faderift | [Player Plot] Protecting Val Gamord from Darkspawn

Entry tags:

[Player Plot] Protecting Val Gamord from Darkspawn - Pt 1

WHO: Bethany Hawke, Teren von Skraedder, Ciri, Merrick, Inessa Serra, Kain Ventfort, Aleron Darton, and Amelie Durand
WHAT: The Marquise of Val Gamord has called to the Inquisition for help, and the Inquisition has answered.
WHEN: Last week of Harvestmere, first week of Frostfall
WHERE: Val Garmond, in Orlais.
NOTES:Based off the war table mission. OOC details are here

Val Gamord is a small village in rocky hills, surrounded by walls, and presently very cold. Outside the walls, a sizable and semi-organized force of darkspawn has gathered. Reaching the village without passing through the darkspawn requires traveling along a narrow path to reach a small opening in its gates. The main road and entrance to the town are blocked and being battered by darkspawn on a nightly basis.

As noted in the original War Table Operation from DAI, Marquise Bouffon has already committed her handful of personal soldiers to the Inquisition's cause, so the town's only defenses at the moment are its walls and the efforts of the farmers and merchants who have taken refuge there. They'll all be exhausted and incredibly grateful for help. Several will be quarantined and suffering from blight sickness. (Note: They can't be saved; if the team does attempt to put through the Joining, they'll die during the ritual.)

Marquise Effiloche Bouffon will be a gracious host and very thankful for the team's efforts. She will call everyone involved noble a lot, and refer to herself as humble and devout; there will be some apparent truth to that, as her personal home is small and sparsely decorated, for an Orlesian noble's estate. She'll allow the team to stay there if they desire and feed them well. Once the darkspawn have been driven away, she will be particularly eager to see the team leave the town without lingering or asking any further questions. She will permit them to stay at most an additional day before insisting that they leave.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

The journey to Val Garmond is sadly, not as uneventful as some of the other journeys lately, but that is only to be expected. More bandits on the road, Red Templars wandering here and there, and of course who can forget all those lovely bears?

There are also several nights at camp, which gives most the time to rest, relax, and heal if something happened on the road. Bethany herself is pouring over the map of Val Garmond itself, trying to figure out the best way to defend the village, without letting it become overrun.

The path itself is nothing to sneeze at. Barely wide enough for a horse, one tip to the right and one might find themselves tumbling down a rather steep ravine to the river below. Not to mention having to look out for any darkspawn that might have just wandered off from the main attack to see what was coming up around the bend.

Once they reach the inside of the village, safety is guaranteed, but the people inside are more than just worse for wear. Gratitude shines through exhaustion, and any help that can be given with someone guarding the front gate, or seeing to healing those not affected with the Blight? Would be most welcome.

Bethany herself leads her group up to the small, private home of the Marquise, a tall woman of stately manner, dressed all in black to mourn her late husband. She is more than willing to put them up, but promises nothing extravagant. She asks to meet with them once they are settled, so she can bring the Wardens, and their companions, up to speed on the situation itself.

Once everyone has claimed their space, they will meet in her dining room, where she has laid out a simple meal for them, and rises as they enter.

Between bandits, bears and Red Templars, Inessa will take the latter every time. Not because they are any easier, as they certainly present their own challenges. But anyone observing her during battle might notice her usual sense of calm slipping a little as she battle the tainted beings, giving them absolutely no quarter. She tends to remain tense for a while afterward, silent and plagued with memories from before.

Once settled at camp, she sits quietly and sips at her tea while Garahel stretches out at her feet. That's only done after healing is needed, of course. Battle or not, travel can be wearying and she'll welcome a chance to just sit and relax.

At some point, she'll glance over to Bethany and raise an eyebrow. "A copper for your thoughts?"

Bethany looks up from where she is peering at the map, before one corner of her mouth lifts up wryly. "I could ask you the same thing. Did one of the bandits call you a bad name? You seemed very ... intent on smacking them right off their horses."

Still, Inessa isn't the only one who looks slightly strained. Bethany's still pouring over the map, trying to take in all the defensive positions she can think of, without getting innocent people in the way. It is not as easy as it looks.

As soon as they reach the village, Inessa will do her best to see to any healing. She isn't more than a battle healer, with her magic and basic knowledge of poultices, but hopefully it will be enough. Garahel will remain quietly at her side or try to raise morale through being adorable, depending on the energy level of the patient. Only after all are tended to will she offer to help guard the front gate. The villagers haven't seen rest and neither will she while the Inquisition's presence is needed.

Inessa shakes her head, taking another sip. "The bandits were nothing. I had given no more thought to them, honestly." Bandits will always exist, plaguing the roads. There's little to do but drive them off or wipe them out, but more will always take their place. The Red Templars, on the other hand, have remained in her thoughts ever since seeing the last one fall. She seems about to say more, but the map is a decent diversion, so she'll take it. "What are our options?"

"Well ... " She rolled out the map, pointing to the direction they were taking, "This seems the only way in and out, that will not draw about a hundred darkspawn down on our heads. The problem being - once we're inside, we're in. We can try attacking from the walls, but I don't like depending on a structure I haven't seen, much less tested."

"Nor I. Too much can go wrong. We should have Aleron and Kain over here. Have you spoken with our newest Warden to arrive? We knew each other from Weisshaupt, and is very skilled in battle. I suspect he will have good advice to give." Inessa glances around, ready to wave over her fellow Warden when spotting him.

"I think you're right about Aleron - not sure about this Kain person ... " Bethany shook her head slightly, "I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure yet - you know him from Weisshaupt?"

"Yes. Ciri aside, he was the only person there I could truly trust." Garahel looks up, tail wagging at mention of Kain. He likes the Warden guy who always stops for a belly-rub. Inessa strokes the mabari's head and he settles down again. "And then at Griffon Wing Keep as well, though that was a much less contentious atmosphere."

Edited 2016-10-31 02:58 (UTC)

Ciri is happy to reach the village after the slow trek up the narrow path. She makes sure Kelpie is happy and fed before heading out to look over the village. Although tired, she can see the gratitude on the faces of the villager despite the fear and it helps to bring back her energy.

Not having much in the way of healing magic or anything beyond simple first aid means she is happy to guard at the front gate. Her hand rests atop the hilt of her sword as the other idly plays with a flask of one of her alchemical mixtures, bright blue and almost icy in appearance as she paces.

Bethany dimpled at Garahel wagging his tail at Kain's name, so she simply nodded. "Then I'll be glad to talk to him, get his perspective on all this."

It always takes Kain a moment to really settle in once camp is made. So he's pacing around the area when he sees Inessa and Bethany talking, alongside Garahel. After Inessa waves him over, he approaches them, noticing the map that's spread out.

"Looking over the battle plans?"

Smacking around aggressive interruptions en route doesn't prove excessively difficult, nor unexpected. Not that Aleron comes away from such exertions entirely unscathed, but no injuries beyond scrapes and bruises which are easily enough healed. Not even the bears are too surprising, though they put up less of a fight than the stray Red Templars. Which says plenty about both, he feels. At least with the bears they can be skinned and then butchered for meat to last the journey.

Still, the comfort of settling in by the fire at the end of the day is welcome. As is the opportunity to spend additional time with his sweetheart. She's the lead for this foray and he's happy enough to have her take point, though it's hard to miss that he's still close enough by to almost be hovering. Almost.

More than one evening as the map comes out for inspection, he attends to examining it, attempting to parse together a sound strategy to employ on their arrival. Sight unseen, it won't be foolproof as there's no indications on the map as to the strength or state of repair of the walls.

It's not too bad at all. Kain ends up a bit bloody after all the fighting is said and done, but his skills just wouldn't work as well without it. Inessa is always quick to throw healing his way afterward, at least, so he's not in any danger of passing out or anything. Some wounds are more stubborn than others, so those are bandaged up.

He wanders around camp once the patching up is done, stretching a little bit and keeping an eye on things overall. He pauses as he approaches Aleron. Now, where does he know him from... he's been trying to place him the whole trip. "I don't believe we've formerly spoken yet. I'm Kain Ventfort. I believe I've seen you around the Warden house..." Probably elsewhere too, he's sure of it. As for Kain, his Orlesian accent is unmistakable.

Bethany gives the man another dimpled smile, offering her hand, "We haven't had a chance to be formerly introduced. Bethany Hawke. Senior Warden ... outside our dear Teren, on this particular mission."

With her other hand, she gestured to the map before them, "As you can see, we have quite the problem on our hands. Inessa says your insight would be invaluable."

Bethany usually joins him at some point as he is pouring over the map himself. She slips next to him, whereever he is sitting, and then slips her arm through his, so she can lean her head on her shoulder. Hovering is not something that Aleron gets to claim, all on his own. Or, almost hovering.

One of those evenings, when they are closer to Val Gamord, she frowns as she taps on the road leading into the town. "So this is the main way in, and out. I'm not much on war machines - but could we cut off the road temporarily? See if we can divide and conquer, then follow the darkspawn back to their source?"

Some of the village boys, those with barely enough whiskers on their faces to be men, are standing guard as well. One fellow, egged on by the others, edges towards Ciri and gives her a crooked mouth smile.

"Hello, miss. Are you - are you a Grey Warden?" It is respectful, to say the very least.

Inessa smiles as Kain joins them, nodding. "It usually is, in my experience. Please sit and join us, if you would. There is much to discuss."

Garahel instantly perks up, tail wagging anew. He barks at Kain, hoping for some attention before all the serious discussion happens.

Here Amélie had thought she was finally getting the hang of this 'adventuring' thing, but she had not been expecting the bears. Maker, the bears. She hadn't encountered any, really, on her way through the Marches to reach the Inquisition, and she was grateful for that because she's not sure she would've known what to do had she been on her own.

When they make camp, Amélie can be approached for the healing of any minor injuries, or to discuss bears for anyone who may care to vent about them, although they will notice that her eyes light up suspiciously despite her stated distaste for the creatures.

Amélie is intimidated by the Seeker, but in all truthfulness, it would be easier to write a list of people who don't intimidate her. Still, she's been admiring his handiwork for several days now, and one evening she even manages to muster up the courage to approach him and ask the question that's been on the forefront of her mind. "How do you do that? With the bears? I take it you've had a lot of experience in fighting them."

It wasn't hard to notice the chattering of the young men. Quietly, Ciri glances at them from out the corner of her eye but returns to her watch quickly enough. When one approaches, she doesn't look at him immediately but glances over amused.

"Got it in one." Because she certainly isn't wearing this armor covered in griffons because she likes them.

On being spoken to, Aleron looks towards the speaker and attempts to place the familiar face. Uncanny in someway that he feels he ought to recognize the man and it's eluding him.

"Seeker Aleron Darton." There's a crisp nod, mostly a greeting. He's expecting his career path to be offputting as it so often is. "I've been courting Bethany Hawke." Thereby explaining his presence around the Wardens. And yes, he's aware that he is possibly taking his life into his own hands if/when the Champion ever reappears. Bethany is entirely worth it.

The name and the accent niggles at him though. Orlesian, clearly, and he feels he ought to be able to place it. No doubt his mother could do so in a thrice and berate him for not being able to do the same. Ravonild too, for that matter. He's always been content to leave the social wrangling to the women in the family who seem to enjoy it. It's going to bite him in the arse soon if he doesn't manage to make the connection, he just knows it.

Snuggling with Bethany while they go over the map is forever wanted. She leans against him, he lays his head on top of hers. For a long time he'll sit that way, basking in the closeness, even though there is actual business at hand. No apologies to their traveling companions for the blatant show of affection. Everyone will just have to deal or look away.

Attention to the work at hand does pull him only slightly away from Bethany, and only so much as is required to tap at things. "I doubt the Marquise has much by way of siege engines at her disposal once we arrive. Most of Orlais has dragged theirs out to contend with each other, or donated them to the Inquisition." Fortunately, strategy is one of Aleron's strong points. "A single point of access can be a handicap, but it can also be turned to our benefit. We could set a wheeled barricade at the gates and cut off the road in that way, then push it further back, so they've nowhere to go."

Bethany gets a half-smile from Aleron and a nod. "Cutting off the road is good thinking. We've not got the numbers for a full-blown siege, but if we harry them enough into a retreat, we can find where they're coming from and seal it."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 4

[Player Plot] Protecting Val Gamord from Darkspawn - Pt 1

Traveling - OTA

Up The Narrow Path - Into the Village

Meeting with the Marquise

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject