OPEN ↠ FALSE GODS, GREAT DEMONS (PART II)

[faderifting]

WHO: Everyone in the Dark Future
WHAT: Doom and gloom
WHEN: ALTERNATE FUTURE, 25-28 Cloudreach 9:48
WHERE: The Thaigs, Jader, the Frostbacks, and Haven
NOTES: This is the second open log and second plot log, combined, for False Gods, Great Demons.

ORTAN THAIG has been buzzing since the time travelers arrived—with gossip, skepticism, resentment, hope. The Herald traveled through time once before and brought back a blueprint for victory that might have worked if she’d lived. Maybe they can do the same. The now-Tranquil Dorian seems to think so, passing along an amulet and spells to a group of mages. If they can return to Haven, if they can recreate the magic—

Discussions of strategy and timing are underway when reports arrive from Orlais that Tevinter is on the move. Units of mages, corrupted Red Templars, and Tevinter foot soldiers are cutting east toward the passes through the Frostbacks; more are swinging north to cross through Jader without braving the mountains.

A dragon is with them.

There’s one day to wonder what’s happening, to try to plan or prioritize, and then the decision is made for the Inquisition: they have to leave. They have to leave because the passage of the dragon over the Deep Roads brings with it an underground wave of darkspawn, nearly crawling over one another as they swarm over the barricade and toward both the thaigs. Ortan will fall first. Then Orzammar. There is no if. And there are Tevinter troops blocking the main doors.

Get out alive. Get the time travelers out with you. Take one of the narrow tunnels that opens up into the mountains or woods outside of Tevinter's reach. Or stay behind to hold the line.

Elsewhere, in JADER, Tevinter forces march through the city streets on their way south. They have somewhere to be. But they also have to sleep and eat, and the Inquisition has people in the city—spies, traveling scouts, maybe a ship nearby—and this one last chance to cut their numbers. Burn bridges. Burn inns. Slip poison into what glasses you're able. Every man you kill here is a man who won't make it to the mountains. In THE FROSTBACKS there are fewer options, a larger force, and a dragon overhead. But dropping an avalanche on them worked once. It might be worth it to try again. Anything to keep them from reaching HAVEN.

If you’re unlucky, no one will remember that you died a hero. If you’re lucky, this will never have happened at all.

For their dreams had been devoured
By a demon that prowled the Fade
As a wolf hunts a herd of deer.
Taking first the weakest and frailest of hopes,
And when there was nothing left,
Destroying the bright and bold
By subtlety and ambush and cruel arts.
Exaltations 1

Comments

The Doctor goes down (Closed to those who know who they are, if you want in please PM)

[not_the_question]

Contrary to the advice that was given earlier, the Doctor fell behind the group to fight off those who were coming up behind them. That was just how he operated. Make sure everyone else is saved, no matter what happened to him. The problem was, he got so distracted with the fight, that he had actually gone around a bit of a bend and couldn't quite see the rest of the group.

Not that it mattered, he was moving and holding his own quite well. That was what mattered. He thought he was giving the others as much time as he could. He was pretty quick on his feet, he would be able to catch up.

That had been his plan, anyway. What he hadn't really noticed was that when he came back around the bend, it was an area that was a bit more open to the archers from above. He didn't really use a shield, not that a shield would have helped anyway, his back was to the small cliff and the archer was right on point.

The arrow pierced through the Doctor's shoulder blade and he screamed in agony for a moment before looking at his shoulder to see the arrowhead sticking out about six inches from his coat. He swallowed back the pain. Passing out was not an option. He had no choice now, he had to make his way back to the group. When he saw one or two of them he came up and spoke almost as if nothing was wrong.

"I think we need to move faster, they're about to catch us up."

With that, he started to sway, then he passed out, and his body started to fall to the ground.

[wontforgetyou]

In some ways it was odd seeing the Doctor using a weapon - or, at least, something that Jamie tended to think of as a weapon. He was far more used to the Doctor turning down any gun or sword or similar object that was handed to him. But it'd soon become evident that the Doctor could handle himself just fine when he needed to, so when the Doctor fell back he didn't even protest. It gave him the chance stay closer to the front, making sure that anyone that broke through didn't get close to their small group. While Hermione had her magic and Cosima had her knives, they still needed someone who could fight, and he wasn't too worried about the Doctor being behind them.

At least, not until the Doctor came staggering up to them with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. As he started to fall, Jamie ran towards him, hoping to get there in time to catch him - or at least break his fall.

"Doctor!"

[not_the_question]

Post-Time War. Even in this body, it wasn't the first time the Doctor used a weapon. He preferred the sword, if only because it was easier to use it in an offensive, rather than defensive manner. Using the gun to shoot the General on Gallifrey still haunted him, even if he had been nonchalant about it with.... Someone... Probably Clara.

Jamie did break his fall. Sort of. The Doctor weighs a bit more than his lanky frame would make you think. At least it was enough that the arrow didn't get juggled around too much. But the Doctor was out cold. Well, to everyone else. He could sort of hear what was going on around him, but he had a preference to enter a healing coma, even if a part of him knew this was not the time or place for such a thing.

He tried to wake himself up. But the pain... he just needed a minute.

[bookish_lioness]

All things considered, Hermione's primary concern is making sure that everyone that needs to go back in time manages to do just that. If one of them were left behind, it meant that either this future really would continue to exist despite whatever actions they take, or that the person might cease to exist along with this potential future outcome. Really, she's had enough of arguing the logistics of time travel recently, so she'll be happy when she can finally bring herself to stop thinking about it.

Unfortunately, even now that time seems to be a long way off, given the chaos all around them. This is one of the larger battles she's fought in in Thedas, and it doesn't take long before her constant magic use begins to wear on her. Rather than risk exhausting herself before she can see this through, she alternates between magic and her bow, and that's part of why she looks momentarily confused when the Doctor staggers towards them, and arrow protruding from his shoulder.

"Doctor!" The confusion gives way to horror when he starts to fall, and though Jamie moves towards him, she instinctively casts a Levitation Charm his way, trying to make sure he doesn't end up falling on his injury and worsening it. She'll only keep it up long enough to keep him from falling flat on the ground until Jamie can make it to him, especially since she needs to focus on the fight around them.

Using a Stunner on an opportunist who'd tried to break through once Jamie had moved to the Doctor, she calls, "Is he breathing? Jamie, is he-...?"

For whenever

[youwonscience]

"Oh god damnit," Cosima says, frightened and angry and so, so trying not to think that literally any of her sisters would be more useful in this current moment than she is.

Not helping, she tells herself. Focus.

Instead, she's already moving to the Doctor's side look at the wound. She's not a small-d doctor herself, exactly (and even if she were she knows fuckall about Time Lord biology beyond what he's told her), but she's just going to assume arrows do the same thing to Time Lord tissue as to other organisms.

"I don't know where all his organs are," she says, "but in a human, they'd have missed anything you can't live without." She looks at Jamie, unsure, but says, "I'd normally say we shouldn't try to take it out while we don't have anything to clean and dress the wound yet, and while we're still under fire, but you probably know more about arrows than me, to be honest."

Whatever they were going to do, though, had to be fast.

[bookish_lioness]

Another arrow nocked in her bow, Hermione keeps an eye out for surrounding threats as she carefully backs up towards Jamie, Cosima, and the Doctor. They're not in the thick of it, but they also aren't exactly in the clear either, and she doesn't like the fact that she's the only one in their immediate group with a weapon at the ready.

"If you do take the arrow out," she tells them quickly, eyes sharp as she keeps a lookout for immediate dangers, "I can use an Aguamenti Spell to clean off the wound, but that won't stop the bleeding." Sparing a quick glance down towards the Doctor before looking back up, she adds, "It might be safest to cut the arrow to minimize any chance of it catching to something and worsening the wound, then carrying him off to somewhere more sheltered so we can better assess it. Preferably without anyone trying to kill us as we debate removing it."