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

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Happy half-decade! It's been a huge part of my life in recent times, and I just want to say that I always appreciate the updates and seeing what happens next.
 
Rovos said:
oh damn your right. this quest is now 5 years old
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Congratulations, it's a toddler. Hide the sharp objects and potion bottles. :V

Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Mar 24, 2021 at 9:38 AM, finished with 39 posts and 13 votes.
  • [X] Plan Observe & Collect
    -[X] Load up the Dawnrunner with undead, a mix of Black Wardens and Lindworms, all controlled by molds, and drop them off at the sites to guard and watch them.
    -[X] A few Investigators, Watchmoles and Vigilant Shadowcats will scout each site.
    -[X] At the same time, take samples from the plants and any other thing left behind and gather some rock samples to analyze what they had been doing with Touch of History.
    -[X] The Inquisition will establish a command post within 50 miles of each site with a Whispering Brazier and at least one Nectroic Mold to stay in contact with the guard team.
    -[X] Also inspect all other sites and the surroundings in case the Formians had been active there without Tywins knowledge.
    -[X] Further actions will be decided after you talked with the Formian Queen.
    -[X] Ask House Adjar and the envoys of the Sultana what they know about Formians, especially their political Modus Operandi, desires, economy and similar information that would be relevant to evaluate any deals that might be made with them.
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Happy 5th birthday, ASWAH! 🎂

Thanks for sharing your quest with us, @DragonParadox! And thanks to everyone who regularly contributes their time and energy to the quest as well.
 
Azel said:
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You forgot to make the eyes purple, I think.
 
DragonParadox said:
Congratulations, it's a toddler. Hide the sharp objects and potion bottles. :V

Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Mar 24, 2021 at 9:38 AM, finished with 39 posts and 13 votes.
  • [X] Plan Observe & Collect
    -[X] Load up the Dawnrunner with undead, a mix of Black Wardens and Lindworms, all controlled by molds, and drop them off at the sites to guard and watch them.
    -[X] A few Investigators, Watchmoles and Vigilant Shadowcats will scout each site.
    -[X] At the same time, take samples from the plants and any other thing left behind and gather some rock samples to analyze what they had been doing with Touch of History.
    -[X] The Inquisition will establish a command post within 50 miles of each site with a Whispering Brazier and at least one Nectroic Mold to stay in contact with the guard team.
    -[X] Also inspect all other sites and the surroundings in case the Formians had been active there without Tywins knowledge.
    -[X] Further actions will be decided after you talked with the Formian Queen.
    -[X] Ask House Adjar and the envoys of the Sultana what they know about Formians, especially their political Modus Operandi, desires, economy and similar information that would be relevant to evaluate any deals that might be made with them.
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Poor Garin.

Not only will he have three toddlers, they'll all be Damphirs like him. :V
 
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Part MMMDCCXXII: A Price Unpaid, a Crime Undone
  • Threadmarks
    • A Price Unpaid, a Crime Undone ​

    First Day of the Fifth Month 294 AC

    As the Dawnstar races away with its cargo of undead and watchful molds you turn your ear to other matters, namely what the Lannisters had been seeking in Qarth and what they may have gotten out of it. The answer is far from surprising, control, a means to attain mental union and focus beyond what simple enchantment could give. Or if one is being charitable, it could be said that Lanna was seeking a way to guard the Golden Shields from infiltration without compulsion of any sort by creating unity of purpose. Given that Tywin always saw himself as nothing less than the absolute master of any such construct you are not inclined to give an idealistic reading of their motivations much credence.

    Perhaps if they had found their answers two years ago from Qarth and not a year ago from the formians Lanna and Gerion would have had the spine to stand up to Tywin and truly break the cycle of tyranny, 'and perhaps the winter sun shall grow sweet melons', but one should not count upon it to feed you, as the saying goes between the Dornish mountains and the Mander. Circumstances as they are, the Warlocks placed too high a price on their cooperation and Tywin would not pay it even to spare his own subjects from being devoured by the Deep Ones.

    "What did they ask for?" Malarys questions, intrigued almost despite himself by the whole sordid tale.

    "Some things he could give and did, like weirwood cuttings, somethings that could be found and but he had no interest in giving, like the a collection of Blue Ice from the Far North, and one thing he would never give for pride's sake if nothing else, the girl Myrcella 'Baratheon'." Bloodraven's lips twisted into a familiar smile when he said the words. "And yes, I did ask our guests what they wanted the girl for. Apparently she was born under an auspicious conjunction and they hoped that they might raise her to join the Undying. The reason why they wanted her so young was so that she would not be 'contaminated with the norms and expectations of Westeros'. Translated freely that would mean they wished to indoctrinate her themselves. It is after all the nature of mystery cults and ancient orders, and in Qarth the people who sell you condiments for the table are an ancient order."

    Garin laughs at the moment of dry humor before asking, "There was a letter of some sort that burned just as we reached the Lord of the Westerlands, we saw enough to know the writing was Infernal, but not what it might have said."

    "A promise to deliver onto him his 'lost love' Lady Joanna Lannister at the low price of all the people who looked to him for lordship. How it was delivered none of them know, they simply found it in his study one morning, a show of power one assumes from the One sending it. Whether it was truthful is hard indeed to judge, and not particularly relevant." He waves away the notion as one might shake off a drizzle of rain from the shoulders of one's cloak. "He has no more power now than the merest wretch in the Black Cells did of old.. less in truth for all too many prisoners retained the ability to deny the executioner their boots."

    "Speaking of the Black Cells..." you glance at Malarys.

    "We have found no political prisoners in that wretched place, but there were a few common criminals tossed in like so much refuse with only the faintest pretense of justice. Most were freed, though one man who did not deny being a murderer under a truth spell shall instead be given a retrial, assuming you wish to call what he had initially a trial that is."

    "Good," you nod, content to be in the company of competent people. "Now as concerns the relations of House Lannister with the other powers present in the Westerlands, Baator, the Deep Ones, the Court of Stars and what remains of it, are there any surprises?"

    "Not particularly, Your Majesty," the Last Greenseer replies. "Tywin's arrogance alienated the fey, his pride was preyed upon by devils at least until his gooddaughter finally managed to explain the scope of the problem to him. In the end he both hated and feared them because of what the existence of Hell implied for his own fate, not that he would have admitted it."

    "Oh, so he does fear for his soul?" you ask grimly. "Excellent, that is one more thing to make his execution all the more unpleasant if he is expecting the judgement of the gods."

    "What of the arcane machinery that bound the altar of the Winged Serpent?" Malarys interjects. "I realize why we could not preserve it for study, but at the very least it would serve us well to know what it did."

    "Partly it enforced the geasa spells that bound for much of the Lannister rule, however it also served to craft another sort of servitor, the golems. The altar was bound to the ley line beneath the keep and through it channeled vast powers that allowed the enchanters of Casterly Rock to far overreach their meager skill. Who knows what they could have done if they had not been obsessed with battling dragons that never came, but then they were so mired in the past it would have been shocking had they not attempted to fight the last war instead of the next."

    "One final present concern then, are there other rifts they know of or any other rare resources they have not exploited or have hidden from the lords of the Westerlands?" you prompt

    "Not beyond the ones we know of, the fact that only one True Silver mine was found is part of the reason why it was so important to ensure the lord in question did not ask for too large of a cut," comes the reply, followed astutely by a question of his own. "I assume there are concerns that are not present, but still peek your curiosity, Your Majesty?"

    "Yes, I wished to know what they Lannisters took from Dragonstone and if any of it could be recovered. It is unlikely to shake the foundations of our understanding of magic, but if one has their home robbed at the very least an accounting will help to sleep better at night."

    "Arcane texts belonging to Queen Visenya were taken, particularly with concern to the creation of constructs, including..." for the first time since he had started speaking Bloodraven hesitates. "Homunculi, that is simple flesh-craft of the sort where one could in theory substitute blood magic for the paucity of ambient magic."

    "You are telling me the rumors were true for once, Maegor was born of blood magic?" You asks surprised. Visenya would have had little reason to lie.

    "No but not for lack of practice in those arts," Bloodraven replied. "Should the news spread of the sorts of magic she practiced it could be used as propaganda against such as fleshcraft."

    You nod in understanding, another potential hurdle down the road.

    What next?

    [] Write in

    OOC: Equipment later, I'm all exposition'ed out for the moment. I could not come up with interesting fluff for the items to save my life. You guys can vote for what you actually want to do, no need to mention the loot. I'll cover it automatically.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Yeah, we now fold Qarth into the Imperium and the collective of Yi-Tiish morons will learn how hard they have fucked their diplomacy rolls with us.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    A Price Unpaid, a Crime Undone ​

    First Day of the Fifth Month, 294 AC

    As the Dawnstar races away with its cargo of undead and watchful molds, you turn your ear to other matters, namely what the Lannisters had been seeking in Quarth and what they may have gotten out of it. The answer is far from surprising; control, a means to attain mental union and focus beyond what simple enchantments could give. Or if one is being charitable, it could be said that Lanna was seeking a way to guard the Golden Shields from infiltration without compulsion of any sort by creating unity of purpose. Given that Tywin always saw himself as nothing less than the absolute master of any such construct, you are not inclined to give an idealistic reading of their motivations much credence.

    Perhaps if they had found their answers two years ago from Quarth and not a year ago from the Formians, Lanna and Gerion would have had the spine to stand up to Tywin and truly break the cycle of tyranny. And perhaps the winter sun shall grow sweet melons, but one should not count upon it to feed you, as the saying goes between the Dornish mountains and the Mander. Circumstances are as they are, the warlocks placed too high a price on their cooperation and Tywin would not pay it, even to spare his own subjects from being devoured by the Deep Ones.

    "What did they ask for?" Malarys questions, intrigued almost despite himself by the whole sordid tale.

    "Some things he could give and did, like weirwood cuttings, somethings that could be found but he had no interest in giving, like the a collection of Blue Ice from the deep north, and one thing he would never give for pride's sake if nothing else, the girl Myrecella 'Baratheon'." Bloodraven's lips twisted into a familiar smile when he said the words. "And yes, I did ask our guests what they wanted the girl for. Apparently she was born under an auspicious conjunction and they hoped that they might raise her to join the Undying. The reason why they wanted her so young was so that she would not be 'contaminated with the norms and expectations of Westeros'. Translated freely, that would mean they wished to indoctrinate her themselves. It is, after all, the nature of mystery cults and ancient orders, and in Qarth even the people who sell you condiments for the table are an ancient order."

    Garin laughs at the moment of dry humor before asking, "There was a letter of some sort that burned just as we reached the Lord of the Westeerlands. We saw enough to know the writing was Infernal, but not what it might have said."

    "A promise to deliver unto him his 'lost love' Lady Jonna Lannister at the low price of all the people who looked to him for lordship. How it was delivered none of them know, they simply found it in his study one morning, a show of power one assumes from the One sending it. Whether it was truthful is hard indeed to judge and not particularly relevant." He waves away the notion as one might shake off a drizzle of rain from the shoulders of one's cloak. "He has no more power now than the merest wretch in the Black Cells did of old...less in truth, for all too many prisoners retained the ability to deny the executioner their boots."

    "Speaking of the Black Cells... " you glance at Malarys.

    "We have found no political prisoners in that wretched place, but there were a few common criminals tossed in like so much refuse with only the faintest pretense of justice. Most were freed, though one man who did not deny being a murderer under a truth spell, and shall instead be given a retrial. That is assuming you wish to call what he had initially a trial."

    "Good," you nod, content to be in the company of competent people. "Now as concerns the relations of House Lannister with the other powers present in the Westerlands, Baator, the Deep Ones, the Court of Stars, and what remains of it, are there any surprises?"

    "Not particularly, Your Majesty," the Last Greenseer replies. "Tywn's arrogance alienated the fey. His pride was preyed upon by devils, at least until his goodsister finally managed to explain the scope of the problem to him. In the end, he both hated and feared them because of what the existence of Hell implied for his own fate, not that he would have admitted it."

    "Oh, so he does fear for his soul?" you ask grimly. "Excellent, that is one more thing to make his execution all the more unpleasant if he is expecting the judgement of the gods."

    "What of the arcane machinery that bound the altar of the Winged Serpent?" Malarys interjects. "I realize why we could not preserve it for study, but at the very least it would serve us well to know what it did."

    "Partly it enforced the geasa spells that bound for much of the Lannister rule, however it also served to craft another sort of servitor, the golems. The Altar was bound to the ley line beneath the keep and through it channeled vast powers that allowed the enchanters of Casterly Rock to far overreach their meager skill. Who knows that they could have done if they had not been obsessed with battling dragons that never came, but then they were so mired in the past it would have been shocking had they not attempted to fight the last war instead of the next."

    "One final present concern then. Are there other rifts they know of or any other rare resources they have not exploited or have hidden from the lords of the Westerlands?" you prompt

    "Not beyond the ones we know of already. The fact that only one True Silver mine was found is part of the reason why it was so important to ensure the lord in question did not ask for too large of a cut," comes the reply followed astutely by a question of his own. "I assume there are concerns that are not present, but still peek your curiosity Your Majesty?"

    "Yes, I wished to know what the Lannisters took from Dragonstone and if any of it could be recovered. It is unlikely to shake the foundations of our understanding of magic, but if one has one's home robbed, at the very least an accounting of what was stolen will help one to sleep better at night."

    "Arcane texts belonging to Queen Visenya were taken, particularly with concern to the creation of constructs including..." For the first time since he had started speaking, Bloodraven hesitates. "Homunculi, that is simple flesh-craft of the sort where one could in theory substitute blood magic for the paucity of ambient magic."

    "You are telling me the rumors were true for once, Maegor was born of blood magic?" you ask, surprised but not angry or disturbed. If anything, you are amused. "That might perhaps explain why he was so fond of it then."

    "He was likely begotten with the aid of blood magic, yes," Brynden Rivers explains, looking faintly relieved that you did not seem upset at the revelation. "I do not think he was fully wrought of it. In any case, they also found many spell scrolls which were used to help train the first Golden Shields and several elemental mechanisms that could be used to empower simple wards, a scrying mirror that was once sacred to Syrax, as well as arms and armor bearing simple enchantments that would serve the Lannisters well indeed the first time they crossed blades with the bodiless dead, and the servants of Winter."

    What next?

    [] Write in

    OOC: Equipment later, I'm all exposition'ed out for the moment. I could not come up with interesting fluff for items to save my life. You guys can vote for what you actually want to do, no need to mention the loot. I'll cover it automatically. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
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    DragonParadox said:
    "He was likely begotten with the aid of blood magic yes," Brynden Rivers explains, looking faintly relieved that you did not seem upset at the revelation. "I do not think he was fully wrought of it, in any case they also found many spell scrolls wich were used to help train the first Golden Shields and several elemental mechanisms that could be used to empower simple wards a scrying mirror that was once sacred to Syrax as well as arms and armor bearing simple enchantments that would serve the Lannisters well indeed the first time they crossed blades with the bodiless dead, and the servants of Winter."
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    What happened to the other dragon eggs that were stored in the treasury? They only sacrificed three infants for the constructs.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Bloodraven smiles faintly at the byplay before continuing. "Your best chance of finding sorcerous texts or objects of power would be in Dragonstone, for Baelor was never formally enshrined as Prince of Dragonstone before his ascension to the throne following the death of Daeron the First. At the very least the stone eggs should still be in the treasury, there were four and ten at last count."
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    Adding theft of various memorabilia of Targaryen ancestral origin and fourteen dragon eggs to their extensive list of CRIMES against us, @Azel.

    Let us also not forget the CRIME of unsanctioned blood magic. At least fourteen consecutive counts.

    And also the CRIME of being born a Lannister. :mad:
     
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    Crake said:
    Adding theft of various memorabilia of Targaryen ancestral origin and fourteen dragon eggs to their extensive list of CRIMES against us, @Azel.

    Let us also not forget the CRIME of unsanctioned blood magic. At least fourteen consecutive counts.

    And also the CRIME of being born a Lannister. :mad:
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    Let's... try not to criminalize things that either specifically target them or that could bite us in the ass later.
     
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