Into the DANGER ZONE

[faderifting]

WHO: All Rifters + the 7 natives who signed up
WHAT: Searching the ruins of Haven for survivors, an Inquisition crew finds something strange. And demons. It's kind of scary that the demons aren't the strange thing.
WHEN: Third week of Harvestmere, 9:41
WHERE: Haven
NOTES: We've broken rifters and rescuers (or "rescuers") into two groups. This log has an arrival comment for each group--you can start smaller subthreads beneath those rather than try to have an eight- or nine-person log, just incorporate surrounding chaos/fighting--and a third top-level set for the whole group's journey back to Skyhold

You were asleep-- deeply or fitfully, for the last time or just resting your eyes for a moment-- and then you were not. And wherever you were was not, anymore, replaced by nothing but the sensation of falling, tumbling into endless, bottomless nothing. If this were still a dream, you would wake before you hit the ground. You can't die in a dream, they say. In some worlds.

But there's no waking here, just a flare of green-white light and a jarring impact, barely softened by snow that lies a foot deep with an icy crust that cracks beneath the force of your landing. The wind is biting cold, the sun is bright, and you are not alone. Others thud to the ground nearby, as bewildered as you, and others run up who look no less confused for having their feet beneath them.

You are also not as you were: in the palm of your left hand there glows a narrow splinter of light the same sickly green as whatever brought you here. It aches, a bone-deep pain that gnaws even through all the distractions. Like that you're being attacked by monsters, some tall, spindly stick-things with too many eyes, some hunched and hooded with no eyes at all.

Welcome to Thedas!

Comments

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin nods, her lips forming a thin line as she scans the area. "Right. Terror and despair demons, mostly. And wraiths. The Fade is their home, but they're drawn to the rifts. This is the first time I've heard of rifts spawning people with them, though."

Her expression is curious, but wary. His sliver doesn't go unnoticed, that echo reminiscent of what the Herald once possessed. If it could do what hers did, then maybe it would be worth something. But she also remembers the cost. "That mark...does it hurt?"

[sandsofhell]

"Well there's a first time for everything." He remarked, putting his full attention back on her. She's...a lot bigger he noticed now that he's standing near her. It'd be more intimidating if he was in more of a mood to care about such things.

However her interest towards the mark on his hand didn't go unnoticed, it was like she had seen something similar before. "It does." Nothing that he really noticed during the fight, but now that they didn't have to worry about...er, demons, the pain became ever more apparent. "Have you seen something like it before?"

[gatheringstorm]

"Yes, I have." Why deny it? It's apparent that she's not the only one, as other Inquisition agents are sending glances his way and murmuring to each other. Korrin's own gaze lingers on it for a moment longer, both wary and concerned, before she meets his gaze again.

"Not too long ago, a woman emerged from the Fade with a similar mark, though hers was more prominent. When she first did so, it was strong, unstable. But that was with the Breach -a massive tear in the sky far bigger than that rift- still present. Now that it's gone, I can only speculate that you won't have the same trouble with it. If it spreads or the pain gets worse, mention it."

[sandsofhell]

"And what happened to her?" That's actually rather important to know. If he's not the first, then perhaps there's someone around who might know more about what's going on? If luck would have it perhaps she also comes from Earth and not this place? Yet knowing how his luck usually runs, the chances weren't all that high.

And he knows it.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin sighs but doesn't hold back from the truth. If it was her, she'd want to know, no question. "She's dead. Died sealing the Breach a few weeks ago. That same night, our enemy revealed himself. Haven used to be our home base, and...well, look at it now." The ruin of charred buildings overlapped by remains of the avalanche spoke for itself.

[sandsofhell]

He figured as much, it was most likely not worth it to ask if they were the same as him. Chances are that, whoever this person was, was not of the same situation as him. Walker looked frustrated for just a moment before glancing around himself once more, then to the agents before going back to Korrin.

"Well we should keep moving then if there's nothing left for us here. Are you the only ones?"

[gatheringstorm]

"No, other agents are in the area. We were sent to retrieve what supplies -and bodies- we could from Haven, before that rift caused trouble. We'll see if anyone's injured, then take what we can and mark the rest for later before heading to Skyhold. It's not an easy trek, but at least we have scouts this time."

He would probably have liked that first journey even less, given that they were wandering blind, uncertain if their supplies would run out before they reached any kind of sanctuary. Korrin certainly hated it, and the thought of repeating it even with advantages over that last time don't do much to appease her now, but she tries not to show it. It's just what has to be done.

"It will get colder than this, so if you want warmer gear, we have enough to go around. Humans are plentiful, so getting something in your size won't be a problem."

[sandsofhell]

The first journey would have been familiar to him. His job entails the uncertain and possible dangers of the world. If anything the idea of weighing himself down with supplies and bodies were the opposite of ideal in his current state of mind. Still, if this is a much larger force than at least everyone could share in the work, as opposed to a scant handful, if that.

"I'll see what I can do later then." Comfort comes second to finishing the job. "Have you marked any areas of interest, or do you still need to find what you need?"

[gatheringstorm]

"I have a few marked, thankfully. We were able to get at least some work done before the rift erupted, though there might be more we missed. But honestly, after all this, it's not quite the priority that it was. The Inquisition leaders will definitely want to know more about this latest development.

Korrin fishes out that map, though. "I have some here, that I was able to uncover thanks to magic. It should be safe to tread, as long as the pathways aren't strayed from."

[sandsofhell]

His eyes look over the map provided. Well at least the job was nearly done. But should he really get involved here? Walker supposed that he owed it to the woman for helping him.

"Well may as well not leave the job half-assed." He grunted, looking over the group they have. It should be enough to finish what they need to do, right? Perhaps send some to the main group in order to report what was found? "If you're up for finding more, and wouldn't mind plus one."

[gatheringstorm]

"No, definitely not." Korrin flashes a smile, surprised but readily accepting the offer. He rises in her estimation once again. "And I'll try to answer more questions, if I can. If I have to explain every other term in the process, I can live with that."

And she'd try to keep it simple, leaving out more than an overwhelmed newcomer needed to know for the time being. Her own biases might creep in, but she'll try not to skew things too much. At least not on purpose.

[sandsofhell]

"Well then, no offense, but telling me what you are would be a start." He's...never seen anything like a Qunari before, and it's probably rather obvious as well. Though he doesn't mean anything by the question, she does look far more demonic than the actual demons. What, with the horns and all.

"Maybe we can talk while we work."

[gatheringstorm]

"No offense taken." Asking is more polite than staring or making slurs or whatnot, so Korrin will take it. She'll begin leading the way, after sharp look around to be certain that no one needs her immediate attention.

"People call my kind qunari, which has become a catch-all term for 'those people with horns' eve though it's not strictly true. More accurately, I'm a Vashoth, one who has never lived under the Qun. And before you ask what that is, it's a weird, oppressive lifestyle that's complicated and gives me a headache just thinking about it. You won't find any real Qunari around here anyway, they're all in the north."

[sandsofhell]

He followed behind, still tense, and his knife still out. But he looked less than likely to jump anyone at the moment. He listened to her explanation and description. More giant people with horns? Just where is he right now? "I'm guessing that there's a reason why you didn't grow up in that culture."

She couldn't be a majority around these parts, not with what he could gather from the small amount of people that he's seen thus far. And from her description it sounded like they didn't really travel that often.

[gatheringstorm]

That leads to an inelegant snort of amusement, keeping her staff out but at this point doubting she'll need it. The noise around them has died down, as demons she wasn't in range to kill were destroyed by others. "You saw what I did, right? I'm a mage. Magic and the Qun...don't mix, not in the way that I would ever want to live with. I'll take my chances elsewhere, even if there are Templars down south. The Inquisition doesn't care where you're from or what you are, only what you can do. I'll take that any day."

[sandsofhell]

He saw what she did, yes. But his mind is still saying tricks and slight of hands. It's not that hard to create incendiary weapons...but everything else.... Well that's something else to contemplate and explore.

"What is this so-called Inquisition? Some religious order?"

[gatheringstorm]

Remembering the fit some Chantry sisters and mothers had thrown early on, Korrin chuckles as she shakes her head.

"Not really. Oh, the Divine wanted to see it started, if peace between two warring factions wasn't possible. But we don't serve the Chantry and they probably see us as heretics, anyway. The Inquisition was formed to seal the Breach, find those responsible, and restore order. The Breach was a giant tear in the sky; imagine a rift, but far, far larger. It's what spawned all of them. It's sealed now, and we know who's responsible, but the latter part is still taking time."

[sandsofhell]

"Warring factions? What was the breach?" Sorry, he's got quite a bit of catch up to go through if he really wants to understand what's goi g on in this world. And while part of him would rather just curl up in the snow, he's a survivor and readily recognized the need to learn more in order to keep going. Sure he knows that he will need more than one person to tell him about these lands, along with countless study hours. But you've got to start somewhere.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin doesn't mind explaining, though it's a little weird when she's not used to doing so. Everyone knows about that war by now, and the Breach. So it takes her a moment to gather her thoughts.

"The Breach was the result of an explosion at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, where the Conclave to help restore peace was held. Whether it would have worked, we'll never know because an explosion leveled the entire place, and tore open the Veil, creating the Breach. Before you ask, the Veil is more or less a barrier between the Fade and the physical world. So, imagine that rift only, much, much larger. It spawned all the subsequent rifts, and every hour or so it expanded. If the Herald, the woman bearing that mark like yours, hadn't stopped it, the Breach would have consumed the world."

[sandsofhell]

"If that was the cause of the rifts, then how are they still appearing?"

He knows that she may not have the answer to that question. Knowing his luck no one knows and they'll just have to figure it out as they go. "And more importantly, now that it's gone, what are you going to do?" His guess is that they're most likely going to hunt down whoever caused this destruction and exact some form of retribution. Especially if that said person is still considered a threat to them.

[gatheringstorm]

"They're not 'still appearing'. It's more that so many were spawned that we have no idea of the true number. The Herald sealed a lot of them, true, but the Veil across the entire of southern Thedas was essentially shredded. There's bound to be a lot more, beyond our current reach."

Cheery thought, hm? Never let it be said that Korrin sugarcoats anything. "We're going to find Corypheus -the one responsible- and kill him, hopefully before his next attempt consumes the world. That has to be long-term, though. We just barely survived Haven, and we need to rebuild before we'll have the resources to do that."

[sandsofhell]

If the idea affected him, he didn't let it show. "I'm sure you people will manage." Maybe, in warfare nothing is constant. It's something that's ingrained in every officer out there. He doesn't outright say this though unless asked about it.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin manages a thin smile. "It'll be tough going, but that's the plan. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, I suppose. It'd better, it's not like we can afford to lose." Pausing by one of the marked supply caches, she looks it over and nods. "Good, these cloaks will keep more of those refugees and rift-folk warm. It didn't look as though many came prepared for the mountain chill."

[sandsofhell]

"It's never easy." He returned her smile with his own. Though it was a bit more painful and caused his lips to crack open. Pausing he looked over the crates, taking note of what was in them as well. Blankets are a start, especially in cold weather, the thought caused him to shiver a bit upon remembering his sleeveless and lightly dressed state. His Interceptor armor and vest could only block out so much cold.

But he'd endure, if not to just keep a strong image for now.

"...When I arrived, did any of you notice if someone dressed like me arrive? Or perhaps any strange...metallic items?" His gun was nowhere near, and he doubted that any others from Falcoln-One, or even Adams, appeared. But since they're looking for things, may as well ask? Couldn't hurt at least.

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin's pausing by the crate, silently counting up the supplies, when those questions get her attention. Her brow furrows as she thinks back to the recent chaos. "I didn't notice anyone with your specific attire, but that might not mean much. It was hectic, and I don't know just how many rift-folk arrived just yet.

...'metallic items'? You mean weapons, or...?"