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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Lead the way. But it's no spirit, trust me on that. This place is...the opposite of haunted. The fade is completely empty. Like, worryingly so. I've never seen it like that before."

"Could be a trap though...I mean, if it wants to keep us down here, this works. Not all traps are deadly after all."

They walk forward slowly, the whispers here are louder than before, layered and complex, in voices a hundred strong. They echo with the sloshing of the water and ultimately they sound like the crashing waves outside. It is a dull roar, muted in the hall, but a roar nonetheless.
"There, and be quick about it--"
In the distance there is a hall to the left, it is the first door for quite some time and the only one for a long ways afterward. The voices in that room are hushed but clearer, as if they were whispering intentionally.
"Clean up the mess before you leave, I cannot abide a lack of tidiness."
The saber and the card light the world around the two with ease, but there are few obstacles beyond the stretch of grey walls and the deep water. Though, as they walk, it does begin rising. It moves at a trickle and eventually settles about their waists.

Obi-Wan stops, hesitates as they move, cocking his head slightly as if listening before continuing on. After a few minutes of moving together through the numbing cold, struggling against the weight of water, he speaks.

"You're right, these aren't spirits. They're echoes," He says it wish more confidence, even distracted as he is, than he'd proclaimed them to be spirits, "Or, perhaps memories. The question is, are we hearing what has happened, or that will happen?"

"There's a very old story from my world, Oedipus. About a guy who hears a prophecy, and does everything in his power to avoid it. But it turns out that in trying to avoiding it, he caused it. Bit of a mind twister that one, once you start getting into seeing the future." Jang sighs, keeping an eye on their rear, listening to the whispers in the dark.

"I don't know if this is prophecy or something messing with our heads, but my general rule when dealing with someone who can read the future is just ignore it. Or roll dice. Can't predict what you're gonna do if it's random, right?" She gives another forced laugh, trying to keep her breathing slow as she wades through this cold dark water.

The first door they find is to their right, a wide opening in the wall that seems to break apart in the width of it. There's a voice from inside, loud and frantic, calling out. It is familiar and heartbreaking in its violence.
"What happened here?" Luca shouts, her fear and shock palpable.
There are the sounds of a fight, a gasp and a body hitting carpet. Only darkness looms through the doorway, though, and if they enter they will see no carpet, nor shattered glass.
"Maker what have I done?" This voice is watery and old, faded and unfamiliar. The woman who owns it is not someone in the Abbey now.
In the darkness, something shifts. The water almost rings out as a drip falls upward from the pool about their waists and hits the ceiling.

"Luca?" Obi-Wan says, seemingly to himself, and then glances back at Jang before stepping forward, leaning to look carefully. He's been through enough trap-doors to know better than to step blindly into strange underground rooms, "I'm sensing... a struggle. Sister Luca's voice, and someone else's."

Who's? He doesn't know, but he shakes his head, unwilling to venture an opinion.

"An old woman?"

"Luca and an old woman? Could it be the current Reverend Mother? Do you know what the struggle was about? They seemed to get along fine, no bad blood..."

That of course, didn't mean anything, people could hold grudges and keep it very nicely under wraps. But the two sisters fighting seems...out of character.

Behind them, there is a distant rolling noise of thunder and ahead in the far distance a dim approaching light. As they step through the doorway, both seem to drop off, dulled sounds around corners, but the whispers in the room grow louder.
"Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter--"
There are a rush of voices, then, ten then twenty, all women and all in varying levels of panic or calm. That wayward voice, the first that echoed out after Luca is the strongest and she recites the Chant with careful, unwavering precision.
"What do you want me to do? I can't--I--" Luca protests and a grinding growl resounds. The heavy sound of a metal blade striking wood and she shrieks.
The light in the distance is nearing them, passing down the hallway. It is as bright as a candle now and growing brighter by the second.

Obi-Wan shakes his head at Jang's question, either a denial of the question, or of having the answer. Or both; this isn't the time, and he isn't as sure as he likes. The women— he listens hard, frowning deeply.

"She's... I think I might be hearing all the past Reverend Mothers," He says, finally, "And then some."

A crackling electric sound rolls through the hallway--combined with the whispering, the panicking voices of Luca and other women, it is a cacophany of white noise. The water sloshes, rising heavy in waves and nearly knocks the two down. It is not long before the creeping tendrils of lightning start creeping over the surface of the water at the doorway.

"What in the hell..." Jang sees the slow lightning crawling towards them like it's got all day. She starts to look around the hall, for anything to stand on, or lift herself out of the water. Looking at the walls Jang grabs Obi-wan and spins him around. "Gimme your arm! Quick, lock arms together, back to back and push against the wall, we need to walk up and get out of the water!"

Simple Gifts [Closed]

The Abbey on the White Cliff

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