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

DragonParadox said:

News of the Conclave and the existence of acceptable magic in the eyes of the Faith has gone a long way into calming the fears of the smallfolk, even in a village like Lantern's Rest that has just seem a blight and death by sorcery.

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egoo said:

You guys might want to trade the shit out of Gith for lore they have.
Also, shiet, Psychic energy-eating undead, that's kinda the defenition of "terrifying" to Illithid

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Artemis1992 said:

@DragonParadox
How many people saw Lynda's corpse in a state of decay?
If it's not too many they could just sell a story about death-like sleep as a curse, instead of actual death and now she woke up.

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Artemis1992 said:

Yes, but we meet the wrong Gith to appreciate that.

The Githyanki are ok with Undead, even ruled by a Lich Queen, the Githzerai are less cool with it.

@DragonParadox
How many people saw Lynda's corpse in a state of decay?
If it's not too many they could just sell a story about death-like sleep as a curse, instead of actual death and now she woke up.

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DragonParadox said:

The funeral was a private affair, but still most of the Wylde retainers saw it and more to the point the Silent sisters boiled the flesh off the bones afterwards as is tradition

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Crake said:

Okay, well offering to finish her education at home might be possible, though pointing out the Deep is safer until her return to life can be revealed and visitation can be arranged would be prudent.

Next, if she does stay, she'll need a Greater Ribbon and an adequate cover, which might make it hard to do if the Keep is full of suspicious courtiers.

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DragonParadox said:

The funeral was a private affair, but still most of the Wylde retainers saw it and more to the point the Silent sisters boiled the flesh off the bones afterwards as is tradition

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Abhishek M said:

Wait what? That's tradition here? Freaky.

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Abhishek M said:

Wait what? That's the tradition here? Freaky.

[X] Duesal

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Duesal said:

Yep. Makes me feel pretty sorry for Rina.

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DragonParadox said:

Of Magic Fel and Fair ​

Ninth Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

As dark grey clouds clouds sweep in from across the Narrow Sea heavy with the promise of rain, the three of you take flight to the south across Shipbreaker Bay to the meet with Lord Casper Wylde. White-crested waves crash against the stones far below, and gulls scream with voices like unto the crying of children as lightning dances in the sky and thunder roars.

"Should we really be flying in this, Your Grace?" Ser Richard asks during a brief lull in the din.

"As long as no one's actively throwing the lightning at me, I'll take my chances," you reply, shaking the rain from your hair. It's been a long time since you have flown like this. It makes for a pleasant contrast to using your own wings, though you would doubtless get bored of it soon.

"Hopefully the Storm God is not growing surly waiting," Dany jests.

Whether the displeasure of an ancient god or the rhythms of the bay older even than the coming of men, the curtains of rain are still falling unrelentingly as you spy the towers of Rainhouse rising above the slate-grey roofs of Lantern's Rest. There are no lights to be seen in the windows of the town's sept, giving lie to the old name. Once you make for shore unseen, however, the locals prove welcoming enough to your coin pouch if not your company, and glad to share the more ghoulish local gossip with someone who had not had a chance to hear it.

Two months past Lord Casper had apparently had the witch responsible for his daughter's wasting sickness broken on the wheel over the usual hanging or burning. The septon had insisted that the remains be burned and the ashes cast into the sea. You will not be finding any answers there. At least there is no doubt as to the mage's guilt, as she had been heard threatening the girl by what sounds like half the town, in an attempt to twist her father's hand no less.

Unfortunately for young Lynda, Lord Casper had not believed the witch's magic strong enough for the task. Soon after, as the mage fled into the depths of the Rainwood, the girl grew sicker and sicker, afflicted with cold sweats and shivers, and nightmares that would keep her awake through the night. In the end a pair of local hunters found the witch's lair wisely deciding to sell the information to the lord rather than try to claim the price on her head themselves.

The more you learn of just how the sorceress had looked at the end, the more you suspect she had sacrificed more than her morals upon the altar of power, becoming something akin to the hags of children's tales made dreadfully real. Part of you wonders how she had done it, by what forgotten lore or mad study had she warped herself in mind and body, but that curiosity is not why you are here. What matters in the end is that the witch's death had come too late for Lynda. Lord Casper had been suspicious of magic ever since, as well as more likely to be found praying than was his wont, if rumors are to be believed.

"So how's the lord about magic, supposin' a fellow had some trinkets he'd like to sell," you ask, keeping up your merchant persona.

"That oughtn't be any trouble if you do it all quiet like," replies the local barrel maker, a rather jovial fellow made all the more so by the wine you had been pouring into him to loosen his lips. "Lord Casper ain't the sort to try to throw the tide back with a bucket, if you know what I mean. He doesn't like magic and trusts it even less, but he won't be looking through every nook and cranny for charms and potions."

The words make for pleasant hearing, and not just regarding the happenings in Rainwood. It's the first time you had heard such a sentiment about the inevitability of magic spreading expressed in a Westerosi tavern, and no one seems inclined to gainsay him either. Curious, you probe a little bit deeper to find the cause. What you discover is surprising, though perhaps it should not be. News of the Conclave and the existence of acceptable magic in the eyes of the Faith has gone a long way into calming the fears of the smallfolk, even in a village like Lantern's Rest that has just seem a blight and death by sorcery.

Cautiously encouraged by what you had heard, you make your way up the winding path to the great oak doors of the keep. There you ask for shelter for the evening, showing your goods and greasing palms with silver to make it past the gaze of surly armsmen, who understandably look like they would much rather be drying themselves by the fire inside as well.

Neither is it hard to find the lord's study once inside the keep. However suspicious of magic the man may have become, he is not paranoid enough to set a guard this deep into his home.

Anger at the interruption quickly gives way to shock at your true identity, and the secrets you have to share about the Usurper, the Lannisters, and all their failings. Then desperate hope sparks in his eyes at your offer, to restore the dead to life and by sorcery undo the harm that sorcery had wrought. "It will be my daughter and not some twisted wight, will it?" he cannot keep himself from asking.

Dany sighs. "If you will not credit us with kindness, my lord, than pray do so with common sense. Would it serve our cause to hand you some twisted mockery of your daughter, some fiend wearing her corpse?" She pauses a moment. "The rumors about our mother are true..."

Thus you descend into the crypt where Lynda's bones now lay, and there as you had foreseen her soul returns to life so cruelly cut short, spring-green eyes snapping open where once only gaping sockets had looked out. There is, however, one thing you had not foreseen. As the girl jumps from the stone slab shivering from the chill of the crypts, she starts to gently float.

Lost 2000 IM (Resurrection diamond)

"What did you do?!" Lord Casper thunders so loudly the stones shake.

You open your mouth to deny any blame, eyes already looking through the room for signs of strange magic, when the girl herself surprises you. "They didn't do anything. It's my magic. I took lessons from the witch... but then when I saw what she wanted to do, I couldn't, I wouldn't..."

"Did you actually kill or harm anyone?" you cut though her stuttering, while the lord sits as frozen as one of the statues of his ancestors.

"No... no I didn't," she replies. "That's why I stopped. I..."

"Did you make any pacts or promises upon your soul?" you continue, dreading that she might prove to be bound.

Thankfully, Lynda's soul proves unbound. Though her magic still has more the feeling of fey instinct than learned spell, she is still mortal in every regard. "I'm... I'm sorry, father. If you want me to go away now, to become a Septa or a Silent Sister, I'll..."

The offer has the gift of waking Lord Casper from his stupor. "Send you away when I have only just found you again... never." The two hug so tightly it looks almost painful. Heartening as the sight may be, it does spike the wheel of the plan you had been about to suggest. You doubt the lord would lightly accept his daughter vanishing off to the deep, yet her miraculous return from the dead must be explained somehow.

What do you do?

[] Try to convince Lynda to come to the Deep regardless
-[] Write in

[] Come up with a cover for her resurrection

[] Write in

OOC: I tried to roll though as much of the plot here as would have been repetitive. Hopefully I did not overdo it, though if that is the case I'm fine with retconning.

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Crake said:

Lord Casper of House Wylde: Daughter died from witch's curse. Can be restored to life, other reservations about magic put to rest.

Lord Ralph of House Buckler: Similar to Lord Mooton, he's unchancy but if we can get his tentative support then look to his heirs or close relatives, we might be able to get a stronger hold over their loyalty.

Lord Cafferen: I suggest letting Stannis work on him instead.

Lord Fell: Secured.

Lord Connington: Secured.

Lady Shyra of House Errol: She's more willing to be persuaded overall, and no one can outbid us either in arranging equitable contracts between Houses nor in more straightforward rewards.

Tarth is the big win here, if we can get him now, Stannis will have another strong ally in the Stormlands to lean on with a PC supporting them.

Get all of them and that is seven, maybe eight bannermen to Robert's four. Get most of the easy ones that's probably around seven at the least, not bad for practical purposes.

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Duesal said:

According to the analysis @Crake has graciously provided, we've already made two major wins here by flipping Lord Tarth and just now flipping Lord Wylde. We only have Lady Shyra Errol (who all things considered can be convinced via a good deal) and Lord Ralph Buckler (who is a bit trickier but still manageable).

After this, the Stormlands will be in Stannis' pocket, and Robert with his mere four houses declaring for him will need to get men from outside his own kingdom. With the Stormlands secured we will be able to safely turn our attention elsewhere.

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zxzx24 said:

We will also make Stannis very, very afraid of our diplomatic abilities.

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Crake said:

Note: I will be adding blurbs to most of these to summarize basic information as to their relationship with us or our enemies as appropriate and over time. @Duesal offered to help me track down some of this stuff, but as a note I'm just starting with the Stormlands because it was relevant. Any alterations to these statuses will be updated as the situation changes.

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Duesal said:

Just let me know which ones you need and I'll get on it.

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Crake said:

Try the Riverlands, that's an important staging ground in the invasion.

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