TEST DRIVE MEME!

[faderifting]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Maybe you’ve been around for a while, or maybe you’re new to the Inquisition. Maybe you’re new to Thedas, having recently fallen from a tear in reality and been collected by uniformed rescuers. Whoever you are, you’ve been sent to Kirkwall, to an outpost where many of the Inquisition’s members and allies work on some of the biggest mysteries and problems the organization must solve if it’d like to keep the world from ending, where “ending” means “falling under the power of an ancient powerful corrupted being who wants everyone to bow to him as a god.”

And just to be clear, it would like that. It would like that a lot.

I. THE GALLOWS: The Gallows is an island fortress in Kirkwall’s harbor. It’s been home to, in order: Tevinter slaves, a Circle of Magi, a lot of creepy red lyrium, and now the Inquisition, which has occupied the fortress with the provisional Viscount’s blessing. There are walls that still need rebuilding and corners that still need dusting, but for the most part the Inquisition has gotten down to business. There’s space in the stone-floored courtyards to train or spar; or, if your skills don’t lie in the realm of hitting things, there’s a large library and several offices supporting the Inquisition’s areas of research and diplomatic efforts. If you don’t know what to do with yourself, then by all means, ask; someone will definitely be able to put you to work.

II. KIRKWALL: A quick row across the harbor will take you to Kirkwall proper. The city is built into the cliffs, from exclusive and wealthy Hightown at the top to impoverished Darktown in the abandoned mining tunnels below. In the middle is Lowtown, home to taverns, merchants, and plenty of trouble to keep anyone looking for it happy. You’re welcome to spend your free time and your money here—but try not to annoy the locals too much, please, in case their welcome runs out. It’d be a shame to have to pack again so soon after arriving.

III. QUESTING: Barely had time to make yourself at home, did you, before you were sent away from Kirkwall again—but this time on a mission. There’s a rift outside of Markham, pouring demons into the fields, and the Inquisition has been asked to lend a hand. Maybe literally. If you have an anchor embedded in your palm, you’re needed to close the damn thing. If not, maybe you’re here to fight demons or guard against bandits on the road, or to gather samples and take notes on the rift’s location once its closed, or to speak to Markham’s nobility afterwards to make sure that they fully appreciate the Inquisition’s efforts. Regardless, it’s a long trip, so we hope you like campfire cooking and sharing a tent.

IV. SENDING CRYSTAL: Joining the Inquisition gets you access to the very latest in barely-understood magical communication devices—namely, a crystal, small enough to wear around your neck, that will allow you to communicate verbally with anyone else who has one. Or everyone else who has one. Say hello.

V. WILDCARD: The whole of Thedas is yours to explore, from coast to uncharted wilderness. Choose your own adventure!

Comments

I - hey kid you like explosions?

[faithlikeaseed]

As a mage--as an active research mage--of the Inquisition, it's somewhere in Myrobalan's contract that he's got to generate interesting somethings for other people to get into. Or haplessly watch. Or run very far away from--pick one, depending on how you feel about mages and the nonsense they can get up to.

Today's liable to be a little more interesting than most, as the blind elf's finally set aside time from everything else he's doing to test a hunch on glyph interactions. Right now it's just him and a loosely man-shaped sack of rags and sawdust out at the farthest corner of the empty training grounds. (Midafternoon, right before dinner: Good time for testing these things as everyone clears out for the mess hall.) The bright, sharp lines of an energized glyph mark the ground beneath the target, and Myr's in the process of casting another, teasing glowing threads from the Fade with each precise gesture of hand and staff. Slower than most mages would go about it, but then, he's not like most mages.

He isn't so preoccupied with spellwork as not to notice he's been walked up on; he keeps an ear out for interruptions when he's doing something suspicious now, thanks to the Inquisition's collective habit of walking up on a blind man unannounced. "You'll want to stay back over there," he says, pleasantly enough. "This is going to get exciting in a moment."

[bad_thief]

It's hardly sneaking if you don't know the guy is blind. Maybe the strip of cloth around his eyes should probably be enough of a hint, Haelan doesn't know they're around his eyes when he comes up behind the man. Maybe he just likes to wrap clothe around his face? Maybe it's a mask. Maybe it's across his nose and mouth.

Alright, so it's obviously around his eyes, but Haelan is actually paying more attention to the magical mark on the ground than the man. Magic. Magic is a bad, bad thing.

"Er." He begins, glancing from the mark to the man, and back again, looking faintly concerned. "I was sent to... Why is that glowing?"

[faithlikeaseed]

Hm. Keep casting, or--

Myr aborts the second glyph with a wave of his free hand, unsnarling the nascent energy and letting it ebb back into the Fade. Grounding his staff, he folds both hands around it with his fingers laced together. "It's glowing so anyone who looks at it knows it's active," he says, kindly enough. "That's a courtesy so no one walks through it unaware--though if you were to, you wouldn't come to any real harm. It's only meant to slow down anything that comes into it.

"Did you need me for something?" Or did someone else? The kid sounds young enough to be a runner of some kind, but one never quite knows with the Inquisition.

[bad_thief]

Haelan watches the beginnings of a second mark slowly evaporate away, shifting his weight from foot to foot in case running away is a good option. Mage. A blind mage. Oh Maker.

He swallows, lifting his chin up a little and trying to hide his nervousness.

"I was told to tell you that the books from Val Royeaux are here?" He isn't sure what books, or if this is the right white-blonde mage, but there can hardly be many of them in the Gallows.

"Is it like a trap? If you step on it, it slows you down so someone can cut your head off?" That would be useful. He can see that. He'd not like to be caught in one, but he guesses if you're fighting rebel mages or those crazy Orlesians, it would be good to slow them down.

[faithlikeaseed]

Blind though he might be, Myr's gotten good at reading moods from what his remaining senses tell him. (And given he's a mage outside the Circles, nervousness is an emotion he's encountered regrettably often even among the Inquisition. He picked that one up fast.)

Not much to be done about it but seem as nonthreatening as it's in him to be. His bright, abrupt smile at the mention of the books might or might not help in that endeavor. "They are? And here I wasn't expecting them for another few days!" Leaving aside what business a blind man might have with books... Haelan's gotten the right mage, at least.

"Right. Or someone can get away from you entirely--if you're caught in a hall or another choke. Between this and glyphs that repel a mage's enemies, you can take control of a battlefield, with a little planning." His enthusiasm for the work is obvious in his voice, even though he's making efforts to temper his tone around someone made uneasy by magic. "And if you're aware of how they interact with each other, it sets up a few other interesting possibilities, too."

[bad_thief]

Mages are scary folks. That's all it is. You could turn into a monster any minute, and even if you don't, you could turn Haelan into a monster or something nasty or just kill him without even touching him. That's frightening. The fact that Mages are now running around without Templars to shield the populace from them is just... it's something people can't help be nervous about. It's like letting a whole pack of tame wolves loose. They might be tame, but they're still wolves.

The smile and excitement over books... maybe that goes some way to making Haelan relax. Books aren't his cup of tea, mostly because although he can read, he has to use his finger and sound out most words still. But the childish pleasure the mage in front of him displays is at least endearing.

Haelan's head tips slightly to one side, listening and sort of understanding. He knows about choke points, if only because Kirkwall is full of them, and they're useful to work. Battlefields are another thing exactly, but he doesn't interrupt the mage, letting the elf continue. That is, until he says interesting possibilities which is when Haelan's attention is really piqued.

"Such as?" He prompts. Magic is scary, there's no doubt about that. Mages are dangerous and it's a foolish thing to get too close to one doing any sort of spell work. But then again... it's also really fascinating. If he plays his cards right, maybe he'll get a demonstration.