OPEN: Cloudreach Event

[faderifting]

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.

Comments

[dragoon_pride]

[Herald’s Rest]

"Just water."

“Show us your tits!” This is said from the blue parrot perched on Kain’s shoulder, naturally. Kain rolls his eyes. It's bad enough that Bastard had kept him up all night with some weird jabbering... weirder than normal, in fact... there'd been lots of eerie statements that were unlike him. At least, Kain is assuming right now that the odd voices he'd been hearing were the parrot's fault. He has no other explanation.

"No need. Thank you."

Kain is trying to stay hydrated since he’s feeling under the weather. So water it is, and plenty of it… He drinks up a couple large glasses where he’s seated at the bar… Then proceeds to yaaaaawn, laying his head on the counter and falling asleep for a moment. Not even Bastard’s next barrage of swearing can get him to wake up. Figures this would happen after a sleepless night.

There's even an added bonus: Anyone likewise affected who might happen to approach may witness snippets of Kain's dreams: they involve a beautiful blonde woman, and they're heavily romantic.

[Training Grounds]

This is the absolute worst weather ever to practice in, but Kain is out there anyway, feet squelching in the mud. He really is reminded all too much of that accursed Mire, the one place he’s decided he hates most in all of Thedas. But he’s out there anyway, attempting to jump, stab and otherwise train his skills. He’s not about to back down now!

Unfortunately, the fever is really taking its toll by this point and he’s still hearing… sometimes even seeing things. It becomes clear soon enough that Kain isn’t striking at any visible enemies at all, instead, he looks rather crazed, slashing his spear in the air toward things that seemingly aren’t there to someone just observing (unless, of course, they’re affected or attuned to spirits). He looks to be on the verge of dropping, but he won’t stop going. It’s aggravating, but whenever he focuses on something and tries to strike, that target disappears...

[Healing Tents]

"I told you already, I'm fine. Now I have things to do. I'll be going."

Kain is quite obviously feverish and sickly, but he's gotten up and is attempting to leave anyway... because that's him. Try to stop him and talk him out of it?

Otherwise, he'll be stuck here a while, so feel free to come check up or commiserate with a fellow patient. The healers in particular may notice he's an especially difficult patient when it comes to staying put and resting... so they've got a lot on their hands with him.

Healing Tents

[gatheringstorm]

Just as Kain is on his feet, the tent flap opens and Korrin enters, supported by two Inquisition soldiers, one below each arm. She sags and scowls, clearly not happy with having to rely on their support. But that's what happens when attempting to sneak out on one's one and getting lightheaded in the process.

"What's the point, just laying here isn't going to make me any better. Lemme alone." No one's listening, though, and she's dumped back onto the nearest cot, to the relief of the smaller soldiers.

[dragoon_pride]

“I’ll just be going.” Kain says casually, about to slip by when the soldiers exchange a glance… and with a bit of fussing, he’s likewise “helped” back toward a cot. He protests the whole way, of course, going on about the more important things he has to do. Because he does have a lot to deal with. He’d been away collecting materials and now he’s got some serious reaver training to do.

Glancing over toward Korrin in the cot beside his, Kain frowns. “Perhaps we could manage an escape together?” Yeah, he’s not giving up. He feels like hell, and looks like it too, but he’s not giving up.

[gatheringstorm]

Seeing her condition reflected in Kain, Korrin is severely tempted to go along with his plan. They're agents of the Inquisition, not prisoners. If she wants to leave the healing tents, that's up to her, isn't it? There's one problem, though.

"I'd love to, but that took all the energy I had for a while. Not sure I could get up on my own power again."

[dragoon_pride]

Kain knows too well what she’s saying… his head is pounding and once again there are eerie apparitions on the edge of his vision. He’s dismissing them all as feverish hallucinations, but they’re annoying all the same. It’s probably a worrisome thing to be so ill to be experiencing such visions and sounds, too, really. He glances over at Korrin.

“Well, I’m in shape enough to get out of here.” Too bad he doesn’t and can’t follow up his words with any action whatsoever. Uuugh. “Just give me a moment.” He makes a weak attempt to start moving, pushing himself up, strained and aching the whole time. Nope, that's... not working so well.

[gatheringstorm]

There's certainly enough energy on Korrin's part to watch Kain make his daring attempt, but she huffs as he already shows signs of its predictable end. "You think yourself hardier than a Vashoth? Yeah, that's not happening." Nevermind that she's hardly an example of their typical strong constitution right now. But if she can't handle this, Kain definitely won't.

[dragoon_pride]

He’s up, he’s up, he’s…

Down.

Kain falls hard back onto the cot, in a rather uncomfortable, clumsy position. He growls as he finds it a struggle to just move back into a somewhat less outlandish position. Ugh… To make things worse, those voices are starting up again.

“Why won’t it just be silent?” He’s really afraid he’s losing his mind, despite what he’s been told about all of that already. He glances over to Korrin. “I’m as strong as a dragon, surely that counts for something.” As feverish as he is, he’s probably just a moment away from believing he is a dragon. Pretty much.

[gatheringstorm]

As much as Korrin knows exactly what he's going through and can make allowances based on that, she can't help but roll her eyes at that last statement. "Not right now, you aren't. We need one of the Spirit Healers to help; Adelaide was able to get Compassion to shush the others for a while. If you see her or Sam or Christine, get them over here."

There's a brief thought to contact them via crystal, but stubborn pride as well as knowing that they must be stretched thin prevents her from doing so. They can whether through this, until the healers get a spare moment. She's Valo-Kas and he's a dragoon; they aren't infants.

[dragoon_pride]

“I don’t care which ones they are as long as they’re silent!” Kain pounds a first on the pillow angrily because she’s right, of course, he doesn’t dare to leave this place even if he were able to do so. It’s too dangerous. He’s terrified of these spirits, truthfully, and would much rather be having plain old hallucinations than this.

He sprawls out, moaning quietly, feeling like hell at the moment. “This is interrupting my training… I need to get back out there.” He’s got to practice if he wants to be prepared for fully becoming a Reaver, after all. Of course, he’s in no condition whatsoever for such grueling training. Even in top shape, he’s been coming back daily with plenty of bruises and so on.

[gatheringstorm]

Any other time and Korrin might have teased Kain for his dramatics, but all this has worn her patience down and she's in no mood to contradict him. There's a soft, annoyed huff of agreement. "I know, right? It's not like Corypheus is going to care and allow us the extra time, were he to find out. Andraste's tits, if he did, he could easily wipe us out now. He wouldn't even need that archdemon or dragon or whatever it is."

[dragoon_pride]

Kain groans, putting a hand to his forehead, and then nods. Ugh, he wishes he didn't feel so disgustingly weak right now. He needs to get back up and out there. "Exactly. We can't afford to drop our guard for a moment. Our enemy is far too strong, and would take advantage of any weakness." He winces, hearing some more of those strange sounds, voices that he can't quite make out, especially if he focuses too hard on them. "Nor can I afford to miss even a day."

[gatheringstorm]

"It doesn't look like we're getting a choice. As soon as we step out, they'll be looking to drag us back. And I don't have it in me to make myself even heavier for their sake, or I absolutely would." Staring at the tent ceiling, she frowns. "All these spirits and demons...it's unnerving enough to me and I'm a mage. I can't imagine how much weirder it has to be for you."

[dragoon_pride]

"I know. I've already been dragged back a couple of times... and I may have been... uncooperative..." He sighs. He'd punched someone the first time they'd brought him back. Hardly his finest moment, but he'd been a bit irrational thanks to little sleep and the distraction of the feverish symptoms. He groans, holding his head. "It's unsettling. I'd think they'd leave me alone as a rifter..."

He can't admit the real truth of the matter. He's scared. He's terrified of the thought that maybe these spirits might possess him somehow...

Training

[sistertohermen]

She hasn't figured it out yet, might end up being the last to know, simply for being a dwarf. That she has, on and off this day, been seeing strange things in the corners of her vision that simply shouldn't be, and gone when she looks again, has her shaken. Some kind of stupid surface illness? Is this somehow the sensation of losing Stone sense? Or is the weather just making her go a little crazy?

Ser Kain has taken to training even in this awful mess of weather (better prepared for any eventuality or clime, she supposes), and at first she's going to pass by on her way to somewhere drier, hopefully, but it seems to her that he's in the middle of a fight--those seem like people, after all, instead of dummies.

And, as usual, when she looks, there is nothing but air. But he keeps going, and he looks exhausted. "Might want to take a break. Before you drop into the mud and drown in it."

[dragoon_pride]

Kain slashes out at the next target, and of course the moment he so much as aims- not even strikes yet! - it’s gone. Vanished into thin air. Whatever it had been. His spear once again cuts through thin air. Nothing. This whole matter is getting very worrisome. He’s not really enjoying the voices he keeps hearing either. Is something messing with his mind again? If that’s the cause… he ought to fight harder…

But he’s panting heavily, the lance heavy in his hand as he glances over at Rachette, who’s just joined him on this soggy mess of a training ground. “Do I seem that bad off?” He struggles to catch his breath. That… really shouldn’t be taking so much of a toll on him.

[sistertohermen]

Her slow raise of eyebrows would be more obvious if her hair wasn't getting plastered to her head, but the look is still clear. Really?

"Well, your leg isn't a bust this time, but otherwise yes."

[dragoon_pride]

The leg injury at least had forced to stop, he'd had no choice. It's definitely much more dangerous when he's able to drag himself around, that means he does things like train in the mud and rain when he's feverish and seeing things.

"I can stand this time, that's good enough for me." Though he winces, inwardly cursing the fact that she's more right than he wants to admit. He half crouches, holding his head a moment. "This would be less of a problem if the weather weren't so terrible..."

[sistertohermen]

"If it was just a little rain, I might leave you to it." She shifts, lifting her feet from the puddles and collecting mud starting to wash up on what paths there are that aren't already mud pits. "This is more than a little rain. It's unreasonable." Although if you asked her, water falling so heavily from the sky is also, generally, an unreasonable thing. "And you're just going to exhaust yourself fighting...someones. Some nothings."

[dragoon_pride]

"I guess it really is starting to come down more..." The field is difficult to just walk through, let alone the kind of intensive training Kain is attempting to do. It's only gotten worse in the time he's been out here, too, with the rain pouring down harder. Anyone else might have given up by now... but Kain couldn't do that...

"You can't see them, can you? The... things I've been fighting?" After all, it's bad enough the weather is so terrible, but there's also the fact of what Kain is experiencing right now.

[sistertohermen]

"I...sort of?" She squints at the space around him, but there's nothing there. Not now. "I thought I saw you fighting people before, when I came over, but I don't see them now. Is this some odd magic?" Fucking magic, honestly.

[dragoon_pride]

Oh, it's definitely got to be magic, and it's highly unsettling as far as Kain is concerned. He frowns, trying to focus on the vague sounds he hears in the distance... but the more he concentrates, the less he hears them. "I wish I knew. I've been hearing them too... they just started to appear. I've no idea how or why. It's troubling." Especially because he's been feeling less than well along with all of it.

[sistertohermen]

"Then maybe you should stop fighting what isn't really there before all this wet makes you catch ill." Oh, if only she knew. "Especially if you're aiming to exhaust yourself completely." Warriors. Honestly. All chipped from the same stone. "Get inside and sit."

She doesn't have any authority to be ordering anyone around, but her tone says she's not going to take no for an answer.

[dragoon_pride]

When it comes to warriors, Kain is all too typical in attitude. Giving up is weakness, and weakness is something to be fought and conquered. He can't relent now, not when he has so much to prepare for... so much training to accomplish. But he's exhausted and it shows. He can barely keep his lance in hand.

"But I need to... ugh..." He pauses, gripping his head. The voices are maddening, but the fever really isn't helping matters, either. "...Perhaps a short break."

[sistertohermen]

"Sure," she relents-but-not-really, hand on her hip. "Short break. Indoors. Out of the rain. And mud. And when your short break is done, it's going to turn into a longer break, probably with some ale and whatever room close to a fire you can find."

[dragoon_pride]

Out of the rain sounds amazing right now, and likewise the fire and ale... ugh... he really isn't at his best, at all, and it undoubtedly shows. Kain sighs, but takes a step closer. The mud squelches below his feet.

"All right... you've convinced me for now... getting dry would be a good start... not to mention warm... Though I feel warm enough as it is." Ugh, he's been hoping it's nothing, but it's definitely a fever, and along with these spirits, well, he's more concerned than he's letting on. Some rest, for now, and maybe he'll get back out here tomorrow...