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

Sixteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

Northern Rainwood, Stormlands, Westeros

If Azema were being charitable she would call the house quaint, something that belonged to the forest as much as the beasts and birds which had been here for generations. The alu demon was not charitable by nature however, and even less so when the eves of the forest dripped last night's rain upon the unwary in unexpected spurts. The beauty of nature was in her not-so-humble-opinion best observed upon the artist's canvas, not in the cold and wet... amid the buzzing of newly awakened mosquitoes. Instinctively she snapped one of the damnable insects out of the air and crushed it.


"Bet that'll convince the locals we aren't strange and uncanny," Shara snorted beside her. "For someone whose been lying as long as you have you seem to be having a might too much fun showing off."

"People see what they expect to see," she shrugged with a smile that would have showed fangs had she not been wearing a glamour. "Really, I'm doing them a favor. Who knows what demon blood will do to the bugs around here," she added.

"And were you doing Lord Wylde a favor?" the inquisitor asked primly as she started down the path to the cottage. So damn young.

"Caspar wasn't complaining in the morning, that's for sure," Azema replied archly. "His wife is six years in her grave so it's not like I was trespassing on the sanctity of marital vows." She rolled her eyes at the idea of ever foregoing a seduction on such grounds. The old lord had been an attentive lover, which was less common than one might hope, and a better conversationalist afterwards, which was even rarer. It had been both a swift and effective way to cure him of any lingering suspicions about magic besides, so it was not like Azema was not going about the Dragon King's business.

"It's not his damn vows I'm worried about. We are here under royal writ and unlike the smallfolk Lord Wylde knows who we are. We can't just have him thinking we're..."

"Whores?" the alu demon asked amused. "While it would be amusing to see some fool make that assumption about Mereth or one of her sisters, in the brief moment before they were divested of first their limbs then their lives, I do not think that is much of a danger. We are here to exact bloody justice upon the fey that have been terrorizing these lands."

"I don't think bloody justice exists, it's usually just 'bloody vengeance'," Shara sniffed, though the corners of her mouth twitched in the beginnings of a smile.

"Obviously a deficiency of the language then. Have you seen how much blood flows when one makes a proper offering to the tree gods?" Azema had timed her retort so the younger inquisitor would not be able to answer as they approached the cottage's door. She rapped on the door firmly.

A woman counting perhaps forty years but bent from a life of toil cracked the door open sharply . "We ain't dealing with visitors and neighbors neither," she spat.

"Peace, we're only travelers looking for a place to rest. We dare not travel through the woods after sundown with the rumors of beasts and darker things stalking the paths," the alu demon said while feigning a catch in her voice.

The woman hesitated for a long moment, and not from the fear of having strangers in her home Azema judged. "What's a roof worth to ye?" Perhaps there was something to the suspicions that this house was used as a trap by Jagged Knife and his merry crew of butchers, but if so this woman was not wholly at ease with her part in the matter.

"Ten eastern shillings," Shara replied a little too quickly, playing the part of the poor bargainer to further tempt their hopefully soon-to-be host. For her part Azema was amused that it was actually less suspicious to pay with the Dragon's coin than what the locals minted.

As the door creaked behind them black winged devils circled above watching over all. Azema was still a touch regretful she had not managed to convince Mereth to glamour herself into a little girl's form, the better to lure their prey to them.

What does the party in the Rainwood focus on in their mission?

[] Gaining reputation with the local lords

[] Gaining reputation with the local smallfolk

[] Making the Court of Stars aware that they have dealt with the embarrassment of Jagged Knife and his troupe

[] Claiming as much fey treasure as possible

OOC: Not the best overnight vote, but I could not get this out of my head.