From a Far Realm
Twenty-Eighth Day of the Eighth Month 293 AC
After pondering and discussing the matter a brief while longer, it becomes clear that attempting a physical rescue would be far too dangerous, not just in the immediate sense but for the truce. True you had twice destroyed Deep One fortresses, but neither time could your actions be described as quiet or difficult to trace. Threadbare as it is you dare not risk the truce, not yet, not while there are so many other fires to put out.
Slipping in through the dreamlands and recovering Jeyne's soul thus is also considered and finally dismissed. You all remember well Bloodraven's tales of the ancient winning of the runelore and with whom the ancient smith bargained. The Deep Ones likely possess still that elder lore which went into crafting the wards of Winterfell and Runestone, perhaps deepened with the passing of ages. Even were Dany able to overcome it she does not think she can do so quietly, leading right back into the same conundrum.
Lya's suggestion will have to do, but it will be even more perilous than she had first envisioned since you dare not leave the sorceress' original body, or whatever might be left of it, in the hands of your foes. For that matter Vee is quick to point out that there is nothing stopping the Deep One flesh-crafters from harvesting flesh to keep as a sympathetic focus away from the body.
With every argument given Jeyne's prospects grow grimmer, until Malarys remembers the Staff of Ages, forged by a traitor Djinn of no small arcane power, consecrated by a serpentine god of death. A curse of contagion worked through its power could in theory spread through however many portions of flesh had been taken, and if the sorcerers' body had indeed been crippled and drained as you fear it had then it would be all the more susceptible. Again you read the portents and find them favorable, as much as anything can be said to be under such grim circumstances.
That leaves the task of weaving anew the twisted silver thread that allows Jeyne to control the puppet body so that her soul may slip into it rather than simply pass on in death, a task for Lya, Dany, and Xor while you deal with the second of your guests.
After ensuring through one last divination that waking him will not cast down all your plans to ruin, you wake Ser Roger 'Reyne' to question him and to explain the peril his companion is truly in. The knight does not want to believe you, he would rather that think you treacherous than that the woman he had known for more than half a year was never truly
there, just a dreamer unknowingly pulling the threads of a puppet. Though he does not draw his sword he comes
very close indeed.
"Ser, what do you remember of that day?" you ask, voice carefully courteous in the face of his grief and rage.
"I was
fucking riding along north to Lannisport on my own business at dawn," he says between gritted teeth.
"And was it usual for you to be up that early and riding hard? Was it usual for you to be heading for Lannisport, given the heraldry on your shield?" you interject. "I cannot imagine they welcome the sight of
red lions there."
A moment of confusion almost too brief for you to catch flickered over his features, before being drowned in anger once again. "None of your bloody..."
"I believe you were compelled and that your memory was altered," you cut him off. "I could restore it for you if you will trust me with the task."
To his credit the hedge knight does not accuse you of trying to put things in his head, having likely realized that you would not be asking for his permission to do that. "Alright, do whatever you need to do that'll show you Jeyne's not in any danger and we can just go and bother you no more."
"Think of that moment," you instruct, reaching out with will and wishcraft to restore any frayed edges of memory slyly knotted together with falsehoods.
"No... no... it can't... it doesn't make sense," Ser Roger mutters quietly to himself, all the confirmation you need. It would only be sensible after all for the Deep Ones to send someone along to recover Jeyne rather leave her sprawled next to the road with the corpse of a monster on top of her. Passing travelers might harm her out of superstitious dread, and brigands out of mercenary interest.
You say nothing of all this, giving the knight time to collect himself.
"How bad is it?" he asks urgently.
"She may die during the ritual I have planned," you admit plainly. "However, death is far preferable to enjoying the 'hospitality' of the Deep Ones once one is no longer of use to their schemes."
At that the hedge knight shudders and nods. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
You shake your head. "This is not a battle for swords, Ser."
For a long moment there is silence, then he speaks again firmly: "I apologize for my earlier behavior, Your Grace. I will bear whatever fate you deem just as punishment."
"Then my judgement is that you do not deserve
any punishment, Ser. I made some extraordinary claims about the fate of your friend, and presented you with truths no one would wish to face. The moment is bleak enough without me dolling out punishment for honest grief," you answer honestly.
Silently Ser Roger takes a knee. "Come what may, Your Grace, from this day forth I am your man. I ask only for the chance to kill some of those
bloody Deep Ones."
"As to that there will be plenty of chances to do so. Arise a knight in service of House Targaryen, Ser Roger."
A better man than most to hand Castamere to if it comes to it.
***
'Ritual' is perhaps too strong a word for what Lya, Xor, and Dany could concoct on such short notice. It owes more to raw power than careful preparation, patched together from everything to the creation of arcanums to the binding of Jorel's soul into a doll's form. The backlash from performing it is almost enough to drive you to your knees as raw threads of life-sapping power scour your own soul, but it is
only backlash and not the price of failure. Throughout it all the lot of you utter the words and make the gestures, pouring your magic into the whole as Xor's songs of power echo through the chamber seeking that strange harmony of powers from beyond knowing and finding it. A black diamond of Venthar is spent in the doing, but in the end the body is a fit receptacle for Jeyne's soul.
Viserys, Lya, and Dany take 6 Constitution Damage
Lost 1 Black Diamond worth 1,000 IM
By contrast the curse worked to kill her current body is almost too easy to enact, the Staff of Ages almost seeming eager in the hand, like a serpent uncoiling to strike. And so the final word is spoken, the staff strikes stone with a sound that echoes into impossible depths, the dark power uncoiling to strike.
For a breathless moment there is silence, then Jeyne's eyes snap open. "I..." she takes a deep breath. "I had a nightmare. Is everything alright?"
"It is now," Ser Roger says, embracing her not as a lover might but as as dear friend or a brother.
So are the Deep Ones plots undone, their lure turned to their ruin. So is Jeyne Weaver given her second chance in truth.
What terms to you offer Jeyne?
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OOC: I considered doing a vote on whether to spend the diamond, but given the sums you guys are dealing in it did not feel worth it. Jeyne is a level 5 Kineticist, so she is good to teach. However, you lack potential students that can use psionics for the moment. Using her as a template, you could create flesh-forge alterations to allow potential mages to enter the class though.
