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

[hello_there]

"Let's concern ourselves with the idea of an evil power first, since if this is all the product of genuine miracle," If by some sarcastic breach all likelihood, he means, making no comment about nuns and thievery, "Then there's nothing to be done but finish our visit and sail away. The question is, what's happening to the Reverend Mothers? There's no mention of them leaving, or even dying. They just... vanish."

If they can. Obi-Wan is even less of an expert on divine will than he is on mage-craft, but even nice gods and kindly makers have their floods and plagues and devastations. No one need bee sacrificed on an altar for this to be terrible enough.

"Add to that what I've been hearing about the Fade," A nod to Anders, though he's not the only one to have spoken to Obi-Wan on the subject, before Obi-Wan goes back to his beard-stroking, "And we have quite the mystery. My intuition is that it's all connected. The miraculous healing, the fade's strangeness, the seemingly endless stream of leaders... What could be causing it? And why are all of them so kriffing pleased to meet Rifters?"

[justice_is_blond]

He ponders what's being said, thinking it over. Nineteen leaders. Why? Power struggles? ...or are they making deals for more power from a demon and that's killing them so quickly?

"The strangeness of the Fade is abnormal, certainly, but not unheard of." He glances around the group. "I've been in a place the spirits avoided before, in the Blackmarsh. On the other side of a thin Veil was the lair of a very powerful demon. The spirits are sparse here, Mercy does not want to come assist with healing, which runs counter to her nature, and some magic is not working as it should. I'd wager money on there being a demon on the other side, reaching in to this world."

There's a short beat before he continues, because the rest of it is speculation and there's a fair chance Marcoulf is going to dismiss it completely because of Anders' past but it should be said. "And while I'd not put money on it, I'd guess it's reaching in because it's been invited to do so. The miracles come at an agreed-upon price."