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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 Apr 1, 2020 at 9:59 AM, finished with 89 posts and 13 votes.
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Part MMMCDXXVIII: Of Fey Fortunes
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    • Of Fey Fortunes ​

    Twenty Fifth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Ser Dregaire is, as you had expected, unsurprised by the revelation of your identity, though he is both surprised and intrigued to be carried to the distant lands of Draconys, the hot breath of Valyria's furnace upon the wind. Eyes fixed upon the crimson glow in the distance the fey knight asks with something that might be awe or pity in his voice: "Mortal men choose to live here with so much of the world open to them? Do they not know what lies beyond?"

    "They know. There have been those who dwelt in even more perilous places," you assure him, thinking of the Old Blood in their caverns. "By this courage and diligence, Ser, these lands can be made a credit to the realm, and its people stand all the perils that linger just out of sight."

    So it is that as the sun is birthed red as blood from the smoke and cinder of Valyria's tomb that your newest bannerman swears his oaths upon the land that shall be his to keep and to guard. A moment later he mounts his new steed, part horse, part eagle, part horned guardian, its coat the green of cypress trees and begins to survey the nearby crags for the best place to set down a keep. Not quite the kind of knighthood the Court of Stars is anticipating, but certainly one nearer to your heart.

    It seems to you that somewhere far to the west you can hear the rage of the Lord of the Crimson Court, quickly lost to the shifting wind.

    ***​

    By the time you return to Ashford, meeting the others in the common room of the same tavern you had first met Ser Dregaire, the feast is well done. Ser Richard has a pouch of heavy gold dragons added into one of his arcane pockets, courtesy of an effusive Ser Owen, and Rina looks... not happier precisely, but more at ease than you have ever seen her. She is clearly still worried about what the fey pact means for Lord Ashford, what else he might swear away, either in ignorance or from a perceived lack of alternatives, but there seems to be less distance between her and the rest of the patrons as she eats her breakfast of goat's milk and flat cakes with local honey, chatting with Dany as she does so.

    "Do you know Lord Ashford asked Rina to marry her?" Dany asks with a sly smile, making Rina throw her a faintly exasperated look.

    "It was a jest, he was just being dramatic," she assures you.

    "He played it off as a joke when he saw the look on your face," your sister counters. "In any case, you shouldn't accept the first marriage proposal you hear."

    "That was not the first proposal I received," Rina says, a bit of her cheer fading to melancholy.

    "Oh..." Dany sighs, recalling how Rina had gotten into the Silent Sisters. "I'm sorry."

    "Don't be, it was fun," your friend replies. "Either way I'm not that girl anymore, I've more to live and fight for than she ever did."

    You feel a smile creep unbidden upon your face, for all the worries this trip has brought to the fore you are glad to have made it for much more than the knowledge it earned you.

    ***​

    "Just how serious was Lord Ashford?" you ask Dany later as you begin to shuffle through the reports from the House of Mirrors, written on paper not parchment you are glad to see.

    "About two tenths serious. He would have asked her who she is if she had said yes for one thing," Dany giggles. "I don't think she would have or really could have said yes. Rina has seen and knows too much to slip back into the mold she was raised into, for all she may recall that once-yearning fondly now. She is becoming..." your sister trails off with uncharacteristic hesitation. "Fey I think, winter fey such as there have not been in ages of the world."

    "That is a good thing surely," you answer, a touch confused at her tone. "Winter should not be the death of all things, but one more part of the turning of years."

    "Oh it is, and I certainly don't mind the company fey, not even Glyra when she's being annoying ," her smile is fleeting. "It's just the idea of someone becoming fey that sits ill with me. Is she just going to wake up one day and find herself bound to the same strictures as the Orphne Lord or Moonsong? Will she just think that is normal and good because some fate dictated a transmutation of her very soul?"

    You consider her words for a long moment before replying: "You could say the same about us too you know, we are not wholly as we were, born mortals under the sun, not in what we have seen nor in what we have chosen to become. Rina's magic as much as ours is an expression of her will."

    Dany curses sharply in Abyssal. "I was doing the same thing that frustrates me the most when other people do it to me."

    "No, you were being worried for a friend, and now you see that the worry is not needed," you assure her.

    The report does not make as grim a reading as you have feared. In addition to the Houses Lord Ashford named, House Ball, House Blackbar and House Meadows had been approached by the Court of Stars' agents, all refusing the pact with various degrees of vehemence. In fact, you suspect that might be the cause of young Lord Meadows' hostility to magic. By contrast, Lord Orton Merryweather and Lord Martyn Mullendore are currently in talks with agents of the Court of Stars.

    Lord Lord Humfrey Hewett of Oakshield makes something of a particular case since he was offered the deal with the court of Stars by Garth the Green himself in the company of the new Lord of Greyshield, but both of them served as poor envoys of the Court of Stars, privately counseling the lord not to take the bargain unless Deep Ones raids grew impossible to resist. The only other Houses you have found to have embraced the bargain of the Court of Stars are House Peake, the minor House Ruxton and perhaps unsurprisingly House Osgrey of Coldmoat, whose lord is said to be attempting to court a nymph.

    Now to see what those you have gathered for the task think of the dongs of the Court of Stars.

    How do you introduce the council of strategy, what questions do you ask?

    [] Write in

    OOC: Hopefully this isn't too scattered, I wanted to give some space to how Rina is doing and Dany's worries but also move things along.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • DragonParadox said:
    Of Fey Fortunes ​

    Twenty Fifth Day of the Twelfth Month 293 AC

    Ser Dregaire is, as you had expected, unsurprised by the revelation of your identity, though he is both surprised and intrigued to be carried to the distant lands of Draconys, the hot breath of Valyrian's furnace upon the wind. Eyes fixed upon the crimson glow in the distance, the fey knight asks with something that might be awe or pity in his voice, "Mortal men choose to live here with so much of the world open to them? Do they not know what lies beyond?"

    "They know. There have been those who dwelt in even more perilous places," you assure him, thinking of the Old Blood in their caverns. "By their courage and diligence, Ser, these lands can be made a credit to the realm, and its people stand against all the perils that linger just out of sight."

    So it is that as the sun is birthed red as blood from the smoke and cinder of Valyria's tomb that your newest bannerman swears his oaths upon the land that shall be his to keep and to guard. A moment later he mounts his new steed, part horse, part eagle, part horned guardian, his coat the green of cypress trees, and begins to survey the nearby crags for the best place to set down a keep. Not quite the kind of knighthood the Court of Stars is anticipating, but certainly one nearer to your heart.

    It seems to you that somewhere far to the west you can hear the rage of the Lord of the Crimson Court, quickly lost to the shifting wind.

    ***​

    By the time you return to Ashford, meeting the others in the common room of the same tavern you had first met Ser Dregaire, the feast is well done. Ser Richard has a pouch of heavy marks added into one of his arcane pockets courtesy of an effusive Ser Owen and Rina looks... not happier precisely, but more at ease than you have ever seen her. She is clearly still worried about what the fey pact means for Lord Ashford, what else he might swear away, either in ignorance or from a perceived lack of alternatives, but there seems to be less distance between her and the rest of the patrons as she eats her breakfast of goat's milk, flat cakes, and the local honey, chatting with Dany as she does so.

    "Do you know Lord Ashford asked Rina to marry him?" Dany asks with a sly smile, making Rina throw her a faintly exasperated look.

    "It was a jest, he was being just dramatic," she assures you.

    "He played it off as a joke when he saw the look on your face," your sister counters. "In any case you shouldn't accept the first marriage proposal you hear."

    "That was not the first proposal I received," Rina says, a bit of her cheer fading to melancholy.

    "Oh..." Dany sighs, recalling how Rina had gotten into the Silent Sisters. "I'm sorry."

    "Don't be, it was fun," your friend replies. "Either way, I'm not that girl anymore. I've more to live and fight for that she ever did."

    You feel a smile creep unbidden upon your face, for all the worries this trip has brought to the fore, you are glad to have made it for much more than the knowledge it earned you.

    ***​

    "Just how serious was Lord Ashford?" you ask Dany later as you begin to shuffle through the reports from the House of Mirrors. They are written on paper rather than parchment, you are glad to see.

    "About two tenths serious. He would have asked her who she is if she had said yes, for one thing," Dany giggles. "I don't think she would have or really could have said yes. Rina has seen too much and knows too much to slip back into the mold she was raised into, for all she may now recall that once-yearning fondly. She is becoming..." your sister trails off with uncharacteristic hesitation. "Fey, I think, winter fey such as there have not been in ages of the world."

    "That is a good thing surely," you answer, a touch confused at her tone. "Winter should not be the death of all things but one more part of the turning of years."

    "Oh it is, and I certainly don't mind the company of fey, not even Glyra when she's being annoying," her smile is fleeting. "It's just the idea of someone becoming fey that sits ill with me. Is she just going to wake up one day and find herself bound to the same strictures as the Orphne or Moonsong? Will she just think that is normal and good because some fate dictated a transmutation of her very soul?"

    You consider her words for a long moment before replying, "You could say the same about us too, you know? We are not wholly as we were born, mortals under the sun, not in what we have seen nor in what we have chosen to become. Rina's magic, as much as ours, is an expression of her will."

    Dany curses sharply in Abyssal. "I was doing the same thing that frustrates me the most when other people do it to me."

    "No, you were being worried for a friend, and now you see that the worry is not needed," you assure her.

    The report does not make as grim a reading as you have feared. In addition to the Houses Lord Ashford named, House Ball, House Blackbar, and House Meadows had been approached by the Court of Stars' agents, all refusing the pact with various degrees of vehemence. In fact you suspect that might be the cause of young Lord Meadows' hostility to magic. By contrast, Lord Orton Merryweather and Lord Martyn Mullendore are currently in talks with agents of the Court of Stars.

    Lord Humfrey Hewett of Oakshield makes something of a particular case since he was offered the deal with the Court of Stars by Garth the Green himself in the company of the new lord of Greyshield, but both of them served as poor envoys of the Court, privately counseling the lord not to take the bargain unless Deep Ones raids grew impossible to resist. The only other Houses you have found to have embraced the bargain of the Court of Stars are House Peake, the minor House Ruxton, and perhaps unsurprisingly House Osgrey of Coldmoat, whose lord is said to be attempting to court a nymph.

    Now to see what those you have gathered for the task think of the doings of the Court of Stars.

    How do you introduce the council of strategy, what questions do you ask?

    [] Write in

    OOC: Hopefully this isn't too scattered, I wanted to give some space to how Rina is doing and Dany's worries but also move things along. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
    Now to see what those you have gathered for the task think of the dongs of the Court of Stars.
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    Great typo here. :p
     
    I have an idea.
    What if we gave the names of those Lords to the Chosen of the Father and asked him to act? He can apply pressure, try to get bigshots of the Faith involved, or even break the news wide open if he's really freaked out (although that might weaken Deep One defense elsewhere, so whatever).

    Another alternative would be to get Uncle!Varys, Pycelle and Baelish to try to talk Robert into making such arrangements explicitly illegal.
     
    TalonofAnathrax said:
    Another alternative would be to get Uncle!Varys, Pycelle and Baelish to try to talk Robert into making such arrangements explicitly illegal.
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    Could backfire. Crown authority is really low right now. Could outright precipitate into war if certain Lords are cajoled into action by Fey influencers. It really only takes one person to drag in people we're oath-bound to defend before things begin to slide out of control.
     
    I'll update the Armory to account for the items we have Ser Dregaire once I get back to my computer.

    Now that he's in our service, @DragonParadox, can you confirm what kind of Fey he is, and what class levels, if any, he has?
     
    DragonParadox said:
    The report does not make as grim a reading as you have feared. In addition to the Houses Lord Ashford named, House Ball, House Blackbar and House Meadows had been approached by the Court of Stars' agents, all refusing the pact with various degrees of vehemence. In fact you suspect that might be the cause of young Lord Meadows' hostility to magic. By contrast Lord Orton Merryweather and Lord Martyn Mullendore are currently in talks with agents of the Court of Stars.

    Lord Lord Humfrey Hewett of Oakshield makes something of a particular case since he was offered the deal with the court of Stars by Garth the Green himself in the company of the new lord of Greyshield, but both of them served as poor envoys of the Court of Stars, privately counseling the lord not to take the bargain unless Deep Ones raids grew impossible to resist. The only other Houses you have found to have embraced the bargain of the Court of Stars are House Peake, the minor House Ruxton and perhaps unsurprisingly House Osgrey of Coldmoat whose lord is said to be attempting to court a nymph.
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    So we might consider talking to Lord Merryweather and Lord Mullendore to convince them not to sign the pacts by offering a far better deal for what they're after.

    By contrast we could approach Lord Hewett and pledge support against Deep One incursion regardless of whether or not he swears fealty right away, based on the fact that they're inmicable to all life and also forces him to act against his subjects' (and indeed his own) interests due to what we know of the Fey and their plans.

    We can also safely write off Peake and Roxton. Good riddance.
     
    I'm not entirely sure why it's a "strategy council" now.

    [X] Plan Preparing for War
    -[X] The revelations brought by the trip to Ashford and the subsequent divinations proves that the matter of the Court of Stars is much more urgent then you thought. This conflict must be resolved as quickly as possible to avoid further damage to the Plane of Balance caused by melding it with the Feywild, and to ensure the timetable for the invasion of Westeros is not impacted.
    -[X] You have gathered this group to discuss measures to be taken in 3 directions:
    --[X] Mitigating or better yet reversing the effects of the deals already struck.
    --[X] Preventing further deals from coming to pass and removing CoS assets that are capable of forming these pacts.
    --[X] Neutralizing the CoS as a coherent power block and independent actor. Preferably by subsuming as much of it as possible, but eliminating as much of it as necessary.
     
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    The most immediately useful and easily accomplished aspect of any move we make against the Court of Stars in the Reach will be to prevent any other Lords from making pacts with them, including those who are currently in negotiations with them.

    [X] Azel
     
    [X] Azel

    Westeros is so much a mess, that we can wage a war in it, and the rulers wo t notice.
    [:V]

    On the other hand of how messy they are, if we do succeed in this all, well have a fairly powerful amount of Fey under our rule.

    Like, court of Wilds is all but there, courts of Depths are likely to join against Squids if nothing else, and Goldengrove... eh, I think it is fairly diplomanceable from what we've seen.

    Wild fae will remain the only factor, and CoS have been fairly hard on those guys all by themselves :V
     
    Goldfish said:
    I'll update the Armory to account for the items we have Ser Dregaire once I get back to my computer.

    Now that he's in our service, @DragonParadox, can you confirm what kind of Fey he is, and what class levels, if any, he has?
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    He's a Bipedal Savant Fey Creature Onyx Deer Paladin of Freedom 6. Yes that does make him fey.

    The Lords of the Feywyld can create some truly odd things as can the plane itself sometimes.

    Azel said:
    I'm not entirely sure why it's a "strategy council" now.
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    Changed to War Council, I thought it might give a bit too strong an impression but since it is in the vote, it's fairer to call it that
     
    Goldfish said:
    The most immediately useful and easily accomplished aspect of any move we make against the Court of Stars in the Reach will be to prevent any other Lords from making pacts with them, including those who are currently in negotiations with them.

    [X] Azel
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    True, but we can't stop at defensive measures. We measures. We tried to do that to not escalate this conflict and underestimated the enemies ability to get some victories in.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    He's a Bipedal Savant Fey Creature Onyx Deer Paladin of Freedom 6. Yes that does make him fey.

    The Lords of the Feywyld can create some truly odd things as can the plane itself sometimes.
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    :rofl::rofl::rofl:

    We literally just recruited a walking talking deer. I don't know why I'm surprised after the Serpentfolk, but I'm very surprised he's a souped-up deer.

    Either way, he's our third Paladin, with the Erinyes being the first and Brienne of Tarth being the second (though we have yet to do anything with her).
    Azel said:
    True, but we can't stop at defensive measures. We measures. We tried to do that to not escalate this conflict and underestimated the enemies ability to get some victories in.
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    Yeah, they've been way too proactive. I wonder if we could have prevented Ashford's oath had we been faster.
     
    Actually come to think of it, Paladin of Freedom may be a tad too free spirited for what I have in mind for Ser Dregaire. Does anyone know of a full BaB heavy armor proficient class with fey or nature accents. If not I might have to settle for fighter.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    "It's just the idea of someone becoming fey that sits ill with me. Is she just going to wake up one day and find herself bound to the same strictures as the Orphne or Moonsong? Will she just think that is normal and good because some fate dictated a transmutation of her very soul?"
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    If she starts calling herself 'Mab' it's time to sharpen the soul scalpels ...
     
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