[Closed] Foul and Corrupt Are They

[judgemewhole]

WHO: James Norrington, Vivienne, Adelaide Le Blanc, Garris Vakrie, Emmie Courtenay, Fenris, Lynette Valkyrie
WHAT: Field trip to the village of Montemps
WHEN: Second week of Guardian
WHERE: Montemps
NOTES: Extreme violence and bloodshed, cursing, Norrington losing his damned temper. Taking place after this message

Riding into Montemps

The ride is a short, three hour journey southwest of Sahnaria. Norrington had encouraged everyone to ride on horseback - the better to get there and back within the day. He honestly didn't think they were going to find anything except either hedge magic, which Adelaide and Vivienne could 'talk' to the individual well enough.

If there were Red Templars, well, then it would be a simple matter of finishing off more of them. Securing the area, perhaps seeing if there was something in Montemps worth trading with the Inquisition to see it got further protection.

Meanwhile, the trip up was the perfect time to speak with one another, and to plan as well.

Montemps

It is the smell of burning flesh that will assault all their noses first, and the horses will start to act nervous. Norrington will recommend going on foot from there, as it will only get worse for the animals. It will be eerily quiet, as if there is not another animal within five miles. If asked, Norrington will state that blood magic tends to send animals scurrying away. They could sense evil much more clearly than humans could, after all.

However, nothing could prepare anyone, even Norrington, for the carnage that would be displayed when they crested the last hill and saw Montemps for the first time. Over fifty bodies littered the ground, some templars who were clearly in the early stages of red lyrium poisoning, the rest were villagers. The village itself was a shell of empty houses, many of them burned down to the ground. In those, one would find the rest of the villagers, putting the death count at around sixty villagers and thirty odd templars.

Investigations
(or things your character can find/comment on)
- The villagers were a mix of men, women, and children.
- There are signs of shade influence, as well as people turning against one another. Many bodies are from the fire or smoke inhalation, and all have been set on by scavengers.
- On the hill, there will be templar cages, similar of what they found in Sahrnia. There will also be bodies of Avvar in the cages.
- It will be clear by journals that the villagers were working with the templars to save themselves.
- There is a full birth/death record in the mayor's house.

Comments

[judgemewhole]

Norrington was down the hill in a shorter amount of time that was possible, his sword bared before he had taken three steps. He had spoken to Vivienne for a few moments, terse words, before he went to inspect one of the huts. If Fenris followed him in there, he would find him staring down at the charred body of a child, clinging to a blood soaked doll, shielding it from whatever stabbed the child right through.

James's shoulders were heaving, deep, angry breaths before he lifted his fist and punched it -- directly into the wall, cracking the already damaged wood outwards in his rage.

[aggregiopavali]

Truth was, Fenris felt like doing the same, especially when he following Norrington into the hut. He watched silently as the man punched the wall. A Templar who truly felt the agony of watching what blood magic could do. Good.

"Punching the wall and getting angry won't help, but it might help you feel better." At least, it generally made him feel better. He had enough practise at it.

[judgemewhole]

Norrington jerked his chin a little, as he heard the low voice of the man behind him. Fenris, yes. The one with the ... odd tattoos on his face, that looked like they were in fact, carved in his face with lyrium.

He heaved out a breath, struggling to get control of himself and knew that it would be a long time coming. "... I do not wish to harm our mage companions."

Was his final response.

[aggregiopavali]

What it looked like, and what it actually was... was actually remarkably similar. How odd that was.

He grunted a little. "Then you have remarkable restraint." Though he knew that this wasn't the work of certainly the mages in his group. That was a start for Fenris. "If you want, after this, spar with me to get rid of the anger." He could take it, after all, and an angry Templar was going to do no good overall.

[judgemewhole]

"Clearly - because if I did not have any restraint, I would have killed every mage in a hundred mile radius." Was his bleak reply, and then his fist slammed into the side of the hut again.

Norrington turned sharply at that comment, his eyes narrowed in brief suspicion, then confusion. "Why ... why would you offer that to me?"

It made no sense.

[aggregiopavali]

"There are times that's tempting," Fenris said blandly. But not. He was being mostly good these days, but these vermin? They deserved it.

"You are a man of action, and if you are angry, you are going to hurt something if you don't release it. You need an outlet. I know what that need is like." His brands were a visible expression of that need.

[judgemewhole]

"Yes ... yes it is." Because maybe then the people of Thedas would be safe, for a little while. Yet how was that fair to the mages who fought as hard as Adelaide and Vivienne. Who had proven time and time again that they were stronger than the demons that would tempt them?

No, the only way to do anything was to live up to the example they were setting.

He gripped his fist again, before he exhaled and released it. The anger was still there, but he would release it later. "Very well. I accept your offer, Fenris." A pause. "Thank you."

[aggregiopavali]

To be fair, Fenris still had to have many good encounters with mages. Tevinter, followed by Kirkwall and Anders wasn't ever going to give him a good impression of what mages could do. Although Anders claimed he wasn't under the influence of Justice, how much of what happened was solely down to Justice? Who would let a spirit inhabit him willingly anyway?

Fenris glanced over at Norrington, and nodded once. That decided, it was time to focus on what was here. "It looks like whoever did this is long gone."

[judgemewhole]

James could answer that one - an insane person let a spirit take full control of him that way. That was more than just a connection through a spirit mage -- that was the act of the Avaar mages and look how mad those bastards were.

"Indeed. We need to find clues, to see if the trail is completely cold." He stated, his voice still slightly frosty, but here they were.

[aggregiopavali]

Fenris would agree with Norrington, especially when it came to Anders and Justice. Even in the days when things were more Anders than Justice, it seemed insane to let a spirit willingly work through you.

Norrington may not have seemed fully like himself, from what he had seen in the trip out here, but at least he was moving and trying to do something. That was the best anyone could hope for. "Start looking through the houses one by one?" he suggested. At least, those who could stomach it could.

[judgemewhole]

Well, there were reasons why James was glad Anders was dead. The man had caused enough harm to Thedas. To imagine him still walking around? Would make his blood boil.

Norrington kept his sword out, but down at his side as he started to move out of the hut. He stopped, then turned back to the body of the dead child. Carefully, he opened his small satchel, and wrapped the doll carefully in a spare handkerchief, before putting it inside of his things.

Then he rose, nodding his head. "Move from house to house. Look for those with ... finer clothing or things. Those will most likely be the mayor, or the village elders."

[aggregiopavali]

Fenris gave a sharp nod, and began scanning from house to house, carefully picking his way in, avoiding moving anything if he could help it.

It was on the third house that he tried that he found something, and called out to Norrington, staring at what he had found in the house. This was definitely a house where there was the finer things.

[judgemewhole]

Norrington stepped away from Adelaide to join Fenris in the third house, looking around at the items. "This might be the house of the mayor - look around to see if there is any unburnt paperwork - perhaps a journal of some sort?"

[aggregiopavali]

Fenris started at the remnants of the open fire, working backwards to places where they might have stashed any paperwork, though he wasn't hopeful - most people would have been keen to cover their tracks.

He began opening every drawer and cupboard, just to see if there was a secret compartment. He had obviously been around Isabela for too long.

[judgemewhole]

Norrington went along the floor, tapping it with one booted foot, testing it for anything that might give away a sound or perhaps a secret door. There wasn't much of the floor that wasn't scorched, but still.

[aggregiopavali]

If there was one thing Fenris was used to looking for in all his time chasing slavers, it was any secret compartments or hiding places. The slavers hid their monies there, thinking to keep them secret. It didn't take him long to find a small notch in the floor that shouldn't be there, and he carefully pulled the trap door up.

[judgemewhole]

Norrington followed Fenris -- where there was of course a cache of weapons and ... oddly enough, some staffs as well. He frowned for a moment, looking around.

"Could the blood mages have taken over this village first, and then the Red Templars just ... came in accidentally?" He muttered, half to himself and half to Fenris, as he moved to pull the chest up and look for documents. Most were badly singed though.

[aggregiopavali]

"They would have to have wanted something specifically," Fenris said, musing about it, and checking out the weapons. Documents weren't anything he could read, so he ignored them. "But with the Red Templar, I suppose it was possible. Unless they were tracking the mages."

[judgemewhole]

"But what was it ... beyond of course, power." He frowned as he himself looked through the documents. Nothing pressing here, and he sighed. "Perhaps the others are having better luck."

[aggregiopavali]

"In my experience, all blood mages want is power," he pointed out. "but I have no idea why this village in particular."

[judgemewhole]

"That, I am afraid, is what we are going to have to find out." This village didn't seem like anything special, after all.

[aggregiopavali]

"Have they hit any more villages in the vicinity? Why this one?" Because when slavers went through an area, you could see a trail of destruction behind them. If the blood mages just picked this one, why?

[judgemewhole]

He shook his head a little bit, "I do not kknow. That is why the paperwork is so important. We have to understand why they are doing this."

[aggregiopavali]

He snorted. "Who knows why mages do anything?" If it were slavers, he could suggest who to target, but this was outside of his realm of knowledge.

[judgemewhole]

"For freedom, mostly. Some for power, some for glory. Some because they simply wanted to know what would happen." Norrington stated, as he continued to go through the paperwork.

"Hm. Apparently they keep very good census records.."