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

[foxsays]

If she has to cover her face with her hands (and when did she last do that? When she was fifteen? Sixteen?) then she'll be covered in whatever muck the corpses are coated in and that would put the true dampener on the mood. "You play a dangerous game, señora, I have plenty of time here to plot my revenge for somewhere fairer such as you deserve."

Not that she minds of course but she's been so used to being the daring one when she's had so many noble wives and daughters then a queen and ladies of high birth in her life, people who need to be shown that there's nothing wrong with voicing their scandalous thoughts. It's a very welcome change of pace but still, she has a reputation to keep or perhaps to cultivate here.

"Wait, do you mean to say you've fallen off mountains and ledges? Without...Small wonder you suggested barriers when I was performing climbing lessons then. I've never seen a thing like it, the closest are some fish and crustaceans who can do a little flick then shoot off but it's nothing like you doing it. You move like the very wind itself," she can't keep that almost reverent note from her voice but it's better than any of the tricks she's ever seen in her life and faster than any thief could ever claim.

"I met someone who was struck by lightning once and one learns a healthy respect for it when there are storms at sea and you just watch it rolling in. The control it must take to master something like that, to be the eye of it - it must take some sort of calm, yes? I mean any fight should have that so you don't make a mistake but lightning is wild and primal." Plus she's still learning how magic works here, unsure if it'll be like any sort of training or different because it comes from deeper within a person.

[gatheringstorm]

Araceli's reputation is safe with Korrin, and given her brief grin, she's very much looking forward to any revenge her tiny companion might have in mind. What can she say, she likes a little danger. But she's just as comfortable being the daring one, not shy at all about what -or who- she likes.

"I might move like the wind, but it's more flash than finesse. When you're going that fast, there isn't a lot of room to adjust your aim. Precise it isn't, and I...tend to forget that at the worst moments. But when that happens, I finally remember some caution, so it's not a total loss." Or at least she does for a time and then the cycle continues.

But any sheepishness caused by thoughts of misused Fade Step spells is replaced with pride when she speaks of her affinity with lightning. "You're right, about control and calm. Even being ahead of the learning curve, I still had to cultivate the calm necessary to master it. Which, for a wild preteen, was not easy. But I was never prouder than when I finally understood what my mentor was trying to tell me and it all fell into place. That made the struggle completely worthwhile."

[foxsays]

"I've had a few falls from rooftops when I forget my height, usually when I've been in a rush. Usually with at least one person shooting at my arse. There's really no way to correct at all though? Not even with time and practice?" It's magic but even when she's falling she can twist to avoid something, slow herself down, do whatever she can to make sure the landing isn't going to hurt her too badly. Maybe having barriers allows you to shrug lessons off a little more quickly.

"Ahead of the learning curve - is that compared to the ones in the Circles? I imagine there are very different lessons for prisoners compared to someone who was always free." No she isn't still brimming with anger on behalf of the mages, not at all.

[gatheringstorm]

Her response is appreciated, and not just because Korrin thinks Araceli's even more attractive when cloaked in righteous anger. "I'd assume so. Non-Circle mages have to be far more practical by default, since we're not reliant on Templars to 'defend' us. And when you grow up among mercenaries and expect to be one someday, those lessons take the shape of defeating enemies as quickly as possible. Lightning spells are a great help with that, as you might expect."

And she reluctantly nods, knowing that she could correct her Fade Step issues somewhat. "Time and practice do prevent the worst of it, that's true. In the heat of battle, it can be easy to forget unless you practice enough that it's instinct. I really need to get on that again, especially if we're going to be in the mountains more often than not. Barrier only lasts so long, and I'd rather not be a cautionary tale."

[foxsays]

If the mages need the voice of an outsider (if that won't shoot them in the foot) then they'll have it in her. "I don't see how they'd defend anyone, but there are always lies people tell themselves that others end up buying into wholesale. It does work well for crowd control, certainly more than a smoke bomb would do. I wonder how similar parts of our childhoods were - pirates and mercenaries differ but they make the world go round without being a part of it exactly." Even in Castileos they must be disavowed when doing the work of the queen but that's a given, their private joke laughed about politely in the audiences.

"You could set up some dummies in Skyhold - it'd hurt enough to clatter into them but it would teach course correction without having to risk falling off something although if you did want that sort of lesson, I could pad somewhere for you." No one, not even Gavin, died during her lessons and she's damn proud of that fact.

[gatheringstorm]

That gets Korrin to arch an eyebrow, honestly considering it. She's still not certain she'd be any good at parkour in general, but perhaps falling lessons would be a good idea after all.

"Both would be useful, and I'll take you up on that. Climbing everywhere isn't likely to be my forte, but I'll listen to what advice you can give about falling and landing. Just in case my barrier wears off or I can't get it active in time. I'm not fragile, but if we're going to do that, it might as well be where we have plenty of healers around, too."

[foxsays]

"I'm not saying you need to climb up to the very top of Skyhold but it'll help with ledges and things, and for vantage points like here. You're probably more likely to get hurt because that's how it goes usually; I'm smaller, lighter, the ground doesn't hit me as hard as it'll hit you. And you have horns."

Her piles of hay and straw were good enough for Gorse who happens to be enormous so she's not too worried about that although she might need to pad out some of the dummies just to be safe because it'd be a crime to damage Korrin's lovely horns.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin's probably thinking along the same lines, as she reaches up to touch one of her horns. She's never broken or chipped them, a point of pride for her given a life that could easily see them damaged. While she won't go to ridiculous lengths to protect them, keeping her horns as is would be ideal.

"All good points, I don't deny that. I'm still willing, though. You don't become a mercenary by fearing injury...or at least, not a good one."