BREACH VALESKA'S WATCH

[faderifting]

WHO: Hercules, Ellana, Melys, Scipio, & Kaisa
WHAT: Checking on an old Deep Roads entrance to make sure everything is fine. Everything is not fine.
WHEN: Guardian 15
WHERE: Emprise du Lion - Valeska's Watch
NOTES: Closed quest log, featuring death and darkspawn.

For centuries, Valeska's Watch has been perpetually occupied by Grey Wardens who guard an entrance to the Deep Roads, which was used for the darkspawns' large-scale invasion of Orlais during the Third Blight. The Wardens collapsed the tunnel, but because of its size, concerns lingered that darkspawn would find a way through. The outpost was constructed on top of it so that the Wardens could, as the name implies, keep watch. Now, the Grey Wardens' withdrawal to the West has left Valeska's Watch empty and the entrance unguarded.

Comments

[bunko]

[An easy ascent for a practiced climber, which Scipio is. What Scipio is not is a practiced climber used to ice and chill. Nor would he usually be a practiced climber who does not complain. Their way up has been very long, and very cold. But Kaisa is lucky: today, Scipio is not complaining, because complaint would mean opening his mouth, and opening his mouth would invite the cold air down into his lungs, and drive out what little warmth is in him.

His feet at least are very warm, thanks to magic boots. This does a little to cheer him, as does the thought of Sabriel. And the thought of Rafael, who will maybe not be proud at Scipio's earnest Warden efforts but will, at least, like the tale of this boldness later. He will like it so well that he will probably not even mind the fact that Scipio borrowed his lockpick set without asking.]

It was fortune that had me bring along picks for the locks. [--He tells Kaisa, though the words are much muffled by scarves and cloaks and things. His gives her a smile that is mostly evident by the crinkle of his eyes. Already cheer is beginning to set back in, thawing the cold. Fingers a little clumsy in his gloves, tucked close to the wall, he draws his dagger instead and slips it in between the crack in the shutters.] But I think for so large a lock, a larger-- ah.

[The bar on the other side of the window clatters to the floor inside the tower. One of the shutters sags inward, too rotten to act as it should on its ancient hinges.

Scipio nods at it.]

After you!

[unbrokenoath]

[ Kaisa had been expecting complaints from this new batch of Wardens, and she's pleased that she's been saved from them, however it came to be. While she's bundled for the cold as well, she doesn't seem to mind it quite as badly as Scipio. It's colder than it usually was in Ferelden, but she has heavy armor and a good cloak, and that usually gets her through.

She gives a cheerful smile to him in return, and apparently doesn't feel as dissuaded as he is from talking. Scipio might come to regret this. ]

Well, I'm glad one of us knows how to pick locks. I can't do it worth shit, usually I just hit the lock until it falls off, which sounds well and good, but sometimes locks have nasty shit going on, you know? You're just standing there trying to kick a lock and suddenly there's a fireball and you've got singed brows and--Oh, there you go.

[ The chattering stops as the lock is successfully picked, and Scipio is rewarded with a solid pat on the back. She delicately moves the shutters up, and pokes her head in, looking around. ]

More climbing, ugh. Makes me wish I had a shield and I could just sled--do they sled in Antiva? Do you guys have enough snow to sled? Never mind, just stay a few paces behind me. If I fall, tell the other Wardens I died saving a bunch of orphans.

[ She slips inside, straightens, and begins the descent. Heavy armor and a massive sword don't make for easy climbing, so she takes it slow. Arriving at the corpse, she spares it a lookover to make sure it's not a Warden, then makes a vague sign with her hands. Then, with a foot, she carefully scoots the corpse over the side. Sorry, mate, not enough room for everyone. ]

Maker watch over your soul, ya poor bastard. We'll, uh. We'll do something for him when we get to the bottom--Shit. Do you sense that?

[ She turns to look at Scipio, eyes suddenly wary as her senses are pinged by the darkspawn. And the darkspawn, presumably, get pinged by her, as well. She gives a low hiss, pulling her sword out. ]

You've fought darkspawn before, right? Maker's asscheeks, this is a bad way to have to fight them.

[bunko]

[Of all the locks he's picked, or been in the company of the picker, Scipio has only seen a handful of fireball traps. And he would say this, but Kaisa moves on--and on, and on, over the topic of snow and sledding and down along the stairs, to kick aside a corpse. Verbosity and wit are two traits Scipio can deeply appreciate. He fights down his scarves and layers with his chin, already grinning.

Which, perhaps he shouldn't be. The inside of the tower is a haunt and a ruin, with the corpse to prove it. The chinks in the stone let in a little bit of the wind, but only a little, nothing compared to the teeth of it when they were heading up to the window. The thaw will free Scipio's tongue and his wits in moments, enough to add pleasant conversation to this little jaunt of theirs, steep and deadly stairs or no.]

Ah.

[--Or, it would be pleasant, if not for the darkspawn. Which he does sense, actually, a gritty feeling at the back of the mind. Scipio looks back up the stairs, back the way that they've come, and thinks very seriously of climbing back out the window. It's cold, but it's not darkspawn.]

Well, when you say 'fight'-- [No, wait. He clears his throat, briskly, and draws his daggers.] Yes, yes. Of course. Though, usually with more stealth and secret, yes? Do you suppose that they have sensed us too?

[unbrokenoath]

Please don't tell me they gave me someone so green I could stick you in the ground and grow cucumbers. Just--stay behind me, and try not to fall down the stairs.

[ Herc. Why Herc. On the other hand, sticking someone new to fighting darkspawn with a woman-shaped wrecking ball isn't the worst plan. This is probably a compliment. ]

Alright, first lesson on darkspawn. If you can sense them, they can sense you. And just as we're drawn to fight them, so are they drawn to fight us.

[ She glances over her shoulder at Scipio with a grin. ]

It's because they know that we're their greatest fears. The reason why they'll never win.

[ Maybe that's assigning too much intelligence to darkspawn, but who cares? It sounds cool. She continued down the stairs until she could see them--Only two, not an alpha or emissary in sight. Good. ]

You see that small one? That's a genlock. There's a shitton of them, because they're made by dwarf broodmothers. They're runty little fuckers, but they're also smart. They can make traps and operate heavy machinery. Now, the tall one, that's a hurlock. Made by humans. They're stronger, but they're dumb as a box of rocks. They usually travel with genlocks or other smarter darkspawn, because they need to be bossed around.

Luckily for us, a smart darkspawn is about on the same level as a smart nug.

[ With that, she descends the stairs, coming to the genlock first. This is terrible quarters for combat, and Kaisa barely has room to swing her sword around. She settles on something a little easier--When the genlock takes a swing with his axe, Kaisa doesn't bother to try to step back, just continuing her approach. She winces as the sound of metal against metal echoes in the tower, but shrugs it off. Then bracing against the wall, she puts her foot firmly on the genlock's chest, and punts it right off the edge. ]

Another note: fight smart. Gravity is one hell of a weapon.

[bunko]

Your pardon! I am not green, I have fought them! [Indignant, before he adds, more conversationally--] Only with more stealth, and secret.

[That being said, Scipio is not always the most willing of pupils, or the most adept. But he is able to listen, and he is more than able to work at saving his own life. That. at least, is a cause that he feels passionately about.

And also: it all looks and sounds very heroic. Her cool line is duly appreciated, filed away to be put to song or story at a later date. The names that she names all mean very little, and will be little remembered, at least for now--but he observes her treatment of the darkspawn as she shoves it bodily over the edge of the stair.]

Oh! [Please, and impressed, Scipio leans over the edge of the stair to watch the thing fall.] You are good at this!

[Genlock. He tries to remember it as he faces forward again, and fixes sight on two of them, scrambling up the crumbling staircase. Inspired, dagger in hand, Scipio ducks ahead of Kaisa to meet the first darkspawn, and gives it a kick.

Not sideways, unfortunately. But still, it is effective. The darkspawn falls back, instead, into the one just behind it, and Scipio--perhaps too amused--laughs.[

[unbrokenoath]

Stealth and secret are okay, but nothing quite beats bashing them in the face--see?

[ She grins at him as he kicks the darkspawn, leaning to the wall to give him some room. She also reaches out to gently grip his shoulder, to make sure he didn't go tumbling after the darkspawn. He's as tall as she is, but he's a lot lighter built.

He also didn't listen when she told him to stay behind her, but she decides that encouraging courage is more important than following orders. ]

You're not too bad yourself. Good job!

[ She laughs as well, because humiliating darkspawn is as funny as killing them. It's too bad they don't really understand they're being humiliated. ]

Alright, give it another go if you want, I'm behind you. I'll grab you if you start to topple over. If you don't think you can handle it, just get back behind me.

[ Look at her, teaching the youngins. She feels so responsible. ]

[bunko]

[Excitement had moved him forward, deafened him to warnings that would probably serve to ensure his continued life. Except, of course, Scipio is quite lucky. (Please ignore the part where he was conscripted as a Warden in the first place. That was a temporary failing of his luck.) It is, after all, his luck, that he has been assigned to accompany her in the first place.

Exhilarated by his success and his heroism, Scipio grins over his shoulder at her.]

One more, at least--then you may show me what is best done, when we do not have this gravity to use so easily against them, yes?

[These darkspawn. If it were all kicking them off of stairs and making them look foolish, then Scipio would be the greatest Grey Warden who ever lived. As his humiliated victim surges back at him, scrambling up the stairs, Scipio kicks again--at its face, first, and then with grace befitting an acrobat: a side kick, one that sends the darkspawn sprawling on the stair where it teeters precariously on the edge before overbalancing, and falling. Scipio laughs again, leaning just a little over the side to see, as three more of their oath-sworn darkspawn foes move to take the place of the one he's cleared off.]

There!

[unbrokenoath]

Look at you! You've already got a hang of it.

[ Kaisa peers over the side, and briefly ruminates that the corpse that they had kicked over the side probably didn't appreciate them piling these darkspawn on top of it. But, well. Should've thought of that before he got his dumb ass killed, huh?

At the sight of three more of the fuckers, Kaisa decides that hands on lessons will have to wait. She'll be damned if she gets the newbie assigned to her injured or worse. She reaches out to rest a hand on his shoulder (ready to attempt to grab him if he gets a little too close to leaning over the edge). ]

Alright, get behind me, now. I'll show you just why being a Warden is basically the coolest thing ever.

[bunko]

[The natural high that comes of such heroics vies, momentarily, with the sense of obeying Kaisa's suggestion. Why is being a Warden the coolest thing ever? Because it is!, and in this moment, Scipio could wax poetic on the topic for hours. Inspiration strikes at the strangest of times, but it should be of no surprise that it has struck him after such success!

Then again: why is being a Warden the coolest thing ever? He would like to see her illustration.]

That, I am ready to see!

[Nimbly--and with the careless ease of a man who could probably have backflipped up the steps, look at him, equally dashing, even if he's letting her take the fore--he jumps back behind her, an eager audience.]

[unbrokenoath]

[ Well, now she had to live up to her bragging. She sure wishes that she had been able to properly show him when they weren't on these stupid stairs, but she'd just have to make do. She eyeballs the darkspawn, and grips her large sword, angling it for the close quarters she'd have to get in. Then she...closes her eyes. For a few beats, she lets the darkspawn clamor closer to them, eyes shut, scowl forming on her face.

When she opens her eyes again, she focuses that frown on the darkspawn, and in one sudden movement, she runs at them, letting out an ungodly shriek of rage. The darkspawn ready their weapons, and Kaisa doesn't bother to try to dodge them. A hurlock gets a good hit on her, and though the armor makes it bounce off without a real wound, she gives a grunt of pain. But she doesn't stop her headlong rush. Instead, she uses her momentum to help swing the sword, solidly connecting her sword to the hurlock's head--with predictable results. The genlock is taken care of in similar fashion, and Kaisa ends up nearly hurtling down the stairs in her eagerness for battle. She does skid a few stairs, but manages to plunk her ass down, the heavy weight of her armor anchoring her.

She takes a few deep breaths, now grinning. ]

Fuckin' shitheads.

[bunko]

[Behind her, on the fringe of that fight, Scipio had watched the combat warily, with all the right gasps in all the right places. He is a good audience member, even if perhaps this is not quite a show or a spectacle that should have an audience. It's not entertainment, after all.

That doesn't stop him from applauding her efforts, once all is said and done. The snappy finishing line, the grace and style and easy effort--!]

Wonderful!

[He jumps down the stairs that separate them and offers her his hand--not to haul her to her feet again, but for a handshake. He beams down at her with pride. Her dispatch of their foes gives them a moment of breathing room, which gives them a moment to celebrate, and so he congratulates:]

Truly, wonderful! You are an artist, my friend! That is the sort of technique of which they write the songs!

[unbrokenoath]

[ Kaisa takes the hand and shakes it, but doesn't it use it to haul herself up. He looks like he doesn't have it in him to try that, anyway. She uses the wall to get to her feet, giving a little groan at the protest of body parts that got smacked by the darkspawn. But she shrugs it off, and flashes a wide grin at him. ]

Shit, really? Man, it'd be sweet if I had a song written about me. I would land so much action--Anyway, that's the kind of stuff you do when you're a Warden. You fight hard, you live fast, and you die fast. But, that's what it means to be a Warden.

[ She brushes herself off, and starts walking down the stairs, gingerly knocking off any remaining darkspawn corpses. ]

I think we're lucky, in that way, to be guaranteed such a cool death. Like, shit, some fuckers die all old and wrinkly and smelling nasty, and we go all...well, you saw what I was doing. Imagine that, but, like, with a bunch more Wardens and Darkspawn.

[ She glances over her shoulder at Scipio, with a careless grin on her face. ]

Personally? I want to die killing an archdemon. You get your name on this special list and everything.

[bunko]

'Fight hard, live fast, die fast.'

[--He repeats, committing this to memory. The bit about dying fast--less attractive, when applied personally. But in a song? It will rouse sympathy, inspiration, pride--a complicated mix of emotions that will guarantee a remembering.

Less keen to dwell, again, on the 'dying', Scipio nods along anyways as he follows Kaisa down the stairs. He has never much considered his own death since, until recently, he had felt invincible. It is less easy to feel so when the song of old gods runs through your head every moment of your living. But his vague thoughts toward his own mortal end had involved a great deal of swashbuckling and action, so he can identify there, at least.]

You have thought very long on your death, I think. [No judgement. It's just interesting.] In some places of this world, it is ill luck, to speak at such length. Some little demon may hear the morbidity and come to make it true. This is what I was told, when I was still so small.

[He indicates how small, with his hand close to his knee.]

But I like this, yes? To die in glory. If there must be a death, let it be a death that will be a legend, a death that will be remembered! A list? Pah. For you, we will write a song, a song so tuneful and lively that they will sing it in taverns all over Thedas. Your name, repeated in such legend, will grow your legend. And I will write this song for you now, full of your escapades, your daring--and save the last verses for your death, when it comes. Maker forbid that it be so soon.

[unbrokenoath]

I dunno if anyone's told you this, but everyone dies. No point in fussing over it.

[ It's said with no harshness, just a lazy grin over her shoulder as she continues to descend the stairs. ]

But you might want to take that with a grain of salt, or five. This may surprise you, but I've been accused of being reckless once or twice. [ Or five times, or ten. ]

But I like that! [ She laughs with delight at Scipio's words. ] That's what I've always wanted. To make a lasting difference, to know that I left the world a different place than when I entered it. And I mean, having a kickass song about how cool I am wouldn't hurt.

[ She finally reaches the end of the stairs, and leans on the wall, waiting. ] Man, if you wrote a song about me--That'd be so fucking cool. I'll have to find a way to repay you. One that isn't, probably, alla...this. [ A casual gesture at the pile of corpses that awaited them at the bottom of the stairs. ] Or talking your ear off about my personal philosophies. I just like chattin' with the newbies, you know? Alla this shit can be overwhelming and a lot of you guys come to us 'cause you ain't got a choice.

But I strolled on up to Vigil's Keep and told those suckers to pass the chalice over, 'cause I'm going to be a Warden. So I figure, it doesn't hurt to know that it's not all glum and sad and shit, you know?