faderift | OPEN: The Western Approach

OPEN: The Western Approach

WHO: Everyone!
WHAT: The Western Approach is a terrible place. You should definitely go there.
WHEN: Bloomingtide 15 onward
WHERE: The Western Approach
NOTES: This is open to everyone. Characters who would not happily go to the hell desert probably have to go anyway; it's a war, not a vacation.

Once these wastes were a land of plenty. Can you believe it? The rain came north over the Gamordan Peaks, turning the plains green and verdant for three months of the year. Eight hundred years ago, that changed. During the Second Blight, darkspawn spilled out of an enormous crack in the earth, corrupting it with their foul blood... and it never recovered, even after they were driven back underground. The Grey Wardens built Adamant Fortress to stand watch over that chasm, but eventually even they abandoned it to the wind and the biting sand.

What few of us eke out a living in this Maker-forsaken place do so knowing that any number of deaths await us: darkspawn raids, dragons, bandits—not to mention starvation from the lack of water and game. If we stay, it is because we know there are treasures buried in the bones of this place, ruins from the time when Tevinter ruled, and even earlier. We pass tales around our campfires of the things we have seen shrouded in the dust storms. My favorites are the ones about relics that could restore the Western Approach once more... but I don't believe them. Truth be told, on nights when the wind is calm, I can stand on a hilltop and see for miles in the moonlight over a stark beauty of which no other Orlesian can claim to know the equal. On those nights, I hope it will never change.

—From Lands of the Abyss by Magistrate Gilles de Sancriste

I. THE DESERT

When Scout Harding calls somewhere the worst place in Thedas, that's probably a bad sign. Even when nothing in the Western Approach is deliberately trying to kill you, there's nothing kind or forgiving about the landscape: bare and arid, carved through by sharp-dropped canyons, dotted with abandoned mines and signs of the deaths of lost travelers. Winds sweeping through to whip stinging sand into uncovered faces, and periodic dust storms obscure visibility entirely. It's warm enough to be dangerous but not so hot, at this time of year, that heat exhaustion and dehydration can't creep up on you while you aren't paying attention.

And at any given moment, something probably is deliberately trying to kill you. The food chain in the region is top-heavy, with quillbacks, phoenixes, hyenas, and varghests roaming hungrily and as likely to attack one another as the sparse local prey population. Compared to their natural competitors, the Inquisition's forces look like easy marks. The camps the Inquisition scatters at lookout points throughout the region require constant watch, and going anywhere alone is inadvisable. Not only because of the hostile local everything, but also because it is incredibly easy to get lost. One rock formation looks much like another after hours in the sun or bathed in shifting moonlit shadows, and good luck finding many other landmarks. There are a few: chunks of pillars or arches from some ruined structure, or the occasional odd pillar that might, if someone investigates, prove to mark a trail of sorts.

Plus: the only people who seem determined to survive out here are cutthroat bandits and stray Venatori. Double-plus: a high dragon makes occasional fly-bys, scouring the ground below for anything edible, armored or not.

Some reprieve comes at night, relief from both the sun and the area's primarily diurnal predators. But that's when the darkspawn come out.

II. GRIFFON WING KEEP

Bloomingtide 16-17: Taking the Keep

Only a small force of Tevinter cultists remains in Griffon Wing Keep when the Inquisition arrives, seemingly on their way out the door already, but the sight of Inquisition banners is enough to make them stay and fight. There's no need for siege equipment, but there is call for a little bit of patience. With it, a small battalion is able to evade the mages and archers on the walls and storm the doors with few casualties. Fewer than three dozen warriors wait inside. It's a quick, brutal fight; it only takes a night.

Bloomingtide 18 Onward: Home Away From Home

Once the Keep is cleared of occupants, it's ripe for the Inquisition to… occupy… But with implicit permission, at least. Those who aren't needed for fights elsewhere may be put to work clearing out debris and small animals and the remnants left by the cultists, and within a few days the fortress is a serviceable outpost, much more hospitable than the camps out in the sand. Barracks mean even those who don't have beds at Skyhold may have one here, and it takes less than a week for an enterprising merchant to arrive with ale.

III. THE STILL RUINS

Despite signs of recent activity, the lavish Tevinter palace tucked incongruously into the canyons is quiet and still, when the Inquisition discovers it—quiet, still, but not empty. The ancient ruin is brimming with demons and Tevinters in incredibly outdated fashions, all frozen in place, as they have been for hundreds of years. No one breathes or blinks, but their skin is still warm and alive to the touch.

Beyond the entryway and halls and through the courtyard, there are signs of research and experimentation, and one man stood unmoving with his hand clasped around something unseen.

Perhaps someone will discover the cause. Perhaps someone will undo the spell that's been cast over the palace. Perhaps, if someone does, someone will take the opportunity to not immediately murder all of these valuable sources of ancient information, and instead only murder most of them. In the meantime, however, it is unlikely that anyone will ever be able to get this close to a rage demon without receiving a face full of fire. Take advantage.

IV. CORACAVUS

Signs of the Venatori point upward: up the hills, up ladders and towers, and into the ancient Tevinter prison, Coracavus, that was built into the mountainside. The ruin is filled with sand now, with half-collapsed walls and anything not made of stone worn away by winds, and the Venatori are long gone, their hunt for relics from the glory days of the Imperium abandoned when an excavation attempt opened the prison to darkspawn, instead. The darkspawn have retreated as well, but there are signs of their presence. Namely the smell and the half-eaten corpses of slaves—primarily elven and dwarven—who were left behind to their fates when the Tevinters fled.

There's no sign of them now, but digging through their abandoned camps may turn up a name, if anyone would like to see that he pays.

V. ADAMANT FORTRESS

A day's determined walk from the nearest Inquisition camp, Adamant Fortress overlooks the vast chasm—dubbed the Abyssal Rift—from which darkspawn poured during the Second Blight. It stood abandoned for nearly 150 years before the Grey Wardens' recent reoccupation, and it's abandoned again now, emptied out well before the Inquisition's forces arrive. There are signs that the retreat was a hasty one: scattered belongings, opened doors, abandoned meals, and no fewer than fifty bodies left on a mass pyre that only half-burned without anyone to tend it.

The Veil has always been thin here, and it's thinner now, where demons have been pulled through from the Fade. Rifts hang over the battlements and in the corridors, and escaped shades lurk in the dark corridors, siphoning away the willpower of those who linger until they come close enough to attack. Those who visit the Fortress set up camp outside of it rather than within it, wisely.

There are clear signs of blood sacrifice, for those who look: the bodies, blood stains on the stone floors, neat lists of names systemically crossed through. Sorting through documents left behind may turn up vague notes in a mage's runic shorthand or the journal of a trepidatious new recruit (Lourde, a pickpocket, crossed through on the registers). Behind a locked door in the lowest rooms are the bodies of sixteen mages, still in their Circle robes, left lying where they fell when the Joining took them. Mages who were among the rebels in Redcliffe may recognize a face or two as belonging to the hardliners who left with the Tevinters.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Lena is all set to make a joke about being hungry (because it's absolutely not true when faced with the reek of these creatures, but she wants to see Korrin's face when she says it), but the slight tremor under their feet has her shelving the humor.

"Is that... something that happens with sand dunes? Do they collapse?"

"...maybe, but we're too far away to tell. It could be something else. C'mon, we have to find and seal that darkspawn tunnel, anyway." Korrin can't help but wonder if maybe that high dragon flying about has nested near here, but if that's the case, they should definitely find out and report back. The Inqusition will need to know...and she'll want to fight it later. But somehow saying that aloud seems to be asking for trouble.

"I'm fine with being too far away," Lena mutters, looking at the burning corpses for a moment before turning in the direction they came from.

"This way, probably." And it would be great if they weren't pouring out of the tunnel when they arrive.

"Tsk, Lena. No sense of adventure?" There aren't too many darkspawn on the way, leaving Korrin to notice that faint rumbling appear once more. Again, it's not easy to tell what might be causing it, though the general direction is noted and it's in the area they haven't investigated yet, so likely they'll find out before long.

And down the hallway, Korrin's wondering about the sparse darkspawn population is answered. A group of hurlocks and other darkspawn, one alpha carrying a large maul, surround what has to be a tunnel entrance leading into the Deep Roads. Of course they would find it just as another group freshly emerged.

Scowling, Korrin readies her staff. "I'll trap them. You know what to do!"

"Adventure, sure. Falling down into a dark hole that I can't climb out of? Not really."

Lena might be a little moody because there are no Venatori asses to kick and no indication of what they were digging for. At least not yet. So not only is it a wasted trip, but there are darkspawn. Great.

At Korrin's go, Lena grabs a bottle from her belt, somersaults forward and throws it at the darkspawns' feet before spinning away to put some distance between them as a toxic cloud rises from the smashed bottle. Time for Korrin to keep them there.

Korrin doesn't trust the Venatori to stay away; if her guess means anything, Lena will soon get her wish. Until then, at least she can keep her busy. As the toxic cloud forms, she conjures that static cage while they're staggering about, entrapping a good many of them. For those not caught in the cage and being fried when they tried to leave, she doesn't leave them out of the run. It's Chain Lightning time.

Lena observes from the side to see which ones Korrin is claiming because Lena is such a good friend, right? But soon enough she spins forward and attacks one at the edge of the cage, fucking up its day with a few slashes and a deep stab in between its armor. She works her way around the back, letting the poison and electricity do most of the work for her. This is easy. If her mouth wasn't covered with a kerchief, she'd probably yawn.

Between the poison and electricity, it doesn't take most of them to fall after all that takes its toll. The larger one with the maul remains standing, though, and as soon as the static cage fades, he roars and charges Korrin, who blurs ahead with Fade Step just in time. "Want him, Lena?" Such a thoughtful gift, all singed, blood-spattered and angry. It'll give Korrin time to focus on sealing that tunnel.

Edited 2016-05-22 23:20 (UTC)

"Oh, yes." That right there? Is the thrill of administering pain and death in her voice. She is such a healthy individual. Light on her feet, Lena nearly skips up behind the darkspawn and with a high jump, comes down at its back, slamming both daggers down like fangs. That's all it takes, because it's already weakened from the electricity and dying from the poison coursing through its veins.

"Bleh. I need to clean my blades."

Hey, Korrin never judges. If Lena gets off tearing darkspawn apart, she's more than welcome. As that happens, the Vashoth mage wreathes her forearms in blue-green light, raising the grate to block the tunnel. Afterward, she rests her hands on her hips and sighs. "It's not perfect; given time, they could still break past it, but that's the best I can do for now. The Inquisition can get more people on this later." Or maybe that high dragon roaming about somewhere outside would do them all a solid and bury this place, preferably once they're done with it.

All this additional work the Inquisition is doing -- or will do -- seems like a waste to Lena. She's here to find Corypheus and rip him apart into tiny pieces. Anything else is boring and stupid. They're at war, and she wants them to get to the root of the problem as quickly as possible. Sure, she knows the Venatori are leading them there, but those little fucks disappeared from here already, and as far as she knows, the darkspawn magister doesn't have a darkspawn army following him. Who cares if they spill out of a tunnel in the ass end of nowhere after the Inquisition is gone?

"Or they could figure out where these Vint assholes went so I can cut their arms off," she suggests, coming down from her battle high and feeling pissed again.

"Andraste's tits, yes. We'll make it happen, Lena. They can't outrun us forever." One would hope, anyway. At any rate, the tunnel seems well and truly sealed for the time being, so she sees no reason to linger and absorb the darkspawn stench. Stepping around the remains, she knows it's better to keep Lena moving, focused. If they just stand around, she's liable to get more grouchy.

Further enough ahead, Korrin pauses and straightens. "There! I definitely felt it this time. One boom after another. Must be something heavy." So of course, she heads right toward the noise, which only increases the further down the corridor they go. They might as well come out of this awful place with something to show for it, and nothing making that amount of ruckus is going to be easy pickings. Perfect.

It doesn't take long for Lena to revisit her theory that something is collapsing out there. This definitely feels and sounds like something heavy hitting the ground and of course her mind now goes to dragons too. She looks over at her friend and raises a brow.

"A big animal, like say a dragon?" Oh please, let it be a dragon.

Her mind going to the exact same place, Korrin perks up. "Maybe? There's only one way to find out. We might just snag you a dragon tooth, just in case you want to give one later."

That very unlikely image makes Korrin grin, in that 'I know you're going to shove me but I don't care' way. Well-aware of Lena's disinterest in such matters, it's just lighthearted teasing. She wouldn't change Lena for anything, and the poor soul who tried would get her boot up their ass, not just Lena's own.

The sound Lena produces sounds close to gagging. The very idea of doing that mushy shit makes her want to stab something. Or someone.

"You watch your mouth," she says, narrowing her eyes. Korrin won't get shoved, but it's a close thing. Lena just moves on instead towards the exit, or where it seems like an exit should be. The rumbling occurs again and this time it's so close that Lena plants her feet to stay balanced.

"Past that door, I'd reckon."

That gagging gets a snicker out of Korrin, but she soon returns to business, focusing on whatever creature is ahead. Several things could be responsible for that rumbling, none of them easy to take down. That's fine with her, they could use a real challenge. And if it's somehow not an ogre, then they won't have taint to worry about.

Readying her staff and blade, Korrin nods. "I'll zoom ahead and put some distance between us, divide its attention." First, though, she casts a Barrier over them both. After that, Lena's on her own for protection. She pushes the double doors open, and the stench hits her. "Giant!"

"Aw, fuck!" Lena complains, following Korrin out. Even with her kerchief still up over her nose, the smell is pungent enough to get through. If they have to fight something big, why can't it be a dragon? You can't make badass weapons or armor out of a giant.

Immediately, Lena drops a flask of ice down to cover herself in armor. If this giant gets his hands on any loose stones to throw, she'll need the extra protection. Then she races around it to its back and slams her knives into its calves. It howls and swings an arm back at her, causing her to have to leap out of the way. If only it wasn't immune to being frozen solid by her ice.

"This is buuuuullshit!" she calls out. "This smelly fuck better have a bag of loot stashed somewhere." She tops that sentence off with a slash at the giant's groin. If they weren't planning on killing the giant, it definitely wouldn't be procreating anymore.

"Count on it! I bet it has Ventaori goods, stuff we can use against them." Giants have nice stashes, or at least they usually do. That's what Korrin's counting on. Treasure aside, a least this is more of a challenge and less likely to infect them than darkspawn. She'll take it. As Lena uses her flask and stabs the giant, Korrin does as promised and casts Fade Step, taking her out of range so it can't target them both at once. She closes from the other side, her glowing spirit blade continuing the work Lena started on the calves, a deep and vicious swipe each before moving to confront it from another angle.

"Watch out, I'm going to set it on fire!" When she's certain Lena's not within range, Korrin will summon that fiery glyph and trigger an explosion.

Knowing that Korrin won't light it up until she's out of the way, Lena runs away instead of doing a backflip. She can, and has, but back-flipping with knives isn't the easiest. Neither is somersaulting forward, but she does it when there's need.

"Go!" she says, turning back to see what the damage is. From the way the giant is howling, it's a considerable amount. Good. It falls to its knees and starts swiping with its arms as the flames die out. Quickly poisoning one of her blades, Lena then leaps back into the fray, slashing and stabbing at the giant as fast as she can, trying to get the poison into it.

Once the explosion is triggered and the giant on its knees, Korrin recovers from bracing herself for that tremble and charges forward. No more hanging back, it's time to close in again and use her spirit blade. It may not be tipped with poison, but the magic it consists of is enough to pierce even a giant's thick hide. Between the two of them, the giant has nowhere to turn. It tries to swat at them, though such blows are hardly effective unless they go out of their way to make it so.

The rogue is naturally fast on her feet, and practically blurs around the giant as she works the poison into it. Her knife connects with its swatting hand, doing considerable damage along its pinkie, blood spurting into the air. But Lena keeps at it, stabbing and moving, until she hears it let out a strangled breath. The poison has worked through, and it's wavering.

"He's going down!" Lena warns, in case Korrin stays at its front for any longer than a second. From behind, Lena leaps into the air and slams down into the center of its back, driving the knives in to the hilt.

Heeding Lena's warning, Korrin gets in one last, deep strike into that leg and then backs up when it begins to topple. She manages to escape being crushed, though nearly loses her footing when the ground trembles from its fall. That sends up a wave of sand and she sputters, trying to shakes it off her armor and hair.

"Great, now I'm going to feel that everywhere. Fuck you, giant." But on the upside, at least it's dead and now they get to ransack its corpse?

Lena sort of rides the creature down, holding onto her knives like the reins on a mount. Her balance shifts, pitching her forward, and she turns her face to avoid getting a mouthful of sweaty, hairy back. It still rubs against her cheek, however, so when she pushes up, she wipes furiously at her cheek, making retching noises.

"This fucker..." she starts, but then trails off and just retrieves her daggers instead before getting feet on solid ground again. "Let's look around."

Straightening -and shaking off more sand- Korrin nods and steps away from the sweaty, hairy corpse. It's a good thing they aren't sticking around long, she doesn't want to think about that rotting in the hot sun. But glancing around, she spots armor, shields and some coins dropped by those foolish enough to fight it without being awesome Valo-Kas people. "A decent start...tell me you found something, Lena."

Just as she calls over, Korrin bends down and scoops up a thick, silverite ring and pauses, sensing enchantment. Maybe this isn't a waste, after all.

Poking around, Lena finds an old sack that certainly smells like it belonged to the giant. She gets down on her haunches and searches the contents.

"Some armor, a mace, a couple of little figurines. Nothing great. What about you?" She stands and turns, not bothering to take anything from the bag. It isn't worth it to her.

OPEN: The Western Approach

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