The Blood of the Dalish

[samahl]

WHO: Cyril Ashara, Merrick Ashara, Pel, Samouel Haines Gareth, Taashath, Galadriel, Kallian Endris, Bruce Banner, Eirlys Ancarrow, Anders, James Norrington, Beleth Ashara, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Iskandar
WHAT: Summary of content
WHEN: Sometime near the start of Umbralis
WHERE: From Skyhold to along the Serpentine River.
NOTES: OOC post for this plot is here.

The Inquisition has been here before. They visited to ease the tensions between Clan Frandruil and the human village Kaladoun. As they left, peace had seemed to be reached. The Clan's Keeper, Shoshanna, has not kept up her part of the treaty. The Clan was meant to leave and give the village space, but it seems there's always a good reason to stay in place. The Clan's First, Janna, has put aside her pride to reach out to the Inquisition for help. As she has been regularly communicating with the Dalish liaison for the Inquisition, Cyril has agreed to put together a team and help the clan vacate.

While they are there they will break into two groups, one will help the Clan pack up and the other will go into the village and ease tensions there. Once the Clan is ready, all members of the Inquisition who came will reunite and help the Clan move to a new location and settle, to help them get back into the spirit of the nomadic lifestyle.

Comments

[el_tybs]

Oh, he had surprised Cyril? The look that he gets has the mage grinning rather wide. "You're the one that said he would be happy to listen," he accuses playfully. "Would you rather I not distract you?"

[samahl]

"Oh no, the opposite, distract me as much as you like."

[el_tybs]

"You might not get anything done if I did that." There was already someone upset that Cyril was being distracted, Conan leaning forward and bumping his nose into Cyril's chest. Someone was out of a treats and not being pampered.

[samahl]

Cyril chuckles a bit and then goes to get more treats to offer them to Conan before patting his neck gently. "That's true. Maybe once all of this is over?"

[el_tybs]

"Hm," he hums in pretend thoughtfulness. "If that's what you want, I could certain be a distraction for you. However which way you want." A pause as he has a thought, chuckling lightly. "Even going without a shirt for a while."

[samahl]

Cyril's brow raises a bit. "Yes, please. You could do that whenever you like."

[el_tybs]

Sam gives a short bark of laughter as that, which has Conan giving an annoyed grunt since it was so close. "Sorry, sorry," he apologizes, petting the nuggalopes neck. "Maybe I should consider not doing that when we meet the Dalish and the villagers, hm?"

[samahl]

Cyril nods at that. "No, let's leave a better impression, hm?" he grins a bit. Then, after a moment he moves closer and kisses Sam's cheek. "We can save it all for later."

[el_tybs]

Much like when they visited Clan Ashara. That was fine. "So exactly what is going on with this particular Clan? Is it just them not leaving the area?

[samahl]

"Yeah, well, sort of." Cyril frowns a bit. "The Keeper considered the forest theirs, and the human village that settled nearby had a lot of disagreements with them. The Dalish used to torture any humans who got too near, so they have a lot of valid reasons for distrusting the clan." Cyril looks troubled as he talks about it. Realizing just how viscous other Dalish Clans could be was part of the experience working with the Inquisition that he'll never forget. "When we came here with Twisted Fate we worked to settle their differences and foster peace, but by not leaving they're threatening that."

[el_tybs]

At the mention of torture, Sam's lips thin a bit as he presses them together. Clearly he didn't quite like hearing that, though obviously not surprised with hearing it either - yeah that was a good reason for being a bit distrusting.

Well that certainly put a bit of a damper on the mood they had just a moment ago. Granted he understood that Cyril had said it in the past tense, but still.

"And we're going to make sure that they do get to leaving so that they keep the peace, hm?"

[samahl]

Cyril nodded. "Exactly," he says. "We want to put the village at ease and help the Clan move on." He sighs a bit. "It will take a bit of work but it shouldn't be impossible."

[el_tybs]

"Do we know where the Clan is going to be moving first? Or is it just by random?" Or perhaps they were picking the spot for them?

[samahl]

"We'll plan out a path once I have an accurate head count, but I have some idea of a safe direction to go." A pause. "We can't just randomly go. We need to make sure we have access to water and that the lands we cross are safe for elves."

[el_tybs]

"How long do you suppose it'll take to get to this new spot?" He's just curious since he's never seen a Dalish Clan move. Granted, a lot of this was completely new for him.

[samahl]

"To settle for a bit? A few days, but we'll only travel with them the first night to make sure they understand how to do it. After that, it will be on them."

[el_tybs]

"By 'we' you mean you and the other Dalish in our group? Because as much as I know about camping I'm sure it's different." Obviously he'll be learning 'how to do it' as well during this process along with the Clan.

[samahl]

Cyril raises his brow a bit. "No, you can travel with us. We're there to ensure none of the human villagers chase them and to make sure none of them try to go back. We need a quiet show of force."

[el_tybs]

Sam blinks at that before a small snort erupts from him and quickly turns into laughter. "I meant the 'understand how to do it' part. I can be a good traveling companion, but I don't know how any of this works." Perhaps his fault in not being clear, but it was still amusing. "I honestly don't plan on sticking behind. The villagers weren't exactly comfortable with a mage there." Or three.

[samahl]

"I know," Cyril said, frowning a bit. "I do want to thank you for taking that risk though. It means a lot that you'd be here for me."

[el_tybs]

"What's with the face? It's not like the first time I've dealt with people who didn't like mages." True, and probably making light of the situation, but it wasn't the first nor would be the last time he ran into people like that. Besides he wasn't the only mage there at the time. "I said I'd help support you in whatever you did."

[samahl]

"The face is because I wish people would get over their fears about mages," he says. Then offers Sam a smile to make up for it. "But at least we can support one another."

[el_tybs]

That was probably like asking all the Dalish and humans to get along. But he'll use something a little less personal. "You know that's like asking Kirk and Valentine to get along. Or me not hating spiders. It's a lot to ask for, Cyril. It's going to take time."

[samahl]

Cyril nods at that and frowns. "Time and work," he says. "But look at us. You're human and I'm not a mage and we get along splendidly. That's a step in the right direction, isn't it?"

[el_tybs]

He knows that Cyril is making that face because he's upset by this, but it's hard not to think how cute he was doing so. Raising his hand he lightly rubs the side of Cyril's face, offering a smile in hopes of getting him to do the same. "I'd say more then splendidly, but yes, we do. We'll just need to lead by example, right?"