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

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[X] Receive a report (Interlude series)
-[X] City of Brass Intelligence

We haven't seen Maelor for a while.
 
[X] Receive a report (Interlude series)
-[X] Yi Ti Expedition

Should be interesting, especially with the quakes following the fall of the Golden Company and Tiamat. I remember the Kami knew her, so there should be worthwhile reactions.
 
[X] Receive a report (Interlude series)
-[X] Yi Ti Expedition

yeah i want to see the Kami reaction to the old gods either in a chapter or an omake
 
[X] Receive a report (Interlude series)
-[X] Plane of Earth Investigation
 
Paper and Promises ​

Twentieth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

Alinor looks up from her desk with a familiar smile as she waves you into a seat, as she always does. It is only after sitting down that you notice the sheets in front of her are not parchment but Yi Tish rice paper. "Ah, a new tool by which to impose your iron will upon the Empire," you proclaim grandly.

She gives you a long suffering look just shy of rolling her eyes at you. "I hope no one was actually listening to that or it might just start a rumor more frustrating than the one where I'm supposedly sleeping with you."

"Varys says there isn't any mind near enough to listen in," you counter after a moment of communing with your familiar. "Did the expedition secure the secret of its making, as they had hoped?"

"Yes, just last week. Diana said the more mercantile interests at court are looking upon our bookkeeping with some favor, by which I suppose she means they don't consider us unredeemable barbarians," she replies dryly. Braavosi pride may not be as prickly and particular as the Volantene, but it is no less sharp in the end. "It's not actually made of rice, you know, but from the bark of a sort of mullbery tree. The leshies have secured seeds."

"Excellent," you nod, smiling at the pleasant thought of greater administrative efficiency. Even the smallest improvement counts if it is replicated a hundred-thousand times over and this is not a small thing. Still, not all of Alinor's work is quite so mundane. There are not many you would trust with the task of smoothly integrating baatezu into the mechanisms of the realm. "How have the newly called been adjusting to their duties and freedoms?"

"One little flying one, a gaav, were disruptive of a religious ceremony three days ago. The priest was preaching against the ever present dangers of sin and the horrors of Hell. The devil took it upon himself to point out that Hell was considerably less dull then the man's notion of virtue. Since this was in a village in Andalos, where they barely know what a low mage is, the result was predictably violent. The Legion commander who finally restored order was not best pleased, but he was able to do it without killing anyone at least."

You sigh, though you cannot say you are surprised. Loyal does not mean entirely sensible, or for that matter respectful of mortals. It is hardly illegal to heckle in public, after all. Hopefully, the erinyes in whose service the host devil had been placed in would curb its sharp tongue in the future.

"Otherwise they have all been doing good work, even the one assigned to Mantarys, though he does tend to get into spirited philosophical debates apparently." Alinor masks a giggle at the notion of a devil serving angels under a worldly kingship.

10x Gaav / Lesser Host Devils
All will serve as teleporting messengers and couriers under the erinyes, who will ensure their good behavior.

9x Ink Devils
3x SD Library (oversight by Erinyes)
2x Mantarys Scholarum (oversight by Archons)
2x non-critical clergy jobs in Volantis (oversight according to Zherys suggestions)
1x accounting duties under Salladhor Saan
1x accounting duties under Khal Rhango

1x Falxugon / Harvester Devil
Have him work as patsy for intrigue work

3x Legion Devil
Assignment with the previously recruited Legion Devils as combat reserve for the Inquisition

4x Salikotal / Vengeance Devil
Assignment as killers for the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers

1x Gelugon / Ice Devil
Leading a sabotage and asymmetric warfare force in the PoF (details TBD)

2x Steel Devil, 3x Lead Devil, 6x Salikotal
Part of the gelugons' force

"Could you look over the commission for this month from the Opaline Vault and Armun Kelisk?" she asks after a moment. "The Astral Currents representative asked for a confirmation of the order before he agreed to the deal on the more expensive items. I think the poor man might be nervous over spending so much all at once. He has just been promoted, his predecessor moved to the diplomatic corps."

Enchanted Items
  1. 100 Healing Belts: Cost: 150 IM each (Total: 15,000 IM)
  2. 50 Handy Haversack: Cost: 400 IM each (Total: 20,000 IM)
  3. 50 Earrings of Arcane Acuity: Cost 680 IM each (Total: 34,000 IM)
  4. 100 Rings of Protection from Evil: Cost: 800 IM each (Total: 80,000 IM)
  5. 20 Restorative Ointment: Cost: 800 IM each (Total: 16,000 IM)
  6. 30 Amulets of Tongues (1/Day): Cost: 1,080 IM each (Total: 32,400 IM)
  7. 10 Amulets of Tongues (3/Day): Cost: 3,240 IM each (Total: 32,400 IM)
  8. 2 Titan's Tool: Cost: 40,000 per set (Total: 80,000 IM)
  9. 10 Lord's Banner of Swiftness: Cost: 2,000 IM (Total: 20,000 IM)
  10. 8 Lord's Banner of Victory: Cost: 15,000 IM (Total: 120,000 IM)
Single-Use Charms:
  1. 40 Teleport Charms: Cost: 450 IM each (Total: 18,000 IM)
  2. 40 Plane Shift Charms: Cost: 450 IM each (Total: 18,000 IM)
  3. 50 Sending Stones: Cost: 280 IM each (Total: 14,000 IM)
Total: 499,800 IM

Metamagic Rod Commission:
Lesser Rods:
  1. 10 Lesser Merciful Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 300 IM each (Total: 3,000 IM)
  2. 10 Lesser Invisible Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 300 IM each (Total: 3,000 IM)
  3. 3 Lesser Delayed Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 600 IM each (Total: 1,800 IM)
  4. 3 Lesser Encouraging Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 600 IM each (Total: 1,800 IM)
  5. 3 Lesser Selective Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 600 IM each (Total: 1,800 IM)
  6. 3 Lesser Threnodic Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 1,800 IM each (Total: 5,400 IM)
  7. 3 Lesser Chain Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 1,800 IM each (Total: 3,600 IM)
  8. 3 Lesser Familiar Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 2,800 IM each (Total: 8,400 IM)
  9. 3 Lesser Maximize Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 2,800 IM each (Total: 8,400 IM)
  10. 3 Lesser Quicken Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 7,000 IM each (Total: 21,000 IM)
Total: 58,200 IM
Standard Rods:
  1. 2 Invisible Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 1,100 IM each (Total: 2,200 IM)
  2. 2 Merciful Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 1,100 IM each (Total: 2,200 IM)
  3. 1 Delayed Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 2,200 IM
  4. 1 Encouraging Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 2,200 IM
  5. 1 Threnodic Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 6,400 IM
  6. 1 Maximize Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 10,800 IM
Total: 26,000 IM
Greater Rods:
  1. 1 Greater Merciful Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 2,450 IM
  2. 1 Greater Transdimensional Spell Metamagic Rod: Cost: 4,900 IM
Total: 7,350 IM
Rod Total: 91,550 IM

Grand Total: 591,350 IM

You look over the list carefully before proclaiming it all in order, not that you can blame a newly promoted company man for requesting verification for a sum that outweighs the entire pre-conquest treasury of Tyrosh. "I will see you tonight at Garin's home?"

"I'm not certain. I have more work than I anticipated..." she begins.

"One early night will not hurt," you interrupt firmly. "It''s hardly every day a man celebrates being unexpectedly freed of an unspecified divine oath."

"Ah, so if it were more of a predictable freeing from a god's oath, that would be ordinary?" she jests with a shake of the head. "I'll be there. Between you and Selyse, I would no doubt never hear the end of it otherwise."

What do you do next?

[] Receive a report (Interlude series)
-[] City of Brass Intelligence
-[] Plane of Earth Investigation
-[] Yi Ti Expedition
-[] Write in

[] Head out to deal with the Houses of the Reach

[] Perform a minor action
-[] Write in

[] Write in

OOC: Viserys is past doing his own shopping, but this gave me a chance to have a update with Alinor for the first time in quite a while.
Made some additional edits to the chapter, DP.
 
Inserted tally. It's borked again.
Adhoc vote count started by egoo on Mar 13, 2020 at 3:23 PM, finished with 16 posts and 9 votes.
  • [X] Receive a report (Interlude series)
    -[X] Yi Ti Expedition
    [X] Receive a report (Interlude series)
    -[X] City of Brass Intelligence
    [X] Receive a report (Interlude series)
    -[X] Plane of Earth Investigation
    [X] Receive a report (Interlude series)
    -[X] Yi Ti Expedition
    [X] Receive a report (Interlude series)
    -[X] Plane of Earth Investigation
Click to expand...
 
You know, why don't we spend some time on camera on that party at Garin's house? I mean, we didn't have any purely social action recently, right?
 
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Fourteen Fires, Fourteen Gods
  • Informational
    • Fourteen Fires, Fourteen Gods​

    Fourteen were the gods of lost Valyria, fourteen the fire mounts upon which they built their realm, not without cause. It was said of old that the gods kept their thrones in the heart of the mountains, where the flames of the earth burned strongest. These then were the holiest shrines, built not by mortal hands but by divine will, or at least so the tales told.

    For most of the dragonlords the gods were a distant thing felt only through the hand of their priests who generally played the games of politics and power just as readily as any other sorcerer. It is little wonder then that several currents of thought sprang out over the centuries which claimed either that 'the gods' were nothing more than an antiquated veil for some novel means of reaching for arcane power. The priests themselves cared little for such talk so long as it was kept to whispers shared in one's cups, though on the singular instance when such arguments were used in an attempt to strip wealth and lore from the cult of Balerion the consequences were swift and brutal, putting an end to all mention of 'divine impotence' for half-a-millennia and more.

    The gods of Valyria never proselytized, seemingly caring little for the adoration of multitudes and preferring instead the loyalty of secretive cabals steeped in hidden lore, a legacy of elder times when the sons and daughters of the Great Wyrms hid from their ancestors' eyes as they plotted their destruction.

    None held to this principle more so than Syrax called the Lady of Magic and the Whisperer of Prophecy. Where the others offered their gifts to priests who served openly in at least some respect, such as the Warpriests of Balerion or the Navigators beholden to the Mistress of the Winding path, the priests of Syrax worked in secret, some say to help fulfill their patron's prophecies, with one exception—the threefold oracle of Lyceos—where any who would dare, and possessed a heavy enough coin pouch, could learn secrets of the past, present, and future far beyond any common magic.

    At the other end of the scale one finds Meraxes, she who watches over soldiers, for soldiers are many and those lesser in rank no less vital to the workings of the army than the great generals, perhaps even greater for an army without a general can raise one of their own to the task, but a general without an army is a soon-to-be corpse. While the framework of secret worship still technically held true, it was threadbare at best with ascension into a particular circle more a matter of building and enforcing the bonds of fellowship.

    The Gods and Their Servants

    Balerion
    The Crownless King, The First Rider, Battle Born

    Alignment: Lawful Evil

    Domains: War, Law, Domination

    Known Servitors: Smoke Creature Half Dragons thought to be the breath of the god given form and will, though some heretical texts claimed they were his own children reserved for eternity by their father's side.

    The Church: Worship of Balerion took three broad forms. War priests venerated him as the battle born, said to have been conceived and then reborn upon the field of war as did those who wished to be reborn in battle after some great great tragedy. Many did not survive this trial in blood and flame and were instead immortalized though their death even if only by a narrow scrawl upon a temple wall. Other dragon riders worshiped Balerion in his aspect as the First rider who 'brindled the savage dragons'. Last though certainly not least the lawkeepers and inquisitors worshiped him as the crownless king who refused the acclamation for those who would name him king and instead appointed the Assembly of the Forty.

    Tenets of the Faith: One must keep one's promises to the letter, always know the law of the land and be decisive in seeking redress for any insult offered.

    Caraxes
    Death's Claw, The Still Lord, Keeper of Souls

    Alignment: Neutral Evil

    Domains: Death, Pact, Protection

    Known Servitors: Asphyx

    The Church: The priests of Caraxes were scholars of death, distant at times seemingly callous to the affairs of the living but never so much that they did not offer counsel to high and low alike. According to Lady Calderis they also offered more if one were willing to stake one's soul upon the pledge, knowledge, secrecy to veil one from foes. It is more than you can say to guess how many heretics from his brothers and sisters the dragon god received over the years.

    Tenants of the Faith: Acquire knowledge and with knowledge you shall be tested, guard diligently the urns of the fallen against any who would define them.

    Meraxes
    The Watcher in the Night, the Soldier's Friend, the Duty-Bound

    Alignment: Lawful Neutral

    Domains: Dragons, Nobility, War

    Known Supernatural Servitors: Revenants of soldiers who have died in the service of some seemingly impossible duty (They gain the Law-Bound template)

    The Church: The servants of Meraxes, as She is remembered in Volantis, were for centuries keepers of memory and honor whose task it was to keep alive the honor of the citizen soldier. Alas the use of Unsullied and sellswords had rendered them less and less relevant with each passing year as the priests struggled to retain some scrap of influence by aggrandizing magisters of a more martial bent, even those who only possessed the desire for glory in battle but not the skill to claim it. Yet through it all the altar was never dark, the swords still stood upon the Walk of Heroes, even those wrought of priceless spellsteel. No family would dare disgrace itself by drawing a blade sheathed in the earth beside a great general's ashes. Visions began to fly through the dreams of the keepers of the temple, whispers in the deepest night, for what is death, even a god's death to duty's call?

    Tenets of the Faith: The virtues Meraxes calls for are those for a soldier to live by, ever to have a weapon but never to draw it thoughtlessly or in haste, to keep the orders of one's superiors lest they work against the greater interests of the army and one's comrades, never to fight a war of fratricide.

    Shrykos
    The Cupbearer, the Smiling One, The Youthful Power

    Alignment: Lawfully Neutral

    Domains: Charm, Wealth, Luck

    Known Servitors: Shae, said to be the once mortal devotees of the God ascended though his favor these silver-tongued shades once served as neutral envoys and protectors among the Lords Freeholder. Charming and even tempered these masked spirits nonetheless held a particular loathing for the Shadow in the East and all its works

    Church: The cult of Shrykos was both favored by the young seeking blessings of charm and wit and favored them in turn. It held to the value of all that was beautiful and the potential for beauty and art in everything from a fine sculpture to a cunning turn of phrase. Though the faith itself did not survive the Century of Blood, one can hear echoes of the Youthful Power in the Lysene aristocracy's disdain for harming children

    Tenets of the Faith: Though on a too-swift reading one might mistake the values of Shrykos for mercy or kindness and indeed neither of those conflict with his service if the Smiling One his faithful held more to a sort of abstract hedonism, and appreciation for the finer things in life within the bounds and rules of society

    Vhagar
    Far-Traveler, Sky Dancer, The Merchant's Friend

    Alignment: True Neutral

    Domains: Sky, Travel, Trade

    Known Servitors: Mercane, Etiainen

    Church: Merchants explorers and innovators made up most of Vhagar's priesthood, though any who started upon a long journey prayed to her for good fortune. Her dominion over the sky and that which passed though it also made Vhagar the favored patron of sky ship crews. Among the highest of the Lords Freeholder the Sky Dancer was often viewed with some disfavor for her free spirit and changeable whims, though though few of those who flew upon the winds of dragons dared openly disdain One with power over the wind

    Tenets of the Faith: Vhagar encouraged her faithful to embrace new ideas and seek out new opportunities to 'rise above familiar paths upon the breath of wonder'. Exploration trade and even colonial expeditions were seen as something of a pilgrimage to the faithful of Far Traveler and thus any who would cast needless obstacles in the paths of such endeavors were seen with disfavor. It was not uncommon to hear outright smugglers swear to her according to Malarys.

    Tyraxes
    The Lord of Iron, The Dragon Smith, The Scarred One

    Alignment: Lawfully Evil

    Domains: Toil, Rune, Greed

    Known Servitors: Axiomites, Metal-clad Azer

    Church: Favored most highly among those who forged spellsteel and other works of metal and blood Tyraxes was seen as one who drove his faithful to perfection in their work and themselves. Those most ardent in their devotion to him even replaced appendages of flesh with those of metal and iron, though the process was seen as barbaric in Valyria's later ages growing ever more uncommon in the latter centuries of the Freehold, with most artificers preferring less extreme devotion. The flesh-smiths, once rivals of the cult held the abandoning of the practice in thinnly veiled contempt. In Urax's words words 'better to walk a crooked path than be rooted in place by fear'

    Tenets of the Faith: Toil was first among the virtues of the Lord of Iron, but 'to each according to his nature'. For the slave the whip and for the master binder the athame and the forge, the peril of damnation.

    OOC: Third god up.
     
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