[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She's her usual self, curt and withdrawn and pensive, though she takes care of hers and is vigilant about ensuring everyone stays together, especially in the brutal snows that blow relentlessly over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

[justice_is_blond]

Oh. Great. This just became absolutely complicated. Anders jerks his head toward the room.

"Quick, everyone inside. Get the door, one of you." While they do (or don't, but he hopes they do,) Anders tries the key in the locks of the man's chains. It doesn't work. No matter. The key goes back into his pouch as he pulls a set of lockpicks out instead and gets to work. It's about time his lessons with Zevran paid off.

[unbrokenoath]

Kaisa is the last to enter the room, and she quickly grabs the door and shuts it as quickly as she can. The usually talkative woman is shocked into silence at the scene before her, eyes wide and mouth ajar. She doesn't know what she expected, but it sure as fuck wasn't this.

It's a few moments before she can do anything but stare aghast at the wretched man in front of her. Then, her brain starts kicking back into gear. "Are you talking about Teren? She's here." Kaisa turns to look at the door she just closed. "And has a lot of shit to explain, I think." After a moment, she digs a handkerchief out of...somewhere, licks it, and rubs at his face, out of lack of more useful things to do. "Look at you. What the fuck happened to you?"

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany's expression paled as she saw the man, bound up in chains. As Kaisa moved to clear her face, and Anders worked on the lock, Bethany used magic to hold the door shut just in case someone came up the stairs just then, trying to listen as hard as she could to possible footsteps moving up.

"Why ... why were you left like this?" She asked, knowing that if someone was going to know if he was lying -- it would probably be Anders. He just had a sense about this sort of thing.

[doneisdone]

The man is at least somewhat alert, and he nods faintly to Kaisa to answer her question.
"I have been here for..." he considers, dazedly, then shakes his head. He doesn't know. "The lady of the house has a surprising method for dealing with informants." A wry, tired smile. "I was her chef. But perhaps too many secrets spoil the food."

He dully watches Anders pick at the locks, giving the occasional small and involuntary jerk of his hands, itching to get them free.
"I am Mishka Baruth. Teren is... with you, yes?" His eyes shine with worry. "This is not another of du Farron's tricks, is it? I can hardly tell the difference anymore." His candor seems linked directly to his physical state; at this point, he doesn't care if he lives or dies, as long as he makes it out somehow.

[justice_is_blond]

When the chains are off Anders stands and looks the man over as he nods.

"She is." They're here for the Architect. How would someone know about her coming for them, with people? It's a little concerning, to tell the truth, but he works to not show that. Surely Teren hadn't mislead them about why they were in the area. "What is Teren to you, Mishka?"

As he asks, he's casting, seeing what damage he can fix easily. If they have to sneak this man out, they need him able to move.

[unbrokenoath]

"This is absolutely atrocious!" Kaisa frowns, face turning back towards the door. "That woman did this to you? I ought to go find her and--" Wait. A little belatedly, Kaisa reaches the conclusion that there's more going on here, and that it won't get solved by throwing down with the lady of the house.

Or, it might, but she has to be sure.

"We're not here as a trick. I wouldn't wear this dress unless I absolutely had to." Jokes aside, Kaisa is frowning, the wheels in her head pattering away. "And why was the key given to us for your door?"

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Bethany's lips pressed together in a thin line, as she considered the man before them, and what in the name of the Maker they were going to do to get him out of here. She sighed, tugging on one dark curl, as she looked around.

She shared a troubled look with Anders and Kaisa - this wasn't their mission at all - but they did need to get this man out of here.

Her eyes scanned the room. "We can't just sneak him out of here - if she comes up here and finds he's gone, the 'lady' of the house will detain all of us. What if she comes looking for him? We have to make it look like he escaped so we can sneak him out properly."

[doneisdone]

Mishka gives that fatigued smile again. "Leave du Farron," he rasps, "she will be dealt with." He flexes his wrists, enjoying the freedom and Anders' ministrations, though fortunately there's little to heal other than the chafing from the shackles.

"Teren is an old friend. We worked together, many years ago." He rubs at his newly-healed wrists, seeming to admire them. "I have retained few friends in my life, and fewer still who would come for me. Sending for her was a fool's hope, but it seems I was rewarded."

He slowly, shakily rises, using the wall for leverage. The stone tile is cold, and he flinches when the pads of his bare feet press onto it. Walking carefully, he crosses the room to the door and cracks it open, peering out just long enough to take stock of the hallway, then closes it again without a sound.
"Raelle, the little maid. She is one of ours. But she couldn't do it alone." He turns to regard the three, his expression pleasant, hopeful, strangely confident. "I did not expect my little jackal to bring anyone with her. But seeing as you are here, I imagine she trusts you greatly."

[justice_is_blond]

His heart sinks. That's the confirmation then, isn't it. It hurts a little to know that twice in two months he's been mislead about missions for someone else's agenda, and both times by people he'd trusted.

"Your little... jackal... trusts us, but not enough to tell us beforehand what our true mission was." There's a little bitterness in his voice.

"Luckily for you, I'm an escape expert. One of you, help me pull all the fabric off the bed so we can tear it into strips and use it to climb out the window. Mishka, do you know where we can hide you to keep you safe while we meet with Teren to tell her what's going on?"

[unbrokenoath]

Kaisa grabs a sheet and yanks it as soon as Anders requests it, looking thoroughly troubled all the while. "I'd like to see her try to detain me." She grumbles as she begins to tear the sheet into neat strips of fabric. She thinks on what Mishka says, on what the others say, even as she works. Bethany's right, after all, they can't just leave the guy here.

After she's made a few strips, she finally turns to Mishka, a troubled look on her face.

"So...does this mean that there's no architect around? Because I walked from Orlais to Nevarra to punch him in the face."

[sunshinethroughgrey]

"... Teren has an interesting way to showing trust." Bethany's smile is a little wry, before she moves to the window, "It looks clear. Should be an easy enough climb to the bottom -- but ... "

She looks over at Miska, at the shape of his wrists, and makes a decision. "I should go down first. Just in case you fall - I can use my magic to keep you from landing badly."

She looks over at Anders and Kaisa, "We can't worry right now about the Architect. We'll ask Teren about it once we get this poor man to safety." She started looking around, before she found a dagger and went to press it in Mishka's hand. "You might need this. Kaisa's a little ... indisposed because of her dress."

[doneisdone]

Despite his state, Mishka's eyes crinkle in amusement at the display of confusion. "I see she hasn't changed," he observes, "thank you, my dear." This to Bethany, to whom he's happily deferring. "Raelle tells me that we must meet her in the stables to await further instruction. I expect there will be a place there for us to keep hidden until the others arrive."

And to Kaisa, "I don't know of what architect you speak. Is he well-known in Nevarra?"

[justice_is_blond]

"He's better known elsewhere," Anders mutters. A non-Warden shouldn't hear about the guy, and he shoots a Look at Kaisa. "And he's of no matter to you."

He works to turn the strips into something easy to climb down, nothing too complicated, and secures it quickly. "Go ahead, Bethany. Point the way to the stables once you're down, Mishka, and I'll follow after you." The one who mentioned the Architect first can go down last, as far as he's concerned, and he'll move to climb down once it's his turn.