faderift | closed.

The journey to Ansburg is not a short one, but it’s made somewhat shorter by the Wardens’ ability to go under the Vinmark Mountains rather than over them. One night and a couple of skirmishes with darkspawn later, they emerge from the Deep Roads in the wilderness between Wildervale and Markham, head north through forest and field to Starkhaven, and make their way along the river from there to Ansburg. They spend one night in an inn, sharing beds or sleeping on floors, and another in an apparently abandoned barn, but otherwise their shelter and bedding are only what they can carry. Meals are dried rations brought from Kirkwall or things caught or politely pilfered along the way. There are storms. There are very hot middays. And on the worst day of all, Alistair tries to cook.

So everyone can be forgiven, probably, if in their tired and sore and likely hungry state, the Warden fortress outside of Ansburg looks like the best thing they’ve ever seen in their entire lives. It has walls! Those walls probably contain a kitchen! And beds! Outside the walls, the Warden banner hangs with no apparent shame or apology. And the Wardens who come out to greet them look healthy, happy to see them, and distinctly unaccompanied by demons.

They’re led by a man with graying hair and a wide smile that, as if involuntarily restrained by propriety, stops just short of showing teeth. He’s scanning faces as he approaches the group outside the gates, nodding to those he recognizes. For those who may recognize him back, he’s Warden-Commander Humphreys. Protocol says he can’t salute until someone salutes him first, but the handful of men and women behind him are quick to do it, fists crossing to their shoulders in greeting.

[ One thread please! No tag order, jump in or blend into the background as you desire. This will be GMed/NPCed by me (MJ/Alistair) and/or Tori/Nathaniel. ]

The fortress isn't the largest or most impressive one that anyone here will have seen—not compared to Skyhold, not even compared to the Gallows—but it's obviously well stocked and cared for, with large Grey Warden banners hanging from the walls and showing minimal wear. Few regions in Thedas have all that many active Wardens, save the Anderfels, but there are a few dozen here now, not counting those out working in the Deep Roads across the Free Marches. Several are out in the courtyard, practicing archery or swordsmanship in a way that's as much play as training; others seem busy but not too busy to smile in greeting or pause to watch the newcomers pass by with curiosity.

Once everyone has been fed and given a moment to rest their feet, Warden-Commander Humphreys invites anyone who's interested in more walking to tour the fortress with him while he asks questions and discusses his hopes for the Wardens-Errant. Anyone who doesn't think that sounds fun is free to explore on their own—and later, once the beleagured cook has managed to catch up with the extra work that so many guests create, there's a fairly boisterous dinner in the main hall, with amateur musicians and a small gaggle of baby-faced young Wardens eager to hear about the griffons. And other things! But mainly the griffons.

[ The tour will be NPCed, so please group up into one log for that! You can make your own threads for the other two options. NPCs or GM comments will also be dropped into other logs during the party or exploration, but feel free to RP on your own, too. ]

Things at Ansburg weren't too dodgy. They were just dodgy enough to merit this.

A ways from the fortress, there is a grove of trees. Those who have volunteered to stay behind for this are camped out, tents camouflaged, fires absolutely forbidden, racket absolutely forbidden. The unlucky person on watch has to shimmy up a tree and keep an eye on the fortress through a spyglass. The watches are two hours, one person awake while the others sleep until the next watch.

It's a good hour or so into Nathaniel's watch, his back braced against the tree, sitting on the highest branch capable of carrying his weight. The fires in the fortress have gone out one by one, until the only light is the faint glow of the waning moon behind an overcast sky. Even the frogs and crickets fall slowly silent, till it feels like the whole world but him is asleep.

He sees a glint of light through the leaves, bobbing and moving forward. A lantern, illuminating the hooded tunic of a man who is not dressed as a Warden. It seems peculiar for him to be traveling alone to the fortress. Nathaniel sits up straight, adjusting the glass to try to get a better look.

The gate opens for the man. Nathaniel forces himself to breathe. This means nothing. There is no telling who this man is. There is no reason to panic--except that he is a solitary man entering the fortress mere hours after they left it. A solitary man who could be Venatori.

He probably isn't. But he could be.

He's being paranoid, like everyone else. All that talk from the others has him on edge. If he sweeps in with accusations, he could damage the delicate relations between them and the only other decent Wardens. He could lose a promotion he has been aiming for since Jonas stepped down.

He glances down. He is the only person in the camp who is awake. He is the only one who has seen this. He could let the entire thing sweep itself under the rug if he just sits quietly and gaslights himself into believing it was a trick of his eyes, a bat flying by with a glint in its eye, or an old man on a cane seeking shelter.

And he does it. For a time, he sits with every intention of staying quiet. The trouble with decisions like that is that you have to remake the decision every moment you stay idle. And it's not a half-hour later that the gate opens again, and there is the gleam of the lantern as the man steps out.

How many moments like this had been ignored by Loghain when Rendon Howe went mad? How many moments like this had Rendon turned a blind eye to, till they raised him to his final derangement? How many would it take Nathaniel before blind ambition turned him into the very person he swore never to become?

He takes two deep breaths, then slides off the branch, rolling as he lands. He doesn't even pause before thumping an open hand against tent walls.

"Up," he says just loudly enough to be heard. "Up, up, up. We have a suspicious person on the move from the fortress and we have to follow now."

I. ARRIVAL

II. EXPLORATION

III. SURVEILLANCE | OTA