Test Drive Meme!

[faderifting]

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.

Comments

[harthad_uluithiad]

Sam found himself hauled upward by the collar and yanked abruptly off his path, but he couldn't even complain, not really. Not when he had a close-up view of the tree he'd just been prevented from hitting as he was swung him through the air, and not when he could hear the familiar clatter of a sword being pulled from its sheath.

He turned to look, flinching at the sight of the bear rising up on its hind legs and cowering, just a bit, behind that conveniently-placed shield. For a moment he thought it might be Boromir who had saved him, but the shape of the shield was all wrong, and so, when he looked, was the shape of his savior himself.

Herself.

It was enough to make him forget himself for a moment, staring wide-eyed as the woman held up her shield and plunged her blade deep into the bear's side. Just for a moment, and then he shook himself. He could hardly stand here and stare while she fought on his behalf! He brought his own (much shorter) sword out of its sheath, and braced himself, hesitating as he tried to find an opening that would allow him to attack the bear without being squashed or ripped apart himself.

[keeperofmagi]

She heard the tang of the sword as Samwise drew it, though she did not look back at him. But a second blade would be useful, as even though she'd thrust the blade as deep as she could - even though the blood ran black - the bear was still standing, still roaring. She braced her shoulder against the shield and rushed forward - slamming into it as hard as she could. Even with all her armour and her shield, however, she was far less mass than the bear, and did not topple it. It was stunned enough, however, for her to pull the shield up, bearing its thighs for Samwise to stab.

"There!" She said, nodding to the opening as she kept the creature at bay.

[harthad_uluithiad]

His jaw dropped as she ran full-tilt at the bear, but she wasn't prepared to let him stand there and gape while she did all the work, it seemed. Sam snapped his mouth shut at her call, then nodded staunchly, tightening his grip on his weapon and rushing forward with a shout.

The blade went in easily, surprisingly so, and the bear roared in surprise and pain. Sam had just enough time to pull his sword out and prevent himself from being dragged along with it as it staggered backwards. He glanced briefly up at the warrior, as if for permission, and then ran forward to attack again, making full use of their - perhaps momentary - advantage.