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

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Azel said:
When she had agreed to let him infuse the living forge with necromantic energies, she expected a pile of dead meat and maybe the ire of the tree spirits upon him.
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Life feeds death, death feeds life.

Realizing your only playing with one part of a wheel opens a lot of doors for death mages.

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[X]Azel
 
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Azel said:
The Artisans Pride III​
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Carefully she ran her hands over the leathery surface of the egg, a mote of arcane flame shining from her rings and illuminating what lay inside the membrane. The murky green liquid obscured much of what grew within, but the shadows the creature within was casting were enough to assess it's state. Of course, she could have done all of this with spellwork that was both more precise and through, but it would also take time. The one resource that she was direly short on. The Archon didn't believe in half-measures, that much was certain, and so she would use the simplest and fastest tools available to her to ensure her work was flawless.

This one was. A well formed snout and horns denoting the strong draconic influence in it's blood. Strong and thick tail and wings, which was the best sign by far. If the specimen was defective in some way, it always showed the strongest in their wings. Some grew none at all, others many, sometimes grossly enlarged, other times withered and crippled. True, there were some oddities and weirdness that had crept into her work. She had planned to use Valyrian Drakes as stock to make these creatures, not the flesh and blood of true dragons, mixed with a dash of human material to balance the humors. Yet she had preserved and pruned the worst of it, preserving those that showed promise. In a given sense, they were no longer truly Kobolds as the servitors of old that she sought to recreate, but something different.

As far as the norm went among the specimens though, this one was fine and thus she placed the egg back into the cradle that was half wood and half flesh, careful not to tangle the umbilical cord that still connected it to Gogossos itself. A quick tug on one of the branches had the whole edifice rise, a cluster of ten eggs that almost looked like grapes from afar raising back towards the ceiling. It was a root though, she mentally corrected herself, and there were many. One hundred such clusters hung from the ceiling, for a total of a thousand specimens, grown in little more then a fortnight. It was a miracle wrought from pure will and determination, one that Lady Saenena Caleris had not survived. Instead, in her place now stood Wisdom Caleris, tired, covered in grime and with barely a memory of what a bed or solid food were. But it was necessary. She could not allow even the smallest doubt of her competence. Not with who could profit from any lapse on her part.

While she wiped away the worst of the gunk that tended to settle on the eggs, she kept a careful eye on the thing that used to be her greatest worry. The snake creature wrought from the remnants of Gogossos former Fleshcrafters was examining another clutch with the same method, doubtlessly still mumbling about how primitive it was. To her, the being was not as strange and repulsive as to many others, carrying all too clearly the legacy of it's former self. Back in the days of Valyria, the Fleshcrafters used to make themselves into works of their art, smoothing, fattening and enhancing every aspect of their flesh as it was fashion at the courts. Doubtlessly they dried to impress and curry favor with their appearance, especially as they often freely offered the same beauty to others.

Most thought they looked like dolls or living paintings. Too perfect to be real, no single blemish marking them as flesh and blood, and symmetrical to the point of reaching the uncanny. To her though, the worst were always their eyes. Sure, they were finely made, just the right size and place, and always in the most vibrant shades of purple, but you couldn't hide what lurked behind them. A monster was a monster, no matter how many masks it draped over itself. In their eyes you could see the flickers of madness that they all shared. There were certainly other tells, like their distant demeanor, the stilted speech, and the way they moved as if their flesh was ill-fitting garment, yet it was the cold and lifeless stares that made her detest them. They always seemed to not see people before them, but piles of meat that begged for their attention.

In a sense, the creature the Archon had forged from their remnants was a truer reflections of their beings then their true bodies ever could have been. The reptilian form was more then apt to them and with the way their too many eyes and tongues moved, even the most inattentive dolt could see clearly what kind of spirit could be found within. The masks were finally torn away, the monster shown for all the world to see. And yet... Yet she needed the creature, no matter how much it disgusted it. No matter how clearly it was insane with how it muttered and argued with itself all the time.

It was the worst when the Archon ordered them to do something that had been forbidden on the pain of death in the days of old. Some of it's voices would mutter 'heresy' in a worried tone, clearly remembering the old laws, while the others too muttered 'heresy', but in a tone that was more akin to a Dothraki being offered a virgin maiden. But no matter how much she hated the creature, it too had a voice in Gogossos and for now that voice carried the same weight as hers. One of four voices, and the only one she could steer somewhat, leaving her in a precarious position against the other two. The two other monsters that the Archon had imprisoned in these halls with her, and who were right now watching the proceedings in the gestation chamber for their own ends.

Of the other two, the Kyton was the lesser worry, even though it was far more outgoing and active then the barbarian that rarely left his own labs. On it's good days, it got along somewhat with the snake, like and like calling too each other, but while the former Fleshcrafters still had a twisted sense of shame about their nature, this creature had none. This morning, the Kyton had apparently decided to skin it's on face, then set it's skin on long nails as if it was a tent. The effect when she spoke to you was, even if Saenena only would admit to it in the privacy of her thoughts, amply disturbing. This thing wore it's on depravity as a badge of honor for all too see.

Where the Archon had recruited it and why still eluded her, for she steadfastly refused to speak more then absolutely necessary with the creature. It might have deprived her of a chance to sway the balance in her favor, but there were just some borders she was not willing to cross. To willingly associated with something that even the snake had once called depraved and deranged? That was definitely beyond the pale. Then again, it apparently was occasionally visiting and allegedly even working in the Deep, so it might have some tact under all the hooks, nails and flayed skin. It apparently just decided that Gogossos was no place to show any of it.

The barbarian on the other hand, Wisdom Qyburn, for he had at least earned that title, was quite the opposite. When you saw him, he appeared to be nothing more then a kindly old grandfather. He was soft-spoken and calm, making it all too easy to dismiss him as harmless. But his eyes were those she had seen far too often in Valyria. This was a man who had dug more then one grave for his ambitions, and there was little doubt of his hunger for something she still couldn't name. It was no surprise that the flighty Kyton would defer to him whenever there was a disagreement in Gogossos, and it was worrisome that they seemed to become thick as thieves as of late.

In the end, it was him or her, that much Saenena knew. The two monsters were useful with their skills and experience, but neither had the temperament, ability or sanity to lead this facility. And he was ahead in the Archons favor, as much as it galled her to admit. His creatures had proven themselves against the sellsword army in Yi Ti, and his alterations to the forge within his own labs were certainly impressive. It still stumped her how easily he had wrought them. When she had agreed to let him infuse the living forge with necromantic energies, she expected a pile of dead meat and maybe the ire of the tree spirits upon him. Instead it worked. Instead he was now growing ever more of his creations in a rapidly expanding lab, having even enough time for entirely different projects.

While Saenena walked back to her workbenches and more or less home for the past few weeks, he was already waiting for her, glancing over a few papers she had left out in the open. He greeted her with a polite nod and an easy smile, which only rose her ire even more. It was unlikely that he was actively mocking her, but with how transparent is mask was, keeping it on was tantamount to that. No. She needed to get even with the barbarian and preferably surpass him. She would not defer to him in these halls, not now and not ever.

Before the tension could rise further though, another voice drew both of their attentions. It was one of the furies, who often served as messengers from Sorcerers Deep. "Wisdom Qyburn. Wisdom Saenena. The king has sent me to deliver the remainder of the bodies for you." With this she held out a bag in between them, no doubt enchanted to fit the shrunken remains of dragons and drakes alike. Saenena quickly took it.

"I think Wisdom Marita will be most pleased by this. She had some ideas for the corpse of the Shadow Dragon." Even though she spoke them, the words felt ashen in Saenena's mouth. But needs must, and if she wanted to maneuver around Qyburn, she needed to keep the Kyton from siding to strongly with him. A few treats for it would help there. "Could you carry message back to the Archon for me? The first batch of Kobolds is ready for birth and I assumed that he would want to be personally present for the occasion."

The Fury nodded, yet instead of turning to leave as expected, it turned to Qyburn, much to Saenena's ire. "There is another message from Archon Saan, Wisdom Qyburn. Some boy who insists on personally delivering something to you. He is here on Lord Boltons orders, but he isn't cleared to enter the Forge."

This time, the smile on Qyburns face seemed genuine, making his next words even more chilling. He had never shown affection to much of anything except his creatures so far. "I know who you are talking about. Please tell him to wait a short moment and I will get him. It is nice to see him again."


AN: And we finally switched sides to the other two in that little office rivalry.
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Interesting change in POV. I think Saenena is getting a bit too deep into her rivalry with the others. Hopefully Viserys will come to check on the Kobolds and pick up on the tension. If anyone can defuse the situation before it becomes toxic, it's him.
 
Goldfish said:
Interesting change in POV. I think Saenena is getting a bit too deep into her rivalry with the others. Hopefully Viserys will come to check on the Kobolds and pick up on the tension. If anyone can defuse the situation before it becomes toxic, it's him.
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You know what would go a long way? The fact that, in terms of personality and trust, we actually favor Saenena. We can't really understand the whole "high-functioning sociopath" point of view that Qyburn has going on, even if we like his work, we are aware the only reason he isn't "one bad day away" is because we are keeping that bad day at bay.

The Kyton is a devil, so while we can understand, in the abstract, what motivates her, we don't really engage with it, and thus she is always kind of out of reach of earning higher favor with us out of proportion with her contributions.

The snake is crazy, but efficient. He also likely isn't interested in our favor.

We have a shared connection with her, we're invested in her well being. She has little to worry about.
 
Azel said:
[X] Meet with the Harvest Prince and the Fisher Prince at the same time.

-[X] The core offer is simple. Peaceful integration into the Imperium with all the benefits that entails, such as economic stimulus packages.
--[X] In particular, promise them to invest in the Bay of Lorath area, increasing local economic activity and thus strengthening the city itself as the focal point of this trade.
--[X] Point out that if they join, you will be the one (or your council at least) to arbitrate conflicts between Braavos and Lorath. You are not promising preferential treatment or anything, but they can expect disagreements to be arbitrated and resolved in a speedy and final fashion, entirely without the need for violence.
--[X] Otherwise they obviously get the agrarian care package of rituals and Leshies to prop up their economy. You can also negotiate a deal with local Triton tribes on their behalf for maritime endeavors.

-[X] The political system will be reformed in the following way:
--[X] The Three Princes will act as the Governor of Lorath, making decisions by simple majority. You will help them picking a good successor for the third spot if they want, or stay out of it, depending on their wishes.
--[X] The Humble Assembly will be dissolved.
---[X] Hereditary land-owners will be awarded the corresponding feudal titles as vassals of Lorath. That means they gain more autonomy in their own holdings while loosing influence on Lorath at large.
---[X] The guilds are getting shafted, but they will remain an important power-block in the new Imperial council that replaces the assembly. Sell it to the lower rungs of the guilds as a way for them to bypass the guildmasters on their path to power and watch them flock to the idea.
---[X] The appointed members get completely shafted. If they are worth caring about, they will have a shot at a council position. If not, then why bother pandering to them?
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We can offer some gifts, too, if you think it would be helpful. A MirrorVision to link Lorath to the rest of the Imperium, Whispering Braziers for easy communication, and a Herald to provide legal advice and emergency firepower could all be transferred immediately.

We could also build a Steam Cannon Battery for coastal defense, though that would have to be started next month.I

[X] Azel
 
Goldfish said:
We can offer some gifts, too, if you think it would be helpful. A MirrorVision to link Lorath to the rest of the Imperium, Whispering Braziers for easy communication, and a Herald to provide legal advice and emergency firepower could all be transferred immediately.

We could also build a Steam Cannon Battery for coastal defense, though that would have to be started next month.I

[X] Azel
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Isn't anything except the cannon emplacement part of the default package?

A brazier and a Herald for every Duke-level vassal and a MirrorVision for every major city?
 
Crake said:
You know what would go a long way? The fact that, in terms of personality and trust, we actually favor Saenena. We can't really understand the whole "high-functioning sociopath" point of view that Qyburn has going on, even if we like his work, we are aware the only reason he isn't "one bad day away" is because we are keeping that bad day at bay.

The Kyton is a devil, so while we can understand, in the abstract, what motivates her, we don't really engage with it, and thus she is always kind of out of reach of earning higher favor with us out of proportion with her contributions.

The snake is crazy, but efficient. He also likely isn't interested in our favor.

We have a shared connection with her, we're invested in her well being. She has little to worry about.
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She's our expert on doing crazy fleshcrafting things with dragons that were forbidden and suppressed even in Valyria. Her knowledge is pretty irreplaceable and I'm honestly surprised she doesn't see herself as top dog of the Flesh Forge. Must be that low self esteem acting up.

There's also the fact that she's the only being here who actually feels like she must be responsible, whereas all our science-happy sociopaths are too busy being happy that they get to do unspeakable things to worry much about the little details ("what are consequences?") so long as the reagents keep flowing.

Though I guess the latter fact is an excellent reason for her to be unhappy that she's not in charge.
 
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065tdsa said:
She's our expert on doing crazy fleshcrafting things with dragons that were forbidden and suppressed even in Valyria. Her knowledge is pretty irreplaceable and I'm honestly surprised she doesn't see herself as top dog of the Flesh Forge. Must be that low self esteem acting up.

There's also the fact that she's the only being here who actually feels like she must be responsible, whereas all our science-happy sociopaths are too busy being happy that they get to do unspeakable things to worry much about the little details ("what are consequences?") so long as the reagents keep flowing.

Though I guess the latter fact is an excellent reason for her to be unhappy that she's not in charge.
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For one thing, I don't think it is wise to just enshrine a new cabal of irresponsible, morally bankrupt mad scientists on top of the facility that we most certainly own. It's a crown possession. They are merely renting space with their Big Brain energy.
 
Azel said:
Isn't anything except the cannon emplacement part of the default package?

A brazier and a Herald for every Duke-level vassal and a MirrorVision for every major city?
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It's something we have been distributing to all of our major cities, but I wasn't sure if it was an explicitly understood part of joining the Imperium.
 
Guys, it's neat that you all kinda dogpile on Saenena being right for some reason, but the theme of this series is that everyone in Gogossos has their own baggage and issues. Hers happens to be to see everything as a courtly intrigue battlefield and trying to gain social status over others, while being a mix of arrogant and racist against everyone around her.

It's a horrible idea to put someone in charge of people they are mentally calling "it" and "creature".
 
Azel said:
Guys, it's neat that you all kinda dogpile on Saenena being right for some reason, but the theme of this series is that everyone in Gogossos has their own baggage and issues. Hers happens to be to see everything as a courtly intrigue battlefield and trying to gain social status over others, while being a mix of arrogant and racist against everyone around her.

It's a horrible idea to put someone in charge of people they are mentally calling "it" and "creature".
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I thought the takeaway was supposed to be how Saenena was taking the freeholds baggage to her new workplace.

She even calls Viserys The Archon.
 
Azel said:
Guys, it's neat that you all kinda dogpile on Saenena being right for some reason, but the theme of this series is that everyone in Gogossos has their own baggage and issues. Hers happens to be to see everything as a courtly intrigue battlefield and trying to gain social status over others, while being a mix of arrogant and racist against everyone around her.

It's a horrible idea to put someone in charge of people they are mentally calling "it" and "creature".
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I was especially entertained by her insistence on thinking of Qyburn as a barbarian. That's hilarious in a setting with actual Barbarian PCs. :lol:

It's good that Vee is actually the one in charge of the Forges, and that she can Teleport between them and Sorcerer's Deep freely as she needs or desires.
 
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zxzx24 said:
I thought the takeaway was supposed to be how Saenena was taking the freeholds baggage to her new workplace.

She even calls Viserys The Archon.
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To quote:
Azel said:
Hers happens to be to see everything as a courtly intrigue battlefield and trying to gain social status over others, while being a mix of arrogant and racist against everyone around her.
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These amount to the same thing. ;)
 
Vee does seem like the closest to having actual standing authority over this little den of mad science.

Though I argue that's only by virtue of being able to cut right through all the bullshit and say "this is how things actually are, whatever lens you're looking through is entirely irrelevant".

"But--"

"Because I said so."

"That's--"

"Not fair? I think it's pretty fair. What do you think? Do you think it's fair?"

"...yes."

"That's what I thought."
 
@Azel, changes to the list done.
egoo said:
Total numbers:
467 Black Knights, (490 IM each) -- 228,830 IM.
520 Black Knights (mobility upgrade), (560 IM each) -- 291,200 IM.
104 Black Champions, (5,360 IM each) -- 567,840 IM.
955 Spitter Swarms, (60 IM each) -- 57,300 IM.
221 Plant-Imbued Shadow Creature Cats, (1,200 IM each) -- 265,200 IM.
224 Verdant Wolves, (1,200 IM each) -- 268,800 IM.
76 Advanced Druid Lotus Leshy, (2,400 IM each) -- 182, 400 IM.
38 Druid Creature Treants, (4,800 IM each) -- 144,400 IM.
630 Verdant Kingfishers, (300 IM each) -- 189,000 IM.
63 Verdant Ravens [Advanced Plant-Imbued Giant Raven (w/+4 Racial HD)] CR 6, 6 HD, (1,200 IM each) -- 75,600 IM
134 Advanced Sorcerer Creature Snapdragon Leshy, (4,800 IM each) -- 643,200 IM.
10 Necro-Crakens, (4,880 IM each) -- 48,800 IM.
50 Spitter Swarms (Aquatic) - (60 IM each) -- 3,000 IM.
75 Advanced Druid Creature Seaweed Leshy, CR 6, 4 HD (1,200 IM each) -- 90,000 IM.
10 Advanced Plant-Imbued Sea Drake, CR 10, 7 HD (4,800 IM each) -- 24,000 IM.
20 Amphibious Quickling Vinespawn (CR 10, 12 HD) - 4,800 IM each (96,000 IM total).
10 Kelp Golems (Reskinned Aquatic Pumpkin Golem), CR 8, 8 HD (2,400 IM each) -- 48,000 IM.
10 Very Old Myrkdreki Dragons, CR 15 (28,800 IM each) -- 288,000 IM.
20 Wyrmling Myrkdreki Dragons, CR 3 (450 IM each) - 9,000 IM.
274 Tuogou, CR 4 (600 IM each) -- 164,400 IM.
Total Price: 3,614,630 IM.
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Added Wyrmlings to Scholarum branches, other magical institutions under our control, and Inquisition support.
Olds are assigned as recommended.
Tougous made and thrown into the fray.

Added 11 Black Champs, so that we have 1 in each alchemical facility. Them guarding ~2.375 facilities per Champion was... weird, if funny :V

Added tab "Inquisition support", some cats, dragons, and general utility creatures added in.

Added "Braavos canals security" in, as an obviously much necessary force, but not yet a dedicated coast-guard company.
5 Necro-Crakens in lead-boxes as an "Open in Case of Illithids"-precaution is simultaneously funny and efficient. :V
 
Goldfish said:
I was especially entertained by her insistence on thinking of Qyburn as a barbarian. That's hilarious in a setting with actual Barbarian PCs. :lol:

It's good that Vee is actually the one in charge of the Forges, and that she can Teleport between them and Sorcerer's Deep freely as she needs or desires.
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Yeah, but Vee being Vee, that leadership is a bit hands off unless there is trouble, and this dynamic is relatively new and didn't raise any flags yet.


I just always thought it odd that four supervillains were dumped into the perfect lair for their dastardly deeds and there was never so much as an office spat? How did they all learn to get along with each other without a hitch? Was there never a disagreement over the ownership of an unlabeled liver in the fridge? Did nobody ever "borrow" someone's scalpels?

Preposterous!
 
But can't you just have a new set of Valyrian steel scalpels custom ordered by your office toadie? :???:

Oh, I see, it's the principle of the thing.
 
@Azel, I greatly enjoyed the omake.

I can't help it, but Saenena's outlook very much reminds me of the stuff fiction names "High School Politics".
Baggage, indeed :V

I'm now in much of a desire to see the (X2)Snek's perspective, to be honest.
The twinned hisses of "Heresy!" kinda naturally lead me to the nearly-identical (and highly hilarious) comparison with WH40k Inquisition's reaction.
 
@egoo, are you calling them Crakens as a dig at me?

That's not even clever! More importantly. It doesn't work! They're squid robots!

If it's a squid-bot, it doesn't need to be purged from this plane of existence.
 
Azel said:
Yeah, but Vee being Vee, that leadership is a bit hands off unless there is trouble, and this dynamic is relatively new and didn't raise any flags yet.

I just always thought it odd that four supervillains were dumped into the perfect lair for their dastardly deeds and there was never so much as an office spat? How did they all learn to get along with each other without a hitch? Was there never a disagreement over the ownership of an unlabeled liver in the fridge? Did nobody ever "borrow" someone's scalpels?

Preposterous!
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"Who has been using my new flensing knives without permission?"

"Why is there embalming fluid in the coffee maker?"

"I clearly labeled that sandwich!"

"This is a communal break room, not overflow space to store your spare brain jars."

"No, we cannot have a Fleshforged mascot creature, no matter how cute it is!"
 
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