{ CLOSED } a daring rescue

[serannas]

WHO: Ellana Ashara, Merrick Ashara, Araceli Bonaventura, and Jamie McCrimmon
WHAT: O Brother Where Art Thou (Part II (A)) aka Spying on the Avvar in order to rescue the missing scouts.
WHEN: Backdated to before the big scouting missions in Orlais.
WHERE: the Fallow Mire
NOTES: Violence, maybe?

Now that all the clues on the missing scouts' whereabouts have led to the ruined castle in the south of the Mire, the group decides to check it out. They split up before getting too close, with Korrin, Zevran, Walker, and Krem heading west and Ellana, Merrick, Araceli, and Jamie heading east. It would be suicide to just run in and attack with no information on numbers, so after a quick discussion, the east group decides to climb up to the roof top of the castle and look down through the gaps to see how many Avvar are inside.

Comments

[dalishious]

Araceli seems fine coaching the others, so Merrick leaves that to her, focusing on getting the job done. He's a bit apart from the others, moving feather-light across the rooftops--partly because he hates working with people, and partly because he wants to avoid Ellana as much as possible.

His ears twitch a little as he picks up on some muffled noises through the rain, and he raises a hand to halt the others so he can listen.

[serannas]

Ellana makes sure to test each place she sets a hand or foot before putting her full weight against it. This is quite the bit of exercise, but she's willing to put forth whatever effort it takes to find the Inquisition's missing people. She doesn't want to fall behind, but luckily it looks like Jamie isn't very experienced at this either, so she makes sure not to rush as she moves.

"Once we're up top," she says in a whisper, "I'll contact the others." Because she wants to be useful, yes, but also because she's good friends with three of the four people who split off from their group and she wants to have her crystal close to hear them respond.

When Merrick gives them the signal, she stops, listening too, though most of her focus is on him. She doesn't know what to do to fix what's happened between them. She's always been allowed to see a side to him that few ever do, but now he's built up his walls against her. But what they're doing here is important and requires their full attention. It's no time to talk about them.

[wontforgetyou]

"Right."

His voice is barely above a whisper, partly because of that need to keep quiet, and partly because he wants to concentrate on making sure he doesn't put a leg (or more) through the roof. As it turns out, Araceli is right, because there's a rotten spot just ahead of him on the roof - something he finds out as he carefully reaches forward with the tip of his boot to test the spot in front of him. The wood underneath starts to give, just a little, but since he hasn't put his full weight on the spot, he's able to stop and correct himself without the wood breaking at all. He pulls back and finds a sturdier path, gesturing to Ellana as he goes to make sure she's aware of that bad spot as well.

Then Merrick lifts a hand, something that gets him to stop where he stands, a question he doesn't dare utter on his face. Instead, he strains to try and hear what might have caught the elf's attention. There's something there, just at the edge of his own hearing, but he's not sure what it is yet. So for now, he stays where he is, keeping silent so the others can listen and hopefully figure out what's going on.

[foxsays]

Relaxing her body as much as she can, she keeps an eye behind them just to make sure nothing is about to come creeping up on them unexpectedly or for an arrow sailing through the air, so much more quiet than a pistol, a sound easily swallowed in this sort of weather. She aims a smile at Jamie and Ellana because this is a terrible introduction to climbing but being above always gives you the element of surprise and they’re managing far better than she feared given the treacherous conditions.

“Guards?” She asks, sotto voce, because so far, some of this reminds her an awful lot of trying to creep into old warehouses to retrieve something to bring to a fence to sell on the black market. If it were home though she wouldn’t be trying to rescue scouts or get in touch with others, she could sit and wait and watch to find if there was a rotation pattern so she could scramble down in relative safety. Her heart is a steady pounding beat high in her throat as she flexes her fingers to keep the blood in them, loosening her blades once again to be ready. She hears something, more a buzz than anything else and she frowns, moving around carefully to flank and to see if she can perhaps catch something but she takes solace in not hearing anything that sounds like a battle and the absence of screaming. It at least means the other time are doing fine and, selfishly, she doesn’t want anyone harmed given Korrin’s with them.

[dalishious]

Merrick hushes them both with a murderous look, and listens hard to try and pinpoint a general location on the voices. As soon as he can, he points that way and signals the others to start heading in that direction.

He's none too happy with this assignment. Since he'd nearly drowned in the Mire he's been loathe to spend more time in it, and he has to do it so shortly after what Ellana had seen. Needless to say, he's even more grouchy and skittish as usual. A single distraction, a single foot in the wrong place, and his allies are in danger of incurring his ire.

[serannas]

It's never a good thing when anyone is in a mood during a tense time, and Merrick is no exception. But Ellana isn't going to sit back and do nothing for the missing scouts when she has the time and energy to contribute something, so he's just have to come to terms with her being a part of this group.

Moving the way he indicates, Ellana soon finds herself at a point where she can hear the voices a little easier, and though individual words aren't clear yet, she can definitely tell there's an argument of some kind transpiring down below them. She glances at the others before continuing forward to hopefully find a clear vantage point.

[wontforgetyou]

The murderous look gets an arched eyebrow response from Jamie, but he doesn't say anything in response. As tempting as the thought is, now is not the time. Not when they're in as precarious a position as they are right now. So all he does for the moment is respond to the gesture rather than the look, continuing along across the rooftop without saying a further word.

Now that he's been up here for a little bit, that part of it is coming a bit easier, something he's able to associate with things that are already familiar and use to adapt to the situation at hand. As soon as he can, he finds a spot where he can crouch down, using what cover he can up here to stay out of sight and observe - still quietly, for Merrick's sake. There's definitely some sort of argument going on, and that could be useful if they're going to try and take the warriors down. With them distracted by fighting with each other, it's an opportunity for them to get the drop on their opponents. If the other group can get into the right position, they could possibly surprise them by striking from two points at once.

Still, his hand doesn't go towards his sword. For one thing, they still have to contact the others. And even beyond that, it occurs to him that if they're able to watch long enough, they might be able to figure out if the group of scouts is down there. If that's the case, more stealth might be in order. For now, his eyes flick back to Araceli, and then to Ellana before mouthing the word 'Report?' at them.

That may still not be enough for Merrick, but it's going to have to do, because they've still got to communicate in some way, and barring spontaneous magical events that lets them talk in their heads, that's all he's got.

[foxsays]

After watching the aftermath of Gavin's, admittedly spectacular yet horrifying, fall, she can only roll her eyes and mutter something less than complimentary, or rather she mouths it, so as not to offend. If he grabs a man who almost got his head kicked in by the nose, well they don't need any further escalations here that aren't to do with the Avvar.

The landing doesn't look so bad, if it could be timed right and she knows that she and Merrick could likely make it down quietly first, if the guards keep arguing. But there are too many ifs when lives are at stake and this isn't only her backside on the line, and as capable as everyone may be, to pull off a proper ambush you need to know one another well, you need to anticipate. There's enough tension in the air as is.

Araceli can only nod though she points back the way they've come, because it gives them the best chance to report safely if someone is far enough away from them. Not too far but whatever chances they can buy for the others might spare them injuries. The Avvar all look big, even from up here and she's keenly aware of how lightly they're all armoured and outfitted.

[dalishious]

It's useless to stay up here; they can't hear clearly enough to get information on what those avaar are up to, and they're no closer to finding the missing scouts than they were before. Merrick quickly scurries to a relatively stable part of the ruins and beckons the others to join him.

"We could get closer," he tells them. "I've spotted some scaffolding at the back of the room-- Araceli and I could climb down easily. Unless anyone has any other ideas."

[serannas]

Following behind Merrick, she stops beside him and crouches down, looking between him and the other two.

"It sounds good to me. While you do that, I'll contact the other group and Jamie can keep lookout for me so no one finds us."

[wontforgetyou]

Both of those suggestions are ones Jamie can get behind - and Ellana's in particular gets him to bob his head in a quick but agreeable sort of way. It'll give them the chance to get more information that way, and right now that's something they need fairly badly.

"Aye, and once that's done we can signal each other and see about meeting up again and going from there. Araceli, does that sound good to you?"

[foxsays]

Moving to get a better view, she leans down and forward as much as she can, eyes flicking back and forth, lips moving soundlessly as if muttering something to herself. She adjusts her clothing in readiness, settling her weapons so they'll make no sound, just like she would before a job and nods.

"We keep low and quiet enough and it should be possible, I'm hoping that the wood won't creak or that the whole building might when you're in, easy noise to get used to and ignore. Let's go for it, even if they see us in the end, it'll be a distraction for the others."

That might be the very best they can hope for, some sort of a silver lining to the constant dark clouds overhead and she gets into position, briefly shaking out her arms and legs and stretching to make sure she's not stiff from crouching for so long.

[dalishious]

Merrick leads the way to where the ceiling gives way to some precarious-looking scaffolding, and tests it carefully with his foot. He nods at Araceli, then slowly puts his weight on one of the beams, getting his footing before he can slip down to another one below it.

Catlike he manages to get to the ground level, and crouches behind some boxes and debris once he's there.

Now, it's just a matter of getting closer.

[serannas]

While the two head off, Ellana makes sure she and Jamie are concealed before she calls the other team. She relays what they know so far, telling them about the number of Avvar, the exits, and that they can't yet see the scouts. It's not as much information as she would like to give, but it's something, and that's what matters. Every little bit must help in some way; probably in ways she hasn't even thought of herself.

Settling back into as comfortable a position as she can, she whispers to Jamie, "Now we wait to see what Merrick and Araceli find out."

[wontforgetyou]

More information would be better, but it's a start, at least for now. Merrick and Araceli are bound to find out more once they've gotten a bit closer to where the scouts are. With luck, they'll be able to do that without any trouble. He settles in next to Ellana, ready to keep a lookout as best as he can at the ground below. For just a second, though, he glances back and gives her a nod before replying, keeping his own voice to a whisper as well.

"Aye. Hope they'll find it soon, though. Someone's bound to come along. Not sure how long they'll have before that happens."

[foxsays]

This part she knows better, lifting herself up one last time just to make sure she knows exactly where their companions before following after Merrick, able to hear the argument better the further they descend, leaving the worst of the weather behind. Light and quick, she finds any unstable footing fast enough that she moves before it can crumble or give way beneath her, dropping to the ground with a whisper.

One hand on her blades to steady herself, she moves to flank, skirting around and behind what might have been part of the roof once, daring to peer up and over for a better view.

A shame there's not a way for them to make the argument worse, not without potentially drawing attention to themselves before the others manage to get here because these Avvar are big and she's uncomfortably reminded that she herself absolutely is not.