faderift | ( closed ) player plot: the stars go waltzing

Entry tags:

( closed ) player plot: the stars go waltzing

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She can do this all fucking day Timmy. Sacrificing mobility for the moment allows her to focus on casting rapidly. A flicked glyph of paralysis toward the feet of the gladiators to offer herself more time, as she glares this frustrating idiot right in the eye as she raises her staff and slams it down- an entirely different glyph flaring to life between him and Steve.

Complicated and curved and artful, the Glyph of Neutralization locks into place. Ambient magic? Gone. Spells in effect? Gone. Mana? Gone. Spells attempted won't work in the slightest.

Yyyyeah, Avery definitely uses the opportunity the slow-motion grants her to scramble backwards and put a little distance between her and the gladiators, though for a second she looks horribly, horribly confused about what it is exactly that's happening right now.

"Um..." She turns and gives Merrill a sort of unsure look as she continues walking backward, leading them along as if they were balloons or, I don't know, kites maybe? "Now what?" She looks around and... picks up a big rock? And, uh, chucks it right at the currently damage-sensitive balls of one of the guys who's still standing??

"Something like that?"

Screw you, Steve. Korrin's beyond grateful to have gotten up that Barrier just moments before, which means that while Steve's spell sends her flying, her ribs remain intact when she hits the ground. All the air has rushed out of her lungs, though, and she staggers back up, glaring at the mage who had knocked her back. You're on borrowed time, Steve.

And Korrin wastes none of hers. She conjures a fiery glyph below the other mage's feet, triggering it to explode and hopefully catching Gus if he's close enough.

"Basically," Merrill agrees, flashing Avery a smile. "Or you could just stab them, I suppose."

But throwing a rock is less messy. It's also, considering where it was aimed, likely to help the Bad and Awful feelings that come along with the entropy magic in the Death Cloud. Bad feelings, however, won't do the deed alone -- and so Merrill straightens and raises her staff, drawing lightning from the Fade as she casts Tempest down on their foes.

They just came out to have a good time anx they're feeling so attacked right now.

Steve is on fire, and in his desperation to get away from the fiery glyph? Strolls (read: staggers) into the glyph of neutralization. It extinguishes the fire and all of his dreams.

Timmy can't believe he's working with such amateurs. His mana is gone, Steve's mana is gone, and these plebs have mana but no manners. While Steve is still in shock, gasping on the ground, he draws a knife, advances on one of the gladiators moving towards Adelaide, and cuts his throat. No mana? Blood may, perhaps, make due. The gladiator topples, collapses, and Gus follows suit, taking down a second. It leaves only one to attack Adelaide (and attack he does, going to shield bash) but:

Gus begins to cast blood slave on Merrill (or to attempt to, at least) while Timmy casts paralysing hemorrhage to inflict paralysis and damage on our intrepid heroes.

The slowed gladiators closest to Avery and Merrill are still slow, and rapidly weakening under the combination of death cloud and tempest and rocks to the balls, and all three are on the ground.

While one of the ones Korrin was contending with is KO'd, the other twists towards her with a brutal barrage of attacks.

Edited 2016-09-13 03:23 (UTC)

So focused on Timmy (the bastard) Adelaide doesn't quite notice the third coming in hard past the edge of her paralysis glyph until it's too late to twist away. The shield comes in hard and she takes the blow to the shoulder, staggering- a reflexive mind blast shoving them further apart.

Dazed but intent- furious at the casual slaughter Adelaide begins to gather her mana for a sharp dispelling only to be struck with Timmy's spell. Finding the will to push past the pain is difficult- so she reaches for spite and rage instead. The dispelling is thrown at the group at large in an attempt to end the damn thing even as she's taken a knee under the force of it.

Oh, Gus. You picked the wrong mage to try that on. She broke the hold of a blood mage once for Hawke; it is far easier for her to do when she can see the blood magic happening. As tempting as it is to boil Gus from the inside using his own blood, Merrill would rather not, considering the present company -- even if a part of her would like to show that not all blood mages are monsters, that killing for power and trying to enslave others doesn't end well.

Adelaide is relatively close to the mages, and Merrill vanishes into the earth once more using Stone's Throw to reappear next to her. She may not have a sword, spirit or otherwise, but she has a staff and the element of surprise -- as soon as she reappears, she leaps toward Gus with a yell of "May the Dread Wolf take you!", swinging with her staff to try and at least surprise the Venatori mage, if not take him out. The earth around her all but explodes, roots flying up and out of the ground to curl around limbs and tighten, to keep moving despite whatever is in the way -- in this case, the body of any Venatori that gets in the way.

Korrin soon finds out that one-on-one isn't necessarily easier. She's accustomed now to fighting on the front lines, but at the end of the day, the fact remains that she's a mage, not a warrior. Her knight enchanter training is the only thing keeping her on her feet, so she doesn't dare lose it, striking as much as she can with that spirit blade to keep her barrier up and hopefully slice through to her target. The sooner he's downed, the sooner she'll move to Adelaide's side.

The wave of paralyzing pain as magic once again turns her own body against itself is blessedly brief this time, and after a moment to recover, Avery realizes she is standing alone. And not just alone, but alone and completely ignored, as everyone else still standing seems to be focused on some other threat.

She looks back and forth, trying to figure out where she could do the most good, and then-- Oh, fuck it!

Avery charges over and drops herself roughly on top of poor, old Steve-O over here before he can recover and stand back up, shoving his face into the dirt and pressing her knife against his throat.

"Tell them to stand down!"

Two gladiators near Steve look to Avery but with a blade to their master's throat they do not move. He makes a choked sound, and looks towards his fellow Venatori.

"Gustavi! Timoteus!" Their names come out more of a strained squeak than anything else.

The gladiator fighting Korrin, seeing what's happening, loses his focus for a moment, creating an opening.

Merrill's plan works; the gladiators near Adelaide are all embroiled in roots and vines and dirt, struggling
Gus is a little engaged, at present; there is a small flying elf (ugh, elves) to contend with, so close and volatile as to make casting difficult. He does, however, have a knife, and so he is trying to wrestle Merrill and stab her if he can, since he can't get a free moment to cast.

Timmy looks at his surrounds, and realises the situation is becoming increasingly futile. "Steverinus, calm yourself. For the glory of our Imperium, we are glad to lay down our lives!"

Steve quietly interjects, "I'm not, actually—"

"We are glad to lay down our lives," Timmy continues, more loudly, hands held high and reaching towards the sky. "Kill him if you must, but his blood will fuel our power, and only build upon the glory of our ancestors. The blood of Tevinter is only the more potent for my magics, and if it must be done, I will honour my friend's memory with victory—"

"Timoteus—"

"With victory, Steverinus, that will make all of Thedas quake! That will—"

Edited (you all saw nothing) 2016-09-13 07:17 (UTC)

Merrill's assistance is timely, and she will make a note to thank her later. For now she fights her way to her feet and scans the field, weighing her mana against her rage and what may yet occur. And then? Tim. Timoteus. A name for this frustrating bastard of a man. Adelaide has, quite frankly, had enough of this pompous Venatori Bullshit. People are missing, whatever they've been doing crackles in terrified thoughts in the back of her mind, and this fool thinks they are going to stand idly by and let him continue to spout this-

This-

She doesn't have words for it. Eyes blazing she shoves herself upright, stalking to this absolute spoiled child of a mage and hauls back with everything she has, slamming her fist into that venomous, lying mouth. The full of her weight is thrust into the blow and it hurts. It is not how she would see things done- but it is the one way she can be certain of silencing him. A suckerpunch does more than quiet him- it knocks him down literally, giving her time and room to slam a foot down upon his sternum and unsheathe the sword Martel gave her. The point rests in the hollow of his throat while her attention flicks to Gustavi. "I would listen to Steverinus were I you."

So much badassery around, so little time to focus on any of it. Korrin has to take advantage of that opening, wasting no time in activating her glowing blade once more. Her spirit blade can cut into nearly anything and what passes for gladiator armor certainly counts. Die already, random mook. She has friends to attend to, and soon.

Smaller than a human male, Merrill has three things to rely on to not be bested by Gus. One is that she's fast, slender; she drops her staff, all the better to wriggle out of his attempts to pin, to avoid any severe damage from the knife, though she can feel it slice some spots. She's also Dalish, which means she's been raised to do whatever she must in order to survive a scrap with any humans, and she hisses, kicking and thrashing.

The other is that he's not the only one with a knife.

The blade is freed from her belt and she thrusts it up, toward any part of the mage that she can reach.

Korrin's gladiator is down.

What remain are Steve with Avery's knife as his throat, Timmy with Adelaide's sword at his throat, and Gus wrestling with Merrill; he stills as Adelaide speaks, and when Steve squeaks out, "Gustavi, stop."

Not before her knife sinks deep into his side, and he yowls hopelessly, looking at Merrill with horror; it has not pierced his lungs, but daggers and torsos are not a great combination.

Their remaining gladiators are either still from uncertainty, or trapped in vines, making no move towards any of the party. Steve looks at Gus and then Avery. "Let me help him, please."

Timmy orders Gus and Steve to be quiet, and looks up at Adelaide. "My dear, surely we can discuss this. You are a mage. Please, order your slaves to stand down."

Korrin backs up toward Adelaide, staff and sword hilt still ready for action. She'll loom over Timmy and scowl, because fuck you, Timmy. Opening his mouth was not wise, not around her.

"We're not slaves, you bag of dicks."

"I am a mage. I am not your dear, they are not my slaves." Some manner of declaration beyond that is probably required. Something about them being from the Inquisition, that they ought to stand down, surrender, and tell them where the captured rifters might be. That is the diplomatic approach. That is the just, knightly approach- but knightly is Herian's shtick and Adelaide is long past the point of patience for diplomacy for people she likes, let alone peoples she has at swordpoint. Someone else can explain nobility and heroic intent.

All but trembling with tightly wound anger, frost taking over where tension has her still as stone, a vengeful figure carved of marble, ice fogs the blade and chills the steel where it meets his skin. Voice a low, dangerous rumble she murmurs. "I do not repeat myself, so I ask this once: where is my brother? Where is my wolf?"

"And where is my kadan? You'll want to answer that question, trust me." Korrin's voice is low and dangerous, her eyes hard and devoid of mercy. Her sword hilt activates, and she aims that glowing blade at him. If he doesn't talk, now, she'll be happy to demonstrate that she's as good as her word by plunging it into his smug face.

Timmy, handsome devil that he is, has a single bead of sweat rolling down from his temple. It all looks very dashing, he's sure.

A look at the... tall Qunari... was that a woman? He wasn't sure. Qunari all look rather brutish and similar. "I... do not know what a 'cardarn' is," he says, with a tone that seems like he is far more in control of the situation than he really is. To Adelaide, "the prisoners are in the dungeons, or in the Doctor's chambers. I don't know which is your brother, but," and he smiles very slightly, "the Doctor has found the wolf quite fascinating."

Glancing to the sword, "if you would? My friend needs medical attention. He's quite delicate."

They're still alive! They're all still alive. Avery doesn't have quite so deep a connection to them as her allies do, siblings and lovers and all that, but the relief when she hears it is still stronger than she expected. Which is... hm...

"Then we trade them, right?" she checks with the others after a moment, not moving yet. This is so not her area of expertise, so she's going to wait for instructions from one of them before she does anything. "Truss them up like pigs, march them out in front of the gates, and demand our people back."

Even if it doesn't work, it'll definitely help with the "Distract" part of their job description, right?

Gus looks at her with horror. Merrill smiles, looking rather cheery; they've all stopped fighting, isn't that nice? She doesn't move, however -- neither pulling the knife out nor moving it further.

"If that idiot is willing to die, I doubt the others in the fortress are willing to trade our people for them. They're more useful if we keep them and bring them back to the Inquisition as prisoners."

There's a thoughtful hum, even as Merrill shifts enough to get her staff (while still being careful not to dig her knife in any more).

"Of course, if they keep calling the people around them slaves, they probably won't last that long." Beat. "And if that idiot," that's still you, Timmy, "doesn't start offering useful information, like who the Doctor is and what he's doing with them."

She leans in slightly, staring at Gus. "They are my friends, and you will regret it if anything permanent has been done to them."

Gus leans away from Merrill, which isn't really possible when you're lying on the ground, so just tries to smoosh himself back into the earth. It's not very effective.

Steve, quite eager to make sure his friend doesn't die, pipes up: "His name is Zoroastres Maris," he starts, ignoring a stern look from Timmy who tries to voice a protest in the face of Steve's information. "He is a researcher, wants to learn more about the marks that the Fade leaves on people. He thought that introducing lyrium might produce different effects, but he said local subjects were strong enough—"

A look to Adelaide, Korrin & Merrill, since Avery clearly isn't helping him. "Can I please treat my friend? We aren't researchers, we just help with fortress security." And, woefully, to himself, "I didn't even want to be a Venatori."

Timmy objects more loudly, "Steverinus!"

All in all, it's a great day for everyone.

"Steve, keep talking." Adelaide spares a glance to Merrill and Gus and all that blood, eyes glowing blue. Better they not give an inch lest these fools attempt to take a mile. "Merrill, if you would be so kind as to remove your dagger from Gus' side and, perhaps, place it somewhere that will keep him cooperative?"

Wherever that is? Adelaide honestly doesn't care, for all that she gives the area south of his belt a significant look. Once the knife is moved she snaps- a sharp crack of blue energy flaring against torn flesh and skin, mending it in short order. It is numb for the duration of the healing, but no longer. It is not slow, it is not so precise as to leave no marks. If anything the lingering scar ought to serve as a reminder for Gus to not get caught in this foolishness again, to never underestimate an opponent simply because they're an elf.

Eyes still glowing a frigid blue, she taps her blade against Timmy's chest, point digging in faintly. She'll be horrified with herself later. "Is there anything else? Specificity is appreciated."

Edited 2016-09-14 22:51 (UTC)

Let's join the Venatori, he said. We'll see the world, he said.

Steve sighs. "He's--"

"A genius," Timmy interrupts. That prompt healing of his friend, that attentive stabbing. And not just a healer, but a spirit healer. She adores me. How radiant. "Alas, much of his work is confidential. However, he has been refining his techniques for some time. I assure you, your friends have been part of the most sophisticated of procedures." A beat and, after a brief glance at the Qunari with her Spirit blade, he addresses the Spirit Healer. "What was your name, again?"

"He doesn't let others be involved unless they are his researchers, but there's been deliveries of lyrium, the normal stuff, for months. When the subjects come out of the lab they're barely coherent. Researchers stay by the dungeons to keep them under observation." Steve swallows, and glances at Avery. "That's all I know."

Finally, now he can breathe easy, Gus speaks as well. "One if them, the Avvar, is for a different project."

Lexa. Merrill almost jerks; luckily for Gus, the jerk is away from his balls. Still, it goes right back to its spot a moment after.

"Specificity," she repeats, sparks of electricity dancing over the hand not holding the knife as a reminder. She's trying to do some logistics in her head, though she's not particularly good at it. She'd like to try to take them as prisoners, but they need to get to the fortress and get their friends.

"The projects for the Avvar and the wolf," as Idiot smiled about Ruby, "and the fortress itself."

Edited 2016-09-14 23:42 (UTC)

Adelaide may be horrified with herself later, but Korrin's never been more proud of her. The Venatori deserve no mercy, none at all. And if Araceli has been harmed in any way, they will deeply regret the mistake. Korrin eases up a little upon hearing they're alive, but only a little. The only reason they're not gutted is because she has better things to do.

"'Sophisticated'? Go fuck yourself. Give us facts, no commentary. Not if you want to save your worthless hide."

( closed ) player plot: the stars go waltzing

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blow connecting and felling timmy with GM permission

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Merrill's dagger removed with mun permission

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