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

[DragonParadox]

Final Slumber​

<Previous The Clans Stir Part II Next>

First Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

On a wooded game path above the road that wound its way out of the mountains and on to Gulltown and the sea a raiding party of the Sons of the Mists camped. In most respects they seemed like any other of their kind, perhaps more numerous than usual and a bit better equipped but not exceptionally so. In one thing they stood apart far beyond the norm. Among them was a pale-haired girl that could scarce count eleven years. No warrior she for all she carried a dagger on her belt. Yet all men listened to Dalla daughter of Hereg for she was the voice of the Old Gods such as had not spoken since time out of mind. Even now the girl called her newly granted magics.

Dalla chanted a prayer in the Old Tongue as she cast three finger bones (one from a wolf, one from a bear and one from a man) among carefully carved rune covered sticks. The bones shone faintly blue as she released them. Looking at the results she smiled and said "Things'll go well, the gods've seen it."

Around he fire the gathered warriors whooped and cheered in savage glee.

***​

Second Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

Allysa Grafton could not sleep. She was too worried about her future. Now that her fosterage had ended time had come for her to be wedded and her mother would not tell her in letters who had been selected for her. Perhaps the decision had not been reached but she would have liked to know the options.

In the distance a wolf howled, then another answered. They sound close, the girl thought uneasily. For all that she was not afraid for she was guarded my a score and a half of her father's men and they had set strong watch.

A few moments passed then the sounds of harsh cries erupted in the night as dark figures emerged into the light of the banked fires, clansmen. How could they get past the watchers? Alyssa thought terror overwhelming her. Yet all was not lost for she could see the leader of her escort Ser Hugor struggle free of his tent and meet the rampaging savages head on flanked by two of his men. He did not have his armor but a knight's honor could be armor enough against such foes surely.

Something as strange as it was horrifying happened then. Ser Hugor and the men guarding him just collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. The whooping laughing wildlings fell upon then and slew the common soldiers even as they bound the knight.

Allysa was rooted to the spot, her muscles frozen in terror, every tale of the horrors the clansmen inflicted passing before her mind's eye. One of them spotted her. At the last she tried to flee but she was quickly captured. She too was bound. The girl closed her eyes and tried to will this nightmare away.

She as not sure how long she lay deaf to the world but what shocked her out of it was hearing the wildlings fighting. Please Maiden gentle and kind let them all kill each other, she prayed

"...don't care how pretty the girl looks 'r how hot your blood's running. We're gonna sell'er back to her old man and she'll be worth less to him with a brat in her."

Allysa was far too viscerally relived when the other man relented to consider how unlike Wildlings it was to think so far ahead

***​

The next morning the girl discovered a gruesome sight: Ser Hugor has not been as fortunate as she. For several moments Allysa stared uncomprehending at the old oak tree by the road, her mind refusing to accept what she as seeing. The knight's corpse had been lashed to the tree blood flowing freely from many deep wounds. Then she screamed.

OOC: Fear the almighty Sleep Spell. BTW Dalla is getting temporary bonus spell slots from the sacrifices.

 

[DragonParadox]

The Leonis Clan​

Fourth Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

You spend he day getting to know the hired help beyond just their basic competence and respectful attitude.

Tenar Leonis is a very proper gentleman's gentleman who started work as a footman, worked his way up to valet before finally finding his true calling as a cook. He takes all the irregularities of your household in stride but he is no man's fool. You suspect he knows a great deal more than he lets on (he could hardly know less the man's lips are sealed tighter than the gates of the Iron Bank). He is getting on in years and must be somewhat worried about his family given the drastic change of the move to a new master after generations of service.

Alyra Leonis, the head maid has not quite managed to attain her father's unflappability. She is occasionally heard tisk-ing at Lya's lessons. You suspect he imagines something a great deal more improper and mundane than magic goes beyond closed doors. All things considered that is probably for the best though it does feel somewhat awkward. She is also less than enthused at Dany's lessons though she is far less obvious about that. On the plus side her drive towards propriety is keeping Themar from indulging in his vice quite as obviously as before. Who knows perhaps he is even drinking less, you have seen stranger things.

Serena Leonis has been assigned as Dany's maid. Some might call her your sister's nanny though hopefully not in Dany's hearing. After her month of self-sufficiency at the Rat she threw a positively draconic fit at the idea that she might need a nanny. In spite of this your sister gets along quite well with Serena and takes her "suggestions" to heart the vast majority of the time. You are not exactly sure if it is healthy for a child to take on such adult mannerisms at her age but it is not like you or any of your associates have any real knowledge of raising children.

Fyra Leonis is the youngest of Tenar's nieces and probably the reason why the family had so many problems getting employed. She is a sweet-natured but guileless and overly biddable. You can well imagine how she ended up with twin boys and no husband in sight. Honestly she seems to be something of a security risk though not a major or immediate one.

Talen and Jen Leonis either received all their mother's measure of cunning leaving her with none or they take after their unknown father. The boys have an uncanny knack for being wherever work isn't and their aptitude for vanishing unattended sweets would make then go far among Len's little sneaks. Fortunately for whatever reason they are less exuberant around Dany and have not so far recruited her into any hair-brained schemes.

Having a better knowledge of everyone's personality and skills who to you set to doing the household accounts

[] Tenar, he is already the most respected of the servants and has some skill for it.
[] Alyra, of your senior staff she has the most extra time to do the job but little experience.
[] Lya, she would be the most competent at the job but it would cut into the time for her studies and she might find the tasks dull.
[] Themar of Volantis, a Dragon is prone to whimsy (could not think of a better reason for something this insane)
[] Leave the post open for now and hire a proper steward next month.

OOC: Yes Dany has issues, who wouldn't in her position?

 

[DragonParadox]

Trailing the Savage Beasts Part One ​

Ninth Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

Several days later you finish the job of setting up account books with Lya's help and hand the responsibility over to Tenar who apearsto be resonably competent at the job. May he have all the joy of counting coppers.

The atmosphere at the Rat is not hostile exactly but changed. You may well still be someone who answers to the Old Man but you are not part of the crew anymore. you do not dress the part nor do you look it (not that you ever truly fit in). You can hear speculation about your newfound wealth and more than a little jealousy from the common patrons.

If Relor feels any of that he does not show it, but then he is used to interacting with the wealthy (for the purpose of parting them from said wealth one game of chance at a time). He gives you the particulars of the situation: dozens of animals large and small have simply vanished from on the more successful gambling dens in the ares literally overnight. The place unimaginatively called The Bear Tap had closed early one night to repair the damage of some sort of altercation.

The next morning, as Relor tells the tale the guards awoke from their drunken slumber to find all the animals gone. For their incompetence (and because the place was becoming increasingly targeted by the watch) Gorthos decided to have the place shut down and relocated and the staff fired. So to interview them you would have to first find them, no simple task.

Relor wants thief's head though he is willing to pay extra if you can bring him in alive to make an example of. On the off chance that you can recover the dogs and bear he is willing to pay for those too.

How do you begin your search:

[] Go to the former location of the Bear Tap, perhaps there are clues inside or one of the neighbors saw something.
[] Try to find the head dealer he is likely to be the least cooperative having parted ways with Relor on poor terms but he should be the easiest to find
[] Try to find the bouncer, not exactly the easiest thing to find non-nondescript thug in Braavos but you can probably bribe him with a few drinks if you find him
[] Find the kid who was actually supposed to be feeding the animals, the proverbial needle in the haystack but she was closest to the beasts and might have noticed something the others did not
[] Write in

Take Ser Richard:

[] Yes
[] No

OOC: The hunt begins

 

[DragonParadox]

Trailing the Savage Beasts Part Two​

Ninth Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

As you make our way through the muddy and increasingly tight alleyways leading to the Bear Tap you happen upon and unexpected danger. Having been one of the criminals of the city for so long it has been quite while since you considered that you might yourself be accosted. You look too young and too prosperous for this part of town, by some mischance happening upon a group of thugs willing to try their luck. The three men do not even look like "professionals" like Gorthos' crew to your eye. They seem significantly underfed and their weapons consist of a rusty dagger, and two clubs.

Their apparent leader, a cross-eyed man with greasy dark hair calls out demanding all your valuables or "he'll cut your pretty little throat." While you are quite aware that the situation is dangerous you can't quite fell fear over this not after facing demons and horrors from beyond existence. As you feel the comforting touch of your unseen armor tankful for its long term effect you consider what do do.

[] Run there is no point taking risks fighting such gutter sweepings.

[] Try to talk your way out
-[] Use Charm
-[] Do not use Charm

[] Fight. You have had enough of running from such lowlifes.

[] Write in

OOC: The RNG dictated a random encounter. This can only really happen when Ser Richard is not with you since most muggers are not insane enough to mess with him. Take note that running is not risk free. There is no guarantee you will get away and you would be turning your back on them.

 

[DragonParadox]

Trailing the Savage Beasts Part Three​

Ninth Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

Damn it, these dregs don't deserve wasting magic and you aren't going to bandy words with them either. It turns your stomach to think of being conciliating. Ser Richard is going to give me hell for this, is your through as you draw your loaded crossbow in reply to the greasy-haired man's "generous" offer.

Your movement catches all three thugs by surprise. You take aim for the one with the dagger and let fly. The bolt catches the thug in the jaw. He falls screaming in pain and clutching his face.

On seeing the crossbow one of his companions shouts to the other: "Git'm that's worth a whole heap." You had not accounted for their greed well enough. The first canal rat swings wildly easily dodged. The second has more luck but your magic takes the blow leaving you unharmed. Perhaps their greed will be their undoing yet, you think as you drop the crossbow, trusting sturdy Myrish construction. One of them takes the bait and tries to grab the crossbow just as you draw your sword. Your blow strikes the man on the back of the neck all-but-decapitating him. Unfortunately in you lose track of his companion as you do this and he hits you in the ribs with his club.

Lose 5 HP

You almost drop your sword from the pain of the blow. Luckily all the training bruises you accrued were enough to drill the instinct to never drop your weapon into you. Still your distraction is enough for him to manage a second blow. Your spell armor holds again and the man looks vastly surprised when your sword buries itself at the base of his throat.

You put the bastards out of their misery. They deserve a clean death at least having died in battle of a sort.

Gained 300 XP

It hurts to fucking breathe but that felt good. Finally you killed some of these bastards not with magic and not by stealth, yourself alone. You hear dissatisfied, almost scolding hiss from within your cloak. Varys has decided to be the first to scold you for your recklessness.

What do you do now:

[] Continue on
[] Return to Wind House to you can request healing of the phoenix Velen
[] Write in

OOC: As you can see Viserys is working though some frustrations. that turned out quite well for you if not perfect.

 

[DragonParadox]

Hunt Interrupted ​

Ninth Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

Things do not go as planed almost from the moment you enter the house in the early evening Lya proves annoyingly observant as always and notices your injury as soon as she sets eyes on you. She insists on supporting you all the way to your room even though you made it across half the city to get here on your own. When she asks you how you came to be in this state you try to paint a less reckless picture however either the pain is affecting your ability to lie convincingly or you are uniquely less competent in lying to this one girl, as she gets the gist of events very quickly.

Listening to all the ways you could have solved things without getting hurt does not make for a fun hearing. You suspect the most truthful defense that you just wanted to fight them will not go down well. Fortunately her frustrating but accurate tirade is interrupted when you reach your bedroom. Lya leaves probably to get whatever pain reliever Alyra has as you summon Velen.

At least the phoenix is not giving unwanted advice, you think with what you know is unfair irritation yet cannot stop yourself feeling it just the same. Soothing light pours from the fiery bird's body as it he touches you. The pain fades and you feel energized and ready to return to your task.

5 HP Restored

Just then you hear he door. It is not Lya, it's Dany. She looks worried and determined at the same time.

"It's late," she declares in a rush, "there's no use going back out right now."

You open your mouth to reply but she talks over you:

"And the day after tomorrow's my nameday. You should rest up to you can buy me the bestest present right?"

Lya, you realize, does not play fair. You do not know whether you want to yell at her or hug her. With a sigh you give in to Dany's pleading eyes and agree to stay in and get a good night's sleep so you can go present hunting tomorrow.

***​

Tenth Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

Today you intend to spend the whole day planing Dany's nameday and gift because that is the least she deserves for being as clever and brave as she is and your last living kin besides. You might not be able to give her a nameday fit for a princess but you'll give her the best one you can

What foot will you buy for the celebration

[] Honeyed chicken
[] Pastries
[] Pomegranate
[] Iced milk sweetened with honey
[] Fruittarts
[] Fruits (write in which)
[] Duck with lemons
[] Blackberry cakes
[] Write in

What present do you buy Dany:

[] A silver and moonstone tiara in the Myrish fashion. The closest you can come to a crown. (15 Iron marks)
[] A copy of Lomas Longstrider's Wonders Made by Man (20 Iron marks)
[] A small harp like you distantly remember your mother used to play (18 Iron marks)
[] Write in

OOC: More examples of ASOIAF cuisine can be found here. Just give me a menu and I'll name a price. It'll help with writing the nameday itself. Write-ins are also encouraged for the present.

 

[DragonParadox]

Nameday​

Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

Lost 45 Iron Marks

The lack of a dining room table is a niggling reminder of just how much you still have to work to bring Wind House up to a decent condition however Dany did not seem to mind or really notice. She alternates between jumping for joy, trying to stealthily find her present early and trying her best to be a mature and ladylike hostess.

The kitchen table has been set in the sitting room, it being the most impressive (not to say less bare) room in the house. You invited Ser Richard, Themar, all the Winward regulars (they would have come anyway) as well as all of your neighbors that might have counted as respectable on a cursory examination. This includes an aspiring singer (fitting the image of the starving artist very much not by choice) and a young family of three formed when a Tiroshi noble heir ran off with his paramour. Their daughter was two and barely toddling about.

The meal is rather more lavish than usual though you still feel more than a bit guilty comparing it to your fifth birthday celebrated with pomp in the Red Keep. Still Dany enjoyes the profusion of exotic fruits quite a lot and basks in the attention. You later found out she had been practicing her table manners a week in advance in preparation for this day. The roasted honeyed duck is also a success with Tenar receiving fulsome praise from the guests.

The atmosphere is pleasant too though the conversation kept to light topics. At one point the singer even offers a few songs including one meant to praise the beauty of a Lyseni lady (who matches Dany's appearance as many in that city do). Dany blushes and complementes the song before requesting another. To your surprise it is a parody of such songs (addressed to one of the "Little Valyrians", silver-haired amethyst-eyed monkeys that dwell in the Forest of Qohor). The room bursts into appreciative laughter at all the right times. Dany positively glows as people complement her wit and humor.

As you pass on to the final course privately lamenting the lack of a garden to eat it in, the time comes for gift giving. Your Tiroshi neighbors gift her some sort of brightly colored quilt which Dany accepts graciously though not enthusiastically.

Ser Richard presents her with a small bronze mirror with a Dragon motif on he back. The good Ser is many things but subtle is not one of them.

Grazan offers her a trick holster for her knife so she can shake it into her hand at a moment's notice. Thankfully it is too large to use for a few more years. You do not really want your sister to walk around with a dagger in her sleeves just yet.

Koron brought a piece of Summer Isles chocolate that is literally worth its weight in silver. Dany's dignified facade fails her entirely as she devours the treat. Menel offers her a small wind crystal chime from Novos. Dany presents a most incongruous sight as she returns to her adult-like mannerisms with chocolate in the corner of her mouth.

Lothos had not realized she was supposed to bring a gift most likely because he hands Dany several Volentine Little Suns saying "the little lady knows what she wants more than this old sea dog." Dany is rather taken with the idea though and smiles broadly. Tor is the last of the Winward regulars to give Dany a gift, offering her a small glass prism "to remind her that the most mundane of things can hide wonders."

You save your gifts for last. She looks daunted and exited in equal measure as she beholds Loras Longstrider's work. When you give her the harp and explain your mother used to play she declares that it s the best present ever before catching herself and assuring the others that their presents were "really good too."

The singer who had been lingering in a corner than offers to teach her how to play a bit as his present saying that it is the only gift a poor artist like him can give, Dany readily agrees. You suspect you are going to be paying for this "gift" past the first lessons but you do not mind.

***​

Later than day once the party has warped up Dany comes into your room as you are reading, looking very serious. You ask if something is amiss. She replies:

"No, just thinking. What were they like, mother and father? It's strange not being able to remember then. I sort of feel sad 'cause I should miss them but I really don't know anything about them 'xcept that they were a king and queen."

How do you reply:

[] Write-in

OOC: This is a significant moment of character building for Dany and to a lesser extent for Viserys so I thought I'd give you guys a complete free hand

 

[DragonParadox]

Stormborn​

Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

Daenerys Targaryen had had the best day in her short life, at least as far as she could remember. She was not sure if things had been better when she was really little. In spite of that she still got scared sometimes remembering how badly they had been off two months ago. Maybe being scared was the price of magic (it always seemed to cost something in the stories) or maybe it was just part of growing up and adults were scared like that all the time and did not show it, just like she tried not to. She had scared herself before coming here thinking of all the bad things that could happen to make all the nice things and the nice people away.

She couldn't tell Viserys that or he would not trust her to be clever and brave anymore so she asked about her parents, she was sort of curious about that. Now her brother was very good at lying, maybe that is why he had grown up faster but Dany could still catch him at it sometimes. He was definitely not telling her everything but he was not lying either. That was fair, there were things she did not tell him about as well like when she tried to make the magic come to her before she went to bed every night.

What he told her about their parents sounded nice. She would have like a clever king to teach her Valyrian instead of Themar. Sometimes he'd give her stupid lines to write over and over 'cause he was bored or wine-sick. Other times he was fun though telling her about things that happened long ago or the way people dressed and acted in far away places so Dany did not complain about the boring stiff. It felt sort of odd to hear about her mother being less present, mothers were supposed to always be there weren't they? Fyra tried to mother her boys all the time though Dany could tell she was doing it wrong sometimes.

Maybe her mother had trouble understanding boys just like Dany herself did most of the time. Maybe she would have done more stuff with Dany if she hadn't died. It would have been nice to do girl stuff, whatever that was. Dany had a vague idea that hair and dresses were girl stuff just like swords were supposed to be boy stuff but she could not imagine spending as much time as she spent training on dresses and hair so maybe she was missing something. If mother was alive I could ask her... She sighed softly unheard by any save herself.

Dany shook herself resolutely. The girl could feel herself getting sad again and it was only a tinny step from sad to scared. She headed off to find something to do. Maybe she could start puzzling out that big book she got today. That was sort of fun too trying to figure out the words before writing them down the ones she could not get.

OOC: So here's a short Dany POV. She has issues but they are manageable. She has persuaded herself that she has to grow up right now and is doing her damnedest to do just that.

 

[DragonParadox]

Trailing the Savage Beasts Part Four​

Twelfth Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

As expected your scuffle the previous day has earned you quite a (painfully polite) earful from Ser Richard. The man did have a point you can't afford to the the reckless squire looking for glory, in risking your life you risk all that you could become and, even more importantly Dany's happiness and safety. What you would not give for even a single spell that can harm your enemies directly.

Fortunately Ser Richard is not busy working for Yohn today so he can come guard and help you without consequences.

As you reach the former locale of the Bear Tap at last you wonder by the whim of what mad god is the place still standing. The building is comprised of a set of mismatched warrens built up of different materials over the generations. It stretches above the waters of not one but two canals. Inside you find two homeless men taking shelter and some old half-ruined furniture Gorthos' men did not bother moving. You find no clues to the animals' fate since anything to do with them directly has been moved.

Interviewing the neighbors proves almost as fruitless. All you manage to get is the testimony of an old drifter that says he saw the bear jump into the canal to flee on its own at some undetermined point during the night. As your source admits to being drunk as a lord that night the information is dubious at best.

What do you do next:

[] Try to find the head dealer he is likely to be the least cooperative having parted ways with Relor on poor terms but he should be the easiest to find
[] Try to find the bouncer, not exactly the easiest thing to find non-nondescript thug in Braavos but you can probably bribe him with a few drinks if you find him
[] Find the kid who was actually supposed to be feeding the animals, the proverbial needle in the haystack but she was closest to the beasts and might have noticed something the others did not
[] Write in

OOC: Due to delays and bad rolls you go almost nothing out of this one.

 

[DragonParadox]

Trailing the Savage Beasts Part Five​

Nineteenth Day of the Eleventh Month 289 AC

It took you the better past of seven days of boring, repetitive investigative work but you managed to find something... The child that was supposed to be feeding the animals apparently had no other name at the Bear Tap than "Bear Bait", perhaps because whoever ran the gambling den had a limited vocabulary or a bad memory. When you queried your source, one of the bouncers, the man said "if you name them you get attached to them, works the same for animals." You are beginning to feel disappointed the bear did not wreak more havoc when it escaped perhaps eating the unsympathetic ass.

Luckily for all his unlikability the man does have the redeeming quality of being slightly more intelligent than is strictly required for serving as disposable muscle. He recalls that the child you are searching for was originally from the swamps surrounding the lagoon and that she was all-but-bought along with some of the beasts from her family. He says "the brat must have crawled back into the swamps."

You manage to throttle the impulse to poison this near-slaver's drink but you can't quite bear to leave him completely alone so you make the remaining vine in the bottle you ordered for him taste like cat piss. Petty yes but heartless bastards like this deserve a bit of pettiness in their lives and he is too drunk for anyone to believe him, or to believe himself in the morning.

What next

[] Try to find the head dealer he is likely to be the least cooperative having parted ways with Relor on poor terms but he should be the easiest to find
[] Try to find the bouncer, not exactly the easiest thing to find non-nondescript thug in Braavos but you can probably bribe him with a few drinks if you find him
[] Try to discover more about "Bear Bait's" origins, perhaps she did return to the swamps
[] Write in

OOC: You got rolls with larger and larger maluses to find stuff. They were all low until the very last one crit.