OPEN ↠ HARING EVENT

[faderifting]

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.

Comments

[lyriumcarved]

"I've never been much for travel for its own sake... but for this I'd make an exception." He gives a small hint of a smirk before he takes another sip of his drink. Has he ever been able to just travel like that before? He's always either been on the run, or pursuing someone else. It would be a rare event to suddenly be able to just choose where to go without a goal in mind like those. "Have you seen much else of Thedas yet?"

[iceblade]

"I came to Kirkwall through Jader, not much to say there except a lot of Orlesian accents. Nevarra was fun for a spell, all those weird traditions and tales of dragonslayers. And then there was that island up north, the one with the red lyrium kraken. That was a fierce fight! Too bad it was so damned hot, though." Skadi shakes her head, not about to pretend she enjoyed all the heat and humidity.

[lyriumcarved]

"It seems you've made the most of your journeys, anyway... and you'll have a good share of stories to tell, already, if you're for doing that sort of thing." Like a certain dwarf he knows, who just can't help but tell those tales. "I could do with fewer red lyrium infused monsters, though."

Or trips to the north in general, unless it's to kill as many magisters as he can. He hadn't entirely enjoyed most of the Nevarran trip, big surprise there.

[iceblade]

"You have to be careful about those, aye. Still, there's some satisfaction to be had from destroying the corrupted shites." There's a gleam in her eyes that says she's looking forward to doing that again, and hopefully soon. "The more we take down, the less there are out on the field...though if we could disrupt their supply lines, even better."

[lyriumcarved]

"Considerable satisfaction. The same goes for demons, blood mages and slavers. I don't enjoy encountering any of them, but I do enjoy killing them." So maybe she has a good point there, considering. The more they take down, the fewer there are out there, it's true. The only problem is that new ones can always appear, as well. "I guess we do need to start getting more strategic about fighting them... and hunting them down first, before they find us."

[iceblade]

"It that a hint that you plan to seek them out? Because if you ever decide to plan a raiding party, I want in. I've seen how you fight, and I think we work well together." And she likes how he moves, if that gaze of hers is anything to go by.

[lyriumcarved]

Fenris nods agreement to that, clearly liking the sound of this idea. "Likewise, so I'll keep that in mind. Your fighting style is bold and powerful, you don't hold back... that's the sort of person I prefer to have at my side." Sure, she has that whole Fade-thing, but she handles it well. "You have no trouble flirting with danger, and... we'd be doing a lot of that."