faderift | OPEN: this will be a better year

WHO: Everyone
WHAT: First Day
WHEN: Wintermarch 1 (forward-dated)
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES: Scouts from both the Western Approach and Emprise du Lion are welcome (but not required) to have returned to Skyhold in time for this event.

There have been better First Day feasts, and less crowded ones, and cheerier ones. It isn't a good year for many to look back on, and this one isn't starting any better. Reports from both Eastern and Western Orlais are grim. Many in the Inquisition can't afford to take more than a few hours away from their work, if that.

But for those who can, the ambassador does her best. At lunchtime some tables, hot food, and finery are reserved for visiting nobility and wealthy pilgrims--cause for grumbling in some quarters, perhaps, but they're the people filling the Inquisition's coffers, and allowances must be made--but there's plenty of stew, bread, and ale for everyone, even with the soldiers and refugees who stay outside the fortress invited inside for the holiday. The recently repaired garden and its carefully tended plants aren't off limits, but anyone noisy and holding a drink will be stopped at the door; the battlements, with their potential for deadly falls, are blocked by Inquisition guards. But the courtyards brim with people, most of them happy despite the possibility that the world might end before another First Day arrives.

If the courtyards are too full of tipsy visitors for comfort, there's also the valley beyond the fortress, expansive, barren, and covered in snow. By the river the soldiers help the refugees make a bonfire larger than would ever be allowed inside Skyhold's walls, and some lend their shields to use as sleds down the embankments. A group of scouts start the most intense game of hide and seek Thedas has ever seen, with snowballs to the face for whoever is found first. In the camp, a refugee girl with her hand wrapped in a green scarf chases other children around the tents, shouting raaar, I'm from the rifts!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If he managed to be in Skyhold this entire time unseen it would have been a feat. Chuckling, he sits down so that it's easier to talk, making sure not to spill over the Hobbit's stew in the process. "No, I've been away on a mission. We only got back yesterday."

"A mission?" Sam carefully picks his stew back up and sits back down next to his friend, settling in in expectation of a nice long story. "Where did you go? Not back to that horrible Mire I hope?"

That has Sam laughing for a minute. "No, thank the Maker for that. Don't know if where we went was any better though. We went west to a place called Emprise du Lion; much colder than here, and with a lot more snow. I went with six others to scout out the area, and there are a lot of issues out there."

"Emprise du Lion?" Sam shakes his head; unsurprisingly, it's as unfamiliar as anywhere else he's heard of. But he frowns at the mention of cold. "Colder than here! I'd hoped to be done with anyplace that cold. Is it up in the mountains, like this?"

"Pretty damn close. It's on the west side of the Frostbacks, which we're in the middle of. I think they said it's only warmer here because of the hot springs, and the fires we keep up." He chuckles a bit at the face that Sam makes. "There are plenty of places that aren't cold or covered in snow, but it is winter here."

"It's winter where I'm from, too; or when I'm from," Sam says, thinking of Galadriel, and how she hadn't known him, "but I suppose it isn't for everyone." He looks curiously at Sam. "Is that your job, then? For the Inquisition I mean. A scout?"

When? That was kind of peculiar; could the Rifts do that? His mind only lingers on that for a moment, laughing a moment later when Sam asks him if he was a scout. "No, not at all. I'm a healer and a blacksmith here. The mission we went on was a bit dangerous, so it was more insurance that we would get out of it."

Sam frowns. "Well I don't like this talk of danger, but I suppose it can't be helped," he mutters. He looks at Sam with sudden worry. "You weren't hurt, were you? Nor anyone else?"

"There was plenty of scratches and scrapes, but everyone was treated and healed up. Nothing to worry about." Which was true, no need to actually comment about any of the serious injuries. Everyone was alive and hardly had a scratch on them from his and Christine's healing.

Sam's still a bit unsure about the whole endeavor, but he looks relieved, all the same. "At least you're safely home," he says, as if reassuring them both. He looks curiously at Sam, wondering just how much he's allowed to know. "What was this mission that was so important? I hope it was a success at least!"

"Well it was a scouting mission. We were seeing what dangers and issues were going on and reported back our findings to decide where to take the troops next. Seeing as we did report back our findings it was successful. Now we just have to wait and see what the Advisors decide our next move is. Head to the frozen lands of Emprise du Lion, or head to the sands of the Western Approach."

"Ice or sand - neither sounds appealing," Sam muses. He falls silent, thinking a moment. "It would be nice to be warm again," he says at last, wistfully. "But then what am I saying? I doubt I'd be any help, no matter where we go."

"Well if you ever need a place to warm up around here you should come to the armory. The forges make the place rather toasty. But a warmer location would have been nice. Course the snow and cold does make the hot spring a lot more pleasant to use."

Sam brightens at the offer. "Do you mean it?" he asks hopefully. "I wouldn't want to be in the way. But it would be nice to rest somewhere nice and warm, after working out in the garden." He sighs. "Still I suppose it's for the best. It sounds like the Inquisition has lots of enemies, and I can't imagine many of them finding their way up here."

"You're more than welcome to hang in there. If you go up the stairs there's some chairs to use. You'll just have to mind the noise though since others do work during the morning." If he was just looking to warm up then the armory was certainly the place to do it. If he wanted quiet... well that didn't come until it was time to sleep.

"Or wanting to find their way up here really. Not hard seeing as how many people come, but they would be hard pressed to get to us if they didn't have their full armory."

Sam nods eagerly. Noise he can handle, if it means warmth - especially warmth and a nice chair to sit in. "I'll be sure to be quiet myself, and not be a nuisance," he promises. "But speaking of nuisances, I'm sure I've taken up enough of your time. Thank you again for the offer - I'll be glad of it the next time the wind blows cruel!"

"It's a smithy, Sam. I don't think you'd have to worry about being quiet. It might be concerning if you decided to scream the entire time though," he replies with a grin, bringing his mug up for a drink. Mid drink though he stops, blinking when Samwise suggests that he should go.

"I wouldn't call you a nuisance, Sam, but if you need to go... I'll look forward to seeing you in the armory sometime, or even the tavern. Stay warm."

OPEN: this will be a better year

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