[Semi-open] A field trip

[justice_is_blond]

WHO: Anders, Petra, Myr, Inessa, Pel, semi-open
WHAT: Anders leads a group to pick flowers so he can run some tests as he continues on his Quest for the Cure
WHEN: Todayish
WHERE: Grassy fields outside Kirkwall
NOTES: Open to anyone who will interact with Anders.

There are a lot of long shots when it comes to what might help fight the Blight, but because basically anything is a long shot at the end of the day, Anders is willing to try weird things. This includes gathering flowers, sketching them so that he doesn't duplicate his efforts, and testing them in various ways. A flower cured a dog, supposedly. Maybe there's a plant that will help.

Comments

[circleprodigy]

That sparks her curiosity, of course. How could it not? But she retains enough of her manners not to pester for details right then and there. "Very well, though if you need someone to listen at a later time, you have but to ask." That's all the nudging he'll get from her, promise.

"I plan to take a break soon and ensure Garahel has something to eat, so that he doesn't keep making eyes at the spread nearby. You're welcome to join us."

[faithlikeaseed]

He knows too well that the way he's put it invites more questions than it answers, but there's naught to be done about it. "Thank you," he says, simple and sincere. (It's almost tempting to add 'I might,' but that feels a lie when he's nearly certain he never will speak to her on it. Not about this.)

It's likewise tempting to turn down her offer of a break--there's a reason he's been avoiding food and drink laid out for them and with it the possibility of another unfortunate encounter. But he knows his own limits well enough to know he's pushing them, flirting with dehydration and sun-sickness in a way that Enchanter Philomela would've boxed his ears for. Making himself ill out of spite and anger and childish hurt does no one any good.

"I'd like that. And maybe you can tell me a little about what we've been gathering this whole time; I don't know all these southern flowers." There. Polite and with a built-in topic for conversation that avoids anything dangerous.

[circleprodigy]

"Of course." Inessa beckons to Garahel, and sits down by the snack blanket, reaching for the water to pour some for the mabari in addition to herself. "We've been gathering a variety, for Anders' project. It's a bloom of potent curative abilities, but pertinent details have been lost, so basically we're gathering any even vaguely suits and hoping for the best. It helps that this area has a wide variety to choose from, such as Andraste's Grace. Water?"

[faithlikeaseed]

Myr busies himself while Inessa talks with emptying the samples from his satchel onto the blanket set aside for them. It's a haphazard mix of wildflowers and alchemically useful species that he's turned up; he does his best to separate the latter from the former even as he cards out a few stems of plants he doesn't recognize. These he takes with him back to the snack station, settling in across from Warden and mabari.

Water? "Please." There's undisguised relief to the word; he is thirsty. Easy to ignore that kind of discomfort when he's working; less so once he's slowed down. "That's sensible enough, though. How d'you plan to test what you've got on the Blight, anyway?"

He fans out the samples he's brought over, meanwhile, feeling carefully over stems and leaves and flowers to better learn their shape.

[circleprodigy]

Pouring a glass, Inessa sets it into his hand. She then takes a long sip of her own before replying, as Garahel noisily drinks from his bowl. "I'm uncertain of the specifics; it's not my project, though I'll offer to assist. If I had to guess, though, I would suspect darkspawn blood to be involved. That always carries a portion of the taint, and is not so difficult to acquire even outside a Blight."

[faithlikeaseed]

Myr accepts the water with a murmured thanks and takes a measured drink of it, careful not to gulp too much. It's not the coolest after having been out in the sun this long, but it's a damn sight wetter than anything around and he's grateful for it. (It's tempting to trace out the smallest frost glyph on the bottom of the cup but thinking of using his magic and attracting attention for it--no.)

"Huh. So you'd mix it with the blood and...expect the taint to go away?" He gives his water an idle swirl as he thinks about that. "--Sorry, not your project, as you said. Not something I've studied much myself, to be honest." Except briefly, once, during a "wouldn't it be amazing to be a Warden?" phase that every kid surely went through.

[circleprodigy]

"Something similar must have happened to cure a dog of the taint, perhaps. It's a shame we don't have with us the one person who would know." That kennel master, if he didn't fall in Ostagar, is now lost to time in one manner or another. Inessa doesn't know his name or if any evidence of what he had done survived. Probably not.

"Tell me of your own studies, if you would. You have a willing audience, I promise." Putting her glass aside for the moment, she piles on treats for Garahel, who's been such a good boy that he has been waiting patiently rather than snagging anything and potentially being scolded.

[faithlikeaseed]

"Or the dog," Myr says, thoughtfully. "If she was mabari, anyway. She might be able to recognize what was given to her, wouldn't she?" If the stories are true, which he's still dubious about, but in the presence of a Ferelden actually bonded to one of the big war-dogs he might as well act as if. "But--they don't live all that long, do they."

He takes another drink of his water and manages a smile for the question. "Where d'you want me to start on that? Back at the very beginning when I decided to take up creation magic because I'd get to spend time with bees? Or what I'm doing for the Inquisition now?" A mage's life was study, when it wasn't war or uprisings or nightmares or broken Circles.

[circleprodigy]

Inessa sighs a little as she strokes Garahel, who happily sets about to devouring what's set before him. "...no, it's unlikely a full adult would live another decade." Her voice is softer at that, not wanting to think about the likelihood of outliving her best friend.

So, yes, changing the subject. "Whichever you prefer, I suspect I'll find both interesting."

[faithlikeaseed]

...Right. Myr stumbled right into that one, didn't he; he can very well guess what's made her voice go quiet.

Definitely better to let that one drop. "We-ell," he begins, thoughtful. "The whole of my academic career's a little much for one afternoon," and will require some rather artful dodging in parts that he'd rather not get into the habit of, "so maybe the more recent since I haven't been at it so long.

"Though before I assume anything--are you particularly versed in creation magic?" He's gotten snapped at once already today for speaking about it like his conversation partner wasn't familiar. While he trusts Inessa's got a far more level head than Anders, it's not a mistake he's eager to repeat.

[circleprodigy]

That brief melancholy is soon shed as Inessa intently listens to Myr, sipping at her water and reaching for some grapes. At mention of Creation magic, she nods. "It's not my forte, but I know the basic Heal spell and how to create a spring. I'm aware of its other uses as well, though my skill lies more in primal and entropy magic."

Which is all the more reason to pay attention to what Myr has to say now. She loves rounding out her knowledge when time permits.

[faithlikeaseed]

"That's enough," Myr says, a shadow of his usual cheer creeping back into his voice. Now that he's got a chance to talk magic with a friendly audience, it's hard not to find his enthusiasm again.

"So you know, then, that it mostly concerns itself as a school with acting in the world and strengthening it--working with real things, rather than the intangibles of the Fade. But when we want a mana upwelling, we've got to draw on the Fade, and that requires weakening the Veil enough to do it.

"I've been thinking there's something to that; if I can tease out the part of the spell that's just for pulling the Veil aside, it might give us something to go on for how rift formation happens. That's assuming the principles are similar at all, though." He's a conscientious enough researcher to add the caveat even in the throes of a new idea.

[circleprodigy]

Inessa nods thoughtfully out of habit before realizing Myr won't see it anyway. She waits until her throat is clear to speak up again, encouraging. "That's quite an ambitious project; I approve, naturally. If you need more materials for this research, I'll do my best compensate the cost for the good of the project. And...I would be quite interested in seeing the results with my own eyes, of course."

[faithlikeaseed]

He takes a moment to finish his water after that spot of talking and flashes her a smile when he's finished. "I'm still in the early stages yet," he admits. "Feeling out what's possible--but I'll take you up on that offer once I've got some direction to what I'm doing."

It's the sort of thing that might require lyrium at the later stages, but no reason to say that now when he's not certain. Although-- "And do a proper safety assessment, as well. Since I'll be tampering with the Veil." It's what would've been expected of him back in the Circle, and he's not managed to break himself of many of his Circle habits yet. (But even if he had, safe research practices are nothing to scoff at.)

[circleprodigy]

"I'm glad you brought that up. Some risk is always involved with experimentation, of course, but we need to be extra diligent about precautions. The Veil is only recently repaired in the Gallows, and that is relative. It's still very thin, and that could lead to trouble if we're not careful." Inessa says as much to remind herself as Myr; it's easy to let curiosity override caution, when there's a breakthrough in research.

[faithlikeaseed]

Myr breathes out a huff of laughter; there's not much humor in it. "I'd felt that," he admits. "How it's thin, there. It's almost as if it would tear again if I move too sharply." Which is definitely a reason to go even more cautiously with what he's been doing.

He considers his empty cup for a long moment, turning it round in his hands. There's much more he wants to say, or ask, but now the topic's moved a little away from his research the discomfort of simply being here has crept back, left him momentarily wordless. At length he holds out the cup toward her, clearing his throat and mustering some of his ordinary good humor. "If you could pour me a little more, please. --And I'll start on that report in the next day or two, so I don't forget."

[circleprodigy]

"That's why I'm glad we've established a bastion in Kirkwall, honestly. It's best that the thin-Veiled city is in our hands, rather than the magister intent on breaching the Fade. He could do so far more easily here, I suspect." Cheery thought, Inessa.

She pours some more water for him and herself. "I look forward to reading it, of course." Garahel, refreshed, pads over and drops a ball right by Myr's lap. He doesn't need to see to throw it, right?

[faithlikeaseed]

Cheery, indeed--Myr shivers as if a cloud's passed before the sun and attends to his water rather than grim speculation on what might happen should Corypheus make it so far as Kirkwall. Surely it won't come to that, he's about to say, with rather more optimism than he feels--when Garahel comes over and drops the ball beside him, immediately diverting his attention. "Oh--hello, Garahel."

He reaches out to feel around for what the mabari's brought him, wrinkling up his nose a little as he finds the damp ball. "Did you want me to throw this?" That's...that's a thing you do with dogs, right? "I--" don't think that's a good idea, because while his arm's fine there's no saying he won't hit somebody with the ball if he chucks it in a random direction... But then a thought occurs to him.

"--need you to go a little ways away from us in a direction there's no people, then bark so I know where to throw it. Can you do that?" It seems a practical enough experiment to him.

[circleprodigy]

Inessa chuckles as she watches Garahel dash off toward an unpopulated spot, then bark excitedly. "Where there's a will, there's a way. You have a good range to throw, none of our people are in that direction."

[faithlikeaseed]

Well, I'll be. So they really could take the kind of complex instruction a person could. Myr looks suitably impressed, before knocking back the rest of his water and laying the cup aside. "Thanks," he remarks to her, clambering to his feet. "Don't think anyone here'd appreciate me hitting them."

He tosses the ball once to get a sense of it before lofting it in Garahel's direction, grin creeping back to him as he does. This is the kind of break he needed.