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

Sixth Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

Daenerys had not intended from the start to warn Lord Terrence Massey that his forefathers had seen fit to build their keep atop an ancient dragon's lair where some of its treasure may yet lie. Loyalist or no, she did not count an accident of geography cause enough for them to claim any of the spoils. However, foresight of a kind both mundane and magical had other plans in store.


So spoke the voice of the dreams giving warning with twisted tongue as ever, and so she had dared to dread deeper still and ask what the watcher came for and whence it arose from, if it could be reasoned or bargained with. The answers made a grim hearing—some malevolence dwelt below, jealously guarding the hoard. Worse still it was as likely to flee upwards towards the surface as down into the lightless depths from whence it rose should it be outmatched in battle. It would seek new prey to feast upon before returning. Lord Massey, his family, and his retainers could all be in peril then. He had to be warned.

So here the four of them stood waiting to meet the Lord of Stonedance, Ser Richard leaning slightly on the wall with a deceptive slouch to complement the glamour he still wore, Mereth staring so fixedly at the door to the study that Dany was almost concerned it would catch fire from the sheer weight of her frustration, and Sandor who seemed to be taking the unexpected change of plans in stride no matter how strange the cause.

Finally the door creaked open with audible reluctance to reveal a sandy-haired man far too young to be the lord of the keep who was nonetheless standing at ease behind the heavy oak desk. From the three spirals of Massey displayed proudly on his surcoat, Dany guessed he must be one of the lord's sons, the heir to judge by the sheer confidence of his smile.

Sure enough the knight introduced himself as Ser Justin Massey, heir of Stonedance and master of the keep in his father's absence. If nothing else he would probably be easier to convince of the necessity of removing whatever had taken up residence beneath the family keep, the princess reasoned.


Other than the usual moment of bemusement on witnessing her manner and dress, the knight proved courteous enough, his easy smile at least partly sincere as he handed out drinks. "You know, they say Aegon and Visenya visited Stonedance shortly before they dealt with Argilac the Arrogant. To history repeating itself," he toasted.

Dany raised her cup gamely enough, but the good cheer bounced off of her companions like a pebble skimming off steel.

"No doubt it will soon, but that is not why we are here," Dany explained, schooling her features not to grimace when drinking wine. She still hadn't gotten the hang of it, and to tell the truth she was not entirely sure she wanted to. "Through divinations whose details are not worth recounting now, we have discovered that there might be some dark presence lingering beneath Stonedance, and in this age of rising magic it is only prudent to deal with it sooner rather than later." None of what she said was untrue, and it made a much smoother telling than looking for treasure first and finding out about the monster second.

"And you need a few swords to handle it of course, only natural really. It's not the job of a lord to stand about with his thumb in..." The knight cut himself off. "Er... that is to stand around and let the King's men handle it alone."

I must have disconcerted him more than I realized, Dany thought, oddly enough warming to the knight. She would take accidental crudity of expression over muttering prayers under one's breath as a reaction any day. "The offer is appreciated, but mostly we wish to ensure there is no one in the cellars or the dungeons once we find a way lower. Otherwise whatever is down there might think to flee upwards, potentially doing a great deal of harm."

"Easily done, it's not like anyone enjoys going down there," Ser Justin replied. "However, I must insist on accompanying you. If something truly is..." He paused again, this time the silence holding a grimmer tone. "It feels strange to be recounting this to you as a man grown, but there have always been stories the keep's children, highborn and low, tell to frighten each other about something that lives in the dungeons—the Snatcher, the Teeth-Gnasher, the Watcher..."

A start of recognition went through Dany at the last name. It could have just been a coincidence, but it didn't feel like one.

"Just the sight of it is supposed to kill people with fright, but they are the lucky ones. Those it wants to make a meal of it drags down into the dark, never to be seen again. If this thing is real, if it's been killing people under House Massey's protection for who knows how long, then it's only right that we have some hand in ending it." The knight was not smiling now, in fact the expression he wore was one the Storm Kings of old might have found familiar during their long bitter wars for the Hook.

"This isn't a nursery rhyme," Ser Richard said bluntly. "You can end up dead as easily as in battle, easier maybe given the kind of things that live down in the depths."

To his credit Ser Justin did not just snap back, but seemed to think about it a moment. "This is something I must do, Highness."

"Alright," Dany replied. "We need to get you armed and armored in something better than steel."

OOC: I was going to do this in one interlude, I had everything planned out... and then Justin Massey stole the show being smooth and unabashedly ambitious for royal favor. There will be one more interlude with the fight against the Watcher proper from Ser Richard's PoV.