TEST DRIVE MEME!

[faderifting]

What if there is no tomorrow?

Only more Hinterlands

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, the first days of the new year find 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.

STILL WITH ADDED SNOW AND NOW ALSO ADDED KINDNESS TO ANIMALS (MOSTLY).

1. IF I GET SCARED, YOU'RE ALWAYS AROUND

You have turned the wrong corner in the snow, forded the wrong stream in the snow, crested the wrong hill in the snow, entered the wrong cave in the snow. Maybe you are far from camp, in the snow. Maybe you are in camp, which is also snowy. Whatever has happened, wherever you are: you are being chased through the snow by bears. Did you throw a snowball at the bears? Are they huge and snow-dusted? Babies burrowing through the snow drifts and coming for your ankles? Fade-touched in addition to snow-touched? Controlled by cold mages who are hiding in the snow? Popping up out of the snow like a game of whack-a-mole? What are they chasing you away from in all of this snow? What are they chasing you into, other than more snow? What warm things do you plan to make out of their hide if you kill them in the snow? What do you think they'll craft out of your hide if they kill you in the snow? P.S. It's still snowy.

2. THEY SAY WE'RE YOUNG AND WE DON'T KNOW

The Inquisition has, possibly, been a little too good at dealing with the Hinterlands' bear problem, and a group of concerned citizens--including young burgeoning naturalists, farmers concerned about the effect an unchecked population of rams may have on their crops come spring, and at least one woman who claims to be directly descended from bears--has taken issue. Maybe they're blocking your character's attempt to enter a bear-infested area. Maybe they've doused your character in bear blood. Maybe the bears they have been working so hard to save have cornered them in the wilderness and they're changing their tunes.

3. WITH YOU I CAN'T GO WRONG

The Inquisition's (cough Leliana's) habit of communicating by raven works out fine, usually, but this particular raven has gone a little rogue. It's not the raven's fault! She's young, she's trying. But she has very important information tied to her leg, and instead of delivering it, she's joined a flock of identical wild ravens to hunt for food in the snow. Recover her, somehow, without hurting her and making any spymistresses angry.

4. BEFORE IT'S EARNED, OUR MONEY'S ALL BEEN SPENT

The tavern at Redcliffe remains as busy as ever, filled with locals, travelers, and Inquisition members. But this month in addition to the usual free-flowing ale and rowdy conversation there is also a contest going on. Bakers have come from across the Hinterlands bearing their very best in an effort to win a coveted ribbon and the title of Best Cake. They pack the tavern and spill out into the surrounding courtyard when the weather allows, cakes sold off tables, out of packs, small chunks given away to whoever is passing and not paying enough attention to refuse. The votes are carefully guarded by several serious looking fellows in the back corner of the tavern. In addition to traffic issues, the cake madness has also caused an infestation of large local rodents, who have appeared out of their holes to devour the many crumbs. Legend has it that if they can be humanely eradicated from the tavern before the final vote is cast, spring will come early. No one in living memory has succeeded, but you are strongly encouraged to try anyway.

5. AIN'T NO HILL OR MOUNTAIN WE CAN'T CLIMB

Hunt game so you can rescue it before other hunters get there, kill demons or maybe just try to hug it out?, dig under the snow for herbs or plant some of your own to replace what others have taken, track bandits through the snow and see if they need a hand, deal with someone charging extortionist coat prices now that it's snowing and convince them to do the right thing, fall off a deceptively tall rock into the snow and admit it was your own fault, 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 in the snow so that you can give it a decent burial, climb trees or abandoned towers covered in snow and be careful not to knock them down, rummage around in empty homes to get out of the snow but leave a nice apology note, run from a dragon in the snow and promise not to trespass on its territory again, definitely don't kill any fennec foxes, set up camp and chat around the fire about your feelings because it's snowy and cold, give yourself a pat on the back (figuratively, or even literally if that's more your speed)-- the Hinterlands are your playground.

Comments

[iknowlove]

The offer to be taken to camp has her simultaneously intrigued and hesitant. She still isn't that great with people, and any one of them figuring her out isn't exactly high on her list of things to do. She's rare, it's a gift, she's heard it all to justify decisions made on her behalf.

Still, the thought of a campfire is what finally seals it and she nods, a small smile finally appearing on her face as she nods. "I'd appreciate it."

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin returns the small smile, starting them off. "It's no trouble. I need to restock my potions, anyway. Too many people need them out here." Herself, not so much. That Barrier spell lasts a lot longer than it used to, thankfully.

"I tend to forget it in my introductions, but I'm also a member of the mage council in the Inquisition, representing the non-Dalish apostates. Politics aren't my forte, but it's better to be heard, right? And this way, it's not just the Circle mages having a voice."

[iknowlove]

Terra falls into step behind her, more than happy to walk in the qunari's path. It makes things a lot easier for her, anyway, to not have to forge through the snow herself. She stares up at Korrin's back, caught on her every word. It sounds... almost too good to be true.

She keeps her cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders, occasionally glancing down to make sure she isn't about to lose her footing. "I've heard only a little about them. Is it... safe there?"

[gatheringstorm]

Korrin's fine with clearing the way, though she herself wishes that a certain Avvar buddy was around to do it for them. He'd plow through all this with little resistance. As it is, she's careful in her footing, not about to be caught off-guard by either ice or bears.

"Relative to here? Yeah, a lot more. I won't lie and say it's a paradise of acceptance; someone became an abomination a couple of months back and that's put everyone on edge. That said, there's been no violence, nor has the mage council been forced to stand down or accept Templar authority. If they did that, I'd be the first one to walk...but the higher-ups are reasonable people. As long as we're here to help them stop Thedas from falling apart, that's what matters to them."

[iknowlove]

Abomination.

There's a word that strikes a chord with her. Terra slows her steps for a time before she stops walking altogether, staring down at the ground. She was a risk. A danger. Being too close to them puts her directly in harm's way. She has to be kept under close watch.

Abomination.

Terra bites down on her bottom lip and lifts her head, finally speaking up. "Before we go further, there's-- I should tell you something." There's a moment's hesitation and she takes a slow breath to steady herself. "I can... talk to them. Spirits, I mean. They can be as real and present to me as you are now."

[gatheringstorm]

Realizing that Terra's stopped following her, Korrin turns around and pauses to listen. Hearing that news prompts a raised eyebrow, but no looks of disgust. Spirits and the like aren't her forte, but she can respect a rare ability like that, especially in light of the past several months.

"So you're a medium? That could be useful, for encountering those not driven mad by the Breach. We have some Spirit Healers with us who would probably find a lot of common ground with you there. The Templars won't like it, but screw them. Unless you let one possess you, they've no authority to do anything about it."