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[PLAYER PLOT] THIS WEATHERED HEART
WHO: A Lotta Folks
WHAT: Preventing a Venatori plot on a distant island; everything goes a-okay.
WHEN: Mid Kingsway
WHERE: Nascere, an island off the coast of Seheron
NOTES: OOC information and plotting post HERE. Ty to cass and mj's nevarra city log structure which I shamelessly ripped off.
WHAT: Preventing a Venatori plot on a distant island; everything goes a-okay.
WHEN: Mid Kingsway
WHERE: Nascere, an island off the coast of Seheron
NOTES: OOC information and plotting post HERE. Ty to cass and mj's nevarra city log structure which I shamelessly ripped off.
ARRIVAL.
Accommodations are tight on the single ship which leaves Kirkwall, but spirits—of the crew, at least—are surprisingly high given what is likely to be unpleasant work ahead. In true Waking Sea fashion however, the weather turns just as the Walrus enters the straight between Ostwick and Brandel's Reach. A number of days are spent at the mercy of viciously inhospitable weather, shouting over screaming wind and struggling the length of slanting decks, as the ship beats its way East to smoother seas. On the plus side, the days which follow allow plenty of time to repair anything carried away or damaged by the storms. 'Better now than when we're trying to land,' seems to be the general opinion of the seasoned sailors aboard.
When the Walrus passes into its native latitudes, great care is taken to avoid all sight of the coast until they can skirt in under the cover of darkness. So what at last rises up from the horizon in the night is not an island but a shadow. The lightless shape rising against the canvas of the night sky consists of some mountain range rendered featureless by the dark, jungle cliff sides, and just the faintest line of foaming bio-luminescent waters against a narrow strip of beach. The landing itself is uneventful - a series of longboats run them to shore, then return to the Walrus with a skeleton crew fit to see the ship smuggled back over the horizon.
Now effectively stranded, Riftwatch (and their half a crew of pirates) make their way through the hilly jungle terrain and eventually into the valley beyond where the vegetation and twisting paths occasionally give way to signs of agricultural life—groves of macadamia trees and broad swathes of sugar cane—and the faintest flickers of light from distant plantation houses. Their destination is a small farm cut into one of the red foothills. From its overgrown state, it's clearly been abandoned for some time. The farmhouse is beginning to grow dilapidated from lack of care, and its interior has been cleared to accommodate both Riftwatch and the small force of about twenty insurgents—a strange combination of escaped enslaved and pirates-turned-revolutionaries, and evidently just one of a series of rebel cells in hiding throughout the island's interior—they meet there.
DAY.
With some expectation that it will be a few days before they mount their assault on the rift and the underground ruin, the first day on Nascere is meant to simply be an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the current conditions on the island. The bulk of Riftwatch's force is either to stay put on the farm away from prying eyes, or may accompany one or two rebel scouts to coordinate with other cells scattered across the island so long as they can move quickly, quietly, and avoid detection. Specifically, two groups have been tasked to gather information in Nascere Town proper—particularly any news relating to the whereabouts of the missing half of the insurgency which disappeared when the rebel force was successfully broken by the ruling force in residence—, and to explore as much of the network of caves leading to the ruin as is possible while avoiding detection.
LOCAL GOSSIP - Athessa, Byerly, Isaac, & Vanadi
Seemingly carved out of the living rock overlooking the harbor below, Nascere Town is a visage in relief upon a steep hill, its deep contours cast in a harsh light by the rift fixed high above it at the hill's summit. The buildings at the base are built on stilts, with stairs or ladders leading up to the entrances. As the elevation rises, the buildings fall until they are all level with the dirt road that cuts through them.
Residences and shops line the road on either side, and what seems to be otherwise shockingly normal commerce is slowed by the purposeful momentum of a few Venatori gathering supplies and taking them somewhere. The warehouse near the lowest point of town is supplying wagons with tools and rope and chains and the like, the supplies needed to imprison rather than to build. A handful of Tevene-aligned foot soldiers not at work can also be found enjoying drinks or a meal at the tavern or enjoying intimate company at the brothel across the street. The center of operations seems to be the old Chantry—built as counterpoint to the Qun fort overlooking the bay when the Imperium took control of the island, converted into a public market during the pirate possession of the island, and then reverted back to its former religious significance upon the Governor's takeover—, overlooking the town and back lit by a verdant veilfire sun. It's where the ranks sleep, and plan, and where it's rumored a few people have never returned from.
That is a story that can be from a number of different people in town. Some folks just vanish, and it's chalked up to the guerrillas in the surrounding jungle, the pirate resistance, sometimes even the Governor's men. But sometimes they're seen being led to that holy spire, and what else are they supposed to think when it's Venatori taking them there?
It's too risky to approach the Chantry itself, but it's clear enough by the commotion in the streets that there isn't any time to waste. This is confirmed by the nervous and surprisingly competent gentleman named Mr. Featherstone who meets them in the tavern's back room. He unfortunately doesn't know much about the missing half of the rebel militia; all he can offer is a few rumors that they've been smuggling people off the island, which could explain some of the fighting still happening in the jungle, or perhaps that they scarpered entirely when the resistance fell. Most on Nascere have taken to believing them dead.
The most important information Featherstone has to share is that whatever the Venatori are planning to do will be happening tonight.
UNDERGROUND EXPLORATION - Caius, Dorian, Gwenaëlle, Leander, & Madi
At first, the passages are simply dirt walls, roots and moss, but slowly, they give way to stone. It would be easy to get lost in these caverns, if no one was paying attention. The passages branch, though some open into single-roomed chambers and others have collapsed or been overgrown by plant life. But upon close inspection, it's clear which routes have seen regular foot traffic, and Madi has some knowledge of the route, enough to quell doubt upon reaching forked passages, though it's inevitable to take a few wrong turns and come across closed chambers or mark light ahead where tunnels curve back towards the surface into the jungle. The walls bear runes and other markings, some appearing to be simple directions while others are historical and instructional in design. Luckily, there are plenty of small crevasses to wedge tunnel markers, ensuring a return to this route won't require as much trial and error.
Eventually, the echo of voices prompts the dousing of torches while guiding forward travel. The tunnels give way to a large, vaulted chamber. Debris has been moved to the edges to reveal looping, intricate runes set into the floor. A single shaft of light illuminates the dark-smeared altar in the middle of the room. A number of Venatori are in attendance, clearly hard at work in preparation for something. Torches have been lit, and the glow reveals a set of cages along the far wall, ceremonial robes, a table of sharp implements reverently arranged.
Walking further into the chamber is too much of a gamble. Every time it looks as if the room will empty out entirely, a few more Venatori reappear. But it is possible to eavesdrop on the conversations as Venatori come and go through several other entryways. The discussions reveal that the Venatori have used regularly visited this chamber to perform rituals, as well as that they are confident in having finally crafted the exact sequence of events that unlocks⸺
Something? It's hard to say, because the Venatori never refer to the outcome in anything but vague, glowing excitement. But it is safe to assume that the outcome of the upcoming ritual is probably very bad. Judging by some of their conversation and the layout of the ruin's modifications, Caius (and potentially a few other nerds present) will be able to calculate that the fallout from a spell like this has the potential for some serious collateral damage if left unchecked, enough so that the town above proper might be endangered by it. Luckily, it's possible to back out of this cavern and backtrack towards the town to pass along this information without attracting any attention from the Venatori prepping the ritual space.
NIGHT.
Time being a luxury evidently in short supply, efforts to coordinate and strategize promptly take on new urgency. While the bulk of the effort is dedicated to rallying forces and preparing to move out, two teams are sent to alert select local contacts to the destructive potential of the runes under the island and to fetch a secret cache of gaatlok buried on the island.
SACRIFICIAL LAMBS - Barrow, Lukas, Ilias, & Silver
With the warning that the town could be turned into collateral damage, a more tangible threat than several years of guerrilla warfare, evacuating the town to safer ground is the only logical thing to do. John has an idea of who should be told first, which brothel, which tavern, which spaces in the town square and market they'll need to visit to make sure the alarm they're sounding carries swiftly and effectively.
However, they make it as far as the town square before it becomes clear something's amiss. More amiss than usual.
The town is crawling with Venatori. The streets are full of people trying to scramble into hiding or being dragged from their homes or from behind the market stalls. The gallows, always an ominous sight, are eclipsed by a barred cart into which people are being shoved, or thrown. Even in all the chaos and rising level of hysteria from the townspeople as they try to avoid capture, it quickly becomes obvious that the Venatori aren't rounding people up for a night in the pokey.
Knowing what's scheduled to occur at the ruins, it's safe to assume the people being thrown into carts haven't been volunteered to act as moral support so much as they're intended to provide the required blood component.
Stealth is paramount; it's crucial to keep the Venatori from realizing any opposition beyond the pirate rebellion has arrived on the island. That being said, the Venatori also can't be allowed to haul a cart full of potential blood sacrifices down to the ruins. Therefore the task becomes: either find a way to release the victims and prevent the Venatori from collecting more without being seen, or make sure no Venatori are able to raise the alarm if there's no way to proceed stealthily.
TREASURE HUNT - Edgard, Darras, Derrica, & Flint
Armed with Flint's knowledge of where the cache of gaatlok is buried, it seems an easy enough task to locate and unbury it. Or it would be, if there weren't an enemy patrol in the nearby vicinity (likely motivated by the burial site's proximity to a now abandoned rebel encampment). That discovery is brought about by one of the enemy scouts straying too far from a familiar path and snagging his boot on an old trip-wire. His impact with the trap makes enough noise to call over two others, and to cover the sounds of a retreat into cover.
The Venatori can't be allowed to discover the gaatlok, and the risk of an alarm being sounded is too high to get away with being spotted. They'll have to be scared off or eliminated. Anyone who cares to eavesdrop a little can discover that the Venatori are already spooked, thanks to the Veil being so thin on the island. There have been ever increasing reports of wraiths, shades, and even ghosts manifesting on the jungle. Some have even heard the sounds of wailing loved ones or the voice of the Maker himself whispering on the breeze.
RIFT & RUIN.
With some sense of what they're up against and a gaatlok cache shaped ace up their sleeves, Riftwatch and their allies are divided into two forces. One party is to take the foothills just north of Nascere Town where the burning rift demands closure. They've been instructed to value speed over subtlety; with the bulk of the Venatori force preparing to make their way into the underground, they'll need to draw some of their number back to the hilltop if the team handling the ruins is to have any chance at scuttling the magic being performed there. The other group is to spirit the gaatlok underground and disrupt the ritual by destroying key segments of the temple's sprawling adapted runework.
THE RIFT
When viewed by night, the rift which sits at the crest of the hill overlooking Nascere Town is naseauting in its brilliance. Likely it has grown slowly in magnitude and any change has been so gradual that the locals can hardly recall what it looked like to begin with; but to anyone familiar with what a Rift should be, the danger is indicative in the sheer span of the grim aurora spilling over the hilltop. The rift hasn't torn itself open yet, but yet seems to be the operative word.
Immediate resistance is relatively light, consisting of a few Venatori mages and shockingly ill-equipped foot soldiers. Unfortunately, reinforcements from the town below will quickly answer and it will briefly appear likely that the bid for the rift will fail. However the closer they get to the rift, the more disorienting and serpentine the jungle vegetation seems to become. What must be a path certain to lead to the glowing summit instead winds travelers in circles; forms inexplicably familiar - an old friend, a favorite childhood dog, a girl someone once loved - flicker at the periphery of vision and tempt wrong turns. The confusion makes it possible to escape being overwhelmed; unfortunately, it will be easy to become separated and Riftwatch and its allies are as prone to being scattered by their desire as the enemy is. Anyone separated from the bulk of their force may find themselves prey to rare hunger in the dark.
When they at last find their way to the rift, it is as a swollen belly being split open with pulsing heaves of nauseating light crackling across the rocky summit. What at first appears to be the guts of some great thing spills from the seam in slow motion on regrettably necessary closer inspection, is in actuality some appendage of an entity ready to push its way through the Veil which takes the form of twisting snakes. They are appealingly hypnotic, turning end over glittering scaled end, as with each pulse of light they slip further into the world where they might attempt to devour anyone who gets too close.
While at first it may seem as if Gwenaëlle and her supercharged anchor should have no trouble closing the rift herself, as whatever is happening in the ruin below progresses, Vanadi will have to aid her to counteract the effect of the ritual and successfully close the damn thing.
THE RUIN
Thanks to the earlier mapping mission, it's relatively simple to slip back in through the circuitous network of caves leading to the underground elven ruin. Even better: they have a perfect cover story. After all, the folks down in the ruin are expecting a few guests. Down in the caves, dirt floors cede to stone, and then to lovely domed rooms once laced with elaborate dalish decorative stonework sheared into shapes which grow more brutal and hard edged the closer the party gets to the central chamber. Deep furrows have been cut into the floor of these passages and brushed with some dark stain; according to the earlier survey, they form some elaborate rune all their own whose center rests in the main chamber.
Riftwatch (and their cache of gaatlok) are to secret their way along passages which run parallel to these main corridors, taking anyone they might meet by surprise. When at last they arrive at the central chamber, it is to be greeted by a ceremony already underway. A series of glyphs burn at key locations around the room, each managed by a pair of mages, and arranged around the central platform with its ugly Tevene altar lie a number of corpses (likely Nascere's missing persons) face down in the furrows which converge there.
Riftwatch's job at this point is to simply ("""simply""") fight their way to the central platform, set the gaatlok, and blow the central series of interlocking runes where the Veil has been rendered most thin. They'll be facing off with a number of Venatori mages, but the working theory is that they only have to last long enough to get the charge off. Maybe it requires an elaborate relay of passing the gaatlok from behind one series of barriers to another to avoid being blown up by stray magic; maybe stray magic does trigger the explosion. What is guaranteed is that when the explosion rocks the chamber, it decimates the central platform, sends stony shrapnel spitting in every direction, and knocks anyone left on their feet to the ground.
And as the central series of conduit runes in the subterranean ruin is split, power lances free. It courses lightning like along the channels—twisting rune forms—which spiral outward along the floors of various arms of the underground cavern from its main chamber, strippign the life out of anything unlucky enough to be standing (or stumbling or lying) in any of the carved furrows as the arcane burst surges down it.
In its wake, the ruin splits.
ESCAPE.
If anyone wasn't already moving to escape before the ceilings of the ruin's ornate underground rooms begin to fall in, and as walls and floors begin to crumble away into widening fissures, they should be now. A collapsed wall exposes a previously unmapped series of passages leading up and away from the ruin's chambers. As the network of caves tumbles in on itself and Riftwatch's forces underground flee through the rough hewn tunnels to emerge in the chaos of the disintegrating Qun-era fort which once guarded Nascere Town and the harbor beyond, an otherworldly fog rises ravenously after them.
Meanwhile, the team responsible for closing the rift has their own problems. While the disorienting effects of the jungle have evaporated with the rift's closure, the moment the bedrock fractures and the caverns below begin to fragment so too does the hilltop. The rift closure team will have to outpace the foothill's collapse to join their fellows struggling out of the ruin. By the time both groups converge in Nascere Town, there will be little doubt that the destructive force meant to shred open the Veil—power derived from years worth of a guerrilla war, from decades of bloodshed produced by both the island's internal turmoil and its embittered exchange of ownership between pirates and the Imperium, the Qun, and whoever came before—is perfectly capable of doing the same to the island when left unchecked.
At this stage, there's little to be done to control it. The best Riftwatch can hope for as the port town and the mountainous region surrounding it break into pieces is to get to something that floats and out of dodge before the harbor and its contents can be sucked into whatever cavity opens as the entire landmass breaks apart. In the bitter pre-dawn aftermath, the place they came to has been reduced to irregular jagged teeth plunged under a fog so unnaturally dense that it refuses to burn away even as the sun rises and the Walrus creeps in to rescue them from whatever irregular fleet of longboats and little sailing vessels they managed to escape on.
The ruin is gone. The Veil is intact. Technically speaking, Riftwatch accomplished exactly what they came here to do.
Edgard
Open
Edgard stares up at the tall mast. It makes him a little dizzy to look at it. It brings to mind orchard trees he climbed in the past.
With a stupid grin, he turns to the person next to him, “Bet you I can beat you to the top!”
STORM!
Edgard wakes up by being thrown out of his cot below deck. Barely awake, he regains balance only to be thrown against the wall. He makes his way this way falling to one side then the other to the stair leading above deck. He can see pelting rain and a shock of lightning. He climbs his way upward yelling, “What do we do?!” to whoever he meets.
wildcards through
"Do you have a moment?" she asks, coming up to stand beside him. "There's some questions I have for you."
what a pleasant surprise!
"Of course." He says. "Is everything alright?"
no subject
"About what happened when you were out with Athessa."
no subject
“I’m guessing you mean the Venatori and not when I helped her repair a roof?”
The latter of which he had done in a deliberate attempt to make peace. Edgard leaves that part out. It didn’t work, so why mention it.
no subject
Though she pauses for a moment, a little uncertain of herself. Maybe she should have left a message in the book for Commander Flint, except that they're sailing towards Nascere and there is more important things at hand for him to devote attention to. And this can't wait, considering the danger they may or may not be sailing towards.
"I don't think you're inept," she says, because that seems an important thing to highlight. "I know you're capable with your bow. But none of that matters if you endanger the rest of us with your actions."
And she just can't get her head around why he would do such a thing.
no subject
“Oh yes, I’m so inept I took out multiple Venatori when it was so dark I was blind. Maybe tell Athessa to not be such a shit to people if she wants people to trust what she says.”
Edgard turns away, breathing heavily. He looks out at the ocean, but doesn’t see it. Instead, he hears the screams and sees the falling axe.
“I won’t endanger anyone.” He spits.
no subject
"I said I don't think you're inept," Derrica reminds, drawing a step closer. "I know you are skilled. But I think you are still settling yourself into this kind of work."
Is that the kindest way to say it? Derrica takes pains to talk around the words she'd used with Athessa, to try and be gentle in her criticism.
"We only succeed if we trust each other, and listen to what is said. Do you think I am coming to you with this to be cruel to you?"
no subject
“No. I don’t think you’re cruel. If you were to tell me to do something when we are out, I’d listen. Because you’ve considered my opinion before like an equal. I can’t say the same for others and you can’t ask me to trust blindly.”
Least of all, people who laugh at him or are determined to dislike him. How was he supposed to know Athessa wasn’t picking on him this one time?
no subject
In time, it wouldn't feel so much like trusting strangers. But she doesn't think telling him to wait and acclimate to the rotating cast of compatriots Riftwatch offers is really a solution.
"Either you believe we're all here to stop Corypheus and the Venatori, or you don't. We are all trying to serve that purpose, and keep each other alive while we do so. Isn't that enough to earn something from you?"
no subject
"It does earn something from me. I'm here to help. I won't endanger anyone." He says again. He closes his eyes briefly to will the images to stop.
"I made a mistake with Athessa. I don't know. She--" He shrugs helplessly. "She just hates me."
no subject
"I can't speak for Athessa," Derrica tells him after a moment of thought. She has a hard time conceiving of Athessa earnestly hating anyone, but navigating what Athessa may or may not feel isn't Derrica's place. "And I know you mean to help. But you did endanger someone, because you thought you knew best and didn't listen to her. Help is more than just what we intend."
The impulse to reach to touch his elbow comes and goes. Derrica's hands stay folded in front of her. She can't tell if Edgard would appreciate the attempt to soften the blow or not.
"If you're worried about the way people feel about you, then you can change what might have caused the problem. It'll mend things in time."
Or offer an apology, but Derrica doesn't want to put that on either of them.
no subject
Most of the time, Edgard doesn't let it in, he shoves it away and barrels ahead. How could anyone sit with it and still wake up every morning? For a moment though, he lets it in and it isn't the images, blood, or the heavy breaths, its just a deep dark emptiness like a gaping maw within him opening wide and taking every piece. Leaving a body useless. Useless Edgard.
He focuses again on Derrica's face and like the crack of a whip, it is buried and forgotten. He smiles lightly.
"Alright." He says. "You're right. I'll do better." Then he turns away to face the ocean again.
no subject
If it isn't, she'll square with it when that becomes clear.
"Thank you," she says instead. A brief touch of her fingers at his elbow, and then she leaves him to his thoughts.