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

Tenth Day of the Ninth Month 293 AC

"It is odd that you claim allegiance to the Father, not the Seven, and invoke the Crone when asking for wisdom. Would he do the same, or trust that his judgement is always above such reproach?" The words are far from the kindest you have spoken, in truth you feel a twinge of conscience, followed by a rush of anger.

The being before you had killed mages for no other crime than refusing to abandon their craft. They would never get their chance to confront their murderers, but fade away reviled by kith and kin for having fallen short of an angel's standards, one who has eternity spread out before it. "One thing though I would ask you to ponder in your meditation. How many have you slain not by the blade, but by denying them the help of others? How many of those vile witches and warlocks that wished not to raise their blades for your gods could have become healers and scholars? If you think there is a price for magic to be paid in the future, then there must also be a price paid for its absence. And maybe it would be a much lower price to watch those practitioners for wrongdoing instead of judging them not by their deeds, but by your fears."

To your satisfaction no answer emerges from beneath the gilded helm, no appeal to the Father's divine justice, no further proclamation of the evils of magic, only silence followed by a bow in parting and the rush of air as he wills himself away.

"He is young," Yrael comments, his voice softer than the sound of crickets. "Wrought by the mold of Younger Powers."

You nod, glad to see he shares your discontent. His next words are not so comforting: "Asmodeus was the eldest of us all."



"So..." Dany muses, absently chewing on a piece of sweetroot. "Lucan's angels may not be as united behind him as they were, though on the other hand he will know we are nearby and probably meddling in the Conclave. And on a more immediate note we still need to deal with Ser Garth and his three companions. Having the secondborn heir apparent of House Hightower in the company of three of their most important bannermen at the behest of a traitorous septon could well interfere with more than just the Conclave. Do you have any notion of what they were saying?"

"They rode in mostly silence the remainder of the way and did not speak much upon arriving at Silverbrook."

"That's the manor Garth had been sent to, right?" Ser Richard asks. "Did any of the servants look like they might be taken with Lucan's lunacy?"

"I could not say about the servants, but there were handful of hedge knights garbed in far more magic than they could have reasonably afforded or found. One even had what looked like a soul-bonded weapon," you reply, the face of the dark-hared man who had almost been able to see through your glamour by skill alone clear in your mind. "I think Brother Lucan is using the wine maker's estate as a gathering point."

"But he was not there himself yet?" Dany asked, more to herself than you, for it is clear you would have mentioned seeing the priest first in your account. "I wonder what's keeping him."

"Probably the same thing as you," the Hound speaks up unexpectedly. "Jumping around trying to get his hands on more septons."

"We already have leverage on Septon Kyle's faction, I think we would be best served moving on to either the traditionalists or the High Septon's representative," your mother continues. "Both have authority to move the Conclave, though in slightly different ways, while the Septon Ollidor is seen as bought and paid for. The only votes he is likely to sway are those he brings with him, and perhaps not even those if faced with an impassioned motion."

"Or proof of miracles," you finish. You all have a great deal of work yet to do... and that is not even counting the Fiends and Deep Ones.

What do you do next?

[] Approach the Lantern Bearers to help them deal with at least the Deep One plot you know of once and for all
-[] Write in

[] Use Archmaester Ryam's invitation to infiltrate the Citadel
-[] Write in

[] Approach one of the other factions
-[] Write in

OOC: Really short, but it's very late so I just focused on getting something up.