Cloudreach 9:44 Rifter Arrival

[faderifting]

WHO: New rifters & their rescuers.
WHAT: Welcome to Thedas.
WHEN: Cloudreach 10, 9:44
WHERE: Amaranthine
NOTES: This is the arrival log for all new rifters, open also to current characters who would participate in their recovery. New players can also assume everyone survives and arrives back in Kirkwall within a couple of days, but please note there will be a brief quarantine period when they won't be permitted to leave the Gallows, to get them up to speed while ensuring they're not diseased or otherwise going to kill anyone, before they're set loose on the city.

You were asleep—whether deeply or fitfully, falling unconscious for the last time in a pool of blood or just resting your eyes for a moment—and then you were not. And wherever you were was not, anymore, replaced by nothing but the sensation of falling into endless, bottomless nothing. If this were still a dream, you would wake before you hit the ground. You can't die in a dream, they say. In some worlds.

In this world, bathed in the light of a flare of too-bright, greenish light you will find yourself hitting mossy cobblestones with an unforgiving smack. You're alive, and you're fine, except for the narrow splinter of light the same sickly green as whatever brought you here that now glows out of the palm of your left hand. It aches, a bone-deep pain that gnaws even through all the distractions.

Above you is a shifting, crystalline tear in reality; beyond that, gray clouds and a sea breeze, framed by the high walls surrounding the city you've landed in. There are people on the walls, some of them armored and armed, all of them briefly and collectively paralyzed by the sight below.

Don't let their terror go to your head. It's not you that has them intimidated, nor is it any of the humans (or Qunari) who are sprawled out on the ground around you, nor is it the assortment of unfamiliar—to them, not to you, perhaps to you it's very familiar—junk that's spilled out as well, most notably some flaming metallic debris and a giant wooden cross.

It's the beings that are coming out after you, almost as if in pursuit. Two are drifting, spindly things with six spidery limbs in addition to grasping skeletal arms, eager to grab hold of anyone who comes too close and fill their field of vision with swirling darkness and corner-of-the-eye glimpses of whatever frightens them. Several more most closely resemble trees, perhaps, with half-melted squids for heads—which might not sound particularly scary, fine, but their ability to dive into the ground and resurface anywhere with rasping screams helps on that front.

All of these things would like to kill you, and the people around you, and the people on the walls, and perhaps the other people screaming and scurrying into taverns and shops for cover. But you're not alone. Out of those same taverns and shops come people who do seem to know what they're doing; many are wearing a symbol that looks a bit like a hairy eyeball being pieced through by a sword, and at least a couple of them seem to know what they're doing. Almost like they've been waiting for you. In fact, exactly like they've been waiting for you.

---

AFTERWARDS, the grateful citizens of the City of Amarenthine might provide a drink, a meal, or a place to tend to wounds before everyone sets back toward Kirkwall. It's not a long trip, but one that requires boarding a ship to cross a narrow sea. It will be a rough, stormy journey, but there won't be any demons.

Comments

[goldsteins]

"You've no idea," She admitted wryly. It's a secretive sort of answer, one that tells of past happenings without an explanation. Though this demiguise is not the same one, it wasn't all too long ago she had to go looking for one. That was an adrenaline rush she hadn't necessarily been looking forward to repeating.

Tina sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear before she frowned slightly. "I'm not entirely sure she can control it," She admitted after a moment, "or that it's not from being jumpy after all that's happened." From experience she knew demiguise were intelligent, she doubted it took too easily to its sudden upheaval.

[zombra]

"Oh, so it's like a... a fear response thing?" Tessa doesn't know the scientific term for it, but she's sure she's got the point across here. Animal sees danger; animal goes invisible to protect itself.

"So she's a demiguise, I'm Tessa, and you are...?" They fell through a rift together. It seems appropriate to exchange names.

[goldsteins]

"As near as I can imagine," She confirmed, brow furrowing, "she's probably more afraid of you than you are of her." It's a hasty addition, not to imply the other woman was afraid of the creature-- But that it wasn't dangerous, Not unless it was provoked.

Tina looked partially amused at the question, giving a shrug of her shoulders while she folded her arms across her chest. "Tina Goldstein," she returned, "it seems we'll have a long trip together." A trip she'd rather be to one home.

[zombra]

"Hey, Tina. Guess we're part of an elite squad now." She lifts her glowing hand in the air. "The Painful Glowing Green Squad." Tessa would say Painful Glowing Green Hand Squad, since that seems to be where most have their anchor, but Jester has hers in her abdomen, so there's no universal designated spot.

"Yeah, I've already been asked if I get seasick. Here's hoping I don't."

[goldsteins]

Tina doesn't respond to the joke in part because she doesn't find it funny. In another part because it's too ridiculous for her to find a response to. Instead, she just rolled her eyes with something of a scoff. Her frown deepened at the idea of being seasick. She'd not been at sea before, either.

"It'll be an experience for both of us," She agreed with some discomfort, "and I doubt they have anything to help with seasickness here." She hadn't even seen Thedas medicine yet, but given what she knew of medicine that no-majs used in her time she wasn't inclined to believe it very useful.

[zombra]

That's pretty much the response Tessa had been expecting, because the joke was sarcastic anyway. Who wants to be part of this thing where you get sucked into another dimension and your hand won't stop stinging? It's not exactly a club with a killer rewards program.

"Yeah, that's what I figured. Or else they'd toss some eye of newt at you and call it a day." That's all Tessa can think of when it comes to magic: eye of newt and tongue of frog. She's pretty sure it's from some old play they had to read in school, but damn if she can remember what. She doesn't even realize she's remembering it wrong, and it's toe of frog and tongue of dog.

[goldsteins]

A look of ill-amusement passed her features. There's some sort of magic in play in Thedas, but that particular reference was one for witchcraft at home. The urge to bitterly say that's not how witches and wizards performed magic rose, but she pressed it down in light of things.

"I'd imagine there are herbs that might work," She said deftly, with a roll of her shoulders, "but without knowing anything of the plant life here it's hard to say. Best thing to do will be to hunker down and hope it passes if it happens." And, Mercy Lewis, does she hope it doesn't.

[zombra]

It's definitely not Tessa's intention to cause offense, because to her magic totally doesn't exist in her world. It's just something out of fiction, so jokes about witchcraft are fair game, right? With time, she'll realize that the rifters' worlds are more different from hers than she initially imagined.

"Right. Herbs." She's never been one to try those funky herbal remedies that seem more like they give a placebo effect, but she can't say for sure if its something that wouldn't work here. "Kinda don't want to just take random drugs here either, even if they're all natural. So chilling out with a bucket by my side might be the way to go if it turns out the sea is not my friend."

[goldsteins]

"Most medicines you take are likely made in part by those random drugs," She offered, not unkindly. Modern medicines still relied on ancient sources, magical and no-maj alike. If it worked it worked, didn't it? She shrugged her shoulders before brushing a strand of hair back.

The demiguise tugged on her skirt for another piece of bread and she tore it off before adding, "If it works for you, though." She was too stubborn to admit she was sick sometimes so it's not particularly like she can judge.

[zombra]

"No, I get that, it's just--" Tessa pauses, considering how much she wants to tell to a stranger at the moment. At last she settles on: "I was in the hospital before landing here. I'm sort of tired of drugs in general at the moment, you know?" That should be enough, and it covers the fact that she doesn't want to take weird medieval medicine, or medicine in general right now. The last thing she was given was some kind of sedative, then she was pulled out of bed and forced to walk. Not great.

"Guess we'll have to see." She eyes the demiguise for a moment before asking, "What are you gonna name her?"

[goldsteins]

She doesn't quite get it-- Given that magical medicine was different from non it was only to be expected. But even with a magical companion, she's not of the mind to just tell someone all about their world. It wasn't like she couldn't understand it in a way, she supposed, so she gave a simple nod of her head. "I was only saying," She mentioned, but is glad for the change in subject.

The frown mered her features when she glanced at the demiguise, now happily eating a piece of bread. "Hadn't thought about it," Tina answered frankly, trying for amusement, "I hadn't gone into today thinking I'd have to name a creature."

[zombra]

"Good point. I'm sure something will come to you. Something that fits her personality." Now that she's watching the creature beg for food, it seems cute, in a homely sort of way. Tessa's just glad it didn't attach itself to her when they came out of the rift.

[goldsteins]

"We'll see," She answered with a small frown. It's not like she'd had to name something before. The woman wasn't exactly sure what names fit what personalities, but she supposed it would come later.

There's a small sigh before she adds, "Hopefully the rest of tonight won't be as eventful."

[zombra]

Boy, this lady could make a raincloud appear over her head on a sunny day, couldn't she? Tessa just shrugs to herself, willing to let the conversation die there, but then Tina speaks again and Tessa releases an amused breath through her nose.

"For real. Today's events were enough to last a lifetime. And they say more of these rifts keep popping up around the world, and it's up to us to close them. Not really looking forward to that."

[goldsteins]

She frowned. Tina didn't particularly like the idea of the situation here-- They were stuck here and being told what they had to do was something of an annoyance.

"Not really sure there's all too much to look forward to here," She addressed mildly, brow furrowing, "but hopefully an answer can be found soon."

[zombra]

"Eh, compared to my home? It might be better. Time will tell." Yes, she really means that even after having to fight off demons. It doesn't speak well to her own world.

"We shouldn't be here too much longer. Once we get to Kirkwall, we'll get some idea of what we're in for."

[goldsteins]

Tina frowned in disbelief, but is good enough to neither question or push the matter. If this world was as different as her own, then it was impossible to say that others would be even more so.

"You can still get some idea from here," She advised, the frown still firmly on her features, "at least you'll get understanding of how locals care for us." Which doesn't seem to be much.

[zombra]

"Riiiight. That does seem to be pretty obvious already." And the results don't look good. It's either fear or sneering from most of the townspeople. The soldiers from this 'Inquisition' seem to be used to them, or Rifters themselves, so at least they've got that going for them.

"Guess it's a good thing this Inquisition's taking us in, since they're the only ones not freaking out about us right now."