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

[circleprodigy]

Ah, the Anderfels. Inessa was rather hoping she would never see this particular corner of Thedas again, at least not without the backing of an Inquisition army. The five of them hardly count as that, however skilled they might be. Memories of Weisshaupt and all that went wrong there trickle back the closer they get, and Inessa grows quieter and more grim as a result. In any case, she sticks close to Ciri whenever possible. Garahel does as well, though he's often looking ahead for them, drawing attention to a better path or warning them off a worse one. Or just bringing back something shiny he found in the dirt.

[ichaer]

Her thoughts are not so different from Inessa's own. She can remember their first march out into these red sands and how alien it had been to see now, despite it being less than a year ago, it feels like a completely different world now. The closer they get the Weisshaupt, the more tension settles in her chest but she tries not to let it show and focuses on a horizon that hardly seems to change.

At some point, she glances over and offers Inessa a tired smile. She's sure that her friend is not feeling so different from how she feels now as they near whatever might be left of Weisshaupt.

"You know, I think when we get back from this mission I'm going to take some time off and go into Ferelden. Go see Denerim." It is said softly as she breathes out a sigh. "Want to come along?"

[circleprodigy]

The tired smile is echoed, glad that she doesn't have to explain what's going on in her mind to Ciri. Of all people here, she would know, better Alistair or Merrill. She nods almost immediately to the question; it's not hard to get Inessa to agree to go anywhere, if Ciri's involved. She takes a moment to answer verbally, though.

"I'd like to make a detour to the alienage. No one is there for me now, but...I want to see the vhenadahl. After all this time, I wonder if it's even still there." Maybe it was destroyed when Denerim was put under siege by darkspawn; she never found out, because no one ever thinks the state of an alienage is newsworthy.

[ichaer]

"We can make a detour wherever you want." She says, grinning ever so slightly. "Besides, I don't have anyone there for me either."

Everyone that mattered died in the Blight. Ciri isn't even sure if her old home is still standing in it's place not far from the marketplace. Perhaps without an heir to claim it, they sold it off and it was now the home of another noble family. Another little noble girl occupying the spaces she used to play in, call home and going through the same motions. Suddenly, she chuckles.

"You want to know something hilarious about me? Have I ever told you my full name?"

[circleprodigy]

"You have several, don't you?" That never fails to amuse Inessa a little. Only having the two, any more than that seems exceedingly extravagant to her. But she'd heard that some families were just like that; the Lady Seeker's, if the Skyhold gossips are correct.

[ichaer]

"Unfortunately." Ciri sighs, dramatically with a wave of her hand. "Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon. I suppose they threw the names of all my maternal grandmothers in a basket and drew out a couple."

Thankfully, she did not have as many as the Lady Seeker but she was not related to royalty either. There is a quiet moment where Ciri wonders if she should continue. She's never told anyone about her childhood, she's never even told anyone about her life as an outlaw but...

"My family's name was Llewelyn. We were a old noble house in Denerim... never really raising above that but well-to-do as it were. My parents died when I was young so I was raised by grandmother."

She scrunches up her nose and appearing thoughtful. "I don't have any siblings, aunts, uncles or cousins. Even my grandmother was an only child. Part of me wonders what happened after I ran from Denerim so thus I decided on this trip. Partly that but mostly because we absolutely need to get away from this mad house."

[circleprodigy]

"Truer words were never spoken." Inessa shakes her head, allowing that stoicism to slip for a moment. Behind it is a weary, traumatized woman; thankfully, that trauma isn't still fresh, but you don't just see the things they did and walk away unscathed.

"Llewelyn...I'm sure my parents would have recognized that name, but honestly my time in Denerim is mostly a blur." It's possible that her parents could have crossed paths with them at some point, or if not them than definitely other people in the alienage, who served in mansions by day and slept in hovels by night. "I think had family somewhere else, but I never knew them. And then I was taken to the Circle, so it didn't matter." She smiles sympathetically at Ciri. "We can be adrift from family together, then, and see how Denerim has changed in our absence."

[ichaer]

"I imagine. You were really young when you left to go to the Circle, huh?" She can barely remember her life when she was four-years-old. Probably being forced to wear dresses and to stand in front in place for hours while some painter did her portrait.

"It'll be interesting, I think. Be nice to not be a Grey Warden for a day or two and just... forget for a little bit before we have to get back to all this craziness." She grins, reaching up to pet Kelpie down her mane. "And we can pick up some supplies to make our tent a little more homely."

[circleprodigy]

"I was four, so there's much I don't know or just don't remember. If I didn't have a good memory, I might have forgotten my roots altogether. It's happened to many mages who arrived young in the tower. One of my mentors only remembered her life in Kinloch Hold, nowhere else." It's a strange thing to explain, and only a fellow Circle mage is likely to understand in full, but she's not bound by oath to keep any Circle secrets, even if that mattered now.

The thought of shedding their Grey Warden roles has Inessa thoughtful, as she tries to think of the last time either of them had that much time off, and comes up blank. "Will we even know what to do with ourselves? An interesting dilemma. And a little decor sounds good, as long as it's easy to pack and store. Really, though, anything other than yet more furs is appreciated. I think we're set on those for the rest of our lives."

[ichaer]

"Sometimes I have a hard time remembering how life was before the Blight. I was eleven but sometimes things only come back in weird blurs like my mind can't get past everything that happened during the attack on Denerim."

There is no sadness in Ciri's voice but more... thoughtfulness as she stares forward. The most vivid memory she has of is her grandmother covered in sick black ichor that made her gag, clutching a knife and frantically trying to rub the blood off her face. She remembers scrambling and climbing atop a chair to get away from the blood pooling on the floor and then--

Then she shakes her head and smiling slightly. "I can take you dancing but none of that fancy stuff and we can stuff ourselves with apple tarts. It's the best time for apples now so they'll be great." Her smile grows and she cannot help but chuckle. "Definitely no more furs."

[circleprodigy]

"Some memories have a way of taking so much prominence that all before them fades. I understand." Inessa doesn't pry for details, knowing that if Ciri's in a mood to share, she will. And if she isn't, that's fine.

The topic of an impending vacation seems to improve her mood, anyhow. "Apple tarts and dancing? How can I resist? It will take some time to reach the other side of Thedas again, but even so, it'll be well worth the wait. Just don't spin me around too much after all those apple tarts, or you might regret it." She'd probably go with along with it anyway, despite the warning. Ciri can make anything fun, and it's easy to lose herself in the dancing, just like earlier.