fadewalk | RP: Through the Eluvian!

((ooc: With sigrun_fadewalk, heromiyuu, wardenalistair, blackwall_fadewalk & dagna_fadewalk. I'll consider this thread no good to recieve new participants because we're little fullhouse'd here. Also, for the RP order: Sigrun/Alistair/Neria/Blackwall/Aria. Gogogo Ground Zero Team! xD))

There it was. The Eluvian.
Beautiful, shiny, restored.
She'd like to know how Dagna had accomplished such feat, but now her curiosity should remain controlled. She would re-activate the Eluvian and she had no idea of what would happen after. Maybe the magic dragging people to Dirthamen knows where intensified. Maybe more strayed people arrived. From what she knew, anything could happen. But saving Dagna was important, too important for Aria just sit and wait for the Eluvian give her back as it had done with Varric and Cullen. Dagna was the only creature in Skyhold which never looked down on Aria for her problems with controlling the Voices from the Well. The only person capable of keeping up with her logic lines, to aid her, to complete that part of her. The Arcanist was missing and she was mortified. Infinitely more than she would ever admit.

Aria could deal just fine with long waits.
But the short ones? Hmph, Creators, it was surprising she hadn't opened a hole on the floor where she was pacing. She already had travelling supplies and the straps of her Inquisition Scout armor (there was no mage armor to be seem, anywhere) were well adjusted. Thank the Creators she had the habit of walking with her staff around Skyhold no matter the time or day, or she would feel naked without her usual weapon.

She wondered if the Voices would come back once they left Skyhold.
The Inquisitor was both thrilled and frightened with the idea.

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Neria couldn't say she enjoyed the great amount of spirits walking around them, feeling something wasn't right about that. She smiled to the man at the door, a little uncertain on how to proceed.

"Hi, sorry to disturb you, sir. We just..." she glanced Aria, trying to find the right words "... arrived here and we were wondering if, by any chance, you could've seen our redhead friend. Dagna is her name."

Clad in flesh. Right. Nothing disturbing about that in the slightest. Blackwall resisted the urge to sidle up next to Aria and instead kept watching their backs. Let the leaders do the talking. Aria might say they were friendly, but Blackwall had fought a few too many ‘spirits’ pulled out of fade rifts to assume they were all harmless.

[OOC: A more relaxed order is a good idea, and/or we could always split the party to keep things moving a bit faster. ~~Though my D&D instincts are screaming at me for even suggesting splitting the party lol.~~]

Aria glanced at the Hero, trusting her long experience inside Ferelden politics to deal with the man. He kept his eyes over her, paying attention to her words.

"I see... a redhead dwarf, yes? Once begins to talk, little can make her stop?" he scratched his chin, thoughtful.
"Yes! That's definitely our girl!" Aria nodded, encouraging.
"Sorry, I haven't seen her. Not in person, I mean."

She was already frowning when he added the last part, stepping to his side to open room and gesturing for them to come inside.

"I dreamt with this day so long ago I was already afraid I might not live to see it." he chuckled "Which could be a problem, you see. But please, come in, make yourself comfortable. We have a lot to talk and I bet you're full of questions."

The door led to what seemed a simple kitchen, if Aria's deduction skills were working. The counter with a sink was just bellow the window and, just on the oposite side of the door, a stove had kettle filled with water, almost boiling. The table, right in the middle of the kitchen, had exactly six chairs. The man shooed one or two spirits on his way to the stove, aparently quite used to it. The Inquisitor's eyes laid over a particulary curious metal cabinet, wondering what use could it have, but she thought it was better to save her questions for more important things.

"I was just heating some water to make tea. How fortuitous." then he turned to Alistair, pointing a cupboard just behind him "Would you be so kind and pick up some mugs for us?"

((ooc: Let's try going with the more relaxed order then. Following Dagna's plans, we should split the party soon enough, so don't worry about it now *retreats back to darkness, laughing as a cheap Sailor Moon's villain and repeating 'split the party' until is finally gone* 8D))

((ooc: Oh... since we're bending the rp order now...))

"Oh, tea sounds lovely, thank you."
Neria was quick to pull a chair and sit, Jaeger taking her side, lying his head over her lap; the mabari hound relaxed immediately after entering the house, curious about the old man, but enough behaved to don't simply stroll around. She scratched behind his ear, eyes focused on the man.

"About the questions, I certainly have hundreds. You say you saw Dagna, but not in person? And you claim you... predicted our arrival? My apologies if I sound skeptical, but even amongst mages, opinions about divination are quite diverse."

Following his wife's lead, Alistair moved to obey the old man's request and fetch the mugs from the cupboard indicated. He cast a quick eye over their group to count their number again and then pulled out six mugs, which he picked up all at once and balanced together. He set them down in the center of the table and then moved to stand behind Neria, one hand on her shoulder, the other tucked at the small of his back, in case he was needed further.

Aria couldn't bring herself to sit. In her experience as Inquisitor, being expected and not knowing shit about the people she was dealing with was just the perfect way to be ambushed. Hard to understand how the Hero could play it that cool. But again, she had a good bunch of years as a headstart in politics and Aria could bet her arm she had learned a lot with Leliana.

"I'll join the skeptical choir." she folded her arms in front of her chest "There is no such thing as Divination."
"No Divination? You must've come from a terribly boring world." he shook his head and then shrugged "But maybe this is for the best. I can't say being able to foresee the future is always a good thing." then, the man reached for the mugs, working to pour the tea "I'll give a long shot, but I'm guessing the Veil here is different from the Veil where you came from?"

Aria exchanged glances with the Hero, then back to the man, nodding in agreement "Yes... the Veil here is thinner than our world. Quite thinner."
"Ah, see? This is the whole point here." he smiled "The Veil not only separates our world from the Fade, but it also prevents people from casting several types of magic. Or, at least it used to, according to mother. But let's not digress." he shook his hands, dismissing the subject "My friends told me about your missing friend. She's in the city as we speak, she's safe."
"Thank the Creators."

Aria sighed, closely followed by the Hero and Sigrun.

"Reaching her won't be easy, though." he warned;
Aria rolled her eyes, chuckling "It's never easy, is it?"

The man took a sip from this tea mug in a silent, resentful agreement.

"The city is huge and the police don't like their mages without the inhibitor implant. My friends can help a little, but you'll have to keep it low."
"Oh please, we're the very definition of discretion." Aria gestured, sarcastic
"And I'm guessing you're being discret about being discret, right?" he smirked

Blackwall sheathed his sword and shouldered his shield when he entered the disturbing man’s home. Manners trumped preparedness, this time. Didn’t meant he didn’t think twice about it though. This place was giving him the collywobbles. When the odd man started focusing in of Aria though, Blackwall finally gave in and stepped close beside her.

“The faster we can get to Dagna, the better. But causing trouble isn’t what we want. If you can see the future, do you know where she’ll be by the time we get to her? Where we should be searching, exactly?”

Neria glanced at Blackwall as he spoke, nodding.

"Knowing where to search for her would be most helpful, indeed." she reached for a mug, taking a sip of tea "Also, what kind of resistance we may encounter since we lack this... inhibitor implant? What exactly is this?"

"I'm afraid that's not how Divination works, not for me. I dream with future events, yes, but I can't dream with the future at will." the man shook his head apologetically "There are spells designed to track a person, but since they relly on the Fade to locate someone and the towers around the city strengthen the Veil and blocks any connection with the Fade, that's not possible either."

Then, he glanced at Neria "Inhibitor Implants are just as bad as it sounds. You'll notice our world have achieved great technology and development and as it happened, most of us thought magic and spirits were things which belonged in the past. But you can't just prevent mages from being born as you can't just make the spirits go away, so the Inhibitor Implants prevents mages from doing magic. The Towers I mentioned before keeps the spirits away from the cities." he sighed, gravely "The spirits rely on our dreams and aspirations to nourish their virtues and existences, but with the Towers, they're ceasing to exist."
"That's why you here." Aria stared him "So they can see your dreams."
"You're right. It's a little pressumptious of me to think this is enough, but that's all I can do. As for the resistance you may encounter... the police isn't actively looking for mages without the Inhibitors, you should use it as an advantage. My friends opposes this measures and most of them are fugitives, but they know their way around the city and how to find people there."

Neria's grip around the mug tightened and a spark shone on her eyes.

"This is outrageous. Simply outrageous." which, in Neria's language, meant she was already thinking in 47 different ways to save Dagna and smack those towers down, preferably in the heads of the people who made it. She stood up all of sudden "Please, sir, I need all basic information you can provide me about the city and your culture. We'll also need a more adequate clothing to blend in, if that's not too much to ask for.”

Aria had to admit she was surprised by the Hero's sudden silent rage. She hadn't even raised her voice and the Inquisitor thought that only made clearer how whoever dared to stand on her way was pretty much fucked up.

The man nodded, a small smile on his face.

"That I can do. Anything else?"
"Send a message to your friends. I'm pretty sure we'll need them to get acclimated with the city." Aria wouldn't miss the chance to help with the plans "Also, what can you tell me about weapons? I doubt we can barge in the city with our swords and shields."
"That is true. Fortunately, you can barge in the city with other weapons. Please, excuse me for a second."

And he left the kitchen.

Alistair grinned at the look on Neria's face as she stood, abruptly. That look meant nothing good for anyone who stood between her and her goals. That look, that ferocity, that was what had brought together whole groups of people with nothing more than her determination and a few pieces of ancient parchment ten years ago. It was what made her a Commander worth following even still.

And he, of course, would follow her into the Void and back, no matter what her cause. He nudged her arm and gave her a confident, conspiratorial look.

Blackwall sighed and a wry smile pulled at his lips. It was certainly no secret that the Warden-Commander had earned her title, but another thing to actually see her. Reminded him a tad of Aria on the battlefield.

And he’d just gotten this sword and shield too. “Have to warn you, my lady, I’m not much for daggers or a bow.”

Neria grinned at Alistair's conspiratory look, squeezing his arm in response. She watched as the man left the kitchen, changing her weight from one leg to another.

"I certainly hope this doesn't leave our skills too far from home." she sighed, glancing at Aria "Since magic is pointless inside the city, we better think of a side weapon."

"Don't worry, Hero. I can handle myself just fine with a dagger. Not like Sigrun here, I bet, but enough to kick some damn anti-mage arses." the Inquisitor winked, confident "But I confess I have this futile, blind hope that we'll be able to go in and out without trouble. I don't know you, but trouble always had this spectacular way of finding me."

The man was still absent.
Sounds were coming from what looked like the living room; boxes being moved, tools being shuffled here and there, sometimes a low cursing after the fall of some heavy object. Aria bit her lower lip "Hm, sir. Do you need some help?"
"Thank you, I'm good! Be back in a minute, just have to find that blasted shield!"

A shield?
So, he was going to give them weapons just like the ones they were using?
Probably some technological contraption equivalent to their own, she hoped.

Edited Date: 2015-09-25 05:49 am (UTC)

Neria chuckled.
"Fortunately or not, trouble always finds me as well. Guess this only makes us prepared to face anything the gods throw at us, no? I'm more worried about the lack of connection with the Fade. I can't see how this isn't the same thing as being made Tranquil. I won't lie, I'm not anxious to find out how does it feels like." she shook her head, sighing

"This makes two of us." Aria agreed "But as long as we can save Dagna, I won't complain."

The man came back then, finding room over the table to place what he carried: pants and shirts with a simple straight cutting, jackets and dresses made of light colored matelassé. He brought, also, small rounded devices no bigger than the palm of Aria's hand.

"Few years ago, there was this really popular sport in Denerim's Arena which basically consisted of two teams of warriors fighting each other while another team member tried to score points. The matchs were really boring after some time, but fortunately the blades and shields were all military grade." he took one device on his hand and pressed a small button on the center, causing it to glow: a tower shield made of light appeared in front of him "This can resist pretty much anything. Swords, bullets, railguns, you name it. Just careful with disintegrating guns, two shots for the shield to go down and it will need some cooldown before you can lit it up again." turning the shield off, he moved to another device; a sword made of light shone this time "I understand you'll probably miss the weight of metal on your hands, but this blade can cut through anything. Really, anything, even the light shield with enough strength and insistance."
"I don't suppose you have a light staff too?"
"Nor light daggers." he shook his head, looking to Arian then Sigrun "But you can keep yours as long as you can conceal them in the clothes. Casting is a no go."
"Noted. Anything else?"
"Yes." he smiled, handing a small rectangular glass to Aria "This is a datapad. It connects to the city's network and you can use to research anything you feel like." he turned the datapad on "You just have to type the search here and wait."

Aria was doing a good job on concealing all of her surprise and admiration for the technological devices, smiling and nodding to the man instead.

"Ok guys, this is it. Let's gear up and show them how we do things in the past."

Blackwall picked up one of the little bobbles. Had a circle etched into it just below the button. Another he took had a little cross. Held that one away from his body, pressed the button, and the long end of the cross pointed to the sharp end of the sword. Lightweight, which meant he could swing fast, but made it feel less like a part of his arm. Would take a fair bit of getting used to.

“And we just leave our clothes and things here, then?” Trusting a stranger wasn’t exactly his idea of a solid plan. Not like they had a better choice though.

Blackwall shucked his armour as quickly as he was able. Left in shirt, trou and boots, he picked through the jackets offered. Found one that came close enough to fitting. Sleeves rolled up twice, pack shouldered, and it all felt too light. “Walking into the demon’s den practically naked.”

Neria browsed through the clothes, picking the dress which seemed to fit her best. She left the kitchen and returned moments later, slightly uncomfortable with the skirt length over the knee, but she wouldn't complain.

When she came back she nodded, agreeing with Blackwall.
"Indeed. But, there's no much use for armors when we can face someone carrying a disintegrator gun, no? That, of course, supposing I really understood what such weapon is capable of. We'll have to make do with our newly acquired mobility." and she took a sword device, stashing it in a pocket; with Alistair, Oghren and other warriors around Vigil's Keep, she had learned a thing or two about sword fight.

((ooc: just FYI, since we're about to change locations and splitting the party, I'd like to wait for everyone equip and give their final considerations about this whole mess before proceeding, hence why I'm in stand by ^^))

Alistair rummaged around until he found clothes of a size that would fit him, leaving when Neria did to change. When he returned, he picked up one of the devices that brought up a shield, and one for a sword, testing both for a moment before turning them off again. He slipped them in a pocket, and then smoothed his hands down the new shirt and over his thighs.

He looked at Blackwall. "I rather agree," he said, not liking how bare he felt without layers of fabric and plate between him and the air. At least when he was preparing to go into what essentially amounted a battlefield.

"Welcome to the life of a mage." Aria crooned with a hint of sarcasm "You see, in no time the both of you will be used to the sensation of being naked in the battlefield, just wondering when the next attack you make you bleed to death."
"It's not that bad, really." the man shook his head, rolling his eyes with a small smile "Bear in mind you'll be inside a city, and everyone else will be dressed essentially like you so..." he shrugged, but seemed to remember something "Oh, and before I forget... the datapads can also be used to communication. You can use it to call me or anyone else, very useful. Once you reach the city, my friends will call you."
"Right... I'll keep it in mind and pretend I do understand how those things work. I'm counting on your brain, Neria."

Aria just grabbed a jacket and dressed it over her cotton shirt, too lazy to change like Neria or Alistar. Parting from her staff was hard, but a price she was willing to pay for now.

"Will be back soon."
"I'm sure you will. Good luck."

She shook hands with him and turned on her heels to leave the house. About a mile or so, she could see the city gates and the towers. Aria would like to avoid further trouble, but considering how the Warden Commander had spoke, she really doubted she would be able to. Saving Dagna and then the mages seemed fair enough for her.

Neria smiled and nodded to the man, following Aria.

They had covered a good distance between the farm and the city through the wheat field when she finally spoke, eyes focused on Jäger running around and occasionally barking at the spirits.

"Can I assume our plan is to enter the city, take advantage of the fact no one is waiting for us to come, rescue Dagna and then bring those barriers down? Not necessarily in this order, depending on the tools needed to reach Dagna, of course."

Blackwall followed directly behind the others, not wanting to damage the crops any more than they had to. Winced at the dog running helter-skelter and barking at the spirits. If they had any luck, the spirits wouldn’t take it badly and attack. He snorted softly to himself and kept his hand on the little device in his pocket. They didn’t have that kind of luck.

“Sounds fair enough, Commander. Problem is, we still don’t know where the Arcanist is. Suppose we’d better hope these friends of his,” He motioned with his thumb over his shoulder, back toward the farmhouse. “Have some idea where to start looking.”

The walls were starting to loom larger, and Blackwall looked for a road to lead them to the gate.

"I don't know you, but I generally have a good feeling about this. Not about the city, or their anti-mage measures, or how we're gonna deal with their technology, but I'm confident if we can't find Dagna, Dagna will definitely find us." Neria smiled "That little red-head is very resourceful and smart. I wouldn't be impressed if she was already fully acclimatized to this place."

The elf was trying to play it cool, but as they approached the city walls, with the slightly shimmering magical barrier, she couldn't help but feel a shiver down her spine. There weren't guards or gates in the entrance.