Warden.
[ clothed, he assumes. ]
Does it involve washing your hands with soup, getting drunk, wearing socks, praying to Andraste, burning herbs, or otherwise following one's own advice?
[ it's mostly that last one that's shown to be a problem. what is wrong with the other healers, it's not like he ever gets sick — ]
[ clothed, he assumes. ]
Does it involve washing your hands with soup, getting drunk, wearing socks, praying to Andraste, burning herbs, or otherwise following one's own advice?
[ it's mostly that last one that's shown to be a problem. what is wrong with the other healers, it's not like he ever gets sick — ]
Edited 2020-02-15 19:16 (UTC)
[ as if ticking off each point on his fingers— ]
Washing your hands with fairly strong alcohol between each patient, wearing masks over your mouth and nose, and scrubbing clothes worn in the sick room with lye.
[ a beat. ]
I suppose wearing socks is wise as well. [ obviously ] If you're familiar with any of this, I apologize for taking up your time.
Washing your hands with fairly strong alcohol between each patient, wearing masks over your mouth and nose, and scrubbing clothes worn in the sick room with lye.
[ a beat. ]
I suppose wearing socks is wise as well. [ obviously ] If you're familiar with any of this, I apologize for taking up your time.
I don't doubt your intentions, but I'd ask your source. I'm not in the habit of taking anonymous posters on face value.
Our best interests — to which he's unwilling to sign his name, and has apparently sworn you to secrecy.
[ he sounds exactly as skeptical as you'd think. takes it (and his eyebrows) down a notch, to continue: ]
I'm not wholly opposed. Masks seem a basic precaution, [ miasma! ] And we've funds for bucking the wash when this is done. But if you go into Kirkwall today, you will hear half a dozen folk remedies, and any as plausible.
Those which we choose to employ are a gamble not of coin, but of the trust placed in us. If you're told to carry a rabbit's foot, and you still take with fever, will you listen when told not to go out?
[ he sounds exactly as skeptical as you'd think. takes it (and his eyebrows) down a notch, to continue: ]
I'm not wholly opposed. Masks seem a basic precaution, [ miasma! ] And we've funds for bucking the wash when this is done. But if you go into Kirkwall today, you will hear half a dozen folk remedies, and any as plausible.
Those which we choose to employ are a gamble not of coin, but of the trust placed in us. If you're told to carry a rabbit's foot, and you still take with fever, will you listen when told not to go out?
Edited 2020-02-15 19:53 (UTC)
I understand how it appears, and I understand the risk. But I'd give this more credence than a rabbit's foot.
[ unsure whether or not outing tony would be helpful or not. ]
Who's to know if your healers are washing their hands with water or strong liquor, so long as it's done discreetly?
[ unsure whether or not outing tony would be helpful or not. ]
Who's to know if your healers are washing their hands with water or strong liquor, so long as it's done discreetly?
Which of them would you categorize as 'discreet'?
[ seriously, who.
-- that they're not his, that seniority doesn't mean that anyone will listen to him, is beside the point. the point by now is mostly 'being difficult', with a side of knowing who to blame should some moron light their own alcohol-soaked hands on fire.
which he has definitely never done, thank you. ]
[ seriously, who.
-- that they're not his, that seniority doesn't mean that anyone will listen to him, is beside the point. the point by now is mostly 'being difficult', with a side of knowing who to blame should some moron light their own alcohol-soaked hands on fire.
which he has definitely never done, thank you. ]
Keeping secrets does not look terribly well when they're discovered.
[ warden. ]
Give me a name, and I'll sign mine off on it.
[ warden. ]
Give me a name, and I'll sign mine off on it.
Edited (Raises fist to sky: HTML!!!) 2020-02-15 20:36 (UTC)
]If you take ill and keep working, I will personally feed you to the horse.
[ ilias must not be in the room ]
[ ilias must not be in the room ]
Edited 2020-02-15 21:06 (UTC)
Which is why I expect you to help me enforce it.
[ 'local mage forcibly detains chantry sister' yeah that'd go over great ]
[ 'local mage forcibly detains chantry sister' yeah that'd go over great ]
[Crystals are for people without a healthy level of paranoia. So some evening, not so far removed from this one, Flint appears conveniently at the top of the stairs which Isaac is climbing.]
I'd like to discuss what else you and your colleagues might require for handling this outbreak. I'll walk with you, unless you think it's a conversation better had in my office.
I'd like to discuss what else you and your colleagues might require for handling this outbreak. I'll walk with you, unless you think it's a conversation better had in my office.
[ if you shine a light at a deer, it stops stock-still; refuses motion. perhaps it's bewilderment: the sudden flare of daylight beneath stars. or maybe it's a sort of will, its great crested skull frozen with the business of hope. belief. if one is certain enough in their safety, who's to say it isn't so?
well, anyone with a fucking sword.
isaac doesn't freeze, does start; a jolt that begins at the eyes and finds his feet before brain. instinct carries him down a step — but there's no fear in his face. his hands dust loose in gesture, tuck cigarette back into sleeve.
courtesies. ]
Commander, [ up, again, a boot ground discreetly into dropped spark. ] In truth, I'd not expect much more of it. We're halfway to spring.
well, anyone with a fucking sword.
isaac doesn't freeze, does start; a jolt that begins at the eyes and finds his feet before brain. instinct carries him down a step — but there's no fear in his face. his hands dust loose in gesture, tuck cigarette back into sleeve.
courtesies. ]
Commander, [ up, again, a boot ground discreetly into dropped spark. ] In truth, I'd not expect much more of it. We're halfway to spring.
Edited 2020-02-24 09:16 (UTC)
[(Does the dagger in his belt count for a sword? It's maybe a little premature to say one way or another, given the patience with which he waits there. But it's hard to say what a man in the woods intends. Maybe he's indulging in nature, or maybe he's waiting for that deer to wander where it will be easiest to shoot.]
Indulge me. I'd like to be certain we're prepared if hay fever's to follow.
Indulge me. I'd like to be certain we're prepared if hay fever's to follow.
[ Ah. ]
Imagine the devastation.
[ Whatever this is, they aren't far from his room. He doesn't shut the door. They've no good reason to speak behind those. They won't be overheard: Leander is ill; the elf, too.
But there are appearances to mind. Courtesies.
It's tidy. Bare territory. The books, the leaves, the pins and pressed wings sprawl floors away and below; confined. His desk in the Infirmary is a perpetual tumble, here rests a lone book of stars. A locked chest. The boards pale about a plot of undarkened wood: There was another bed here. ]
We're well-supplied, given recent contributions. [ As Flint must know. I confessed it to the Division Heads. Isaac passes the chair for a poker. Chooses his words, ] I have concerns.
Imagine the devastation.
[ Whatever this is, they aren't far from his room. He doesn't shut the door. They've no good reason to speak behind those. They won't be overheard: Leander is ill; the elf, too.
But there are appearances to mind. Courtesies.
It's tidy. Bare territory. The books, the leaves, the pins and pressed wings sprawl floors away and below; confined. His desk in the Infirmary is a perpetual tumble, here rests a lone book of stars. A locked chest. The boards pale about a plot of undarkened wood: There was another bed here. ]
We're well-supplied, given recent contributions. [ As Flint must know. I confessed it to the Division Heads. Isaac passes the chair for a poker. Chooses his words, ] I have concerns.
[Flint, passing into the room after him, sets his hand at the chair back rather than sit. His back is to the open door; if they speak in even tones, the conversation is unlikely to drift past him to the corridor beyond.]
You're not alone.
[Sounds like Go on.]
You're not alone.
[Sounds like Go on.]
You can't keep anyone from Darktown, [ The sister. Colin. That Rivaini girl, perhaps, she's eager. The iron dips, foraging into char. ] Nor should you — we need the friends. But an excess of charity signals Riftwatch isn't the priority. It's a convenience.
[ He's forgotten to restock the fireplace. There's nothing to use. Isaac sets it aside, turns upon an expression set wry. Askew. He wouldn't lay odds on Flint recalling his name, but his priorities are bare as Nevarran dirt. ]
[ He's forgotten to restock the fireplace. There's nothing to use. Isaac sets it aside, turns upon an expression set wry. Askew. He wouldn't lay odds on Flint recalling his name, but his priorities are bare as Nevarran dirt. ]
Edited (ugh sorry fusses over late edits) 2020-03-02 09:13 (UTC)
[Something in the corner of his mouth thins. It should be a small thing behind the bristle of his beard, but the line of it travels involuntarily up the length of his cheek.
He could play dumb, let this conversation spin itself out before he tracks toward the reasons he's standing here at all. What are you saying? Instead, he shifts his hand on the chair back with a small metallic click of rings, and says,]
Are you aware Leander stabbed another member of Riftwatch?
[Priorities.]
He could play dumb, let this conversation spin itself out before he tracks toward the reasons he's standing here at all. What are you saying? Instead, he shifts his hand on the chair back with a small metallic click of rings, and says,]
Are you aware Leander stabbed another member of Riftwatch?
[Priorities.]
[ And what did he receive? ]
He didn't say who.
[ As true a statement as any: No, not a punch, then. Not a spell.
Not an answer, either. His hand doesn't stray back toward the rack, its tidy line of metal. Not yet.
Light filters through the end of day, a small hallway window; high bars. Glints from the edge of one gaudy ring, or perhaps that's only Isaac's imagination.
A frozen buck. He doesn't blink. ]
He didn't say who.
[ As true a statement as any: No, not a punch, then. Not a spell.
Not an answer, either. His hand doesn't stray back toward the rack, its tidy line of metal. Not yet.
Light filters through the end of day, a small hallway window; high bars. Glints from the edge of one gaudy ring, or perhaps that's only Isaac's imagination.
A frozen buck. He doesn't blink. ]
[Then it's too bad Flint brushes straight past the point.]
He's to be followed until the other division heads are content he's unlikely to do so again. I'm involving you because the two of you are familiar, and I can't say whether it would be worth warning him.
He's to be followed until the other division heads are content he's unlikely to do so again. I'm involving you because the two of you are familiar, and I can't say whether it would be worth warning him.
[ leander is a child of the circle, leander expects to be followed. has said as much. leander is a blood mage, and leander will do what he chooses. ]
Are you content?
[ has drawing attention fucked their little alliance ]
Are you content?
[ has drawing attention fucked their little alliance ]
Would you mind helping me keep an eye on two extremely clever young things who've sampled local flora I'd like a better look at? I don't think they're in imminent danger—one of them might want to put you in imminent danger, but I recommended against bollocking a healer we might be in dire need of—but I'd like to make sure. And if there are effects, record them.
If you wouldn't mind helping make sure they don't die in the event this is more serious than it seems—
If you wouldn't mind helping make sure they don't die in the event this is more serious than it seems—
If they die, it won't happen again.
[ joking. probably joking. ]
On my way. I haven't come toting antidotes, but there's charcoal in the bag somewhere. Show me when you're back?
[ joking. probably joking. ]
On my way. I haven't come toting antidotes, but there's charcoal in the bag somewhere. Show me when you're back?
There's really no guarantee of that.
I've got my basic bag, but nothing exotic. If the horse one takes a turn for the worse, charcoal ought to help, but I think Athessa breathed something in. I would like to go and take a bloom from that when we're sure they can be left unattended, though, I'm just not sure how to go about it.
I've got my basic bag, but nothing exotic. If the horse one takes a turn for the worse, charcoal ought to help, but I think Athessa breathed something in. I would like to go and take a bloom from that when we're sure they can be left unattended, though, I'm just not sure how to go about it.
I've cloth for a mask. Is there a blade on your staff?
Mn, take mine and bag them. I'll sort out cleaning later.
Don't be too careful. By next week we could be bored.
You say that, yet you're leaving me to babysit. Careful in the river. The fish bite.
Can you take a sample of the stream by the flowers?
Mlle. Sulahnan believes the waters may be responsible for our plants' more exciting properties. I'm dubious, but they've remarkably similar symptoms for the differences in ingestion. They could be suggesting it to each other, but as one's already mentioned Darkspawn --
[ please make sure we're not all about to drink taint water. please make sure no one needs to type 'taint water' that many more times. ]
[ please make sure we're not all about to drink taint water. please make sure no one needs to type 'taint water' that many more times. ]
[ It had been early, when he'd left. Late. An in-between time, the only sort they seem to get these days, both of them traveling in different directions and meeting only at a pause as they pass. He'd come to the infirmary this time, instead of Isaac's room, claiming an errand at the end of his shift, trailing a lingering touch he can't stay to complete.
What's missing, afterward, is a dusty flask from the apothecary storeroom. What's left behind is a flower, pressed dry between paper and tucked into the gap in a drawer at Isaac's station.
Magebane and ambrosia, respectively. ]
What's missing, afterward, is a dusty flask from the apothecary storeroom. What's left behind is a flower, pressed dry between paper and tucked into the gap in a drawer at Isaac's station.
Magebane and ambrosia, respectively. ]
[ A few days after the abomination rampage and Jenny Lou is still a little blistery. If there isn't a chair immediately adjacent, she drags one over and flops down next to him. ]
Hey, so whaddya know about demons?
Hey, so whaddya know about demons?
They're terrible conversationalists.
[ isaac pauses in... squeezing an enormous toad to look over his shoulder, gesture with an elbow. fabria croaks from his basin. ]
Gloves are in the drawer, [ sorry jlou no free answers ] What, specifically, did you care to know?
[ isaac pauses in... squeezing an enormous toad to look over his shoulder, gesture with an elbow. fabria croaks from his basin. ]
Gloves are in the drawer, [ sorry jlou no free answers ] What, specifically, did you care to know?
[ Squeezing a toad tracks with Issac's vibe, so she's not necessarily shocked by this. She does retrieve the gloves tho. ]
Considering I'm supposed to be one and I just watched a dude get possessed and killed for it cus no one's figured out a cure? Oh ya know, everything.
Also are you being mean to that toad.
[ Yes, she is cranky enough to pick a fight about toad rights from somebody she's trying to get answers from. ]
Considering I'm supposed to be one and I just watched a dude get possessed and killed for it cus no one's figured out a cure? Oh ya know, everything.
Also are you being mean to that toad.
[ Yes, she is cranky enough to pick a fight about toad rights from somebody she's trying to get answers from. ]
How you feel about milking a cow?
[ the true answer is: yes, a bit,
the shallow water within bubbles, here and there, with little viscous white spots. isaac watches, and for a moment, his face is very nearly still — no cartoonish sneers or curls of fancy. he waits until she dons the gloves to add, ]
There are worms in the jar, if you want to treat him.
[ it isn't as though she doesn't sound angry. it's just been a while, since he had this conversation. ]
[ the true answer is: yes, a bit,
the shallow water within bubbles, here and there, with little viscous white spots. isaac watches, and for a moment, his face is very nearly still — no cartoonish sneers or curls of fancy. he waits until she dons the gloves to add, ]
There are worms in the jar, if you want to treat him.
[ it isn't as though she doesn't sound angry. it's just been a while, since he had this conversation. ]
[ D o u b t.
She grabs the jar to fish out a worm and offers it to the toad. ]
How come there's not a way to reverse possessions here? [ She watches the toad instead of him. Partly because the toad is kinda neat and partly because she still kinda wants to throw shit at any and every available authority figure who's so completely failed in making this fucked up world any kind of decent. ]
She grabs the jar to fish out a worm and offers it to the toad. ]
How come there's not a way to reverse possessions here? [ She watches the toad instead of him. Partly because the toad is kinda neat and partly because she still kinda wants to throw shit at any and every available authority figure who's so completely failed in making this fucked up world any kind of decent. ]
There are rumours, [ he speaks carefully. there have always been rumours. ] That it can be done.
[ the avvar, the rivaini; they traffic in spirits. voluntary possession —
voluntary exit. and only a volunteer idiot would just take their word for it.
fabria inches forward: a long waddling stretch that leaves him still gripped in isaac's gloves. his mouth distends. flesh shifts by no magic at all to propel him forward; the worm is gone. ]
But even if it could be done, there was no other way for that man to end.
[ the avvar, the rivaini; they traffic in spirits. voluntary possession —
voluntary exit. and only a volunteer idiot would just take their word for it.
fabria inches forward: a long waddling stretch that leaves him still gripped in isaac's gloves. his mouth distends. flesh shifts by no magic at all to propel him forward; the worm is gone. ]
But even if it could be done, there was no other way for that man to end.
[ She frowns. Grabs another worm and holds it closer for Fabria this time. ]
Why?
Why?
What happened this week was a miracle. [ the toad watches the worm, unblinking. licks its slow lips ] That the Gallows was meant to keep mages, that we had mages enough to stop him.
[ that he came by daylight, that half of riftwatch wasn't lost in the trees ]
And we hardly did, and the walls didn't hold. Abominations level villages.
[ that he came by daylight, that half of riftwatch wasn't lost in the trees ]
And we hardly did, and the walls didn't hold. Abominations level villages.
[ She sets the worm down so she doesn't squish it. Drops her hands to the seat of her chair to curl around them so she doesn't smash the whole jar of worms on the ground. ]
Why did he turn into one to start with? Colin said you gotta make like a deal with a demon for it to happen? [ She only vaguely remembers that conversation. ]
Why did he turn into one to start with? Colin said you gotta make like a deal with a demon for it to happen? [ She only vaguely remembers that conversation. ]
When you hear deal, what do you think of? A contract, conscious agreement?
[ the worm thrashes in the little pool; every motion draws it closer. fabria's mouth winches open again, in wait. ]
[ the worm thrashes in the little pool; every motion draws it closer. fabria's mouth winches open again, in wait. ]
Not like that at all, is it.
[ Because she's not stupid, she knows where those kind of questions lead. She grips the seat of her chair a little harder and watches the worm. ]
[ Because she's not stupid, she knows where those kind of questions lead. She grips the seat of her chair a little harder and watches the worm. ]
It can be, [ isaac finally lets go. one finger strays to stroke the toad's head before pulling off his gloves. ] I'll teach you such secrets. I'll make you powerful. I'll make them pay.
[ i'll make it all stop. ]
But how often have you bargained with yourself? There's more than one way to let anger in.
[ i'll make it all stop. ]
But how often have you bargained with yourself? There's more than one way to let anger in.
So, it can just like happen? In the moment?
[ So there was nothing they could have done? That kinda sounds like bullshit, but the kind of bullshit that's part of how unfair life is. ]
And there's no going back?
[ So there was nothing they could have done? That kinda sounds like bullshit, but the kind of bullshit that's part of how unfair life is. ]
And there's no going back?
In the moment.
[ inch by struggling inch, the worm drifts,
drops below the surface. fabria lunges, now with the whole of his body; a mass that hardly splashes to bear down on it. its purple coils vanish into dark. isaac scratches at his beard. ]
You can take those off now, [ a nod to her own gloves. ] May I see your hands?
[ to check the inflammation. ]
[ inch by struggling inch, the worm drifts,
drops below the surface. fabria lunges, now with the whole of his body; a mass that hardly splashes to bear down on it. its purple coils vanish into dark. isaac scratches at his beard. ]
You can take those off now, [ a nod to her own gloves. ] May I see your hands?
[ to check the inflammation. ]
Yeah, gimme a sec.
[ Because misdirected violence is shitty. She squeezes wood of her seat until her joints start to ache and then she lets go, stripping off the gloves and holding out her hands. Whatever he's expecting to find will be mixed in with the barely healed burns from the rampage and cuticles chewed raw from the interchangeable mania and anxiety of the last few days. ]
[ Because misdirected violence is shitty. She squeezes wood of her seat until her joints start to ache and then she lets go, stripping off the gloves and holding out her hands. Whatever he's expecting to find will be mixed in with the barely healed burns from the rampage and cuticles chewed raw from the interchangeable mania and anxiety of the last few days. ]
[ isaac's skin is softer, probably, than it ought to be: streaked with tiny white fissures that never seem to open fully; irritation that never rubs quite raw.
his grip is lighter than it stood on frogflesh. one hand cups below hers, the other turns her fingers with a certain delicacy. how is the motion? ]
It isn't random, [ possession. ] You don't have to fear that.
his grip is lighter than it stood on frogflesh. one hand cups below hers, the other turns her fingers with a certain delicacy. how is the motion? ]
It isn't random, [ possession. ] You don't have to fear that.
I'm not really worried about like... random possession.
[ She frowns, watching him move her fingers. All in working order, even if they are beat up. ]
You think it's all bullshit, but we have those too. Back home. They're a lot different though.
[ She frowns, watching him move her fingers. All in working order, even if they are beat up. ]
You think it's all bullshit, but we have those too. Back home. They're a lot different though.
[ he lingers, taps the knuckle of her middle finger. you think it's all bullshit, well, yes. most things are. ]
Extend that for me, [ his chin tips, and he finally looks up, to meet her eyes. something of the old animation returned —] What is that like?
[ back home? ]
Extend that for me, [ his chin tips, and he finally looks up, to meet her eyes. something of the old animation returned —] What is that like?
[ back home? ]
Edited 2020-08-07 03:55 (UTC)
[ Again she does as he asks, even if she rolls her eyes at his look. Teenage skepticism in full affect. ]
Well, most people don't turn into giant fuck off lava creatures to start. And it's not always bad... That's how Seer magic works. [ Lillian had explained that much, even if it feels like a million years ago. ] But for the bad ones, we got things like exorcisms.
Well, most people don't turn into giant fuck off lava creatures to start. And it's not always bad... That's how Seer magic works. [ Lillian had explained that much, even if it feels like a million years ago. ] But for the bad ones, we got things like exorcisms.
Mm-hm. The other one, too. [ flipping two birds and one stone, or something — ] An exorcism?
[ She snorts, realizing belatedly and lifts both hands, middle fingers extended. Some things really are pan-dimensional. ]
Yeah, it's a way to get an evil spirit out of somebody. Changes a lot depending on the practice, but pretty sure everybody's got one.
Yeah, it's a way to get an evil spirit out of somebody. Changes a lot depending on the practice, but pretty sure everybody's got one.
[ there we go.
when she's got it, he pats her hand, lets go again — careful to not quite contact; to avoid patches of burn.
And how do they enter?
[ she'll heal. faster, if she doesn't pick. ]
when she's got it, he pats her hand, lets go again — careful to not quite contact; to avoid patches of burn.
And how do they enter?
[ she'll heal. faster, if she doesn't pick. ]
[ She lets her hands drop, the hum of wild energy under her skin easing. She folds up her legs on the chair with her, looping her arms around them and leaning her chin on her knee. ]
Lots of ways. I guess it's not super different from here how they get in. Like they show up and try to make deals with people. Or they're summoned for like a curse.
Lots of ways. I guess it's not super different from here how they get in. Like they show up and try to make deals with people. Or they're summoned for like a curse.
Some constants, I suppose. [ his own arms unfold, elbow draped across the end of the desk, ] So what are you worried about?
[ since it's not randomness ]
[ since it's not randomness ]
You mean aside from literally everything?
Becoming one, I guess.
Becoming one, I guess.
Ah, [ it's been a while since he had this conversation, yes. ] You are what, sixteen? Seventeen?
When apprentices are your age, they are Harrowed. A test, of sorts — one sets out to meet a demon, and to deny it.
[ more or less. ]
But before that, they are prepared. I imagine the library still has a book or two.
[ more or less. ]
But before that, they are prepared. I imagine the library still has a book or two.
[ Weird thing about being a shape shifter is she can feel it a lot more when shit like this happens. Bristling up, tension back in her and eyes narrowing. ]
They call that kind of shit quests where I'm from.
They call that kind of shit quests where I'm from.
I don't suggest sending you upon one. Riftwatch conducting a Harrowing would have broader consequences.
[ a loose gesture: he's not about to go into the politics of it. that's not the point. ]
But generations of mages have made a study of surviving them — if you cannot have time, I would that you at least the gift of their knowledge. Not all were given it.
[ a loose gesture: he's not about to go into the politics of it. that's not the point. ]
But generations of mages have made a study of surviving them — if you cannot have time, I would that you at least the gift of their knowledge. Not all were given it.
Edited (me wiki-ing harrowings and going 'oh right they're supposed to be secret' agh) 2020-08-08 05:49 (UTC)
[ That eases her a little bit, even if she still has a little bit of a feral-and-ready-to-bite vibe going. ]
All right. What am I supposed to look for? Like titles and authors and shit.
All right. What am I supposed to look for? Like titles and authors and shit.
Anything with Fadewalking or Will in the title will do to start.
[ i'm not making up books rn. a small breath, ]
It is not about forgetting how to feel; it's remembering who does the feeling. Tell yourself what matters — You're Jenny Lou. You're seventeen, and clever, and a bit of a pain in the ass. Whatever matters to you.
[ i'm not making up books rn. a small breath, ]
It is not about forgetting how to feel; it's remembering who does the feeling. Tell yourself what matters — You're Jenny Lou. You're seventeen, and clever, and a bit of a pain in the ass. Whatever matters to you.
Aw, you think I'm clever.
[ She's a lot of a pain in the ass, thank you. ]
[ She's a lot of a pain in the ass, thank you. ]
Is that what you were doing to that poor toad?
Fabria, I think she believes you wounded.
[ the toad croaks. ]
[ the toad croaks. ]
Technically, there is nothing different this night from any other night. But in the span of time since John's last visit it seems there have been a vast amount of changes. Nascere has folded in on itself. (Madi is likely dead.) An abomination nearly killed most of them over lunch. The weight of these events change certain things.
John arrives as has become their routine, but it is with a bottle in hand that he plants on the table with a solid thunk.
"I thought we could start here."
John arrives as has become their routine, but it is with a bottle in hand that he plants on the table with a solid thunk.
"I thought we could start here."
He looks up, and it's as though copying a pattern: Brows lift, head cants; an approximation of interest, and tonight, poorly-sketched. There's a certain stillness to its animation, gum in the joints.
Technically, there is nothing different.
"Oh?" He doesn't drink. Hasn't been honest of that in a time, can't say himself whether Julius recalls (no doubt, there have been other eyes). "Mugs are in the cupboard."
Technically, there is nothing different.
"Oh?" He doesn't drink. Hasn't been honest of that in a time, can't say himself whether Julius recalls (no doubt, there have been other eyes). "Mugs are in the cupboard."
A flicker of recognition in John's expression. He imagines he looks the same, just a half-beat away from normalcy.
That recognition is part of what guided him here in the first place.
Two mugs are retrieved, clinking together briefly before John places them on the table. He tips the bottle towards Isaac.
"If you would."
Something John cannot do with one hand, and he's not ready to sit just yet.
That recognition is part of what guided him here in the first place.
Two mugs are retrieved, clinking together briefly before John places them on the table. He tips the bottle towards Isaac.
"If you would."
Something John cannot do with one hand, and he's not ready to sit just yet.
The flourish is practiced, theatric; Isaac eases himself back down, and doesn't invite John to. He will or won't —
Nothing in the workroom is John Silver's. But John Silver has occupied it often as any.
Isaac lifts a cup (cheers) in salute, doesn't move it any closer to his mouth.
Nothing in the workroom is John Silver's. But John Silver has occupied it often as any.
Isaac lifts a cup (cheers) in salute, doesn't move it any closer to his mouth.
The answering tip of John's cup is just as practiced. But Isaac is not a Walrus man, and it doesn't matter whether or not John's minor salute is convincing.
The liquor, at least, is good. It doesn't dull the edge of the many problems kicking at the edges of John's awareness, nor does it soften the memory of a man bursting into molten flame, but it's better than nothing.
"So. That was what the Speaker warned me of."
Ilias was not the first, only the latest. And John has never witnessed that danger so closely. The impression solidifies a particular set of fears that had sprung up in the wake of Nevarra.
The liquor, at least, is good. It doesn't dull the edge of the many problems kicking at the edges of John's awareness, nor does it soften the memory of a man bursting into molten flame, but it's better than nothing.
"So. That was what the Speaker warned me of."
Ilias was not the first, only the latest. And John has never witnessed that danger so closely. The impression solidifies a particular set of fears that had sprung up in the wake of Nevarra.
"Did he?"
Isaac expects so. Expects too, that rage has seldom troubled Ilias; not where others might. Distant,
"I've seldom seen it so close," In the war, he'd had the pleasure of running. Before: "The remains of a Harrowing are more — limited."
A knight, burned and weeping. A new absence, a rumour; a sun-marked man mopping at the stain.
"But everyone knows someone." Had Cassia been the first? No, only the loudest. He shifts the cup in hand, places it down again. Drags a hand along his face. "I wish I'd better news for you."
Isaac expects so. Expects too, that rage has seldom troubled Ilias; not where others might. Distant,
"I've seldom seen it so close," In the war, he'd had the pleasure of running. Before: "The remains of a Harrowing are more — limited."
A knight, burned and weeping. A new absence, a rumour; a sun-marked man mopping at the stain.
"But everyone knows someone." Had Cassia been the first? No, only the loudest. He shifts the cup in hand, places it down again. Drags a hand along his face. "I wish I'd better news for you."
There is a story caught at the back of John's throat. He almost says: This is not the first time I have seen such a thing happen.
"I'm growing used to bad news."
What's one more dismal revelation to add to the tally?
"Is it inevitable?" John asks.
"I'm growing used to bad news."
What's one more dismal revelation to add to the tally?
"Is it inevitable?" John asks.
A wry glance steals briefly into place.
"Maker, we'd need to watch the elders." Septuagenarian abominations, what a thought. But an inevitability for a Harrowed mage, or for an apostate — ? Even the Chantry will admit to the difference. "How long have you known other mages, John?"
Three is a small sample, and at least one of those, a likely candidate.
"Maker, we'd need to watch the elders." Septuagenarian abominations, what a thought. But an inevitability for a Harrowed mage, or for an apostate — ? Even the Chantry will admit to the difference. "How long have you known other mages, John?"
Three is a small sample, and at least one of those, a likely candidate.
John spreads his hands, shoulders lifting briefly in a shrug.
"Over the years? I've known a fair number but never for more than however long a voyage took."
True. (Even though that was before being drawn into the Walrus crew, finding a place within the structure of Nascere, arriving in Kirkwall.) Set against the whole of his life, nearly three years of cursory interaction isn't very much. Less when considering the types of magic user he'd known, some so far from Circle tradition that they may as well be wholly unrelated.
"Over the years? I've known a fair number but never for more than however long a voyage took."
True. (Even though that was before being drawn into the Walrus crew, finding a place within the structure of Nascere, arriving in Kirkwall.) Set against the whole of his life, nearly three years of cursory interaction isn't very much. Less when considering the types of magic user he'd known, some so far from Circle tradition that they may as well be wholly unrelated.
"Mn," Unfathomable: "Mages are those that I've known longest."
Isaac tips the mug, considers its innards.
"Of them, how many struck you as a bit —" His wavering hand is for show, "— Odd?"
He looks up, expectant; he's aware.
Isaac tips the mug, considers its innards.
"Of them, how many struck you as a bit —" His wavering hand is for show, "— Odd?"
He looks up, expectant; he's aware.
"You're going to have to be somewhat more specific."
Isaac, he's a pirate.
Isaac, he's a pirate.
Look,
"I trust that your occupation attracts certain types," Not to stereotype. "I'd wager enough of them have a direct approach to anger."
Bitches get stabbed.
"I trust that your occupation attracts certain types," Not to stereotype. "I'd wager enough of them have a direct approach to anger."
Bitches get stabbed.
"Fairly direct."
John may be something of an expert on how extremely direct his fellows can be.
"Are we to be suspicious of those who take a more sedate approach to insult?"
John may be something of an expert on how extremely direct his fellows can be.
"Are we to be suspicious of those who take a more sedate approach to insult?"
"Sedate or slow?"
Is a quip — and diverging from the point, so —
"There are mages who leap to fight," He's thinking again of Voss, he's thinking she deliberates far more than some records would credit. "Who keep a poor check upon their wants, their fears. They don't last."
Had the man in the dining hall been afraid? Must have been, somewhere far below. It's seldom so simple as one demon, as two.
Isaac drinks, and prepares as he has a hundred times to fake the swallow, some little spill. Lets it curl in his mouth instead, a wide bilious flavour; stinging with remembered impact. Whiskey will never not taste like eating dirt.
"You have."
Is a quip — and diverging from the point, so —
"There are mages who leap to fight," He's thinking again of Voss, he's thinking she deliberates far more than some records would credit. "Who keep a poor check upon their wants, their fears. They don't last."
Had the man in the dining hall been afraid? Must have been, somewhere far below. It's seldom so simple as one demon, as two.
Isaac drinks, and prepares as he has a hundred times to fake the swallow, some little spill. Lets it curl in his mouth instead, a wide bilious flavour; stinging with remembered impact. Whiskey will never not taste like eating dirt.
"You have."
Edited 2020-09-02 03:32 (UTC)
Some of the humor leaves Isaac's tone, and John feels the air around them shift accordingly.
His own words, spoken quietly as he stood across from Eleanor Guthrie: It also goes away, if you let it.
"So that's the trick," John says, as if it has not been his life. The measuring of wants and desires has been a necessity to survive, but maybe that has done more to keep him alive than he'd been aware of. A low chuckle, reaching for the bottle.
"Even after your tutelage, it still seems to me that there is a..."
His hands move, cup momentarily abandoned, sketching a shape in the air. A weighing of scales.
"A price. Some costs are more immediate than others, but it seems that there is something waiting to seize a man at the wrist if he reaches just a hair further than he should."
His own words, spoken quietly as he stood across from Eleanor Guthrie: It also goes away, if you let it.
"So that's the trick," John says, as if it has not been his life. The measuring of wants and desires has been a necessity to survive, but maybe that has done more to keep him alive than he'd been aware of. A low chuckle, reaching for the bottle.
"Even after your tutelage, it still seems to me that there is a..."
His hands move, cup momentarily abandoned, sketching a shape in the air. A weighing of scales.
"A price. Some costs are more immediate than others, but it seems that there is something waiting to seize a man at the wrist if he reaches just a hair further than he should."
"Of course there is." Isaac reaches to set down the cup, reaches further, to grasp one sketching hand in his. "When I was a child, on feast days I would wrap a string about some woman at market. A bracelet, for the fine lady. For her gentleman."
His own trace of fingers, about wrist.
"My sister would lift their pockets."
He sighs. Lets go.
"The stakes are higher now," Temptation shadows ability — "And you feel them grubbing about for what they might take. More pleasant to ignore. That's why you do not allow yourself to forget."
His own trace of fingers, about wrist.
"My sister would lift their pockets."
He sighs. Lets go.
"The stakes are higher now," Temptation shadows ability — "And you feel them grubbing about for what they might take. More pleasant to ignore. That's why you do not allow yourself to forget."
Edited 2020-09-07 05:45 (UTC)
A fine bit of misdirection, John thinks, watching Isaac's fingers close over his wrist.
(Thinks of the cold, bony clutch of the dead at his ankle, the ghost of something reaching back for him beyond the Veil.)
"You make it sound—not simple. But more manageable than I had imagined."
But had Flint not said as much? The danger was in convincing himself the possibility was inevitable. John had lived much of his life carefully mitigating his own emotions, excising wants and desires before they became overwhelming.
This is not a minor change. But the approach should be much the same, if Isaac is correct.
(Thinks of the cold, bony clutch of the dead at his ankle, the ghost of something reaching back for him beyond the Veil.)
"You make it sound—not simple. But more manageable than I had imagined."
But had Flint not said as much? The danger was in convincing himself the possibility was inevitable. John had lived much of his life carefully mitigating his own emotions, excising wants and desires before they became overwhelming.
This is not a minor change. But the approach should be much the same, if Isaac is correct.
"You manage until you can't, you live until you don't." He finishes the cup, peat coiling down his throat; settles like coke into the barrel. "It's all the same trick."
Isaac nods to the bottle, the mug: If you please,
"The question is what you're buying."
What that price is worth. John isn't the type to spend freely — might have shaken off Isaac a dozen times over, if this were only about a secret; about blackmail.
Isaac nods to the bottle, the mug: If you please,
"The question is what you're buying."
What that price is worth. John isn't the type to spend freely — might have shaken off Isaac a dozen times over, if this were only about a secret; about blackmail.
A familiar sentiment. It's guided John's life for as long as he can remember, only the stakes have been raised a fair way. It had always been easier when he was on his own.
The mug is filled, John leaning an elbow on the table as he pours. Isaac isn't necessarily asking, but John considers his answer anyway.
"The situation on Nascere has changed," John says slowly. "We've had word that our people have suffered a decisive defeat."
He does not say: the woman I love might be dead.
"After what happened on the road, I'd thought of what I might need to do in a scenario where secrecy no longer mattered as much as I wanted it to."
He does not say: I am thinking the only way forward is to use this truth to our advantage, whatever it costs.
The mug is filled, John leaning an elbow on the table as he pours. Isaac isn't necessarily asking, but John considers his answer anyway.
"The situation on Nascere has changed," John says slowly. "We've had word that our people have suffered a decisive defeat."
He does not say: the woman I love might be dead.
"After what happened on the road, I'd thought of what I might need to do in a scenario where secrecy no longer mattered as much as I wanted it to."
He does not say: I am thinking the only way forward is to use this truth to our advantage, whatever it costs.
He listens, fingers curled about the mug; head canted in thought.
“Will you go back to them?”
It seems the only question worth asking. John has never struck him as someone willing to die for a lost cause, but secrets keep, they flock together; where you have flushed one, a dozen linger.
“Will you go back to them?”
It seems the only question worth asking. John has never struck him as someone willing to die for a lost cause, but secrets keep, they flock together; where you have flushed one, a dozen linger.
"It might be necessary."
What help can he provide them from here?
"I'll know better what must be done once we have more than rumors to base a decision on. But I can't do very much from here."
All that sounds very logical, very strategic. John's tone is divorced from the crushing agony of potential loss, talking around the toll this may very well take on him.
"If Riftwatch is unwilling to accompany us..."
A spread of hands, a shrug. What else can be done?
What help can he provide them from here?
"I'll know better what must be done once we have more than rumors to base a decision on. But I can't do very much from here."
All that sounds very logical, very strategic. John's tone is divorced from the crushing agony of potential loss, talking around the toll this may very well take on him.
"If Riftwatch is unwilling to accompany us..."
A spread of hands, a shrug. What else can be done?
"What is Riftwatch?"
Not an idle question. Flint is a quarter of its decisions; his acquaintances, John's, a mass of its people. How many of those bear any love for their leadership? How many could say what their work stands for?
Riftwatch is no cause of its own, its existence a haphazard agreement. To stand against something is to stand for little at all.
"You have a ship. You have the funds, the friends."
All might be turned north. If Riftwatch is anything, then it's possibility: The promise of future access, of continued harbor. Useful only so far as one's goal extends — useful only if that extends beyond Nascere.
(Would Isaac go north? He doesn't intend to die for anything.)
Not an idle question. Flint is a quarter of its decisions; his acquaintances, John's, a mass of its people. How many of those bear any love for their leadership? How many could say what their work stands for?
Riftwatch is no cause of its own, its existence a haphazard agreement. To stand against something is to stand for little at all.
"You have a ship. You have the funds, the friends."
All might be turned north. If Riftwatch is anything, then it's possibility: The promise of future access, of continued harbor. Useful only so far as one's goal extends — useful only if that extends beyond Nascere.
(Would Isaac go north? He doesn't intend to die for anything.)
An echo of a question John has turned in his mind already today. Why not simply go? Take whatever and whoever they can and leave, let Yseult and Thranduil and Rutyer chase them across the sea if they would.
"We have business that would benefit from connections here," John says slowly, careful. "When we broke from the Inquisition, I had said then that our remaining links to both Inquisition and Chantry would be a benefit to shield us from too much scrutiny."
Though the actions John had wanted had never materialized. Riftwatch is as ponderous and slow as the Inquisition had been in some ways, and the lure of shedding the less dedicated members is undeniable.
"I still believe there is value in our southern presence. Whatever happens after Nascere, we will still need to press back against Tevinter, and beyond that..."
A gesture of John's hand, tired, sweeping over all the things that likely keep Flint awake over the ever increasing stacks of paperwork on his desk. The Qun, Tevinter, then beyond them, the Chantry, Orlais, all these forces that would take them out at the knees one way or another if they were not prepared.
"We have business that would benefit from connections here," John says slowly, careful. "When we broke from the Inquisition, I had said then that our remaining links to both Inquisition and Chantry would be a benefit to shield us from too much scrutiny."
Though the actions John had wanted had never materialized. Riftwatch is as ponderous and slow as the Inquisition had been in some ways, and the lure of shedding the less dedicated members is undeniable.
"I still believe there is value in our southern presence. Whatever happens after Nascere, we will still need to press back against Tevinter, and beyond that..."
A gesture of John's hand, tired, sweeping over all the things that likely keep Flint awake over the ever increasing stacks of paperwork on his desk. The Qun, Tevinter, then beyond them, the Chantry, Orlais, all these forces that would take them out at the knees one way or another if they were not prepared.
Beyond that stretches only sky.
"I'm not a sailing man, John," No shit. "But I hope you've an end to that horizon."
"I'm not a sailing man, John," No shit. "But I hope you've an end to that horizon."
[ It's not unusual for Athessa to be wandering into the baths at this hour, or to hop into one of the adjacent sunken pools when someone else is already bathing nearby. She doesn't care, with very few exceptions. Only time will tell if Isaac cares. ]
You seriously have a book in the bath?
[ Her clothes are wherever these losers put their clothes before entering the baths, which is to say they're both naked and if Isaac turns he'll get an eyeful as she steps into the tub at his back. ]
You seriously have a book in the bath?
[ Her clothes are wherever these losers put their clothes before entering the baths, which is to say they're both naked and if Isaac turns he'll get an eyeful as she steps into the tub at his back. ]
[ He doesn't turn so much as startle, dunking half a page before managing to fumble it shut. A ridiculous little scramble. Then a moment, a pause to press his eyes shut and push the breath out through his nose, and set the book quite carefully upon the edge of the pool. ]
It's relaxing, [ 'Was' ] You should try it.
[ He's naked himself, and unremarkable in it: No deadly scars or interesting tattoos. ]
It's relaxing, [ 'Was' ] You should try it.
[ He's naked himself, and unremarkable in it: No deadly scars or interesting tattoos. ]
[ Anything meeting that definition of remarkable either is or would be on her face; any scars on her body are old enough and small enough to go without notice. ]
Yeah, because you look very relaxed right now.
[ Not that she's looking. If there weren't a slim walkway between the pools, they'd be back to back. ]
Yeah, because you look very relaxed right now.
[ Not that she's looking. If there weren't a slim walkway between the pools, they'd be back to back. ]
It’s been a long month for everyone.
[ understatement of the bath century ]
We ought to have stayed in the jungle. Founded a new civilization. Sewn a little flag.
[ understatement of the bath century ]
We ought to have stayed in the jungle. Founded a new civilization. Sewn a little flag.
[ eh. a dismissive gesture, ]
Those problems solve themselves.
[ no offense, halluniogenic mossfeet. ]
Those problems solve themselves.
[ no offense, halluniogenic mossfeet. ]
Patterned entirely in leaves. No — a leaf itself — so we will not be disturbed.
Normally, Ellis bathes early, returns to the Gallows late enough to avoid company most nights. His steps only falter briefly on his way to the bathing pools, but momentum carries him all the way forward, through the discarding of two towels and into the water.
"Enjoying yourself?" with a nod to the book in his hand.
It seems polite to make some small talk while slouching into the warm water, at least as far as Ellis is concerned.
"Enjoying yourself?" with a nod to the book in his hand.
It seems polite to make some small talk while slouching into the warm water, at least as far as Ellis is concerned.
"Oh, I don't know," This time, there's warning; Isaac turns the page onto blank parchment. "My heart's just not in it tonight."
The book snaps shut with soggy theatricality. Isaac sets it aside, before scrubbing a hand over his chin, and sinking deeper. He doesn't regard Ellis head-on — it just feels like cheating, after all that work before. His own chest bares no sign of scar or ink.
"You can get tired of anything, I suppose."
The book snaps shut with soggy theatricality. Isaac sets it aside, before scrubbing a hand over his chin, and sinking deeper. He doesn't regard Ellis head-on — it just feels like cheating, after all that work before. His own chest bares no sign of scar or ink.
"You can get tired of anything, I suppose."
Mages scar less. Or they should scar less, if people like Ellis do their job properly. What he knows of Isaac is that he's a healer, not a fighter. It makes sense, doesn't it?
He does take a moment to consider whether or not he should press on with the conversation. If he says nothing, after a time Isaac will either volunteer something or not.
"Conversation not panning out as planned?" is what Ellis apparently decides upon, after splashing a handful of water on his face.
He does take a moment to consider whether or not he should press on with the conversation. If he says nothing, after a time Isaac will either volunteer something or not.
"Conversation not panning out as planned?" is what Ellis apparently decides upon, after splashing a handful of water on his face.
A short laugh,
"Too much so, perhaps." For once in his life he doesn’t gesture. Splashing is rude. "It's madness to do a thing over, and look for a different result. But what do you name it when you expect an outcome, and you’re still disappointed?”
Depression, probably. But this Thedas.
"Too much so, perhaps." For once in his life he doesn’t gesture. Splashing is rude. "It's madness to do a thing over, and look for a different result. But what do you name it when you expect an outcome, and you’re still disappointed?”
Depression, probably. But this Thedas.
Ellis almost says a waste of time. But that seems unkind, so he casts about for a better answer. There is some measure of discontent that Ellis can observe, even if he isn't certain of how to approach it.
"Are you bored?" Ellis asks finally, skirting around a question he feels would be too personal to ask. (Are you unhappy?)
"Are you bored?" Ellis asks finally, skirting around a question he feels would be too personal to ask. (Are you unhappy?)
"Oh, don't start with that," Wry. "We'll have another disaster out of spite."
The Qun invades. A plague of dancing. Sea serpents in the harbor. Another kidnapping, but this time, only the gingers.
"My money's on gangrene."
The Qun invades. A plague of dancing. Sea serpents in the harbor. Another kidnapping, but this time, only the gingers.
"My money's on gangrene."
"Well," Considering. Then, "There once was a man from Churneau, who tore his trousers off in the snow —"
That's probably illustration enough.
That's probably illustration enough.
"Personally?" The prayer garden, the herb garden - well, he's not the gardener - "I keep a few species on hand."
The sort he doesn't trust for public consumption.
The sort he doesn't trust for public consumption.
Oh, what the hell,
"Rather the opposite of the clinic."
If they're being honest.
"Rather the opposite of the clinic."
If they're being honest.
"More or less," More. "But most don't do a great deal on their own. If you chewed raw deathroot, it would be unpleasant, but not —"
A hand draws up, almost to cut across his throat. Right. Insensitive. He scratches vaguely at his jaw, instead.
"— Well."
A hand draws up, almost to cut across his throat. Right. Insensitive. He scratches vaguely at his jaw, instead.
"— Well."
"Human malice," Is the poetic answer. But his chin tips, can’t take it seriously enough to keep from adding: "And several weeks’ distillation, a concentrating agent — its own trouble, let me assure you — to say nothing of luck in the settling."
"When someone is poisoned, it isn't as a duel." Some moment of anger. "You have to mean it for longer than most."
"When someone is poisoned, it isn't as a duel." Some moment of anger. "You have to mean it for longer than most."
Isaac leans close, lowers his brow, ushers Ellis close. Lifts his voice to whisper in utter sincerity —
"Don't drink the bathwater."
"Don't drink the bathwater."
"It's served me well." He sinks again, chin tipping up. "What sort of stories were you raised on?"
This isn't quite a non-sequitur. Some patterns always repeat: Trickery, honour. Valorized in every culture — but not in equal measure.
This isn't quite a non-sequitur. Some patterns always repeat: Trickery, honour. Valorized in every culture — but not in equal measure.
There's a flicker of confusion at the jump in topic. Poisons to bathwater to stories. Ellis flicks his fingers in the water, watching the ripples before looking back to Isaac.
"I'm Fereldan."
Which says a bit on it's own, really. Ferelden is nothing if not well-branded.
"But we heard a fair amount about chevaliers and such alongside our dog stories. Why?"
"I'm Fereldan."
Which says a bit on it's own, really. Ferelden is nothing if not well-branded.
"But we heard a fair amount about chevaliers and such alongside our dog stories. Why?"
"Jader is not so distant as she imagines. A few dogs crept in," The shadow of a smile. "But always, there was a fox."
"The Chevalier slays the wyvern. His wife dips a cup in its blood," A loose snap of his fingers. His wife slays him. "A servant spies his master's enemy. He cuts fine flowers,"
He snaps again.
"The Chevalier slays the wyvern. His wife dips a cup in its blood," A loose snap of his fingers. His wife slays him. "A servant spies his master's enemy. He cuts fine flowers,"
He snaps again.
"Is that a song or a poem?"
There's little difference, really. Ellis has heard long winding tales sung around a bonfire, and found them latter in Kirkwall's library written down as poems.
Maybe the real question is about Isaac, if Ellis' assumption that he's Orlesian is true.
There's little difference, really. Ellis has heard long winding tales sung around a bonfire, and found them latter in Kirkwall's library written down as poems.
Maybe the real question is about Isaac, if Ellis' assumption that he's Orlesian is true.
"Oh, stories out of books." Doubtless, they were songs first, poems first; fables in the crib. Mages are raised on books. "But it's all the same anthem, really. That venom runs in the national character."
"I only heard the sweetest parts of it," Ellis says. "And the places I went in Orlais weren't so..."
He trails off, shrugs.
If there was venom, it wasn't as velvet-wrapped as the stories made it out to have been. The rougher, poorer parts of Orlais are far removed from every part of the stories he'd grown up with.
He trails off, shrugs.
If there was venom, it wasn't as velvet-wrapped as the stories made it out to have been. The rougher, poorer parts of Orlais are far removed from every part of the stories he'd grown up with.
Weren't they? He wants to ask, wants to say: Perhaps they'd only more time to bide, less freedom to.
Instead —
"Where did you travel?"
With the keen interest of a stationary man.
Instead —
"Where did you travel?"
With the keen interest of a stationary man.
Edited (minor clarity edit) 2020-09-21 01:32 (UTC)
"I've spent more time traveling beneath Thedas than over it."
Doubtful that anyone wants to hear about the Deep Roads, even if Ellis did care to speak candidly about it.
"But I traveled across the south, through to the Anderfels and back. It wasn't much about sight-seeing."
A little conciliatory.
Doubtful that anyone wants to hear about the Deep Roads, even if Ellis did care to speak candidly about it.
"But I traveled across the south, through to the Anderfels and back. It wasn't much about sight-seeing."
A little conciliatory.
"I suppose not. Few kind sights, this decade past."
Releasing him of any obligation to recount it.
"At least, none to compare with Kirkwall — jewel of the North."
Releasing him of any obligation to recount it.
"At least, none to compare with Kirkwall — jewel of the North."
"I used to find the idea of Kirkwall exciting."
Anyone's guess about when or why that shine wore off.
"But I doubt it's the same for you, coming from Orlais."
There's some uncertainty to the question. Whatever he's heard about how lavish some Circles could be, he has no idea where Isaac came from before he was here.
Anyone's guess about when or why that shine wore off.
"But I doubt it's the same for you, coming from Orlais."
There's some uncertainty to the question. Whatever he's heard about how lavish some Circles could be, he has no idea where Isaac came from before he was here.
"It wasn't difficult to beat the Western Approach." Will refrain, in mixed company, from invoking The Gallows. "Were you a great reader? Tethras' serials -"
A Fereldan come north. The Champion of Kirkwall.
A Fereldan come north. The Champion of Kirkwall.
A shrug, before Ellis' head tips back, slouching further into the water. If those serials had existed when Ellis was a younger man, maybe he'd have chosen a different line of work to pursue.
Assuming, of course, certain other events had never come to pass.
"I am still a great reader, when I have opportunity," Ellis answers the ceiling. "Tethras' serials...I'd have liked them better when I was younger."
Like most things, really.
"Did they make an impression on you?"
Assuming, of course, certain other events had never come to pass.
"I am still a great reader, when I have opportunity," Ellis answers the ceiling. "Tethras' serials...I'd have liked them better when I was younger."
Like most things, really.
"Did they make an impression on you?"
it's too hot to do anything but textspam so im tag this and not our other threads but i still love u
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wythersake
2020-08-18 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
Are you trying to destroy a violin?
[ there's some chatter and bustle in the background — and the somewhat screeching strains of a string musician — ]
[ there's some chatter and bustle in the background — and the somewhat screeching strains of a string musician — ]
If this goes on any longer. He says it is avant-garde.
[ a laugh — ]
Oh, I never insult an artist, [ is a bald-faced lie ] Dangerous business.
Oh, I never insult an artist, [ is a bald-faced lie ] Dangerous business.
I suppose that depends upon one's intention. I once saw a man labour weeks toward a dreadful portrait of a young lady — I understand she meant to quash an attempt at matchmaking.
Edited 2020-08-18 02:48 (UTC)
Oh, goats. Cows — anything you've already killed. Ser Faure, a chevalier, claimed to use wyvern.
The wyvern that ate him? I suppose you might knight it.
Both? Unless you've some previously undisclosed past within the Grand Necropolis —
Ah.
[ "i'm sure she's not, athessa, you have plenty to be proud of" ]
You and I both.
[ "i'm sure she's not, athessa, you have plenty to be proud of" ]
You and I both.
We did not part on pleasant terms.
[ is perhaps an understatement ]
[ is perhaps an understatement ]
Mn. [ emotions are gross ] Whatever you're doing, keep out of truffle.
They a—hey, no more caterwauling?
[ caterwauling, cater-wauling, cater-violing... the violin screeching on Isaac's end has either stopped, or she just isn't hearing it. As if to replace it, she starts singing to herself: ]
Elgara vallas, da'len, Melava somniar...
[ caterwauling, cater-wauling, cater-violing... the violin screeching on Isaac's end has either stopped, or she just isn't hearing it. As if to replace it, she starts singing to herself: ]
Elgara vallas, da'len, Melava somniar...
[ he lets her, for a while. the soft clatter of tavern life continues apace: distant conversation, the creak of boards. waits for her to quiet, for breath to grow even with sleep,
when it doesn’t: ]
What was that?
when it doesn’t: ]
What was that?
Ah,
[ this is antivan all over again. this is how he mispronounces something horribly and calls someone's mother a —
isaac hums. to be safe. ]
[ this is antivan all over again. this is how he mispronounces something horribly and calls someone's mother a —
isaac hums. to be safe. ]
Somniar — [ isn't that tevene? ] Sleep?
[ this near sleep, his pause is unlike to register, the pace at which the evening stills around him both imagined; and unseen.
it would be easy to let that silence roll. she would forget. ]
A maze. Every time,
[ she will forget. ]
Most.
it would be easy to let that silence roll. she would forget. ]
A maze. Every time,
[ she will forget. ]
Most.
Edited (i can remember my characters' own sleep schedules) 2020-09-09 08:04 (UTC)
I haven't found a way out.
[ which isn't the same thing, precisely: ]
There are exits, but one would not — return from them.
[ which isn't the same thing, precisely: ]
There are exits, but one would not — return from them.
[ right. metaphors and an extremely blitzed athessa — ]
On fire atop a dining hall table.
On fire atop a dining hall table.
The Void, perhaps? The Maker? They say those both lie beyond the Fade.
If I get there first, I'll ask for you. How does that sound?
I don't know. I suppose I'd prefer that it didn't.
Oh, end, of course - if we're talking being, however, I've no greater notion. Perhaps a flamingo. Have you seen a flamingo?
Enormous birds - something like an stork, but vivid pink.
[ he recalls the tune, if not most of the words — elgara, da'len —
just breathe, just skip the bits between. ]
just breathe, just skip the bits between. ]
Madame, if you require a loan —
[ since he loses all the time. get it. ]
[ since he loses all the time. get it. ]
Oh, I ought to apologize — It's a dreadful game. But quite a fine way to categorize one's acquaintances.
Recontextualizing their sculptural artistry,
[ so: yes. ]
But for the pleasure of your company, I should imagine us capable of piecing together a temporary set.
[ so: yes. ]
But for the pleasure of your company, I should imagine us capable of piecing together a temporary set.
What ever do you get up to over there? I suppose it's ungentlemanly to ask.
To suffer is fashion — or something like that. Fourth floor of the other tower. I'll scavenge us something to drink.
What a generous host you are. Until then.
[That her room is in perfectly decent order is unimportant; surely the lie speaks to no motive more nefarious than a desire to visit rather than to be entertained.
She will play the part in any case. When she arrives at Isaac's door, it is with the two game pieces in her pocket and an infant sized loaf of some buttery sweet bread swaddled in the crook of her arm.]
[That her room is in perfectly decent order is unimportant; surely the lie speaks to no motive more nefarious than a desire to visit rather than to be entertained.
She will play the part in any case. When she arrives at Isaac's door, it is with the two game pieces in her pocket and an infant sized loaf of some buttery sweet bread swaddled in the crook of her arm.]
Maker, you're with child — best hurry in —
[ The bread; his reputation. Etcetera. The room is as it’s ever: Clean, and spare by the standards of his station downstairs.
He’s dragged in a second chair for the occasion, trunk set before the fire in a low sort of table. The board and queens carve from Fitcher's own set, the rest torn paper markers.
It’s difficult, by the abstractions of ink and stone, to term any room in the Gallows cozy. But a fire rips through the hearth, breeze whistling through a window long stripped of bars. It’s a cold night, and clear. From a certain angle one may frame the moons.
In another time, this would have made a home for two or more mages. And still, ]
One, [ Finger held aloft above the edge of a small flask: ] Sugar or two?
[ He has been drinking more, and faking less, the past few months at cards. ]
[ The bread; his reputation. Etcetera. The room is as it’s ever: Clean, and spare by the standards of his station downstairs.
He’s dragged in a second chair for the occasion, trunk set before the fire in a low sort of table. The board and queens carve from Fitcher's own set, the rest torn paper markers.
It’s difficult, by the abstractions of ink and stone, to term any room in the Gallows cozy. But a fire rips through the hearth, breeze whistling through a window long stripped of bars. It’s a cold night, and clear. From a certain angle one may frame the moons.
In another time, this would have made a home for two or more mages. And still, ]
One, [ Finger held aloft above the edge of a small flask: ] Sugar or two?
[ He has been drinking more, and faking less, the past few months at cards. ]
Oh two, I should think. I try not to learn anything new while completely sober.
[The sweet loaf is unwrapped and arranged on its waxed paper on the trunk alongside the board, as vital a playing element as her game pieces and his spirits. Fitcher drapes herself into one of the chairs and avails herself of studying their paper pieces.]
What makes it so dreadful?
[The sweet loaf is unwrapped and arranged on its waxed paper on the trunk alongside the board, as vital a playing element as her game pieces and his spirits. Fitcher drapes herself into one of the chairs and avails herself of studying their paper pieces.]
What makes it so dreadful?
It's the middle of the night, and Isaac is on shift — for now.
The room is clean, if little lived-in: A sharp contrast to his sprawling workspace downstairs. A double bed, a trunk (locked), a fireplace and the pokers set beside. The blankets must be new, not yet run to ragged edge.
His desk boasts a drawer or two, the surface swept into a neat, short stack of papers and ink.
Edgard has up to four tags before he returns. Like, less if you get bored. Just let me know.
The room is clean, if little lived-in: A sharp contrast to his sprawling workspace downstairs. A double bed, a trunk (locked), a fireplace and the pokers set beside. The blankets must be new, not yet run to ragged edge.
His desk boasts a drawer or two, the surface swept into a neat, short stack of papers and ink.
Edgard has up to four tags before he returns. Like, less if you get bored. Just let me know.
Edited 2020-11-18 06:53 (UTC)
Edgard looks around the room, trying to assess the best place to keep a fork. The desk seems the most likely. He wipes his hand across it. It's very clean, probably not somewhere someone's been eating. But, who's to say that Isaac isn't very clean? Or perhaps he didn't want to use a gift fork?
He is tempted to look at the pile of papers, but he's not here to spy, he just needs that fork. He thumbs through them just to make sure no fork lies there. It doesn't.
He squats down to the drawers.
He is tempted to look at the pile of papers, but he's not here to spy, he just needs that fork. He thumbs through them just to make sure no fork lies there. It doesn't.
He squats down to the drawers.
The drawers don't smoothly open. Edgard pulls at one lightly and it doesn't budge, so he tries the other with the same result. He's going to have to put some force into it. He whispers a curse, he knows it won't be quiet. He considers not checking, but the moment he considers it the more certain he becomes that it must be in there.
Edgard decides that his best bet is to open them both at once. It will make a loud noise, but just one loud noise. He grips the handles of both of them side by side. One, two, THREE.
They are pulled open with a loud scraping noise. Edgard falls backwards both in shock and unbalanced by the force used to open. He hits the floor with a smack.
Edgard decides that his best bet is to open them both at once. It will make a loud noise, but just one loud noise. He grips the handles of both of them side by side. One, two, THREE.
They are pulled open with a loud scraping noise. Edgard falls backwards both in shock and unbalanced by the force used to open. He hits the floor with a smack.
Edgard stays motionless on the floor for a moment, listening with every inch of his body. Once he's certain all he can hear is his rocketing heartbeat and shallow breaths, he pulls himself upward to look inside the drawers.
His eyes widen as he blinks into them, both a gaping abyss of nothing. They are completely empty, what the fuck! He places his palms in the bottom and checks the corners. No fork.
He turns his eyes to the trunk. Doubt that is empty.
His eyes widen as he blinks into them, both a gaping abyss of nothing. They are completely empty, what the fuck! He places his palms in the bottom and checks the corners. No fork.
He turns his eyes to the trunk. Doubt that is empty.
The trunk is where the fork must be! Of course, a precious gift item would be locked away. Edgard gracelessly slides across the floor towards it and tries to pry it open with his fingers. No luck.
He checks his pockets and under his shirt. He doesn't have anything to pick a lock on him. He turns in a circle thinking. The fire pokers! He leans to grab one and inserts it into the lock.
It a great deal of effort and Edgard finds himself with his ear pressed to the trunk listening when it clicks. The top of the trunk opens and hits him hard on the head. He curses loudly forgetting his location.
He checks his pockets and under his shirt. He doesn't have anything to pick a lock on him. He turns in a circle thinking. The fire pokers! He leans to grab one and inserts it into the lock.
It a great deal of effort and Edgard finds himself with his ear pressed to the trunk listening when it clicks. The top of the trunk opens and hits him hard on the head. He curses loudly forgetting his location.
A key turns.
The door opens with the cold, deliberate click of some advancing spider. Isaac's face draws thin, expression and posture composed as though this is merely an unwelcome surprise and not an occasion for deadly alert —
(It does not match the bloodless pale of his face, or the precise way his fingers are crooked toward casting: Tangling already for the webbed strands of sleep.)
His eyes fall first on the trunk, its top layer of linen unrumpled, then Edgard beside. It takes it out of him. Exasperation,
"What the fuck," Isaac slams the door the rest of the way open. "Are you doing in here?"
The door opens with the cold, deliberate click of some advancing spider. Isaac's face draws thin, expression and posture composed as though this is merely an unwelcome surprise and not an occasion for deadly alert —
(It does not match the bloodless pale of his face, or the precise way his fingers are crooked toward casting: Tangling already for the webbed strands of sleep.)
His eyes fall first on the trunk, its top layer of linen unrumpled, then Edgard beside. It takes it out of him. Exasperation,
"What the fuck," Isaac slams the door the rest of the way open. "Are you doing in here?"
Edited (how many times can i say click before it's the movie w adam sandler) 2020-11-21 05:52 (UTC)
Edgard flips over at the voice and is now lying with his back flat on the floor, next to an open trunk, unarmed, with Isaac standing threateningly over him. Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck! The truth is shocked out of him.
"Looking for a fork." He squeaks. "Have you seen one?"
The truth doesn't sound very convincing.
"Looking for a fork." He squeaks. "Have you seen one?"
The truth doesn't sound very convincing.
"Have I — what?"
There are a number of things that Isaac would like to do right now. None of them are what he does. Hissing out a hard breath, he stoops, hand reaching for Edgard's to roughly tug him up.
"Sit," He points emphatically to the rifled desk, the chair beside. If he's doing some brief mental calculus as to whether Edgard is actually that stupid — "You and I are going to talk."
Well. It matters less than underlining consequence.
There are a number of things that Isaac would like to do right now. None of them are what he does. Hissing out a hard breath, he stoops, hand reaching for Edgard's to roughly tug him up.
"Sit," He points emphatically to the rifled desk, the chair beside. If he's doing some brief mental calculus as to whether Edgard is actually that stupid — "You and I are going to talk."
Well. It matters less than underlining consequence.
He doesn't shut the door. If there are passerby, better for Isaac to be seen as patient. Harmless to the degree any mage is capable.
"Where were you before Riftwatch?" Some village, some field; his accent is not cosmopolitan. Isaac knows how his own blends, that particular educated placelessness of the Circle. "I was born in Jader. Where were you before you came here?"
"Where were you before Riftwatch?" Some village, some field; his accent is not cosmopolitan. Isaac knows how his own blends, that particular educated placelessness of the Circle. "I was born in Jader. Where were you before you came here?"
Edgard was expecting some sort of lecture, so the question takes him off guard. He shifts a little in his seat.
"Before I came here, I was traveling in Orlais. Not really one place in particular."
He resists the urge to continue scanning his eyes around the room for the fork.
"Before I came here, I was traveling in Orlais. Not really one place in particular."
He resists the urge to continue scanning his eyes around the room for the fork.
"Mn," Isaac says, and thinks: Yes, Edgard seems like he'd be run out of town — "Before they came here, half of Riftwatch were washing blood from their hands."
He gestures. Scrub-a-dub.
"Assassins, wardens, knights." Mages. The log in the fireplace crackles into sudden flame. "I'll wager that you got away with a bit on the road. It's chaos out there, plenty of cover. Fewer shits with the free time to play murder."
He gestures. Scrub-a-dub.
"Assassins, wardens, knights." Mages. The log in the fireplace crackles into sudden flame. "I'll wager that you got away with a bit on the road. It's chaos out there, plenty of cover. Fewer shits with the free time to play murder."
Edited 2020-11-26 01:40 (UTC)
Edgard stays silent and look away into the flame, a little disquieted. This is starting to feel like a trap. Still, he answers truthfully.
"I'm not any of those things." He raises his eyebrows. "If that's what you're asking."
Is Isaac asking? Maybe he's just telling.
"I'm not any of those things." He raises his eyebrows. "If that's what you're asking."
Is Isaac asking? Maybe he's just telling.
"So why do you believe it a fine idea to antagonize them?"
He crosses his arms. Waits, with every expectation of an answer. There are plenty of reasons to piss in a man's eye; they little alter the result.
He crosses his arms. Waits, with every expectation of an answer. There are plenty of reasons to piss in a man's eye; they little alter the result.
Edgard shifts uncomfortably around on his seat. Isaac's expectant stare unnerves him more than an attack would. He coughs.
"Believe it or not, wasn't trying to antagonize. Least not now." He shrugs defensively.
"Opposite actually."
He could explain further how this was all an attempt to right a mistake, but the look Isaac is giving him is preventing him from being too terribly chatty.
"Believe it or not, wasn't trying to antagonize. Least not now." He shrugs defensively.
"Opposite actually."
He could explain further how this was all an attempt to right a mistake, but the look Isaac is giving him is preventing him from being too terribly chatty.
Gave my desk to a Chantry brother. How virtuous.
Picture that scene. One of them stumps in bleeding — ah, but the only mage on duty —
Yes, [ he expects marcus would have stayed ] That would have been cleverer.
[ if you rub your temples alone in your office, does it make a sound? ]
Derrica is a softer face for it. If they press her, she makes a ready martyr. In truth, it was a conversation with Mme. Cedoux which solidified the decision.
[ if you rub your temples alone in your office, does it make a sound? ]
Derrica is a softer face for it. If they press her, she makes a ready martyr. In truth, it was a conversation with Mme. Cedoux which solidified the decision.
While dreaming,
[ he isn't blind — it would do to tread cautiously here. maker, but there are limits of caution; of any virtue. ]
We discussed her action in the strike some years ago. My own. There was a discussion among the healers: Ought we participate? Would that not be immoral? Pointless.
[ he isn't blind — it would do to tread cautiously here. maker, but there are limits of caution; of any virtue. ]
We discussed her action in the strike some years ago. My own. There was a discussion among the healers: Ought we participate? Would that not be immoral? Pointless.
Overdue.
[ a practicality, and a gesture of contrition. too: ]
There is no bargaining power in a healer's position here. It will not be tested, and it would be undermined by one's colleagues. Nor would it longer recover my personal reputation.
How did it feel to act the tool?
[ a practicality, and a gesture of contrition. too: ]
There is no bargaining power in a healer's position here. It will not be tested, and it would be undermined by one's colleagues. Nor would it longer recover my personal reputation.
How did it feel to act the tool?
[ Another monosyllabic sound. This one sounds more agreeable, anyway, to the rationale being explained. Just because it isn't what he would do— ]
For the Venatori? [ bluntly clarifying, and then a little wryer, because just as plausibly; ] Or the Herald of Andraste?
For the Venatori? [ bluntly clarifying, and then a little wryer, because just as plausibly; ] Or the Herald of Andraste?
I've no desire to see us all enslaved and Blight-ridden — do rather like my face, at that. But if this isn't to end with Corypheus, when will it? When may we ask for better?
Edited 2021-02-08 05:21 (UTC)
Do you think we didn't?
[ It's possibly dangerous waters. How well does he know Isaac, anyway? Just that the man has been free and frank with exposing information in this past, and so. ]
In this future, where we turned traitor? I'm sure we asked plenty, and were denied as often.
[ It's possibly dangerous waters. How well does he know Isaac, anyway? Just that the man has been free and frank with exposing information in this past, and so. ]
In this future, where we turned traitor? I'm sure we asked plenty, and were denied as often.
You'd a wife and a fine house.
[ perhaps that isn't who marcus meant them to ask. but something in him raised the question: something in him must dwell of it, ]
You were unhappy. I was unhappy. [ an understatement ] Where were you, in that other dream?
[ perhaps that isn't who marcus meant them to ask. but something in him raised the question: something in him must dwell of it, ]
You were unhappy. I was unhappy. [ an understatement ] Where were you, in that other dream?
[ A silence, which could be strange over a medium in which they can't see each other, or less awkward for it. If nothing else, Isaac would have been able to tell if the silence was for that first thing, or in thinking about the question.
Eventually; ]
There was a place. An island, off Rivain. Some of the other mages here, and me, we lived there outside the influence of the Circles. I'd a house there too.
[ Not quite so fine, but. ]
Where were you?
Eventually; ]
There was a place. An island, off Rivain. Some of the other mages here, and me, we lived there outside the influence of the Circles. I'd a house there too.
[ Not quite so fine, but. ]
Where were you?
[ the door is propped. light from the hall, the occasional traffic of feet above, below; of wind through stone halls. he listens, and then he listens to marcus hedge. ]
Orlais, old friends. I was a healer there.
[ (some of the other mages, as though isaac doesn't know them all. a wife and a house,) ]
I don't know that we'll ever have an island, or houses, or a home. I don't know that we should even trust the prophetic distortions of a spirit impersonating a dead woman —
But it sounds a fine thing, to not be used. I'd like to try it.
Orlais, old friends. I was a healer there.
[ (some of the other mages, as though isaac doesn't know them all. a wife and a house,) ]
I don't know that we'll ever have an island, or houses, or a home. I don't know that we should even trust the prophetic distortions of a spirit impersonating a dead woman —
But it sounds a fine thing, to not be used. I'd like to try it.
Edited (fine fine fINE) 2021-02-08 06:02 (UTC)
No doubt, he's acquainted with the concept of sympathy. Perhaps read it in a book —
[ a noise of agreement. he is thinking again: of islands, of a right hand. you have the ships, the friends —
islands sink. silver tarnishes. ]
Does he believe you placated?
islands sink. silver tarnishes. ]
Does he believe you placated?
[ forgive the brief segue — ]
What will you tell Matthias when he discovers that?
[ you know. inevitably. ]
What will you tell Matthias when he discovers that?
[ you know. inevitably. ]
[ there are a lot of things he could say —
but only one of them that fucked this up. so: ]
Thank you.
but only one of them that fucked this up. so: ]
Thank you.
[ - aNYWAY ]
Flint has ideas, he lacks reach. Nascere is gone. Rutyer and Yseult are opposed to us. If you intend to move with him, it may do to ferret out those other allies that remain. How far do his supports extend beyond mages?
Flint has ideas, he lacks reach. Nascere is gone. Rutyer and Yseult are opposed to us. If you intend to move with him, it may do to ferret out those other allies that remain. How far do his supports extend beyond mages?
It's our strength he's promised them, not his own. Reach, again: This present stasis better suits Riftwatch than war, and I cannot think two Heads blind to it.
Then - if supporting Markham is to set against Riftwatch, and we have observed the policy of traitors -
We are valuable, but we are easy to disavow. I'd sooner we'd his skin in this, but that's sunk to the bottom of the fucking sea.
Then - if supporting Markham is to set against Riftwatch, and we have observed the policy of traitors -
We are valuable, but we are easy to disavow. I'd sooner we'd his skin in this, but that's sunk to the bottom of the fucking sea.
I moved up a few floors.
[ that part where she went double agent tabled for the moment. ]
[ that part where she went double agent tabled for the moment. ]
[ that he is older, and that it isn't precisely the same thing — ]
What do you think makes a good healer?
What do you think makes a good healer?
How much have you experienced since you began here?
More, then. You've done more with Riftwatch than most Circle healers ever have.
No, [ he didn't answer her question, it may not be enough. but she's earned some measure of honesty, hasn't she? here, beyond a dark room, ] Longer, I think.
If Ser Barrow were to slip on his ass tomorrow and split it clean open, would you stir yourself?
I've seen it, and I'm walking away quite swiftly —
I will always be here if you ask it, Derrica.
[ loyalty rewards points non-transferrable and subject to cancellation without notice ]
[ loyalty rewards points non-transferrable and subject to cancellation without notice ]
You can trust him.
[ and isn't that the trouble with goodness? that the two are not the same. such an amorphous measure: bent to any shape. vague, too vague —
funny, that he might still feel its absence. ]
You're a good healer, Derrica.
[ and isn't that the trouble with goodness? that the two are not the same. such an amorphous measure: bent to any shape. vague, too vague —
funny, that he might still feel its absence. ]
You're a good healer, Derrica.
I'm terribly attached to my skin.
[ more seriously: ]
When you dreamed, the things that we spoke of —
[ more seriously: ]
When you dreamed, the things that we spoke of —
I'm not.
[ he's a BIT ]
And understand that I am not worried when I ask whether you feel them aware of you, now.
[ he's a BIT ]
And understand that I am not worried when I ask whether you feel them aware of you, now.
Oh, no. I'm terribly distracting. It's the sonorous timbre of my voice —
Isaac.
[ not unamused, just. serious. ]
I always feel them, the way you'd be aware of someone standing on the other side of a drawn curtain.
[ which derrica must realize sounds less than secure, because she clarifies— ]
I choose to draw it back and invite them forward. And I choose to keep them behind it. I know how that sounds, but it's...a tradition. Something passed down to me that I've managed to keep.
[ not unamused, just. serious. ]
I always feel them, the way you'd be aware of someone standing on the other side of a drawn curtain.
[ which derrica must realize sounds less than secure, because she clarifies— ]
I choose to draw it back and invite them forward. And I choose to keep them behind it. I know how that sounds, but it's...a tradition. Something passed down to me that I've managed to keep.
[ what is dairsmuid? a footnote. a ghost story. the dream was built from it, whatever stolen bricks she's carried. ]
Is it heavy?
Is it heavy?
Ah — rather, is it heavy to keep?
[ tradition. ]
[ tradition. ]
Edited 2021-04-22 05:12 (UTC)
[ well, she can't take that admittance back. ]
It shouldn't be.
[ but— ]
It's never a burden. But it reminds me that I am very far from the women who would practice with me, and that I might never find my way back. So in a way it's...it can be harder to attune to it than I remember.
It shouldn't be.
[ but— ]
It's never a burden. But it reminds me that I am very far from the women who would practice with me, and that I might never find my way back. So in a way it's...it can be harder to attune to it than I remember.
[ what she should have learned. ah. ]
Do they sense that? The spirits.
Do they sense that? The spirits.
[ a spirit in dairsmuid is not a spirit in kirkwall. the veil, too, owns its strange geography. and yet:
there are no ghosts, he must have told have a dozen others. there are impressions, imitations. memories. surely, some piece of them must carry. ]
Ghislain.
[ it's not how he signs his letters. enchanter of montsimmard. ]
It was — peculiar, to return.
there are no ghosts, he must have told have a dozen others. there are impressions, imitations. memories. surely, some piece of them must carry. ]
Ghislain.
[ it's not how he signs his letters. enchanter of montsimmard. ]
It was — peculiar, to return.
It would be sweet to say the sky was.
[ but you know. rifts. ruefully, ]
I did not often leave the tower.
[ something something 'attempted murder charge' ]
[ but you know. rifts. ruefully, ]
I did not often leave the tower.
[ something something 'attempted murder charge' ]
You didn't honestly think replacing yourself with a sentient pair of eyebrows would make your absence less conspicuous.
You've met the Brother, then.
[ if it's distracted, he's still assembling his thoughts.
and definitely not just because i've been slow tagging our log ]
[ if it's distracted, he's still assembling his thoughts.
and definitely not just because i've been slow tagging our log ]
Mine. It's charming how many of you imagine that I was dragged out by the fingernails —
[ it isn't. but he can't impeach the question: the quickest route to know how much any of them have staked. ]
[ it isn't. but he can't impeach the question: the quickest route to know how much any of them have staked. ]
Not so far-fetched when you consider how the division heads have chosen to respond thus far.
[Two out of four contributing only mockery, the others silent. Not the example he would have set—nor anyone competent, in his opinion.]
[Two out of four contributing only mockery, the others silent. Not the example he would have set—nor anyone competent, in his opinion.]
People care for you, Isaac. There's no comparison between us.
Mn.
[ self-pity is a shallow pool, hardly room for two. clarifies: ]
How would you have chosen to respond?
[ self-pity is a shallow pool, hardly room for two. clarifies: ]
How would you have chosen to respond?
[Isaac may keep that pool all to himself; there is no self-pity here.]
Respectfully. Without giving so loosely assembled a company more reasons to alienate each other, however petty those might be. Diplomatically, one might say.
Respectfully. Without giving so loosely assembled a company more reasons to alienate each other, however petty those might be. Diplomatically, one might say.
Are you feeling alienated?
[ their company seemed quite united, albeit against rutyer. self-electing as a common enemy - a farcical one - is one manner to defuse tension. ]
[ their company seemed quite united, albeit against rutyer. self-electing as a common enemy - a farcical one - is one manner to defuse tension. ]
Mm.
[Fair enough.]
That would imply a sense of fellowship, I think. Feeling alienated.
[Fair enough.]
That would imply a sense of fellowship, I think. Feeling alienated.
Then I do not feel alienated.
[ is half a lie. but it's an answer, which was the trade. ]
[ is half a lie. but it's an answer, which was the trade. ]
[Nearly talking over him—]
I've come to think of my infirmary shifts as holding your place until the nighttime. Looking after your things while you're away. The way a person's presence lingers where they spend much of their time—I've grown accustomed to it. And to the frogs and what-else.
I've come to think of my infirmary shifts as holding your place until the nighttime. Looking after your things while you're away. The way a person's presence lingers where they spend much of their time—I've grown accustomed to it. And to the frogs and what-else.
[ a lengthy silence follows. one might imagine he's made good on that threat, cut the crystal off — save for the occasional clambor of distant feet, the scratch of a pen on parchment.
finally: ]
Hold your own place, Leander.
finally: ]
Hold your own place, Leander.
[While the returning pause isn't as long, it is truly quiet—no shuffling, no pen, no breath—and so his departure is marked only by the dimming of the crystal's light.]
May I suggest milk before a rattle? To be sporting.
Oh, yes. He's an excellent sense of humour.
[ it is one hell of a joke to imagine he wants anyone but a mage involved ]
[ it is one hell of a joke to imagine he wants anyone but a mage involved ]
Ah, Madame. You mustn't judge a man by his face, tone of voice, and propensity for violence —
Mn, [ a considering noise. she'd probably look good in robes ] Do you think that the best use of your time?
No. But if you would kill with kindness, you might seek other game.
The Enchanter that I know is patient, direct, and will hear counsel outside his domain. He is clever, and he does not stake his pride upon it. That is not the man you will speak with.
The Enchanter that I know is patient, direct, and will hear counsel outside his domain. He is clever, and he does not stake his pride upon it. That is not the man you will speak with.
You mustn't play with my heart, your hands will get all slimy.
Ah, the root of our incompatibility. If I may — why pursue the matter when you think it fruitless?
[ there is, after all, now a seeker to do just that ]
[ there is, after all, now a seeker to do just that ]
Abominably so.
[ are those impulses currently battling over whether to narc to marcus about this? maybe. he's not terrifically stupid. but baseline tolerating all mages doesn't exactly make a guy feel special, and fitcher asked me why you aren't besties is a poor tale to tell.
marcus can handle himself. it strikes valuable to keep some measure of distance from his methods. ]
Rowntree was raised in a tower. That's well enough for Orlais — but Starkhaven only invented syllables in the Blessed Age, so we must try to be understanding.
The man has lived his life with only mages for equals. If you wish him to regard you, you need give him a reason.
[ are those impulses currently battling over whether to narc to marcus about this? maybe. he's not terrifically stupid. but baseline tolerating all mages doesn't exactly make a guy feel special, and fitcher asked me why you aren't besties is a poor tale to tell.
marcus can handle himself. it strikes valuable to keep some measure of distance from his methods. ]
Rowntree was raised in a tower. That's well enough for Orlais — but Starkhaven only invented syllables in the Blessed Age, so we must try to be understanding.
The man has lived his life with only mages for equals. If you wish him to regard you, you need give him a reason.
There's a woman in Darktown who claims her ointments will induce it. Surely two royals is a small price for one's permanent lodging.
Rather — mn. You will forgive me, Madame, for venturing that your skills extend beyond bookkeeping.
[ no one here is only an accountant, not even salvio. the unskilled die: the fool doctor, that elven boy. ]
If his time is worth it, then consider an appropriate trade. I expect him more interested in results than method.
Rather — mn. You will forgive me, Madame, for venturing that your skills extend beyond bookkeeping.
[ no one here is only an accountant, not even salvio. the unskilled die: the fool doctor, that elven boy. ]
If his time is worth it, then consider an appropriate trade. I expect him more interested in results than method.
I imagine them happier still did I skip our weekly game —
I had no idea the method of surviving a bear and eluding debt could be so similar.
[Something something, just don't be the slowest person on the trail.]
I wonder whether we are all so lacking in sincerity that a little measure [however offensive] is all it takes for someone like Rowntree to appeal.
[Something something, just don't be the slowest person on the trail.]
I wonder whether we are all so lacking in sincerity that a little measure [however offensive] is all it takes for someone like Rowntree to appeal.
Really? I've always found this place to err on the side of earnestness.
You must promise to explain who is the villain.
[ A simple dog type pause, but deciding to interpret tone correctly— ]
Re your rifter taxonomy.
Re your rifter taxonomy.
Yeah, well. Maybe an overhaul.
It records your take on their magical ability, right? How much of that information would be considered, you know, incriminating. Sensitive. Naughty?
It records your take on their magical ability, right? How much of that information would be considered, you know, incriminating. Sensitive. Naughty?
The presence or absence of ability. It has not seemed — a wise use of time, to attempt more detail.
I believe the matter was once a point of negotiation between the Inquisition and the Chantry.
[ so: incriminating. ]
I believe the matter was once a point of negotiation between the Inquisition and the Chantry.
[ so: incriminating. ]
Great.
[ Pause, thoughtful, then; ]
Would the Chantry or anyone else view it as a big difference, a rifter without magic and a rifter with? Considering we got downgraded from demonhood, and all.
[ Pause, thoughtful, then; ]
Would the Chantry or anyone else view it as a big difference, a rifter without magic and a rifter with? Considering we got downgraded from demonhood, and all.
Perhaps — at present, you and I are bound for a Circle regardless. But I imagine it fodder for argument: How terribly ordinary some Rifters are, surely you needn't all be corralled.
[ there are few rifters. there are fewer willing to throw the others into the fire to purpose. ]
[ there are few rifters. there are fewer willing to throw the others into the fire to purpose. ]
I'm a fan of a united front.
[ Anyway. ]
I want to make your list a matter of restricted public record. Everyone in Riftwatch having access, ability to make alterations to their own listing as long as they're not falsifying anything, so it'll need oversight, probably a reasonable, uh, reason, to access it at all.
Which is where you come in. Or. You're already there, just it'll be more annoying now.
[ Anyway. ]
I want to make your list a matter of restricted public record. Everyone in Riftwatch having access, ability to make alterations to their own listing as long as they're not falsifying anything, so it'll need oversight, probably a reasonable, uh, reason, to access it at all.
Which is where you come in. Or. You're already there, just it'll be more annoying now.
Mn.
[ is the sound of someone perfectly aware of how difficult it is to prove you've falsified something about a man who's existed for three months ]
And what will have inspired you to collect this information?
[ is the sound of someone perfectly aware of how difficult it is to prove you've falsified something about a man who's existed for three months ]
And what will have inspired you to collect this information?
Besides that it existed already and by the time it got back to me, two other rifters and absolutely all their little friends already knew about the darn thing.
[ He doesn't sound, like, mad, or even passive aggressive. That's just kind of the hand of cards, here. ]
We're looking into a system that anticipates rifter emergence events, so I'm inspired to have this info on hand to help map out where they've already come from, how long they've been around, whatever. And I'm inspired that it's only fair people know what records their names are on.
[ He doesn't sound, like, mad, or even passive aggressive. That's just kind of the hand of cards, here. ]
We're looking into a system that anticipates rifter emergence events, so I'm inspired to have this info on hand to help map out where they've already come from, how long they've been around, whatever. And I'm inspired that it's only fair people know what records their names are on.
Is it.
[ mild. he is not the only man to keep a list — or to present upon them.
still, granting this the air of legitimacy is by now the best outcome. ]
Enough digging would unearth the locations of some entry points. The early records were less scattered.
[ before rifts grew quite so routine ]
[ mild. he is not the only man to keep a list — or to present upon them.
still, granting this the air of legitimacy is by now the best outcome. ]
Enough digging would unearth the locations of some entry points. The early records were less scattered.
[ before rifts grew quite so routine ]
I have notes on the last several, I can throw them in there.
[ Rub forehead. ]
Warden Morale Officer may or may not be the first person at your doorstep. She was asking.
[ Rub forehead. ]
Warden Morale Officer may or may not be the first person at your doorstep. She was asking.
More of a don't-flaunt-your-mind-control-powers mixer.
There go my plans for the evening. Very well.
[ an afterthought — ]
Get Joselyn a hat.
[ an afterthought — ]
Get Joselyn a hat.
She keeps picking up pins, and I think it in your interest she acquire another place to stick them.
Is there another you imagine more relevant? First Enchanter Black is suave -
If he's turned up downstairs, tell him we're full-up on Magisters.
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