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

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Crake said:
I'm a fan of Turisas.
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*tosses Crake a horn full of mead*
 
Azel said:
I think most people who complained about this didn't quite get that the end result would be Sci-Fi grade shields for both our air force and static defenses.

Depends on the symphonic metal in question, but most likely not. Listen to something that gives you proper chest hair.
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... Well. Count me in for sci-fi grade shields.
 
Ye swesty men have scared DP away from the thread with your masculinity and nordic metals!
 
egoo said:
Ye swesty men have scared DP away from the thread with your masculinity and nordic metals!
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Not quite. RL was being a ppain.

Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Oct 28, 2020 at 11:06 AM, finished with 49 posts and 7 votes.
  • [X] Approach by stealth through the city, you have multiple ways to earn egress, whether that be going through the ground or simply finding agents of the demons and trailing them into their lair. Either way, you're expected. Unless there's a Balor laying in wait for you, you expect the main danger will be the enemy's prepared ground, better to get the chance to evaluate the threat before you commit to battle.
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Part MMMDCLXXXII: Watching Silvered Eyes
  • Threadmarks
    • Watching Silvered Eyes ​

    Eighteenth Day of the Third Month 294 AC

    "It's a trap," Maelor's words are spoken without the slightest uncertainty. "If they wanted to keep the watchmoles they could have just sent them right off to the Abyss where Old Snake Guts could veil any mortal magic..." he looks you up and down carefully. "Your magic still counts as mortal, right? There's something that feels different about it, sort of a smell in the air."

    Qyburn looks curious about the notion, likely about to ask if the smelling is literal, but you speak first. "Mortal enough that I wouldn't likely be able to to see inside a demon lord's own corner of the Pit. I agree this is likely a trap, but it's still a nest of demons in the Empire."

    "And my city," Relath adds darkly. "I should have been more thorough with the fools and not let myself be swayed by my consort..."

    You freeze. "Would that be the same consort you had to remove on the grounds of corruption?" You had assumed that was simply mundane corruption, but a significant portion of that investigation was sourced through the House of Mirrors. If those answers had been in error...

    "Yes, it was she," the lord of Tolos snapped, though his anger is obviously directed at the dead, or more likely at whoever had manipulated her. To the question 'how you would run a subversion campaign within the Imperium', the best answer you would give is 'maintain a thick shield of deniable assets between yourself and official scrutiny at all times'.

    At least the rot had not gotten into the Scholarum where it would be the most perilous. Perhaps that is even why Abraxas' tools had even avoided it, too obvious a place for the hand of the demon lord of forbidden lore.

    ***​

    You have never been to this particular corner of Tolos before, truth be told you have rarely been to Tolos outside the the citadel, the walled inner quarter that holds the palace, the temples and granaries of the city, but the area around Sunward Square, as Relath tells you it is called, seems almost as well off. Crisscrossed with pale boulevards bordered by peach trees in flower, quiet and genteel, not the sort of place one would expect anything unusual to happen, much less anything illegal or treasonous.

    Entering the school under a veil proves all too easy, even considering the presence of the dead knights flanking your company. You simply march through the front door under the guise of students drifting in for afternoon courses, nary a quasit to sound the alarm. That is not to say there are no signs of what this place truly is, the rune of the lord of the Final Incantation being hidden among patterns, abstract mosaics and mathematical riddles, even in the dimensions of the entrance hall. This place has to have been constructed with rituals to the demon lord in mind.

    "Raised by cultists fleeing Mantarys, perhaps?" You muse to your companions across the mental link.

    "Trade growing between them would have given them cover to move assets between the cities," Maelor replies.

    "There are openings in the wall, over the third and seventh lantern hooks, perhaps for weapons," Qyburn interjects. You cannot see anything... not even when you invoke a spell to see through all illusions. You are suddenly very happy you brought Qyburn along.

    "Well they obviously can't see for shit through the glamor," Maelor notes.

    "Or they don't want to shoot us here..." Relath interjects suspiciously. You can feel the back of your neck start to itch.

    Something about this does not ring true. What is the point of fortifying a covert installation like this? You don't put steam canons in Inquisition bases after all, even when they are publically known, much less when they are supposed to be covert. The best weapons a place like this could employ would be covert ones, vanishing or subverting investigators. Trying to splatter them all over the walls feels like little more than petty malice.

    You drift in the direction of one of the openings and listen to sounds beneath your heartbeat, smell the subtle scents in the air and feel the vibrations in the earth.

    Slink... clink, it smells of silver and feels like sorcery... familiar sorcery.

    Rage burns through your veins hot and for a moment you are tempted to take on dragon form and to Hells with the fact that the room can't fit you. That was not a weapon, but a copy of your enchanted mirrors set to record.

    Yet even through the anger the pieces fall together, the demons did not bring you here to kill you, they would not have the strength. But you could all too easily imagine one of their ilk telling of your mass demonic summoning and you confirming it in the midst of battle, your words carried to mirrors across the Imperium. The scrambling of wyverns, the alert of the Legion, it would lend credence that what the people are hearing is not just a lie conjured by magic.

    Fuck whoever put this together, you could almost hire them.

    Of course, knowing there are mirrors looking out changes the whole game. You can order a check up of all public mirrors in the Imperium while you finish up here, rendering the whole scheme moot, but if enemy agents are watching for that they would likely flee back to the Abyss before you could capture them. On the other hand you could simply let the whole charade play out without mentioning any conjuring and pull the enemy out by their own hook.

    What do you do?

    [] Take down public mirrors for 'repairs' before sweeping the cult base

    [] Play along, though without incriminating yourself in any mass summonings

    [] Write in

    OOC: Psionic/magic transparency saves the day. With enough enchanter time and skill you can make stationary true-sight resistant figments, but expecting them to work reliably on the Far Realm equivalents is a bit much. Viserys sniffing them out is blindsight, but without Qyburn he likely would not have gotten close enough to notice since they were on the side of the room.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • DragonParadox said:
    Watching Silvered Eyes ​

    Eighteenth Day of the Third Month 294 AC

    "It's a trap," Maelor's words are spoken without the slightest uncertainty. "If they wanted to keep the watchmoles, they could have just sent them right off to the Abyss where Old Snake Guts could veil any mortal magic..." he looks you up and down carefully. "Your magic still counts as mortal, right? There's something that feels different about it, sort of a smell in the air."

    Qyburn looks curious about the notion, likely about to ask if the smelling is literal, but you speak first. "Mortal enough that I wouldn't likely be able to to see inside a demon lord's own corner of the Pit. I agree this is likely a trap, but it's still a nest of demons in the Empire."

    "And my city," Relath adds darkly. "I should have been more thorough with the fools and not let myself be swayed by my consort..."

    You freeze. "Would that be the same consort you had to remove on the grounds of corruption?" You had assumed that was simply mundane corruption, but a significant portion of that investigation was sourced though the House of Mirrors. If those answers had been in error...

    "Yes, it was she," the lord of Tolos snapped though his anger is obviously directed at the dead, or more likely whoever had manipulated her. To the question 'how you would run a subversion campaign within the Imperium', the best answer you would give is 'maintain a thick shield of deniable assets between yourself and official scrutiny at all times'.

    At least the rot had not gotten into the Scholarum where it would be the most perilous. Perhaps that is even why Abraxas' tools had avoided it, too obvious a place for the hand of the demon lord of forbidden lore.

    ***​

    You have never been to this particular corner of Tolos before, truth be told you have rarely been to Tolos outside the the Citadel, the walled inner quarter that holds the palace, the temples and granaries of the city. The area around Sunward Square, as Relath tells you it is called, seems almost as well off, crisscrossed with pale boulevards bordered by peach trees in flower, quiet and genteel, not the sort of place one would expect anything unusual to happen, much less anything illegal or treasonous.

    Entering the school under a veil proves all too easy, even considering the presence of the dead knights flanking your company. You simply march through the front door under the guise of students drifting in for afternoon courses, with nary a quasit to sound the alarm. That is not to say there are no signs of what this place truly is, the rune of the lord of the Final Incantation hidden in patterns, abstract mosaics, and mathematical riddles, even in the dimensions of the entrance hall. This place has to have been constructed with rituals to the Demon Lord in mind.

    "Raised by cultists fleeing Mantays, perhaps?" You muse to your companions across the mental link.

    "Trade growing between them would have given them cover to move assets between the cities," Maelor replies.

    "There are openings in the wall, over the third and seventh lantern hooks, perhaps for weapons," Qyburn interjects. You cannot see anything... not even when you invoke a spell to see through all illusions. You are suddenly very happy you brought Qyburn along.

    "Well they obviously can't see for shit through the glamor," Maelor notes.

    "Or they don't want to shoot us here..." Relath interjects suspiciously. You can feel the back of your neck start to itch.

    Something about this does not ring true, though. What is the point of fortifying a covert installation like this. You don't put steam cannons in inquisition bases even when they are publicly known, much less when they are supposed to be covert. The best weapons a place like this could employ would be covert ones, vanishing or subverting investigators. Trying to splatter them all over the walls feels like little more than petty malice.

    You drift in the direction of one of the openings and listen to sounds beneath your heartbeat, smell the subtle scents in the air and feel the vibrations in the air.

    Slink... clink, it smells of silver and feels like sorcery... familiar sorcery.

    Rage burns through your veins so hot that for a moment you are tempted to take on dragon form and to Hells with the fact that the room can't fit you. That was not a weapon, but a copy of your enchanted mirrors set to record.

    Yet even through the anger the pieces fall together, the demons did not bring you here to kill you, they would not have the strength. But you could all too easily imagine one of their ilk telling of your mass demonic summoning and you confirming it in the midst of battle, your words carried to mirrors across the Imperium. The scrambling of Wyverns, the alert of the legion, it would lend credence that what the people are hearing is not just a lie conjured by magic.

    Fuck, whoever put this together, you could almost hire them.

    Of course, knowing there are mirrors looking out changes the whole game. You can order a check up of all public mirrors in the Imperium while you finish here, rendering the whole scheme moot, but if enemy agents are watching for that they would likely flee back to the Abyss before you could capture them. On the other hand, you could simply let the whole charade play out without mentioning any conjuring and pull the enemy out by their own hook.

    What do you do?

    [] Take down public mirrors for 'repairs' before sweeping the cult base

    [] Play along, though without incriminating yourself in any mass summonings

    [] Write in

    OOC: Psionic/transparency saves the day. With enough enchanter time and skill you can make stationary true-sight resistant figments, but expecting them to work reliably on the Far Realm equivalent is a bit much. Viserys sniffing them out is blindsight, but without Qyburn he likely would not have gotten close enough to notice since they were on the side of the room. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Watching Silvered Eyes ​

    Eighteenth Day of the Third Month 294 AC

    "It's a trap," Maelor's words are spoken without the slightest uncertainty. "If they wanted to keep the watchmoles they could have just sent them right off to the Abyss where Old Snake Guts could veil any mortal magic..." he looks you up and down carefully. "Your magic still counts as mortal right? There's something that feels different about it, sort of a smell in the air."

    Qyburn looks curious about the notion, likely about to ask if the smelling is literal but you speak first. "Mortal enough that I wouldn't likely be able to to see inside a demon lord's own corner of the Pit. I agree this is likely a trap, but it's still a nest of demons in the Empire."

    "And my city," Relath adds darkly. "I should have bene more through with the fools and not let myself be swayed by my consort..."

    You freeze. "Would that be the same consort you had to remove on the grounds of corruption?" You had assumed that was simply mundane corruption, but a significant portion of that investigation was sourced though the House of Mirrors. If those answers had been in error...

    "Yes, it was she," the lord of Tolos snapped though his anger is obviously directed at the dead, or more likely whoever had manipulated her. To the question 'how you would run a subversion campaign within the Imperium' the best answer you would give is 'mentain a thick shield of deniable assets between yourself and official scrutiny at all times'.

    At last the rot had not gotten into the Scholarum where it would be the most perilous. Perhaps that is even why Abraxas' tools had even avoided it, too obvious a place for the hand of the demon lord of forbidden lore.

    ***​

    You have never been to this particular corner of Tolos before, truth be told you have rarely been to Tolos outside the the Citadel, the walled inner quarter that holds the palace, the temples and granaries of the city, but the area around Sunward Square, as Relath tells you is is called seems almost as well off, crisscrossed with pale boulevards bordered by peach trees in flower, quiet and genteel, not the sort of place one would expect anything unusual to happen, much less anything illegal or treasonous.

    Entering the school under a veil proves all too easy, even considering the presence of the dead knights flanking your company. You simply march though the front door under the guise of students drifting in for afternoon courses nary a quasit to sound the alarm. That is not to say there are no signs of what this place truly are, the rune of the lord of the Final Incantation hidden in patterns abstract mosaics and mathematical riddles, even in the dimensions of the entrance hall. This place has to have been constructed with rituals to the Demon lord in mind.

    "Raised by cultists fleeing Mantays, perhaps?" You muse yo your companions across the mental link.

    "Trade growing between them would have given them cover to move assets between the cities," Maelor replies.

    "There are openings in the wall, over the third and seventh lantern hooks, perhaps for weapons," Qyburn interjects. You cannot see anything... not even when you invoke a spell to see though all illusions. You are suddenly very happy you brought Qyburn along.

    "Well they obviously can't see for shit, though the glamor," Maelor notes.

    "Or they don't want to shoot us here..." Relath interjects suspiciously. You can feel the back of your neck start to itch.

    Something about this does not ring though though. What is the point of fortifying a covert installation like this. You don't put steam canons in inquisition bases even when they are publically known much less when they are supposed to be covert. The best weapons a place like this could employ would be covert ones, vanishing or subverting investigators. Trying to splatter then all over the walls feels like little more than petty malice.

    You drift in the direction of one of the openings and listen to sounds beneath your heartbeat, smell the subtle scents in the air and feel the vibrations in the air.

    Slink... clink, it smells of silver and feels like sorcery... familiar sorcery.

    Rage burns though your veins s hot that for a moment you are tempted to take on dragon form and to Hells with the fact that the room can't fit you. That was not a weapon, but a copy of your enchanted mirrors set to record.

    Yet even though the anger the pieces fall together, the demons did not bring you here to kill you, they would not have the strength. But you could all too easily imagine one of their ilk telling of your mass demonic summoning and you confirming it in the midst of battle, your words carried to mirrors across the Imperium. The scrambling to Wyverns the alert of the legion, it would lend credence that what the people are hearing is not just a lie conjured by magic.

    Fuck whoever put this together, you could almost hire them.

    Of course knowing there are mirrors looking out changes the whole game. You can order a check up of all public mirrors in the Imperium while you finish here rendering the whole scheme moot, but if enemy agents are watching for that they would likely flee back to the Abyss before you could capture them. On the other hand you could simply let the whole charade play out without mentioning any conjuring and pull the enemy out by their own hook.

    What do you do?

    [] Take down public mirrors for 'repairs' before sweeping the cult base

    [] Play along, though without incriminating yourself in any mass summonings

    [] Write in

    OOC: Psionic/magic transparency saves the day. With enough enchanter time and skill you can make stationary true-sight resistant figments, but expecting them to work reliably on the Far Realm equivalent is a bit much. Viserys sniffing them out is blindsight, but without Qyburn he likely would not have gotten lose enough to notice since they were on the side of the room. Not yet edited.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Mirrors can't broadcast unless attuned to each other during enchanting or after the fact. All mirrors set up in public spaces... would require an enchanter performing maintenance on it very obviously.

    So how many of our enchanters are working for Abraxas?
     
    I think a surprise Forbiddance to lock down the area and a Chain Dispel on those mirrors would be a good way to start.
     
    Well, it doesn't matter if these escape back into the Abyss, TBH, what's most important is sealing up all of our security leaks. For one thing, identifying how many people employed by us are working for a demonlord intentionally or unintentionally, how many people in the administration knowingly or unknowingly passed along maintenance orders to have the work done without someone from the Public Commission being informed of why and why the fuck our Inquisition ISN'T DOING THEIR JOBS?!
     
    ... I was thinking about this very scenario after the House of Mirrors subversion was uncovered ...

    ...

    -[] Have all propaganda mirrors, Whispering Braziers, communication devices in the air fleet and printing press checked for tampering. Any person found who has knowingly aided Abraxas cult will be added to the pile of Demons for the ritual.
     
    [X] Have all general orders for maintenance on the MirrorVision network placed on hold while the Inquisition checks the propaganda mirrors, Whispering Braziers, and Air Fleet communications systems as well as the All-Speech Printing Presses for tampering. Have the Inquisition investigate the Public Commission of the Education Department for recent work orders made for the MirrorVision network, to determine who is knowingly or unknowingly working for Abraxas.
    -[X] Have those Enchanters known to perform the work to link new mirrors with each other during or after enchanting process investigated for compulsion or subversion.
    -[X] The official account of the story in the Imperial News Network will be that a demonic cult had been detected in the Imperium, which had intermingled with reactionaries and anti-Imperial forces seeking to undermine the realm through mental corruption and planned terror attacks. Massive summoning efforts had to be undertaken to capture all Demons and the Inquisition is currently still investigating and arresting cultists, collaborators and terrorists.


    [X] Place Forbiddance over the area, and then collapse the building on top of itself with Earthquake, prepared to kill anything that survives the initial collapse. If nothing seems to have survived, you will pick through the ruins.
    -[X] "Why did that building collapse, gentlemen? THE DEMONS TOLD ME TO." Well, you'll be telling city officials about that unfortunate demonic failsafe that brought the whole thing down. You'll be sure to have an article in the next edition of the broadsheets.

    [X] Tell Garin that HEADS WILL ROLL FOR THIS.
     
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    @Crake, Qyburn can cast two Disintegrates as a Standard Action. Let him "dispel" the mirrors before we get to see them survive due to someone anticipating dispels being lobbed around.
     
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