faderift | open: something grabs ahold of me tightly

open: something grabs ahold of me tightly

WHO: Inquisition Forces
WHAT: Inquisition forces cross the mountains into Orlais to deal with Emprise du Lion
WHEN: Wintermarch 25 onward
WHERE: EMPRISE DU LION
NOTES: This is a mingle-style log for the Inquisition camps, local tavern, and general/open Inquisition work, etc.

This time they hike down to the west, but the trip through the mountains is no easier. The snow is heaped up about the road where wagons have pushed it aside, stomped into slippery pack beneath the feet and hooves that have gone before. Of the main track it is ankle deep at best and in places it drifts, waist-deep on a tall man and enough to bury a dwarf who hasn't come prepared with snowshoes. Everywhere the wind howls, biting cold, and the sky hangs low, a pale flat grey that makes it difficult to judge distances. Those who know winter weather call it a snow sky, and near-daily squalls prove them right.

They set up camp in Sahrnia, across the broad expanse of frozen river that has trapped the villagers here upstream. Tents pop up in rows and in the shells of tumbled-down buildings, fires blazing and thawing the ground to mud. When the supply wagons roll in they re-open the local tavern, brightly lit with flaking paint on the walls that might once have been colorful and patterned tiles on the floor that seems to swim like an optical illusion after too many glasses of the cheap red wine that fills the cellars.

Even deadlier reds hold the hills: Red Templar sightings have been frequent and it is said they are operating in several locations in the region in significant force. Some of these men and women have become hulking, crystalline beasts. Many others are in the earlier stages of corruption: red-veined and -eyed, aggressive and superhumanly strong, but still visibly human and coherent if spoken to. Red lyrium is even easier to find, jutting out of the ground or cliffsides, filling caves-- the Tower of Bone, a fortress that has stood for centuries, now threatens to split from the inside out. The area's wildlife was none too friendly before, but now the wolves and bears have begun to be corrupted by the lyrium and many will attack on sight, without provocation. (The snofleurs that bumble harmlessly around the river seem unaffected.)

Everywhere there are ruins: broken bridges, crumbling colosseums, and the great hulking mass of Suledin's Keep tucked between the distant hills. Scouts reported that Red Templars hold it as well.

RIFTER ARRIVAL - SAHRNIA - THE HILLS - TOWER CAMP - A HANDY MAP

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ This is certainly no pleasure trip for Christine either, and what's more, this is her second time here. The cold doesn't become any easier to bear, and really the only thing keeping her going is the thought that they must. The cannot let the Red Templars hurt anymore people here. ]

I hope my thoroughness can help the Inquisition. There are many factors here. If we know how many Red Templars are here, plus how much red lyrium, then we might be able to determine how much they can produce, and how they do it. And, of course, I need to mark all these locations so they may be destroyed, save a bit to research.

[ Cassandra hums in agreement. ]

An ambitious goal. But a worthy one. [ She glances at the mage. ] Just be sure to keep your own safety in mind. Its effects are...ugly, and its effects on mages even more so. If you begin feeling strange in any way, you must tell me immediately.

[ There's a brief moment where Christine's hackles rise, simply because this is a Seeker telling her what to do. But she's not so blinded as to not realize that it is coming from a place of concern. Christine would say the same, as she's a healer and wants everyone to be safe. ]

Of course. I can do no good in studying this for the Inquisition if it's driving me mad.

[ She walks on, spying another spike of red lyrium not far off. ]

There is another one. So many, and so close together.

[ Cassandra doesn't mean to lecture, and would have been mortified if she realized how she sounded to Christine. She has no doubts as to the mage's abilities, after all, nor her capacity to look after herself. But red lyrium is a danger to all of them, and vigilance is their only defense.

She frowns as they approach the red spike, doing her best to ignore the way it presses on her mind. ]

Too many. I had not thought - I had hoped that the Red Templars were not so numerous as that. But there is so much of it here... [ She trails off, lost in thought, before speaking again with more determination. ] We will never mark them all, if what we have found thus far is any indication.

I am beginning to fear you are right. Perhaps we should just walk the path, and I will mark how many are between point A and point B. Then others can come through and destroy all along the route?

[ As long as a few pieces are spared for study, Christine isn't going to kick up a fuss about all the rest being destroyed as quickly as possible. ]

[ Cassandra nods in approval, and not a little relief. ]

A sound plan. We cannot walk the entirety of the Emprise in a day in any case. Marking the lyrium along this path will be...a good start.

[ Not much, perhaps, in comparison to all that there is to be done. But it is something. She looks along the path ahead, feeling more lighthearted, but then suddenly frowns, holding out a warning hand. ]

Hold on. I thought I heard -

[ She never finishes her sentence. There is a growl from somewhere above them, and then a blur of grey fur as a wolf leaps down from a boulder high above. Cassandra dodges it easily, drawing her sword. ]

Stay back! [ She calls over her shoulder. The mage is no great fighter, and Cassandra will not have her put herself in unnecessary danger. Her blade whistles through the air, and the wolf's head comes off cleanly - but where there is one wolf, there are more. Even as the beast's body falls to the ground, the angry howls of its companions surround them. ]

[ Stay back is not something Christine needs to be told twice. She gets out of the way, but the sounds of wolves echo all around them and Christine tucks her map and pencil into her satchel before drawing her staff and setting a barrier over herself. She would have placed Cassandra under its protection too, but she's too far away now. ]

What should we do?

[ She glances around, taking stock of the situation. Only three wolves, at least for the moment, but they are coming from all directions, trying to pen them in. And it's working. Cassandra steps slowly back towards Christine, trying to keep her eyes on at least two of the wolves as she does. ]

This must be done quickly. We cannot allow the rest of the pack to gain their scent.

[ The wolves approach slowly, still too far off for Cassandra to attack without leaving Christine vulnerable. She glances quickly at the mage, speaking urgently. ]

Do you have know any offensive spells? Any at all?

[ Christine swallows down her fear and nods. Dorian has been training mages and she's been learning a little from him. However, most are spells to just slow enemies down so others can take them out. The big spells like ice, fire, and lightning? She passable, but that's not where her strengths lie. They lie in spirit and entropy. ]

Walking Bomb.

[ It's said even as she gets into the pose to cast it, striking one of the wolves. It yelps and skitters back as the poison courses through it's body. ]

And I can weaken them.

[ Cassandra nods sharply in approval as the wolf shies away. Not a wide variety of spells to choose from...but enough, hopefully. It's reassuring to know that Christine can defend herself. ]

Then do that. And keep a barrier over yourself. Do not worry about me.

[ That said, she grips the hilt of her sword and dashes forward to meet the wolves even now approaching them, calling over her shoulder as she goes. ]

And take care not to hit me!

[ Christine lets out a huff, but doesn't shout anything back because she doesn't want to lose her focus. She lets Cassandra handle the wolf of her choosing and fires a weaken spell at another instead, away from the Seeker, of course. She has enough sense, thank you very much.

After that, she fires simple spells as she waits for her mana to replenish, and settles a barrier over herself once it does. The wolf she weakened has now shaken it off, and comes at her, causing her to back up and cast a force field on it. It's a very handy spell that keeps an enemy locked in place. Unfortunately, the very nature of the spell means the enemy can't be damaged while held in this state. It's just a way to take the wolf out of the battle for awhile.

Basically, she's saving this one for Cassandra. ]

[ Nothing personal, Christine. Cassandra's just seen a few too many mages fight with more enthusiasm and less precision than was good for them.

These wolves are ready for a fight in a way that the first had not been, and subduing them is more difficult with more than one to keep track of. Cassandra takes on two at once, trusting her companion to handle the third. She deals the first a hard blow, sending it staggering to the side with a whimper as she turns to the other. Keeping it between herself and Christine allows the mage to assist her with spells that weaken the wolf and keep it disoriented, and she nods to herself in approval. Between the spells and Cassandra's sword, they make short work of the wolf - but by then, the other has recovered, lunging at Cassandra from behind just as she deals its packmate a killing blow.

Its teeth sink into her leg, and she grunts in surprise and pain, staggering slightly. Luckily, the wolf makes no attempt to hang on, and she turns, in close enough quarters to attack it directly. The wolf has no opportunity to attack again before collapsing to the ground.

Two down. Her leg pains her, the severity of the wound still unknown, but that is something to consider later. She turns and sees the third wolf far too near Christine, and starts to run, ignoring the pain that shoots up and down her leg and the slight limp in her step. The mage performs a spell that freezes the wolf in place, and Cassandra sighs in relief. She reaches the two of them before the spell wears off, placing herself in position to attack the wolf, and glances quickly at Christine. ]

Are you injured?

Not at all.

[ But Cassandra's injury does not go unnoticed. Being in the middle of an attack isn't the best time to deal with it, but Christine is disciplined and can take care of it, especially as the wolf still isn't free of its magical prison. ]

Let me heal you?

[ She really should just do it, but there is such a stigma attached to the act of magical healing that Christine tries to give patients a choice unless they're unconscious and can't answer. ]

It can wait.

[ She does not doubt the mage's skill, nor does she balk at the concept of using magic for healing, but she also doesn't know just how long they have until the spell wears off and the wolf comes back to life. Tending to her own, relatively minor injury is not a priority while the wolf yet lives.

It does not take long. A few tense moments, Cassandra as motionless as the wolf, and then the spell fades and the wolf launches forward, continuing on its path as though it had never stopped. Cassandra is there to meet it. She strikes, clean and true, and the beast's body collapses to the ground, dead.

She straightens, wincing slightly as she puts weight on her leg, and cleans her blade before sliding it back into its sheath and nodding once at Christine. Approval of her efforts, and more than that - camaraderie and respect. They had done battle together, and emerged victorious. ]

[ That's what they always say. Christine is tempted to say as much aloud, but she changes her mind. She won't take away the Seeker's focus just to point out how troublesome some patients can be. Besides, Christine's patients say this sort of thing when they aren't facing a wild animal, and that's what makes her annoyed. Cassandra at least has reason to wait.

But when it's all said and done, Christine nods in return. ]

Well done. Now may I take a look?

[ It could wait longer yet, until they are back at camp, and Cassandra would bear the pain without complaint if necessary - but it is not necessary, not when their enemies are vanquished and a healer stands eager to assist. ]

If you have the mana. Then yes.

[ She settles herself gingerly onto a boulder, stretching out her leg before her and grimacing at the sight of the wound. A recruit's mistake, to allow the wolf to get so close. ]

I should have blocked that.

[ Christine kneels beside her, using her staff to steady herself as she goes. She gently moves the fabric aside, letting out a soft hum before she gestures over the wound with her hand. Inside, the muscle starts rebuilding itself and within the space of a moment, the skin knits back together too. There is a fresh scab along the former wound, but overall, Cassandra should be feeling much better and be able to put her full weight on her leg again. ]

You were fighting two at once.

[ Christine glances up and offers a bit of a smile before she pushes herself up to stand again. ]

No one would fault you for being unable to block one while fighting another.

And yet that does not stop the wolves.

[ She stretches her leg out, inspecting the wound before carefully standing. The shooting pain in her calf is gone, and she takes a few experimental steps before turning to Christine, returning her smile. ]

Thank you. You are a skilled healer.

Merci. It is my life's calling, so I had better be skilled at it by now.

[ When Christine sets her mind to something, she throws herself into it. ]

Shall we head back now? It seems the wildlife here is getting too ambitious.

I believe that would be wise, yes.

[ They can return tomorrow, perhaps, with stronger reinforcements. For the moment...Cassandra has had enough of fighting wolves for one day.

She glances at Christine as they start down the road back to camp, willing to talk even as she keeps an eye on the horizon for additional threats. ]

It is a rare thing, to have discovered one's calling at such a young age. Some people never manage it.

I suppose I have been blessed in that way, yes. Of course, options are limited in the Tower. Healing is a popular choice.

[ It's stated in a matter-of-fact manner. She knows the Seeker is aware of career options for mages and she doesn't need to explain. ]

As is magical research. The library at Montsimmard was particularly useful.

A noble one, all the same.

[ Limited options, yes, but Cassandra doesn't think to feel sorry for her. It is the proper fate of a mage - training in the Circle, following Chantry law to keep themselves and others safe. That does not mean it has to be a bad life. ]

Magical research? [ That's something she hasn't given much thought to. ] You are a scholar as well, then?

Not as such, or at least not with any vigor before now.

[ She takes out her map with the red lyrium marked off and taps it as an example. ]

I merely read as much as I could, to be as prepared as possible. Growing up, I had no idea what my Harrowing would entail, and I wished to be well versed in all manner of Chantry-approved magic.

[ And now she offers a small smile. ]

Plus I was bored stiff. I needed things to read. I've even read all of Varric Tethras's novels.

[ She isn't afraid to admit it. The dwarf can weave an interesting story. ]

[ Cassandra nods in approval as the mage explains. ]

It seems it has served you well.

[ She doesn't know how vigorously most apprentices prepare for their Harrowing and their lives as mages, but Christine, so far as she can tell, seems to have recognized the importance of planning for her future - within, of course, the bounds of the Circle. If only all mages were so reliable.

The reference to Varric's novels goes unremarked, though Cassandra does make a small noise of agreement. ]

Reading can be an escape of sorts, I suppose.

One of the few I was afforded at the time. I am sure you know of Madame le Fer's rise, but such a life of intrigue and playing the game is not for me. It was the only way a mage could escape life in the Circle without being an apostate at the time.

open: something grabs ahold of me tightly

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