faderift | it's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark

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it's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark

WHO: Merrill, Morrigan, Thranduil, Ellana, Inessa, Zevran, Bruce, Maxwell, Bethany, Beleth, Leliana, Amelie
WHAT: A trip to fetch an eluvian goes wrong and everyone gets a taste of Kirkwall hospitality.
WHEN: Harvestmere 7-11
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: Plotting post one and two! Warnings for Creepy Stuff, monsters, violence, gore, etc.

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[ everyone is gathered and told what they need to know: what an eluvian is, that merrill has one her clan found several years ago stashed in the hawke family manor in kirkwall, that they are to fetch it with the assistance of a second team coming by boat, and that corypheus wants it and therefore everyone absolutely must keep their mouths shut about what they're doing and what they've just learned.

morrigan has readied her eluvian for use. they all go through, with merrill leading the way to her own eluvian. it isn't much of a walk, but the sights are certainly distracting; there are dozens of dark eluvians all around them. this eluvian is opened and the party goes forward once more-

-but it does not smell of basement, of slight mildew and damp. it smells old, ancient, of rotting wood and blood. and right in front of them is a group of venatori. one of them, palm obviously bleeding, quickly raises it and casts something. runes drawn in blood around the eluvian glow and it makes a sound like shattering glass, though it remains intact.

there is no way back. based on the massive firestorm that one of the mages casts toward the party, it doesn't necessarily look like there's an easy way forward, either. ]

[ having been picked by the inquisition to go to kirkwall in order to assist "with a mission of important", the second group is slightly more in the dark. they have been told they will receive details upon arrival from the first team, whose names are provided but whose method of travel (how can they get there first? maybe they took an earlier ship? but didn't we see them when we left...?) is unknown to all save leliana.

they are met by a forward agent and directed immediately to high-town and to the hawke manor. the agent advises that no one has been seen going in or out, but admits that there is a blind section near a window thanks to a neighbor that refuses to have inquisition agents on his property. she also admits that no agents have attempted the door due to the stories of boobytraps that run rampant regarding the manor in kirkwall's underworld; no doubt, she tells them, the result of varric and his many connections. how much truth is in those rumors remains to be seen. ]

[ it is dark. it is quiet. you do not know how long you have been in the darkness, only that it is long enough that you are hungry and thirsty. your limbs may feel weak and heavy. the walls may feel like they are closing in, if you're aware of any walls at all. maybe everything is just darkness, darkness forever, as far as the eye can see. maybe that's all that is left. maybe everything else was just a dream.

you make camp when you all agree that it is best to go no further without some rest. sleeping in shifts seems best, but it's hard to sleep. it is too quiet in the dark. it is simultaneously too loud, as though something is breathing in your ear. you can hear something moving in the dark.

is it a friendly member of your group, or is it something else?

do you dare take a look?

oh. there it is again. ]

[ the others have to be down here somewhere. it's dark, though, even with torches; a deep, penetrating darkness that light can't seem to dispel. it swallows it up like tar past a few feet, leaving your sight far less useful than it otherwise would be.

you come to a crossroads: three paths branching off from the one you've been on, the intersection only barely lit even when you're standing in the center of it. one of these paths must be the way the venatori took, but right now it's impossible to tell which one. perhaps if you went down one a bit...?

the tunnel to the far left has some cobwebs, broken away in places, hanging above it. the tunnel to the far right has shattered glass in the center of the passage, glinting softly in the firelight. the tunnel in the center is bare, save for the elaborate, geometric carving around the entrance.

in the meantime, it's time for a break from walking. there is no break from the darkness, but the intersection seems like a good place to sit and take a breath for now. ]

[ you don't know where you're going. you have to be going somewhere, trudging along in the dark with this artifact. there has to be a way out somewhere. the venatori got in, and so the inquisition can get out, right? but there is nothing but darkness and what rests within it.

the eluvian, from behind, makes a horrid creaking sound. something beneath your foot cracks, snaps. and something in the darkness moves close enough that you feel a brush of cold air over your skin. ]

[ you're walking in the darkness. you're beginning to realize that you aren't entirely certain if you know the way back, if you know the way you came. you feel like you've been walking forever; you feel like you will be walking forever.

it is truly quiet now, you realize. nothing but your steps sounds in the darkness and the person in front stops suddenly. there's light ahead, light that doesn't belong to any mage's staff or any found torch. the light is faint, and there isn't much of it, but it's close. it looks to be- covered in something...? ]

[ with great foes slain, some of the darkness seems to have lifted. it's still horribly hard to see but it's less smothering. now fire springs to life on the ceiling above, lighting their paths until they meet in the center -- a circular room with multiple passageways going off to all sides. the way Team B took is fully lit, now; everyone can safely follow it back to what remains of the Gallows and back out into the fresh air above ground.

for now, it might be best to take stock of everyone and everything while everyone's together. time to hug. ]

[ let's try that again.

WELCOME TO KIRKWALL! the city of chains is known for its dark history, more recent upheavals, and being the setting for "Hard in Hightown". the city and surrounding areas are open to exploration as members of the parties are looked over by healers. supplies are purchased, and help is offered to the guard. go for a shopping trip in hightown, or check out the wounded coast! just don't think about how thin the veil is here, or any of the horrors lurking just out of sight.

:D ]

[Learning about eluvians is enough to get Inessa's interest and compliance, no issue there. Though not especially 'elfy' in many respects, she can't help but retain an (academic) interest in elven magic. It may far removed from her own experiences with magic, but it's magic nonetheless and thus has her curiosity. With Garahel at her side, the Grey Warden mage peers at every aspect of the crossroads along their path, noting the eluvians and blooming vegetation. She pauses to pick a budding flower for later inspection, then rushes catch up. They have a job to do, after all.

Upon stepping out of Merrill's eluvian, Inessa's on instant alert as Garahel's hackles rise. Spotting the Venatori and their use of blood magic, Inessa's eyes narrow and she quickly casts Barrier over herself and those nearest, hoping to mitigate that firestorm. When it passes, Garahel will charge forward and attempt to overwhelm the nearest one.]

[Thank goodness Inessa isn't particularly fearful of the dark. As a Grey Warden, that's not a trait she can afford to possess, given where darkspawn are often found and the conditions in which they emerge. Her elven heritage helps her out as well, her large eyes glinting in the dark as they move along. She focuses on remaining calm and collected, as always, even as the sheer amount of quiet is slightly unnerving. I have seen abominations as a child; a little dark is nothing.

And yet, that sound of something moving heightens her already alert state. She pauses, turning toward the noise and trying to see the source for herself.]

What was that?

[Garahel, perking up, heads toward the sound of movement and sniffs around.]

It's beautiful. Ellana never dreamed that something like this could happen to her. The stories she'd heard growing up said that the eluvians were used for communication across long distances, but they could have simply been a myth. To find out they're real, and not something you speak through but walk through is an incredible thing. This is better than any elven ruin because the crossroads are intact. Neither Tevinter nor Orlais has found this and stripped it bare of what it once was. The colors are so bright and even though it's quiet and many eluvians are dark, Ellana still gets a sense of life here. It's like something is sleeping, just waiting to be awoken, like the ancient elves who practiced Uthenera.

As they exit the eluvian into Kirkwall, Ellana brushes a tear from the corner of her eye. She wishes they could have stayed longer. But now she experiences mood whiplash as the Ventatori attack out of nowhere. Like Inessa, Ellana's immediate reaction is to put down a barrier over the area around her and then to send Chain Lightning down on the nearest enemies.

This was--well. None of this is what Bruce had quite been expecting, that was for sure. From the Eluvians to the Crossroads (which was another thing altogether) and--this. This very harrowing situation.

Fortunately for Bruce he is at the back of the party for the most part, which allows him a bit of time to draw out his own staff and begin casting barriers to everyone else he can reach around him and when necessary, throwing some healing and other support spells too. Apparently this was no time to think about the stuff he had heard and seen recently - he could do all of that later, once this situation was handled.

But one thing seemed to be pretty clear - this was probably not where they were supposed to end up at.

[OOC: I'm gonna be gone for the weekend (working at a con for both days), so feel free to skip me when needed! Just assume he's at the back throwing support spells and healing when he can. Just keep in mind that he's not a spirit healer so he can do all of those fancy things spirit healers can do - just standard stuff for him.]

Edited 2016-10-07 17:25 (UTC)

Once Inessa has her barrier cast, she goes on the offensive with Blizzard/Ice Storm, summoning dark clouds and freezing winds to target the Venatori ahead. She smirks a little as the chill takes hold, knowing it will progressively slow them until they're frozen. And when that happens, Garahel can shatter them as he pleases.

"Oh no, they're absolutely true." Bethany stated from the middle of the group, her lips curving up into a bright smile. "We rigged the place to the Black City and back to keep the Inquisition from finding Marian, or me, or Carver. Quite a lot of it, honestly, will blow your face off but Varric probably added a few modifications of his own ... "

She paused, looking around and clearing her throat, "But, ah, I can disable them. You know. With some help. Anyone here good with traps?"

A moment to press her palm to cool glass that ripples beneath it to the touch of magic as it has so many times before when she has had a need of it, and one last parting glance to the door that guards it. Morrigan is the last through her eluvian after giving the warning to all who will travel through it with her; necessity hardly means she must be happy about any of this.

She and Merrill had an agreement. An understanding about such things. And she is very clear that even the edge of a word to anyone no matter who they might be, no matter their character, and her wrath will be severe. For all that Morrigan is quiet, there is no mistaking that she is a Witch of the Wilds, a daughter of Flemeth in that moment of the warning.

Venatori hardly surprise her, not after her own eluvian almost slipped through her fingers barely more than half the year ago. Ellana and Inessa are hurling lightning and ice? Well, she can help them along with a Vulnerability Hex.

"Well, this sounds like fun," Maxwell murmured, shaking his head as he stepped forward. Reaching for the fine tools tucked into the pouch at his belt, he arched an eyebrow at Bethany. "Where do we start?"

A nod to the agent, though she does frown at the hole in their information. It was not acceptable, there must have been other ways, but— she must trust that her agents did all they could, operated to the best of their ability.

"How very considerate," Leliana comments, sparing Bethany only the briefest of looks. Maxwell's specialisation makes him the more qualified person for the mechanisms and nuances of advanced traps, but she can help at the very least. She draws out her own collection of tools. "If you have a diagram of all the traps that were set, Bethany, it would be most helpful. Even the sharpest mind can forget certain details, and knowing Varric the traps will be subtly concealed. It would not to do have any poisonous vapours or streams of fire unleashed due to forgetfulness."

And, with a slight smile, as if this were the only real concern about fire and poison and so forth: "Morrigan so dislikes lateness."

Leliana considers the three tunnels. How easily might they be able to tell how recently the glass had been broken? Dust on the shards? And what was the glass from? And the cobwebs could have been broken too recently for the spiders to repair them, or perhaps they had been abandoned? She frowns, looking between them, but looks over her shoulder to the others.

"Take a moment. Heal as best you can."

They may well have taken one path and laced clues down another in preparation. It was what Leliana would do, after all, and the Venatori may be vile but they were not incompetent.

If she were an optimist, Leliana would conclude that the light is not covered in something that's probably terrible. However, the reality is that she is not an optimist and that they are in Kirkwall, a place famous for everything being three times worse than you anticipated, even when you were expecting everything to be awful.

In theory it would be advisable for the Advisor not to be the first to approach the inevitably terrible thing in Kirkwall. She did not come here, however, to send others to perform all risks. When she was in her tower she knew well enough that her agents were sent to do her bidding, to be her hands and eyes and ears. They performed their duty to help the Inquisition, and she would not act so high above them in the field when they relied upon one another for their lives and for the success of the mission.

She holds out a hand, cautioning, to stop any from attempting to pass her for a moment, and draws a pebble from her pocket, just in case, tossing it forward to see if the quiet clatter of sound or the bounce of pressure triggered any traps, or disturbed anything else that might waiting in the darkness near that light. Perhaps it would be nothing, but if something did react then it would not harm to have a little distance.

This is, to put it mildly, not good. The Crossroads were amazing, of course, but coming out of them into a dark tunnel? To Venatori? To magic being used that does something to the eluvian?

They weren't fast enough. They weren't fast enough but they're here now, and Merrill refuses to leave without her eluvian. Corypheus wants it, clearly, which means he isn't going to get it. It means they, the Inquisition, need to have it, for safekeeping at the very least. Besides that- Merrill's rather upset by this turn of events, and so a Virulent Walking Bomb is cast on the Venatori who used the blood magic. Explode, baby, explode.

--

The Venatori may not have expected anyone to actually come out of the eluvian, but they were prepared to have to fight. Some of them clearly have seen battle today already, for those who take the time to look; there are some rips in clothing and more than one blood splatter. They're still alive, though, and they use the cover of fire to back off and regroup. One casts his own barrier on their group, while their warriors advance with swords drawn. They're immediately caught by the ice from Inessa, the wind howling through the tunnel; three of them are stopped in their tracks, while one is frozen from the knees down and uses his sword to swing at Garahel. The lightning from Ellana arcs between the warriors as well, bringing a second unfrozen warrior down to his knees with help from Morrigan's Vulnerability Hex.

The mages themselves, meanwhile, are backing into the darkness further; let the warriors be a living shield between themselves. Merrill's Walking Bomb misses and catches upon a barrel instead. It's thrown back among the party via magic by the blood mage and another of the Venatori mages casts his own Chain Lightning, trying to set it off and electrocute the members of the Inquisition with it. Another is casting his own barriers while a fourth blasts his own Blizzard spell back at the tightly packed Inquisition members.

The agent looks apologetic toward Leliana; doubtlessly the Spymaster will receive a detailed report in the future. For now, the woman only steps aside so that they can approach the door.

Andraste's tits, but she's glad she's not the one who has to try and open it, especially with confirmation from one of the Hawkes themselves.

Bethany gives the agent a little comforting smile. "It's not your fault. Varric is just ... trickier than most."

Reaching in under her armor, she pulled out a key on a long, leather strap, and gestured for Maxwell and Leliana to come forward. "Unlocking the door takes care of some of the nastier ones - but Varric put in contigencies just in case anyone was forced there at sword point."

She put her ear against the door, putting the key into the lock and slowly turning it. Listening to the scrap and slide, she frowned as they key turned, and clicked the lock open.

"That's odd."

Stepping out into the dark- that is familiar. The tight quarters, the smell of blood old and new- for a moment Zevran is back in the cell strung up like meat, both eyes fixed on the middle distance. Only for a moment. Glass shatters without shattering, magic is hurled and he? Slips into the shadows. This is his home, where he stalks and strikes, where he does his best work. A moment to apply a vial of magebane to both of his blades is taken as he slinks around the edges of the room. Warriors are men with blades and a problem- but mages?

They need to die first, and die quickly. Darting between ice and lightening, remaining unseen- it is much like a month ago, a decade ago- easy enough and familiar enough for him to settle into the skin of the Ombra Nera without missing a beat. Slipping in quickly to cut as many of the mages as possible he darts through the huddle, blades flashing along joints and ribs as he skitters back to the shadows along the other side.

Not me. [ Zevran murmurs, sheathing his blades. Having them out now- as much as it might prepare them for whatever is to be found? Would end in accidents unless given a solid target. ] Perhaps you might summon a wisp of some sort to provide light? That is a thing mages can do, yes?

[ Wynne had done so often enough in the Deep Roads, when the torches became few and far between and the shrieks were skittering in the dark. ]

He'll think about the Eluvians and the Crossroads later. He'll consider his options later. At least all these Venatori are Men- and he'll take conveniences where he can find them. First thing- they're trapped in a bottleneck, all of them coming out of the mirror all at once, and that mage takes advantage of it. The cold burns, but it's pain like any other pain, and he can force it down even as frost forms along the edges of his cloak and makes the tips of his ears burn.

Thranduil feels the barrier settle over his skin and moves, glad to spread the targets out. He chooses a warrior- the big one- and readies himself, a moment of calm before he descends, all inhuman speed and swinging blades. They always leave the eyes uncovered, even in their ridiculous helmets- at least it chooses a target for him.

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Page 1 of 5

it's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark

TEAM A VS VENATORI

TEAM B DOES DETECTIVE WORK

TEAM A IN THE DARK

TEAM B IN THE DARK

TEAM A VS THE DARKNESS

TEAM B VS THE DARKNESS

A REUNION

EXPLORING KIRKWALL

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Re: TEAM B DOES DETECTIVE WORK

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