OPEN LOG: Establishing a Base in Kirkwall

[faderifting]

WHO: Many People
WHAT: Cleaning up Kirkwall
WHEN: Cloudreach 1-21
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: This log post is for characters who go early to Kirkwall to assist in preparing it for the rest of those assigned there. We strongly encourage IC discussion of things left to character discretion—someone should definitely do a crystal post to discuss what to do with the personal belongings left behind in the Gallows or what new form the statues should take!

Kirkwall once lived on the edge of the Tevinter Imperium and was home to nearly a million slaves. Stolen from elven lands or shipped from across the sea, all slaves fed the Imperium's unquenchable thirst for expansion. They worked in massive quarries and sweltering foundries that produced stone and steel for the Empire.

The city's complicated past is not easy to forget, history having earmarked many corners of the stone city. A ship approaching the harbor spots the city's namesake: an imposing black wall. It is visible for miles, and carved into the cliff side are a pantheon of vile guardians representing the Old Gods. Over the years, the Chantry has effaced many of these profane sentinels, but it will take many more years to erase them all.

Also carved into the cliff is a channel that permits ships into the city's interior. Flanking the channel are two massive bronze statues—the Twins of Kirkwall. The statues have a practical use. Kirkwall sits next to the narrowest point of the Waking Sea, and a massive chain net can be erected between the statues and the lighthouse, closing off the only narrow navigable lane. This stranglehold on sea traffic is jealously guarded by the ever-changing rulers of the city as the net trolls taxes, tolls, and extortions in from the sea.

—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of a Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

---

Establishing a presence in Kirkwall is a delicate matter. First, there's Provisional Viscount Bran Cavin—a man so used to batting back friendly offers of entirely harmless occupation of the battered city-state that his first three responses to the Inquisition's leadership appeared to be slightly personalized form letters. Proving that the Inquisition is here to work and not to conquer will be a process. The first step in that process is the second reason the move is delicate: the only building the Provisional Viscount is willing to part with is the Gallows, left quarantined and unoccupied since Knight-Commander Meredith Stannard's famous crystallization into red lyrium in the courtyard. The Gallows have since overgrown with red lyrium. If anyone is going to live and work there, there's a lot of work to do.

↠ Cloudreach 1-3: The Journey There
↠ Cloudreach 3-4: Arrival
↠ Cloudreach 4-14: Haunted
↠ Cloudreach 14-21: Spring Cleaning

Comments

[crowncitizen]

He has no idea if this will work, but hey, no risk, no reward. It's a dangerous climb up the statue as it moves and tries to swat Prompto off. He nearly loses his footing once or twice, but eventually he reaches its face. The statue goes to slam its hand against Prompto. He quickly stabs his knife into its eye... or eye socket. Whatever it has. Surprisingly, the knife goes in. The statue reels and drops to its knees, knocking Prompto off as it falls.

[circleprodigy]

"Well done!" Because really, bringing down one of those big solid statues with a dagger is no insignificant feat. Even so, Inessa worries as to whether his luck will hold with the rest. So it's time to think of large area-of-effect spells, those that will whittle these down to an amount they can easily dispatch.

"Lead them here, then give me room!" She'll do the rest, hopefully negating some property damage by being out in the open instead of closer to the walls.

[crowncitizen]

Yeah, that was his burst of luck and Prompto knows better than to think it'll last. Still, he's got to try. As he gingerly gets to his feet, he nods to her and begins waving his arms at the statues, trying to get their attention again. Not that it's particularly hard, given he's in the middle of the lot. They converge on him, and rather quickly. He starts running, but one goes to stomp on him. He dodges, if only barely.

"Oh crap oh crap!"

He's running for his life, leading them towards where Inessa needs them and just generally trying to GTFO of the area.

[circleprodigy]

Garahel tries to provoke them onward with his barking, though he remains close to Inessa so she can work her magic. She has to be careful with its exact placement and timing, so her spell isn't instant. Once she's certain that they won't have a better chance, Inessa summons a volley of flaming meteors, raining fire down upon the statues for the next several seconds. It won't be kind to the courtyard, but if they can destroy the majority of the statues in one blow, then she couldn't care less about property damage.

[crowncitizen]

Well, that's a new one for Prompto. "Holy crap!" He runs and dives for cover, scrambling under some stone jutting out as the meteors rain down.

[circleprodigy]

Good idea, Prompto. The meteors tear into the nearby statues, brutally pummeling them into the ground. When the last meteor has fallen, the area is a sea of dented statue pieces and scorch marks. Even the most intact of the lot area still badly damaged and considerably less mobile than before. It wouldn't take much to finish them off now, and since Inessa is a bit winded after unleashing that much magic, Garahel rushes to help with that.

[crowncitizen]

When the coast is clear, so to speak, Prompto crawls out from under his hiding spot. The statues definitely seem worse for wear. Prompto isn't terribly far behind Garahel, running into the fray a ways behind him, dagger out and ready to plunge. One statute is on its knees and looks unable to get up, so Prompto takes the opportunity to sink his dagger into its side, hacking and slashing a few times until the thing finally seems to crumble and collapse for good.