faderift | [Closed] The Order's Obligations

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[Closed] The Order's Obligations

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.

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((ooc: If anyone would like to socialize, have at.))

As they arrive at the city gates, Aleron pulls up on his horse and swings around to address the group. Not that it's been a hard two days travel, but one can become saddle sore and cranky from an extended ride.

"It's best if we take some rest and acquire more information before we delve into lending our requested aid." He fixes a stern look at the youngest of the Templars to have tagged along. "There is to be no kicking down doors or impromptu interrogations. Well will acquire the full facts of the situation and make our decisions based on truth. Make whatever sleeping arrangements suit you and we will reconvene in the morning to discuss what we've learned."

---

It won't take long to piece together a full picture. The locals don't object to Mortalitasi, the good mages who tend their honored dead. It's those other ones who came from the tower and didn't have the decency to clear out when the others did. Stories of rudeness and extreme suspicion on the part of the citizenry are rampant. It wasn't good enough for the mages to just leave the streets and stay away from Maker-fearing good people. They went and hauled up in that tower of theirs and barricaded it. Andraste preserve them, everyone just knows they're plotting to burn the city down.

The oft repeated plea becomes, "Won't you do something about them?"

What's curiously absent in the gossipy people are any reports of mages taking action in defense of themselves. No fireballs, no walls of ice, not even a sharp word or a well-deserved slap across someone's face. If anything it's been people trying to go about their business, buying food, washing clothes, that are being run off from public spaces.

The old Circle Tower shows the same stylistic similarities to Orlais as the city has done. Granted, it is nowhere nearly so grand and sprawling as the White Spire, but the outside decor and bright paint are a good indication. Nor is the building just one very circular tower parked on a moat as the tower in Ferelden. No moat, but it's clear that this Circle was once a fortress claimed my the mages and made theirs. A watchtower is central to the complex and the walls surrounding it are wide enough for four burly Qunari to walk side by side on the top. But there are also wings visible at a distance.

Given what news they've acquired in the city proper, it's questionable how kindly a group of anyone's arrival will be taken by the tower's occupants. Not at all unreasonable are the glyphs placed on the approach, their faint glowing marks a warning to keep everyone away. None of them appear to be explosive or damaging, but peeling them away would be safer than stomping across and barging in the front door.

The group's arrival has been noticed, as evidenced by the movement of lights on the lowest ground floor, nearest the entry. Hard to say how many, as the locals were too diverse in their approximated numbers inside. Everything was given from 5 senior enchanters to 1000 well-armed battlemages. There is at the very least a dozen distinct lights inside and one very ancient fellow hauled up on the walls.

It's that man who calls out, "Just go away and leave us alone! That's what you want from us, isn't it?"

Unfortunately the Inquisition is not made of money. Out of the thirty mages coming out of the old Perendale Circle, at least eight of them are senior citizens. They're nowhere nearly young and sprightly enough for a trudge across Nevarra and Orlais, only to ascend a mountain upon completing that journey. Horses for all would have been ideal, but they've had to settle for hiring a carriage for the elderly and their belongings. More specifically, Aleron has silently footed that expense out of his own pockets.

It's a slow-moving caravan of people on the road south, away from the Blasted Hills. Wyvern shrieks can be heard echoing off the rocky terrain, but come scurrying out to launch an attack.

No, it's monsters of a different variety that come after the group. Mob mentality takes hold so easily and grows rapidly.

Within two hours of leaving Perendale, a group of some four dozen disgruntled Nevarrans have caught up to the group. They are brandishing base weapons such as hoes and shovels, and at least one butcher in his bloody apron waving a knife. Their shouting only creates a din of noise that offers no clarity as to what their complaint is, beyond they are unhappy with the mage departure. If someone doesn't talk them down, and quickly, matters could get very ugly and bloody fast. The protestors are outnumbered, but only just

After about an hour of having her poor horse bucked in the knee, Bethany let out a sigh and began to shield everyone's horse at random. That way, the goats could go for one horse and suddenly find themselves stymied. Go after a different horse, and find the same barrier. She was hoping to wear them down, puzzle their little goat minds enough that they could at least ride into town without having some poor beast stumble on the road and lose a shoe.

Besides, it was excellent practice.

"Garahel, help her." Getting tired of this nonsense and trusting her mabari to help scare them off without injuring said goats, Inessa sighs and gestures for him to do his part. Garahel, grumbling as it is, is happy to comply and rushes forward to be annoying and scary at the goats until they run away. He barks in their faces, insistent until they're at a distance deemed acceptable.

Inessa has a long fuse, and she absolutely refuses to contribute to the poor reputation of the tower mages, but that doesn't mean the investigations aren't wearing on her. Piecing together the faces, and realizing the mages' reputations are completely undeserved, Inessa retains her calm demeanor. The more annoyed she is, the calmer her tone. Only her eyes reveal a hint of the chill fury within, and only when she doesn't have anyone to interrogate. Garahel is a boon, and his affectionate nudging her to pet him keeps her focused on the task.

She'll return to the inn to decompress a little before turning in for the night, picking a far corner. Members of the investigation are welcome to join her, she's just utterly done with talking to locals right now. Garahel plops down to pre-empt belly rubs by rolling onto his back.

In the morning, that cool demeanor remains as Inessa describes what she's seen and heard. Her arms are crossed, lips pressed into a thin line. "These mages have done no wrong. They have not gone out of their way to antagonize anyone, merely survive as best they can. And yet, everyone believes them to be on the verge of harming the city. The sooner we help them depart, the better."

If this ancient mage is an indication of what's inside, Inessa's concern for the Circle's inhabitants has only increased. Knowing her Grey Warden attire doesn't immediately reveal her past affiliation, the elven mage calls out in return. Garahel hangs back, taking cue from Inessa who doesn't want his presence intimidating anyone or misleading them into thinking they plan to strike. "We only want to help you! You're under no threat from us. I was a Circle mage as well as others in this company. We're here to assist, not condemn."

Likewise with Bruce, it takes a lot to really get anything more than an annoyed reaction out from him - and even the annoyance itself took some effort. If anything, he can't help but feel sorry for the mages who had to go through all of this; their reputations were hardly deserved, even if he understood why people were reacting like this. Still, it didn't make any of this any easier.

As he thanks the last person who he had spoken to he glances over to the Warden to see if she's done with her share of questions as well. He's gotten a fair bit of stuff on his end and it would be good to check things out with her just to make sure that the important things lined up with each other.

Bethany looked over her shoulder at Inessa, and outright beamed at her. "You are a life saver. Or at least you and Garahel as a team are."

Reaching into her satchel, she pulled out a bit of jerky and tossed it to the mabari, before offering her water sack to Inessa. "If this is the largest of our problems, I am going to consider myself lucky. Goats are annoying but they aren't demons."

Inessa settles down at her table with a sigh, then glances over to Garahel, who perks up and wags his tail at Bruce. She waits until he's close enough, not wanting to shout across the room, turning her attention to him as she waits for her tea to cool. "Allow me to guess; the mages have done nothing of note, certainly nothing to earn such fear."

Bruce gives the mabari a friendly smile as it greets him after a fashion, making his way over to its owner so that the two of them can discuss what they have so far. She starts to speak once he's close enough, and when he gets to the table Bruce can't help but let out a huff that's part amusement, part exasperation.

"More or less, yeah." He settles himself down on a chair and places his bag down close to him. "All I've heard is stories of them maybe appearing in places where they might be better off to not be at, but certainly nowhere that's illegal or to warrant such immense reactions."

Of course Garahel immediately lunges for the jerky, inhaling it promptly. Inessa smiles and accepts the water sack, taking a sip. "Maker willing. I've never been to this portion of Nevarra, so I can't speak of the Circle in question from experience. I can only hope that we have enough in common to stave off hostilities."

For the love of Andraste, do not let this be another instance of blood magic and demon summoning. The young Warden doesn't need to relive one of the worst moments of her life. But her outward demeanor remains calm, as she reminds herself that it's counterproductive to focus on the worst possible outcome before they know the facts.

Bruce... certainly did not choose to be here, that was for sure. But it wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter, since the Inquisition had told him to go and he certainly couldn't disobey a direct order. It was days like these where he regretted being a mage - or at least, more so than usual.

Still, a mission was a mission, so here was Bruce mostly trailing behind the team for the most part. The dracolisk had of course followed him since Bruce was never sure how well it could behave if he left it alone for so many day. And since it was already here, it only made sense to ride it as well despite whatever reservations Bruce had about it. The mission here was the important thing, so he'd just have to deal with it.

For the most part the dracolisk poses no issues to the others, though during breaks it might be found following Bruce a little too much instead of eating or doing whatever else mounts usually did in their rest. At times Bruce attempts to get it to stop, though it pretty much ends in the dracolisk sitting down on its back like a dog instead of anything else more productive.

This journey was going to be a long one.

Garahel gives Bruce a friendly bump before plopping down again and stretching out, yawning. He's had a very hard day of befriending absolutely everyone in town, many of them excitable children. Letting him be, Inessa leans back in her chair and shakes her head. "Without the Circle as an institution, too many believe we'll revert to the old days of Tevinter. Unchecked magic is an issue, I can't deny that, but these mages have done no wrong that I can see. They're only afraid, and fear from the locals will only cause this to spiral out of control."

Bruce takes the teapot already at the table along with a spare cup, filling it up with tea as she speaks, humming in agreement when she's done.

"It's not hard to see why they feel that way." Magic and mages have always been dangerous, that much is certain. The fear is more often than not justified, but in this case-- "Their paranoia's gotten the better of them, though. Understandable, but it's not helping anybody in this situation." What they needed was probably some kind of plan that could somehow calm down the parties involved. Not exactly the easiest thing to do, especially in these current times.

"No, it's not. The war may be stalled, but we can't say it's over for good. If they react to our Templars before we can speak with them, it could end very poorly." Inessa's lips form a thin line as she contemplates that grim scenario before lifting her own teacup for a sip. "I was from the Circle, but I was fresh from my Harrowing before it fell. I have no significant rank to pull."

Bethany made a slight face, as she took the sack back, "You know, after all the years I spent in Kirkwall, and then all these months running away from the Venatori ... I'll be honest. I am starting to understand why the Templars are so very paranoid. They ust seem to come out of the woodwork, don't they?"

She hooks the watersack back onto her saddle, adding, "However, we're here to calm nerves and get to the bottom of this. I think we'll be able to talk our way through any sort of problem, honestly. Given time."

"So perhaps he ought to come with me, then? Mage and templar, working together." Bethany spoke up, dimpling at the younger templar, before she put her gaze on Aleron and said quite innocently. "I'll sleep at whatever inn you're sleeping in, Seeker Darton. Security is, after all, paramount."

Well that, and she wants to make sure he's taken care of properly. Eating, sleeping, affectionate hand-holding to bolster his spirits up.

Bethany's lips pressed into a thin line - Kirkwall was raising it's ugly head in her memory. Mages, trapped inside their Circle when all they wanted was peace ... townfolk afraid for no reason but the way things were exploding all around them...

She pitched her voice to calmness as well, lifting up her hand to form a small fireball there. "We're fellow Mages, come to make sure that you have come to no harm - and if at all possible - we would like you to come with us. For your own safety."

Inessa frowns in thought, remembering what she heard over the crystal. She isn't pessimistic, not exactly, but caution remains in her expression and tone.

"We might not have time, however. Seeker Darton spoke of 'unusual circumstances' and an unstable rift. Neither of those bodes well for us. It might be that we'll have to divide our forces to get this mission accomplished. I'm curious about the rift, but I've no shard to aid in closing it, and I suspect I would be of more use at the tower."

"Maker's Breath, it can't ever be simple, can it?" She looked wistfully behind them. "I am going to miss those goats now."

A shake of the head, "I won't be much use with the Rift either, so I suppose you and I will be off to talk our fellow mages out of the proverbial tree. I just hope it's just fear and nothing more than that. Not that I am looking forward with dealing with scared villagers ... but they are a lot easier to handle."

Bethany's tactic to discourage the local wildlife from butting their mounts hasn't gone unnoticed. Aleron might not be smiling outright at the tactic, but he's pleased with it nonetheless. He's beginning to realize her kindness truly knows no bounds. It even applies to hapless horses beset upon by territorial beasties.

"Maker bless you, Bethany. I'd have not liked to return the Inquisition's mounts in poor condition." Especially not having to explain that they'd been battered by goats of all things. "I hadn't thought a war horse would be needed or I'd have brought Valiente instead." His strong willed companion would have happily delivered enough kicks and stomps to deter any further aggression.

He watches as yet another of the creatures attempts to butt at his sweetheart's mount, only to meet with barrier resistance and stagger off shaking its head. "I suppose we ought take down a couple of them in earnest and dine on roast chevon tonight."

"There's plenty of fear to go around, even with the war at a standstill. Mages and Templars may no longer be fighting each other, but the problems behind it have yet to be resolved. This will be...interesting, to say the least." Inessa quirks a small smile, certain they'll need to proceed with caution whatever the scenario.

"And I think Garahel disagrees, he's still giving those goats the stink-eye even though they're nearly out of sight." Garahel huffs and stares at the goats. He's on to you thugs.

Bruce found himself pausing awkwardly when she started to talk about her position in the Circles. It didn't really apply to him, since he had turned apostate long before they fell in the wake of the events at Kirkwall. But of course that isn't something people knew about and it was the last thing he wanted to talk about as well. The less mentioned about Circles around him, the better. Not because he disliked them, but because it might lead to things that would be hard for him to avoid discussing.

"You're a Warden," he points out instead, eager to shift the topic however he could. "I'd say that alone gives you a fair amount of rank." The Grey Wardens were still rather revered after all, so even if she didn't have much within the Circles her position as a Grey Warden still meant something to most.

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Page 1 of 5

[Closed] The Order's Obligations

En Route

Investigation

At the Tower

The Return

Well, at least it isn't bears.

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dracolisk troubles 101

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Investigation

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Lions and Tigers and Goats, Oh My!

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