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

Seventh Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

Your visit to the Opaline Vault the next day is a far quieter thing than the journey to the great Skyhold of the Djinn. With Lya and Vee busy at their studies, Dany and Ser Richard in the Crownlands seeking ancient treasure, and Waymar, Tyene, and Garin already set off to the east even while Maelor and Malarys are busy dealing with the markets of a far less kindly city, you find yourself faced with the somewhat unaccustomed prospect of spending the entire day alone. Granted Ser Richard had made you promise to at least take Leto with you when you set out into the wilder tunnels in search of Darleth the Delver and 'She Who Brings Enlightenment', but you find unexpected company long before that—Xor bobbing along in his true form just as you are preparing to set off to the deep forges of the Shaitan.

"Ah, excellent. I was afraid you had gone already," Xor calls out, his eye-stalks flickering cheerfully. "I had thought to do some shopping of my own while I still have the chance—histories, plays, perhaps I will even branch out into performing some Shaitan songs. What do you think?"

Given that Xor is in the middle of an investigation into the Cult of Zhagreus while also being instrumental to the expanding far-seen plays, you very much doubt he is looking for more things to fill his time, but that makes you appreciate his company all the more.


Xor's appearance has the gift of briefly startling master smith Aegir, but as soon as your friend starts asking questions while peering in five directions at once the Azer snorts in his beard, grumbling something about having seen 'singers of every stripe now' and quickly goes through the formalities of your deal. Twenty pounds of Valyrian Steel for the same quantity in Shackle-Steel. With the arcane mechanism fueled by the corpse of Mammon's Aspect in place the deal is even better for you than it was last month, though from the spark in the smith's eye as he takes the smoky grey ingots he does not feel in the least bit cheated either.

Lost 20 lb. of Valyrian Steel

Gained 20 lb. of Thinaun

In truth he is in such good cheer that he gives you a hint as to where you might find one of the other rare metals you are keeping an eye out for, Living Iron harvested from the trunks of great trees of the lightless depths that feed upon rich veins of ore, even as they grant the metal a sort of immortality. In the trunks of the largest of these strange gleaming giants the life runs so strong that even after the tree has been cut down the material still heals itself overtime and even tries to cannibalize metal weapons that strike it. Better still it even has the virtue of being both cheap and relatively plentiful as enterprising merchants have long since given up wild harvesting for creating plantations where veins of ore are directed as mortal farmers might a stream to water their crops.

How much Living Iron do you buy?

[] Write in (Cost 100 IM/lbs; 2,500 lbs available)


As you climb towards the upper wards of the city, your new purchases safely stowed in the folds of your cloak, Xor notes: "In its own way this Living Iron seems as alike to Dragonsteel as the Thinaum we bought previously, for where the latter binds souls this consumes base metals."

"Not just base metals if the merchant is to be believed, it can consume all metals save adamantine, though given how slow the process is I would not stake my life upon it happening in mid-battle," you reply thoughtfully. There are many uses you can think of for such a metal, and none of them involve common arms and armor. Replacing key parts of a skyship's internals that would otherwise require extensive maintenance, slow magically inert means of breaching metal doors and walls covertly...

You do not have much time speculate upon the uses of Living Iron, for another much larger trade deal is in the works—selling off a five-hundred tons of adamantine to House Adjar in exchange for Glassteel Scepters. It is quite gratifying to know you can make a transaction of significant import with such as Lady Zanira. You may still be a very long way off from matching the wealth and power of the Peerless Empire, but at least you are getting there at a rate the Shaitan find noteworthy.

Lost 1,000,000 lbs. of Adamantine

Gained 68,000,000 Glassteel Scepters

Once the deal is finalized you head for the offices of Astral Currents where you are pleased to see the reports you had asked already laid out, and not just in regards to dragons.

"It seems there is no singular institution for training Shaitan mages," Xor says as he separates one report into quarters and starts reading it four pages at a time. "It seems as though the only institution of learning founded by the empire that deals with mages of comparable skill to the Scholarum is the Academy of War—they produce battle-mages, diviners, and engineers for the Shaitan. The custodians of the Tower of Wisdom on the other hand have little educational experience, but have shown some interest in an exchange of lore." Your friend pauses the summary to advise: "It might be best to start small when it comes to an exchange of lore. Spirits of stone are more cautious than headlong."

Shaitan Academy of War interested in Student Exchange (will require an action next turn).

What rare lore exchange do you propose to the Tower of Wisdom?

[] Write-in (Single exchange for a beginning)

OOC: I can't really give you guys a list of the topics of research covered by an eons-old high magic empire, so instead I'm going to give a write-in. Try to avoid things like necromancy and flesh-forging, though, they do not really fit the environment and culture of the Peerless Empire. Also I hope Xor works here, it's been a while since he has been involved in the main plot.