faderift | Not Quite Damsels, Definite Distress

Right. Nathaniel notes, coming inside, that the captives are unlikely to be moved. It's a simple snatch and grab, then, picking locks and stealing away. The captors are clearly expecting violence, not subterfuge. Nathaniel scans the structure of the buildings, the cells--

"Anders." He's suddenly on his knees, up against the bars of Anders' cell, reaching through to touch hands. His calm is returned, because his calm is what is needed. Calm and confidence, and comfort.

And Maker help him, he's even glad to see Alistair. Giving cheek, no less.

Teren's 'name' elicits a subtle smirk from her, the corners of her mouth twisting up in a moment of triumph. That's MADAM Bitch to you.

Her expression quickly grows serious again, however, when they spot the captives. She steps abruptly forward into the room, casting a concerned glance at Anders, but because she knows Nate has him, she beelines for Alistair.
She crouches on the floor in front of him and reaches through the bars, putting her hands on his head in an uncharacteristically tender way as she turns it from side to side, inspecting him for any bruises or signs of other injury.
"What have they done," she whispers-- she noticed his apparent groggy state, which leads her to suspect poison.

Edited 2016-12-17 00:43 (UTC)

There's a pause between the words and touch on his hands before he focuses on Nate, staring with a little fear and worry before he looks over at Alistair. If Alistair's seeing this, then it's not the Fade this time. It's not a demon. Right? Tentatively he takes Nate's hand, noting that no price has been asked. Demons demand something. His tongue darts out to wet his dry lips before he swallows.

"You're real? He's real, Alistair?"

"Oh, you know," Alistair answers Teren, not quite managing a whisper himself. He takes hold of the bars for balance. "A little of this, a little of that. But they seem nice, otherwise. I think Ashton fancies me..." He trails off.

At the word that he'd rotated a forearm to display a small wound that's no longer bleeding but still sticky and wet, and maybe he means something by the gesture, but when he looks down at it he winds up blinking at it like he's never seen it before. Or is too tired and easily fascinated by the process of scabs forming.

Without looking up, he raises his voice toward Anders: "Has to be. He's already boring me. That's a level of talent that can't be faked."

Sharp words, maybe, but his tone is blunted by drowsiness.

For once, Nathaniel doesn't mind the ribbing from Alistair, and isn't looking to see that he has had blood taken. He reaches to take Anders' face in his hands, to look him in the eyes and determine his condition. Drugged? Tortured? Wounded? Sick? Drugged at least a little, he thinks, and he would like to drown Ashton right now.

If they didn't have so many observers, he would break them out right now. As it is...

"Magebane?" he asks softly. It's the only way they could have kept Anders from burning this place down. And if there's magebane somewhere in this town, it can be stolen and used to even the odds.

Impervious to Alistair's usual quips, Teren presses the back of her hand against his forehead, then narrows her eyes at the blood on his arm. It's not a grievous wound, but she's still flooded with a sudden rage that he should be hurt at all. And... drugged?

"What's wrong with them," she snaps ferociously at their captors-- magebane? She's not sure what that is. She'd keep glaring at them, but instead she looks back at the dozey Alistair and frowns, gripping a bar with one hand as she uses the other to fretfully smooth his hair.

"Nothing permanent," Vidal says quietly, leaning against the wall near the doorway, watching with the rest. "Magebane, soldier's bane."

"Now you've seen that they're alive and in a decent shape," Ashton says. There's tension in her voice, and her staff is resting in her hand rather than on her back; she pulled it off as they entered. "And he feels fancied. We can talk about deals now."

Jovian's taken a spot near the far wall and the only window, Aleigh is outside and down the one step, watching, while Kian is at the other side of the door from Vidal.

"What are you offering?" Jovian asks.

Ciri only spares the two the quickest of glances, frowning before her look turns dark and she steps away from their group. She could laugh at Ashton decision to use a word like 'decent' to describe the current situation but whatever floats their shitty boat.

"If we decide to be aggressive then you better hope you're faster than a split second."

Because she moves to put herself at the front of the group, keeping a respectable distance from the one speaking but making herself known. She was one of the faster ones here, faster still with her alchemical mixtures and there won't be anything happening without her seeing it first.

Offering? She could spit but instead she holds her ground, arms crossed and glaring up a storm.

Still holding Purrelden, Merrill ignores the comments of the captors for now. Instead, she pushes her way up to the front, to Anders' cell. The cat is set down and Merrill hopes that she'll make her way through the bars to her human.

"Look, Anders," Merrill says, quiet, offering him a soft, gentle smile. "Purrelden was very smart and came right up to us."

She straightens, however, at the mention of negotiating -- of what they are willing to offer. Her eyes flash as she turns, staff moving from her back to her hand as she makes sure her body is between the cells and the village mages.

"You lured two Grey Wardens and allies to the Inquisition here under false pretenses and proceeded to drug and psychologically torture them. More than that, you did it to my friends, my clan." Surprise Alistair, you've been clan-dopted. "If we did the same to your people, would you offer us something to get them back? I doubt it."

Fingers tap against the wooden haft of her staff. She can make all of them sleep in a moment, too. She can use roots and tree limbs to rip this building apart. She is getting upset, but Merrill sucks in a breath and tries to channel every ounce of training she had for her lost future as a Keeper.

"Give them back to us. What you and your village need can be discussed after they are free and have been treated to try and repair what you did to them while trying to pretend you're any better than those who have oppressed you for years."

Quietly and helpfully, with his head compliant in Teren's unusually gentle hands, Alistair—helpfully! so much helping—gives a low whistle that clearly means daaamn.

Velanna is quiet, although the expression on her face is one of quietly simmering anger. They hadn't just locked them up somewhere, they'd hurt them.

She lets the others talk for the moment, although she's absently tapping the blunt end of her staff against the floor of the prison they're standing in. It's a subtle movement, probably looks like nervous twitching to anyone who doesn't know what she's doing. Merrill alone might know that she's looking for weaknesses in the flooring where roots can force their way through.

They are leaving no one here.

Nate's hands are warm on his cheeks and Anders leans into the contact, listening to the conversation going on around them. It's tense. He's weirdly torn, thankful for the response of their friends while feeling guilty for the whole mess, but then his cat's climbing his leg into his lap and the guilt fades away.

"Thank you." It's little more than a whisper, and he doesn't know if Merrill hears it before she's speaking again but it's said.

Taking note of the way people are talking and moving around, and taking strength from Nate, Anders looks up at Jovian. "You might want to hear them out. We did tell you this was a stupid move." There isn't a lot of strength to his voice, but he's all right now. He has support.

Catching sight of Anders responding to Nate, Teren finally begins to relax. They're safe. They're safe and they're right here.

As Merrill and Ciri stand against the mages, she smirks faintly in silent approval-- her instincts about them have been correct, and she's glad they came alnog. If her thoughts are unusually tender, perhaps the reasons go no further than that she is present, in control of her own decisions, and within touching range of people who may otherwise have disappeared. Never again.

She idly shushes Alistair, but curls her hand to bring him a little closer to the bars, where she can help support his weight without him having to lean too uncomfortably on the metal. "We'll get this sorted, hundehvalp" she mutters, still managing to sound a bit gruff, though it's likely only Alistair, Nate, and Anders can hear it. She meets her accomplice's eyes, if he looks her way: they're not leaving here without both, no matter how many they have to kill.

There's some quiet from the mages as Velanna moves around and they consider the words being said. Kian and Vidal are noticeably between Jovian and Ashton, while Ashton and Jovian are looking at each other.

Ashton finally glances out toward Aleigh, who nods and makes a gesture off to the side.

Kian clears his throat. "What do we lose in opening up the cells?"

"We still have numbers," Vidal adds.

"If we keep giving in and giving in, we won't have any ground left to stand on." Ashton's expression is ice. "You talk about your people being hurt, but they're alive and there's been nothing permanent done here. I say we stick to giving them one unless there's a good reason to do more."

Jovian listens to them all before looking at the assembled group. "We would negotiate if you had one of ours. We would trade what we had, because that's what we do for our people."

Kian shifts where he stands, Jovian ignores it and continues on. "Both drugs wear off. Neither of them needs immediate treatment. You can fuss over them here, or pick one to fuss over outside, and then we talk."

"You do not have numbers," Nathaniel growls lowly. Anders is melting into his touch, but clinging so tightly to his hand that it hurts. "We have others outside. And if you believe I am bluffing, I will not try to persuade you. I don't care anymore whether you believe me. I am only giving you fair warning, because I was taught to have honor even when it is inconvenient. You are not being given a choice. We will leave here today with both prisoners. You may decide how, and what you receive from it."

He is bluffing, sort of. They have two people on the outside. But they also have a great deal of talent on the inside. And he is done with this nonsense.

"The Hero of Ferelden did not kill the Archdemon or the Mother alone," Velanna adds calmly, still tapping her staff against the floor, still with that oddly intense expression on her face.

"You have... four people here now, who fought with him. We were never not outnumbered. The fact that you are mages means nothing to us. You took people we love, and if you want to stay alive, you will give them back."

"Nothing permanent?! By that line of thought, none of your abuses by the Templars were permanent." Merrill is, obviously, shocked -- her voice is shrill. She cannot believe the nerve of this woman, and her grip on her staff tightens. "They will have to live with this for the rest of their lives -- the way they came to help and were betrayed. Just as you have to live with what happened in the Circles."

She takes a deep breath, trembling slightly -- she is furious, but someone in the group has to have a cooler head. She turns her attention to Vidal, trying to catch the other woman's eye.

"We would have helped as best we could had you only just asked. I understand panicking, doing things you regret as a result, but keeping them is only making it worse. Sometimes you have to stand up against those you would rather get along with because it's the right thing to do."

Another breath, this one a little less shuddering. "Help us help our friends and we will remember it. Do the right thing and we can do right by you."

"What you do for your people? What about what they've done for your people?"

A spark of rage ignites, leaving her taking in a shuddering breath of air and taking an angered step closer despite the ones that have also moved forward from the other party. Her eyes are on Ashton and Jovian who are clearly issuing the orders here. A glance is spared between Kian and Vidal, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, with teeth bared.

"Alistair helped save Kinloch Hold from abominations and the Right of Annulment while Anders is the only reason you're out here making such laughable stupid decisions for your people."

Ciri is ultimately rather glad for Merrill. Her cooler tone is perhaps the only reason she hasn't started yelling or thrown a very needed punch in someone's direction. Instead, she takes another step forward and puts herself not far from reach of the two acting as protection, hoping (even praying) they would make a move against them.

"You might actually make your Templar abusers proud with this by turning out no better than them."

Kian looks stressed, breathing heavily now, lips pressed together to the point of being white. Vidal can't seem to look away from Merrill with guilt written all over her face.

"You're actually listening to what they're saying." Ashton's voice is mocking as she looks at the two. "You can't still be young enough to believe there can be honor and the right thing in a fight for freedom and our future."

Vidal now breaks her gaze away to look at Javion. She doesn't find help there. His expression is calm and calculated as he pulls the staff off of his back.

"We can't," Vidal says. "They're right.."

"I'd hate to be known as a mage who changed sides when things got complicated," Javion replies. "Do you think they'd really trust you?" He looks back at the gathered visitors. "At least two in here you'd have to fight. Several dozen more outside, some of whom don't even know what's going on. You'll face off against innocents who will only know you've killed some of their friends."

"We don't have to fight." From the look on Vidal's face she already knows this isn't going to work, but she's trying anyway. "They're worried about their people the way we've worried about ours. We can stop this now and no one loses anyone and no one gets more hurt."

"Aren't you an idealist." It's not a compliment the way Ashton says it, looking at Javion.

Kian takes a shaky breath. "Yeah. Yeah, that's why we're here. We're supposed to be idealists and different. We release them both. Right here and now. That's my vote."

"Seconded," says Vidal.

Barriers flare up... around Javion and Ashton, and Ashton hurls a sleep spell randomly as she charges to the side.

It takes no time at all for Nathaniel's bow to be out and strung, and an arrow in it. Mages aren't the only ranged fighters here. He's going to get that bitch Ashton if it's the last thing he does.

"Get behind me!" he shouts to Kian. The boy didn't ask for this. Nathaniel looses an arrow at Ashton, but it ricochets off the barrier she has up. He swears and nocks another.

Great, the bloody mages are bloody fighting and there's spells and--

Teren at first flattens herself against the bars, then rolls her eyes. "Careful," she mumbles to Alistair as she slowly lowers him to rest against them, then withdraws a thin blade from her sleeve, clearly intended to be a lockpick. Since Anders is closer to the the chaos, she slips behind Nate to begin working at his lock first, periodically glancing in at him to make sure he isn't panicking or.. dead or something.

The moment that Ashton looks to Javion, Ciri draws her sword and removes a flask at her hip. Fire erupts from the flask of fire, bringing light into the space as she reaches out and tugs both Kian and Vidal forward roughly by their robes. She's hoping it'll be enough to get them moving, forcing them back to a safer distance and away from two attacking.

She meets Jovian's barrier with a hard strike as Nathaniel's arrow ricochets off the other barrier. It doesn't seem to throw her off and she pushes forward, pushing more and challenging the barrier's strength.

Velanna has had her hackles up since they walked into this village, so the second barriers flare she's moving, her staff coming up to aim at the offending mages. She doesn't dare start slinging fireballs until she's sure where everyone is going to settle themselves in this fight, but she can take out defenses, and that's what she aims to do, casting Dispel, attempting to angle the spell so she can hit both mages at once, but focused more towards Ashton.

Kian freezes as he stares at Nathaniel before he and Vidal are both yanked forward by Ciri. Then he's running behind the archer, expression defeated. Vidal makes a choked noise as she staggers to the side before she's suddenly vanished. In her place is a swarm of insects that promptly starts harassing Javion.

As the arrow bounces uselessly off her barrier Ashton snorts. "Careful where you aim--" The Dispel hits her barrier and Ashton stops talking for now. Ice shoots out from her, spikes spreading across the floor and aimed for Velanna and Nate.

Javion, on the other side of the room, looks more disappointed than anything else as Ciri and Vidal batter his barrier down. He casts an earthquake, shaking the building and making Kian cling for dear life to the bars of a cell. It's followed up with a slowing spell cast wide just as his barrier cracks.

From outside there's a wave of force magic, sent in through the door and meant to pin some of the party against the cells. Aleigh doesn't know all of what's going on out there, but
it's not hard to tell when something's going wrong.

Careful where you aim, she says as she gives Nathaniel a perfect line to shoot. She might as well have drawn a target on her heart. Children can hit a target like this.

He has to do it quickly, aiming along the line of spikes before they reach him. As soon as he looses the arrow, he steps out of the path of the ice and drags Kian with him.

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