War table: Stop Red Lyrium Shipment in Rialto Bay

[gatheringstorm]

WHO: Korrin, Zevran, Pel and Anders (and 2-3 Inquisition redshirts to boss around/die for them)
WHAT: What the title says, stopping the red lyrium shipment. And maybe freeing some slaves in the process?
WHEN: Some vague period of time in the latter part of Kingsway, when other plots don't intersect. Don't think about it too much. /jazz hands
WHERE: Antiva, Rialto Bay
NOTES: Yeah, I put up a lot of threads but only play the parts you want. No pressure.

NPCs can be played by anyone! Content Warnings: Slavery, TBA

The plan starts simple enough: interrupt the red lyrium shipment to the Tom's Mum, a small ship moored off the coast, by taking the place of the contacts meant to arrive. As the ship is here ahead of schedule, they luckily have a buffer, a small window of time before the real contacts appear for their goods. The plan is set for an evening meeting; early enough for 'legitimate' business meetings, and late enough to provide some cover for those who must focus on stealth. With any luck, they'll be in and out before anyone realizes what just happened. If not, between them, they have a spirit healer, an assassin, a knight-enchanter and a shapeshifter. If they keep their wits about them, they can hold their own.

Intelligence revealing the presence of slaves in addition to the mercenaries alters the plan somewhat. Naturally, no one wants to depart without freeing the slaves as well, so the mission evolves to accommodate this. It's time to split the team in half. Korrin and Anders will assume the roles as contacts or, more plausibly, Anders with a presumed mercenary bodyguard. As long as they can keep attention centered on them, Pel and Zevran sneak in or board with the slaves, Pel taking the assassin's lead. A few Inquisition agents stand ready to assist as needed. Everything hinges on the teamwork of both parties, and how quickly they can accomplish their dual purpose of stopping the shipment (as well as preventing said shipment from being dropped into the water) and freeing the slaves before becoming overwhelmed by its crew.

Can they pull it off? It's time to find out.

Comments

The journey there

[gatheringstorm]

[If anyone wants to socialize beforehand, here's the place.]

[justice_is_blond]

"You know," he says in an attempt to be conversational, "I know the sort of people who sell blue lyrium. It's a dangerous substance, yes. It could poison if used wrong. It could kill if touched by someone not a Dwarf. But they're not bad people, the smugglers. On the other hand, who smuggles red lyrium? Who... Who can hear the stories, see the results, and still be fine with it? At least blue can be used safely, and for important things."

If this doesn't work, he may try 99 Caskfuls of Ale on the Wall. Anything to distract him from how he's getting a cramp in his leg from these stirrups that he can't seem to shake off.

[ombranera]

"Greed is a powerful motivator, my friend." And Zevran would know, seeing as it motivates a great many assassinations. It does not sit well with him, this smuggling so close to their shores, the supply lines that need to be cut. As much good as this does- if they are not thorough? More smugglers will pop up.

They need to be swift, decisive, and make a lesson of this to all that might attempt the same.

[gatheringstorm]

"It could be greed...or they could have been lied to, like the junior Templars at Therinfal Redoubt. Not a lot of people in the north have seen it for themselves, truly know what it does. Even if they'd read Varric's book, many could just assume he exaggerated for the sake of a story." That's what he does, right? If Korrin hadn't seen the awful result of the Temple of Sacred Ashes for herself, if she hadn't come south, she might have been one of them.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin spends her voyage aboard the deck of whatever vessel they're taking; going below only happens when she absolutely must, due to her size and preference for the sea air over any musty scents from below. The few times she's below when awake are when she's writing or reading letters. More often than not, though, she's leaned against the railing of the deck and murmuring softly while holding onto her sending crystal, giving her kadan strength even as hearing her voice renews her own. Though resigned to the fact that they won't always be working alongside each other, the Vashoth mage refuses to go a day without at least exchanging a few words.

But there are times when she's just staring outward at the water, otherwise unoccupied, and she'll head over to see how her teammates are doing and what (if anything) they might need. Granted, she's significantly more sociable with Zevran and Pel, and only seems to be interested in speaking with Anders if it's mission-related, but she remains perfectly civil for that. The Inquisition needs their full cooperation, and she won't be the mission's downfall.

[justice_is_blond]

There's a few things he knows about missions. One of them is that when you've got a small team, you need to talk beforehand to make sure they go well. He let Korrin have her sulk on the last mission they were together. They had plenty of people. This time? No.

He comes over and raises an eyebrow as she's staring over the water.

"Seeing anything interesting?"

[mythalenaste]

She is tired. And feeling a little queasy. Hopefully it doesn't get worse than queasy.

The trip is spent riding on a gentle horse named Cow, and spending camp time writing, mostly. She is feeling particularly introverted. But these are all people she feels comfortable with, two of which she is very close to, and so any time she is approached she will smile and give her full attention.

[justice_is_blond]

He smiles back, though there's an unusually serious edge to it as he takes a seat next to her in the camp.

"I wanted to talk with you about precautions, during this. Not to scare you, but you're going to want to be even more careful than anyone else here." There's no way to know what effect red lyrium could have on children still in the womb exactly, but there's every way to know it would be bad.

[ombranera]

"So." The smoothest way to approach such things, Zevran sidling up, voice pitched low. There is a significant glance to her bosom, then her face, brow quirked. "Is there anything you would like to share with me, Stella?"

Planning

[gatheringstorm]

[Any last minute changes? Let them be known here.]

[mythalenaste]

"I can't go near the lyrium if it can be helped." Pel presses her lips together briefly. They're around the campfire the night before the mission, hammering out last-minute details. "Anders knows why."

So does Zevran, but she doesn't want to make Korrin feel like the odd man out. Of course, Pel has been acting a little lethargic and sickly for the entire journey.

"Sorry. I didn't know about it till after we were chosen for the mission."

[gatheringstorm]

That sickliness has prompted Korrin to pass on some ginger tea more than once on the way. She never gets seasick -or motion-sick- herself, but after Kas' misery during a prior mission, she's always made sure to have some brewed to take with her, passing it on to whoever needs it. At least this time, that precaution turned out to be wise.

Arching an eyebrow at Pel, Korrin nods. "Nothing we can do about it now, so we'll just plan accordingly. Good thing mages can work well long-range, right? If absolutely need be, I and the rest will deal with it. But I'm hoping no one will have to be exposed for long."

Sending Crystal thread

[gatheringstorm]

[For moments during the mission that might warrant them.]

Team 1 (Pel and Zevran)

[gatheringstorm]

[Time to be big damn heroes.]

[ombranera]

[ Stick to the shadows and infiltrate a ship. It isn't Zevran's first go at this, it isn't his first go this year, but Pel? May not be accustomed. Korrin and Anders are in position and he takes a moment to check his blades and leathers for jingling (they don't), and weight distribution (it sits as it should.) ]

Ready?

[mythalenaste]

[Pel knows how to move quietly from common clan knowledge, but she's not automatically stealthy just because she's an elf. Their plan is to join a number of slaves returning from the shore to the ship. Her plan is to follow Zevran's lead and draw no attention. Her skin is covered, her vallaslin painted over expertly, and there is a damp cloth in her pocket that she is to put over her mouth when coming near any red lyrium. She gives Zevran a short nod.]

Team 2 (Anders and Korrin)

[gatheringstorm]

[Maker help us.]

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin doesn't at all enjoy splitting the team up, not in the slightest, but grudgingly acknowledges that they each need to play to their strengths. Pel and Zevran are best suited for stealth, whereas her strength is being a distraction, in one way or another. And Anders' being human will give that song and dance about being the contacts an air of legitimacy. If the crew believes her to be his bodyguard, she won't care as long as the end result is the same.

Even so, she's not long on patience. As soon as it's just dark enough for Pel and Zevran, Korrin straightens and looks to her current partner. They don't have to like each other -and probably never will- but this mission depends on them being a team. Given that she's a professional and has worked with and for all sorts of people before the Inquisition, the Vashoth mage tries to tell herself that this will be no different. "Alright, they should be in place. Let's get going, before the real contacts have a chance to show up."

She beckons to the trio of Inquisition agents ready to step into their roles as the contacts' entourage.

[justice_is_blond]

Evening is falling. It's time.

"Let's." He straightens his robes one more time, takes a breath, and falls back into the mindset he'd needed when dealing with smugglers before. This is business, and it's business meant to save lives.

A lantern gets lit - they need to be visible to be taken as legitimate - and he leads the way to a point on the shore before waving it at the ship. There's some noise from the ship itself, and after a few minutes people start boarding one of the smaller boats and it's lowered to the water. Anders hands off the lantern to one of the agents and crosses his arms, waiting.

It isn't difficult to keep looking stern, even if he struggles with maintaining a game face most of the time. Right now they're dealing with red lyrium, and he has a few very fresh memories of what horror it can cause.

Once they're close, Anders raises a hand. "Are you the crew of the Tom's Mum, arrived early?" He knows the answer. But they need to keep the people's attention and seem legitimate, which means asking things while giving enough information to make the implication of who Anders and Korrin are clear. The less he can lie, the better. He's not good at it.

When teams collide?

[gatheringstorm]

[Or for those moments that don't fit anywhere else.]

[gatheringstorm]

[Korrin, Anders and two Inquisition agents have made it to the ship and are immediately heading below to reach the other half of their team. Hopefully the six remaining mercenaries haven't overwhelmed them? The Vashoth mage, taking point, listens carefully as she continues. She's not a stealthy woman or trying to be, but for the sake of allies and slaves is trying to look out for them.]

[justice_is_blond]

[Anders isn't stealthy either, but for once he's not making a lot of noise or getting fidgety. He's waiting, watching, and barely breathing as he and Korrin hold position until they get a signal from Pel or Zevran. ...Or hear panic, or something going wrong. Anything, really. He'll take anything except a dragon.]

Aftermath

[gatheringstorm]

[Clean-up? Celebration? Limping back from disaster? This is the spot.]

[justice_is_blond]

[After the dust settles, Anders finds himself staring at the spare rowboat. The ship still has plenty. It doesn't need this one too. And he's been getting more curious by the minute.

He jerks his thumb in its direction.]

I'm going to try something. If I get run over by the boat, or... I don't know, hurt, start drowning, something, someone please help me because that's not the plan. Though the plan is potentially stupid enough to end up like that.

[He has to try it, though.]

[mythalenaste]

[A squint.] What are you going to try?