[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

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione nods absently, glad that no one seems to be opting to split up the group. And if someone suggests it, she's going to do what she can to make sure she's in the group with the large mabari.

"Quick work isn't of any use if it ends up being sloppy work," she points out. "If we make a misstep and any of us go missing.... I'd really rather not think about it." But of course she is, because that's just the sort of person she is.

[circleprodigy]

"Nor would I. We'll not leave here with less than we arrived with, not through carelessness." But the Inquisition being what it is, these missions are never safe. The possibility is always there, and she won't hide from that even as there's no reason to be overly morbid.

And she smiles a little, darting a glance to Hermione after taking another sweeping look around. "You sound rather like my mentors in the Circle, at least those I most often studied under. Slow and thorough over quick and sloppy is something that was hammered into me from day one." And she's grateful for it; mages in Thedas don't last long if they can't learn to control themselves.

[bookish_lioness]

Not through carelessness, she says. Fantastic. Because Hermione isn't already thinking of the myriad of ways in which all this could go disastrously wrong. She'd never had much of an imagination and she really wishes her mind hadn't decided to develop one now.

So the conversation with Inessa is a welcome distraction, even if Hermione had never much liked hearing about the Circles. But at least Inessa's experience hadn't sounded as terrible as some had. "That's the only way to really control magic, after all," she murmurs. "I've seen what happens when people try an advanced spell without being ready for it. Sometimes it just goes awry, other times... well, not everyone can be so lucky." Poor Crabbe, even if he had been attempting to hurt her and her friends with that spell.

[circleprodigy]

When Inessa speaks of the past, it's with the ease of someone who is comfortable with it and appreciates what they had. As long as they don't delve into what happened there during the Fifth Blight, that attitude will remain. She nods solemnly, thinking back to her time with her fellow apprentices. "We were warned against the dangers of pride and where it could lead, not just because of possession but because of that exact scenario. There's a reason we spend years mastering our abilities; trying to push that schedule ahead before its time never ends well. I'm fortunate to have taken that lesson to heart before my curiosity could override my common sense."

Not everyone was so fortunate, and Inessa's rather grateful that she didn't bear witness to most of that folly.

[bookish_lioness]

"Pride isn't just the downfall of those with magic," Hermione points out. "Anyone runs the risk of biting off more than they can chew if they don't practice a bit of pragmatism. Magic's consequences just tend to be more... colorful than others."

And fiery. And explosive. But that's neither here nor there.

[circleprodigy]

“'We do not teach that magic is evil. We teach that pride is evil- and does not corrupt only mages.'” Inessa smiles a little as she quotes. "Mother Giselle would agree with you. From my understanding, she is quite a reasonable voice in the Chantry, and one of the most charitable." Rare qualities indeed, or it sometimes seems that way.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione isn't sure whether or not Inessa is quoting someone or something, but it does make her give the Warden a sideways glance as she resists the urge to frown. "From what I hear, reasonable members of the Chantry are few and far between, at least insofar as mages are concerned. And any non-human race, as well. Granted, I'm sure most of the people who've told me so had been biased, but a bias doesn't necessarily mean something is incorrect."

[circleprodigy]

"No, it doesn't." Inessa nods in agreement with that, for all that she's disinterested in having such a grudge as her focus. "There have been many wrongs committed by the Chantry, some of them relatively recent. Yet those exist who serve as examples of what the Chantry should be; a source of comfort and support, regardless of magic or race. Perhaps with a new Divine, whenever she can be elected, that Chantry will have a chance of surfacing."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione has never heard an elf say a kind word towards the Chantry, and it had never really occurred to her that some elves may in fact be Andrastian. The concept sort of boggles her mind, even as she considers it a possibility as far as Inessa is concerned. Still, she isn't about to ask after someone's religion, especially not while they technically have a job before them. "Are they really looking for a new Divine in the midst of all this? Or are they merely searching for a figurehead that can calm the people in a difficult time? Because one seems awfully time-consuming when there are more dangerous matters going on in the world, and the other doesn't seem like it would really be much of a help to the Chantry in the long run."

[circleprodigy]

Most city elves are in fact Andrastian to some degree, whether to appease the humans or because they truly believe. Inessa's somewhere in between, preferring to focus on the aspects of the faith that still have merit while not being blind to what has been done in Andraste's name.

"Good questions. You would have to ask them directly, as I can't provide concrete answers. For now, I suspect that they still remain in shock over Divine Justinia's death--and not just her death, but that of every likely candidate who attended the Conclave. The leadership has been gutted, and that doesn't heal instantly. It's unfortunate that they're so slow to react, not for the election but because of the faithful who look to them for guidance. The Inquisition acts where they cannot, but we are not meant to be a long-term solution."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione doesn't inquire as to the religious beliefs of others. It isn't important, not unless those beliefs are being used to actively suppress a particular set of people. Of course, given what she's heard of the Chantry and of the Qun, that's pretty much all Thedosian religion seems to do.

"Every likely successor shouldn't have been in the Conclave," Hermione points out. "At least one person should have remained somewhere safe, in the event of something like what actually happened. But there have to be others who are eligible for the position that can at least fill in for the interim, if not as an official Divine. That should at least see to it that there isn't an empty seat and that not too much time is wasted finding just the right person when there are so many other things going on in the world."

[circleprodigy]

A wry smile forms as Inessa shrugs. "Unfortunately, what should have happened and what did happen are two different things. The Conclave attracted the attention of many, wanting to see -and shape- the outcome of the war. No doubt they thought their own forces capable of protecting them at the time, not realizing the strength of one darkspawn magister and his ambition.

An interim Divine...it's possible one will appear, but I don't know whether to support it or fear it. The wrong Divine, even temporary, could cause a lot of harm. History is full of people who 'temporarily' assumed power, only to keep the reins for themselves."

[bookish_lioness]

"History - at least the history I'm familiar with - is also filled with cautionary tales about inaction being just as dangerous as the wrong action," Hermione replies evenly before shrugging in return. "But that's not my place to say. Rifters aren't exactly the go-to people for political or theological advice."

[circleprodigy]

"No, but that doesn't mean that their perspective and insight is without worth. You have a good point, about inaction, and I believe that's why many are here, not wanting to see the results of holding back while waiting for someone else to act." Inessa may not have anywhere else to go, but even so, she holds to the Inquisition's purpose. That's why she's here, on the path, rather than safely in Skyhold.

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione is only here because she feels the need to pull her weight within the Inquisition, given that she's staying in Skyhold in the vain hope that someone will find a way to send the rifters home. But even so... well, there could well be those who'd been spat out of a rift and hadn't been found by the Inquisition, or who had simply opted to follow a different route upon their arrival in Thedas. With Corypheus on the loose, siding with the Inquisition had been a simple enough choice for Hermione.

"'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,'" she murmurs. "It's a famous saying from my world, but... I think it's fairly universal."