CLOSED | all those people that you know

[aestivation]

WHO: Anders, Audra, Julius + Guests
WHAT: Investigating the ruins of Adamant.
WHEN: Some time this month, handwavily.
WHERE: The Western Approach.
NOTES: Will edit as appropriate.

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[justice_is_blond]

The Fade feels like it's calling. Or maybe that's just the wind whispering and whistling through the ruins. Anders startles at Julius' quiet voice, looking over before going back to looking at what's before them.

"I'd start with places where magic's gone awry." Which is a lot of places. He tilts his head, reconsidering. "What's twisted, I mean. There's... Maybe more the center of this mess, on third thought. I don't fancy the thought of doing deeper in but the heart of the mess is most likely to be the source."

The broken griffon statue gets a gentle brush of his fingers before he's sighing and starting to quietly head deeper.

[overharrowed]

"Isn't that always the way." Julius doesn't ignore the prickle at the back of his neck -- ignoring it outright strikes him as dangerous -- but he doesn't let it prevent him from pressing forward as well.

(A small part of him feels as if it might be quicker to just draw attention and deal with whatever comes of it, but that is a temptation to resist. He usually has no trouble with patience, but the atmosphere of the place isn't conducive.)

"I am beginning to suspect bringing a few shardbearers might have been wiser, though." He knows that what they're doing is confidential, knows why it needs to be, but he'd still feel better if they had a way to close rifts.

[justice_is_blond]

"Maybe." They would definitely be suited to one of the greater dangers here. "But few of them really grasp demons, their offerings, and their powers. Few enough from Thedas do even now. I don't know if a Rifter can be possessed, considering what they likely are, but I'd not like to put it to the test by exposing them to where demons sit at the ready."

The heat of battle around a Rift is simple enough. Fight, don't think, and the demons don't have time to get their claws in. In a fortress that's haunted by time and broken magic and a thin Veil there are all too many risks. The demons have had time here.

"It's a lair, now." Where once it was home to actual Grey Wardens, not the enthralled things following Corypheus about. It feels like the pattern of things in Thedas, really, though he's quick to brush that thought away. Despair are some of his least-favorite demons if he had to rank them - best to try not to bring them around.

"Have you ever been in a Warden complex before? Whole or broken, either way."

[overharrowed]

Julius doesn't pause over 'what they likely are,' though part of him would like to. Those conversations haven't, by and large, included Julius for a variety of reasons, and it's a question he's avoided looking at too closely since the blood plague ended. (He thinks, briefly, of the possibility of Petrana possessed by a demon, a thing he hadn't truly worried about until just then, and firmly puts that thought away.)

"No," he says, instead, focusing on Anders' question. "Honestly, before the Inquistion, I had very little direct contact with Wardens at all. The Hero of Ferelden by proxy, of course, but we never met. The Wardens I know now, well," he manages a bare smile. "You weren't Wardens when I knew you, for the most part. And I didn't run into many on the road. You tend to travel in packs, and I was avoiding larger groups when I could."

[justice_is_blond]

He nods, continuing to slowly pick his way over the ruined floor as they go deeper in.

"The libraries tend to be, if not all in the same place, in a similar wing with a similar structure, from what I've seen. Though I've not been in all that many Warden buildings either." Something something Templars, something something Justice, it's a story that a few know and isn't really relevant here. There's enough baggage on his mind already when they're dealing with Tranquility.

"And most of the good Wardens travel in packs." He flashes Julius a faint smile back. "The only real exception seems to be Warden Blackwall. He's something of a legend among Wardens. For the rest, you can find a decent amount of not-the-best Wardens running all over the place. Though they may be hiding that they're Wardens." Like he did for a time.

There's a noise ahead of them and Anders slows down, trying to determine if it's just louder whispers or something actually moving around.

"Did you hear that?" His voice is little more than a whisper.

[overharrowed]

Given that Julius was hiding the fact he was a mage at the time, he supposes he has no room to be critical. Rather than make that observation, though, he stops short at Anders' question.

"That sort of scraping sound?" he asks, low. Because there are several potential creepy noises to choose from in a haunted fortress.

[justice_is_blond]

"I wish you hadn't said that." Because if they're both hearing it then it's real. He exhales, pulling the staff off his back and pulling himself up to his full height. It comes again and he shakes his head.

"That is absolutely in the direction of where we want to go." Of course it is. There's nothing in view just yet, which means he's taking a moment to look around. "We could see if we could get around it, up the stairs and around, if there's a path there. There might be. Or we could try to take it head-on. Do you have a preference?"

[overharrowed]

He exhales, softly, thinking it through. "I'd prefer to try to get around, if we can. I could try to throw a dispel ahead of us in case it's a trap, but if it's a demon that'll just tip it off."

Or maybe their whispering would.

[justice_is_blond]

Anders nods. Fighting one thing might not be too bad, but this place could be crawling with others that one fight would draw.

"All right." He looks around before selecting a hall that seems likely before gesturing with his thumb. "This way." Then, equally as quietly as Julius, Anders starts heading in the indicated direction. Maybe for once they'll be lucky.

[overharrowed]

That would be a refreshing change of pace. Julius readies himself all the same, prepared for more or less anything (as far as he knows). He moves as quietly as he can, though, which partly splits his focus; 'sneaking' was not among the skills Circle mages were encouraged to spend their time practicing, so it's not second nature.