>>6402615
You waited until day came, dropping anchor and working to remain stationary while not too far from land until the sun came back. When it did, Asha ordered the ships to head out and pushed back to the kraken and fire Wyrm filled waters.

That was when the first obstacle came, the currents. The Iron Lion and the Expectant Lover found that the barrier of Krakens and ships had a current that was stronger than any wind moving out of the doom, something that had been easily missed with the focus on the krakens and avoiding the waters, with the current into the doom being weak enough that one could miss it. Now though, without any means of fighting past the current, it required a new path to be taken.

Recalling the great water way that flowed between Oros and Tyria, that one that had been declined as a possible entrance now seemed the best bet to escape the isles. So both ships turned and began to head north, while Asha and Sarella ordered that everyone secure anything loose and prepare life lines to keep people from falling off the ships. Gerion tried once more to argue for a stop on the main island, but was denied as now that exit was even harder, You, Asha, Sarella, and Even Humfrey did not wish to jeopardize your exodus.

When you began to close in, a few days of sailing later, that’s when the next obstacle was faced. While already the sailing was rough, dealing with aberrant currents, avoiding acidic bubbles floating in the water, and sailing around the ruins, it became worse as the draw of the great water way began to pull the ships forward. Here, the slow nature of the Iron Lion came as a benefit, allowing it to better navigate while the expectant lover was forced to fight the current and be sailed with less and less margin for error.

Eventually, it became too much, and the expectant lover was abandoned. After anchoring at a ruined tower, and transferring all the supplies, equipment, and crew over, the iron lion set sail as the Expectant lover was abandoned. You watched as it grew smaller, a sacrifice that was easy to make if it meant more people lived.

Then you saw movement, heart growing cold “Shit, we left someone behind!” You said, looking around and catching the attention of the entire expedition. People ran to the edge of the boat, everyone seeing a single figure walking on the deck of the Expectant Lover. Panic rose through the crew, and there were calls to go back.

“We’re all here.” Dara said, glaring at the figure that was growing smaller and smaller with the Expectant Lover. The Latterborn members looked to Dara, confused at first, then slowly looking back to the figure on the Expectant Lover, then everyone growing pale as more figures began to climb onto the deck of the ship, all of them watching the Iron Lion leave. “These lands… There is no glory in the curses here.” He said, everyone quickly got back to work, while you watched the figure stand and watch you back.
(Cont)

>>6402616
Those figures plagued your dreams that night, and so you got little sleep as you came closer and closer to the once great waterway that held the trade routes of the world in a choke hold. Once it came into view, Asha and the crew were constantly at work to control every aspect of the ship's movement in order to fight the current that got stronger and stronger. The sails were constantly shifting and being drawn and extended to make the wind as much of a resource as possible.

“I hate this,” Asha said with a strained voice, her shift at the wheel while Sarella took a break, the heat of the air and water making it feel like almost an oven and forcing the two to switch off often to ensure they stay hydrated and cool enough to sail. “We’re making good time, way too good. At this rate, the current will be moving so far, it’ll be up to the gods whether we survive or not.”

You nodded, watching as Sarella lead the crew in adjusting with Asha shouting the occasional order to guide them “I’m not a sailor and even I can see that…The fact we have to go this way, it’s a cruel twist of fate…But, if anyone can get us through it, It’s y-”

“Shut up,” Asha said gruffly, straining as she turned the wheel, shouting a series of orders before she could have another chance “Just…I know you have faith in me but…There is no one who can sail those waters. I don’t have any love for the gods, so when I say it's up to them…I mean it.” She said, the final distance to the main waterway closing.

“...We should drop anchor, and have everyone rest up. We’ll all need to be at our best. Even if the gods decide our fate, many reward those who take fate into their own hands and do so with diligence.” You said, remembering the Smith and what the Septons said of his virtues. You were not religious, not very, but in this moment before the harsh trial of leaving the doom, you wished you had taken a symbol of your patron god to pray to or to have in your hands for comfort. Instead you placed a hand on Asha’s shoulder “We’ll do all we can.”

That night, you lead the crew in sharing food and drink. It was not a merry affair, it was not festive either. Things were too tense for that, and instead they were close. The members of the Latterborn drank and ate together, and shared each other's company. Warriors and comrades broke bread, shared drinks, and listened to music and songs. You even took a chance to try playing the Valyrian instrument, and after a brave attempt you managed to bring a few smiles with your clumsy blunders. The instrument passed hands, as many tried to play it, with you all finding some tricks and rules for the instrument through trial and error. You promised that when you mastered it, you would write a song for the expedition, then hire a bard to write a no doubt better one.
(Cont)

>>6402617
With this final joke, earning some warm laughs and smiles, everyone turned in for the night. You and Asha took to her bed, both yours and her bed but called hers for both jest and to acknowledge her captainship. There you both held each other close, trying to sleep to prepare for the day ahead.

Sleep did not come, instead you found yourself in her dark eyes and she found herself in your green ones. The expeditions threat, and the uncertainty of your escape, made you bold. Asha welcomed it, and what occurred was not the passionate love of newly weds or youthful affection, but an attempt to know another as closely as possible, born from the fear that you would never have another chance. Eventually, you both found sleep, deep in each other’s embrace.

Then there was a thunderous crash as something broke against the copper hull of the Iron Lion. You fell from the bed, looking around in a panic before pulling on your pants while Asha was already pulling on her mask after dressing and running out the door.

There was sounds of panic, people dressing in confusion, and you followed Asha up to the deck of the ship as you pulled on your mask.

Asha tried to push the door open, and found it would not budge. She pushed, shoved, then threw her shoulder at it in rising panic. Then the ship shuddered again as something struck the side, and the ship shifted as if turning.

The iron Lion was moving.

Humfrey came and reduced the door to splinters with the Tearstone hammer, allowing everyone to flood onto the deck of the ship.

It was dark, the only lights being those brought up to the deck by Latterborn. The deck of the ships was painted red with blood, bodies left in heaps, the 10 Latterborn left on watch in order for everyone to have a shift of sleep now crumpled heaps of flesh, leaving the expedition down to a mere 16 people.

The sails were gone, torn and released to be carried off by the wind and tides. The ropes were all cut or missing, unable to help anyone stay aboard. The Iron Lion was thrashing and being pushed down the current, a violent current, one of the main water ways. The chain for the anchor was nowhere to be seen. And standing at the center of the deck, standing closer to 9 feet than 8, was a cloaked man whose face was shifting. First it was half a genderless person and the other half a bare skull, then it was that of a drowned corpse, then it was a raging fire, then it was a black furred goat, and then a dozen other shapes and visages. Eventually, it stopped, and showed itself as a feature blank face with one half colored black and the other half white. It carried a sword of writhing shadows, surrounding it was an atmosphere the same weight you felt the first time you stepped into the Starry Sept in Oldtown, when you were faced with the majesty of the divine.
(Cont)

>>6402619
Only instead of awe, you felt terror, you felt the coldness of the grave, you felt the sinking maw of mortality weigh on you, and distantly you heard the screams of a mother unable to survive her children’s birth.

Humfrey stepped forward, shaking but holding his hammer up even as his other arm hung bandaged against his chest “S-stand back! You’ve board the w-wrong sh-”

“Humfrey Hightower. Do not speak.” Said the voice, though it did not come from the figure, instead it was whispered in your ears. Humfrey became silent, his eyes wide and the fear rising. “Humfrey Hightower, Sarella Sand, Sorralol Dara, Asha greyjoy, Gerion Lannister, “ it continued on through the names of the remaining ten summer islanders before it came to the final named “And Jason Lannister. A thing has come, just as men and women have come. While men and women came seeking a grave, a thing has come to place them inside of it.”

You stood there, and another crash of the ship almost sent everyone to the ground. One of the Summer Islanders ran to try and get to the wheel, then dropped dead as a shadowy blade pierced their heart. There was no sound of pain, only blood then death as the summer islander fell to the ground, the creature’s free hand lowering back to its side, Jason having not even seen it throw anything. Everyone raised their weapons at this “Many gods and one have determined the fate of this land, and those within it. Lives owed were stolen, now these Men and Women must provide lives in exchange.” The creature said, standing its ground, unaffected by crashing waves and the out of control Iron lion.

“We haven’t stolen any lives,” you said, shaking as you tried to steel yourself. “We slew those who threatened to slay us, and those who begged for mercy.” You said, ready to bare your blade to the beast.

“A thing knows this. A thing knows a man has done this, has given the gift of death to the Maznareon clan. This gift was done in kindness, and was paid for with their treasures. However, the debt they owe is great, and remains unpaid. The debt of all of those who lived here is great, and each has yet to pay. A thing shall balance the scales, and the god of this land will have their due.”

The ship was out of control, the deck was covered in blood, and a creature of divine death stood upon the deck of the Iron Lion. What do you do?

>Lead the charge, lead the charge to try and kill this creature before everything is lost.

>Try to negotiate with it, to make a deal or somehow find a means of settling whatever debt this creature thinks you owe.

>Other

Current Dispositions

Asha 15/20, Humfrey 15/20, Dara 5/20, Sarella 5/20, Oberyn martell 0/20, Robert Baratheon 5/20, Cersei Lannister -7/20, Tyrion 20/20, Jaime 18/20, Sandor Clegane 5/20, Malora 5/20, Marwyn 5/20. Tywin ??/20.

File: faceless man.jpg (33 KB, 742x960)

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>>6402622
Found a cool image I thing is close to what you're dealing with right now

>>6402622
>>Lead the charge, lead the charge to try and kill this creature before everything is lost.

>>6402622

Every option we have is Bad. If we try to attack this thing directly, someone very important in our party is going to die probably either Humfrey, Gerion, or Asha and we'll get crippled, while if we try to negotiate, it'll deffo ask for something we can't give up, like the souls of our future children (or something to that effect), and the only "other" thing I can think of would be to try and use our magical knowledge to try and exorcise this fucking thing, but I very much doubt that our meager wizardly abilities will be enough to get a Valyrian Doom Spirit to fuck off without getting cursed big time.

Legit good job, QM; I've never been given a problem this deeply troubling before in a Quest.

The only thing I can think of the "debt" they owe being (other than their continued lives) is suffering for their crimes.

And the only way I can think of to pay the debt in an amenable way to us would be to hunt slavers and pirates.

>>6402622
>>Try to negotiate with it, to make a deal or somehow find a means of settling whatever debt this creature thinks you owe.
If death is the price then surely our lives alone would not suffice, perhaps then it would be best if we were let to kill in recompense. We can find wars or ways to repay the cost whereas it cannot so long as it is here enforcing upon the ruins.

Gahdamn. Dealing with the faceless man (men?) who caused the fucking doom. Better to be cursed than lose all of our limbs and half of our skull though.

So yeah without that "get outta Valyria 'free' card" to ensure we'd survive there is no fucking shot I will ever want to come back here. Fuck that. This is bullshit, I did not hit her, I did not. Oh hi Faceless Mark. Maybe it would ask us to send expeditions here to fail and die. Or maybe it would whisper names in our ears of those who need to die to ensure the world suffers enough to repay the debt. Fuck. Ah man. Yeah. Truly horrible.

If he asks for anything to do with our kids though yeah nah fuck em, we throw hands. I'll lose a limb or bits to protect the kiddos of the future.


Oh by the way QM, you archive the last thread?

>>6402648
not qm but it's archived, yea

Please do not make a deal with the soul demons. If nobody has any idea I'll have to vote for attacking them even if people die.

>>6402649
Coolio, thanks.

>>6402650
I mean what options do we really have? Offer to build a church or two? Put down a new house for the Faceless Men to work from and get their ritual and non-ritual murders done? Give it back all the treasures which I doubt it really cares about? Pray? Honestly praying is probably our BEST option. And ain't that some shit.

>>6402651
I don't know ASOIAF lore enough to tell, but I don't wanna make a deal that'll end up turning our children into ash or some shit.

>>6402622
>Try to negotiate with it, to make a deal or somehow find a means of settling whatever debt this creature thinks you owe.
"Then A Thing will have what is owed. A Lannister ALWAYS pays his debts. How would you like to be compensated?"

>>6402654
Given how Faceless Men operate I doubt it would ask for that/cause that, but at the same time I wouldn't know because this is not a normal Faceless Man. Presumably this is the guy or a collective consciousness of all the guys who caused the Doom itself. So it either heard the call of the gods to facilitate this cursed land to punish the Valyrians or it is itself cursed by the Doom it caused but is spared the agony and is instead granted a duty for the role it played.

Alternatively, this IS just a regular Faceless Man. Or the one "at the top" of their organization. Maybe after enough time this thing is just what Faceless Men become. Just with the mask off. In which case it is possible to kill it or drive it back, but given its unbelievable speed and lethality it's gonna end up killing nearly all of us and mangling the rest before we can do so.

But considering where we are and there's no sign of how it got here, it's probably a spirit of some description instead of a man. Unless it snuck onto the ship the moment we stepped foot onto Volantis. Which Faceless Men are very good at doing.

Valar Morghulis, Valar Dohaeris. All men must die, all men must serve.

>>6402662
Well, I'm telling you right now that whatever price he takes will be far fucking worse than the deaths we'll have. He might decide to take some of the people here to suffer forever like the Maznareons. He might curse our house. I don't know. But it'll suck a lot more than being wounded ill tell you 'what

>>6402669
Not if he cuts our balls off and stabs Asha in the ovaries. That'd be pretty bad. And curses can eventually run their course or be lifted. We can't exactly grow a new arm.

>>6402670
I'd say the chance of that happening is about as equal as of him cursing us to a similar extent, or our children. Especially the children, this is a medieval setting and medieval monsters LOVE cursing unborn future children.

>>6402677
If you don't like it then I suggest you vote for something else, then. That's what this is all about after all. Do a write in to pray and swear an oath to the god(s) of your choice to build the most magnificent of churches if they'll make this thing leave us alone. My suggestion is the Seven, they tend to do little miracles like making people not die it seems. But if you have any other in mind then go with them.

Or just vote to fight it. No skin off my back.

>>6402680
I'm holding off because I don't know enough to make a call. If nobody has an idea, I'll vote to fight.

>Try to negotiate with it, to make a deal or somehow find a means of settling whatever debt this creature thinks you owe.

Well the shifting faces of the thing seems to indicate that it might be some sort of avatar of the Many-Faced God (Black Goat of Qohor, Drowned God, R'hllor, etc.) . If so I don't like our chances especially since some of our best fighters are injured. We should at least ask how we can even pay the debt still owed and only fight if it's unacceptable.

>>6402682
Well no one knows enough. Doomed Valyria is never explored in canon, everything about it is speculation minus two things, that there are parasitic worms that get into people ala Aerea, and that there is some big mean mother hubbard than can wound the baddest dragon left alive Balerion. That's it. Everything else we have come across is either speculative things taken to the extreme or completely novel. If you don't want to pray, don't want to talk to it, then you may as well just vote to fight now kek. We're all guessing.

>>6402622
Man I fucking KNEW a demon would show up. Also, really REALLY fucking hope we just didn't conceive our first child in fucking Valyria. Interesting confirmation that Valyria was collectively punished by all the Gods.

>Other

We are not of this land therefore the restrictions, obligations, and debts are not owed by us by the native denizens. Transference of debts requires permission of its debtors and indebted which given your attempts to intimidate and kill indicates you do not have permission to do this and it is actually outside your jurisdiction.

Proof?

Undead Dragonlord while protecting his family and not enslaved could not perform mercy killing or suicide. Ashwights while puppeted could not die or enter the water. Restrictions are in place that ONLY affect the natives. NOT outsiders who intrude upon Valyria.

As Jason Lannister and Adopted Son of Maznareon, your allegations are full of falsehoods. IF you wish to enforce your claim, a true emissary is required for negotiations and not a Demon who also cannot leave Valyria. Otherwise, it is YOU who has in fact made a breach in terms that as outsiders we are not guilty of or carrying the debts of the indebted natives. Gift of mercy or kindness does not mean admission of guilt or automatic transference of debts.

TLDR its a demon pretending to be a divine emissary, call out its bullshit and demand proper restitution and right of emissary for negotiation/court justice if claims are serious.

PS
Don't fall for trial by combat or its bait to make a pact with it. Both options are TRAPS.

>>6402695
Anybody know whether this guy is making sense?

>>6402697
it's so autistic... that it might just work
>>6402695
>>6402622
Support trying to call it out on its BS before either following with an attack or with debate if it is so inclined.

>>6402697
>>6402695
I believe he’s stating that due to the obvious limitations and rules the inhabitants of this land are under, and the fact that no one in your group has any connection to the original crime, that the debt owed by those you gave mercy to cannot be transferred to you. He is also demanding a real representative of the accusers, likely someone from the actual house of the faceless men, to come and speak on this.

I think?

Not a bad play, given how ritualized and exact the faceless men operate.

>>6402695
*by us but

I really don't wanna get fucked by demon loopholes thanks to typos.

>>6402697
I played a LOT of intrigue and shadowrunning games with bullshit like fucking demons and Fey. Seriously fuck the Fey. Demons at least are predictable assholes in how they try to fuck you. Drag it into a debate because it is also under restrictions. The problem is we don't know what all those restrictions are exactly but it must be strong, otherwise it wouldn't be trying to bluff so hard.

Also some law studies and lover of intrigue books. If the fucker pulls out lawfare and legalese though i'm calling it quits because that means QM is lawyer and my understanding of differential terms and meanings of words in law hold differing definitions. Which my grasp of isn't all that great still. Fucking legalese redefining word meanings...

>>6402701
Right of judgement and actual representive of accusers.

We are accused of interrupting justice and debt transference however proof of this must be proven because the restrictions of the natives do not apply to outsiders like us. Drag it into a debate and demand the right to be judged and meeting with actual representives/ a proper court for justice.

In a ritualized context, for a Faceless Man who decrees they serve ALL Gods, this means Divine Emissary and Holy Judgement.

As we ourselves outsiders and not the ones whom they were contracted to kill. This is a loophole within their own code because they are restricted to ONLY killing whoever their Mark is and NOBODY else. If we want to play that angle, we would hit them over the head with the fact that there was no contract on us and they would still need proof of transference of debts.

So it depends on if in the debate do we want to play up the legal/holy or a more ritualized/magical argument? Given how we were also adopted by a Valryian House we actually have a LOT of breathing room in terms of what routes we can take in the debate. Even pushing for both depending on what works and what doesn't.

>>6402705
Personally I don't think it's a Faceless Man because they are hardcore sticklers for contractual limits and their rituals. A demon pretending to be one? Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. A Faceless Man wouldn't kill us for no reason without a contract and the right rituals. As none of us are Marked.

If it were a Faceless Man the closest they could nail us with was being adopted by house Maznareon but the issue with that is we performed the gift of mercy to the entirety of House Maznareon before the Undead Dragonlord adopted us. Under that particular claim they could neither argue we are born of the House of Maznareon and death at our hands would have ended it. They would have to argue that debts belong to the defunct entity of House Maznareon transferred to us...when there is nothing left of it but the gifts that were given to us for services rendered. Therefore there were no longer any assets remaining including Blood of House Maznareon on account of the Dragonlord being undead.

So they would have to argue an Adopted Outsider is a native and cursed Valyrian but if that were true the Curses of Valyria would also apply to Jason which didn't happen when the Undead Dragonlord struck the ritual and pact with Jason Lannister. Ergo the Gods accepted the sacred rights of House Adoption and refusal of debts transference. Otherwise, Jason would have immediately been smited and struck with the same curses that the native Valyrians suffer under.

So yes it is a Demon. Our adoption is proof that Outsiders that should they survive are not afflicted with the same punishments, curses, or debts of the natives. They even have the right to also perform the gift of mercy to any natives they come upon as well as communicate otherwise bad things would have happened with our interactions with the Undead Dragonlord.

>>6402695
+1
It's kind of deranged but 2700+ posts of autism is meaningless if we don't indulge the most autistic grognard approach when the other two choices are obviously bad. This cannot be worse than fighting it immediately and cannot be worse than offering it a debt. If we call it on its BS and it doesn't flinch, then we have a fight on our hands anyways, so it can't hurt to try.

>>6402704
The only issue I see with this is that it obviously can just kill us if it wants to. As it has been doing. Everyone who has made any move to "leave" has been killed. And given that Jason literally ate some of the ash he might rules lawyer us in that Jason IS of this land as he straight up has it in him. It's obviously already playing fast and loose with the rules it would have as a Faceless Man by indiscriminately killing us.

But I don't think this is one of the "demons". It's a demon, yes, but not one of the kind that stories are told of. So I don't think it's just a "ha ha GOTCHA!" kind of thing it's just a zealot that has been around far longer than it should have been. The very Braavosi affectation of "A thing" and "a man" makes me think that. A demon would probably speak in a more familiar manner as a psychological ploy to engender trust, basically, it has no reason to talk like a Braavosi when it clearly knows none of us are since it wouldn't particularly help its deception. Especially if we consider that Demons might be the fire counterpart to Others, they probably wouldn't speak with voices of men but a sound akin to crackling flames. Much like the Others speak with voices of cracking ice. Of course this thing is also not "speaking" so much as making us hear, neat distinction.

>>6402704
>Fucking legalese redefining word meanings

Funniest possible thing to happen if we do end up going the "debate this thing to death" route is if we have a digression where we just spend like three hours defining what the specific words it and we are using mean. I feel like Asha would just get exasperated enough to just smite this fucking thing by herself.

>>6402721
Hit him with the "WHAT IS A MAN!?".

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>>6402622
>>6402695
>support
Amazing write in.

Fuck tho... A penance of half a millenia in hell and still not paid. Whatever price the faceless thing wants we cannot pay, but I doubt we can afford to attack it either. Hope this works

Anyways, The Sigil of House Maznareon, Lord Paramount of the West and the Seas.

>>6402737
For a moment I thought there was artifacting on the kraken tentacles before I remembered squids got suckers or claws on them bad boys. Rad.

>>6402744
house words: Salt, Gold and Fire.

The skull is a lion's skull of course. I kinda wanted to do a blue flame (cuz sulphur burns blue) on the castle but I thought it might be too much of a copy of the hightowers with their green flame.

>>6402749
If you still want blue without riffing on the hightowers lighthouse, perhaps coloring the dragon's tongue blue would suffice for an evocative blue fire sort of thing? The asymmetry might be a little funky though. Then again, the imbalance might accentuate the idea that one of these things is not like the others. And being a dead and forgotten house now semi-revived would fit as a subtle impression. For whatever reason all the dragons have flames color coded to be similar to their scales though. Which I always found fun.

I do like it tho. Good stuff.

>>6402753
Thx I appreciate it.

Half of me is happy with it being a rip off of the hightowers, I tried to put all the great influences on Jason on the sigil, the Lady Kraken, The Old Lion and his expectations of legacy, his architectural passions and Valyria. The tower being a lantern would show that the hightowers also influenced him and also connect him to the sea.

On the other hand, depending how our encounter with the demon of the faceless god goes maybe it will be more appropiate for the fires to be burning from within the eye sockets of the skull, like the braavosi giant

>>6402701
>>6402695
I think that insulting this thing to it's face by calling it out is a very bad idea, even if it is just a demon.

Now, I think it is absolutely fair to ask for proof that this being is whom it claims to be. We can point out that any old demon could appear and claim to be "the real deal".
Furthermore, this being is murdering people when they try to stop the ship from hitting rocks. It is trying to force a negotiation whilst we are in danger. That is not fair. If it wanted to talk, it could have done so whilst everyone was anchored. If it didn't want us to leave without paying our debt, it had ample opportunity.
Another fair point is that we were not warned nor told about the customs of this land, thus it is unfair to place these obligations and expectations on outsiders.
ANOTHER fair point is that Jason is the only one who put the Maznareon family to rest. This being has no right to kill the rest of our crew whom were completely innocent.

This might be a dream.
This whole situation started right after Jason went to bed with Asha.
After having eaten some cursed ash and getting adopted by The Maznereon family, a demon might be trying to invade Jason's dreams. Why is it only waiting until now?
Jason should ask Asha a question that only she would know the answer to. If she says something wrong, then we know this is just a dream and that Jason is actually asleep.

>>6402622
>Other
I think we first need to find out whether this is just a dream; we ask Asha something that only she would know.
After that, go with whatever else all the other anons voted for. Simply combine my quick idea with theirs.

>>6402757
As an alternative to making the tower look like the lighthouse style of the hightowers with the flame on top, you could put a window with the flame set in it further down the structure. A fire that burns within. As much a guide as a lighthouse but for a different purpose.

Flaming eye sockets are also primo as hell. Definitely something to pontificate kek

>>6402760
If it is a dream, looking for logical inconsistencies is something to do. Though part of me suspects it isn't, it would be rather inconvenient to have to bring up the spare sail and ropes. And we might not have a spare anchor which will be annoying to park the ship once we get out of here. Well, unless the ship starts sinking and we only are able to sail to nearby "safe" land and disembark that way. Which does make me kind of hope it's just a dream or vision. Won't hold my breath, though.

File: Stannis meets Jason Lannister.png (258 KB, 1157x805)

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>>6402491
Oh shit, I forgot to post this last thread before we started the new one.

>>6402760
>If she says something wrong, then we know this is just a dream and that Jason is actually asleep.
I hate to burst your bubble, anon, but the creature identified every single remaining member by name - Jason himself probably does not know the names of all the islanders. Also, if he is capable of invading and altering a dream, he is capable of controlling how Asha answers the question, right? She could give you a wrong or right answer and it wouldn't verify whether you were being manipulated by an illusion or dream. We have to assume this mfer is for real.

>>6402769
kek maybe that 1% extra tism is what's needed to get the tomboy gf

>>6402771
>Jason himself probably does not know the names of all the islanders
That's exactly my point. If this is a dream, then the creature is not pluming Jason's mind/memory for information. It might be limited to what it has observed/heard whilst everyone was in Valyria. If it only knows things like names that it's overheard, then it can control what dream Asha says but that doesn't mean the creature would know what she would say.

That said, I'm not disagreeing with you.
There are too much lives at stake to risk on a hunch.
My point was to just try and keep an eye out for anything that could confirm my suspicions, and a quick/easy way of doing that would be by trying to ask Asha.

I don't believe at all that this creature is being honest. All the points I made in my previous post, along with all the reasons that other anons have commented on indicate that this demon is very fucking suspicious. Preventing us from steering the ship whilst also killing crew whom had nothing to do with Jason's adoption?

What it comes down to, is just whether or not it actually matters if the demon is lying or being honest.
It has us by the balls. So do we try to fight and risk a lot of us dying seeing as it can kill so easily? Or do we try to negotiate with something that obviously wants to hurt us?

>>6402616
oh great, zombi ship
>>6402619
oh great, dialectic demon
>>6402695
Jason is a Maznareon now lol, he inherited both assets and liabilities
>>6402715
>very Braavosi
yeah there's something fishy here. this is probably a demon trying to hide its true name
it wants something from us, bad, and cannot get it by killing, otherwise it would have just killed us all in our sleep
my mind is settled - this is magical/ritual combat
>>6402695
I am with you in principle, we try to lawyer this thing, but I propose a more conservative opening.
>>6402760
yes but it's probably not a dream
>>6402622
>Other
>I am Jason, scion of house Maznareon. The lives I took were mine to take, by right and custom. Who are you to challenge me?
if it's a demon it will balk at revealing its true name, we laugh at it and tell it to fuck off.
Art of the Deal, bby! Worst comes to worst, we pledge to kill Valyrians wherever we find them

>>6402777
it wants something, otherwise we'd be dead
so we find out what and either parlay that into us having power over it, or get enslaved ourselves in some way
such is the life of a warlock

>>6402785
as an aside, the etymological meaning of "warlock" is "oathbreaker"

>>6402622
Wait... I just noticed:
>Asha 15/20
Did we earn back +2 disposition with her by agreeing to forget about Brightroar and leave Valyria behind?

>>6402714
If it does come down to a fight, then we should hit it with Holy Water. Normal weapons won't work (maybe Humfrey's Goddess tears hammer?), but Holy Water while chanting a prayer to The Seven (specifically The Mother, since she wouldn't condemn Jason for putting the Maznareon children to rest)

>>6402785
I'm fine with asking what it wants. As long as we still get to then choose whether to accept or decline. Hearing out its demands might give us insight into this Creature.
Maybe we could try to also ask for proof that it is who it claims it is; how can we know that it is an actual emissary rather than a normal demon? On the flip side, asking for proof might just piss it off.

>>6402784
One thing to keep in mind is demons in ASoIaF aren't really like Abrahamic demons. They're likely much closer to various Pagan style demons. Which means naming them probably doesn't hold as much power over them as one might expect from the term demon. And if it actually is a demon born of a faceless man then it truly does have no name as they ritualistically abandon their names and identities.

But getting it to reveal itself is a very useful thing. Knowledge is power. And knowing for sure what it is will help a lot in knowing how to deal with it. Because you CAN legalese a faceless man. You can not legalese a creature born of fire. If it's a faceless demon it more than likely does want to just kill a ton of shit, but it will have rules. If it's a Demon demon it'll more than likely be trying to use us as a method of either escaping or influencing the world to facilitate spreading whatever magical malaise specifically that lets them exist in the ruins of Valyria. But more importantly it will not have anything that actually binds it to its word or a code of conduct.

Basically the question is, are we dealing with a psycho-Judge or a trapped monster.

>>6402790
Hit it with the fucking book. The magic one. Give it the bible-thumper treatment. kek

>>6402790
If it's dumb enough to give us a name we win, we have power over it.
Worth a try, I should think.
If it tells us what it wants what it really really wants, maybe we can find a way to con it.

>>6402792
my bet is trapped monster larping as psycho-Judge

>>6402790
>Holy Water.
>>6402793
>give us a name we win

Can I get a source for holy water hurting demons or their being compelled by their true names?

>>6402801
The demon (it is a demon, it calls itself "thing" not "man") itself is my source. It has not revealed its name, meaning it doesn't want to, meaning it has power.
holy water is worth a try
we also have magical weapons
maybe could try something with salt sulphur and a skull if we can find one

>>6402769
Kek, this is great. I love seeing the memes for this quest, and so does my buddy who also loves game of thrones.

Keep em coming. Also loved the petyr baelish and iron born one.

>>6402802
Faceless men don't have names unless they need them, and this thing at least styles himself in their religious dogma. I am not sure it has a name. Holy water is just irl demon myths seeping in. We don't know any solid weakness of this thing.

>>6402784
If we had inherited the curses (liabilities) of the Maznareon we'd be in excruciating fiery pain right now. Even this demon did not say that, as if it wanted to point out our magical adoption it would have called us Jason Maznareon.

The death we gave is the issue, as this thing obviously hates Valyrians and wants to see them continue suffering. Even tho we were "contracted" for it and it was paid for by the treasury of the dragonlords, it instead focuses on how we gave a mercy to those not deserving of it.

It is seeking balance and restitution, and that means it can be reasoned with. So we can rules lawyer it, however it does depend highly on how much Jason knows about the Faceless men.

We aren't Valyrian, we are far removed from the atrocities they committed and have not enslaved anyone. Same with the others in our group. If we had any Targs with us we'd probably be already dead, the same is true if we had any slaves from Volantis. Gerion in the books probably got 1 shotted by this thing the moment he passed into the smoking sea if a slave mutiny didn't kill him first.

>>6402622
I knew it the demons would hate our ass for giving the after life to the Maznareon family souls. Its why the Ashwights horde suddenly got near us after a few hours in the manse. Anyway it seems they are also enjoying killing us and have severely hampered our ability to go around, before we even got an idea we where under attack. Lost one ship and the Iron Lion is damaged too.

I dont really trust this thing. We have not yet fought back against it, but the 10 death Latterborn where all killed by it. It can also call more demons to help it, while we have to manage to kill it and then move the ship again. Somehow. How the hell we do that if we lose crew, like a ship doesn't work better with less people.

I think we are forced to fight it. It and any other demon near. It wants souls, a lot of souls has payment. I am expecting it will start killing some of our crew even if we negotiate for how many souls it wants. And a demon would be unfair eitherway in a fight or negotiation. We don't hold any good cards for either and the demands will be likely insane and great (no way in hell its just our future kids souls. Thats too small a price. Thats the included first term in the 10 terms demonic contract). I'll trust in the gods to aid us. Like Asha said is up to them now (literally because our ship is in no condition to sail well now) if they want to throw some help our expedition way.

>Other
>Ask for the gods to aid the Latterborn against this confrontation with this unjust demands

>>6402815
>Even this demon did not say that
which is why I think we should call him out on it
>balance and restitution
my ass. he's trying to terrorize us into giving him something he can't get for himself but must be given.
>We aren't Valyrian
but we _are_ Maznareon, fully within our rights to grant merciful deaths to our own
>If we had any Targs with us we'd probably be already dead
we'd be already dead if we didn't have something he wants
we must find out what that is, the legalistic stuff and the name thing are important because this is a world where forms are important, but what I am really after is for this thing to say plainly what it wants
may not look like it, but it's trying to negotiate

>>6402622
I support autistic demand for rules.

>>6402695
>Support

The debts of the valaryians, we have prevented being fulfilled.
However your honour, The God's evidently could have made them truly deathless. They left this exception in place, and now after killing 11 of my Latterborn and ruining my ladies ship, you have the gall to say I owe for the natural function of the exception?
You protest too much.

>>6402820
>Oh, and pray that the Seven faced grants us aid.

It might be nothing but it's also as good a chance as one can hope.

>Lead the charge, lead the charge to try and kill this creature before everything is lost.

>>6402823
it could come to that anyway

Look all I'm saying is that it's 1 monster against competent fighters. WITH vs. It's a classic dinosaur vs human debate. It doesn't matter how big a Dinosaur is against more that 3 humans its fucked.

Now we know this fucker is lying. Because not only do the 7 who are one NOT do shit. They hate magic. So he'd kill us for that instead of the whole bloodline thing. Its obviously a bitch ass monster that's trying to play with our head.

>>6402821
>>6402818
I don't think praying to any god will help us. After all, we are speaking to something that seems to be the representation of many gods and one, the god of death. Anything we pray to it will probably take the face of, and falling back to the seven will amuse it at best. We gotta take charge of our own destiny like a good wizard does

>>6402821
>>6402824
I think asking the gods for help is the only chance. The demon and its nearby fellows (no fat chance in this hell hole that he is alone and no other demons can be called), want to enforce an extremely unfair contract. We need any help if anyone divine is looking at this shit. This are the same guys that probably put the word end to most expeditions to Valyria (even if clearly expeditions before the Latterborn one where done exceptionally badly since NONE of them survived, and none of them had someone organize, study or prepare equipment for it. But it also mean all of them if they also encountered demons that offered them a deal ALL said "No this terms are shit", because if they accepted those terms then the demons would want those deals to be done by the mortals. This includes our two mad ancestors Tommen and Tytos, that where after glory and riches and had 0 issues in having people dying for them. Which kinda says a lot).

>>6402819
We weren't Maznareon when we were handing out the death, only became one when we got around to killing the patriarch.

You might be right tho, it hasn't killed us all yet and obviously wants something, and getting it to reveal information will be useful in more ways than one.

I still feel like it is unwise to flatly say we are the heirs of a dragonlord. I don't want to give it an extra reason to hurt us.

>>6402825
Most dinosaurs didn't have swords made out of darkness though. Gotta be worth at least, I dunno, 8 humans. At least.

>>6402827
One thing to keep in mind is that the Faceless Men don't really represent many faiths. They just co-opt every deity into their own religion. This is partly so they can enter the theological zeitgeist of any place across the world to do their business and to create an air of welcoming and openness to their house of black and white. They are a murder cult with only one god, claiming to be many, wearing their faces just like the assassin zealots that practice the faith do. They are also on occasion hypocritical, since despite their claims that killing is a sacred act that they do at the behest of their god, they still do it for money and various secular and material resources.

Basically the claims that they represent many gods is just as much of a lie as the claims they only kill because their god points at their target.

This is however a unique scenario. Since we can assume that it is indeed acting on behalf of the gods given the sheer amount of horrific curses that struck Valyria. Or it is co-opting such optics for its own purposes since the gods have already blasted this land to their own satisfaction and have left. Kind of a coin toss, eh?

Though it is using a sword made of shadows it doesn't seem to be using any sorcerous abilities besides the shapeshifting. That also tracks with the skillsets Faceless Men are known to have. If this thing does want us dead, the fact it isn't straight up attacking us means it realizes there is a chance it might be bested by our combined efforts as it no longer has the element of surprise. So it wants the ship to sink since that would certainly spell our end. And it has all the time in the world to wait here while we die that way. Alternatively, it DOES want something from us, and it is giving us the chance to speak by not killing us so long as we remain still and do not attempt to leave, perhaps because it is tasked specifically with killing anyone who tries to escape Valyria, but it also is aware of some limitation in its task and sees a word as a way to get it.

Oh, right, or it's just a fuckass demon and it's just a sadist that wants to watch us simultaneously drown and boil to death.

>>6402827
I don't trust this demon to be a proper representative of the gods and more importantly the gods where clearly fine with what Jason did in the Maznareon Manse. We didn't suddenly get fully cursed or the manse didnt fall upon us when doing the honor killing, or when the Maznareon Patriarch magically gifted us some of his magic has thanks. Everything that happened afterwards was done by demons.

I think we should ask for help and see if some of the gods are willing to throw something our way. They cannot all agree that what its being done to the Latterborn here is fair. Already demons get away with killing all expeditions that come here, and i strongly doubt any of them mercy killed and freed valyrians souls.

>We gotta take charge of our own destiny like a good wizard does
We gotta try and survive with anything, we are not even a true wizard. We have studied some stuff but by all accounts we are an apprentice in the mysteries still. They also had in check a powerful mage.

>>6402836
bruh link your vote

Sorry forgor>>6402823
I'm changing my vote
>pray to the gods THEN charge. Sorry again

>>6402832
it probably knows that already?

anyway, I'm for trying to get it to spell out what it wants, the name challenge is just to try and gain extra information like possibly its true name if it has one

>>6402839
Alright that's better but we'll keep working on it in the future kek

>>6402828
>>6402839
we are still in Valyrian territorial waters, as it were, the Doom in other words
gods apparently hate everyone and everything in here, even the monsters seem to be in pain
so what I'm saying is we might amuse them briefly by praying, or annoy them
not worth the risk

Ny point is that is is literally the furthest point to the power of the seven who are one. Its like somebody showing up in westros saying there an avatar of the black goat of qoruthi. Or whatever the nepollese wale hunters worship. Its so far from where they should be Its highly improbable.

>>6402802
>It has not revealed its name, meaning it doesn't want to, meaning it has power.
IRL folklore and goetic demonology doesn't apply here. If this is a servant of or aspect of the God of death, or a demon, or a powerful ghost, which has styled itself after the Faceless Men, it would not identify itself with a name because they don't do so themselves - it may not even have a name at all. Assuming it has a name, and that knowing it would allow us to command or rebuke it, isn't really helpful unless there is some source in the ASOIAF lore that backs it up.
>holy water is worth a try
I have never seen the term 'holy water' appear in any context inside of ASOIAF that I can recall, and I don't know that the faith of the seven practices the blessing of water or that doing so imparts any real magical potency.

>>6402825
Jaime Lannister, Barristan Selmy, and Arthur Dayne have all canonically won fights of 5+ to 1 if I remember right. I think if we fight it, we may survive, but our best two fighters are both severely injured. I'd be surprised if they didn't both die. Asha, Gerion, and Sarella wouldn't all three survive either. Probably half the remaining islanders would die, a few might even jump ship if we lead a charge.

Look Jaime and the others only won because its a bunch of no skilled nobodies. Literally brigands. This is more like 5 jaimes vs 1 robbert

>>6402873
None of the fighters we have are as skilled as jamie except Dara (our brother is a generational talent) and we are facing a demon that made 10 of our crew into wood varnish and decoration. We aint winning in a fight

>>6402875
>We aint winning in a fight

I don't think QM is enough of a cunt to give us a deliberate trap option. I think we'll win the fight and get the demon to fuck off, but it'd be a deeply pyrrhic victory and cost us a lot more than we're willing to lose.

>>6402878
Or worse, the demon simply kills and maims enough of us to make Jason agree to whatever its terms are instead of being able to negotiate from a less dire position. Like the fact that the thing is taking the time to talk at all shows it has deeper intentions than just our deaths.

>>6402712
>>6402705
>>6402695
+1 to going with the leganese route, BUT I got another argument we could make

Hear me out: If Valyria and their natives were cursed and victims to the God's wrath, then that means Valyria would be some kind of a prison, right? But we're able to get in and out.

If us, as explorers, didn't died while trying to get into Valyria, doesn't that mean the Gods see us as fit to also leave? If the will of the gods is to punish, if not outright Kill everyone that's in this cursed lands, that means that the whole expedition would've died the first day, maybe just by entering.

Life's were lost and also claimed by the cursed Lands, we already paid our price by trespassing, because if not, everyone would've died earlier. The fact that he killed the guards and the Islanders as we were getting out, by this Faceless man hand, means he's indebted to us, if they were to day, maybe at the end of the canal or something this place would've claimed their lives, but it was this guy.

tl;dr If Valyria wanted us dead we could've died while entering, instead, the party died during the expedition. The Faceless Man coming here and getting our men and woman kill, instead of Valyria choosing our fate, means he charged lives that weren't his to take, which means he owes us

>>6402847
Hmmm, in that case...
Fuck it, just go even further and call upon aid from The Others
"In the name of the Cold Gods of Night and Winter, I banish you!"

>>6402873
Our two very best fighters would both lose a 2v1 against Jaime, he would kill Humfrey and Dara very quickly and possibly without taking a scratch. Right now they are both critically injured. We are barely better than brigands in this situation.
>>6402875
We would be able to kill it, I don't think QM would make that one of our limited options if it was an automatic loss. So idunno, we would win - but we would get hosed, too, multiple deaths guaranteed, and we need all hands to sail.

>>6402904
>squad wiped
>Jason becomes a cocksleeve for a demon lord
>reverse harem quest
>expectations successfully subverted

>>6402904
I don't think having only 2 options is in any way a guarantee of success. Like the options are there to move the story, and defeat is a learning experience that would develop Jason

>>6402904
I also reject the idea that Jamie would wipe dara and Humphrey in a 2 vs 1.

Humphrey he could probably come out on top.
But Dara is an archer, with an anti-armour bow, and a warhammer guy running interference.
With valaryian instruments.

>>6402695>>6402839
Fuck just reread thar write in and uts fire.
>>6402695 supporting this option instead

>>6402930
Well, Jaime is no archer, I think at range he would be mopped by Dara, as would most.
But in a melee, even if they do each have one piece of Valyrian gear (and we haven't decided which of them gets what, if anything), I do still think he is just faster and more skilled, would very likely just mop them. We don't have many feats for either of them yet, but I think we'd know by now if they had the kind of juice he packs.

>>6402945
In GOT, even the best fighter is subject to conditional events.
Arthur dayne got his cheeks clapped by a backstab, despite wiping 10 men on the go.

And armour/weapons make for a very big modifying factor on a fighter. Man with armour will ignore some swords, and just swat.

Give humphrey his hammer and a valaryian armour, he could probably do in Jamie.
My main contention is that it isn't a no diff

>>6402948
Well, if either of them are wearing Valyrian armor that certainly would change the calculus significantly, sure.

>>6402949
Barristan selmy saying he would cut through the kingsguard like butter is because they are all nepotism hires.

Not because they were peer fighters of unusual skill.
If they were, he'd have to work for it
At even gear and preferences, Jamie probably wins. But difficult.