PLAYER PLOT: The Least of His Children

[pinprick]

WHO: Nathaniel Howe, Felix Alexius, Anders, James Norrington, Kaisa Daesun, Fenris, Araceli, Inessa.
WHAT: A quest to rescue a slave.
WHEN: August 26
WHERE: Tevinter
NOTES: Will update. Plotting post is here.

The Mastermind: Nathaniel Howe
The Game: Green Goods
The Grifter: Felix Alexius
The Mark: Magister Leo Valerius is an ailing old man, but his mind is sharp. His main concern of late has been to leave his sons a good inheritance, though he isn't exactly straight-up greedy.
The Prize: Alavda Endris is a slave to Valerius. The bad news is that she almost never leaves his side. The good news is that that makes her easy to find.

The Plan: One team is sent in, with Felix dressed as a minor lordling and his entourage trying to climb the social ladder by schmoozing an old magister. Felix claims to be staying as a guest of a nearby lord (technically true) and only visiting for the day. Valerius must believe this boy is an upstart with no political value and too much money.

Another team performs a heist and gains the money Valerius keeps at this estate by pretending to be contractors hired to work on the floorboards in the room with the vault door (an appointment Valerius set up months ago and our team hijacked). Planting bees in the floorboards will clear the room of guards. Felix pretends to fall in love with Alavda and asks to borrow her from Valerius. If Valerius hesitates, Felix offers him more and more money until he consents. He has loaned Alavda to other lords before, and Felix's show of being petulant and stupid should help wear away any suspicion that this is a set-up. In that way, it's a basic hustle. Once Valerius consents, Felix then sends an attendant outside to fetch that amount from the money stolen from Valerius' vault. The entourage departs, claiming to be returning to the local lord's house. They leave with Alavda and return to Skyhold.

MAJOR OBSTACLES:

Alavda is wearing an enchanted collar which allows Valerius to locate her. If it is cut away or in most any other way removed, it sends a massive and lethal shock through her system. The team will need to find a way to remove the collar without killing Alavda.

If/when the collar is removed, Valerius will send people to find her.

Valerius has about twenty guards on his property.

The vault door operates on reacting to a specific keystone which cannot be found, but aside from the magical lock, the mechanism is still a mechanism. A good thief can crack it.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is vital that the members of this team keep their involvement and mission details secret before and after the mission. It must not get out that Inquisition members and affiliates were involved in hustling a magister.

Comments

[justice_is_blond]

He knows that feeling well. Which also means he knows pressing against that feeling well.

"What do you want? What is it that would make it inappropriate?"

[blightedson]

Felix pressed his lips for a moment. "My father's disgrace? The taint in my blood? Just to start...." The trailed off for a moment. "Before... all of this. Before I got sick, my parents were part of a loosely organized group trying to make our homeland better. I'd like to be still be apart of that somehow."

[justice_is_blond]

"I don't see why you can't be. There's always writing letters, contacting people you knew who were working for things to become better." Anders looks over at the man. "You can use what you've learned, and you've got others who would be very interested in a Tevinter that's less fixated on blood magic. The taint in your blood isn't the end of everything."

[blightedson]

Felix thinks all of that over and then nods a bit. "When things have calmed down, I'd like to return home for a bit to see some familiar faces." Then, carefully, because he isn't sure how Anders would feel about the offer. "I wouldn't mind some company, if I can manage that trip."

[justice_is_blond]

He nods, slowly, a small smile on his lips. "I'd like that. I've wanted to take a look around the empire for a very long time. This is a nice glimpse, but considering all of the complications, there's not a lot of breathing room to look around in."

There's too much risk right now. Kalli and Nate are counting on him, so he needs to focus. "I doubt I could travel under my name, but there's time to come up with something."

[blightedson]

Felix moves his head in agreement to that idea. The mages known as 'Anders' might be hailed as a hero in some places, but as the man who helped bring chaos to the South. Some altus mages took great pleasure in the fact that Southern Thedas as started to tear itself apart. Felix doubted very much that was what Anders wanted to be known for in Tevinter. He was a freedom fighter, not a demon of chaos.

"You'll also need a new wardrobe. Most of what you wear would be too warm, especially if we go in summer." Better to talk about clothes than any of that.

[justice_is_blond]

He smiles fully at Felix. "Anders. From the Anderfels. I know of warmth. I miss warmth, truth be told. I've been in the cold southern lands for so long..."

The recent trip up had been nice, but he could use more of it. Trips like this, with a purpose and some time to simply bask in temperatures that were far more reasonable, were welcome.

"It's got to be harder for you, though. I've had years to acclimate. You've had several months now?"

[blightedson]

"Yes, and then we camped out in snowy mountains," Felix replied, his voice a little dry but not too offended. "I'm handling it. Though I'm pretty sure my fingers are going to freeze off."

He sounded more amused by the idea than anything. "I try not to complain. I don't want people to think of me that way."

[justice_is_blond]

"Let me know if they start to change colors. I am a healer, after all." There's definite amusement in his voice. He's pretty sure Felix isn't about to lose his fingers.

"And I complain about little things all the time because it's fun." If people are used to hearing complaints about the little things, they're far less likely to suspect he's up to anything or focusing on the big things, too. Deflection is everything.