Fire, Ice, and the Kraken (Fate X ASOIAF, Jalter quest)

[Mathen57]

[X] Take her with you, she might be worth babysitting if she could interpret and translate for you.

[X] Mixed Sea and Land route, Volantis to Mereen then the Bone mountains. ( Small chance of pirates and bad weather, Kraken is out there... and possible chance of meeting a certain Mother of Dragons...also dangerous mountains)

Well...you do require a translator, it'd certainly make this voyage much less troublesome. And well, you kinda do need a guide for this era. Hopefully, she knows much of the world around her and can teach you of the language. The woman seems to finally calm down from her outburst as you take a deep breath and give her an intense look.

"Fine," You point a finger at her, " but the moment I find you too troublesome---"

"You'll leave me for dead, I know."

"As long as you understand..." The blonde woman walks closer to you and your horse as she wipes something in her eyes. "Thank you, for freeing me" She tries to wrap her hands around your waist since your too high for her but you intercept her hands.

"Don't get familiar with me, I'm looking for a translator, not a friend."

She backs off a bit and nods, " Of course, my lady."

"And don't call me lady either, I'm not a lord, just Jeanne would do."

"Of Course, Ms.Jeanne"

You offer her your hand as she grasps it and you pull her to your horse. She squeaks a bit as she lands right behind you, the horse buckles a bit at the weight added by the new passenger.

"Will the Dothraki allow you to come with me anyway." you ask her, as you feel a slight trepidation for what her answer will be.

"Of course, if they don't notice that is," You groan at that, "But even if they did, I don't think they would antagonize you more by taking your translator away from you. You've made quite the first impression among them."

Well, they've certainly given you quite the first impression too, "how so?" you ask.

"Well, the Dothraki respect power and tradition, but power most of all, last night - if what I hear is true - you defeated thirteen of them without getting hit, I heard that you didn't even break a sweat."

"What you've heard is true, I did beat 13 of their men."

" That's amazing! You know they've been giving you nicknames last night, the men call you the Silver Warrior. " She starts to speak a mile a minute. "Speaking of silver, are you perchance a Targaryen? Maybe you have some lost old Valryian blood?" She adopts a scandalized look" wait are you part of Westorosi royalty? Don't tell me you exil--"

You raise your voice to shut her up, "Back to the point, woman!" That takes the steam away from her and you soften your voice, "What's this about Dothraki and power."

"Oh sorry, you must forgive me Ms.Jeanne, I tend to get a bit...focused"

" I can see that now go on" You shake the reins, and the horse starts to Gallop.

"Well you see, Dothraki respects force, its the only thing they understand. They have no notions of money, prestige, nor bloodlines, just power and only power. You gained the respect of Khal Forzo's Khalasar by beating some of his best men, and in turn, the Khalasar lost respect of Khal Forzo for not participating in the fight and getting crippled by you. "

" So this Khal Forzo seems weak to his men cause of me?" You're getting further and further away from the camp as it recedes to the horizon. No doubt this blonde woman's masters are in search of her now that she's gone for this long.

"Oh very Ms.Jeanne, anyone who lets their son be taken as a hostage and have that same person who took him hostage to sleep in his own home with impunity is a man of feeble will and resolve. I doubt many will follow him now that he is crippled and can't ride a horse."

" I see", there's a prolonged silence as you contemplate. You wonder if Forzo's Khalasar will split apart into hundreds of different groups. It could destabilize the region as various leaders vie for power and glory, and lead to their own horsemen raiding pretty much everywhere to grow. Some of the new tribes will be absorbed, some destroyed, while everyone else suffers for it. How delightful, though you should endeavour to be less rash if a simple scuffle could lead to that. You look to the woman seated behind you, many more like her will either be enslaved or killed.

"What is your name?" you ask, "I never asked"

"it's Lera Stassaris, Ms.Jeanne. Also, where are we headed?"

"We're going south to Volantis."

"You plan on taking a ship to Yi Ti?"

"No, I'm taking a ship to Mereen, then we go to the Bone mountains through the sand road, then we'll take a caravan to Yin itself."

" Well, the Jade sea is treacherous, but the Bone Mountains got its name for a reason you know, it dangerous."

"Yes, but at least I can kill the danger in the Bone Mountains, I can't retaliate against storms or tall waves" Not unless I reveal my powers that is.

"Well, you can kill men with ease, I can see that, but what if you go against a beast like a basilisk or something else out there. No amount of training in the world can prepare you to fight monsters."

"Then I'll kill them too" You doubt there are any beasts here at the level of Demon Pillars in this era.

She stares at you wide-eyed "You're very confident in yourself, Ms Jeanne."

"It usually comes with the strength I have" And by willing yourself into existence after months in oblivion since the French Singularity.

Lera pauses for a bit, digesting what you said"I see...so where are you from Ms Jeanne?"

Talk about a subject change, well...

[] A far away land
[] France, a far away land
[] You wouldn't know, I'm from a different time ( possibility of explaining to Lera what a servant is)
[] France, from a different time (same possibility of explaining to Lera about servants)
[] You don't need to know
[] Write in...

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The fire crackles in front of you as Lera drops more wood on it, the flames rise higher as its warmth washes all over you. The Campfire illuminates the surrounding area as you hear the swaying of grass during this late night. The moon has reached its apex as you sit down with Lera. To your left is your Lera and behind her is your horse that is tied down to a wooden post.

Lera gulps down a leather flask as water drips onto her rags, she seals the cap after she's finished and puts it down. She sighs in contentment, "It's a good thing that you've scared Forzo into bits, the supplies in those bags" She points at the saddlebags on the horse, " Is enough to feed 3 men for a few days."

You grunt in acknowledgement as you stare into flames, your eyes reflecting its flickering form. Lera takes a deep breath next to you and speaks.

"Well, since we're going to Volantis, you wanna learn some Valyrian right?"

You nod

"Do you have any quill and paper?" she asks you.

You ask a rhetorical question "Do I look like I have any?"

Lera's cheeks burn red in embarrassment and points at something behind you, "right well, there's a stick over there, I could use it to draw on the ground".

You pass the solid stick to her, "Go ahead."

She catches the stick as you walk to her as she draws some symbols and characters.

"This here says " īlon're jāre naejot volantis"" She points with her stick, "Which says, "We're going to Volantis", īlon means we, notice the line on top of the I. That means you say this word as EEL-LON not AI-LON....."

QM note: Dice Roll : Mathen57 rolls 1d100 = 2 (Will be editted when I learn how to use Rolz.org)

Time passes quickly as you learn the native language.....

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"You see most of the Old Valryians have hair as white as yours... "

"Hmmhmm" An appealing thought comes to you. Consider this, what happens if you dam the Rhoynar river up, Leaving the rivers in Qohor and Norvos to dry up? Hypothetically, if you were Queen of Volantis, could you keep those two northern cities hostage by the threat of damming the river? Would they Supplicate and beg you not to dam the Rhoynar river as it would damn their people to starvations, would they cave in to your demands or would they find other routes for food? Lera tells you that Volantis has a massive wall made of this black stone thing and its suppose to be very strong, which means that if Qohor and Norvos retaliate the damming with a siege, it'd be ineffective. The walls are thick, and the Volantians can be fed through the open ports. Hmmm, would that work? And what is that faint sound you're hearing?

"Are you even listening?" She says petulantly, bringing you back to reality.

"huh? oh yeah..." You say dumbly

"What was I talking about, then?"

"Something-something Westeros, Lannisters, something-something."

"That was an hour ago." She says with a deadpan

You scratch the back of your head sheepishly as she pouts on the seat behind you. It's been 2 maybe 3 days since you departed from Forzo's camp, and the only constant thing from those days were the grass, the scorching sky ( why the hell are you wearing black armour!?!), and Lera's babbling about this era. She doesn't even babble about things of importance, sometimes going on and on about Westerosi fashion and Marriage scandals, Oh Rhaegar did this, Rhaena did that. Aarrghh... If you were a lesser woman, you would've gone mad by day 1.

The...demon sighs then speaks again, " Then let me start over, do you know why it's such a special thing, your white hair?"

"Oh, do tell..."

" You really don't know, you lived all your life without anyone mentioning anything about your white hair?"

"Only when complimenting ..."

She adopts a blank look and pauses, "huh... well, you see, oh! have I told you about Valyria?"

"That broken subcontinent?"

"Yeah, most of their people had white hair, but almost all of them are gone ever since the doom, so nowadays only a Targaryen has white hair."

"which means some people may think I'm part of that royal family?"

"Yes, and the Targaryens have many friends and an equal amount of enemies, so I think it's best if we act cautiously among important individuals of a city, they might want to take advantage of us" You groan at that, great more trouble. " Also...why, do you want to go to Yi Ti? is it really worth the trip?"

"I want to go to Yi Ti to learn about something."

"Learn what exactly"

[]Write in...(why are you going to Yi Ti?)
[] something...
[] You don't need to know

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You're finally here, 5 days of enduring the heat and Lera's incessant explanations and you've finally arrived. You see Volantis in all its glory, your first city in this era and three things pop out to you. From afar you can already see the towering black walls at the centre of East Bank and the buildings surrounding its perimeter, you see The long bridge connecting the East and West banks with, and what appears to be a temple, a massive temple at that with its Pillars, Domes and Towers decorating it. Behind you, you hear Lera ooh and ahhs in amazement, so it's her first time here, huh?

You approach the walled gates leading to the East Bank part of Volantis, its time to get you a ship to sail you to Mereen. As you draw closer, you see guards scramble at the wall as the gate opens to reveal an entourage of officers and men with silk robes.

One of the men in the men approaches you, a bald, wrinkled man, who walks with a shaking gait, clearly a man of advanced age.

He speaks tremblingly and bows to you " Oh Noble lady whose veins hold that sacred holy blood of old Valyria."

You withhold a grimace as you hear Lera whisper "see" behind you.

The old man continues, " I am Malaquo Maegyr, an esteemed Triarch of this city, may you please enlighten us as to the reason of your presence?"

[] Travelling to Mereen
[] Just travelling
[] Came to Volantis as merchants
[] Came to Volantis as sellswords seeking glory
[] Write in...

QM Note: fooey, Dialogue is a doozy. Hopefully you guys enjoyed my characterizations and the trek to Volantis. As usual, any errors will be fixed at my own time or when I get someone to beta my story posts.

I reserve the right to veto any write ins that I deem out of character or silly.

 

[Mathen57]

X] Travelling to Mereen
Number of voters: 6
veekie, Bulwark, Macros, typeterra, DeepWaters, SwiftRosenthal
[X] France, a far away land
Number of voters: 5
Bulwark, Macros, typeterra, DeepWaters, SwiftRosenthal
[X] You don't need to know
Number of voters: 2
DeepWaters, SwiftRosenthal
-[X] It was actually a spur-of-the-moment decision made before you realised how far away it was, and you're too stubborn to change your mind now.
Number of voters: 2


[X] France, a far away land

Lera looks at you inquisitively, she's expecting an answer, and you should probably give her one; though how do you go about it without talking about magic or servants...hmm.

"I come from a land far far away from here Lera." You tell her, a half-truth but a harmless one, you deem.

She raises an eyebrow, somewhat unconvinced, "Then how did a girl like you from a faraway land end up here?"

"Its...", whats an effective half-truth? Victim of a shipwreck? No that wouldn't work, how about---

She interrupts you with a blank unamused look, "It's complicated?" You nod at that. She adopts a mischevious smile," Well then miss mysterious, what was the name of this faraway land?", Ah, she thinks you're lying through your teeth with this "Foreigner from a faraway land spiel". And that tone of hers annoys you.

You collect your thoughts and memories of that accursed country, who turned their back on you in your time of need, despite saving them in THEIR time of need. Thanks to being an Avenger class, you live every waking moment experiencing that burning pain again and again. No matter what you do, you'll never forget what you felt when every inch of your skin was burned, to be stoned by onlookers, and to see their hateful eyes as you scream for mercy.

You're an Avenger, you toe the line between sanity and madness solely because your existence is driven by your vengeance and the need to kill those who've wronged you. Yet here you are, in an era where you have no grudge against anyone here let alone even an acquaintance. Lera doesn't count she's a tool for you to use. So, for the first time since your manifestation, you don't feel the need to Avenge the sins done to your past self. Maybe its cause of the French Singularity or even the Counterfeit incident, you don't know, but you think that hatred, that temper the Madman gave you has been, well...tempered you guess, for lack of a better word. You're willing to tolerate more and less prone to do unspeakable things, the survival of that Dothraki tribe is a testament to that change. That's not to say you're like HER now, oh far from it, it's just, maybe that vile, destructive fire within you has dimmed a bit, after being humbled and having no outlet for it to burn in this Era, that fire may have lost a bit of its fuel.

Jeez, your mind must still be frazzled for you to go on such tangents. Maybe the battle at the Time Temple may have left a permanent effect on your mind?

"Hmm, no words, huh? It alright if you don't want to tell me oh mysterious lady." She says while winking mockingly.

You look back at the Woman speaking, sitting right behind you on your horse, her hands around your stomach to keep balance as you hold the reins. She seems to look at you expectantly, waiting for an answer. An excuse.

"I come from France." You say, Lera appears to be taken aback by your sincerity.

"Hey, what's with this change in tone? you were all" She tries to imitate the voice and as she puffs her chest and puts both hands on her hips, ""I'll leave you for dead" and "Don't be a deadweight!"".

"Well, its cause you made me remember things I didn't want to remember."

"From a simple question? My you must moodier than I thought. Is that tough exterior of yours a facade then, are you all soft in the inside?"

"Look, do you want to know about France or not?" that zips her up, sigh, what a headache for her tongue to be really loose. "Right well...France is a kingdom in a continent called Europe."

"I've never heard of nor read about this Europe, is it West of Westeros? Or beyond the lands of Asshai."

"I don't think so? " A lie, " Our maps stopped west, so maybe we're east of Asshai?"

She looks at you with amazement as her eyes light up in with wonder, what a curious girl she is, and a well-read one too come to think of it, which makes you question how she ended up a slave to Dothraki in the first place. That very woman motions you to continue, questions for another time then.

"France is... beautiful, there's this village my father took me once in Alsace, it was close to Domrémy, where I lived. I think its name was Riquewihr or something like that, but anyways, they made the sweetest white wine there, and every sip just made me go" you pucker up your lips and bring a closed at hand towards then, "Muah!" you exclaimed as you spread your previously closed wrist and brought slowly bring it down to hold the reins. Lera laughs lightly at your theatrics. " But that wasn't the only thing I loved at the time, I was young, I think I was 12 summers at the time."

"And Your father let you drink?"Lera asks in a scandalous tone

"Oh no no no" You shake your head, "I was a very sneaky child, I always find where the nooks and crannies are, and not even my Town Guard of a father knew where I was half the time."

Lera Oohs at that and you continue, "Anyways, there was this Chur--" Calm down, calm down, "temple in the middle of town, and it had this large belltower that overlooked the entire village, very beautiful, very inviting. So I did what any young girl of 12 summers would do."

"You climbed it?" she asks with a sceptical look.

"I did." You smile proudly at that. "Snuck in upstairs during mass--prayer time, and no one noticed. " You sweep your hand horizontally before raising it slowly, "Then I took the stairs and went higher and higher up the tower stairs until I ran out of stairs. So, by being either brave or stupid, little me jumped on to the rope connected to the part that made the bell ring. I held on tightly since the drop would outright shatter every part of me, and it's terrible luck having someone die during prayer. Though despite all that I wasn't even scared, I just wanted to see what was at the end of that light, what sort of thing will I see when I reached the highest peak."

"My, you must've been so brave when you were young, the thought of me doing that when I was only 12 summers is impossible to imagine," Lera says in amazement, and you let out an embarrassed chuck and adopt a sheepish smile, even now you never really did know how to deal with other people's admiration.

"Well, we have a saying in France, "À vaillant coeur rein d'impossible." it goes. It means, "For a valiant heart, nothing is impossible"" You put a fist on your chest as you say that. You notice your horse neighs and speed up when you did that, and it's the first time you notice that the Dothraki tribe have receded to the horizon and you could barely see it.

"Beautiful..." She says engrossed, Lera shakes her head to regain her composure and asks a question, "so what did you see?"

"Heaven" You slipped, and you try to withhold a grimace. Being reminded of God's empty promise always put in a sour mood but you continue, "I saw rolling hills of green, vibrant vineyards stretched across miles upon miles of land, and the forests looked so safe and inviting and very much dark green. The village seemed so small, and its people were like ants going about their insignificant business. The sight of it was etched in my mind and made me realise one thing. That us humans are so small compared to" God's, " creation, how we are all so caught with our lives that we never bother to notice how amazing the land we live on is, and how..." You pause, searching for the right words as you scrunch up your eyebrows and narrow your eyes. No matter how much you deny it, your purpose back then wasn't to destroy France, but the opposite. You cannot deny the feelings SHE had and "how...how much I wanted to protect my country so that all of France could see what I saw in that bell tower, not the sight of blood or smoke or defeat, but of beauty and wonder."

Reality brings you back from a blissful reminiscence by way of horse shit. The sound of defecation and its excrement dropping to the ground as the horse neighs interrupt you. You look back at Lera sheepishly, "Ah sorry, I've gotten on a long tangent there, it's been a while since I've thought of France with any emotions other than..." hatred, "regret" you lie to her.

"France sounds like a beautiful place." she says softly and reverently, "and you really had me there with your speech, you sure you're not some kind of Queen or commander?"

"No, I just get overly enthusiastic" You lie.

"Huh... you should take me there someday."

" I should..." You say, absently. You stare listlessly into the horizon, the sounds and visions coming back to you. The curse of being Avenger makes you remember that accursed day as if its happening right now. You don't mention to Lera that when you came back from that trip, you were treated to the sight of Domrémy in flames.

------------------------------------------------------------------
[X] You don't need to know
Number of voters: 2
-[X] It was actually a spur-of-the-moment decision made before you realised how far away it was, and you're too stubborn to change your mind now.

"I want to go to Yi Ti to learn about something."

"Learn what exactly?"

"Well, obviously..." uhhmmm..."I wanted to know more about..." Lera looks at you, quizzically, "You don't need to know."

Lera seems unimpressed at your statement, "You mean you don't have a bigger goal other than just going to Yi Ti?"

You laugh at that, " Hah, who do you think I am Lera? of course I have big plans for Yi Ti." You just haven't thought of it yet. You can't tell Lera that you mainly Eeny-meeny-miny-moe'd you're destination on the map, and your finger just happens to land on Yi Ti.

"Jeanne, why is your face red?" Your face is definitely not red, nuh-uh.

"It's skin condition Lera, it comes from time to time."

"Right, of course." Lera she says unconvinced.

"Look all you need to know right now is that we're going to Yi Ti and that's final". It'd be very embarrassing if just change destinations midway, even more so after the whole "I'll just kill the danger" spiel.

Right, You're going to this Yi Ti, and nothing will change your mind. Nothing at all...

Though if Lera doesn't stop chuckling right now you'll burn all of Essos dammit.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Mereen

The old man continues, " I am Malaquo Maegyr, an esteemed Triarch of this city, may you please enlighten us as to the reason of your presence?"

"Hail, Malaquo Maegyr, I am Jeanne d'Arc, and the lady behind me is Lera Stassaris, she is my interpreter for these lands. We will take a ship to Mereen here so we won't stay for long. "

Malaquo nods to himself as his entourage whispers to each other, "Of course, of course, let it be known that the Volantis, the first daughter of Valyria, does not fail in treating its guests whose veins courses with old Valyrian blood." He claps twice as two guards come up to him, he faces them and commands, " give her the best room in the merchant house and tell them that it's under my authority and that I will pay for the expenses."

Finally, food and shelter from the get-go, and you didn't even have to fight for it.

Lera comes up closer to your ear and whispers, "Careful Jeanne, the man just wants to curry favour before the other Triarchs do."

"Is it cause of the white hair" you whisper back.

"Yes, she answers, he's probably hoping the luxurious accommodations he'll be giving will incentivise you to stay here longer. Or at least long enough for you to be a pawn of his schemes."

"Don't worry Lera, I can always burn this city to the ground to dissuade him of any notions of making me a pawn", Lera pales at what you've just said, ahh, your tongue is becoming loose like her, she's quite the bad influence.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're escorted to what you think is the inn, though you could be fooled to thinking that its a palace of a lord, a four-story ornate building that towers over the market area. You enter in to be treated with the sight a large common room with hundreds of chairs and tables. The sound roaring sound of a hundred trade deals and business plans saturates your ear before going silent. A hundred merchants, captains, possibly pirates all stop to look at you. White of hair and dressed in black-menacing armour, you probably make for an exotic sight. You remember your experiences as a commander and walk down to the reception with the authority of a king, the men in your way step aside and bow halfway down to you. You hear them murmur, "Ābra hen Valyria" to themselves.

After being assigned a room by the receptionist, you walk three flights of stairs up to your room. Well, then you think you won't be lying when you say that walking through the brothels, slave markets, and other places of scum and villainy is worth the sight you see right now. A fountain at the centre of the room with a balcony looking out to the city. There's a huge King sized bed at the left side of the room, though you notice its the only bed there. The peach coloured bricks glisten as sunlight seeps into the windows and the balcony.

"so where to?" Lera asks.

You are currently located in the North Market.

Currently, you have 50 honours (Volantian currency) from selling your horse

You have a maximum of 5 actions in a day. Therefore you can only do 5 things to do in the vote below.

Spoiler: Map of Volantis

[] Look around the inn
----[] Find some captains who're going to Mereen
----[] Make deals with some merchants
----[] hire some sellswords
----[] Train Lera in the ways of combat
----[] Write in...

[] Go to...
----[] The Warrens
-----[] Earn some money in the fighting pits ( and possibly make a name for your self.
-----[] Kill some criminals
-----[] Write in...

----[] Temple District
-----[] Burn that temple to the ground
-----[] Mess with the priests (or they mess with you)
-----[] Write-ins...

----[] Market Bridge/Bridgeton
-----[] Buy some equipment ( Armour, weapons, supplies for you or for Lera)
-----[] Listen to the rumours in the local tavern
-----[] Make some deals with merchants
-----[] Buy a slave
-----[] Write-ins...

----[] Old Towne
-----[] Learn more about its black walls
-----[] Talk to a Triarch or even Maegyr
-----[] Learn more about Volantis from the words of its aristocracy
-----[] Write-ins...

----[] The Docks
-----[] Find a captain that will take you to Mereen
-----[] Buy a ship yourself ( Min price at around a few thousand honours)
-----[] Write-ins...

QM note: Hope you guys don't mind the dialogue heavy scenes, I've been trying to understand Jeanne's character these past few days and these Dialogue scenes help with her characterization. Also updates from here on out will not be regular due to the exams.

I hope you guys enjoyed it and happy voting!

 

[Mathen57]

[X] Plan Prepare for the Journey
-[X] Look around the inn
----[X] Find some captains who're going to Mereen
----[X] Train Lera in the ways of combat
-[X] Go to...
----[X] The Warrens
-----[X] Earn some money in the fighting pits ( and possibly make a name for your self.
----[X] Market Bridge/Bridgeton
-----[X] Buy some equipment ( Armour, weapons, supplies for you or for Lera)
-----[X] Listen to the rumours in the local tavern

"Well, I'll make you less useless than you are now." You speak with an imperious tone.

"Less useless? I'm your translator!" Lera shoots back incredulously.

"And there's no use for you if you're a dead translator, you've got to learn how to defend yourself Lera. So I won't have to look after you constantly." Your interpreter opens her mouth, but you don't give her the chance to speak. She squeaks when you grab her hand and walk out of the room, "Come, Lera" you demand. You're out of the room already as the sound of sloshing water from your room's fountain gradually fades.

"Where exactly are we going?" She asks with an air of annoyance.

"Fighting pits, you're going to watch me fight while I earn the money to buy your equipment."

" Do I even have a choice? I'm just a skinny girl; I can't fight! I'll be dead seconds into one. Besides, talking is all I'm good for, and you'll waste your time training me." You've already walked down 2 flights of stairs and nearing the lobby as she says this. You stopped abruptly and turned around to meet her in the eye. You're around the same height, which is convenient. Lera trembles a bit at your piercing yellow eyes as you put your hand on her shoulder.

"Listen here Lera, I will never be with you all the time to babysit you, not when you sleep, eat, or shit" Lera's face transforms into a rictus of disgust, "You'll have to learn to be independent! And so that I won't have to keep looking after you, but that's beside the point. Lera", You say as you close the distance between your face and hers," You asked for a life of freedom, didn't you? Sooner or later, you're going to have to fight for it, and if you don't know how to fight... well, you'll just become a slave again. I don't care if you're the slowest learner or if your instincts for combat is shit, When I'm done with you, you'll be able to hold your own against Dothraki ...Besides, how can I pass through the Bone Mountains if you're gonna be a useless sack of meat for the whole journey." Not that you care for her, of course, you can always find a new translator, it's just... troublesome for you to lose yours so early into the journey. Lera nods silently, and you grin.

"you're pretty good with speeches" she murmurs
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You walk through the crumbling slums of the Warrens with Lera, the fighting pit you've heard is at the edge of this place of poverty, bordering Rat Town. Once you've reached the fighting pits, you're obstructed by an immense crowd all dressed in rags hollering and cheering as the sounds of clashing blades fill your ear. You push into the group, getting dirty looks, and as you reached the end of this mass of humanity you're treated with the sight of a large pit and the centre 2 fighters duelling, one holds a spear and the other holds a dagger.

You look to your left and see a couple of men in silk robes, sitting on this large bench placed in an area overlooking the entire PPit. You guess they're the ones coordinating this Pit; they look so out of place in this area of poverty and neglect you notice. One of the guards bars your way once you're within arms distance and one of the noblemen look to you with an appraising look.

"When can I fight?" you ask.

The noblemen speak as he looks back to the fight in the pits, the Spearmen is winning against the one wielding the dagger, which is no surprise at all, "You can fight now if you want." he says.

"How much will I earn?"

It takes time for the Nobleman to calculate before saying, "5 to 6 honours if you win."

You groan inwardly, you won't be getting a new sword and armour at this right, "That's too small, I want a fight that'll earn me a hundred."

The Nobleman pauses at that as the rest of the other noblemen stop to look at you, they probably think you're mad. The man nobleman you were speaking to opens then closes his mouth before finding the right words, "I've seen arrogant cocksure boys come to this ring to get slaughtered, though I've never seen a woman do it. Do you think you're invincible with that fancy sword and armour of yours? well think again, this a man's ring you're entering, not for adventurous girls like you." He makes a shooing motion with his hand, "move along" he says.

The guard moves to push you out, but you don't budge. Instead, you sweep his legs with your right feet. He trips and falls to the dirt, and as he frantically tries to get up, you crush his head with the same leg that tripped him. Blood and Gore decorates the ground he was on as his head is smashed like a watermelon, you hear Lera gasp in shock before whispering to herself, "poor man".

The noblemen LOOKS at you now, their faces in shock and fury at the sudden violence. "Give me a fight that's worth 500 hundred honours, and I'll be off", Now the noblemen stands up in indignation, shouting curses in that mysterious Valyrian language of theirs. The crowd stops to look at the commotion they're causing, and the fighting stops abruptly as both fighters look to the enraged noblemen.

They calm down eventually as one nobleman looks at you menacingly, "Oh I'll give you a fight worth 500 honours you suicidal minx, and if you lose, you'll be working for my brothel till the end of your days. If you survive, that is.."

You nod at that, smiling condescendingly, its time for a show. One of the nobles proceeds to shout, "Jiōragon pōntoma hen!" which leads to men of all shapes and sizes pouring into the Pit.

You look back to Lera in askance, she stares at the body of the guard and it takes her time to get out of her stupor. She gulps, "He said to get all of them in the pit, Ms.Jeanne" You nod. You recognise that Lera must be queasy with blood, you'll have to train that queasiness out of her sometime.

"Thank you, my lords", You bow mockingly before jumping into the Pit with St.Catherine in hand. There are 20 men and counting pouring into the Pit, armed with an eclectic array of weapons and armour. The men stopped flowing in, increasing the count to 26 opponents. They circle you, ready to charge at a moments notice.

"Ivestragī bisa vīlībagon rhaenagon!" You hear one of the noblemen shout and they come. The excitement of a fun fight fills your veins. When you fought the Dothraki a few days back you only fought to disable; now you'll be fighting to kill. You've been restrained for far too long; now you want to vent through killing. The only thing you're holding back now is your fire magic; everything else has been set loose.

You plan to utilize your vaunted A-Rank strength to slaughter them; there will be no mercy. The closest man to you is the Spearman with a couple of men trailing him; there are a few other men to your back coming towards you. To them, you might seem like you've been put into a situation of no escape. Thus they charge with confidence and coordination, which is broken the moment you take a step...
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You are Vamar Nargyreon, master of the spear and consecutive champion of the Pit. The Wandering Knight is what these onlookers call you, though it must either be your full plate armour and Burgonet that gave them the impression. In reality, You're no knight, just an unfortunate man who got caught up in this Gladiator business.

You feel exasperated that stuck-up nobleman Qohinarys had to create a wasteful spectacle to teach this silver-haired woman her place. You wonder if she has the purest and oldest of Valyrian blood coursing through her veins, it'd explain the white hair and her looks. She is quite beautiful the more you look at her, her face is absolutely smooth and has no blemishes, giving her a look of ethereal beauty. Though you could do without those sickly yellow eyes... You've never met anyone who's had yellow eyes before, is that physically possible you wonder? No matter, you and your fellow fighters would give her a good beating before Qohinarys make her his whore.

You and the other fighters approach her fast; you're sure she'll be skewered in moments from now, there no defending from this coordinated charge, and as you get close, your spear impales...nothing. She's disappeared, where is she!

Shhrrkkk!!

The sound comes from behind you, and you scramble to turn around. A sword sticks out from the man behind you; he drops his mace to grasp at the bloodied blade. Then the silver-haired Valyrian lifts her blade up, cutting the poor man from the sternum to the head, it brings out a shower of blood to the arena. As you sprint towards her, a man slashes at her with a halberd, and she promptly parries it, the Halberd is sent flying to the side when she hit it with her black-sword. In its flight, the Halberd impales one of the fighters as its wielder is cut down by the Silver-Haired Woman.

You look in horror as she disappears again, how fast is she?! you try to predict where she's likely to hit you until you hear the sound of blades clashing from behind. The group that was with your Dagger-wielding opponent are, to your horror, in different forms of dismemberment. The Dagger wielder looks petrified to see a hand sticking out of his chest, its wrist holding his heart. The woman closes her fist, crushing the heart as blood sprays everywhere, and the Dagger-wielder falls. The crowd is silent now.

You realise that you can't fight this woman, this monster, she is too strong and too fast, and some of the men around you have also realised that. They tremble and shake, taking slow steps backwards, moving away from the carnage in front of them.

She moves on from group to group, slaughtering them with a relaxed smile, the same sort of smile you'd see women wear when the hot bath they're in dissipates all their stress.

She walks - no glides - to an opponent, he swings his longsword for a vertical slash before the woman's sword blur. The longsword's top half falls to the ground as its bearer stares in shock; then the woman caves his head in with a punch. You hear the sound of bending steel and cracked skulls before he falls to the ground. You cringe at that.

Dead men litter the Pit as blood decorates every nook and cranny of this accursed arena. For how can it not be cursed when a monster like her made the decision to fight here, out of all other places.

You and the group of men around you are all that is left. It's strange, 10 minutes before you would've killed each other, now a sort of silent camaraderie is formed thanks to a common fear. You huddle together, weapons pointed at her and waiting for her to move.

She wipes her bloody gauntlet with the rags of one of the dead. Her cape is caked in blood and sways brilliantly. She turns towards you and your group as everyone tenses up.

She walks towards your group sword at her hand with that fucking satisfied smile of hers. Eventually, one of the men near you drops his weapons and falls to his knees with his hands at the back of his head. You and everyone else eventually follows suit, begging for mercy.

She stops at your crouched form and inspects you. She raises her sword for a cutting strike, and you feel numb. For death to come to you while you're kneeling, how pathetic, how can you call yourself a man? You recount every frustration, every errand, every loose-end in your life, and you feel despair and frustration. For your life to end now is...You breathe and close your eyes. Valar Morghulis, it was bound to come anyway.

You open your eyes and stare up; you will not die with your head down, you could do that at least. That damn black sword of hers glistens as the afternoon sun blinds you, you have to squint to look into the sickly eyes of your killer. The sword descends...
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"STOP" You hear Lera shout. St.Catherine stops a millimetre away from the gladiator's nose. You look at Lera, annoyed, as the fighters open their eyes. You walk to the side of the Arena where Lera looks over and walk to her. The crowd stares whilst you walk as the rest of the gladiators scamper back to the gates they came out off.

"Why did you want me to show mercy Lera? They're fighters; they know they'll die sooner or later."

"Because they surrendered Ms.Jeanne. That should be enough for mercy."

That line makes you feel a bit annoyed. You withhold a grimace as you jump up from the arena to the spectator's area, gaining gasps from the crowd.

You place St.Catherine on your shoulders and walk to Lera, "You're foolish if you think you'll be given mercy when you surrender." You narrow your eyes, and Lera returns it with a look of her own, though she's trembling, she holds her ground and keeps eye contact with you. You can't help but be impressed by that, a mundane staring down a servant.

"Yes, but, I couldn't stand to see you kill men needlessly. You wanted me to watch and learn, right? And also earn us money? Well, you've already accomplished both, the Old Bloods over there have probably pissed their pants, so you could get more money from them. And I've already learned a lot by watching you fight. "

You notice the crowd have created a distance between you two, but you don't care about that. Lera's being petulant, another thing to fix when you're training her.

She speaks again, "Their deaths weren't needed."

"These were gladiators, criminals forced to fight each other for entertainment, you think they care about your bleeding heart? Do you believe your compassion would turn them to good honest men?"

"No, but at least they'll still have the chance to change. Killing them needlessly and without good reason would be a waste of the good their worth."

You can't believe it. For your translator to have a weak heart...You sigh.

"Fine if that's what you want. " You say softly, tch, "But if you stop me again..."

"I know."

You almost roll your eyes at that, "Let's go get our money."

You look towards the nobles grouped up on the bench overlooking the Pit. Their servants come to you, holding stash after stash of honours for you, as the noblemen shake in fear, wanting you gone immediately

You look towards the silent and horrified crowd around you, and you have to restrain the immediate urge to hit yourself. You weren't exactly subtle...sigh, everyone's going to hear of this.

You walk through the crowd as the part to give you space. You hear the crowd whisper, "Timpa Morghon" to themselves. You ask Lera what it that mean after you're far away from the crowd, She tells you that it says "White death". ughhh

+ 2000 honours earned. You have a total of 2050 honours, and you'll surely become the talk of the town. Whatever magi there are in this city will surely hear of this. How troublesome...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the fight in the Pit, you and Lera rest at the local tavern on the market bridge. The place stinks of whores, bandits, and unhygienic men, which is why this place is perfect. All sorts of people come here, and with them, stories and rumours of great variety. You're hoping that some of these rumours would hint you at any servant or magi activity, it wouldn't do for you to flaunt your servant power uninformed of the consequences of doing so.

You sit one of the enclosed booth sequestered in the corner of the tavern. No one will take notice of you here whilst you eavesdrop on the ongoing conversations. Lera orders whatever swill they have masquerading as drinks here and the barmaid leaves.

You get to work, prana moving around your spiritual body as your circuits fire up, your ears twitch a bit due to the electrical activity and the sounds of the world are made clear to you. You hear the squeaks of the rats under the floorboards, and the sounds above you are...unpleasant. After a bit of waiting you see a couple of rugged men armed with leather armour and curved swords sit down on the barstools. You focus and their dialogue is made clear to you.

Rumour roll = 1D100 => 57

"Say," one of them asks the other, "have you heard that about what old man Malaquo is doing?"

"No," the other says, his accent heavy and has a Spanish flair to you, "tell me ñuha lēkia."

"Well he seems to have picked up this silver-haired girl from out of nowhere, she's hard to miss with her black armour and cape. I heard he gave her the best rooms in the Merchant House at fishmonger square. You think he's gonna do something to her?"

"Probably if he goes that far. Though I wonder why a Triarch would take an interest at some random traveller?"

"Could be the white hair..."

"Could be."

At this point, the barmaid comes to serve you drinks, you raise your cup to Lera, and she raises hers too you, though she sports a blank look, must be thinking about something of import. You take a sip and immediately you want to throw it all out, to get this abomination out of your mouth before it infects you with its toxin. But you drink anyways, to stay inconspicuous. Why is Lera looking at you with a raised eyebrow? Are you grimacing? You better not be grimacing? Cause that would totally make you conspicuous.

"If you don't like the drink Ms.Jeanne I could-"

"It's fine", you interrupt.

"are you sure?"

"yes" as you get back to drinking this piss of a drink.

"If my lady says so" You're too focused on the drink to correct Lera's way of addressing you.

There's a lapse in conversation as you attempt to hear the discussions occurring in this establishment.

Rumour Roll 1D100 => 24

And they're all either about small talk, scandals with the wives, and something very vulgar. Though you do hear something of interest happening in the Iron Islands, the man you heard it from was dead drunk and slurring his words so you can't tell, something about Krakens he says.

"Ms.Jeanne" Lera addresses you; your focused hearing makes her sound like she's shouting at your ear. You come from your eavesdropping trance before looking at her. She seems quite pensive, and her body is all tensed and closed up. Her arms are crossed and rubbing each other gently as she looks downwards before meeting your eyes. "A question if you may."

"Go ahead," you say indifferently

"About what happened in the pit, do fights always end up like that?"

"Oh no no, I was having a bit of fun," You say, your attention is elsewhere, violating the privacies of the patrons here.

Lera's eyes widen a bit, "That was fun to you?" she says incredulously.

"Yeah, It was nice not restraining myself in a fight like with the Dothraki a few days back. So I consider today a sort of release."

"Jeanne...you're really, really strong." She says, emphasising every word. Bah, she doesn't know the half of it. Lera shakes her head and slaps her cheeks "I'm getting sidetracked here...where was I? oh...You know, just by being with you for the past few days, I can tell that you're a bit off."

"oh?"

"You're quite brutal sometimes, but you're also quite nice. You've treated me with care, and you've protected me these past few days. Heck, you're even taking the time to train me, which confuses me to be honest, since I have two different images of you in my head that I can't find any connection between each other. You're a robust, determined warrior who tends to be cruel, but you've also shown restraint during the fight with the Dothraki and took a slave like me in your care. At first, I thought it's because you found my translation skills to be useful, but now you're taking the time to train me and see that I survive this journey of yours. It's almost as if you care about my wellbeing, which is a totally different message I got from you when we first met."

"Get to the point Lera, don't waste my time." You wonder where she's going with this.

"You weren't always like this before, were you?"

"Like what?"

"Cruel, vicious, sadistic. You were kinder once upon a time as if there was once a version of you that didn't kill guards because they inconvenienced you, or took pleasure in killing other men forced to fight. Like, it's hard to explain, but it feels like you're trying to act like a cruel, no-nonsense killer, yet there are still parts of you that don't fit that persona. "

Troublesome, even now the vestiges of HER is still present in your core. For a mundane like Lera to see that is annoying you a bit. As if you could never forget the days when you were once a saint, parts of her still influences your decisions, which is frustrating. To think you were done with being HER.

"So, if you're willing to answer this. What horrifying thing happened to you to turn you into the person I see right now..."

[] You're too nosy for your own good, I told you before, you're a translator, not a friend. Besides we've only known each other for the past few days.
[] War, war happened (What specific thing about the War haunts Jeanne right now?)
[] Betrayal (Your memories of your burning are possibly distorted, no small thanks to Gilles de Rais in his attempts to turn you into an Avenger)
[]Write in...

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"He asks what he can do for us," Lera tells you.

The Storekeeper in front of you is a balding tan man, with broad shoulders, and wrinkly skin. Though he seems to have aged with grace, looking elegant despite the dirty clothes he wears.

What to buy for Lera...
-[] Weapons in stock
--[] Dagger (10 Honours)
--[] Broadsword (20 Honours)
--[] Longsword (40 Honours)
--[] Short Spear (35 Honours)
-[] armour in stock
--[] Leather Gambeson + Leather Trousers (35 Honours)
--[] Chainmail (60 Honours)
--[] Full Plate ( 200 honours)

What to buy in general
--[] Food (how many days worth?) (5 honours per days worth)
--[] Camping equipment (includes a tent, cooking bowl and such) ( 20 honours)
--[] A custom helmet to cover your white hair (price varies)
--[] Write in... (any other kinds of supply?)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once you've come back to the Merchant House Inn with a sack of equipment you and Lera ask around the lobby for any captains going to Mereen.

Captain Roll 1D100 => 59

Luckily you find one captain who's planning to go to Mereen, though the issue is is that most of his accommodations are full and that you may have to pay a more significant than usual sum of Honours for the rooms due to their increasing demand. You ask him if you could think about it and he nods, he tells you that his ship leaves for Mereen in 4 days and he hopes to see you there.

You and Lera leave and walk upstairs to your rooms. You look at Lera holding her sack of equipment as thoughts of how to train her comes to find. Bah, You'll figure it out as you go. You've reached the third flight of stairs before abruptly stopping. You sense something very wrong in your room. You tell Lera that you sense something is wrong and for her to keep her distance between herself and your room's door. You focus your senses before a clear image of what's going on in your room comes to you. Your eyes widen in shock before narrowing in determination. You unsheathe St.Catherine as you stand in front of the door, ready to fight a fatal fight. There is a servant in your room, and from the feel of it, that servant is right on your huge balcony.

What do you do?
[] Kick the door down and Charge
[] Open the door slowly and talk to the servant (interrogate rather)
[] Tell Lera to bring some guards here
[] Write in...

Spoiler: Vote in Abeyance

----[X] Train Lera in the ways of combat

QM: This post was brought to you by a school shutdown, some of my exams are moved to next week luckily so I found the time to do this.

 

[Mathen57]

[X] Betrayal (Your memories of your burning are possibly distorted, no small thanks to Gilles de Rais in his attempts to turn you into an Avenger)
[X] Open the door slowly and talk to the servant (interrogate rather)
[X] Food (1 Week/35 honours) (5 honours per days worth)
[X] Camping equipment (includes a tent, cooking bowl and such) (20 honours)
[X] A custom helmet to cover your white hair (price varies)
[X] Dagger (10 Honours)
[X] Longsword (40 Honours)
[X] Short Spear (35 Honours)
[X] Leather Gambeson + Leather Trousers (35 Honours)
[X] Full Plate ( 200 honours)

- 320 honours, 1,730 left.


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Troublesome, even now the vestiges of HER is still present in your core. For a mundane like Lera to see that is annoying you a bit. As if you could never forget the days when you were once a saint, parts of her still influence your decisions, which is frustrating. To think you were done with being HER.

"So, if you're willing to answer this. What horrifying thing happened to you to turn you into the person I see right now..."

[X] Betrayal (Your memories of your burning are possibly distorted, no small thanks to Gilles de Rais in his attempts to turn you into an Avenger)

You mull over Lera's words, staring intensely into your cup. It's hard to recount the events that led to your burning given that Madman wanted a vengeful version of you. You were created by his desires and the power of the Grail, so it's quite hard to distinguish which feeling are yours and which ones were created by him to turn you into an Avenger. Questions for another time you guess, right now the question you're supposed to be answering is Lera's, that nosy translator of yours. So how do you go about it? You can't just say you were turned into this by a demented sorcerer, that you were once a saint that became a villain after your death, killed and abandoned by your people. Well, maybe you could tell her of your betrayal, it's one of the things that still fuels your hate against humanity and God. You don't care that much if the Madman had a hand in making that grudge worse than it is, right now at this very moment the anger you feel is burning and raw. It threatens to break your mask of civility and turn you into the monster he wanted you to become, it's a good thing your short time in Chaldea gave you...new perspectives.

"I was betrayed, Lera." You say solemnly, swirling the cup in front of you.

"Betrayed..."

You look up to her and meet her eyes, "I was betrayed by the people I saved. Left for dead and was accused of heresy and murder." You leave it at that.

"Oh," Lera says dumbly, but your mind is too focused on the events that took place before summer of 1431 started. Maybe it's because of your nature as an Avenger or if it is because of Gilles's doing, but what happened on that May Afternoon still feels fresh. You can count precisely how many bruises you got from the rocks thrown at you, you remember the beatings you had by your captors, but most of all, you still feel that searing pain, of your flesh falling off you as you melt. You will never forgive the nobles that refused to pay your ransom, nor the false bishop who decreed your death a holy act, you'll never forgive them, you'll burn them ALL! Your mind feels a combination of sharp pains and numbness, you're starting to see red now, and you faintly hear the cup you're holding beginning to crack under pressure. Voices of condemnation fill your head until it's the only thing you hear, Lera's faint calls fails to penetrate your dazed state as the world around you distorts more and more.

Visions of the flames, the seductive thought of incinerating the world, and that great Dragon of yours: Fafnir. Oh, how easy and fun will it be just to KILL KILL KILL UNTIL THERE'S NO MORE. IT'S NOT CRUEL, RATHER IT IS JUSTICE! JUSTICE AGAINST MANKIND, THE SAME MANKIND THAT WRONGED YOU, THAT DESECRATED YOU, THAT HUMILIATED YOU! RED! RED IS ALL YOU SEE AS THE VOICES GETS LOUDER AND LOUDER. YOU WANT IT ALL TO JUST STOP, YOU'LL BURN THEM ALL TO MAKE IT STOP!

A Dragon's growl cuts your train of thought. You look up to see Fafnir's scaled form, in its hands, is a golden sphere that is about 3/4ths his enormous size. You look around you and realize that you're not in the bar anymore. Blue fluorescent tulips cover the ground around you as you look at the still night sky. This land, this world feels, familiar...You can't really put a finger on it. It's like you've been here before, giving you the weirdest sense of Deja Vu. Ah, you realize, This place must have some importance to HER it seems since YOU don't recall being here. Though why you remember it in the first place, you don't know, maybe she's been here as a heroic spirit in some Grail War? That would explain it, but you're left even more confused... Shouldn't you only remember HER memories when she was alive rather than her memories as a heroic spirit?

Fafnir draws his head closer to you, its sharp eyes and broad snout encompasses your sight. You stop thinking and stare at him. You approach him, and you can't help but to smile and rub his head soothingly. Fafnir...you feel a sort of affection for the greedy dragon, he who accepted your call to be your strength in the French Singularity. That reliable dragon that almost gave you France's destruction. You're confident he had a good fight battling one of Chaldea's servants, but you still feel guilty for failing in that Singularity. As if his death was in vain.

Though something itches at the back of your mind, a name you think, you can't recall easily. Memories of another war you never fought gradually surges into the surface, a war of red and black. There's something more to this Fafnir you realize as fragmented memories slowly seeps in. This dragon wasn't Fafnir once, was he? Ah, You think you got it, this dragon was once human you believe, in your head the name Sie--

"Jeanne!" Lera's voices snap you out of your ephemeral dream. You look at Lera's horror-stricken face, her shirt full of wet stains. You look down to the hand previously holding the cup, only to see a mess of mangled wood. A couple of the bar patrons are staring weirdly at you, but the rest go on with their conversations.

Lera appears to have calmed down once she notices you looking around the bar. "You had me scared Ms.Jeanne," She tells you, exasperation marked on her face, "You're eyes looked glazed, real glassy like and you weren't responding at all. I didn't know asking about about such an event would bring such a reaction." She bows down on her seat, "Please forgive me! I was being inconsiderate."

"It's alright", you finally speak, your voice is soft, and your head feels light. " There's no need for an apology. "

Lera seems unconvinced, " Betrayal can do many things to a person, for me to remind you of it, is wrong of me..."

"It's alright," you say again. An awkward silence sets and both of you eventually leave the bar.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

" So Lera, what kind of fighter do you think yourself as?" You say, the awkward silence from before has dissipated as you and Lera discuss weapons.

" I don't know Ms. Jeanne" She says, looking quite lost, her eyes dart from weapon rack to weapon rack.

"We'll buy the dagger, sword, and the spear," You tell the shopkeep, he nods and goes to the armoury to bring you your requested items. "Oh, and buy her the leather Gambeson and The Plate armour." You say.

"Does my lady need anything else?" the shopkeep replies with his gravelly voice.

"Ms.Jeanne," Lera whispers, "You should get yourself a new helm to cover your white hair. Maybe a custom one to your liking? Whichever the case, your hair will catch a lot of attention, the attention we don't need."

"show me a selection helms shopkeep" He nods and leads to a rack with an assortment of helmets.

- []

Spoiler: Helm 1- 190 honours

- []

Spoiler: Helm 2 - 145 honours

- []

Spoiler: Helm 3 - 60 honours

- [] Ask him to create a custom helmet (Insert your image) (200 honours, may take a few days)


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You open the door slowly and look towards the balcony. The fountain in front of you distorts the servant's figure, and you have to walk around to get a better a look.

" You know," you say, " A bit of greeting has never hurt anyone."

"yes" you hear the servant speak, its voice has this boyish yet feminine sound that seems familiar to you. My my, what's with you and familiar things today..."But if I came to you anywhere else that would've brought unneeded attention. At least, this is more discreet. And don't worry yourself, Servant, I come here in peace." The figure turns around to face you as you finally get a better look. An androgynous face, thick black armour, and raven dark holy swords with red etchings. She stands with perfect regality, wielding authority with the naturalness of breathing, like an ideal king. Yes, you've met her before, in Chaldea, mainly during Christmas while you were...little, so to say.

There is no doubt, the servant before is.

The Dark Tainted Tyrant, Artoria Alter...

The king nods at you, "Avenger."

You nod back, "Saber..."

" I trust that there are no mundanes to hear us?"

" I have a translator near the stairs, I told her to stay put."

"Good, how long have you been in this world, Avenger?" Artoria inquires.

Wait, world? "6 days give or take, and what do you mean by world? You make it sound like we're not on Earth." Though that would explain many things, but also create more questions...

"That's cause we're not, Avenger, have you seen a map? You'd notice how different the continents are to ours." Well yes but the maps could just be zoomed in, you thought that maybe this was the bronze age, but that doesn't explain the sights you see in this city...the plate armour, the ships, that huge black wall. Maybe She is right. "I also got confirmation from a Counter Guardian that this planet is not Earth. The specific details are lost on me, but it boils down to the lack of the planet's will. How that counter guardian could know that is beyond me, but essentially there is no Gaia nor Alaya here, this planet doesn't even have a will of its own to survive and protect itself. It just is. Yes, there are magical beings in this world, but they are few and far between and the seasons here are peculiar. It could explain why magic here is so uncontrollable to the locals, but that is the gist of it."

" And how could a Counter Guardian be summoned here?"

"Easy, as a heroic spirit of the Alter Ego class" Your eyes widen a that, there are more extra classes than Ruler and Avenger?! "She was summoned by the Grail here though none of the servants I asked know its true location. And it seems that she's taken upon herself to do her duty as a counter guardian, so I suggest you don't pull your Dragon Witch act and burn a kingdom or two. The moment she views you as a threat to the status quo of this world, you'll be promptly killed. Rider and I learnt it the hard way."

"Is that why you ended up here in Volantis? to hide from her?"

"No, a king doesn't run nor retreat, Avenger, unless he wants his subject to view him as a weakling. No Rather, I am in Volantis in search of a ship to this Western Continent, to a city called Sunspear. If the words of Alter Ego rings true, then the Holy Grail isn't located here, in this continent." She walks up to, the pieces of her black armour clinks, hitting each other. She stops once she's within arms distance of you. "Which is why I'm here in the first place. To give you a proposition. An allied servant gives me a higher chance of surviving this war and obtaining the Grail, and there is no need for us to fight eventually too, 12 servants of different classes were summoned here, 1 is dead, so we only need to kill 6 more. We've known each other before during our time in Chaldea, so you don't need to fear anything malicious from me. So what do you say, Jeanne?" Artoria brings an open hand towards you, waiting for you to shake it.

What questions do you have for Artoria? (Servant identities, how she ended up here, why does she want the Grail, what happened to Eider, or how did she find you?)
[] Write in...

Do you abandon your trip to Mereen to follow Saber's quest for the Grail?
-[] Shake her hand.
-[] Leave it.
-[] After she answers your questions.

How do explain Saber's prescence to Lera?
--[] She's a friend from long ago
--[] Reveal your Servant nature and the Holy Grail War
--[] Write in...

Spoiler: Vote in Abeyance

----[X] Train Lera in the ways of combat

QM note: Grammatical errors will be edited out.

 

[Mathen57]

[X] Helm 2
[X] Shake her hand.
[X] She's a friend from long ago
[X] Ask her about Alter Ego
[X] Ask her about Rider


"No, a king doesn't run nor retreat, Avenger, unless he wants his subject to view him as a weakling. No Rather, I am in Volantis in search of a ship to this Western Continent, to a city called Sunspear. If the words of Alter Ego rings true, then the Holy Grail isn't located here, in this continent." She walks up to, the pieces of her black armour clinks, hitting each other. She stops once she's within arms distance of you. "Which is why I'm here in the first place. To give you a proposition. An allied servant gives me a higher chance of surviving this war and obtaining the Grail, and there is no need for us to fight eventually too, 12 servants of different classes were summoned here, 1 is dead, so we only need to kill 6 more. We've known each other before during our time in Chaldea, so you don't need to fear anything malicious from me. So what do you say, Jeanne?" Artoria brings an open hand towards you, waiting for you to shake it.


1,585 honours left
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Well, this ruins your plans on going to Yi Ti. Well...as if there was a plan in the first place. Allying yourself with the Ice Bitch Queen would be advantageous, and both you and she are high-grade servants; thus, there shouldn't be too many problems in a fight. Her plan is quite simple also, kill 6 servants and find the Grail in the Western continent, which is an agreeable plan for you made even better with your alliance. Though a caveat is that you can't guarantee that there are 6 servants in that continent. Now, its a matter of just finding these servants and the Grail itself, in which you think Artoria might have a clue of.

You clasp her hand, gauntlet meeting gauntlet, and shake. Artoria's lips tug slightly upwards, "I knew that a peasant like you would know the right choice, to serve a king." She says condescendingly. Sigh, you almost forgot how bad she can be around you. Memories of her treatment to your younger self during Christmas flash before your eyes as you withhold a grimace.

You hold her gauntlet tightly and pull her towards you, "Don't get ahead of yourself, King. Of. Knights. I'll be coming with you, but don't think you have any right to command me, I'm unlike any of those stupid knights of yours."

She holds your hand in a death grip, "Likewise Mad Dog." Both of you separate as you walk to your bed and sit.

"So, what can you tell me about this Alter Ego servant you faced"

Saber pauses for a bit, staring at your fountain before turning her head towards you, " For one thing, she's able to match most servants in single combat, and her speed is what she relies on the most. Though what distinguishes her other than her class is her noble phantasm. Do not think me a liar when I say that Noble Phantasm she wields is absolutely deadly. The rider I was with was: Ozymandias, the one from that Camelot Singularity, had 2 of his Noble Phantasms running in sync with one another. One of them was his ship, the other was his reality marble, and this Alter Ego annihilated it all with her own Noble Phantasm. From what my eyes saw, Alter Ego's Noble Phantasm is a beam of black light that disintegrates anything. I guess that its somewhere between the level of a city or a country type Noble Phantasm due to its size, that's all I know of. She's tan and white of hair like most Counter Guardians I've met and has the tallest heels I've ever seen a woman wore, so if you spot her, run and tell me."

You nod, how concerning, a servant that outclasses even the great Ozymandias, " How did you survive your encounter with her?"

"I was given mercy."

"Mercy?!"

Saber shrugs and cups her chin, "She seems to be dim-witted, a bit like you Dog," It takes all of your restraint not to strike her and her smug smile, " all that I needed to do to get her off my back was to say that I had no intentions of doing anything drastic in this world, that I just wanted to find the Grail. So she just nodded and spared my life, not even asking me why I wanted the Grail in the first place. Hell, She was even nice enough to discuss with me rather than leave promptly, which garnered useful information."

Wait what, "That's...lenient...Did she tell you where she was going?" You ask.

"Yeah, somewhere further East, said that there were rumours of something disruptive that might've been caused by a servant. So she's gone there to prevent the status quo from being upset and annihilate that Heroic Spirit. Though I don't know how long she'll finish her mission and come back to monitor Western Essos. For the moment, we can rest assured that she won't monitor our activity. But most importantly, she answered my questions about the Grail and noted that it was located in the western continent, though she never said where exactly."

"huh...so we have a Counter Guardian whose got a Noble Phantasm that outclasses the ones wielded by Ozymandias and is roaming this world killing servants that might disrupt the status quo...?" You sigh exasperatedly and massage your temples. "How troublesome. And if she comes back here, we might be targeted by her if we do anything remotely strange. "

Saber nods again, "The worse part is, is that she never told me what actions are classified as disruptive, so I don't even know if us teaming up would warrant our deaths..."

"Yet you teamed up all the same"

"Anything for the Grail, and besides, she's going east and were headed west. She won't hassle us for quite a while I hope."

You really should ask her why she wants the Holy Grail so much, maybe in another time. Though it is weird, for the Ice Bitch Queen to team up with anyone, especially you, though you can see the practical advantages of such an alliance. You wonder if she'll kill you the moment you become useless to her though...What are you thinking? Of course, she will. She may be a manifestation of the honourable Arturia, but she is her blackened form. Such principles like honour, duty, and kindness are probably not present in this version of Saber. You guess its prudent that now you've allied with her, that you should ask what came about from her last partnership.

"Well, how did you come by Ozymandias in the first place? Can't be that long ago, can it?"

" Mind you, I was summoned a few months before you, and I found myself in some ruins in which I would later realize was an abandoned city: Vaes Tolorro, In the Red Waste north of Qarth. " She butchers the names with her British accent in such a way that you're sure Lera would've thrown a fit the same she did when you butchered the pronunciations too. "Anyways, I tried navigating around, hoping to find Civilization only to stumble upon ruin after ruin. It was when I arrived at another ruin, Vaes Shirosi it was called, that I found Ozymandias's gleaming pyramids. Immediately I was surrounded by Sphinxes and the Prideful King himself, who went on to point his staff at me, "how dare you to intrude upon my domain like a common thief!", He would exclaim, as the sun got brighter and brighter. I told him I was lost and that I would leave shortly. Though It took me a while to convince him that I didn't mean any harm, and by the end of it, I found myself at his dinner table in his pyramid, with food that was...not satiating." You can see disappointment written on her face as she recalls the memory. "Anyways, We mainly talk about the strange nature of this Grail War, and how we can sustain ourselves without a master, nothing productive really came out of it, and our questions still lay unanswered. Later on, he talked about establishing Egypt in this world, and how the Pyramids made by his Noble Phantasm would be the first step in becoming the Sun King of Essos. That was when Alter Ego came, who was probably eavesdropping us. I'll save you the details, but in the end, Ozymandias's new reign in this world came to an end before it began, while I was only mortally wounded and left to wonder west in search of the Grail. Then I arrived in Mereen, earned some gold from the fighting pits, then took a ship to Volantis, so that's why I'm here. "

Oh, It wasn't a partnership in the first place, they just happen to have fought together because of circumstance. Though you feel disappointed to have missed Alter Ego mortally wounding Saber, you would've revelled at such a sight. But now, you have an alliance, so you don't think you'll be seeing that anytime soon.

Saber looks around your room, head-turning minutely as her eyes roam around. She then spots the nightstand at the left side of your bed and walks towards it, armour clinking.

You're unamused at the unusual sight, "May I ask what the hell you think you're doing." You say with a dead-pan, not even bothering to turn your head towards her.

"That old man Maegyr told me this establishment puts bottles of wine in the cabinets of esteemed guests." Now you turn your head at that, She has connections with the leaders of this city already?!! She pulls a drawer and smiles, "So he wasn't lying after all." and promptly pulls out a bottle and gets the cork out with her two fingers, "What a lovely aroma" she comments swirling the flask. Your mind is still stuck on the fact that she's talked to Maegyr in the first place, how did that even happen? Is that why Maegyr sought you out by the gates? Gave you your room? You did wonder why such an esteemed man of Volantis would greet you in person. You thought it was your hair since Lera's been hammering you with how unique it is, but if he sought you out because Saber informed him of your presence...Well, That would explain why Maegyr gave you your room and why Saber knew where it was...oSaber looks at you and says, "Consider this as compensation for having me explain such basic things to you." Your mind slowly pieces itself back together from your shock, and you realize Saber is drinking YOUR wine!

She takes long gulps with a satisfied look, gleaming eyes gaze at you with smugness and provocation. You boil, "PUT THAT DRINK DOWN." and you pounce right at her, hands reaching for the bottle.

She promptly side-step away and lets out a content "aahhh" as she stops drinking. "Have you not learned manners farmgirl? It does not do to leave a guest thirsty. Talking is thirsty work, you know?"She sighs" You would've let me drink this if you were younger, it such a shame you grew to be such a bitch", and she gulps the wine again, drinking quite greedily.

Spoiler: this but Silvered haired and yellow eyes.

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You are Lera of house Stassaris daughter of Gaemon Stassaris; esteemed merchant of Braavos, and you've been standing on these stairs for the past half hour. You're starting to worry for your lady now, she's been gone after she sensed someone was in you and your lady's room. Which is quite strange to you, for your lady to just know someone was there, which reminds you of the other odd things that she's done. Before she took you in, you've heard the Dothraki whisper the name Witch behind her back, a woman of dark magic able to summon an evil rod made of shadows and hate. Of course, you didn't really believe it, not at first, you just thought it was the wounded pride of the men blaming their loss on what they perceived to be a demon. But that all changed when you came to the fighting pits to watch her slaughter the fighters. 26 men went into that pit, and only 6 survived, the rest were either dismembered or turned into mulch. You can still remember what the noblemen muttered to himself during the fight, "dyni" he would say, "monster"...and she was a monster. She had the strength that belied her figure, speed faster than a horse, and ruthlessness that would make a Khal whimper.

It was at that point you realize that those Dothraki might have a point, that she may have some demon in her because no woman can be that strong-nay- no men can be that strong...She must have something magical about her, supernatural, but you don't really know...

You've been standing here for far too long now, and you're starting to get a bit sleepy. You know Ms. Jeanne told you to stay, but nothing has happened yet so far, you heard no breaking of furniture or a sword clash, so you presume it went peacefully. You walk towards the room, the only thing you hear is the pitter patter of your shoes on the brick floor. You reach the room and step inside, sighing in relief to see no signs of damage.

You spot two figures in black, Ms.Jeanne and some boyish-looking man in armour, fighting over a flask of wine. The tension in the air chokes the life out of you as both warriors stare at each other. The man tenses up and looks behind you only to spot you. He smiles and asks, "Ah perfect timing servant, go and fetch us more wine to calm this dog down.", his voice soothes you with that naturally commanding tone, though you are weirded out by how high his pitch is, how young is this lad? "Girl, Did you not hear what I just said? Wine. Now." He says again.

Your lady looks at you with exasperation, "Lera, I told you to stay, why didn't you?"

You prepare a response before that handsome man cuts you off, "that's your servant? I pity her for being forced to serve a dog. Lera's your name is it?" You nod, and he walks closer to you, "Has she been treating you well? Did this rabid animal bite you? She certainly did when I took her drink." You're a bit shock at the way this boy has been addressing your lady, knowing how strong and temperamental she is, provoking her is akin to suicide.

You see clearly the man's features now as he gets closer, and it makes you feel light-headed. Those resolute eyes that stare deep into your soul, and a pale flawless face with an expression that screams authority. The knight stands before you fits the very description those Westerosi books have on them. This man in front of you is every bit as dashing and beautiful as a knight should be though with an air of roguishness to him, but you don't mind that, in fact, you quite like it that way. Oh if you only you were still with your noble family, you would've pestered your father day in and day out for this knights hand.

Spoiler: The Knight in her eyes

You feel your breath becoming more and more laboured as your heart threatens to pop. The knight speaks in that commanding tone of his, "Where did you find this stray, dog? she seems to be broken?" The knight waves his hand across your glazed eyes, oh how you want those arms to hold you.

"Stop it, Saber, I think you're scaring her."

"Fine" The knight turns away from you and starts to walk away.

You find the courage to let out a pathetic, "excuse me" as the dashing knight looks back to you. You so badly want to know his name. "Forgive me for my manners oh honourable Ser Knight, but I am Lera Starassi." You point to Jeanne ", and I am this lady's translator. May I be so rude as to ask for your name?" You give your best curtsy.

The knight grins a brilliant grin and looks towards your lady, "Hmph, take notes farmgirl" Jeanne's a farmgirl? "This is how one speaks properly." The knight's resolute gaze returns to you, "Very well. You amuse me so, and I will not do to leave you unrewarded. Listen well as I will only say it once, I am Arturia Pendragon, the King of Knights and son of Uthe--"

Your lady interrupts him with a groan, " Why do persists on calling yourself his son when you're clearly a girl? What's with you and trying to disguise yourself like a male? You're no king here, so the facade's not really needed."

The sounds of the world fade into the background as your left with your own thoughts. Your eyes are as wide as plates, but you barely focus on the subject in front of you. Everything becomes a blur. Wait...somethings not right...this Arturia Pendragon...IS A GIRL!!

You feel some part of you die at the revelation, for someone so dashing and handsome and strong and beautiful and..... HOW CAN HE BE A GIRL.

You're starting to see red, as you breathe faster and faster with fury, you feel cheated somehow, and you can't really vent your anger and shock. You let the darkness take you, giving your troubled mind peace.

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You're Jeanne d'Arc, and you just saw your translator faint, her drool creating a puddle on the floor. "See what you've done Saber!! You came off too strong on a mundane like her, you need to watch how you use that E rank Charisma of yours!"

Arturia, for the first time, seems flustered and confused, "I-I did not use my charisma skill at all..."

You walk up to heft Lera's unconscious body and wipe off her drool. You then drop her on the bed and tuck her in. Artoria stares at Lera with a blank look, "What is that stray to your dog?" You really wished she would stop calling that, though it could be worse.

"She's my translator, Ice Bitch Queen, took her in because she was useful and wanted to escape slavery."

"Ah, yes... Slavery here is quite rampant in this continent, though that brings up an important question. Most of the Western Continent's language is exactly like English, you won't be needing a translator there. Will you bring her with us then? I won't guarantee she would survive the fights we would have against other servants when we find them."

What to do about her
[] Leave her she can only be a hindrance, and this Holy Grail War is too dangerous for her
--[] Here in Volantis with a percentage of your gold. (state amount)
--[] Leave her in a city of your choosing. (Saber might disapprove depending on how long it will delay your search for the Grail)
--[] Write in...(could be a combination of the 2)

[] She stays with you
--[] She seems well read enough to teach you a general sense of the world. This is important for dealing with the locals as she can tell which of the Great Houses is which.
--[] You can protect her no matter what, she's safe with you. Besides, you can't guarantee her safety if you just leave her in a city. She wouldn't like it either, she came to you seeking adventure, Though stupid and childish you would honour that.
--[] Write in... (A combination of the two)

---[] anything to ask or say to Saber? (i.e., how did you meet Maegyr in the first place? How long have you been here? Has there been any magical activity?)

QM Note: Sorry for the lateness! Ending the school year and Total War: Three Kingdoms (Which have been giving me a lot of ideas on what to do with Nobu) have been taking much of my time.

 

[Mathen57]

"...if your current position doesn't work out."

Tyrion stirs at that, typical of her sister to find a way to remove him in every situation. A pause settles in the small council before his lord father breaks it.

" Any news from the East?" he speaks, everyone in the room all pays close attention to every syllable his father said.

The Spider replies, "My birds have whispered of Daenerys's presence in Qarth, though these whispers are months old so she can be anywhere in slaver's bay. Though more interestingly, I have heard whispers of a man of high Valyrian blood in Mereen. Silver-haired and Yellow-eyed, a strange combination to be sure, and he wielded an armour and a sword both of black and red, Targaryen colours my lord. The whispers say that the man bested ten of the strongest men in the fighting pits, that he wields the strength of a dragon, and that he proclaims himself as a King."

Tywin replies, "You think it's another Targaryen vying for the Iron Throne? Surely your little birds would've heard of such a man in Essos by now. Why the sudden appearance of this man Varys? Are you too incompetent to not know of a Targaryen babe growing in Essos, or is there something else you've been hiding?".

"I assure my lord hand if he were from any of the free cities I would know. But it seems that he arrived in Mereen by crossing the red wastes, which tells me that he may have come from the East, the farther East even. He was last seen seven months ago, in a boat going to Volantis, seemingly going West in search of something if the whispers are true, but how far west he will go remains to be seen."

It was then Cersei decides to share her opinions on potential Eastern Invaders, " You're just wasting your time Lord Varys, A little girl and one foolhardy warrior is no threat to the stability of the Seven Kingdoms."

"Yes my Queen, but that is not the only individual of High Valyrian features, a Woman of Silver-hair was last spotted in Volantis very recently, I just got the reports of it this morning. She seems to have the same skill in fighting as the man found in Mereen, and like him, she made a name of herself in the fighting pits by taking out two dozen men swiftly and brutally. Though my birds have yet to write to me of her intentions."

Baelish chimes in, "May I point out a most unusual coincidence?" The room becomes silent, his grin growing all the more apparent, " Have you not notice the timing of strange events and the appearance of these High Valryian warriors? Just recently one of the Dothraki Khalasar's disbanded north of the Volaena river, a river directly connected to Volantis, without a clear cause. Then we have a High Valyrian woman spotted in Volantis only days later of the Khalasar's fracturing. If I were a betting man, I would think that woman may have a connection with it. The same goes for our man from Mereen. Many months ago, They were reports of a great black light seen by the Qarthi people. It seemed to have originated from the red wastes, the same region where that man came from when he arrived in Mereen. "

Tywin replies incredulously, "So you're saying these High Valyrians have something to do with the strange occurrences we've heard on Essos."

"Yes Lord Tywin, Isn't it quite strange that the timing of these unexplainable events coincides with the appearances of these High Valyrians?"

"Hmph, well am I expected to believe that these "High Valyrians" have anything to do with bringing down one of the mountains near Norvos?"

Pycelle breaks his silence and speaks, "The Maesters believe the mountain fell due to a splitting of the Earth. A natural thing to happen in Western Essos because of its unique geography.

Tywin nods "there you have it, it would be wise to spend our time not chasing ghosts and unusual men."

Baelish shoots back, "Yes Lord Tywin, but Essos seems to be gradually falling into chaos because of events like this, I'm sure you know their people are a superstitious lot." Pycell snorts derisively at that, "But these chaotic times creates new opportunities, ones that can help us win this horrible war."

"I thought you wanted to point out unusual coincidences Baelish, not propose more spies in the Eastern Continent."

"Yes Lord Tywin, but unusual coincidences can breed unusual opportunities."

"Very well, I'll allow you to...."

It is at this point Tyrion zones their discussions out, utterly focused on the exotic creature that has landed on his hand. A purple butterfly with no patterns on its wings, it sits on his hand quite comfortably it seems. "Grand Maester," Tyrion asks, "Are these butterflies native to Westeros?"

The older man stirs and looks towards it, "No it is not, the Maesters think its a species native to some island in the West and is in the process of migration, though why they're doing that we don't know. Though what we do know is that they are spotted everywhere in Westeros and bits of Essos."

"Do butterflies usually migrate when summer ends?"

"Yes they do, but they mainly migrate to avoid overpopulation...though their migration patterns do not make any natural sense recently." hmmm.

Tyrion raises his hand to look closely at the butterfly, the sounds of his father and Littlefinger fades into the background. He thinks Cersei is giving him a mocking look right now but no matter. The butterfly turns to better face Tyrion, how intelligent. The purple butterfly's many eyes stare back into Tyrion, and for some reason, Tyrion feels a bit of dread.

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The Gate observes a dwarfish man staring back at her butterfly with curiosity, she commands the butterfly to fly away into the courtyard of this Red Keep. The Key smiles after digesting the information from the small council, she is excited at the prospect of servant activity in the East and endeavours to have more butterflies there.

She stirs and sits up to look at the many portals she's made in this underwater cave of hers. It is quite convenient that she's found one that isn't completely filled with water and is directly under Pyke. Each portal leads to the greatest cities and castles of Westeros and Western Essos, and she has the key to all them, thanks to Su̮̱̫̱̻̰t̙͉͍̻͖̙͍-҉̫͍̙̻ͅT͙͍͍̱̭͜y̶̳̻̫͉̳̮p͈̹̙̩̹̀h҉̱̱̲̲̼o͈̰n̗̟̱ of course.

She wonders how the cults she's made are doing in the Free Cities, a quick look at Braavos brings her disappointment at their growth. But she quickly smiles when she notices how they're doing in Lorath, Myr and Volantis. They've grown to a size where they can overwhelm the city guards, though she doubts the cultists in Volantis can penetrate the black wall guarding the old city. No matter, she does not intend to take over these cities in the first place, they exist to collect information of this world for her and Su̮̱̫̱̻̰t̙͉͍̻͖̙͍-҉̫͍̙̻ͅT͙͍͍̱̭͜y̶̳̻̫͉̳̮p͈̹̙̩̹̀h҉̱̱̲̲̼o͈̰n̗̟̱'s benefit.

Her head throbs, Su̮̱̫̱̻̰t̙͉͍̻͖̙͍-҉̫͍̙̻ͅT͙͍͍̱̭͜y̶̳̻̫͉̳̮p͈̹̙̩̹̀h҉̱̱̲̲̼o͈̰n̗̟̱ has a message for her.


M͙̱̼̝̪ͮ́̒ͭ̐́͠y̟̤̥͉̙͙̌ͪ̇ͧ̓͞͡ͅ ̭̻̟̬͚̹͔̗͆̅̍ͮ̀̕K̩̘͎̥̳̝ͣ̅ͬ͂ͅeͪ̌̍҉͔͢͡y̮̝͉̾̾̀ͪ̅ͨ̓̑͝͞,̡̨̛̠͉͇̱̦̍̅͌͐́̅ ̢͚̤̳͙̿̋̐ͧ͂̏ͨͣM̴̡͕͙̮͚͙̬̪̩͓ͤͮͮ̀̽͌͜y̷̹̠̙͐ͥͧ̌ͦ̾̓ͤ̒ ̨̦̥̭̪̃ͥ̑̐̽̈́ͥG̨̟̤̜̝̎͋́͢ạ̵̗̺̦̺̗͇̀͒ͬͮ́ͅt̶̖̻̱̹̍ͩ̽̋͒̆̐e̺̲̪̫̍̑.͉͓̟̻̭̤͛͆͗̅͞


"Yes, my lord?" Abigail Speaks reverently.

Ḑ̘͔͖̼̪͙̫̮̪̪͎̭̮̜̣̺̳̬̃̅̍͑͌̾̔͛ͨͭ̓͛̌͆ͦ͛ͥ̀̚ḙ̸̷̢̪̻̜͇̟͇̣͍͓ͩ̑̌͊͘ͅͅş̛̟̜̭͓̘̟̗̖̦̥̲̟̜͍̩̦̲̬̍͗́̌̒̎̄͋̃͗͊ͮ͂̚̚t̨̻͖̺̤̪̖̞͈͉͗̽͐̾r̵̛͔̥̻͎̹͇̞̟̗̘̩͇ͪ͌̏ͣ͐ͮ̂̍̏͜ǫ̸̛̥̹̱͈̭̮͊ͤ͆ͬͥͨ̀͜y̵̸̘̭̘̫̪͓̼̺̰̰̗ͯ̇̆͛͒ ̶̣̖̜͙̃͊̄̈ͧͧ̏͡t̡̢͕͓̺̬̮̫̺̻̘͈̜̟̰͖̤̂ͩͩ̾ͯ̌́̂̀̽͟͝͝h͋̆̔ͭ͂̌̔͐ͧ̿̍̂̊͊̔͐̌̓͌͡͏͍̯̻̰̪̭͙͓͎͕͖̺̻̰͙͎̟̭͠e̿͑ͥ̍ͦ͌̉̆͗͂̇ͯ̌́͏̸̶͏̡̯̤̖̥̻̹̼̭̹̘̲͙͎͕̪̯̺ ̶̸͋ͪ̿ͬͧ̉ͬ̈͋ͭ͊͊͆̑̓̂̉҉̶̛̙̙͙̘̖͓̠̟̥̣̗̰͈̳̦̭͚ͅC̍ͪ̈̈́̌͛ͯ͋ͩͨ̀̚͏͉̩̖̦͓̣̙̥̫̣ͅą̴̧̡͓̱̺̥̘̺͈͚̜̯͈̺̹̺̪̄̊͂ͤ́̌̌ͅt̴̴̷͚͎̗̥͔̙͇̥͓̟͇̄ͯ̑ͦ͊̆̆̀̊̏ͤ́̕͢ͅh͖̻͇̗͕̳̗̰̤̱̣͇̩̻͈̥̻̀ͣ̃ͩ̾ͮͩͧͦ̓͋͂ͮ͂̀ͦ́͟͝͡e̴̩̜͙̟̮͚͛ͬ̔̀̆ͬ̉ͥͪ͂ͣ́͡ͅd̵̛͓̘̱̲͇̙̹͖̐̀ͨͩ̀͢r̮̭̮̦̥̽͌͒ͪ̄̀ͦ̂̿ͯͮ͜a̓͂̿ͨ̆ͥ́̐͗̈̀̾͊́͟͝҉͖͚͈̥̺̰̬͓ͅl͑͆͗ͬͤ͆͗ͪ͏͇̱̱̝͈̬̰͍͍̮͕̖̥͕̞͔͉̩̝͠
̵͙͍̗̳̼͓̫̞̲̣͇̖̟̮̹̰͉̮̲ͯ̾ͬ̽̒͐̐̀́̚͠


"For what reason, my lord?"


T̏̿̓̿ͨͪ͆҉̨ő̵̒̈͒ͯ͞ò̷ͣ̓͞ ̄̎ͮ͗ͫ̚s͆ͣ̓͌̈̐͛ē̡̔͒ͩ̊͌̏͂ͫe̴ͭͥ́͋̈́͑̏͛̄ ̴ͬ͊͠į̴̀̐ͥf̶̧̽̐ ̸̡́̀tͦ͊̕h̷͐̇̇̃̿ͭ͌ͨ̆e̛ͭ̃͛̽͋́͒ͬ̀r̽͜e͌ ̒̋̆ͮą̢̛̽́̃ͮ̿̈́́r̵͋̊ͪ̒̊̌̔ͧe̸͛̉ͮ͂ͭ͊ͬͯ͏ ͌ͩ͐ͬ̀̽ͭ̇̐ǧ̽̍͆ͪ̀̕͞o̓ͦ̅̎̏́ͩ͋d̔̑̑̃̚s̷̽͋͛͜ ̵͒w̸ͨ͐͏͜h̓̾̋͑͛̅̄̕͜ò̶̊̔͜ ̵͋͌͂̌͒ͭ͏wͨ͂̈͋҉҉ḯ̡͛ͤ̀l̸ͥ͋͋ͧ̒̑̒̄̾l̶ͦͥͣ̎ͦ̉͛̎ ̴ͨ͋͑̃͢͞t̸̷̶ͦ͑̽ͩ̃̇̚ảͨ͛̿̍̐ͭͪ̍͏ǩ̔̑̾ͫ̅͟e̷͑͌͒̚ ̷ͩͦ̌̂͛̌ͧö͋̍̏ͦ͟f̡̿̍̌͌́̊͛͆̿fͭ̃̕͝͏ȇͫ͂̑ͩ̓͗̚͏̸n̴̂́ͮ͌̕͞c̷̿̚e̊͒ͧ̑́̊̂ͬ.͆̃̎̂̌
̃̄̕

"Do you really believe this Lord of Light will intervene?" She asks curiously, strange for her lord to want to gain information through such actions.




I̷̾̅̽ͬͨͪ̓͏n̴ͩ͒ͨ͆̇ͣ̓ͭ͛̎̎ͮ̚̚͟ ̷̧͂ͬͭͥ̓̈̿ͣ̚͟͡͠s̢ͩ͌͋͗͊̽̌̈́ͩͥͩ͗͛͑̀̅҉o̷͌̽̆ͮ̏ͨ͆̆ͬ̈̂͊ͪ̚̚͘͜͠m̍̇̒̃̑ͯ̀̓̉ͭ̔̓͘͏͢é̵̸̔̈̎͆͢ ̵̶̐͋͛̒̊̆͟ẇ̸̛̄̎̃̾̈̾͒͒ͦ͛̄͆̏̌͜a̅ͮ̽̅̎ͯͣͬ̅̚͞͡y̒̄̌ͬͩͭ͏̴̨͘

"I will do as you command."

Her head stops throbbing, her lord has left. She slowly walks to the portals leading to Volantis, inserts a sizeable black key into it as the portal comes to life. She sees clearly through the portal a bustling harbour city and spots the Cathedral her lord wants to destroy. She speaks through the portal, and her Cultists hears her voice. Men and women of all shapes and sizes stir at her voice, The Smiths stop smithing, the bakers stop baking, and the guards stop guarding to hear her voice.

"Drown the Cathedral," Abigail says, "Your god wants to know whether this lord of light will respond to such an act."

Thousands of men stir into action in Volantis, arming themselves with whatever weapons they have. Though the blades they wield may be different, the one commonality between them is the helmets they use, dark and menacing its visage.

Spoiler: Helms

A reckoning has come.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the great city of Qarth, lays a tavern unaffected by the political turmoil of having their entire ruling class killed and the influx of refugees from the east. In this tavern, there is an unusual sight, even to the warlocks who have seen and done many a strange thing under the sun. There is a considerable space between the patrons of the tavern and a tanned silver-haired woman. Her massive sheathed sword nearly reaches the ceiling, which concerns even the greatest warriors in this tavern. She finishes her meal and spots a Yi Tish family at one of the booths. They squirm at her stare and tenses up when she walks up to them. The family of four, father, wife, son and daughter all fear of what she will say to them. The tanned woman reaches into her pocket as the family dreads what will happen next. Out of her pocket is a small bag of gold in which she throws to the family. The father catches it confused, as the Tanned woman brings up a new chair towards their table and sits.

Her voice is between a high baritone and a low tenor and is as commanding as it is emotionless. "Speak, what has happened in Yi Ti?"

It takes time for them to regain their composure as the father speaks on their behalf. "Madness, there is a civil war between the princes and a usurper. Many fled the fighting, though those who escape are the ones from the cities of the princes, strangely in the towns conquered by the usurper, the people stay. " The father speaks, his engl--common tongue slightly broken but coherent. " They say that Yi Ti will be unified under this usurper anytime now, her armies have good weapons and discipline. They fight with staffs that shoot out lightning and fight very organized. "

"How bad is the civil war?"

"Bad, very bad. Vast parts of the jungles are burnt, millions are already dead, there is only chaos..."

"Aye," One of the patrons at the back says. He wears light leather armour and has an Arakh at his waist, must be a former Dothraki." I have heard talk of the Jogos Nai hiding in the bone mountains, the plains have become too dangerous for them, and they have been dying like flies." His common tongue is perfect the Tanned woman notice. "I have also heard of dark magic in Trader Town, and the Shrinking Sea, dark magic of smoke and fire makes these weapons of lightning."

The father responds, "Yes, I have heard of that, too, they say her armies are cursed and fight without caring for their lives. But essentially, from Kayakayanaya to Yin, Yi Ti is burning"

The former Dothraki nods at that, rubbing his beard.

The Counter Guardian stands up and puts the chair back. This simply will not do, she asks one final question. "What is the name of this Usurper?"

The father pauses to think and finally says, "Demon Emperor", the Former Dothraki snorts at that, "that is true" the Dothraki says.

The Tanned woman nods at that as her expressions turn into a reminiscing look. "Thank you," she says, listlessly and walks towards the door. Thus the being that cleaves demons, pierces gods, and answers the prayers of men: Okita Souji, leaves. Her hand grasping her Odachi tightly and her tall heels click-clack on the wooden floor. The hunt begins...

Spoiler: CG

 

[Mathen57]

[X] She stays with you
--[X] She seems well read enough to teach you a general sense of the world. This is important for dealing with the locals as she can tell which of the Great Houses is which.
[X] "What is your relation with Maegyr?"
[X] "What happens once the Grail is used?"


"She's my translator, Ice Bitch Queen, took her in because she was useful and wanted to escape slavery."

"Ah, yes... Slavery here is quite rampant in this continent, though that brings up an important question. Most of the Western Continent's language is exactly like English; you won't be needing a translator there. Will you bring her with us then? I won't guarantee she would survive the fights we would have against other servants when we find them."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You look at Lera's unconscious form and can't help but to feel guilty. Guilty at the fact you were considering leaving her. Where will she go? This slave girl that wanted an out of a thankless existence, how will she suffer without you to be there for her.

Though nosy, she has made for some good company despite her easily squeamish and sheltered nature, which is strange for a slave; maybe she hasn't been a slave for long? You guess without her, some of your more brutal tendencies would've gone unchecked; whether you appreciate it or not is, well, you're not sure. But what you're assured of is that she's has helped assist you in navigating Volantis and teaching you about the world you've summoned in. She's quite literate too, which makes her more educated than your younger self, but most importantly she's well-read. Always she would talk about the knights and their houses in Westeros, of the jousting tournaments and the melees. She would recite the adventures of notable knights like Duncan the Tall and gush about Rhaegar Targaryen and lamented his tragic death. Your journey from the Volaena river to Volantis was filled with her constant talk of Westeros.

Saber's right, you won't be needing a translator but a guide, a guide that has no political affiliations or a secret agenda. It also helps that you somewhat enjoy her presence, despite being a bit meddlesome. Maybe it's because having someone to protect helps prove that you're better than HER? You don't know for sure, but you do feel fulfilled in some way.

You look at Arturia and suddenly say, "She stays."

"Oh?" Arturia raises an eyebrow.

"Other than translating she's taught me a lot about this world too, I presume that she used to belong to a Noble family and had a good education. She can be our guide in Westeros since she knows a significant amount of its culture and the lords of the realm. "

"Very well then, but I won't be able to ensure her survival."

"You don't need to Saber; I'll protect her, she isn't your problem but mine."

Arturia's eyes widen at that, and an awkward pause settles in. You feel your ears burning a tad bit. You can see a hundred thoughts form in her head before finally, she speaks, "huh...it seems you've taken a liking to her"

"She's a useful tool Saber! nothing more!" You cross your arms and look away from the Fallen Knight. The knight pauses, thinking intensely before she smiles a knowing smile.

"How typical of you Dog, to mask your feelings. It isn't shameful to say that you've made a friend, you know? I certainly won't judge, dogs tend to travel in packs, it is only natural for a feral animal like you to cling on to another, Witch."

The feelings of embarrassment are replaced by fury, your ears stop burning, but your head boils. "Shu-Shut up! Least I'm no failed king you Ice Queen Bitch! I saved a country while you ruined one, so don't go up to your high horse and look down on everyone."

"Ohhh, defensive are we? It's quite amusing to see a dog bark so wildly. I wonder if it can bite just as wildly." Both you and Saber step closer to another as you both stare each other down.

"Yeah, well I'm no dog bitch! I'm a dragon, and this dragon's got fangs for you, failure!"

Your foreheads are pushing each other now at this point, as the tension in the room chokes the air out of the both of you. Saber speaks in a low voice, "funny, and here I thought I was the one with the dragon attribute..."

"You sure don't act like one, cuckold."

"care to test that statement?" Saber draws Excalibur half-way out of its sheath. You restrain yourself, knowing that a small scuffle between you and her can kill your guide.

You stop your staring competition and look back at Lera's sleeping form. "Later, not when she's near" the tension bleeds away from that as Saber sheathes Excalibur back. You sigh.

"Good," she says, smiling, "at least you've grown more sensible since the French Singularity. " Is that...is that a compliment you're hearing from her?! What the hell is this about?! a test? Saber looks at Lera's sleeping form, "You also have a strange way of proving my point" Your ears start to burn again, "You seem quite protective of her" A pregnant pause settles in the conversation before Saber looks curiously at you, "Does she know how to fight at least?"

"No, I was planning on training her. We just got back from purchasing some weapons and armour, and I wanted to see which weapon fits her the best. Well, until I found you in my room."

Saber grins at that, "You prove my point yet again, Jeanne" Your ears burn hotter than before, "no worries, we have 4 days before the ship bound for Sunspear becomes fully manned and supplied. Plenty of time for training a novice, though aren't you a novice with the sword too, Jeanne? Tell me, what would the result be when an incompetent swordswoman teaches a beginner."

You roll your eyes, yes, you've never swung St.Catherine in life, but you've got the instinct to make up for it, "I'll make do."

"No, you will not, this Lera girl is no servant; you can't teach a beginner your instincts. You can only help them hone it, and they hone it through technique and practice. There is only so much you can train Jeanne. I'll help train her, though not frequently as my time is full."

You smile a knowing smile at that, "oh? Don't tell me you care about her too? Are you masking your feelings, Tyrant Knight?"

"No, idiot saint" Saber chides, "It does not do to have our only guide be a defenceless hack. If she intends to use the spear or the sword, I will train her to be decent at it. I will not associate myself with an unskilled Noble girl that can't swing a sword properly. Besides, I don't intend on babying her at all; she will get her bruises now rather than getting wounds later. Mainly so she won't die, I'd rather not hear the fuss you'll make when she does." You shrug at her point, "Oh and Jeanne?" You look back at Saber's growing smile. "What do you mean by "too"?".

Your ears are positively red now, and your cheeks too, how pathetic of you to show such a sight to the pale bitch. Your mind scrambles to find a way to change the subject, until ah-ha!

"W-W-Well, what is up with you and that Maegyr guy?!"

"Evading the question are we?"

"Just answer it!"

Saber chuckles at that, "Fine, if only to shut you up. Now...where to begin?" The King of Knights cups her chin in contemplation. "Well...you see, when I came to Volantis, I arrived at its West Bank, the place full of scum, villainy, and the colossal slave trade. Did it ever occur to you how big the slave trade here in Volantis is?"

You shake your head, "I didn't particularly pay much attention, I was busy focusing on other things."

"That is the difference between you and me, Jeanne, King and Peasant, I pay attention, question, and explore. Maybe next time if you did pay more attention, you would have made connections as I did in this city, rather than just bumble around in the fighting pits and the taverns."

"Get to the point," you say with an annoyed tone.

"I am, be patient. You see, though slaves are traded in and out of this city, many other people are enslaved here too. Whether it is because of debt, being tricked into a bad deal, or by being kidnapped; my immediate impression of this wretched city was the latter half. A couple of sellswords and slavers thought they could overwhelm a lost "boy." wielding arms and armour too heavy for him. I was surrounded by the scum once I went into an alleyway, out of sight. They were seasoned warriors those lot, but preying on the weak has made them complacent and arrogant, and they couldn't have taken me into account. 3 sweeps of the sword and all of their weapons broke, 4 slashes and they're all gone, 12 dead except for one. That one, I gave him a slow death, he begged and pleaded and cried as limb after limb was torn off by my hands. I extracted information out of him when I promised mercy, the idiot described to me his boss's appearance and where he lived, somewhere inside the black walls; and then he died."

You digest what Saber has said to you, well she's not the only one to have a bad impression of the people in this world. Though the King of Knight's experience with the slavers gives you a more in-depth view of what Lera described Volantis to be. It is not a society with slavery, but a society that depends on slavery. For it to be so rampant and essential to the nation so that slavers can kidnap freedmen and women day in day out gives you an awful impression. A hundred years before your birth, France abolished slavery, and one of the few things that you agreed with the church of France was on slavery: Akin to homicide, a barbaric practice. For a city to be so vibrant, yet so backwards and uncivilized, gives you more and more reasons to burn all to the ground. But you restrain yourself, promising to indulge on your love for burning in another time, though hopefully, the time to burn will come sooner rather than later.

Saber continues, "I found his boss a few days after, in a palanquin manned by a couple of slaves. He had a couple of guards with him too, all of them were spearman. He was a skinny looking man, a frail man, with grey hair and wrinkles. I called to him, and the entourage stopped, walked up to him as his guards looked at me wearily. I demanded compensation for the insult of having slavers attack me; he responded that I couldn't prove it and it was my word against his; to add insult to injury, he spat on my shoe and said some Valyrian nonsense. I shot back with Excalibur, killed all his men and got him by the neck. Before I could drag him to the alleyway to extract said compensation, I was stopped by the Triarch himself. Maegyr pleaded for this man's life and offered me gold, the room above yours, and a ship to Westeros. Though it came with a catch, he was enamoured by combat prowess and asked me to as a sort of enforcer for him. The Red Priests, a new cult, and general criminal activity have been plaguing Volantis and disrupting the city's economy. He thinks with my help I could cull them to safe levels, and After a bit of back and forth, I agreed and was promised a ride on one of the rare trade ship bound for Westeros. So, mainly I've been spending my 2 weeks here policing Volantis during the night, killing criminals, fanatics, though there were some unruly slaves that I let live. If it means less slavery in this god-forbidden city, I welcome the slave rebels."

Well then, Saber's time here has been quite eventful. You grin, "So you've spent the past two weeks as someone else's guard dog? How fitting"

Saber smiles dangerously, "You of all people should know, that I'm too strong for them to be leashed, hell I even have the role of commander with the Tiger Cloaks and my own squad. They treat me with the fear and respect I deserve."

"If the bitch queen says so," Arturia stirs at that, "Oh, by the way, was it you that brought Malaquo Maegyr to meet me outside the city?"

The Tyrant nods, "Had to pull a few strings to get you your room,"

"Huh..." You say, dumbly.

"Anyways, does this Lera of yours know anything about the Holy Grail War?" You shake your head, "Are ever gonna explain it to her?"

[] You will explain it to her
-- [] After she wakes up
-- [] During the Journey to Sunspear
-- [] Once we reach Westeros
[] You will not

Saber speaks again, "How are you gonna explain to your girl of our reasons to go going to Westeros...?"

[] Write in...(It's ok to say you don't know, Saber can handle it for you, but Lera will be weirded out by it.

Saber walks to the balcony of your room and beckons you to follow her. You walk out to be treated with the clear night sky full of stars.

"So when did you get here?" Saber asks.

You respond, " A week ago, woke up in the grasslands north of..."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are Lera Stassaris, and you are waking up from your slumber. You just had a most fantastic dream of a dashing silver-haired knight saving you from evil horsemen. The dream ended when he took you to his castle and asked for your hand in marriage. Such bliss...

You stir on your bed as you hear voices in the periphery.

"What will happen once you use the Grail?"

"Are you such an idiot to forget that the Grail will grant whatever wish you have? Come on Jeanne you've used it before." You hear someone say with their mouth full, whose voice is muffled

Grail? What's a Grail? You're too tired to think.

"But since this is a new world, the effects could be different, hell it could even be corrupted."

You hear someone grunt at that. You move around under your bed sheets as your vision gain clarity. It's the morning now it seems, the orange rays of the morning sun seeps in through the window and the doorway leading to the balcony. The sloshing of the fountain soothes you as you wake.

"Look who's come back from the dead" You hear your lady say.

" *Sccrrunch* Took her long enough *Scrrrunch*" You hear someone say between each bite.

You rise out of bed to be treated with the sight of your lady in much more...comfortable clothing. So does this Arturia Pendragon from yesterday...whose wearing a dress that clearly shows her figure. You feel cheated and embarrassed; it's like seeing a beautiful and handsome boy's head stuck on a woman's body. How frustrating.

Spoiler: Arturia's clothing

Though you are weirded out by the bucket and chicken leg, Arturia is holding.

"So how's your sleep before we lost you?" Your lady asks

You look down, embarrassed, "It was good Ms Jeanne, the bedding here is excellent "

"Is it? I wouldn't know."

The "knight" finally speaks, "you surround yourself with weird people Jeanne. Especially this stray." She resumes to munch on the chicken leg she was holding after that. You don't know how to feel about being called a stray, though it is certainly better than being called a dumb blonde whore.

You stare at her before speaking, "So what is she to you, Ms Jeanne?"

Arturia opens her mouth, her tongue still covered in chicken, before your lady interrupts her. "She's an old friend of mine, from the same continent."

Huh...you wonder if her continent is full of strong white-haired women like them, though you've never seen Arturia fight, she seems pretty powerful.

Your lady hands you a cup of water and, you drink, though you give her a quizzical expression.

"You're going to need it Lera--"

"First name basis are we?" Arturia chimes

"Shut up!" Jeanne coughs before speaking, "Arturia and I will be training you first thing in the morning, see if you have any talent for any of the weapons we bought."

You nod but groan inwardly; you were never fond of exercises in the morning, hell you barely exercised at all.

Jeanne scavenges the shopping sack and produces the weapons she purchased yesterday, a dagger, spear, and a longsword, you spot the full plate armour and the leather armour thing by the doorway to the balcony.

"So starts your first training session," Jeanne says, "Here are your weapons."

Arturia places her bucket down and swallows the chicken leg whole before walking up to you. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Jeanne!" she chastises your lady before looking to you, "Before you're handed your weapons, show me your fighting stance". You do, legs apart, arms close together, eyes focused. Arturia's face transforms into a rictus of disgust, and you can't help but feel discouraged...

"poor, you won't last a second in a fight. You might as well be good as dead if you're gonna be our guide." Wait what does she mean by "our guide", you look towards Ms Jeanne, "Guide?" you ask.

Ms Jeanne's mouth forms an "o" in realisation before sheepishly scratching her head. "Oh yeah, turns out we're not going to Yi Ti Lera, but Westeros".

Your eyes widen at that, well you've always wanted to go to Westeros, but "Why the sudden change of destination Ms Jeanne", before she responds a resounding THWACK is heard as you rub your hand in pain.

Arturia wields a wooden stick, "Eyes on the enemy, newbie."

"Where'd you even get the stick!?!" You ask

"Got it last night in the market bridge after you passed out, I also got the chicken there too, but not the bucket." She pushes your leg into a position with her stick, "Here, You stand like so..."

Dagger Proficiency Progression 1D100 => 8
Spear Proficiency Progression 1D100 => 43
Longsword Proficiency Progression 1D100 => 91 (Lera wtf)
Strength Check to wear plate armour 1D100 => 63 ---- DC :60
Endurance Roll 1D100 => 81


By noon, your legs are as heavy as anchors, your sweating buckets in your plate and leather armour, and your everything is burning. Before you stands Arturia, armoured and untired, these past 6 hours have been hell, and you eye the knight's bucket of chicken lustfully.

"Impressive" Arturia praises, you feel a bit of joy at that, "you're pathetic at just about everything" You grimace, "Except for the longsword" your lips tug upwards as you collapse to the floor. The ground loves you, and you love it, you intend to stay like this forever... "don't get ahead of yourself, you may have better instincts than the guards I train, " She trains guards?! "but this is your first day, so they still outclass you. But overall, you did better than most as a beginner."

You see Jeanne nod, before walking into the balcony. "Uh, guys..." she says "You might want to have a look at this."

Arturia lifts you off the floor and supports you with her shoulder, how considerate. Both you and the knight reach the balcony before your jaw drops.

The biggest cloud of smoke you've ever seen fills the horizon and darkens the sunny sky. You look down to see that the smoke cloud is originating from one of the largest buildings of Volantis.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are Jeanne d'Arc, and you're witnessing the local Temple of The Lord Of Light in flames. You hear shouts and the clashing of blades; there must be some sort of revolt taking place.

Saber looks at you, incredulously, " You sure you didn't start this fire?" Lera pales at that, but you shake your head. You hear the thud of boots coming from outside your room; someone's going to enter in. Saber notices it too and turns to face the room's entrance. A tall man enters, gasping for air; he seems to have run a long way. He holds a folded piece of paper, a message.

Arturia separates herself from Lera as she struggles to regain her footing, the Tyrant runs to the messenger. The man gains back his composure, "Captain, your presence is needed in the central palace immediately." Arturia takes the message and reads with utter focus. She nods and murmurs, thanks to the guard before going to the balcony.

"Jeanne, the Triarch's and the other captains are planning this city's defence, come and hold Lera tight, we don't want her dying after training. " You nod as Lera looks on with confusion, still panting after exercise.

Arturia stands over the edge of the balcony while you wrap your hand around Lera and follow her. She realizes what you're about to do, and shakes her head violently. You see the Knight jump down 2 stories before arresting her fall with the balcony of one of the rooms on the first floor. She then jumps to the roof of another building, the same place you got your weapons and armour it seems. You follow suit, accompanied by Lera's screaming and frantic shaking. "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!!!?" She repeatedly shouts again and again as you fall, " I DON'T WANNA DIE LIKE THIS!!!!" She screams hysterically. It must be your A-rank strength, but despite all that armour, Lera is pretty light you note. You arrest your fall too on the first-floor balcony, as Lera breathes heavily in relief, before screaming again as you jump to another roof.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eventually, you cross the Black Walls and enter Old Volantis. Finally, you reach the grand palace in the centre of Old Volantis with Saber waiting for you at its entrance.

The Grand Palace fits the description perfectly, a gated compound with a huge mansion inside it. The gates are ornate, filled with decorations of older gods, and the front garden is massive. The palace itself is white and has many pillars and windows, the door to it is twice the height of a normal man, and the statues of gods are placed on the roofs.

Lera has finally calmed down from her episode; she barely manages to say a scant few words, "Don't...gasp...you ever...gasp...do that again...without warning..." You give a genuine but short laugh at that.

"Oh don't be a wuss, and compose yourself, were meeting the city's leaders."

"Those...leaders...gasp...can go...FUCK THEMSELVES!!!" Whoa there Lera.



You finally reach the planning room where Arturia is conversing peacefully with some of the other guard captains. Lera has recovered somewhat and stands with you as you walk in, though you don't comment on the dishevelled state of her hair.

The room is dark and vast, with high ceilings full of gorgeous decor, the walls are thick and riddled with paintings, and it stretches across really far. In the middle is a large table with a map of Volantis placed atop of it, with a few lanterns around it to light it up, making it the only bright spot in the room. You see the figure of Maegyr and several robed men clap for attention. Everyone gathers around the table as you and Lera stand next to Saber. A couple of the men give you weird looks, whilst one provides you with a contemptuous look. Lera feels awkward and out of place, while Saber has her determined face on.

One of the Triarchs, a Fat man by the name of Doniphos Paenymion, summarizes the situation. "Those Kraken Cultists from last month have started a riot; it seems that their target was the Temple of The Lord of Light while other cells try to stir up chaos in the other districts. What were their numbers again, Varar?"

Spoiler: Map

A barrel-chested bearded man coughs before reporting, "The district with the highest concentration of cultist is in the Temple District, they number around 2 to 3 thousand and are currently engaged in a melee with the slave soldier of the temple, the Fiery Hand, they are approximately 1 thousand men. The second highest concentration is in the Shipyards and the Docks, the cultist there number around 1500 men and most of them are burning the buildings in the Guard District, we have lost all contact with the men there. The third highest is at the Market Bridge, our scouts couldn't get a reliable number, but we estimate it to be around 500 to 1000 men. Everywhere else there are small cultist incursions and slave revolts. Though thank the gods they are easy to spot, the helmets they wear are very distinctive...also, the weaponry of the cultist varies very differently. "

Everyone but you, Lera, and Saber wince at that. For a society where slavery is its core, a slave revolt is a dangerous thing.

"Chaos, utter chaos..."One of the robed men speaks shakingly.

One of the captains, a tanned man with a sharp nose speaks up, "This wouldn't have happened if you didn't give our "Capable"" He speaks with a condescending tone, "Head Captain free reign to do what he wants, now because of his incompetence Volantis is under siege from the inside!".

It is at this time that Saber speaks up, intense eyes looking directly at the petulant captain, "Careful now Vogoros, you shouldn't say such outrageous things with no basis in reality. Without me, the West Bank will be as lawless as it always has been for centuries, it is thanks to that that we have reliable information on the enemy's numbers. Be sure to remember that." Eh!? She's the head of the guard?!
"ENOUGH!!" Maegyr bellows, a weird thing to see an older man do. "We do not have time for guard captains to bicker with one another, and Vogoros" he points at the guard captain and gives him a baleful look, "Question my decision to appoint Arturia as head captain and I will see you hanged!" The offending guard captain nods and mumbles an apology.

"If that is all" Arturia speaks, she captures the attention of everyone, including Lera as they listen to her carefully. It seems that her Charisma skill is in command. "There are 21 guard captains here, each command 350 men. I want 10 regiments of 350 guards each handling the temple district with me. I want 8 regiments to relieve the garrison in the Guard District and annihilate them in the docks and the shipyards, the faster you do it, the better off we are in recovering after this mess. I want 2 regiments to create a blockade on each side of the Market bridge and prevent anyone from escaping. After the temple district and Shipyard District is handled, rendezvous in the Market Bridge and crush them with a flank, then spread around the city to establish order. Is that clear guard captains!"

"YES, SER!" They all bellow as Lera eeps at the sudden the noise.

Saber turns to you in askance. "Where will you be Avenger?" A couple of the guard captains look at you weirdly when Saber addresses you with that. Ughh, how troublesome, you should've told her that you also go by Jeanne here, it shouldn't that bad knowing how far apart the servants should be in this world.

Where to go...

Battle Plans

[] Help Saber win back the temple district.
---[] Charge with Saber
---[] Sneak in and destroy the cultist army from the inside.
---[] Borrow some of her men and flank the Cultist Army

[] Win back the Shipyards and the docks
---[] Relief the Garrison in the Guard District and take command
---[] Support the guard captains assault on the docks
---[] Support the guard captains in capturing the shipyards

[] Take on the Market Bridge
---[] Don't waste time waiting for the Guard Captains to finish their districts, take this yourself.
---[] Support the regiments in preventing the escape of anyone on the Bridge

[] help establish order in the city
---[] Hire the help of sellswords and pacify the slave revolts
---[] Kill any rebel scum in your vicinity
---[] Focus on protecting the merchants and civilians.

[] Where does Lera go?
---[] With you
---[] With Saber
---[] Back to the Inn
---[] To a specific front alone
---[] In the Grand Palace

[] Will you go mild or wild
---[] Full employment of magic and Noble Phantasm
---[] Some level of fire magic
---[] Just plain old Lance and Sword.

[] How will you interact with the guard captains.
---[] You will follow their orders
---[] You are their equal, you cannot be ordered
---[] They are your subordinates ( roll of dice)


Write in...(some votes aren't mutually exclusive and you can mix them, or you could go for a whole nother strategy entirely)

Please structure your vote as "Plan X" and put you voted actions under it, or I will not count them.

It should look something like

Plan X

[] action x
--[] action y

[] action z
--[] action w


Also think carefully on your vote, whatever you'll do now will have rippling effects on the world that may or may not be shown through sidestory posts.

This golden cup I hold, its soothing

QM Note : Oof this was a monster to write, there are bound to be grammatical and continuity errors so do please point them out when you see them. Hopefully I did the charactertisation of Jalter and Salter well and the dialogue too. Anyways, feedback and discussions are greatly appreciated and I'll see ya in the next post.

I'm done! Im finally done!

 

[Mathen57]

[X] You will explain it to her
-- [X] During the Journey to Sunspear
[X] We will tell her an item we're looking for is probably there (details will be explained on the trip, see above). It will be dangerous though (so if she wants to back out, now's probably her last chance).
[X] help establish order in the city
---[X] Focus on protecting the merchants and civilians.
[X] Where does Lera go?
---[X] With you
[X] Will you go mild or wild
---[X] Some level of fire magic
[X] How will you interact with the guard captains.
---[X] You are their equal, you cannot be ordered

"If that is all" Arturia speaks, she captures the attention of everyone, including Lera as they listen to her carefully. It seems that her Charisma skill is in command. "There are 21 guard captains here, each command 350 men. I want 10 regiments of 350 guards each handling the temple district with me. I want 8 regiments to relieve the garrison in the Guard District and annihilate them in the docks and the shipyards, the faster you do it, the better off we are in recovering after this mess. I want 2 regiments to create a blockade on each side of the Market bridge and prevent anyone from escaping. After the temple district and Shipyard District is handled, rendezvous in the Market Bridge and crush them with a flank, then spread around the city to establish order. Is that clear guard captains!"

"YES, SER!" They all bellow as Lera eeps at the sudden the noise.

Saber turns to you in askance. "Where will you be Avenger?" A couple of the guard captains look at you weirdly when Saber addresses you with that. Ughh, how troublesome, you should've told her that you also go by Jeanne here, it shouldn't that bad knowing how far apart the servants should be in this world.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You look back at Saber, mulling over your options. You and the King are force multipliers to a scale unimaginable in this world you realize. Beings able to do a great many things, kill many people, and right many wrongs. Despite that, you can't be everywhere, and no matter how powerful the two of you are, a city in chaos will stay in chaos unless something is done about it promptly. Sure, Saber and her guard regiments can bring back order into this city, hell, the Tyrant Knight is perfect for this, but she needs to finish off the cultist first before pacifying the slaves in revolt. How much time will that take her? But most importantly, how much damage will occur to this city before Saber can bring back order? How many innocents lives will be burnt, ruined and destroyed in the meantime?
Look at all those oppressed people, Berserker.
A part of you wants to burn the greedy old men, self-absorbed ladies, and cocksure sons for hiding behind these black walls, praying to whatever false idol to bring them peace while sending men to die for them. It is unfair for Volantis's leading class to do nothing as order crumbles in the city, these are the type of men that would leave you when it is convenient for them and never pay your ransom whenever you're captured.
They say that Volantis has 5 slaves for every master...
You ball your hands into tight fists, Lera looks at you worriedly while Saber raises only an eyebrow. Most of the Guard Captains have already left, but the few them that stay look at you two with curiosity. You speak, "I'll help establish order in this city while the rest of you deal with the Cultists, I'll mainly be protecting the freedmen and the merchants, that way the city can recover faster after this. Show me where to go Arturia, and I'll discipline them into civility."

You'd want to free all of them don't you?

Some of the Captains including the robed men, including the Triarch Nyessos Vhassar, nod in approval while Maegyr grimaces, too bad, It matters not to you if saving the innocents is a detriment to the man's political gains. Saber's blank face tells you everything and nothing at the same time; you can see that Arturia is thinking intensely of what you just said, yellow eyes glued to yours unflinchingly. She's in some form of contemplation, but what she makes of your words you don't know.


of course you do

Spoiler: Map

She speaks after a short pause, "hm, First you'll have to go through the Market Bridge, secure it with 2 other regiments, I'm cancelling the flanking plan. Then, you'll set up shelters for the freedmen at Bridgeton, from there you'll clear up any rebel activity at the adjacent districts completely but make sure to minimize collateral damage. Once you're done, I want you to escort the freedmen to safety in the shelters within Bridgeton, but be sure that there are no cultist infiltrators. Once you've saved all that you can, your main objective will be pacifying any dissenting elements in Thieves Quarter and the districts west of it; my forces will reinforce you once we finished the cultists off."

You nod, "Alright Saber, sounds good" The remaining guard captains look weirdly at you as you address Arturia, maybe you shouldn't have called her that way, "The sooner this is done, the sooner we can get a ship to Sunspear." Saber nods and the rest of the Guard Captains leave.

You're about to leave with Lera before Arturia stops you with a hand on your shoulder. You look back with mild annoyance, noting how empty the room is becoming as everyone leaves. She motions Lera to go ahead as she comes closer to you. Lera looks at the both of you with mild confusion, before her cheeks turn a tint of pink and scamper off. How troublesome, it seems she has come to some misunderstanding.

The Knight whispers, "You really do have bits of the Saint in you to care more about people than killing your enemies. It seems that you are much similar to her than you would like to believe Dog."

You humph at that, crossing your arms as you look away, "I'm only doing this so we can fetch a boat sooner, we can't do that if half the city is destroyed. Don't pretend you know me, Cuck."

Saber sighs a bit at your attempt, "right... Oh and don't bother saving freedmen, its the merchant's ships we need, the freedmen and other civilians offer us nothing."

You nod at her callous request; sometimes you forget that she really is a tyrant. You wonder what part of her was altered to think that way, to see an Ideal King as one who leaves the weak to their doom. A true tyrant. It makes you wonder which one of you is the truly evil one here. Both evils take guarantees the removal of one's aspect of Freedom; Lawful Evil takes away one's freedom to, while Chaotic Evil takes away one's freedom from. Which is worse, you don't know.

"I want you to come down on these rebels fiercely, put the fear of God" Grimace "into their hearts, but I would like it if you show the slave revolters some mercy. They're doom to fail, but they have hope in them, don't take away their hope for freedom or they will not revolt again. Once the city is at peace, and we leave for Westeros, there will be a more significant revolt. Fueled by the veterans of this rebellion and one's desire for freedom, only then will this backwards shithole of a city learn its folly."

You smile at that, and you can't help to notice the irony. Don't bother saving the freedmen, but don't go to harsh on the slaves, c'mon Saber, are you callous or not?

"Meet up with Araquo's regiment outside, he's hard to miss, Tiger emblem on the chest plate and huge claws welded into his gauntlet, interesting visage. Oh and please don't inform them of my real gender, masquerading as a boy prodigy has been quite entertaining and trouble-free. Now go, quickly, your Guide might be harassed by the men who deem her unworthy of being within this walls..."

And with that, you're gone.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It turns out Saber might right if you were a minute too late, Lera waves at your fast-approaching form as you note the armed men with tiger tattoos on their cheeks approaching her. Your arrival dissuades them of any malicious intent as they look at you with wonder and curiosity.

You look back at Lera's somewhat bronzed face, a bit of her paleness is still there. Her brown eyes stare back at you in askance, "You're coming with me to Bridgeton Lera; first we go through the Market Bridge and kill any cultists still there. You ready for your first fight?"

Lera looks hesitant, " I've only started training today...I'll be eaten up."

"Don't worry, you'll mainly be helping bring back order to this place, you know the language, I don't, so you'll be giving the people reassurance and directions on where to go. I'll do my best to protect you, but I won't guarantee that you'll come out of this without a fight."

Lera nods shakingly, "I'll do my best Ms.Jeanne..."

"Well, hopefully, you're best is enough for you to live through this, You've got good instincts with the sword, so I want you to stay calm and focused and to follow that instinct. Am I clear?" Lera nods, "Good, its time to prove your worth, now here's the plan..."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You meet Araquo outside the black walls covering Old Towne, and well...you think Saber understated how hard to miss he is. Despite being the middle of his regiment of tiger cloaked guards, he stands a head above them; his gauntlet shines under the noon sun with spikes on it acting as claws. He spots you, and you see that he seems to be in a jovial mood. His tanned animated face appears to be used to smiling, which complements his chiselled chin and high cheeks. He walks up to you with a perpetual grin, "Oh litse riña naejot dārōñe īlva lēda aōha issare kesīr. Skoros kostagon gaoman syt ao?" His voice is grand and booming.

You look in confusion as Lera sneers a bit in disgust before fixing her expression, "Shijetra ñuha riña, yn ziry ȳdragon mērī se Quptenkys Ēngos."
There must be rebellion
The rather tall man blinks in confusion before his eyes break of from Lera's to you, "Forgive me my lady" he speaks with what you think is a Spanish accent, his tone still grand but laced with sensual undertones. Amusing, he continues, " I did not expect such a flower to grace our regiment with its presence..." He kneels to you as the Tiger cloaked men look on with exasperation, they seem used to this. He grabs your right hand and kisses it before looking up to you with gleaming eyes, in a way he reminds of you of Brynhildr, and it feels you with disgust. Lera seems to feel the same way too as you separate your hand from his, before speaking "There are two regiments responsible for the Market Bridge, where is the other commander?"

Spoiler: Absolute Disgust

"Right here, girl." Oi...you've heard that voice before; you look back to see Vogoros in his resplendent tiger stripped armour. You grimace again, is this Saber's way of messing with you, teaming you up with insufferable commanders? Or are you just unlucky that you were assigned to dash through the Market Bridge, a job so easy that she picks 2 of her worse commanders for it...Your E rank luck must have something to do about this.

Vogoros places himself between you and the shameless flirt as he turns to you with a look of cold judgement. You see clearly that his golden tiger armour is worsened by his utterly dull face, that sneer of his makes you hate him already, if not even more.

"I don't know who you are to our "Illustrious" Head Captain, or how many times you've bedded him, but this is a revolt, girl." He points his finger at you; his index is dangerously close to your nose, dangerous for him of course. If he gets any closer, he's a dead man. "I don't need you or your little friend to play soldier in the middle of a fight, look at you, both of you! You're no taller than a child, and frailer too, do you think you can contribute to this mission without being a deadweight? No! You belong in the rear, and as commander of this regiment I order you to do so."

The taller commander pushes Vogoros away from you and speaks to the petulant commander, "Can't you see Vogoros, you glory hogging imbecile! The Head Captain has ordered her to come with us to raise the troop's morale with her beauty! She's here to sing us songs and extol our virtues as we march to certain victory, the men certainly need it."

Vogoros shouts back, "If you were thinking with your head rather than your cock for once, you'd see that..."

Lera looks at you with worry, inside you feel boiling hot. Your rage is building, and your grip on St.Catherine tightens, The fire inside you is building up. These men are idiots; they're outrageous conduct just earned them the grudge of an Avenger.

You don't know how these monkeys got into their position, not through being a good commander that's for sure. They seem like great fighters, but they have no sense in hierarchy nor military organization.

What to do with them...

[] You were ordered to discipline this city, that includes its soldiers too, these men are wasting precious time.
-[]Maim them till they stop questioning your usefulness.
-[]Their respective regiments seem tired of their nonsense, kill them and take command, you're the better leader.
-[] Just burn them, burn them all, you'll do this yourself.
-[] Write in....

[] Stay silent, wait till they stop, as they revolt continues

[] Just leave them with Lera and handle the Market Bridge Alone before doing your actual mission in Bridgeton.

[]Write in...

QM Note: In regards to the map I used of Volantis, the map isn't Game of Thrones related, but it helps a lot for planning so I have taken some creative liberties. The map has obvious inconsistencies compared to how Volantis is described in the books, The creative Liberties I've made is that the Temple of R'hllor is in the opposite bank of Old Volantis, and that Fishmonger square (and your tavern) is located at North Market. With that said, there are also somethings in this map that I will not be using at all, that is the Oldton Bridge, as there is only one bridge in Volantis called the Long Bridge/ Market Bridge. I will also not use the green districts and the Necropolis (and its adjacent districts) shown in this map. Hope this doesn't cause any confusion and thanks for reading!



maybe I shouldn't have done that...

 

[Mathen57]

[X] You were ordered to discipline this city, that includes its soldiers too, these men are wasting precious time.
-[X] Strike Vogoros in the throat, then the spine just below the head.
--[X] You don't really care if you kill him or merely knock him unconscious, you wish to silence him in a way that gives some deniability about how dead he is.
--[X] Spare the flirt, tell him that you are not as patient as Arturia, so you will let the Captain deal with Vogoros when he awakes. Pass on Saber's instructions, and tell him to make sure the rest of his command makes no trouble for you.
--[X] Lift Vogoros with one hand and dump his body to the side and out of the way.


The taller commander pushes Vogoros away from you and speaks to the petulant commander, "Can't you see Vogoros, you glory hogging imbecile! The Head Captain has ordered her to come with us to raise the troop's morale with her beauty! She's here to sing us songs and extol our virtues as we march to certain victory, the men certainly need it."

Vogoros shouts back, "If you were thinking with your head rather than your cock for once, you'd see that..."

Lera looks at you with worry, inside you feel boiling hot. Your rage is building, and your grip on St.Catherine tightens, The fire inside you is building up. These men are idiots; they're outrageous conduct just earned them the grudge of an Avenger.

You don't know how these monkeys got into their position, not through being a good commander that's for sure. They seem like great fighters, but they have no sense in hierarchy nor military organisation.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

() = Characters speaking in Valyrian


Their argument gets heated as you walk towards them, this scares Lera, and she shakingly anticipates your next move. The two commanders don't notice you as you get closer, but their soldiers do, and they stand guarded and tense.

You're treated with a closer view of Vogoros's Gorget with its patterns and decorations indicating his status. You really really want to strike through his heart right now, but you can't guarantee how the rest of the soldiers would react to that. Whether they attack you or cower in fear, it would waste precious time all the same.

So you restrain yourself. Your hand blurs, accompanied by the screeching sound of twisted metal, Vogoros stands stock still as he immediately shuts up as his eyes roll upwards to his socket, while the taller commander looks at you with shock. The silence after the argument is deafening and Lera seems strangely confused, though you take in the sight of the shameless flirt's jaw utterly drop. Vogoros's body slumps, but before he falls, you grab him by the forearm and toss him away. He flies majestically as the sound of metal meeting brick accompanies his landing, the regiments look towards the direction in which Vogoros flew and back to you, Araquo does so too.

Must be a surreal sight for them to see a girl barely 160cm tall throw a man in full armour, this betters your previously foul mood. You look up to Araquo's stunned face and pull him by the hair towards you. That gets a verbal response from him as he, "ooh" and "ahh" in pain.

The moment his face is at the same level as yours you give him a baleful stare as the soldiers looks steadily on the both of you two. He sweats a little bit at your glare, "Listen here you incompetent dog, we've wasted enough time already with your bickering, and if you don't want to end up like your friend back there, you'll do your job and take the market bridge. Now tell your men that we'll be marching fast before the situation gets worse then it already is, you got that?" He nods, somewhat frantically." Good, If I get any trouble from these men or from you again, you'll find out I'm not as patient as your Head Captain."

He stands straight up, his face lacking the jovial expression he had before, good he's serious now. The man shouts with his booming voice before 700 men lose control over the scandal they just saw, " Vali! memēbagon se gūrogon arlī bisa oktion!"

The guards become silent before organizing their formations and marching towards the North Market.

You walk ahead of them as Lera follows closely, conflict and confusion evident on her face.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You spot Fish Monger square and the large tavern in its centre, Lera sees it too before cringing in frustration, "Shoot!" she exclaims, "We forgot your helmet Ms.Jeanne!"

You restrain from facepalming yourself at that, and look back at Lera, "shit, I'll dash ahead Lera, go on without me," She responds with a hesitant look, "I'll be back quick", and she shakingly nods. It's a good thing she reminded you of that, you were planning on doing a little bit of burning today, so It's best to hide your face in front of all the fire-worshippers on the bank across, it'd be less troublesome. Though your armour is quite distinctive, no matter.
That spiritual signature... a servant?
You reach the tavern faster than anyone here could and are treated by the sight of armed private guards, sellswords, and weary merchants look cautiously at you. The once vast lobby has turned into a sort of encampment, guards are posted around entryways for rebels to enter in as merchants huddle up together in the centre as they discuss their plans for when this revolt is done. You nod to the receptionist and race towards the stares in blinding speed, there is no time to waste.
Wait a minute...an Alter?
You reach your room in record time in search of your helm, spotting the sack it was in at the corner of your room. You grab and put it on you as you adjust the straps. You notice that your sight is a bit limited, but it is a negligible issue, but you sense something wrong in your room.
Avenger...
The sort of wrongness where everything in this room was replaced by its exact copy, where you feel something at the back of your neck. As if at any time something will grab you, pulling you into an unwakeable sleep, you look back to see nothing was there. The room and all of its furniture are still there, the water fountain still runs water and the weapons Lera previously used are laid around the ground.
Ah-ha, I see you
The feeling of wrongness comes back again only now that feeling is accompanied by inaudible whispers. They surround you, increasing in volume as your head throbs in pain. You endure it as you see a small dark figure near the entryway to the balcony. You can't see any of its features other than its white soulless orbs that are placed at where you think the eyes should be on its face. It peeks at you, its soulless eyes indicating no thoughts to you. You unsheathe St.Catherine, and the figure disappears as if it was a figment of your imagination. You walk towards the balcony where the figure was to see no trace of it, could it be a trick of the light or a servant.
now who are you?
The whispers grow more intense, you feel your eyes and ears leak blood as you keep yourself from collapsing somewhat successfully, leading you to fall to one knee. You immediately remove your helm and check how much blood is bleeding out of you, before that images rapidly appear in front of you. Images of your family's prized cow grazing the plains, of a blonde girl living an idyllic life with her parents, of a short romance in your village before you took up the sword and flag. They all appear consecutively before the theme changes, now you see images of decapitated heads atop of spikes on castle walls, the constant gore and death in the battlefield, and you see a far away figure crucified on a stake.
A witch! Just like me...
Something...something's looking into your memories! You wipe off the blood dripping on your eyes and ears and put on your helm. You will yourself off the balcony as the whispers and images subside. You fall down like a rag doll as you attempt to recover and stick the landing.
Y'AI 'NG'NGAH, SUT-TYPHON
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are Lera Stassaris, and you're marching with Guard Captain Araquo to the Long Bridge. Your mind follows the rhythm of the regiment's step as they march step by step by step. The rather tall commander beside you has been rather focused, his face adopts a somewhat severe expression, clearly thinking of something. He looks down to you and asks you a question in Valyrian, "(That woman...who is she to you?)"

You're quite hesitant to answer him without Jeanne around, so you stick with a dull response, "(She's my liberator.)"

"(Who'd she liberate you from?)"

"(Dothraki)" You keep your responses short, but you're weirded out by how the man gulps at that.

"(She freed you from the Dothraki?)"

"(Yeah, defeated most of their men and took me in)" The slave soldiers behind you look at each other, some of them adopt expressions indicates their disbelief, some look with wonder; guess some of them think that you're a liar.

"(Vogoros and I really did mess up...)" You roll your eyes, none of this would've happened if they weren't such undisciplined commanders. If they had thought critically to the reasons why Jeanne was with them, maybe they would've gotten the hint.

"(It's idiotic to anger her, have you heard of what happened in the fighting pits)"

"(Just wild stories of a champion slaughtering two dozen men yesterday)"

"(That was her)" Araquo's eyes widen like saucers.

"(oh...)" A long pause ensues after that, His undergoes many expressions, from fear to contemplation, to bold determination, he then turns to looks at you inquisitively, "Is she seeing anyon--"

"I'm here" Your lady's muffled but commanding voice interrupts the conversation as she drops down between you two.

"Where did you come from Ms.Jeanne? I did not see you approach us."

Jeanne's head turns to face you, you could barely see her yellow eyes through the helmet's 2 curved visors, but you see no strand of out hair coming out of it. "Jump down from one of the rooftops." Araquo scrunches his eyebrows in confusion while you only respond with an "Ah."

Araquo chooses this moment to speak, his voice focused and laced with fear, "You come right on time, my lady" You could see Jeanne roll her eyes beneath the visor before turning towards Araquo, "We're just about to arrive at the Market Bridge."

Your lady nods, and vocalizes her acknowledgement with a "hm".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're the Dragon Witch and ever since your return to the tavern you felt watchful eyes stare at you, never leaving you no matter how fast you go. You're grateful for the helmet because you're sure Lera would notice some of the blood you haven't wiped from your face yet.

You, Araquo, and Lera arrive at the northern entrance to the Long Bridge while the regiment lags behind. A great feat of engineering that Long Bridge, would it be safe to say it might be much larger than the London Bridge you wonder? Would Saber know?

You see the civilians in disarray, running from something originating from the south of the bridge, you see husbands hold their wives tight, Mothers carry their babies firmly close to their bosoms, while Vendors run frantically with their goods, hoping that the mass of humanity, the chaotic tide of men don't wash them away.

Araquo speaks over the shouting and the screaming, "I'll have my men and Vogoros's establish order in this section of the bridge first. After that I'll have a few men look into the buildings for any survivors or Rebels, the main force will wrest control of the bridge from the cultists."

"What'll we do Ms Jeanne?" Lera asks.

Spoiler: Map

Strats

[] I'll help your men kill the main cultist forces in the Long Bridge
-[] Just use St.Catherine
-[] Summon Your Lance (Will get weird looks)
-[] Use fire in this battle (In front of the Lord Of Light worshipping soldiers)

[] You and Lera will help establish order in the already secured parts of the Bridge. We'll follow behind your soldiers.
-[] Lera will talk to the scared and the panicking and redirect them towards the North Market while you fend off any cultists.
-[] You'll turn one of the buildings in the bridge as a safe house for panicking civilians, Lera and You will have the same roles as the vote above.
--[] Do you request any of his men to join for any of the two votes above? (Specify what number___he has 700 men in his disposal)

[] You and Lera will dash across the bridge, ahead of the Guard Regiments. Killing of any cultists in your way, using your fire magic out of the sight of the Fire Worshipping Soldiers.
-[] You'll dash into the centre of Cultist forces, kill off a large number of and find their leader if they have any
--[] Take Lera with you?
---[] Yes
---[] No
----[] She stays with Araquo
----[] You have a specific task for her (write in...)
-[] You rush through the Market Bridge to reach Bridgeton as fast as possible, culling the numbers of the cultist on your way. The faster you can establish order the better.
--[] Take Lera with you?
---[] Yes
---[] No
----[] Specific commands? (Write in...)

[] Write-in Plan

QM Note: Lera's survival is not guaranteed, it will be rolled, though the dc is quite high for death so she's most likely gonna get injured. Specific actions can mitigate that by adding negative modifiers to the roll for her death.

 

[Mathen57]

[X] I'll help your men kill the main cultist forces in the Long Bridge
-[X] Mainly use St. Catherine
-[X] Supplemented by limited use of fire (In front of the Lord Of Light worshipping soldiers)


You see the civilians in disarray, running from something originating from the south of the bridge, you see husbands hold their wives tight, Mothers carry their babies firmly close to their bosoms, while Vendors run frantically with their goods, hoping that the mass of humanity, the chaotic tide of men don't wash them away.

Araquo speaks over the shouting and the screaming, "I'll have my men and Vogoros's establish order in this section of the bridge first. After that I'll have a few men look into the buildings for any survivors or Rebels, the main force will wrest control of the bridge from the cultists."

"What'll we do Ms Jeanne?" Lera asks.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The crowd passes the three of you as you contemplate your decision. Araquo and Lera wait for you to speak with bated breath. You're not too sure about Araquo, but you know Lera understands that whatever decision you make will ultimately affect the outcome of this battle. You're just that strong. Right now you want to make it to Bridgeton as fast as possible and establish order, but you can't just rush through the Long Bridge and leave Araquo's regiment to battle the cultists. It would leave your rear vulnerable until Araquo secures the bridge, and that would put your entire operation at risk.

Instead, you'll help him defeat the main force as fast as possible, which means some use of your fire is needed. Usually, you would need your lance to generate fire, but St.Catherine will do fine, just not as potent.

Your path is clear, destroy the main forces and head to Bridgeton while Araquo cleans up, that way you can settle this revolt fast. You hope Saber doesn't meet any complications with this revolt though; you feel that something is lurking about. Ever since you left the tavern, you have felt eyes stare behind you; you think it might have something to do with the revolt as it cannot be a coincidence. This concerns you because if that is true, then there are supernatural elements to this rebellion, you hope whatever entity is watching you doesn't slow you down. Or you'll kill it, whatever it is.

You look at Lera through your visor, and speak, " We'll aid Araquo in taking the main force head on, then we'll move to Bridgeton to fulfil our orders." You place your hand on one of Lera's shoulder, "You ready for a baptism of fire?"

"Baptism?" Lera asks inquisitively, Araquo looks at you confused.

"Your first battle." You clarify, she trembles hesitantly, and you give her a reassuring shake, "Don't worry, from what I've heard, they're just fighting common rabble, and Arturia says that you have good instincts with the sword, which is high praise coming from him." At this, Lera nods slowly.

Araquo meanwhile adopts an intense look as the three of you wade through the mass of humanity while the soldiers behind you manage them. He opens his mouth, then closes it, before speaking, "You've seen the Head Captain fight?" You nod in response, not sure of where he's going, "I've never seen him fight, and I always found it weird how a girly looking boy like him could reach to the position right after his predecessor's death. Most of us think that he curried favour with Maegyr and got his position as a result, but the longer he stays head captain, the more I'm convinced that he's a capable commander. He's got that..." Araquo gestures wildly with his hands as he tries to find the right word, "Air...he's got that air of a natural leader... like he's done this his whole life."

You shrug at that, "He more than deserves the position of Head Captain of the City Guard, I've seen him fight and command before and I almost pity the Cultist in the Temple District, they don't know what's coming to them"

Araquo nods and his expression tells you of a man who had his beliefs validated by someone, "You should tell me about it after the battle" You see Lera shake her head at the corner of your eye, though you're not sure why. Did Araquo mean something insulting when he said that? Was there some meaning he was implying that you're not seeing? Troublesome, you're not good at reading between the lines. He speaks again, "There's an inn nearby that has--"

Schlink

A man screams in agony behind you; it's one of the soldiers...he's holding a spear impaled on his chest and then collapses — a puddle of his blood forms around the body.

You look back again to see the mass of humanity disappear, replaced by ranks of dark-robed men in their menacing helmets. They all hold different weapons, but the most notable of all is a sword full of barnacles the lead cultist is wielding. There is a stillness after that as the guards get in tight formation, creating a wall of spears, tempting them to charge right now if they dare. Lera steps back as you and Araquo move forward. There's a considerable distance between you and the lead cultist as you wage a war of wills, staring intensely at him.

The leading cultist spreads his arms wide out and chants, "C' ymg' goka, nilgh'ri kadishtu ehye, gn'th'bthnk ot hlirghh." This stirs them into action as the rest of em charge, wielding a motley array of weapons. Guess its time for a proper show. You unsheathe St.Catherine and point it to the cultist.

Spoiler: Firing it up!

You impose your will on reality as a jet of hot dragon fire manifests on St.Catherine's blade. The force of the sudden generation of fire creates strong winds that makes your hair flutter and pushes Araquo back a step. He stares at you with slacked jaws as Lera and the soldiers tremble to contain their wonder. You take a single step, and you're gone like the wind, you suddenly appear behind the leading cultist as the rest of his comrades stumble at your surprise appearance.

You swing, and St.Catherine blurs, the top half of the lead cultist falls off, but no blood comes out, his wound already cauterised. He loses grip on his barnacle sword and falls. The rest of the cultist recovers from their shock, but they're too late, you've already moved on to the next.

Schlinggg

Another falls, blood spurting out of his neck.

Schlinggg

And another is beheaded, his head tumbling to the ground.

You see five different blades come at you, but they're slow, slower than the Dothraki. It is to be expected of these common rabbles. You swing St.Catherine yet again, creating a trail of flame, some of their black robes catch on fire as the cultist quickly try to put them out. In the meantime, you've shattered all the blades coming at you with St.Catherine's swing and impaled one of your opponents, its blade sinking deeply into his sternum. You kick him away, separating your sword from his heart as his flying body hits his comrades.

At this point, you notice Araquo and his men charging at them with Lera lagging behind him, about time. It only took them what? Eight seconds to stop ogling at you?

You make short work of the cultists in your way, you've lost count of how many you killed, but you know that at this point St. Catherine would've been utterly drenched in blood if it wasn't for the fire.

Someone tries to pull your cape, but you pull back, sending the offender flying towards his friends, you cut his body up mid-flight, and only his upper torso reaches his comrades. That'll teach em.

You swing, slash, and stab your way to the centre of the masked men, as their numbers slowly disintegrate before you. The Guards finally arrived, and their spears find their mark. Its a slaughter as better armed and trained men initiate a melee with the rebels. The whole bridge descends into chaos. The Tiger Cloaked Guards fight the cultists with tenacity and ruthlessness which the cultist respond with equal courage and viciousness, whilst Araquo push through their lines with ease, his claw gauntlets slashing at the poor men that dare face him. You don't see Lera anywhere, which concerns you somewhat, but you're sure that somewhere in this battlefield, she's proving her worth.

Ahhh, nothing gets you going more than complete and total destruction. The smell of fresh blood leaking out of the wounds, the screams of agony and hatred between the men, and the sight of your flaming sword, you revel in it. You love every second of this fight, its perfect for a damned woman like you, to keep on killing and killing until you have no more strength left, that is your purpose. A purpose you're fulfilling quite well.

You're Jeanne D'arc, France's saviour and its conqueror. You are its saint and its witch, the protector and the despoiler, the hero and the villain. For you, a revolt on this scale is a trivial matter. These mobs are not the English Knights you've faced, they lack the organization and the strength, and they will fall.

You think you've adopted an ear-splitting smile though you don't really know for sure, all your focus is on the enemy in front of you. You've lost track of time, and the sounds of the world are all muffled to you. You think you've killed two hundred so far, maybe even three but you don't know for sure. What you do know is that a sword enveloped by fire hot enough to melt stone wielded by a powerful servant can cut really really good.

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You are Lera Stassaris, and this is your first battle. From seeing your lady's flaming sword, her first kills, and the uncomfortably loud sound of men shouting at the top of their lungs...saying that you're bewildered would be an understatement. Instead, you are numb and lost in the middle of it all.

You find a cultist isolated from his group, and he spots you too, you hope your short time training with Arturia will allow you to survive as the guards around you seem occupied. He approaches you quickly like a man possessed, wielding a sword shorter than yours. Your mind races a mile a minute before you get into a stance the knight taught you earlier today.

The man gets ever closer, and it makes you sweat. The only time you've faced someone with killing intent was the day you became a slave, facing that killing intent now makes you tremble. You think you would've stood still in shock until you remember Arturia's words from this morning.

Survival roll 1D100 => 93 (Not today!)

"Remember Lera" The memory of her speaks to you directly, "You're a woman, which is already a disadvantage. You'll be the weakest in the battlefield full of much stronger men, so don't bother with overwhelming your opponent cause your physique will not cut it. Instead, learn to redirect your opponent's strength, make their power their weakness. So Learn to parry. Now watch"

You come back to the present as the man initiates an overhead swing onto you as you move to intercept. You pretend that his steel blade was Arturia's wooden sword as her words come back to you, "hold your sword horizontally as it comes down to you. The trick is to tilt your sword to redirect his slash, like so." The clanking of metal meeting metal outright deafens you, but you follow Arturia's advice and tilt. His sword falls off to the side as he is left vulnerable. "Then you can follow this up by hitting your opponent with the hilt of your sword." The cultist stands in a daze after you hit him with your sword's hilt, he tries to come towards you, but he stumbles a bit and nearly falls. "Then rotate your sword, so the handle faces you rather than him and transition into the Hanging Right Stance. It is at this point that you could stab effectively, disabling him." Your blade sinks into his clavicle as he spits blood out of his mask. He holds your sword tightly and tries to pull it out, but you sink it deeper as his grip goes slack. He tenses up for a moment before collapsing like a ragdoll as you work to remove the long sword from his body. A part of you feels sick at the sight and the fact that you've killed a man.

Cultist Encounter: 1D100 => 77
Cultist Danger 1D100 => 80
Perception Roll 1D100 => 21 (maybe today...)
Plate Armour Protection 1D100 => 66 (Tommorow then?)


The moment you extract your sword, something hits you at the ribs HARD. You stumble and fall, grasping at your sides in pain. Even with all that armour, that hit was the most painful thing you've felt in your life. Your right side burns with hot searing pain, and you squirm needlessly, hoping that if you twist into the correct position, the pain would just stop.

Your mind is addled with agony, and in it, you catch a glimpse of a masked man looking down on you, hammer in hand. You notice that your armour is dented and that you could barely move without causing the pain to flare up even more. The man approaches you quickly and lifts his hammer before bringing it down.

Plate Armour protection 1D100 => 56

It lands on your abdomen as you jerk up in pain. You faintly hear the ringing of metal after the hit.

Spoiler: May cause discomfort. I think

It hurts ithurtsthurtsthurtsthurtsthurtsthurtsthurts.

You can't think you can't feel, and your sight is getting darker, you're slipping

Your heart is beating fast, it's almost like its going to pop out of your chest, and you're getting lightheaded... like your entire body is being carried by pillows.

You're in tears and snot is running down your nose. You just want to curl up, but the pain doesn't let you, so you stay there pathetically. Though if there's one silver lining is that you're tousled golden hair is now covering your eyes. At least you'll spend your last hours in darkness.

You hear the cultist grunts as he hefts his hammer up for a second time, you think he's gonna aim for your head. This is it. This is how you die. A messy death in the middle of Market Bridge. Despite how much it hurts, you can't help to grin. At least you'll die free, at least you didn't waste away in some savage tent made by pillagers, slavers, and rapers. It's stupid, and It's ironic, but you feel lucky to spend these last days trekking down to Volantis and exploring the city. You just wished it would've lasted longer.

Final Survival Roll 1D100 => 72

You hear someone shout and the mask man's choked screams. You painfully move your hair away to see a spear jutting out of your attacker's throat. The spear is removed as the man loses his grip on the hammer and the both he and the weapon fall.

You see someone with a tiger helm and chainmail approach you. He offers his arm as you slowly reach for it. You're pulled up slowly, the pain on your sides and abdomen still burns scalding hot. He pats your shoulder before giving you your longsword. You could barely stand much less hold a sword, but you manage like you always do.

The fact that you're still alive hasn't sunk in yet, and you looked at him listlessly. You look at the trail of dead guardsmen behind your saviour, some of their heads are smashed while the other corpses have heavily dented armour. Was this caused by that hammer-wielding man you faced? Did he go on a frenzy and you just happen to be on his way? Suddenly you feel lucky you're wearing full plate armour because if you were wearing anything else, you would share the same fate as those corpses wearing only chainmail.

"(I'll get you help)" He says in Valyrian, and right now, you just want to hug him and chant; thank you again and again until he grows sick of hearing it. You don't even get the chance, as darkness succumbs your vision.

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You're Jeanne d'Arc, and you're standing atop a pile of dead cultists. Your black armour is drenched in red and your hair too. The main force is gone, now there are just stragglers waiting to be culled by the guard.

You hear someone wade through the mess you've made; you look back to see Araquo walking with a limp and sporting some wounds on his shoulders. He stares at you with wide eyes. "That was eight hundred men, and you took on nearly half of them, or maybe even more." He says.

"I just got reckless," You say in between breaths, " some of em got lucky," You move your cape to show him the cuts on your thigh and the wounds on your forearm.

Araquo shakes his head, "Those are just light wounds. My lady"

"Don't call me that" you chastise him, "It's Jeanne."

Araquo nods, "Jeanne, you're a goddess on the battlefield."

You'd chastise him again for calling you a goddess, but he seems to be in some sort of trance right now, and you don't think anything you'll say on the contrary would penetrate his thick head.

You spot one of the Guards run towards you two, wading through the dead bodies. You wonder how the clean up will look like. "My lords," the guard says when he arrives, you grimace a bit at the way he addresses you, "The battle is won sir, the bridge is ours. Now all that is left is killing the ones hiding here like rats." Araquo nods at that, smiling a bit. "We also had reports that some of the men searching in the buildings have mainly found merchants and freedmen; they have not encountered any rebels, yet."

You choose this time to speak, "What of the wounded? The casualties?"

"Out of 700 men, 20 died, and 30 were wounded. Amazing numbers considering the volume of the rebel force."

"And what of Lera, the girl that was with me?"

"She has suffered major wounds and is being taken care of in the newly established encampment."

Damn, damn damn damn. You had thought Lera at least had some safety due to her proximity with the guards, but you guess they were just too incompetent. Araquo looks at you worriedly; you must be making a very serious expression.

It looks like the situation has changed, you were hoping Lera would come with you to establish order since you didn't know the language. But now, madness, just madness.

what to do...

[] Saber's orders cannot be fulfilled, check on Lera and stay with her until she's alright.

[] Go straight ahead to Bridgeton, you only need to pacify the rebels.
--[] check on Lera before leaving
--[] Take one of Araquo's men to help you translate. (if there are any that could speak your language, requires rolling)
--[] Write in...


How do you feel about Lera's wounding?
[] Worried, you hope she's alright.
[] Dismissal, If she dies now then she had no value to you to begin with
[] Optimistic, from the sound of it, the wounds shouldn't be fatal.
[] Write in...

QM Note: I'm considering making this fic based on a Fate AU, as the servant's inability to be harmed by non-magical weapons would be too powerful in this setting. And also because of other factors too.