Remove ads

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

Reader mode
I'm really nervous about the Windward Society's reaction, here.

Though really, this was one of our very few loose threads with the capability to bite us in the ass later on, and in a way that would matter to us personally. Having some dirty secret unearthed about how we did some sketchy research or whatever is survivable, even if we have to outlive that scorn for a few centuries, that's something we're actually capable of outliving.

You don't just turn back the clock and remake friends, and we certainly would have lost all chances of that if some upjumped elemental, in the words of Paul Candle, was feeling particularly spiteful one day and ratted on us.
 
I've just started reading Savage Divinity (thanks for the recommendation, BTW), but I haven't gotten very far into it yet. Please put spoilers in a Spoiler box?
 
@Goldfish, are we going to order any psionic items while we have the chance?
The sooner they start on them, the sooner we get dat bling.
 
Goldfish said:
I've just started reading Savage Divinity (thanks for the recommendation, BTW), but I haven't gotten very far into it yet. Please put spoilers in a Spoiler box?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Oooo boy, you are in for a wild ride. You are either going to scream and yell in frustration because of the stupid, or die laughing. I can think of at least three parts where I couldn't move because I had ascended into another plane of existence from sheer laughter. One of them comes up fairly early on and:

involves a certain 'implied bar fight' and "wagered kowtows, bitch!"
 
Crake said:
Oooo boy, you are in for a wild ride. You are either going to scream and yell in frustration because of the stupid, or die laughing. I can think of at least three parts where I couldn't move because I had ascended into another plane of existence from sheer laughter. One of them comes up fairly early on and:

involves a certain 'implied bar fight' and "wagered kowtows, bitch!"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I just read that part about an hour ago. I LOL'd.

Also, I have poor impulse control and cannot stop myself from opening spoiler boxes sometimes.
 
Crake said:
However, that's not where the story ends. Unwarded by divination then, Tor figured out he was going to be attacked and fled Braavos ahead of us.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I still don't remember agreeing to attacking him before we got there, it was a very likely outcome but there was intent to discuss it with him.

I have vague memory of someone pulling up the old vote that looked pretty aggressive but I just don't recall it that way unless it was an edit for more aggressive after discussion.

The Tor situation is still a big regret of mine, it is frustrating that his own impatience forced our hand, it's even worse if our own played an equal part.
 
Deliste said:
I still don't remember agreeing to attacking him before we got there, it was a very likely outcome but there was intent to discuss it with him.

I have vague memory of someone pulling up the old vote that looked pretty aggressive but I just don't recall it that way unless it was an edit for more aggressive after discussion.

The Tor situation is still a big regret of mine, it is frustrating that his own impatience forced our hand, it's even worse if our own played an equal part.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I've been reading the sections since and it is incredibly unclear, multiple updates prior to the chapter of "Missing Mage" have nothing to do with Tor, Dany dreams and Braavos exile/criminals, then the very first paragraph is how he ran away.

What I have confirmed so far is that while DP notes there was a lot of talk about killing Tor for his crimes @TotallyNotEvil had a vote with traction that had Tor identifying magic items for us before we left.

Will edit if I get more clarity but even the godsdamn meta-discussion was unclear on this, let alone in character.
 
Last edited:
DragonParadox said:
Alas when you set out to pay what you hope will be one of your last visits to Tor you discover the aged sorcerer is a step ahead of you.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

@Crake

I take the above to dispute that we had decided upon assassination.

The previous multiple votes had nothing to do with him, the immediate prior vote had to do with acquiring the Rotgut spell.

There was some mention of a larger plan, guessing some kind of pseudo-turn vote for the leaving of Braavos but I couldn't find it and the phrasing that was consistent was "deal with Tor".

Post this plan, which I haven't found, there were still votes to interact with Tor peacefully and people had appealed to others to remain focused on our economic challenges etc at the time as we could specify what was to be done with Tor at the time we actually we're dealing with him.

While I'm not 100% clear on everything I am confident to say that it is not true to say we had chosen to kill Tor when he fled.

After he fled he basically cemented the opinions on his death, not prior.
Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Aug 23, 2019 at 10:04 PM, finished with 66 posts and 12 votes.
  • [X] Check with Mereth about how Azirah, the first Erynie you resurrected, is doing - she seemed seriously out of herself after the fact.
    -[X] Unless speaking with Azirah ends up being more involved than we are expecting (i.e. more than one update), move on from that and arrange a meeting with the Windward Society. It's time we told them of the true fate of their friend Tor.
    --[X] As the reactions are likely to be negative, you are going into this already expecting some questions and you have answers, and you will attempt to be as forthright about what drove your actions as possible. We've dealt with them fairly and honestly, and could have withheld this with only a literal God being capable of revealing the truth out of petty spite. They could at least stand to listen.
    --[X] Tor was a man who lusted after true magical power, and this was happening during a time when we little understood magic ourselves, so any means to acquire it seemed proportionate to the degree of desperation he must have felt in the twilight of his life.
    ---[X] Because of this he found a way to awaken to magic--our blood. That was a deal fairly wrought, but we didn't quite understand at the time that in order to continue making use of his abilities he would need more blood of magic users close at hand, and rather than bargain for it, he enslaved others in the heart of the Secret City and under its rulers' noses. He hadn't made any indications to change his manner of operating, though in hindsight it might have been possible to convince him.
    ---[X] Full disclosure, while we hold a hatred for slavery, we first made an attempt on his life because he made us complicit in something contemptible. But even then, the Windward Society, even Tor, were family friends, they gave us a warm home when we had just picked ourselves off of the streets, and the rush of imminent voluntary exile made us act with perhaps unseemly haste.
    --[X] However, that's not where the story ends. Unwarded by divination then, Tor figured out he was going to be attacked and fled Braavos ahead of us.
    ---[X] He later turned up in Pentos where we happened upon him by chance and where he met his end. His first end.
    ----[X] Power, wealth and influence did not change Tor for the better, all three of which he had for quite awhile. For each of our successes, he grew more paranoid and finally mad, never having ceased his enslaving of mages, rather he grew more sophisticated at it, binding men wholly and completely to servitude, and eventually disposal in his own experiments.
    -----[X] Moreover he cut deals with Dark Gods and it was only a matter of time until he was used as a pawn in some scheme against us given his ally at the time was the mortal enemy of one of our allies, Yss.
    --[X] Finally, the third time we dealt with Tor was when his 'patron' brought him back to kill the last of Yss' chosen people. We can't claim Tor's murderous attempts on the lives of those close to us as much of a reasoning for ensuring his resurrection would never be possible again, but we'd be lying if we claimed we weren't relieved by it.
    --[X] "I did not want the last memory you possessed of Tor to be of betrayal and madness. The last embers of guilt I felt at killing a man who gifted my sister nameday presents and told me stories by the fire have faded, but that doesn't excuse holding back when forging oaths with those close to him."
    ---[X] Before anyone can cut in, at this point succinctly say, "I'll release you from your oaths should you feel scorned by this revelation. I owe you all that much. And I would greatly value your continued, and willing, service. But this was one niggling doubt in the back of my mind I could not allow to linger. I spared other slavers, so why not Tor?"
    ---[X] "The benefit of hindsight makes liars and cheats of us all, so I won't say that alone was an excuse, but the man did pick his path, just as I have."
    [X] Xor Level Up
    -[X] Class: +1 Beholder of Wonder
    -[X] Feat:
    --[X] Retrain: Agile Tyrant >>> Lingering Song
    -[X] Skills (8 points): +1 Knowledge(Arcana), +1 Knowledge(The Planes), +1 Perform(Singing), +1 Spellcraft, +2 Spot, +2 Sense Motive
    -[X] New Spells:
    --[X] 7th Levels: Power Word Blind, Stun Ray
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Crake said:
Oooo boy, you are in for a wild ride. You are either going to scream and yell in frustration because of the stupid, or die laughing. I can think of at least three parts where I couldn't move because I had ascended into another plane of existence from sheer laughter. One of them comes up fairly early on and:

involves a certain 'implied bar fight' and "wagered kowtows, bitch!"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Which bit?
 
Deliste said:
@Crake

I take the above to dispute that we had decided upon assassination.

The previous multiple votes had nothing to do with him, the immediate prior vote had to do with acquiring the Rotgut spell.

There was some mention of a larger plan, guessing some kind of pseudo-turn vote for the leaving of Braavos but I couldn't find it and the phrasing that was consistent was "deal with Tor".

Post this plan, which I haven't found, there were still votes to interact with Tor peacefully and people had appealed to others to remain focused on our economic challenges etc at the time as we could specify what was to be done with Tor at the time we actually we're dealing with him.

While I'm not 100% clear on everything I am confident to say that it is not true to say we had chosen to kill Tor when he fled.

After he fled he basically cemented the opinions on his death, not prior.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

@Goldfish

Thought Crake had the proxies, this needs to be updated, not only is it painting us badly it's not even the truth which we are intending to disclose for good or ill.

Edit:
Azel said:
Tor is not mentioned since I hope we can deal with him as part of the mage recruitment. He does have a bunch of pontentials in his cellar after all.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Azel said:
-[X] Tie up loose ends.
--[X] Tor
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Found the general vote, there is no mention of killing Tor.

That was decided after he fled and we determined that he was unwilling to explore less heinous paths, Viserys, Lya and Tyene all said they were willing to give their blood to Tor in the short term, Waymar was unwilling, Set Richard didn't care and at the time of the conversation we were still shielding Dany from the truth about her friend/mentor.

DragonParadox said:
"I very much doubt this magus' current sources of power are of the same caliber as you posses my hosts. It might be possible to grant him some of your blood and sorcery in exchange for freeing his current crop of captives."

"That's madness," Waymar exclaims. Tyene looks to be about to agree with him, but rather than a simple offer of support she offers and argument: "He'd never agree to it. His control would be gone."

"Not if we swear an oath," Garin replies reluctantly. "An oath to act a certain way would be considerably harder to circumvent that one not to reveal a secret."

"And he would want greater power... better blood," Lya interjects. "Perhaps enough to agree to the deal in spite of the risks tohimself."

"So we're just supposed to keep givin' him magic for the rest of our lives?" Vee asks, speaking what is no doubt on everyone's mind.

"It would have to come with an offer to establish some other way for him to get access to magic," you reply, surprised that the strange, not to say insane, idea is looking better and better by the moment.

"Well I'm not giving up any of my blood," Waymar says crossing his arms over his chest.

"I... might," Tyene surprises you by saying. "No, I will, if it comes to that" she says more firmly. She turns to you and explains. "If I'm going to do this mad self-sacrificing hero act, I might as well do it properly. Blessed is he who gives himself up to save another from bondage," she quotes from the Book of the Father, a wry self-deprecating smile on her lips. "It would be safer to the people we are trying to save... and I trust that we can find a solution, one way or another."

"I'd be alright with giving up some magic," Lya offers. You can see relief in her gaze, from the guilt she has carried ever since that night when the two of you saw Tor working his demon-blood ritual.

Waymar sighs looking between Tyene and Lya: "I hate the idea of rewarding the son of a bitch..." You can see he is wavering when Ser Richard interjects: "I would not have thought it would be possible formulate a plan more prone to peril then charging ahead at once.... I say we ignore the bastard save when we have some need of him, like we've been doing so far, or if we must just go ahead and kill him."

"He's been useful," Vee points out thoughtfully. "Remember when we put Jorel in that doll's body? Maybe he'll be useful again. You can't bring back the dead if you have a change of heart... even with magic."

While not strictly true, at least according the Bloodraven she does have a point... Bloodraven. Sorcerer men called him before the tides of magic surged back. Greenseer, eye of the gods. If any have a solution o your conundrum it would be he. Dare you try this risky plan to save Tor's victims and in an d odd way the man himself also?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

pedanterrific said:
[X] Let those not bound by the oath explain the situation to Dany. She can then talk to Bloodraven to get his advice.
[X] Plan TNE
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This plan was then hijacked by a Crit roll by Dany who got intercepted by Tiamat, she never spoke to Bloodraven and so we moved on with other actions as previously mentioned, economics, Braavos underworld and who we would be taking to the Stepstones.

Fricken Tiamat actually had an indirect hand in the animosity between Tor and Viserys by denying us information for a difficult decision then followed an unfortunate reaction and counter-reaction but Tor made his bed, we did not pre-emptively decide his death.
 
Last edited:
Nice work @Deliste .

In unrelated matters, did you guys know that DP has the second highest number of posts and ratings in SV both? 57k posts, with veekie apparently living here at 130k posts.

Ratings it's a much tighter race against shadenight, the one who writes bland but generically appealingly fics who are all re-skins of each other, from the ones I know.
 
[X] Goldfish

I think our sudden murderblending in Pentos is the hardest part to explain.
Sure, later we found out he was still enslaving people and making deals with Shadowsnek, but the moment we saw him we decided to go sudden death with none of these reasons.
 
Artemis1992 said:
[X] Goldfish

I think our sudden murderblending in Pentos is the hardest part to explain.
Sure, later we found out he was still enslaving people and making deals with Shadowsnek, but the moment we saw him we decided to go sudden death with none of these reasons.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

When he ran from a conversation we decided him an enemy, it's flimsy.

I'm sure we would have tried to divine him in the interim though, we'll need to find the results.
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top