[Closed] The Order's Obligations

[lifeofendurance]

WHO: Aleron Darton, Malcolm Reed, Inessa, Bruce Not-Banner, Cade Harimann, Ingrid Kief, Jeannot Mercier, Sadira, Bethany Hawke, npc templars.
WHAT: Templars have been asked to clear out suspicious mages squatting in the old Circle Tower. The group is sniffing out the truth.
WHEN: August 15-20 (Backdated a smidge)
WHERE: Perendale, Nevarra
NOTES: More information about the plot may be found here. A link is available on that page for the original war table wiki page. Feel free to inject any local npcs you like. IC signups are over here.

The road to Perendale proves less than interesting. Dusty and bare rock, with the odd silver mine to break up the monotony of the road. A peculiar strain of goats are native to the area and they do not seem to care for strangers on the road. They express their displeasure by rushing the Inquisition's horses and butting them in the legs. Annoying, but thank the Maker, not so aggressive and violent to put an end to the travel days.

The road itself begins moving north through Orlais then turns west. There is something small of interest, however. Perhaps. If one is knowledgeable enough and paying attention. The houses en route have a markedly Orlesian style to them. The odd lion battles a dragon in statuary along the way. Clearly the territory used to belong to Nevarra's southern neighbor, lost in an ongoing squabble between the two.

Perendale itself manifests its Orlesian heritage all over the city. The main gates boast lions rampant, entrenched in battle against dragons. Residences and shops are painted in the same lively colors that one would expect to see in any number of Orlais' towns. Thus ends the similarity. There are no gilded masks anywhere to be seen on the occupants, however, the mode of dress is not outlandish. The accents rippling through the air are not of the lilting elision one hears in Val Royeaux, but far closer to matching that of Seeker Pentaghast. Even the smells wafting out of the local taverns are different, rich and spicy; not a whiff of some overblown perfume to be had. The streets are cobbled and moderately clean, at least in the better quarters of the city.

And off in the distance, just outside the city walls, stands the abandoned Circle Tower, with faint infrequent lights flickering in the windows.

Comments

[tactical_alert]

The only guess he has is that these people were hoping the Inquisition would kill the mages, not take them, but still, this riotous behaviour is outlandish at best and might spill to bloodshed. Malcolm struts up to the carriage. "Keep moving, no matter what happens. The Inquisition will not be cowed by a group of scared and angry civilians."

With that, he turns his horse, whistles for his dog, and plants himself in the path of the Nevarrans. In full Seeker regalia, the symbol of the Watchful Eye emblazoned on him, he hopes to quell this group before anything unfortunate should happen. His voice is calm but strong, trying to be heard over the din without resorting to shouting like a madman.

"Good people of Perendale, come to order--what quarrel have you with the Inquisition?" The din lessens only somewhat. "I say, I will have order! Stay your hands and your voices and let us settle the matter in peace." Blood mob mentality, they might not even have a single person to speak for them. Charles whinnies and stamps a foot into the ground, and Milady's hackles are raised. Malcolm, thankfully, keeps any weapons of his sheathed for the moment.

And if they don't want order or peace, he really hopes someone else has decided to join his one-man blockade.

[circleprodigy]

Not far behind Malcom is Inessa, in full Grey Warden attire and gripping her staff. She doesn't brandish it or otherwise made a display of her power, not yet. Perhaps it will come to driving people away through fear, but she doesn't want to be the sort of person who uses it as a first resort. So she stands straight, eyes slightly narrowed as she surveys those gathered.

Hoping the presence of a Seeker -well, two of them- will be enough to quell the mob mentality, the young Warden remains calm, gesturing for her mabari to stay back. He won't attack without her say-so.

[onlyhymns]

Cade still isn't allowed to use weapons, but he's on-edge and not about to sit and wait for something awful to happen. He hasn't been exactly friendly to the mages, but he understands their mission, and part of that mission is protecting them from the locals.
He's trotting Lady Patience from one end of the wagons to the other, making a looping pattern like a sheepdog as he attempts to physically block the disgruntled Nevarrans from getting any closer. The horse's ears are flat against her head and her steps are erratic, indicating to anyone with even a drop of horse sense that she won't hesitate to kick or bite if someone should get too close. In that, they are perfectly on the same page.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany looks to the others, and then quietly turns to the other mages, her voice quiet and reassuring. "The others have this handled - so let's just keep moving up the road, shall we?"

She herded them along, looking behind her shoulder, her lips pressed together in a thin line.

[lifeofendurance]

Maker, what a mess. Having it out with an angry mob was not on Aleron's list of accomplishments for this mission. Then again, not much of it had been as initially expected. He's rather used to rolling with life's punches, but this is one time he's very firm that he'd just as soon see no punches whatsoever.

To that end, he rides up from his position as the point in front of the carriage to take a full assessment of their situation. As he passes by their temporary charges, he gives the quiet instruction of: no barriers, not even a flicker of created light. Nothing which would give the mob their much wanted catalyst to begin a fight. Half of their Templars present are directed to aid Cade and Bethany in keeping the carriage surrounded and secure. The other half, he motions to come and set up a visible presence behind Malcolm.

With good hope, a show of solidarity with two Seekers, a group of Templars, and an array of Inquisition agents will be enough deterrent to dissuade the group from attempting anything violent. So far, everything is still nice and orderly.

Except for the mob which erupts into a cacophony of outbursts all coming out at once. They aren't even cohesive arguments, though a few winners stand out if anyone can filter the noise into individual sentences. The butcher is put out because someone in their number is skipping town without paying his bill. Others are terrified the mages are leaving to pull demons out of the local Rift (which anyone has yet to actually pinpoint its location) to take the city by force. One very plaintive voice is terribly distraught that Uncle Julian is being taken away. A shill woman demands to know where the bombs have been planted in the city. Either way, there seems to be no leader or spokesperson, anymore than there's one binding complaint to be addressed.

If the situation weren't so incredibly tense, it'd actually be laughable.

[tactical_alert]

What it is is incredibly annoying. Mob mentality is a dangerous thing, but still, if these angry civilians want to attack fully armed, armored agents, then they are going to have quite another thing coming. As it is, it's merely yelling so far. Yelling is not punching or stabbing or whacking, therefore they can deal with it.

Malcolm keeps his expression collected, but only just. There's a sneer he's holding back and a headache waiting to erupt out of this. He's faced down more dangerous bickerers in ancient Tevinter mages while severely outnumbered; this should be nothing.

"The Inquisition," he starts, just below a roar, "has protected you this day!" They will attend carefully or they are going to stand here at this blockade all bloody day, and the former is much easier than the latter. "The mages are removed, as are any spells they may have laid. You will sleep tonight knowing that the dangers nearby have passed! Reparations will be paid for your troubles," and he's not even going to bother looking to Aleron for that, sometimes a little money has to pass through in order to soothe ruffled feathers, "and should you find yourselves in any danger in the future, you may call upon us once again to keep you safe!"

He's banking on them actually trusting in the Inquisition--or at least in those in the Inquisition they might trust. Grey Wardens, or Templars, or Seekers. Surely if there were demons and rifts and nasty mages, these fine people would put a stop to it?

[onlyhymns]

A sudden movement in her periphery and Lady Patience rears slightly back with a shrill anxious whinny, but Cade retains his seat and is put in the precarious position of having to calm her down as well as the person who ran at them.
"Stop, stop, you'll make it worse," he murmurs, perhaps to them both, turning the horse in a circle to get the mayhem briefly out of her sight. As he comes back around, a few indignant members of the mob are ready, shouting over him as he timidly implores them to listen to the Seeker.

His heart rate is rising, and he looks briefly to Aleron as though awaiting orders. He isn't supposed to be involved in anything even resembling combat, but this is a somewhat inescapable situation that he just has to deal with. He's not feeling especially inclined toward violence, though he is somewhat concerned he's going to get dragged off his horse and torn apart.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

All right, this was quickly getting out of hand and Bethany had her doubts on whether or not yelling at them or acting nervous towards this mob was going to help. So she put herself between the mages and the mob, after shooing them further up the road, lifting her voice to pitch loudly as she gestured to Cade to move back with the mages as well.

Easier to throw shields up around everyone, after all, when they were all together.

"Perhaps if you could just tell us what the problem is - exactly - we can help. You're saying that there is still an open rift here? And there's a matter of a food bill? These are all things we can sort out ... reasonably. Right now, if you like."