[closed]

[slipshot]

WHO: Gavin, Zevran and Bruce
WHAT: Zevran, Bruce and Gavin take a supply run back to the mire.
WHEN: Nowish
WHERE: On the road to the Fallow Mire
NOTES: Ridiculousness? probably ridiculousness.

Supply runs were never the most fun. The baggage train inevitably meant that the pace was not even a third of what Gavin would keep on his own, even though they were mounted, and they had to spend a good deal of their time making sure the animals carrying the supplies didn't somehow wander off. Usually it bored Gavin to absolute tears until he just sort of started making up reasons to go scouting ahead.

This time, though, there were only the three of them - so he really couldn't afford to take his eye off the bags - and the other two happened to be friends, so it wasn't nearly as bad a journey as it could have been otherwise. That didn't stop Gavin from being as restless as all hell, from being unable to sit in his saddle or to keep him from singing (badly) to himself to just past the time, but it helped.

It would take two days, to march down there, leaving just after dawn on the first day, camping just after nightfall, and leaving at dawn again. That would see them getting in to the camp in the Fallow Mire just a few hours after dusk.

When they camped for the night, Gavin was all too happily to be doing anything other than riding a damned horse, so set up the tent all too happily and then dragged a bunch of dry wood back for the fire.

"We should probably take some of this wood with us - there's so little dry stuff in the Mire."

Comments

[amygdalae]

Bruce makes a gesture with his hand as well, wordlessly asking for Gavin to start telling his story. It sounded interesting enough, and anything was probably better than silence right now, especially since Bruce was well aware that said silence was because of him.

[slipshot]

"Well, all started after I got washed ashore fleeing from the cult that worshipped Andraste's supposed shoe," He started, before taking a bite of his rations. He happily fell into story time, telling them about since how he was nearly freezing to death, he found one of the caves on the storm coast - left it because it was full of spiders - and found another that was empty save for a single man and a corpse, who he was lecturing to at length about Andraste. As one person could hardly be counted as a cult, and as he was very, very cold, wet and tired, he decided that it was relatively safe.

"And then he started crying 'It has been foreseen! It has been foreseen!' and fighting me as I tried to drag him out of the water, but when he escaped he accidentally knocked himself out by slipping on a rock. So I dragged him back up out of the river. The bear didn't bother us after that - probably because it was eating all our supplies. But he was absolutely miserable company all the way to the village, from there," Gavin finished his story a few minutes later, and then gave a whistful sigh. "It was a pretty nice village, really - they were all very kind. Especially for people that had half their town destroyed by a monster."

[ombranera]

Zevran, despite himself, began laughing- the tale was amusing enough and he himself has had some strange experiences with cultists- but that last part? That does prick his interest, ears flicking up.

"A monster? Like a particularly ravenous bear or a wyvern of some sort?"

[amygdalae]

Bruce listen to Gavin's story, thinking nothing of it at all up until the part about the monster--where then he froze up entirely. He could be thinking too much, perhaps, but his gut was telling him otherwise and from experience his gut was usually right. But--no. He really hoped that this wasn't going where it was.

Bruce forces himself take a slow breath through his nose, trying to calm down his rapidly rising heartbeat. Even if it was what he thought it was it was just a story. A story and nothing more.

[slipshot]

Gavin shook his head, taking absolutely no notice of Bruce as Zevran asked him a question.

"A bear? No, it was no bear. Larger than a bear, far larger, and it glowed - a bright, malevolent green." He was in story mode, to his tone was much different than he'd use normally, and he drew his hands over the fire to warm them.

"At least - that is what they told me. I did not see the creature, I only witnessed its wake. A village half destroyed by what seemed to be a being of pure rage - but it was no demon. It was hard as stone - no arrow nor sword would pierce it, and it howled as it crushed their houses, destroyed their crops. Their families. But Wyvern? No. No, this creature had no wings, but walked on two legs, like you or I. Too small for a giant, too great for a man, and with great, green hands, and skin that seemed made of raw cut gems, dancing angrily in the firelight."

[ombranera]

"...whereabouts was this village? I have heard of a similar creature but- it was not destroying houses. It was fighting something much like itself." Though not near so green. "Protecting the people from it's foe- something of a similar size but vicious temperament."

[amygdalae]

His entire world stopped in the moment Gavin began to speak, every other word feeling like a nail in the proverbial coffin. With this and what he had said earlier Bruce could remember the village where Gavin was referring to. The Templars had chased him down again, nearly cornering him - and Bruce had transformed against his will once more, the thing in him eager for their blood and its own freedom.

He couldn't sleep for more than three hours a month after that.

The panic rose in his gut but Bruce tried his best to squash it, biting down on his bottom lip as he closed his eyes and drew on the methods of breathing he had learned and now put into practiced. In and out. Deep breaths. He could do this. Just not... think of anything else. Not what the elves were talking about, not him, not anything.

YOU SAW NOTHING

[slipshot]

"Up near the storm coast, a few days east of Orzammar. I can't remember it's name, now - it was barely more than a dozen houses, at best, and four of those were completely demolished." He tilted his head thoughtfully.

"They certainly didn't mention a second creature."