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

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Part MMDCXLIX: Of Knots Undone and Severed Threads
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    • Of Knots Undone and Severed Threads ​

    Twentieth Day of the Eighth Month 293 AC

    As you had expected Zathir proves more than happy to help the university in Sorcerer's Deep expand its purview into arts and engineering, though there is a slight tangle on the matter of authority for the project, of which he wants none. "Gods and spirits are ill-suited for the ruling of mortals even with the best of intentions. Too easily might whatever wisdom we bring forth be thought as beyond question or improvement. I will advise and I will teach with the aid of those you have named skilled in the task of erecting a house of learning."

    Truth be told you could not have asked for a better answer. If only all the gods worshiped in your realm would be so willing to let mortals live as best suites them. In a brief moment of whimsy you imagine walking up to a temple of R'hllor and calling out to those within that the competition is more accommodating. "There is one other thing I wished to bring to your attention," you address the feathered serpent. "Though it is summer yet and this will be a long one, the winter-to-be will carry more than snow and ice. Dark things stir in the Farthest North, the frozen wind their breath upon the world. Would your blessing be able to endure such?"

    "I have seen the one saved from their broken grip," Zathir nods solemnly, his eyes reflecting quiet sympathy. "I could not stand against those who enslaved her, not now, but as you said there is time yet until that dark hour is upon us. I will do my best to grow stronger, the better to guard against it."

    With that the young god takes his leave, departing in a flurry of colored feathers, even as the plinth he had made sinks back into the floor, ever considerate of his host.

    Turning back to the priest of Yss you ask a question which you had not wished to pose in Zathir's presence lest the memories bring him pain: "Is there any way to find the husk sent to hunt the Efreeti and devils in the Sea of Fire?"

    Svitran pauses a moment, communing with his god before replying: "There is, for it holds the venom of the Timeless One, and by that it may be found. Beware though, for the act of seeking it out thus will briefly illuminate its presence to all others who might seek it. If you go in search of it then you go into battle."

    "That's alright, we were going to feed it anyway," Dany says with an edge of grim amusement. "All the better that the sacrifices should spare us the bother of hunting them down."

    "Wise, young one," the serpent priest hisses, obviously finding the jest to his taste.

    Alas that not all sacrifices can be so convenient, for when you mention the accursed orb you recovered from the Red Waste the vessel of Yss rises from the dark waters to speak: "I cannot be sssure to devour prison and prisoner as one... each bear their own power. Wyrms are tenaciousss..." The words have almost the ring of a subtle jest if you would ever suspect the ancient serpent god of such a thing.

    "What are the odds, and what would happen if they do not fall in our favor?" Lya asks practicality.

    For a long moment there is silence within as without, then the god speaks: "Four out of nine timesss the prison would be consumed and the prisoner will force his way out of my jawsss to give battle or take flight."

    Alas no less than you would expect of an elder dragon, alongside overwhelming pride, cunning to match the wisest of mages, and cruelty that would be the envy of fiends. "Would you be willing to help return the dragon to whence it had escaped?"

    "Yesss... its blood shall be the price of my aid..."     the great serpent replies, a cold hunger running through its words.

    "A matter for another time," you quickly temporize, not wishing to make such a decision in haste. You go on to the poisoned secret at the heart of Old Valyria, the tale of the Fifteenth and of the gods who had escaped total destruction, you ask if it is within his power to restore them without any clinging darkness, to lay the Fallen God at last to rest.

    "It hasss been long..." The bewildering words hang in the silent air for a long moment before Yss deigns, or perhaps remembers, to finish his thought. "I cannot anssswer without deep thought... Deep Dreaming... You will have it when next I wake."

    At last you bring up the matter of the amulet you acquired from Varys, asking Yss if he would aid in crafting a way to snare Tiamat's power when it is exerted over the wearer, such as young Aegon, who is trapped in her web of lies.

    "He has consented to ssserve... though unwisely," the vessel hisses. "Yet you did not consssent not take from her... a cunning trap. I will aid in itsss making."

    The time of sacrifice is at hand. What do you offer and what do you ask for in exchange beyond the questions already asked and answered?

    [] Write in

    OOC: Again, try not to get too specific please. Stuff like fixing or enhancing magic items is fine so long as you do not ask for specific mechanics.
     
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    • [X] Sacrifice two Colossal Fiendish Monstrous Spiders (CR 13 each) to undo Lolth's divine curse on the two Chwidenchas and restore them to their original forms.

    [] Sacrifice Tor (CR 15) and Varys (CR 17 with gear, CR 16 without?)

    I'm not sure what to ask for Tor and Varys, but for now this is my placeholder vote.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    "That's alright, we were going to feed it anyway," Dany says with an edge of grim amusement. "All the better that the sacrifices should spare us the bother of hunting them down."
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    @Duesal, it seems you'll be getting those ships you wanted.

    An all-party appearance and feeding of undead-sneak later, of course.

    DragonParadox said:
    : "Four out of nine times the prison would be consumed and the prisoner will force his way out of my jaws to give battle or take flight."
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    ...I'm somewhat willing to take the chance.
    I'm just that sick of the Orb.

    Too bad we can't put an impenetrable barrier around Yss' about about the moment he gorges upon the Orb :(

    DragonParadox said:
    "It has been long..." The bewildering words hang in the silence for along moment before Yss deigns or perhaps remembers to finish his thought. "I cannot answer without deep thought... Deep Dreaming... You will have it when next I wake."
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    Awww.
    And here I hoped for an answer not in 2-3 months :confused:

    @DragonParadox, what about learning of a way to shorten his sleepy-times, or how close is Yss to automatically doing that?
     
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    @DragonParadox, how about this?

    -[] Lore of the ancient times about Sothoryos, how it's plants and creatures were used by the Serpentfolk and how they protected themselves.

    I'm looking for minor magical lore, like fetishes and minor rituals, but also medicine plants for our farms to grow and an easier time taming dinosaurs.
     
    Azel said:
    @DragonParadox, how about this?

    -[] Lore of the ancient times about Sothoryos, how it's plants and creatures were used by the Serpentfolk and how they protected themselves.

    I'm looking for minor magical lore, like fetishes and minor rituals, but also medicine plants for our farms to grow and an easier time taming dinosaurs.
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    That honestly seems underwhelming for a CR 16 + CR 17 sacrifice, considering Yss is usually happy to talk to us right before being fed. See the list of questions we just came in with, which he answered with zero issue.
     
    egoo said:
    @Duesal, it seems you'll be getting those ships you wanted.

    An all-party appearance and feeding of undead-sneak later, of course.


    ...I'm somewhat willing to take the chance.
    I'm just that sick of the Orb.

    Too bad we can't put an impenetrable barrier around Yss' about about the moment he gorges upon the Orb :(


    Awww.
    And here I hoped for an answer not in 2-3 months :confused:

    @DragonParadox, what about learning of a way to shorten his sleepy-times, or how close is Yss to automatically doing that?
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    That will happen naturally as he grows in power, it hasa chance of happening after this feeding in fact.

    Azel said:
    @DragonParadox, how about this?

    -[] Lore of the ancient times about Sothoryos, how it's plants and creatures were used by the Serpentfolk and how they protected themselves.

    I'm looking for minor magical lore, like fetishes and minor rituals, but also medicine plants for our farms to grow and an easier time taming dinosaurs.
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    This works, sure.
     
    egoo said:
    so, none of the questions were "free", eve the "mundane"-ish.

    And he literally did nothing to answer most of them (looking for answers about reading 14 aside) here.

    Ouch.

    ...Is that racist to say he acts like a stereotypical jew, if am of Jewish descent myself?
    :thonk:
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    Yss does not do free questions unless answering him benefits him too, like the matter of checking over your compilation of religious texts.

    Duesal said:
    @DragonParadox, as a possibility, could we have our boon be to make Yss stop sleeping so much?
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    Unfortunately not. He can't just decide how long he will sleep, that is a function of his reemerging power.
     
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    [X] Sacrifice two Colossal Fiendish Monstrous Spiders (CR 13 each) to undo Lolth's divine curse on the two Chwidenchas and restore them to their original forms.

    [X] Sacrifice Tor (CR 15) and Varys (CR 17 with gear, CR 16 without?)
    -[X] Lore of the ancient times about Sothoryos, how it's plants and creatures were used by the Serpentfolk and how they protected themselves.

    Duesal said:
    That honestly seems underwhelming for a CR 16 + CR 17 sacrifice, considering Yss is usually happy to talk to us right before being fed. See the list of questions we just came in with, which he answered with zero issue.
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    If we get a bunch of valuable (read: boosting our income) knowledge out of this on top of some minor magic that helps Naath and the Basilisk Isles deal with being close to Sothoryos, I'm fine.
     
    We need a guide in the Shadowlands. I don't trust a hag's knowledge if ever we get to them. Since we are freeing the drow, how about making it a theme?

    Sacrifice the spiders to free the drow, sacrifice Tor and Varys, use their knowledge to make a champion that could act as a guide to the Shadow Plane?

    Or make a sort of anti-Sseth entitiy that homes in to Sseth in the Shadow Plane and will bind him under Yss power by merging with him after we pound the god to submission?

    I kinda have this wild idea of assaulting Tiamat's Fortress riding Sseth... You know, for the funsies.
     
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