THE FALLOW MIRE

[faderifting]

WHO: Open to all
WHAT: The Inquisition sends forces to the Fallow Mire to deal with undead, plague, and missing scouts.
WHEN: Firstfall
WHERE: The Fallow Mire: Inquisition camps, Fisher's End, The Tavern, etc.
NOTES: For more information about the setting and RP opportunities in it, check out the OOC Post.

The trip down the mountains from Skyhold is no walk in the park, and south of the Hinterlands the land turns wet and miserable, subject to seemingly endless storms. Villagers have tried to carve out a meagre existence in the Fallow Mire, but their lives are under constant threat by a tidal wave of undead rising from the murky waters flooding much of the region.

The Inquisition has sent a sizeable force, and travel back and forth between the Mire and Skyhold happens as often and as quickly as conditions allow. The camp is a neat patch of tents on the largest bit of dry land to be found. "Dry" is relative; everything's still pretty muddy. There are several clusters of tents, tucked between rock outcroppings and abandoned buildings, the least leaky of which are being used to store what supplies the Inquisition has managed to haul in over the difficult terrain. Campfires are numerous and fill the area with a constant smouldering glow and low-hanging cloud of smoke that mingles with the morning and evening fogs. It's lovely, really.

Fisher's End barely even counts as a village-- just a haphazard handful of ramshackle buildings perched on the edge of the swamp-- but it does have a single tavern. It's a dreary-looking wooden shack like every other structure in the area, distinguishable only by the lamp still lit above the door and the sign that swings creakily in the breeze. Whatever was painted on it has long since worn away and been molded over. The place is just known as "the tavern" because it is literally the only tavern for miles and miles around.

Inside is dim and smoky from peat-burning fires in the two grates. There are a half-dozen tables with benches, none of which ever seem quite level on the uneven floor. The bar is tended by Thorolf, a grizzled bearded fellow with a local accent so thick he's almost unintelligible. No matter the time of day he serves a simple fisherman's meal of hard bread, salted fish, and a hunk of strong cheese. His cellar is stocked with exactly three varieties of alcohol: one ale, one wine, and one spirit, all of which are strong and dark. There aren't many locals left, but there are usually a few hunched over a mug or huddled around the fire.

Comments

[fleurdesel]

"Hotsprings and a hot meal." A warm bed would be nice but that was not something she expected to have changed. Bedrolls and huddling for warmth would have to suffice. Perhaps the hole in the roof would be mended when they returned- that would be lovely. "None. We are still searching but- I think some have found runes that may offer an explanation if we are able to decipher them. I have seen sketches but have no idea what they could be."

[el_tybs]

At the mention of food, Sam can feel his stomach rumble, which sends him into a silent bout of chuckles. Yeah, a hot meal would be nice. Not that he was starving here, but everything was just... terrible.

"At least it's something. Well, hopefully something about what we're dealing with. How contagious is it?"

[fleurdesel]

"Enough that I am wary of Christine tending to those that are plagued- but she keeps her distance and wears a mask. Without knowing how it is passed along the best we can hope for is distance to keep us safe and fire to prevent it's spreading further." Not KNOWING is starting to take it's toll. If they knew more? They could cure it.

[el_tybs]

Hearing that Christine is among the ones tending to anyone with the plague worries him, but someone has to do it. Christine was also a very capable healer. Masks and fire seem like good safeties though, both of which he had used - along with gloves - to deal with the cremated remains not too long ago.

"I had wanted to get out of Skyhold for a while. What a great place to get away to." He smiles lightly, shaking his head.

[fleurdesel]

"See the sights, stretch your legs, help cure a terrible plague. All in a day's work." She snorts a laugh and sips her tea, pinching the bridge of her nose. They will work through this. They must. "Still this is better than hiding in Andoral's Reach. At least here I am doing something."

[el_tybs]

"Take care of walking dead bodies with weapons. Yeah, good times," Sam teases back, smiling at the snort Adelaide makes. "Andoral's Reach?" He's not familiar with that place.

[fleurdesel]

"An old fort to the north, it is where many of the mages of Orlais and the Spire fled after the circle fell." An understatement but it is not something she wishes to get into in depth tonight.

[el_tybs]

"Ah." That's all that needs to be said for Sam to understand. Adelaide hasn't talked to him much about the Spire, but he has heard things, mainly from the children under her care. It must have been awful. "Do you need to get up and stretch your legs before you get surrounded again?"

[fleurdesel]

"A walk would do me some good, I think." She set her empty mug of tea aside before standing, wincing a bit at the tension in her back. Perhaps she had been in here for too long.

[el_tybs]

"Just how long have you been here?" Probably a while judging by the way she winces. "Do you want company or should I hold down the fort until you get back?"

[fleurdesel]

"A few hours. They keep coming in off patrol ill or injured or weary." Lifting them up takes no true effort nor does it cost her much other than time and Compassion's will. A walk would do her some good. "If you do not mind tending to the next set in line? The worst of it has come and gone already and I think a lap or two around the camp should suffice."

[el_tybs]

"I think I can manage that." He isn't as good as Lady LeBlanc, but he's still a healer. It wouldn't kill him to tend to anyone while she was away. "Take however long you need. I'll be here."