allthisshitisweird | Test Drive Meme!

No, Seriously, You're Never Getting Out Of Here

Maybe the Inquisition sent you, maybe you came seeking the Inquisition. Maybe you fell out of a rift into this world last week and are still just trying to find your feet. However it happened, early fall finds you in the Hinterlands. Tucked between Ferelden's massive Lake Calenhad and the icy Frostback Mountains, the Hinterlands are a hilly region covered in patchy forests and small farms trying to eke out a living between the boulders. Though somewhat remote, the area is rich with game and minerals and home to Redcliffe, a bustling town on a busy trade route.

Lately the Hinterlands have also been full of mages and templars and rifts, all threatening to turn once-peaceful countryside into a dangerous warzone. The Inquisition has set up several camps and sent personnel to try to restore order to the region, unwilling to let it slip into chaos. There's a lot to be done, some of it straightforward killing bad things, some of it weird and nebulous morale-building.

NOTE: We will not have an App Help/Enable Me meme this month, but anyone who has questions about OC concepts or AU adaptations is welcome to ask for assistance on the Mod Contact page.

1. WHERE THE SUN COMES UP ABOUT TEN IN THE MORNING

QUESTS COME AND GO BUT BEARS ARE ETERNAL: You have turned the wrong corner, forded the wrong stream, crested the wrong hill, entered the wrong cave. Maybe you are far from camp. Maybe you are in camp. Whatever has happened, wherever you are: you are being chased by bears. Did you provoke the bears? Are they huge? Babies? Fade-touched? Mage-controlled? What are they chasing you away from? What are they chasing you into? What do you plan to make out of their hide if you kill them? What do you think they'll craft out of your hide if they kill you?

2. THEY MOVED DOWN SOUTH OF REDCLIFFE

NICE PLACE FOR A SPOT OF CAMPING: If there were an inn, which there's not, there wouldn't be room for you in it. Traveling with the Inquisition means carrying your own bedrolls, putting up your own tents, and sleeping alongside whoever you've been told to share with--no matter how much you hate them or how loud they snore. If you really can't stand it, the alternative is sleeping outside. On the ground. With the bears.

3. AND THEY LAUGHED AND SANG A NEW SONG

Hey, there's a big, crazy light in the sky that craps out demons! Let's worship it!: Not everyone thinks the Breach was a bad thing. In the southeastern mountains, a burgeoning cult has taken up residence in Winterwatch Tower to wait patiently for the Maker to reach through the tears in the veil and gather the faithful to his bosom. They're a little kooky, maybe, but harmless, and they're happy enough to share their wine and lager with travelers in the area. The demon-spewing rift behind the Tower, on the other hand... Too bad the Herald didn't close that thing before she bit it. Watch your step.

4. NO ONE EVER KNEW THERE WAS LYRIUM IN THEM MOUNTAINS

TROUBLE IN THE DEEP: The Carta is everywhere, but it's here in force, occupying dwarven ruins in a chasm behind a waterfall. Inquisition forces have already cleared most of the smugglers out of the hold, but there's still a vault to break into, bodies to loot, and old texts to search through for anything worth adding to the Inquisition's growing archives. Also: darkspawn. Sorry.

5. AND THE SUN GOES DOWN ABOUT THREE IN THE DAY

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: hunt game, kill demons, gather herbs, track bandits, haggle over the price of armor, fall off a deceptively tall rock, get lost circling the same hill ten times trying to find a way up to the weird glowing skull on a stick you can see is up there, climb trees or abandoned towers, rummage around in empty homes, run from a dragon, cry over how cute that fennec fox you just shot was, set up camp and chat around the fire, knock yourself out (figuratively, or even literally if that's more your speed)-- the Hinterlands are your ~~Frostback Mountain~~ oyster.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He's not all that concerned about the cult. They're harmless. Kind of cute. And generous. He can forgive their oddness for a bit of wine. He's more interested in studying the rift itself, even if it's from a distance. (He would like to get close to it, but gaining that kind of permission isn't likely to happen, is it?)

So he goes looking for a good place to observe the rift, a book and inkwell in hand to take notes. He stops at the sight of the templar, clears his throat, and makes to skirt around her.

It's her shield arm that goes out, to bar his entry, her shield still on it, a glare leveled at him.

"There is absolutely no entry permitted," She said bluntly. Especially not for mages. Especially not for Necromancers. What did he think she was? An idiot?

He pulls up short with a glare of his own, though his is less severe in light of the fact that she can probably pummel him with the shield alone. "It's only research. What do you think I'm going to do with a pen and paper?"

"I think you are going to sit over there--" she nodded with her chin to a little area back further away from the rift but still in sight of it, "-- to do your research. You do not need to be any closer to the rift. Unless you're about to try to tell me that you are incapable of any magic without a staff."

The last was delivered incredibly dryly, but her arm did not move, nor did her glare lessen.

He looked back to where she indicated, then back to her with a roll of his eyes. "I need a better vantage. I can barely see from that far off." He waved his book around with an air of exasperation. "There's no magic involved with writing. That's all I mean to do."

Edited 2015-11-19 03:28 (UTC)

"No, you're right," She said, the sarcasm thick in her voice, still utterly immobile. "Of course you would never use your magic next to the demon infested rift. I can't see any possible reason that would be something that would happen. If demons come out of it, you can hit them with your book."

Her expression made it all too clear just what she thought of that particular line of thinking. "This is an active threat, especially to you, and you will maintain the proper distance."

Oh. This would be an example of that lack of common sense he'd always been accused of. "It's a very sturdy book." He rubbed the back of his neck, backing up a step. "If I were to get my staff, perhaps...?"

The backing up was a good start. The attempting to bargain with her to gain entry was not. However, she couldn't actually deny that the rift did need studying...

"Your staff, and another templar," she decided firmly. "Otherwise you will have to wait for official Inquisition orders and an escort."

"A templar has to go with me?" Maker's breath. He just wanted to get a better look at it and jot down some notes. He glowered and looked out at the rift. It didn't need to be this complicated! "Fine. I'll just..."

He opened up his book, pulled the inkwell from his pocket, and sat right there.

She stared at him, her face awash with open disgust and surprise, but she quickly masked it back to stony disapproval.

However, she didn't vocalise the disapproval, because at least he was back behind the arbitrary line he had set, in her sight, and not being disruptive. So with a disgusted noise she rolled her eyes, but kept her silent vigil.

Test Drive Meme!

3.

i'm going with her knowing who he is but them not knowing each other for ease's sake

fine by me. :)

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