Interlude in beta.
A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
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- Tags
- a song of ice and fire a sword without a hilt d&d 3.5 dungeons & dragons 100% high octane dragon fuel ave corvidae battle action dragon diplomacy best sister bureaucromancy delicious soul-stuff dragon dreams come true dragon ta'veren greatest uncle hubris is a coward's word in defiance of gods and men mammon's folly mutually assured mage's disjunction qm murderhobo top tier coatl
- Location
- Brazil
So, the courtesan is called Mei Lin, what was the cross dressing girl called again?
Interlude DXLXVI: Spirits' Hunt
Spirits' Hunt
Twentieth Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC
Kai Gang Ru, Master of the Three Seals and Servant of the Deathless Sovereign, raged at the sight of the false emperor and his whore fleeing by some sorcerous trick, and his rage was fire as it had been thirty-three years ago in Wan Zei when his master had cast him out for the greatness of his soul. This could not be some trinket made by his pet sorcerers or mewling priests, his spies among Bu Gai's personal attendants would have told him at once if the boy took a liking to any charm or talisman, no, that ring had been part of the Imperial Regalia, some scrap of old glory not yet rotted to dust under the feeble rule of the the Ship-Maker's heirs.
Old things could be dangerous, this Ru knew to the depths of his soul. Almost he shivered at the remembered pain, but he was no child lost among the twisting corridors of the Palace of Jade, he was a master, answering only to the Lord of All. He would find the coward and his northern toy and he would see the life ebb from their eyes.
No, the shroud of fire dimmed as the sorcerer's mind spun along familiar paths of intrigue and trickery. The woman must live so that he might know who 'truly' slew the false emperor, the friends for whom Kai Gang Ru had merely been a pawn. He grimaced at having acted in haste and under his own seeming, all the more so since he knew those he would have to call to slay his enemies this night would be all too willing to mock him for his failing.
"Satri, Zarik, attend me!" he called out ,voice unwavering as it had been when he bound them into his service.
Zarik was the first to come though he had been summoned last, his worm-like snout twitching at the smell of ash and rage, small black eyes twisting madly in his head. "No blood, master?" it asked slyly, if rotting flesh could speak it would have a voice like a Zalyakavat.
"Why do you wear that form?" the conjurer spat. "Is holding a simple mask too much for your blood-addled mind?" He regretted the words almost as soon as he had spoken them. Zarik was not some petty fiend to vent his anger upon. Were they to meet in battle without the Silver Sign between them Kai Gang Ru was not certain which of them would triumph and he needed his services now more than ever.
Fortunately before the fiend could reply his lesser kindred entered the chamber. Satri still bore the shape of the homely bath attendant it had devoured three days ago, not its own emaciated form. "What faces should be bear then, master?"
"These," the mage replied, weaving an fleeting vision with a swiftly muttered spell. The strangers from the west had ruined him and so now he too would ruin them.
A few moments later a golden-haired woman, a pale man in dark clothes, and a warrior in bronze armor left the chamber by one of the inner doors, not noticing in their haste that the peach petals fluttering in from the garden were moving with more than just the wind.
***
The spirit had no name as men would know it, they called it Luminary for it showed the way in dark times and they called it the Wind of Death for of all its brethren it was the most deadly, slaying with the pitiless touch of age. Yet though it was mighter than any one of the Defilers who sought to slay the Son of Heaven it knew it might not be mightier than all of them together, for the Long Sleep still clung to the others.
Words spoken in a far off chamber reached its ear, a command, though the one who spoke it knew it not.
"The pride of the Luminaries will be bent by such a command, though perhaps that is not altogether a bad thing..."
Indeed, the guardian was pained to hear this, to contemplate that it might require mortal aid to fulfill its ancient charge, but it could still appreciate the irony that it had been the sorcerer's own glamours that showed it who it must seek.
OOC: It felt a little weird to link what the kami was when the latter part of the interlude was from its perspective, but I figgured you guys would google it and find out moments after I posted anyway. Anyway rejoyce, the roll of the awakening of the Greater Kami was poor so the one that did wake up is looking to your party for reinforcements. Though of course the question is if help can arrive before Kai Gang Ru and his disguised fiends find the emperor.
- Location
- florida
CR 15.Spirits' Hunt
Twentieth Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC
Kai Gang Ru, Master of the Three Seals and Servant of the Deathless Sovereign, raged at the sight of the false emperor and his whore fleeing by some sorcerous trick, and his rage was fire as it had been thirty-three years ago in Wan Zei when his master had cast him out for the greatness of his soul. This could not be some trinket made by his pet sorcerers or mewling priests, his spies among Bu Gai's personal attendants would have told him at once if the boy took a liking to any charm or talisman, no, that ring had been part of the Imperial Regalia, some scrap of old glory not yet rotted to dust under the feeble rule of the the Ship-Maker's heirs.
Old things could be dangerous, this Ru knew to the depths of his soul. Almost he shivered at the remembered pain, but he was no child lost among the twisting corridors of the Palace of Jade, he was a master, answering only to the Lord of All. He would find the coward and his northern toy and he would see the life ebb from their eyes.
No, the shroud of fire dimmed as the sorcerer's mind spun along familiar paths of intrigue and trickery. The woman must live so that he might know who 'truly' slew the false emperor, the friends for whom Kai Gang Ru had merely been a pawn. He grimaced at having acted in haste and under his own seeming, all the more so since he knew those he would have to call to slay his enemies this night would be all too willing to mock him for his failing.
"Satri, Zarik, attend me!" he called out ,voice unwavering as it had been when he bound them into his service.
Zarik was the first to come though he had been summoned last, his worm-like snout twitching at the smell of ash and rage, small black eyes twisting madly in his head. "No blood, master?" it asked slyly, if rotting flesh could speak it would have a voice like a Zalyakavat.
"Why do you wear that form?" the conjurer spat. "Is holding a simple mask too much for your blood-addled mind?" He regretted the words almost as soon as he had spoken them. Zarik was not some petty fiend to vent his anger upon. Were they to meet in battle without the Silver Sign between them Kai Gang Ru was not certain which of them would triumph and he needed his services now more than ever.
Fortunately before the fiend could reply his lesser kindred entered the chamber. Satri still bore the shape of the homely bath attendant it had devoured three days ago, not its own emaciated form. "What faces should be bear then, master?"
"These," the mage replied, weaving an fleeting vision with a swiftly muttered spell. The strangers from the west had ruined him and so now he too would ruin them.
A few moments later a golden-haired woman, a pale man in dark clothes, and a warrior in bronze armor left the chamber by one of the inner doors, not noticing in their haste that the peach petals fluttering in from the garden were moving with more than just the wind.
***
The spirit had no name as men would know it, they called it Luminary for it showed the way in dark times and they called it the Wind of Death for of all its brethren it was the most deadly, slaying with the pitiless touch of age. Yet though it was mighter than any one of the Defilers who sought to slay the Son of Heaven it knew it might not be mightier than all of them together, for the Long Sleep still clung to the others.
Words spoken in a far off chamber reached its ear, a command, though the one who spoke it knew it not.
"The pride of the Luminaries will be bent by such a command, though perhaps that is not altogether a bad thing..."
Indeed, the guardian was pained to hear this, to contemplate that it might require mortal aid to fulfill its ancient charge, but it could still appreciate the irony that it had been the sorcerer's own glamours that showed it who it must seek.
OOC: It felt a little weird to link what the kami was when the latter part of the interlude was from its perspective, but I figgured you guys would google it and find out moments after I posted anyway. Anyway rejoyce, the roll of the awakening of the Greater Kami was poor so the one that did wake up is looking to your party for reinforcements. Though of course the question is if help can arrive before Kai Gang Ru and his disguised fiends find the emperor.
Poorly...
Well we can fix that surely...
- Location
- florida
The OG devoured their ecological niche I believe.
- Location
- United States
No they didn't. The Old Gods are perfectly fine working alongside other spirits of nature.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
Concubine, not courtesan. Biiiig difference.
- Location
- Brazil
Yeah yeah, meant one said the other.
- Location
- United States
@DragonParadox, once we figure out telepathy in the Flesh Forge, will that be counted as progress towards making psions?
- Location
- Germany
So one of three Winds awakened?
Or was it four?
Not that it matters much, two fiends and one mage in their general CR-range are definitly something Tyene, Waymar and Garin can take on their own if need be.
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
I meant Hua more as in as in splendid/illustrious and Fen was chosen because the male form is 'strive/exert'
Unfortunately not, to give and analogy building a pogo stick does not help one build a high speed train even if they both are forms of transportation
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Hahaha...
Kai Gang Ru is fucked.
Very cool reveal of the Luminaries being Kami, @DragonParadox. I was thinking they were going to be Wu Jen or Monks of some sort.
Kai Gang Ru is fucked.
Very cool reveal of the Luminaries being Kami, @DragonParadox. I was thinking they were going to be Wu Jen or Monks of some sort.
Inserted tally
I'm going to need a few more votes guys, I like to have at last 12 or so before advancing
- Location
- Castle
[X] Goldfish
Crake
I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING
- Location
- USA
She was pretty on the nose there, eh?
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Both of Kai Gang Ru's Rakshasa are really good minions. Lots of useful abilities, including spellcasting and psychic magic.
The Zalyakavat has a weird weapon, though it's mechanically quite nice and comes with some powerful complimentary abilities. I've seen them before, but never known what they were called. Is it just me, or do multi-bladed Urumi seem to be one of the most silly weapons ever devised?
The Zalyakavat has a weird weapon, though it's mechanically quite nice and comes with some powerful complimentary abilities. I've seen them before, but never known what they were called. Is it just me, or do multi-bladed Urumi seem to be one of the most silly weapons ever devised?
- Location
- Virginia
[X] Goldfish
- Location
- United States
I'd love to recruit more rakshasas at some point. Especially a Tataka Rakshasa.
Very much so, Tyene notes during the talk at the tea house that Fen can't have been her real name, since it fits too well to what she is doing right now.