OPEN: Satinalia

[faderifting]

WHO: Everyone
WHAT: SATINALIA
WHEN: Firstfall 1
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: Party hard, use content warnings, move explicit content to inboxes.

Named for Satina, the smaller of Thedas' two moons, Satinalia is a celebration of freedom, marked by wild celebration, pranks, the donning of costumes and masks -- not the fine, delicate masks of Orlais, but animals and caricatures and playful horrors -- and the exchange of gifts both sincere and satirical.

There is no party at the Gallows, but those who can be spared on Satinalia may be given the night off to join Kirkwall's celebration, which spans the entire city and will take several days to peter out. Hightown plays host to lavish balls—but you'll need an invitation, and the unlucky guards posted at the stairs leading into the nobles' district are especially on guard for mischief-makers. There's no such crackdown in Lowtown, where masked revelers spill out of taverns and into the streets, often bringing barrels of ale along with them. Even Darktown gets involved, in its own way: anyone who can afford a celebration goes to Lowtown, but some of the roving bands of thieves in the tunnels don animal masks for the occasion.

And near the docks, enterprising children draped in white cloth are selling admission to a "haunted" warehouse for one copper. Adorable—except that some of the partiers exiting seem genuinely terrified, with one unfortunate man even having wet himself. Taking the children up on their offer will reveal that they have a genuine haunting on their hands. Doors slam, objects fly, footsteps appear in the dirt floor. There's laughter at the edge of hearing and movement on the edge of vision, and brief snatches of a sea shanty sung in a monotone. Make a hasty exit, or try to find the source.

Comments

[gottakeeponejumpahead]

"Yeah, sounds about right. I remember the puppies back in the kennel - they'd tear around the place like little furry hellions, but sweet as can be." He grinned at the memory, taking another swig. "She's a good baby though."

[arlathvhen]

Well, this is a conundrum. She wants to tell Sam that she is perfectly capable of handing a few demons, thank you, and she's rather opposed to letting him go at it alone. That just sounds like bad news. But that would probably give her away as someone who isn't just a run of the mill random elf.

"If you're not sure what's up ahead, should you really be going by yourself?" That's a safe question, she thinks. "Maybe we should both just leave, and let the Templars handle it." Perfectly reasonable as well. She takes a few steps towards the door and gestures to it, tilting her head. Cmon dude.

[judgemewhole]

"I'm glad too ..." He managed to get that out without stuttering, so that was good. He was probably still smiling back like a complete twit, but he'll take what he can get at this point.

He lets himself be easily pulled, before he chuckles, "I'm sure I can find it in me to forgive you, as long as you forgive me falling over my own tongue."

[el_tybs]

Sam raises a brow at that. From what she said before it had sounded like she wanted him to 'handle' the demons or whatever it was, but now she wanted him to leave with her. It was true that safety wise it wasn't a good idea to go alone, but there was the possibility that someone had managed to get further in.

At the moment it was probably better to make sure this person got out of the house, so for the time being he'd go along with it. "I don't think the templars alone can handle all this, but I'll relent and at least wait for them to come."

[el_tybs]

"They clearly planned the possibility of us bringing in a bear in some way." Obviously they didn't, but it was always amusing at how Korrin got worked up when there wasn't more bear.

"Take the right when you get by the desk, I'm sensing something down there," he gets out before chasing Korrin down, readying a barrier spell when he feels the current one go down. He can't really see past Korrin as they run so he'll leave it up to her to let him know if they have to dodge. The spirits are acting up more at this point, and that chill Korrin had mentioned suddenly seems to hit Sam now.

[universal_charm]

"She is, she is. She'll grow up to a pretty lady too, though I fear she will have the manners of our cats, and then I truly wont know what to do with her," he sighed and shook his head sadly. "The worst sort of dog is one that knows how pretty and cute it is."

[gatheringstorm]

Bears improve everything, at least if they're your friends in bear form. Fuck the ones in the Hinterlands, though.

"Right!" Following Sam's advice, she hopes to be a large, loud distraction while he figures out more about this accursed place. "Ugh, do you feel that? I--chair!" Yep, time to get out of the way. Korrin ducks, hoping that Sam's doing the same but at least the barrier's holding no matter what.

[el_tybs]

He certainly hears the warning, but his reaction is off by a second as he has to go off by Korrin's moves to determine how to react. So pretty much he starts to duck but then has to toss himself to the side at the last second so that one of the chair legs doesn't catch him in the head. Sam groans lightly as he connects with the wall, but other then a bruise he seems fine.

"Yep! Definitely feel that! It's coming from behind the door down that hall."

[el_tybs]

He doesn't blame James in the least in being wary. Sighing he gives his friend a pat on the shoulder. "How about I buy you a drink? Who knows, maybe Beleth will be there as well."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin winces as she hears him connect with the wall, glancing over in concern. But that glances is very brief, as she doesn't want something to smack into her while speaking. "Take a moment, Sam. I can guard you if you need to heal yourself."

[el_tybs]

"I think I honestly did more damage to the wall," he groans, getting back to his feet. Nothing he needed to stop and tend to at this moment. "Let's just press on before the heavier stuff comes."

[gatheringstorm]

She nods, not about to mother hen Sam when he's a healer and knows his own limits. So, she turns her attention ahead, tilting her head a little as she listens. "...a sea shanty. Do we have a pirate ghost? Wait until Araceli hears this...."

[gottakeeponejumpahead]

"Well, if you have the looks, use them to your best advantage." He grinned broadly, "Otherwise you're just wasting your adorable blessings."

[judgemewhole]

"I - yes. Yes, that would be good. I would like that." He sighed, patting Sam in turn. "Perhaps it would be best if I stopped looking like a desperate foo."

[el_tybs]

"Hm. Definitely not worth tying yourself in knots. It'll work itself out, I'm sure. I find sometimes what you're looking for shows up when you don't necessarily look for it." He doesn't put his mask back on as they walk, leading James to one of the stalls. "I think they still had wine at this one."

[judgemewhole]

"... well you make a good point there." He mutters, putting a hand down to stroke the dog at his side, who was leaning in for comfort and giving support. He sighed, and nodded. "Probably more of the better stuff, now that they've gone through most of the cheaper."

[el_tybs]

Sam makes a note that they should get Interceptor some water and probably a treat; dogs shouldn't be left out of the Satinalia spirit.

"That's the spirit!" he laughs at the bit of optimism. "Maybe something even better if you actually flash a smile." A pause. "Of wine. I'm talking about wine." Just clarifying, that's all he was referring to, especially since James as looking for someone.

[motherfucking_ghost]

"The bigger you are, the more it takes." He nods sagely. "Biology in action! I gotta...I gotta get back on the booze thing. Ruby, did you know--you knew her? She made a still. I was gonna help make some rift-y hooch. Help out the pub. Then we moved. Kinda backburner. Ohhhh but blackberry vodka, Korrin, if I get that shit back up, and--and frying, fried food is of the gods. No uh, no offense to anyone with any god or gods? That they believe in? Phraaaasing."

[gatheringstorm]

"Yeah, I remember Ruby. She made a good couple with Adelaide, for a while." Korrin's smile is bittersweet, reminded that Ruby disappeared and Adelaide departed to serve the Inquisition elsewhere. That's a fate she's hoping to avoid for herself and Araceli, and she doesn't like being reminded of it. "Blackberry vodka? That shit I have to try, sometime. I don't know the first thing about making still, but if you want an extra pair of hands, I'm a fast learner! And more hooch is always a good cause."

[arlathvhen]

Beleth feels a bit of relief, when Sam agrees to go with her. That's one crisis avoided. Now she just has to wait until she's left Sam to go order the Templars here.

"The Templars can manage just fine, I'm sure." She replies, in her most imperious tone. "They handle everything else around here." And with that, she smooths out the wrinkles in her dress, and sweeps around Sam, making her way back to the entrance. "Demons! Hasn't Kirkwall had enough of those?"

[judgemewhole]

There's a reason Interceptor likes you best, Sam. Well not entirely best but you are up there in his doggy estimation for your kindness and liberal attitude towards treats.

A faint smile, than turned into a laugh. "... I doubt that my smile will get us a better vintage, Sam."

[in_death_sacrifice]

"Never fear... I certainly wouldn't want to let such a thing happen in truth, not really. But perhaps their parties could do with some disruption, all the same. Bastard hasn't attended any soirees yet, I wonder if he would be interested..." If anyone could cause some real mayhem in a noble party, it's that damn bird. Kain could easily say it was a total accident that he'd escaped, because in all likelihood, that was a good explanation.

Kain jumps in surprise as the door slams, then takes a moment to regather his wits. The eerie moaning in the distance intensifies, and now... are those stairs over there creaking as if someone is walking down them?

"What... but how could that be? If the veil is thin, then..." He lets that speculation fade for just a moment, and then recalls some other recent occurrences. "Could it be similar to what we experienced before? Those visions I had of my father seemed so real at the time..."

[circleprodigy]

"I see no visions here...yet." Inessa's lips form a thin line, fervently hoping that is not the case as they continue. "It is not quite as it was in the Blackmarsh, torn to shreds, but this...it's still paper-thin, a place where the spirits can influence with ease. And at least one has, if not more. We may need the aid of others; I'm no expert in hauntings."

That said, she is curious and listens to the spectral laughter intently. "...I suppose we should at least have more to report back. But we should still take care, and remain on the defensive."

[lyriumcarved]

"Yes, I'm always up for that." A brief bit of a smile even crosses his lips. "I just envision certain people's heads as the target. It's very uplifting in that way." And he has so very many targets to choose from, both among the living and the dead. That's probably the main reason why he'd always been pretty good at it.

"Then it's settled, let's drink and throw things."

[in_death_sacrifice]

"Yet." Which means they still may be yet to come, which isn't exactly a comforting thought. Kain himself can sense... something of that strangeness, given he's got a shard in him, but fortunately there doesn't seem to be any actual rift activity in the area. If that were the case, he'd know it right away.

He looks around warily. "Right. Who knows what might be lurking around here. But I wonder how those kids found out about this place... and what may happen if it stays like this. Come on, let's go... uh, this way?" Kain starts moving along down a long, dark corridor filled with creepy looking portraits, whose eyes definitely seem to be following them.