[Open] No boom today. Boom tomorrow.

[justice_is_blond]

WHO: Anders and anyone! Or, well, almost anyone. Sorry, Fenris and Cullen...
WHAT: Anders arrives at Skyhold, takes a new fake name, and tries to get a measure of the Inquisition while keeping a low profile. Starting in prose, but will switch to brackets to match if that's preferred!
WHEN: Mid-haring
WHERE: All over Skyhold, choose your location?
NOTES: Warning for Anders? I can't think of any real ones atm, I'll update if that changes.

He's tired, but that's nothing new. The road's been long. It shows in the way he leans a little on his staff, a fairly generic-looking thing that's far from his old appreciation of things flashy, just as it shows in the state of his rather ragged-looking robes and the scruff of a beard that he doesn't exactly like. At least he's not dead on his feet - the company of a few refugees more than willing to bear the brunt of conversation on the way up had made the last couple of days more bearable than usual.

Now he's here, and the strain is back on his shoulders. Skyhold holds more than the usual level of danger but there's no getting around the fact that he has to at least visit this place. The Inquisition is likely to be a player in the future of mages, and Anders will not see the little bit of progress made be undone out of fear, or laziness, or naivete, or any other number of things that could cut down freedom for his people.

But that doesn't mean he knows how to go about working toward that, just yet. And that means he's slowly going around the fortress, gathering information by listening and asking simple, short questions. They have to be short. The second-to-last thing he can afford is to slip up and let Justice get too accusatory, which could lead to the last thing he can afford - to be recognized by someone who would turn him over to the 'authorities,' such as they are.

"Have you been with the inquisition long?" is one of the most frequent questions, along with a follow up if the answer is yes: "Do you think they treat mages well here?" It's not like he's hiding the staff, after all. But there are more simple questions mixed in as well, questions about the need for herbalists or healers, about where one might find a warm enough corner to sleep in, or where one can lose what few coppers they have over a game of cards. They're general. Careful. They have to be. He's no longer ready to die.

Comments

[noleechesneeded]

Simon's stride falters for a moment, gaze ahead as he has to pause and think. He thinks he's been all over Skyhold--mostly looking for River--but apparently he's wrong as he doesn't remember finding a second library. It might explain how she's able to hide so well when she has a mind to, however.

"It's...it's possible," Simon says, looking a bit sheepishly over his shoulder at Detlef. "Though if it exists I haven't found it yet. We can certainly try, if you'd like...now that you mention it I'd like to track it down. There might be something there that I haven't been able to find in the atrium's library."

But first, of course, Simon will actually show Detlef the library he's familiar with as promised. It isn't far, just across the courtyard and up into the atrium.

[justice_is_blond]

"I'm not certain it's real. I've a... There's a Dalish girl with a habit of getting lost who told me there were two. I'd suggest it's possible she simply found the same one twice, but she'd yet to find a library at all when I ran into her."

Woman, really, not a girl, but it can be hard to remember that around Merrill. She's young, naive, and foolish. The perfect mark for a demon, really. But that's not what he needs to be thinking about right now. Instead, he's trying to keep an eye out without seemingly looking around as they cross the courtyard. Skyhold is, by far, the most stressful place he's ever been.

"Whether a second exists or not, I'll be glad to see the atrium library. Is there something you're researching?" The chance of there being a way to separate from a spirit in one of the books in Skyhold is nearly nonexistent, but he can try searching anyway. They're not doing any good to each other.

[noleechesneeded]

Simon hesitated for an unfortunate moment, but he'd already learned that keeping River's condition a secret wasn't as imperative as he'd thought it might be. It was also impossible in the long run. Everyone who met the girl quickly sussed out that something was wrong. He'd even been chastised by a templar for it once, that had been a fun day.

"...I'm trying to make an exact diagnosis," he finally said, tilting his head and gesturing for Detlef to join him as he started walking back towards the atrium. "And from there, hopefully a treatment. The trouble is it's like nothing I've seen before or even been taught about, and no one else in the tents I've spoken with have heard of it either."

Though putting his head together with Adelaide's has been useful, it had yet to provide Simon with a better solution than sedatives for when River was having a particularly bad day.

"So to be honest with you I'm not very hopeful at this point," he added with a frown. Not that it would stop him from looking, of course.

[justice_is_blond]

He frowned as well, looking over at the man.

"I'm assuming you've already worked with Adelaide? Or another Spirit Healer? Would you mind running symptoms past me?" The pause said Simon might not be willing to be open about it, but Anders can offer help nonetheless.

"I'll not be offended if it's something you don't wish to discuss, especially if you've approached Adelaide. She's very skilled, and there's no guarantee I'd bring enough knowledge from my wanderings to cause any difference in the matter." Or his wanderings might mean he's run into something, somewhere. There wasn't any telling until and unless Simon spoke.

[noleechesneeded]

"Adelaide and I meet very regularly, and we are still working on the problem, yes," Simon said with a slow nod. Still, another opinion could help. Detlef had said 'another' spirit healer, implying that he was one as well. If his life had gone differently, perhaps Simon could have made a partnership with a spirit of his own. It certainly would have been more use now than the magic he'd learned up north. Yet Simon didn't have the time for regrets.

"It isn't that I don't think you could offer anything new, Detlef," Simon added, pausing as they reached the door to the atrium. So many already knew who Simon's 'patient' was. Was there really any point in keeping it to himself anymore? Well, aside from his own peace of mind. "...the patient is my sister. It makes things a touch more difficult."

He opened the door for the other man.