[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

[justice_is_blond]

The scent was lovely, the first lovely thing of the day, and it made him breathe a little easier as he raised his glass as well.

"To surviving." Anders sipped, closing his eyes for a moment so he could simply enjoy the flavor. "It's not enough. But we don't get more this time." And the boy got even less, and had for such a long time.

"I don't... Why? Why would anyone..." Creating demons, torturing children, he didn't get it.

[fleurdesel]

It was not quite deadpan, her voice, but it was hammered flat. Clipped and cool and tightly controlled.

"Because they could. Because it is step one of a larger plan. Because they were curious, because it would further their goals, because they found it amusing or arousing or simply wished to see what they could do with red lyrium and an abomination. Perhaps they found it educational, perhaps they were attempting to make a weapon of him or testing the process to ensure it could be replicated. They were experimenting for a purpose- we may never learn what it is. Speculation is not going to help us in this." All it would do is sour their already dour mood further. What more could be done? What more could be lost?

What made the most sense?

[justice_is_blond]

Sometimes he's envious of her calm, but there's a cost to it too. Keeping things buried down, controlled, would eventually lead to too much spilling forth all at once, in his opinion. So instead of trying to mirror her calm, Anders exhales heavily and takes another drink.

"I've got one of their books, one full of notations. I can't decide between burning it to keep it from ever possibly falling into other hands, or studying it so I can maybe find a counter to red lyrium poisoning, to what people are doing with it. This is only going to become more widespread."

It's worse than blood magic, and anyone with questionable morals can try using it, to boot.

[fleurdesel]

"This is a situation where the researcher in me wonders if more eyes would make for greater understanding- or if secrecy aside from reporting our findings to the advisors would be best. At the very least? I recommend sharing what you've found with Dorian." No one was truly an expert on red lyrium, on possessions, but it was one person they both knew that would not twist what they'd found to do the world ill.

The question now was if there was enough left in the book to be worthwhile. "The Seekers as well. Seeker Reed seems reasonable enough. They ought to now what the red templars are doing."

[justice_is_blond]

Having her on the side of not burning the book right away helps him make up his mind, and he nods.

"Dorian's familiar with red lyrium? Or..." Well, he's from Tevinter. It's not a stretch to think the mage has seen magic used against people, to warp or shape them. The only thing that worries him are the Seekers, really.

"I might... I may sum up the general bits for the Seekers. Reasonable enough is not the most ringing of endorsements. For the Advisors as well, and that actually would cover the Seekers, I'd think." Thinking of things to do always drags him out of his head; work fixes so many things. "What did your side turn up? Besides the books, we found some other notes, scattered lyrium fragments, and some of the boy's belongings."

[fleurdesel]

"Anders." She was drinking. She was pointedly attempting not to think about it, or discuss it, or remember what they found. "If I wished to talk about this? I would have done so."

The pit with the bodies, the notes Herian found, every detail that led up to their finding the child- the child itself? She could not push that far enough from her mind for her current comfort. Some eased their minds by sharing pain or frustration or sentiment- this she understood and indulged in as well when things were not quite so...horrific. Casual cutting, ruthless butchery? It was not something she could easily swallow. "The relevant details will be covered in my report for the advisors. I am certain a copy will be made available."

[justice_is_blond]

Right. Some people could shut themselves away from things. Anders still struggled with that, wanting to find... he didn't know what, exactly. Answers. Something that could come from the awful. But he could try this. After a sigh, he nods.

"I'd appreciate a copy, if I'm to start studying this." Easier with another drink, which he took. "All right. Another topic. Something not this." A beat. "Um. I'm not great at small talk. But how is your brother?"