faderift | [CLOSED] PLAYER PLOT: The Ashes Underneath His Nails

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[CLOSED] PLAYER PLOT: The Ashes Underneath His Nails

WHO: Jim Kirk, Hermione Granger, Adelaide Leblanc, Herian Amsel, Anders, Inessa Serra, Raylan Gibbs, Ciri
WHAT: The Inquisition sends a group of agents to uncover the truth behind a string of mysterious disappearances.
WHEN: Kingsway 1st - 8th
WHERE: Emprise du Lion
NOTES: Plotting post is here - feel free to post in there still for queries and concerns and further stuff where needed. Warnings for blood, violence, talks about death, experimentation horror, abomination-related stuff etc and eventual on-screen child death. ALSO no tag order - just respond when you feel like you should and I'll try to hit it back if it feels appropriate!!

QUICK JUMP LINKS

TRAVELLING TO FROMAGE & FROMAGE GENERAL THREAD

ROUTE INVESTIGATION

SEEKRIT CAVE ENTRANCE

INTO THE SEEKRIT CAVE

CAVE INVESTIGATION - LEFT TEAM

CAVE INVESTIGATION - RIGHT TEAM

KID ABOMINATION THREAD

BACK TO SKYHOLD

(—he remembers the chill of the frost and snow biting at bare skin, its usual pure white now tinged a horrid pink from the blood on his hands. He's far away from them now, the danger and the pain and everything else, but the blood will forever be on his hands no matter how much he tries to wash it away.

His father had been right all along. He truly was a monster of the greatest kind.)

QUEST: THE ASHES UNDERNEATH HIS NAILS (PART I)

The message had come swiftly, the letter itself hastily written with a shaky hand. The request itself was simple; a plea for help from a village at the outskirts of Emprise du Lion, whose people have been mysteriously disappearing over the last few weeks. Considering the ongoing civil unrest that's still transpiring in Orlais the Inquisition made its decision to send out a team of agents to look into this message and see exactly what was going on.

The eight agents tasked with the mission were given enough time to prepare for the trip ahead. They would all meet up first at the Inquisition camp set within the Emprise and from there travel for about a day until they reached where their destination was - Fromage, a quaint little village that rested at the outskirts of the area.

From that point on, it was up to the agents of the Inquisition to solve this ongoing mystery. The mission: to discover the truth behind these disappearances - and to stop it, if possible.

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Inessa isn't so much on edge as she is meticulously alert, having heard about the general troubles of Emprise du Lion. Between rifts and Red Templars and Maker knows what else, there is already enough to keep people on their toes without sudden disappearances. Garahel focuses as well, shedding that goofy fun-loving demeanor in favor of behaving like the war hound he is, doing his best to pick up on anything that duller senses might miss.

The town's reception is noted and though Inessa anticipates grudging cooperation (people are usually willing to help Grey Wardens to some extent), this welcome has her pleasantly surprised. And, like Hermione, even more concerned about what they're walking into. They can't afford to discriminate when it comes to their saviors and that's very much evident.

At the tavern, Inessa orders nothing but tea. There's no likelihood of compromising her sobriety, not given the dire and not entirely known circumstances. Garahel doesn't flop down or roam for attention, instead remaining at Inessa's side and peering at everything quietly. He'll only speak up in greeting to others of their group.

Raylan was there next to her, naturally drifting toward the person on the team he knew best. He knew Adelaide a little from the council, but not nearly as well as he knew Inessa.

"All right there?" he asked, watching Inessa's face closely. It was both a genuine check in on her, and an attempt to modulate his own self. He was seeing some things in the townspeople that made him wary, but he wanted to confirm it with someone else before he passed that judgement. He had ale, himself, not worried about the effect one drink might have on him (which was zero).

Offering a small smile in greeting, Inessa takes another sip before answering that question. "I'm just mulling over what we have seen so far. The villagers seem quite accommodating, don't they? Even to mages and elves?" Maybe her Grey Warden status alleviates that somewhat, but Inessa doubts it would otherwise vanish entirely. "It must be more dire here that we realized."

"I'm gettin' that sense," Raylan agreed, tapping his fingers restlessly on the table. "This is the exact type of place I expect to wanna burn mages alive, but they're actin' like we brought the sun with us." Even here in a random tavern, they were getting only the briefest and most perfunctory of hateful or nervous looks, despite a proliferation of robes and sharp ears -- no one was hiding what they were.

"I passed through Emprise du Lion on the way to Skyhold, though not this general area. What I had seen was sobering, but not quite as desperate as this. The less time we linger here, the better." Inessa knows people are tired and need some rest, but still. This area just doesn't feel right and she can't be the only one picking up on that.

"From your lips to the maker's ears," Raylan said. He was never much for lingering, anyway, but he'd rather camp on the road than spend another night in the town.

Inessa smiles a little at that and Garahel wags his tail, looking to them both. "It seems we're all three in agreement. I'm not about to advocate splitting away from the main party, though. Dividing forces when faced with the unknown is too much of a risk."

"No, no, we'll stick together. It'll be fine, between all of us I think we can handle just about anything gets thrown at us." There was a pause.

Raylan knocked on the wooden table top, just to be safe.

Garahel barks confidently in response to that, and Inessa smiles as she leans over to pet him. He's definitely vital for morale, at least for her. "With our numbers and skill, I'd like to think so. I've also begun learning rift magic, so I'm eager to see its application on the field."

Raylan nodded, rubbing his chin with two fingers. It looked like an idle fidget, but he was thinking hard. "Let me know how that goes, yeah?" he asked. "Who are you learning from?"

"Naturally. So far, it's proven interesting." Now, how to explain her trainer. "The woman I'm learning from is...a bit eccentric. She was part of a team of twenty scholars studying the Breach, but the only survivor. Her studies allowed her to use this new magic that focuses on the power of the rifts. Whatever incident happened, it's caused her to forget much aside from that, including her name. Now she just refers to herself as 'Your Trainer'. According to her, she's 'paid the price' of her learning, so that others don't. I did my homework before committing to that path, and what she says seems true, as other mages have been able to learn safely."

"I see."

Raylan just decided that with all his research, he's gonna die. Don't mind him.

Looking mildly perturbed, he cleared his throat and ran a hand over his hair. "Doesn't seem like something one person ought to be able to pay the price for."

The reaction is noted by them both, prompting a soft whine from Garahel and a frown of concern from Inessa. "It's...disturbing, what she must have went through. But perhaps the more we understand, the better the chance there is for her recover. At any rate, I didn't want that risk to go to waste. On the field, I'll be able to do more with it than she can back at Skyhold."

"That's true," Raylan agreed. "I been doin' a lot of research into the veil lately." He chuckled a little, eyes crinkling with it. "Just ain't all that encouraging to hear that the last people who got close mostly died and the survivor lost her memory." Although of course, he was going to shrug it off like it was nothing now.

Inessa nods, that frown lingering. "No, I suppose it isn't. Though it seems that their curiosity overrode their caution, and produced the current result. I doubt you will lose the latter trait and if you need a reminder, I would readily assist. Or Garahel can sit on you." Perking up, Garahel barks in agreement.

Edited 2016-09-04 14:04 (UTC)

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apostafuckyou - 2016-09-06 06:29 (UTC) - Expand

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circleprodigy - 2016-09-06 14:10 (UTC) - Expand

Kirk took a page from Inessa, sticking to tea - at least boiled water did not hold the promise of potential disease, though in this cold a region he didn't expect that either. Better safe than sorry though, and he did not want to become a liability at any point. They could ill afford it, to say the least.

"How's my favorite pup tonight?" he smiled at Garahel, sitting down in the seat beside Inessa and holding out his hand to the mabari.

Garahel barks happily and offers his paw for a shake. Because when shakes happen, treats happen. Inessa already has a hand in her travel bag, a small smile on her lips. "Garahel is more popular here than I thought he would be, for an obviously Fereldan species. The locals have opened up rather quickly when faced with his charm."

The gesture is universal, it seems, because Kirk takes the paw and gives a welcoming shake, and then a pat on the head as his version of a reward. He knows how you like that, Garahel.

"Do the locals normally not like non-Imperials?" he inquired, moving to scratch now.

Garahel wags his tail, very happy with the attention and the mabari crunch that he practically inhales. Treats and attention? This is the life. Leaning back in her chair, Inessa sips at her tea. "When said Imperials are visibly mages, yes. We no longer have Circles and Templars to keep us in line, and that will make people even more wary of us than before. Or it should. And yet here, we're welcomed with open arms. They must be truly desperate."

Her tone carries no bitterness, merely acknowledging the truth of Orlais's deep-seated prejudices.

Honestly, between Inessa and Kirk, the dog was going to become a spoiled brat. Kirk had an issue, clearly. Spoiling his cats, Boggy, and now a dog that wasn't even his. Yes, definitely a problem. You know, if he bothered to acknowledge it.

"Hopefully it makes them realize that the way things were, aren't the way they need to be," he said, smiling down at Garahel and moving to scratch beneath his jaw.

There's a slight smile at that, and a shrug in response. "Perhaps, but I'll remain cautious all the same. What is true of wartime and desperation. doesn't always reflect what will happen when peace arrives. It's often easy to fall back on the status quo, in that case. Though with the Divine gone...who knows, you may be right." Change is coming, she just doesn't know whether it will aid or hinder them.

"That's true," he nodded. "But it is also the case that many remember, and it changes them. Unfortunately, social change is a slow process. But it does happen." He gave her an encouraging smile.

"The Divine was essentially the head of the Chantry, correct?" he asked, having been equating her to the Pope in his head from the Christian religion, but the histories of the Chantry were rather convoluted in his view, so he always liked a double check.

"The head of the Chantry everywhere but Tevinter, yes. They have their own Divine, which no one else recognizes." Inessa shrugs, not knowing much more than that about the Tevinter Chantry. "Divine Justinia was thought fairly progressive, for a Divine. I think in another age and with another Divine at the helm, it's possible an Exalted March might have been declared against Kirkwall or mages in general. But she formed the Conclave instead, working towards at least a chance for peace. I don't know enough about her to say I would agree with all she's done, but still, it's something."

"An Exalted March," he said slowly, not liking the sound of it, though he had heard the term once or twice. "I take that to mean it's the Chantry officially going to war with someone or something? Though if you ask me any move for peace is worth the effort."

Inessa nods solemnly to both the question and the comment. "There have been several Exalted Marches. Some against Tevinter, like the very first, some against the Qunari when they invaded Thedas....and against the elves of the Dales, causing the end of the sovereign nation. There were others, as well. According to the Chantry, the faithful who give their lives to the Exalted Marches earn a special place at the side of the Maker as the "Exalted".

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