Sunset Sea, Climb the Wall, the possibilities are endless. I think I have a good guess as to who Abbas is planning on enslaving, and it would make sense as he would have to go in that general direction to get back to Essos. Better watch your back Harpy. Kersea part was really good. I had guess trying to save Raenna would fail. But I am kinda okay with Clayton living. He doesn't seem like too much of a threat besides the fact he has knowledge on Kersea's evil deeds, and a reall bad grudge. But he also knows a lot about Butterfly's organization and if an interested party say Jaron or Lucas find him, Clayton can provide some answers. That explosion was super epic. Reminded me of the opening scene of Dragon Age Inquisition. I was really confused when Kersea said that Clayton saved lives by … [view original content]
Oh yes, I liked it a lot. Nowadays, given your vastly increased skills, she's no longer among my favourite drawings (though still one I like a lot) and replaced by more recent ones, but back in the day I considered her to be one of your best, so it definitely got me thinking. And then, one thing led to the other and I realized how much potential her survival could offer, especially now that she is free from Clayton's control, able to do the things she really wants to do. It was a thought that simply didn't occur to me before. This is the second (chronologically first) time your drawings have actually influenced the story and unlike that time where you gave Maya brown hair (which I can't imagine her without now), this one is going to have massive consequences for Book 2.
Aha, so it was Kersea that I saved Funny thing is, I wasn't super happy with the drawing myself back then (and now I could definitely do it better). However, I'm glad you like it, and that it saved her
Maybe she can get captured. That would be good. Hm. Who is Abbas going to get? Who knows? Liquid, Abbas, that's it. Might have been Raenna but...
Ah. Clayton. I knew it, I knew he would do something like that. Kersea screwed up. I knew we should have killed him. Now he's out on the loose. How many times do we need to let a crazed psycho killer walk free to stop doing that? Sure, Raenna probably would have died anyway, but you know, she has a chance of survival, however small it is (I do suspect someone, maybe an ironborn or someone in a boat to see her body floating), and Clayton would be dead, dead, dead. Right now, if I had to describe my feeling about this with a Pink Floyd song title, it would "Comfortably Numb", because at least Clayton and wildfire aren't likely going to be problems on the same level as before.
EDIT: I was putting some music on and I put this song on, and then I realized it was kind of ironic considering what happened in this part.
Kersea
The glare she threw at Clayton held even more hatred than the one she received in return. There was nothing left to say between th… moreem. One of them had to die. But not now. Now, there was another priority. Kersea turned away from Clayton and towards the window. There were but two people left in this world that meant a thing to her and Raenna was one of them.
Quickly, she rushed to the window, putting her hands onto the windowsill to glance down. Raenna hadn't fallen very far, she was dangling about two feet below the edge, clinging onto a slightly protruding brick. Her lilac eyes were widened with terror. Below her, there was only darkness and eventually, as Kersea knew, the Sunset Sea.
With a grunt, she pushed herself up the windowsill, lying on it, as she reached down. “Grab my hand!”, she yelled. Raenna gave her a nod, as she reached upwards. Her own hand reached for Kersea's wrist, though she wasn't able to grab it at first.… [view original content]
I have a feeling Abbas is going after Briar. I'd rather have Ellena get captured than Briar. This part was super epic, again, the description of the wildfire was very well done.
Kersea
The glare she threw at Clayton held even more hatred than the one she received in return. There was nothing left to say between th… moreem. One of them had to die. But not now. Now, there was another priority. Kersea turned away from Clayton and towards the window. There were but two people left in this world that meant a thing to her and Raenna was one of them.
Quickly, she rushed to the window, putting her hands onto the windowsill to glance down. Raenna hadn't fallen very far, she was dangling about two feet below the edge, clinging onto a slightly protruding brick. Her lilac eyes were widened with terror. Below her, there was only darkness and eventually, as Kersea knew, the Sunset Sea.
With a grunt, she pushed herself up the windowsill, lying on it, as she reached down. “Grab my hand!”, she yelled. Raenna gave her a nod, as she reached upwards. Her own hand reached for Kersea's wrist, though she wasn't able to grab it at first.… [view original content]
Ah. Clayton. I knew it, I knew he would do something like that. Kersea screwed up. I knew we should have killed him. Now he's out on the loose. How many times do we need to let a crazed psycho killer walk free to stop doing that? Sure, Raenna probably would have died anyway, but you know, she has a chance of survival, however small it is (I do suspect someone, maybe an ironborn or someone in a boat to see her body floating), and Clayton would be dead, dead, dead. Right now, if I had to describe my feeling about this with a Pink Floyd song title, it would "Comfortably Numb", because at least Clayton and wildfire aren't likely going to be problems on the same level as before.
Hm, you are right, the other choice would have resulted in the same outcome for Raenna and roughly the same for Kersea, but Clayton would have been confirmed dead. That said, th destruction of the wildfire is not necessarily a bad thing, since such a massive amount of power shouldn't be in the hands of an irresponsible or not well-intentioned ruler. Just imagine if the Ironborn would have gotten their hands on that thing. And it's true that Clayton won't be much of a problem for a number of characters anymore. Losing an arm has basically ruined his career as a fighter, so even just average fighters will be able to take him on now. If he survives his wound (which, as I must repeat, is not guaranteed), it's unlikely he will continue his work for Butterfly. It's possible he's going to continue to be a problem for Kersea though.
EDIT: I was putting some music on and I put this song on, and then I realized it was kind of ironic considering what happened in this part.
God damn it Not only do I have a serious earworm now, but even worse, I can't unhear it when it comes to that scene.
[Search the area for Brandon]
Maybe she can get captured. That would be good. Hm. Who is Abbas going to get? Who knows? Liquid, Abbas, th… moreat's it. Might have been Raenna but...
Ah. Clayton. I knew it, I knew he would do something like that. Kersea screwed up. I knew we should have killed him. Now he's out on the loose. How many times do we need to let a crazed psycho killer walk free to stop doing that? Sure, Raenna probably would have died anyway, but you know, she has a chance of survival, however small it is (I do suspect someone, maybe an ironborn or someone in a boat to see her body floating), and Clayton would be dead, dead, dead. Right now, if I had to describe my feeling about this with a Pink Floyd song title, it would "Comfortably Numb", because at least Clayton and wildfire aren't likely going to be problems on the same level as before.
EDIT: I was putting some music on and I put this song on, and then I realized it was kind of ironic considering what happened in this part.
I have a feeling Abbas is going after Briar. I'd rather have Ellena get captured than Briar. This part was super epic, again, the description of the wildfire was very well done.
Briar is also an interesting theory and since she has only Brandon for protection, they could probably capture her relatively easy, given that neither Abbas nor Bakr are weaklings when it comes to a fight. And I am glad you enjoyed this part! As I said above, this wildfire explosion was the image I really wanted to get right, so I'm happy that I apparently succeeded.
[Search the area for Brandon]
I have a feeling Abbas is going after Briar. I'd rather have Ellena get captured than Briar. This part was super epic, again, the description of the wildfire was very well done.
Hm, you are right, the other choice would have resulted in the same outcome for Raenna and roughly the same for Kersea, but Clayton would have been confirmed dead. That said, th destruction of the wildfire is not necessarily a bad thing, since such a massive amount of power shouldn't be in the hands of an irresponsible or not well-intentioned ruler. Just imagine if the Ironborn would have gotten their hands on that thing. And it's true that Clayton won't be much of a problem for a number of characters anymore. Losing an arm has basically ruined his career as a fighter, so even just average fighters will be able to take him on now. If he survives his wound (which, as I must repeat, is not guaranteed), it's unlikely he will continue his work for Butterfly. It's possible he's going to continue to be a problem for Kersea though.
I mean I doubt they would have found it. I doubt really anyone would have been able to get near it too since Leonard knows and he's cool. I guess it's good that he lost an arm because unlike Savage Oppress he can't get a cybernetic one.
God damn it Not only do I have a serious earworm now, but even worse, I can't unhear it when it comes to that scene.
And Marak and Terroma's death. Actually, it's an interesting parallel if Raenna died from falling like Terroma did. But yes, now Tom Petty's voice shall radiate in your mind forever. Who is the bad boy, who is the good girl, who knows?
Ah. Clayton. I knew it, I knew he would do something like that. Kersea screwed up. I knew we should have killed him. Now he's out on the loo… morese. How many times do we need to let a crazed psycho killer walk free to stop doing that? Sure, Raenna probably would have died anyway, but you know, she has a chance of survival, however small it is (I do suspect someone, maybe an ironborn or someone in a boat to see her body floating), and Clayton would be dead, dead, dead. Right now, if I had to describe my feeling about this with a Pink Floyd song title, it would "Comfortably Numb", because at least Clayton and wildfire aren't likely going to be problems on the same level as before.
Hm, you are right, the other choice would have resulted in the same outcome for Raenna and roughly the same for Kersea, but Clayton would have been confirmed dead. That said, th destruction of the wildfire is not necessarily a bad thing, since such a massive amount… [view original content]
Fuck!! I knew we should have killed Clayton. Pretty much the same exact thing happened except now he's still alive. Gotta say he's probably my most disliked character in the story. We finally had our chance to end him once and for all but he gets away yet again. And on top of that, Raenna is probably dead. Great part, really great actually, but frustrating since I wanted to kill Clayton.
[Travel down the eastern road]
Sorry Brandon, but Ellena needs to get out of there now.
Kersea
The glare she threw at Clayton held even more hatred than the one she received in return. There was nothing left to say between th… moreem. One of them had to die. But not now. Now, there was another priority. Kersea turned away from Clayton and towards the window. There were but two people left in this world that meant a thing to her and Raenna was one of them.
Quickly, she rushed to the window, putting her hands onto the windowsill to glance down. Raenna hadn't fallen very far, she was dangling about two feet below the edge, clinging onto a slightly protruding brick. Her lilac eyes were widened with terror. Below her, there was only darkness and eventually, as Kersea knew, the Sunset Sea.
With a grunt, she pushed herself up the windowsill, lying on it, as she reached down. “Grab my hand!”, she yelled. Raenna gave her a nod, as she reached upwards. Her own hand reached for Kersea's wrist, though she wasn't able to grab it at first.… [view original content]
This time, I expected you to make this choice and I am pretty happy with it. It was an important choice for Ellena and it holds the potential to lead her down a very interesting path in Chapter 9. Of course, it means she won't catch up with Brandon and Briar for the time being, but we'll get an update on them relatively soon regardless. Ellena should have some pretty interesting decisions coming up in Chapter 9 now, so that's something I look forward for
The next part is hopefully going to be out today. Well, I'll try my best at least. It'll feature PoV's from Alys and Willfred. Last time we've seen Alys, she made her way down the archive, together with Edward and his followers. Things took a turn for the worse when Edward reveald his true, ruthless nature, not giving a shit about the Ironborn, who fell victim to the spells that were woven to protect the secrets of the lower archive from thieves. Understandably, many of them decided to flee. One of them, Wilbur, offered Alys to get out of there with him, but she decided to remain with Edward, for the better or worse. Her next part should be pretty interesting. Meanwhile, Willfred hasn't appeared in a while, but the consequences of his actions have influenced quite a bit in this chapter. In his last part, he took council with his uncle, Roger and General Tallian. There, Tallian argued to leave the soldiers at the castle, which, as you know, turned out to be an absolutely crucial decision. However, Willfred and Roger have ventured out into the city on their own, in the hopes that their presence can make a difference in the fight. His next part should be interesting as well. I'll try my best to finish it today, but can't exactly promise it, so you may have to wait until tomorrow, as much as I try to prevent this.
I mean I doubt they would have found it. I doubt really anyone would have been able to get near it too since Leonard knows and he's cool. I guess it's good that he lost an arm because unlike Savage Oppress he can't get a cybernetic one.
Leonard knows about it, so does Lucas, whereas almost none of the other characters know about its existence. However, it is located at an abandoned lighthouse just outside of the city, so it is likely that sooner or later, someone would have stumbled across it either way. And that's right with Clayton, he won't just get a new arm. It's been severed above the elbow on top of that, making it even more of a crippling injury, since the rudimentary prosthetics of Westeros won't even restore the function to bend the limb. Given that he even lost Butterfly's favour with his final act (because blowing up a useless lighthouse with the wildfire was surely not his plan), his future looks grim regardless.
And Marak and Terroma's death. Actually, it's an interesting parallel if Raenna died from falling like Terroma did. But yes, now Tom Petty's voice shall radiate in your mind forever. Who is the bad boy, who is the good girl, who knows?
That's indeed an interesting parallel and one I haven't even fully intended. It should be noted that this scene was, in a very early draft, even planned to be Terroma's death scene, where Clayton would stab him and throw him down the lighthouse, before I finalized Marak's storyline and decided to end that one with a mutual kill. So, while accidental, it's interesting that Terroma was always intended to die in such a way and now his favourite student received a similar fate.
And that song... I... I can't get it out of my head again. You... you scoundrel! That was your plan all along, wasn't it? Argh, it can't be unheard
Hm, you are right, the other choice would have resulted in the same outcome for Raenna and roughly the same for Kersea, but Clayton would ha… moreve been confirmed dead. That said, th destruction of the wildfire is not necessarily a bad thing, since such a massive amount of power shouldn't be in the hands of an irresponsible or not well-intentioned ruler. Just imagine if the Ironborn would have gotten their hands on that thing. And it's true that Clayton won't be much of a problem for a number of characters anymore. Losing an arm has basically ruined his career as a fighter, so even just average fighters will be able to take him on now. If he survives his wound (which, as I must repeat, is not guaranteed), it's unlikely he will continue his work for Butterfly. It's possible he's going to continue to be a problem for Kersea though.
I mean I doubt they would have found it. I doubt really anyone would have been able to get near it too since Le… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Ellena is going to travel down the eastern road
This time, I expected you to make this choice and I am pretty ha… moreppy with it. It was an important choice for Ellena and it holds the potential to lead her down a very interesting path in Chapter 9. Of course, it means she won't catch up with Brandon and Briar for the time being, but we'll get an update on them relatively soon regardless. Ellena should have some pretty interesting decisions coming up in Chapter 9 now, so that's something I look forward for
The next part is hopefully going to be out today. Well, I'll try my best at least. It'll feature PoV's from Alys and Willfred. Last time we've seen Alys, she made her way down the archive, together with Edward and his followers. Things took a turn for the worse when Edward reveald his true, ruthless nature, not giving a shit about the Ironborn, who fell victim to the spells that were woven to protect the secrets o… [view original content]
I mean I doubt they would have found it. I doubt really anyone would have been able to get near it too since Leonard knows and he's cool. I … moreguess it's good that he lost an arm because unlike Savage Oppress he can't get a cybernetic one.
Leonard knows about it, so does Lucas, whereas almost none of the other characters know about its existence. However, it is located at an abandoned lighthouse just outside of the city, so it is likely that sooner or later, someone would have stumbled across it either way. And that's right with Clayton, he won't just get a new arm. It's been severed above the elbow on top of that, making it even more of a crippling injury, since the rudimentary prosthetics of Westeros won't even restore the function to bend the limb. Given that he even lost Butterfly's favour with his final act (because blowing up a useless lighthouse with the wildfire was surely not his plan), his future looks grim regardless.
An… [view original content]
The Voting is closed!
Ellena is going to travel down the eastern road
This time, I expected you to make this choice and I am pretty ha… moreppy with it. It was an important choice for Ellena and it holds the potential to lead her down a very interesting path in Chapter 9. Of course, it means she won't catch up with Brandon and Briar for the time being, but we'll get an update on them relatively soon regardless. Ellena should have some pretty interesting decisions coming up in Chapter 9 now, so that's something I look forward for
The next part is hopefully going to be out today. Well, I'll try my best at least. It'll feature PoV's from Alys and Willfred. Last time we've seen Alys, she made her way down the archive, together with Edward and his followers. Things took a turn for the worse when Edward reveald his true, ruthless nature, not giving a shit about the Ironborn, who fell victim to the spells that were woven to protect the secrets o… [view original content]
Probably for good reason on top of that. Alys is getting into some pretty dangerous stuff there, which might take a terrible toll on her. Being worried is definitely not the wrong thing to do in this situation.
Unfortunately not, at least most likely not. I might be able to put it in somewhere, but unfortunatly, the space is limited. On top of that, I have realized that Maya's next part is not necessarily needed for the storyline, not even for hers. Instead, some of the things that would be revealed there will likely be far better in her first part in Chapter 9. However, if I have the room, I will put it in to either this part (unlikely) or the next one (more likely).
Holy hell, this is creepy But so amazing at the same time. I mean, damn, Wolfius is one sick bastard and this drawing definitely shows this very well. A perfect portrait in every way and it shows him just about exactly as I have imagined him to look while writing. Especially that expression is going to give me nightmares! But yeah, thank you very much for drawing this portrait! It's always a great highlight to see one of them
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep up with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her shoulders with her hands.
She nearly flinched as she felt movement behind her, though calmed down again as she heard Alisa's calm voice right next to her, feeling the fabric of the woman's cloak. “Here, take this”, she said. “You shouldn't freeze down here” Alys gave her a thankful nod, though she noticed that Alisa was now without any cloak of her own. “What about you?”, she asked.
Alisa smirked. “Well, I'm not freezing that quickly”, she said. “Northern blood and all” Her face dropped in the very same moment she had said this and her eyes widened. “Are you freezing?”, she asked and Alys gulped, as she gave her a nod. This gained Carvin's attention and he narrowed his eyes. “It's not even that cold”, he mumbled.
“It's not just that”, Alys replied. “There is something... else” She shivered again, despite the warm cloak Alisa had wrapped her into. And she knew that something was seriously wrong right now. “Alys....”, something whispered. It was a soft murmur, coming from several directions at once and her eyes widened.
“What is it?”, Carvin asked, having heard her gasp. Alys turned towards him, her face having grown pale. “Little Lady?”, he asked again, raising an eyebrow. “Alys Boleyn... runaway, disobedient daughter...”, the voices whispered again, louder this time and Alys clenched her fists, as she glanced around in fear. Yet there was nothing, nothing she was able to see.
“Oh, but we see you”, they hissed. “We see what you truly are... Thief!” They had spoken the last word louder and the sudden change in tone caused Alys to let out a short, involuntary scream. This finally gained Edward's attention and he only glared at her. “Have you lied to me about your ancestry?”, he asked coldly.
Frantically, Alys shook her head. “No”, she said, as tears formed in her eyes. “No, please, you gotta help me!” As she spoke, she felt an unnatural fear creeping up inside of her. Nothing about this place felt natural, but it was this fear that convinced her that she shouldn't be here, not in the slightest. “I hear a voice. It... it calls me a thief”
Edward narrowed his eyes. He glanced at Carvin who shook his head. “I don't hear a thing, boss”, he replied and Edward focussed back on her. “Then the spell is singling you out”, he told her. “Question is why he is doing this. The protection is still working with me and Carvin. It still doesn't know we're here... you on the other hand...”
Alys shivered again, as she momentarily felt cold breath on her neck. “Edward...”, she said and he narrowed his eyes. “You did lie to me”, he spat, as he raised his hand. She cowered, yet he gave her a heavy slap across the face. A shrill gasp came out of Alys' throat, as she stumbled. Only Alisa caught her, as Edward stared daggers at her.
“Never lie to me again”, he told her, before he shook his head. “Alisa, Carvin, get her out of here!” As he spoke these words, he sounded softer again. He raised an eyebrow at their surprise. “What, do you think I'm letting her die? Why should I?”, he asked. “Now go, before Carvin's protection wears off” He shook his head. “I won't back down now. I am so close”
“Ser...”, Carvin started, but Edward cut him off. “Do as I say”, he growled lowly. “Take Lady Alys and bring her out of here. Alisa, you bring her back to the ship. Carvin, you wait for my return in front of the archive” Carvin gulped, though he managed to give him a reluctant nod. Alys, still being held by Alisa, was unable to see her reaction, though with the dark glare Edward gave her, she was only able to imagine how negative it was.
“We will do it, Ser”, she finally said and Edward smirked coldly. “There would be one more thing, Alisa”, he said and the woman sighed audibly. Patting Alys onto the shoulder she stepped past her and towards Edward. This left Alys momentarily even more vulnerable, as nobody covered her back, leaving it open to the gaping darkness behind her.
“Thief...”, the voices whispered. “Come out. Show yourself, Lady Alys” She started to breath more heavily again and Carvin noticed it at once. Without even saying a word, he took Alisa's former position at her back, giving her a cheerful smile as he passed her. In the meantime, Alisa had reached her leader.
“How much?”, she asked and Edward gave her a mild look. “Enough”, he replied. “I won't make the same mistake as I did with Alys” Alisa looked visibly unhappy with this answer, as she pulled out a knife from her belt. Without uttering as much as a grunt, she sliced her own palm open, drawing blood, which Edward collected in a small vial.
“Yes”, he said with a wide smile as, he put a finger into the vial. “Thank you, Lady Karstark” He started to redraw the strange rune on his forehead, this time with her blood. Alisa turned around, the look on her face equal parts disgusted and pained. Carvin gave her a look and she shook her head in return. “Let's get out of here...”, she mumbled, as she reached for a piece of cloth from her pocket, to wrap it around her wounded palm. “Let's just get the hell out of here”
Alys glanced at Edward, who gave her a nod. Then, he turned around, to go deeper into the archive, only a single torch to keep him company. He walked past the large mass of shadow without paying attention to it. In return, it didn't pay any attention to him as well, as if neither was able to see the other. Instead, it looked solely at Alys.
Her heart started to beat faster. “Thief”, the voice hissed, as she clung onto Carvin next to her. “We have to go”, she urged him, her voice sounding shrill with panic. “We have to run” Alisa glanced over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes. Then, she gave her a nod and all three started to run.
While Carvin and Alisa were notably faster than her, Alys noticed that they were holding back, for her sake. Alisa guarded her back, while Carvin was almost dragging her with him so that she was able to keep up with him. He narrowed his eyes. “I hear it”, he gulped. “Seven fucking Hells, I hear it”
He fastened his pace and now it was Alisa who was pushing Alys forwards. “Run, girl”, she hissed, though she didn't have to tell her. Alys was already rushing down the corridor as fast as she was able to. And with the voice in her head, slowly growing louder, she ran faster than ever before. Her lungs burned with pain and the whole building seemed a lot bigger all of a sudden.
“Up there!”, Carvin yelled, pointing at the ladder they had used to climb into the lower cellars. He waited, allowing Alys to climb first, as Alisa took a position in the centre of the corridor. With determination on her face, she drew her sword. “Where is it?”, she hissed.
Alys saw Carvin pointing at something in the distance, though she did not turn around to see what it was. Instead, she climbed the ladder until she reached the next floor, where she crawled away from the hole, breathing heavily from exhaustion and fear. Carvin followed shortly afterwards, as Alisa let out a surprised scream from below. “Run!”, she screamed.
Carvin helped Alys up, just as a mass of shadows followed through the hole in the ground. It was hovering in front of them for a second, as both were too petrified to move. Then, in the darkness, a face formed, shadowy, but unmistakable.
“Alys”, the thing spoke with her father's voice, wearing her father's face. “Why did you leave me? The pain you caused me...” Next to her, Carvin gasped in horror. “Ilish?”, he asked. A smirk formed on her father's face, but before the shadow was able to attack, a sword cut through it, dispersing it for the moment. Behind it, Alisa climbed through he hole. “Bloody run already!”, she barked.
At least for a second, the petrifying fear left them, as Alys and Carvin rushed up again, continuing down the hallway. He was almost carrying her by now, as she gasped for air, to even stay conscious, pushing her body farther than ever before. The stairs that led to the ground floor were already within sight.
“ALYS!”, the voice of her father echoed through the building, but this time, she remained on her feet. Carvin was the first to reach the stairs, dragging Alys with him, as suddenly, she felt something. It was equal parts scalding hot and deathly cold and she screamed in pain as it wrapped around her hand. As she looked down the hallway, she saw the shadowy figure, now but a formless mass, one part of it wrapped around her forearm.
“Thief”, it said. “You will stay” From her other side, where Carvin tried to get up the stairs, she felt him trying to pull her with him, though the strength of the shadow prevented him from taking her. She felt panic overwhelming her, but there was something else, something dark that almost seemed to forcibly invade her mind. It was hard to focus, even harder to stay awake at all.
Once again, it was Alisa who saved her. Stepping through the shadow as if it didn't even exist for her, her presence alone seemed to disperse it. The force around her arm was gone, but the horrified feeling stayed. She would have fallen if not for Alisa and Carvin, who both held on to her.
“We have to get her out of here”, Alisa said, as she and Carvin started to carry her up the stairs and towards safety. The look she gave Alys was full of concern. It was the last thing she saw before she drifted off.
No Choices for this part
Willfred
“You know, the soldiers could have been of use here”, Roger remarked, something Willfred had to agree with, now that he saw the amount of destruction the Ironborn caused. “They would have all died”, he replied in return. “We two draw way less attention”
Roger laughed at this. “Right”, he said. “Two knights, the swordsman and the archer” He shook his head. “The most inconspicuous men in the entire city” Willfred joined in on his chuckle. “I believe our men can do a lot of good up at the castle”, he said. “For once, Tallian was right”
“Maybe”, Roger admitted, before his smile faded, as he raised his arm to stop his nephew. In the distance, they heard voices, coming from the large square at the end of the street they were walking down. Since the noise of the fighting in the distance was drowning their own, both even managed to do it silently, despite Willfred's heavy armour and Roger's chainmail.
Willfred reached the corner of the street first. He glanced around it and at the large building at the other end of the square. The archive. He had hear of it, but hadn't had the pleasure of seeing it before. It was large, perhaps the largest historical archive in the known world. A marble front, high columns, build in a style so drastically different than the simple wooden houses that surrounded it.
Three people were hurrying down the steps, a man, a woman, carrying a third woman, a young girl with light brown hair. “Is she still breathing?”, the man asked and the woman gave him a nod. Both looked horrified, a sort of horror that Willfred had never seen before.
“Get her to safety”, the man said. His hands were shivering, as he reached for the crossbow that was dangling on his back. “Try to find someone to help her. I'll follow with Edward once he returns” The woman sighed. “If he returns”, she replied. “Can't say I'd be sad if he doesn't”
The man shook his head. “Me neither”, he replied. “What a sick bastard” The woman smirked, though it didn't light up the frown on her face. “Take care of yourself”, she said. “It would suck if you'd die here” The man chuckled at these words. “Yeah, no arguing here”, he said. “That would indeed suck. Now get Alys to the ship”
As he said these last words, Roger's eyes narrowed. “Raider”, he voiced tonelessly. The woman gently lifted the girl up, as she moved down the stairs, while the man started to load his crossbow. She took one of the roads that led away from the archive, closer to the docks.
Once she was out of sight, Roger and Willfred exchanged a nod and stepped onto the square, Roger with an arrow ready, Willfred with sword and shield, both facing the man with the crossbow. “Greetings”, his uncle said. “May we ask what you're doing here?”
The crossbowman instantly pointed the weapon at them, before Roger was able to do the same. “Fuck off”, he said coldly. “This is none of your business” Roger raised an eyebrow. “Have you arrived here with the Ironborn?”, he asked. The man shrugged. “And if?”, he growled in return. Roger glanced at Willfred. “Then it will be our duty to stop you”, he replied.
He tried to raise his bow, but the crossbowman was quicker, having already loaded his weapon. He shot and the bolt hit Roger, throwing him backwards and to the ground, where he clutched his shoulder, wincing in pain. “Uncle!”, Willfred screamed, as he pointed his sword at the crossbowman, who nonchalantly reached for the next bolt.
Willfred didn't give him the time to do this. He started to charge, knowing how long it would take to reload the deadly weapon. The crossbowman knew it as well. With a muffled curse, he threw his weapon to the ground and reached for the sword at his belt. He managed to draw it just in time to parry Willfred's strike.
For a second, both men glared at each other, Willfred with anger, the other man with cold professionalism. He did the next attack, it was a short, quick strike with the crossguard, which Willfred had to move away from to parry it. Spinning his blade around, his opponent attacked immediately again, his high strike was easily blocked, yet it came with quite a lot of force.
Now, it was Willfred's time to strike. Still using his shield to keep the other man's sword up, he tried to impale him. The man growled something, as he jumped back. Willfred's attack only cut through thin air, as his opponent struck him from above. Only barely did Willfred manage to block this strike with his shield and now, they stood close to each other.
Willfred still held the other man's sword up in the air with his shield, yet his opponent prevented him from attacking as well, by putting an arm around his weapon, trapping it between the limb and his own body. “You're going down, red lion”, he growled, as they stood close enough to feel each other's breath. Then, in a move that Willfred hadn't expected, his opponent slammed their foreheads against each other.
The unexpected blow caused Willfred to stagger and the man attacked again. He parried the first strike with his sword, the second with his shield. The third attack was not aimed at him, but at the top of his sword, as his opponent closed in again. His blade hit the top of Willfred's keeping it down, as he gave him a smirk.
What could have been a disadvantage turned out to give Willfred an opening, as he did not hesitate to use his shield. He raised it and heavily slammed it into the man's face. Without missing a beat, he repeated this move twice, slamming the heavy metal edge right onto the crossbowman's nose. His opponent stumbled back, before losing his footing and falling down the stairs. With grim satisfaction, Willfred watched him landing on the ground.
That was when he heard movement behind him. He turned around just in time to see another man leaving the archive. He was handsome, perhaps in his thirties, with short, dark hair and a well-maintained moustache. One of his hands held a rapier, one of these thin, Free City blades, the other was clenched around a small package, tightly wrapped into dry bandages.
Without uttering a word, the man pointed the rapier at him. Willfred quickly realized that this was the man the other two had spoken about. Another opponent, as it seemed, yet woefully unprepared to face an armoured knight, especially with his toothpick of a weapon.
Nonetheless, he attacked. It was a quick strike, aimed for Willfred's unprotected head, yet none he couldn't parry. The thin blade of the rapier only hit the metal of the shield, as Willfred's own sword struck forwards. The man tried to dodge the blow, but to Willfred's surprise, he landed a hit. The blade did not cut through air, but across the man's cheek, leaving a deep gash that caused him to stumble back towards the archive.
With a roar, Willfred charged at him, intending to impale him. The man was unable to dodge the attack and barely able to parry. Instead, he merely managed to deflect the attack and what was meant to end the fight in an instant instead only impaled the man's shoulder.
A scream came out of his opponent's throat, as Willfred pushed him against one of the columns, with the intent to push the sword further through the shoulder. Both, the rapier and the small package, fell to the ground, as the man used both of his hands to push against the crossguard of Willfred's sword, to prevent himself from being impaled even further. This was a futile move, as Willfred slowly pushed the blade through the man's shoulder.
His triumph was short lived. Just as he thought he had won, a sudden pain flared up in his back heavily pushing him towards his opponent. The wounded man used this opportunity to free himself from Willfred's sword, though he fell to the ground in an instant, whereas Willfred at least managed to remain on his knees and to hold on to his sword.
Despite the agony in his back, he managed to turn towards the stairs, seeing the crossbowman walking up. The crossbow he had used to shoot Willfred was resting in one of his hands, whereas the other was holding his sword. Though he pointed it at Willfred, he made no move to actually attack him.
“Ser, we have to get out of here”, he said, as he helped the other man to stand up again. Willfred's opponent was weak, he was barely able to stand on his own with the gruesome wound he suffered, but his eyes widened at these words. “The relic”, he hissed. “Carvin, kill this man and get my relic back!”
The crossbowman glanced at the package, which was lying right next to Willfred, before he shook his head. “My primary duty is to keep you safe, Ser”, he said. “I can't do that against this man. Wounded or not, he's too good” He gave Willfred a nod. “Don't get in our way, Red Lion”, he growled, as he turned to one of the streets. The wounded man, though reluctantly, had to follow, though he glared at Willfred, who remained kneeling on the ground. “We'll meet again”, he hissed and just like that, they retreated.
With a sigh, Willfred wasted no time to rush towards Roger. His uncle had lost his consciousness, though he was still alive, breathing slowly, but steadily. He needed help. And this package, this relic the man had mentioned, Willfred could get it to safety as well. Whatever it was, he had no doubt that keeping it away from the man was a good thing.
His glance fell at the two men, the wounded one and his crossbow-wielding bodyguard. Yes, he was wounded, but maybe he could still take them on. Could he truly let them get away now, after nearly killing him, after nearly killing Roger?
[Follow the men][Get Roger and the package to the castle]
We do what we can,let's save the uncle and obtain the misterious package! (And a really interesting plot for the next chapter)
RT:
Alys last part was very good!I really like the escape from the archive!
While Alys see the face of her father screaming that she is a "thief" Carver see his sister... that's interesting
Poor Alisa always have to give some blood!
Anturion obtain from me new points for style when he decide to obtain the misterious package alone but then he lose some points when he was owned by Willfred (btw I still like Anturion more than many other villains of this story)
Talking about Willfred I must give him my own congratulation!It seems ages from his last fight but I really enjoy his fight (instead shame on Roger that try to face a man with a crossbow using the bow!)
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
Well Wilfred was certainly quick to pick a fight. I would've been really mad at him if he managed to kill Carvin.
[Get Roger and the package to the castle] It seems to me that Edward fully intends to come back for the package. I see little point in chasing them. This way Wilfred will have the defensive advantage and time to prepare.
So yeah... fuck Edward! This guy has proven to be a real piece of scum. Bloody Two-faced cock wrangler!
One thing I'm a little confused about, Edward hitting Alys. He called her a liar, but I wasn't aware that she was lying. Am I missing something?
Really enjoyed Alys' part btw! It was really cool and creepy. I was also feeling really bad for Alys.
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
Well Wilfred was certainly quick to pick a fight. I would've been really mad at him if he managed to kill Carvin.
He certainly was! It genuinely bothers him that he has contributed so little to the fight, so he jumped at the chance to prevent the archive from being robbed. And in his defence, he even managed to do it, sort of, by attaining that mysterious package Edward was after. On the downside, he came close to kill Carvin, who is not really much of a bad guy, aside from his work for a bad guy.
So yeah... fuck Edward! This guy has proven to be a real piece of scum. Bloody Two-faced cock wrangler!
Hehe, he indeed showed his true colours in this chapter. He's not as bad as some of the other villains (Wolfius and Clayton come to mind), but his ambition drives him to the worst. That said, if you react so negatively towards him there, just wait until you meet his brother. Edward is the charming and nice one in the family
One thing I'm a little confused about, Edward hitting Alys. He called her a liar, but I wasn't aware that she was lying. Am I missing something?
There hasn't really been put much emphasis on it, because Alys herself was too scared to actually fully understand his words here, but basically, Edward accused her of lying when she previously told him that she is a pureblooded Northerner. As he has previously explained, only those with the blood of the First Men (which runs the strongest in the North), are protected from the spells that prevent thieves from taking the books. The fact that she was nearly killed by these spells prove that she has Andal ancestry, something she herself wasn't even aware of. So, she did not lie consciously, but in that moment, Edward momentarily lost his cool, resulting in him hitting her.
Really enjoyed Alys' part btw! It was really cool and creepy. I was also feeling really bad for Alys.
Glad to hear it! I must admit that I felt slightly ill while writing this part (which is also why I had to delay it for a whole day), so I wasn't too sure how it would be received, but hearing that you enjoyed it comes as a big relief for me. I really tried to give the creepy vibes there, so it's good to see I succeeded
Well Wilfred was certainly quick to pick a fight. I would've been really mad at him if he managed to kill Carvin.
[Get Roger and the pack… moreage to the castle] It seems to me that Edward fully intends to come back for the package. I see little point in chasing them. This way Wilfred will have the defensive advantage and time to prepare.
So yeah... fuck Edward! This guy has proven to be a real piece of scum. Bloody Two-faced cock wrangler!
One thing I'm a little confused about, Edward hitting Alys. He called her a liar, but I wasn't aware that she was lying. Am I missing something?
Really enjoyed Alys' part btw! It was really cool and creepy. I was also feeling really bad for Alys.
Alys last part was very good!I really like the escape from the archive!
Ah, good to hear! It's something I kind of struggled with (especially as I was not feeling too well) and it ended up longer than planned (also my reason to remove Maya from this part, even though I may have found an opening to give her a small PoV in the next part or the one after), so it is reassuring to hear that you enjoyed it.
While Alys see the face of her father screaming that she is a "thief" Carver see his sister... that's interesting
Yes, at this point, the spell has gotten at least some impression of the people it was chasing there and it learned about the person they believed to have wronged the most, the one whom they regret treating badly. Alys has regrets over leaving her father, whom she always loved dearly, whereas Carvin has shown some regrets over the way he left Ilish. Alisa would have seen another person, so would have Edward, but neither was affected by the spell. It would have been truly interesting to learn whom someone like Wolfius would have seen there
Poor Alisa always have to give some blood!
Well, it's the first time for her now, the one that was inevitable. The previous dosis has been provided by Alys. If she would have refused both times, Alisa would have been forced to seriously hurt herself, in a way that would have affected her in this part and beyond, whereas now she merely got a somewhat painful cut on the palm. It could have been worse for her.
Anturion obtain from me new points for style when he decide to obtain the misterious package alone but then he lose some points when he was owned by Willfred (btw I still like Anturion more than many other villains of this story)
Haha, this is good to hear! Anturion indeed has quite some style, which is one of the key reasons why Alys even started to trust him so much prior to this chapter. At the same time, he is not a fighter, unlike villains such as Clayton or Bear. He's not too bad with a rapier, but Willfred is a trained knight and a prodigy, so he stood without a chance here.
Talking about Willfred I must give him my own congratulation!It seems ages from his last fight but I really enjoy his fight (instead shame on Roger that try to face a man with a crossbow using the bow!)
Yeah, that was something I wanted to show. If I remember correctly, Willfred's last true fight was alongside Lord Crakehall in Chapter 3, which happened indeed ages ago. Yet his fighting skill is actually a major part of his personality, so I have to put more emphasis on it later on. This was but one of many fights for him. With Roger meanwhile, well, he is a good archer and with a common crossbowman, he would have likely won. Unfortunately for him, he has been put against Carvin, who is a damn quick shot and since a crossbow is always quicker to shoot than a bow, Roger had a severe disadvantage here.
[Get Roger and the package to the castle]
We do what we can,let's save the uncle and obtain the misterious package! (And a really interes… moreting plot for the next chapter)
RT:
* Alys last part was very good!I really like the escape from the archive!
* While Alys see the face of her father screaming that she is a "thief" Carver see his sister... that's interesting
* Poor Alisa always have to give some blood!
* Anturion obtain from me new points for style when he decide to obtain the misterious package alone but then he lose some points when he was owned by Willfred (btw I still like Anturion more than many other villains of this story)
* Talking about Willfred I must give him my own congratulation!It seems ages from his last fight but I really enjoy his fight (instead shame on Roger that try to face a man with a crossbow using the bow!)
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
[Get Roger and the package to the castle] Really well done part. Bravo. Alys part had some geniality frightening stuff. Cool to see how this implies that either she is a secret bastard, or her family isn't as pure blood as they think. Liked seeing Carvin mention Illish, god I hope they meet sometime soon. Carvin is a really cool character. Anturion top as ever. Still wish that we taken the chance to kill him in Garthon's part, because I knew he was up to no good. But he is still a pretty cool character. Can't wait to see what is hidden in that package. Probably a book I think that entails the secret to dragon slaying, or maybe a raw piece of Valyrian steel? There wasn't much description on how the package was shaped, so there is much to be guessed. Wilifred had to run into these guys. He could've helped out in the city square where Torvin is going to attack, or maybe group up with the Stormlanders. Now Rodger is all messed up, But at least we got the package, which is good news for Team Targ. So I guess it worked out in the end, assuming that the city square doesn't fall which leads to a strait passage to the castle.
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
Cool to see how this implies that either she is a secret bastard, or her family isn't as pure blood as they think.
Likely the latter of these. Alys is not exactly the most knowledgeable about her family history, so she just assumed that she's more or less a pure-blooded Northerner, but to be honest, her hair having a light brown colour should have given it away, as a majority of the First Men had darker hair colours.
Liked seeing Carvin mention Illish, god I hope they meet sometime soon.
Hm, that would be quite interesting, wouldn't it? They have been apart for so long and now they are close without even knowing it. I can confirm that there is more planned between them. I haven't made Ilish a PoV without having something in mind for Carvin
Anturion top as ever. Still wish that we taken the chance to kill him in Garthon's part, because I knew he was up to no good. But he is still a pretty cool character.
Glad to hear this Yeah, I guess taking the chance to kill him back in Garthon's part during the failed assassination attempt would have led to a better outcome in many ways. However, it also would have really messed up some of my plans, so I am glad you didn't pick it
Can't wait to see what is hidden in that package. Probably a book I think that entails the secret to dragon slaying, or maybe a raw piece of Valyrian steel? There wasn't much description on how the package was shaped, so there is much to be guessed.
Indeed, there wasn't much of a description, mostly since Willfred had little time to fully check it out. You can expect this mystery to be solved in the next chapter. And well, it is at least something small, that can be easily carried with one hand.
[Get Roger and the package to the castle] Really well done part. Bravo. Alys part had some geniality frightening stuff. Cool to see how this… more implies that either she is a secret bastard, or her family isn't as pure blood as they think. Liked seeing Carvin mention Illish, god I hope they meet sometime soon. Carvin is a really cool character. Anturion top as ever. Still wish that we taken the chance to kill him in Garthon's part, because I knew he was up to no good. But he is still a pretty cool character. Can't wait to see what is hidden in that package. Probably a book I think that entails the secret to dragon slaying, or maybe a raw piece of Valyrian steel? There wasn't much description on how the package was shaped, so there is much to be guessed. Wilifred had to run into these guys. He could've helped out in the city square where Torvin is going to attack, or maybe group up with the Stormlanders. Now Rodger is all messed up, But at least we… [view original content]
I really liked Alys' part, even if I was at first slightly disappointed to see that she would have to leave the archive before they found the relic. I wonder, has House Boleyn just married too much with Andals, or is there another reason why Alys' was affected? Is she not a Boleyn at all? Because the First Men blood did protect Alisa, so we know it's not bullshit. And speaking of Alisa, I really liked her in this part - can't wait to see her role in whatever happens next to Alys
[Get Roger and the package to the castle] I have to agree with everyone else, this is more important than chasing down Carvin and Edward. Though there is the small concern that sparing Edward now will lead to him killing Willfred later. However, I doubt we'd manage to kill him yet even if we'd go after him - he's too big of a villain to die so soon. Anyway, it was nice to see Willfred fight again
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
I really liked Alys' part, even if I was at first slightly disappointed to see that she would have to leave the archive before they found the relic.
Yeah, I figured that this might be a point of criticism in this part, though there really was no way around it, considering how dangerous that archive is. Glad you still liked her part though And I can promise that the nature of this relic is going to be revealed relatively soon!
I wonder, has House Boleyn just married too much with Andals, or is there another reason why Alys' was affected? Is she not a Boleyn at all? Because the First Men blood did protect Alisa, so we know it's not bullshit.
Alys was indeed affected because she didn't have enough First Men blood. However, it doesn't have to mean that she's not a true Boleyn. Whereas other northern houses, such as the Karstarks, pride themselves in their First Men heritage and mostly only marry into other northern families, House Boleyn is less powerful and therefore less able to be of interest for the important northern families. That's why Alisa was protected. The problem is, these spells were casted thousands of years ago, when a majority of the First Men were pureblooded First Men, without the chance for any interbreeding with Andals or Rhoynar. After thousands of years in which the Andals have become a major influence to Westerosi culture in general, finding a pureblooded First Man is close to impossible south of the Wall. The northern noble families are more pureblooded than others, but even Alisa would have eventually been affected, had she stayed for much longer.
And speaking of Alisa, I really liked her in this part - can't wait to see her role in whatever happens next to Alys
This is good to hear, very good I'm having a couple of nice things planned in Alys' storyline and it's safe to say that Alisa will continue to be a major influence for her in the foreseeable future. I hope you continue to enjoy her, especially with the stuff that is planned for the future. Some pretty personal things for Alisa will come up there
I really liked Alys' part, even if I was at first slightly disappointed to see that she would have to leave the archive before they found th… moree relic. I wonder, has House Boleyn just married too much with Andals, or is there another reason why Alys' was affected? Is she not a Boleyn at all? Because the First Men blood did protect Alisa, so we know it's not bullshit. And speaking of Alisa, I really liked her in this part - can't wait to see her role in whatever happens next to Alys
[Get Roger and the package to the castle] I have to agree with everyone else, this is more important than chasing down Carvin and Edward. Though there is the small concern that sparing Edward now will lead to him killing Willfred later. However, I doubt we'd manage to kill him yet even if we'd go after him - he's too big of a villain to die so soon. Anyway, it was nice to see Willfred fight again
Yeah, I figured that this might be a point of criticism in this part, though there really was no way around it, considering how dangerous that archive is. Glad you still liked her part though And I can promise that the nature of this relic is going to be revealed relatively soon!
Yeah, it didn't really bother me for long, because the escape was pretty epic in itself And I'm glad we'll learn more about the relic soon, has been bogging me for a while what the heck could it be
Alys was indeed affected because she didn't have enough First Men blood. However, it doesn't have to mean that she's not a true Boleyn. Whereas other northern houses, such as the Karstarks, pride themselves in their First Men heritage and mostly only marry into other northern families, House Boleyn is less powerful and therefore less able to be of interest for the important northern families. That's why Alisa was protected. The problem is, these spells were casted thousands of years ago, when a majority of the First Men were pureblooded First Men, without the chance for any interbreeding with Andals or Rhoynar. After thousands of years in which the Andals have become a major influence to Westerosi culture in general, finding a pureblooded First Man is close to impossible south of the Wall. The northern noble families are more pureblooded than others, but even Alisa would have eventually been affected, had she stayed for much longer.
Okay, makes sense. I was actually wondering back when Edward told about this spell if there really are any pureblooded First Men left south of the Wall, but I figured just having mostly First Men heritage is enough. Boleyn blood being mixed enough so that Alys gets affected even before Carvin is a bit surprising though. I suppose her being in a weak state due to the bloodloss also made her more vulnerable for the spell?
This is good to hear, very good I'm having a couple of nice things planned in Alys' storyline and it's safe to say that Alisa will continue to be a major influence for her in the foreseeable future. I hope you continue to enjoy her, especially with the stuff that is planned for the future. Some pretty personal things for Alisa will come up there
Nice, I'm looking forward to more interaction between the two What comes to personal things... I could see Dante finding them being such a moment, but I feel like that won't be happening for a while.
I really liked Alys' part, even if I was at first slightly disappointed to see that she would have to leave the archive before they found th… moree relic.
Yeah, I figured that this might be a point of criticism in this part, though there really was no way around it, considering how dangerous that archive is. Glad you still liked her part though And I can promise that the nature of this relic is going to be revealed relatively soon!
I wonder, has House Boleyn just married too much with Andals, or is there another reason why Alys' was affected? Is she not a Boleyn at all? Because the First Men blood did protect Alisa, so we know it's not bullshit.
Alys was indeed affected because she didn't have enough First Men blood. However, it doesn't have to mean that she's not a true Boleyn. Whereas other northern houses, such as the Karstarks, pride themselves in their First Men heritage and mostly only marry into other northern families… [view original content]
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
Yeah, it didn't really bother me for long, because the escape was pretty epic in itself And I'm glad we'll learn more about the relic soon, has been bogging me for a while what the heck could it be
This is good. I wrote that escape scene when I wasn't feeling too well, but in retrospect, me being slightly dizzy probably only helped with showing Alys' feelings, since she was certainly not less dizzy. And the relic, well, Willfred has it and if he manages to keep it, it likely won't be long until he will try to find out just what it is. It's a relatively small thing, that's what I can confirm already. It is also very, very old.
Okay, makes sense. I was actually wondering back when Edward told about this spell if there really are any pureblooded First Men left south of the Wall, but I figured just having mostly First Men heritage is enough. Boleyn blood being mixed enough so that Alys gets affected even before Carvin is a bit surprising though. I suppose her being in a weak state due to the bloodloss also made her more vulnerable for the spell?
Yeah, the spell has been spoken by pureblooded First Men back in a time where they simply didn't consider the possibility that times would change and that intermarriage between First Men and Andals would be a common thing. Wildlings an Mountain Clan men could probably walk down there without any problems. The same goes for those who don't come there with the intention of stealing something. It was this intention that even triggered the spell. With Alys, her bloodloss certainly played a part in how vulnerable she was to this defense mechanism. The thing with Carvin is, he is a commoner from the North and safe for one confirmed Riverlander in his family (not the most pureblooded Andal culture either), his ancestors likely married people from their village and neighbouring villages, so there was less of a chance for Andal blood to enter his bloodline, whereas House Boleyn made marriage pacts with every house willing to go into one, no matter if they are Andal houses or First Men houses. Of course, House Karstark, having Stark blood, beats them all when it comes to the purity of their blood, which was the main reason why Alisa was more or less immune to this spell for now (and considering her backstory, that was probably a good thing).
Nice, I'm looking forward to more interaction between the two What comes to personal things... I could see Dante finding them being such a moment, but I feel like that won't be happening for a while.
Hm, certainly a possibility. Of course, for now they are in vastly different regions of Westeros, so it likely won't happen in a while, but there are other personal moments that could happen an which I wish to explore eventually.
Yeah, I figured that this might be a point of criticism in this part, though there really was no way around it, considering how dangerous th… moreat archive is. Glad you still liked her part though And I can promise that the nature of this relic is going to be revealed relatively soon!
Yeah, it didn't really bother me for long, because the escape was pretty epic in itself And I'm glad we'll learn more about the relic soon, has been bogging me for a while what the heck could it be
Alys was indeed affected because she didn't have enough First Men blood. However, it doesn't have to mean that she's not a true Boleyn. Whereas other northern houses, such as the Karstarks, pride themselves in their First Men heritage and mostly only marry into other northern families, House Boleyn is less powerful and therefore less able to be of interest for the important northern families. That's why Alisa was protected. The problem is, these spells wer… [view original content]
Awesome part! I gotta say, as others have, I'm really starting to dislike Edward. I knew he was never the nicest man and all but now he's turned into a complete scumbag.
[Get Roger and the package back to the castle] This is by far the more urgent choice. Those guys can wait. I'm just afraid they'll be very angry later on in the story and this choice will come back to bite us. But, this is still the better choice for now IMO.
It was awesome to see Willfred fight after a while. He hasn't been as major of a POV character since the early days of FoT but he's still awesome and it's great to see him back in action
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep … moreup with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her sho… [view original content]
Comments
[Travel down the eastern road]
For a second I thought Kersea would die. Kinda disappointed that she didn't, which is strange for me.
Aha, so it was Kersea that I saved
Funny thing is, I wasn't super happy with the drawing myself back then (and now I could definitely do it better). However, I'm glad you like it, and that it saved her 
[Travel down the eastern road] Time to send Ellena off on a brand new adventure, maybe to go slay some dragons, or seduce some Essos Warlord, sail across the Sunset Sea, Climb the Wall, the possibilities are endless. I think I have a good guess as to who Abbas is planning on enslaving, and it would make sense as he would have to go in that general direction to get back to Essos. Better watch your back Harpy. Kersea part was really good. I had guess trying to save Raenna would fail. But I am kinda okay with Clayton living. He doesn't seem like too much of a threat besides the fact he has knowledge on Kersea's evil deeds, and a reall bad grudge. But he also knows a lot about Butterfly's organization and if an interested party say Jaron or Lucas find him, Clayton can provide some answers. That explosion was super epic. Reminded me of the opening scene of Dragon Age Inquisition. I was really confused when Kersea said that Clayton saved lives by blowing it up, did it land into the harbor or something? And to think that Richard could've died so long ago. I wonder what the story would be like if Richard had died to Wolfius back then. Would Kersea just be collasped in the wilderness by her lonesome?
Hm, a really interesting theory. Given her backstory, Harpy would certainly bring him a lot of money, if he'd sell her to the right person. That said, she's also, according to his knowledge, guarded by the Burned Man and at the very least currently in the company of Jaron, Lanford and Samuel, which does make such a move highly risky. You'll soon see if Abbas is truly willing to take the risk-
Hehehe, you think Clayton would agree to help? That man lost him arm, yes, but he is still incredibly dangerous, not only for Kersea. Actually, he is unlikely to be much of a threat for her, since he believes her dead, but anyone else? They won't be so lucky. And I wouldn't count on him helping the good guys or something like that. Keep in mind how he more or less mentally tortured Kersea. That man is definitely one of the bad guys, his sense of morality is more than screwed and hoping for his help is highly likely to be futile.
Nah, it's a worry Kersea had for a while now, that the wrong person could gain control of the Wildfire. Just think of what would happen if a less-than-stable person like Harris, or an outright villain like Mullendore, would gain control of this weapon and how they could use it. By blowing it up now, Clayton has likely prevented massive destruction at a later point, which is ironic, considering that saving lives is the last thing he wanted to do.
Oh, this would have changed quite a lot. If Lucas would have followed Harris, then he would have found Kersea here and he would have saved her life. Otherwise, she would have collapsed all alone and her fate would have been unknown for now, though she would have been revealed alive at a later point. Frankly, I haven't put much thought into that part, since Richard survived back at the time where I still have planned for Kersea to die here. Chances are it would have been Leonard or maybe Jenna.
Oh yes, I liked it a lot. Nowadays, given your vastly increased skills, she's no longer among my favourite drawings (though still one I like a lot) and replaced by more recent ones, but back in the day I considered her to be one of your best, so it definitely got me thinking. And then, one thing led to the other and I realized how much potential her survival could offer, especially now that she is free from Clayton's control, able to do the things she really wants to do. It was a thought that simply didn't occur to me before. This is the second (chronologically first) time your drawings have actually influenced the story and unlike that time where you gave Maya brown hair (which I can't imagine her without now), this one is going to have massive consequences for Book 2.
[Search the area for Brandon]
Maybe she can get captured. That would be good. Hm. Who is Abbas going to get? Who knows? Liquid, Abbas, that's it. Might have been Raenna but...
Ah. Clayton. I knew it, I knew he would do something like that. Kersea screwed up. I knew we should have killed him. Now he's out on the loose. How many times do we need to let a crazed psycho killer walk free to stop doing that? Sure, Raenna probably would have died anyway, but you know, she has a chance of survival, however small it is (I do suspect someone, maybe an ironborn or someone in a boat to see her body floating), and Clayton would be dead, dead, dead. Right now, if I had to describe my feeling about this with a Pink Floyd song title, it would "Comfortably Numb", because at least Clayton and wildfire aren't likely going to be problems on the same level as before.
EDIT: I was putting some music on and I put this song on, and then I realized it was kind of ironic considering what happened in this part.
[Search the area for Brandon]
I have a feeling Abbas is going after Briar. I'd rather have Ellena get captured than Briar. This part was super epic, again, the description of the wildfire was very well done.
[Travel down the eastern road]
Hm, you are right, the other choice would have resulted in the same outcome for Raenna and roughly the same for Kersea, but Clayton would have been confirmed dead. That said, th destruction of the wildfire is not necessarily a bad thing, since such a massive amount of power shouldn't be in the hands of an irresponsible or not well-intentioned ruler. Just imagine if the Ironborn would have gotten their hands on that thing. And it's true that Clayton won't be much of a problem for a number of characters anymore. Losing an arm has basically ruined his career as a fighter, so even just average fighters will be able to take him on now. If he survives his wound (which, as I must repeat, is not guaranteed), it's unlikely he will continue his work for Butterfly. It's possible he's going to continue to be a problem for Kersea though.
God damn it
Not only do I have a serious earworm now, but even worse, I can't unhear it when it comes to that scene.
Briar is also an interesting theory and since she has only Brandon for protection, they could probably capture her relatively easy, given that neither Abbas nor Bakr are weaklings when it comes to a fight. And I am glad you enjoyed this part! As I said above, this wildfire explosion was the image I really wanted to get right, so I'm happy that I apparently succeeded.
I mean I doubt they would have found it. I doubt really anyone would have been able to get near it too since Leonard knows and he's cool. I guess it's good that he lost an arm because unlike Savage Oppress he can't get a cybernetic one.
And Marak and Terroma's death. Actually, it's an interesting parallel if Raenna died from falling like Terroma did. But yes, now Tom Petty's voice shall radiate in your mind forever. Who is the bad boy, who is the good girl, who knows?
Fuck!! I knew we should have killed Clayton. Pretty much the same exact thing happened except now he's still alive. Gotta say he's probably my most disliked character in the story. We finally had our chance to end him once and for all but he gets away yet again. And on top of that, Raenna is probably dead. Great part, really great actually, but frustrating since I wanted to kill Clayton.
[Travel down the eastern road]
Sorry Brandon, but Ellena needs to get out of there now.
The Voting is closed!
Ellena is going to travel down the eastern road
This time, I expected you to make this choice and I am pretty happy with it. It was an important choice for Ellena and it holds the potential to lead her down a very interesting path in Chapter 9. Of course, it means she won't catch up with Brandon and Briar for the time being, but we'll get an update on them relatively soon regardless. Ellena should have some pretty interesting decisions coming up in Chapter 9 now, so that's something I look forward for
The next part is hopefully going to be out today. Well, I'll try my best at least. It'll feature PoV's from Alys and Willfred. Last time we've seen Alys, she made her way down the archive, together with Edward and his followers. Things took a turn for the worse when Edward reveald his true, ruthless nature, not giving a shit about the Ironborn, who fell victim to the spells that were woven to protect the secrets of the lower archive from thieves. Understandably, many of them decided to flee. One of them, Wilbur, offered Alys to get out of there with him, but she decided to remain with Edward, for the better or worse. Her next part should be pretty interesting. Meanwhile, Willfred hasn't appeared in a while, but the consequences of his actions have influenced quite a bit in this chapter. In his last part, he took council with his uncle, Roger and General Tallian. There, Tallian argued to leave the soldiers at the castle, which, as you know, turned out to be an absolutely crucial decision. However, Willfred and Roger have ventured out into the city on their own, in the hopes that their presence can make a difference in the fight. His next part should be interesting as well. I'll try my best to finish it today, but can't exactly promise it, so you may have to wait until tomorrow, as much as I try to prevent this.
Leonard knows about it, so does Lucas, whereas almost none of the other characters know about its existence. However, it is located at an abandoned lighthouse just outside of the city, so it is likely that sooner or later, someone would have stumbled across it either way. And that's right with Clayton, he won't just get a new arm. It's been severed above the elbow on top of that, making it even more of a crippling injury, since the rudimentary prosthetics of Westeros won't even restore the function to bend the limb. Given that he even lost Butterfly's favour with his final act (because blowing up a useless lighthouse with the wildfire was surely not his plan), his future looks grim regardless.
That's indeed an interesting parallel and one I haven't even fully intended. It should be noted that this scene was, in a very early draft, even planned to be Terroma's death scene, where Clayton would stab him and throw him down the lighthouse, before I finalized Marak's storyline and decided to end that one with a mutual kill. So, while accidental, it's interesting that Terroma was always intended to die in such a way and now his favourite student received a similar fate.
And that song... I... I can't get it out of my head again. You... you scoundrel! That was your plan all along, wasn't it? Argh, it can't be unheard
Every time Alys gets a new part I worry about what state she'll be in when/if Edrick's group tracks her down.
unseen, unheard, unbroken
No Maya's part?
Howdy! Just wanted to share this Wolfius portrait I made recently
Probably for good reason on top of that. Alys is getting into some pretty dangerous stuff there, which might take a terrible toll on her. Being worried is definitely not the wrong thing to do in this situation.
Unfortunately not, at least most likely not. I might be able to put it in somewhere, but unfortunatly, the space is limited. On top of that, I have realized that Maya's next part is not necessarily needed for the storyline, not even for hers. Instead, some of the things that would be revealed there will likely be far better in her first part in Chapter 9. However, if I have the room, I will put it in to either this part (unlikely) or the next one (more likely).
Holy hell, this is creepy
But so amazing at the same time. I mean, damn, Wolfius is one sick bastard and this drawing definitely shows this very well. A perfect portrait in every way and it shows him just about exactly as I have imagined him to look while writing. Especially that expression is going to give me nightmares! But yeah, thank you very much for drawing this portrait! It's always a great highlight to see one of them 
Oh wow! That is really cool. It's definitely my favorite so far.
Alys
Perhaps she should have left with Wilbur... This thought flashed through Alys' mind, not for the first time, as she hurried to keep up with Edward. The young Ironborn had seemed honest when he gave her the offer to get her out of this building, judging by the look of disappointment he had given her when she declined.
Slowly, they continued their way and Alys felt a cold chill running down her spine. She tensed up, something Alisa immediately notice. “Are you okay?”, she hissed and Alys gave her a weak nod. “Have you felt that?”, she asked in return, glancing over her shoulder at the other woman. Concern flashed over Alisa's face. “Felt what?”, she asked.
“I...”, Alys stuttered, before she paused. “It's nothing” She glanced past Alisa, as she got the feeling that she was being watched. It was a terrible feeling, as if she was naked, powerless, a prisoner, a plaything. She started to shiver as she crossed her arms to cover her shoulders with her hands.
She nearly flinched as she felt movement behind her, though calmed down again as she heard Alisa's calm voice right next to her, feeling the fabric of the woman's cloak. “Here, take this”, she said. “You shouldn't freeze down here” Alys gave her a thankful nod, though she noticed that Alisa was now without any cloak of her own. “What about you?”, she asked.
Alisa smirked. “Well, I'm not freezing that quickly”, she said. “Northern blood and all” Her face dropped in the very same moment she had said this and her eyes widened. “Are you freezing?”, she asked and Alys gulped, as she gave her a nod. This gained Carvin's attention and he narrowed his eyes. “It's not even that cold”, he mumbled.
“It's not just that”, Alys replied. “There is something... else” She shivered again, despite the warm cloak Alisa had wrapped her into. And she knew that something was seriously wrong right now. “Alys....”, something whispered. It was a soft murmur, coming from several directions at once and her eyes widened.
“What is it?”, Carvin asked, having heard her gasp. Alys turned towards him, her face having grown pale. “Little Lady?”, he asked again, raising an eyebrow. “Alys Boleyn... runaway, disobedient daughter...”, the voices whispered again, louder this time and Alys clenched her fists, as she glanced around in fear. Yet there was nothing, nothing she was able to see.
“Oh, but we see you”, they hissed. “We see what you truly are... Thief!” They had spoken the last word louder and the sudden change in tone caused Alys to let out a short, involuntary scream. This finally gained Edward's attention and he only glared at her. “Have you lied to me about your ancestry?”, he asked coldly.
Frantically, Alys shook her head. “No”, she said, as tears formed in her eyes. “No, please, you gotta help me!” As she spoke, she felt an unnatural fear creeping up inside of her. Nothing about this place felt natural, but it was this fear that convinced her that she shouldn't be here, not in the slightest. “I hear a voice. It... it calls me a thief”
Edward narrowed his eyes. He glanced at Carvin who shook his head. “I don't hear a thing, boss”, he replied and Edward focussed back on her. “Then the spell is singling you out”, he told her. “Question is why he is doing this. The protection is still working with me and Carvin. It still doesn't know we're here... you on the other hand...”
Alys shivered again, as she momentarily felt cold breath on her neck. “Edward...”, she said and he narrowed his eyes. “You did lie to me”, he spat, as he raised his hand. She cowered, yet he gave her a heavy slap across the face. A shrill gasp came out of Alys' throat, as she stumbled. Only Alisa caught her, as Edward stared daggers at her.
“Never lie to me again”, he told her, before he shook his head. “Alisa, Carvin, get her out of here!” As he spoke these words, he sounded softer again. He raised an eyebrow at their surprise. “What, do you think I'm letting her die? Why should I?”, he asked. “Now go, before Carvin's protection wears off” He shook his head. “I won't back down now. I am so close”
“Ser...”, Carvin started, but Edward cut him off. “Do as I say”, he growled lowly. “Take Lady Alys and bring her out of here. Alisa, you bring her back to the ship. Carvin, you wait for my return in front of the archive” Carvin gulped, though he managed to give him a reluctant nod. Alys, still being held by Alisa, was unable to see her reaction, though with the dark glare Edward gave her, she was only able to imagine how negative it was.
“We will do it, Ser”, she finally said and Edward smirked coldly. “There would be one more thing, Alisa”, he said and the woman sighed audibly. Patting Alys onto the shoulder she stepped past her and towards Edward. This left Alys momentarily even more vulnerable, as nobody covered her back, leaving it open to the gaping darkness behind her.
“Thief...”, the voices whispered. “Come out. Show yourself, Lady Alys” She started to breath more heavily again and Carvin noticed it at once. Without even saying a word, he took Alisa's former position at her back, giving her a cheerful smile as he passed her. In the meantime, Alisa had reached her leader.
“How much?”, she asked and Edward gave her a mild look. “Enough”, he replied. “I won't make the same mistake as I did with Alys” Alisa looked visibly unhappy with this answer, as she pulled out a knife from her belt. Without uttering as much as a grunt, she sliced her own palm open, drawing blood, which Edward collected in a small vial.
“Yes”, he said with a wide smile as, he put a finger into the vial. “Thank you, Lady Karstark” He started to redraw the strange rune on his forehead, this time with her blood. Alisa turned around, the look on her face equal parts disgusted and pained. Carvin gave her a look and she shook her head in return. “Let's get out of here...”, she mumbled, as she reached for a piece of cloth from her pocket, to wrap it around her wounded palm. “Let's just get the hell out of here”
Alys glanced at Edward, who gave her a nod. Then, he turned around, to go deeper into the archive, only a single torch to keep him company. He walked past the large mass of shadow without paying attention to it. In return, it didn't pay any attention to him as well, as if neither was able to see the other. Instead, it looked solely at Alys.
Her heart started to beat faster. “Thief”, the voice hissed, as she clung onto Carvin next to her. “We have to go”, she urged him, her voice sounding shrill with panic. “We have to run” Alisa glanced over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes. Then, she gave her a nod and all three started to run.
While Carvin and Alisa were notably faster than her, Alys noticed that they were holding back, for her sake. Alisa guarded her back, while Carvin was almost dragging her with him so that she was able to keep up with him. He narrowed his eyes. “I hear it”, he gulped. “Seven fucking Hells, I hear it”
He fastened his pace and now it was Alisa who was pushing Alys forwards. “Run, girl”, she hissed, though she didn't have to tell her. Alys was already rushing down the corridor as fast as she was able to. And with the voice in her head, slowly growing louder, she ran faster than ever before. Her lungs burned with pain and the whole building seemed a lot bigger all of a sudden.
“Up there!”, Carvin yelled, pointing at the ladder they had used to climb into the lower cellars. He waited, allowing Alys to climb first, as Alisa took a position in the centre of the corridor. With determination on her face, she drew her sword. “Where is it?”, she hissed.
Alys saw Carvin pointing at something in the distance, though she did not turn around to see what it was. Instead, she climbed the ladder until she reached the next floor, where she crawled away from the hole, breathing heavily from exhaustion and fear. Carvin followed shortly afterwards, as Alisa let out a surprised scream from below. “Run!”, she screamed.
Carvin helped Alys up, just as a mass of shadows followed through the hole in the ground. It was hovering in front of them for a second, as both were too petrified to move. Then, in the darkness, a face formed, shadowy, but unmistakable.
“Alys”, the thing spoke with her father's voice, wearing her father's face. “Why did you leave me? The pain you caused me...” Next to her, Carvin gasped in horror. “Ilish?”, he asked. A smirk formed on her father's face, but before the shadow was able to attack, a sword cut through it, dispersing it for the moment. Behind it, Alisa climbed through he hole. “Bloody run already!”, she barked.
At least for a second, the petrifying fear left them, as Alys and Carvin rushed up again, continuing down the hallway. He was almost carrying her by now, as she gasped for air, to even stay conscious, pushing her body farther than ever before. The stairs that led to the ground floor were already within sight.
“ALYS!”, the voice of her father echoed through the building, but this time, she remained on her feet. Carvin was the first to reach the stairs, dragging Alys with him, as suddenly, she felt something. It was equal parts scalding hot and deathly cold and she screamed in pain as it wrapped around her hand. As she looked down the hallway, she saw the shadowy figure, now but a formless mass, one part of it wrapped around her forearm.
“Thief”, it said. “You will stay” From her other side, where Carvin tried to get up the stairs, she felt him trying to pull her with him, though the strength of the shadow prevented him from taking her. She felt panic overwhelming her, but there was something else, something dark that almost seemed to forcibly invade her mind. It was hard to focus, even harder to stay awake at all.
Once again, it was Alisa who saved her. Stepping through the shadow as if it didn't even exist for her, her presence alone seemed to disperse it. The force around her arm was gone, but the horrified feeling stayed. She would have fallen if not for Alisa and Carvin, who both held on to her.
“We have to get her out of here”, Alisa said, as she and Carvin started to carry her up the stairs and towards safety. The look she gave Alys was full of concern. It was the last thing she saw before she drifted off.
No Choices for this part
Willfred
“You know, the soldiers could have been of use here”, Roger remarked, something Willfred had to agree with, now that he saw the amount of destruction the Ironborn caused. “They would have all died”, he replied in return. “We two draw way less attention”
Roger laughed at this. “Right”, he said. “Two knights, the swordsman and the archer” He shook his head. “The most inconspicuous men in the entire city” Willfred joined in on his chuckle. “I believe our men can do a lot of good up at the castle”, he said. “For once, Tallian was right”
“Maybe”, Roger admitted, before his smile faded, as he raised his arm to stop his nephew. In the distance, they heard voices, coming from the large square at the end of the street they were walking down. Since the noise of the fighting in the distance was drowning their own, both even managed to do it silently, despite Willfred's heavy armour and Roger's chainmail.
Willfred reached the corner of the street first. He glanced around it and at the large building at the other end of the square. The archive. He had hear of it, but hadn't had the pleasure of seeing it before. It was large, perhaps the largest historical archive in the known world. A marble front, high columns, build in a style so drastically different than the simple wooden houses that surrounded it.
Three people were hurrying down the steps, a man, a woman, carrying a third woman, a young girl with light brown hair. “Is she still breathing?”, the man asked and the woman gave him a nod. Both looked horrified, a sort of horror that Willfred had never seen before.
“Get her to safety”, the man said. His hands were shivering, as he reached for the crossbow that was dangling on his back. “Try to find someone to help her. I'll follow with Edward once he returns” The woman sighed. “If he returns”, she replied. “Can't say I'd be sad if he doesn't”
The man shook his head. “Me neither”, he replied. “What a sick bastard” The woman smirked, though it didn't light up the frown on her face. “Take care of yourself”, she said. “It would suck if you'd die here” The man chuckled at these words. “Yeah, no arguing here”, he said. “That would indeed suck. Now get Alys to the ship”
As he said these last words, Roger's eyes narrowed. “Raider”, he voiced tonelessly. The woman gently lifted the girl up, as she moved down the stairs, while the man started to load his crossbow. She took one of the roads that led away from the archive, closer to the docks.
Once she was out of sight, Roger and Willfred exchanged a nod and stepped onto the square, Roger with an arrow ready, Willfred with sword and shield, both facing the man with the crossbow. “Greetings”, his uncle said. “May we ask what you're doing here?”
The crossbowman instantly pointed the weapon at them, before Roger was able to do the same. “Fuck off”, he said coldly. “This is none of your business” Roger raised an eyebrow. “Have you arrived here with the Ironborn?”, he asked. The man shrugged. “And if?”, he growled in return. Roger glanced at Willfred. “Then it will be our duty to stop you”, he replied.
He tried to raise his bow, but the crossbowman was quicker, having already loaded his weapon. He shot and the bolt hit Roger, throwing him backwards and to the ground, where he clutched his shoulder, wincing in pain. “Uncle!”, Willfred screamed, as he pointed his sword at the crossbowman, who nonchalantly reached for the next bolt.
Willfred didn't give him the time to do this. He started to charge, knowing how long it would take to reload the deadly weapon. The crossbowman knew it as well. With a muffled curse, he threw his weapon to the ground and reached for the sword at his belt. He managed to draw it just in time to parry Willfred's strike.
For a second, both men glared at each other, Willfred with anger, the other man with cold professionalism. He did the next attack, it was a short, quick strike with the crossguard, which Willfred had to move away from to parry it. Spinning his blade around, his opponent attacked immediately again, his high strike was easily blocked, yet it came with quite a lot of force.
Now, it was Willfred's time to strike. Still using his shield to keep the other man's sword up, he tried to impale him. The man growled something, as he jumped back. Willfred's attack only cut through thin air, as his opponent struck him from above. Only barely did Willfred manage to block this strike with his shield and now, they stood close to each other.
Willfred still held the other man's sword up in the air with his shield, yet his opponent prevented him from attacking as well, by putting an arm around his weapon, trapping it between the limb and his own body. “You're going down, red lion”, he growled, as they stood close enough to feel each other's breath. Then, in a move that Willfred hadn't expected, his opponent slammed their foreheads against each other.
The unexpected blow caused Willfred to stagger and the man attacked again. He parried the first strike with his sword, the second with his shield. The third attack was not aimed at him, but at the top of his sword, as his opponent closed in again. His blade hit the top of Willfred's keeping it down, as he gave him a smirk.
What could have been a disadvantage turned out to give Willfred an opening, as he did not hesitate to use his shield. He raised it and heavily slammed it into the man's face. Without missing a beat, he repeated this move twice, slamming the heavy metal edge right onto the crossbowman's nose. His opponent stumbled back, before losing his footing and falling down the stairs. With grim satisfaction, Willfred watched him landing on the ground.
That was when he heard movement behind him. He turned around just in time to see another man leaving the archive. He was handsome, perhaps in his thirties, with short, dark hair and a well-maintained moustache. One of his hands held a rapier, one of these thin, Free City blades, the other was clenched around a small package, tightly wrapped into dry bandages.
Without uttering a word, the man pointed the rapier at him. Willfred quickly realized that this was the man the other two had spoken about. Another opponent, as it seemed, yet woefully unprepared to face an armoured knight, especially with his toothpick of a weapon.
Nonetheless, he attacked. It was a quick strike, aimed for Willfred's unprotected head, yet none he couldn't parry. The thin blade of the rapier only hit the metal of the shield, as Willfred's own sword struck forwards. The man tried to dodge the blow, but to Willfred's surprise, he landed a hit. The blade did not cut through air, but across the man's cheek, leaving a deep gash that caused him to stumble back towards the archive.
With a roar, Willfred charged at him, intending to impale him. The man was unable to dodge the attack and barely able to parry. Instead, he merely managed to deflect the attack and what was meant to end the fight in an instant instead only impaled the man's shoulder.
A scream came out of his opponent's throat, as Willfred pushed him against one of the columns, with the intent to push the sword further through the shoulder. Both, the rapier and the small package, fell to the ground, as the man used both of his hands to push against the crossguard of Willfred's sword, to prevent himself from being impaled even further. This was a futile move, as Willfred slowly pushed the blade through the man's shoulder.
His triumph was short lived. Just as he thought he had won, a sudden pain flared up in his back heavily pushing him towards his opponent. The wounded man used this opportunity to free himself from Willfred's sword, though he fell to the ground in an instant, whereas Willfred at least managed to remain on his knees and to hold on to his sword.
Despite the agony in his back, he managed to turn towards the stairs, seeing the crossbowman walking up. The crossbow he had used to shoot Willfred was resting in one of his hands, whereas the other was holding his sword. Though he pointed it at Willfred, he made no move to actually attack him.
“Ser, we have to get out of here”, he said, as he helped the other man to stand up again. Willfred's opponent was weak, he was barely able to stand on his own with the gruesome wound he suffered, but his eyes widened at these words. “The relic”, he hissed. “Carvin, kill this man and get my relic back!”
The crossbowman glanced at the package, which was lying right next to Willfred, before he shook his head. “My primary duty is to keep you safe, Ser”, he said. “I can't do that against this man. Wounded or not, he's too good” He gave Willfred a nod. “Don't get in our way, Red Lion”, he growled, as he turned to one of the streets. The wounded man, though reluctantly, had to follow, though he glared at Willfred, who remained kneeling on the ground. “We'll meet again”, he hissed and just like that, they retreated.
With a sigh, Willfred wasted no time to rush towards Roger. His uncle had lost his consciousness, though he was still alive, breathing slowly, but steadily. He needed help. And this package, this relic the man had mentioned, Willfred could get it to safety as well. Whatever it was, he had no doubt that keeping it away from the man was a good thing.
His glance fell at the two men, the wounded one and his crossbow-wielding bodyguard. Yes, he was wounded, but maybe he could still take them on. Could he truly let them get away now, after nearly killing him, after nearly killing Roger?
[Follow the men] [Get Roger and the package to the castle]
[Get Roger and the package to the castle]
We do what we can,let's save the uncle and obtain the misterious package! (And a really interesting plot for the next chapter)
RT:
Well Wilfred was certainly quick to pick a fight. I would've been really mad at him if he managed to kill Carvin.
[Get Roger and the package to the castle] It seems to me that Edward fully intends to come back for the package. I see little point in chasing them. This way Wilfred will have the defensive advantage and time to prepare.
So yeah... fuck Edward! This guy has proven to be a real piece of scum. Bloody Two-faced cock wrangler!
One thing I'm a little confused about, Edward hitting Alys. He called her a liar, but I wasn't aware that she was lying. Am I missing something?
Really enjoyed Alys' part btw! It was really cool and creepy. I was also feeling really bad for Alys.
He certainly was! It genuinely bothers him that he has contributed so little to the fight, so he jumped at the chance to prevent the archive from being robbed. And in his defence, he even managed to do it, sort of, by attaining that mysterious package Edward was after. On the downside, he came close to kill Carvin, who is not really much of a bad guy, aside from his work for a bad guy.
Hehe, he indeed showed his true colours in this chapter. He's not as bad as some of the other villains (Wolfius and Clayton come to mind), but his ambition drives him to the worst. That said, if you react so negatively towards him there, just wait until you meet his brother. Edward is the charming and nice one in the family
There hasn't really been put much emphasis on it, because Alys herself was too scared to actually fully understand his words here, but basically, Edward accused her of lying when she previously told him that she is a pureblooded Northerner. As he has previously explained, only those with the blood of the First Men (which runs the strongest in the North), are protected from the spells that prevent thieves from taking the books. The fact that she was nearly killed by these spells prove that she has Andal ancestry, something she herself wasn't even aware of. So, she did not lie consciously, but in that moment, Edward momentarily lost his cool, resulting in him hitting her.
Glad to hear it! I must admit that I felt slightly ill while writing this part (which is also why I had to delay it for a whole day), so I wasn't too sure how it would be received, but hearing that you enjoyed it comes as a big relief for me. I really tried to give the creepy vibes there, so it's good to see I succeeded
Ah, good to hear! It's something I kind of struggled with (especially as I was not feeling too well) and it ended up longer than planned (also my reason to remove Maya from this part, even though I may have found an opening to give her a small PoV in the next part or the one after), so it is reassuring to hear that you enjoyed it.
Yes, at this point, the spell has gotten at least some impression of the people it was chasing there and it learned about the person they believed to have wronged the most, the one whom they regret treating badly. Alys has regrets over leaving her father, whom she always loved dearly, whereas Carvin has shown some regrets over the way he left Ilish. Alisa would have seen another person, so would have Edward, but neither was affected by the spell. It would have been truly interesting to learn whom someone like Wolfius would have seen there
Well, it's the first time for her now, the one that was inevitable. The previous dosis has been provided by Alys. If she would have refused both times, Alisa would have been forced to seriously hurt herself, in a way that would have affected her in this part and beyond, whereas now she merely got a somewhat painful cut on the palm. It could have been worse for her.
Haha, this is good to hear! Anturion indeed has quite some style, which is one of the key reasons why Alys even started to trust him so much prior to this chapter. At the same time, he is not a fighter, unlike villains such as Clayton or Bear. He's not too bad with a rapier, but Willfred is a trained knight and a prodigy, so he stood without a chance here.
Yeah, that was something I wanted to show. If I remember correctly, Willfred's last true fight was alongside Lord Crakehall in Chapter 3, which happened indeed ages ago. Yet his fighting skill is actually a major part of his personality, so I have to put more emphasis on it later on. This was but one of many fights for him. With Roger meanwhile, well, he is a good archer and with a common crossbowman, he would have likely won. Unfortunately for him, he has been put against Carvin, who is a damn quick shot and since a crossbow is always quicker to shoot than a bow, Roger had a severe disadvantage here.
[Get Roger and the package to the castle]
[Get Roger and the package to the castle] Really well done part. Bravo. Alys part had some geniality frightening stuff. Cool to see how this implies that either she is a secret bastard, or her family isn't as pure blood as they think. Liked seeing Carvin mention Illish, god I hope they meet sometime soon. Carvin is a really cool character. Anturion top as ever. Still wish that we taken the chance to kill him in Garthon's part, because I knew he was up to no good. But he is still a pretty cool character. Can't wait to see what is hidden in that package. Probably a book I think that entails the secret to dragon slaying, or maybe a raw piece of Valyrian steel? There wasn't much description on how the package was shaped, so there is much to be guessed. Wilifred had to run into these guys. He could've helped out in the city square where Torvin is going to attack, or maybe group up with the Stormlanders. Now Rodger is all messed up, But at least we got the package, which is good news for Team Targ. So I guess it worked out in the end, assuming that the city square doesn't fall which leads to a strait passage to the castle.
[Get Roger and the package to the castle]
[Get Roger and the package to the castle]
[Get Roger and the package to the castle]
Likely the latter of these. Alys is not exactly the most knowledgeable about her family history, so she just assumed that she's more or less a pure-blooded Northerner, but to be honest, her hair having a light brown colour should have given it away, as a majority of the First Men had darker hair colours.
Hm, that would be quite interesting, wouldn't it? They have been apart for so long and now they are close without even knowing it. I can confirm that there is more planned between them. I haven't made Ilish a PoV without having something in mind for Carvin
Glad to hear this
Yeah, I guess taking the chance to kill him back in Garthon's part during the failed assassination attempt would have led to a better outcome in many ways. However, it also would have really messed up some of my plans, so I am glad you didn't pick it 
Indeed, there wasn't much of a description, mostly since Willfred had little time to fully check it out. You can expect this mystery to be solved in the next chapter. And well, it is at least something small, that can be easily carried with one hand.
I really liked Alys' part, even if I was at first slightly disappointed to see that she would have to leave the archive before they found the relic. I wonder, has House Boleyn just married too much with Andals, or is there another reason why Alys' was affected? Is she not a Boleyn at all? Because the First Men blood did protect Alisa, so we know it's not bullshit. And speaking of Alisa, I really liked her in this part - can't wait to see her role in whatever happens next to Alys
[Get Roger and the package to the castle] I have to agree with everyone else, this is more important than chasing down Carvin and Edward. Though there is the small concern that sparing Edward now will lead to him killing Willfred later. However, I doubt we'd manage to kill him yet even if we'd go after him - he's too big of a villain to die so soon. Anyway, it was nice to see Willfred fight again
Yeah, I figured that this might be a point of criticism in this part, though there really was no way around it, considering how dangerous that archive is. Glad you still liked her part though
And I can promise that the nature of this relic is going to be revealed relatively soon!
Alys was indeed affected because she didn't have enough First Men blood. However, it doesn't have to mean that she's not a true Boleyn. Whereas other northern houses, such as the Karstarks, pride themselves in their First Men heritage and mostly only marry into other northern families, House Boleyn is less powerful and therefore less able to be of interest for the important northern families. That's why Alisa was protected. The problem is, these spells were casted thousands of years ago, when a majority of the First Men were pureblooded First Men, without the chance for any interbreeding with Andals or Rhoynar. After thousands of years in which the Andals have become a major influence to Westerosi culture in general, finding a pureblooded First Man is close to impossible south of the Wall. The northern noble families are more pureblooded than others, but even Alisa would have eventually been affected, had she stayed for much longer.
This is good to hear, very good
I'm having a couple of nice things planned in Alys' storyline and it's safe to say that Alisa will continue to be a major influence for her in the foreseeable future. I hope you continue to enjoy her, especially with the stuff that is planned for the future. Some pretty personal things for Alisa will come up there 
Yeah, it didn't really bother me for long, because the escape was pretty epic in itself
And I'm glad we'll learn more about the relic soon, has been bogging me for a while what the heck could it be 
Okay, makes sense. I was actually wondering back when Edward told about this spell if there really are any pureblooded First Men left south of the Wall, but I figured just having mostly First Men heritage is enough. Boleyn blood being mixed enough so that Alys gets affected even before Carvin is a bit surprising though. I suppose her being in a weak state due to the bloodloss also made her more vulnerable for the spell?
Nice, I'm looking forward to more interaction between the two
What comes to personal things... I could see Dante finding them being such a moment, but I feel like that won't be happening for a while.
[Follow the men]
Can't let them get away. Anturion my favorite, need to get him. If we don't do it now bad things will happen, just watch.
This is good. I wrote that escape scene when I wasn't feeling too well, but in retrospect, me being slightly dizzy probably only helped with showing Alys' feelings, since she was certainly not less dizzy. And the relic, well, Willfred has it and if he manages to keep it, it likely won't be long until he will try to find out just what it is. It's a relatively small thing, that's what I can confirm already. It is also very, very old.
Yeah, the spell has been spoken by pureblooded First Men back in a time where they simply didn't consider the possibility that times would change and that intermarriage between First Men and Andals would be a common thing. Wildlings an Mountain Clan men could probably walk down there without any problems. The same goes for those who don't come there with the intention of stealing something. It was this intention that even triggered the spell. With Alys, her bloodloss certainly played a part in how vulnerable she was to this defense mechanism. The thing with Carvin is, he is a commoner from the North and safe for one confirmed Riverlander in his family (not the most pureblooded Andal culture either), his ancestors likely married people from their village and neighbouring villages, so there was less of a chance for Andal blood to enter his bloodline, whereas House Boleyn made marriage pacts with every house willing to go into one, no matter if they are Andal houses or First Men houses. Of course, House Karstark, having Stark blood, beats them all when it comes to the purity of their blood, which was the main reason why Alisa was more or less immune to this spell for now (and considering her backstory, that was probably a good thing).
Hm, certainly a possibility. Of course, for now they are in vastly different regions of Westeros, so it likely won't happen in a while, but there are other personal moments that could happen an which I wish to explore eventually.
[Follow the men]
Awesome part! I gotta say, as others have, I'm really starting to dislike Edward. I knew he was never the nicest man and all but now he's turned into a complete scumbag.
[Get Roger and the package back to the castle] This is by far the more urgent choice. Those guys can wait. I'm just afraid they'll be very angry later on in the story and this choice will come back to bite us. But, this is still the better choice for now IMO.
It was awesome to see Willfred fight after a while. He hasn't been as major of a POV character since the early days of FoT but he's still awesome and it's great to see him back in action