Remove ads

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

Reader mode
Winning vote

[] Speak about something else
-[] "So there is truly nothing that can be done for their greatest victims? I had heard," you shake your head, the act a lament to a hope suddenly dying, though not entirely false.
-[]"Further lesson to the worth of rumours of even Old Town, I suppose. It is said that the Lantern Bearers have the means to cure such taint. But if not even one of the Seven's Chosen or one of their Angels can do so..." The pause here is very deliberate, to push at the possibility that Gerald might in fact be capable of such action.
-[] "Against such enemies, surely we must seek unity as brothers and sisters against the darkness which surely seeks to cover us all?" Outwardly this is unobjectionable. But it's also a seed of heresy which we're already beginning to nurture in Sorcerer's Deep. All those forces which stand against the night need to unite. And that means making compromises.
-[] "I am no man of great influence, but surely there is good enough in the hearts of men to stand together, even if it is only to help the afflicted heal. Old Town could surely learn from that experience, given the enemies the Lantern Bearers face." This is an opening into what was done to aid those afflicted by the Deep ones, in the manner of one wishing to give whatever aid can be granted.
-[] "I can only hope that they can be guided before they guide themselves and others to what is at best a fool's errand and at worst..." Let an echo of the horrors we have seen, leavened by the identity of Dywen, pass across our face.
-[] If no further conversational opportunities present themselves, withdraw with thanks and seek out Elder Kyle.
 
Last edited:
Remove ads
Part MMDCCCXLII: In the Balance of the Faith Part Eight
  • Threadmarks
    • In the Balance of the Faith Part Eight​

    Sixteenth Day of the Ninth Month 293 AC

    Your gaze lingers on Gerald for a while longer, mulling over what you have heard once more while Sister Maer refills your tea cups from the pot left to simmer over a candle. What had truly transpired in Crakehall? Was the Planetar accomplice to Lucan murdering these people or was he too deceived by sweet words? The moment passes and you have yet an act to play, so you leave the ruminations for later. It is Dywen's voice that rises from your lips, soft but firm. "So there is truly nothing that can be done for their greatest victims? I had heard..." As you trail off, you shake your head as if to banish a unwelcome thought.

    After he accepted his cup from Maer with a grateful nod, Brother Gerald turns to you again. "What have you heard?"

    Before Dywen can be stirred from his darkened mood, it is the elder septa who answers him. "There has been some talk on the streets that the Lantern Bearers have uncovered a way to cure the taint left by the sea spawn. Tales differ on what it is, though the one that seems to be spread by the Bearers themselves is that they learned of some holy spring of the Merlings on the Basilisk Isles." The word holy she speaks with such depth of loathing that you are half surprised the cream isn't clotting in its cup.

    Gerald ponders her words for a moment, then shakes his head. Again the light of his eyes dims, though this time it is more a long flicker then anything more. A dark thought quickly banished most likely. "Even the greatest miracles the Seven bestowed upon me to enact were not capable of healing the wrongness left in their minds. However, are those isles not claimed by the Dragon?"

    "Indeed they are," Maer confirms, after regaining her composure behind one long drink from her cup. "I have heard from captains who still dare the eastern waters that he has shown twisted monstrosities bred from beasts and dragon-blood." Her gaze darkens further. "I would not be surprised if healing is not what he has in mind for those poor souls."

    The irony of the suspicion does not escape you, for but a moment before you had thought Brother Lucan responsible for withholding aid that the angels might have shared for the sake of expectancy or some principle of the man you cannot guess at. And therein lies the issue, you know very little of the man, save what he has shown the world and tales told by those who think well of him. Had you allowed suspicion to weigh too heavy in your thoughts?

    "Against such enemies, surely we must seek unity as brothers and sisters against the darkness which surely seeks to cover us all?" you try to chip away that that conviction, to hint that perhaps seeking a solution beyond the shores of Westeros, beyond the light of the Faith might have some merit.

    "Indeed we must," Gerald replies serenely. "That is why all are gathered here under the light of the Seven, untied against the Darkness, whether it rises from the depths or descends from the sky."

    Like trying to chip at a stone wall with a spoon. You push down the frustration with the ease of long practice."As to that I am no man of great influence to turn the fate of the Conclave, but surely there is good enough in the hearts of men to stand together, even if it is only to help the afflicted heal. Oldtown could surely learn from that experience, given the enemies the Lantern Bearers face. I can only hope that they can be guided before they guide themselves and others to what is at best a fool's errand and at worst..." You allow an echo of the horrors you have seen in Mantarys, Tyrosh, and beyond to show upon your face.

    There is sympathy upon Gerald's face, but the words yield no more fruit than perhaps a slight lessening in suspicion.

    Having come as close as you dare to that which concerns your true identity you spend the remainder of the visit asking the sorts of questions a simple begging brother would ask of an angel made flesh. Yet among these veiled questions you slip a handful that might reveal answers you truly care for. Thus you learn that the angel is in many ways bemused by the Conclave and its many factions rooted in the politics of the realm.

    ***​

    Thus do you leave Septa Maer's chambers, with perhaps a better understanding of your foe but having come no closer to unraveling his plans. Best to secure your own back first then in seeking Septon Kyle. Just as you are about to seek entrance into his chambers however Dany's voice echoes in your mind, for the past several hours you had felt her attention wander far afield as she sought Lucan's entourage throughout the city.

    "We found them. They were warded against simple scrying but not investigation. They are living out of several warded rooms above a warehouse by the river. Only a few of them go out every day. I suspect the most experienced mages. All of them seem tense, as though expecting to be followed, yet they seem genuinely fond of each other, comrades whether they be knights or sorcerers."     You can hear the relief in the words even through the mind link. Unfortunate as it may be that your enemy seems united in camaraderie she is still glad not to have found them in any worse straights.

    So much for Lucan's 'bound mages', as you suspected they might be a few days ago, serving out of fear of their lives. Whatever can be said of Brother Lucan he is a cleverer man than Tywin Lannister and a better one too.

    What do you do next?

    [] Continue to speak with Kyle while your companions deal with the mages
    -[] Write in

    [] Meet with Lucan's mages to learn more about them
    -[] Write in

    [] Write in

    OOC: As far as Viserys can tell the Planetar did not even register that you might have meant to seek unity with the the dragon king and his heresies.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Duesal said:
    Speaking of which, I'm very close to being able to beta again. My issues resolved, though infuriatingly.

    My professor is an asshole. The son of a bitch didn't even follow through with his threat and properly file a complaint against me. He just acted like his threat never happened. I wasted hours over the weekend gathering evidence when I could have been studying. :mad:

    I think he realized that the evidence was fully in support of me since I was actually innocent, so he just dropped it without bothering to let me know. I was 100% ready to take him on in a formal accusation, with three student witnesses and two professor witnesses in support of me, but now even that satisfaction is denied to me. There's really nothing I can do against him at this point.

    Anyway, point being I'll be betaing again once graduation is finalized, though I have literal weeks of updates to catch up on.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Happy for you that it went decently.

    I mean, not that that was good, but certainly better than serious damage to your ability to graduate or something like that.
    All the best wishes for the actual graduation now.
     
    Tomcost said:
    So we can't find even a smidge of dirt on him.

    The heck. How did he survive out there then?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    He is God-blessed. There is a possibility that the Father helped in terms of twisting luck in his favor at opportune moments. That or he has a spymaster who deals with crap that shouldn't be associated with him.

    As far as he has been shown, he is a deeply religious and good man with strong convictions that what he does is right. That doesn't necessarily mean that he is, just that he believes it, and others believe it too. Except for the Fey bullshit, that screams suspicious to me.
     
    If someone is far enough into ceromorphosis following Illithid larval implantation, IIRC they cannot be saved. Only hope left for them is a Resurrection.

    Not sure what else could be so twisted that even a Miracle cannot undo it.
     
    Snowfire said:
    Planetars do not have bluff, and we outclass one in terms of social stats by 15-20 points worth of modifier before buffs. There was a reason I was not enormously concerned about this encounter going wrong.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Fanatacism at its best. His obtuseness simply keeps him from even conceiving of siding with the "enemy" as a possibility. It helps in that he won't notice anything short of blatant manipulation, but practically stone walls anything else. At least, that's what I'm getting. Hence the whole idea of letting them do the work for us and just step in when it's done to pick up the pieces.
     
    ...so, we just revealed Laternbearers' new operation for zero impact, while likely making their lives much, much harder in the long run.

    Good job, us! :V
     
    Is this the part where we just kill everyone and wash our hands of this nonsense?

    Because I really just want to kill everyone and wash our hands of this nonsense.

    Sometimes the solution to a gordian knot is a vat of thermite and a match.
     
    Evaunit02mark1 said:
    Is this the part where we just kill everyone and wash our hands of this nonsense?

    Because I really just want to kill everyone and wash our hands of this nonsense.

    Sometimes the solution to a gordian knot is a vat of thermite and a match.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Don't know about "everyone", but this particular Planetar is on my to-summon list now.

    Don't care he's Good, he is too damn powerful for someone so set in his ways and judgments, to leave unattended.

    @Goldfish, please provide a preliminary plan for capture.
    That, at least, would soothe my poor, poor nerves here.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    The rumors were already out. You guys did not spill any secrets.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    One could argue we made people's lives harder just for lifting a finger and interfering with affairs in Old Town, buuuut considering some of those lives include Dark Goddess cultists, Deep One infiltrators, and people gearing up to start a continent spanning civil war / holy crusade that will drown it in the blood of thousands, some might even back us up on the "cry me a river" front. :V
     
    I am curious as to whether the faith will make the Lantern Bearers jobs harder now that they are working with another god that isn't the Seven.
     
    You know, theoretically speaking, the Seven could probably pull off something similar to what the Merling King is doing, right? I could've sworn the whole thing was just holy water and a minor ritual. Spreading the methods, regardless of who is using them, would make the Deep Ones' lives more difficult. And Lucan's entourage is bound to at least investigate now, so we could probably convince them to use it themselves at no cost. Not everything has to be a bad day for us.
     
    Ericwinter said:
    You know, theoretically speaking, the Seven could probably pull off something similar to what the Merling King is doing, right? I could've sworn the whole thing was just holy water and a minor ritual. Spreading the methods, regardless of who is using them, would make the Deep Ones' lives more difficult. And Lucan's entourage is bound to at least investigate now, so we could probably convince them to use it themselves at no cost. Not everything has to be a bad day for us.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    If it were easy, they would have done it. I am guessing that Lucan isn't lying about that. If he had the resources out of hand, he would have leveraged them because it would have been a huge PR win, which would help him take the continent bloodlessly. Don't need the dragon's help if you can do it all yourself, after all.
     
    egoo said:
    ...so, we just revealed Laternbearers' new operation for zero impact, while likely making their lives much, much harder in the long run.

    Good job, us! :V
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    It's almost as if the plan was to create friction between secular and theological authority.

    If this means the Faith makes trouble for the Lantern Bearers, it's good for us.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top