[ OPEN | PLAYER PLOT ] This is how it feels to take a fall

[illithidnapped]

WHO: Tiffany, Barrow, Astarion and...you??
WHAT: an assignment gone terribly wrong
WHEN: week 5, segueing into week 6 of the plot, just after dragon tracking concluded with a terrible, literal bang
WHERE: the most silent portion of the Silent Plains, nearer to Hasmal, and not far from Tevinter's very nicely constructed base
NOTES: cw for injury, darkness, being stranded, absolute idiocy | OOC POST: here

Previously: having successfully scouted Primus Taxarchis’ base in the Silent Plains, Tiffany, Barrow and Astarion make an unsuccessful escape under the fully alerted watch of the base’s active forces— provoking a near lethal counter attack that sees them crash landing not far away, and forcing the stranded trio to desperately petition for help.

That’s where you come in.




The ravine runs like a crooked gash throughout desert sands, deep and layered, sloping inward at an angle too steep to safely (or reliably) climb. Easy to spot from above, not as easy to get into without breaking an ankle or an arm, and impossible to freely clamber out of once inside: the stone is brittle and flaking to the touch, lean too much on it, and you’ll drop right to the earth along with it.

The caverns connected to it are far more accessible— the only downside is they’re labyrinthine in their knotted nature: it’s easy to reach an end too narrow to be traversed, or so broad that it loops back on where you’ve already been, descending downward in steeper layers, becoming a near honeycombed network at points.

Of course, you also might not be alone in the dark. This territory isn’t as unclaimed as appearances might otherwise suggest, factoring in proximity to the base the three had been previously scouting. Luckily no overwhelming force has been sent to give chase and comb the desert in pursuit, but that’s not to say there aren’t still eyes to be found in the depths of lightless pathways. Armor-clad agents working for the exact same reasons you are, their noses to the trail.

Well. Not the exact same reasons.

The temperature is freezing cold at night, and in the fuller depths of the caverns where light doesn’t reach, that’s a near consistent constant. Firelight might draw attention, for better or worse. Magic, too, and— despite earning the label of Silent— there is wildlife occasionally to be found. Proof of life’s perseverance even in the harshes of places, fleeting and skittish.

Or dangerous.

Whatever approach is taken, one thing is clear throughout: none of this is going to be easy.


[ooc notes:

-The trio rest at the very bottom of those lightless depths where they’d initially fallen, in varying states of wellness and action.

-they’re lacking in supplies, warmth, healing, mounts, protection, a way out— you name it they need it.

-time is a given: none of this will go quickly, so feel free to handwave or assume anything you need to to make your dream threads come true.

-this timeline wise takes place at the end of week five segueing into week 6, when Riftwatch forces are free to head home if they care to, but given that this is technically hostile territory between Primus Taxarchis’ base and Hasmal, it’s probably going to be a deliberate choice if your characters decide to come here.

-pls just don’t do anything to officially alert the nearby base in full, that would be Bad— and super difficult to do from a hole in the ground but mostly just Bad. Otherwise chase your bliss and make your wildest spelunking/survival/heroic fantasies a reality.

-ooc post is here, for all your delving needs and details.]

Comments

[tender]

A brief, confused look in return, Derrica's grip tightening on his wrist momentarily.

"I'm going to incapacitate them," she whispers, adjusting her offhand grip on her staff. "So you'll have an easier time of it."

In which an easier time of it most certainly means murdering them.

But Holden most certainly needs to be a step behind her, and if he doesn't move himself, Derrica is not above moving herself a step in front of him.

[acreage]

The thing is

whatever questions he has right now, even if he has no idea how she'd incapacitate them, this isn't the time or place to ask. He trusts her. So he nods, steps back and out of her way.

[tender]

Later, Derrica will recognize that action for what it is.

But in the moment, it registers as a sensible thing, and the hiccup between Holden's confusion and the moment he steps behind her ceases to hold her attention. The voices have grown louder, eager; the debate carries, marking out for them that yes, their exchange was heard, even as a muffled, indistinct thing.

Her hand sweeps back, directing him along in her wake as she drifts towards the curve of the passage. Out of immediate sight of the eagerly approaching group, who will round the corner still arguing about voices carrying.

Derrica waits only long enough to note both their tightly clustered formation and that Holden is a safe distance behind before bringing her staff to the floor with a muted thock, immediately eclipsed by the crackle of lightening snared around the heavy chunk of lyrium bound at the tip.

Her hand sweeps out, and the lightening leaps in a low arc to strike the unfortunate soul at the head of their group. He's still screaming as the lightening hops from one of his fellows to another, leaving them all scorched and flailing by the time the lightening fades into sparks along the dusty cavern floor.

1/2

[acreage]

Safely behind Derrica, there's no one to notice Holden nearly jump out of his skin.

How long has she been able to do that!!!

[acreage]

But however the fuck she did whatever the fuck she did,

he only allots himself the space of a heartbeat to be surprised. Instead, he watches the lighting's progress — from man to man to man, waits until he's sure the magic is complete. And then he moves in, following Derrica's cue, blade drawn to cut down the soldier nearest to him.

There's no question of mercy, here and now. Anyone who gets away might find their injured friends and finish the job or worse, might get back to the base and bring back tenfold of their fellows, might overcome the two of them and then do any of those things. They can't take that chance.

wheeze

[tender]

The difficulty of enclosed spaces and clumped groups: Derrica cannot rely on any kind of offensive magic available to her once Holden has moved past her. The risk of striking him is simply too high for her to justify it.

However, the barrier she summons certainly cannot come as a surprise to him. The bright glow of it comes washing over him from the ground up, silvering the threads of his clothes as he moves.

The men are, unsurprisingly, far easier to deal with when sizzled so thoroughly. Between Holden's sword and the thudding impact of Derrica's stave, the are able to hold their advantage. It's a gruesome scene, but by now, after Tantervale and weeks of fending off Imperial soldiers, it hardly ranks as the most awful thing they've dealt with.

[acreage]

All things considered, it doesn't take them long to dispatch the soldiers. Derrica's barrier saves his life more than once, most notably when one tries to cast a short-range fire spell on him. And at the end of it, after they've had a moment to be sure the enemies are dead, and no one else is about to sneak up on them, and can take a breath,

he looks around and says, grim,

"We can't leave them here. It'd be as good as telling the next patrol ourselves that we're here."

[tender]

"Where should we leave them?"

Surely the pertinent question. Derrica's out of breath as she comes up alongside Holden. There's a moment of obvious scrutiny, checking that her barriers have held and that he isn't bleeding from somewhere he hasn't mentioned.

"I have a little fire," is a more tentative suggestion than maybe it should be. After calling up lightening underground, surely fire is a safer option. "We could try to burn them past recognition, if you think that would work?"

[acreage]

"I don't think it would hurt."

It'd take longer for the Venatori to figure out what happened to their companions, which can only be good, in this case. If Derrica's fire comes as a surprise — and it does, but after lightning, like, why not — he doesn't show it. Similarly, he looks alright; nothing worse than the odd bruise that'll blossom later from the blunt force of fists or weapons. Derrica gets a similar look-over as he answers, just to be sure.

"And then we can leave them somewhere hard to find in another one of these caverns. If we're lucky, no one will find them until we're gone."