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

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Part MMMCDXXIII: By Veiled Pacts
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    • By Veiled Pacts ​

    Twenty Fourth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    A thousand questions crowd your thoughts, from those too arcane for the Lord of Ashford to reply to, to others you cannot directly ask lest to make your animosity to the Court of Stars too obvious, so instead you settle upon a more neutral query. "How many other lords chose to make this pact, my lord?" How many other tens or hundreds of thousands of fates are being subtly woven into a tapestry pleasing to the Court of Stars and its Queen?

    "I know of five Houses that have forged agreements similar to the one I did," he replies after a moment, counting them off one by one in the same practiced tone he would for any other sort of alliance: "House Ball of Highcrest, they have an alliance with some sort of miner and mason fey of the Indigo, pech they are called I think, though they have not yet unearthed any of the promised riches. Then there is my uncle, Lord Armond Costayne of Three Towers, Garth the Green lifted a mighty curse from his lands so he was happy enough to take the aid of the Court of Stars in making sure nothing of the sort happened again. He bargained for lore to train wizards under his own banners rather than a pledge to call a full hunt of fey knights should things prove dire as I did."

    The young lord pauses, obviously seeing his uncle's choice to value his own growing power over the immediate protection of his lands with ill favor, but not wishing to speak ill of his kin. For your part you are hopeful that the Lord of Three Towers should prove amenable to employing Scholarum sorcerers over those trained by the Court of Stars.

    "Lord Rolph Casell also agreed to having his lands warded and even bargained for a healing spring guarded by water nymphs. After what happened to Lorent one can hardly blame the man, though I do wish he would guard it less jealously. There are folk aplenty that could use healing from one ailment or another. How exactly do your Houses of Healing work, Your Grace? I tried asking Lord Tarly, but he cared more about healing in terms of keeping an army fighting fit than seeing to his subjects' good health."

    Dany and Rina answer his questions by turn, both of them having spent more time in the Houses of Healing than you, taking care to also mention the Heart Trees with healing powers great and small. You watch Lord Ashford carefully but the man does not seem to have any particular objection to blood magic, simply noting that the Greendream reminds him of the Green Wardens who guard the forest paths and the ways into the Feywild from interlopers.

    From there the conversation turns to the nature of the Old Gods and their relationship with both the Feywild and the realm of dreams. The irony of discussing this with a lord of the Reach and not the North aside you find that Ser Owen is quite fascinated by the account and not the least troubled to prayer and sacrifice as one would trade. So speaks a man well acquainted with the fey, though to that aspect you cannot object.

    "I know Lord Tytos Fossoway, Wenyld's father, spoke to the Green Court just a few weeks past after he had some trouble with fiends I think..." he trails off somewhat embarrassed. "I'm not sure how good the account I heard is because it was Ser Alfryd that gave it to me and I have recently had to reconsider what I think of the man's character.

    "He made himself to be the hero of the piece, did he?" Rina guesses with a smile, looking more at ease that you would guess she would be in the solar of a lord met only the day before.

    "Yes," Lord Ashford replies with a grimace. "I also heard from the fey themselves that Rikard Leygood struck a bargain with the Court of Stars, worried about those horrors in the Crownlands, the Deep Ones."

    Or meaning to use his new fey allies against the Crownlander lords themselves, you think but do not say, recalling what Lord Florent had to say on the character of the Lord of Horse Hill weeks ago.

    "Are there any others who might be considering similar arrangements to your knowledge, my lord?" Dany asks after a moment, likely thinking along the same paths as you. This tourney would be an ideal place to conduct such negotiations, while demonstrating the advantages of an alliance with the Court of Stars.

    "I only know of Lord Rowan, that is why he setd his nephew Lewin to Ashford, though no pact has been reached thus far," Lord Ashford replies at once. The fact that he takes your sister's manner in stride unlike so many others further endears the man to you, however troublesome his current entanglements maybe.

    Should you attempt to move him out of the Court of Stars' sphere now or bide your time a while longer until you know more of how deep the attachment truly runs?

    What do you do next?

    [] Explain the plans of the Court of Stars to Lord Ashford and why you oppose them

    [] Ask further questions
    -[] Write in

    [] Enjoy the rest of the night as Buttercup and approach one of the other lords next, leaving Ashford for alter
    -[] Write in

    [] Write in

    OOC: And here we are, politics mortal and fey.
     
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    • DragonParadox said:
    "I know of five Houses that have forged agreements similar to the one I did,," he replies after a moment, counting them off one by one in the same practiced tone he would for any other sort of alliance: "House Ball of Highcrest, they have an alliance with some sort of miner and mason fey of the Indigo, pech they are called I think, though they have not yet unearthed any of the promised riches. Then there is my uncle Lord Armond Costayne of Three Towers, Garth the Green lifted a mighty curse from his lands so he was happy enough to take the aid of the Court of Stars in making sure nothing of the sort happened again. He bargained for lore to train wizards under his own banners rather than a pledge to call a full Hunt of fey Knights should things prove dire as I did."
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    Well shit. Busy busy fey. I admire their hustle, though this is very inconvenient.

    @DragonParadox, is the room in general warded from eavesdropping?
     
    DragonParadox said:
    By Veiled Pacts ​

    Twenty Fourth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    A thousand questions crowd your thoughts, from those too arcane for the Lord of Ashford to reply to, to others you cannot directly ask lest you make your animosity to the Court of Stars too obvious, so instead you settle upon a more neutral query. "How many other lords chose to make this pact, my lord?" How many other tens or hundreds of thousands of fates are being subtly woven into a tapestry pleasing to the Court of Stars and its Queen?

    "I know of five Houses that have forged agreements similar to the one I did," he replies after a moment, counting them off one by one in the same practiced tone he would for any other sort of alliance. "House Ball of Highcrest, they have an alliance with some sort of miner and mason fey of the Indigo, pech they are called I think, though they have not yet unearthed any of the promised riches. Then there is my uncle, Lord Armond Costayne of Three Towers; Garth the Green lifted a mighty curse from his lands so he was happy enough to take the aid of the Court of Stars in making sure nothing of the sort happened again. He bargained for lore to train wizards under his own banners rather than a pledge to call a full Hunt of fey Knights should things prove dire, as I did."

    The young lord pauses, obviously seeing his uncle's choice to value his own growing power over the immediate protection of his lands with ill favor, but not wishing to speak ill of his kin. For your part, you are hopeful that the Lord of Three Towers should prove amenable to employing Scholarum sorcerers over those trained by the Court of Stars.

    "Lord Rolph Casell also agreed to having his lands warded and even bargained for a healing spring guarded by water nymphs. After what happened to Lorent, one can hardly blame the man, though I do wish he would guard it less jealously. There are folk aplenty that could use healing from one ailment or another. How exactly do your Houses of Healing work, Your Grace? I tried asking Lord Tarly, but he cared more about healing in terms of keeping an army fighting fit than seeing to his subjects good health."

    Dany and Rina answer his questions by turn, both of them having spent more time in the Houses of Healing than you, taking care to also mention the Heart Trees with healing powers great and small. You watch Lord Ashford carefully but the man does not seem to have any particular objection to blood magic, simply noting that the Greendream reminds him of the Green Wardens who guard the forest paths and the ways into the Feywyld from interlopers.

    From there the conversation turns to the nature of the Old Gods and their relationship with both the Feywyld and the realm of dreams. The irony of discussing this with a lord of the Reach and not the North aside, you find that Ser Owen is quite fascinated by the account and not the least troubled to see prayer and sacrifice as one would trade. So speaks a man well acquainted with the fey, though to that aspect you cannot object.

    "I know Lord Tytos Fossoway, Wenyld's father, spoke to the Green Court just a few weeks past after he had some trouble with fiends, I think..." he trails off somewhat embarrassed. "I'm not sure how good the account I heard is, because it was Ser Alfryd that gave it to me and I have recently had to reconsider what I think of the man's character."

    "He made himself to be the hero of the piece, did he?" Rina guesses with a smile, looking more at ease than you would guess she would be in the solar of a lord met only the day before.

    "Yes," Lord Ashford replies with a grimace. "I also heard from the fey themselves that Rikard Leygood struck a bargain with the Court of Stars, worried about those horrors in the Crownlands, the Deep Ones."

    Or meaning to use his new fey allies against the Crownlander lords themselves, you think but do not say, recalling what Lord Florent had to say on the character of the lord of Horse Hill weeks ago.

    "Are there any others who might be considering similar arrangements to your knowledge, my lord?" Dany asks after a moment, likely thinking along the same paths as you. This tourney would be an ideal place to conduct such negotiations, while demonstrating the advantages of an alliance with the Court of Stars.

    "I only know of Lord Rowan, that is why he send his nephew Lewin to Ashford, though no pact has ben reached thus far," Lord Ashford replies at once. The fact that he takes your sister's manner in stride, unlike so many others further endears the man to you, however troublesome his current entanglements may be.

    Should you attempt to move him out of the Court of Stars' sphere now or bide your time a while longer, until you know more of how deep the attachment truly runs?

    What do you do next?

    [] Explain the plans of the Court of Stars to Lord Ashford and why you oppose them

    [] Ask further questions
    -[] Write in

    [] Enjoy the rest of the night as Buttercup and approach one of the other lords next, leaving Ashford for alter
    -[] Write in

    [] Write in

    OOC: And here we are, politics mortal and fey. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.

    I highlighted one word, Horse, in red. Was that supposed to be Horn Hill?
     
    First thing first. We need to divine every Reacher lord if he has made this deal or plans to do so. This is way above the threshold where any personal protection might hide the event.
     
    When do we finally get to conquer Westeros and bring the whole rotten edifice crumbling to the ground so we can build something better on the ruins. . .
     
    Should we bother explaining the issue to Ashford at this point? He's thoroughly in bed with the Court of Stars now, so much so that he might not even be able to willingly renege on their pact.

    We might just want to thank him for sharing, warn him to remain vigilant of Fey offering gifts, and move on. For now, at least.

    Ashford gave us a lot of useful information, but his perspective and sources are limited. We need a clearer picture of just how far the cancer has spread through the Reach.
     
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    @DragonParadox
    1. That we know of, have any of the Reach lords bargained with the Court of Stars for straight up lore? We see an instance of them bargaining for lore to train wizards, but surely at least one just went for knowledge in general.
    2. In our recent galavanting and through Bloodraven and the inquisition, have we heard of more independent fey lords and knights yet who we can snatch from the Court of Star's influence?
    3. Is Ashford able to tell us the details of the fey in his lands?
     
    Duesal said:
    @DragonParadox
    1. That we know of, have any of the Reach lords bargained with the Court of Stars for straight up lore? We see an instance of them bargaining for lore to train wizards, but surely at least one just went for knowledge in general.
    2. In our recent galavanting and through Bloodraven and the inquisition, have we heard of more independent fey lords and knights yet who we can snatch from the Court of Star's influence?
    3. Is Ashford able to tell us the details of the fey in his lands?
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    1. So far the only ones you have heard of were the Lord of Three Towers and the Tyrells
    2. Looking for Wyldfae has not been on anyone's priority so far, you can of course ask Bloodraven about it
    3. You would have to ask IC
     
    Goldfish said:
    Should we bother explaining the issue to Ashford at this point? He's thoroughly in bed with the Court of Stars now, so much so that he might not even be able to willingly renege on their pact.

    We might just want to thank him for sharing, warm him to remain vigilant of Fey offering gifts, and move on. For now, at least.

    Ashford have us a lot of useful information, but his perspective and sources are limited. We need a clearer picture of just how far the cancer has spread through the Reach.
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    Yes, we should explain. Even if he made a big mistake he's a loyalist, and he needs to know just how much he fucked up. At a bare minimum warning him will make him wary of further pacts with the fey, and not warning him will probably be something we regret, because if it isn't explained to him why getting into bed more with the Court of Stars isn't great why wouldn't he do it more? As far as he knows everything has worked out splendidly for him and his people, he doesn't know the master scheme going on.
    DragonParadox said:
    1. So far the only ones you have heard of were the Lord of Three Towers and the Tyrells
    2. Looking for Wyldfae has not been on anyone's priority so far, you can of course ask Bloodraven about it
    3. You would have to ask IC
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    My interest in the wildfae is that they're potential assets we can put to work. Sometimes the best way to fight a fey is with a fey.
     
    [X] Plan Containment Efforts
    -[X] Thank Lord Ashford for his time. You will play later at the feast as planned.
    -[X] Send a maximum priority message to the House of Mirrors. They are to divine every landholder in the Reach:
    --[X] Has this person made this pact with the Fey?
    --[X] Does this person plan to do so?
    --[X] Are there close family members who would do so?
    --[X] Will this person be offered such a deal by the Fey?
    --[X] Has this person rejected the deal?
    -[X] Inform the following list of people of your findings. You need them or representatives of them for a war council at dawn to discuss measures to combat the CoS influence on the Reach.
    --[X] Lya - The Archmage. Enough said.
    --[X] Vee - Long history of working in the Fungus Forge and knowledgeable about nature. Should come in handy.
    --[X] Softstrider, Glyra, Moonsong, Orphne Lord, Rhealla (Ship) - They are Fey and they are all loyal, so they should help a lot to get the perspective of our enemies.
    --[X] Bloodraven - Representative of the Old Gods and I'd wager he is equally happy about the news as Viserys. Which is, not even the slightest bit.
    --[X] Melisandre - Representative of Burny and a far traveled mage with tons of knowledge. Especially her shadow magic experience might prove helpful.
    --[X] Yss - Because we might need some high-powered divinations and if this whole endeavour turns bloody, we will probably lean on him to unmake quite a few Fey.
    --[X] Zathir - Same reason as the other gods.
    --[X] Hermetia, Shara Rogare - Have interacted with the Fey in Lys for a good while by now, so they can add some helpful perspective.
    --[X] Zherys - Has done a lot of research about the Fey of the Rhoyne and Ymery, so he is bound to have something useful to add.
    --[X] Alyssa Redsail, Ferrengo Antharyo, Oberyn Sandviper - Previous experience with the Fey.
    --[X] The meeting will take place in the heavily warded Hall of Horrors with the attendants further strengthening the warding with their own spellwork.
    -[X] Speak discretely with Lord Ashfords mother to get her perspective on the situation.
     
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