Simple Gifts [Closed]

[laurenande]

WHO: Galadriel, Thranduil, Solas, Myrobalan, Merrill, Kitty, Lakshmi, Teren, Marcoulf, Jang, Obi-Wan, and Anders
WHAT: A trip to a perfectly normal Chantry in the middle of nowhere.
WHEN: Current.
WHERE: The Island of Alamar, Ferelden.
NOTES: Current warnings, to be updated: Graphic Descriptions of Gore

The Abbey on the White Cliff

Travel to the Abbey on the White Cliff is no easy matter. While it stands not far from Amaranthine, the waters between the mainland and the island shores are a wicked confluence of eddies and razor sharp rock. The rain is ever-present here and the wind moves unpredictably at the best of times. Ships of size cannot travel easily to the island of Alamar and small boats are rarely steady through the choppy water. Fortunately, as the Inquisition approaches, the world takes some pity on them and the waters seem to still and calm. The clouds linger but, at the very least, they don't open above them until they have reached the land.

The island is a grey affair, all rocks and scrub and damp. The village, an austere looking outcropping of buildings, is entirely made from the local stone and, were it not for the red clay roofing, would blend into the landscape seamlessly. Very few people have strayed into the rain to greet the Inquisition and, without the voices to echo off the stone, most sound is drowned in the lapping of waves and the heavy fall of rain. As a result of the weather and the lack of citizens, the town has the general quality of a graveyard.

The merchants who work the docks are affable enough and, after unloading their haul and securing it somewhere a bit drier, offer to take the Inquisition up to the Abbey proper. The rain slows before long and the merchants lead the Inquisition to the main roads and, let them on their way. Fortunately, the Island is not terribly large and, even walking, it will take only a few hours to arrive at the far side of it.

As the party leaves the village and the shore, the island landscape opens before them. Sloping moors give way to periodic outcroppings of rock and, against the horizon and the far end of the island, there rests a dark forest of pines. The Abbey on the White Cliff stands at the far side, at the top of the hill and overlooking the waves. The road they travel is an easy one, well worn, and the buildings come into view long before they reach them--they stand several stories tall, made of the same stone as the village. They are moss-covered and have the look of an old building that has been questionably kept--at least, from a distance.

The closer one gets to the buildings, the more obvious the additions and repairs become. Windows that have no business holding glass have had colorful windows inset to them. The doors are heavy, wooden, and new. The ironwork on the walls is polished and unworn by the rain. There are no torches lit but, once the Inquisition members have reached the doors, they open promptly.

They are greeted by a Chantry Sister with a bright smile and rosy cheeks and, without hesitation, the lot of them are welcomed into the Abbey.


OOC:

Hey guys! So I plan on aggressively GMing this one. Basically I want to run this like D&D, or as near as I can manage.

The location threads below are available for single player/two player exploration, I will be tagging you with information based on where you go or what you do, but if you want to do a bigger thread please just use the team threads at the bottom. That way if you all decide you want to check out the [INSERT LOCATION HERE] and it leads you to [DIFFERENT LOCATION] I can move you along without changing threads.

Because of your proficiencies, different characters will have advantages in different areas/while talking to different people, so groups are best. I will also be PMing your character journal periodically with any information that your character may have picked up on that nobody else would.

The NPCs are available for talking to or questioning by any number of people. Their general locations are in their thread headers so you can travel there as a crew or ask me to send them at you, if you so desire.

Feel free to do new top-levels if you guys really want, I am just here to try and make this fun.

Comments

[whiskeyandbrimstone]

Jang looks over at Marcoulf's bed and what can only loosely be called a blanket and then over to her bed, which has a comforter, a pillow and very nice clean sheets. "Did you not tip the bellhop or something? Mine looks good."


"I do agree though, this place is a bit...odd. I mean, normaly when someone's this nice it's cause they want something."

[hello_there]

Obi-wan follows last, a little slow, and frowning thoughtfully. He stands a moment, by the door, still frowning, hands folded into his sleeves, and only looks up at the end, when Jang speaks.

"No."

He says it quietly, round at the end, so as not to carry or be overheard.

"No, not this time. Something... is wrong, here. Very wrong. I've been feeling it since we arrived, like a... weight, in the Force," He pauses a moment, still turned inward, and moves towards the last remaining bed with sudden purpose, as if making a decision, "We should look into this place, see what they're hiding. But carefully. No one likes to—"

No one likes to see a Jedi, not that anyone by Anders was likely to grasp that meaning in any part. But these people were overjoyed to see them, Rifters and all.

"...No one likes interference."

[justice_is_blond]

"We should also set a watch." He finishes making his bed, shabby as it is. Honestly, it's still better than he had for much of his time in Darktown.

"Two hour shifts? Or we can rig the door in some way that it makes a lot of noise if it gets opened." Barricading the door would likely be a bad idea; the windows don't look large enough to escape through if there's a fire.

"Because I agree, something's quite wrong here."

[whiskeyandbrimstone]

Jang nods at the suggestion of a watch. "I can take first, no problem. Or least, but I hate waking up in the middle of the night and then having to go back to sleep, always messes me up."

She sits back a moment, replaying the day in her head. "One other thing...I was talking to that really friendly Sister, Brigette. She said something about how the Reverend Mother was doing 'miracles' here, whatever that means. Noone else, just her. Anders, you're a healer, what kind of wounds can you heal? Like, is there a limit to what you can fix?"

[esquive]

From the side of the room where he's smoothing his blanket out over his cot, Marcoulf snorts. Watches, the Force, an aborted discussion of barricading the door-- they've been on then island a matter of hours and have already circled around to base paranoia.

He strips off his doublet and bundles it into a neat square to substitute for a pillow, glancing around the room as he ties the sleeves. "What's wrong here is the abbey is being overwhelmed with sick and dying. Desperation has a way of putting a cloud over a place."

[hello_there]

"I'm sure no one here can claim to be an expert in misery," Obi-Wan replies, as dry and flat as the desert sands, "But I'll keep that in mind."

The clear implication being, of course, that he'll keep it all saved for when Marcoulf has to eat his words. And Obi-Wan will be there for it.

"That said, you may keep watch if you like," This to Jang and Anders, "But a barricade is hardly called-for. If they only wanted a Rifter, there are much cheaper and more efficient ways of getting one. We're not likely to be in any danger, for tonight."

[justice_is_blond]

He thinks he might be an expert in misery, but he refrains from saying as much.

"Not so much a barricade as put something by the door that will clatter if someone comes in. A barricade would be a nuisance." Marcoulf seems naive, as does Obi-Wan. The best night for someone to come after a party would be the first night when they don't have their bearings and they're tired from the road.

But apparently he's the only one used to things going south constantly. Almost always, really. They're never sent out to pet kittens, after all.

"And as far as my limits go... Yes, there is one, but it's hard to put into precise words. There are some things that are beyond my skills. There are a lot of things that are not."