closed.

[heorte]

WHO: Ellis + Holden
WHAT: local men attempt to locate missing division heads
WHEN: August
WHERE: North-west of Hasmal
NOTES: ooc info

All the information they've been given, and what they're able to gather from the locals and a cobbled assembly of maps, leads them to what was once a stables and is now hosting a fair number of soldiers.

Shadowed in a copse of trees alongside the river, Ellis turns his attention from the passage of a clanking assembly of troops back to Holden.

"We'll need to take a closer look, aye?" Ellis asks, shifting in the saddle as his horse prances a few restless steps sideways.

They could certainly take this much back to Riftwatch, but without any clear idea as to whether or not it's the place holding Yseult and Flint it would be difficult to decide how to proceed. Speculation would only waste more time, and Ellis didn't think they'd be able to afford it. If they could even get an idea as to whether or not they were or had been held here—

Comments

[acreage]

He's nodding before the conscious part of his brain even catches up with the question.

This is, already, more information than they'd had before setting out. A confirmed assembly, resting ground, for Imperial soldiers is important information to take back to Riftwatch — whatever else they may find here. But it isn't enough. Yseult and Flint could be here, achingly nearby, and just out of sight. Any prisoner of war might be, from what they've heard. All of that is plenty of reason to find out whatever they can before they leave.

There is a question to be asked: what are they going to do if they do find captives down there? The obvious answer is to ride like hell back to Kirkwall, and ensure a force equipped to deal with this place is sent out. He knows that's the right thing to do. It's almost certainly what he would do. But the question that he doesn't know the answer to, is how exactly he would react to the reality of prisoners of Tevinter. It's not just the dreams. It's not just John's concerns. It's not just Tantervale or Starkhaven. It isn't even just the intercepted message Ellis directed him to, months and months ago.

(If anything happens to me — is a promise they shared; one he still intends to uphold, for his side of it, even if Ellis is effectively off the hook.)

It's the kind of vulnerability he should've admitted to Ellis before agreeing to accompany him here. It's too late to do so now.

"I want to be sure of what's down there," he says, Dulcinea nickering softly as he does. "As much as we can be."

[heorte]

"Aye," is easy agreement.

There is every chance this is not the right place. But it is something. Perhaps they don't unearth the Commander or the Scoutmaster, but maybe they unearth something useful. Someone useful.

"If we wait until dark, we might be able to slip down and take a closer look, get a count of their forces."

And between them, Ellis is able to pass more freely than Holden. He is a Warden, wearing the griffon crest. If he's caught and worst comes to worst, he can claim to be passing through, perhaps talk himself out of trouble. Holden would have a harder time of it, and the stakes are far higher if Holden joins whoever is in those cells down in the valley.

[acreage]

He nods.

"As long as we keep our eyes sharp, we shouldn't be found here till then."

They're enough of a distance from the encampment that they're not going to be heard, least of all over the gurgling of the river and the noise of the Tevene soldier's own boots and armor. And the thicket gives them decent cover; someone would have to pass very close by or be looking directly at them to find them. It's probably about as safe as anywhere this close to the troops is. They won't be able to light a fire, but in this heat, and with cold rations, they aren't likely to suffer for it.

He probably should be doing the same math that Ellis is, especially in light of his recent conversation with Cosima. But his thoughts lay more along the lines of the fact that he didn't come this far to not take a look around for himself, when night falls.

[heorte]

Holden might not think of it, but Ellis certainly does. They're flirting with a particular kind of risk, and Ellis has no intention of returning to Riftwatch lacking both Division Heads and Holden.

Once more or less situated, with a fair view of the encampment, Ellis glances over to Holden.

"After we get a count of what they have on hand, we might see if I can engage on of them on the road."

Just one. A minimal risk, one that can be dealt with between the two of them if it goes wrong.

"If it's the right kind of man, they might be inclined to gossip about any important captives."

A raise of eyebrows, implication heavy. Even if Flint and Yseult aren't within, they might still gain some information.

[acreage]

The right kind of man is a key part of Ellis's plan — and it's a good one, Holden thinks, fairly low-risk and high reward — but he says, dubiously,

"With a stranger they just met on the road?"

Security would have to be pretty lax for that kind of gossip, wouldn't it? But maybe Ellis has a plan for securing their trust; and this as much a prompt for him to explain the details of his strategy, as it is a concern.

[heorte]

His hand lifts, taps at the griffon crest gleaming across his breastplate.

"A Warden they met on the road."

Not that Ellis likes to think of it, but there are Wardens following Corypheus. Or bound to him. (Optimistic, to hope for hte latter.) At a glance, no one would know that Ellis' loyalties lay anywhere else.

"If I can find whether or not they've any help, common people they trade with, we'll know who you should be talking to."

Ellis has no illusions that between them, Holden is potentially better at wheedling information from people. He's disarming. That achieves thing Ellis can't, not in a situation like this.

[acreage]

Oh, right.

There's no need to assume Ellis is a member of Riftwatch at all, with no tell-tale anchor. Wardens might be affiliated with Riftwatch or, as Ellis has considered, Corypheus, or no one at all. And there's weight to what he does, moreso than any random person who may happen to be around this compound. Less question of what he's doing in the area, for that matter.

"It makes sense," he agrees, nodding slowly. "And there's a good chance of getting intel we won't be able to see for ourselves."

[heorte]

"Aye. And we can use whatever we can get our hands on."

Any information is going to be of use. Or at least, Ellis believes it is. He'd like to think Yseult has a similar philosophy, but they won't know until she's retrieved.

Or maybe never, but no one is saying that aloud.

Instead, as Ellis checks over his horse, he slants a look at Holden. Maybe there's enough common ground between them that Ellis feels compelled to warn—

"If something goes sideways, you run," is the stipulation, because even without the full knowledge of what happened in that dream, Ellis had gleaned a good amount of information from Wysteria and Tony's glancing mentions. "They won't fight nearly as hard to keep hold of me as they would to keep hold of you."

[acreage]

There are two distinct warring impulses in his head.

And maybe that's apparent, because there's no immediate verbal response, just a sharp look in return. Ellis has a point, of course. There's a cold flash of terror at the mere thought of what a wrong move could cost — and not just him, but, worse, Thedas and Riftwatch. Which is what wins out, ultimately; because as much as he hates the idea of theoretically running and leaving Ellis in peril,

and he does,

there are things that matter more. So it's not disagreement when he says, dry, "Did you forget that until just now?"

That, with a glance towards his shard hand, safely hidden in one of a pair of riding gloves. Not too incongruous with the work, even if the press of humid heat makes him wish he didn't need them.

[heorte]

"No."

But there's a short list of people within Riftwatch Ellis deems competent. The trouble is many of them tend to be Rifters, which may say more about Ellis' social circles than anything else. He'd gone to Holden for a reason, just like he'd given Holden's name to Wysteria to test her prototype for a reason. He's someone easy to depend on.

"Would you rather I asked someone else?"

Something that won't help either of them now, but would inform the choices he made in the future.

[acreage]

"If I did," he says with amusement that isn't unkind, "I would've said no. I want to be here."

Here, in something of a general sense. Nearer the front lines, doing things, potentially finding information that could help their Division Heads or some other poor captured souls. Making a direct impact on the war, in some sense.

But it just seems a little funny to request (1) James Holden come along, and then to ask that he does not James Holden if a situation arises.

"I don't intend to get captured, or to let that happen to you." Much as Ellis isn't wrong about the odds of one being more likely than the other, should they be discovered. "And you're right that we have to be careful."

But. There's a beat, makes it questionable if he'll articulate the part that bothers him.

"There's risk to being here at all. There's risk to leaving the Gallows, or Kirkwall. I've accepted that. That doesn't mean I like the idea of cutting and running as a contingency plan."

Specifically, with the potential intent of leaving someone behind. Still, he adds,

"I'm not saying I won't do it. We can hope it doesn't come to that."