[OPEN] Smoke and Mirrors: Perendale

[minrathousian]

WHO: OPEN!
WHAT: The Inquisition's forces fight against the Venatori to prevent Corypheus from seizing power in Perendale.
WHEN: Early November.
WHERE: Perendale, Nevarra
NOTES: Violence.

On the edges of Corypheus' territory, Perendale is the site of a major Venatori offensive--a push by Corypheus' forces to take control of the city and push his influence further across Thedas. The Inquisition's forces have rallied to answer the Nevarran governor's desperate plea for support. The battle for Perendale will decide the fate of hundreds within the city's walls.

Comments

The initial assault; entering the city

[minrathousian]

Whatever tactics were determined the previous day are laid to waste as the Inquisition troops wake to the smell of fire and the sound of fighting below the hills: the Venatori have engaged the Perendale city guard, and whatever forces the Nevarran capitol could spare, in a fierce skirmish. The reason no alarm was sounded is determined quickly by the bodies of dead Inquisition scouts beyond the camp periphery. No time to squabble or pass the blame around now--it's time to act.

The Venatori's siege engine has managed to penetrate the iconic gate leading into the front of the city, but this is also where the combat is concentrated most thickly, creating a bottle-neck that prevents the Venatori from flooding into the city in earnest. However,
they have begun to roll another siege massive engine up towards a different gate, with the intention of providing another entrance into Perendale.

The Inquisition's troops must enter the city, but it is imperative that the additional siege engine be destroyed before it can create another weakness in Perendale's defenses.

[OOC: There are opportunities to kick Venatori butt at both gates, and on the battlefield that stands between the soldiers and the siege engines. There are lots of Venatori zealots as well as enchanters on the field, in addition to Inquisition forces from Skyhold as well as Kirkwall, and the Perendale city guard--this is a major battle.]

for kostos

[galvanising]

It's not the end, just the end of the beginning. The siege engines have been destroyed in a crash of flame and shrapnel, a casualty of the Inquisition's vigorous defense of Perendale. Those Venatori and soldiers that survived the assault on the walls and the bottlenecking before the gates and the explosion of the battering rams have either made their way into the city already or are fleeing now, only a few stubbornly refusing to retreat.

"Left, they're behind the carts," Nell spots movement, robes and the flash of armor nearly hidden by the wreckage of a merchant caravan. She shifts her staff back up into a ready position, low at her side but the end topped by a glowing spirit blade angled up and out, off hand just skimming along the leather wrapping on the shaft, now slick with blood. "I can't tell how many. Scare them out for me?"

[exequy]

There are times Kostos may joke about feeling used and times he may make unhappy noises about this particular sort of magic, but those times are not this time, when his blood is still rushing in his ears and someone else's is spattered down his front and his commander (former, but old habits, etc.) is giving commands.

He steps sideways until he can see one of them. A lingering wisp trails after him—a bright spot of pure curiosity, unbothered by the carnage—and where the invaders are hiding he reaches through the Veil and drags out something larger, more powerful, and not any less pure of purpose. Fear, this time. Whatever they see, with that spirit falling on them, it's enough for them to scatter, shouting.

Kostos' breath snags, too. The difference between him and every other mage who tosses that spell around is that he can feel it. But he was expecting it, so that's the only sign. He raises his staff and, so steeled, sounds dry and a little distantly bored as he points out what's now obvious: "Five."

For Inessa and anyone else who wants to tag along with them

[judgemewhole]

"You men, take the Venatori from behind!" James yelled as he slammed his helmet on, whistling for the kaddis covered Interceptor, knowing he would come to his heel as they focused on the other siege engine. "You over there - with me and Warden Serra!"

He started to run towards the other siege engine, preparing his first charge, yelling over the wind to Inessa as they moved as one deadly Inquisition wave, "You know, I should have figured the Venatori would cheat!"

[circleprodigy]

"They always do!" Inessa had anticipated as much, and it would have been stranger to be proven wrong, in this instance. She casts Barrier over herself, James and the dogs, then pauses for one more bit of supportive magic. Haste; that globe of golden light spreads rapidly, slowing the enemy forces down significantly, by comparison. It won't last too long, but enough to give them an edge. Garahel charges forward eager to taken down those nearest.

[judgemewhole]

Their steps sped up, and he could feel the magic sink in. Helpful magic, magic that was not going to have him sprawled out on the ground nor magic that he had to worry about dispelling. Which was good, because he, Garahel and Interceptor were on a flat run. He swung his sword in the air, calling out a line of the Chant, Blessing all of them together, making them stronger and more able to hold out against the Venatori soldiers.

Then he and the mabari slammed into the Venatori troops full force, Interceptor snarling as he went for one of the solider's arm to drag him to the ground, rendering his hand near off. James's shield slammed into one soldier, and then a sword flashed through, cutting through another one.

[circleprodigy]

Inessa watches and waits, until friendly fire won't be an issue...then casts Pull of the Abyss, creating a tiny rift to pull some of their foes to a central point. As they cry out, she then uses Veilstrike to smash them into the ground. At least that particular set won't be recovering quite that easily, though beyond them there's a Venatori mage immersed in casting. Garahel isn't about to let them finish, though, and acts as a mabari-shaped battering ram to knock them of their feet.

[judgemewhole]

James waits until all of them are pulled in, then whistles for Garahel and Interceptor to take out the soliders caught in the Abyss's pull. He himself moves beyond them to the mage, drawling out as he grasps his sword firmly, holding it in front of him.

"Just out of curiosity - have you ever seen what a real Templar can do?" And the sword flipped, slammed into the ground ... as the spell that the Venatori mage was about to cast disappears into the wind.

[circleprodigy]

That prompts a smirk from Inessa, who adds to the Venatori's problems with a Death Hex. Anything James does to them will be that much worse, now. She also takes a moment to shore up her defenses with an array of ice mines set up just before her. She glances over to their mabari, but they seem to have the situation well in hand for the moment, and the Haste spell ought to last a little longer.

[judgemewhole]

The Death Hex, plus the Venatori mage being left without any defenses whatsoever, gives James the opening he needs. He lunges forward, first slamming with his shield, then swinging around to slice the mage across the chest, and then taking his footing again for another blow. He lunged forward again, doing a Ring The Bell movement to smash the Venatori to the ground, and bring his sword down again.

[circleprodigy]

Given that James seems to be managing just fine, Inessa turns her attention to the area beyond. She frowns as Inquisition soldiers keep getting in the way of her targeted areas, but as soon as there's an opening, she'll cast Blizzard well beyond them. That puts out some of the fires the Venatori mages were unleashing, though between barriers of their own, not too many of them are affected. To that end, she'll start Dispelling their magics.

"Garahel, Interceptor! Back here!" Long attacks need close-range backup, and she knows both dogs will be smart enough to avoid her ice mines.

[judgemewhole]

Interceptor finished off the soldier he had ... well pretty much just turned into a whimpering mass of deep gouges and bites, barking protectively as he goes to guard Inessa, his gaze sharp and hard as he watched the soldiers start to approach.

He waits for one to come straight at him, then leaps, going to grab him by the sword arm. He yanked him around, and then sent him right into an ice mine, where the soldier froze instantly.

And was then shattered by a swift sword blow from James's sword, as he too, had come to support Inessa's next wave of magic.

"We need to destroy the engine itself." He stated, eying the thing. "Think you can make it brittle?"

[circleprodigy]

Garahel races along back with Interceptor, of course, bloodied but triumphant. Give his ease of movement, Inessa's rather certain none of it is his own. Shifting her gaze, she frowns at the engine. "I can try."

She focuses and ice springs upward to encase it. Almost right after that, she casts Stonefist, sending the fade-boulder soaring at the Venatori construct. That combination is usually good enough to shatter most objects and people, though she doesn't know if that will hold true this time. At the very least, it'll be damaged somewhat.

Open

[iceblade]

To say that Skadi is a force of nature on the battlefield is rather apt. The tall Avvar woman in her war paint armor races through the area, slicing her blade at every Venatori in sight. There's no hesitation and no stopping her, and her war paint becomes blood-splattered before long. Even the times a Dispel takes down her cloak of Fade energies, she summons it back as soon as possible and just keeps going. The slicing of her blade is only interrupted by the blasts of Fade energy she triggers, and if an ally seems in genuine need of assistance. Despite her battle-lust, any calls reaching her ears will snap her out of that long enough to assist.

Single post!

[judgemewhole]

"Skadi!" James called out, from Inessa's side, before gesturing to the siege weapon. "She's made it brittle! Hit it with all you've got, then pass the word down the line! We're cleaning up and moving in!"

[iceblade]

"Aye!" Skadi doesn't need any more incentive than that, rushing forward with an eager, dangerous glint in her pale eyes. As he's seen in her spar, she leaps high as soon as she's in range, then brings her ice blade crashing down for maximum effect.

[lyriumcarved]

Fenris is enjoying this fight, in the most vengeful, bloodthirsty sense of the word. The rage is back at the forefront again, that rage that he's always felt toward slavers and magisters... toward anyone remotely connected to Tevinter. Including, of course, Venatori. He doesn't hold back at all, unleashing powerful blows of his sword on them.

But at some point, they start ganging up on him, since they've noticed how efficiently he's taking the others down. He's getting a little overwhelmed here, in fact. "Over here!" he shouts, hoping to encourage one of his nearest allies to cut down their numbers some. As for him, he starts glowing yet again, as he draws his sword back, lashing out with a wide slash of his blade.

[iceblade]

Fenris' call reaches Skadi's ears and she wastes no time. Charging in his direction, the Avvar woman cleaves a path toward him, leaving the weakest of them splattered across the battlefield. Upon seeing him, she lowers her blade just long enough to pull out something...and throw it, just out of his personal range. It's time for a Jar of Bees!

[lyriumcarved]

At least Fenris has a pretty good idea of what's going on, the sound of buzzing reaching his ears as he continues with his onslaught. He even makes it a point to start leading his opponents onward in that direction, using the fact that he's wraithlike in this form, difficult to strike. They come on, trying to hit him, but instead one of them ends up right in the middle of those bees.

Fenris swiftly moves away from the area as the Venatori fighter screams, engulfed in bees alongside some of his other comrades. As he rushes past another warrior, he doesn't even bother raising his sword... Instead, he simply reaches out with a hand to literally jab it straight into his opponent's chest, yanking out his heart in one swift motion. Then he raises his sword yet again, as the next Venatori comes at him. But at least now, their numbers are thinned, a lot more manageable. He'll have to thank Skadi... when he's got a chance to.

[iceblade]

Skadi smirks upon hearing those screams, then stops and stares in awe as Fenris pulls his heart-trick. She's heard about it, of course, who hasn't? But it's one thing to do so, it's another entirely to see it in person. When the Venatori drops, she snaps out of it, and moves around the bee-chaos to unleash a Fade Burst at whichever of them are nearest.

As the burst knocks them back, she grins...then gestures wildly for Fenris to duck as she stares past him. "Incoming! We've got a mage!" Cue the fireball.

[lyriumcarved]

Getting up close and personal to kill Venatori is especially satisfying. That sense of satisfaction always goes by so fast, sadly, but in the heat of the moment, it's intensely strong, an empowering feeling. His phasing ability makes him hard to hit, which definitely helps with all of the magic flying around. But the glowing is starting to fade, at least for the time being until he can reactivate it.

Which means Skadi's warning is especially appreciated, as he just barely manages to duck and miss taking that fireball to the face. He whips around right after, slamming his sword on the ground for an Earthshaking Strike, letting the ground tremble and tear apart beneath that mage's feet.

[iceblade]

Skadi can feel the heat of that fireball, but between her reflexes and that shielding cloak, she manages to evade it in time. Barely. Thinking that it might be time to invest in some fire-resistant dragonhide armor, the Avvar woman smirks as she notices the mage get knocked off their feet thanks to Fenris making the earth tremble.

"Nice one!" Skadi has to admire epic badassery when she sees it, though of course that's no reason to pause her own efforts. She spins with her blade outstretched, cutting through those enemies not felled by her burst. The area around them stinks of singed flesh, especially since plenty of those bodies of enemies felled have now caught fire.

[lyriumcarved]

The fire is definitely doing its damage, which is encouraging to see. Fenris doesn't slow down after the earthshaking ability does its damage, ready to meet the next enemy attack with a counter swing of his sword. The large, heavy sword blocks the incoming strike, and he swiftly makes his own counter as well.

Their numbers are growing thinner now, but Fenris doesn't let up for a moment, seeing another opening and phasing back into that glowing, ethereal state as he reaches this time into the opponent's skull. The Venatori soldier drops at once, as Fenris shakes off the blood and keeps going.

[iceblade]

That ethereal state fascinates her, though now isn't the time to ask about it. Her own cloak of Fade energies remains up as she gestures to another mage in sight. Time to take them down together? If Fenris agrees, she'll approach from another angle, ready to fell the soldiers in between with Hakkon's Valor. The Venatori will never know what hit them.

[tactical_alert]

"We need our heaviest fighters to take out that siege engine!" It's imperative to get in, yes, but if the Venatori make another entrance, the city will be overwhelmed. Malcolm readies his bow and, with Milady racing at his side, storms ahead to start making a path.

The nice thing about having a bow that has been so nicknamed 'Punched by the Maker' is that even when he doesn't land a killing blow, he does tend to knock people off their feet. He's more than a fair shot, but with magic flying and a lot of bodies, it's still chaos. He goes for heads when he can, knees when he can't. Milady is no mabari, but she is as fierce as one when she tackles into a robed menace and seeks to sink her teeth into their throat, or barring that, doing a little herding with other dogs.