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

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egoo said:
By the way, I'm kinda confused, @DragonParadox.
Lady Xue offered using the leftover power of kami-ritual to find the GC escapees - but we seemingly have gotten them all already?
...Well, those we could have reasonably gotten, anyway?

Is she going to mop up all of the disorganized brigands that ran for their lives now, or something?

Or is she hoping to gun for the remaining Mindboanked targets (Illyrio, Blackheart) and/or GC's boltholes?
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She has not made that clear IC yet, that will be covered in the next part.

Speaking of the next part, should I close the vote or do you guys want and interlude so you can talk about the vote more now that we are not in combat?
 
DragonParadox said:
She has not made that clear IC yet, that will be covered in the next part.

Speaking of the next part, should I close the vote or do you guys want and interlude so you can talk about the vote more now that we are not in combat?
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An interlude would be great now that the combat that was so heavy the past couple weeks has slacked off. I'm starved for interludes.
 
"Criston, educate!"

"Damn it, Drekelis! I'm a former thug and tourney knight, not an interrogator!"

"We'll make one of you yet, Storm!"
 
Inserted tally
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Feb 25, 2020 at 5:27 PM, finished with 35 posts and 13 votes.
  • [X] Admit your involvement and your reasons
    -[X] We wanted people in general to be prepared for these threats the lore is about. It saves time and effort if we don't have to travel across half the world to eliminate problems like the Golden Company befor they can reach our realm. The knowledge helps most people and only harms our foes, so we spread it.
    -[X] Pol Ning in particular was in just the right position. We could give her the lore, she would be a trusted source for it to the Orange Emperor and we wouldn't have to be personally involved and thus sour other relations in these lands.
    -[X] That she profited from it was good for her, and a minor advantage for us, as it would put someone who believes in our good intentions and has proof of our prior honesty in form of this lore, in a better position at her brother's court.
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Interlude DCCXXXVII: Spinning Crimson Webs
  • Threadmarks
    • Spinning Crimson Webs ​

    Fifteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Garin Drekelis, High Inquisitor of the Empire looked around the table with a satisfied air. They were an eclectic gathering to be sure, from high officials and companions like himself and Malarys so assassins of lost realms under the earth and the lord of a Orphne Fey wrapped in his own shadow. Truth be told he was more worried about the Westerosi contingent not that Ceria Storm could not hold her own against harvester devils in the halls of power and the field of blood alike, or that Criston could not cut down Ghiscari assassins, but the fact of the matter remained they did not speak the language and magic would only take one as far as someone casting and Unraveling, which the locals were unfortuently ever more inclined to do as the atmosphere of cloying suspicion settled among the ancient stones.

    They had done good work setting friendly ears among Mereen's highest noble Houses so far thanks to Grazdan and the others of the Windward Society knowing how to approach the slaves. It still felt a touch odd to be looking for devout R'hllorites to turn into the service of the inquisition after being wary of their influence for so long, but that likely had more to do with his own personal experiance with the Lord of Light and Garin did not believe in letting such opinions influence the working of the Inquisition.

    "There is almost certainly a shadow war going on between the devils and... local interests," Malarys began shuffling the parchments in front for him, more from habit than actually having to look down to check. He might not have Lya's perfect recall but Garin knew for a fact that his memory was good enough to frustrate several magisters who thought they could continue with their usual practices of graft and corruption into the underpinnings of the Lawmen.

    "I concur," Ceria Storm replied, her agreement wholly for the idea not Malarys' position, Garin noted in satisfaction. "Six poisonings this month alone and all among those who had sould their souls to Baator or their immediate dependents is rather too lively to be coincidence, even for this city."

    "Give it time I'm sure it'll grow on you," Koron laughed sardonically.

    "So does greyscale but I do not much fancy that," the Stormlander sorceress replied. "The question is to we contact these so called Sons of the Harpy? The fact that they can operate against Asmodeous' pawns and we cannot easily divine their leadership speaks in favor of their utility, even if our long term goals diverge." Her expression was of one who had just bitten into a rotten fruit, shared among all those taking counsel, including Garin himself.

    The only one whose expression had not shifted in the slightest was Malarys whose expression of faint disdain had not shifted since they had arrived in the city. "If we do approach them it should be with utmost care," the magelord noted.

    No one challenged the notion that the Sons of the Harpy had been compromised of course, just as no one would think to deny that wading though Drowned Town at low tide was liable to leave one wet and reeking of fish guts and refuse. Everyone got their hands dirty playing these sorts of games against competent opponents.

    "We do not know how far they have been compromised. A dead drop aranged through and anonymous and suitably vague message perhaps," Garin mused. "We could do it in Yunkai as opposed to here in Mereen, it would give us a chance to unified the movement truly is. Names are cheap hierarchies are what define a trully effective network from a tangled mess of conflicting interests..."

    "Or we could just follow the scent of hellfire to ever more exalted baatezu," Tuin the youngest of the assassin bothers pointed out. "The higher we do the more they know, they are predictable in that manner."

    Garin did not disagree and from his expression neither did Malarys, but cutting into the enemy's slots directly was slow and likely to breed reprisal. Then again at least poor Ser Criston would be less bored with the proceedings, he thought amused, watching the knight shift from one foot to the other impatiently. Perhaps he should take a few lessons from Ser Richard on how to be truly inconspicuous until one removes an enemy's dead from their body.

    "How goes the search for a servant of the Lady of Spears?" Malarys asked turning to the Yi Tish monk, Ting. He had proved as fascinating to Unsullied as any other warriors and since his stile of fighting was both not associated with King Viserys and not dependent on magic he had been able to act more openly than many of the rest of their company. That he could also drink four men under the table with ease just made it all the easier for him to guarantee the meeting they had been denied last month.

    "I finally have a name though not yet a place to meet them," Ting replied. "I will a support for the discussion proper."

    Which avenue of intrigue deserves the most focus in the following days?

    [] Contacting the Sons of the Harpy

    [] Capturing and interrogating devils and the devil touched when the opportunity presents itself

    [] Speak to a priest of the Lady of Swords

    [] Write in

    OOC: And here we are and account of who's been doing what given in character. I had fun writing the ways they played off each other even if there are a lot of the. Not yet edited.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • DragonParadox said:
    [] Contacting the Sons of the Harpy

    [] Capturing and interrogating devils and the devil touched when the opportunity presents itself

    [] Speak to a priest of the Lady of Swords

    [] Write in
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    Given that the supposed goal of the Cult of Asmodeus is to corrupt the religion of the Lady of Spears, we should probably start here to try to get a good idea of who's who in the religion.

    @DragonParadox, are all the actual harpies dead or are there still a few flying around?
     
    Duesal said:
    Given that the supposed goal of the Cult of Asmodeus is to corrupt the religion of the Lady of Spears, we should probably start here to try to get a good idea of who's who in the religion.

    @DragonParadox, are all the actual harpies dead or are there still a few flying around?
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    There are rumors of surviving harpies but nothing confirmed, it could just be wistful thinking on the part of their sympathizers
     
    Do we actually care for whoever rules Slavers' Bay from the shadows, long as it isn't Asmodeus?
    I say, finding his multi-layered plan and ruining it as much as we can, should be the priority.
    Our presence had already likely been accounted for, though...

    [X] Focus on finding as much about the Devils' goals and plans in this place - splitting the attention equally between finding more about the religion of Lady of Spears and capturing/questioning Devils and their servants.
    -[X] Once more information reveals itself, adjustments could be made. But ultimately, Sons of Harpy matter far less than Asmodeus' servants.

    The above, of course, assumes that Asmy doesn't already have some leaders of SoH covered, and just playing cover-up by staging the war for any interested parties (such as us) to "interfere" and dismiss his real pawns.
    *paranoid tendencies intensify*
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Spinning Crimson Webs ​

    Fifteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Garin Drekelis, High Inquisitor of the Empire, looked around the table with a satisfied air. They were an eclectic gathering to be sure, from high officials and companions like himself and Malarys, to assassins of lost realms under the earth and the lord of a Orphne Fey wrapped in his own shadow. Truth be told, he was more worried about the Westerosi contingent. Not that Ceria Storm could not hold her own against harvester devils in the halls of power and the field of blood alike, or that Criston could not cut down Ghiscari assassins, but the fact of the matter remained that they did not speak the language and magic would only take one as far as someone casting an unraveling, which the locals were unfortunately ever more inclined to do as the atmosphere of cloying suspicion settled among the ancient stones.

    Thus far, they had done good work setting friendly ears among Mereen's highest noble Houses, thanks to Grazdan and the others of the Windward Society knowing how to approach the slaves. It still felt a touch odd to be looking for devout R'hllorites to turn into the service of the Inquisition after being wary of their influence for so long. That likely had more to do with his own personal experiance with the Lord of Light, however, and Garin did not believe in letting such opinions influence the working of the Inquisition.

    "There is almost certainly a shadow war going on between the devils and... local interests," Malarys began, shuffling the parchments in front of him, more from habit than actually having to look down to check. He might not have Lya's perfect recall, but Garin knew for a fact that his memory was good enough to frustrate several magisters who thought they could continue with their usual practices of graft and corruption into the underpinnings of the Lawmen.

    "I concur," Ceria Storm replied, her agreement wholly for the idea, not Malarys' position, Garin noted in satisfaction. "Six poisonings this month alone, and all among those who had sold their souls to Baator or their immediate dependents, is rather too lively to be coincidence, even for this city."

    "Give it time, I'm sure it'll grow on you," Koron laughed sardonically.

    "So does greyscale, but I do not much fancy that," the Stormlander sorceress replied. "The question is, do we contact these so called Sons of the Harpy? The fact that they can operate against Asmodeous' pawns and we cannot easily divine their leadership speaks in favor of their utility, even if our long term goals diverge." Her expression was of one who had just bitten into a rotten fruit, shared among all those taking counsel, including Garin himself.

    The only one whose expression had not shifted in the slightest was Malarys, whose look of faint disdain had not shifted since they had arrived in the city. "If we do approach them, it should be with utmost care," the magelord noted.

    No one challenged the notion that the Sons of the Harpy had been compromised, of course, just as no one would think to deny that wading though Drowned Town at low tide was liable to leave one wet and reeking of fish guts and refuse. Everyone got their hands dirty playing these sorts of games against competent opponents.

    "We do not know how far they have been compromised. Perhaps a dead drop arranged through an anonymous and suitably vague message?" Garin mused. "We could do it in Yunkai as opposed to here in Mereen, it would give us a chance to determine how unified the movement truly is. Names are cheap, after all, and hierarchies are what define a truly effective network from a tangled mess of conflicting interests."

    "Or we could just follow the scent of hellfire to ever more exalted baatezu," pointed out Tuin, the youngest of the assassin bothers. "The higher we go the more they know. They are predictable in that manner."

    Garin did not disagree, and from his expression neither did Malarys, but cutting into the enemy's plots directly was slow and likely to breed reprisal. Then again, at least poor Ser Criston would be less bored with the proceedings, he thought amused, watching the knight shift from one foot to the other impatiently. Perhaps he should take a few lessons from Ser Richard on how to be truly inconspicuous until one removes an enemy's dead from their body.

    "How goes the search for a servant of the Lady of Spears?" Malarys asked, turning to the Yi Tish monk, Ting. He had proved as fascinating to Unsullied as any other warriors, and since his style of fighting was both not associated with King Viserys and not dependent on magic, he had been able to act more openly than many of the rest of their company. That he could also drink four men under the table with ease just made it all the easier for him to guarantee the meeting they had been denied last month.

    "I finally have a name, though not yet a place to meet them," Ting replied. "I will need support for the discussion proper."

    Which avenue of intrigue deserves the most focus in the following days?

    [] Contacting the Sons of the Harpy

    [] Capturing and interrogating devils and the devil-touched when the opportunity presents itself

    [] Speak to a priest of the Lady of Spears

    [] Write in

    OOC: And here we are, an account of who's been doing what and given in character. I had fun writing the ways they played off each other even if there are a lot of them. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
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    Crake said:
    Not for long.
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    Haha, yeah. I hope the urban renovations in Braavos are done before Garin has a reason to return. That should be a jarring homecoming.
    egoo said:
    Do we actually care for whoever rules Slavers' Bay from the shadows, long as it isn't Asmodeus?
    I say, finding his multi-layered plan and ruining it as much as we can, should be the priority.
    Our presence had already likely been accounted for, though...

    [X] Focus on finding as much about the Devils' goals and plans in this place - splitting the attention equally between finding more about the religion of Lady of Spears and capturing/questioning Devils and their servants.
    -[X] Once more information reveals itself, adjustments could be made. But ultimately, Sons of Harpy matter far less than Asmodeus' servants.

    The above, of course, assumes that Asmy doesn't already have some leaders of SoH covered, and just playing cover-up by staging the war for any interested parties (such as us) to "interfere" and dismiss his real pawns.
    *paranoid tendencies intensify*
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    Given the enemies and factions we are dealing with here, I don't think we should attenuate our efforts too much.

    Whatever we choose, I would prefer if we dedicate our effort wholly to that option.
     
    Goldfish said:
    Haha, yeah. I hope the urban renovations in Braavos are done before Garin has a reason to return. That should be a jarring homecoming.

    Given the enemies and factions we are dealing with here, I don't think we should attenuate our efforts too much.

    Whatever we choose, I would prefer if we dedicate our effort wholly to that option.
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    I'm not sure if any of the given variants is the "correct" one when dealing with Asmodeus.
    Assimetric warfare is our only hope.

    Problem being, of course, I have no idea how to turn this thing around in a way that would get us through assuming everyone is Asmodeus pawn (knowingly or not)
     
    I think this is the best option to start with, as it can be done with the least amount of time and resources invested, in case it turns out to be a dead end.

    Also including Garin's level up plan. If he's going to operating in Slaver's Bay, I'd rather he be at his best.

    [X] Speak to a priest of the Lady of Spears

    [X] Garin Level Up
    -[X] Class: +1 Lord of Shadows
    -[X] Skills (9 points): +1 Hide, +1 Move Silently, +1 Sense Motive, +1 Spot, +2 Gather Information, +3 Listen
     
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