01 | Open | General introduction and foundation building

[kartereo]

WHO: Waver
WHAT: Waver getting to grips with surroundings
WHEN: Post inital arrival on 8 Firstfall-End of th month
WHERE: Location
NOTES: Content warnings, OOC notes, links to other relevant posts, etc.

I. Stables
Staying near the stables so much isn't exactly a good choice, Waver knew. It meant he smelled like horse constantly, and the smell lingered in his hair most of all. Lingering also made him look just as much as a fish out of water as he felt, but such things weren't quite as important as why he insisted on frequenting the area so much: horses meant fast transport. Fast transport meant greater paths to learning outside of the immediate area. And being thrown into another world entirely, Waver wanted to learn everything he could as quickly as he could. He was at a disadvantage now, and he disliked it intensely.

So he stayed, watching tack go on and off the horses, memorizing the order of events. Observing horses and their personalities, so that he knew which ones might eventually accommodate someone who had never rode a horse before. Trying to figure out who to approach for lessons with minimizing awkwardness or needing to take up more of Iskandar's time. It was a delicate balance of observation, and one that got involving after some time. Enough involvement to ignore the rest of his surroundings, and for him to become more obvious than he'd like.

Then again, it was fairly hard to miss a strange tall man in a red coat, looking at horses like he was going to write a book on them.

II. Outside
One thing that Waver had insisted on doing, was adamant about doing, was trying to keep himself doing was walking the grounds and trying to learn them as quickly as possible. Certainty staying with and near Iskandar would be safe enough for his untrained self whose primary form of self defense was starting to dwindle, but on the off chance of something going wrong or else getting separated, Waver wanted to have some routes available to him.

But he was informed by his desire for safety as he was by Iskandar's preference for staying outside of the primary buildings, sleeping in a stable or a tent like the man was on one of his legendary campaigns. Waver had to admit, perhaps there was something there, but not something he wanted to dwell on.

So he simply walked time and again, retracing paths, a cigar sticking out of his mouth and the smoke billowing ahead of him, the acrid smell announcing his approach. From time to time, he took the thing out and examined it, before muttering, "Where can I get a steady supply of these anyway? I'm nearly out."

III. Additional
For additional prompts in and around the location!

Comments

[kartereo]

"Those kinds of reports are probably useful for tracking and analyzing the spread of things like the red lyrium, that's the only reason I ask. It makes sense to keep that sort of thing classified though." It was probably a security matter, and Waver couldn't begrudge a decision like that. They were business records, of a sort, after all.

"Ah, lovely, a university with insane restrictions and a love of hierarchy!" Waver snorted. That was the most familiar ground he had encountered so far. "And actually, I bet I could if any of them are akin to my own colleagues."

[gatheringstorm]

Waver's response gets a small smirk from Korrin, who always enjoys it when others match her distaste. "Fair enough, I'm sure those types exist everywhere. Strangely enough, despite those restrictions, there's actually some friction between the Chantry and the University, because the latter seems to be more interested in wherever their research takes them rather than butt-kissing and pretending the Chantry has done no wrong. More times than I can count, we've had to be careful so as not to attract Chantry attention towards them.

As for red lyrium's spread...Christine might be monitoring that. I haven't talked to her about such things in a while, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if she has some records on it. I'll have to catch up with her sooner than later."

[kartereo]

"I'd call it an inter-universal constant." Academics and elites had common ground everywhere. It was strangely comforting to be on some element of familiar ground. "I'm actually pleasantly surprised they'd be willing to take that kind of risk. Not that I don't doubt there's ulterior motives for it, something like that has to be there."

It was a guess, but a reasonable one. "If you have that conversation, could you let me know what comes of it?"

[gatheringstorm]

"It's Orlais. They have ulterior motives for everything." Well, it's true and as long as it remains true, Korrin will never stop giving her (low) opinion of the empire. "And sure, though if you beat me to it, I wouldn't be surprised. We're not often in the same area, especially since I'm away from here half the time."

[kartereo]

"Sounds more like if all my co-workers were allowed to openly run a country," Waver said with a snort. It was bad enough they ran a university, in his opinion.

"Is the traveling by choice or simply a part of the job?"

[gatheringstorm]

"...yes?" Korrin chuckles and shrugs. "I've been on the road all my life. Staying in one place for too long, even Skyhold, is weird. I get too restless otherwise, not that there's a lot of downtime. So, I go where I'm needed and get to stretch my legs a bit. Everyone wins. What about you? How long will it take you to get bored and need to see something other than mountains?"

[kartereo]

"Well, that's not a fair question," Waver countered. "For me, everything is new, so I could probably stay in one place for a lifetime trying to learn about it and still die ignorant, or else I can go somewhere for a few days, learn the surface, then go on to the next location."

"Usually back home, I'll travel a little when I'm not working. So the question here is less when will I get bored and more what will grab my interest. After I figure out how to ride a horse, mind you."

[gatheringstorm]

"Alright, fair enough. When there's so much to explore either way, I guess the question is moot. Still, if you get tired of the cold and snow, I'm sure there's work up north that the Inquisition can pass on. I've already been to Antiva and Rivain a few times on their behalf."

She really ought to just start having a map handy, for these rifter encounters. Explaining with a visual aid makes it so much easier. Making a mental note to do something but that later, she nods. "Horse riding can take some getting used to, especially when you have to do it for hours on end, but it's the most common means of transportation and there's no getting around it. And I ought to warn that what will work for a horse won't necessarily win over another kind of mount. Dracolisks can be finicky and nuggalopes are stubborn as hell." Challenge accepted, for her, but Korrin knows not everyone else wants to spend their time on that.

[kartereo]

"I'll keep it in mind, but I'm probably a better assistant once I've got a handle on the norms here." Waver had to stop and wonder why it was that he didn't blink at the idea of working for any kind of organization that he hadn't had time to ascertain the position of in the world. If it was the kind of thing he actually wanted to support. Back home, he only stayed in his position because of the advantages it gave him and his end goals. Here, he wasn't sure what his end goals were yet. "So I guess give me a month or two, and then I'm a good enough bookkeeper."

He had been working on learning the map though, and so he had a general idea of where Antiva and Rivain were. If only he had a mobile device for looking at them on the fly. "Well, I figure that if I learn the most common sort of transportation, then I can work on those that are more specialized and require greater skills beyond 'I learned how to do this two days ago.'"

[gatheringstorm]

"On the other hand, if you start with the more difficult ones, the rest will be easy by comparison. You know, in theory." Korrin grins, not expecting him to take that seriously. "If you want to continue the Q&A, care to follow me to the kitchen? I'd like the chance to get off my feet for a few and catch a bite. It feels like I've been going nonstop since dawn."

Normally, she's not anyone's example for a morning person but every so often, her internal clock forgets that and decides to ride or train or whatever.

[kartereo]

"Difficult ones probably require a lot more literal muscle which," Waver paused, looking down at himself, then back to Korrin. "You can finish that sentence, right?"

As for food, Waver gave a shrug. "And I don't mind moving into the kitchen at all. I might scrounge up a cup of tea for myself."

[gatheringstorm]

"Someone's always brewing a kettle, you'll be fine." Leading the way, Korrin darts a grin. "Alright, the nuggalopes might benefit from someone with more muscle, but that's actually a deterrent when it comes to the dracolisks. Have you seen their spindly legs? I'm always afraid I'll be too much for them whenever I have to ride one. The lighter you are, the better chance you'll stand."

[kartereo]

"Thank God some things are constant across universes. I think I'd have an actual meltdown without tea."

Waver can imagine it all too well. Yelling, grumping, withdrawl, then begrudging acceptance. He's pleased as anything that such a horror will never come to pass.

"I think I've only seen them briefly, and thus haven't had too much time for observation. But I'll take your word for it, and the vouch of confidence."