faderift | Cloudreach Rifter Arrival

WHO: New rifters & her rescuers
WHAT: Weird people fall out of a rift with demons, now with bonus civilians to save.
WHEN: Early Cloudreach
WHERE: Jader
NOTES: This log is OPEN to new rifters and to anyone who might have volunteered or been ordered to go retrieve new rifters. It takes place during the migration from Skyhold to Kirkwall, along the way, so those going early and those staying in Skyhold can still easily participate. Rifters: the log is intentionally backdated to allow you to also jump straight into RPing elsewhere. It's safe to assume everyone lives.

You were asleep--deeply or fitfully, for the last time or just resting your eyes for a moment-- and then you were not. And wherever you were was not, anymore, replaced by nothing but the sensation of falling, tumbling into endless, bottomless nothing. If this were still a dream, you would wake before you hit the ground. You can't die in a dream, they say. In some worlds.

In this world, you wake with a jolt when you hit cobblestones, dropped from above by a flaring, crystalline green rip in reality that hangs overhead. Beyond it the sun glares down through scattered clouds, and there’s wind—strong salty wind off a sea, whistling now through the narrow spaces between the buildings surrounding the city square.

That’s where you are now: a city. Around you and the rift, merchants and shoppers freeze where they stand, a few with fish or coins extended. The shocked silence extends for whole seconds before it’s broken by two things at once: a man’s terrified shout, and the heavy, stone-rattling stomp of a massive purple demon that’s followed you through the tear. Then everyone is moving at once, screaming and shouting and snatching up children to carry with them as they run.

Another demon follows shortly—smaller, hooded, floating, shrieking horribly and freezing everything around it, emanating despair. But there’s also hope! Your belongings might save you; they’re scattered on the ground where you fell. There's also a narrow splinter of light in the same sickly green as whatever brought you here, now glowing out of the palm of your left hand. It aches, a bone-deep pain that gnaws even through all the distractions, but it’s going to help, promise. And it won't be long before more people arrive, armed and armored and not at all surprised to see you.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The throw is a little off, but she dives for it, snatching it out of the air. Far be it from her to let her new comrade get frozen solid. The lasso flies, finding the hooded creature again. It's enraged shriek is cut off almost comically as Diana hauls on the lasso.

The hooded creature flies through the air, screaming and shooting ice and snow in a grand arch that leads it directly into the path of the large creature. Ice and electricity meet and mingle as the two crash together, the whip thing hooded creature shrieking and scrabbling to get away as the larger one growls and swats at it. Diana takes the momentary diversion to dive back down to her comrade.

"I don't suppose you have a spare sword," she says, somewhat breathless as the two demons shriek and growl just barely out of arms reach.

No one will ever accuse Church of all people of having good aim, that's why he mains a sword even though he's trained with a crossbow for ages. The whip-lasso-ing of the icy demon into the big fuck pride demon is almost as impressive as straight up punching the thing in the face, he's gotta say.

"Uh. Just the one on me, sorry." He holds his at the ready, because at some point presumably they're gonna stop pissing each other off and go back to actual battle, but-- "Go for the legs, or, like, I'll go for the legs, you keep doing your crazy death-defying leaps and punching things!" Maybe she can use her tiara to wait that's sailor moon isn't it--

Normally this would be the point where he's squeak out a one-liner, but he doesn't want to be stupid enough to distract the pride demon, so just a straight up charge at the thing's fucking legs it is. He really hopes not to get stepped on. That'd be a stupid way to go.

"Pity that," Diana says, though she agrees gamely to his battle strategy. They're rather running out of time to work out anything more sophisticated than punch and stab til something stops moving. "May Athena watch over us."

And with that she leaps into the air again. She grabs the hooded creature, one hand fisting into it's tattered robe as the other goes to her tiara. She can't tell if the thing has a throat. She hopes it does, this could be messy otherwise and Diana does not deal in drawn out deaths. It would not be the first neck she's broken is the almost hilarious thought she has as she plunges the razor sharp edges of the tiara into the darkness of the hood. She is aware of only freezing cold until the blade makes contact with something. Hooks, pushes deep, cuts and Diana rips with all her strength.

The cold does not disappear so much as seem to rupture in her arms, but she gives it barely a second thought before hurling herself at the large beast, plunging the frost etched point of her tiara into one of the creature's eyes.

Look, listen, in Thedas, sometimes 'punch and stab til something stops moving' is the best strategy anyone's got. It's kind of like the Reds' strategy of 'keep firing until you have no bullets left because some jackass forgot to bring extra ammo and/or sold said ammo to the other team'.

Church is more concerned with the pride demon, even though usually he concerns himself with people falling out of rifts and the little guys. Korrin tends to be a big muscle for it, magically speaking, and Church likes being someone there for new Rifters.

This one seems to have shit covered. It also means he can't focus on her so much right now. Or on hoody mcfreeze. Especially when she so...crazily dispatches it with her fucking tiara. He notes that she isn't going with the plan of going for the legs like he is, but he also can't jump 15 feet in the air, so the fuck else is he gonna do but duck around any crackling fists and hack at the back of its knees and down at its ankles. He doesn't even have a special sword or any runes. Just whatever muscles he's got and skills he's picked up along the way.

Athena's sure as hell watching over someone.

The only sharp thing she has on her is a crown, she is going for vulnerable spots. But speaking of desperate half baked plans, one comes to her rather suddenly. She drops to the ground, lasso in hand.

"Get to it's head quick as you can!" she calls to her new comrade, "Drive your sword into it's wounded eye, straight to the hilt!" If that sounds impossible, don't worry, she's on this. It's not quite as quick as the Flash, there's something strange about this world that pulls her to a normal pace, but she winds the lasso around the creature's ankles.

Planting her feet, she heaves with everything she has. The creature has enough time to get out a mocking chortle before it's feet are pulled out from under it and it goes crashing backwards.

He's never taken one of these guys down before. Like, the killing blow sort of thing. Or charging straight the fuck at one without a lot of backup.

"Oh," he breathes, "shit." She is nowhere even in the same galactic quadrant of fucking around. It's kind of hot in a terrifying way.

The ground actually fucking quakes under them when the demon lands, given how big it is, and he hesitates for only just a split second before heaving a breath out and sprinting. "Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit" being the breathy chorus the entire way, even when scrambling over the bulk of the damned thing, "oh shiiiiiiiit" when he hefts the blade high and slams it into the eye, far down as he can.

The demon seizes, a deep bellow of a scream from it, and manages to flail its arms for a good couple seconds, a hand coming down over Church to grab him and pluck the offending sword out--

--before it goes still and limp. There's still a muffled yelling noise, but that's just Church screaming with a giant demon hand over him. He only stops when the demon starts dissolving (into the ground or back into the fade or what have you, whatever happens to them when they fucking melt away) and plops to the ground.

"Oh. I'm not dead. Wow, that went so much better than expected." Church shakes his head, getting back to his feet--then snaps to, sprinting back for Diana. "Quick, hold out your hand!"

He demonstrates, skidding to a halt beside her and raising his sharded hand toward the rift. "It's gonna hurt, but them's the fucking breaks."

It's time to introduce pain lasers to the newbie.

There is little she can do to help, other than struggle to keep the cursed creature off it's feet and distracted with a few well aimed punches. It is a relief when it screams it's last, when it melts into the ground, but it's briefly lived.

Diana barely has time to let out a breath before Church's shout reaches her. She spins on her heel, facing the crackling green tear in the air. She spares only a glance at her comrade so that she may copy his motion and then-

Green light and energy cracks through the air, lancing through her arm and shoulder. Diana makes a sound like a wounded, furious animal and stands her ground. This is nothing like anything she has ever done before. Close, close. Hardly a clue if that's how it works, but Diana has will to spare though she can feel her endurance weakening and the pain burrowing deeper. Then with a crack and a hiss, the tear closes.

Diana does not stagger, but in the sudden silent aftermath, she is rather sure a good stiff breeze could topple her.

He's gotten really used to the pain. It's still a bitch of a pain, but it's no surprise, no shock to him anymore. What really hurts them is only having so few a number. He knows just one of them alone can't close a rift. Two...two sucks. And it takes longer than it feels like it should for that.

When it does close, leaving the air crackling with energy but otherwise clear, he does stagger, bent over with his hands on his knees, catching his breath from the whole encounter. At least princess monstertruck is still standing, though with a glance, he's pretty sure she's reeling from it all.

"I'd say it gets easier," when he's got more breath back, "but then I'd be making a liar out of myself. You okay...?"

Cloudreach Rifter Arrival

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