faderifting: (Default)
Fade Rift Mods ([personal profile] faderifting) wrote in [community profile] faderift2016-04-17 01:31 am

OPEN: Cloudreach Event

WHO: Anyone at Skyhold
WHAT: Cloudreach showers bring weird shit.
WHEN: Cloudreach 15 onward
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: For information about the illness, its effects, and its cure, please make sure to also read the OOC Post.


This high in the mountains, snowstorms are to be expected. But this one is large and lingering, hanging over the valley and the fortress for days. In Skyhold, with its eternal spring, the snow becomes rain before it hits the ground, leaving inhabitants and visitors to wade through puddles and mud in the courtyards. In the valley, snow and ice accumulate under cloud cover—and worse, when the clouds finally thin, a whole winter's accumulation of snow begins to melt in the sunlight.

Within a day, the ground is sodden and mucky enough to give the survivors of the Fallow Mire (or Ferelden in general) unpleasant flashbacks, and those who live in tents are issued additional hastily-constructed wooden pallets to raise their floors above the mud. It is worse outside the fortress: streams and rivers have overflowed their banks, rapids run twice as fast as normal, and flash flooding has made even road travel treacherous.

On Cloudreach 17 a mudslide buries the pass into Skyhold from the west, and on the 19th a sheet of snow loosened from a mountainside collapses into the shadowed passage from the east. An Inquisition supply caravan is caught in the latter, scattering wagons and goods across the hillside and leaving a dozen people and horses in need of rescue and medical care.

Healers may find themselves stretched thin, as in addition to the usual rash of blisters and sniffles that come from days of rain and flooding, an illness begins to sweep through Skyhold's ranks from around the 16th onward. It's marked first by climbing fever, then by flashes at the edges of vision—green light and jagged formations that aren't there, beings of light and shadow gathering around people or clustering in corners—and distant voices, coherent for brief moments if you're quiet and still and not trying too hard to listen.
samahl: (Default)

[personal profile] samahl 2016-04-18 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
Cyril sighs and then pulls away to lead the way to his room. He shares with Merrick and when they get inside it's probably easy for her to tell that. "I'm going. I'll even lie down."
sunshinethroughgrey: (Pensive)

[personal profile] sunshinethroughgrey 2016-04-18 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
Camp Shady Fucker

The fever came on fast, for Bethany. She felt fine one moment, and then the next her headache was raging and her entire body was racked in heat and sweat in equal measure. She managed to lie down for a little while, but her dreams were disjointed, nightmares and dreamy dreams all together.

She finally sat up, and began walking towards Skyhold, perhaps to get something from the healing tents, when the world began to ... shift, when she closed her eyes for a moment. She stood in the middle of camp, staring out at wonder at Fade all around her, hearing the whisper of spirits as they clung to the trees, and the passerbys.

Standing at the edge of the camp, she was tilting her head, brown eyes glazed over in wonder.

Rampart - Closed to Fenris

At some point, she had managed to pull herself into Skyhold before the fever grabbed her again and the Fade melted in around her. She found that while she could see the Fade, the spirits and the demons, they could not see her. Like she was a ghost in their world, as they were mere whispers in her.

Above all that, the Black City loomed. In her more lucid moments, she knew she had to get to the healing tents. Now though ... now it was close enough to touch. If she could just get high enough, she could do what Corypheus could not. So up the stairs she stumbled, until she was standing on the edge, reaching out with her fingertips.

So close, so close ... " ... to the Maker's seat..."

Bridge - Closed to Anders

She had managed to make it to a Healer's tent, who gave her more water, which was fine until the fever spiked again as she headed back towards the camp, wavering back and forth as she moved. Around her, her vision swam again, and the bridge faded back into the vision of the Fade.

Around her, wisps curled around her, tangling in her hair, and she reached towards them, trying to follow them, and right off the bridge itself.

The Courtyard

Anytime over the next few days, when Bethany has managed to get herself to Skyhold for treatment, you might find her in the courtyard itself. Staring at something in front of her, or just to the right of someone. Sometimes she will coil away, other times she seems to be trying to hear something only she can hear.

Once or twice, you might even find her curled up in a rain-swept corner, hands over her ears, saying quietly, "Too many voices, too many songs, you just all need to shut up ... just shut please ..."
mythalenaste: (I'll wait the signs to come)

[personal profile] mythalenaste 2016-04-18 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
Courtyard/Healing Tents

Pel's primary contribution to this crisis has not been magic or research, but straight-up logistics and a little non-magical nursing. She helped her Keeper deal with a plague at the age of nine, and was given refresher courses after. She has been giving advice to middle management and doing math and bookkeeping, as well as keeping the sick hydrated and comfortable. The crisis has made her oddly calm and focused.

At least, on the surface. The sick she tends to might become aware of a sinister presence hovering near, across the Veil. A leech, a demon of fear content to quietly follow and take up the slack.
nofury: (pic#6522470)

[personal profile] nofury 2016-04-18 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
"No. You're..."

Blue. But Maria blinks hard, rubbing her eyes. The world was a strange vision at the moment, she had no real right to demand others shared her strange visions. When she looks up again, the haze is still there, but she can see the rest as well. The bags under her eyes, the odd caste of her skin...

"Also ill. What are you doing?"
samahl: (dark)

[personal profile] samahl 2016-04-18 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
"Pel..." Cyril is one of the sick and he can't help but notice how much stronger that presence near her is when she's working with him. Right now he's sweaty and delirious enough to actually talk about what he's seeing. He usually tries to pretend he's okay around her. "Pel, tell that guy to go away. He can't touch you. Shoo."
Edited 2016-04-18 03:31 (UTC)
fleurdesel: left, stern, serious (A waste of magic)

[personal profile] fleurdesel 2016-04-18 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
"Working." That much should be obvious. "Attempting to find a source of this and work out a cure before we collectively attract undue attention."

That the veil is invisible but no thinner than it ought to be is a comfort- but how long will that last? Adelaide sets her stack off to one side on the nearest table before crouching before Maria and peering into her eyes- every motion blurred with the afterimage of Compassion's presence. "What do you see?"
serannas: serious (asha)

[personal profile] serannas 2016-04-18 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
"That's a good patient," she says, trying to let go of some of her worry to tease him a bit. "Now I know you said you're fine, but do you really feel fine? Do you have any symptoms?"
pinprick: (From the fountain of forgiveness)

Healing tents

[personal profile] pinprick 2016-04-18 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
Nathaniel has been pitching in with chores all morning, trying to do the things Justice gripes at Anders for doing. He has been getting paler, though, and suddenly makes an excuse, staggers outside, and retches into a bush.

mythalenaste: (a pilgrimage to foreign lands)

[personal profile] mythalenaste 2016-04-18 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
Pel looks over her shoulder, taking her time scanning the area before turning back.

"There's nobody else here." She takes a damp rag and freezes it before pressing it against his palms, relieving the heat in his body.
nofury: (pic#9689722)

[personal profile] nofury 2016-04-18 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
"You're not doing yourself any favors."

But there's no judgement in it. If she were able to heal she'd be in the same state, pushing forward. As it is, despite the whispers in her ears, she can do little more than stay out of the way. Which made the job of handing out advice she'll never have to follow much easier. Still, she peers back at Adele's eyes with equal intensity.

"Blue. You've a...aura around you. I don't know what that means. I shouldn't- nothing should be so blue."
samahl: (anchor seal it)

[personal profile] samahl 2016-04-18 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
"No, there is. He's all... black. Like shadow. He's becomes more solid when you're focusing your attention on me," Cyril tried to explain. His voice trailed more towards a mumble towards the end.

"Hey!" he said to the demon with a surprising amount of energy, mustered only to protect his cousin. He sat up a bit and focused on the shadow. "Hey you. Leave her alone. Get away from her!" He tried to toss his pillow towards the demon, but it went through it and plopped uselessly on the ground. The toss sapped away the rest of his energy and he fell back into the bed roll. "You can't have her."
fleurdesel: center, serious, tired (So you see this isn't right at all)

[personal profile] fleurdesel 2016-04-18 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
"Did you dedicate a decade of your life to the healing arts when I was not looking? When you have, then you may say something." Be it exhaustion or trust or whatever threads of familiarity she's managed to tangle about her fingers in knowing Maria- Adelaide reaches up without thought to brush Maria's hair out of her eyes and rest her cool palm against her forehead. A faint fever, that flickering gaze that saw more than it should-

Ill, just like the rest.

"Aura- oh. That is Compassion, the spirit I am partnered with for healing." The aura sinks into Adelaide's skin even as the glow focuses in her eyes and against her palm as she shifts the rejuvenation spell from herself to Maria instead.
gatheringstorm: (fucking ow)

[personal profile] gatheringstorm 2016-04-18 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
The shards. It always comes down to those damned things, doesn't it? Korrin heaves a sigh, thinking along the same lines, as much as her fogged brain will cooperate to that end. "Neither do I. Besides, Araceli has one and she's perfectly fine. Whereas none for me and...ugh. I haven't felt this terrible in years. Maybe a decade."
Edited 2016-04-18 03:48 (UTC)
nofury: (pic#6522468)

[personal profile] nofury 2016-04-18 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
There is a very long moment of silent staring. Spirit. She knew, of course. Healers. Spirit Healing. But...the reality of it is more unsettling than she'd like. The abstract compared to the reality...

"Spirits. Of course."

She closes her eyes, pushing it aside as best she could. It isn't a Circle. It isn't her place. Adele had passed the Harrowing, had...very cool hands, despite her own obvious weariness. A coolness that spread from those hands into Maria's very core, soothing the fever and making her sigh softly as she leaned into the touch. Better.

Her voice dropped low, so only they could hear, as she leaned against that hand.

"I shouldn't be seeing spirits."
fleurdesel: left, serious, (so what do you suggest?)

[personal profile] fleurdesel 2016-04-18 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
She tries not to let it sting, that uncertainty, that wariness. It is one thing to discuss the nature of a spirit of an Abomination with Maria and assure her that it can be cured- another entirely to have her aware of Compassion's presence in her life and her healing. For her to see it for herself and seem so tense...

She ought to have expected this. Templars do not care for spirits anymore than they do demons.

"It is a symptom of the illness. The Veil is not thinned but...less opaque. For me it is slightly less disorienting as I have heard spirits to some degree or another my entire life. But those unaccustomed to it- even Dwarves are seeing these things." And dwarves do not dream. "How long have you been ill?"
gatheringstorm: (can you not)

Healing Tents

[personal profile] gatheringstorm 2016-04-18 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
Korrin is an absolutely terrible patient. Adelaide has probably guessed this beforehand anyway, but the Vashoth seems intent on proving it, stubborn about not being 'coddled', when she's not angry at herself for -somehow- just fighting this off, whatever it is. In her fevered state, the woman slips out while others are focused on, only to be escorted back by two Inquisition soldiers clearly supporting her.

Sinking back onto the cot, Korrin heaves a sigh. "I told you, lemme alone...." Her narrowed eyes could either be taken as focused on the soldiers or any of the spirits lingering nearby. Or both.
samahl: (Default)

[personal profile] samahl 2016-04-18 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
Cyril rolls his eyes a bit. "You mean other than my charming personality and wonderful eyes?" he replies. "Oh, symptoms have to be new things to mean anything, don't they?"
fleurdesel: left, stern, serious (A waste of magic)

[personal profile] fleurdesel 2016-04-18 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh for fuck's sake." Adelaide murmurs, waving off the soldiers and dragging a chair over to Korrin. "If I must tie you to this cot to keep you here as you recover, Rinot? I will."

This is her one warning. Or- one of two. Maybe three. It is difficult to keep track of how many chances she ought to offer someone when they are irritable and ill.
nofury: (pic#6522470)

[personal profile] nofury 2016-04-18 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
"Maker preserve us. The dwarves..."

She could not imagine it. To go a life time without dreams, without even the touch of what lyrium could do. Then to have it all opened up...

Maria doesn't quite break contact, but she brings a hand up to cover the lower part of her face.

"We'll need an announcement within the Inquisition. A calming voice to explain what is happening, before they all go mad."

The personal questions are either not heard or brushed aside, her focus on the wide spread effect of so many seeing what they could not explain. What they had no training in dealing with.
Edited 2016-04-18 04:14 (UTC)
samahl: (experienced)

[personal profile] samahl 2016-04-18 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
"I know what you mean, I never get sick. This is ridiculous." He basically pouts for a moment, even crossing his arms over his chest. The moment of silence makes one of the whispers stronger and he tilts his head a bit.

"They really do need to discover how to quiet those things. It's becoming more than a little frustrating."
fleurdesel: left, stern, serious (A waste of magic)

[personal profile] fleurdesel 2016-04-18 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
"Maria-" Well. She makes a point. With everyone that is working to find the source of this illness, to mitigate the spread and try to find a cure? They have no excuse not to write up some sort of missive about what the symptoms are, what to do, and how no one truly needs to panic. "I will speak to the other healers and see it done."

That much she can promise.

Adelaide's hand drops from Maria's forehead to her shoulder, squeezing to get her attention. "Maria, how long have you been ill?"
dalishious: (pic#10012594)

[personal profile] dalishious 2016-04-18 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
Merrick walks into the tent just as the pillow lands, and he frowns and leans down to pick it up.

"So he's raving now," he deadpans to Pel as he goes to Cyril's side with some water. "Lovely."
gatheringstorm: (um....)

[personal profile] gatheringstorm 2016-04-18 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
That moment of silence gets her too, and Korrin twitches as she darts an annoyed look around. She's not sure whether it's more aggravating that they shut up when she tries to pay attention or not. "Tell me about it. Dealing with this crap in the Fade is bad enough, but when waking? Ugh. There's a reason I didn't go with being a Spirit Healer and it's this. Spirits can do their own thing...over there. Away from me."
gatheringstorm: (dread)

[personal profile] gatheringstorm 2016-04-18 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
Irritable, ill and frightened, though Korrin would happily die before admitting that last part. Still, it might not be hard to guess given her normally excellent health, health that is now seriously compromised. She heaves an annoyed sigh, trying her best not to take it out on Adelaide but her fogged brain isn't helping matters any. At least she no longer has the energy to get back to her feet, so that's something.

"Can you get Compassion to tell the others around to shut up? I dunno how much recovering I'm going to do when they're always chattering." Ugh, this is why she didn't choose the Spirit Healer path. Even at her best, this isn't something she has the patience for.
mythalenaste: (ag Lios Bhéal an Áth')

[personal profile] mythalenaste 2016-04-18 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
"It's just Merrick." Pel is relieved when Merrick walks in and it can be put to rest. "Just Merrick, lethallin. Nothing to be worried about."

She dips another rag in the water, wrings it out, freezes it, and hands it to Merrick.

"Let's get him cooled down," she says pleasantly. It's her nursing voice, to keep patients calm.