faderift | [Closed] Wherever a door closes ...

WHO: Bethany Hawke, Anders, Merrill (Kirkwall creeeeew!)
WHAT: Wardens and Not a Blood Mage get together to discuss the Blight, and the removal thereof.
WHEN: First week of Draconis, after Anders is done dealing with Oghren
WHERE: Crumbling tower that no one lives in.
NOTES: There are no warnings, only mage nerds trying to solve the Blight.

Bethany sent out a crystal message to Merrill, after she finishes her giggle fit with Anders, to meet them in the crumbling tower. After the conversation with Alistair, she had the sneaking feeling that she ought to avoid speaking publicly about what she, Anders, Merrill, and Nate were working on. She didn't think Alistair would try to stop them -- but now that she had her doubts about Teren?

Well.

She brought all the books and notes, spread out on a clean quilt she had put together, along with some food and wine. After all you couldn't delve into the mysteries of some holy corrupting disease without something on your stomach. She herself was nibbling on a cheese sandwich while she waited for the two of them to arrive, skimming through volumes of Grey Warden history to find what she could on pregnant Grey Wardens.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Not that I know of," Merrill tells Bethany, frowning slightly. "But- I mean, they didn't really want to tell me much. The spirit I spoke with, that's where most of my information was from." And it did work.

There's another slight hum of thought when Anders is done speaking. Fingertips tap on her knee, a bare foot likewise tapping on the stone. "How did Fiona come across him?"

"I suppose we could try asking another spirit." Bethany mused - and she means Spirit. Not Demon. Spirit, Merrill. There is a delicate difference sometimes but Bethany isn't going to let her desires get twisted. Or let her desires twist others.

"Apparently she was captured by him, about, ah, thirty, thirty five years ago?" She hummed, "It's a matter of Grey Warden record - by the by Merrill we never told you about this. Just in case."

"Grey Warden record," Anders mutters. "Of course the time I had access to the records we were dealing with the Architect, and then Templars that tried to pretend they were brothers and sisters."

He sighs. "Talking to spirits is difficult, but maybe we can get enough lyrium to be able to speak with some and see what they know. Wisdom is the most likely to be useful." Definitely leaning toward the Spirit side of things and not the Demon. It's an important distinction, and he feels like naming Wisdom helps make that clear. Or he hopes it does.

"Told me about what?" This is a joke. Mostly.

And excuse you, humans. Stop shoving your culture down her throat. They're all dangerous, and it's never stopped Merrill before.

"Wisdom might tell us that we're not being very wise," Merrill points out, not able to help the slight giggle that accompanies her words. "If there's something like- like Knowledge, that would help."

She grins at that, before she picked up her apple again to nibble upon. Merrill's words made total sense and she nodded in agreement.

"Knowledge. Knowledge would be our best bet -- but we must know the right spell and we must do it with all proper respect. The Blight shouldn't touch the Veil any more than it has."

"How do you define proper respect? It's a spirit, not a prickly Orlesian ambassador." He's amused as he pulls out his boot knife to start slicing his apple.

"Two of us make the blight touch the veil every night when we sleep. I'm not certain that there's a fix for that. We just need to not thrust random things at it." That's all. Though a lot of research is throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

"We'll read, theorize, and try what seems to make the most sense and probably won't explode in our faces. Emphasis on probably." Because you can never know for certain what won't explode.

"Well, don't yell at it, probably," Merrill muses, taking another bite of her own apple. She's quiet for a moment -- she also should not talk to spirits or friends with her mouth full. "And don't call it a demon, and... I mean, Knowledge probably likes knowledge, right? Maybe we can... tell it... something? Or offer to tell it whatever we find out?"

She has no idea.

"I know no one wants to just start testing any Grey Wardens or other people corrupted by the Blight, but- what about a bereskarn or something?"

She makes a brief face at Anders, but her gaze is thoughtful when she looks over at Merrill, "That's a good idea. Offering knowledge to Knowledge. We'll have to find something good - a what now?"

She thought about it then went, "Ah! Yes, a blighted bear. I forgot we called them those."

"Blighted animals are probably the best place to start. And then it depends on the sort of cure we think we've found. Orally ingested? A blighted bear would be the best bet, because it's easy to treat meat and leave it out for a predator. Something that requires a spell application, or physical, or a mix, we should get something a little less... aggressive."

He puts together a sandwich of sorts and uses it to gesture at the two women. "We're mages. I want to find a cure, and I'd like to find it with as little blood spilled as possible." A beat, and then a glance at Merrill. "...as little blood accidentally spilled as possible. And then we tell the knowledge spirit that what we learn, we'll share. It's not like we've a reason to hide whatever we find."

[Closed] Wherever a door closes ...

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