[closed] the turn of the screw

[doneisdone]

WHO: Teren, Alistair, Anders, Benevenuta, Bethany, Kaisa
WHAT: Senior Warden von Skraedder brings a small gaggle of fools Wardens (and a Mortalitasi for some reason) along to investigate a sighting of the Architect in southern Nevarra. Mischief is afoot!
WHEN: Timey wimey, Haring-ish
WHERE: around and about Perendale
NOTES: there is no Architect but at least the cake is real

[OOC notes first: every round or so, feel free to do a coin-flip "idea" roll, then either send me a screencap of your diceroller or do it on Discord so I can see. If you get heads, proceed to roll a 1d5 and I will PM you a bit of insight for your character to have gleaned based on the circumstances.
For all anyone currently knows (with the exception of Teren and Benevenuta), the Architect is their prime directive and there is no reason to suspect otherwise.

I will be adding new legs to the journey once we've reached a reasonable transition, so the threads and available information will be limited to what's currently visible.

Also, if you could try to keep fewer than two days between each tag, that would be amazing!]

The journey is a long one, and it's in the dead of winter, which means it isn't a lot of fun. They at least have horses, on loan from the Inquisition save for those who have their own, and Teren leads the expedition on the rangy and agreeable black gelding she tends to borrow.

She's her usual self, curt and withdrawn and pensive, though she takes care of hers and is vigilant about ensuring everyone stays together, especially in the brutal snows that blow relentlessly over Orlais' northern plains.
She had approached each Warden initially, explaining that she had received news from Weisshaupt and wanted to take a small delegation to address its concerns: the Architect has been sighted in the north, not far from the border between Nevarra and Tevinter. Teren's old stomping grounds.

Summoned for her familiarity with the region, Teren has grudgingly accepted the call, but knows it would be suicide to make it a solo recon mission. Anders and Bethany are brought for their healing and warding talents, Alistair and Kaisa for their fighting prowess, and the non-Warden Benevenuta.. for... some reason, that isn't entirely clear to anyone else.

Their mission is to find the Architect, and if unable to apprehend him, to gather as much information on the situation as possible before returning to Skyhold.

Comments

[doneisdone]

Glad for Benny's help, Teren is actually somewhat surprised this is going as un-infuriatingly as it is. She holds her tongue as they talk amongst themselves, far more confident in the Thevenet girl's ability to guide Kaisa than her own.
She does, of course, roll her eyes once or twice at Alistair and Anders, but she knew what she was doing when she made this decision, and she knew what would happen when she told them. They are, blessedly, showing an unusual amount of restraint.

"Nobody is my secret lover," she remarks, more crossly than she feels, which isn't hard. "...or anyone else's. Or an overt lover, though I suppose if you pair off between the lot of you there's nothing I can do about that." But for Andraste's sake she's not going to listen to it.

"Ideally none of you will have to speak all that much, though I suppose it wouldn't necessarily hurt our case for our young ladies to engage the other guests while I speak to the Marquise." By not hurting their case she means, of course, that it will potentially embarrass their "family" further.
"There's always a chance the other guests will have seen something, though you'll be wise not to ask them outright."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany has taken out a notebook and is studiously writing all of this down, her brown eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she looks up between Benny and Kaisa, then back down to her notes. She writes down a few details - she will call Alstair Algeron, he's just stuck with that now, before she looks up again.

"There is a solid point there, though. If we are going to speak to the other guests ... we're going to need background stories and - ah - listen, you all know I can stick to a story but we'd best keep it simple. No flourishes, nothing insane. I'm only a passable liar because I had to hide from the Chantry for nineteen years and honestly I am not even sure I'm passable most of the time."

A pause, "...and if we're Orlesian, we're going to need to make masks as well."

[unbrokenoath]

Kaisa gives a nod to Benny, looking relieved at the prospect of not having to simper or do anything else of the sort. Then she turns to Teren, tilting her head as she listens. She's got a focused look in her eye, which means she is actually listening and even retaining it, but...well. That isn't going to stop her from cracking jokes.

"I thought I was supposed to keep quiet. Do you want me to engage them without speaking, because I think I can pull that off, but..." She glances down at her armor, adjusting it a little. "We'll just have to make sure the dress is cut low enough." Generous cleavage is, after all, rather engaging, and doesn't involve speaking.

"I guess my story will be that I'm not very talkative? Maybe I had a dashing romance with a man who broke my heart, and ever since I haven't been able to speak," She muses, rubbing her chin. "The man disappeared shortly afterwards, naturally."

[ungovernable]

"Fled the scene of your heartbreak laden down with a number of your valuables," Benevenuta supplies, "and you've been doing your best to brazen out the embarrassment of the affair since, but you are so terribly proud, of course, you can't bear to discuss it. So you simply discuss as little as possible, to avoid the risk."

An appraising look, then; yes. If nothing else, it should dovetail neatly with the way Kaisa might carry herself - already poking fun at the foibles of the upper-classes, it might well injure her pride a little to be wrestled into a gown and expected to defer, to care about the rules of engagement (of etiquette - but truly it is only a different form of conflict, a prettier one no less dangerous) that are so easily dismissed as noble nonsense. Let her own unease reinforce the story-- a sleight of hand, wearing one own's skin as disguise.

(There is nothing Benevenuta considers too sacred to be cannibalized to cause.)

"We," to Bethany, "as her companions, will be keeping her spirits up and, of course, gossiping rampantly behind her back given the opportunity. As long as you hew to the simplest parts of the story - the tales we spin should not be too closely identical. Nothing will raise suspicion quicker more than too much consistency. It begins to sound rehearsed."

Generally, because it is.