The squat stone keep of Ser Hallen Hardy sprouts from the rocks like a moss-covered grey fang. The small tower is typical of the hardscrabble petty crab lordlings in these parts. It would hardly be a guardhouse in Lannisport or King’s Landing, but here it confers dominion over this rough little patch of shore.
And on that dismal shore, dim figures may be seen in the pale afternoon light. Ser Hallen himself, a barrel-bellied warlord with bristling yellow moustaches, is barking orders to a handful of lackeys bearing his sigil of a shattered blue crab on their garb. And, even more ominous, a small barque with black sails is anchored just beyond the point. Her decks are empty, because it would appear that her crew is also ashore. Hard men, and fearsome they are; a dozen or more pirates, the very scum of the Narrow Sea, are loading a pair of skiffs with supplies and casks—presumably from this turncloak’s keep.
A fine, cold drizzle cloaks the iron sky, and a patchy fog quells both sights and sounds. Eerily, two boats ghost through the black surf, rowing with the utmost stealth toward the shore. In the bow of the lead boat crouches Ser Almer Connington, in black leathers and salt-stained grey wool. With him are a mixture of knights and crewmen in the service of the Warden of Crackclaw Point. Almer lifts a fist, making a silent signal to the other boat to beach itself even as his own vessel kisses sand. In a few seconds, he and his boatmates slip silently ashore and take up positions behind several huge boulders, hiding not far from Ser Hallen and the pirates.
Swiftly, and as quietly as they may, the other boat scrapes its bottom on the stony shore as Ser Jaesin Lannister—garbed for the moment in an all-encompassing hooded greatcloak of dirty grey—leads his men over either side. Their boots splash slightly in the water, as yet too distant to be heard from afar, until all are ashore.
They circle around behind Ser Almer’s men, flickering through the trees like grey shadows to flank the unsuspecting foemen hard at work.
Josmyn Reyne is hanging back for once, having made the effort to join this attack mostly to inspire his capable men in the upcoming fight with the warlord’s underlings. His head is still bandaged, though someone made an effort and cut him some strips of white cloth with the red lion of Castamere in the middle, which he has draped over the bandage like a bandanna, the lion on his forehead, looking a smidge piratical himself. He climbs out of the second boat in Ser Jaesin’s wake, following a fellow Westerlander comes quite natural to him.
Following after Almer Connington, the Lord of Southshield still bears the bandages from the last skirmish he participated in, though he wears his sepia-colored leathers over them, hiding them away from view. He keeps his hand upon the pommel of his sword, not the usual waterdancer’s blade, but instead a simple, nondescript blade of Westeros. With an equally plain wooden shield, bearing no devices nor sigils, it seems as though Lord Serry has opted to forego his training in the Braavosi style for this conflict, the waterdancing having failed him in the last raid under similar circumstances. Keeping a cautious gaze about his surroundings, Justyn looks back to the Connington knight every now and then for any further orders.
A cold morning, grey fog squeezing everywhere, making cloth stick to the skin like spiderwebs. Trailing right behind Almer is Ser Willard Ryger. Again counting stealth ahead of armor he’s cloakless and just a chain hauberk lies atop the boiled leather that covers his upper body. His sword in his scabbard and a shield attached to his back, the Ryger knight movesswiftly and silently scanning their surroundings with hi pale blue eyes, taking note of the enemy and the positioning of his own companions.
“Put yer back into it, you bloody woman!” Ser Hallen Hardy is growling at one of his retainers bearing a barrel on one shoulder. He gives the lackey a kick in the arse for good measure, and the pirates laugh coarsely. “Don’t you know the Iron Serpent’s in these waters? We ain’t got all week!”
From the shadows behind the boulders, Almer makes a sign to the men with him to hold. The position is perfect, and their gambit appears to have succeeded; the pirates and the turncloaks continue working and laughing and cursing, unaware of the peril that awaits them.
A few endless heartbeats pass, and then Almer gives an emphatic nod to Jaesin and his flankers.
“NOW.” Connington bursts from his hiding place, drawing his blade, and the surprise attack begins.
“Har! Might be he’s about, might be ain’t,” one of the dirty, sweaty Hardy retainers mutters to another, wholly oblivious of the knights and armsmen behind the boulders and amongst the scraggly trees and underbrush so near. “But that serpent shows his tail, I—GARRR! TO ARMS, LADDIES!”
Many things are said of the Kingsguard. They take no wives, father no children, hold no land; they are the best swords in the realm, their honor impeachable. Some of this may be fable, and some exaggeration, but one thing at least is beyond dispute: The White Swords do not skulk.
So it is that when a tall, grey-cloaked man steps forth from out of the cover of a scraggly thicket, a knot of men emerging a pace or two behind him to cut off all retreat for the pirates and Crackclaw scum, he tosses back the concealing drudgery of his costume to reveal the snowy white mantle beneath.
White, all white, washed and touched with gold, Ser Jaesin Lannister lifts a bright blade high and calls out a clear and confident challenge: “BAELOR! Baelor and the REALM! TARGARYEN!”
“Quit yer yelling,” grumbles the Ladybane, evading Hardy’s boot and dropping a crate into the boat. “Won’ make ‘em work no fast—” Then the shouting starts and he yowls once like a scalded cat as he draws his blade.
When the Lannister man storms forward, Josmyn is right behind him, sword drawn, throwing himself at the next-best pirate who’s foolish enough to stand in his way. Leywin Ladybane, not being a bane much longer hopefully. Josmyn raises his sword and tries for a direct stab right into the chest.
Yollo laughs as Hardy’s lacky is given a sharp kick for his trouble. Dropping his barrel of salt cod in the skiff the lithe pirate drops down to the wet sand and heads for his next load when the shout to arm is called. The dusky skinned pirate wastes no time recovering his sword from where it’s stuck in the sand, and filling his right fist with spiked steel buckler. Armed the man prowls the rear of the fight, standing near the skiff and the possiblity of escape.
Josmyn attacks Leywin Ladybane with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
A startled look, fierce growls and blades ring out from their sheaths, axes sliding up from leather loops at belts, and there’s a merciless, bloodthirsty look in more than one set of eyes as they turn towards the incoming men.
And so the knight of His Grace’s Kingsguard plunges into the fray, Ser Jaesin laying about him with his blade from the Rock. Laughing, of all things, a halfhelm keeps his face bare and allows the foe to see the blaze of his flashing blue eyes. The first to fall beneath this gaze is Harlen Blackblade, whom Ser Jaesin seeks to open from shoulder to groin with a mighty downward slash of castle-forged steel.
Jaesin attacks Harlen Blackblade with his sword…
...and strikes him with a powerful blow!
Willard jumps into the fray as soon as Ser Almer yells the command. His swords is drawn with one quick motion, then he’s jumping forward and driving it into the belly of one of Hardy’s men. He spins, his shield already in his hand, shifting to make the straps lay better in his grip and runs toward a smart pirate who chose to guard the escape route. In full speed, trying to take the man by surprise Willard lounges forward to skewer Yollo’s right side.
Willard attacks Yollo with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Leywin, who has had time only to draw his blade but not to run up to meet the charge coming from the wood, takes the stabbed blade across his shoulder. He is still blinking in surprise when he swings back, aiming to stun Josmyn with the flat of his blade in the skull.
Leywin Ladybane attacks Josmyn with his polearm…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Taking a few, calming deep breaths, the Lord of Southshield watches the commander of this operation, waiting for the signal to attack. And then it is given. Only a moment after Almer has drawn his blade, Lord Serry follows suit. Charging forward, one of the smugglers (or pirates, at this point, the difference matters little to Justyn) catches Lord Serry’s attention, and so he moves to attack. With a cry of ‘Southshield!’, Justyn swings his blade at the man, aiming for his right shoulder.
Justyn attacks Wat with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
The brutish Wat looks a bit slow of mind, but getting whacked across the shoulder makes him move quickly enough. He shouts something in the pirate pidgin a weird mix of Lyseni and Braavosi that probably means nothing to anyone but him, and raises his blade to strike back, aiming to disarm the Lord of Southshield.
Wat attacks Justyn with his sword…
...with no result as the two warriors battle!
The cold mist turns to a spattering rain as the fight begins in earnest. The grey-cloaked Griffin leaps into the fray, surging toward Ser Hallen Hardy. But Hardy will wait, it seems, for between Almer and the turncloak knight is the pirate called Alayne the Armless. Almer spins away from a spear-thrust from one of Hardy’s men, and lays into Alayne with a flashing sword strike.
Almer attacks Alayne Armless with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Harlen Blackblade growls, watching the Kingsguard come towards him, and lifts up a weapon, a fierce snarl crossing his face. He spits off to one side, lips cracking open and baring a snaggle-toothed almost feral smile. He lets out a grunt in pain. “You bloody white-cloaked bastard,” he hisses, not doubling over with pain, but certainly feeling it. He raises a blade of his own, striking back to knock Jaesin’s legs out from under him.
Harlen Blackblade attacks Jaesin with his spear…
...and sees his blow go astray!
Not his head again! Perhaps the Lion-bandanna said too loudly ‘hit here’ - but there he goes, Josmyn gets a flat blade against his skull that makes stars explode in front of his inner eyes. “Effing bastard!”, he growls under his breath, gritting his teeth, before swinging around and trying to run his blade into Ladybane’s side…
Josmyn attacks Leywin Ladybane with his sword…
...and strikes him with a powerful blow!
Yollo spots the Ryger heir coming and turns to meet him, but he turns too slow and Willard’s blade finds it’s mark. The steel parts leather and steel and opens a bloody rent in Yollo’s side. He staggers back off the blade then bumping against the skiff, snarls in the tounge of the Free Cities and strikes with the madness of cornered beast, first with the spiked buckler in the right hand and following it with a slash of the curved blade in his left.
Yollo attacks Willard with his sword…
...and has his blow intercepted by Willard’s shield.
Alayne has been keeping an eye on the Connington knight and meets him, snarling and letting out a noise and a string of colourful invective at the blow that lays his armour open down to the thin layer of chain. He growls, eyes widening, and strikes back at Almer through a sharp haze of pain.
Alayne Armless attacks Almer with his mass weapon…
...and merely strikes a glancing blow!
The Lord of Southshield grins with confidence as his blow lands, shifting with relative ease to parry off the retaliatory blow that comes with his shield. Again his blade flashes high, only to be pulled back and swung low, the feint hopefully drawing the pirate’s attention away, allowing the sword to bite into the man’s thigh.
Justyn attacks Wat with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Smiling the cool, almost fey smile of the supremely confident swordsman, Ser Jaesin slides deftly to the left. Harlen’s sword-swipe carries past him, and with an almost casual disregard for his opponent, the white knight calmly delivers a backhanded slash toward the shoulder of the foe’s swordarm.
Leaping up onto a slick black boulder, Ser Hallen Hardy shouts at his men. “It’s the Snake’s men, boys!” he cries, spittle going everywhere. “Up and at ‘em!” He points at the two converging pincers of the attack, leaps down from his perch, and begins laying about with his sword. A couple of men stagger back from the fierce onslaught, reeling in pain.
Jaesin attacks Harlen Blackblade with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
The scream of the pirate makes Willard smile, but only for a second - when fighting, the usually smiling and talkative young knight is quiet and solemn, rarely making a noise, his eyes on his prey and never looking away. This does help as he takes a quick step back to avoid the shield bash and expertly catches Yollo’s blade on his own shield. Then he pushes the shield away in a sweeping motion, hoping to push away Yollo’s sword-arm as well and makes a lightning quick overhead slash at the hand with the sword.
Willard attacks Yollo with his sword…
...and has his blow intercepted by Yollo’s shield.
With a skitter of metal, Alayne Armless’ mace rebounds from the ringmail on Almer’s leather jack. He winces and recoils from the impact, but does not retreat; once more, and quickly, Connington slices at the pirate, seeking to end him with a backhanded slash to the throat.
Almer attacks Alayne Armless with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Alayne Armless is rocked back in the saddle by Almer’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
The Blackblade lets out a hiss of pain as his arm is cut, sword slicing through thin armour that the spear-wielding man had relied upon, trying to keep his enemy at a distance. Jaesin’s gotten into range, however, and with that blow, his grip on his spear loosens and he lets it slide through his hands, trying to make a swing at the Kingsguard knight’s own sword arm. He’s nearly lost full use of his good arm, though, and it’s with desperation that he now fights.
Harlen Blackblade attacks Jaesin with his spear…
...and merely strikes a glancing blow!
Yollo snarls as his blade is pushed away, but catches Willard’s blade between the spikes on his buckler. Snarling so close that Willard can smell the stink of his breath, Yollo throws his body against the Ryger knight to drive him back, his blade flicking snake-tounge quick for a strike at his leg.
Yollo attacks Willard with his sword…
...and merely strikes a glancing blow!
Justyn’s blow lands hard enough to make Wat cry, and there is blood pouring from his thigh and taking him to the ground. But he has not finished yet; he swings his blade with all his strength, looking to take Serry’s legs out from under him.
Wat attacks Justyn with his sword…
...and merely strikes a glancing blow!
Leywin Ladybane, meanwhile, is not so easily bested. Josmyn’s blade does take him in the side, and he bleeds, but he does not go down, and only falters for a pair of heartbeats. “Bloody knights,” he grumbles, aiming still again for Josmyn’s tender head.
Leywin Ladybane attacks Josmyn with his polearm…
...and strikes him with a powerful blow!
Alayne gurgles, dropping to one knee at the cut, raising a hand to his newly-bloodied neck, and making a swing with the heavy axe in hand towards Almer - something, anything, that might make a mark. Fingers grip wet with blood on the haft, and it’s the strength he can muster as he swings the axe with all his might, cursing the Griffin knight and spitting blood up as he swings.
Alayne Armless attacks Almer with his mass weapon…
...and strikes him with a swift blow!
Momentarily taking his eyes from the immediate foe, Ser Jaesin glances up to find the leader of the foemen—and in those blue eyes a flicker of recognition passes. Ser Hallen Hardy. The Lannister’s gaze narrows ere he returns his attention to the so-called Blackblade—
A half-second too late.
The spear glances off Ser Jaesin’s parrying steel, scoring the leather along his swordarm; his lips curl in pain and annoyance. Lannister follows through then, seeking to use the pirate’s momentum against him, and plunges his longsword with a deadly intent toward the man’s underarm—and his heart.
Jaesin attacks Harlen Blackblade with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Harlen Blackblade is driven from the saddle!
Josmyn is surely earning himself the moniker Ironhead in Crackclaw, when -another- blow hits his head. “Fucking gerroff me!”, he yells and takes a step back, just to launch into another attack with fresh strength, again trying to simply run the man through with his blade.
Josmyn attacks Leywin Ladybane with his sword…
...and sees his blow go astray!
Perhaps there was a place in this fight for his waterdancing practice after all. Having successfully crippled his opponent, bringing him to his knees, the Lord of Southshield dances away from the pirate’s sword as it swings out at his legs in return, the tip managing to slice into Justyn’s breeches, but doing little else. Sensing the fight might be drawing to a close, Lord Serry gives a flourish of his blade and attempts to knock the pirate out with a fairly inelegant punch to the face with the hilt of his blade.
Justyn attacks Wat with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Wat is rocked back in the saddle by Justyn’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
As the Armless’ desperate counterstrike takes him swiftly on the shoulder, Almer reels in pain; but it is not enough to slow his fierce onslaught. He presses the pirate hard, determined to run Alayne through and end his wretched life. Almer thrusts his blade into the very heart of the pirate’s defences, right at the exposed hollow of his throat.
Almer attacks Alayne Armless with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Alayne Armless is driven from the saddle!
The shock is clear in Blackblade’s eyes as he looks to Jaesin, unexpected as the sword slides into unprotected space, past armour and through thin skin, past ribs and lungs and into his heart, and it’s with blood on his lips that he dies, spear clattering the ground.
Alayne catches the blade in the throat, spitted neatly like a pig or frog or fowl, barely having enough time to recover from the axe-blow before Almer nearly severs his head from his neck, and the pirate collapses, lifeless.
“Ha!” burps Leywin when he leaps nimbly aside from Josmyn’s paltry sword swing. “Gots a sore ‘ead, does it?” He dances from foot to foot mockingly, then takes another swing toward that head, which must surely be ringing—but this time he aims the edge of his blade, not the flat.
Leywin Ladybane attacks Josmyn with his polearm…
...and has his blow intercepted by Josmyn’s shield.
Wat, meanwhile, is perhaps not quite dead yet, for he manages to roll aside just in time to miss Justyn’s punch. He emits a foul curse in his incomprehensible pidgin and just swings wildly with his notched blade in obvious hope of hitting Justyn somewhere.
Wat attacks Justyn with his sword…
...with no result as the two warriors battle!
“Fuck”, is all the Ryger knight has time to mutter as he’s pushed back and the blade of his foe is coming fast at his leg. Instead of dodging, he moves forward even closer - his leg touched by the blade leaving only a mark on the chain hauberk - and his sword in his hand is aiming at the pirates stomach.
Willard attacks Yollo with his sword…
...and strikes him with a swift blow!
Josmyn brings up his shield in time for a change and parries the next blow, thereby protecting his precious head. “Least I still got a head, bastard, yours will soon be rolling at your feet!”, he growls angrily and this time lifts his sword higher to hit Ladybane straight in the neck as if trying to chop it off…
Josmyn attacks Leywin Ladybane with his sword…
...with no result as the two warriors battle!
“Gods DAMN them!” Furious, Ser Hallen Hardy sees his men crumpling before the furious attack of the Warden’s force. He strides into the battle, smashing aside any who would offer him challenge. Seeing one who appears to be a leader of the enemy, he raises his blade and screams. “You. BASTARD!”
Even as the turncloak knight shouts at him, Almer is wrenching his red-stained blade from the lifeless throat of Alayne Armless. He turns, surprised, and then dashes forward to meet Hallen. “Come and face me, traitor,” he says darkly.
Almer attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...and has his blow intercepted by Ser Hallen Hardy’s shield.
“Still gots me ‘ead, still gots it,” sings Leywin, who has obviously hit his dancing stride. “It’s a knight but I ain’t,” he sings some more, evading Josmyn’s strike with a neat bend of his spine backwards, “I cuts ‘is ‘ead and ‘e’s a haint.” Laughing at his clever rhyme, the Ladybane takes a mighty swing toward Josmyn’s head.
Leywin Ladybane attacks Josmyn with his polearm…
...and merely strikes a glancing blow!
From the outskirts of the melee come a pair of fighters that had waited to see the way the tide was turning—and it was not turning well, and it is with an almost glee that the man with a morningstar and man with spear and a light shield dart into the fray, moving in towards the Lannister knight. The one with the spear moves first, making a move for a piercing blow towards the Lannister’s groin.
Ednyved attacks Jaesin with his spear…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
The Lord of Southshield narrows his eyes as the blow misses. Lord Serry casually remarks, “Very well,” in a tone more as if he were presented something displeasing by a servant rather than failing to knock out or kill a pirate. Deciding that simplicity may be the best way to go, Justyn swings his blade in a deliberate arch toward the pirate’s neck.
Justyn attacks Wat with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Wat is driven from the saddle!
Yollo grunts something in the bastard Valaryian of the Free Cities when Willard’s sword strikes home. The armor takes the brunt of the attack but it does little good for the wound in his side. Face to face with Willard, Yollo spits in his face before driving his blade towards Willard’s stomach in an attempt to gut him.
Yollo attacks Willard with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Laughing, Hallen turns aside Almer’s strike with his blue crab shield, launching a low cut in return. The huge man must have five stone on the tall young knight, and the power he puts behind the strike is fierce.
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Almer with his mass weapon…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Almer is rocked back in the saddle by Ser Hallen Hardy’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
Josmyn glares at the irritating singer, but at least he’s learned to use his shield better by now and to dodge the next attack, so the pirate’s blade more or less just brushes him. And he uses the proximity of his opponent to try and run his sword into his side… again. “SHUT UP!”, he hisses during that.
Josmyn attacks Leywin Ladybane with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Leywin Ladybane is driven from the saddle!
Wat looks stupidly surprise to find blood spurting from his mouth. His eyes lock for a moment with Justyn’s as he gurgles; then the light goes out of them and he is staring sightlessly at the sky with a sword in his throat.
The turncloak knight’s heavy strike hammers Almer in the ribs; Hallen’s blade cuts ringmail and leather, scoring into the flesh, and he reels in pain. Stumbling back, Connington lashes out wildly with a high strike at Hardy’s eyes.
Almer attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...with no result as the two warriors battle!
“What a pretty knight it is,” sings Leywin Ladybane—just before he must catch his guts in his hands and his own weapon falls from his fingers. “Oh,” he says, looking up at Josmyn. “It killed me. Can’t live with me guts all out.” Then he drops, the look of stunned surprise frozen forever on his face.
With a grim efficiency, Ser Jaesin pulls his blade back from the corpse of Harlen Blackblade in time to sense the onset of another pair of… worthies. The first attack takes him almost unawares, catching the Kingsguard’s hip as he twists away, the spear driving his ringmail deep into his flesh and perhaps even piercing the skin.
Still a seasoned warrior, though, Lannister follows through on the twist with gritted teeth; the manuver puts him in prime position to strike swiftly for the Morningstar’s head.
Jaesin attacks Adda with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Slapping away Almer’s slash, Hallen bellows in rage. “Come on, Griffin!” He throws his considerable bulk into a bull-rush, hoping to knock Connington onto the ground and, presumably, out of the fight.
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Almer with his mass weapon…
...with no result as the two warriors battle!
In the wild chaos of the melee, Ser Hallen Hardy and Almer are carried apart from one another.
The knave with the morningstar reels back, hissing, an ear missing along with a fair bit of fiery red hair that flutters to the ground and makes a retaliatory swing back at Jaesin, seeking to knock a knee out with the heavy spiked mace.
Bad singing -really- pisses me off!”, Josmyn hisses at the dying Ladybane without a scrap of mercy in his voice. He pulls his bloody sword from the man’s body and looks around to see how things are going. But his previously injured head is now seriously exploding with headaches after receiving more hits from Ladybane and he staggers off to find a quiet corner in which to recover….
Adda attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and sees his blow go astray!
The Ryger knight doesn’t fare that well today - hisfoe is still standing, his own stab barely hitting home and now the pirate’s on the counter. Not enough time, not enough space and Willard can feel the sword’s point squeezing through the rings of his mail and even slicing through the boiled leather on his chest. He throws himself backwards to escape the full strength of the jab and is relieved to -not- see his guts spilling. He rolls on the ground, gets to his feet and tries a combo at Yollo - right shoulder, right leg, right side and the right leg again, hoping his speed will make it work.
Willard attacks Yollo with his sword…
...and strikes him with a swift blow!
The huge turncloak’s weight works against him; Almer manages to step aside as Hallen charges by, roaring. Connington, still stinging from the last blow, brings his blade around in a two-handed downward cut aimed at Hardy’s broad armored back.
Almer attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
“BAELOR!” Ser Jaesin cries the rally aloud, reflexively moving back beyond the reach of Adda’s morningstar. “THE KING!” The last shout is made as he pivots to the right, seemingly knowing precisely where Edyvard will be sneaking up behind him; the man who wounded Jaesin earlier now finds himself facing a crosswise slash of Casterly Rock’s finest steel.
Jaesin attacks Ednyved with his sword…
...and strikes him with a swift blow!
“Disgusting,” Lord Serry remarks with a sniff, shoving the pirate’s corpse away with his foot to free his sword again. With confidence, he shifts to attack some of the various hirelings the pirates have managed to hire on, aiming more to disarm and knock out than to kill, utilizing the flamboyant Braavosi style to do so, modified in so far that he has a shield with which to bash and a sword designed more to cut than to stab, both of which work splendidly well in converting the waterdancing into a less-than-lethal form. With some of his Southshield men following along, it does not take much time for Lord Serry to capture a small handful of men.
Ringing like a bell of doom, Almer’s blade hammers into Ser Hallen’s back; the huge man drops to a knee in the mud, blood trickling from his nose. He glances back at the young knight, his eyes wild with rage. “You’ll pay for that, Connington!” Hardy leaps back up with surprising sprightliness, and swings his sword at Almer’s upper body.
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Almer with his mass weapon…
...with no result as the two warriors battle!
Right, right, right again. Willard’s blows rain down on Yollo. The pirate struggles to keep up his leg and shoulder sting from the impact of Willard’s sword. The pirate backs away breathing hard. Then bumping into the skiff once again with nowhere to go he hurls himself at Willard, punching with the buckler and swinging with his sword, right, left, right left, then a final slash to the left with the blade for good measure.
Yollo attacks Willard with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
A parry, a dodge, and Almer’s youth and quickness begin to tell; he turns away Hardy’s counterstrike and delivers a powerful slash of his own, this one at the turncloak’s chest.
Almer attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Ser Hallen Hardy is driven from the saddle!
The sword hits home, crossing chest from shoulder and opening up leather and chain and a fine line of red across his chest. The irritation is clear and the pain equally so as he thrusts forward, putting his full weight behind the spear, hoping to spear Jaesin through - or, at least, into his friend’s spiked mace.
Ednyved attacks Jaesin with his spear…
...and sees his blow go wild!
Again, Ser Jaesin slips aside, a swift, swift spectre of battle in white and gold too dextrous to be speared by Ednyved’s mighty but wild thrustings. Again, the dodge is smartly envisioned, sliding the Kingsguard knight fully into an attack upon Adda in one easy step—no wasted motion, no excess in mind or body. Again, his swordarm uncoils like a serpent.
Again, Jaesin stabs with sharp steel toward the vulnerable underarm, seeking another quick kill.
Jaesin attacks Adda with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Adda is rocked back in the saddle by Jaesin’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
Almer stands over the fallen Ser Hallen; the traitor-knight’s sword, notched and bent, is kicked away with the toe of Almer’s boot. He places his own swordpoint at Hardy’s throat even as the battle continues to swirl all around them. “You turncloak,” Almer says contemptuously, his blade sticky with blood. “You have broken faith with your liege and king, and that will cost you your head.”
Hardy spits at Almer, blood and saliva and a tooth; it makes a dark ribbon across Connington’s high boots. “Fuck you, Griffin. You and your bloody White Cloak.” For that, he earns a kick in the chest.
Continuing along the shore, taking captives where he can, Lord Serry happens to notice a man clad entirely in white screaming out about the King. Upon a second glance, Justyn realizes he recognizes this member of the Kingsguard, for it is Jaesin Lannister, and he is being attacked by two pirates of some notable presence. Leaving the prisoners he has taken in the care of the men he brought along, Lord Serry moves agilely to the aid of the Lannister knight, calling out again, “Southshield!” as he brings his sword down in an arch against the other pirate, aiming for the man’s bicep. Hopefully his unexpected attack will catch the man off guard.
Justyn attacks Ednyved with his sword…
...and strikes him with a swift blow!
Adda lets out a bark, pain forgotten in a brief red blaze of eyes and renewed vigour, despite the thrust towards his arm, the cut that bares bone, and it’s a barely-contained, barely targeted swing of the morningstar at the Lannister’s sword arm, hoping, at least, to crush the blade to the ground if nothing else. A last hope, last flail.
Adda attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and sees his blow go wild!
Willard may be fast, but his opponent checks each of his strikes with his shield or sword and then lashes a flurry of strikes that sends the Ryger reeling. He parries the right slash with his sword, the left with his shield, then takes the right on the side - not hard enough to split his armor, but enough to have the air knocked out of him.
And then comes the finishing touch and his left side explodes in a myriad of colours in his head as the blade comes down, although hitting the shield the blow has such force behind it that it pins Willard’s left arm to his body and makes both his side and arm hurt like all seven hells. He grunts and yells “Fuck me blind and bugger, and shit, fuck fuck FUCK!” and accentuates every ‘fuck’ with a strike of his own, his left arm barely holding the shield up, as his sword does his work, the falling star pommel shining in the morning light.
Willard attacks Yollo with his sword…
...and strikes him with a powerful blow!
Scornfully, Ser Jaesin sidesteps the last, crazed crush of Adda’s morningstar. His lips curl in elegant derision as he steps in close to the man, stabbing upwards with good sharp steel to cut the ruffian if he can. He wastes no more breath on this one than he did on the other; such as these are barely worth the trouble of combat, let alone words.
Jaesin attacks Adda with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Adda is rocked back in the saddle by Jaesin’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
“Bind them.” Almer jerks his chin toward Ser Hallen, and a couple of the men trot over to obey. The battle was sharp and bloody, but short, with only a few remaining pirates giving strong resistance. A number lie dead in the sand, heads split open, hearts’ bood pooling beneath them. Those few who remain kneel with hands tied and mouths gagged.
“You’ll pay for this, Griffin!” Hallen snarls as he, too, is trussed. “I did nothin’ wrong. Selling stores and water ain’t no crime, not even in King’s Landing.”
Almer leans down and strikes the man in the face. “Tell us where Saan is, and perhaps they’ll only send you to the Wall.”
Yollo sags, and spits blood into the sand when Willard’s blow lands. The pirate’s dark hair sticks to his head and his eyes are feverish with pain and desperation. They flit from side to side seeing dead and dying allies on both sides of him and with Willard still standing no way to escape. So he comes forward, feinting high with his blade then jerking back his arm he slashes at Willard’s stomach.
Yollo attacks Willard with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Willard is driven from the saddle!
It’s with a concerted, concentrated effort that the two men circle the Kingsguard knight despite their injuries, Adda and his morningstar far the worse for wear - Justyn’s sweep in to distract Ednyved has angered the man, and he turns his attention, spear in hand, to the Southshield lordling with a hiss, even as Adda pushes on with the morningstar, all too determined for his pain.
Adda attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and sees his blow go wild!
Ednyved attacks Justyn with his spear…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Grinning through bloody teeth, Hallen Hardy laughs bitterly at Almer. “Come ‘ere. I’ll tell you what I know, but not where these scum can hear. And you will have to put in a word for me… the Wall, not the axe, or you get nothin’. On your honor as a knight.”
Almer’s grey eyes narrow suspiciously. “That is not for me to decide, turncloak.” Even so, he kneels beside the bound knight, and the man begins whispering to Connington, even as the battle still sputters on.
Once more, Ser Jaesin sidesteps the falling morningstar. “Doryssa Massey,” he says curtly as all about them, pirates and turncloaks begin to surrender. “Reyna Saltcliffe. They serve the Targaryens, you insolent cur, and Saan has them.”
The Kingsguard knight smiles mirthlessly. “You don’t take the friends of the dragon and escape the dragon’s wrath.” He lifts his red-slicked steel up one last time.
“Or mine.” The blade comes down swift and hard.
Jaesin attacks Adda with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Adda is rocked back in the saddle by Jaesin’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
Well, that was stupid. Eyes wide, the Lord of Southshield attempts to raise his shield to defend against the wild swing of the pirate’s spear, but fails to do so, the blow hitting him hard in the side and knocking the wind out of him. But Justyn isn’t out of the fight just yet. Redoubling his efforts, he swings his sword again, attempting to hack at the man’s arm once again.
Justyn attacks Ednyved with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
It’s a fair guess as to who is more startled that Adda is still up - the Whitecloak or the man with the morningstar. His comrade-in-arms, Ednyved, lets out a wail of pain as his arm is struck, and this seems to bring renewed fervour to the man on his last legs, who makes one final swing at the Lannister knight, something seeming to die away in his eyes as he brings the weapon down on Jaesin’s right leg with as much force as he can muster.
Adda attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and sees his blow go wild!
A cornered animal is that much worse, and just -how- much Willard can see now. As the wounded enraged Yollo’s feint is somehow not noticed by the Ryger knight and his real strike finds his stomach. It hurts, it makes him double over and vomit, and it makes him fall over. The extense of the wound is still to be seen, but Willard will certainly not fight anymore today.
A noise of pain, and then renewed vigour as the spearman shifts his grip with newfound injuries, forcing him to wield the spear one-handed. Ed grips the weapon near the back, and with only one good hand, now, he seeks to use it in a nonstandard way—spinning the weapon as hard as he can to crack the Southshield lord’s ribs and knock the breath out of him, the damned waterdancer.
Ednyved attacks Justyn with his spear…
...and has his blow intercepted by Justyn’s shield.
As Jaesin and Justyn battle on, Almer rises and brushes sand from a knee; he makes a sign to some of the men, who form a ring of steel around the captured and kneeling Ser Hallen. Apparently, judging from the thin smile on his lips, Hardy has told Connington what he wished to know.
“See if Ser Jaesin and Lord Serry need a hand,” Almer tells one of the knights, wiping his sticky sword on the hem of his grey sea-cloak. “And chain those prisoners in their boats. Ser Dagur will want a word with the survivors, I suspect.”
“And still you stand? You should have thrown down your arms.” Ser Jaesin, amazed that Adda staggers on, slips nimbly away from yet another clumsy blow. “If you won’t ask for mercy, I’ll grant it to you.” Pursing his lips, he thrusts again at the overbalanced arsman, aiming for the coup de grace; a different sort of mercy than clemency.
Jaesin attacks Adda with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Adda is driven from the saddle!
A waterdancer with a shield, as it were, something that Lord Serry uses to good effect. The swing of his blade did not leave him open to attack, but instead still allowed him to maneuver his shield just where it needed to be. In coordination with the Kingsguard, the Lord of Southshield swings his blade again, aiming now for the opposite arm, hoping to leave the pirate disarmed. Perhaps literally.
Justyn attacks Ednyved with his sword…
...and strikes him with a swift blow!
Ednyved is rocked back in the saddle by Justyn’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
Spinning away from Adda—sure in the knowledge that his last blow was mortal, never bothering to confirm it with his eyes—the Lannister champion sets his gaze on Edynved. Seeing the man engaged with Lord Serry, Ser Jaesin takes a sliding step closer, sword raised at the ready, seeking an opening but not yet striking.
And it is down the man goes, crumpling, the look of unadulterated surprise clear as the Kingsguard knight strikes him down, his own weight carrying him off the blade to fall in a limp heap on the ground.
Ednyved is not down yet, and the death of his compatriot only serves to redouble his fury as he whips the spear around again, this time from the other side, hoping to slice into the Southshield lord from the other side.
Ednyved attacks Justyn with his spear…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Justyn is driven from the saddle!
Yollo flashes his blood stained teeth as Willard goes down. Then the desperation of his situation dawns on him and he turns and bounds for the skiff hoping to make good his escape.
“Stop that man.” Almer sees Yollo the pirate slipping off to one of the boats. When nobody makes an immediate move, Connington shakes his head in exasperation. “Damn it.” He dashes toward the shore, raising his blade and launching into a quick attack; the sword slash is aimed at Yollow’s fleeing back.
Almer attacks Yollo with his sword…
...and strikes him with a powerful blow!
Yollo is rocked back in the saddle by Almer’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
Ser Jaesin’s blue eyes flash with outrage as the sellsword… pirate… whatever he is, this cur strikes down the Lord Serry. “Serry!” How like the Kingsguard, to call out for his fellow knight first—then his eyes track back to the man’s opponent.
“You’ll pay for that, dog,” Jaesin snaps, wasting no time in unleashing a sudden strike—but what is this? A feint? With incredible swiftness, Lannister steps, spins, and reverse the strike in an upward cut meant to open the man’s guts.
Jaesin attacks Ednyved with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Ednyved is driven from the saddle!
And it is with this fury that Lord Serry is struck, his attempts to parry again with the shield entirely lost. Fortunately, the blow was yet another swing, resulting in no cuts or lacerations. Unfortunately, it hits him hard enough to not only knock the wind out of him, but also to cause his wounds to flare up again. Overcome with pain, the Lord of Southshield topples to the ground.
The spearman blinks once, twice, as his entrails spill out before him, and the spear falls dully to the ground, matched a moment later by the slow collapse of the foeman, still blinking as if this was not the end he had expected.
Almer’s sword blow drives Yollo to his knees. Blood stains the man’s seal skin cloak, and he breathes raggedly for a moment before he roars. “Die! Son of whore!” Rising the man wheels and flings his buckler at Almer’s head before thrusting with the point of his curved blade aimed at Almer’s gut.
Yollo attacks Almer with his sword…
...and misses by a narrow margin!
Even as he finishes the man, Jaesin is sidestepping what’s left of Edynved and striding quickly to Ser Justyn’s side. There he drops to a knee and lifts his voice, cupping a hand before his mouth to cry: “Bandages! Quickly! Someone bind this man’s wounds!”
A pair of Dagur Saltcliffe’s men rush forward to assist; it is to them that Ser Jaesin entrusts Lord Serry’s care. “You fought valiantly,” the Kingsguard tells the young waterdancer, clapping him liftly on the shoulder before standing once more.
Then Ser Jaesin Lannister is striding swiftly toward Harlen Hardy, an ominous and stormy look in his flashing blue eyes.
Side-stepping Yollo’s wild slash, Almer’s fluttering grey cloak is rent; but not, it seems, his flesh. Having followed his target down to the water’s edge, Connington is prepared to make an end.
“You first,” he retorts, the surf curdling around his ankles. And with that, he brings his own sword around in a strong forehanded slash, right at Yollo’s neck.
Almer attacks Yollo with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Yollo is rocked back in the saddle by Almer’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
Yollo staggers back into the surf and the blade that would have opened his throat strikes his chin instead. Bone breaks, blood falls, but the pirate still lives. On his knees again, Yollo, manages a mangled “Not today,” before he drives his sword up at Almer’s groin.
Yollo attacks Almer with his sword…
...and has his blow intercepted by Almer’s shield.
Turning away Yollo’s desperation blow, Almer brings his sword down in a heavy, hard slash. The blade is aimed at the pirate’s collarbone, to cleave him in twain.
Almer attacks Yollo with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Yollo is driven from the saddle!
Approaching where Hardy is bound and held, Ser Jaesin smiles a thin, humourless smile—a Lannister smile, and it cuts like a knife. “You,” he says, and his loud, clear voice is cold and—perhaps disturbingly—devoid of mercy.
“I know you.”
He pauses, all white and gold and shining glory, and glances about to Saltcliffe’s men that have come with himself, Connington, Serry and Ryger. “Somebody get this lout a sword. He’s guilty of more treasons than you know.” Jaesin lets those words settle in for a moment.
Then, cold and hard: “I’m trying him now. By combat, under the law,” the Kingsguard pronounces for all to hear. “Better than he deserves.”
Yollo stares up at Almer with rounded eyes as his blade is pushed from it’s target. When the final blow falls the pirate looks away, murmuring something about R’hllor before the sword cuts through armor, flesh and bone and silence all words to follow. Cut near in two, Yollo’s corpse falls forward and paints the surf at Almer’s feet a cloudy red.
Luthor takes Yollo.
Glancing up, Hallen sees the Kingsguard approach… he laughs, the sound like hollow thunder. “You! I didn’t figure you’d show yer face up here again, Lannister!” he says, wheezing and spitting blood. “Figured you’d stay back in King’s Landing with the other maidens!” He guffaws, and then his eyes widen at Jaesin’s declaration.
As the final resistance flickers out, Almer yanks his sword from Yollo’s body, and kicks the bloody pirate into the surf.
“Get them up and into their boats,” he says, striding back toward the prisoners. Connington sees what is transpiring with Hardy and the Kingsguard, and scowls.
“Silence, turncloak,” Almer barks at Hallen. Then he eyes Jaesin, dubious. “Are you sure that’s wise, coz? He’s more valuable to us alive than dead.”
Katla has partially disconnected.
Lannister glances aside from the outlaw knight to Ser Almer; his smile is calm and his eyes are dispassionate. Where before it carried loudly, now Jaesin’s voice is pitched low, conversational. “I am here for the Targrayens, and to carry out their justice, Cousin,” the Kingsguard says, “but this one has a history, and he’s earned a lion’s claws.”
For a long moment, Almer considers the Kingsguard’s words. “No. The Warden of Crackclaw Point is the King’s law here, Ser Jaesin.” He narrows his eyes then, as the rest of the men begin to gather around.
“But this traitor has wronged you in the past. You are within your rights to demand satisfaction of honour, I think.” He nods to one of the guards to unbind Hardy. “Give him a sword. He’s told me all he knows already.”
Bloody sword in hand, his own white leathers and golden ringmail barely the worse for wear in the previous battle’s wake, Ser Jaesin nods once, curtly, at that. “Call it what you will,” he tells Ser Almer, agreeing to those terms almost too readily—as if from expedience alone. “Just give this man a sword.”
As his hands are cut free, the burly Ser Hallen struggles to his feet. He laughs nastily. “Oh ho,” he says, taking a proffered blade and stepping toward the Lannister. “Honor, is it? So be it, White Cloak. I’ll show you honor!”
And without waiting for any chivalrous preamble, the traitor knight lunges toward Jaesin with a shout. He brings his borrowed sword around in dirty slash at the Kingsguard’s upper body, hoping to take him by surprise.
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and merely strikes a glancing blow!
Ser Jaesin is ready for the charge, and the Queen’s own White Sword pivots back on his left foot, ducking low; the slash glances off his white shield and grazes his mailed shoulder. Even as it does so, Lannister is stepping into his own strike, closing with Hardy and cutting upward with his own blade.
Jaesin attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Grunting, Hardy stumbles back as Jaesin’s blade bites through his hauberk. Already bleeding from his earlier duel with the Griffin, the barrel-chested man shrugs off the pain; the wild light in his eyes hints at his desperation.
The victorious men of the Warden’s forces form a semicircle around the duellists; they watch in grim silence as the two knights do their dance.
Ser Hallen snarls, then lunges toward Jaesin, using his bulk to give weight to a powerful thrust aimed at Lannister’s abdomen.
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and strikes him with a powerful blow!
This time, Ser Jaesin is a step too slow; the sword-thrust stabs through ringmail, and though blunted by the leathers beneath it draws blood on the white. Whirling away from the strike, the Kingsguard counters with a vicious overhand slash, aiming to open his one-time gaoler from shoulder to hip. No words pass his lips; not yet.
Jaesin attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...with no result as the two warriors battle!
Screeching steel punctuates the roar of the surf as Hallen manages to parry Jaesin’s slash; the turncloak laughs. “Come now, Kingsguard! Is that the best the Dragon has to offer?”
Hardy pounds his chest haughtily, beating at the broken blue crab on his surcoat. “This is how -men- fight, boy!” He lunges forward again, launching a hard slash at Jaesin’s upper body.
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and merely strikes a glancing blow!
Again, the burly man’s blow is a step too slow, Lannister sidestepping the worst of the blunt force and catching only a grazing cut on the shield-arm. “It seems to me—what passes for a man in Crackclaw Point,” Jaesin quips, that dancing smile returning as his sword snakes out in a clever strike toward Hardy’s knee, “is sorely lacking among true knights.”
Jaesin attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...and has his blow intercepted by Ser Hallen Hardy’s shield.
The smack of Jaesin’s blade on the wood of his shield brings for another rumbling laugh from the knight of the blue crab. “If you say so, true knight,” Hallen rasps, his eyes wild and wide.
“Mayhaps you should talk less and fight better,” he adds, leaning into a heavy overhanded cut at Jaesin’s shield shoulder.
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...with no result as the two warriors battle!
With a smirk, Ser Jaesin parries the stroke, carrying it downward to the dirt at his side; he is quicker than Hardy, and his riposte is a backhanded slash for the man’s face. “My lord father would be ashamed of me,” he quips as castle-forged steel seeks its soft, fleshy target.
Jaesin attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Hardy grunts in pain as the Kingsguard’s steel cuts home; it leaves a gash across the turncloak’s face, and a weal of blood begins to flow.
If anything, it makes Ser Hallen look even more fearsome. He runs a hand across his eyes, wiping away blood, and spits at Jaesin. “You’ll pay for that, Lannister!” he growls, surging forward once more. He swings hard for Jaesin’s knees, hoping to put his foe on the ground.
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
And Ser Jaesin does pay, surprisingly so, caught in another sidestep with his feet flat on the ground. Hardy’s blade crashes into the ringmail hauberk over his knee, and it is only luck or someone’s distant prayer that keeps it from finding skin, flesh and bone.
Staggered, but unbowed, Lannister lifts his sword behind his head and swivels his wrist as he brings it around, striking a blow to remove head from shoulders in an unarmoured man; for the mailed Ser Hallen, it should be painful at worst.
Jaesin attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
The Kingsguard’s sword bites through Hardy’s mail, gouging along his bulging neck and taking a layer of skin and sinew with it. Blood now pours from neck, face, and from his previous wounds; the huge man is shaky on his feet, and leaking crimson at a copious pace.
But still he will not fall. Hardy is fighting for his life now, and with a savage ferocity that would shame a wounded animal, he gathers himself for a massive, two-handed slash aimed at Jaesin’s own neck…
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and merely strikes a glancing blow!
Tiring now beneath the onslaught but not deprived of his gods-given reflexes, Ser Jaesin leaps backward. He is just ahead of the mighty, two-handed blow; it slices across his chest, only glancing his gold-washed breastplate with its lions and dragons entwined.
As the big man is carried forward by the moomentum of his blow, then, Lannister is quick to double back, drifting almost lazily forward—or is that wearily—with a stabbing thrust for the man’s underarm, a move that’s slain two of Hardy’s men already this day.
Jaesin attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...and strikes him with a hard blow!
Ser Hallen Hardy is rocked back in the saddle by Jaesin’s blow, but manages to keep his seat!
Grunting in pain, Hardy stumbles as Jaesin’s sword-point gouges into the flesh of his armpit and lays open the skin over his ribs. His mail and surcoat slick with blood, his breath coming in gasps, Hallen brings up his blade again.
His movements are lackadaisical with exhaustion and blood loss; his brow a mess of gore and sweat. No energy is spared for words of defiance, and everything is poured into a hard, downward cut; this aimed at the crown of the Kingsguard’s golden head.
Ser Hallen Hardy attacks Jaesin with his mass weapon…
...and strikes him with a swift blow!
Jaesin is driven from the saddle!
Ser Jaesin tries to duck aside, but a dozen blows great and small have slowed him; the overhand cut crashes down on his helm, staggering the Kingsguard and sending him reeling. No glib quips now from his golden tongue as he stumbles backward, shield held up before him.
Brash laughter erupts from Hallen as Lannister stumbles back. The turncloak throws back his head and howls like a savage beast, blood bubbling from his lips. But his pride is his mistake. The wounds inflicted earlier by the Griffin on torso and belly are torn open in the motion, and crimson begins to blossom on his blue crab surcoat.
Cursing, Hallen Hardy doubles over and clutches at his bleeding stomach. In the doing, he lowers his sword and takes his eyes off Ser Jaesin for a moment…
Battered and blooded, scarlet-turning-crimson staining his fine white leathers and mantle, Ser Jaesin seizes the opportunity. Blue eyes flashing, he steps forward as swiftly as he may—not fully balanced, perhaps, but still strong and quick at the core—and brings his sword down hard toward the neck of this Hardy—twice a traitor, friend to pirates and once, a man who imprisoned the King’s own emissary.
Jaesin attacks Ser Hallen Hardy with his sword…
...and strikes him with a shattering blow!
Ser Hallen Hardy is driven from the saddle!
As the Hardy man collapses beneath the swordstroke, spitting blood, Ser Jaesin falls to a knee beside him. Lying his bloodied blade across the traitor’s neck, the golden-haired knight leans down and close to Ser Hallen’s ear.
Still breathing raggedly, Hardy’s gaze locks with Ser Jaesin’s.
“You falsely imprisoned a messenger of the King,” the Kinsguard whispers. “You took him and his man unawares in the night. Overwhelmed them. Seized them. Ill-treated them….”
“When you meet your friends in hell, tell them this,” Ser Jaesin says coolly, for the dying man’s ears but loud enough to be heard by the ring of watchers. “A Lannister always pays his debts.”
Then he pushes himself up and away in disgust, staggering two.. three… four steps from the dying traitor to fall to his knees and vomit wretchedly.
Unfolding his arms, Almer Connington stirs at last—he has been standing stock-still, watching the combat with cold, impassive grey eyes. When Jaesin kills his man, the Griffin says nothing. He turns on his heel and begins heading toward the smallboats.
“Dispose of that,” he rasps to one of the guards, indicating the crumpled form of Ser Hallen Hardy. “Gather up the wounded and get them back on the ship. We’ll see to the prisoners, and then sail for Dyre Den. Ser Dagur will want word immediately.”