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A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover

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Hmm, kick in the front door or stake out the place?

Both have pros and cons, but Waymar has the right of it, I think. Whatever we do, it needs to be quiet.
 
I wish I had gotten home in time to ask DP some questions about the layout of the neighborhood.

Anyone familiar with Old Town's basic layout? Are town homes built directly abutting one another like they would be on Earth?

If so, it should be relatively simple to determine whether or not either home adjoining the GC base are currently occupied. Even if occupied, that's only a minor speed bump, though it would be cleaner to not have to deal with the residents.
 
We're going to save their assess on the background so that they can talk shit about us in the foreground.

Stay classy Westeros.
 
Preliminary plan. Thoughts and suggestions?

[X] Plane Stake Out
-[X] Determine which town homes nearest the Golden Company's base are currently occupied and which are vacant.
--[X] Quietly and carefully setup a temporary observation base in the best candidate among the surrounding town homes. If one directly adjacent to the Golden Company base can be acquired without alerting them to our presence, do so even if it is occupied; residents will be cast into enchanted slumber and their memories modified, if necessary. From this observation post, we will monitor the comings and goings of the Golden Company members in Old Town while waiting for the rest of them, especially the more powerful mage, to return from whatever errand they are on.
--[X] Viserys, Waymar, Richard, and Lya, along with a pair of Erinyes, will maintain the observation post.
---[X] Should it prove necessary, Lya will be prepared to immediately drop a Forbiddance ward on the Golden Company's base and the town homes surrounding it, along with the ground beneath it to a depth of at least sixty feet and the air above it to a similar distance, using her Inspired Spell Mythic Power while Viserys uses his Wild Arcana Mythic power to duplicate the effects of a Mirage Arcana spell on the area to temporarily hide the effects of combat from the Lantern Bearers and others within the city.
--[X] While the Golden Company is being observed, four teams of three Erinyes each will be surreptitiously scouting the surrounding neighborhoods and places determined most likely to contain more of our prey. If any are found, they will contact Viserys before taking further action, either to follow their quarry or to subdue them.
 
I'm fully expecting to have Illithids' puppets, Fey, Devils, and conspirators of all sizes and shapes to be present at this conclave.

I'm not looking forward to it :/
So many people I want to kill, but can't D:
 
egoo said:
I'm fully expecting to have Illithids' puppets, Fey, Devils, and conspirators of all sizes and shapes to be present at this conclave.

I'm not looking forward to it :/
So many people I want to kill, but can't D:
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Everything we see at the Conclave, unless it's expressly protected by Mind Blank or wards of similar power, becomes fair game for Scry-and-Die tactics following the event. We won't come away from that completely empty handed, since we're going to be seeing lots of faces, reading lots of minds, and closely inspecting every bit of magical protection available to the attendees.
 
This whole thing...
@Goldfish, it all feels extremely alike to that time we went to stake out a spy fleeing from SD.

An entire day was spent for naught, and Tor's house blew up in the meanwhile.

Can't we just spam divination for quick "where to catch whom"-results, instead of doing
From this observation post, we will monitor the comings and goings of the Golden Company members in Old Town while waiting for the rest of them, especially the more powerful mage, to return from whatever errand they are on.
--[X] Viserys, Waymar, Richard, and Lya, along with a pair of Erinyes, will maintain the observation post.
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Click to shrink...
?

I'd really rather not spend a whole day or two just waiting for a good moment when we can divinate for that sort of stuff right off the bat.
Also, Erynies could look into stuff much more efficiently if divintions are done aplenty.

These guys are really unlikely to have Mindblanks, after all :V
 
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egoo said:
This whole thing...
@Goldfish, it all feels extremely alike to that time we went to stake out a spy fleeing from SD.

An entire day was spent for naught, and Tor's house blew up in the meanwhile.

Can't we just spam divination for quick "where to catch whom"-results, instead of doing
?

I'd really rather not spend a whole day or two just waiting for a good moment when we can divinate for that sort of stuff right off the bat.
Also, Erynies could look into stuff much more efficiently if divintions are done aplenty.

These guys are really unlikely to have Mindblanks, after all :V
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Old Town is getting the lion's share of Viserys' attention this month. We might as well get a good head start now.
 
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Canon Omake: Even In Context
  • Threadmarks
    • Even In Context
    ​
    Fifth Day of the Ninth Month 293 AC
    <<<Previous Next>>>

    Princess Arianne,

    Denys wondered where the delicate line of propriety truly began and ended, and if he would rather risk irritating Her Highness by once again addressing a letter by her full list of titles. Certainly, he wouldn't be calling her 'Ari' any time soon, or any other diminutive, else he would begin starting his mornings by dosing himself with a new poison in preparation for immunization (and practicing application of antivenom as much as any other tonic or elixir), because it's not as though each of his letters weren't already being read twice by some trusted chamberlain and at least once by her father before finally winding up in her hand.

    Denys also reflected on when such cynical thoughts began dancing so lightly across his mind before ultimately being dismissed as less, if not completely, inconsequential, compared to other concerns.

    I hope this letter finds you well. In continuing with our previous correspondence, myself and my companions have begun to settle into our service here in Sorcerer's Deep with all due haste. With the festivities over with, there is no shortage of tasks which must be accomplished in as timely a manner as possible. With that in mind, I have decided to forego sleeping, filling those hours by going over the notations I make during the day and correcting minor mistakes toward untested formula, to minimize risk of dangerous reactions during the following experimental phases.

    As Denys absentmindedly continued to pen his letter in neat and well-formed script, he quietly marveled at the grand working he had witnessed mere days past, as well as the numerous benefits already rapidly felt from it.

    Without using mind altering substances to make his thoughts just a tad sharper than they would be normally, he could not study quite as efficiently unless completely rested, but he performed his duties adequately otherwise, and still managed to remain productive.

    And he would have to take advantage of that, since going by the notes Ser Waymar had provided him, his earlier thoughts had been confirmed. It was extremely difficult to teach their craft to prospective students. A fine mixture of manual dexterity when handling volatile reagents once activated, and careful manipulation of the equipment, as much as quick wits and perhaps a good dose of common sense, were all required if one hoped to excel.

    Criston is currently preparing the secondary criteria of recruitment standards for a new order of Knights that the King and Ser Royce have decided to see founded this month. While Ser Waymar has been setting a great example to the prospective recruits, Criston has complained a time or two that they will have to be as disciplined and drilled as veteran Knights if they hope to make maximum use of their mounts' capabilities. And to keep their seats without magic saddles to keep them from falling from great heights. He had more words to say about young Knights with stars in their eyes dreaming of taking off into the wide blue horizon, but they would be far too coarse to put to page.

    Ceria is currently abroad, conducting some important research which should have some interesting implications for colonization of the southern shores. I asked her to retrieve me some samples from the South, of local plants or even animals, while she was there. This should prove fruitful for my current endeavor, and the mysteries of reagents from a distant, far-off and exotic land have had me nearly vibrating with excitement. Not to say that my current accommodations and resources have been inadequate. Far from it!

    The King directed me to speak with a senior official from both the Bureau of Trade for sourcing the glass-works as well as extra-planar reagents, and the Royal Steward even wrote me special dispensation for the purposes of contracting several of her personal contacts in Myr. Magically hardened equipment also opens up thousands of potential paths that were once filled with unreasonable degrees of risk.

    A heavily reinforced barrier was still necessary at times, and Denys had dived behind it more than once already due to finding some new and spectacular way to make even hardened crystal equipment violently react to some of the more exotic materials he had been provided access to early on, before that habit of his was discovered by a visiting Investigator and a point of contact was made for the purposes of monitoring his requisitions, but already he was outpacing the previous speed Ser Waymar had set off at. He didn't resent the extra caution. In fact he had flourished under the restrictions, it had forced him to become more creative and sparing.

    It was only a shame he and Lady Tyene were too busy to assist, he had wanted to ask why no one had thought to take advantage of what opportunities superbly resilient equipment and the myriad containment measures easily within their reach would have allowed in terms of research. True, he had not yet managed to convince any of the accredited mages who had studied Alchemy enough to run one of the production facilities a ways off from the city proper to participate in his current studies, for some reason he couldn't quite place they were emphatically content to manage the extremely productive and large batches of products--astounding in itself that Sorcerer's Deep boasted an entire industry of alchemy for public consumption.

    But it was only a matter of time until their curiosity got the better of them.

    He had found at least two new uses for common extracts of Silverine Tubers, for instance, easily the third most purchased type of alchemical reagent from the Plane of Earth, and the Xorn caravans had appreciated the extra custom he had paid to them in the last week alone.

    The King has charged me with compiling more finalized material for a proper course on Alchemy, and many of the notes I am working with are quite fascinating, penned by your cousin's hand or else Ser Royce, whose talents with the blade I would dare say almost impede his brilliance in the laboratory.

    Were it not for the fact that he could likely shatter any number of deathless champions with mighty magics or send small hosts running for the hills, the likes of which I can still scarcely comprehend even after all I have already seen, I would have considered begging him to remain behind. As it stands I am just barely able to keep up with both.

    Denys paused to imbibe a clearly marked crystal vial, an extract he made to deal with the swiftly encroaching affliction the fumes he had nearly breathed in had still imparted upon him, the shortness of breath he had been experiencing receding soon after. Being able to cure oneself of all manner of impediments was one of his favorite parts of his newfound calling. He had spent one day volunteering in the Houses of Healing while Lady Vee was absent, and had gotten a few gimlet eyed stares for dolling out cures and treatments with barely any proper diagnoses.

    Of course if his treatments work, they didn't complain.

    They always worked. He was too careful when preparing them. The experience had taught him much of value, though.

    He would work to improve safety standards as much as possible over the course of the next month. Perhaps one of those filtration masks as a standard part of the prospective students' kit... people shouldn't have to risk breathing in some strange substance even if they could deal with it from the other fruits of their labor, come to that.

    Ting has been more mysterious these past few days. Whatever it is that is occupying his attention, he seems to have taken on the same spirit of productiveness as much as the rest of us, though the ones approaching him are certain to be... unique. While I feel like there is much of worth in his teachings, I think perhaps I don't have the right mindset to understand the implications of him taking on a real apprentice. I have been more concerned with bottling miracles so that even someone without understanding of the higher mysteries can defend themselves and the Realm simply by upending a crystal bottle.

    That is perhaps the best gift that I am currently capable of giving to them, in prosperity and under the specter of conflict, a legible label and a reliable magic.

    Still, our participation in the Arena has given me much to reflect on, and I have been polishing my bladework. I think that learning to wield a lighter blade more skillfully would synergize best with the forumula I told you about. I had other ideas to be of further use in battle, but explosives are rather indiscriminate and unsubtle. My goal is to at least match Ceria while enhanced with similar battle magics. She is becoming quite fearsome with that warhammer by the day, but my ambitions for being able to match unholy champions sword to sword are still a distant dream.

    Not that I'm going to be giving up.

    After all, if you could change your body to more closely resemble the beings who you contend with, even if only temporarily, there is no reason why he should not be able to hone the skill needed to make use of those qualities.

    Throughout spare moments he could direct toward composing this letter, Denys was also able to quietly contemplate just how his life had been upended so drastically in a matter of months that he could claim even erratic, if not regular, contact with a Princess of the Realm.

    He also wondered who had been delivering him meals...

    Until we speak again,

    Denys Trainer
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Crake said:
    Even In Context
    ​
    Fifth Day of the Ninth Month 293 AC

    Princess Arianne,

    Denys wondered where the delicate line of propriety truly began and ended, and if he would rather risk irritating Her Highness by once again addressing a letter by her full list of titles. Certainly, he wouldn't be calling her 'Ari' any time soon, or any other diminutive, else he would begin starting his mornings by dosing himself with a new poison in preparation for immunization (and practicing application of antivenom as much as any other tonic and elixir), because it's not as though each of his letters weren't being read twice by some trusted chamberlain and at least once by her father before finally winding up in her hand.

    Denys also reflected on when such cynical thoughts began dancing so lightly across his mind before ultimately being dismissed as less, if not completely, inconsequential, compared to other concerns.

    I hope this letter finds you well. In continuing with our previous correspondence, myself and my companions have begun to settle into our service here in Sorcerer's Deep with all haste. With the festivities over with, there is no shortage of tasks which must be accomplished in as timely a manner as possible. With that in mind, I have decided to forego sleeping, filling those hours by going over the notations I make during the day and correcting minor mistakes toward untested formula, to minimize risk of dangerous reactions during the following experimental phases.

    As Denys absentmindedly continued to pen his letter in neat and well-formed script, he quietly marveled at the grand working he had witnessed mere days past, as well as the numerous benefits already rapidly felt from it.

    Without using mind altering substances to make his thoughts just a tad sharper than they would be normally, he could not study quite as efficiently unless completely rested, but he performed his duties adequately otherwise, and still managed to remain productive.

    And he would have to take advantage of that, since going by the notes Ser Waymar had provided him, his earlier thoughts had been confirmed. It was extremely difficult to teach their craft to prospective students. A fine mixture of manual dexterity when handling volatile reagents once activated, and careful manipulation of the equipment, as much as quick wits and perhaps a fine dose of common sense, were all required if one hoped to excel.

    Criston is currently preparing the secondary criteria of recruitment standards for a new order of Knights that the King and Ser Royce have decided to see founded this month. While Ser Waymar has been setting a great example to the prospective recruits, Criston has complained a time or two that they will have to be as disciplined and drilled as veteran Knights if they hope to make maximum use of their mounts' capabilities. And to keep their seats without magic saddles to keep them from falling from great heights. He had more words to say about young Knights with stars in their eyes dreaming of taking off into the wide blue horizon, but they would be far too coarse to put to page.

    Ceria is currently abroad, conducting some important research which should have some interesting implications for colonization of the southern shores. I asked her to retrieve me some samples from the South, of local plants or even animals, while she was there. This should prove fruitful for my current endeavor, and the mysteries of reagents from a distant, far-off and exotic land have had me nearly vibrating with excitement. Not to say that my current accommodations and resources have been inadequate. Far from it!

    The King directed me to speak with a senior official from both the Bureau of Trade for sourcing the glass-works as well as extra-planar reagents, and the Royal Steward even wrote me special dispensation for the purposes of contracting several of her personal contacts in Myr. Magically hardened equipment also opens up thousands of potential paths that were once filled with unreasonable degrees of risk.

    A heavily reinforced barrier was still necessary at times, and Denys had dived behind it more than once already due to finding some new and spectacular way to make even hardened crystal equipment violently react to some of the more exotic materials he had been provided access to early on, before that habit of his was discovered by a visiting Investigator and a point of contact was made for the purposes of monitoring his requisitions, but already he was outpacing the previous speed Ser Waymar had set off at. He didn't resent the extra caution. In fact he had flourished under the restrictions, it had forced him to become more creative and sparing.

    It was only a shame he and Lady Tyene were too busy to assist, he had wanted to ask why no one had thought to take advantage of what opportunities superbly resilient equipment and the myriad containment measures easily within their reach would have allowed in terms of research. True, he had not yet managed to convince any of the accredited mages who had studied Alchemy enough to run one of the production facilities a ways off from the city proper to participate in his current studies, for some reason he couldn't quite place they were emphatically content to manage the extremely productive and large batches of products--astounding in itself that Sorcerer's Deep boasted an entire industry of alchemy for public consumption.

    But it was only a matter of time until their curiosity got the better of them.

    He had found at least two new uses for common extracts of Silverine Tubers, for instance, easily the third most purchased type of alchemical reagent from the Plane of Earth, and the Xorn caravans had appreciated the extra custom he had paid to them in the last week alone.

    The King has charged me with compiling more finalized material for a proper course on Alchemy, and many of the notes I am working with are quite fascinating, penned by your cousin's hand or else Ser Royce, whose talents with the blade I would dare say almost impede his brilliance in the laboratory.

    Were it not for the fact that he could likely shatter any number of deathless champions with mighty magics or send small hosts running for the hills, the likes of which I can still scarcely comprehend even after all I have already seen, I would have considered begging him to remain behind. As it stands I am just barely able to keep up with both.

    Denys paused to imbibe a clearly marked crystal vial, an extract he made to deal with the swiftly encroaching affliction the fumes he had nearly breathed in had still imparted upon him, the shortness of breath he had been experiencing receding soon after. Being able to cure oneself of all manner of impediments was one of his favorite parts of his newfound calling. He had spent one day volunteering in the Houses of Healing while Lady Vee was absent, and had gotten a few gimlet eyed stares for dolling out cures and treatments with barely any proper diagnoses.

    Of course if his treatments work, they didn't complain.

    They always worked. He was too careful when preparing them. The experience had taught him much of value, though.

    He would work to improve safety standards as much as possible over the course of the next month. Perhaps one of those filtration masks as a standard part of the prospective students' kit... people shouldn't have to risk breathing in some strange substance even if they could deal with it from the other fruits of their labor, come to that.

    Ting has been more mysterious these past few days. Whatever it is that is occupying his attention, he seems to have taken on the same spirit of productiveness as much as the rest of us, though the ones approaching him are certain to be... unique. While I feel like there is much of worth in his teachings, I think perhaps I don't have the right mindset to understand the implications of him taking on a real apprentice. I have been more concerned with bottling miracles so that even someone without understanding of the higher mysteries can defend themselves and the Realm simply by upending a crystal bottle.

    That is perhaps the best gift that I can currently capable of giving to them, in prosperity and under the specter of conflict, a legible label and a reliable magic.

    Still, our participation of the Arena has given me much to reflect on, and I have been polishing my bladework. I think that learning to wield a lighter blade more skillfully would synergize best with the forumula I told you about. I had other ideas to be of further use in battle, but explosives are rather indiscriminate and unsubtle. My goal is to at least match Ceria while enhanced with similar battle magics. She is becoming quite fearsome with that warhammer by the day, but my ambitions for being able to match unholy champions sword to sword are still a distant dream.

    Not that I'm going to be giving up.

    After all, if you could change your body to more closely resemble the beings who you contend with, even if only temporarily, there is no reason why he should not be able to hone the skill needed to make use of those qualities.

    Throughout spare moments he could direct toward composing this letter, Denys was also able to quietly contemplate just how his life had been upended so drastically in a matter of months that he could claim even erratic, if not regular, contact with a Princess of the Realm.

    He also wondered who had been delivering him meals...

    Until we speak again,

    Denys Trainer
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    I dub them...DArriane!

    Great chapter, dude. Denys is always a fun read.
     
    Can't we make a custom saddle for the Griffon Knights? Warlord's Saddle + Featherfall and anything else we want to fit on there.
     
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