WAR TABLE: wtf is happening in the anderfels

[ichaer]

WHO: Ciri, Inessa, Merrill, Rachette, & Alistair
WHAT: After the situation with the Wardens of Weisshaupt went from bad to worse there has been little coming out of the Anderfels. Time to find out just what is going on.
WHEN: /waves hands in a timey wimey wibbly wobbly vague way
WHERE: Andefels, Hossberg
NOTES: Violence, mentions of serious injuries and some gory bits. OOC Plotting here.

Comments

HOSSBERG

[ichaer]

Corypheus' red lyrium dragon can be spotted periodically circling Hossberg, and on the outskirts of the city the team may spot Wardens on patrol and guard duty--with no signs of coercion or mind-control. The absence of any Warden mages may be conspicuous. Casual conversation or eavesdropping will indicate that the city rioted at the sight of the dragon but it has not done any harm since the coup, that First Warden Vidar is occupying the royal palace, and that Tevinter has loaned some of its military to help maintain order. The general atmosphere is one of tense calm.

The mission within the city is to locate Hilde, the queen's handmaid who had been supplying the Inquisition with information concerning the Anderfels situation. Currently, she is in the company of a Tevinter woman named Junia Carus that screams more imprisonment than friendship.

CAMP

[ichaer]

[circleprodigy]

Observing through her spyglass, Inessa shudders as that red lyrium dragon circles the city from above. She's beyond grateful that it's not doing anything they need to react to at the moment, but its very presence will only add to her nightmares. "Sweet Maker...that was in Haven? It's a wonder anyone survived."

If that beast should decide Hossberg needs to go, she has no doubt it could accomplish the task. She...should probably stop observing the creature, but it's difficult to pull her gaze away, horrified though she is.

[chainlightning]

"I was really hoping it would be gone," Merrill agrees, coming up to stand next to the other mage. She doesn't need to see it closely, she promises. Still, there's something in her that wishes she could, if only to take it down.

It's Marian Hawke's influence, no doubt.

After a moment, she outstretches a hand, gently pushing on the spyglass. Inessa doesn't need to keep staring at the beast -- especially since its presence likely means Corypheus is in the city, as well.

[circleprodigy]

Garahel, not liking all the attention on the red lyrium dragon, whines softly. When Merrill moves it, he wags his tail at her and bumps against her with gentle affection. Inessa doesn't resist the gentle pushing, sighing as she lowers the spyglass.

"I suppose this is as much a 'welcome back' sign as I can hope to expect. At least the griffons are out of its reach, but...." Well. All those people, at the mercy of the large beast, naturally doesn't sit well with her. And there's nothing they can do about it, not really, not in with a small force and no idea of how to truly defeat it.

[chainlightning]

A soft laugh is startled out of her, and with Inessa lowering the spyglass, Merrill crouches to pet Garahel. At least there's another mabari around to pet, to help keep their spirits up.

"We'll be careful. And- well, at least we know where it is." A true high dragon wasn't likely to circle a city like this, and for good reason; there was easier prey outside of it. Even if the beast did attack, it wouldn't be able to kill everyone.

At least, that was what Merrill was telling herself.

[circleprodigy]

Garahel lets out a pleased grunt at the petting, content again. He wants to fight the great corrupted beast, too, but isn't foolish enough to just charge.

Unable to argue with that logic, Inessa smiles a little and nods. "I can't deny that. I wish I had seen more of Hossberg earlier, though. My earlier visit was brief, and I'm not sure my memory of it can be put to good use. But I'll try, nonetheless."

[ichaer]

Ciri is pacing.

Though if this is mentioned then she would soundly disagreeing and continue to pace. In her hand, she is idly turning a dagger over and over in some beat only she can hear. They said this dagger would protect them (well, one of them at a time) from whatever might mess with their minds. She cannot help but wondering if there is any truth to it but they have no other choice with only two non-Wardens here for the mission.

Hopefully it would be enough else this could quickly become ugly. Of course, looking back at the dragon circling over the city tells her it is already ugly enough.

[sistertohermen]

So there are a lot of things about the situation that Rachette doesn't like. Mostly they revolve around Wardens, and how apparently there are a bunch around (present company excluded) that don't seem like they're possessed? Or crazy or demonic. It doesn't look like they have any of the crazy demon mages, anyway. The other Wardens are just, apparently, fine with there being Venatori (they're bad guys, as far as she knows) and Tevinter (who supply the bad guys??) helping out, or the damn dragon overhead, or anything.

Chette flops onto the ground by their campfire, frowning. "I did a little asking around. And some listening around. They say the First Warden is living in the palace right now, the ass." So these Wardens do seem to be sided with the dragon's master, as far as she's concerned. "Maybe you should stop pacing and sit for a minute."

[ichaer]

"I'm not pacing. I'm thinking."

See? Besides it is hard to sit (and she certainly tried) without finding something to do with her hands whether it was tossing a dagger around or tapping out some ridiculous tavern song. Ciri does slow down as Rachette speaks with a quiet glance and an even bigger frown. There might have been some hope she could punch the First Warden in the face while they had been here but that might be impossible with him lording around in the Royal palace.

"It is a strange we could not someone lure the dragon into eating him." She mutters flipping the dagger over in her hand. "Though what concerns me is that there is no sign of mages among the Warden numbers currently patrolling the city."

[sistertohermen]

"Thinking while pacing." She's got eyes, Ciri.

Man, if they could somehow get a dragon to do their bidding, the Inquisition would be unstoppable. Don't put those ideas in her head. "The Warden mages are probably either all gathering their forces somewhere we can't see--which is a problem--or they've all died out from being used to summon demons, and possession, and all the fun things that are are really bad for a mage."

Though that's an interesting point. What would happen to the Wardens if they didn't have any more mages?

[byblow]

Alistair's a fidgeter, too--there's a white stone in his hand, a very worried worry stone with the rune nearly rubbed off--but he isn't pacing. He might have been if Ciri didn't have it covered, but she does, and once he's noted that she's pacing, he can't also pace. That would be ridiculous.

So he stays seated, watches her pass a few times, and eventually tips his chin toward the dagger.

"Do you feel any different?"

[ichaer]

The pacing slows with his voice and Ciri turns to look as she continues to turn the dagger over in her hands. She had not considered how she felt holding it when her thoughts circled around more important things like how she could get into the palace to confront the First Warden by digging said dagger into his skull.

She imagines it would go so much better than her recent trip into the cave of horrors.

"Not a thing but I am also not feeling terribly crazy or hearing things either." She shrugs. "Which is honestly always a plus considering our track record thus far."

[byblow]

Alistair grins, twitches his eyebrows upward, and says, "There's still time," as if feeling crazy and hearing things is an adventure they should be hoping for. He turns the stone in his palm. "If I go crazy, I need you to tell everyone I died heroically. Saving a baby or something."

TEAM STALK

[ichaer]

[circleprodigy]

[Inessa and Garahel are ready for action by the time permission is granted. The young Warden and her mabari may not be natural rogues, but they make an effective pair and together can assist anyone accompanying them. Her usual armor would attract too much attention, so Inessa wears her old robes instead, and Garahel is without his kaddis in hopes that people see him merely as a pet and not a war hound. She'll wait for anyone who wishes to join them, then slip off to do her assigned task.]

[ichaer]

As it turns out their target is not terribly hard to find. The market in the capital city flourishes compared to the smaller settlements that dot the kingdom with the immediate difference being the presence of both Grey Warden and Tevinter soldiers. Hilde, although meek in appearance, keeps her shoulders squared and head held high among the crowd of warriors.

She clearly carries a grace with her even if she is noticeably followed. Her companion is never far behind and her focus never goes anywhere else. The Tevinter woman ignores every greeting, every distraction and remains utterly focused on the handmaid.

[circleprodigy]

Keeping Garahel back with her for now, Inessa quietly follows along at a distance, doing her best to seem casual. However, she's extremely interested in everything about their walk; where they stop along the way, their ultimate destination, every single person they speak with, if anyone. If she can discern a pattern in their movements, that will be noted for later mention as well. Should she lose sight of them, that's when Garahel will pick up their trail. He sniffs along the way, making sure to keep their scent in mind.

[sistertohermen]

As backup, because Rachette has heard about the noses and intelligence both of mabari, the dwarf follows on a different route. She keeps to side streets, shadowed doorways, even scampers up on a few rooftops while nobody's looking up too much (save for at the dragon, and the people here are starting to get used to resolutely ignoring the dragon for their own perceived safety).

Inessa is trustworthy enough. But still, she doesn't like the thought of leaving any of their Wardens alone in this place in case something happens. This is as much for Inessa as it is for the handmaiden.

TEAM CONTACT

[ichaer]

TEAM RUCKUS

[ichaer]

[chainlightning]

Merrill is not good at sneaking. She's also not very good at subtlety or lying, for that matter, not on a spur of the moment sort of thing. But she can work with a plan, and it helps that she has a counterpart with a somewhat similar sense of humor.

That's why the beginning of this distraction starts with Merrill, wearing a dress that hides her armor beneath it, shrieking and slapping Alistair across the face.

"You promised! You swore to Andraste!"

As religious as the Anderfels are, she imagines that might get some attention if the rest didn't.

[byblow]

Alistair is tougher than he acts--which isn't a high bar, since when the mood strikes him he can act like he could be felled, ended, slaughtered by a pebble in his boot and everyone needs to stop right now so he can take it out. But he's tough enough that he's left behind his armor entirely, for example, and tough enough that Merrill slapping him doesn't actually hurt very much at all.

He snaps his head to the side and clutches his cheek all the same. His looks of false outrage is very false, but no one watching knows him, save Merrill.

"I wouldn't have," he shouts back, "if you'd told me about Maurice!" They're next to a display of fruit. It's sad, withered-looking fruit, and he doesn't know whether that should make him feel better or worse about kicking it over. "My own nephew!"

[chainlightning]

Audibly gasping, there's a (fake, but effective) sob from Merrill. "Maybe if you hadn't made eyes at every floozy that passes, I would have thought you could handle it! Maybe if you hadn't hurt me in the first place, Maurice wouldn't have offered me his shoulder to cry on!"

They're drawing some additional onlookers, people who are stopping what they're doing and moving closer to look. Several look scandalized, some look like they're waiting for the next bomb to drop, and a few faces even look sympathetic for one or the other of the pair.

For once, Merrill is wearing shoes -- boots, in fact. It's partially to blend in, and partially so that she can kick things to help in the distraction. (Also, in case there's a riot, so no one breaks any of her toes by stepping on them.) Now, it's used to kick a stand of vegetables (a shopkeeper mournfully calls "my cabbages!" and is immediately hushed by an older woman who looks like this is the best thing she's seen this Age), several of them splatting and others rolling away.

[ichaer]

It's an exciting time for the people of Hossberg considering the most exciting (read: horrifying) until now was a giant dragon flying over their city. More and more residents are beginning to crowd around while both Tevinter soldiers and Warden guards being to react at the sudden display for the normally subdue population.

It even has the attention of one handmaid and her handler. The crowding people is just enough to separate them as Hilde is pushed, or rather glides, forward into the crowd putting more distance between them. If she can get to the front of the crowd then she can make a break for the alleyway between the two stands...

Now it was just a matter of not looking too suspect.