faderift | WAR TABLE: wtf is happening in the anderfels

They are not wrong to call the Anderfels the most desolate place in the world. Once the party leaves the Imperial Highway nature seems to vanish beneath the arid sands and the sun hangs high in the sky, raising temperatures the further one travels through the northwestern kingdom. There is much distance to cover before reaching the capital city and the only company they have are each other and the Blight weathered steppes, deserted of seemingly all life.

The only reprieve from the red sand, bones and blistering winds are the sights of what might remain of Weisshaupt after the fire and Our Lady of the Anderfels, a giant white sculpture of Andraste, holding an eternal flame, carved into the Merdaine near the Warden fortress.

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.

A shallow river runs south from Hossberg and feeds a lake that the royal family often retired to in the summers. The fortress is presently occupied by a few Venatori, their slaves, and Prince Baldewin, the only surviving member of the royal family. Prince Baldewin is three years old and likes wyverns. Getting to the Prince will require getting into the estate quietly to prevent the Venatori from killing or moving the prince. Should the Venatori be alerted, they--and their slaves, on orders--will put up a great deal of resistance.

Thankfully, the team will get some help by the way of secret passages and escape tunnels built for the Royal family. Hopefully the team will be able to reach the Prince and escape without the lose of another life.

With ciphered documents and a Prince in hand, it is time to get out of the Anderfels as quickly as possible. It's a long journey back to Skyhold but at least they have some cuter company than before. Now, it's simply a matter of not buying too many things for him before they even get back to the Frostbacks.

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.

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.

"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.

At least the Anderfels still look mostly the same. Granted, Merrill thinks it's not likely they could look much worse -- but there aren't any conspicuous corpses nearby, which is nice. In any case, it's a far cry from her last visit to the Anderfels, to Weisshaupt; the company is different, fewer, and there is far more of a sense of dread hanging over even her than optimism.

She slows her horse, Honeysuckle, when they're near what remains of Weisshaupt. She stares for a moment, gently stroking the horse's mane, whispering prayers into the wind for whatever gods will take them. Let the dead be at peace. Let some still be alive, and good, and let us be able to help them. Let us help to save this world.

Eventually, she turns away and catches up to the rest. She's quiet for a while after that sight.

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.

[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.]

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.

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."

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?"

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.

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.

"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?"

"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.

"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."

"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."

Good dog. He can have all the pets he wants.

"Considering the fact that we're elves, I imagine we can get away with pretending to be clueless servants. Most humans won't look twice, especially any from Tevinter." And with what she knows about the Anderfels- probably not any of the locals, either.

Inessa's lips twist in what would almost be amusement, where she not weary and worried about what's to come next. "As long as they don't look too close, I suppose. I'm not that much of an actor, and I've never had to pretend to be a servant. You, either, I suspect."

What was that saying of the Dalish, something about never submitting again?

WAR TABLE: wtf is happening in the anderfels

TRAVELING

HOSSBERG

SUMMER FORTRESS

BACK TO SKYHOLD

CAMP

TEAM STALK

TEAM CONTACT

TEAM RUCKUS

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject