The google document is currently 439 pages long, but if I could update it correctly, it would probably be closer to 455. Though it mainly depends on the number of letters you use, page length seems to be irrellevant. Current amount of letters in the doc is somewhere about one and a half million, so the limit seems to be somewhere around that number. I guess I'll work around that by creating separate docs for each act, but even that could get close to the limit.
Oops, I missed the voting. My bad.
Uh oh! How many pages is Forum of Thrones? I want to make sure I don't reach that limit anytime soon, which I probably won't, but it's still good to prepare for the future.
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
[Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the iron Fleet] getting the King's favour is too good an opportunity to pass up, besides THERE WILL BE LOOT.
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Garthon is the first mate aboard Torvin's ship, so his role will probably be to serve Torvin during whatever option gets picked. There will be more to him though, which will be specified in the next Torvin part.
[Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the iron Fleet] getting the King's favour is too good an opportunity to pass up, besides THERE WILL BE LOOT.
Will Garthon play a role in this war?
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
I suppose Torvin still needs to get closer to the king...
[Choose to raid the northern Rock with Durren Stallhart] I'm totally ready for some ironborn action.
edit. That's not actually the choice I was supposed to take - I mean that choice obviously wasn't the one to take Torvin closer to the king But I'm gonna keep it because I think this is a trick - I think going with Stallhart will actually be the choice that brings us to the favor of the king... Maybe.
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Damn, alright. A New Life is currently at 264 pages and 427,631 characters. I should be good for now, but I have definitely taken note of the problem. Thanks!
The google document is currently 439 pages long, but if I could update it correctly, it would probably be closer to 455. Though it mainly de… morepends on the number of letters you use, page length seems to be irrellevant. Current amount of letters in the doc is somewhere about one and a half million, so the limit seems to be somewhere around that number. I guess I'll work around that by creating separate docs for each act, but even that could get close to the limit.
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin
They entered Harrenhal through it's southern and smaller gate. Even now in the darkness, Torvin felt watched by the castles huge t… moreowers, like giants who were judging him. And even now, people were working on the fifth tower. It would be finished soon and Harrenhal would be completed. But if the Drowned God had mercy, Harren Hoare wouldn't be around to see it.
Harlan was oddly silent, but this silence only made him more dangerous. During the past hours, Torvin got a pretty good impression on him. The prince was boisterous, surprisingly friendly while he was talking. And he loved to talk and to shout. But when he wasn't talking, he was brooding. There was a lot of anger and hatred inside of him and it became apparent by the looks he gave everything around him every time he was silent.
Right now, Harlan was looking at Alys Boleyn, his stare twisted, nearly murderous. Torvin had to smirk as he thought about the situation. It had b… [view original content]
Torvin will decide to raid the coastline of the northern Rock, together with Durren Stallhart
I looked through the latest poll and the result was very interesting for me. While Torvin won in terms of popularity, Garthon got a respectable amount of votes as well and I have to say, this pleases me. I expected Torvin to win this poll, because not only is he one of the stories oldest PoV's, he also had the longer and arguably more exciting storyline so far. Personally, I like writing the Super Breakio Bros. equally, as they both have strong personalities and important roles to play in the events to come. I plan to give Garthon a similarly exciting storyline soon, so he will have his moments to shine as well.
The next part will feature Maya and Ellena, as well as their respective cast of supporting (or in case of Irving, not-so-supporting) characters. It should be finished later today, or earlier tomorrow at latest.
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keeping the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin, before taking a sip of the ale. Almost immediately, he put it back down onto the table again, giving Maya a shocked stare. “That tastes terrible!”, he exclaimed. “Take it back!” Maya shook her head with a grin. “No way, Irving. I'm not drinking that”, she said gleefully.
Gregar burst into a chuckled as he continued to drink his own ale. “Clever girl”, he complimented Maya, before looking at Christian. “That really the best ale you have in your city?”, he asked. The ranger gave him an apologetic nod. “You get used to it”, he promised. “After a while you barely notice the subtle hint of piss in it”
“Knightfang likes it”, Ser Aldrik interjected, pointing at his wolf, who was enthusiastically drinking the knight's ale, spilling at least half of it onto the floor. The presence of the large animal was enough to shoo away any patron near them and even those who were brave enough to stay relatively close to them still gave it a slightly scared look.
“Why doesn't that surprise me?”, Irving asked, but he still continued to drink the ale. “Next time you give me a present, don't give me that ale”, he moaned towards Maya. She and Gregar exchanged a look and Maya subtly shook her head. Gregar let out a sigh in return, before taking a deep gulp from his mug. “Seven Hells, what do you put inside of these?”, he asked.
Christian gave him an elusive grin, before shrugging. “Some things are better left unanswered, Gregar”, he explained and Gregar gave him a nod. “Aye”, he agreed. “But it's not the worst I ever drank. Back home in Redfort, my favourite inn once tried to serve me actual goat piss to make me pay some drinking debts. Only noticed it when the wench started to laugh after serving me the fifth mug”
“That doesn't surprise me”, Irving remarked sullenly, as he took a disgusted sip from Maya's ale. Gregar gave him a short glare, but before he could answer anything, Aldrik patted him on the back. “Easy, Gregar. Don't get angry at him”, he said calmly.
Maya smiled as she watched the two arguing. It had been a good choice to allow Ser Aldrik to accompany her. He had been a much needed part of her group as a counterpat to Gregar and Irving, as well as quite probably the sole reason Gregar hadn't just punched Irving on several occasions.
“So, Ambassador Iresons, what are your plans now?”, Christian asked, looking at her with his warm brown eyes. Maya gave him a short smirk, as she noticed Gregar and Aldrik arguing. “The acting lord will probably be pleased to meet us”, she answered and Christian shook his head. “Lord Harris will question Lord Royce's reason to send you here. Don't expect a lot of hospitality from him”, he answered.
“You don't like him?”, Maya asked, raising an eyebrow. Christian let out a sigh, before slightly shaking his head. “Don't get me wrong, Lord Harris is not a bad man and I have no personal quarrel with him. But I don't think he is the one who's best suited for this job”
“What do you mean?”, Maya asked, but before Christian could answer, Maya noticed something behind him. A young man, wearing light mail armour, who slowly approached them. He looked mainly at Ser Aldrik's wolf, while the animal decidedly ignored him, continuing to drink the knight's ale. Christian followed her stare, looking over his shoulder and straight at the young man. A friendly smile flashed over his face as he raised his hand. Visibly uncomfortable, the man walked closer and nearly took a jump back as the wolf looked up from his mug and gave him a bored look.
“Ch... Christian Thom... Thomas?”, the man asked stuttering, eyeing the wolf. His face got pale as Knightfang yawned and presented his sharp teeth. Christian gave him a nod and folded his arms, awaiting the man's answer. “We... we heard you're back in the city”, he explained. “Commander Na... Nathamer demands your presence. There has been an attack near the forest”
Christian narrowed his eyes as he heard this. “What kind of attack?”, he asked and the young man looked at the large wolf without saying a word. The ranger let out a sigh. “Alright then. Ambassador Iresons, I'm afraid I can't accompany you to your meeting”, he said slowly. “If this is about what I think it is, I have to investigate”
He raised from his chair, turned around and took an elegant bow in front of Maya. “It has been an honour to escort you to Raylansfair. Unfortunately, the commander of the city guard needs my help”, he explained and took a second bow in front of Ser Aldrik. Gregar even stood up and gave him a brief handshake, while Irving continued to glare at his ale, completely ignoring the ranger.
Maya gave him a curious look. “What exactly do you have to do, Christian?”, she asked. The ranger let out a sigh and looked uncertain for a moment. “There have been attacks near the city. Something large killed two farmers a week ago. And two days later, a young girl was torn to pieces at the edge of the forest”, he explained. “That was my main reason for scouting the greater area. We have the occasional wolf attack on our lands, and there are bears living deeper into the forest, but these are shy animals who rarely attack unless provoked. This time, something large decided to relocate it's hunting grounds to the farmlands and the closer forest area. I have no idea what it is, but it's intelligent enough to avoid capture, it's large enough to kill a grown man without much of a fight and it's hellishly dangerous”
This time, Irving actually looked up from his ale, giving the ranger a questioning look. “Dangerous for me?”, he asked. Christian shook his head. “Not as long as you stay near capable fighters, such as Ser Aldrik here”, he tried to reassure him. Instead, Irving's frown got even bigger. “Oh, great”, he moaned, clearly displeased about the answer. “That's just great”
Christian smirked at this remark, while Ser Aldrik shook his head. The ranger gave Maya and her companions a last nod, before turning around and started to walk out of the tavern, accompanied by a clearly relieved young guard.
“And there goes our way straight to the acting lord”, Gregar muttered. “He would have made things easier” “Too easy”, Irving interjected. “When things seem to be easy, there's always something terrible happening, sooner or later to even the odds again”
“You're a philosopher now, Irving?”, Maya asked and immediately felt a sting of regret flashing through her, as she thought about what might have happened to Dimitri, back in that forest. Now that she learned about some large animal hunting humans in that forest, the old hermit's survival seemed increasingly unlikely.
To her surprise, Irving seemed to notice her sad expression and had enough courtesy to ignore her remark. It was Ser Aldrik who broke the uncomfortable silence. “Now that Christian is gone, we need someone else to announce you to the acting lord, to make a good first impression”, he stated. “Your mission is highly important to the Vale of Arryn, so that first impression could be essential in our plans”
“And what if we fail to give a good first impression?”, Irving asked. “Just saying, cause I know we're going to fail. Your wolf is probably going to piss on the floor or something like that” Knightfang heard this and raised his flews, letting out a low growl. Irving immediately raised his hands apologetically. “Okay, okay. You can probably behave in a castle. But what's about Gregar?”, he asked.
Gregar gave Maya a short glare. “One word, Maya”, he pleaded. “Please, just allow it” She shook her head again, looking at Ser Aldrik instead. “If we fail to win the acting lord over, we need to break into the archive”, she proclaimed, causing the knight to raise an eyebrow. “You have any experience with burglary, Ambassador?”, he asked.
“Not really”, she admitted. “But this is a city. A small one, sure, but every city has it's scum. We just need to look for it” “That will be my job”, Gregar proclaimed. “I know how to spot a thief and I know how to talk to them. Leave it to me and you'll get the best damn thief this city has to offer”
Maya gave him a relieved smile. At least she had an alternative plan, in case the lord would refuse to help them. But one question remained. Ser Aldrik was right, they needed to make a good first impression. The inn could probably provide her with a bath and she would send Irving to buy fine clothes from the local tailor. But there was one matter she needed to talk about.
“When I enter the lords hall, one of you needs to announce me, to give a more impressive first impression”, she explained to her companions and Ser Aldrik gave her a nod. “As this groups only knight, I will gladly take this job. I have experience with these kind of things”, he offered. Maya was inclined to agree with him, before Gregar shook his head. “Speak for yourself, wolf”, he growled. “I'm with her the longest. And unlike you I have never used her as a pawn in the bronze lords games” He looked back at Maya and gave her a friendly smile. “Clearly this honour should be mine, Maya”
Irving shook his head as Maya looked at him for a moment. “Oh no, I'm not offering anything. I'm terrible at these things and I don't want to do it. Let Gregar the Barbarian or Ser Wolf here take the questionable honour, but leave me out of this”, he said quickly. “Besides, you can't force me”
[Allow Gregar to announce you][Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you][Force Irving to announce you]
Ellena
“So, have you ever looked into it?”, Jarek asked, as she looked absent-mindedly at the letter. In the past night she laid awake, wondering if she had made the right decision. What if that man was telling the truth when he claimed to be a friend of Terroma? What if her refusal to hand over that letter would have consequences for her friend?
Jarek gave her a worried look and she let out a sigh, putting the letter back into her pocket. The mercenary was sitting in front of her, a game of dice between them. He arrived in the early morning, together with three companions and at first, Ellena had shunned them. They were working for the Burned Man after all and a pure necessity, only here to protect the ship. She wanted as little to do with them as possible and at first, the Burned Man's mercenaries proved themselves to be just as expected. But quickly, Jarek proved himself to be different.
Optically, he did not look the part of a brutal thug. He was handsome, in a rough way, with dark blonde hair and green eyes. There was a small scar above his left eye, narrowly missing it, as well as a second, rather gruesome looking one at his neck. A short stubble beard covered his chin and his smile was genuinely warm and friendly. It only took him a few hours of making light-hearted jokes until Ellena started to like him. And now in the late afternoon, they were trying to pass the time with games, as well as trying their best to endure the muggy heat that came with the southern wind.
She shook her head at his question. “Haven't opened it so far”, she remarked. “I mean, it's intended for Terroma” Jarek shrugged at her remark. “But you are curious, admit it”, he grinned. Ellena gave him a playfully annoyed look. “Are you trying to tempt me into spying after a good friend, Jarek?”, she asked with a grin. Jarek looked around in an exaggerated manner, before enthusiastically nodding. The goofy way he moved caused Ellena to chuckle. “No chance”, she stated.
“Oh come on, m'lady”, Jarek moaned and she raised an eyebrow. “My friend, I get the impression that you are the curious one”, she answered and he gave her a slight nod. “Of course I am. I mean, why wouldn't I? How often do I get the chance to learn some of the Burned Man's secrets?”, he explained, urging her to open the letter again. “Not today”, Ellena remarked with a smirk and Jarek lowered his head in defeat. “Valar Dohaeris”, he answered, but he was still smiling.
Ellena looked up as she heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. She turned around to face Talea, who supported her father. The captain was noticeably pale from the loss of blood, his hand heavily bandaged. Talea's face was anything but pale, a huge and ugly bruise covering her entire right cheek, where Samuel Harrington had knocked her unconscious. But her smile made more than up for it, an overjoyed grin as she looked from Jarek to the other mercenaries, who were patrolling over the deck. Even the captain seemed to be pleased, a light smile being visible under his bushy brown beard. The change this smile had on his whole appearance caused him to look a lot less intimidating towards Ellena than he did before.
“I had to see them myself”, he exclaimed in joy. “These men, they are only here thanks to you, am I right?” Ellena gave him a short nod and he took a step closer towards her. He opened his arms in an attempt of hugging her, but quickly put them down again, looking a bit awkwardly at his freshly bandaged hand.
“How is your hand?”, Ellena asked politely, a wide smile on her face. The captain let out a sigh, looking at Talea, who gave her father a reassuring nod. “Could be better”, he revealed. “The wound stopped bleeding, I can move my fingers, but the healer said I might never regain a strong grip”
“You're alive”, Talea interjected “That's all that matters” Her gaze got a bit more worried as she looked from Ellena to Jarek. “Ellena, can I talk to you in private for a moment?”, she asked, looking at the captain. “Father, why don't you talk to the charming man here for a moment?”
“Charming, mylady?”, Jarek asked with a bright smile. Talea seemed to blush, which was hard to see under the bruises, while the captain's smile vanished. “I will”, he snarled. Ellena gave Talea a curious look, as the captain's daughter turned around, walking below the deck again. Ellena followed her quickly. Below the deck, Talea stopped in front of the room that belonged to Jaron over the past week. She gave Ellena a worried glare and grabbed her at the shoulders.
“Ellena, can you tell me what you had to do to ensure our protection?”, she asked with a worried tone in her voice. “These men... I mean, the one you talked to seems nice, but the others... I don't know if I feel safe with them around”
“Safer than without them”, Ellena remarked. “Or do you want Samuel and Jaylon to return?” Talea frowned at the mention of Samuel and slightly shook her head. “No... no, of course not. Still, have you agreed to do anything for this Burned Man to ensure his help?”, she asked.
Ellena slightly shook her head, before pulling out the letter. “He asked me to bring this letter to Terroma. Said it had important information for him”, she explained. “And that was it? Nothing else?”, Talea asked, looking slightly less worried. Ellena gave her a nod and the captain's daughter let out a sigh. “You had a lot of luck, little lady. People like him... I don't trust them. They never give you something for free”
The Burned Man did, Ellena knew it. He basically gave her the protection she needed for free. But she stayed silent, to avoid an argument with Talea. “Do you intend on bringing it to him?”, Talea asked. “The letter I mean. To Terroma”
Ellena thought about this for a moment. Last time she attempted to find Terroma, she only found this shady man. Samuel Puffer. And she had Martin with her, who at least provided a bit of protection. Perhaps she could ask Jarek for help this time. Then again, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to deliver this letter. “I don't know yet”, she answered truthfully and Talea seemed to be pleased. “Don't do it. Men like this Burned Man, they start by asking small favours and in the end they demand everything from you. I know how fuckers like him do their business”, she snarled, before patting her on the back. “We should go up again. I don't have the opinion that my father and this man up there get along very well”
“His name is Jarek”, Ellena explained and grinned as Talea gave her a confused look. “He's nice, isn't he?” The captain's daughter frowned at these words and shrugged a bit too quickly. “If you say so”, she said and Ellena had to chuckle. “What? Why are you laughing? It's nice that he is nice. I mean, that you two get along”
They arrived at the upper deck, where the captain just turned around from Jarek, an angry expression on his face. He walked towards his daughter, grabbing her with his unwounded hand. “We need to talk about these men, Talea”, he growled, but gave Ellena a kind nod. “Keep an eye on that one”, he said, not-so-subtly pointing at Jarek, who watched the scenery with a friendly smile on his face.
“You can count on me!”, Ellena promised and walked towards the mercenary, while the captain and Talea walked down the stairs. Jarek gave her a slight grin. “So, you and that other girl...”, he started and Ellena cut him off. “Her name is Talea and she is very nice”, she explained and Jarek gave her a short nod. “Talea, very nice, noted”, he said quickly. “Have you talked about me and my men?”
Ellena shook her head. “About the Burned Man in general. Talea does not trust him”, she explained and Jarek gave her a nod. “Sounds like a smart girl. I don't trust him either”, he answered, before quickly raising both hands. “Before you ask, I work for him because he pays good and he is better than Butterfly, in my opinion even better than Mullendore. He is not as ruthless as he likes to appear” He looked towards Ellena's pocket. “Anyway, back to our earlier topic, shall we? You know, before we got interrupted by the very nice Talea and her not-so-nice father”
“You mean that letter?”, Ellena asked. “No chance. I'm not going to open that. It's for Terroma” Jarek's grin got a bit wider. “But you have to admit that you are curious, right? This Terroma, it appears he has a secret. A secret the Burned Man knows. A secret the Burned Man does not want you to know. You have to admit that you are burning with curiosity, am I right?”
Ellena looked at him for a moment, before both burst into laughter. “Gods, that one was terrible”, Ellena remarked and Jarek gave her an apologetic nod. “But technically, it was the truth, m'lady. You really want to find out what he wrote, what could be that important”, he explained and Ellena knew that he was right.
“Why do you care so much?”, she asked. Jarek gave her a conspirational smile. “As I said, I don't really trust him either. He is better than the other people of power in this city, but that does not mean much. And I'd love to learn more about his plans as well”, he explained. “But hey, you know what, if you don't want me to know it, say one word and I will leave you alone with that letter. I know you want to find out what he wrote just as badly as I want”
[Open the letter and read it with Jarek][Open the letter, but send Jarek away first][Don't open the letter]
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
It's kind of funny. I was just checking to see if you updated and at the same time you posted.
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you] Yep, he's a knight.
[Don't open the letter] Let's not do something rash.
I like the idea of a large predator stalking the forests. Monster tales are among my favorite.
“So, Ambassador Iresons, what are your plans now?”, Christian asked, looking at her with his warm brown eyes. Maya gave him a short smirk, as she noticed Gregar and Aldrik arguing. “The acting lord will probably be pleased to meet us”, she answered and Christian shook his head. “Lord Harris will question Lord Royce's reason to send you here. Don't expect a lot of hospitality from him”, he answered.
“You don't like him?”, Maya asked, raising an eyebrow. Christian let out a sigh, before slightly shaking his head. “Don't get me wrong, Lord Harris is not a bad man and I have no personal quarrel with him. But I don't think he is the one who's best suited for this job”
“What do you mean?”, Maya asked, but before Christian could answer, Maya noticed something behind him. A young man, wearing light mail armour, who slowly approached them. He looked mainly at Ser Aldrik's wolf, while the animal decidedly ignored him, continuing to drink the knight's ale. Christian followed her stare, looking over his shoulder and straight at the young man. A friendly smile flashed over his face as he raised his hand. Visibly uncomfortable, the man walked closer and nearly took a jump back as the wolf looked up from his mug and gave him a bored look.
I think Christian is referring to what happened to Lagoon? Maybe? Probably.
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
I like the idea of a large predator stalking the forests. Monster tales are among my favorite.
Yes, I like them too, which is why I will put some focus on that subplot soon. It's going to be tied to another subplot, but these ties won't be revealed until much later. But there will be more information about this predatory beast soon.
I think Christian is referring to what happened to Lagoon? Maybe? Probably.
Indirectly. Christian has no knowledge about what truly happened to Ser Ilhan. Harris himself, Jenna and Septon Corbin are the only people in Raylansfair who have detailed knowledge about this at the moment, but his opinion about Harris' leadership abilities is similar to the one Ilhan had. It's very likely that he has his suspicions about Ilhan's death as well, which will only further influence his negative opinion on Harris.
Which POV's for the next part?
I haven't decided 100% yet, but it's likely that the next part will be the first PoV from the guardsman Arthur. If there will be room for a second PoV, it's probably going to be a PoV from Samantha (who will have by far the longest storyline in this chapter), Drent or Alys.
It's kind of funny. I was just checking to see if you updated and at the same time you posted.
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you] Yep, he… more's a knight.
[Don't open the letter] Let's not do something rash.
I like the idea of a large predator stalking the forests. Monster tales are among my favorite.
“So, Ambassador Iresons, what are your plans now?”, Christian asked, looking at her with his warm brown eyes. Maya gave him a short smirk, as she noticed Gregar and Aldrik arguing. “The acting lord will probably be pleased to meet us”, she answered and Christian shook his head. “Lord Harris will question Lord Royce's reason to send you here. Don't expect a lot of hospitality from him”, he answered.
“You don't like him?”, Maya asked, raising an eyebrow. Christian let out a sigh, before slightly shaking his head. “Don't get me wrong, Lord Harris is not a bad man and I have no personal quarrel with him. But I don't think he is the … [view original content]
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
I like the idea of a large predator stalking the forests. Monster tales are among my favorite.
Yes, I like them too, which is why I … morewill put some focus on that subplot soon. It's going to be tied to another subplot, but these ties won't be revealed until much later. But there will be more information about this predatory beast soon.
I think Christian is referring to what happened to Lagoon? Maybe? Probably.
Indirectly. Christian has no knowledge about what truly happened to Ser Ilhan. Harris himself, Jenna and Septon Corbin are the only people in Raylansfair who have detailed knowledge about this at the moment, but his opinion about Harris' leadership abilities is similar to the one Ilhan had. It's very likely that he has his suspicions about Ilhan's death as well, which will only further influence his negative opinion on Harris.
Which POV's for the next part?
I haven't decided 100% yet, but it's likely tha… [view original content]
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
[Allow Gregar to announce you] such a large intimidating fellow like Gregar is bound to make an impression plus we'll get some friendship points with him.
[Open the letter but send Jarek away first] the Burned Man can't be trusted Ellena needs to know what exactly she's risking her life for and what she's passing on to her friend Terroma.
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you] He is a badass knight, he has a badass direwolf - should make quite the good impression.
[Open the letter, but send Jarek away first] I certainly don't trust Jarek so much I'd let him see the letter, but I'd really like to know what is this letter about.
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keepin… moreg the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin… [view original content]
Comments
The google document is currently 439 pages long, but if I could update it correctly, it would probably be closer to 455. Though it mainly depends on the number of letters you use, page length seems to be irrellevant. Current amount of letters in the doc is somewhere about one and a half million, so the limit seems to be somewhere around that number. I guess I'll work around that by creating separate docs for each act, but even that could get close to the limit.
[Choose to raid the northern Rock with Durren Stallhart] I want more loot.
[Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the Iron Fleet]
[Choose to raid the northern Rock with Durren Stallhart]
[Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the iron Fleet] getting the King's favour is too good an opportunity to pass up, besides THERE WILL BE LOOT.
Will Garthon play a role in this war?
POLL
http://strawpoll.me/4898556
[Choose to raid the northern Rock with Durren Stallhart]
Garthon is the first mate aboard Torvin's ship, so his role will probably be to serve Torvin during whatever option gets picked. There will be more to him though, which will be specified in the next Torvin part.
[Choose to raid the northern Rock with Durren Stallhart]
[Choose to raid the northern Rock with Durren Stallhart]
[Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the Iron Fleet]
I suppose Torvin still needs to get closer to the king...
[Choose to raid the northern Rock with Durren Stallhart] I'm totally ready for some ironborn action.
edit. That's not actually the choice I was supposed to take - I mean that choice obviously wasn't the one to take Torvin closer to the king
But I'm gonna keep it because I think this is a trick - I think going with Stallhart will actually be the choice that brings us to the favor of the king... Maybe.
[Choose to raid the northern Rock with Durren Stallhart] A little bromance can form between these two Ironborns? #Torren #Breakhart
[Choose to raid the northern Rock with Durren Stallhart]
[Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the Iron Fleet]
Better to get closer to the king.
Damn, alright. A New Life is currently at 264 pages and 427,631 characters. I should be good for now, but I have definitely taken note of the problem. Thanks!
(Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the Iron Fleet)
[Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the Iron Fleet]
[choose to raid the northern rock]
[Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the Iron Fleet]
[Choose to raid Lannisport with the majority of the Iron Fleet]
The Voting is closed!
Torvin will decide to raid the coastline of the northern Rock, together with Durren Stallhart
I looked through the latest poll and the result was very interesting for me. While Torvin won in terms of popularity, Garthon got a respectable amount of votes as well and I have to say, this pleases me. I expected Torvin to win this poll, because not only is he one of the stories oldest PoV's, he also had the longer and arguably more exciting storyline so far. Personally, I like writing the Super Breakio Bros. equally, as they both have strong personalities and important roles to play in the events to come. I plan to give Garthon a similarly exciting storyline soon, so he will have his moments to shine as well.
The next part will feature Maya and Ellena, as well as their respective cast of supporting (or in case of Irving, not-so-supporting) characters. It should be finished later today, or earlier tomorrow at latest.
Maya
With a big grin on his face, Gregar put four mugs of ale onto the table, passing one to Maya, Christian and Ser Aldrik, while keeping the final one for himself. For a moment, Irving looked at him, before frowning. “Hey, you forgot one!”, he moaned and Gregar shook his head. “I already can't stand you when you're sober. Now imagine how obnoxious you become as soon as you drink alcohol”, he explained and Irving gave him an angry glare.
Maya took a sip of her ale, slightly grimacing at the watery, stale flavour. She looked at Irving for a moment, before passing her mug over to him. He raised his head, giving her a surprised look. “Wait... what are you doing?”, he asked.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maya saw that Aldrik came to the same conclusion regarding the ale. A smile flashed over her face. “What does it look like? It's a gift”, she answered. Irving slightly shook his head, but couldn't resist to give Gregar a triumphant grin, before taking a sip of the ale. Almost immediately, he put it back down onto the table again, giving Maya a shocked stare. “That tastes terrible!”, he exclaimed. “Take it back!” Maya shook her head with a grin. “No way, Irving. I'm not drinking that”, she said gleefully.
Gregar burst into a chuckled as he continued to drink his own ale. “Clever girl”, he complimented Maya, before looking at Christian. “That really the best ale you have in your city?”, he asked. The ranger gave him an apologetic nod. “You get used to it”, he promised. “After a while you barely notice the subtle hint of piss in it”
“Knightfang likes it”, Ser Aldrik interjected, pointing at his wolf, who was enthusiastically drinking the knight's ale, spilling at least half of it onto the floor. The presence of the large animal was enough to shoo away any patron near them and even those who were brave enough to stay relatively close to them still gave it a slightly scared look.
“Why doesn't that surprise me?”, Irving asked, but he still continued to drink the ale. “Next time you give me a present, don't give me that ale”, he moaned towards Maya. She and Gregar exchanged a look and Maya subtly shook her head. Gregar let out a sigh in return, before taking a deep gulp from his mug. “Seven Hells, what do you put inside of these?”, he asked.
Christian gave him an elusive grin, before shrugging. “Some things are better left unanswered, Gregar”, he explained and Gregar gave him a nod. “Aye”, he agreed. “But it's not the worst I ever drank. Back home in Redfort, my favourite inn once tried to serve me actual goat piss to make me pay some drinking debts. Only noticed it when the wench started to laugh after serving me the fifth mug”
“That doesn't surprise me”, Irving remarked sullenly, as he took a disgusted sip from Maya's ale. Gregar gave him a short glare, but before he could answer anything, Aldrik patted him on the back. “Easy, Gregar. Don't get angry at him”, he said calmly.
Maya smiled as she watched the two arguing. It had been a good choice to allow Ser Aldrik to accompany her. He had been a much needed part of her group as a counterpat to Gregar and Irving, as well as quite probably the sole reason Gregar hadn't just punched Irving on several occasions.
“So, Ambassador Iresons, what are your plans now?”, Christian asked, looking at her with his warm brown eyes. Maya gave him a short smirk, as she noticed Gregar and Aldrik arguing. “The acting lord will probably be pleased to meet us”, she answered and Christian shook his head. “Lord Harris will question Lord Royce's reason to send you here. Don't expect a lot of hospitality from him”, he answered.
“You don't like him?”, Maya asked, raising an eyebrow. Christian let out a sigh, before slightly shaking his head. “Don't get me wrong, Lord Harris is not a bad man and I have no personal quarrel with him. But I don't think he is the one who's best suited for this job”
“What do you mean?”, Maya asked, but before Christian could answer, Maya noticed something behind him. A young man, wearing light mail armour, who slowly approached them. He looked mainly at Ser Aldrik's wolf, while the animal decidedly ignored him, continuing to drink the knight's ale. Christian followed her stare, looking over his shoulder and straight at the young man. A friendly smile flashed over his face as he raised his hand. Visibly uncomfortable, the man walked closer and nearly took a jump back as the wolf looked up from his mug and gave him a bored look.
“Ch... Christian Thom... Thomas?”, the man asked stuttering, eyeing the wolf. His face got pale as Knightfang yawned and presented his sharp teeth. Christian gave him a nod and folded his arms, awaiting the man's answer. “We... we heard you're back in the city”, he explained. “Commander Na... Nathamer demands your presence. There has been an attack near the forest”
Christian narrowed his eyes as he heard this. “What kind of attack?”, he asked and the young man looked at the large wolf without saying a word. The ranger let out a sigh. “Alright then. Ambassador Iresons, I'm afraid I can't accompany you to your meeting”, he said slowly. “If this is about what I think it is, I have to investigate”
He raised from his chair, turned around and took an elegant bow in front of Maya. “It has been an honour to escort you to Raylansfair. Unfortunately, the commander of the city guard needs my help”, he explained and took a second bow in front of Ser Aldrik. Gregar even stood up and gave him a brief handshake, while Irving continued to glare at his ale, completely ignoring the ranger.
Maya gave him a curious look. “What exactly do you have to do, Christian?”, she asked. The ranger let out a sigh and looked uncertain for a moment. “There have been attacks near the city. Something large killed two farmers a week ago. And two days later, a young girl was torn to pieces at the edge of the forest”, he explained. “That was my main reason for scouting the greater area. We have the occasional wolf attack on our lands, and there are bears living deeper into the forest, but these are shy animals who rarely attack unless provoked. This time, something large decided to relocate it's hunting grounds to the farmlands and the closer forest area. I have no idea what it is, but it's intelligent enough to avoid capture, it's large enough to kill a grown man without much of a fight and it's hellishly dangerous”
This time, Irving actually looked up from his ale, giving the ranger a questioning look. “Dangerous for me?”, he asked. Christian shook his head. “Not as long as you stay near capable fighters, such as Ser Aldrik here”, he tried to reassure him. Instead, Irving's frown got even bigger. “Oh, great”, he moaned, clearly displeased about the answer. “That's just great”
Christian smirked at this remark, while Ser Aldrik shook his head. The ranger gave Maya and her companions a last nod, before turning around and started to walk out of the tavern, accompanied by a clearly relieved young guard.
“And there goes our way straight to the acting lord”, Gregar muttered. “He would have made things easier” “Too easy”, Irving interjected. “When things seem to be easy, there's always something terrible happening, sooner or later to even the odds again”
“You're a philosopher now, Irving?”, Maya asked and immediately felt a sting of regret flashing through her, as she thought about what might have happened to Dimitri, back in that forest. Now that she learned about some large animal hunting humans in that forest, the old hermit's survival seemed increasingly unlikely.
To her surprise, Irving seemed to notice her sad expression and had enough courtesy to ignore her remark. It was Ser Aldrik who broke the uncomfortable silence. “Now that Christian is gone, we need someone else to announce you to the acting lord, to make a good first impression”, he stated. “Your mission is highly important to the Vale of Arryn, so that first impression could be essential in our plans”
“And what if we fail to give a good first impression?”, Irving asked. “Just saying, cause I know we're going to fail. Your wolf is probably going to piss on the floor or something like that” Knightfang heard this and raised his flews, letting out a low growl. Irving immediately raised his hands apologetically. “Okay, okay. You can probably behave in a castle. But what's about Gregar?”, he asked.
Gregar gave Maya a short glare. “One word, Maya”, he pleaded. “Please, just allow it” She shook her head again, looking at Ser Aldrik instead. “If we fail to win the acting lord over, we need to break into the archive”, she proclaimed, causing the knight to raise an eyebrow. “You have any experience with burglary, Ambassador?”, he asked.
“Not really”, she admitted. “But this is a city. A small one, sure, but every city has it's scum. We just need to look for it” “That will be my job”, Gregar proclaimed. “I know how to spot a thief and I know how to talk to them. Leave it to me and you'll get the best damn thief this city has to offer”
Maya gave him a relieved smile. At least she had an alternative plan, in case the lord would refuse to help them. But one question remained. Ser Aldrik was right, they needed to make a good first impression. The inn could probably provide her with a bath and she would send Irving to buy fine clothes from the local tailor. But there was one matter she needed to talk about.
“When I enter the lords hall, one of you needs to announce me, to give a more impressive first impression”, she explained to her companions and Ser Aldrik gave her a nod. “As this groups only knight, I will gladly take this job. I have experience with these kind of things”, he offered. Maya was inclined to agree with him, before Gregar shook his head. “Speak for yourself, wolf”, he growled. “I'm with her the longest. And unlike you I have never used her as a pawn in the bronze lords games” He looked back at Maya and gave her a friendly smile. “Clearly this honour should be mine, Maya”
Irving shook his head as Maya looked at him for a moment. “Oh no, I'm not offering anything. I'm terrible at these things and I don't want to do it. Let Gregar the Barbarian or Ser Wolf here take the questionable honour, but leave me out of this”, he said quickly. “Besides, you can't force me”
[Allow Gregar to announce you] [Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you] [Force Irving to announce you]
Ellena
“So, have you ever looked into it?”, Jarek asked, as she looked absent-mindedly at the letter. In the past night she laid awake, wondering if she had made the right decision. What if that man was telling the truth when he claimed to be a friend of Terroma? What if her refusal to hand over that letter would have consequences for her friend?
Jarek gave her a worried look and she let out a sigh, putting the letter back into her pocket. The mercenary was sitting in front of her, a game of dice between them. He arrived in the early morning, together with three companions and at first, Ellena had shunned them. They were working for the Burned Man after all and a pure necessity, only here to protect the ship. She wanted as little to do with them as possible and at first, the Burned Man's mercenaries proved themselves to be just as expected. But quickly, Jarek proved himself to be different.
Optically, he did not look the part of a brutal thug. He was handsome, in a rough way, with dark blonde hair and green eyes. There was a small scar above his left eye, narrowly missing it, as well as a second, rather gruesome looking one at his neck. A short stubble beard covered his chin and his smile was genuinely warm and friendly. It only took him a few hours of making light-hearted jokes until Ellena started to like him. And now in the late afternoon, they were trying to pass the time with games, as well as trying their best to endure the muggy heat that came with the southern wind.
She shook her head at his question. “Haven't opened it so far”, she remarked. “I mean, it's intended for Terroma” Jarek shrugged at her remark. “But you are curious, admit it”, he grinned. Ellena gave him a playfully annoyed look. “Are you trying to tempt me into spying after a good friend, Jarek?”, she asked with a grin. Jarek looked around in an exaggerated manner, before enthusiastically nodding. The goofy way he moved caused Ellena to chuckle. “No chance”, she stated.
“Oh come on, m'lady”, Jarek moaned and she raised an eyebrow. “My friend, I get the impression that you are the curious one”, she answered and he gave her a slight nod. “Of course I am. I mean, why wouldn't I? How often do I get the chance to learn some of the Burned Man's secrets?”, he explained, urging her to open the letter again. “Not today”, Ellena remarked with a smirk and Jarek lowered his head in defeat. “Valar Dohaeris”, he answered, but he was still smiling.
Ellena looked up as she heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. She turned around to face Talea, who supported her father. The captain was noticeably pale from the loss of blood, his hand heavily bandaged. Talea's face was anything but pale, a huge and ugly bruise covering her entire right cheek, where Samuel Harrington had knocked her unconscious. But her smile made more than up for it, an overjoyed grin as she looked from Jarek to the other mercenaries, who were patrolling over the deck. Even the captain seemed to be pleased, a light smile being visible under his bushy brown beard. The change this smile had on his whole appearance caused him to look a lot less intimidating towards Ellena than he did before.
“I had to see them myself”, he exclaimed in joy. “These men, they are only here thanks to you, am I right?” Ellena gave him a short nod and he took a step closer towards her. He opened his arms in an attempt of hugging her, but quickly put them down again, looking a bit awkwardly at his freshly bandaged hand.
“How is your hand?”, Ellena asked politely, a wide smile on her face. The captain let out a sigh, looking at Talea, who gave her father a reassuring nod. “Could be better”, he revealed. “The wound stopped bleeding, I can move my fingers, but the healer said I might never regain a strong grip”
“You're alive”, Talea interjected “That's all that matters” Her gaze got a bit more worried as she looked from Ellena to Jarek. “Ellena, can I talk to you in private for a moment?”, she asked, looking at the captain. “Father, why don't you talk to the charming man here for a moment?”
“Charming, mylady?”, Jarek asked with a bright smile. Talea seemed to blush, which was hard to see under the bruises, while the captain's smile vanished. “I will”, he snarled. Ellena gave Talea a curious look, as the captain's daughter turned around, walking below the deck again. Ellena followed her quickly. Below the deck, Talea stopped in front of the room that belonged to Jaron over the past week. She gave Ellena a worried glare and grabbed her at the shoulders.
“Ellena, can you tell me what you had to do to ensure our protection?”, she asked with a worried tone in her voice. “These men... I mean, the one you talked to seems nice, but the others... I don't know if I feel safe with them around”
“Safer than without them”, Ellena remarked. “Or do you want Samuel and Jaylon to return?” Talea frowned at the mention of Samuel and slightly shook her head. “No... no, of course not. Still, have you agreed to do anything for this Burned Man to ensure his help?”, she asked.
Ellena slightly shook her head, before pulling out the letter. “He asked me to bring this letter to Terroma. Said it had important information for him”, she explained. “And that was it? Nothing else?”, Talea asked, looking slightly less worried. Ellena gave her a nod and the captain's daughter let out a sigh. “You had a lot of luck, little lady. People like him... I don't trust them. They never give you something for free”
The Burned Man did, Ellena knew it. He basically gave her the protection she needed for free. But she stayed silent, to avoid an argument with Talea. “Do you intend on bringing it to him?”, Talea asked. “The letter I mean. To Terroma”
Ellena thought about this for a moment. Last time she attempted to find Terroma, she only found this shady man. Samuel Puffer. And she had Martin with her, who at least provided a bit of protection. Perhaps she could ask Jarek for help this time. Then again, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to deliver this letter. “I don't know yet”, she answered truthfully and Talea seemed to be pleased. “Don't do it. Men like this Burned Man, they start by asking small favours and in the end they demand everything from you. I know how fuckers like him do their business”, she snarled, before patting her on the back. “We should go up again. I don't have the opinion that my father and this man up there get along very well”
“His name is Jarek”, Ellena explained and grinned as Talea gave her a confused look. “He's nice, isn't he?” The captain's daughter frowned at these words and shrugged a bit too quickly. “If you say so”, she said and Ellena had to chuckle. “What? Why are you laughing? It's nice that he is nice. I mean, that you two get along”
They arrived at the upper deck, where the captain just turned around from Jarek, an angry expression on his face. He walked towards his daughter, grabbing her with his unwounded hand. “We need to talk about these men, Talea”, he growled, but gave Ellena a kind nod. “Keep an eye on that one”, he said, not-so-subtly pointing at Jarek, who watched the scenery with a friendly smile on his face.
“You can count on me!”, Ellena promised and walked towards the mercenary, while the captain and Talea walked down the stairs. Jarek gave her a slight grin. “So, you and that other girl...”, he started and Ellena cut him off. “Her name is Talea and she is very nice”, she explained and Jarek gave her a short nod. “Talea, very nice, noted”, he said quickly. “Have you talked about me and my men?”
Ellena shook her head. “About the Burned Man in general. Talea does not trust him”, she explained and Jarek gave her a nod. “Sounds like a smart girl. I don't trust him either”, he answered, before quickly raising both hands. “Before you ask, I work for him because he pays good and he is better than Butterfly, in my opinion even better than Mullendore. He is not as ruthless as he likes to appear” He looked towards Ellena's pocket. “Anyway, back to our earlier topic, shall we? You know, before we got interrupted by the very nice Talea and her not-so-nice father”
“You mean that letter?”, Ellena asked. “No chance. I'm not going to open that. It's for Terroma” Jarek's grin got a bit wider. “But you have to admit that you are curious, right? This Terroma, it appears he has a secret. A secret the Burned Man knows. A secret the Burned Man does not want you to know. You have to admit that you are burning with curiosity, am I right?”
Ellena looked at him for a moment, before both burst into laughter. “Gods, that one was terrible”, Ellena remarked and Jarek gave her an apologetic nod. “But technically, it was the truth, m'lady. You really want to find out what he wrote, what could be that important”, he explained and Ellena knew that he was right.
“Why do you care so much?”, she asked. Jarek gave her a conspirational smile. “As I said, I don't really trust him either. He is better than the other people of power in this city, but that does not mean much. And I'd love to learn more about his plans as well”, he explained. “But hey, you know what, if you don't want me to know it, say one word and I will leave you alone with that letter. I know you want to find out what he wrote just as badly as I want”
[Open the letter and read it with Jarek] [Open the letter, but send Jarek away first] [Don't open the letter]
[Force Irving to announce you] What can go wrong? Oh wait
[Open the letter, but send Jarek away first]
It's kind of funny. I was just checking to see if you updated and at the same time you posted.
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you] Yep, he's a knight.
[Don't open the letter] Let's not do something rash.
I like the idea of a large predator stalking the forests. Monster tales are among my favorite.
I think Christian is referring to what happened to Lagoon? Maybe? Probably.
Which POV's for the next part?
(Allow Gregar to announce you)
(Open the letter but send Jarek away first)
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you] Forcing Irving was such a close second. I love Irving's role in the story, bringing some comic relief to the story.
[Don't open the letter]We shouldn't get anymore involved with the Burning Man and his secrets.
Yes, I like them too, which is why I will put some focus on that subplot soon. It's going to be tied to another subplot, but these ties won't be revealed until much later. But there will be more information about this predatory beast soon.
Indirectly. Christian has no knowledge about what truly happened to Ser Ilhan. Harris himself, Jenna and Septon Corbin are the only people in Raylansfair who have detailed knowledge about this at the moment, but his opinion about Harris' leadership abilities is similar to the one Ilhan had. It's very likely that he has his suspicions about Ilhan's death as well, which will only further influence his negative opinion on Harris.
I haven't decided 100% yet, but it's likely that the next part will be the first PoV from the guardsman Arthur. If there will be room for a second PoV, it's probably going to be a PoV from Samantha (who will have by far the longest storyline in this chapter), Drent or Alys.
[Allow Gregar to announce you]
[Don't open the letter]
Arthur hype is real
[Allow Gregar to announce you]
[Don't open the letter]
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you]
[Don't open the letter]
[Allow Sir Alderik to announce you]
[Don't open the letter] Nah. I'm cool.
Great part!
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you] I trust him to not embarrass Maya
[Don't open the letter] I want to see Samuel return back to Ellena very soon this chapter, its payback time.
[Force Irving to announce you]
[Open the letter and read it with Jarek]
[Allow Gregar to announce you] such a large intimidating fellow like Gregar is bound to make an impression plus we'll get some friendship points with him.
[Open the letter but send Jarek away first] the Burned Man can't be trusted Ellena needs to know what exactly she's risking her life for and what she's passing on to her friend Terroma.
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you]
[Don't open the letter] is a love letter.
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you]
[Open the letter, but send Jarek away first]
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you]
[Open the letter, but send Jarek away first]
[Allow Ser Aldrik to announce you] He is a badass knight, he has a badass direwolf - should make quite the good impression.
[Open the letter, but send Jarek away first] I certainly don't trust Jarek so much I'd let him see the letter, but I'd really like to know what is this letter about.