Player Plot: Sulevin Blade Quest

[serannas]

WHO: Ellana Ashara, Galadriel, Merrill, Korrin Ataash, James Kirk, Samouel Gareth
WHAT: Tracking down the Sulevin Blade
WHEN: January 13th/Wintermarch 13th
WHERE: the Dales
NOTES: OOC Post

[ OOC: The plot starts with the first phase below in the comments section. Everybody tag into that one. There doesn't need to be a tag order; just hop in whenever. If we go maybe two full days with no tags, I'll try to hustle things along unless I was the last tagger, of course. When we reach a point that looks good to start the next phase, I'll post it as a new comment and close the previous thread. I'm pretty sure you can go ahead a track the whole entry without a paid account, and this way it'll be less confusing if we stick to one section at a time.

At certain points, I'll leave an ooc note asking for you to roll a d20 or to make some sort of choice so I can tailor the thread to your character. If anything's confusing or you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me via PM or a private plurk to lavellan. :D ]

Comments

*dun dun dun* The suspense is killing me DM

[el_tybs]

The sound has Sam stopping again, reaching out his hand a bit before sending part of it forward to light the path a bit better. He doesn't notice a breeze so it seems strange that something like leaves would be moving.

"We were rather heavy handed with our attacks, but ultimately they attacked us first." He knows Kirk would have preferred that no one had been killed, but that isn't the issue here. "I don't agree with what you and Galadriel did. There wasn't much consideration on how some of us would feel doing something like that."

[serannas]

It turns out not to be leaves, but bits of parchment that are old and brittle. Their footsteps were what disturbed them in the first place, and Ellana holds a ball of light in her hand as well before crouching down to examine them.

"What do you mean? We were given important information about the area. And I believe you're the one who suggested we 'persuade' him into telling us that. This was faster than going through all that when reinforcements could have been around the corner, ready to attack."

Now she sees what they've been stepping on. Her forehead creases as she looks at a trail of brittle parchment. Some looks torn. After another moment's search, she finds a piece that's crumbled up into a ball. The ink is very faint, however, and that plus the wrinkles in the paper means she can't make it out.

[el_tybs]

Sam's nose wrinkles as he turns around to look at Ellana. "That was not persuasion, and you know it, and don't put this on me. I did not suggest entering a man's mind and ripping information out of him that honestly looked like torture. Scare him perhaps, but not that. I would never suggest such extensive force of magic unless I saw it necessary and not without a lot of consideration, but you two did it like that." Sam snaps his fingers at 'that' to indicate a measure of only moments.

It was rare for him to actually show that he was angry, especially towards a friend, but this was something he was not alright with - not to mention she was suggesting he was the one with the idea. He isn't yelling though, mindful to keep his tone low. "And that wouldn't have helped if reinforcements were around the corner; they would have already known us there from all the noise we made." Lightning and crashing fade boulders weren't subtle.

When Sam notices what Ellana is looking at he stops, lips pursed - argument momentarily stalled not forgotten - and looks down at his feet and sees that there are more where they are walking. "What's this?"

[serannas]

"Like torture? Then obviously we'll have to disagree. He looked scared Galadriel was in his mind. Nothing more." She looks like she's about to address the papers on the floor, but changes her mind and says, rather sharply. "If it was torture, he would have screamed, or cried. Been in pain. He wasn't. And you don't agreed with excessive force in magic? Maybe I should remind you that Merrill is a blood mage, but we're all well aware of what a good, level-headed person she is. If you don't trust Galadriel, fine. But don't insult me by thinking I'm not level-headed enough to trust her techniques. He wasn't in pain from that. If anything, he was in pain from our magic and the hits he took."

It's no secret that the elves of Skyhold -- especially the Dalish ones -- look on Galadriel as some shining being who is somehow both one of them and far, far above them. Despite how much she values her friendship with Sam, Ellana is drawn to Galadriel in the way a lost child is drawn towards a calming, mother figure. And she hasn't forgotten Galadriel's imprisonment, or how the elves were snubbed when they asked why. Maybe that's why she's on edge now at being chastised like this. This was a human threatening elves, and the elves handled it. Why should anyone else interfere?

She looks away and brushes her fingers over the papers. "And I'd like that to be the last we speak of it here. We need to stay focused." Nothing will probably be settled on this front, and that's not why they're here anyway. So Ellana has to be a leader and take charge.

"I can't tell what these ones say, but... look, there's more. And more crumbled bits." She rises and takes a few steps before stopping to shine her light on a few broken pieces of wood. From the joint on one of them, it appears it was a box.

"I wonder-- oh, here's something!" She moves beyond the box and towards a corridor leading from the room. Right at the start of it is a scroll in remarkably good condition considering the rest of the paper on the floor. Carefully, she unrolls a same bit and brings her light closer before gasping and sitting back on her heels, looking up at Sam with excitement. "It's written in elvhen! I can barely read any of it, but there are a few words -- arla, that's 'home,' and enaste, that's 'favor.' I'll have to see if Merrill knows more of it. If not, Morrigan might." She gently rolls the scroll back up and rises with it, before pausing and leaning forward a little, eyes narrowed. Then in a hushed voice, asks, "Do you see that?"

[el_tybs]

Sam opens his mouth to respond, because there is a lot for him to do so, but then decides just to snap his mouth closed. He's mad, especially because this had suddenly turned into an 'elf versus human' thing with him being turned into an outsider despite being involved, but right now isn't the time or the place. Elven ruins weren't exactly walks in the park after all. "Fine," is all he says, agreeing to ending the conversation.

Quietly Sam just follows Ellana around, concentrating more on the darkness around them and keeping a light up rather then to the parchments. Her excitement at finding something with writing gets a noise of confirmation that he's paying attention, eyes elsewhere, but the way Ellana gets quiet and seems to peer at something does grab his attention though and he moves closer. "See what?" Even as he asks that he raises his globe of light to better see considering he didn't see as well as the elves in the dark.

[serannas]

At the simple word Sam gives, the flame burning hot in Ellana's chest starts to flicker and die. This is something they'll have to return to later. Sam means a great deal to her -- she is even wearing the ring he made her for her birthday at this very moment. She always does. And Cyril cares for Sam too. She doesn't want him to get caught up in the middle of a falling out between the two. Hopefully they can salvage this, but at a future time.

"I thought-- Wait!" It's whispered even though it's an exclamation. "Put out your light. I think I'm seeing embers from a campfire." Which means someone is here. Not in the room with them, but down at the end of the corridor.

[el_tybs]

He doesn't feel quite comfortable in not having a light in this place considering the things they've seen in the other ruins, but Sam lets the light dim and fizzle out. It takes a while before his eyes adjust to the dark, but even then he has to squint to get a glimpse of what Ellana was talking about.

"Or a torch?" he offers as if that would make the situation better. Campfire seemed so... settled. "We're checking it out aren't we?"

[serannas]

"Maybe," she replies, because they're already at odds and she doesn't want to make things worse. But she was the hearthkeeper of the clan, and if there's one thing she knows, it's campfires and the look of their glowing embers. A torch's would look different.

"Yes, we should. What do you think, go silently? Or announce ourselves in case it's someone unarmed?"

[el_tybs]

Even though it's dark Sam still looks down at where Ellana is with a raised brow. "Who comes to ruins like this unarmed?" Considering that the vines outside had to be cut it seemed like an unlikely thing.

Non-hostile would be nice though. "I say we go quietly. Who knows what's in here."

[serannas]

"That's true," she murmurs, before holding out her hand to him. "Will you take my hand? I can see the outline of the walls better in the dark than you." She doesn't even have to ask if he can see what she's seeing. She knows he can't.

[el_tybs]

He's not exactly in a holding hand mood but he takes Ellana's hand anyways. This wasn't the time to be stubborn especially when you couldn't see in a possibly dangerous place. "Lead on."

[serannas]

And lead on she does, one hand curled around her staff and the other leading Sam so he doesn't bump into a wall. It isn't long before she sees a lump of something on the floor. A bit of rubble, perhaps? She inches towards it, her eyes able to see the outline. No, not rubble. She nudges it with her foot and finds it's fabric, but covering something hard.

"There's a knapsack here," she whispers.

[el_tybs]

No bumping into walls but he does stumble from time to time when a crack in the floor or a stone catches his foot. Thankfully he's quick enough on his feet that he doesn't make too much noise.

Feeling Ellana stop puts him on edge, wondering what she's found. When that's followed by the sound of fabric at their he's concerned that maybe they've found a body.

"Knapsack?" So not a body, but it shows that someone is or was here. "Anything weird about it?"

[serannas]

"Not that I call tell. Should I go through it?" She's a little torn on whether or not that would be wasting time, and though she's the leader here, she recognizes that he's angry at her for her decision making skills. So she'll let him decide.

[el_tybs]

Sam mulls on that for a moment, looking back and forth between where their feet should be and the speck of light he is now starting to make out. "Leave it for now? We can come back and check it out with a light once we've confirmed if someone is ahead of us or not."

Honestly, he doesn't want to be rummaging through something in the dark, or even staying in one place too long in the dark in these ruins.

[serannas]

"All right." Ellana leads them on towards that faint bit of orange, and nothing stops them from reaching it. It is indeed a campfire, and she sees crumpled pages lying beside it to use as kindling. She gasps, taking one in hand and opening it back up. Tilting it towards the glow, she can just make out that it's like the pages and scroll they found behind them in the first room.

"Someone's been using ancient elven writing to light their fire," she says, an angry tone to her voice. "I'd like to find out who. Come on." There's a determination to her voice and she takes Sam's hand again, moving towards the end of the corridor which suddenly turns right. As she turns to look, she can see a set of double doors ahead on her left, and a faint, pale light shining through an open doorway on the right.

"That must be Galadriel," she murmurs. "I wonder if she found anyone, or if this person went through to the next room."

[el_tybs]

There's enough light when they get to the fire that Sam feels comfortable enough to let Ellana's hand go, walking around the fire and also picking up the pieces of paper littered around. He certainly can understand the anger his friend is showcasing for using the pages as kindling, but at the time holds any judgement - you know just in case it did turn out to be some unarmed wandering soul who happened upon the place.

He's barely gotten time to look at the pages himself when his hand is grabbed again, giving a small noise when he's yanked away from the fire. Once more he has to rely on Ellana's sight in the dark, curious to when they stop again.

Hearing something about Galadriel he looks around, also spotting the dim glow coming from a doorway or something of the like. Seeing as they hadn't snuck up on anyone and that the other group obviously had light going on, Sam decides to cast another orb of light to see exactly where they were.

"Talking about the doors over there?" Now that he can see he certainly notices the double doors.

[serannas]

"Yes, those," she says with a nod of her head. "That will be our next goal once we meet back up with them. I'd rather we all be together again." Because obviously someone has been here recently and if the others haven't stumbled across them, they must have gone through these doors here, right? Though she didn't hear anyone go through a door when she opened the front doors...

[el_tybs]

Considering the size of the place and the fact that they couldn't hear their comrades as they walked around, it was possible to not hear anything from that distance. Or perhaps they had missed something on their side since they had been walking in the dark, like a hole in a wall or a tunnel.

Still Sam is in the same mindset that he would rather group up with the others before continuing on. "Well... up to you if you want to go back to check that knapsack since we're using light."

[serannas]

Ellana gives it a moment's thought, but like Sam, she's eager to team up with the others again. Not only is it spooky to be traveling in smaller groups, but she doubts Sam wants to stay stuck in her company alone now.

"Let's meet up with the others now. We can tell them what we found and decide together." Now that he has a light, she can release his hand and move right through the doorway to see what Galadriel and Jim have found.

[ ooc: It's time to group back up! Pile into this thread to keep going! ]