faderift | ( closed ) player plot: the stars go waltzing

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( closed ) player plot: the stars go waltzing

WHO: Adelaide, Araceli, Avery, Bellamy, Bruce, Ciri, Cosima, Daenerys, Jamie, Korrin, Lexa, Martel, Merrill, Ruby, Sabine, Teren.
WHAT: catch all log; the capture of shardbearers, their rescue, and related shenanigans.
WHEN: Gently timey wimey for flexibility, Team Rescue arrives at the outpost on the 10th.
WHERE: Orlais/Nevarra borders (roughly halfway between the Fields of Ghislain and Trevis), and then a Creepy Place.
NOTES: Log for the missing shardbearers player plot; ooc here & here. Only the travel threads for teams one and two are going up for now, the rest will go up on Friday :]b And to clarify - when I say party style, what I mean is subthread to your hearts content!
WARNINGS: HORROR THEMES. Abduction, experimentation/torture, forced ingestion of lyrium, implied past deaths/murder, violence.

SPEEDY LINKS

TEAM ONE: travel to Craintellier
TEAM ONE: rift two attempt & Venatori attack
TEAM ONE: dungeons
TEAM ONE: escape attempt — Cosima, Jamie & Lexa only
TEAM TWO: travel to Craintellier
TEAM TWO: post rift investigation — Adelaide, Bellamy & Sabine, Bruce, Korrin & Teren, Ciri & Merrill
TEAM TWO: take the outpost — Attack & Distract & Stealthy & Stealy
TEAM TWO: regroup & into the dungeons — plus a Lexa-shaped guest star
ALL: finding your shardbearers
ALL: boss fight
ALL: epilogue & return to Skyhold — tba

click for bigger version. full map of Thedas here.

East of Perendale and south of Trevis, next to a river's winding course, there lies the bones of a fortress. It is an old and almost forgotten place, a dramatic, clawed seeming thing reaching up into the sky, harsh against the the rolling hills.

It is an ancient place, dating back to 660TE, a testament to an Empire suffering after civil war and grasping to restore its wealth and influence after it had been so shaken. It stands as a memory of grandeur, rather than an icon of it, and bears the marks of devastation and scarring that so much of the land suffered during the First Blight. It was all but abandoned thereafter, host only to the desperate and the greedy, and never for long. Once ornate mosaics now only hold flecks of gold, flakes that stubbornly resisted the hands of looters trying to pry them away. Other colours, reds, whites, greys and blacks, they all remain.

The site was chosen for its riches, sitting atop a mine that once held immense wealth, seams of gold that would bring wealth back into the Empire and help restore stability. Opulence, the central Tevinter staple (aside from slavery and blood magic, some might say).

But they dug too deep, and when the First Blight came so too did the darkspawn.

It has a new master, now, and he serves the Elder One. Parts of this stronghold may be in ruins now, but remember: it is not what lies on the surface that counts, but what lurks beneath it.

AD VICTORIAM, AD GLORIA.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The fortress is dramatic in the way of all Tevinter buildings, sharp angles and sweeping pillars and columns. Even in its ruined state, it is a formidable place, a harsh, grasping figure against the skyline.

While one team, the stealth one, waits for the attack team to create a sufficient distraction and gets into position, it falls to Avery, the recognisable prey, to wander across the stone bridge that spans the ravine, and the distant roar of waterfall and river below. The bridge is far from perfect, with some great holes and crumbling stones in the pathway.

Earlier there were guards sighted, though they are not so readily visible, now.

( OOC: One thread, no tagging order, I will GM Venatori/traps/clues and such.

This first little bit will be a bit of boomeranging between NPCs and Avery as she draws them out for the rest of the team to attack, and then everyone can jump in. )

Edited 2016-09-09 06:36 (UTC)

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!

--and so on and so forth. Everyone gets the idea, yeah? Just imagine that as the ongoing mental mantra throughout this entire course of events, because this is just about the stupidest thing Avery has ever done, but boy howdy is she about to do it anyway. It's really their best chance to get the drop on these assholes and get through this situation with as few casualties as possible, and well... apparently she cares about that.

Leading to this current awful moment where she stumbles her way across this small stretch of questionable stone over a deep pit of death and straight towards more, slightly different death. Her wounds have mostly been healed, but she still looks as terrible as she did when they were fresh, so the addition of a small false limp should be enough to play her part convincingly enough, right?

"Is- Is anyone there?!" she calls in a halting, slightly breathless voice as she draws close. "Please! I need help! I..." Her voice trails off for a moment.

"Please."

Meanwhile, the Venatori are having a totally chill good time.

It's an archer that spots Avery first, making some inaudible but jeering comment to the other on watch with him. Maybe their words are indistinct, but the tone carries mockery.

Rather than say anything, he idly tossed loose pebble at Avery, clattering near her feet.

Its a second later when there's an audible-- "The girl from the rift! The Inquisition can't find us!"

The pebble is followed by a poorly loosed arrow, rushed, and there is a rush of bodies visible in the windows, before the outer set of great wooden doors begins to groan open.

Wow, dude. Maybe the definitions are different out here in Asshole Land, but that was all pretty distinctively un-chill.

"Wh--?!" And to think, she was going to try again at playing like she didn't know who was in the fort, but the moment the shout goes out and the arrow comes flying, Avery is ducking and scrambling backward, despite it not actually coming anywhere near her. At the very least she tries for a shocked expression as she looks in the direction it came from?

Then her eyes go legitimately wider at the sight of the doors opening, and she groans, "Oh, fuck me," and turns to limp quickly (but not so quickly that they lose sight of her) back the way she came.

The doors are hefty - require a man hauling at chains to work the mechanism that opens each one, definitely only possible to open from the inside - and slow. It's possible for Avery to get a bit of distance before the first of the Venatori starts to run out after her.

They wear the typical garb of Venatori gladiators - bare chest and legs, but with a heavy collar that latches their helmet on. There's a good ten of them, or so, moving without any great rush to get to her. It's inevitable that they'll catch her, and a quartet of mages follow up the procession as the doors slowly grind shut. This is a march they've done before.

"Get the girl," one of the mages calls from the back. "Maris might have a use for her."

Maker's breath, they're really pulling out all the stops for one possibly useless person, aren't they? But that was the idea behind this whole plan, huh?

As she leads the Venatori toward the ambush point, occasionally casting hurried looks over her shoulder to the approaching crowd, Avery briefly considers playing into the trope a bit harder. You know, shouting uselessly for help or begging the enemy for mercy or some such? But whether it's a conscious decision or just terrified instinct, what ends up coming out instead is that internal monologue from before, in a moderately loud string of panicked curses.

For one especially horrifying moment, she even thinks she's gotten mixed up and isn't heading the right way anymore, before realizing her destination is right in front of her. She tries to mask her relief though as she stumbles to her hands and knees, then slowly stands and drags herself forward to lean against the nearest tree, breathing heavily.

"Please," Avery feebly says again as the Venatori begin catch up. "Don't."

They learned about how hubris is bad and wanted to make sure they were super prepared, okay. Being cocky never goes well for villains!
As it turns out, being overly prepared also doesn't go terribly well. They should probably contact their union.

"Bring her in. Unharmed," the lead mage says, a wry kind of mockery on the last word, that suggests perhaps he does not mind too much either way how harmed she is, given the state of her. "Go."

With a strange, precise shift, all blades raise at once, points aimed at Avery and shields high, as the gladiators begin to encircle Avery.

Mage B looks at Mage C. Why are we even here, bro? Idk bro, maybe it's for some inexplicable plot reason.

"Alright, fine," Avery sighs, reaching down with a wince and pulling a small knife from boot. She's got this, you guys, don't even worry about it.

"If that's the way it's to be." Her voice raises as her fingers flex around the handle of the blade and she looks to each of the warriors in front of her. "Bring it on then! Right now!"

Excellent, it's time to act. Korrin steps into view, putting up a Barrier spell around Avery first. She wastes no time after that, summoning flaming meteors to rain fire down upon all enemies in the area for the next several seconds. Whatever destructive force doesn't bring down will have to contend with her as soon as soon as the meteors cease. Her expression is hardened, utterly focused. Absolutely nothing is going to stop her from reaching Araceli, just fucking try.

There's a startled yell from one of the mages, and it makes the mage with authority - Timmy, let's call him Timmy - startle before he's calling orders in Tevene to his fellow mages (Steve and Gus, for the sake of ease.)

The three of them draw together, and the slave warriors raise their shields to protect themselves from the meteors, although one is not quite quick enough, and staggers from his injuries, even as Steve and Gus cast barriers over their warriors.

Timmy, meanwhile, is displeased by this sudden turn of events; he casts despair, and follows with a vicious spray of ice attacks.

Lovely barriers Steve and Gus have. It'd be a terrible thing if they were dispelled. It's a pointed, precise attack all cold fury and focused will, Adelaide snapping out to cut off their magic and drain their mana, bounding each to wisps summoned for Korrin and herself.

She cannot harm them with magic, but she can stall them. Paralyze them.

Avery needs to be out of the way -- she was wonderfully brave, offering to draw the Venatori out, but now the time has come for her to draw back. Merrill will help; Wrath of the Elvhen sends roots and brambles bursting from the ground to attack their foes, the trees themselves almost seeming to sway their branches like flailed weapons. Stepping out from behind one, there's a little nod to herself and then Merrill activates Stone's Throw.

She vanishes, appearing a moment later next to Avery; the earth let her move through it, but it likely won't do the same for the other woman. Still, Merrill extends the hand not holding her staff. "Come on, let's move!"

She had been ready to help when the trap was sprung. To fight. She-- She thought she had been ready? Then suddenly there were blasts of arcane ice flying through the air, the trees and earth itself bursting to furious life, and fire raining from the skies all around her. So much fucking fire. And Avery... just froze. Her mind blank and breaths shallow, unable to move.

This is madness. Absolute madness. And she is not like these people. What is she even doing here?!

It's only Merrill's shout that seems to snap her out of it, and Avery hesitates just a moment before somewhat mechanically taking her hand and starting to move.

Edited 2016-09-10 17:47 (UTC)

Korrin shudders as that Despair spell sinks its hooks into her, those spirits of fear undermining her strength. That, to her, is worse than the ice attacks. Adelaide's wisps are a godsend, and Korrin uses the extra mana to force off the despair with a Dispel effect before it can delay her further. After that, noting that the three have drawn together, the Vashtoth mage takes full advantage of that, casting Static Cage. Not only do they get to be bombarded by the remaining meteors, they'll get shocked if they try to leave the area.

The air seems charged with all the clashing magics that tear through it, and even through the ground. The three mages begin to advance;

Gus casts dispel to try and tear down the static cages, and enable their gladiators to move forward. The first three to advance when he yells orders to them are still shocked quite badly, but the remaining seven start to advance at a run, two of them converging on Korrin, hoping to cut down the mage who is dealing such extensive damage. They wield swords and massive shields, but beyond that their armour is lacking.

Timmy scowls at Adelaide magics she is dealing out to support her own and to undermine his forces. He casts spirit mark on her, setting a spirit on her to inflict ongoing attacks and try to distract her from her efforts.

Steve (why did I pick these names oh my god) stands further back, casting spells to shield and buff their warriors and his fellow Venatori mages; there are three warriors chasing after Merrill and Avery, though, and one ahead of the others that swings his sword in a horizontal arc to try and catch both of them across their backs.

Oh Timmy. Timmy-Tim-Timmy-Tim-Tim-Tim-Tim. You fool You frustrating, irritating, desperate fool. He can scowl and cast as much as he likes- Adelaide returns the favor with a distinctly unladylike snarl as she slams her staff into the ground, a focused snap of spirit energy and pure, unyielding will flaring across the field in a wave of brilliant blue light. Mana Clash is not something she throws out often, if ever but desperate times and desperate measures.

Lovely pools of mana all these horrid mages have.

How terrible for it to be suddenly gone.

Edited 2016-09-11 02:07 (UTC)

Is it weird to feel relieved at someone trying to cut your head off? Because with all this magic nonsense exploding around her, all Avery can think when she sees that sword coming is... phew, just another asshole with a big knife.

Those she's been dealing with for years.

And that thought apparently gives her the focus she needs to ignore the magic for now and get her head back in the game, because in one shockingly smooth motion, Avery shoves Merrill out of the way of the attack and ducks back and under it herself, spinning around to slide her knife right into the backside of this poor bastard's completely unarmored knee.

Good luck chasing anybody after that, pal.

Being pushed isn't something Merrill was expecting, and there's a shriek of surprise -- luckily, the elf is quick on her feet, and she manages to not sprawl face-forward in the grass. Instead she staggers and turns, half bent, one hand on the ground. Avery against three warriors still doesn't look like good odds, even if she's used to it.

The Venatori want to play with Entropy magic? Merrill is more than willing to throw it right back, an ominous Death Cloud spilling from her staff and her hands to cover the area.

When the guards reach her, Korrin is ready for them. She renews her Barrier spell, trusting in her Knight-Enchanter abilities to keep it going at close range. Her empty hilt is activated, summoning forth that glowing blade that cuts through even Pride Demon hide without much fuss. Inferior armor isn't going to stand a chance. To prove her point, she lets out a sharp, predatorial grin as she swings that blade relentlessly at her targets. They can't hide behind those shields forever, not when she can maneuver around them.

Timmy, Gus & Steve all stagger with the sudden collapse of their mana, and for the first time all three of them look very, very concerned. Gus yells orders at the three gladiators still suffering from the effect of Korrin’s static cage, pulling themselves up to start moving towards Adelaide. They move at what looks like a painful stagger, pushed by orders and determination, but a slow sword still cuts.

As that very rude ice mage is seen to, Timmy and Steve throw back potions to restore their mana. Gus does not because Gus is a useless scrub who didn’t bring a potion and the others think he is useless. Gus, go think about what you’ve done.

Although Korrin is viciously attacking the gladiators, there’s no reason to make this easier for her. Steve focuses on her, casting Unblockable Force because clearly she just needs her day to get better.

The three gladiators attacking Merrill & Avery are having a bad time; one is on the floor from the injury Avery inflicted with her knife, holding himself up with one hand and trying to swing his sword with the other. However, he and both of the others are all severely slowed by Merrill’s death cloud, seeming almost as if they are moving through tar rather than air. Any injuries done to them now will be far more effective, with their compromised ability to resist damage.

That said, Timmy (I'm sorry I forgot you, Timmy) starts to cast Walking Bomb. Timmy, stop.

Edited 2016-09-12 22:23 (UTC)

She can do this all fucking day Timmy. Sacrificing mobility for the moment allows her to focus on casting rapidly. A flicked glyph of paralysis toward the feet of the gladiators to offer herself more time, as she glares this frustrating idiot right in the eye as she raises her staff and slams it down- an entirely different glyph flaring to life between him and Steve.

Complicated and curved and artful, the Glyph of Neutralization locks into place. Ambient magic? Gone. Spells in effect? Gone. Mana? Gone. Spells attempted won't work in the slightest.

Yyyyeah, Avery definitely uses the opportunity the slow-motion grants her to scramble backwards and put a little distance between her and the gladiators, though for a second she looks horribly, horribly confused about what it is exactly that's happening right now.

"Um..." She turns and gives Merrill a sort of unsure look as she continues walking backward, leading them along as if they were balloons or, I don't know, kites maybe? "Now what?" She looks around and... picks up a big rock? And, uh, chucks it right at the currently damage-sensitive balls of one of the guys who's still standing??

"Something like that?"

Screw you, Steve. Korrin's beyond grateful to have gotten up that Barrier just moments before, which means that while Steve's spell sends her flying, her ribs remain intact when she hits the ground. All the air has rushed out of her lungs, though, and she staggers back up, glaring at the mage who had knocked her back. You're on borrowed time, Steve.

And Korrin wastes none of hers. She conjures a fiery glyph below the other mage's feet, triggering it to explode and hopefully catching Gus if he's close enough.

"Basically," Merrill agrees, flashing Avery a smile. "Or you could just stab them, I suppose."

But throwing a rock is less messy. It's also, considering where it was aimed, likely to help the Bad and Awful feelings that come along with the entropy magic in the Death Cloud. Bad feelings, however, won't do the deed alone -- and so Merrill straightens and raises her staff, drawing lightning from the Fade as she casts Tempest down on their foes.

They just came out to have a good time anx they're feeling so attacked right now.

Steve is on fire, and in his desperation to get away from the fiery glyph? Strolls (read: staggers) into the glyph of neutralization. It extinguishes the fire and all of his dreams.

Timmy can't believe he's working with such amateurs. His mana is gone, Steve's mana is gone, and these plebs have mana but no manners. While Steve is still in shock, gasping on the ground, he draws a knife, advances on one of the gladiators moving towards Adelaide, and cuts his throat. No mana? Blood may, perhaps, make due. The gladiator topples, collapses, and Gus follows suit, taking down a second. It leaves only one to attack Adelaide (and attack he does, going to shield bash) but:

Gus begins to cast blood slave on Merrill (or to attempt to, at least) while Timmy casts paralysing hemorrhage to inflict paralysis and damage on our intrepid heroes.

The slowed gladiators closest to Avery and Merrill are still slow, and rapidly weakening under the combination of death cloud and tempest and rocks to the balls, and all three are on the ground.

While one of the ones Korrin was contending with is KO'd, the other twists towards her with a brutal barrage of attacks.

Edited 2016-09-13 03:23 (UTC)

ATTACK: ADELAIDE, AVERY, KORRIN, MERRILL, TEREN.

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I have tracking on this but keep not getting notifs so feel free to plurk punch me!

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