Author's Note: I just want to remind all you beautiful readers that I am not exactly knowledgeable of Game of Thrones so don't be afraid to PM me if something is wrong, either it be a certain aspect of Game of Thrones or even the way the people speak. If you have anything to say, PM me because I don't read reviews. Too much negativity :p
Enjoy.
xXx
( Red Keep - Throne Room )
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Joffrey as blood gushes from the open cut in his right cheek. Other than the occasional hit from his father, Joffrey has never been physically hurt before, since nobody would dare harm the future King of the Seven Kingdoms. That's why the pain from having his hand stabbed and his cheek cut open shocks him, both mentally and physically. Blood spills out of his wounds and drips off his face, staining the fancy and expensive clothing he's wearing.
Everyone from the City Watch, Kingsguard, Sandor, Barristan, Varys and Cersei are all beyond shocked after witnessing the unknown captor maim the King without so much as a second thought. Such an action is the equivalent of committing suicide, since they all know that the royal family and the entirety of House Lannister will use all their power and wealth to hunt down the one responsible.
For Jon Snow, it's simply another day of him living his exciting life as the Dragonborn.
With everyone distracted by what he just did to Joffrey, Jon throws the bleeding boy towards the Gold Cloaks before turning to Ned Stark and his guardsmen who are all just as shocked by what he just did. "Close the fucking doors!" he ordered, shaking them all out of their shock and reminding them that they are still in enemy territory. Stark soldiers run to the doors of the throne room and begin pushing to close them so to stop the City Watch and Kingsguard from following after them. Just as the City Watchmen are about to reach the doorway, the Stark guardsmen push the doors closed and keep pushing against them so those on the other side can't escape.
Jon points to four of Lord Stark's guardsmen who are not contributing to keeping the doors closed. "You four, give me your swords."
The Stark guardsmen look to Lord Stark for confirmation. Ned nods his head to his men so to give them permission to follow the man's orders, seeing no reason not to trust the man who has saved his life twice already. The four soldiers quickly offer their swords to Jon who takes each blade and jams two of each into the gap beneath the doors. "That will hold them, but not for long. Lord Stark, we must make haste to the docks. I have a ship that's waiting to take us out of the city."
As much as Ned wants to leave King's Landing, he still has Sansa and Arya to worry about. "I can't leave yet. My daughters-"
"I have people searching for them at this very moment, Lord Stark. They'll meet us either on the way or at the ship. For now, we need to move." The loud banging of the doors has the Stark soldiers take a step back. While the swords are keeping the large doors stuck, it won't be long till the Gold Cloaks manage to push them open, especially if the Hound aids them.
Ned Stark looks at the banging doors of the throne room and then turns back to his saviour before nodding. "You have saved my life for a second time. I see no reason not to trust you now. Lead on."
Jon turns and runs down the hallway with Eddard Stark, Jory Cassel and the fourteen remaining guardsmen following close behind him.
The banging of the throne room doors and the Queen's furious screeches fades with every step they take.
xXx
As usual, Arya is practicing her Water Dancing with her instructor, Syrio Forel, when four Lannister soldiers and a lone Kingsguard enter the room, interrupting their training session. She looks at them, wondering what they want.
"Arya Stark, come with us. Your father wants to see you" said the Kingsguard, Ser Meryn Trant.
Arya moves to follow the Kingsguard, but Syrio blocks her path with his arm and pushes her behind him. "And why is it that Lord Eddard is sending Lannister men in place of his own? I wonder" remarked Syrio, finding it very hard to believe that the Warden of the North would send Lannister men instead of Stark men to retrieve his daughter.
"Mind your place, dancing master. This is no concern of yours" told Ser Meryn Trant with a bloodthirsty glare.
"My father wouldn't send you" told Arya, realizing that her instructor is telling the truth. Whenever her father wants to see her, he either comes to her himself or he sends Jory to collect her. Arya picks up her wooden practice sword off the floor for protection. "And I don't have to go with you if I don't want."
Arya's cheeky response makes Ser Meryn Trant chuckle in amusement before he gives an order to one of the Lannister soldiers. "Take her."
The Lannister soldier walks towards Arya while Syrio turns to look at the advancing Lannister soldier. "Are you men or snakes that you would threaten a child?" asked the former First Sword of Braavos.
"Get out of my way, little man" ordered the Lannister soldier in a threatening tone.
Syrio doesn't much care for the insult, nor the man's threatening tone of voice. "I am Syrio Forel."
"Foreign bastard" spat the Lannister soldier who attempts to draw his sword so to cut down the Braavosi, but Syrio is quick to hit the soldier's arm with his wooden practice sword, forcing the Lannister soldier to let go of his sword when it's halfway drawn. Syrio then swings his wooden practice sword across the side of the soldier's head and even with him wearing a helmet, the Lannister soldier drops to the floor, unconscious. The sight of Syrio easily defeating one of their own with just a wooden practice sword has the other three Lannister men draw their own swords in preperation for a fight.
"And you will be speaking to me with more respect" told Syrio, taking his Water Dance stance and faces the remaining Lannister men and the annoying White Cloak.
An angry Ser Meryn Trant glares at Syrio. "Kill the Braavosi. Bring the girl" he ordered to the Lannister men while he steps back so to observe the fight. The three Lannister soldiers spread out so to surround the former First Sword of Braavos.
"Arya, child, we are done with dancing for the day. Run to your father" ordered Syrio, keeping his eyes on the Lannister men to his right and left, as well as the one directly in front of him. The former First Sword of Braavos is confident that he can defeat the Lannister men, even with just a wooden practice sword, but he can't watch Arya and fight at the same time. The Braavosi inwardly curses at himself for not having his rapier on him at all times.
"That won't be necessary."
Arya stiffens when she hears a woman's voice behind her, scared that it's someone else trying to capture her, but her fears turn out to be unfounded when an arrow flies over her head and hits the shoulder of the Lannister soldier to Syrio's left who was about to charge at the Braavosi.
Everyone turns to see a redhead woman in Northern garb, wielding a bow which she uses to fire another arrow that pierces the chest of the Lannister soldier she shot in the shoulder, bringing him down, permanently.
A man in heavy steel armour runs into the room with a large greatsword on hand and with a loud battle cry that actually causes the Lannister soldiers to falter, he swings it at the Lannister soldier to Syrio's right. The Lannister soldier raises his sword in time to block the greatsword, but the strength in the swing causes the soldier to drop his own sword, leaving him defenseless for the next swing which cuts open his stomach.
The remaining Lannister soldier runs towards the woman who throws her bow over her shoulder and unsheathes her own sword. The redhead woman and Lannister soldier swing their blades at each other, both blocking and parrying until the woman surprises the soldier by blocking his sword with her own before using her free hand to punch him across the jaw which his helmet doesn't protect. The Lannister soldier drops to one knee in a daze, giving the woman plenty of time to cut off his head with a single swing of her sword.
Arya who has been watching is in a state of awe, having just witnessed a woman fight and kill two of the Lannister men with ease. "Wow" muttered Arya, having done so without thinking.
Having heard Arya's mutter, the woman, Aela, looks over at Arya, showing her beautiful, but fierce face which is decorated with war paint, only adding to the woman's fierceness. The Werewolf winks at Arya before looking up at the Kingsguard who has now unsheathed his own sword.
"Who the fuck are you lot?!" shouted Meryn Trant, having thought that the rest of the Lannister men were purging the entirety of the Stark household. If they're as incompetent as the four Red Cloaks he was assigned to, Ser Trant can understand how some of the Northerners escaped through their fingers.
Trant doesn't get an answer, but he does cross his sword over his head to block a downwards swing from the muscular man, Farkas, who he quickly recognizes from the Hand's Tourney. The knight parries the second swing before he swipes at Farkas's legs to cripple him, but Trant becomes frustrated when his attack is blocked. Grunting in annoyance, Ser Trant pushes off of the man so to gain space and to find an opening in Farkas's guard.
However, before he can find any openings, Ser Meryn Trant cries out in pain when an arrow suddenly pierces his right leg, making the knight stagger for a second before he focuses most of his weight on his uninjured leg so he can at least remain on his feet. "Fucking bitch!" cursed Trant, glaring daggers at Aela who just shot him with an arrow.
"Aela, why must you interfere?" asked Farkas, looking over his shoulder to glare at his fellow Companion. Farkas doesn't like it when someone interferes with his fights.
"Because we don't have time for this, Farkas. More City Watchmen and Lannister soldiers will show up at any moment now" told Aela, knowing that they are all on a time limit. They still need to escape the Red Keep and get to the Dragon Slayer before the City Watch completely locks down King's Landing. If that happens, then they're well and truly fucked.
"Fine" grumbled an annoyed, but understanding Farkas. They have been tasked with finding Jon's sisters and since they found one of them, they need to bring her to the ship as fast as possible. Farkas doesn't want to think about what Jon will do to him if he returns to the ship without any of his sisters.
"Fuckers" grunted Meryn Trant who steps back to the room's connected balcony so he can avoid a wide swing from Farkas. "You think you can leave here with your lives!?"
Farkas ignores the knight's ramblings and swings his greatsword for an overhead strike, only to fake it and actually swing for Trant's legs, managing to land a deep cut along the knight's uninjured leg. The injuries from both legs drops Maryn Trant to his knees and as the knight collapses, Farkas runs forward and thrusts his sword into the falling knight's chest, piercing through Trant's heavy plate armour.
With blood dribbling down his lips, Trant stares down at the greatsword that's in his chest and draining him of life. Trant doesn't think he has the strength to cry out, but he finds out that he does once Farkas lifts up his greatsword over his head with Trant's body still stuck to it, causing immense pain for the dying Meryn Trant.
Ignoring Trant's blood that's dripping onto him and his armour, Farkas walks over to stand by the edge of the balcony. Farkas then plants a foot onto the chest of the dying knight's body and kicks him off his weapon, as well as off the side of the balcony. Giving a glance over the edge to see the Kingsguard's body fall to the ground below, Farkas then walks back into the room. "Now then, let's all head for the ship."
"Before we do anything, could either of you indulge me by explaining who you are and what is going on?" asked Syrio, using one hand to keep Arya behind him while the other holds his wooden sword out, in case of an attack. The two may have helped them with the Red Cloaks and Kingsguard, but Syrio still doesn't completely trust them.
Aela steps forward and holds her hands up to show she means no harm. "I am Aela and this is Farkas" she introduced herself and Farkas. "As to what is going on, Lord Stark had recently discovered a secret of Queen Cersei's that she would prefer to remain secret. As you can probably tell, she has sent her men and those of the City Watch to make sure her secret stays secret. They've been ordered to kill all who belong to the Stark household and to capture Lord Stark's children, so they can be kept as political prisoners."
"We came across a few bodies from those in your household before we found ya" told Farkas who is disgusted over how the Queen has sent her men to kill everyone of the Stark household, no matter if they're guards or servants.
"What of father? Where is he?" asked Arya who is worried for the safety of her father.
"Being saved by some of our allies as we speak, just as your sister is" answered Aela. "Now, we must all leave for the docks. There's a ship docked and waiting for us" told Aela who glances towards a doorway where she can hear more men coming with her enhanced senses. "We must hurry. More men are coming."
Arya looks up at her instructor, Syrio for guidance. "Master, what do you think?"
To become a First Sword of Braavos, you do not have to be the smartest, nor the strongest. Instead, you must be the most vigilant, so to be capable of protecting the Sealord from all threats, both visible and invisible. With the same vigilance that made him the First Sword of Braavos for seven years, Syrio can tell that Aela and Farkas are telling the truth. "They speak the truth, child. Quick, let us escape to the ship."
"You better trade in that hunk of wood for some steel before you head anywhere. Can't imagine you killing a lot of Lannisters with that" said Farkas, referring to Syrio's wooden practice sword.
Syrio smirks back at the Companion. "You would be surprised" chuckled the Braavosi who throws away the wooden practice sword and picks up one of the Lannisters men's swords. "I would prefer my rapier, but this will have to do for now."
"Good, then let us leave. We've got a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it" told Aela who draws her Skyforge Steel Sword from its sheath before running down a hall in the opposite direction from where she can hear the Lannister men coming.
Syrio follows right behind Aela with one hand holding the Lannister soldier's confiscated sword and the other holding onto Arya's shoulder so to guide her and keep her close. Following and protecting the rear is Farkas who keeps an eye open for anyone who might try to ambush them from behind.
While running through the halls of the Red Keep, the group come across a few corpses, some of them Lannister men, but most being members of the Stark household. The Northern men and women lay dead on the floor, having been killed without mercy.
Arya grows pale at the sight of the bloody corpses of her family's household servants and guardsmen. The urge to vomit tempts her, but Arya holds the urge down, for now at least.
Syrio glances at the corpses before turning to Aela who leads them through the halls. "I find myself curious over what secret Lord Stark has discovered which requires the Queen to shed so much blood."
"That can be explained at a later time. For now, we mu-" Aela stops when she hears the sound of men fighting and women screaming. The Companion runs towards the source of the noise with everyone following closely behind her. When they come around the next corner, they see four Lannister men butchering Stark servants while another two fight the two Stark guardsmen who are trying to give the remaining servants time to flee.
Aela is quick to run at the fighting men with Farkas following close behind her. Arya moves to follow, but Syrio grabs her and pulls her back. "No, child. You must remain hidden."
"But I can help!"
"You can help by hiding. These men are after you and your sister" told Syrio who points to a nearby curtain. "Stay there and don't move till the fighting is over, yes?" Syrio doesn't wait for a reply as he pushes Arya behind the curtain before joining the Companions in the fight.
By the time Syrio arrives to fight, two of the Lannister men have already been killed, having been attacked from behind by Farkas and Aela. Syrio wastes no time in attacking a Lannister soldier who swings at him. Syrio is quick to duck under the attack and thrusts his sword at the soldier's left leg which is parried. Syrio spins to avoid a downwards swing and quickly cuts the soldier in the side before ending him with a quick thrust through the side of his neck.
As the Lannister soldier collapses, Syrio surveys his surroundings and sees that the rest of the Lannister men have been dealt with, due to the combined efforts of the two Stark guardsmen, Farkas and Aela. Once he's sure that all the enemies have been killed, Syrio turns back to Arya who he sees is watching from behind the curtain. "You can come out now, Arya, child."
Once given the order from her instructor, Arya steps out from behind the curtain and runs towards the group.
"Lady Arya, you're safe" said a Stark guardsman in relief.
"None of us are safe until we escape the city" told Farkas who swings his greatsword to flick off the blood that's on it.
"Is Lord Stark safe?" asked the other guardsman, worried for the safety of his Lord. Before they were attacked by Lannister men, Lord Stark had tasked them with helping Vayon Poole and the servants prepare to leave King's Landing. Afterwards, Lord Stark took thirty of his men, leaving the remaining twenty to continue helping the servants. Of those twenty guardsmen, only two of them remain.
"By now, he should be making his way towards the docks, as should Sansa. There's a ship there that will take us away from this shithole of a city" told Aela who looks to the six servants of the Stark household who have managed to survive the attack from the Lannisters. "Can you all run?"
"Aye, we can" said a male servant after sharing a look with his fellow Northerners.
"Good, because we'll be doing a lot of running from now on."
"And how do you expect us to escape? The Queen probably has her men guarding every exit to the Red Keep" asked a Stark guardsman.
"She doesn't have them guarding every exit."
xXx
"Say what you will about the thief, she knows her way around the city" remarked J'zargo who is running through the halls of the Red Keep with Teldryn while looking for either of Jon's sisters. After entering the Red Keep, the group had split up with Jon and Serana heading for the throne room while the rest split off in groups of two to find the Stark sisters. Other than a few City Watchmen who they dispatched easily enough, there hasn't been much resistance.
"I'll admit, Vex has her uses" agreed Teldryn, even if it makes the Dunmer's stomach churn in disgust over complimenting the woman who has been trying to steal his tourney winnings. Still, if not for Vex showing them the hidden tunnels that brings them straight into the Red Keep, they would have struggled to gain entry. "But why is there so many secret tunnels leading into the Red Keep?"
"J'zargo believes that it's so if the keep were to be under attack, the royal family can safely sneak out through the tunnels" answered J'zargo while peeking around the corner to see if there are any guards. Seeing none, the Khajiit runs ahead with the Dark Elf following close behind him.
"Not that it did much good for the previous royal family" stated Teldryn, having heard about what happened to the Targaryens at the end of Robert's Rebellion. Even the children were slaughtered!
A scream halts their conversation as the Khajiit and Dunmer runs to the source of the screams. Once they run around the corner, they see a few corpses of Stark household servants with one injured servant trying to crawl away, only for a Lannister soldier to stomp on his back and stab his blade through the back of the man's neck.
There are another two Lannister soldiers who are dragging away a girl who is kicking and screaming. However, they stop once the third Lannister soldier pulls his bloody sword out of the servant's neck and spots J'zargo and Teldryn. "Oi, we've got a few more!" shouted the Lannister soldier to the other two.
The two Lannister soldiers look back to see them. One then pushes the girl into the arms of the other soldier. "Hold her until we deal with them" ordered the Lannister soldier who unsheathes his sword.
Teldryn draws his Elven Sword from its sheath while J'zargo pulls out a Glass Dagger from his robes. The pair walk towards the advancing Lannister soldiers, waiting for them to attack first.
"Halt!" ordered the closest Lannister soldier who swings his sword at Teldryn. The Dunmer parries the blow and quickly cuts the Lannister soldier across his right arm. As the soldier roars in pain, Teldryn silences him by slicing his Elven Sword into the soldier's chest.
The second Lannister soldier charges at J'zargo so to run the Khajiit through with his sword, but the soldier never makes it close enough to do so because J'zargo raises his free left hand and uses a Flames spell to fire a stream of flames into the soldier's face. The Lannister soldier is given no time to comprehend the use of magic because the flames quickly wash over his helmeted face, causing the man's face to burn and blister in seconds. What's worse for the soldier is that the metal of his helmet conducts heat, meaning that the soldier is both being burned and boiled alive in his own helmet.
As the screaming and gurgling soldier collapses with his face now burnt and covered in blisters, J'zargo and Teldryn walk towards the remaining Lannister soldier who panics and brings his sword to the girl's neck, stopping the two from moving any closer.
"S-Stay the fuck back! I don't know what you just did, but if you move any closer, I'll cut her fucking throat open!" threatened the Lannister who then points his sword at the dead soldier J'zargo had set on fire. "How the fuck did yo-"
The Lannister soldier makes the mistake of taking his sword away from the girl's neck as this gives J'zargo the opportunity to use an Ice Spike spell to conjure and eject a spike of ice towards the soldier's face, confident that his aim will remain through. Not to J'zargo's surprise, the ice spike pierces through the soldier's face, killing him in an instant. The girl in the now dead soldier's arms screams, not just because she has just witnessed someone use actual magic, but also because the soldier's blood splatters across the side of her face after the ice spike is driven into his skull.
As the soldier's corpse falls down to the floor, the girl collapses to her knees, having lost the strength to keep herself steady. She is both emotionally and physically exhausted after recent events, especially after nearly being taken away by the Lannister men to who knows where.
Recognizing the signs of shock, Teldryn lowers himself so he's face to face with the girl so to keep her calm. "You alright?"
"I-I don't know" admitted the girl who's still in shock. "Why did those men do this? They killed... they killed everyone!"
"Because they are pieces of shit, that's why" answered Teldryn who stands back up. "I know you would like nothing more than to rest, but we need to keep moving, Lady...?"
"Poole. Jeyne Poole" answered the girl, sniffling.
"Lady Jeyne, we need to find Arya or Sansa before the Lannisters do and help them escape King's Landing. Do you perhaps know where they are?" asked J'zargo who walks up from behind Teldryn.
Jeyne slightly flinches when the masked man steps close, having seen him shoot fire and ice from his hands. The mask the man wears is also quite unnerving to look at. Of course, J'zargo and Teldryn notice her reaction, but pay it no heed for they know that magic has supposedly died in Westeros, so for Jeyne to suddenly see someone use magic, it must come to a serious shock to her.
"Arya is usually attending her dancing classes at this time, but I don't know where" answered Jeyne, knowing that Lord Stark hired someone to teach Arya how to dance, although she has never heard of a type of dance called Water Dancing before.
"Let's hope Aela and Farkas can find her then" muttered Teldryn, sharing a glance with J'zargo. "What of Lady Sansa?"
"Last I heard, Sansa went with Septa Mordane to pray to the Seven" answered Jeyne.
"Can you show us where?"
xXx
A sweaty Sansa can be found running through the halls of the Red Keep, having been told to return to her quarters and to bar the doors by Septa Mordane after they heard noises that sounded like people fighting. While confused, Sansa follows the Septa's orders and flees to her quarters.
Sansa runs through a door and up some steps which will lead her to her quarters, but she stops in fright when the Hound walks out from around the corner.
"There you are" said Sandor who is annoyed that it took him so long to find one of Eddard Stark's daughters. After they broke out of the throne room, everyone from City Watchmen to Kingsguard have been sent out to search the Red Keep for Lord Stark and his daughters. They've also been ordered to capture the one who maimed Joffrey alive. It doesn't take a genius to know that Cersei plans to exact revenge on the one who harmed her son, not that Sandor cares.
Sansa gulps and takes a step back when Sandor takes a step towards her. "Stay away from me! I'll tell my father" threatened Sansa, although the threat doesn't stop the Hound from advancing towards her. "I'll... tell the Queen!"
Sansa's bluff actually makes Sandor chuckle. "Hehe, who do you think sent me?" Just as Sandor is within reaching distance of the scared Sansa, the Hound steps back to avoid a swing of a sword from someone who runs up from behind Sansa.
"Lady Sansa, stay behind me" ordered Teldryn, taking a defensive stance in front of Sansa. He has seen what the Hound can do during the Hand's Tourney so remains wary of him.
While surprised by the sudden intervention, Sandor narrows his eyes as he recognizes the strange armour from the victor of the melee tournament.
Sansa gasps in surprise, but turns when she feels someone grab her arm. She turns to see a man wearing a creepy mask and strange robes. "Who are you?"
"Friends" answered an impatient J'zargo. "We must go. The Red Keep is no longer safe for you."
"But fat-"
"Lord Stark is safe, isn't that right, Hound?" stated Teldryn, noticing Sandor's glare worsen.
"Cocky shits" growled the Hound, wielding his massive greatsword. "Give me the girl or I'll gut you both and take her either way."
Teldryn holds up his left hand which emits flames in preparation for a Flames spell. "Or how about I just set you aflame and watch as you burn to ash?" threatened the Dunmer who is caught off guard when he sees the Hound suddenly steps back, obviously afraid.
"What the fuck is that?!" roared Sandor, stepping back as his sword shakes in his shaky grip. The flames in the strangely armoured man's hand brings back unpleasant memories for the youngest Clegane.
While surprised that the Hound of all people is so easily scared of a little fire, it does give the Dark Elf an idea on how to distract Sandor Clegane long enough for them to escape the Red Keep. Calling upon his Conjuration magic, Teldryn throws out his arm and aims his hand to the floor that's between himself and the Hound. There, he uses a Conjuration spell to summon a very specific Daedra to aid him.
Sandor doesn't know what Teldryn is doing or how he's doing it, only knowing that he has somehow performed some sort of magic trick to create an illusion of him creating a dome of black and purple energy. Whatever the illusion is, Sandor holds up his sword, in case they try to use the illusion to distract him so they can attack him, but instead, the dome disappears after a few seconds.
What it leaves behind paralyzes the Hound with just the sight of it.
Ever since his older brother scarred his face with a brazier when they were children, Sandor had become deathly afraid of fire. The sight of flames always reminds Sandor of the unbearable pain he felt that day when Gregor shoved his face into the brazier, just because he was playing with one of his brother's toys while in their youth.
So as someone who is afraid of fire, the feminine being made of literal fire has the skilled and dangerous warrior drop his weapon and take several steps back in fear until his back hits the wall behind him. The floating being resembles a woman, only if that woman has three clawed fingers, two toes on each foot and is made of literal fire! The being also adorns loose pieces of black metal armour and wears a mask that's shaped like a woman's face, which features two long, swept-back horns.
The youngest Clegane presses his back against the wall as hard as he can, seemingly wishing to push himself through the wall so he can get away from the... Demon!
The Flame Atronach that Teldryn has just summoned levitates in place for a moment before doing a graceful flip, more out of boredom than anything else. Until they're given a command by the mortal who summons them, they must remain idle. Still, the graceful flip causes the now pale Hound to flinch in fear.
Teldryn points a finger at Sandor and says one word. "Attack."
The idle Flame Atronach suddenly focuses its attention on Sandor who widens his eyes in horror when he sees flames gather in the Daedra's left hand. Thinking fast, Sandor dives to the side, just in time to avoid the fireball that the Daedra throws at him. While he does avoid getting burnt, the fireball explodes upon hitting the wall, leaving a smoldering hole where brick use to lay.
"Fuck this shit!" cursed Sandor who runs off in the direction he came from, having lost all intention to capturing any of the Starks. In fact, the youngest Clegane thinks that it's probably in his best interest to never mess with the Starks again if those helping them can summon actual Demons from the Seven Hells!
Laughing a bit over seeing the younger Clegane sibling run off in fear while the Flame Atronach chases after him, Teldryn turns back to J'zargo and Sansa. "We better head off. I only used enough magicka to maintain the Atronach for about two minutes" told the Dunmer, only now noticing how pale the shaking Stark girl has become.
"H-Heretics!" yelled a very scared Sansa who has just seen a man summon a Demon from the Seven Hells. What he just did goes against everything she learned in her studies of the Seven.
"Quiet! The Lannister men might hear you" hushed J'zargo who takes a peek out the door. "You can come in now."
To Sansa's surprise and relief, her best friend, Jeyne Poole enters the room and the girls are quick to run into each others arms, shaking from the events that have taken place in the past hour.
As much as Teldryn wants to give the two girls their moment, they still need to escape the Red Keep. "Apologies, but we don't have time for this. We need to escape, now!"
Jeyne pulls away from the hug with Sansa, but she grabs the hand of her friend for comfort. "But how can we? There's City Watchmen and Lannister soldiers everywhere!"
"Then it's a good thing we're not going through the front door" answered J'zargo who turns to leave the room. "Follow me and make sure not to be left behind."
Jeyne and a very reluctant Sansa follow the masked Khajiit while Teldryn follows behind them. After a few minutes of travelling and evading the City Watch, the group of four come across a dead end.
"I thought we were leaving!?" asked a panicking Sansa who can hear the sound of men running nearby, most likely Gold Cloaks or Lannister men.
"We are" answered Teldryn who walks over to the wall and presses a hand on one of the bricks. To the amazement of Jeyne and Sansa, the brick sinks back into the wall before a part of the wall slides open, revealing a hidden passageway. The Dunmer turns to the two girls and waves an arm to the secret tunnel that J'zargo steps into. "Ladies first."
The two girls walk into the tunnel before Teldryn follows in after them. The sellsword makes sure to close the hidden passageway behind him so they can't be followed by their enemies. However, this causes a problem as with the door closed, there's now no source of light, leaving the tunnel in complete darkness.
"I can't see!" cried Sansa while gripping Jeyne's hand so they can't be separated.
"Give me a second" said Teldryn who raises a hand before conjuring a ball of light to let everyone see. J'zargo pockets his Glass Dagger and uses the Candlelight spell as well to conjure a floating ball of light.
"H-How do you do that?" asked Jeyne who is both scared and curious over how the two masked men can shoot fire, ice and light from their hands. She has read tales about how the Children of the Forest used magic to perform such feats, but both the Children and magic have been dead for hundreds of years.
"How do you think?" remarked Teldryn, hiding his amusement as the group walks down some steps, careful to not trip and fall.
"It's m-magic, isn't it?" said a shaky Sansa, feeling her heart skip a beat, just by saying the 'magic' word.
"Indeed. Incredible, is it not?" asked J'zargo who is leading the group through the tunnels so he can't see Sansa shake her head. J'zargo is quite proud with his skills in magic so he isn't afraid to brag about it to anyone who is willing to listen.
"It's evil! Magic is an affront to the Seven!" told Sansa who doesn't see Teldryn shake his own head from behind her.
"Yet, you were more than happy to follow us heretics" remarked Teldryn who is in no mood for the girl's religious speech about how magic is evil.
Sansa opens her mouth to speak, likely about to say something that will insult them for their practice in magic, but Jeyne pulls Sansa's hand to stop her. "Sansa, stop it. They used their magic to save me from the Lannisters and you would be their prisoner too if not for them."
"Jeyne, they use magic!" replied Sansa as if that should be enough of a reason to hate her rescuers. "They summoned a Demon from the Seven Hells!"
"Daedra, actually" corrected J'zargo. "And they don't come from the Seven Hells, but from realms of Oblivion. That Daedra wasn't even anything special, just a simple Flame Atronach. J'zargo prefers a Storm Atronach, especially since not everyone is adept enough to summon one, but J'zargo is more than skilled enough to perform such a summoning. Maybe J'zargo can show you it later." Noticing a lack of response, J'zargo turns around to see the two girls now pale and shaking. "What is wrong?"
"J'zargo, just keep walking" sighed Teldryn who then becomes alert when he notices a light source down at the end of the tunnel. "Wait, who is that?"
"Is it more Lannisters?" whispered a worried Jeyne, praying to the Old Gods in hope that the Lannisters haven't found the tunnels.
The Old Gods must have heard Jeyne's prayers, because instead of Lannister soldiers, Farkas and Aela walk around the corner with Arya, Syrio and the survivors of the Stark household.
"Sansa!" cried Arya who runs to her older sister.
"Arya!" exclaimed Sansa who pulls her younger sister into a hug. They may not always get along, but neither of the Stark daughters would wish any harm to befall the other.
"Friends of yours, I take it?" asked Syrio to Aela who nods.
"J'zargo and Teldryn Sero" she answered the Braavosi before turning to the Dunmer. "Is this everyone?"
"Everyone that's alive anyway" answered J'zargo, having seen a few of the Stark household dead on the floors of the Red Keep.
"Then let's go" said Aela who turns towards the end of the tunnel which should take them out to Flea Bottom where they can then run to the docks.
"Wait, what of father?" asked Sansa, turning to the redhead woman who she remembers to have won the archery competition in the Hand's Tourney.
"By now, Lord Stark should be on the ship. It won't leave without us, but we must hurry before the Gold Cloaks lock down the city" told Aela who leads the group through the tunnel to Flea Bottom. "If that happens, none of us will be leaving King's Landing."
( King's Landing - Docks )
"Why aren't they here yet?" asked a worried Eddard Stark as he paces across the deck of the Dragon Slayer while occasionally looking out at the docks to hopefully see his daughters run towards the ship. Yet, every time the Warden of the North stares out at the crowds, Arya and Sansa are nowhere to be seen.
In their escape of the Red Keep, they were lucky to find little resistance, although Ned at times wished to find more Lannister soldiers so he can give justice for his household servants who he found butchered, including his good friend and steward, Vayon Poole. However, Ned kept a cool head and followed the masked man who led him and his guardsmen to a secret passageway that leads straight into Flea Bottom, much to the surprise of the Northmen. Once they exited the passageway into Flea Bottom, the group ran to the docks where the Dragon Slayer waited for them.
Jon pats his father on the shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "They'll be here." Jon can understand Ned's worry, because if it was Lucia and Sofie in danger, he would be worrying as well. Jon looks out at the busy docks and bites his bottom lip. "By the Nine, I hope they'll be here" he thought. Jon has faith in his companions, but he knows that there's always a chance that something might have gone wrong. For all he knows, Sansa and Arya might already be captured or his friends could have been captured or killed by the Lannisters.
However, Jon's worry turns out to be unnecessary, for he sees a group running through the crowd of smallfolk and he recognizes the Chitin Armour of Teldryn Sero who is leading the group to the ship. "They're coming!" announced Jon who then points at the Nordic captain. "Captain, I want this ship out at sea the moment everyone is onboard" ordered Jon. The captain nods before shouting out orders to the crew.
"Thank the Old Gods" muttered Ned Stark in relief over seeing his daughters safe. However, Ned's relief is short lived once he sees a large group of City Watchmen heading towards their direction. By the look of them, they don't know his daughters are nearby. Instead, it appears like they are intending to lock down the docks so they can't escape by sea. "Gold Cloaks are incoming!"
"They won't make it here on time" told Jon, knowing that the Gold Cloaks are too far away to catch up to Teldryn's group. By the time the Gold Cloaks get close enough, everyone will already be aboard the Dragon Slayer and will be sailing out to sea.
At least, that was the plan until Sansa trips on her dress and falls to the ground which causes her to let out a cry in pain. This not only stops the group from continuing their escape towards the ship, but also catches the attention of the Gold Cloaks who turn their focus towards the group.
"Those are the Stark girls!" shouted a Gold Cloak who points to the group, having recognized Sansa and Arya. "Get after them!"
"Fuck" cursed Jon while drawing his Nightingale Blade from its sheath. "We need to distract the Gold Cloaks long enough for everyone else to get on the ship."
Ned doesn't need to be told twice, having already been on the move the moment he saw Sansa fall. "You two, guard the ship" he ordered, pointing to two of his guardsmen who nods in acknowledgement. Ned then turns to Jory and the rest of his men. "The rest of you, follow me! I swear to the Old Gods that I am not letting the Lannisters touch a single hair on any of my children" roared Ned Stark who unsheathes Ice before he runs down the gangway of the Dragon Slayer so to catch up to his daughters.
"You heard, Lord Stark!" shouted Jory who follows after his Lord with his own blade drawn, ready to spill the blood of the City Watchmen who had betrayed and killed his fellow Northmen. The guardsmen let out cries of encouragement before they run after Jory so they can protect their Lord and his daughters until they are all on the ship.
Serana would like nothing more than to join the Northerners in fighting the City Watchmen, but the Vampire can't risk leaving the Dragon Slayer, in case some of the Gold Cloaks decide to attack the ship so they can't use it to escape the city. There is also the safety of Lucia and Sofie to be concerned about. The girls are safe below deck, but Serana can't just trust their safety to the two Stark guardsmen and the ship's crew. She neither knows them, nor trusts them enough to keep their loyalty to Jon and Eddard.
A sweaty Farkas curses as he reaches down to help the oldest Stark daughter who has fallen to the floor. "Can you walk?"
Sansa tries to stand, but once she puts pressure on her right foot, she crumbles back down to the floor while letting out a cry. "I can't. My foot hurts."
"You likely sprained it after you fell" said Farkas who looks at the group's magic expert. "J'zargo, can you heal it?"
"J'zargo can, but there is no time" answered the masked Khajiit who notices a large group of Gold Cloaks running towards them. The crowds of smallfolk are slowing the Gold Cloaks down, but even they are starting to dwindle from the area so to avoid the upcoming conflict between the Northmen and the City Watch. "We must carry her to the ship."
Aela pulls out her Bow of the Hunt from around her shoulder and aims a steel arrow at the group of Gold Cloaks that are heading their way. "Farkas, take Sansa and carry her to the ship. Anyone who can't fight follow him to the ship. The rest of us will hold them back." She let's go of the string and launches the steel arrow which pierces a Gold Cloak through his eye socket.
While not happy to miss out on a fight, Farkas follows Aela's orders and picks up Sansa before throwing her over his shoulder, uncaring over the girl's cry of surprise over being carried like a sack of potatoes. The Companion then runs towards the Dragon Slayer with Arya, Jeyne and the other household servants following after him. Teldryn, J'zargo, Syrio and the two Stark guardsmen ready their weapons to fight the charging Gold Cloaks. Aela continues firing arrow after arrow at the Gold Cloaks with each one either dealing a fatal blow or landing a crippling injury that brings the men down. By the time the Gold Cloaks are too close for Aela to use her bow and arrows, she has already taken down seven of them.
Just as the Gold Cloaks are nearly upon them, J'zargo shoots fire across the floor in front of them, using the Wall of Flames spell. The fire then spikes upwards, creating a wall of fire that sets two Gold Cloaks aflame as they are too slow to stop their charge on time to avoid the flames. The rest of the Gold Cloaks step back from the wall of flames, not just because they want to avoid dying a painful death like their two fellow Gold Cloaks, but also because they are trying to comprehend how the masked man summoned a wall of flames.
Even the two Stark guardsmen are surprised, but J'zargo ignores their shock as lightning bounces off his fingers. Using a Chain Lightning spell, J'zargo launches a bolt of lighting through the wall of flames and hits the closest Gold Cloak who collapses backwards after being electrocuted. Once the lightning hits the Gold Cloak, it bounces off of him and onto the four closest Gold Cloaks who all collapse, either dead or suffering from burns and muscle spasms.
J'zargo laughs as he feels his magicka regenerate as fast as he uses it, thanks to Morokei's Dragon Priest Mask.
Either it be stupidity or bravery, the Gold Cloaks gather themselves and run around both sides of the wall of fire to attack the Stark allies. However, just as the two groups are about to clash, Ned Stark, Jon Snow, Jory Cassel and fourteen Stark guardsmen run in and begin spilling the blood of the City Watchmen. Now with reinforcements, the others attack as well, briefly pushing back the Gold Cloaks.
Leaning his body to the left to avoid the swinging sword of a Gold Cloak, Jon swings his Nightingale Blade and cuts the Gold Cloak's throat before moving on to stab another in the stomach. After pushing the body off his weapon, Jon aims his left hand at a charging Gold Cloak and shoots a bolt of lightning at him, throwing him backwards into the air before landing in a twitching heap.
For someone who is known to be calm and collected, Ned Stark shows off his Wolf ferocity as he cuts down Gold Cloak after Gold Cloak with Ice. All the emotions he has kept bottled up ever since he left Winterfell have finally been let go. Grief over losing Jon Arryn and Robert, frustration over his wife for leaving their sons in Winterfell and for being responsible for causing a war to erupt between the Lannisters and Tullys and most recently, anger over Baelish's betrayal which has led to the death of most of his household. To his right, Ned sees another two of his guardsmen get run through by spears, making the Warden of the North practically growl at the further loss of his men. The two Gold Cloaks responsible soon find themselves without heads after a wide swing of Ned's Valyrian Steel sword.
Teldryn crosses blades with a Gold Cloak before he places his left hand on the Gold Cloak's helmeted face. The Gold Cloak cries in agony as flames wash over his face, courtesy of Teldryn using a Flames spell at point blank range. While the roasting corpse drops to the floor, Teldryn aims at the floor before him and uses a summoning spell, but instead of a Flame Atronach, he summons a Frost Atronach.
Once summoned from a realm in Oblivion, the Frost Atronach appears in the middle of the docks, standing twice as tall as any of the surrounding men with a bulky body made up of solid ice. The Daedra has two arms, but both are used differently in battle. The Frost Atronach's right arm is sharp and pointy at the end so it's used to stab while its left arm is bulkier in size so it's used to bludgeon enemies. The moment the Daedra is summoned, everyone feels a stinging chill in the air.
Everyone from Northmen to the soldiers of the City Watch all stop their fighting once they see a behemoth made of ice appear out of thin air. This pause allows Teldryn to point at the petrified Gold Cloaks before giving the Daedra a simple command. "Attack."
The Frost Atronach doesn't have to be told twice and stomps towards the closest group of Gold Cloaks who step back in a panic. The Frost Atronach passes by Jory and one other Stark solider, not because it recognizes them as allies, but because its summoner has commanded it to attack the mortals wearing gold coloured cloaks, not the ones in boiled leather and chainmail.
One of the Gold Cloaks summons enough courage to charge at the Daedra from its right side with his spear, thinking that he'll catch it off guard because it has no visible eyes so it shouldn't be able to see him. Unfortunately for the Gold Cloak, even with no eyes, the Frost Atronach can still see him.
The Frost Atronach thrusts its right arm and impales the Gold Cloak through his chest. From the puncture of the soldier's chest where the Frost Atronach's arm now resides, frost begins to spread along the man's body. The Daedra then lifts its arm with the corpse still attached and with a flick, tosses the corpse away and onto a nearby cart.
To some of the City Watchmen, the gruesome death of their comrade discourages them, but to the others, it spurs them further on to attack the Daedra. The Frost Atronach responds by slamming its left arm down on the floor, causing sharp icicles to form and puncture three of the attacking City Watchmen while also keeping the others back at a distance.
Jon turns to the paralyzed Northmen and glares at them in annoyance. "This is our chance! Everyone get on the ship while the Frost Atronach distracts them!" ordered Jon, pointing a finger at the Dragon Slayer. They may have caught the City Watch by surprise, but it won't be long till more come and eventually kill the Frost Atronach with their numbers.
Ned shakes himself out of his stupor and while he does have a lot of questions to ask his rescuers, he still needs to see his family and people to safety. "You heard him! Everyone back on the ship!" shouted the former Lord Regent who leads the remains of his men to the Dragon Slayer.
Their retreat isn't missed by some of the Gold Cloaks who chase after the Starks and their allies with the intent to stop them. This leads to some stopping to fight them off and while the chasing Gold Cloaks are killed, it's not before they cut down three more Stark guardsmen.
Ned Stark runs up the gangway to the ship and turns to see the ice monster knocking aside more Gold Cloaks before its eventually overwhelmed by their numbers and cut down to pieces. Strangely, as the monster collapses into several pieces of ice, they all soon fade away, looking as if the monster wasn't there to begin with, although the damage done to the docks and the dead Gold Cloaks say otherwise.
"Let's get this ship out to sea, now!" ordered Jon and no sooner does he give the order does the Dragon Slayer sail out to open water.
From the quarterdeck, Serana looks on as the docks of King's Landing begins to fade in the distance, although she notices two ships that aren't fading away in the distance. In fact, they only seem to be getting closer. "We've got ships chasing us!" yelled Serana which has Jon, Ned and Jory walk up to the quarterdeck of the ship so they can see the two galley ships following them and gaining speed. "Two of them are gaining on us fast."
"We're too weighed down" realized Jon, knowing that while the two Lannister galley ships look to be around the same size as the Dragon Slayer, they are sailing faster because the Dragon Slayer is being weighed down by the caches of Wildfire that he has stored down below. "If those ships get close enough to hit us with a Scorpion bolt, we'll be all fucked" thought the Dragonborn, referring to the caches of Wildfire that will ignite if the ship is shaken or damaged enough.
"Lord Stark, you and your men should step back. You might not want to stand too close" asked Jon, preparing to use the Thu'um to deal with the Lannister ships like how he dealt with the Ironborn ships from weeks ago, although he'll need to use a different Shout for this occasion. Since the Dragon Slayer is filled with caches of Wildfire, using the Fire Breath Shout could set off the dangerous substance and kill everyone onboard. Vex has warned him that direct sunlight is enough to set off Wildfire so a single flame or even an increase of temperature may be enough to set them off as well, meaning that Fire Breath is too dangerous to use, not that Jon doesn't have other Shouts that can deal with the chasing ships.
Ned turns to Serana with a questioning stare. "What does he mean?"
Serana simply offers a gentle smile to the father of the Dragonborn. "It's best that you listen to him, Lord Stark. You're about to witness something pretty special."
Today, Eddard has seen men shoot fire and lightning from their hands, summon creatures made of solid ice and the woman claims he's only now going to witness something special?
The Warden of the North takes a step back with his Captain of the Guards and he can't help but watch, curious over what the pale-skinned woman means by seeing something special.
Once his father has taken a step back, Jon takes a deep breath while focusing on the closest Lannister ship.
"VEN GAAR NOS!"
Ned Stark is starting to consider that the hooded man in black armour might possibly be an Old God. After all, who else but a God could summon an actual twister with just a powerful shout?
Northmen, Braavosi and even Nords all gape as the winds twist and turn behind them, turning a gentle breeze into an uncontrollable cyclone that causes the once calm sea to churn. Luckily for them, the Dragon Slayer is too far away for the cyclone to damage the ship, but the same can't be said for the Lannister ships. Everyone watches in sick fascination as the powerful winds pull the two galleys into the cyclone which then begins to tear them apart. Within seconds, the powerful winds tear apart the two galleys.
Once Jon can confirm with his own eyes that the galleys are completely destroyed, he only then decides to stop the cyclone.
"LOK VAH KOOR!"
After another deafening shout, Eddard watches as the raging cyclone dies down, as if commanded by the hooded man's shout. Once the raging winds die down, Lord Stark can now see that there are no longer any Lannister ships chasing after them. In fact, all that's left of the two Lannister galleys are a few floating planks of wood and the occassional floating barrel.
"By the Old Gods" muttered Jory in shock, awe and fear.
With the Dragon Slayer now sailing away from King's Landing without any ships chasing after them, Jon coughs into his fist for a moment before turning to Ned Stark and Jory Cassel who look to be both amazed, but also very weary of him.
"I think it's about time we have a talk, Lord Stark."
xXx
Jon's Skill Levels:
One-Handed (100) - You know what's better than a sword?
Two-Handed (100) - An even bigger sword!
Archery (40) - Load, point and shoot a crossbow. It isn't that hard.
Block (30) - Why use a shield when you can just use another sword?
Light Armour (100) - The winner is always the one who moves the fastest.
Heavy Armour (85) - Heavy, but safe.
Smithing (100) - Eorlund Grey-Mane would be proud.
Sneak (100) - By the time you hear me, you'll already be dead.
Lockpicking (60) - Won't be opening any steel doors anytime soon.
Pickpocket (40) - Does it count if I pickpocket a corpse?
Speech (90) - Why fight when we can just talk?
Alchemy (75) - Potions and Poisons for rnay circumstance.
Enchanting (50) - Probably better to just pay for the enchantment.
Alteration (100) - Reality is my plaything.
Restoration (80) - Can heal all, but the most fatal of injuries.
Destruction (75) - BOOM!
Conjuration (35) - Does Westeros really need anymore zombies?
Illusion (60) - Want to see a magic trick?