faderift | Player Plot: My Father's Eyes

Gee, if only he had his sniper rifle, or at least the sight to it, Church would totally make a good scout. As it is, with his human body and sight-less weapon that is literally just a fucking sword, he's not much of a scout. He'd miss Tucker's bitching and whining and constantly asking what's going on, and honestly, nobody wants someone like Church yelling out positions from the trees. It'll make people less alive.

"Nobody needs to be reminded to avoid anything red being flung at them, right?" Don't worry, he's keeping his voice down. "Norry, these dudes were your people, what's the best way to down a Templar?"

From Korrin's vantage point, she'll be able to see straight through the the Red Templars' base, though there is one large tree right in her line of sight that blocks part of the camp. Thankfully that tree also blocks her from the Red Templars. There are two archers standing at the front, pacing back and forth. A little beyond them the camp starts, and there are the standard tents, braziers, and makeshift tables of wood planks set across supply barrels. She'll spot at least five Red Templars milling about, and all these men look normalish, because while they do have a red glow to them, they aren't the deformed monsters they've seen in Emprise du Lion.

Further on, there is a makeshift pen made of ropes draw around trees, penning in six horses, and to the left of them, just before Korrin loses line of sight from the trees, is the edge of a cart with a blanket lying in it. Instead of a large chunk of red lyrium, however, there is only a small grouping of crystals. Either this is the last of the load, or the mining hasn't been plentiful around here. Suddenly from further left, two deformed Red Templars lumber into Korrin's view and stand by the cart. They don't speak -- and in fact probably aren't capable of speech at this point. They seem to be doing nothing more than walking around.

This is all Korrin will be able to report back. She's seen most of the left side of the camp towards the center. If anyone wants to try to get to another vantage point to see the right side of the camp, now is the time.

Carefully making her way back down -she absolutely cannot afford to sprain anything right now- Korrin lands and takes her staff from her back, one hand resting on her spirit blade.

"Alright, reporting in from the left side. Two archers at the front, at least five others beyond that don't seem too corrupted...yet. You know that can change at any moment, especially since there are two crystalbacks near the lyrium cart. There's also a makeshift pen for about half a dozen horses, if we want to use that as a distraction somehow."

She picks up a stick and traces into the ground the layout of what she's seen, so everyone has a general idea of what to expect. What happens next is up to all of them, though, and she looks to the Templars/Seekers with them, knowing they'll want to have a say in how to attack their former brethren.

Aleron listens intently to Korrin's report, making mental notes of positioning, numbers, assets and hindrances. Those two archers are arguably the most dangerous of the group. It means the whole group will need to stay out of line-of-sight or risk becoming a pincushion. But the horses present could be used to distract them, perhaps.

"Under normal circumstances, I could ignite the lyrium in their blood to immobilize them. I've not tried it with red lyrium, so I'd not care to hinge our strategy on that." Not that what a Seeker is truly capable of is public knowledge, but if there's any surprise at that revelation for anyone, he's not batting an eyelash. It is what it is. "I'll attempt it should need arise, but even so, I cannot take on all of them at once."

He eyes the traces on the ground, giving them due consideration. "Horses spook easily enough. I would not suggest magic as they'll trace the source, and an arrow will be a flat giveaway of an incoming attack. Unless one of our mages can conjure us a snake. Otherwise, I suggest using a nature to assist and toss a rock into the pen..." he motions to an ideal spot, "...and see if we can get them running amok. If we employ the chaotic stratagem, we will not want to approach one a singular position. I just here, here, here and here." He points to random spots along the perimeter which would allow them to get in, and if there's enough mayhem, take down the archers first.

Ignite lyrium in ones blood - well that certainly was an interesting and terrifying ability. Perhaps another time being told that Sam would act surprised, but right now with danger so close by the only thing that signals that he's thinking about it is the way he thins his lips a bit more, eyes still focused on the roughly drawn map.

"Don't think any of us can produce a snake..." Unless Christine and Korrin weren't telling him anything. He certainly couldn't turn into anything like that, and he's pretty sure a dog or hart would attract attention rather then what they all were planning.

"If we get the horses to spook, how do you want us to take out the archers? Blast them down and fast?"

Christine stands close to the drawing Korrin makes, her finger and thumb plucking at her lower lip in a thoughtful gesture. She looks up at Aleron with surprise when she hears what he's capable of doing, and she has to admit she's intrigued if not a bit horrified. So that's how Seekers keep Templars in line.

Her eyes move towards Sam as he next speaks, shaking her head to confirm she can't make a snake.

"A rock will do well enough for the horses. Whoever believes they have the best aim and the ability to throw far enough, please take care of that." She taps the dirt with a foot where Korrin drew the archers. "Lightning spell first, I think. Chain lighting will get them both at once and immobile them on our approach. Then we can hit them with whatever we can to finish them." She draws in a breath and turns to Aleron once more. "If you see the opportunity, I think you should use your abilities to ignite the lyrium. You said you cannot do all at once, so that means it is not an ability that covers an area? Then our Templars will be safe from it. But I want to know how red lyrium reacts to it. I will personally cover you if it fails, so you are not left vulnerable." Ever the researcher, Christine just has to know. Sister Leliana denied her request to bring back a Red Templar alive, but they can still take samples and study them this way.

"Now, how many was that so far? Nine? We should get eyes on the rest of the camp. Any volunteers?"

"Leave the Chain Lightning up to me. With that and a Static Cage, they aren't going anywhere." If someone else wants to do the rock-throwing she'll leave them to it, as Korrin would rather focus on her strengths...and being a flashy distraction, of course. She glances around at Christine's question, ready to volunteer again if no one beats her to it.

Not really one for fighting, Bruce has been mostly lingering in the background listening to everyone as they discuss their plan of attack. His grip on the staff he has tightens momentarily as he listens to the words spoken, knowing that they're doing whatever they can to make this safe - but there's always going to be danger in heading out to battle. Naturally, he can't help but worry.

"I can do my best to support whoever wants to go up front and center," he offers on his own end. "I'm not the best fighter by any means, but I'm decent in healing and support, at the very least."

Church's aim is questionable on the best of days. But if nobody else is gonna step up to the plate-- "So we toss some rocks at horses, zap the archers. Means anyone that doesn't have a bow is gonna either have to get up close or start shooting red shit at us. Awesome."

He glances around. "So uh, I'm not really a scouting type, but if we're gonna come from a couple different angles for the element of flanking surprise, we should have one person go around the right side and one go around the left, just to make sure the coast is clear and we've got good vantage points." His thumb hooks one way. "I can take left. I don't have any robes to trip over," he adds as a joke but said in a serious way as to suggest maybe it's not actually a joke, how can anyone tell.

"Thankfully we have Templars with shields," she replies, though she is worried about red lyrium or that strange lightning being shot out at them nonetheless. "I do not see any problems with this plan. Church goes left. I will go right. Korrin can stay center and we will signal her when we are sure there are no outliers. Then Church, you throw a rock. You will already be on the left where you can see the horses. When they make noise, Korrin, you hit the archers, and then we rush in. Church and I will come back towards the middle and join you. I think it would be too dangerous for either of us to try coming in from the flank on our own." Because she's a squishy mage and Church is just getting used to fighting with a sword.

"Is there anything I am forgetting? Bruce will stay in the back to heal, of course. Anything else?"

Off to the side, James was speaking to his men, murmuring in a soft voice as they relayed the information between one another. Anamaria and Giselle nodded, before taking off into the forest, and then James turned with the rest of his templar contigent.

"I am having my archers go to the far side, to try and take out the templar archers when the distraction hits. Hopefully, that will still give us the element of surprise. Christine, I am going to send Gilette and Burns with you. Church, I am assigning Murtogg and Mullroy to you. Korrin - since you are taking the most dangerous position, and probably the one that is going to take direct fire, I will be joining you and ... Seeker Darton, if he would like to join us."

Korrin nods to Christine at mention of a signal, overall approving of the sound strategy. She knows she can take a lot, even more as a knight-enchanter, and she wouldn't encourage either Christine or Church to risk themselves needlessly. Looking over to James, she quirks a small smile and nods to Aleron as well. "Sounds good to me. Stay close enough and I can keep the barriers coming for you both." And that way, they can also not be in the direct path of her most dangerous spells.

Christine gives a brief smile to Gilette and Burns. She knows neither well, but they like Sam quite a bit, therefore they're all right in her eyes.

"I will barrier the three of us as well. Stay close, so I may cover all of us at once." With that said, she turns to look over the group. She's a practical woman, not given to lofty speeches and especially not about to waste time.

"Good luck. May the Maker walk with you all." And with that, she leads her team towards the right, laying down a barrier as they go. Gilette moves ahead and carefully climbs up a tree, taking his time so he doesn't shake the branches too much. He looks out over the right side of camp, which isn't as busy as the left. More tents extend this way, and three Red Templars -- all swordsmen -- sit around a brazier eating. But then Gilette spots movement behind the tents and waits. Several more horrors are moving around back there, and one lets out a screech, doubling over in pain. The men around the campfire stop their conversation and look at each other in discomfort, but don't move. Still watching, it becomes clear to Gilette that there are just the two horrors, so he looks down at Christine and extends all the fingers on one hand to signal five enemies.

Christine nods her understanding and carefully picks her way to a place she can see Korrin. She waits until she's sure her friend can see her, then she stretches out all her fingers to signal Korrin with the number. Five on the right. That makes fourteen total. And the Inquisition numbers fourteen as well; imagine that. Now they'll wait for Church to throw the rock (and he'd better find a rock or something to throw, or so help her Andraste...) and for the confusion to signal Korrin to hit the archers with lightning. Anamaria and Giselle can take it from there, and then they can all move in.

Thankfully, Korrin's already got the left side scouting covered, so it's Christine's job of reporting in from the right that's more important. He just has to have not shit aim or make one of his Templar buddies do it. Church scoops up a sizeable hunk from alongside the cart path and starts his way up and around, similar to how Korrin had gotten up to her vantage point. Mullroy makes sure to get in front of him with an exasperated look back, because they're here to make sure you don't get Templar-shanked, not go running off wildly.

Man, do none of these Templar guys have a sense of fun in them? Tough crowd.

He's used to climbing around a canyon to vantage points in heavy-ass full-body armor and weaponry, so he's actually more nimble than he might give himself credit for since his protection is much more meager and lighter in comparison. Has to make sure the sword doesn't clang around, but that's not hard. The view is just about the way Korrin had marked it out in the dirt, and there the three of them wait. The Templar buddies of his are calm and waiting patiently, but he wonders if fighting other former Templars that are now fucked up on the red stuff weirds them out or makes them nervous. They don't show it though.

He keeps turning the stone over in his hand, craning his neck to see if he can make out Christine on the other side. From this angle he can just make out the glint of her hair, the way she moves back toward the middle and presumably gives some kind of signal. He waits another minute before edging himself closer to the edge of their as of yet unnoticed place and is really starting to have second guesses about who let him do the aiming and throwing here. Have any of them seen him miss spectacularly with a crossbow? But he can sometimes get a hit in when it counts. Or an almost hit. He can do this. A force of magic is the only thing that'll keep him from hitting. Oh right there's magic everywhere haha.

Thankfully for everyone involved, when Church lets loose the fist-sized stone, it lands with a skitter and a clatter in the horse pen, right by the back foot of one of them, which immediately lets out an alarmed noise, rearing up and then stamping back down, the other mounts likewise startling and kicking up a fuss.

The two horrors not far from the horses start making growling noises deep in their throats while two Templar swordsmen rush over to calm the horses. One man throws the horrors a worried glance, not wanting to get them angry. Back at the front the archers exchange a look. One says, "Should we go check?" and the other replies, "They have in handled. Stay at your post."

Fourteen versus fourteen. Well, she's had worse odds. Korrin will take it, confident in the assembled skills of her group. Red Templars can't be allowed to live, and that's that.

The Vashoth mage, rock-solid in the center, wastes no time in acting as soon as she spots that signal from Church. Whirling her staff, she summons a blast of lightning that strikes the nearest archer and arcs to the next with a loud crackle. Before they can recover, she then encases them in that static cage, which is set to paralyze them as soon as they try to leave. In addition, whenever they're otherwise hurt, a lightning bolt will strike them. Have fun with that.

Seeing as everyone had their own positions, Sam quietly watches as they all spread out before taking up his own spot. For now he was hanging back just a bit, placing himself in a location that was centralized between the groups so that he could get to either quickly for backup. Even if he was confident in his skills to more up in front and in the fray, it was more important that they take care of things, hopefully with very little injuries.

It's sensing and seeing the lightning magic spark and crackle that he knows that the fight has begun. The sword hilt in his hand comes to life when he casts a paralyzing glyph on the ground between Korrin's location and the red templars, in case they start charging in that direction.

The archers are pretty much screwed. As if all the electricity surging through their bodies isn't enough, two arrows come whizzing through the leaves; one embedding itself in an archer's jugular, the other penetrating the leather portion of the other's armor, right over his heart. Both men collapse to the ground, bodies still twitching and now smoking slightly. They are deader than dead. They have ceased to be. They are ex-Red Templars.

That's two down, twelve to go. And the Red Templars inside the camp haven't stayed idle while all this has occurred. They gear up, helmets going on, shields being hoisted. On the left side, one horror starts shooting spikes of red lyrium from his hand into the woods. He's firing blindly at this point, trying to pin down where the magic spell came from. The other horror starts writhing in pain, grabbing his head, his back pulsating. But this action places a magical barrier down, and the very air around him turns sour. Those closest to the front of the attack might feel a brief roll to their stomachs, like they're about to be sick, but it passes soon enough. Now the Red Templars move forward to meet the threat. In front is a guardsman with a large shield, ready to take a frontal assault. Behind him are two swordsmen, and the two by the horses are abandoning them and turning back towards the fight. The men on the right of the camp are still gearing up, and the two horrors there are coming around to the middle from behind the tents for cover.

James would always say, it was idiotic to go for where the magical spells had come from first. Always look for the archers - because if you haven't found them - they have already sighted you for another arrow in the back.

He's already moving in front of Korrin, shield up and out, blocking any spare shards of red lyrium. sword out and in his hand, completely and grimly quiet as he waits for them to come chargers through the forest. Clearly, red lyrium does not help with mental capacity, because as soon as the first one with the shield comes through, James is already charging him and slamming him back into the other guardmen. He doesn't need a battle cry.

Because on the cover on the far side of the camp, two more arrows come flying out to strike the men trying to get their gear on.

Up next to Christine and Church, the other Templars were holding their guard, waiting until all the Templars had committed one way or another, so they could close in the trap around them.

Thank timing for that Barrier spell and her companions' shields. The thought of that red lyrium getting on her at all has her blood running cold. Everyone's facing the same danger, though, so she'll stand with them to make it end as soon as possible.

With that in mind, the Vashoth mage wastes no time taking action. She casts Stonefist, smashing it into the nearest Red Templar before charging forward and swinging with her glowing blade. If they thought she was just going to hang back, they're very mistaken.

The Red Templars may have been knocked back, but they're not going to let themselves be walked over. The two horrors on the left start out into the woods, hoping to find where those archers are hiding. And in doing so they run straight into Church and his two Templar buddies. They immediately engage, shooting out red lyrium and what appears to be a crackle of red electricity. Murtogg takes a chunk of the lyrium to his Templar armor, though luckily it doesn't penetrate through. Church and Mullroy aren't as lucky. The red electricity arcs between the two, painful enough that they both may be brought to their knees. Only Murtogg is fit enough at the moment to fight both horrors, and that task may be too much for him. But he tries, swinging his sword wildly in the hopes of disrupting the one horror's focus on electrocuting the others.

Back in the center, the Red Templar with the shield gathers his wits and charges forward. He slams back into James with his shield, but it isn't enough to knock James off his feet. Meanwhile the two swordsmen behind are about to engage with Korrin with two others coming as backup. Four against one isn't great odds, and before the others can come to assist Korrin, one swordsman gets a hit in with his sword. Her armor will catch some of the damage, but there will be minor bleeding and some pain.

On the right, one soldier cries out from the arrow piercing him and drops to his knees. The arrow sticks out from his shoulder, but isn't a deadly wound. He asks his fellow Red Templar to break the shaft, switching his sword to his left hand. The other one struck by an arrow stumbles back into a tent, hand grasping for purchase and bringing the tent down on top of himself. He doesn't move, but it's impossible to tell if he's dead or not.

Everything explodes in motion at once, and Church is oddly calm about it. He's kind of used to way more colorful armor and also bullets, but this is fine. He just has to make sure not to die. Easy, right?

But the horrors, those ugly motherfuckers come tramping through the underbrush for them, and before he can charge one through with his blade, electricity crackles into one of his Templar buddies, arcing into him. Mullroy's body convulses but stays on his feet, back arching in a painful looking way. Church sinks to his hands and knees, a cry of pain choking off as his nervous system goes haywire.

Murtogg's wild swinging makes the stream of red lightning flicker, though not necessarily stop as it tries to reposition around Murtogg. What he should really be worried about is the other horror focusing its attention on the attacker and likewise making to attack. But to be fair, that's at least better than attacking those who are downed? Poor Murtogg's probably going to die, though, or get infected with that red lyrium oozing out of the attacking horror, shooting off another chunk of the stuff.

Momentarily it is only three against one as the Red Templars move onto Korrin, one of them activating Sam's glyph and finding himself frozen in place. It won't hold long, but it will certainly take him out of the fight for the time, enough that Sam can get to his fellow mage.

Sam utilizes his fade step to get in close to Korrin's location, sword swinging out in an upward arch at the swordsman who attacked her. He can feel the blade slice, hear the templar scream, but not enough to bring him down, just enough to have him back up and injured.

Quickly he gives Korrin a once over, noticing the wound. He hadn't gotten there in time, which has him pursing his lips, but it doesn't look that bad. "You alright?" he asks, already casting a Haste spell around them.

She's definitely had worse injuries in her time, but that doesn't mean this one doesn't sting and ache. Transforming that pain into action, she snarls and retaliates with a vicious blow of her own, slicing at him in hopes of breaching his own armor. Her spirit blade tends to be very good at that, so she's not worried. If it can get past the hide of a pride demon, then this armor won't pose as much of an issue.

Sam's timely intervention and spell get a brief grin from Korrin, who's ignoring her pain as best she can. "Now I am! Thanks!" She'll take advantage of the Haste spell to cast Winter's Grasp and freeze their company in place.

On the right, Christine, Gilette, and Burns move forward into the camp. Burns goes immediately for the downed Templar in the tent, driving his sword into him to make sure he's dead. Gilette engages the only swordsman still standing on that side, who's standing at the side of the one pierced with an arrow. The two dance around each other, looking for an opening. Meanwhile, Christine sends a lightning bolt down into the arrowed one, her heart pounding in alarm as she hears Church and Mullroy cry out. The two horrors make it into the fray from around the tents, and both Christine and Gilette are hit with red lightning, causing the former to lock in place in agony, struggling for breath while the latter is slashed by the Red Templar's sword. Adding insult to injury, the other horror shoots red lyrium at Gilette. He is having a really bad day.

Back in the middle, the guardsman snarls at James and Aleron. "Where is your Maker now?" he says mockingly. "He's abandoned us, after all we did for him. We serve a higher cause now, and you're too stupid to see it!" He charges forward with his shield, but it isn't enough to break through James's stance. That just angers the shield bearer further. The red stuff was supposed to make him stronger! Stronger than his foolish brothers who didn't join them. Nearby, the Red Templar affected by the paralysis glyph is released, and just misses out on the cold spell Korrin throws at the others. Free to move, he swings his sword at Sam, and manages to find a gap in his armor. The wound is a laceration deeper than what Korrin suffered, but if Sam or Bruce hurry with a healing spell, it won't prove fatal.

Meanwhile the three other swordsmen are currently popsicles thanks to Korrin. Coupled with the two magic sword hits the one took, it will only take one more blow to bring that one down.

On the left, Murtogg is in bad shape. The red lyrium is covering his armor and he's trying to break through the pain to attack. Likewise, Mullroy is trying to push past the pain, but his body isn't cooperating. He's still frozen in place, tears running down his cheeks. One of the horrors lumbers forward, claws outstretched to slice at Church, but an arrow from the trees hits the horror straight in the throat. Anamaria's got your back, bro.

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