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eviscerates) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
faderift2016-09-06 10:28 pm
eviscerates) wrote in faderift2016-09-06 10:28 pm
( 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.
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: escape attempt — Cosima, Jamie & Lexa only
- TEAM TWO: regroup & into the dungeons — plus a Lexa-shaped guest star
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.
no subject
She follows, sword in each hand, lifting an elbow beside her face to ward off stray sparks from all the lightning and fire being thrown around by the mages.
"When we get near, you can block his magic long enough for me to kill him?" she asks, a dark brow arched at Bellamy. She knows about Templars more in theory than in practice (thankfully).
no subject
But their path ahead is still clear, a rocky path that runs narrow and close to the wall. Bellamy keeps close, moving as quickly as he can without standing up to attract attention. There's just two of them.
"Yeah," he tells Lexa, without looking back at her. It's true, more or less. No need to get into specifics. "But there's no telling how long it's going last so whatever you do, make it quick."
As they continue, the worst of the battle fades from their attention, behind the rockfall and the boulders wedged into place. They're nearly as tall as the ceiling, affording a narrow window at the top and chinks between their sides. Nowhere to slip through, but the noise still carries, the shouts and the golem's footsteps and the crack of spells splitting the air. Dust filters down from the ceiling or sprinkles off the rocks when something particularly earth-shaking occurs on the other side, but Bellamy doesn't stop to wait it out. The faster they loop around behind Maris, the better.
no subject
He suspects that would be a rather optimistic line of thought, and give her too much credit. The woman had not struck him as the sort to do anything but what was most brutish. It was, he supposed, a rather southern quality.
Rather than paying mind to the potential threat, he is more concerned with casting haste on the Golem now that his mana has been restored, his two fellows casting barrier under the creature to restore its health and keep it strong. Better to preserve their own bodies and let the creature do its work.
It means his back to do the path where Lexa and Bellamy lurk, though one of his mages stands between Maris and his would-be attackers.
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She follows him into the narrow little tunnel, moving quickly, glancing up at the ceiling at the first dust shower, and at a gap between stones as they pass, hoping for a glimpse of the battle's progress but seeing only flashes of movement and color. She picks up the pace, right on Bellamy's heels until they reach the exit. Seeing the mage between them and their true target, she retreats back a pace or so and with hand motions and emphatic eyebrows, indicates that he should take care of the mage. Quietly.
(She almost mimed a whole little plan for him, but has decided that as much as she doesn't like him, he's not a moron at least when it comes to soldiering.)
no subject
The mage closest to them is focused on the barrier, just like his fellow; just like how Maris is focused on the golem. Bellamy doesn't bother to mute any of the magic that's being cast or dampen his power. It'll be cut off quickly enough. Stepping out from the narrow walkway, he grabs the mage around the mouth to silence him, pulls his head back against his shoulder, and draws his knife with quick clean force over his exposed throat.
Surprise, pain, death: all of it seizes the mage at once, loosens his knees. Bellamy keeps hold of him, sinks down to the floor with him to avoid the thud of a body. Lexa's path to Maris is clear, for now.
no subject
She steps past the mage as Bellamy eases his body to the ground, and then stops at the tunnel exit, just shy of stepping into view of the rest of the battle. She spins the blade in her off hand and wiggles it, re-setting her grip around the hilt as she turns to Bellamy and, finding he's back on his feet, counts off with the fingers of her other hand: one, two. It's a rudimentary way to coordinate her attack with his, but it will have to do.
One: she moves silently out of the tunnel, both swords spun in her hands now, everite blades flashing. She scans the area for anyone diverting to intercept her, for Maris noticing--
Two: her focus narrows to her target as she speeds up, tunnel-visioned as, hopefully, Bellamy's Templar abilities slam down on the head mage. It should happen just now, just as she sprints the last step up to Maris and lunges to drive her blade into his heart from behind.
oof sorry for my slow
Plus side: they kill a Venatori mage, render him without magic and without a pulse very effectively.
Negative side: it's the wrong Venatori mage.
The cry and the motion and the body in the way alert Maris and give him time to cast haste on himself, as he steps backwards into the range of Adelaide's spell bloom, benefitting from the surge of mana. Victory becomes less and less likely, but there is still a chance.
He casts veilstrike, a replica of his hand striking from the Fade— but rather than simply strike the Subject down, the hand grasps about her waist and slams her into the wall, crushing against her.
you're not slow you're ridiculous
There's no point in working to free her. Maris' magic is what keeps her pinned. The spell's sole manifestation is its power and so there is nothing to strike at, no way to hack her free except to go after the mage. Bellamy unsheathes his sword; another wash of white light, the same trick, another round of dampening to turn down the force of the magic, and this time there are no other targets but Maris, he won't miss. If the Venatori resists, throws off the worst of his repression, it will at least only be in part, and it will least eat at his concentration, loosen some grip on Lexa, who Bellamy does not have time to look at. He rushes Maris instead, grit and steel and grim focus, his sword gripped firm in his hand.
He'll be brushed aside. He knows it; he can take it. This is a distraction, a second round to follow his muting strike.
no subject
And then around a shout of pain, biting it back until she suddenly doesn't need to as there's no breath left to scream with anyway. The veilstrike's squeeze is tight enough to crunch ribs and the slam into the wall sends the world spinning and all the air rushing from her lungs. Just for a moment she loses consciousness, going limp in his hold, swords slipping free from slack fingers, head lolling.
no subject
Subject dealt with, Maris considers the knight a little more intently, or... as much as one can creepily observe someone when they are readying to attack. The dampening strikes again, and Maris grimaces, spinning his staff to take on Bellamy with a barrage of physical attacks. He might not be so young and spry as the Templar, but he has the lighter armour, at least, and twists to strike low to the Templar's legs and try to topple him, to buy time to restore his magics with potions.
The hand holding Lexa loosens with the dampening of his magic, leaving her free to slide (or crash) to the floor.
A wave of something comes from the Golem, though, and not so far from Lexa the hand of one of the felled mages twitches as it starts to pull itself up, the other following. Both begin to lurch towards the fallen Avvar and draw the knives kept on them for handy dandy blood magic shandies, the first strike falling to leave a gash across her shoulder.
no subject
And then the wave off the Golem, whatever it is, jolts past. Bellamy follows it without meaning to, pulled along by sense. Maris is his target and that's where he should be focused--without Maris, the whole attack falls apart--but the corpses of the mages are pulling themselves to their feet, dead hands grasping, and Lexa is laying there unconscious, her cheek pressed to the floor.
The closer corpse strikes at her. Bellamy doesn't wait to see if the wound will be what wakes her. He shoves up off of the floor, all instinct and adrenaline. This is Lexa he's saving. He's not doing it for her. Three steps puts him in range of the closer mage, and he grabs his sword up in a two handed grip, all the better for striking off the dead thing's head.
"Lexa!" As if that's going to be enough to wake her up. "Get up!" Behind him, Maris is surely back to near full strength, he's got to get back there, but the first dead Venatori is still standing over Lexa with that knife in its pale hand, contemplating her with a detached sort of interest, and Bellamy gives up on Maris, at least for now, takes the dead mage at a run now instead and slams his shoulder into the thing's chest, driving it clear of Lexa. His momentum carries him to he ground with the walking corpse--puts him on top of the thing, hissing and spitting in his face. Bellamy shoves his forearm into the thing's mouth, the leather and plate of his vanbrace bearing down into the dead maw, hinging open its jaw wide, and then too wide. Teeth crack somewhere in there. The dead Venatori scrabbles at his shoulder, his neck, his face--fingernails, knife--and Bellamy keeps the pressure, his teeth set.
"Lexa!" He throws a glance at her, more determined than frantic. He doesn't dare look around at Maric.
no subject
Bellamy is shouting her name, and she's dimly aware that this isn't the first time. She spots his arm between the dead man's teeth and steps around him, saying abruptly,
"Turn your head away," before driving the point of her blade into the mage's skull, and then the heel of her boot a second later, doing her best to turn it to splattery pulp. It's not the most thorough job possible, but Maris is still there, regaining energy by the second, so it'll have to do to finish the job Bellamy's started.
no subject
The daggers were also cursed.
No, jk, but they are blood mages so the daggers are probably nasty. Sorry, Lexa.
On the plus side, no more corpses right over here! On the downside, Adelaide's spell bloom o'doom is ongoing, and Maris steps in the outer edges of it to help his mana replenish, and twists his staff before slamming the base into the ground, casting devouring veil. It tears a small rift into being near them, dragging them closer to it, powerful and fast enough that it could easily wrench them if they are unlucking.
And, offering them a smile as he watches them struggle against the pull, he hits the Golem with haste once more, and then with barrier, before gathering more magic around his hands. "It is time to say farewell, Subject Twenty-One."
no subject
It's been said that no plan survives contact with the enemy, however. For the young Scot this had proved to be painfully true as a vine had lashed out and caught him in the chest, the force of the blow sending him flying across the room and into a wall, knocking him unconscious. And then the golem had picked him up and threw him into Bruce.
Rude.
Fortunately he's out cold by then, so he completely misses the experience of flying through the air and landing in a crumpled heap not far from where Maris and his other mages are. When he finally swims back to consciousness, it's to a body that's sore all over - and while a quick exploration with his fingers doesn't find and broken bones, it's hard to catch a breath and there's a tender area around his ribs that almost gets him to hiss quietly when he prods it too deeply. But he can see Maris's back not too far away, the corpses of the mages fighting Bellamy and Lexa...and an opportunity as well.
He's had plenty of practice creeping down corridors, thanks to his time with the Doctor, and for all that he generally prefers to go charging into battle, he's perfectly capable of trying for a stealthier approach. Not realizing that this has actually recently gone terribly wrong not all that long ago, he takes the chance that the distraction of the fight will give him enough time to get over there and disrupt whatever it is Maris has planned however he can. Mostly by flinging himself at the man and seeing what happens but he'll worry about that once he gets there.
He's not quite there when the rift opens, but he's in a good position just after, and just as Maris makes his little speech he crouches, ignoring the painful feeling in his chest as he gets ready to spring.
"Aye, we'll just see about that."
He can't seem to catch a deep enough breath to yell, but his fist is perfectly fine, and when he jumps at Maris it's with every intent of punching the man in the face. With any luck, the punch'll land true - and he'll not only stop the spell but get a moment of satisfaction as well.
no subject
That said, this one is-- special.
She keeps to the shadows, laddering her way off the floor, quick-footed and sure and avoidant of thorny roses that try to find snags in her leathers, the whip of her braid. By the time she is in position, setting arrow in place, eyes reflecting as dim twin points in her corner, she spies the Venatori mage at the centre of it all. And she spies a rifter hauling off and punching him in the face, which is inspiration enough for everyone.
By now, she's witnessed enough mages to know when their barriers are down so as not to waste her arrows, and she lets her first one fly towards where Maris' back is turned to her. It may hit him in the ass. I'm just saying.
A second one is coming, something designed to see if Tevinters really do have hearts.
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What a fool.
In an moment deserving of the most comedic of sound effects, Maris could well have gotten whiplash from the punch Jamie lands on him, a split-second blackout that's enough to disrupt the rift dragging at Bellamy and Lexa. His return to consciousness may be spurred on by the shaft (don't) that has impaled (don't) him, standing proud and erect from its place.
Perhaps understandably, he staggers, and spies the archer only just in time to intercept her second arrow with his staff, arrow biting into the wood (I've ruined this tag, there's no coming back from it). It splinters, but the fact remains that his head is foggy and he can't move near so well, as he tries to focus to muster magic, lightning beginning to crackle around his fingertips.
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Maris blocks the second arrow, but Bellamy is ready. His hand, pressed flat to the floor, is within easy reach of a large rock. And since this fight has turned rudimentary and simple, he grabs the rock and throws it, to draw Maris' concentration from Sabine, and Jamie, draw it back over to him--a volley he follows with that good old Templar trick again, digs down below the leftover ache from the spell to blast Maris' connection to the Fade with another mute--more forceful than before; he's tapped in to stubborn anger now, renewed a little of his conviction.
Which means that lightning buzzing at the mage's fingers will fizzle out, at least for the moment, which means that Maris is useless for another second, two, susceptible to another punch to the face, to disarming--or dehanding--
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But she does still manage to lash out with the sword as she gets her balance again. It's from greater distance than she'd planned, a slice and not a stab, but it's aimed at the mage's wrists in hope of lopping off at least one of his hands before more lightning can shoot from his fingertips.
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The line of thought, stumbling and shambolic as it is clatters as haphazardly as the rock that pulls his attention, his desperate attempt to grasp at his reflexes betraying him. Maris realises it a moment to late, the taste of blood hot and unpleasant, nose bleeding a little from Jamie's punch.
The Templar raises his hand, and Maris raises his own in turn. Perhaps a simple reflexive protest, perhaps a desperate chance to let lightning burn a path through the air and strike messy wounds into the skin of the Avvar and the Templar. His hand strains, a light shudder of muscle spasming, his magic smothered before it has a chance to unfurl past his skin.
He means to swing the staff about, catch the Avvar's ankles and strike them from under her, and break her neck with his foot. Simple, final. Instead of being able to surge forward with a push of energy, Sabine's arrow has left his leg weak and useless feeling. There is no speed and no power to push him into the dance, and he realises all too late the cost.
His right hand is cleaved from his wrist, not quite cleanly; it spins in a strange, slow rotation as his heart seems to thud slow and heavy in his ears, held on by a thread of skin and sinew as Maris doubles over with the pain. Truthfully, he does not know if he yells or screams or if his voice is so raw as to be rendered silent.
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Lexa's attack might not have been quite as effective as she would have liked, but it does provide Jamie an opening. Rather than try and punch Maris again (although it's tempting), while the mage is doubled over in pain, Jamie opts to make a grab for the staff. He doesn't know if Maris can use it one handed and doesn't mean to give him a chance to try, especially since he doesn't know if he can pull any healing magic out to try and undo what they've done so far.
Disarming him seems like a much better idea in the short term, and if he's successful in grabbing the staff away he'll also yank it upward as hard as he can, using the momentum to smash it into Maris's face at the same time. If he can get the angle right, maybe he can finish the job on the man's nose - or at least get him to reel back a bit and provide an opening for one of the others to get a more telling sort of blow in, since they're all better armed than he is at the moment.
He's still pretty good with trying to cave the man's sinuses in as best he can, either way. It'll just remain to see what comes after that.