( closed ) player plot: the stars go waltzing

[eviscerates]

WHO: Adelaide, Araceli, Avery, Bellamy, Bruce, Ciri, Cosima, Daenerys, Jamie, Korrin, Lexa, Martel, Merrill, Ruby, Sabine, Teren.
WHAT: catch all log; the capture of shardbearers, their rescue, and related shenanigans.
WHEN: Gently timey wimey for flexibility, Team Rescue arrives at the outpost on the 10th.
WHERE: Orlais/Nevarra borders (roughly halfway between the Fields of Ghislain and Trevis), and then a Creepy Place.
NOTES: Log for the missing shardbearers player plot; ooc here & here. Only the travel threads for teams one and two are going up for now, the rest will go up on Friday :]b And to clarify - when I say party style, what I mean is subthread to your hearts content!
WARNINGS: HORROR THEMES. Abduction, experimentation/torture, forced ingestion of lyrium, implied past deaths/murder, violence.

SPEEDY LINKS

• TEAM ONE: travel to Craintellier
• TEAM ONE: rift two attempt & Venatori attack
• TEAM ONE: dungeons
• TEAM ONE: escape attempt — Cosima, Jamie & Lexa only
• TEAM TWO: travel to Craintellier
• TEAM TWO: post rift investigation — Adelaide, Bellamy & Sabine, Bruce, Korrin & Teren, Ciri & Merrill
• TEAM TWO: take the outpost — Attack & Distract & Stealthy & Stealy
• TEAM TWO: regroup & into the dungeons — plus a Lexa-shaped guest star
• ALL: finding your shardbearers
• ALL: boss fight
• ALL: epilogue & return to Skyhold — tba

click for bigger version. full map of Thedas here.

East of Perendale and south of Trevis, next to a river's winding course, there lies the bones of a fortress. It is an old and almost forgotten place, a dramatic, clawed seeming thing reaching up into the sky, harsh against the the rolling hills.

It is an ancient place, dating back to 660TE, a testament to an Empire suffering after civil war and grasping to restore its wealth and influence after it had been so shaken. It stands as a memory of grandeur, rather than an icon of it, and bears the marks of devastation and scarring that so much of the land suffered during the First Blight. It was all but abandoned thereafter, host only to the desperate and the greedy, and never for long. Once ornate mosaics now only hold flecks of gold, flakes that stubbornly resisted the hands of looters trying to pry them away. Other colours, reds, whites, greys and blacks, they all remain.

The site was chosen for its riches, sitting atop a mine that once held immense wealth, seams of gold that would bring wealth back into the Empire and help restore stability. Opulence, the central Tevinter staple (aside from slavery and blood magic, some might say).

But they dug too deep, and when the First Blight came so too did the darkspawn.

It has a new master, now, and he serves the Elder One. Parts of this stronghold may be in ruins now, but remember: it is not what lies on the surface that counts, but what lurks beneath it.


AD VICTORIAM, AD GLORIA.

Comments

[heda]

Lexa has never been on a ship before. She doesn't announce that fact, and instead does her best not to let on, but there's a certain keenness to her attention as she strides the length and breadth of the vessel, as she watches the sailors work, and especially as she stands up at the bow that might make an perceptive person guess. She spends most of the voyage up there at the front, with her arms folded against the small of her back and the wind and the spray lashing at her face and whipping her hair into a curly mess everywhere it's not tightly braided.

She still manages to conceal her surprise as they approach the dock in Cumberland, but it's harder to keep her fascination completely contained at the sight of the largest city in Thedas (or near enough). She'd love to look around, but they have a mission and so instead she spends her efforts on advocating that they hire horses rather than walking all the way to their destination and back. The matter is urgent after all, isn't it? Either way, she'll be silent for most of the trip--that's just her default--but helpful with hunting without needing to be asked, even if the terrain is somewhat different than the Frostbacks she's accustomed to. Rabbits, mostly, a couple of gamebirds. She mostly just goes without asking for assistance, but isn't secretive about it if someone wants to tag along.

At the town she keeps to herself still, doesn't drink much but seems quietly curious about the food--and a little skeptical, pushing it around with her fork in examination before chewing thoroughly. Except the snails. The snails get a more thorough poking-at with her fork. WTF.

[eviscerates]

She makes a sound of relief when they reach the docks in Cumberland, exhaling though her cheeks remains a little puffed up regardless, and she looks a little—

Well, not green, but not lacking in visible relief, either. "Boats," she says very simply, as if that's explanation enough. "I still haven't gotten my Sea Legs specialisation. I think maybe having a big hat helps."

Thank God for dry land, and she rolls her shoulders as they start walking. The sea air had been invigorating, but then it went past invigorating into not so great, and now she is really appreciating how the sea smells from the docks. Magical.

[heda]

Lexa's brows draw briefly together at the mention of a big hat, and she flicks a look toward Ruby, checking for signs that this is a joke, or maybe trying to picture her in a big hat. Hmm.

She wobbles a little when they first step off onto the dock, but it's not that different from the transition after a long day on horseback, and after a few strides and discreet shaking out of one knee, she manages not to embarrass herself. She heads up the docks at Ruby's side, leaning around her a little to peer up at the city walls, eyes constantly moving in an effort to take in every single thing without swiveling her head around like a loser tourist.

"You didn't like it?" she asks, a little absently, attention still clearly on their surroundings. "The ship?" She doesn't mean to be rude. Ruby's great and all, but Cumberland is amazing, and she doubts she'll ever get the chance to see it again.

[eviscerates]

"I liked it! It was just... a longer trip than I've done by sea. I'm more of a useless landlubber." She grins brightly, and rolls her shoulders. "But we are back on land now."

She detects Lexa's fascination with the city, rather than taking the lack of singular focus as rudeness. Conspiratorially, she leans slightly Lexa's way. "Want to explore a little? It probably wouldn't hurt to pick up some provisions before we go adventuring across the countryside."

[heda]

Lexa hesitates, already a little embarrassed at Ruby having caught on to her distraction and interest and ready to kneejerk refuse and demand they remain on-task to make up for her lapse. But the rifter hasn't actually called her out and has instead made it sound useful, and it is Ruby's mission, after all. Lexa shuts her mouth and then after another second, nods.

"Yes, good idea."

Once they've turned and are heading into the city, getting swept into the crowd, Lexa's resolve cracks a little further. There's something about Ruby and her grin that makes her feel the need to say more and something about getting lost in this mass of people without anyone taking a second glance at her that lets her say it. "I'd read about Cumberland but I hadn't imagined it this big. We don't have cities. And we don't leave the mountains. I'd never been on a ship at all before this."

[eviscerates]

"I know what you mean. I've read about all these big cities in the world that I came here from, but I've never seen any of them myself. I don't think movies really do them justice." And then she pauses, looking to Lexa and taking a pause. "It's sort of like if a play in a theatre was crammed into a painting, I guess? You watch it any time, like how you can read a book any time, but it's a moving picture with sound and stuff."

She gestures, vaguely, to Cumberland and the ornate carriage that just rolled past them. "I've always been more of a small town country gal than a city person. I think this place is exciting."

Nothing cramps plans to travel like the risk of losing your memories and sacrificing part of your existence, after all.

[thecookery]

"Too right," Avery grumbles in agreement when she sees Lexa eyeing the snails so suspiciously. Judging by her own expression, these mollusks surely must have personally offended her somehow. "Maybe in a pinch you can keep yourself alive on slugs and nightcrawlers, but we're not lost in the wilds now, are we? So stick to proper meals, yeah?"

Clearly, they know how to make those too. There are real meats and things in the other dishes. So why this? Why are Orlesians so weird, you guys??

[heda]

"They seemed well-off," Lexa replies to Avery, voice low in murmured agreement. She has no desire to insult their hosts, but she definitely is puzzled and maybe a little relieved that the cook seems to be as well. She's not a picky eater by any means, and she'll chew her way through the snails politely, but this is odd. And a little worrying.

"Perhaps we've exhausted their stores that they need to replace meat with these. The rift will have scared away most game nearby."

[thecookery]

Avery snorts at that. No offense intended toward Lexa of course... but maybe a little toward non-Fereldan chefs.

"Their stores are probably fine," she explains after a moment, pointing to the snails. "They might actually be trying to impress us with these. For some reason, Orlesians are supposed to be well fond of the little buggers, and I've heard they don't even always come cheap. I don't get it myself, but, you know. Foreigners, right?"

Ignore that she is technically the foreigner here. Just give her a bit of beef or chicken and call it a day, okay?

[heda]

Lexa makes a noise of acknowledgment. Lowlanders are strange, but she's not about to say that when surrounded by them. And talking to one. She remains unconvinced by the snails, but if they're meant to be a local delicacy, she'll at least make an effort. No Avvar would ever pay a premium for such stupid food but she's eaten worse, all things considered.

"You're Fereldan," she says, not quite a question. "Have you been to Orlais before?"

[thecookery]

"First time," Avery answers with a shake of her head. She might ask the question in return, but she can already guess the answer if this woman really is Avvar like she's heard. They aren't exactly known for their visits to Orlesian courts after all.

After a moment though, she continues, "Meant to, once. Maybe further after that. Then all that fighting broke out in the Hinterlands, and I got stuck there. Before I could leave again, I'd set my mind on Skyhold instead."

[heda]

There's nothing about Lexa at the moment to specifically mark her as Avvar. In Skyhold it's easy to tell, and no doubt stories have spread, between the armor and the coat and often the paint on her face, not to mention the even-more-obviously-Avvar entourage usually made up of unreasonably large warriors. Here the only hint is the braids in her hair and the simple ornamentation of her weapons, less shiny and flashy than lowlanders generally go in for.

That includes the ones in the Hinterlands, one of the few places outside the mountains Lexa has been before. Just to its edges, but residents of those border villages would not remember her visits fondly, what with the raiding and looting they included. She sneaks another little look at Avery, but spots no hidden menace. She picks the shell off a snail.

"Why did you choose Skyhold?"

[thecookery]

Oh, trust. She has a lot more anger toward mages and templars over what went down in the Hinterlands than toward the Avvar.

"Like I said, all that fighting broke out," Avery answers, trying to keep her expression neutral, though her jaw does tense for a moment. "I got caught in the middle. Got hurt. Healer died. Things got a bit grim after that."

She takes a long drink from her cup. "Then the Inquisition showed up and brought in a new healer. Thought I'd do them a turn in kind if I lived. And I did, so..."

[heda]

Lexa takes this in, watching the tensing jaw and the effort behind it. Avery trails off and Lexa nods slowly, in understanding. It makes enough sense not to draw further questions, at least not on that subject.

She washes down the last couple snails with a drink and gratefully moves on to the next dish.

"What do you do for the Inquisition, exactly?"

[thecookery]

"Cook, mostly," Avery answers, giving a rueful look to the remains of the snails. "Other things around the keep too, but this time somebody convinced me I should come along and make sure you lot have better to eat on the road than hardtack and rabbit that's not been roasted all through."

She shrugs. "It's not wrestling demons or shooting fire out of my arse or whatever, but it's what I know."

[heda]

Lexa's nod is immediate but slow, understanding Avery's particular annoyance with the snails, now. At the demurral, she replies with a shallow shrug of her own.

"Keeping a force that large fed so high in the mountains isn't easy." And she would know, though the Avvar are much more practiced at it, adapted to need little that doesn't come from the mountains to begin with. But still. "I'm sure the Inquisition appreciates your assistance. As we have on this journey."

[thecookery]

A soft sound of wry amusement follows, and Avery tips her cup in Lexa's direction, pointing with one finger. "Best remember that when I'm half-down a demon's gullet. It's stale bread and snails for you if you don't pull me back out."

[heda]

Lexa doesn't really smile, but Avery might get the feeling that's because it's just not a thing she does rather than anything personal or specific to the conversation. She does nod, and there's a hint of amusement around her eyes.

"I will certainly keep that in mind." After a moment and a sip of her drink she has a follow-up question. "Are you coming to the rift?"

[thecookery]

"Oh, I'll be there," she answers with a look and tone of... let's say, resigned exasperation? You know, the look of someone who knows they're about to do something pretty stupid but is already committed to doing it anyway? Yeah, that one. "I'll be keeping my distance, so no worries about me getting underfoot. But I'll be there."