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

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

Ever since he had gotten finished with talking with the mysterious white clad woman, people had been swarming him for answers. Sam could tolerate a lot, but even he was getting at the end of his rope with all the questions. And he could only politely turn them away for so long. So when he sees Korrin over the crowd he practically runs over.

And she asks him if he needs anything.

Chuckling at that, Sam rubs at his forehead. "A breather, honestly. I've only seen one of the newcomers and the rest are being checked by others. So I have a feeling I'm done. What about you? How are you doing? You're one of the people who came back with them all right?"

Korrin nods wearily to that, a faint smile forming. "That's right, I was at the center of the action. I'm...not certain whether or not I should complain about it, or be grateful for the distraction." Because, Haven. Just being there brought too many memories of that last night, and if Korrin hadn't pledged to help in any way she could, she'd have never returned there.

"If it's a breather you need, I can spirit you away to the tavern. It sounds like both of us could use a drink. I can explain in more detail, you can tell me what you found out, the ale or whatever takes the edge off. Win-win."

Sam chuckles at the choice of words Korrin uses - spirit away, ha ha. Even though he doesn't drink, the idea of getting one and talking is a pleasant one. "That sounds like a grand idea. The first round on me then since it looks like you've had quite the time out there."

"Lead the way." Even though he motions for Korrin to lead, Sam walks beside her, though having issues from time to time when the crowd refuses to open up for people trying to get through.

"I can deal with that."

Both to him getting the first round and leading the way, since Korrin's stature is such that she often doesn't get pushed aside. She doesn't get everyone's attention, but manages to clear space enough for them to maneuver toward the tavern. Holding the door open for them, she wastes little time in claiming a table near the bar.

"Just ale for me. If I'm truly getting drunk, it'll be after I'm sure there won't be any incident outside."

"One ale coming up." With a table claimed and the order given, Sam heads over to the bar. Cabot gives him an odd look, knowing full well the human doesn't drink, and yet he's ordering two ales. There's no questions however and soon Sam is returning with three mugs, two ales and one water.

"There should be plenty of guards on duty to take care of any incidents, but I get why you'd want to be on guard," he comments as he places a mug in front of Korrin, before taking his own seat. "Probably best if we start off with happened with you all on your trip. Obviously you found something."

Snagging the mug, Korrin doesn't take a sip right away as she thinks back to the incident. "It started about as well as you'd expect. There wasn't much left of Haven, except mostly-buried ruins, but they'd still wanted us to salvage supplies...and recover bodies. I was with a group near the edge of town, by that rift.

It seemed dormant at first, but not long after we arrived, it started spewing a half-dozen demons, wraiths and terrors mostly. Right after that, there was another wave, only instead of demons appearing it was the rift-folk. The rift closed right after that, which I suppose was just as well since now we had several demons to fight."

Taking a sip of water from his own mug, Sam raises a brow. He hadn't known any details on the mission the groups had been tasked with when they left for Haven, but obviously it was more than they bargained for. Demons and strange people falling out of rifts? The nightmare was never ending.

"Exactly how many are there of them? Did anyone get hurt?" He had so many questions, but he needed to give Korrin space. There was a lot to talk about.

Korrin doesn't seem to mind the questions, though she finally takes a sip first before answering.

"There are ten, and as far as I could tell, no one was majorly injured. I defended two with repeated Barrier spells, so that helped considerably. And they didn't have magic, but could definitely defend themselves. I think most of them had some kind of combat experience, which made defending them less of an issue. I don't want to imagine what it would have been like, otherwise."

"That is..." Comforting? It's good that the people from the rift knew how to fight, but at the same time would that cause issues? "Well at least you all came back in one piece."

"Yeah, magic seemed like an entirely new concept to the one I was talking to. Or at least vastly different from what she knows. She mentioned having powers."

She raises an eyebrow at that, taking another sip. "What kind of powers does she have, if not magic? It's not connected to the Fade, is it? I had to explain the Fade to every rifter I met. No one had ever heard about it before, bizarre as that sounds."

There's a shake of his head before he thoughtfully takes another drink. "The Fade was a entirely new concept for her that I had to explain. Her powers... they are rather complex and I am not sure if I entirely grasp the concept. She said her powers were a part of her, much like our magic is to us, but she said it came from something called the Fae? It sounded something like our spirit magic, but it was entirely separate from her own spirit."

Sam gives a huff, pursing his lips together, trying to find the right words. "Like I said. It was rather complicated. But it sounds like we can find common ground at least."

"In a convoluted way, I suppose. Though I wonder if that's still true of her powers, where they're drawn from. The Fade brought them all here, somehow, wouldn't they draw upon it now that they're in Thedas? Which...well, I don't have to tell you the risks of that." They're mages, they live with it every day. But to those that haven't, now she can't help but regard them with concern.

That is the concern isn't it? Coming through the Fade though knowing nothing of it is a problem, but if they had powers that didn't work like their own... how do they deal with it? "Ain't that the truth. If any of them had powers before this we should probably see who can or cannot use them. Then further figure where they're drawing their powers from. Or seeing as they all have those marks... they should all be made aware of the dangers the Fade offers, especially when they sleep.

The other thing we should consider is if they're on our side?" Sam liked to think the best of people, but even he knew to take caution with unfamiliar people. More so when there was nothing known about them.

"Well, I think it's safe to say they're not on his side." Not as new as they are to the world, anyway. "It's in our best interest for us to help each other for now, but I don't know any of them well enough to say what will happen once they get their footing."

Korrin mulls that over as she takes another sip, leaning back in her chair afterward. "You're right, they should hear about dangers of the Fade...from mages, though. Not fanatic Templars who might already see them as demons. I'd rather not go the hypocritical route and criminalize people before they've done anything, you know?"

Sam nods at that, leaning back in his own seat and sliding down a bit. "Mages would be better at telling them more about the Fade. And complete agreement that we should not assume necessarily the worst in the newcomers. Of course a level of caution is still important. We don't know what those green marks on their hands could do. Those marks worry me."

"They worry me too, though more about what they can do to the ones bearing them." Korrin stares down at her mug and sighs, feeling the weight of the past few weeks more than she'd like. "You know what it did to the Herald, in the end. I don't want to see that happening to them, too."

"Vaguely. I only know from what I heard. I didn't get the chance to really meet or talk to the Herald." Sam goes quiet for a moment, staring down at his own mug before taking a drink. "Well they only just showed up. The mark that I inspected didn't look unstable, but she did complain of discomfort. We'll have to take it a day at a time."

Korrin nods, relieved to hear that. "I saw several of those marks personally earlier, before the trek to Skyhold. They seem unstable then, either, so that they haven't changed is promising. And they said that it...stung? Hopefully that's no worse, either. I suppose it's too early to tell. But if you need others to help monitor such things, I'll do what I can."

She helped defend a few of them, so at least that might have gained their trust.

"It would probably be wise if we all kept an eye on them. At least that's what I think. I'm not one of the top healers or in charge of anything, so it isn't my place to really say. But also can't ignore it right?" He grins a bit at that.

Even though they had only spoken a handful of times, Sam likes Korrin. She's easy to talk to, and isn't afraid to speak her mind. She also cared a great deal for everyone, even the newcomers who they barely knew.

She smiles back immediately, quick to decide when she likes someone and when she doesn't. At least it's evident which is which.

"Exactly. Ignore something major like that, and it's likely to blow up in your face sooner or later. That's not something we can afford, at a time like this.

I guess it'll be more telling should those marks come to interact with the rifts in any way. It's when they'd be activated that I would worry more about problems resulting from it."

It's a nice smile, and Sam finds his own growing bigger at seeing it.

"Well before we start introducing them to any more rifts, probably getting them settled into our world is the first step. The rifts might be a key factor in learning how their marks work, but seeing as their from different worlds... their marks might not act the same like the Herald's, if they are in fact like hers."

"Given the discrepancy in size, it might be that they're less potent and thus less of a danger. If that's the trade-off for a stable mark, I'd say they're lucky, all things considered."

Granted, it's a strange sort of luck to tear them from their worlds, but if that mark isn't killing them the way it was with the Herald, that has to count as a bonus.

"Hm. We'll see. I wouldn't conclude how potent or dangerous they are. After all it's not the size that counts." Alright he did that on purpose. They were both tired and the subject was rather deep and depressing if talked about too long.

Always willing to play the fool, find a way to get a laugh.

Okay, that gets Korrin to almost snort her ale out her nose as he makes her choke mid-sip.

"Dammit, Sam. You were just waiting for that exact moment, weren't you? Well-played, serah."

Edited 2015-11-02 04:01 (UTC)

Well he hadn't expected it to get that much of a reaction. There's a grin there, watching to see if he would need to get up and pat Korrin on the back.

"Waiting? Of course not. That would be way too forced then. It's just one of my many talents. Unassuming in everything I do and a quick wit."

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