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

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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jul 6, 2019 at 10:42 AM, finished with 60 posts and 12 votes.
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Interlude DXII: Lion's Pride
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    • Lion's Pride​

    Ninth Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

    To say Kevan Lannister's current task was unpleasant would be akin to saying that a man made to crawl on broken glass might feel some pain in consequence—true, but nowhere near the scope of his suffering. As though echoing his thought, the sound of breaking china could be heard behind the door. For a moment he imagined it had been Cersei. Gods knew moody and troublesome as the girl could be, she would be entitled to smash a few things on this of all days. When he made it past the door, he was surprised to find that it had not been his great-niece who had been responsible, but a small girl standing sheepishly besides a shattered plate that had by all appearances been set on a table just a little too high for her. The Myrish Delights scattered amid the shards were a clear clue of just what she was trying to get at.

    "You could have asked a servant," Kevan told Myrcella sternly. "Now they will have to work that much harder to clean up this mess, and someone might cut their feet on one of the pieces in the meantime."

    "I didn't want to call a maid when mama was so upset. They just make her madder, and she makes them sad," the girl mumbled.

    Cleverer than I was at three namedays, that's for certain,     Kevan thought to himself. If only her older brother shared that wit. The Lannister knight shook off the thought. It was unfair to expect so much from a boy of seven just because his father seemed bound and determined to run the realm into the ground. Even if Robert broke his neck in a drunken tumble tomorrow and followed Jon Arryn into the Stranger's arms, it would be men like him and Tywin who would have to keep the kingdom on an even keel, not the boy who gods' willing would eventually profit from that work.

    Truth be told, as many times as he had clashed with Jon Arryn, he would miss the Old Falcon's calming presence in the council chamber. Of the remaining lords the only one who was not jumping like dragonfire might light up the seat of their pants at any moment was the Spider, possibly because having lost his balls so long ago the rest of his life was not that worthwhile.

    "What is it, uncle?" Cersei swept into the room with what he would call a parade-ground step in a man, her gold-and-crimson dress rustling with every step. Unlike her husband, the one thing no one could accuse Cersei of was not looking the part of the queen. "Come to bring me news of some other city fallen to the Blood Dragon? Perhaps the Qohorik have opened their blood-soaked temples to him seeing as they have so much in common, or perhaps the Volantene have decided to meekly bow their heads as they did for Aegon?"

    "Qohor is in no position to bow to anyone, it is barely keeping order in its own borders," Kevan replied, willfully not addressing the second question. News of the precise nature of Volantene rearmament had only just reached him through the auspices of the Golden Shields, and they were disconcertingly similar to what Viserys Targaryen called his Legions. It could simply be a case of imitating a successful formula even if it belonged to a rival, but even in that best of cases it meant Volantis would not be attacking the Dragon's realm any time soon. More to calm her than because he believed it, the Master of Arcane Works added: "Varys has said that Braavos' submission is more a matter of form than substance, waiting for the rushed kingdom held together with sorcery and hope to fall apart, or mayhap even willing to sink a dagger in Viserys' back themselves."

    "The Spider has been pouring honey in Robert's ear ever since the royal fleet returned with its tail tucked between its legs," Cersei replied, taking a seat in one of those spindly chairs ladies seemed to like so much. "Has it occurred to you that he may have done the same to Aerys right up until Jaime separated the Mad King's head from the rest of him, or were you all too befuddled by the wine vapors rising from Robert like miasmas off an alchemist's cauldron?"

    "If Varys were such a fool as to think Aerys' son would take him back then he would not have the wit to hide so deep a treachery," Kevan replied, happy to see his niece channeling her anger into productive thinking, even if her tongue was still as sharp as Valyrian Steel.

    "I imagine you are not here only to dismiss my 'womanly fears' uncle, " she continued after a moment. "If it is another request that I greet the cowards who arrived from Pentos seeking aid then the answer is still no. Have Littlefinger deal with them. I hear he speaks their 'language' perfectly—sniveling greed that is."

    "You are slipping, Cersei. That last insult would have worked better if you hadn't explained it," Kevan japed. He was happy to see the smallest lightening of her expression, but continued regardless. "I need you to speak to the High Septon after the funeral, say you have an interest in providing alms to the poor..." He ignored Cersei's snort of disdain. "And see if you can get him to talk about the septs being restored in Andalos. He is likely to have more eyes and ears there than we do. The Conclave has been a boon to us in general, but if the spirit of fellowship extends to schismatics in Pentoshi lands then it is only a small step to accepting the Dragon's puppet septon in Sorcerer's Deep."

    "Anything else?" the young queen asked, tacitly accepting the request for a wonder.

    "Yes," he began cautiously. "It would help if you could be seen more with Tommen or Myrcella. Remind everyone what a proper queen looks like, not that Essosi witch the Dragon is supposedly betrothed to..."

    "So you want me to be seen less with Joffrey?" Cersei's eyes narrowed dangerously.

    "Fine," Kevan's tone grew colder. "You want me to be blunt, so yes. The boy could do with being seen somewhere besides right next to your skirt. I know Robert makes a worse father than he does a king, but the lords would whisper less if he started being seen as more willful, more his own man."

    "If you think I will push away my son..." Her voice grew louder with each word.

    "Will you listen for once?" Kevan asked wearily. "I said you should work to keep up the appearances, not that you should not keep him close in fact. The boy is young, but he will need to be cunning, as cunning as his grandfather was at his age, for the good of House Lannister."

    It was all Kevan could do to keep back a sigh of relief as he saw the fire in his niece's eyes pass from anger to thoughtfulness. "I'll talk to Joffrey about it."

    OOC: If Cersei seems particularly reasonable here that is because Kevan has grown into an expert in the art of Cersei-wrangling, having started when he was in a lot more stable than his position in canon. He also rolled well for this scene.
     
    Last edited:
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    • DragonParadox said:
    Lion's Pride​

    Ninth Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

    To say Kevan Lannister's current task was unpleasant would be akin to saying that a man made to crawl on broken glass might feel some pain in consequence. True, but nowhere near the scope of his suffering. As though echoing his thoughts, the sound of breaking china can be heard behind the door. For a moment he imagines it had been Cersei. Gods know, moody and troublesome as the girl can be, she would be entitled to smash a few things on this of all days. When he made it past the door he was surprised to find that it had not been his great-niece who had been responsible, but a small girl standing sheepishly besides a shattered plate that had by all appearances been set on a table just a little too high for her. The Myrish delights scattered amid the shards were a clear clue of just what she was trying to get at.

    "You could have asked a servant," Kevan told Myrcella sternly. "Now they will have to work that much harder to clean up this mess and someone might cut heir feet on one of the pieces in the meantime."

    "I didn't want to call a maid when mama was so upset. They just make her madder and she makes them sad," the girl mumbled.

    Cleverer than I was at three namedays, that's for certain,     Kevan thought to himself. If only her older brother shared that wit. The Lannister knight shook off the thought. It was unfair to expect so much from a boy of seven just because his father seemed bound and determined to run the realm into the ground. Even if Robert broke his neck in a drunken tumble tomorrow and followed Jon Arryn into the Stranger's arms, it would be men like him and Tywin who would have to keep the kingdom on an even keel, not the boy who, gods' willing, would eventually profit from that work.

    Truth be told, as many times as he had clashed with Jon Arryn he would miss the Old Falcon's calming presence in the council chamber. Of the remaining lords, the only one who was not jumping like dragonfire might light up the seat of their pants at any moment was the Spider, possibly because having lost his balls so long ago the rest of his life was not that worthwhile.

    "What is it uncle?" Cersei swept into the room with what he would call a parade-ground step in a man, her gold and crimson dress rustling with every step. Unlike her husband the one thing no one could accuse Cersei of was not looking the part of the queen. "Come to bring me news of some other city fallen to the Blood Dragon? Perhaps the Qohorik have opened their blood-soaked temples to him seeing as they have so much in common, or perhaps Volantis has decided to meekly bow its head as it did for Aegon?"

    "Qohor is in no position to bow to anyone, it is barely keeping order in its own borders," Kevan replied, willfully not addressing the second question. News of the precise nature of Volantene rearmament had only just reached him through the auspices of the Golden Shields, and they were disconcertingly similar to what Viserys Targaryen called his Legions. It could simply be a case of imitating a successful formula, even if it belonged to a rival, but even in that best of cases it meant Volantis would not be attacking the Dragon's realm any time soon. More to calm her than because he believed it, the Master of Arcane Works added, "Varys has said that Braavos' submission is more a matter of form than substance, waiting for the rushed kingdom held together with sorcery and hope to fall apart, or mayhap even willing to sink a dagger in Viserys' back themselves."

    "The Spider has been pouring honey in Robert's ear ever since the royal fleet returned with its tale tucked between its legs," Cersei replied, taking a seat in one of those spindly chairs ladies seemed to like so much. "Has it occurred to you that he may have done the same to Aerys right up until Jaime separated the mad king's head from the rest of him, or were you all too befuddled by the wine vapors rising from Robert like miasmas off an alchemist's cauldron?"

    "If Varys were such a fool as to think Aerys' son would take him back then, he would not have the wit to hide so deep a treachery," Kevan replied, happy to see his niece channeling her anger into productive thinking, even if her tongue was still as sharp as Valyrian steel.

    "I imagine you are not here only to dismiss my 'womanly fears', uncle, " she continued after a moment. "If it is another request that I greet the cowards who arrived from Pentos seeking aid than the answer is still no. Have Littlefinger deal with them. I hear he speaks their 'language' perfectly, sniveling greed that is."

    "You are slipping, Cersei. That last insult would have worked better if you hadn't explained it," Kevan japed. He was happy to see the smallest lightening of her expression, but continued regardless. "I need you to speak to the High Septon after the funeral, say you have an interest in providing alms to the poor..." he ignored Cersei's snort of disdain. "And see if you can get him to talk about the septs being restored in Andalos. He is likely to have more eyes and ears there than we do. The Conclave has been a boon to us in general, but if the spirit of fellowship extends to schismatics in Pentoshi lands then it is only a small step to accepting the Dragon's puppet septon in Sorcerer's Deep."

    "Anything else?" the young queen asked, tacitly accepting the request for a wonder.

    "Yes," he began cautiously. "It would help if you could be seen more with Tommen or Myrcella, remind everyone what a proper queen looks like, not that Essosi witch the Dragon is supposedly betrothed to..."

    "So you want me to be seen less with Joffrey?" Cersei's eyes narrowed dangerously.

    "Fine," Kevan's tone grew colder. "You want me to be blunt: yes, the boy could do with being seen somewhere besides right next to your skirt. I know Robert makes a worse father than he does a king, but the lords would whisper less if he started being seen as more willful, more his own man."

    "If you think I will push away my son..." her voice grew louder with each word.

    "Will you listen for once?" Kevan asked wearily. "I said you should work to keep up the appearances, not that you should not keep him close in fact. The boy is young, but he will need to be cunning, as cunning as his grandfather was at his age, for the good of House Lannister."

    It was all Kevan could do to keep back a sigh of relief as he saw the fire in his niece's eyes pass from anger to thoughtfulness. "I'll talk to Joffrey about it."

    OOC: If Cersei seems particularly reasonable here that is because Kevan has grown into an expert in the art of Cersei-wrangling, having started when he was in a lot more stable than his position in canon. He also rolled well for this scene.
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    Made some edits to the chapter, DP.

    Kevan needs a title, ya'll. Perhaps he can be the Harpy Whisperer?
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    That's dangerous.

    Not the deal in specific, but to get involved in Hell's politics.
    If the wrong people notice we are working with an Archduke, any of them, then we'll make some enemies all through the Planes.
    That includes likely 7 of the other 8 (Asmodeus doesn't see the other Archdukes as rivals, but all others do) and also propably what forces of Good there are left in the multiverse.
    Not bad enemies, not high-priority enemies, but it's likely a hit to relation with quite a few people who hate Hell and all it stands for.
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    This is a very good point.

    However, I'm just not seeing any way to gain more True Names for those of Mammon, than to trade with Archdevils for them.

    And we kinda need more names now, with those we had already drying even with us actively questioning every single one.
    Without TNs we can't actively act against him, and...
    Well, we have little chance of catching wind of him scheming massively against us.

    ...That, and also Erynies are too amazing to leave in his employ, lets be honest there.

    Bel is honestly the least worst of all Archdevils, and possibly the only one with whom we may more-or-less align in goals.
    With how focused he is on Blood War, us trading shouldn't get much bad done either - Demons being pushed back is only a good thing.

    And Mammon acted as an enemy to both of us recently, so, that's one point where I don't think he'll mind trading for.
     
    Duesal said:
    Speaking of which, where are we on that @DragonParadox? Are Relath and Yrael ready to begin their joint campaign in the next few months?
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    If you hand them the troops sure

    Goldfish said:
    I would like the rumor post, then we could role on into visiting Brienne. It was the other option from the previous vote and it had some support.
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    The thing is there isn't much rumor-wise beyond what was in the interlude:
    1. Braavos has bent the knee
    2. Rebuilt septs in Andalos
    3. Volantis started on another military reform (though most do not know as much as Kevan on the matter)
     
    egoo said:
    With how focused he is on Blood War, us trading shouldn't get much bad done either - Demons being pushed back is only a good thing.
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    Also keep in mind, he is focused on the Bloodwar because he absolutly has to be.
    If demons were pushed back a little bit, if they stopped invading his realm every minute every day, he'd propably just as much of an intrigant asshole as the other Archdukes.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    Also keep in mind, he is focused on the Bloodwar because he absolutly has to be.
    If demons were pushed back a little bit, if they stopped invading his realm every minute every day, he'd propably just as much of an intrigant asshole as the other Archdukes.
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    Good thing that won't happen any time soon, us helping or not :V

    True enough though.
    Still no reason not to infringe upon his overly-busy schedule and have us both gain some profit from that, I say :V
     
    DragonParadox said:
    The thing is there isn't much rumor-wise beyond what was in the interlude:
    1. Braavos has bent the knee
    2. Rebuilt septs in Andalos
    3. Volantis started on another military reform (though most do not know as much as Kevan on the matter)
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    Ah, I see. Then an update would be nice.

    [X] Learn what Brienne has been doing over the past year by divination and then speak to her.
     
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