Man they got to be more confident now that Viserys conquered the Three Daughters. Anymore men that are sitting on the fence got to be considering to join up now.
Oh yeah. There's three 'generations' of the Targaryen Loyalists. You have the hardcore ones, those who literally would've rallied to our banner if we'd showed up with a small mercenary army, a claim, and jack all else. They're pretty rare, breeds like the Darrys and Velaryons, almost all of them have married into the Targaryen line. Then you have the 'second gens,' Lords like the ones you saw in the omake. They signed on post-Tyrosh once we'd made it clear we were a serious contender. Still a huge risk, and they mostly have some sort of prior tie with the Targaryens or beef with the Lannisters/Baratheons.
Then you have the 'third generation.' They're the post-Three Daughters when it started looking like we were the winning bet, and are pretty much in it for the opportunism and because they don't have that much of an issue with eating babies. Part 6 will get into more detail about this.
Lord Stark must know, you decide. Jon is as much his blood as yours, not to mention the fact of the rest of his family and his subjects. It might be a touch awkward to explain precisely what manner of wight had nearly been smuggled into Winter town and how the plot had been defeated, but awkward questions are a small price to pay to have the Lord of Winterfell forewarned and forearmed. "Hopefully you do not have such troubling news of the Deep Ones' doings, my lord," you press on ruefully.
"Quite the opposite for once, Your Grace," Bloodraven replies softly as another of the multitude of bats picks up the wight's eye out of Dany's hand to return it to some hidden nook above. "The Sunset Sea has seen some truly odd raids of late, sailing from Westerlander ports to the Isles and seeking very specific 'plunder'."
"Drowned Men?" you guess. In that at least you wish the Lannisters good hunting.
"And other fanatics, yes. The ones the Reader either could not touch due to blood, standing, or simply could not find." There is a glint in Brynden Rivers's eye as he continues that has nothing to do with magic. "Of course, the regent in Pyke officially knows nothing of these nighttime raids, and should he ever discover them he will doubtlessly send a most eloquent letter of rebuke to the Rock."
"Why are the Lannisters capturing suspected agents of the Deep Ones instead of just killing them?" Dany asks. "Somehow I do not think it is to give them a fair trial."
"Judging from some of the orders of purchase one of Varys's spies managed to glimpse in Castamere it would seem the Golden Shields are seeking some broader understanding of the connection between the Drowned God, the Storm God, and the things that lurk in the seas," Bloodraven explains. "There are hints that they are trying to create some manner of simple ward that can mark those touched by the Far Realm."
"A useful project," you note, pleased to hear that at least some Lannister effort is directed against threats to all life, not just to ones imperiling Tywin Lannister's ambitions.
Bloodraven goes on to explain that troubles in the Iron Islands are slowly and painfully coming to a close, though not without dozens of longships scattering to the horizon, bearing with them either the faithful of the Drowned God, or simply those who decided to take the opportunity to raid and plunder. At least some of those Ironborn will doubtlessly make it as far as the Stepstones to stir trouble, but you have the utmost confidence in your fleet to handle the ragged flotsam of the most recent Ironborn conflict.
Far more concerning are the instances of isolated coastal villages being bribed into complicity in feeding the Deep Ones' foul appetites. From the Westerlands to the Crownlands the pattern holds true. Thankfully in this at least the Faith, the Lannisters, and the Citadel seem to be in perfect agreement. No settlement which took the Deep Ones' offer has ever lasted more than two months after their fateful choice. While Bloodraven cannot divine where they will rise from the sea to make their offer again he is able to provide you with a fair mental picture of the sort of settlement that might be most at risk.
As the discussion regarding the Deep Ones winds down you are impressed anew by how much Bloodraven has managed while being effectively a spymaster with an empty purse with few hands indeed to do his bidding. This too you aim to change. "You said it was only fair for me to see the board in full, my lord. Let me then reciprocate and say it is past time you could count on a full treasury and trustworthy agents."
"In terms of agents I could do with the names of a few trustworthy souls in Essos who would not object to working from letters delivered by ravens in the dead of night, or even dreams and other portents. In particular though the eyes of the Old Gods may be open to the cities of Mantarys and the lands beyond it, few of those who dwell there put enough stock in them yet to be responsive to my usual tactics of recruitment."
After pondering the matter awhile you realize there are likely enough former slaves whose zeal in fighting their old masters could serve in the place of religious devotion. Perhaps you could even ask some of the members of the Windward Society to look into it.
"What about enchantments for your current agents?" Dany asks. "Warding talismans, weapons, or armor? We can find them all easily enough in the realms of the Djinn or the Shaitan. With the new terminus they are closer to Sorcerer's Deep than any other city on this wold." The offhanded remark lights a warm glow of pride in your chest at the new paths for trade and prosperity you opened for your people.
"I shall try not to beggar the coffers of the court regardless, Highness," Bloodraven replies with a hint of dry amusement. "I could very much use eleven talismans to ward against possession and compulsion as well as some means to hide their mark from mage sight as the ribbons you wear can. Also, seven simple enchanted weapons made to look as plain as possible, to help those less fortunate in their skills than Danar, should they encounter a foe who cannot be bested with common steel."
Suggestions for potential agents near Mantarys
11 PfE items (With Greater Ribbon of Disguise-like protections included, though not necessarily the glamour functionality)
7 +1 or better weapons without any overt signs of magic or high craftsmanship
"More than reasonable," you nod. "If you wish to leverage the aid of any of the lords who have sworn themselves to my cause I would certainly not object either."
"Sorcerers are supposed to have mysterious founts of wisdom to call on, after all," Dany adds with a smile.
"You leave me thankful I am no longer capable of blushing, Highness," Bloodraven replies with the same dry humor you had grown accustomed to from him, though you also hear honest gratitude in the soft rasping voice. "I do not, however, need the ear of any loyal lord at this time."
Finally then you come to the matter of the Inquisition. In addition to offering the fledgling outposts' aid you also ask Bloodraven for suggestions on where to place future outposts, laying out your initial thoughts and their reasoning: Darry for its friendly lord and major crossroad, Oldtown for its importance both arcane and mundane, White Harbor for being the part of the North most open to the world, the Dornish Marches as a crossroad of three kingdoms, and finally Runestone, as much to serve as a shield for the House as to be your eyes and ears in the Vale.
"I can certainly see why Oldtown might be tempting. However, there are many powers vying for dominance there and already an abundance of spies," he cautions. "You might wish to allow your agents to have their first foray into the Reach be in a safer city, like say the Arbor, then with the use of local contacts move into Oldtown."
You nod along, seeing the logic behind his words.
"For the Dornish Marches you might be better served subverting one of the trader families which crisscross the area," he finishes. "The lack of large cities and centuries of mistrust would make setting up shop in any of the towns in the area troublesome."
What do you ask next?
[] Write in
OOC: Now would be time for those Essos questions, probably.
Bloodraven goes on to explain that troubles in the Iron Islands are slowly and painfully coming to a close, though not without dozens of longships scattering to the horizon, bearing with them either the faithful of the Drowned God, or simply those who decided to take the opportunity to raid and plunder. At least some of those Ironborn will doubtless make it as far as the Stepstones to stir trouble, but you have utmost confidence in your fleet to handle the ragged flotsam of the most recent Ironborn conflict.
Why do I now imagine 3 or 4 longships sneaking as far as into the bay of SD, intending to use the festival as a cover to plunder the richest port in the Stepstones, just to be unceremoniously being shot to pieces by the cannon battery?
To be fair, Monford was thinking in terms of the Disputed Lands. He also didn't specify the size of the land and castle on purpose, he's just going to bring up the topic whenever he and the king meet again, since he isn't sure what Viserys would actually consider reasonable.
With land I think we can be very generous. After all that is something we have in abundance. Also Bloodravens requests are easy to meet. At least that is how it is being portrayed.
- Suggestions for potential agents near Mantarys
- 11 PfE items (With Greater Ribbon of Disguise-like protections included though not necessarily the glamor functionality)
- 7 +1 or better weapons without any overt signs of magic or high craftsmanship
1. So I would say we definitely place a new Inquisition base in Mantarys next turn and then Bloodraven can use some of them. Or he recruits among those we didn't take.
2. I think the Magic Aura part of the Greater Ribbons was 200 IM or so.
3. Since he wants them as weapons for low-level agents of his, I would add Ghost Touch to all of them. Incorporeal foes would be the greatest threat to any low-level adventurer without easy access to magic.
Excellent. I'll make sure to bring it up at the end.
[X] Essos Intel -[X] Ask of every plot Varys had a hand in or at least was aware of in Essos (stirring cities against us, which nobles have been swayed, which peoples have been attacked, etc) -- Go city by city with all of his activities, we want every last bit of intel -- this is not limited to Free Cities, we want to know about everywhere in Essos he was active, including (or perhaps especially) east of the Bone Mountains
--[X] What does Varys know about Lannister operations in Essos? What truth is there to the Lannister seeking weapons against us in Qarth?
--[X] Ask what Varys operations he has in Braavos in general aside from the hurried plot to assassinate the Sealord and frame us for the deed.
--[X] Get information on all of his agents and all of his assets so that we can begin hunting them down
---[X] Including but not limited to Varys's safehouses, stores of magical items/scrolls/etc, and where he got all his magical stuff in general, the names and known disguises of his subordinates, etc.
--[X] Get all information of all fiendish activity in Essos -- every cabal, every summoner, every plot, every True Name, etc. We summon devils from Yi Ti. What more are out there?
--[X] Take the chance to get overall news of Essos, if there are any threats that you have not yet heard of, if nations march to war, the reactions of various Free Cities to your conquest of the Three Daughters, etc.
-[X] Were Varys and Illyrio active anywhere else on Prime Material aside from Westeros and Essos? If so, where? What were they doing? -[X] GOLDEN COMPANY & TIAMAT
--[X] Which governments support them, and which ones are their enemies?
--[X] What is their current location, and what is their overall schedule over the next few months?
--[X] Get precise information on their strength and numbers
---[X] How many wyverns are there? How many mages? How many clerics? How powerful are they all? Etc. If we'd want to know it, Varys needs to cough it up now.
---[X] Get the True Names of all supporting Outsiders, including Devils, Abishai, etc.
---[X] We want specific details on the Golden Company PCs, their abilities, and their magic items
--[X] Ask about the artifacts they just stole from Nefer and their progress on artificially aging the Red Dragon
---[X] Following up on the artifacts, ask what powerful magic items they already have.
--[X] Ask about Tiamat's progress with dragons in general, if she's managed to find more eggs and hatch more dragons or different types other than Red, etc.
--[X] Ask how many dragons Varys knows the Golden Company can call on -- we want info on types, their ages, and if they have any special tricks like magic items (clarification on exactly what age the "Older than Adult" Shadow Dragon was would be good)
--[X] Ask about all the Golden Company bases, and every set of ruins they planned to raid or already raided as well as their goals therein. Follow up and ask about what great treasures they are aware of in Prime Material, their exact locations, and the dangers guarding the treasures.
--[X] Ask about Illyrio
---[X] What abilities does he have?
---[X] What magic items does he have?
---[X] What plots are Illyrio in charge of?
---[X] Who the hell is he?
---[X] Ask Bloodraven to pass on all of the cyphers that Varys and Illyrio used with each other. This should save you time in the future when you retrieve more documents.
--[X] Ask about F!Aegon
---[X] Where is he?
---[X] Who is minding him? -[X] EXTRAPLANAR ACTIVITIES
--[X] Ask about the Shadow Plane fortress
---[X] Where is it and how do you get to it?
---[X] What dangers are on the way, what spies are placed in the path, and what defenses are on the exterior?
---[X] Who or what guards the fortress?
---[X] How does one best either sneak inside or break inside?
---[X] What is the complete layout of the fortress and the immediately surrounding area?
---[X] Aside from serving as a fortress, what operations are based in the fortress? Experiments?
--[X] What allies do Varys and Illyrio have off the plane?
--[X] What other safehouses are there?
--[X] What enemies have they made?
--[X] What great treasures are they aware of off the plane and where are they located?
Excellent. I'll make sure to bring it up at the end.
[X] Essos Intel -[X] Ask of every plot Varys had a hand in or at least was aware of in Essos (stirring cities against us, which nobles have been swayed, which peoples have been attacked, etc) -- Go city by city with all of his activities, we want every last bit of intel -- this is not limited to Free Cities, we want to know about everywhere in Essos he was active, including (or perhaps especially) east of the Bone Mountains
--[X] Ask what Varys operations he has in Braavos in general aside from the hurried plot to assassinate the Sealord and frame us for the deed.
--[X] Get information on all of his agents and all of his assets so that we can begin hunting them down
---[X] Including but not limited to Varys's safehouses, stores of magical items/scrolls/etc, and where he got all his magical stuff in general, the names and known disguises of his subordinates, etc.
--[X] Get all information of all fiendish activity in Essos -- every cabal, every summoner, every plot, every name, etc.
--[X] Ask what operations Varys has in all the Free Cities as well as east of the Bone Mountains (along with whatever he knows of Tywin's machinations in the region)
--[X] Take the chance to get overall news of Essos, if there are any threats that you have not yet heard of, if nations march to war, the reactions of various Free Cities to your conquest of the Three Daughters, etc. -[X] GOLDEN COMPANY & TIAMAT
--[X] Get precise information on their strength and numbers
---[X] How many wyverns are there? How many mages? How many clerics? How powerful are they all? Etc. If we'd want to know it, Varys needs to cough it up now.
---[X] We want specific details on the Golden Company PCs, their abilities, and their magic items
--[X] Ask about the artifacts they just stole from Nefer and their progress on artificially aging the Red Dragon
---[X] Following up on the artifacts, ask what powerful magic items they already have.
--[X] Ask about Tiamat's progress with dragons in general, if she's managed to find more eggs and hatch more dragons or different types other than Red, etc.
--[X] Ask how many dragons Varys knows the Golden Company can call on -- we want info on types, their ages, and if they have any special tricks like magic items (clarification on exactly what age the "Older than Adult" Shadow Dragon was would be good)
--[X] Ask about all the Golden Company bases, and every set of ruins they planned to raid or already raided as well as their goals therein.
--[X] Ask about Illyrio
---[X] What abilities does he have?
---[X] What magic items does he have?
---[X] What plots are Illyrio in charge of?
---[X] Who the hell is he?
--[X] Ask about F!Aegon
---[X] Where is he?
---[X] Who is minding him? -[X] EXTRAPLANAR ACTIVITIES
--[X] Ask about the Shadow Plane fortress
---[X] Where is it and how do you get to it?
---[X] What dangers are on the way, what spies are placed in the path, and what defenses are on the exterior?
---[X] Who or what guards the fortress?
---[X] How does one best either sneak inside or break inside?
---[X] What is the complete layout of the fortress and the immediately surrounding area?
---[X] Aside from serving as a fortress, what operations are based in the fortress? Experiments?
--[X] What allies do Varys and Illyrio have off the plane?
--[X] What other safehouses are there?
--[X] What enemies have they made?
-[X] Ask of great secrets among the Westerosi that Varys is aware of (like the "royal" children's true parentage, but it doesn't need to be of the same importance)
-[X] Get a full update on everything he knows that's going on in King's Landing
--[X] Does Bloodraven or Varys know the locations of any relics or champions of the Deep Ones? The Sistermen, for example, concerningly are said to have webbed fingers.
--[X] Can Bloodraven do us a favor and point us to the adamantine mine wherever it may be near Dyre Den? If we're told where it is we can tell Lord Brune where to start mining and help him diversify his income.
1. I assumed that was a firm "nothing interesting here" for groundshaking secrets or events in King's Landing.
2. I'll be asking again in a "loot please" vote.
3. I'll be asking again in a "loot please" vote.
For now I'd prefer moving on to the Golden Company. There is a lot that needs to be learned about them and their current goals.
1. So I would say we definitely place a new Inquisition base in Mantarys next turn and then Bloodraven can use some of them. Or he recruits among those we didn't take.
2. I think the Magic Aura part of the Greater Ribbons was 200 IM or so.
3. Since he wants them as weapons for low-level agents of his, I would add Ghost Touch to all of them. Incorporeal foes would be the greatest threat to any low-level adventurer without easy access to magic.
We currently have Greater Ribbon of Disguise (x5), Amulet of Protection from Evil (x2), Ring of Protection from Evil (x5), and Healing Belt (x11) in stock.
By the end of the month that will increase to Greater Ribbon of Disguise (x15), Amulet of Protection from Evil (x7), Ring of Protection from Evil (x15), and Healing Belt (x33).
If we're going to equip them, we might as well do it right. A PfE item, a Greater Ribbon of Disguise (with full functionality), a Healing Belt, and a +1 weapon are all easily within our means and could be made available by the end of the month if we have our mage-smiths craft the weapons. Adding Ghost Touch to the weapons is doable, of course, but would require time from our real crafters and would delay them until after at least the first week of next month.
