[CLOSED] PLAYER PLOT: The Ashes Underneath His Nails

[amygdalae]

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.

Comments

[circleprodigy]

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."

[universal_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.

[circleprodigy]

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.

[universal_charm]

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.

[circleprodigy]

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.

[universal_charm]

"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.

[circleprodigy]

"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."

[universal_charm]

"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."

[circleprodigy]

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".