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

Sixteenth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

Embassy of the Dragon Archon, Strangers' Street, Yin, Yi Ti

The tall and graceful but decidedly foreign silhouette of the Dragon Hall had risen among the shops and houses of Stranger's Street practically overnight. 'As though by magic' some whispered, eyeing the sorcerers robed in gold and emerald robes mistrustfully. Its columns of white marble and colorful mosaics were in a ways more strange for the fact that they were not obviously magical like the little colorful dragons or the misshapen sky-beasts.

Unlike most of those who wandered by, eyes wide but never daring to approach too close, Hua Fen knew the building that now housed the trading expedition sent by the dragon king actually had been raised by magic, but not by the magic of the travelers, strong as it may have been. The Heavenly Sovereign commanded Shugenja who looked to the Kami of Earth and Wu Jen whose skills lay with wood and metal, to have it all erected before the full expedition was cleared to disembark into the city. From what she had heard, there had been a few officials dragging their feet to give the Blessed and Wise time to perform their duty, but by the eighth day it was done, with offices fit for a provincial governor's holdings, large enough to comfortably house all the officers and notables of the trade fleet, and even provided with gardens for the weary to wander through as they steeled body and mind for the duty ahead.

The furnishings were thankfully more of a compromise between the manner of the far west and that of the Golden Empire. Fen privately thought that what her new allies counted 'chairs' were better suited to displaying craftsmanship than actually sitting on. As soon drape yourself over a sculpture as try to sit in them comfortably. The staff was also of the Golden Empire, though Fen was aware that she would not have called them that a year ago, most from among foreign families settled for years in Yin.


Compared to the bull-men, talking ravens made of beaten metal, and sea folk that were kin to kami, they were very familiar indeed. Certainly enough like the folk she had known all her life to be overawed at the sight of a procession of silk robed scholars carrying ornate chests of cherry wood and ebony. Fen had been expecting to order documents today, by subject and the type of script used, so that the Herald of the Dragon would know how many scribes it would have to call upon for the task of rendering them into one of the tongues common in his realm. She had not expected a warning from a hard-eyed guard to get the knowledge on holy ground and under blessed wards as quickly as she could lest enemies of all that live steal them away.


"The books can be carried to Sorcerer's Deep within the hour," Zeriel, the spirit-woman who was her guard for the day, spoke unexpectedly in her mind. "Or a matter of moments if the message goes to the king himself."

For a moment Fen was tempted to have the warrior silently pass on the suggestion to do so. The young scholar had grown increasingly curious over the past few months as to what manner of man sent such strange and mighty envoys to the shores of the Golden Empire, but she shook off the thought. One does not disturb a king to carry scrolls like a common messenger. She was becoming increasingly convinced that she would have to satisfy that curiosity by traveling away herself. Far from taking her examination to prove herself to her father, now that ambition seemed so vary small, almost petty, looking just a few months back.

What else does the expedition attempt over the remainder of the month?

[] Sell the cargo
-[] Seeking to maximize profit
-[] Seeking to maximize influence at court
-[] Seeking to gain influence with the local traders

[] Seek out other experts mundane or magical (maximum 2)
-[] Write in

[] Write in

OOC: The vote feels a little disjointed from the update unfortunately, but I felt that Fen's voice worked better there than just handing it off to say Diana or one of the inquisitors. Not yet edited.