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

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I think I've covered everything here. Thoughts and suggestions?

[X] Introduce ourselves as Viserys Targaryen, King in the Garden, Sorcerer of the 9th circle, and Red Dragon, though an unusual representative of that infamous breed. We have traveled to the Endless Sea on business, both to deliver goods bought and paid for and to retrieve our own purchases, and to foster greater communication and cooperation between the factions which call the Plane home. If she asks why, explain that peace upon the Plane of Water is not only good for business, but it also makes it more likely another Deep One invasion will fail when it inevitably arrives.
-[X] We want to know everything Aikaterine can tell us:
--[X] What can she tell us of Axis?
--[X] How did it fare in the wake of the Sundering?
--[X] Is it true that the forces of Hell now stand with Axis against the encroachment of chaos?
--[X] What can she tell us of herself? What brought an Axiomite to the Plane of Water of all places?
--[X] What can she tell us of the Anvil, which even now inspires such strife and conflict that it might lead to a war between the Kelasi Emirate and the Dominion of Galzerai?
-[X] In return, answer any questions Aikaterine might ask of us which isn't sensitive in nature.
--[X] Offer to purchase any lore she may be willing to share, or trade if she wishes to visit our non-restricted library.
--[X] Invite her to visit our realm as a guest.
 
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Even if we completely fail to bring any sort of resolution to the conflict between Kelasi and Galzerai, just meeting this Axiomite could make up for the time and effort. A contact who can give us good info on Axis, perhaps even serve as a guide (assuming she's not an exile or criminal) in the city would be a real win.
 
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Canon Omake: Consumption of Spite
  • Threadmarks
    • Consumption of Spite
    ​
    Eighth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    "This place still looks completely miserable," Gerold Torchwood spoke solemnly, holding the reins of his black-coated stallion loosely. Amusingly enough, the beast snorted almost as though in agreement with the sentiment.

    "It's better in the former slums... though I suppose they're proper boroughs now, though," Colonel Aubert Flowers replied, their conversation interrupted as he shouted commands to the troops handling the logistics of over ten thousand men taking over many of the duties the local garrison had previously taken care of, a palpable wave of unease and fear hanging over the city like overcast skies above.

    Part of Gerold questioned the wisdom of that speech the King delivered, but the other part admitted it just might scare half the damn fools straight now that the banners of the Legion were all the more real, fluttering along the walls and in the military quarter of the city. Less than a week into martial law being declared and Gerold had already ordered a House put to the sword, aside from the children and any truly innocent of its Patriach's perfidious dealings, of which there were far and few between them. The crimes uncovered by the Inquisition in the wake of recent scandals had been a step too far, however.

    "Redouble patrols in the Street of Delight," Gerold spoke with conversational cadence, both high officers of the Legion watching Nettles on Sheepstealer flying overhead, the dragon's roars giving would-be traitors no rest in the late evening. Aubert swallowed anger at the thought the two shared, of women murdered in the night and hung up from mage lantern-bearing posts, ones that should have made the streets of the city safer to walk at night. What had been done to the girls even younger had played a part in the immediate and harsh crackdown which followed. "And I've half a mind of evoking my authority and having that damnable place renamed on the spot." He knew his Imperial law, he did have the latitude to make such administrative decisions while military law overrode the legitimate local potentates and its masters in Braavos, even if they were overturned afterwards.

    "I don't think the Sealord would object to the notion," Aubert interjected in weak jest, though the suggestion of sending a letter to have a memorial service organized was met more seriousness by the General.

    "Send it," Gerold replied. "It will keep the people busy, and perhaps even make the raising of curfew easier to swallow, at least among the citizenry." The Princes and trade magnates were too busy swallowing whatever poison their fellows had left to feed them, so what they thought of the tightening noose and increasingly restrictive mandates made little difference to either of them. "He might have some suggestions for renaming the street, too."

    They cantered through the streets of Pentos, bracketed on all sides by soldiers in black armor. More than one attack had been met with unexpected ruthlessness by the Dragon King's military arm, and while summary executions weren't a common occurrence these days where the sudden mandate had finally caught up with the necessities of state, that criminal trials could be conducted even in the midst of all this madness, they still occurred. Pentos was not like Tyrosh even for all its weaknesses and vices, it had not just come out of a battle and it had experienced no wide-scale destruction and rioting. Yet.

    "Lord Gerold..." Ser Aubert always named him such when their stations fell away from them and they spoke more in confidence with each other. "Should we be worried about infiltration?" He didn't need to clarify from which vectors, might as well just say 'all of them', but they had their eyes pointed towards the sea as their conversations finally carried them past the trade harbor.

    "Perhaps, no more than usual I'd be inclined to say," he replied. "I spoke with Blight's Bane by Brazier not long ago... there's something else at work down there. Something nastier than dread leviathans and misbegotten and pitiful wretches prodded into a frenzy and sent to die on Legion steel." He stared out to sea, before his gaze swept closer to home. "We have to handle things one problem at a time. Right now it's the damned Magisters fighting me every step of the way and braying about their rights and privileges that concern me. It's damned lunacy when a commander of an entire Legion is beating an idiotic silk-robed ingrate half to death in the middle of a ball."

    "You did interrupt that ball uninvited, and then called him a pig peddler for he had none of his usual wares worth mentioning, nor would he ever," the Colonel replied, though the cold satisfaction in his gaze gave lie to the weak effort at his usual banter.

    "Perhaps Lady Jaera will now think more carefully about their guest lists," Gerold replied, nonplussed.

    "Will you perhaps order a batch of flying pigs from Gorgossos, then? They would arrive sooner, I think." The two shook their heads, not even having the will to laugh. One more noble with a proclivity for whipping their slaves to death when they displeased them. One more ingrate too canny by half still that they had not earned a trip up to the ever-busy gallows.

    The greatest insult King Viserys had ever delivered to the slaver lords of Essos was hanging them like common bandits. The thought took a bit of the sting away from the executions of former slaves earning recompense from the hides of their former masters. Even in these days one had to maintain iron discipline among the ranks, or they might creatively interpret their orders in regards to that lot.

    "Healers, maybe," Gerold replied instead. "Some men are getting a cough." The way his brow furrowed in worry over such a minor thing was telling. When had the Legion run short of healers a single day since Lys was conquered and Myr annexed? They were short staffed because he had men helping crisis response workers the King had paid for to help the city recover from its misrule, and it still wasn't enough, not even with a couple of ships full of remedies and supplies diverted to aid the demand.

    "I"ll let Personnel know," Aubert said slowly, the man already thinking about what he would pass along the Brazier to the Capital. "We can't deal with a plague and this horseshit at the same time."

    "When it rains," Gerold said darkly.

    "It pours." Aubert nodded. A long life and many years lived in Braavos and acquainted him with the notion.

    Gerold snapped his reins, the two quickening their pace to their next destination. "Pull another patrol from the southern commercial districts..." Gerold spoke with purpose, continuing their previous discussion.


    ***​

    A dark-eyed, winged warrior trailed thirty paces behind the pair, ever watchful for threats to their charge, when instinct honed by millennia of war and treachery began pulling their attention toward the sea, some flicker of movement or hidden discernment, lying in wait.

    The intensity of her black gaze increased, and her eyes narrowed in consideration.

    She moved on.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • God be damned, green-eyed brain dead milk drinking sons of bitches!!!

    Always Pentos, always that god-accursed place.

    Why can't they just full-blown fought us during our Conquest of Western Essos? Better yet, why can't they have the balls to just openly rebel?!

    It would've opened the eyes of those magisters that we are not to be trifled with. A force that could slaughter them with but a word. But noooo, they think that if they do it 'hush-hush', if they do it secretly enough that the King doesn't know, then they thought that they could just get away with it?!?!

    Instead of cutting the head of the snake, we have to trudge through this slog. Urgh.

    What... were they thinking...
     
    Excellent look at the situation back in Pentos, it makes a nice contrast to all the extra-planar adventures and gives us a nice perspective on how Gerold is doing. It's been a while since we have heard anything from him and he gives a very down to earth perspective on what those marshal law actions are.
     
    Crake said:
    Consumption of Spite
    ​
    Eighth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    "This place still looks completely miserable," Gerold Torchwood spoke solemnly, holding the reins of his black-coated stallion loosely. Amusingly enough, the beast snorted almost as though in agreement with the sentiment.

    "It's better in the former slums... though I suppose they're proper boroughs now, though," Colonel Aubert Flowers replied, their conversation interrupted as he shouted commands to the troops handling the logistics of over ten thousand men taking over many of the duties the local garrison had previously taken care of, a palpable wave of unease and fear hanging over the city like overcast skies above.

    Part of Gerold questioned the wisdom of that speech the King delivered, but the other part admitted it just might scare half the damn fools straight now that the banners of the Legion were all the more real, fluttering along the walls and in the military quarter of the city. Less than a week into martial law being declared and Gerold had already ordered a House put to the sword, aside from the children and any truly innocent of its Patriach's perfidious dealings, of which there were far and few between them. The crimes uncovered by the Inquisition in the wake of recent scandals had been a step too far, however.

    "Redouble patrols in the Street of Delight," Gerold spoke with conversational cadence, both high officers of the Legion watching Nettles on Sheepstealer flying overhead, the dragon's roars giving would-be traitors no rest in the late evening. Aubert swallowed anger at the thought the two shared, of women murdered in the night and hung up from mage lantern-bearing posts, ones that should have made the streets of the city safer to walk at night. What had been done to the girls even younger had played a part in the immediate and harsh crackdown which followed. "And I've half a mind of evoking my authority and having that damnable place renamed on the spot." He knew his Imperial law, he did have the latitude to make such administrative decisions while military law overrode the legitimate local potentates and its masters in Braavos, even if they were overturned afterwards.

    "I don't think the Sealord would object to the notion," Aubert interjected in weak jest, though the suggestion of sending a letter to have a memorial service organized was met more seriousness by the General.

    "Send it," Gerold replied. "It will keep the people busy, and perhaps even make the raising of curfew easier to swallow, at least among the citizenry." The Princes and trade magnates were too busy swallowing whatever poison their fellows had left to feed them, so what they thought of the tightening noose and increasingly restrictive mandates made little difference to either of them. "He might have some suggestions for renaming the street, too."

    They cantered through the streets of Pentos, bracketed on all sides by soldiers in black armor. More than one attack had been met with unexpected ruthlessness by the Dragon King's military arm, and while summary executions weren't a common occurrence these days where the sudden mandate had finally caught up with the necessities of state, that criminal trials could be conducted even in the midst of all this madness. Pentos was not like Tyrosh even for all its weaknesses and vices, it had not just come out of a battle and it had experienced no wide-scale destruction and rioting. Yet.

    "Lord Gerold..." Ser Aubert always named him such when their stations fell away from them and they spoke more in confidence with each other. "Should we be worried about infiltration?" He didn't need to clarify from which vectors, might as well just say 'all of them', but they had their eyes pointed towards the sea as their conversations finally carried them past the trade harbor.

    "Perhaps, no more than usual I'd be inclined to say," he replied. "I spoke with Blight's Bane by Brazier not long ago... there's something else at work down there. Something nastier than dread leviathans and misbegotten and pitiful wretches prodded into a frenzy and sent to die on Legion steel." He stared out to sea, before his gaze swept closer to home. "We have to handle things one problem at a time. Right now it's the damned Magisters fighting me every step of the way and braying about their rights and privileges that concern me. It's damned lunacy when a commander of an entire Legion is beating an idiotic silk-robed ingrate half to death in the middle of a ball."

    "You did interrupt that ball uninvited, and then called him a pig peddler for he had none of his usual wares worth mentioning, nor would he ever," the Colonel replied, though the cold satisfaction in his gaze gave lie to the weak effort at his usual banter.

    "Perhaps Lady Jaera will now think more carefully about their guest lists," Gerold replied, nonplussed.

    "Will you perhaps order a batch of flying pigs from Gorgossos, then? They would arrive sooner, I think." The two shook their heads, not even having the will to laugh. One more noble with a proclivity for whipping their slaves to death when they displeased them. One more ingrate too canny by half still that they had not earned a trip up to the ever-busy gallows.

    The greatest insult King Viserys had ever delivered to the slaver lords of Essos was hanging them like common bandits. The thought took a bit of the sting away from the executions of former slaves earning recompense from the hides of their former masters. Even in these days one had to maintain iron discipline among the ranks, or they might creatively interpret their orders in regards to that lot.

    "Healers, maybe," Gerold replied instead. "Some men are getting a cough." The way his brow furrowed in worry over such a minor thing was telling. When had the Legion run short of healers a single day since Lys was conquered and Myr annexed? They were short staffed because he had men helping crisis response workers the King had paid for to help the city recover from its misrule, and it still wasn't enough, not even with a couple of ships full of remedies and supplies diverted to aid the demand.

    "I"ll let Personnel know," Aubert said slowly, the man already thinking about what he would pass along the Brazier to the Capital. "We can't deal with a plague and this horseshit at the same time."

    "When it rains," Gerold said darkly.

    "It pours." Aubert nodded. A long life and many years lived in Braavos and acquainted him with the notion.

    Gerold snapped his reins, the two quickening their pace to their next destination. "Pull another patrol from the southern commercial districts..." Gerold spoke with purpose, continuing their previous discussion.


    ***​

    A dark-eyed, winged warrior trailed thirty paces behind the pair, ever watchful for threats to their charge, when instinct honed by millennia of war and treachery began pulling their attention toward the sea, some flicker of movement or hidden discernment, lying in wait.

    The intensity of her black gaze increased, and her eyes narrowed in consideration.

    She moved on.
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    Good one, dude. It's been a while since we saw a Gerold POV. His frustration and disgust come through really well.

    Pentos is gonna Pentos, it seems.
     
    Vote closed.
    Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Jan 25, 2020 at 4:54 AM, finished with 21 posts and 9 votes.
    • [X] Introduce ourselves as Viserys Targaryen, King in the Garden, Sorcerer of the 9th circle, and Red Dragon, though an unusual representative of that infamous breed. We have traveled to the Endless Sea on business, both to deliver goods bought and paid for and to retrieve our own purchases, and to foster greater communication and cooperation between the factions which call the Plane home. If she asks why, explain that peace upon the Plane of Water is not only good for business, but it also makes it more likely another Deep One invasion will fail when it inevitably arrives.
      -[X] We want to know everything Aikaterine can tell us:
      --[X] What can she tell us of Axis?
      --[X] How did it fare in the wake of the Sundering?
      --[X] Is it true that the forces of Hell now stand with Axis against the encroachment of chaos?
      --[X] What can she tell us of herself? What brought an Axiomite to the Plane of Water of all places?
      --[X] What can she tell us of the Anvil, which even now inspires such strife and conflict that it might lead to a war between the Kelasi Emirate and the Dominion of Galzerai?
      -[X] In return, answer any questions Aikaterine might ask of us which isn't sensitive in nature.
      --[X] Offer to purchase any lore she may be willing to share, or trade if she wishes to visit our non-restricted library.
      --[X] Invite her to visit our realm as a guest.
    Click to expand...
     
    Azel said:
    Well, Pentos didn't have any mitigating factors, so we get to see the issues with occupation much more keenly.
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    Click to shrink...
    It's always interesting from a cultural standpoint how difficult people can find it to change when their circumstances are radically altered. The attitudes from some of the Magisters of Pentos and all throughout Essos are disturbingly realistic in that regard. They were raised with the notion that they had the inborn right to hold the power of life and death over people who they outright owned for all intents and purposes, and that their wealth and privileges would prevent them from suffering any consequences for their petty or murderous actions. Then we come along and change things, except they don't want to change and think that obviously the new laws don't really apply to them, and even if they do, they are too smart to get caught or can simply bribe their way out of trouble if the worst happens and they are discovered.

    Like you said, this can be mitigated to a certain extent, but that only helps so much, even when the punishment for being caught is death. For good or ill, some people just need killing if you want to root out such problems.
     
    Goldfish said:
    It's always interesting from a cultural standpoint how difficult people can find it to change when their circumstances are radically altered. The attitudes from some of the Magisters of Pentos and all throughout Essos are disturbingly realistic in that regard. They were raised with the notion that they had the inborn right to hold the power of life and death over people who they outright owned for all intents and purposes, and that their wealth and privileges would prevent them from suffering any consequences for their petty or murderous actions. Then we come along and change things, except they don't want to change and think that obviously the new laws don't really apply to them, and even if they do, they are too smart to get caught or can simply bribe their way out of trouble if the worst happens and they are discovered.

    Like you said, this can be mitigated to a certain extent, but that only helps so much, even when the punishment for being caught is death. For good or ill, some people just need killing if you want to root out such problems.
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    I was mostly speaking about Volantis, Braavos and Myr cleaning out the problematic elements for us, Tyrosh having been cleansed in the aftermath of a Daemon attack and Lys having it's ruling class completely gutted.

    Pentos is the only place where a significant number of magisters is left.

    I mean, we always had trouble in the countryside, but Pentos actually has a large power block that opposes Viserys and survived the initial take-over.
     
    Azel said:
    I was mostly speaking about Volantis, Braavos and Myr cleaning out the problematic elements for us, Tyrosh having been cleansed in the aftermath of a Daemon attack and Lys having it's ruling class completely gutted.

    Pentos is the only place where a significant number of magisters is left.

    I mean, we always had trouble in the countryside, but Pentos actually has a large power block that opposes Viserys and survived the initial take-over.
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    Yeah, I gotcha. I just got to thinking about the whole situation and human nature, then how that works IC and IRL, and my brain got away from me a bit. :oops:
     
    Ultimately it's a matter of some people of significant wealth and power being told that you will take these things away from them. Obviously, they will resist.

    The issue is that Viserys has significantly more power, is much more beloved by the general population (which happens to stand to gain a lot from the social upheaval to boot), controls the economy and the mass media. So any open defiance is a death sentence.
     
    Azel said:
    Ultimately it's a matter of some people of significant wealth and power being told that you will take these things away from them. Obviously, they will resist.
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    To be clear here, we are not actually taking their wealth and only some of their power.
    In every conquered city there were smart magisters who not only didn't loose from our takeover, but actually profited.

    The "taking away" part only really comes into play if people don't change their income-sources quickly enough.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    To be clear here, we are not actually taking their wealth and only some of their power.
    In every conquered city there were smart magisters who not only didn't loose from our takeover, but actually profited.

    The "taking away" part only really comes into play if people don't change their income-sources quickly enough.
    Click to expand...
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    We do take their slaves, who used to be worth quite some money, and force their businesses to pay workers decently, massively cutting into their profits.

    At the same time, they get politically marginalised as we put clerks and lawmen into the seats of power, also cutting off the supply of cushy "jobs" they can gift their kids and family.


    So... we are very much fisting them both financially and politically.
     
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