[Closed] Peeking at the Peak

[justice_is_blond]

WHO: Alistair, Anders, Carver, Loghain, Nate, Teren
WHAT: A happy little field trip out to a happy little place, all in hopes of continuing with a Blight cure.
WHEN: Drakonis 5
WHERE: Soldier's Peak
NOTES: Summarized here.

The Fortress looms before them, cold stone walls protecting cold stone towers, rimmed by cold snowy hills.

It's cold, basically, and somehow manages to look even colder than it feels. The stairs upward are no longer even, crooked and bent as if some giant decided he wanted to romp his way through, and the gates are askew and slightly open.

On the approach there's little noise beyond wind whistling through, until the gate is touched and a flock of ravens bursts upward in a cackling cacophony. Beyond that it's still. Too still, perhaps.

Comments

Mingle on the way

[justice_is_blond]

Teren

[doneisdone]

Though never especially sociable, Teren is unusually avoidant on the journey to Soldier's Peak, with an uncharacteristic air of nervous caution as she picks her way to and from her tent. There are several topics that might come up, none of which she wants, and her solution is, apparently, to hide from everyone instead. At least when not cooking or cleaning Riddle's tack or keeping watch into the late hours.

[justice_is_blond]

Running into Teren isn't as common a thing as he'd like it to be, but Anders notices pretty quickly is that it's even more rare on this trip. He could let it be. It's generally what she wants.

...But what if this is the time when she really just wants someone to talk with?

Anders comes over when they've stopped for the evening and she's cooking, taking a seat on one of the logs they're using for that purpose. "Is it just me, or are you being even more quiet than usual?"

just showing up 2 make things awk

[mactears]

It probably has nothing to do with the taciturn Warden who comes to the fire long enough to get himself a bowl of stew, and then retreats back to his own tent to eat in relative quiet and isolation.

Carver Hawke

[unshadowing]

Sure, it's cold, but it's Ferelden. It's home, or at least his first home. Carver never minds coming back to this country, even if it holds some painful memories. For a long time, it was the only place he ever knew. Coming back here reminds him of simpler times.

So he's a bit brighter, not even minding the chill as they climb the mountain. Though he senses a tension amongst some of the other Wardens. He hardly knows any of their relationships well enough to determine who and why, nor does he particularly care. Instead, he focuses on what needs to be done. He'll often keep watch or help clean and or gut whatever they've caught for dinner. Though, given the unexplained tensions, he is keeping to himself a bit more, mostly to make sure he doesn't get caught up in any drama.

Sometimes Wardens are as bad as gossip noble women.

Re: Carver Hawke

[justice_is_blond]

"Maker, even you are being quiet," Anders says with a shake of his head as he joins the man with dinner prep.

"Did you nail your sister's braid to something again and you're fearing reprisal? Flirt with the wrong woman and get threatened? I'm going to keep guessing things until you say, so you may want to tell me what's on your mind sooner rather than later."

[unshadowing]

Carver cocks a brow at Anders as he sits himself down next to him and starts chatting. Well then.

"And I'm usually a chatterbox?" he says with a shake of his head, turning his attention back to the animal he's skinning. "I'm fine. It's tense around here and I've no idea why, so I'm staying out of it."

Courtyard

[justice_is_blond]

Stepping through the gate reveals a large grid of blue-grey squares, surrounded by thorny vines. The trees have been cut down and all is smooth, aside from two columns standing on the floor itself... or more like one and a half standing. The one on the right is intact and topped with a griffon, while the other has been struck by something and crumbled in on itself. On the other side of the courtyard is another set of uneven stairs, this time blocked off by a sealed gate.

The floor hums quietly.

[unshadowing]

Floor shouldn't make that kind of noise. Then again, a lot of things in this world do shit they shouldn't. Really, why is he surprised anymore?

Carver approaches the squares, brow furrowed. "What's it making that humming for? Is there magic in the floor or something?" He looks around; this place has seen better days. A pity, really. This old fortress could be useful. "And who sealed this up? I thought this place was opened."

[mactears]

It was probably too much to hope for an easy entry and exit into this place. Loghain comes to stand behind Carver, grimacing. "Evidently someone has been back and sealed it off," he says, nodding to the sealed gate.

He turns his attention back to the grid in front of them and scrutinizes it, folding his arms over his chest. He scowls. "A puzzle, I suspect."

[justice_is_blond]

"It's just too easy if it's all open," Anders says, peering at the ground. After frowning at it for a few moments he walks back several steps to find a stone. It gets lobbed onto one of the squares and the square turns blue. Nothing else seems to happen.

"Always a good sign when nothing zaps you." He sounds vaguely cheerful; this doesn't seem to be the worst thing to encounter just yet.

Entry Hall

[justice_is_blond]

The gate is open, and the keep is before them. The front door opens easily to show a large, square room, the walls of which are lined by bookshelves. All but one of the bookshelves are full - the one nearest the door on the far end has four shelves, all of them empty. On each shelf is a carving of an animal surrounding a rectangular indentation.

A large, out-of-place, stuffed chair sits next to an old firepit in the center, and various small tables are scattered here and there. There are faded notes on a couple of the tables or sticking out of some of the books, eight notes in total. On one of the tables stands a tiny model of dragon wrapped around a pillar.

Several books aren't fully flush with the others, one each of various cover colors: red, blue, yellow, green, purple, orange, brown, and black.

[byblow]

This was much easier last time. Fight some demons, fight some undead, deal with a treacherous possessed Warden-Commander. There was very little thought required, and what thought was required could be pawned off on Cousland, which was great. But Cousland is dead now. And if he weren’t dead, Alistair would still be ten years past ever asking for his help.

So he goes to look at the notes first—humming, while he walks, because he’s not creeped out by this place. You’re creeped out by this place.

[justice_is_blond]

The notes do not hum back. They're not that creepy. They may be a little odd, though.

'Remember to put blue book in place first' reads one from a table, while the note next to it simply says, 'Purple is a distracting color.' On another sidetable is a note declaring 'Red is two shelves lower than the second-placed book' as if someone forgetful couldn't keep track of what he'd set up himself.

The notes from the books run along a similar vein. 'Problem: tea always cold. Solution: magic???' seems the most reasonable, while on the surface 'Another dream of blue birds last night' seems the least useful. Or maybe that falls to 'Green, then brown, like leaves in fall.'

Whatever the case, there are two more totally-not-creepy notes that stick out of books: 'Locked out again - brown snakes are dull but reliable' and 'Is there such a thing as a yellow dragon? Does color matter re: viability?'

The author might have had a lot of time on their hands.

[justice_is_blond]

Entering into this large room seems to be the trigger for a ghostly figure in mage robes pacing back and forth between table and bookshelf. On the table is a large book, and beside it are a pile of notes that the figure seems to be making notes on... until the company draws close. Then book, mage, and notes vanish and the room is still again.

There's still several racks left on the table, holding various vials and jars, some of them broken. None of the labels are legible - if the writing was clear when it was first made it's too faded by age to make out. The frame of the chair by the table is carved in a ridged pattern, and the back has a kraken carved into it.

There is a door to the west and a door to the east, but the pathway east is blocked by a collapsed hallway that would practically take an army to clear.

[doneisdone]

Teren walks in with the rest, sees the ghostly figure, and turns around to walk back out. Well seeya

[justice_is_blond]

What sucks for Teren is that the door doesn't open to let her back out.

[doneisdone]

She doesn't run into it at least (Luwenna), she just stares at it angrily while tugging at the latch. C'mon you bastard, can't she get a free pass even once?

Final Room

[justice_is_blond]

It is, surprise surprise, another large room. But this one is larger than any of the others. The door slams shut behind them once they're all in, seemingly guarded by a massive, beheaded statue of a woman.

In the floor around them are four large, square pits, each with a column in its center that is topped by an animal. The closest on their left is a griffon, behind it a kraken, to the right from that is a dragon, and close to the party again is a massive bear. Each has a lever next to it.

To the back of the room is a raised platform, holding a desk with books and notes, next to a large, overstuffed chair with its back to them.

The air has a subtle crackle to it.

[byblow]

“Old fellow got creative in his old age,” Alistair says, in a voice that’s slightly rattled beneath the joke. He could do with fewer doors shutting by themselves, overall. That would be fine with him. “Older age. Ancient age. After a certain point I think people should do the right thing and crumble into dust, honestly, and—oh.”

He gestures around the room. “Griffon! Dragon! Squid thing! Maybe that crumbled one was a bear.”

[justice_is_blond]

"Ancient to some is... still ancient," Anders finishes weakly. "I was going to say subjective, but no, over two-hundred is pushing it."

Slowly, with more than a little care, Anders heads for the griffon one. This was a Warden Keep. Theoretically no Warden would be so heartless as to booby-trap the griffon symbol. Then again, theoretically no Warden would sell out their mage or mages to Templars or demons.

He reaches out and touches the lever by the griffon statue. No trap is triggered, as far as he can see. "The last could easily be a bear. Are we..." He's not sure he wants to pull the lever, but they've come this far. Anders gives it a tug. There's a low, grinding, creaking noise before the griffon pillar shudders and shifts upward a few feet, now taller than the other three.

[unshadowing]

Guess who's not a fan of being trapped in a room with these two and statues that can move up and down. Yep, it's this guy. Why did he let Anders talk him into this?

"So they move. What's the point?" It's more muttered to himself, but he suspects one of them will come back with some remark or other. Carver walks up to the dragon one. "We sure we should be pulling these without care?"

Elgnim

[justice_is_blond]

[For all your mingle-on-the-way-back needs.]

Anders

[justice_is_blond]

The first camp they make after leaving the fortress sees Anders stretched on his stomach on the ground as he carefully reads through retrieved notes and makes comments on a separate piece of parchment. He has a whole little setup, scarf laid out, paper on it, rocks holding paper in place... and a thoughtful frown on his face.

From time to time he glances up at the fire, wishing he could be closer to the warmth without putting the older papers at risk, but this is a little more important than his comfort.

[pinprick]

He can see Anders' breath, and a husband has a duty when the spouse is cold. A heavy wool blanket is settled over those narrow shoulders and carefully adjusted so the sides drape over his elbows enough not to interfere with his work. For good measure, a warming kiss on the cheek.

"What have you found?"