faderift | We come from the land of the ice and snow

WHO: Open to all
WHAT: Thedas' strange new guests are delivered to Skyhold
WHEN: 25 Harvestmere (October)
WHERE: Skyhold main gate & courtyard
NOTES: This is Part I of a two-part intro event, Part II will be posted tomorrow.

A long uphill tromp through the snowy mountains ends at Skyhold, the distant fortress finally before them in all its tumble-down glory. There is time to admire the drop into the river gorge far below as they cross the only bridge into the castle; it is briefly backed up with traffic, several carts bearing supplies and visitors stalled as the portcullis is raised. Those coming to help catalog and unload the shipment and greet the guests, or otherwise present near the front courtyard, will find themselves witness to a far more interesting arrival.

Guards at the gate carry the word quickly, and more gather, though they make no move to imprison the strange people who fell out of a rift. They just line the perimeter and keep a close watch. Perhaps this adds a level of tension to this first encounter, but it also reassures the many who are unsettled by the uncertain turn of events and keeps in check those who might attack first and ask questions later. Others will no doubt soften the Inquisition's first impression, offering food, information, and other assistance.

Medical attention is available in the tented-encircled corner of the courtyard where the wounded from Haven are still treated. The quartermaster's assistant is called upon to provide spare odds and ends of clothing to those in need, and to issue blankets for all, though they are left to fend for themselves to find places to sleep.

Any mage willing to help is called in to do so and a cluster forms in one side of the courtyard to examine the rifters. They are objects of curiosity in general, but the marks on their hands are of particular interest, resembling smaller slivers of the Herald's famous mark. Despite their best efforts, no mage will be able to provide any real insight after this initial assessment. What the rifters and their marks are is a question they cannot answer today.

But one question is answered: in the midst of all the commotion, another Inquisition agent arrives from Haven, rushing in red-faced to announce that the Herald's body has finally been found.

OOC

It will be decided (partly for OOC reasons, admittedly) that the rifters will not be imprisoned at this point, but they will be watched carefully, and the guards are on alert for any strange behavior by people with glowing hands or strange attire. And of course, their freedom can be revoked at any time if they're deemed a danger. Though there are some OOC considerations at play here, you're welcome to ICly lobby for more or less freedom for the rifters, and things may change based on IC action/consensus.

Also: Part II, aka the log for the funeral/wake/etc. event, will go up tomorrow!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Tavern

The pirate queen can be found in her usual place in the tavern. Yes, it's only been a few days and she already has a "usual place." Cards are readily available, as are drinks. She laughs and jokes and has plenty of stories to tell, usually resulting in the loss of someone's dignity.

She smiles at whoever comes close.
"You look like you could use a distraction, Kitten."

Walls, overlooking the waterfall

Up high was where the place felt most free. It was bloody cold, though, admittedly. She gazes almost longingly at the waterfall and the river below, as if imagining it flowing out to the sea.

"Pity that's the only water to be found around here..."

Wildcard

[Hit me with your best shot.]

Nothing sounds better than a distraction right now. Her mind is busy replaying her first encounter with demons and the long (and cold, and awful, and actually no not cold, bloody freezing) journey to Skyhold when she's not investigating her marked hand like a missing tooth. Even if the accents hit her ear wrong, there's still something familiar about the feel of any tavern that has her seeking company.

"I promise not to cheat for the first two hands if you teach me the most convoluted card game you know," she offers by way of introduction, having had a little time to sober up after a more or less joyful reunion with the brandy she needed when a rift dumped her in a pile of snow with a screaming demon landing more or less on top of her.

"Dear sweet girl, cheating is half the fun," Isabela laughs.

"But let's see... most convoluted game... Depends. Do you want one that's easy to learn but hard to master, or something a little more middle of the road?"

“Oh I know, everyone who taught me cards and dice taught me how to cheat before they ever taught me all the rules.” Fringe benefits when your father and pretty much every close associate of his j“But at least for a moment, I need to have honesty because this,” she flashes her hand carefully with a lopsided grin, “is taking up all my lying for the moment because so long as I’m here, it’s not going to exist and I’m just going to be that very special kind of drunk.”

The kind of drunk where you’ve fallen at least once and hit your head but the party isn’t over so you get back up and keep going.

“Hard to master might be fun, after all, who knows how long I’m going to be stuck here and a girl can only literally climb the walls so many times when she gets bored trapped up a mountain.”

Kitten.

He doesn't know why the word catches his attention, but it does. At first he's not even sure she's talking to him, looking around himself to see if that were the fact. How she's smiling and looking at him though makes it pretty obvious that she is talking to him.

Sam actually has to force himself to just look at the woman's face. There is so much color and... color about her that it makes it hard. "What did you have in mind?"

Isabela almost laughs as she watches his gaze dart about. Not that she's not used to it by now.

She grins at him.

"Well, that depends on what you're in the mood for. Drinks and cards are usually a good start, but there are certainly other possibilities, if you're interested."

Sam raises a brow at 'other possibilities' but he has a feeling that would require leaving the tavern, which he's not too fond of doing just yet. The offer of cards does have him wandering closer to the table though. "What kind of cards are you referring to?"

He hasn't played cards in... a long time now that he thinks about it, and the idea has him taking up a chair across from the woman, tilting his head curiously.

She pulls out a deck from... somewhere in that bodice and starts lazily shuffling.

"Well, my favorites are Diamondback and Wicked Grace. What about you? What kind of hands do you enjoy?"

Alright that wasn't fair. Sam really wants to know exactly where those cards had come from, but if he stared it would obviously be taken the wrong way. This was going to bother him the rest of the night.

"Afraid I don't know any... hands or cards, or the sort. I'm willing to learn though."

We come from the land of the ice and snow

Isabela | OTA

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Tavern [Here goes nothing]

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