faderift | OPEN ↠ HARING EVENT

WHO: All
WHAT: WINTER IS HERE
WHEN: Haring 15-Wintermarch 1
WHERE: The Gallows, Kirkwall
NOTES: You can use this post as an event-style mingle log, or just use it as background information for your RP elsewhere!

It's been a chilly month already, but in mid-Haring the temperature suddenly plummets. One day it's merely cold, and the next morning the Inquisition wakes to frost on the inside of the window panes and an icy draft whistling through every crack in the tower's masonry. Downstairs, the pipes that feed the bathing chambers and the kitchens creak in the walls, loud enough to be heard even out in the courtyard, where they run beneath the stones, and around midday, when the sun has failed to raise the temperature above freezing, a blocked pipe finally gives, cracking open to spill water across the central court and send it running down side passages. The whole area floods several inches deep and almost immediately begins to freeze, presenting at first a gigantic, treacherous slush puddle and, after a few hours, a sheet of sheer ice.

Melting a safe path from door to door and laying down sand or wood to keep it from becoming slick again is a simple enough undertaking, but before the entire courtyard can be thawed, someone appears with ice skates—and that’s a better idea, surely, for at least a few days. Anyone who complains about the frivolity can be assured it’s good exercise, not to mention good training for a force that may have to travel or fight on ice in the future.

Temperatures remain cold enough that even some parts of the harbor begin to freeze, first just at the calmest edges of the shoreline, and then the more protected nooks and crannies of the bay, inlets and the spaces between piers and beneath docks. It snows most days--not real storms, just a couple inches here and there--little enough for the window to blow most of it off the icy plain of the courtyard and other wide open, paved spaces, accumulating on branches and in alleyways, and creating growing drifts in corners and against walls.

After a week or so actual chunks of floating ice begin to fill the narrow channels of the harbor, threatening smaller and less-sturdy vessels, and the situation in the poorer parts of the city begins to grow dire. With the Viscount's blessing, Inquisition teams (particularly mages) are called in to help. Some are assigned to the docks, to clear ice that makes landing and unloading treacherous, others to help escort ships into harbor by melting a path ahead. Others are sent into Lowtown to clear ice and snow and to provide warmth and medical attention where needed. At least one mage is sent with each team, and while many neighborhoods are pleasantly surprised and grateful for the quick work fire glyphs make of cold hearths and frozen streets, a few are unable to overcome their distrust, and refuse the teams entry, determined to take care of their own without the help of dangerous outsiders.

In the last week of the year, a true blizzard strikes, snow falling steadily for more than a day, blanketing the city at least three feet deep. Digging out the Gallows will be a group effort, and most non-essential trips outside the base will be cancelled for a few days until travel is less difficult, while those who reside in the city or elsewhere may be encouraged to stay a night or two in the fortress so they might continue to work without traveling through the storm. But on the first day of Wintermarch the First Day feast goes on as planned, with modest but plentiful food and ale served in the Gallows' dining hall for anyone who wishes to celebrate the new year.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There's no way to clear the ice and snow everywhere, but they make a valiant attempt to at least make the streets and the entrances to homes free of any hazards; large icicles hanging from roofs, patches of ice, and large banks of snow. It was tedious work, but they were trying to prevent people from getting snowed in and cut off from help.

The other point of going around doing this, was to double check that all the buildings were being properly heated, and those unable to make it to the infirmary were getting treatment. So far it had been 50/50 on the reception they received at the door, some were more then glad to invite them in and others... well weren't so kind.

They'll just have to see what kind they got as they knocked on this door, right?

Prompto shivers under his coat, tightly holding his shovel as Sam knocks on the door. He shovels, Sam heals. It's a nice system they have going, so long as the natives actually let them help. A part of Prompto wanted to roll his eyes at the ones who refused, but he knows skepticism and mistrust still run high in the city, and it wasn't going to change overnight.

"Think if I put on the puppy eyes expression they'd take enough pity to let us help?"

"You want someone to pity you to do manual labor for them?" he asks, looking over his shoulder with a small smile. He appreciates how much Prompto wants to help the less fortunate, but there are some things you just had to let go. "Probably best not to. Some of these people still don't like us very much and might try to get more if they think we're begging."

Just as he finishes saying that and thinks to knock again, the door opens, just a crack. It appears to be a young woman, looking at him questionably. "What do you want?"

"Ah... we're going around checking if everyone has proper heating, and needing any help with the snow or minor repairs."

The woman stays quiet, continuing to look at him then tries to get a look at Prompto.

Prompto would have said he wanted them to take pity so he could do manual labor and warm up, rather than standing around and shivering as they go door to door. If he's gonna be out here in the cold and snow, he wants it to be worth it. Though he's accepted that that might not happen much, given the city's lingering hostility towards the Inquisition, and particular the rifters like him.

But he keeps his mouth shut when the door opens. He's learned to wear a hat when he's around the city, made easier with the frigid temperatures, as to hide his hair. And of course, gloves on to hide the shard. He nods and smiles to the woman, lifting up his shovel to show her. "If you need any snow removed, I'd be happy to do it. No charge or anything."

The woman continues to stare at them from the crack in her door, clearly judging them and considering the situation. Sam continues to smile and says nothing, giving her space to make a decision. He can assume it was a tough one, possibly needing heat or help but deciding if she wanted to trust two male strangers.

It is cold outside though, so Sam is only willing to wait a few more seconds before he excuses them. Before he manages to say anything though-

"Alright... just something quick. I need something to heat the bedroom."

"Fair enough. Mind we come in?" It didn't sound like she wanted anything with snow and he wasn't about to leave Prompto out in the cold, especially since it might not be 'quick'.

The lady nods and opens the door wider for them to enter.

Aw, no shoveling for him. But he doesn't mind, especially since he's allowed to come in. Prompto props the shovel against the wall of the house, not wanting to drag it inside. He thanks the woman before he steps inside, rubbing his hands together to warm them up.

"My friend here can help out with your heating needs. You said something needing it in the bedroom?"

The woman nods, clearly still a little skeptical. But all the same, she gestures for them to follow her to her bedroom before turning and shuffling off, not bothering to check and see if they're actually following.

Let's be real, Prompto. No one is actually stopping you from shoveling random snow.

As the woman shuffles off, Sam turns and looks at Prompto, shrugging at the lack of conversation from the woman, but she wasn't the first who had been like that. Might as well get it done with. He follows after.

With having just come out of the cold he isn't able to tell when the temperature changes in the home, but the way the woman pulls her blanket around more closely he supposes this is the room. "It'll take several minutes to put the rune in. You can watch or wait where it's warmer if you like."

True, but it's not the same...

The woman's eyeing them a bit suspiciously, but she nods and murmurs a bit of thanks to Sam at his offer. She decides to take a seat nearby, where it seems a little warmer but where she can keep an eye on things.

Prompto fidgets a bit nervously, unsure as to what to do. He's not the best conversationalist, but he doesn't want to just stand around awkwardly either. "Um, you need me for anything before you start?" Might as well at least see if he can be useful before anything first.

OPEN ↠ HARING EVENT

Ice and Snow in Lowtown -- Open

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