allthisshitisweird | Test Drive Meme!

You'll Never Leave the Hinterlands Alive*

Welcome to Fade Rift's very first Test Drive Meme! Use one of the prompts below or make up your own, and tag around! Have fun, try out the setting, generate samples for your app, coerce your friends into joining you.

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.

1. In the Deep Dark Hills of Western Ferelden

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. There I Read on a Hillside Gravestone

The rebel mages and renegade templars have ravaged the Hinterlands, skirmishes breaking out all over. It looks like you've just missed one-- great spikes of ice melt slowly in the cool autumn sunlight and patches of grass and trees have been scorched away. Three bodies are scattered about, two templars and one mage judging by their clothing. You could bury them. Or search their pockets. Or track their friends. Or all of the above, if you're feeling industrious.

3. Won't You Walk With Me Out the Mouth of this Holler

Whatever task you were actually sent out here to do, you are going to be late. One-Eyed Jimmy asked so nicely for your help finding his prize ram, Lord Woolsley. It's been in the family for years, so smart for a ram, it's a good luck charm, their business has boomed with it around, and it's lived for so long, he just can't abide thinking of it getting eaten by some mangy apostate. And then he went and offered you money, too. How could you say no? Maybe you're still wandering, asking everyone you pass if they've seen a ram that looks like it's wearing an orangey-red sweater. Maybe you've found it and are chasing it around a lake or trying to lead it back to the village for your reward. Maybe you've gotten fed up and gotten out your sword to bring Jimmy a new sweater instead and discovered that lucky Lord Woolsley is a demon in sheep's clothing. Surprise!

4. Fill Your Cup With Whatever Bitter Brew You're Drinking

Just because the region's had a rough time lately doesn't mean the tavern at Redcliffe is any less crowded than usual. Bella behind the bar dishes out tankards to refugees and soldiers, scared villagers and angry farmers, merchants traveling through from Orzammar and Orlais and families fleeing the rifts in the foothills. It's packed, basically. The Inquisition has only recently extended its influence into the region, and while some have already seen the benefit-- demons killed, fighting broken up-- others are skeptical.

5. Spend Your Life Just Thinkin' of How to Get Away

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.

*Yeah, I had this stuck in my head. It's a good song!!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Life was officially out of his control. But, really, there was nothing new about that. If anything, Peter is grateful for the sharp and to the point instructions. Go here, do this. Much better than his plan of watching in horror as the bear came closer and eventually killed him. So he offers no resistance as he's dragged along, though he does spare a critical second to look over his shoulder at the raging animal.

"What did you do?"

"I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Gavin said, without looking back, still firmly dragging Peter with him. "I would think you understood the concept, considering!"

Luckily, after running a while, the bear got bored, and Gavin came to a stop, trying to catch his breath.

Gavin stops, Peter collapses. Knees hit the dirt, heavy breathing, the whole mess. Bears. Bears. He hadn't asked for this. He'd never asked for anything outside of a nice tower to live in and now elves were falling from the sky and bringing bears with them.

"Se-seems more like you keep ending up there. In the, uh, in the w-wrong place. That is."

"Well, then the two of us have that in common," Gavin said mildly, looking a little bemused. He checked back - just in case - but they weren't followed. So instead he ducked down, squatting beside him.

"Are you alright?"

He almost says no. His mouth forms the word with no sound going with it, because what have his friends been saying? Courage, bravery, all that. Those are the things that will let mages stay free. And as terrifying as this living in this wild outside world sounds, it's that or tranquility for now, so...

Courage. Right.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, I just...off a cliff? Did the bear push you off or something?"

Talk about the other guy instead of the fact he'd nearly wet himself. Brilliant plan, he figured, as he started pushing himself back up onto shaky feet.

"Cliffs and I have a history," He admitted, somewhat sheepishly. "It startled me, the cliff was already there." He watched peter get back up, and checked him over, before offering him a sympathetic smile.

"Gavin, by the way. Sorry about that."

"Oh- oh right, Peter. I'm Peter."

And he's not gawking. Obviously, he's not gawking. He's met elves. Even ones with the markings that lived in the woods before they came to the tower and all. It was only he'd never met any non-magic ones. Which, with the bow and all, clearly this one wasn't a mage. He might even still belong with his woods living people and all, unlike all the ones that ended up in the tower. Might be...different. In some strange way Peter hadn't even thought of.

And now he's been silent and looking at the tattoos for an awkward beat too long. Or five.

"...You're, ah, still very whole. For having a history with falling off high, rocky places?"

Edited 2015-10-02 03:28 (UTC)

"I think it's because the Keeper half wishes I'd be dashed to a dozen pieces." Oh yes, he noticed the look. Of course he did. Peter had looked like a fish for ten seconds. but it wasn't the first time he'd run into someone who'd never met a Dalish, and it wouldn't be the last.

"Fate just keeps seeing fit to save me, just to irritate her."

He checked himself over, but other than a few new tears in his armour, and likely a few bruises, he was fine.

"Were you part of that fight back there? Am I harbouring a fugitive?"

He's clearly teasing, letting a lopsided grin to his lips.

"No-"

And now he is no longer noticing the elf thing, and far more noticing the not magical and may want to hurt magic types thing. That saying 'no' so forcefully could be seen as an admission of guilt doesn't occur to Peter as his eyes go wide and he violently shakes his head no to go along with his words. Clearly, picking up social cues was for other people.

"No, no, no. I was just- I'm- the mages, you see- we- I was just here. Not bothering anyone."

Gavin looked bemused, raising his hands in the universal symbol for surrender.

"Kidding! I was just kidding. Do I look like a templar to you?"

To be honest, whoever this was, they really didn't seem capable of doing much to anyone, so he wasn't exactly worried.

"All I meant was, is there somewhere that you need to get back to? Because I admit I'm starting to get worried that you might be as accident prone as I am."

"S'mostly normal people that really hate us."

It comes out slightly more defensive than needed, but so far as he knew it was true. The templars could take care of themselves. It was the normal people, the ones that he was told would scream and hate magic when they saw it, that the templars always claimed to really be serving.

"And I- I'm alright. When elves aren't throwing bears at me. I was just getting some herbs for the camp."

"Well, aren't you lucky I'm not normal," He said wryly, almost to himself, save that it was loud enough for both of them.

"At least let me make up for throwing a bear at you," He said. "Or I'll be plagued by dreams of attacking helpless passerby with my bear-wielding prowess."

The elf gets a look at the not normal comment, but what man could focus on that when making it up followed so soon after? There weren't many people in the world that cared to even apologize to Peter, let alone atone.

Blame his prank loving friends, but it made him a little suspicious.

"Make it up how?"

"Well, getting you back to camp safe and mauled-less would probably be a start," Gavin offered, amused at the suspicion.

"Though 'leaving you alone to fend for yourself' is also absolutely fine, if that's what you'd prefer." He paused, and then chuckled, adding teasingly: "Or a nug, maybe, I'm pretty good at killing those."

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