I think this would work best, and perhaps we'd hear why exactly has a Night's Watchman came all the way to Raylansfair. I mean, Lawsen seems to think it's because of him, but we can't be sure. And I guess this means that Lawsen is a deserter, huh? Or at least I can't see any other reason for the Night's Watch to be after him.
It probably isn't just because of Lawsen. Wildor is a recruiter, so he does what Yoren from the books and show did, he travels the lands and recruits. Raylansfair is an important city in the northern Reach, so for a recruiter active in this part of Westeros, it isn't exactly unusual to go there. Sure, Oldtown is a much more promising location with the rampant crime, even if the recruits one can get there are usually of the very dangerous kind. Lawsen might have a point that Wildor could be looking for him, for reasons that will all be properly explained in time, but at the same time he is a bit paranoid as well and might be overanalyzing the situation.
[Sit down with Bernard and Malcolm] They seem like good people, and making friends with nobility could be helpful to Drent if he ever wants … moreto rise to a higher position. And at the very least it's better than being rude to them. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this melee
[Distract Wildor Goodbrook] I think this would work best, and perhaps we'd hear why exactly has a Night's Watchman came all the way to Raylansfair. I mean, Lawsen seems to think it's because of him, but we can't be sure. And I guess this means that Lawsen is a deserter, huh? Or at least I can't see any other reason for the Night's Watch to be after him.
Since this isn't Warrick, I don't see any harm in sharing a drink or two with him.
Fun fact, in my original plans it was Warrick who'd invite Drent here and I got to wonder how that would have changed how people see the choice. However, I realized that I'd get further chances to flesh out Warrick later on, but Bernard is not the one to face Drent and therefore otherwise less involved. I also wanted to introduce Malcolm Mertyns here and from his submission, he only has a connection to Bernard and not to Warrick or Jonathan.
I wonder why Hal and Ed weren't mourning with the rest of the farmers in this part.
Well, it isn't exactly a proper memorial right there. Richard has been buried and Hal and Ed were present during the ceremony, as well as Axell and Philip. Jenna however wasn't. This was two days ago and Hal and Ed are beginning to move on. In Hal's case, he also still recovers from the injuries he received during the raid, so nightly drinking sessions with his friends aren't exactly on the table for him right now.
And I finally caught up to the parts! Liquid, I left you a message btw. Glad to make it in time to see the Bar Crew back at it.
Yes, yes, welcome back I have seen your message, the problem is though that I have a bit of a backlog again, of about a dozen lengthy messages that require an answer. Do not worry, the new notification systems seems very reliable and I have probably never outright missed a message before. I'll try to answer as soon as possible, but there's some people whom I need to get back to earlier.
[Sit down with Bernard and Malcolm] Since this isn't Warrick, I don't see any harm in sharing a drink or two with him.
[Distract Wildor G… moreoodbrook] It's the Night's Watch baby! That means our locals better take care not to be imprisoned, or they may get a one way trip up North. I wonder why Hal and Ed weren't mourning with the rest of the farmers in this part. And I finally caught up to the parts! Liquid, I left you a message btw. Glad to make it in time to see the Bar Crew back at it.
Drent
At last, the day of the tournament had arrived. Over the past two weeks, the preparations had been going on, the servants working f… moreor days with barely any rest to assure a celebration worthy of the Durrandon name. With a little help from Ser Emphruys, Drent had been accepted to the melee and eventually, even Torrence had given in to the temptation of glory. To be honest though, neither had particular hopes to get very far into it, not with men such as Landry Swann and Argilac himself participating. But Drent knew, he wouldn't go down before Warrick Fell. To this, he had given his word.
The past fourteen days had been uneventful for him. As one of the participants of the tournament, he was treated with more care than the other grunts, still doing guard duty, but on a reduced level. He could only assume that Ser Emphryus had a hand in this. After all, they both had a duty to their princess.
Argella herself however had been absent… [view original content]
Ah murderers and meteors or damsels and dragons? I will admit those are the best and worst scenarios i can think of....at least with immediate effect. I'm pretty sure i can think of a few worse long term scenarios, especially if we go to the extreme lengths you suggest.
1) Say Bernard is secretly the most powerful sorcerer of all time and can somehow completely mind control people who is using Drent as a proxy. Then we eventually have evil mindcontroled Argella killing her father and putting Mullendore to shame with an evil cruel regime.
2) Bernard secretly has some sort of incurable disease and spreads it to Drent, leading to a heartbreakingly horrible scene of the Stormland characters slowly and brutally succumbing to their painful deaths.
3) Bernard is part of the new secret faceless man invasion and soon all our beloved characters are exchanged by slightly yet unnervingly off doubles.
As for extremely good endings. I will say the image of Argella suddenly falling completely and openly in love with Drent and riding a dragon is great. I mean if it ever goes that way where the character just start acting overtly and unusually expressive and lighthearted then go all the way. Again i can think up a few more.
1) Bernard is actually future Dret and Argellas son from their insanely perfect dream marriage who comes to help them bring their perfect age of peace by using his advanced future magic to put all the evil characters in jail. Then they manage to solve world hunger and defeat Aegon by having a pleasant conversation over some pastries and Arbor. And finally the happy ending where perfect future happens and Drent helps Bernard with the Planetos World Cup as the crowd cheers and the credits roll.
2) Bernard is actually the trapped god of love and Drent frees him by showing the kindness in simple conversation. Then all the characters who have ever had the slightest hint of a relationship suddenly abandon everything for love. Argella gives up her kingdom for Drent in a cheesy almost nauseating speech about the power of love. Aegon becomes super empathetic and decides war hurts so its bad. Edward gives up being evil for Alys who suddenly forgives everything he's done. Characters suddenly comeback to life because love conquers even death itself. And every single ship happens.........EVERY SINGLE SHIP.
3) Bernard is secretly the envoy of the dragons who have survived and become so numerous there is one for everyone. Aegon realizes his war is doomed and everyone has a pet dragon. Also flying unicorns exist now, they were with the dragons.
4) Bernard is Drent's father who reveals every single 'dead' character is secretly alive in an enormous tropical island having sitcom antics and every one reunites with their loved one.
Man these are great.... lets see........... what else.....Oh wait this ones good. Bernard is actually a scientist who discovered how to travel between parallel worlds where different versions of our characters exist using this strange device. Then one of the bad guys steals it for a very complex plan they have, but they accidentally transport all the characters with them. Then they go to these weird other universes and have crazy adventures and......wow that sounds great. It almost feels like somebody should currently be writing that story.
What's the worst that could happen?..............
Bernard gets up, reveals himself to be a serial killer and murders Drent on the sp… moreot, resulting in a very unexpected death for our soldier friend. Suddenly, a flash of light appears in the sky and a flaming meteor plummets to the Earth. The end.
What's the least terrible thing that could happen?
Argella storms in, declares her undying love for Drent, together they tame a dragon and ride into the sunset. Moved by this, Aegon gives up on his conquest, world peace is achieved and they all live happily ever after.
So much for the worst and least terrible outcomes respectively, quality solutions brought to you by LiquidChicagoTed. In all seriousness though, it is way more likely that nothing too extreme will happen by sitting down with Bernard and Malcolm. The worst thing that could reasonably happen is Bernard turning out to be a jerk who just wants to humiliate Drent a bit, but to be fair, that isn't even particularly likely either.
[Decline the invitation] I see no reason not to vote no so I’m going to because I got a feeling this will not be good.
[Escort Lawsen outside] Oh dear our slick buddy here is a Night’s Watch deserter. Dun dun dunnn.
Kind of want him to get caught but whatever.
“This fine man by my side is Malcolm Mertyns, the heir to Mistwood”
Friendly owl!
“He had to know, sooner or later these... people he harboured at the farm would have been found. The knight was a piece of shit and that woman... a sight for sore eyes, aye, but dangerous to have around”
How dare he and also she was. I miss the bickering, so so much. I am glad that Kersea told the truth else that would not be the case.
Drent
At last, the day of the tournament had arrived. Over the past two weeks, the preparations had been going on, the servants working f… moreor days with barely any rest to assure a celebration worthy of the Durrandon name. With a little help from Ser Emphruys, Drent had been accepted to the melee and eventually, even Torrence had given in to the temptation of glory. To be honest though, neither had particular hopes to get very far into it, not with men such as Landry Swann and Argilac himself participating. But Drent knew, he wouldn't go down before Warrick Fell. To this, he had given his word.
The past fourteen days had been uneventful for him. As one of the participants of the tournament, he was treated with more care than the other grunts, still doing guard duty, but on a reduced level. He could only assume that Ser Emphryus had a hand in this. After all, they both had a duty to their princess.
Argella herself however had been absent… [view original content]
Drent
At last, the day of the tournament had arrived. Over the past two weeks, the preparations had been going on, the servants working f… moreor days with barely any rest to assure a celebration worthy of the Durrandon name. With a little help from Ser Emphruys, Drent had been accepted to the melee and eventually, even Torrence had given in to the temptation of glory. To be honest though, neither had particular hopes to get very far into it, not with men such as Landry Swann and Argilac himself participating. But Drent knew, he wouldn't go down before Warrick Fell. To this, he had given his word.
The past fourteen days had been uneventful for him. As one of the participants of the tournament, he was treated with more care than the other grunts, still doing guard duty, but on a reduced level. He could only assume that Ser Emphryus had a hand in this. After all, they both had a duty to their princess.
Argella herself however had been absent… [view original content]
Ah murderers and meteors or damsels and dragons? I will admit those are the best and worst scenarios i can think of....at least with immediate effect. I'm pretty sure i can think of a few worse long term scenarios, especially if we go to the extreme lengths you suggest.
Well, I'm not so sure. An ending in which all of Planetos ends up dying to a meteor, allowing a race of sentient dinosaur people to evolve from their ruins does sound like the worst possible outcome. Nothing short of an interdimensional catastrophe that somehow happens due to Drent and Bernard spending time together could come worse, objectively speaking.
As for extremely good endings. I will say the image of Argella suddenly falling completely and openly in love with Drent and riding a dragon is great. I mean if it ever goes that way where the character just start acting overtly and unusually expressive and lighthearted then go all the way. Again i can think up a few more.
Hehe, don't expect Argella to ever become super light-hearted and affectionate all of a sudden, that is really not her style. Even when she cares for someone, make no mistake, she can be a massive bitch, for as many positive qualities as she undoubtedly has at the same time. That being said, most of your solutions here do sound like even better ones, admittedly. Only one I'd object to is the fact that everyone gets a dragon. That is the same as if everyone in our world would get a nuke. Would you really trust that creepy guy you once saw to have his own nuke? Or that demented old lady? Westeros would burn, literally burn, with hundreds of thousands of dragons who are going to be completely out of control.
Man these are great.... lets see........... what else.....Oh wait this ones good. Bernard is actually a scientist who discovered how to travel between parallel worlds where different versions of our characters exist using this strange device. Then one of the bad guys steals it for a very complex plan they have, but they accidentally transport all the characters with them. Then they go to these weird other universes and have crazy adventures and......wow that sounds great. It almost feels like somebody should currently be writing that story.
Ah murderers and meteors or damsels and dragons? I will admit those are the best and worst scenarios i can think of....at least with immedia… morete effect. I'm pretty sure i can think of a few worse long term scenarios, especially if we go to the extreme lengths you suggest.
1) Say Bernard is secretly the most powerful sorcerer of all time and can somehow completely mind control people who is using Drent as a proxy. Then we eventually have evil mindcontroled Argella killing her father and putting Mullendore to shame with an evil cruel regime.
2) Bernard secretly has some sort of incurable disease and spreads it to Drent, leading to a heartbreakingly horrible scene of the Stormland characters slowly and brutally succumbing to their painful deaths.
3) Bernard is part of the new secret faceless man invasion and soon all our beloved characters are exchanged by slightly yet unnervingly off doubles.
As for extremely good endings. I will say … [view original content]
As literally so as possible for a human being. Not only does the house have an owl as their sigil, but Malcolm has a strong owl theme going on as well, in terms of appearance, personality, clothing style and he even has a nickname, the Black Owl. Friendly owl, quite probably.
How dare he and also she was. I miss the bickering, so so much. I am glad that Kersea told the truth else that would not be the case.
Do not worry, the bickering shall return, if not exactly involving Alan. His bickering days are over. There is a reason why I put Kersea and Leonard into the same storyline and this is part of it. They will return very soon, either in the next part or in the one after it. This bickering would indeed not happen in that way if Kersea would have kept quiet about her past, but coming clean about it is sort of something she feels like she really has to do.
[Decline the invitation] I see no reason not to vote no so I’m going to because I got a feeling this will not be good.
[Escort Lawsen out… moreside] Oh dear our slick buddy here is a Night’s Watch deserter. Dun dun dunnn.
Kind of want him to get caught but whatever.
“This fine man by my side is Malcolm Mertyns, the heir to Mistwood”
Friendly owl!
“He had to know, sooner or later these... people he harboured at the farm would have been found. The knight was a piece of shit and that woman... a sight for sore eyes, aye, but dangerous to have around”
How dare he and also she was. I miss the bickering, so so much. I am glad that Kersea told the truth else that would not be the case.
[Sit down with Bernard and Malcolm] Let's be fruiends!
[Distract Wildor Goodbrook] Probably it will work or probably not
RT: 1) It seems that Drent storyline for this chapter will be long and plenty of action! 2) I'm curious to read who will win between Ser Emphryius and the Buckler 3) Meanwhile Ilish storyline for this chapter (and Book)restart with her working as a barmaid..it seems a tradition at this point 4) Wow see Philip and Axell mourn Richard was quite sad, expecially for Philip since it remember me the scene at the chapter 2 of Book 1 where Richard,Urid and Philip drink together 5) Alan seems to really enjoy the consequences of his actions! I'm for sure glad of the outcome 6) Lawsen is back!But he really don't want to go back to the Wall (I suppose that he is a deserter)! 7) Am I wrong or this is the first time that we encounter a member of the Night Watch during this story?
BQD:
Ilish Granver “I'd say you've been the greater danger in the end”
Drent
At last, the day of the tournament had arrived. Over the past two weeks, the preparations had been going on, the servants working f… moreor days with barely any rest to assure a celebration worthy of the Durrandon name. With a little help from Ser Emphruys, Drent had been accepted to the melee and eventually, even Torrence had given in to the temptation of glory. To be honest though, neither had particular hopes to get very far into it, not with men such as Landry Swann and Argilac himself participating. But Drent knew, he wouldn't go down before Warrick Fell. To this, he had given his word.
The past fourteen days had been uneventful for him. As one of the participants of the tournament, he was treated with more care than the other grunts, still doing guard duty, but on a reduced level. He could only assume that Ser Emphryus had a hand in this. After all, they both had a duty to their princess.
Argella herself however had been absent… [view original content]
1) It seems that Drent storyline for this chapter will be long and plenty of action!
Both I can confirm! Drent's storyline in this chapter, while probably not the longest, is definitely going to be among the longer ones and with the tourney coming up, I think it should be among the most action-packed as well. Definitely a storyline I look forward for quite a lot!
2) I'm curious to read who will win between Ser Emphryius and the Buckler
On good days, Emphryus emerges as the clear victor. Bernard is not a bad fighter, but Emphryus is simply outclassing him. The issue here is that Emphryus is still recovering from the wounds he suffered in Raylansfair and therefore definitely won't bring his best performance. As such, I'd say they are way more evenly matched than usual.
3) Meanwhile Ilish storyline for this chapter (and Book)restart with her working as a barmaid..it seems a tradition at this point
I know, right? It's almost as if she has a fulltime job which she has to work at to guarantee a stable income. I mean, she has one of the most ordinary occupations in the entire story, so there's no way around showing her during her work days. At the same time, it is at work where she meets the most interesting people, so at least there's a purpose behind it.
4) Wow see Philip and Axell mourn Richard was quite sad, expecially for Philip since it remember me the scene at the chapter 2 of Book 1 where Richard,Urid and Philip drink together
Precisely that was my intention, to give a bit of a callback to that particular scene. Out of the trio from back then, only Philip remains, the mood is an entirely different one and all in all, it was definitely meant to be a sad scene.
5) Alan seems to really enjoy the consequences of his actions! I'm for sure glad of the outcome
Yeah, things got a bit farther than even Alan wanted them to go. It seems that now he finally realizes just how badly this went. He also probably realizes that enjoying the new riches he has gained won't be all that easy when literally every single person in Raylansfair is disgusted by him.
6) Lawsen is back!But he really don't want to go back to the Wall (I suppose that he is a deserter)!
You might suppose right, there is definitely a connection between Lawsen and this Wildor Goodbrook. He really doesn't want to get caught and is willing to go quite far to achieve this.
7) Am I wrong or this is the first time that we encounter a member of the Night Watch during this story?
You are not wrong, this is indeed the first member of the Night's Watch who appears in the story. He will remain the only one for the foreseeable future, but I eventually plan to show more of them.
BQD:
Ilish Granver
“I'd say you've been the greater danger in the end”
Definitely far greater than Leonard and Kersea. Alan is someone who is really not used to being called out on his bullshit, so this is something he is not sure how to deal with. He lashed out at Richard for confronting him, but he knows he cannot do the same with Ilish. In a way, this statement really hit him though.
[Sit down with Bernard and Malcolm] Let's be fruiends!
[Distract Wildor Goodbrook] Probably it will work or probably not
RT:
1) It se… moreems that Drent storyline for this chapter will be long and plenty of action!
2) I'm curious to read who will win between Ser Emphryius and the Buckler
3) Meanwhile Ilish storyline for this chapter (and Book)restart with her working as a barmaid..it seems a tradition at this point
4) Wow see Philip and Axell mourn Richard was quite sad, expecially for Philip since it remember me the scene at the chapter 2 of Book 1 where Richard,Urid and Philip drink together
5) Alan seems to really enjoy the consequences of his actions! I'm for sure glad of the outcome
6) Lawsen is back!But he really don't want to go back to the Wall (I suppose that he is a deserter)!
7) Am I wrong or this is the first time that we encounter a member of the Night Watch during this story?
BQD:
Ilish Granver
“I'd say you've been the greater danger in the end”
Drent is going to sit down with Bernard and Malcolm
Ilish is going to distract Wildor Goodbrook
Both of these choices are having one good thing in common, they will easily allow me to develop the characters of Bernard, Malcolm and Wildor. I mean, especially with the second choice, it is questionable if this is the better course of action, but it definitely is good for me, as I don't have to go out of my way to include hooks with which I can develop the characters. We all know there's more than enough for me to develop already, so this shall make things a lot easier for me.
Now, I hope to release the new part today. Thing is, I had surprisingly little time yesterday and I still have one character to submit for another story and maybe I'll even get to write a couple messages. I hate not having as much time as I'd need to do it all at once, but rest assured, it will happen. The next part, which I'll try my best to finish today, will include a PoV from Keat's perspective. Chances are it will only be him, but if there is room for a second PoV, I am leaning towards giving it to either Alys or Kersea. The former is more likely, as the latter is probably going to need a full length part just for herself. We'll see what I decide upon when finishing Keat's PoV. Quick recap for him, he's in trouble. Slightly more detailed recap, he's been running into several people he really doesn't want to meet, from the brute Thorrin Bannister, who cut off one of his ears as punishment for cheating him out of a lot of coin, to Hishi's top enforcer Lanford, who took him to the Thousand Shades of Flowers for further interrogation.
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Thorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Keat groaned, as he pulled at the rope that bound his hands, to no avail of course. Opened and closed his eyes, trying to get rid of the thumping in his head. With a frown, he threw a glare at Lanford, to which the man reacted by shrugging. “Orders from the boss”, he simply stated and Keat gulped, as he heard soft footsteps on the stone behind him.
“Well, rise and shine, Keat”, a familiar voice greeted him, just a little bit too high for a man. Two slender, feminine hands rested on his shoulders and he smelled sweet perfume. “You are in trouble, my dear”, Hishi whispered. “But do not worry, for I know just the way you can make up for all the grievance you caused”
“Hey Hishi”, Keat greeted the owner of the brothel, as the hands gently moved along his shoulders and Hishi stepped into his field of view. Around Oldtown, the nature of this person had been a source of constant debate, up to their gender. Hishi, of course, encouraged these debates, though as she stood there, Keat wondered how anyone could not see that she was, in fact, a woman. Admittedly, the androgynous frame beneath the silken red dress hinted at a lack of curves, but the soft features of the face were so clearly female that it left him with no doubt. The way she moved, the way she smiled and spoke, Hishi was genuinely beautiful, with fair skin and long, black hair, as well as dark eyes.
At the same time, Keat knew more about her than her beauty and the rumours about her ambiguous gender and what he knew left him with an uneasy feeling. There was always something uncanny about her and her being so easy on the eyes only made him more nervous for what she was capable of in contrast. Kind and generous to those on her good side, but cruel and vindictive to those trying to mess with her or her workers. And Keat had indeed tried to steal a substantial sum from her.
“Why... am I here?”, he asked as Hishi stood next to Lanford. The woman smirked at him. “For the beginning, you could show a little gratitude”, she replied. “We patched you up. Cleaned your wound, it won't become infected. Quite a nasty little cut you got there. Bannister?”
Keat gave her a nod and Hishi's smirk faded ever so slightly. “He is a savage thug after all”, she replied. “I know just why I have banned him from my property” She tilted her head. “Ah, you will find that not all of your creditors will be as kindly”
“As you or as Bannister?”, Keat asked and Hishi shrugged. “Either”, she explained. “I treated your wound and Bannister, well, he left you alive, which, I suppose, is quite a lot coming from him” She raised a thin eyebrow. “Whom else do you owe coin?”
To this, Keat sighed. “Vogero Forios”, he spoke and Hishi looked outright sympathetic. “A man more dangerous than Bannister”, she replied. “Albeit less feral at the same time, if you don't count that brute that's always with him. Maybe you can reach an agreement with him” Keat nodded. “That's what I'm hoping for”, he told her. “And then there's Tavner's other henchman, Forrester”
“Efram”, Hishi spoke gently. “The girls like him, he treats them well” She and Lanford exchanged a glance and the man nodded. Quickly, Hishi looked back at Keat. “Fascinating, to see one tiny thief messing up that badly, owing coin to so many dangerous men”
“And one dangerous woman”, Keat spoke up and he instantly realized how thinly veiled his attempt to compliment her was. Hishi laughed brightly. “If that's how you see me”, she grinned. “Though I would not share your conviction. There is a reason why you're still alive after all”
“Information”, Keat deduced, though he allowed himself to smirk at her. “Or do you keep me alive for my famously good looks?” Hishi smiled brightly as he said this. “Oh, you obviously haven't seen the boys upstairs”, she replied. “With them around, why would I ever settle for someone so... mediocre?”
Keat's smirk faded. “Ouch”, he spoke and Hishi sighed. “Information is quite correct though”, she explained. “I have a few questions, most of them revolving around your friend, Samuel Puffer” By now, Keat was frowning. “And if I tell you, you let me go?”, he asked, to which Hishi chuckled. “No”, she simply said. He had expected that much, though raised an eyebrow. “What do you want of Sam?”, he asked.
To his surprise, Hishi seemed ready to give him an answer. “I have work for him”, she revealed. “The same work I intend to offer to you” He gave her a curious glance and she smiled. “A friend of mine requires a very specific object from a very particular and heavily guarded place”, she told him, exchanging another look with Lanford, before shrugging. “The place is the Hightower, to be precise”
Keat's eyes widened. “You seek to steal from the Hightower?”, he gasped and unashamedly, Hishi nodded. “This is not something one man can pull off alone. One has to lead them and at first, I thought Samuel should be the one. I've once met the man he trained under and well, up until today, I was certain I wouldn't find a better one”
“Until...”, Keat began and she completed his sentence. “Until the man who stole from every major player in this entire city returned”, she spoke. “I want you to lead this heist. And no, this is not negotiable” Her smile, though sweet, had something conniving. “Do that for me and you can consider us even and I'll have a talk with Tavner about the sum you owe to Vogero and Efram”
For a moment, Keat stared at her, having the desperate and, as he knew, futile hope that maybe, she wasn't entirely serious. She stared back, waiting, expecting, while Lanford silently raised an eyebrow, a threat more effective than a thousand hot knives. “Looks like I don't have a choice”
Hishi flashed him a bright grin. “Glad we agree on that one”, she spoke. “Though you should be happy that I already did part of your job. I did some investigation about whom you could take with you on this heist. Your team, so to say”
Realizing that he wouldn't get out of this all that easily, Keat decided to play along for now. Breaking into the Hightower, the actual Hightower, that was madness! However, defying Hishi in the presence of her top enforcer, that would be even worse. He could think of a way out later on. For now, he should indeed be thankful that Hishi did not kill him immediately. “Whom are we talking about?”, he asked.
“Well, for the beginning that would be two men who can handle themselves in a fight. Your friend Samuel, I want him to be a part of this”, Hishi explained and raised an eyebrow. “I suppose you know where to find him?” With a sigh, Keat nodded. “I have an idea”, he revealed.
“Splendid”, Hishi exclaimed. “The other one is already here. One of my Thorns, a man called Erik Inchfield. Reliable and eager to prove himself, he'll make for a perfect ally” With that, she looked at Lanford, who straightened his back. “You'll need more help”, he continued in her stead. “Two additional thieves, specialists as I was assured”
Keat gave him a nod. “Alright, tell me more about them”, he gave in and Lanford smirked thinly. “One of them is an acrobat, the other one's a lock picker, both have gained some infamy in the city”, he revealed. “The acrobat calls himself Buck Pearl, but Hishi's contacts have revealed that his real name is Nicola Sand, a dornish bastard. Heard he has trained a monkey to assist him during his work and also that he's part monkey himself with the way he moves”
“Sounds useful”, Keat admitted. “The lock picker?” Lanford shrugged. “You might have heard of her already. Another dornish bastard, a woman this time. Vivielia Sand” As soon as he heard this name, Keat rolled his eyes. “Aye, I know her”, he spoke. “We didn't exactly part on good terms”
“What a surprise”, Hishi interjected and Lanford allowed himself the hint of a chuckle. “Whatever your history, she's an expert when it comes to picking any sort of locks”, he spoke. “So, you will recruit her” Keat rolled his eyes. “Sure”, he spoke. “Last thing I heard is she returned to Dorne with her sisters”
“She's back”, Lanford growled. “Indulging in petty thievery with her sisters, a waste of such excellent talent” To this, Keat nodded. “She was always ready for greater things”, he spoke. “The thought of breaking into the Hightower could be enough for her to forgive me” He tilted his head. “Where can I find them?”
Hishi raised a finger. “I don't know”, she admitted. “Not yet. Neither is an Oldtown native, so they leave less tracks than one of us. My contacts around the city will find them and you will pay them a visit. However, first I presume you want to meet up with Samuel and check up on your siblings”
A smile formed on Keat's face. “Absolutely”, he spoke, glad that Hishi would grant him this much. “I'll convince him to help out” Hishi smiled back. “You have my gratitude”, she answered. “In the meantime, I will order my men to find one of the thieves. Once you return with Samuel, you can go and recruit them” She raised an eyebrow. “Which of them would you want me to focus on first?”
[Recruit the acrobat first][Recruit the lock picker first]
Alys
From the balcony of Blacksails' mansion, Alys looked over the entirety of Merman's Rest. The city was lying in eternal darkness in its cave, but with the sun setting, even what little light fell into it was slowly dying. Instead, a myriad of smaller lights, torches and campfires, illuminated it, sometimes bright enough to reflect from the ceiling and dousing the nightly city into at least a semblance of twilight. It would never sleep and to be honest, she wasn't so certain she could find any either. It wasn't just the events of today that still left her with a quickened heartbeat, but also the sounds of thousands of people and the distant roar of the waterfall in the far end of the cave.
But sleep was still far in either way. To escape the hot dinner room of King Aeron and the strange smoke that filled it, she had come here, to one of the highest points in the mansion and the entire city. Though the cold air was refreshing, it also felt a bit damp on her skin and frankly, as wrong as her own attire. A dress of crimson myrish silk, a gift from Aeron himself. One of his women, a silent olive-skinned and narrow-eyed slave from some faraway land, had done her hair and as spectacular as it looked in the mirror, she could not help but to feel that it was a hollow display. She had never been that dressed up, not back home, among Northerners who never truly cared for such finery. Nor did she like the particular type attention it gave her in this city.
Right now, she spotted the Ironborn longship leaving the harbour and her gaze stopped on it and the dozens of different ships that she saw there. However, when the door behind her got opened, she quickly turned around, tensing up as she saw Edward there.
The pirate was dressed in elegant black and the smile he gave her was almost chivalrous, though she was no longer fooled by his gallant appearance. “Mylady”, he greeted her and she gulped. “Edward”, she replied as he walked up next to her. “You found a beautiful spot in this city”, he complimented her.
“The only one of beauty, it seems”, she mumbled and he raised an eyebrow. “You are too hard on Merman's Rest”, he assured her. “Of course, it is a city of scoundrels, but we scoundrels always had a particular eye for beauty” She raised an eyebrow. “I could see that from Harlaw's speech”, she replied and Edward chuckled.
“Ah, Gregor”, he sighed. “A charmer, is he not?” She rolled her eyes. “Is he right though?”, she asked. “About the dragons?” Edward hesitated for a moment, before he gave her a nod. “And if it wouldn't be for my own plans, I would have joined him”, he admitted. “It makes sense, submitting to strength. Aeron and the others, they cling to their foolish ideals of freedom, but Gregor, he's probably smarter than each of them, or more pragmatic at least”
“Then why don't you join him?”, Alys asked. “Or would you say you are not smart?” Edward chuckled slightly. “Oh, but I am smart, more than Gregor even”, he assured her. “I don't submit to strength, but not out of any ideals, but because I seek even greater power”
Alys frowned. “I know that much”, she whispered and looked at the scars on her palms, where Edward had sliced into her flesh to draw her blood. Perhaps it was foolish to even stay by his side. There were moments in which she feared that Harlan Hoare could have still been the kinder fate for her, compared to whatever Edward had planned.
To her surprise, he looked almost sympathetic. “Mylady, I wanted to thank you”, he told her. “You stood up for me, even when you didn't have to, even when I probably didn't do much lately to deserve it” Alys gave him a nod for that last one. “I didn't do it for you”, she said instantly. “I did it because I want your protection”
The pirate smiled. “How remarkably pragmatic”, he said. “Regardless of your reasons, I owe you my genuine gratitude” She sighed. “Does that mean you won't drag me into another mess as you did in Raylansfair?”, she asked and he gulped. “Does that mean you won't slice through my hands to get my blood ever again?” Her tone had gotten sharper now and there was a bitter streak in it for being disappointed by a man she had seen as her saviour once.
Edward noted nothing more than this disappointment and it showed in the way his expression dropped. Alys however turned away from him, having had enough talk with this man. She'd stay with him for as long as he was of use to her. But never should he have any illusions about this. He was not her friend. “I think I had enough fresh air”, she said.
Heading back inside, into Aeron's sinfully lavish dinner room, a marvel made out of the finest of woods, adorned with crimson and golden tapestries, she spotted the other captains. As much as her current look would fit into the room, the same couldn't be said about some of the captains in there.
Jadith Linster stood out in particular. Not even bothering with finding something to look good it, she was wearing the same rags as she had done during the meeting earlier that day. She was talking to Melvan Tiren, who at least wore a new, dark coat, though with his shaggy beard and bad teeth, he wasn't exactly looking decent either.
Sargasso Saan and Warmond Manderly were a different sight of course, though in the absence of their king, who had excused himself from the dinner table, their elegance was a bit lacking and she noticed something about them she had not seen before. The cruel, cunning glance in Sargasso's gaze, the glances Warmond threw at her. It made her almost glad that she was seated closer to Jadith and Melvan than them.
Neither Carvin nor Alisa had been allowed to this dinner and both were currently eating with the servants, something Alys could, as much as she cared for both, even understand from Aeron's perspective. And yet, it meant she was alone with four pirates.
“And I say...”, Melvan exclaimed, as he bit into the roasted piece of chicken he held in his hands. Still munching on it, his voice was a bit muffled and Alys could not understand what it was that he said, but Jadith let out a bellowing roar of a laughter. “You sly hound!”, she complimented him. “That is actually brilliant”
“Of course it is, I came up with this on my own”, Melvan replied slyly, brown sauce running down his beard. “Heard you've been rather busy into that direction as well though. How's it going for you lately?” Jadith frowned. “Bastards won't pay as much as they used to”, she growled. “But I still get them to the point. Cut off a finger or two and their families comply, they all do”
Alys gulped and Melvan raised an eyebrow. “A fascinating strategy”, he admitted, though his voice sounded a slight bit sheepish. “Ah, of course it's rare to get live hostages at all, much less the ones worth more than a wet shit” He shrugged. “You know, I'm kinda glad Storm isn't here anymore, he really doesn't like that kind of talk”
“That's why he's not as rich as you and me”, Sargasso remarked from the other end of the table, delicately piercing a boiled carrot with his fork. “A man with qualms is not suited for this kind of life” Warmond nodded at this remark. “It's dirty business”, he mumbled.
Jadith took a quick glance at Alys, who had gotten pale by now and she narrowed her eyes. “What are you looking at, girl?”, she spat and made the last word sound like a curse. Alys looked at her hands, noticing that they were shivering in the presence of these gruesome people and their gruesome stories.
“I think the lady isn't too keen on your talks of death and mutilation”, Warmond brought up and Jadith sneered from him to Alys. “Then the lady doesn't belong here”, she growled. “What is it, girl? You don't want to hear how I split a man's skull and licked the blade clean?”
“To be fair, nobody wants to hear that”, Sargasso brought up and cut the sausage in front of him in half. Jadith chuckled at that. “Fair enough”, she admitted, before raising her cup of wine, spilling almost half of it onto the white blanket, then downing the rest in a single gulp.
“You have grown rather pale, mylady”, Melvan spoke and he gave her a rotten smile, that still managed to come across as almost friendly, for a pirate at least. It did little to ease Alys' nervousness in the presence of these men. When she left Edward outside, it was a decision made in the heat of the moment. At least she had been hoping that Aeron would be back by now. The king had something civil about him that even Warmond Manderly was lacking.
“Oh, she's not feeling too well”, Jadith said in a mocking tone and now, Melvan gave her a sharp glance. “Jadith, she is our guest”, he told her and the ugly woman chuckled coldly. “Edward's guest”, she spoke. “Or more, given how passionate she's been about defending him to the king” She raised an eyebrow. “Hey girl, how does it feel to fuck a weasel?”
“Jadith”, Sargasso now said, his voice oozing authority and to Alys' surprise, the other woman indeed gave in. Rolling her eyes, she leant back in her chair, pouring herself another cup of wine, while Sargasso smiled at Alys, like a wolf at a sheep. She gulped and all of a sudden, even Jadith' talk wasn't as upsetting as the look in his gaze. “So... Alys Snow”, he spoke. “I can only apologize for Jadith, she isn't quite herself when she's drunken”
“Well, technically...”, Warmond began, though Sargasso cut him off with a single glance. “What I wanted to say is, I hope you don't hold it against us. King Aeron wants only the best for his guests during their stay here” Weakly, Alys managed to nod at him, but Sargasso wasn't finished yet. “See, I was hoping we could use this moment, the absence of Anturion among us, to have a talk, a real talk. You have spent months by his side, probably know him closer than any of us for sure and you... you actually convinced the king to give him another chance. Not an easy task”
“Thank you”, Alys mumbled and Sargasso gave her a wink. “Such manners”, he spoke. “Where does a simple bastard girl get such manners?” This remark, spoken in an innocent tone, was enough to cause Alys to tense up. Did he know? Did he suspect? And if he wasn't, could she keep her true identity a secret if she'd stay and talk? Her first impulse was to flee, to find Edward outside and to stay with him. Exhausting as he was, at least he wasn't as much a threat to her as these pirates. But could she pull this off without appearing any more suspicious than she probably already was?
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates][Excuse yourself and meet with Edward]
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Th… moreorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Kea… [view original content]
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Th… moreorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Kea… [view original content]
[Recruit the acrobat first] Let's go see this thief and his pet monkey and see if they are ready to monkey around. [Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates] I want to see some more of this pirates, they are a rather interesting bunch.
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Th… moreorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Kea… [view original content]
Ah, I really liked the Keat part, setting the stage for what is to come and getting more hints about the big players of Oldtown. I also really enjoyed Hishi, and getting the first impression of her now, I'm actually even more convinced of my theory that she is the "deceiver" we learned about in Irea's part. Actually, I have another theory to add, though admittedly I might be reaching a bit: What if Hishi is actually the sister of Nain and Edward Anturion? I mean, Hishi could well just be a fake name, since she seems to like to keep people confused (and that also goes well with her being the deceiver). And then there is the fact that she wants to steal something from the Hightower... much like Edward wanted to steal something from the archive of Raylansfair. Oh man, whether I'm wrong of right with my guesses, I surely am intrigued to learn more as the story progresses Anyway, for the choices...
[Recruit the lock picker first] I'd say that she's more important for the mission. And there is clearly also history between Keat and this lock picker, which could make for some interesting interactions.
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates] I choose this simply because I'm really enjoying the interactions between the pirate captains And besides, running back to Edward would make Alys seem weak in the eyes of everyone.
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Th… moreorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Kea… [view original content]
AHHH i Can believe i missed this one. Great job. I really like how you drew Edward, its like he popped out of my head. Thank you for these fantastic drawings. You are amazing Wildling.
Hey everyone, I just wanted to quickly drop another set of drawings before the next part! This set is all about pirates, and more specifically the court of Aeron Blacksails. At the end there is also portrait of Edward Anturion. So, here ya go:
Happy birthday to Forum of Thrones! To celebrate it, I have another surprise portrait for you, this time of someone whom I consider to be the main antagonist of the story, Maron Mullendore:
[Recruit the lock picker first] Well, Keat better starts working, because unlike Hishi, Bannister and that Vogero won't spare him any more.
Wonder where that Vogero comes from, certainly not Westeros, but people of the Free Cities tend to have unusual names.
What could be hidden at the Hightower?, considering its foundations were built with Black Stone, and even Maesters believe the House itself is older than the First Men. Anything could be kept in those vaults.
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates] Maybe she can come up with an excuse, after all, is not as if bastards are never given proper education, mainly out of kindness from their noble parents.
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Th… moreorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Kea… [view original content]
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Th… moreorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Kea… [view original content]
[Recruit the lock picker first] This choice give me ME2 flashbacks with all the recruitment missions that you can choose the order to do them,btw I choose to start with the lock picker (after Samuel) since she seems to have an interesting connection with Keat
About the other choice I'm fine with any outcome so I won't choose
RT: 1) Today we finally encounter the owner of the brothel inside this story!What a joyous occasion that Keat is the lucky PoV to meet her! 2) It seems that Keat storyline will be about assemble an A team to steal something from the Hightower!It seems a really fun storyline! 3) About the new characters mentioned in this part I'm curious to read what happened between Keat and the lock picker while the monkey guy seems that will be a really fun person (and he remember me of a certain character part of ASOIAF canon that is a member of House Mullendore) 4) I have a suspicion that I've already discover what Hishi and her "friend" wants,expecially since it is something you mentioned in the previous chapter 5) Meanwhile at Merman's Rest Alys is living the good life finding herself eating alongside a group of pirates that seems to evaluete her after any of her actions (not that it is something new for Alys) 7) I really like the interaction between the pirates in this part and I hope to see again their leader 8)Now that I think about it from the moment that Alys decide to seek help from Edward she almost only meet good guys:Harren Hoare and the Ironborn,Bear and his bandits and now Blacksails and his pirates! Let's add the fact that she was forced to be part of an invasion,become a giver of blood and escape from an evil thing and I can safely say that have a trip with the Anturion Airlines is for sure something that she will never forget
BQD:
Edward Anturion “I don't submit to strength, but not out of any ideals, but because I seek even greater power”
BONUS:
“Oh, you obviously haven't seen the boys upstairs”, she replied. “With them around, why would I ever settle for someone so... mediocre?”
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Th… moreorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Kea… [view original content]
[Recruit the lock picker first] Monkey see, monkey don’t do. I want to meet this woman Keat didn’t part on the best of terms with. Seems more exciting. Lock picking is a valuable skill.
[Excuse yourself and meet with Edward] So he can seduce us obviously. Far more interesting.
“Information”, Keat deduced, though he allowed himself to smirk at her. “Or do you keep me alive for my famously good looks?” Hishi smiled brightly as he said this. “Oh, you obviously haven't seen the boys upstairs”, she replied. “With them around, why would I ever settle for someone so... mediocre?”
Keat is a smooth criminal. Now he’s earless but that’s not an issue. I really want to see a drawing of Hishi because currently I have them looking like the Ancient One from Doctor Strange and I know that isn’t the case.
Now we just need Boba Fett, Dengar, Bossk, Cad Bane, and Trevor Philips we’ll have a proper heist crew. Ocean’s 10. Sounds very fun, I love a good heist.
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Th… moreorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Kea… [view original content]
[Recruit the lock picker first]
I get that they aren’t in the best of relationships, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
[Stay inside … moreand have a talk with the pirates]
I would normally just go but I mean come on, these are pirates, I can’t just go.
Edit: that’s awesome, didn’t realize that I was commenting a single comment instead of a reply. That’s my bad.
Ah, I really liked the Keat part, setting the stage for what is to come and getting more hints about the big players of Oldtown. I also really enjoyed Hishi, and getting the first impression of her now, I'm actually even more convinced of my theory that she is the "deceiver" we learned about in Irea's part. Actually, I have another theory to add, though admittedly I might be reaching a bit: What if Hishi is actually the sister of Nain and Edward Anturion? I mean, Hishi could well just be a fake name, since she seems to like to keep people confused (and that also goes well with her being the deceiver). And then there is the fact that she wants to steal something from the Hightower... much like Edward wanted to steal something from the archive of Raylansfair. Oh man, whether I'm wrong of right with my guesses, I surely am intrigued to learn more as the story progresses Anyway, for the choices...
That is an interesting addition to your earlier theory, I like it. In fact, I considered it likely one would eventually think into this direction. As said, an interesting conclusion and for obvious reasons not one I can go into full detail here. Let's just say, this is all in the realms of possible. There are similarities for sure, especially with Hishi definitely wanting to steal something from the Hightower. All I can say is, you'll get more to think about with this theory once a couple other key players in the new Oldtown storyline get introduced at last
Ah, I really liked the Keat part, setting the stage for what is to come and getting more hints about the big players of Oldtown. I also real… morely enjoyed Hishi, and getting the first impression of her now, I'm actually even more convinced of my theory that she is the "deceiver" we learned about in Irea's part. Actually, I have another theory to add, though admittedly I might be reaching a bit: What if Hishi is actually the sister of Nain and Edward Anturion? I mean, Hishi could well just be a fake name, since she seems to like to keep people confused (and that also goes well with her being the deceiver). And then there is the fact that she wants to steal something from the Hightower... much like Edward wanted to steal something from the archive of Raylansfair. Oh man, whether I'm wrong of right with my guesses, I surely am intrigued to learn more as the story progresses Anyway, for the choices...
[Recruit the lock picker first] I'd say that … [view original content]
Wonder where that Vogero comes from, certainly not Westeros, but people of the Free Cities tend to have unusual names.
Definitely, I can confirm Vogero is not a native to Westeros and I guess it's not much of a spoiler to reveal that he was born in the Free Cities. Kind of a typical name for people from there. The way he took from his home to Oldtown at last is a very interesting one though, you'll learn a lot more about that once he is introduced (which I currently aim to happen in Chapter 3 or 4)
What could be hidden at the Hightower?, considering its foundations were built with Black Stone, and even Maesters believe the House itself is older than the First Men. Anything could be kept in those vaults.
That is true, the Hightower and House Hightower have quite a lot of mysteries going on, some surrounding this weird black stone, which I always enjoyed. I feel like they are hiding something and maybe Keat's heist can bring at least some answers.
[Recruit the lock picker first] Well, Keat better starts working, because unlike Hishi, Bannister and that Vogero won't spare him any more.
… more Wonder where that Vogero comes from, certainly not Westeros, but people of the Free Cities tend to have unusual names.
What could be hidden at the Hightower?, considering its foundations were built with Black Stone, and even Maesters believe the House itself is older than the First Men. Anything could be kept in those vaults.
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates] Maybe she can come up with an excuse, after all, is not as if bastards are never given proper education, mainly out of kindness from their noble parents.
This choice give me ME2 flashbacks with all the recruitment missions that you can choose the order to do them,btw I choose to start with the lock picker (after Samuel) since she seems to have an interesting connection with Keat
That was precisely in my mind! Though it's been a long time since I last played Mass Effect, the recruitment parts of the second game (even if I consider the second to be the weakest in terms of narrative) are an all-time gaming favourite of mine and I had these in mind when coming up with Keat's storyline for this chapter. Originally, I even wanted to present looking for Samuel as a third option here, but I realized, it'd make no sense for Keat to potentially not look for his friend and siblings first.
1) Today we finally encounter the owner of the brothel inside this story!What a joyous occasion that Keat is the lucky PoV to meet her!
Aye, Keat is so overjoyed, there's nothing he'd rather do than to be in Hishi's presence right now But this is a meeting that had been a long time in the making. Hishi in general will have an important role in the Book 2 Oldtown storyline, so I hope you'll enjoy it
2) It seems that Keat storyline will be about assemble an A team to steal something from the Hightower!It seems a really fun storyline!
His storyline is basically going to be the recruitment of Hishi's Eleven, a team of specialists to pull of the heist of a century. It'll be dangerous, it'll be hard to achieve, but it'll definitely be a lot of fun.
3) About the new characters mentioned in this part I'm curious to read what happened between Keat and the lock picker while the monkey guy seems that will be a really fun person (and he remember me of a certain character part of ASOIAF canon that is a member of House Mullendore)
Hehe, the similarity between Mark Mullendore and Nicola Sand is definitely not one I have seen before, but yeah, they both have a pet monkey. Let's hope this monkey will find a better fate than Mullendore's given that it was probably trampled to death during the Battle of the Blackwater..
4) I have a suspicion that I've already discover what Hishi and her "friend" wants,expecially since it is something you mentioned in the previous chapter
Hm, I think I know what you mean. Possible, certainly in the realms of possible. The question is, of course, why Hishi would want anything to do with something like that, but this friend you mentioned, you'll find that they are precisely the person to be interested in it.
5) Meanwhile at Merman's Rest Alys is living the good life finding herself eating alongside a group of pirates that seems to evaluete her after any of her actions (not that it is something new for Alys)
Alys is probably the PoV character in the worst position right now, being surrounded by scoundrels and with the only people even remotely interested in her well-being having no say in this situation at all. I mean, as much as they'd like to help her out, there is comparably little Alisa, Carvin or Wilbur can do. So, it's trying not to arouse too much suspicion around the pirates for Alys.
7) I really like the interaction between the pirates in this part and I hope to see again their leader
You will, you definitely will! I wanted to give more spotlight to Melvan, Jadith, Warmond and Sargasso here, so Aeron did not appear, but fear not, you will see him in this chapter even.
8)Now that I think about it from the moment that Alys decide to seek help from Edward she almost only meet good guys:Harren Hoare and the Ironborn,Bear and his bandits and now Blacksails and his pirates! Let's add the fact that she was forced to be part of an invasion,become a giver of blood and escape from an evil thing and I can safely say that have a trip with the Anturion Airlines is for sure something that she will never forget
Anturion Airlines, where dreams come true. But you are right, Alys has been dragged into the biggest mess here and she starts to believe that Harlan Hoare probably wasn't as bad as the alternative that could happen. When sellswords such as Alisa, who is by no means a classical hero, are the best people she encounters, she should probably start to rethink some of her life choices.
BQD:
Edward Anturion
“I don't submit to strength, but not out of any ideals, but because I seek even greater power”
Anturion in a nutshell. Not just Edward, but Anturion, all of them. Ambitious, cunning, ruthless and ever so power-hungry. Edward is definitely not one to ever submit to someone like Aegon, but he might be biting off more than he can chew here.
Oh my God Keat I suggest you to buy a lot of sun protection because that BURN
[Recruit the lock picker first] This choice give me ME2 flashbacks with all the recruitment missions that you can choose the order to do the… morem,btw I choose to start with the lock picker (after Samuel) since she seems to have an interesting connection with Keat
About the other choice I'm fine with any outcome so I won't choose
RT:
1) Today we finally encounter the owner of the brothel inside this story!What a joyous occasion that Keat is the lucky PoV to meet her!
2) It seems that Keat storyline will be about assemble an A team to steal something from the Hightower!It seems a really fun storyline!
3) About the new characters mentioned in this part I'm curious to read what happened between Keat and the lock picker while the monkey guy seems that will be a really fun person (and he remember me of a certain character part of ASOIAF canon that is a member of House Mullendore)
4) I have a suspicion that I've already discover what Hishi a… [view original content]
Keat is a smooth criminal. Now he’s earless but that’s not an issue. I really want to see a drawing of Hishi because currently I have them looking like the Ancient One from Doctor Strange and I know that isn’t the case.
Yeah, the Ancient One is probably not how Hishi looks. For example, there's hair involved. So, the Ancient One with hair could come a bit closer. Hishi's looks are probably quite hard to pin down, because they look so androgynous that it is really hard to guess their gender. Keat's assumption that Hishi is a woman is entirely subjective and there are characters who will be just as convinced that they are just a very feminine-looking man. The truth... is something only Hishi knows and they enjoy the speculation way too much to ever reveal it.
Now we just need Boba Fett, Dengar, Bossk, Cad Bane, and Trevor Philips we’ll have a proper heist crew. Ocean’s 10. Sounds very fun, I love a good heist.
Well, getting all of these together could be kinda hard to pull off. Boba Fett for example is kinda busy in Essos at the time. But getting a proper crew is in Hishi's best interests, so the people you get should make for quite a team.
[Recruit the lock picker first] Monkey see, monkey don’t do. I want to meet this woman Keat didn’t part on the best of terms with. Seems mor… moree exciting. Lock picking is a valuable skill.
[Excuse yourself and meet with Edward] So he can seduce us obviously. Far more interesting.
“Information”, Keat deduced, though he allowed himself to smirk at her. “Or do you keep me alive for my famously good looks?” Hishi smiled brightly as he said this. “Oh, you obviously haven't seen the boys upstairs”, she replied. “With them around, why would I ever settle for someone so... mediocre?”
Keat is a smooth criminal. Now he’s earless but that’s not an issue. I really want to see a drawing of Hishi because currently I have them looking like the Ancient One from Doctor Strange and I know that isn’t the case.
Now we just need Boba Fett, Dengar, Bossk, Cad Bane, and Trevor Philips we’ll have a proper heist crew. Ocean’s 10. Sounds very fun, I love a good heist.
Keat's quest to gather ppl for a heist reminds me of that Witcher 3 Hearts of Stones quest, where Geralt goes on a heist along with some ppl who he first recruits.
Keat's quest to gather ppl for a heist reminds me of that Witcher 3 Hearts of Stones quest, where Geralt goes on a heist along with some ppl who he first recruits.
You're on to something there, that was another inspiration of mine The ME2 suicide mission in terms of difficulty of what they are going to pull off, as well as the general time I want to dedicate to recruiting these people, but the goal and overall tone of the mission a bit closer to exactly that quest from Witcher 3.
Keat's quest to gather ppl for a heist reminds me of that Witcher 3 Hearts of Stones quest, where Geralt goes on a heist along with some ppl who he first recruits.
I would normally just go but I mean come on, these are pirates, I can’t just go.
You know, this reason is definitely one I can empat… morehize with. Fear not, a lot more pirates are about to come!
Edit: that’s awesome, didn’t realize that I was commenting a single comment instead of a reply. That’s my bad.
No reply? A single comment? Whelp, the thread is ruined now, would probably be for the best to make a new one. Thanks Obama!
So guys its been a few good months. Time for some questions!!!! And for a change of pace, I'm going to ask the readers this time. Who knows maybe it will give Liquid a better impression on how we see things in the story.
Out of all the twists in FOT which one surprised you the most?
Has there been any character on who your opinion has changed on through the story?
Who do you think are the most heroic characters in the story?
Who do you think are the most villainous characters in the story?
Which characters do you want to learn more about?
Which plotline are you most excited to see continue?
And finally, which characters are you hoping won't die anytime soon?
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Th… moreorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Kea… [view original content]
Ah, those are very interesting questions and I am curious about some of these. Obviously, I cannot answer almost any of these, because that would be, in some cases, even be an outright spoiler coming from me. For example, the character I don't want to die anytime soon simply won't die anytime soon, it is a privilege I abuse shamelessly. But as said, I am quite interested in how the others see some of these questions. In fact, Lord, I'd like to hear your own answers to this as well, if you want to
So guys its been a few good months. Time for some questions!!!! And for a change of pace, I'm going to ask the readers this time. Who knows … moremaybe it will give Liquid a better impression on how we see things in the story.
Out of all the twists in FOT which one surprised you the most?
Has there been any character on who your opinion has changed on through the story?
Who do you think are the most heroic characters in the story?
Who do you think are the most villainous characters in the story?
Which characters do you want to learn more about?
Which plotline are you most excited to see continue?
And finally, which characters are you hoping won't die anytime soon?
Out of all the twists in FOT which one surprised you the most?
Hmm, there's been a few.. I was really surprised to see Maester Eaton in Oldtown, since y'know he was dead. But then we obviously learned that it was Archmaester Quent instead, and they were only twins (right?). Another twist I liked was Dairon being Mullendore's son. Those 2 kinda stood out to me, because both was pretty early on, and I was just genuinely surprised to see this.
Has there been any character on who your opinion has changed on through the story?
Jenna, she's like a rollercoaster. At first I didn't really like her, and then when she grew as a person, kinda when she talked to Septon Corbin and so. Then I kinda started to dislike her during the last chapter of Book 1 but especially during the first chapter of book 2 with that whole goody two-shoes persona she had. Now after Richard I just pity her, and kinda hope she goes down a darker path.
Harris went from okay to great to insanely good to incredible to heavenly good I miss him.
Argella. I was indifferent at first, now I love her.
Targaryen's I despise even further now. I've never been a fan, but I do not especially like the Targaryen persona. I get what Aegon's trying to do, but he kinda have no right to do it, and thanks to his dragons, no one can oppose him.
I'll stop here, so I don't name like every character in the story.
Who do you think are the most heroic characters in the story?
Richard, maybe? I think he was genuinely good and a hero of Raylansfair.
I would like to say Harris, since he saved Raylansfair long before the story (I think? I feel like there was a special part written by someone else where that was touched upon With Harris, Hackor and Darren. It would be nice to have some easy way to find those one-shots by other users.) and all he ever did was try to protect Raylansfair. His methods might not have been the best, and questionable to say the least, but he never let anyone stand in his way to protect Raylansfair.
Who do you think are the most villainous characters in the story?
Maron Mullendore, need I explain?
Which characters do you want to learn more about?
Hmm. The alley cats? Yeah, the alley cats.
Which plotline are you most excited to see continue?
The storylines involving my characters. But apart from that, maybe Raenna, Keat, Drent and Breaker bro.
And finally, which characters are you hoping won't die anytime soon?
The list is long, my characters obviously. Then I don't want Petyr Vyrwel to die. I think he has lots of potential, and I would like to see him for many more chapters. Leonard is another, being one of the characters who have been here the longest I would love to have him around til the end. I'll stop right here, so that the list won't grow to long, but there are a lot more.
So guys its been a few good months. Time for some questions!!!! And for a change of pace, I'm going to ask the readers this time. Who knows … moremaybe it will give Liquid a better impression on how we see things in the story.
Out of all the twists in FOT which one surprised you the most?
Has there been any character on who your opinion has changed on through the story?
Who do you think are the most heroic characters in the story?
Who do you think are the most villainous characters in the story?
Which characters do you want to learn more about?
Which plotline are you most excited to see continue?
And finally, which characters are you hoping won't die anytime soon?
Out of all the twists in FOT which one surprised you the most?
Well, it has to be the good old Butterfly twist, oh so long ago
Has there been any character on who your opinion has changed on through the story?
Well, at the beginning I saw Mullendore as a pretty harmless guy, but you know, then the aforementioned twist happened I can't say my opinion has really changed much after that, at best my resentement for him has grown deeper. Then there is Jenna, who has gone through a lot of development that has made her a very engaging character. That said, I never really hated her like some did, I just didn't really care for her that much. I've also grown to love Argella over her arc in Book 1. Tbh, there are very few characters that my opinion on has remained exactly the same from the moment they were introduced
Who do you think are the most heroic characters in the story?
I'd say Lucas, Richard, Jaron and Samantha are the most classically heroic of the main characters.
Who do you think are the most villainous characters in the story?
Right now it's a toss up between Mullendore, Harmund Hoare and Wolfius, but I could see some teased characters like Lupin, any of the Anturions, or perhaps the mysterious Blood Witch challenging them in the future. Or perhaps that enemy that Noelle keeps warning us about
Which characters do you want to learn more about?
Well, if we stick to the already introduced ones: Hishi, the Tom, the Sphynx, Aeron Blacksails, Absidee of Lys. There are a few that are still quite shrouded in mystery
Which plotline are you most excited to see continue?
The Essos storyline, from both the perspective of the rescue team (Jaron and John) as well as the captives (Janae). Then there is Keat's heist storyline in Oldtown, which I'm quite excited for. Garthon's involvement in whatever is going to happen in the Riverlands. Ysilla's journey through Dorne (Red Skull hype!). Whatever Ellena will do with the Targaryens. Oh, and the new Irea storyline has got me really intrigued!
And finally, which characters are you hoping won't die anytime soon?
So guys its been a few good months. Time for some questions!!!! And for a change of pace, I'm going to ask the readers this time. Who knows … moremaybe it will give Liquid a better impression on how we see things in the story.
Out of all the twists in FOT which one surprised you the most?
Has there been any character on who your opinion has changed on through the story?
Who do you think are the most heroic characters in the story?
Who do you think are the most villainous characters in the story?
Which characters do you want to learn more about?
Which plotline are you most excited to see continue?
And finally, which characters are you hoping won't die anytime soon?
Ah, I figured I can answer some of these questions at least, from my very own perspective at least. I'll try to avoid the last three questions, because they'd obviously be spoilers coming from me. The plotline I am the most excited about is the one that will last for a long time to come, the character I don't want to die anytime soon won't die anytime soon. And there are no characters I want to learn more about, because I know what I have to know. However, the rest can be answered without giving any spoilers, I suppose.
Out of all the twists in FOT which one surprised you the most?
Planning the twists means I am hardly surprised. However, once in a while there is one of these instances where the story just writes itself. This has grown rarer as my plans become more detailed, but the one aspect of the story that legitimately surprised me has to be making Ysilla a PoV. She was not planned to be the Dorne PoV until about a week before I wrote her part. I wrote her in Meria's PoV and was like... hmmm, she's kinda fun to write. Next thing I know is, I was writing an Ysilla part and had a blast. It honestly surprised me how spontaneously I was able to scrap a PoV and rework literally every aspect of this old PoV into Ysilla's storyline, while simultaneously enhancing on it with a far more personal and entertaining storyline for our new PoV.
Has there been any character on who your opinion has changed on through the story?
That one would be Kersea, mostly because from the moment I wrote her first part, I didn't particularly like her and actually outright planned her death. Something a bit similar applied to Alysanne. Then, the latter received a surprisingly positive reception and through that, my opinion on Kersea gradually improved, up to the point where I decided to actually give her a redemption storyline instead of ending her PoV at the end of Chapter 8. For the better, as I must say, because the wasted potential from killing off her and every character from her storyline would have been tremendous.
Who do you think are the most heroic characters in the story?
Right now? This is actually a hard question. Perhaps the two most heroic characters in the story, Lucas and Richard, are dead by now. There is Orys Baratheon, honest, honourable and well-intentioned, I think that counts as heroic. Jaron might not have an entirely spotless honour anymore, but he means well and genuinely tries, which sets him apart from the ton of characters who just don't care. Leonard is a hero deep down as well, even if it is kinda buried underneath a lot of cynicism.
Who do you think are the most villainous characters in the story?
To avoid having to give any spoilers, I'll avoid characters who are currently unintroduced or whom you don't know much about, but who are speculated to be villainous, such as Lupin, the Blood Witch, Noelle's enemy or the Anturion sister. Out of the introduced ones, I have to give it to Wolfius. Though a character can be a villain and still have a goal they believe to be noble (see Maron's goal to give the Reach a strong and stable leadership), these are at least minor redeeming traits. Wolfius doesn't have these. In a way, he is more honest to himself about his nature, he doesn't bother with justifying his acts or denying that he feels pleasure in doing what he does. Completely giving in to his urges, he is more a feral power of nature than a truly goal-driven character and that makes him both, super dangerous and definitely wholeheartedly villainous.
So guys its been a few good months. Time for some questions!!!! And for a change of pace, I'm going to ask the readers this time. Who knows … moremaybe it will give Liquid a better impression on how we see things in the story.
Out of all the twists in FOT which one surprised you the most?
Has there been any character on who your opinion has changed on through the story?
Who do you think are the most heroic characters in the story?
Who do you think are the most villainous characters in the story?
Which characters do you want to learn more about?
Which plotline are you most excited to see continue?
And finally, which characters are you hoping won't die anytime soon?
Alys is going to stay inside and have a talk with the pirates
Ah, these were interesting choices for me. See, Keat is definitely going to recruit both of these thieves for his cause, but the one you pick first is obviously going to get a little bit more screen time and additional things might depend on the order in which you recruit them. And with Alys, this will give me a greater chance to develop the pirates of course, in itself not a bad thing at all. What this means for Alys though, remains to be seen.
The next part should be out today. I hope so at least. See, thing is, I will be gone from this Thursday until either Saturday or Sunday. My grandfather is celebrating his 85th birthday on Friday. While I will take my laptop with me and write, I doubt I'll be able to release anything but comments from my phone until then. I hope to leave you with another part on Thursday and then one when I return, but for that to work, I need to release one part today. Of course, there is always the possibility that the lodgers living on the upper floor of my grandfathers house have finally gotten internet, in which case I will probably be able to be more active than usual. If not, well, mobile internet in an area that is about as remote as Narnia, you get the picture. Anyways, this next part is currently planned to consist solely of a Kersea PoV, showing her journey with Leonard through the Reach. If there is room for another PoV, I suppose I will include another one as well, though I am not yet sure which one. Maybe Samantha, maybe Ysilla, maybe Garthon, all would be in the realms of possible.
Comments
It probably isn't just because of Lawsen. Wildor is a recruiter, so he does what Yoren from the books and show did, he travels the lands and recruits. Raylansfair is an important city in the northern Reach, so for a recruiter active in this part of Westeros, it isn't exactly unusual to go there. Sure, Oldtown is a much more promising location with the rampant crime, even if the recruits one can get there are usually of the very dangerous kind. Lawsen might have a point that Wildor could be looking for him, for reasons that will all be properly explained in time, but at the same time he is a bit paranoid as well and might be overanalyzing the situation.
Fun fact, in my original plans it was Warrick who'd invite Drent here and I got to wonder how that would have changed how people see the choice. However, I realized that I'd get further chances to flesh out Warrick later on, but Bernard is not the one to face Drent and therefore otherwise less involved. I also wanted to introduce Malcolm Mertyns here and from his submission, he only has a connection to Bernard and not to Warrick or Jonathan.
Well, it isn't exactly a proper memorial right there. Richard has been buried and Hal and Ed were present during the ceremony, as well as Axell and Philip. Jenna however wasn't. This was two days ago and Hal and Ed are beginning to move on. In Hal's case, he also still recovers from the injuries he received during the raid, so nightly drinking sessions with his friends aren't exactly on the table for him right now.
Yes, yes, welcome back
I have seen your message, the problem is though that I have a bit of a backlog again, of about a dozen lengthy messages that require an answer. Do not worry, the new notification systems seems very reliable and I have probably never outright missed a message before. I'll try to answer as soon as possible, but there's some people whom I need to get back to earlier.
[Sit down with Bernard and Malcolm]
[Escort Lawsen outside]
Ah murderers and meteors or damsels and dragons? I will admit those are the best and worst scenarios i can think of....at least with immediate effect. I'm pretty sure i can think of a few worse long term scenarios, especially if we go to the extreme lengths you suggest.
1) Say Bernard is secretly the most powerful sorcerer of all time and can somehow completely mind control people who is using Drent as a proxy. Then we eventually have evil mindcontroled Argella killing her father and putting Mullendore to shame with an evil cruel regime.
2) Bernard secretly has some sort of incurable disease and spreads it to Drent, leading to a heartbreakingly horrible scene of the Stormland characters slowly and brutally succumbing to their painful deaths.
3) Bernard is part of the new secret faceless man invasion and soon all our beloved characters are exchanged by slightly yet unnervingly off doubles.
As for extremely good endings. I will say the image of Argella suddenly falling completely and openly in love with Drent and riding a dragon is great. I mean if it ever goes that way where the character just start acting overtly and unusually expressive and lighthearted then go all the way. Again i can think up a few more.
1) Bernard is actually future Dret and Argellas son from their insanely perfect dream marriage who comes to help them bring their perfect age of peace by using his advanced future magic to put all the evil characters in jail. Then they manage to solve world hunger and defeat Aegon by having a pleasant conversation over some pastries and Arbor. And finally the happy ending where perfect future happens and Drent helps Bernard with the Planetos World Cup as the crowd cheers and the credits roll.
2) Bernard is actually the trapped god of love and Drent frees him by showing the kindness in simple conversation. Then all the characters who have ever had the slightest hint of a relationship suddenly abandon everything for love. Argella gives up her kingdom for Drent in a cheesy almost nauseating speech about the power of love. Aegon becomes super empathetic and decides war hurts so its bad. Edward gives up being evil for Alys who suddenly forgives everything he's done. Characters suddenly comeback to life because love conquers even death itself. And every single ship happens.........EVERY SINGLE SHIP.
3) Bernard is secretly the envoy of the dragons who have survived and become so numerous there is one for everyone. Aegon realizes his war is doomed and everyone has a pet dragon. Also flying unicorns exist now, they were with the dragons.
4) Bernard is Drent's father who reveals every single 'dead' character is secretly alive in an enormous tropical island having sitcom antics and every one reunites with their loved one.
Man these are great.... lets see........... what else.....Oh wait this ones good. Bernard is actually a scientist who discovered how to travel between parallel worlds where different versions of our characters exist using this strange device. Then one of the bad guys steals it for a very complex plan they have, but they accidentally transport all the characters with them. Then they go to these weird other universes and have crazy adventures and......wow that sounds great. It almost feels like somebody should currently be writing that story.
[Decline the invitation] I see no reason not to vote no so I’m going to because I got a feeling this will not be good.
[Escort Lawsen outside] Oh dear our slick buddy here is a Night’s Watch deserter. Dun dun dunnn.
Kind of want him to get caught but whatever.
Friendly owl!
How dare he and also she was. I miss the bickering, so so much. I am glad that Kersea told the truth else that would not be the case.
[Sit down with Bernard and Malcolm]
[[Escort Lawsen outside]
Well, I'm not so sure. An ending in which all of Planetos ends up dying to a meteor, allowing a race of sentient dinosaur people to evolve from their ruins does sound like the worst possible outcome. Nothing short of an interdimensional catastrophe that somehow happens due to Drent and Bernard spending time together could come worse, objectively speaking.
Hehe, don't expect Argella to ever become super light-hearted and affectionate all of a sudden, that is really not her style. Even when she cares for someone, make no mistake, she can be a massive bitch, for as many positive qualities as she undoubtedly has at the same time. That being said, most of your solutions here do sound like even better ones, admittedly. Only one I'd object to is the fact that everyone gets a dragon. That is the same as if everyone in our world would get a nuke. Would you really trust that creepy guy you once saw to have his own nuke? Or that demented old lady? Westeros would burn, literally burn, with hundreds of thousands of dragons who are going to be completely out of control.
As literally so as possible for a human being. Not only does the house have an owl as their sigil, but Malcolm has a strong owl theme going on as well, in terms of appearance, personality, clothing style and he even has a nickname, the Black Owl. Friendly owl, quite probably.
Do not worry, the bickering shall return, if not exactly involving Alan. His bickering days are over. There is a reason why I put Kersea and Leonard into the same storyline and this is part of it. They will return very soon, either in the next part or in the one after it. This bickering would indeed not happen in that way if Kersea would have kept quiet about her past, but coming clean about it is sort of something she feels like she really has to do.
[Sit down with Bernard and Malcolm] Let's be fruiends!
[Distract Wildor Goodbrook] Probably it will work or probably not
RT:
1) It seems that Drent storyline for this chapter will be long and plenty of action!
2) I'm curious to read who will win between Ser Emphryius and the Buckler
3) Meanwhile Ilish storyline for this chapter (and Book)restart with her working as a barmaid..it seems a tradition at this point
4) Wow see Philip and Axell mourn Richard was quite sad, expecially for Philip since it remember me the scene at the chapter 2 of Book 1 where Richard,Urid and Philip drink together
5) Alan seems to really enjoy the consequences of his actions! I'm for sure glad of the outcome
6) Lawsen is back!But he really don't want to go back to the Wall (I suppose that he is a deserter)!
7) Am I wrong or this is the first time that we encounter a member of the Night Watch during this story?
BQD:
Ilish Granver
“I'd say you've been the greater danger in the end”
Both I can confirm! Drent's storyline in this chapter, while probably not the longest, is definitely going to be among the longer ones and with the tourney coming up, I think it should be among the most action-packed as well. Definitely a storyline I look forward for quite a lot!
On good days, Emphryus emerges as the clear victor. Bernard is not a bad fighter, but Emphryus is simply outclassing him. The issue here is that Emphryus is still recovering from the wounds he suffered in Raylansfair and therefore definitely won't bring his best performance. As such, I'd say they are way more evenly matched than usual.
I know, right? It's almost as if she has a fulltime job which she has to work at to guarantee a stable income. I mean, she has one of the most ordinary occupations in the entire story, so there's no way around showing her during her work days. At the same time, it is at work where she meets the most interesting people, so at least there's a purpose behind it.
Precisely that was my intention, to give a bit of a callback to that particular scene. Out of the trio from back then, only Philip remains, the mood is an entirely different one and all in all, it was definitely meant to be a sad scene.
Yeah, things got a bit farther than even Alan wanted them to go. It seems that now he finally realizes just how badly this went. He also probably realizes that enjoying the new riches he has gained won't be all that easy when literally every single person in Raylansfair is disgusted by him.
You might suppose right, there is definitely a connection between Lawsen and this Wildor Goodbrook. He really doesn't want to get caught and is willing to go quite far to achieve this.
You are not wrong, this is indeed the first member of the Night's Watch who appears in the story. He will remain the only one for the foreseeable future, but I eventually plan to show more of them.
Definitely far greater than Leonard and Kersea. Alan is someone who is really not used to being called out on his bullshit, so this is something he is not sure how to deal with. He lashed out at Richard for confronting him, but he knows he cannot do the same with Ilish. In a way, this statement really hit him though.
The Voting is closed!
Drent is going to sit down with Bernard and Malcolm
Ilish is going to distract Wildor Goodbrook
Both of these choices are having one good thing in common, they will easily allow me to develop the characters of Bernard, Malcolm and Wildor. I mean, especially with the second choice, it is questionable if this is the better course of action, but it definitely is good for me, as I don't have to go out of my way to include hooks with which I can develop the characters. We all know there's more than enough for me to develop already, so this shall make things a lot easier for me.
Now, I hope to release the new part today. Thing is, I had surprisingly little time yesterday and I still have one character to submit for another story and maybe I'll even get to write a couple messages. I hate not having as much time as I'd need to do it all at once, but rest assured, it will happen. The next part, which I'll try my best to finish today, will include a PoV from Keat's perspective. Chances are it will only be him, but if there is room for a second PoV, I am leaning towards giving it to either Alys or Kersea. The former is more likely, as the latter is probably going to need a full length part just for herself. We'll see what I decide upon when finishing Keat's PoV. Quick recap for him, he's in trouble. Slightly more detailed recap, he's been running into several people he really doesn't want to meet, from the brute Thorrin Bannister, who cut off one of his ears as punishment for cheating him out of a lot of coin, to Hishi's top enforcer Lanford, who took him to the Thousand Shades of Flowers for further interrogation.
Keat
When Keat awoke, something unexpected had happened. The pain in his head was almost gone, replaced merely by a numb feeling where Thorrin had cut his ear off. It felt muffled and though there was some discomfort left, it did not come from the wound itself, though from a point at his forehead. And he noticed that he was
He blinked and looked around, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him. The only source of light was a candlestick on the table a few feet in front of him, though it illuminated damp, dark walls and a nearly empty room. From above him, he heard the muffled sounds of laughter and screams of pleasure and it gave him a general idea of where he was.
With a sigh, he glanced at the man standing next to the table. “You really had to knock me out?”, he asked. “I came with you, did I not?” Lanford raised an eyebrow. “I don't like taking any chances when it comes to you”, he spoke. “Be glad I didn't shoot you”
Keat groaned, as he pulled at the rope that bound his hands, to no avail of course. Opened and closed his eyes, trying to get rid of the thumping in his head. With a frown, he threw a glare at Lanford, to which the man reacted by shrugging. “Orders from the boss”, he simply stated and Keat gulped, as he heard soft footsteps on the stone behind him.
“Well, rise and shine, Keat”, a familiar voice greeted him, just a little bit too high for a man. Two slender, feminine hands rested on his shoulders and he smelled sweet perfume. “You are in trouble, my dear”, Hishi whispered. “But do not worry, for I know just the way you can make up for all the grievance you caused”
“Hey Hishi”, Keat greeted the owner of the brothel, as the hands gently moved along his shoulders and Hishi stepped into his field of view. Around Oldtown, the nature of this person had been a source of constant debate, up to their gender. Hishi, of course, encouraged these debates, though as she stood there, Keat wondered how anyone could not see that she was, in fact, a woman. Admittedly, the androgynous frame beneath the silken red dress hinted at a lack of curves, but the soft features of the face were so clearly female that it left him with no doubt. The way she moved, the way she smiled and spoke, Hishi was genuinely beautiful, with fair skin and long, black hair, as well as dark eyes.
At the same time, Keat knew more about her than her beauty and the rumours about her ambiguous gender and what he knew left him with an uneasy feeling. There was always something uncanny about her and her being so easy on the eyes only made him more nervous for what she was capable of in contrast. Kind and generous to those on her good side, but cruel and vindictive to those trying to mess with her or her workers. And Keat had indeed tried to steal a substantial sum from her.
“Why... am I here?”, he asked as Hishi stood next to Lanford. The woman smirked at him. “For the beginning, you could show a little gratitude”, she replied. “We patched you up. Cleaned your wound, it won't become infected. Quite a nasty little cut you got there. Bannister?”
Keat gave her a nod and Hishi's smirk faded ever so slightly. “He is a savage thug after all”, she replied. “I know just why I have banned him from my property” She tilted her head. “Ah, you will find that not all of your creditors will be as kindly”
“As you or as Bannister?”, Keat asked and Hishi shrugged. “Either”, she explained. “I treated your wound and Bannister, well, he left you alive, which, I suppose, is quite a lot coming from him” She raised a thin eyebrow. “Whom else do you owe coin?”
To this, Keat sighed. “Vogero Forios”, he spoke and Hishi looked outright sympathetic. “A man more dangerous than Bannister”, she replied. “Albeit less feral at the same time, if you don't count that brute that's always with him. Maybe you can reach an agreement with him” Keat nodded. “That's what I'm hoping for”, he told her. “And then there's Tavner's other henchman, Forrester”
“Efram”, Hishi spoke gently. “The girls like him, he treats them well” She and Lanford exchanged a glance and the man nodded. Quickly, Hishi looked back at Keat. “Fascinating, to see one tiny thief messing up that badly, owing coin to so many dangerous men”
“And one dangerous woman”, Keat spoke up and he instantly realized how thinly veiled his attempt to compliment her was. Hishi laughed brightly. “If that's how you see me”, she grinned. “Though I would not share your conviction. There is a reason why you're still alive after all”
“Information”, Keat deduced, though he allowed himself to smirk at her. “Or do you keep me alive for my famously good looks?” Hishi smiled brightly as he said this. “Oh, you obviously haven't seen the boys upstairs”, she replied. “With them around, why would I ever settle for someone so... mediocre?”
Keat's smirk faded. “Ouch”, he spoke and Hishi sighed. “Information is quite correct though”, she explained. “I have a few questions, most of them revolving around your friend, Samuel Puffer” By now, Keat was frowning. “And if I tell you, you let me go?”, he asked, to which Hishi chuckled. “No”, she simply said. He had expected that much, though raised an eyebrow. “What do you want of Sam?”, he asked.
To his surprise, Hishi seemed ready to give him an answer. “I have work for him”, she revealed. “The same work I intend to offer to you” He gave her a curious glance and she smiled. “A friend of mine requires a very specific object from a very particular and heavily guarded place”, she told him, exchanging another look with Lanford, before shrugging. “The place is the Hightower, to be precise”
Keat's eyes widened. “You seek to steal from the Hightower?”, he gasped and unashamedly, Hishi nodded. “This is not something one man can pull off alone. One has to lead them and at first, I thought Samuel should be the one. I've once met the man he trained under and well, up until today, I was certain I wouldn't find a better one”
“Until...”, Keat began and she completed his sentence. “Until the man who stole from every major player in this entire city returned”, she spoke. “I want you to lead this heist. And no, this is not negotiable” Her smile, though sweet, had something conniving. “Do that for me and you can consider us even and I'll have a talk with Tavner about the sum you owe to Vogero and Efram”
For a moment, Keat stared at her, having the desperate and, as he knew, futile hope that maybe, she wasn't entirely serious. She stared back, waiting, expecting, while Lanford silently raised an eyebrow, a threat more effective than a thousand hot knives. “Looks like I don't have a choice”
Hishi flashed him a bright grin. “Glad we agree on that one”, she spoke. “Though you should be happy that I already did part of your job. I did some investigation about whom you could take with you on this heist. Your team, so to say”
Realizing that he wouldn't get out of this all that easily, Keat decided to play along for now. Breaking into the Hightower, the actual Hightower, that was madness! However, defying Hishi in the presence of her top enforcer, that would be even worse. He could think of a way out later on. For now, he should indeed be thankful that Hishi did not kill him immediately. “Whom are we talking about?”, he asked.
“Well, for the beginning that would be two men who can handle themselves in a fight. Your friend Samuel, I want him to be a part of this”, Hishi explained and raised an eyebrow. “I suppose you know where to find him?” With a sigh, Keat nodded. “I have an idea”, he revealed.
“Splendid”, Hishi exclaimed. “The other one is already here. One of my Thorns, a man called Erik Inchfield. Reliable and eager to prove himself, he'll make for a perfect ally” With that, she looked at Lanford, who straightened his back. “You'll need more help”, he continued in her stead. “Two additional thieves, specialists as I was assured”
Keat gave him a nod. “Alright, tell me more about them”, he gave in and Lanford smirked thinly. “One of them is an acrobat, the other one's a lock picker, both have gained some infamy in the city”, he revealed. “The acrobat calls himself Buck Pearl, but Hishi's contacts have revealed that his real name is Nicola Sand, a dornish bastard. Heard he has trained a monkey to assist him during his work and also that he's part monkey himself with the way he moves”
“Sounds useful”, Keat admitted. “The lock picker?” Lanford shrugged. “You might have heard of her already. Another dornish bastard, a woman this time. Vivielia Sand” As soon as he heard this name, Keat rolled his eyes. “Aye, I know her”, he spoke. “We didn't exactly part on good terms”
“What a surprise”, Hishi interjected and Lanford allowed himself the hint of a chuckle. “Whatever your history, she's an expert when it comes to picking any sort of locks”, he spoke. “So, you will recruit her” Keat rolled his eyes. “Sure”, he spoke. “Last thing I heard is she returned to Dorne with her sisters”
“She's back”, Lanford growled. “Indulging in petty thievery with her sisters, a waste of such excellent talent” To this, Keat nodded. “She was always ready for greater things”, he spoke. “The thought of breaking into the Hightower could be enough for her to forgive me” He tilted his head. “Where can I find them?”
Hishi raised a finger. “I don't know”, she admitted. “Not yet. Neither is an Oldtown native, so they leave less tracks than one of us. My contacts around the city will find them and you will pay them a visit. However, first I presume you want to meet up with Samuel and check up on your siblings”
A smile formed on Keat's face. “Absolutely”, he spoke, glad that Hishi would grant him this much. “I'll convince him to help out” Hishi smiled back. “You have my gratitude”, she answered. “In the meantime, I will order my men to find one of the thieves. Once you return with Samuel, you can go and recruit them” She raised an eyebrow. “Which of them would you want me to focus on first?”
[Recruit the acrobat first] [Recruit the lock picker first]
Alys
From the balcony of Blacksails' mansion, Alys looked over the entirety of Merman's Rest. The city was lying in eternal darkness in its cave, but with the sun setting, even what little light fell into it was slowly dying. Instead, a myriad of smaller lights, torches and campfires, illuminated it, sometimes bright enough to reflect from the ceiling and dousing the nightly city into at least a semblance of twilight. It would never sleep and to be honest, she wasn't so certain she could find any either. It wasn't just the events of today that still left her with a quickened heartbeat, but also the sounds of thousands of people and the distant roar of the waterfall in the far end of the cave.
But sleep was still far in either way. To escape the hot dinner room of King Aeron and the strange smoke that filled it, she had come here, to one of the highest points in the mansion and the entire city. Though the cold air was refreshing, it also felt a bit damp on her skin and frankly, as wrong as her own attire. A dress of crimson myrish silk, a gift from Aeron himself. One of his women, a silent olive-skinned and narrow-eyed slave from some faraway land, had done her hair and as spectacular as it looked in the mirror, she could not help but to feel that it was a hollow display. She had never been that dressed up, not back home, among Northerners who never truly cared for such finery. Nor did she like the particular type attention it gave her in this city.
Right now, she spotted the Ironborn longship leaving the harbour and her gaze stopped on it and the dozens of different ships that she saw there. However, when the door behind her got opened, she quickly turned around, tensing up as she saw Edward there.
The pirate was dressed in elegant black and the smile he gave her was almost chivalrous, though she was no longer fooled by his gallant appearance. “Mylady”, he greeted her and she gulped. “Edward”, she replied as he walked up next to her. “You found a beautiful spot in this city”, he complimented her.
“The only one of beauty, it seems”, she mumbled and he raised an eyebrow. “You are too hard on Merman's Rest”, he assured her. “Of course, it is a city of scoundrels, but we scoundrels always had a particular eye for beauty” She raised an eyebrow. “I could see that from Harlaw's speech”, she replied and Edward chuckled.
“Ah, Gregor”, he sighed. “A charmer, is he not?” She rolled her eyes. “Is he right though?”, she asked. “About the dragons?” Edward hesitated for a moment, before he gave her a nod. “And if it wouldn't be for my own plans, I would have joined him”, he admitted. “It makes sense, submitting to strength. Aeron and the others, they cling to their foolish ideals of freedom, but Gregor, he's probably smarter than each of them, or more pragmatic at least”
“Then why don't you join him?”, Alys asked. “Or would you say you are not smart?” Edward chuckled slightly. “Oh, but I am smart, more than Gregor even”, he assured her. “I don't submit to strength, but not out of any ideals, but because I seek even greater power”
Alys frowned. “I know that much”, she whispered and looked at the scars on her palms, where Edward had sliced into her flesh to draw her blood. Perhaps it was foolish to even stay by his side. There were moments in which she feared that Harlan Hoare could have still been the kinder fate for her, compared to whatever Edward had planned.
To her surprise, he looked almost sympathetic. “Mylady, I wanted to thank you”, he told her. “You stood up for me, even when you didn't have to, even when I probably didn't do much lately to deserve it” Alys gave him a nod for that last one. “I didn't do it for you”, she said instantly. “I did it because I want your protection”
The pirate smiled. “How remarkably pragmatic”, he said. “Regardless of your reasons, I owe you my genuine gratitude” She sighed. “Does that mean you won't drag me into another mess as you did in Raylansfair?”, she asked and he gulped. “Does that mean you won't slice through my hands to get my blood ever again?” Her tone had gotten sharper now and there was a bitter streak in it for being disappointed by a man she had seen as her saviour once.
Edward noted nothing more than this disappointment and it showed in the way his expression dropped. Alys however turned away from him, having had enough talk with this man. She'd stay with him for as long as he was of use to her. But never should he have any illusions about this. He was not her friend. “I think I had enough fresh air”, she said.
Heading back inside, into Aeron's sinfully lavish dinner room, a marvel made out of the finest of woods, adorned with crimson and golden tapestries, she spotted the other captains. As much as her current look would fit into the room, the same couldn't be said about some of the captains in there.
Jadith Linster stood out in particular. Not even bothering with finding something to look good it, she was wearing the same rags as she had done during the meeting earlier that day. She was talking to Melvan Tiren, who at least wore a new, dark coat, though with his shaggy beard and bad teeth, he wasn't exactly looking decent either.
Sargasso Saan and Warmond Manderly were a different sight of course, though in the absence of their king, who had excused himself from the dinner table, their elegance was a bit lacking and she noticed something about them she had not seen before. The cruel, cunning glance in Sargasso's gaze, the glances Warmond threw at her. It made her almost glad that she was seated closer to Jadith and Melvan than them.
Neither Carvin nor Alisa had been allowed to this dinner and both were currently eating with the servants, something Alys could, as much as she cared for both, even understand from Aeron's perspective. And yet, it meant she was alone with four pirates.
“And I say...”, Melvan exclaimed, as he bit into the roasted piece of chicken he held in his hands. Still munching on it, his voice was a bit muffled and Alys could not understand what it was that he said, but Jadith let out a bellowing roar of a laughter. “You sly hound!”, she complimented him. “That is actually brilliant”
“Of course it is, I came up with this on my own”, Melvan replied slyly, brown sauce running down his beard. “Heard you've been rather busy into that direction as well though. How's it going for you lately?” Jadith frowned. “Bastards won't pay as much as they used to”, she growled. “But I still get them to the point. Cut off a finger or two and their families comply, they all do”
Alys gulped and Melvan raised an eyebrow. “A fascinating strategy”, he admitted, though his voice sounded a slight bit sheepish. “Ah, of course it's rare to get live hostages at all, much less the ones worth more than a wet shit” He shrugged. “You know, I'm kinda glad Storm isn't here anymore, he really doesn't like that kind of talk”
“That's why he's not as rich as you and me”, Sargasso remarked from the other end of the table, delicately piercing a boiled carrot with his fork. “A man with qualms is not suited for this kind of life” Warmond nodded at this remark. “It's dirty business”, he mumbled.
Jadith took a quick glance at Alys, who had gotten pale by now and she narrowed her eyes. “What are you looking at, girl?”, she spat and made the last word sound like a curse. Alys looked at her hands, noticing that they were shivering in the presence of these gruesome people and their gruesome stories.
“I think the lady isn't too keen on your talks of death and mutilation”, Warmond brought up and Jadith sneered from him to Alys. “Then the lady doesn't belong here”, she growled. “What is it, girl? You don't want to hear how I split a man's skull and licked the blade clean?”
“To be fair, nobody wants to hear that”, Sargasso brought up and cut the sausage in front of him in half. Jadith chuckled at that. “Fair enough”, she admitted, before raising her cup of wine, spilling almost half of it onto the white blanket, then downing the rest in a single gulp.
“You have grown rather pale, mylady”, Melvan spoke and he gave her a rotten smile, that still managed to come across as almost friendly, for a pirate at least. It did little to ease Alys' nervousness in the presence of these men. When she left Edward outside, it was a decision made in the heat of the moment. At least she had been hoping that Aeron would be back by now. The king had something civil about him that even Warmond Manderly was lacking.
“Oh, she's not feeling too well”, Jadith said in a mocking tone and now, Melvan gave her a sharp glance. “Jadith, she is our guest”, he told her and the ugly woman chuckled coldly. “Edward's guest”, she spoke. “Or more, given how passionate she's been about defending him to the king” She raised an eyebrow. “Hey girl, how does it feel to fuck a weasel?”
“Jadith”, Sargasso now said, his voice oozing authority and to Alys' surprise, the other woman indeed gave in. Rolling her eyes, she leant back in her chair, pouring herself another cup of wine, while Sargasso smiled at Alys, like a wolf at a sheep. She gulped and all of a sudden, even Jadith' talk wasn't as upsetting as the look in his gaze. “So... Alys Snow”, he spoke. “I can only apologize for Jadith, she isn't quite herself when she's drunken”
“Well, technically...”, Warmond began, though Sargasso cut him off with a single glance. “What I wanted to say is, I hope you don't hold it against us. King Aeron wants only the best for his guests during their stay here” Weakly, Alys managed to nod at him, but Sargasso wasn't finished yet. “See, I was hoping we could use this moment, the absence of Anturion among us, to have a talk, a real talk. You have spent months by his side, probably know him closer than any of us for sure and you... you actually convinced the king to give him another chance. Not an easy task”
“Thank you”, Alys mumbled and Sargasso gave her a wink. “Such manners”, he spoke. “Where does a simple bastard girl get such manners?” This remark, spoken in an innocent tone, was enough to cause Alys to tense up. Did he know? Did he suspect? And if he wasn't, could she keep her true identity a secret if she'd stay and talk? Her first impulse was to flee, to find Edward outside and to stay with him. Exhausting as he was, at least he wasn't as much a threat to her as these pirates. But could she pull this off without appearing any more suspicious than she probably already was?
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates] [Excuse yourself and meet with Edward]
[Recruit the lock picker first]
Way too important to leave for last.
[Excuse yourself and meet with Edward]
Do i even need to explain? Edward is the best!!!!
[Recruit the lock picker first]
I get that they aren’t in the best of relationships, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates]
I would normally just go but I mean come on, these are pirates, I can’t just go.
Edit: that’s awesome, didn’t realize that I was commenting a single comment instead of a reply. That’s my bad.
[Recruit the lock picker first]
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates]
[Recruit the acrobat first] Let's go see this thief and his pet monkey and see if they are ready to monkey around.
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates] I want to see some more of this pirates, they are a rather interesting bunch.
[Recruit the lock picker first]
[Excuse yourself and meet with Edward]
Yeah, nahhh. Fuck the pirates, I'd rather go chill with Edward.
Ah, I really liked the Keat part, setting the stage for what is to come and getting more hints about the big players of Oldtown. I also really enjoyed Hishi, and getting the first impression of her now, I'm actually even more convinced of my theory that she is the "deceiver" we learned about in Irea's part. Actually, I have another theory to add, though admittedly I might be reaching a bit: What if Hishi is actually the sister of Nain and Edward Anturion? I mean, Hishi could well just be a fake name, since she seems to like to keep people confused (and that also goes well with her being the deceiver). And then there is the fact that she wants to steal something from the Hightower... much like Edward wanted to steal something from the archive of Raylansfair. Oh man, whether I'm wrong of right with my guesses, I surely am intrigued to learn more as the story progresses
Anyway, for the choices...
[Recruit the lock picker first] I'd say that she's more important for the mission. And there is clearly also history between Keat and this lock picker, which could make for some interesting interactions.
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates] I choose this simply because I'm really enjoying the interactions between the pirate captains
And besides, running back to Edward would make Alys seem weak in the eyes of everyone.
AHHH i Can believe i missed this one. Great job. I really like how you drew Edward, its like he popped out of my head. Thank you for these fantastic drawings. You are amazing Wildling.
Damn i also missed a Maron portrait. For shame. Great job again. You're a really great artist
.
[Recruit the lock picker first] Well, Keat better starts working, because unlike Hishi, Bannister and that Vogero won't spare him any more.
Wonder where that Vogero comes from, certainly not Westeros, but people of the Free Cities tend to have unusual names.
What could be hidden at the Hightower?, considering its foundations were built with Black Stone, and even Maesters believe the House itself is older than the First Men. Anything could be kept in those vaults.
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates] Maybe she can come up with an excuse, after all, is not as if bastards are never given proper education, mainly out of kindness from their noble parents.
[Recruit the acrobat first]
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates]
[Recruit the lock picker first] This choice give me ME2 flashbacks with all the recruitment missions that you can choose the order to do them,btw I choose to start with the lock picker (after Samuel) since she seems to have an interesting connection with Keat
About the other choice I'm fine with any outcome so I won't choose
RT:
1) Today we finally encounter the owner of the brothel inside this story!What a joyous occasion that Keat is the lucky PoV to meet her!
2) It seems that Keat storyline will be about assemble an A team to steal something from the Hightower!It seems a really fun storyline!
3) About the new characters mentioned in this part I'm curious to read what happened between Keat and the lock picker while the monkey guy seems that will be a really fun person (and he remember me of a certain character part of ASOIAF canon that is a member of House Mullendore)
4) I have a suspicion that I've already discover what Hishi and her "friend" wants,expecially since it is something you mentioned in the previous chapter
5) Meanwhile at Merman's Rest Alys is living the good life finding herself eating alongside a group of pirates that seems to evaluete her after any of her actions (not that it is something new for Alys)
7) I really like the interaction between the pirates in this part and I hope to see again their leader
8)Now that I think about it from the moment that Alys decide to seek help from Edward she almost only meet good guys:Harren Hoare and the Ironborn,Bear and his bandits and now Blacksails and his pirates! Let's add the fact that she was forced to be part of an invasion,become a giver of blood and escape from an evil thing and I can safely say that have a trip with the Anturion Airlines is for sure something that she will never forget
BQD:
Edward Anturion
“I don't submit to strength, but not out of any ideals, but because I seek even greater power”
BONUS:
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/011/848/cold.jpg
Oh my God Keat I suggest you to buy a lot of sun protection because that BURN
[Recruit the lock picker first] Monkey see, monkey don’t do. I want to meet this woman Keat didn’t part on the best of terms with. Seems more exciting. Lock picking is a valuable skill.
[Excuse yourself and meet with Edward] So he can seduce us obviously. Far more interesting.
Keat is a smooth criminal. Now he’s earless but that’s not an issue. I really want to see a drawing of Hishi because currently I have them looking like the Ancient One from Doctor Strange and I know that isn’t the case.
Now we just need Boba Fett, Dengar, Bossk, Cad Bane, and Trevor Philips we’ll have a proper heist crew. Ocean’s 10. Sounds very fun, I love a good heist.
You know, this reason is definitely one I can empathize with. Fear not, a lot more pirates are about to come!
No reply? A single comment? Whelp, the thread is ruined now, would probably be for the best to make a new one. Thanks Obama!
That is an interesting addition to your earlier theory, I like it. In fact, I considered it likely one would eventually think into this direction. As said, an interesting conclusion and for obvious reasons not one I can go into full detail here. Let's just say, this is all in the realms of possible. There are similarities for sure, especially with Hishi definitely wanting to steal something from the Hightower. All I can say is, you'll get more to think about with this theory once a couple other key players in the new Oldtown storyline get introduced at last
Definitely, I can confirm Vogero is not a native to Westeros and I guess it's not much of a spoiler to reveal that he was born in the Free Cities. Kind of a typical name for people from there. The way he took from his home to Oldtown at last is a very interesting one though, you'll learn a lot more about that once he is introduced (which I currently aim to happen in Chapter 3 or 4)
That is true, the Hightower and House Hightower have quite a lot of mysteries going on, some surrounding this weird black stone, which I always enjoyed. I feel like they are hiding something and maybe Keat's heist can bring at least some answers.
That was precisely in my mind! Though it's been a long time since I last played Mass Effect, the recruitment parts of the second game (even if I consider the second to be the weakest in terms of narrative) are an all-time gaming favourite of mine and I had these in mind when coming up with Keat's storyline for this chapter. Originally, I even wanted to present looking for Samuel as a third option here, but I realized, it'd make no sense for Keat to potentially not look for his friend and siblings first.
Aye, Keat is so overjoyed, there's nothing he'd rather do than to be in Hishi's presence right now
But this is a meeting that had been a long time in the making. Hishi in general will have an important role in the Book 2 Oldtown storyline, so I hope you'll enjoy it 
His storyline is basically going to be the recruitment of Hishi's Eleven, a team of specialists to pull of the heist of a century. It'll be dangerous, it'll be hard to achieve, but it'll definitely be a lot of fun.
Hehe, the similarity between Mark Mullendore and Nicola Sand is definitely not one I have seen before, but yeah, they both have a pet monkey. Let's hope this monkey will find a better fate than Mullendore's given that it was probably trampled to death during the Battle of the Blackwater..
Hm, I think I know what you mean. Possible, certainly in the realms of possible. The question is, of course, why Hishi would want anything to do with something like that, but this friend you mentioned, you'll find that they are precisely the person to be interested in it.
Alys is probably the PoV character in the worst position right now, being surrounded by scoundrels and with the only people even remotely interested in her well-being having no say in this situation at all. I mean, as much as they'd like to help her out, there is comparably little Alisa, Carvin or Wilbur can do. So, it's trying not to arouse too much suspicion around the pirates for Alys.
You will, you definitely will! I wanted to give more spotlight to Melvan, Jadith, Warmond and Sargasso here, so Aeron did not appear, but fear not, you will see him in this chapter even.
Anturion Airlines, where dreams come true. But you are right, Alys has been dragged into the biggest mess here and she starts to believe that Harlan Hoare probably wasn't as bad as the alternative that could happen. When sellswords such as Alisa, who is by no means a classical hero, are the best people she encounters, she should probably start to rethink some of her life choices.
Anturion in a nutshell. Not just Edward, but Anturion, all of them. Ambitious, cunning, ruthless and ever so power-hungry. Edward is definitely not one to ever submit to someone like Aegon, but he might be biting off more than he can chew here.
Literally Hishi in that moment:
Yeah, the Ancient One is probably not how Hishi looks. For example, there's hair involved. So, the Ancient One with hair could come a bit closer. Hishi's looks are probably quite hard to pin down, because they look so androgynous that it is really hard to guess their gender. Keat's assumption that Hishi is a woman is entirely subjective and there are characters who will be just as convinced that they are just a very feminine-looking man. The truth... is something only Hishi knows and they enjoy the speculation way too much to ever reveal it.
Well, getting all of these together could be kinda hard to pull off. Boba Fett for example is kinda busy in Essos at the time. But getting a proper crew is in Hishi's best interests, so the people you get should make for quite a team.
Keat's quest to gather ppl for a heist reminds me of that Witcher 3 Hearts of Stones quest, where Geralt goes on a heist along with some ppl who he first recruits.
Oh yeah the house robbing one. That was beautiful. I was also reminded of that one.
You're on to something there, that was another inspiration of mine
The ME2 suicide mission in terms of difficulty of what they are going to pull off, as well as the general time I want to dedicate to recruiting these people, but the goal and overall tone of the mission a bit closer to exactly that quest from Witcher 3.
Pls don’t ban me from the new FoT, I’ll have nothing to do
So guys its been a few good months. Time for some questions!!!! And for a change of pace, I'm going to ask the readers this time. Who knows maybe it will give Liquid a better impression on how we see things in the story.
Out of all the twists in FOT which one surprised you the most?
Has there been any character on who your opinion has changed on through the story?
Who do you think are the most heroic characters in the story?
Who do you think are the most villainous characters in the story?
Which characters do you want to learn more about?
Which plotline are you most excited to see continue?
And finally, which characters are you hoping won't die anytime soon?
[Recruit the lock picker first]
[Stay inside and have a talk with the pirates]
Ah, those are very interesting questions and I am curious about some of these. Obviously, I cannot answer almost any of these, because that would be, in some cases, even be an outright spoiler coming from me. For example, the character I don't want to die anytime soon simply won't die anytime soon, it is a privilege I abuse shamelessly. But as said, I am quite interested in how the others see some of these questions. In fact, Lord, I'd like to hear your own answers to this as well, if you want to
Hmm, there's been a few.. I was really surprised to see Maester Eaton in Oldtown, since y'know he was dead. But then we obviously learned that it was Archmaester Quent instead, and they were only twins (right?). Another twist I liked was Dairon being Mullendore's son. Those 2 kinda stood out to me, because both was pretty early on, and I was just genuinely surprised to see this.
Jenna, she's like a rollercoaster. At first I didn't really like her, and then when she grew as a person, kinda when she talked to Septon Corbin and so. Then I kinda started to dislike her during the last chapter of Book 1 but especially during the first chapter of book 2 with that whole goody two-shoes persona she had. Now after Richard I just pity her, and kinda hope she goes down a darker path.
I miss him.
Harris went from okay to great to insanely good to incredible to heavenly good
Argella. I was indifferent at first, now I love her.
Targaryen's I despise even further now. I've never been a fan, but I do not especially like the Targaryen persona. I get what Aegon's trying to do, but he kinda have no right to do it, and thanks to his dragons, no one can oppose him.
I'll stop here, so I don't name like every character in the story.
Richard, maybe? I think he was genuinely good and a hero of Raylansfair.
I would like to say Harris, since he saved Raylansfair long before the story (I think? I feel like there was a special part written by someone else where that was touched upon With Harris, Hackor and Darren. It would be nice to have some easy way to find those one-shots by other users.) and all he ever did was try to protect Raylansfair. His methods might not have been the best, and questionable to say the least, but he never let anyone stand in his way to protect Raylansfair.
Maron Mullendore, need I explain?
Hmm. The alley cats? Yeah, the alley cats.
The storylines involving my characters. But apart from that, maybe Raenna, Keat, Drent and Breaker bro.
The list is long, my characters obviously. Then I don't want Petyr Vyrwel to die. I think he has lots of potential, and I would like to see him for many more chapters. Leonard is another, being one of the characters who have been here the longest I would love to have him around til the end. I'll stop right here, so that the list won't grow to long, but there are a lot more.
These were nice questions! Good work there!
Well, it has to be the good old Butterfly twist, oh so long ago
Well, at the beginning I saw Mullendore as a pretty harmless guy, but you know, then the aforementioned twist happened
I can't say my opinion has really changed much after that, at best my resentement for him has grown deeper. Then there is Jenna, who has gone through a lot of development that has made her a very engaging character. That said, I never really hated her like some did, I just didn't really care for her that much. I've also grown to love Argella over her arc in Book 1. Tbh, there are very few characters that my opinion on has remained exactly the same from the moment they were introduced 
I'd say Lucas, Richard, Jaron and Samantha are the most classically heroic of the main characters.
Right now it's a toss up between Mullendore, Harmund Hoare and Wolfius, but I could see some teased characters like Lupin, any of the Anturions, or perhaps the mysterious Blood Witch challenging them in the future. Or perhaps that enemy that Noelle keeps warning us about
Well, if we stick to the already introduced ones: Hishi, the Tom, the Sphynx, Aeron Blacksails, Absidee of Lys. There are a few that are still quite shrouded in mystery
The Essos storyline, from both the perspective of the rescue team (Jaron and John) as well as the captives (Janae). Then there is Keat's heist storyline in Oldtown, which I'm quite excited for. Garthon's involvement in whatever is going to happen in the Riverlands. Ysilla's journey through Dorne (Red Skull hype!). Whatever Ellena will do with the Targaryens. Oh, and the new Irea storyline has got me really intrigued!
Jaron, of course
Ah, I figured I can answer some of these questions at least, from my very own perspective at least. I'll try to avoid the last three questions, because they'd obviously be spoilers coming from me. The plotline I am the most excited about is the one that will last for a long time to come, the character I don't want to die anytime soon won't die anytime soon. And there are no characters I want to learn more about, because I know what I have to know. However, the rest can be answered without giving any spoilers, I suppose.
Planning the twists means I am hardly surprised. However, once in a while there is one of these instances where the story just writes itself. This has grown rarer as my plans become more detailed, but the one aspect of the story that legitimately surprised me has to be making Ysilla a PoV. She was not planned to be the Dorne PoV until about a week before I wrote her part. I wrote her in Meria's PoV and was like... hmmm, she's kinda fun to write. Next thing I know is, I was writing an Ysilla part and had a blast. It honestly surprised me how spontaneously I was able to scrap a PoV and rework literally every aspect of this old PoV into Ysilla's storyline, while simultaneously enhancing on it with a far more personal and entertaining storyline for our new PoV.
That one would be Kersea, mostly because from the moment I wrote her first part, I didn't particularly like her and actually outright planned her death. Something a bit similar applied to Alysanne. Then, the latter received a surprisingly positive reception and through that, my opinion on Kersea gradually improved, up to the point where I decided to actually give her a redemption storyline instead of ending her PoV at the end of Chapter 8. For the better, as I must say, because the wasted potential from killing off her and every character from her storyline would have been tremendous.
Right now? This is actually a hard question. Perhaps the two most heroic characters in the story, Lucas and Richard, are dead by now. There is Orys Baratheon, honest, honourable and well-intentioned, I think that counts as heroic. Jaron might not have an entirely spotless honour anymore, but he means well and genuinely tries, which sets him apart from the ton of characters who just don't care. Leonard is a hero deep down as well, even if it is kinda buried underneath a lot of cynicism.
To avoid having to give any spoilers, I'll avoid characters who are currently unintroduced or whom you don't know much about, but who are speculated to be villainous, such as Lupin, the Blood Witch, Noelle's enemy or the Anturion sister. Out of the introduced ones, I have to give it to Wolfius. Though a character can be a villain and still have a goal they believe to be noble (see Maron's goal to give the Reach a strong and stable leadership), these are at least minor redeeming traits. Wolfius doesn't have these. In a way, he is more honest to himself about his nature, he doesn't bother with justifying his acts or denying that he feels pleasure in doing what he does. Completely giving in to his urges, he is more a feral power of nature than a truly goal-driven character and that makes him both, super dangerous and definitely wholeheartedly villainous.
The Voting is closed!
Keat is going to recruit the lock picker first
Alys is going to stay inside and have a talk with the pirates
Ah, these were interesting choices for me. See, Keat is definitely going to recruit both of these thieves for his cause, but the one you pick first is obviously going to get a little bit more screen time and additional things might depend on the order in which you recruit them. And with Alys, this will give me a greater chance to develop the pirates of course, in itself not a bad thing at all. What this means for Alys though, remains to be seen.
The next part should be out today. I hope so at least. See, thing is, I will be gone from this Thursday until either Saturday or Sunday. My grandfather is celebrating his 85th birthday on Friday. While I will take my laptop with me and write, I doubt I'll be able to release anything but comments from my phone until then. I hope to leave you with another part on Thursday and then one when I return, but for that to work, I need to release one part today. Of course, there is always the possibility that the lodgers living on the upper floor of my grandfathers house have finally gotten internet, in which case I will probably be able to be more active than usual. If not, well, mobile internet in an area that is about as remote as Narnia, you get the picture. Anyways, this next part is currently planned to consist solely of a Kersea PoV, showing her journey with Leonard through the Reach. If there is room for another PoV, I suppose I will include another one as well, though I am not yet sure which one. Maybe Samantha, maybe Ysilla, maybe Garthon, all would be in the realms of possible.