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

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Ah, woke up a bit late today. I'm...mildly unhappy about the potential dumping in the PoA, but it already should have dragons in it. It could be worse.

I am excited about the tower being potentially usable.

Returning to Illyrio, he's in Sallosh, also known as the city of scholars. Illyrio (and Varys) have been annoyingly on top of this magic returning thing, but it makes sense given their existing network (back by Westerosi gold) and Varys's tendency to believe that magic is real (due to having been used in a blood magic ritual).

I half wonder if the Sarnori undead didn't just wake up, but were instead awakened by Illyrio/Varys's people poking things, and then going "you want to kill Dothraki? That's great, let me help you! Could you help protect this city from all outsiders that aren't me or mine in exchange?"
 
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Part MDCCLX: The Keystone Turns
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    • The Keystone Turns ​

    Seventeenth Day of the First Month 293 AC

    You consider the matter a long while... and surprisingly what the decision comes down to has very little to do with gaining an ally against Tiamat, nor yet speaking in the flesh with one of the kindred from whom the power of your own blood arises. You would rather get rid of the specter's presence in your tower now than in the middle of say the battle for Tyrosh, for which the tower could otherwise serve as a perfect spearhead. That said you certainly would not object to the dead dragon's service, if he were so inclined.

    Upon sharing your thoughts with the others Malarys agrees grudgingly that your reasoning is not without merit, Ser Richard merely sighs... and draws Oathkeeper at the ready.

    "Hear me, ancient one. I have heard your words and find them pleasing to the ear, yet I would ask of you more than fellowship against the Hoard-Stealer." Though your words are loud and bold in the unnatural stillness of the tower they are spoken with utmost care, balancing a demonstration for your own power with the deference any elder dragon would expect of a younger, no matter how dire the straits he found himself in. "Fly at my side in this coming battle and I will lead you to the realms of Endless Sky where you may find your way away from the dominion I seek. Else serve me with all the honors and rewards befitting of your stature for but a span of five years and I will see you clothed in flesh ere the time of service is done." The last is not only an incentive, but also a necessity. Having a talking dragon serve you would be merely strange, where a pile of cursed bones held together by malignant will would raise... rather stronger reactions.

    For a long moment there is silence so complete even the sound of your own heart is as thunder in your ears, then a hissing whisper cuts through the gloom, coming from everywhere and nowhere.

    "A bargain you have, half-blood. For five turnings of the year I shall serve you, then... then we shall see. Tis hard enough to imagine the fire of life after all these ages in the cold and the dark. Seek out the highest point of the chamber whence you brought the trophies of your hunts. There you will find the anchor of my prison entombed in stone."

    Upon hearing where the soul anchor had been all this time Lya huffs in annoyance at herself more than anyone else. "Of course it would be in the chamber that resists all divination."

    "It's rather fortunate we did not bring any of the dragon corpses in before now," Waymar says, his tone surprisingly light. Seeing all the surprised expressions all around he shrugs. "A wicked thing this dragon might be, but not a fiend born to blackest evil. It... he might yet serve some greater good and I trust that we can deal with him if he proves false. As for any crimes committed long ago this imprisonment has been more than penance enough I think."

    ***​

    Under Amrelath's directions Dany floats to the highest point of the spherical chamber and slowly parts the stone by sorcery. Three times she has to stop upon striking wards that were not stone: ivory fiend-bone, bright true-silver and last of all smoky dragonsteel. Each time you undo the enchantments upon them by sheer strength of sorcery... wondering all the while whether you would need those spells more urgently before long.

    You take 3 points of Charisma Damage

    You gain 5 lb. of Mithral and 3 lb. Valyrian Steel

    At last you come to the soul-anchor itself, an enormous black pearl the size of a man's clenched fist, within which a dim but steady reddish light burns like an eternal ember. Remembering the tale of how Amrelath came to be in his current state, you wonder if the nature of the anchor was not meant as an insult by his foes and jailers.

    Dany's face is solemn and her eyes wary as she places the stone upon the ruined, but still fresh corpse of the dragon-beast that had once been a servant of Tiamat. A moment later the thing twitches in a gruesome parody of life. For the first time in an age Amrelath opens dead eyes upon the world of form and even as he does so the eyes smoke and shrivel in their sockets. He plucks up the jewel from his new body reluctantly, with revulsion. "Ah, for the day when I will be freed utterly of this wretched thing," he muses, then turning to you he declares: "Five years of service you asked for, now I too must ask a five day respite, while I reshape these wretched bones into some semblance of by true form. I can aid you even now... but my strength will be less then it might. "

    What do you do?

    [] Wait five more days to have the full aid of Amrelath the Accursed in the battle for Vaes Athjikhari
    -[] Write in what you do in the meantime

    [] Go now
    -[] With the weakened Amrelath (proto-Dracolich)
    -[] Alone

    OOC: Before anyone, asks the fiend-bone crumbled when the wards broke. I rolled for each of the three layers and only two of them survived.
     
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    • Acceptable. I hope this is the start of a cordial relationship. We should work on a method to restore him to flesh ASAP, so that he can actually feature in our more public actions.
     
    Hrm, that would put our assault on the 22nd, and the spy is meeting his contact on the 23rd. I don't see a strong reason not to wait, unless we plan on backstabbing Amrelath. We could have Lya do some initial work on what it would take to get a body to shove Amrelath back into, and while she is doing that, maybe go check in on our Dothraki horde? We'll want them closer to the Tyroshi part of the disputed lands.
     
    [x] Wait five more days to have the full aid of Amrelath the Accursed in the battle for Vaes
    I say we let him get back to full strength first, I have to go now so I can't amend my vote, just assume I voted for whatever plan includes waiting.
     
    Diomedon said:
    Hrm, that would put our assault on the 22nd, and the spy is meeting his contact on the 23rd. I don't see a strong reason not to wait, unless we plan on backstabbing Amrelath. We could have Lya do some initial work on what it would take to get a body to shove Amrelath back into, and while she is doing that, maybe go check in on our Dothraki horde? We'll want them closer to the Tyroshi part of the disputed lands.
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    We could poke around at Lya building a body for Amrelath if that's what it takes.

    @DragonParadox, once Ameralth is done with the Velroc's corpse, once we harvest the enhanced bones and all that can we use Make Whole on the corpse to restore the trophy?
     
    So happy we've dealt with Amrelath and regained the ability to safely transport the Shadow Tower!
     
    [X] Wait five more days to have the full aid of Amrelath the Accursed in the battle for Vaes Athjikhari
    -[X] We should take the opportunity to run some errands in the intervening period.
    --[X] Lya will begin preliminary work for figuring out how to restore Amrelath from undeath.
    --[X] We will use one day to meet up with our pet Dothraki.
    --[X] Another day to venture to Braavos, to meet two of our contacts in the Windward Society; First Menel Goldentooth, hopefully to find some better maps as according to @Duesal's wishlist for this turn. Then Aubert Flowers, who might be of some aide in our Blackfyre dilemma.
    --[X] While we are there we should visit the Silver Eye as well and see how all of our Braavosi friends are doing. Visiting the Fairwinds with their children in tow should be simplicity itself. Uthero and Aly should be in the cards too.


    Any other ideas? Will edit them in, if so.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    For the trophy it would be too changed for make whole, but you could just used limited wish to create a facsimile of the corpse as it was initially.
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    Would you let us get away with getting the full value out of the enhanced bones and using Limited Wish on the skull to recreate the Velroc?
    Crake said:
    --[X] Another day to venture to Braavos, to meet two of our contacts in the Windward Society; First Menel Goldentooth, hopefully to find some better maps as according to @Duesal's wishlist for this turn. Then Aubert Flowers, who might be of some aide in our Blackfyre dilemma.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I'm bemused that it took a mere turn for the quest to prove how bloody useful a huge map collection would be for us.
     
    Minor point on the whole 'returning from undeath' thing. The work we do there should synergise (at least in some ways) with the work we've been doing on trying to let Garin have kids with his wife.
     
    Let's use a few of these five days to bring Elia back from the dead!

    And giving Amrelath a new body should be a priority: it weakens him in case he turns on us!
     
    I'm not sure if we're all on for Elia. It's probably a next turn action though.

    If Amrelath doesn't turn on us during this upcoming battle, he won't at all, so long as we keep faith (which we will).

    Are there not any other errands at all we've been setting aside for an ambiguous "later"? Anyone?
     
    [X] Crake

    @Crake, can we also include introducing the genie horse to the Dothraki? We make sure that they're aware he's man smart and he could get breeding quick.
     
    @Takesis I can include talking to the horse to see if it is receptive to the idea first. And I don't want to give the horse away to them either.

    Anyone else?
     
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