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

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Crake said:
Hm, I guess?

DP would have to confirm, but I guess that means that we have already failed in that regard categorically.
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Abyssal sounds like you are cursing the very substance of reality no matter what you are trying to say in it. When you are actually curing in it it's even worse.

That's why Dany considers it the best language to curse in. Azema agrees, that is basically all she uses it for these days.
 
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Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jun 5, 2020 at 9:47 AM, finished with 36 posts and 10 votes.
  • [X] Set out to investigate at once
    -[X] In addition to the guards already on the scene, Viserys, Richard, Dany, Xor, Valaena, and two Mind Dragons will take part in the investigation. Unfortunately, Dawnfyre will need to remain behind for this mission.
    -[X] Allow Monford to return to Driftmark for now, but ask that his wife and son remain in the Opaline Vault until this matter is resolved.
    --[X] In addition to his normal guards (Plant-Imbued Shadow Creature Cat, Advanced Sorcerer Creature Snapdragon Leshy, Black Champion, Erinyes), one of the Mind Dragons accompanying us on the mission will also remain by his side while we investigate.
    --[X] For the duration of the investigation, Kyseth the Fury will be loaned one of our Circlets of Perceive Betrayal to wear. While its ability to detect traitors is not fool proof, it will add yet another layer of protection for the time being.
    [X] золотая рыбка
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Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jun 5, 2020 at 9:47 AM, finished with 36 posts and 10 votes.
  • [X] Set out to investigate at once
    -[X] In addition to the guards already on the scene, Viserys, Richard, Dany, Xor, Valaena, and two Mind Dragons will take part in the investigation. Unfortunately, Dawnfyre will need to remain behind for this mission.
    -[X] Allow Monford to return to Driftmark for now, but ask that his wife and son remain in the Opaline Vault until this matter is resolved.
    --[X] In addition to his normal guards (Plant-Imbued Shadow Creature Cat, Advanced Sorcerer Creature Snapdragon Leshy, Black Champion, Erinyes), one of the Mind Dragons accompanying us on the mission will also remain by his side while we investigate.
    --[X] For the duration of the investigation, Kyseth the Fury will be loaned one of our Circlets of Perceive Betrayal to wear. While its ability to detect traitors is not fool proof, it will add yet another layer of protection for the time being.
    [X] золотая рыбка
Click to expand...
 
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Part MMMDXXX: A Delicate Point
  • Threadmarks
    • A Delicate Point ​

    Twenty Second Day of the First Month 294 AC

    Valaena takes the news of a threat to her home with all the fury you had expected her to. The chain rattles and shakes around her waist, one coil twisting around her right hand begging to be used. "They are all safe? Mother, father, little Monterys?" she asks urgently.

    "Your mother is shaken from the sudden journey to an otherworldly plane, but otherwise yes, they are all unharmed," you reply. "Your mother and brother can remain in the Vault under the protection of the embassy guards and come to that the full might of the Peerless Empire while your father returns to Driftmark so that no foes may take advantage of his absence from the seat. One of the mind dragons," you motion at the pair circling the room excitedly. "Will remain with him while the rest of us investigate the circumstances of the maid's death..."

    And the whereabouts of her soul, you think but do not add aloud. Everyone in the room, from Dany coiled around the mantelpiece in draconic form to Ser Richard standing quietly by to Xor looking grave behind his form of humanity, can hear them just as well. If it had been a matter of merely a dead servant you would not have worried as much, the means to kill as single ordinary person, even without leaving a mark, are sadly more numerous than you can count, but to seal away a soul in the doing is a far more esoteric art. You will have to remember to congratulate Kyseth on her urgent appeal to the House of Mirrors as soon as the death was discovered.

    ***​

    "Valaena, what are you doing here?" Lady Elyra is the first to speak, seemingly shocked by her daughter's presence, or perhaps, you realize belatedly, at the fact that she is dressed in gleaming True Silver, the dragonbone amulet hanging from her throat etched in lines of fire, her eyes magnified behind arcane goggles. She looks every inch the sorceress and warrior and very little like the awed girl she had been when she had left Driftmark.

    "I'm going back home to investigate who killed that poor woman, who is trying to kill father," she replied instantly, though her eyes are on her father. "Which maid was it, was she new to the task, what...?" The reflexes of an investigator and the urgency of the task obviously take precedence over reunions now that she has seen her family safe, even her brother whom she had met so briefly.

    "Really now Valaena, it was only a maid. She could have died for any number of reasons, maybe she was ill, perhaps she ate something poisonous by accident, say a mushroom... there was no cause for that... that woman to..." You are starting to see why the fury did not have a good opinion of Lady Velaryon.

    "Elyra," Monford sighs. "The woman was clearly killed by sorcery according to both investigation of the body and the use of foresight, and her soul was stolen away."

    "Souls really?" The lady is obviously not inclined to let the matter go. "Perhaps we should fetch a priest then, there is no reason to abandon the keep on the word of..."

    "A being older than most of the gods of man," Valaena interjects softly. The chain on her belt clinks ever so softly, a reminder of Hell closer than any living being could be. "Mother, we do not have time right now, but if you want me to explain what she is and why father was wise to listen I will tell you, but you should think carefully if you want me to. You can't unknow it later much as you might want to. Please trust me, or if you will not at least trust the King. Yes, it really is that bad."

    The lady starts and looks past her daughter to you and Ser Richard for the first time. "Your Grace, I apologize. It is just this it was so sudden and... ah, my heart is not meant for such things..." With one more bemused look at her oldest child she adds. "Unlike my daughter it seems."

    "No apologies necessary," you wave the matter away, relieved that the situation had been resolved without the need to unveil any distressing truths on top of an already distressing day.

    ***​

    There is a cat who is not a cat at the foot of the corpse, glaring ominously down at the room at large, though the pair of Velaryon armsmen at the other end of the room seem to be worried that its ire might be aimed at them. They try not so show their relief at being told that you will not be requiring their presence anymore, but they do not do a very good job of it. From the talk of 'souls' going down the corridors as they depart it's clear they were trusted enough that Monford explained why he felt the need to leave at once.

    Alas, the body holds no easy answers. It has no obvious wounds, no signs of sickness, poison or Lady Elyra's mushrooms. In fact, were in not for Xor, you would have missed the tiny pinprick on her left hand with only the slightest amount of discoloration around the wound to mark it apart from the countless any petty sewing misadventure.

    Dany questions the body to find the woman had not been sewing that day or indeed any other, not being skilled enough for High Tide's reputable housekeeper to trust her with the task, though she had been handling Lord Velaryon's newly washed shirts when she died.

    A rather chilling thought occurs. "If you had a soul stealing weapon as small as a needle, where would you put it?"

    "You think someone slipped it into the shirt for father to prick himself on while getting dressed and the maid was just unlucky enough to brush against it?" Valaena asks, paling at the thought of her father coming so close to death and likely worse. "But what killed her though? People do not die from being pricked with needles, not even soul-binding ones."

    "At a guess, poison," you reply grimly. "None of us are experts in more esoteric toxins."

    "They could still be out there. Sea, Snake and Tree they could still be after him with something that small...." She all but runs to the door.

    "Ser Richard is guarding him right now," you remind her. The knight had not liked the arrangement but he could not argue that Lord Velaryon was not in vastly more immediate danger than you. "I do not think any assassin is getting past him, be their weapon ever so small."

    She calms, but only slightly, aware as you are of the fact that Ser Richard will not always be there to protect her father. "We need to find the bastard, find him and interrogate him for everything he knows."

    Doing so proves much more difficult than you had anticipated however. Both the assassin and murder weapon are warded against divination and the castle laundry is hardly the most secure place in the keep. Scores of people enter and exit every day, and any one of them could be the assassin under a glamour.

    What do you do next?

    [] Interrogate the servants and guards one by one, someone might have seen or heard something odd

    [] Set a trap for whoever did this with yourself standing in for Monford under the best glamour you can cast

    [] Write in

    OOC: Xor's perception shines through again. Without it you guys would not even have a known murder. weapon.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • It is just too bad the Thinaun needs to be at least half-a-dagger-sized for the same effect to be viable.
    Using clockwork mosquitoes with pins of Thinaun would've been amazing.
     
    Last edited:
    DragonParadox said:
    A Delicate Point ​

    Twenty Second Day of the First Month 294 AC

    Valaena takes the news of a threat to her home with all the fury you had expected. The chain rattles and shakes around her waist, one coil twisting around her right hand, practically begging to be used. "They are all safe, mother, father, little Monterys?" she asks urgently.

    "Your mother is shaken from the sudden journey to an otherworldly plane, but otherwise yes, they are all unharmed," you reply. "Your mother and brother can remain in the Vault under the protection of the embassy guards and come to that the full might of the Peerless Empire, while your father returns to Driftmark so that no foes may take advantage of his absence from the seat. One of the mind dragons," you motion at the pair circling the room excitedly. "Will remain with him while the rest of us investigate the circumstances of the maid's death..."

    And the whereabouts of her soul, you think, but do not add aloud, but everyone in the room, from Dany coiled around upon the mantlepiece in draconic form, Ser Richard standing quietly by, and Xor looking grave behind his facade of humanity, can hear them just as well. If it had been a matter of merely a dead servant you would not have worried as much, the means to kill as single ordinary person, even without leaving a mark, are sadly more numerous than you can count, but to seal away a soul in the doing is a far more esoteric art. You will have to remember to congratulate Kyseth on her urgent appeal to the House of Mirrors as soon as the death was discovered.

    ***​

    "Valaena, what are you doing here?" Lady Elyra is the first to speak, seemingly shocked by her daughter's presence, or perhaps, you realize belatedly, at the fact that she is dressed in gleaming True Silver, the dragonbone amulet hanging from her throat etched in lines of fire, her eyes magnified behind arcane goggles. She looks every inch the sorceress and warrior, and very little like the awed girl she had been when she had left Driftmark.

    "I'm going back home to investigate who killed that poor woman, who is trying to kill father," she replied instantly, though her eyes are on her father. "Which maid was it, was she new to the task, what...?" The reflexes of an investigator and the urgency of the task obviously take precedence over reunions now that she has seen her family safe, even her brother whom she had met so briefly.

    "Really now, Valaena, it was only a maid. She could have died for any number of reasons. Maybe she was ill, or perhaps she ate something poisonous by accident, say a mushroom... there was no cause for that... that woman to..." You are starting to see why the fury did not have a good opinion of Lady Velaryon.

    "Elyra," Monford sighs. "The woman was clearly killed by sorcery, according to both investigation of the body and the use of foresight and her soul was stolen away."

    "Souls really?" The lady is obviously not inclined to let the matter go. "Perhaps we should fetch a priest then? There is no reason to abandon the keep on the word of..."

    "A being older than most of the gods of man," Valaena interjects softly. The chain on her belt clinks ever so softly, a reminder of Hell closer than any living being could be. "Mother, we do not have time right now, but if you want me to explain what she is and why father was wise to listen I will tell you, but you should think carefully if you want me to. You can't unknow it later, much as you might want to. Please trust me, or if you will not, then trust the king. Yes, it really is that bad."

    The lady starts and looks past her daughter to you and Ser Richard for the first time. "Your Grace, I apologize, it is just this it was so sudden and... ah my heart is not meant for such things..." With one more bemused look at her oldest child she adds. "Unlike my daughter, it seems."

    "No apologies necessary," you wave the matter away relieved that the situation had been resolved without the need to unveil any distressing truths on top of an already distressing day.

    ***​

    There is a cat who is not a cat at the foot of the corpse, glaring ominously down at the room at large, though the pair of Velaryon armsmen at the other end of the room seem to be worried that its ire might be aimed at them. They try not so show their relief at being told that you will not be requiring their presence anymo longer, but they do not do a very good job of it. From the talk of 'souls' going down the corridors as they depart, it's clear they were trusted enough that Monford explained why he felt the need to leave at once.

    Alas, the body holds no easy answers. It has no obvious wounds, no signs of sickness, poison or Lady Elyra's hypothetical mushrooms. In fact, were in not for Xor, you would have missed the tiny pin prick on her left hand, with only the slightest amount of discoloration around the wound to mark it apart from any petty sewing misadventure.

    Dany questions the body to find the woman had not been sewing that day or indeed any other, not being skilled enough for High Tide's reputable housekeeper to trust her with the task, though she had been handling Lord Velaryon's newly washed shirts when she died.

    A rather chilling thought occurs. "If had a soul stealing weapon as small as a needle, where would you put it?"

    "You think someone slipped it into the shirt for father to prick himself on getting dressed and the maid was just unlucky to brush against it?" Valaena asks, going pale at the thought of her father coming so close to death and likely worse. "But what killed her, though? People do not die from being pricked with needles, even soul-binding ones?"

    "At a guess, poison," you reply grimly. "None of us are experts in more esoteric toxins."

    "They could still be out there. Sea, Snake and Tree, they could still be after him with something that small...." She all but runs to the door.

    "Ser Richard is guarding him right now," you remind her. The knight had not liked the arrangement, but he could not argue that Lord Velaryon was not in vastly more immediate danger than you. "I do not think any assassin is getting past him, be their weapon ever so small."

    She calms but only slightly, aware as you are of the fact that Ser Richard will not always be here to protect her father. "We need to find the bastard, find him and interrogate him for everything he knows."

    Doing so, however, proves much more difficult than you had anticipated. Both the assassin and murder weapon are warded against divination, and the castle laundry is hardly the most secure place in the keep. Scores of people enter and exit every day, any one of them could be the assassin under a glamor.

    What do you do next?

    [] Interrogate the servants and guards one by one, someone might have seen or heard something odd

    [] Set a trap for whoever did this with yourself standing in for Monford under the best glamor you can cast

    [] Write in

    OOC: Xor's perception shines through again. Without it you guys would not even have a known murder weapon. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
    Among Monford's gear, which he had better be using, is an At-Will Ring of Detect Poison and a pair of Soulfire Bracers. Assuming he is diligent with his personal safety, he may have been able to detect the poisoned needle in his clothing. Not that most people would think to inspect their clothing for hidden poisoned needles...

    If it isn't poison but rather a single-use Death Effect of some sort enchanted into needle, if he was wearing his bracers and got pricked by the needle, there's a good chance he wouldn't have even realized someone had just failed to assassinate him.
     
    Goldfish said:
    Among Monford's gear, which he had better be using, is an At-Will Ring of Detect Poison and a pair of Soulfire Bracers. Assuming he is diligent with his personal safety, he may have been able to detect the poisoned needle in his clothing. Not that most people would think to inspect their clothing for hidden poisoned needles...

    If it isn't poison but rather a single-use Death Effect of some sort enchanted into needle, if he was wearing his bracers and got pricked by the needle, there's a good chance he wouldn't have even realized someone had just failed to assassinate him.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    A poisoned or enchanted needle under a layer of cloth, say a shirt would not have a noticeable aura. He would have had to shake it down (in the process of which he would also get pricked).
     
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