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Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Tuxedo Fox
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Sitting out in the open in the middle of a wooded clearing with nothing but the night sky to stair for entertainment Flint did his best to pass the time. Only like usual Flints luck was almost comicly bad, a heavy downpour of rain smacking him in the face any time he dared look up at the twinkling dancing gems above. He had to admit, every ounce of him wanted to scurry off into a nearby cave he'd spotted on the trek here, after all there was nothing more comforting to the old dwarf than a large stone ceiling overhead.

He'd set up camp in the small clearing in the middle of nowhere deep off of the shores of the coastland about four days out of Amaranthine. Honestly he hated the place, the rolling black clouds in the sky seemingly never broke casting a strange eerie depressing mood throughout the vast wilderness he sat in. And the damned rain came and went at a moments notice, a fact that was almost completely unbearable due to the already chilly climate.

Despite how much the cave was begging for him to enter Flint sat there shivering with stereotypical Dwarven stubbornness. His orders from Spy Master Lelliana had been clear and he would not deviate from them, whether that was due to respect or a very healthy fear of the Spy Master was hard to tell. Nonetheless he had been dispatched to meet up with a small group of fellow members of the Inquisition, something he'd been doing more and more in the recent months and he wholeheartedly planned on following her orders to a T.

With the mage rebellion in full swing there had been more and more reports coming in of what had only been described to Flint as 'Dangerous Maleficur Activity'. Yet despite his gruff looking exterior Flint was no idiot, he was well aware that when it came mages they were simply people, and just like people there were good ones, bad ones, and then the kind that just needed to be wiped off the face of Thedas. The later of the three is what Flint had been tasked with combating on almost a daily basis, a feat he had become better and better at over the last few months-And with the Templars doing their seemingly best to kill everyone and everything except those who actually warranted their attention Flints talents had become more and more in demand as of late.

Like most Dwarfs Flint's battle scarred features were hidden behind a thick brownish beard that was kept tied in overly elaborate brades, his grumpy pudgy pit bullish face a seemingly constant mask of weariness-as if he was a man that had seen far to much of the dark side of life in Thedas. Of all his features the one that stood out most of all was the large black S shaped tattoo on his right cheek, his crooked nose that had clearly been broken a few times coming in at a close second however. At his full height he stood at a whopping 4'11”, although his stout muscular frame looked much more intimidating while wearing his thick iron plate mail. The weather however had made Flint regret his armor choice, between the cold rain and constant winds he felt as if he were encased in a thick block of ice.

Suddenly the rain stopped for what seemed like the twelfth time that day, a fact that made Flint look skyward in slight surprise. Quickly shaking his head in a manner that could only be described as 'dog like' drops of water quickly filled the air for a brief moment as his beard comically swung back and forth. Shifting his weight in an attempt to make himself more comfortable on his makeshift seat (which was really just a half rotten log he'd found), he then wasted no time searching through a medium sized rucksack that lay next to his right leg. He made a point of only traveling with the bare essentials, most journeys he carried little more then his mace, shield, and signature rucksack that was normally kept slung on his back.

His small armored hands apparently found what they were searching for rather quickly; a tiny amber brown bottle clutched triumphantly in his right hand in mere moments. It was a fine bottle of Antivan brandy he'd won off some Orlesian merchant in a rather heated game of wicked grace. He'd been saving it for a special occasion or a particularly wicked battle wound, but sitting here in the cold woods with boredom almost overwhelming him he had decided it was as good a time as any. Using his teeth like a bottle opener he bit onto the thick cork and twisted causing a loud 'pop' to sound in the quite night. Lifting the bottle to his mouth he took two long swigs, the warm liquid slightly stinging the back of his throat as he took it down. Within moments he felt the effect, his tense body slightly loosening up as the fancy liquor worked its magic. He even felt a little warmer.

In all honesty the booze was one of his favorite things about coming to the surface, unlike back home in Orzammar where everyone was literally used to drinking fermented dirt and mushrooms. Hell, just thinking of the dwarven brews back home made him shiver-the old familiar disgusting flavor filling his mouth with a strange phantom taste he could never forget.

Briefly lost in thought about his previous life back home Flint's mind began to wander only to be torn back to reality when he heard movement in the treeline behind him. Quickly grabbing the old worn out handle that was attached to his thick mace he yanked the tarnished piece of steel out of the ground where it had been resting, his beat up round wooden shield also appearing seemingly out of nowhere in his other hand. It was clear by the numerous knicks, scrapes, and dents on his armor and weapons that he was far more familiar with combat than your average man.

Striking a defensive pose his beady dark brown eyes frantically skimmed the treeline in hopes of finding the source of the noise, he hoped it was simply one of his allies he was here to meet...but knowing his luck it was probably a roving band of wild bandits or lyrium crazed nugs. After all, life was never easy for Flint.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by The Kraken
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The occupation of a bard was a deceiving one. To those unknowing, Erika appeared as an entertainer. With her brilliant, ornate Orlesian gown in which she strummed a lute and sang softly for a group of Val Royeaux aristocrats as they danced without a care, she seemed to simply be a part of the evening’s musical entertainment. However, to the trained eye, a spy could be found prying for information.

It was silly, really, how carelessly these Orlesian nobles seemed to let slip their most secret information. An underground shipment of weapons, you say? Templars making deals with lyrium, hm? Or perhaps Erika had simply gotten too good at her job. She never asked why her clients wanted the information they requested, she simply did her job and took her gold at the end of the night.

It would appear that Erika had forgotten the original intention behind her work, the real reason she had left home. For now, all she did was lurk in the shadows to turn Val Royeaux’s top aristocracy against one another. Once upon a time, she had wanted to make a change, do something that would make her parents proud. She feared now that she had lost that desire.

The party wound down, and Erika had the information she needed. Her lute was tucked away in its case and she exited the building as if she were never there. As she turned a corner in an alleyway, her hand found the dagger that swung softly at her hip. Pulling it from the sheath, she turned and pushed a dark figure behind her against a wall.

“Who are you and what do you want?” She demanded.

The hooded figure put its hands up in a non-threatening gesture, and remained calm.

“Erika, put the dagger down.” A familiar voice came from behind a hooded face.

“Leliana? What in Andraste’s name are you doing here?” Erika questioned, releasing the woman and putting her dagger back in its sheath. Erika had not only trained some with Leliana around Val Royeaux, but when she was able to find more honorable work with the Chantry, it was Leliana who gave her the assignments.

“I’m here to offer you a position, Erika.” She said, handing her a piece of paper.

Erika stared down at the piece of paper, which held nothing more than an insignia of which she had never seen before. “What is this?” Her fingers traced the shiny gold-stamped paper as she looked at it.

“Your chance to do something better. Join the Inquisition.”



It had been several months now, and the days of lurking around the shadows of Val Royeaux seemed far away to Erika. In its infancy, the Inquisition was little more than a handful of people, all of various skills, commissioned by the Divine to remain at the ready should things between the Mages and the Templars escalate any further. Now that tensions between the two groups have in fact risen, Justinia has made sure the Inquisition has been steadily growing in the days leading up to the Conclave. That means investigating things of interest that have been neglected due to the war throughout Thedas.

One of these investigations founds its way to Erika’s assignment list, as she now navigates through the soggy forest of the Storm Coast as a soft rain thuds ever so constantly against her hooded robe. Red lyrium. Nasty stuff, it is. Seems like the Inquisition wants to get to the bottom of who’s mining it and for what purpose and have it destroyed before any more of it is used for who the hell knows what.

That’s where the members of the espionage and spy division come in, under the orders of none other than Leliana herself. The point here is to not draw a lot of unwanted attention. Get the information the Inquisition needs about who’s mining the Lyrium and why, and then destroy the stuff without leaving a trace that they were there.

The anticipation of the mission almost made Erika forget about the bone chilling cold that came behind the rain. Almost. A shiver ran down her spine as she continued through the wet forest, moving carefully as she did so. Surely she was almost there… her instructions were to meet another member right about…

Erika emerged from the thick tree line, pushing branches out of her face in order to move into the clearing. Once she didn’t have pine needles poking at her eyes, she could see a dwarf standing with a mace and shield at the ready, eyes trained on her.

“Flint!” She said, reluctantly pulling the hood from her head. “Put down the mace crazy, we’ve got work to do friend.” Erika said with a grin. She reached around her back and drew her longbow, keeping one arrow ready should she need it.

“I don’t suppose you’ve seen any crazy lyrium junky miners around, have ya?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. “No? Good, hopefully we can find that mine and get in and out without much trouble. You know how the boss likes it, nice and tidy.”

They didn’t have much time for pleasantries at the moment, they could share a drink and celebrate a mission gone well later. Now, they needed to move while they had the cover of night to their advantage. Erika headed towards a cave nearby that was, if her information was correct, part of a cave system that would lead them to the lyrium mine without being detected, even with Flint’s less than stealthy approach to things.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Tuxedo Fox
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To Flints (quite pleasant) surprise no group of angry templars or venatori burst through the forest around him; instead his eyes were greeted with the site of something far more deadly-a lone Orlesian woman. The sight of the newcomer made Flint immediately lower his shield and mace while uttering an audible laugh; the wicked piece of bone crushing steel now hanging limply from his right hand as if it were a harmless stick he'd picked up off the ground. The deep bellowing grunt like laughter that escaped his mouth could even be heard over the rain which had seemingly returned yet again despite Flints best wishes.

Quickly Flint fell in step with his much better looking counterpart; his short stubby body a mass of jangling armor as he did his best to keep up with the much taller Erika. In all honesty the sight was a rather comical one.

"So your saying I shouldn't have brought half a back pack full of Gaatlok?" Flint barked back light heartedly towards Erika; apparently finding it funny that he was running around with enough explosives to blow a house sized hole in the mountainside strapped to his back. "They did say they wanted the operations 'shut down' after all."

To those that knew Flint his over the top almost reckless antics were not only common place but surprisingly more often then not got the job done without somehow killing himself in the process: not to mention the piles of bodies and attention often left in his wake. If he took the time to think about if he might have come to the realization that it was because of those very reasons he had been getting "partnered up" with more level headed individuals with more and more frequency as of late: people like Erika had a way of convincing Flint to curb back his usual risky behavior.

Just as Flint finished filling Erika in on the fact that he had enough explosives to blow them both up ten times over they made their way into the opening of the cave Erika had been leading the pair towards-the large expanse of tunnels inside twisting well into the darkness and out of sight.

Pausing for a moment to catch his breathe Flint took a moment to bask in the comfort of the cold stone walls that now surrounded them-his brief moment of serenity however was torn away as the all to familiar sound of laughter could be heard echoing down the tunnel. Only there was no trace of humor behind this foul cackle, instead it was a sick and twisted evil kind of laughter; the sort of bone chilling noise that is so far removed from having anything to do with something funny that any ear can immediately make out the difference.

It was a noise Flint had heard far to often in his short life on Thedas.
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Saarebas
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"BY ANDRASTE'S TITS, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOIN'?!" A harsh voice roared from the throat of a burly looking bearded man as he stormed over to a rather scrappy looking bald elf who was currently seated at a worn down wooden table, counting the contents of the cloth coin purse that sat spilt out in front of him. "WELL?! WHY DO YOU HAVE MY GOLD?!" The man bellowed, even louder than the first time, as his battle scared face turned from a light pale to a near crimson red.

The elf scarcely looked up from his counting to acknowledge the fuming human that stood in front of him. "You owe me for that last raid we went on Carvel, you managed to snap my good bow using it to bash that guard's head in, so I'm taking what I need for a replacement. No need to thank me, I know how much counting troubles you." The eleven man said as a small smirk spread across his sharp and bird like face. As he spoke the elf didn't even halt his empting of the coin purse, his slender fingers pulling out coin after coin and placing them into neat little stacks on the table in front of him.

An audible growl escaped the human named Carvel as he clenched his meaty first. "I DON'T OWE YOU SHITE GEHEL, YOU WERE THE THE ONE THAT BOTCHED THE JOB!!" He shouted as he brought down his fist on the table separating him and the elf Gehel, causing the stacks that Gehel had been setting up to topple over. Carvel then angrily snatched his coin purse and the knocked over coin stacks off the table. "YOU MUST BE OUT OF YER BLOODY MIND!" Carvel sneered at Gehel as he began to pour his coin back into his coin purse.

As Carvel was focused on putting his coin back into his purse Gehel calmly rose from his sit and crossed his arms. "You owe me Carvel and you are going to pay up, even if I have to carve my payment out of that fat arse of yours." The elf said as he pulled out a dagger that was tucked into his sleeve and pointed it at Carvel.

Carvel looked up from his coin purse and back at Gehel in time to hear the elf's threat. "HA, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU TRY KNIFE EAR!!" Carvel laughed as he set his coin purse down onto the table and grabbed the hilt of his ax that hung from his belt. It wasn't a moment later that the both of them had their weapons pointed at each other with bloodlust in their eyes. The other just as unsavory characters that had been milling about the room turned their attention on the two once they had drawn their weapons and began to crowd around them.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" The crowd began to chant at the two. Carvel and Gehel circled each other for a few moments, their eyes looked in a intense gaze that never broke. Just as it looked like Carvel was going to make the first strike the large wooden double doors that lead into the room burst open revealing a massive horned man standing behind them.

"What seems to be going on here?" The mountain of a man asked in a deep rough voice as he slowly stepped into the room, only to be greeted by pure silence. The crowd quickly parted for him as he strolled past them and straight to the two would be fighters. "I said what is going on here?" He repeated in a bone chilling authoritative voice as he peered down at the two, neither of which would meet his gaze.

"Y-You see the thing is that well Gehel took my coin purse-" "THAT IS ONLY BECAUSE HE OWED ME FOR MY BOW!" The two tried to quickly explain their actions to the massive man who looked less and less pleased with what he was hearing. Before the duo could finish their stammering the horned man punched Gehel square in the nose, sending the wiry elf sprawling back over a table, then drove his elbow into the back of Carvel's head causing the human to double over onto the ground. As the two laid groaning and moaning on the floor their assaulter grabbed the coin purse they were arguing so intently about a mere few moments ago and put it on his belt.

"You know what I just heard from those two?" The towering man said as he turned to look at the crowd who had backed away from him as if expecting his attack to continue. "What I just heard from them was... A PILE OF NUG SHIT!" He roared, prompting a nearly unison jump from the crowd. "I DIDN'T HIRE A BUNCH OF BICKERING FARM WIVES! I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S HAIRY ARSE WHAT YOUR PROBLEMS ARE, THIS SHIT IS UNACCEPTABLE!! He shouted, finishing his statement with a jab of his thumb back at the still downed Carvel and Gehel. "IF I CATCH ANYMORE OF YOU ACTING LIKE CHILDREN I WILL PERSONALLY TIE THE SHIT FOR BRAINS TO THE COAST AND WATCH THE TIED COME IN, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!?"

At the end of the rant everyone in the crowd answered at once in the same tone mixed with fear and nervousness. YES, VAT-KATARI!" The obvious horned leader grew a crooked grin at this response before he started to head towards the exit. "Good, now lets go gentleman. I just learnt about a nice little mining operation that is just ripe of the picking."
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Clanty
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Asha’ren woke to large raindrops splattering on her angular features. Grey eyes opened to see that the waxed canvass she’d purchased during her last trip to the city wasn’t stout enough to fend off the weather that she experienced here on the coast. Cursing to herself under her breath she threw back her bedroll and pulled on her already damp boots before shoving the few things she’d left laying about in her tent into her satchel. She rolled up her bedroll quickly, happy that the drips seemed to have started over her face and not left her blankets soaked before she realized what was going on. It was definitely one of the disadvantages of her body running hotter than other people’s, she was almost always the last to realize when her clothes were soaked.

Thankfully she’d realized that this may be a possibility so she had camped nearby a small cave that looked like it would do for shelter. She quickly threw her few belongings into the cave along with her cloak and vest, leaving her clad in her shirt and leather leggings and boots only. She disassembled her tent carefully, making sure she didn’t rip the canvass. Though it hadn’t proved itself against the weather of the Storm Coast, she certainly didn’t plan on living here forever and it may yet prove of service. Besides, even if she didn’t end up using it again, she was relatively certain she’d be able to sell it to someone, maybe even at a profit if she was lucky.

Once she was in out of the wet she took the time to build a small fire and change into her dry shirt, buttoning the thick leather vest over it for protection. She laid her wet gear out on a rock to dry and lit one of the last dry torches she had to look around the cave. Seeing a tunnel heading out the back of the cavern Asha set a couple traps to deter anything that was planning on coming up behind her. She sat and dried off by her small fire, relishing in the feel of the heat against her skin. Asha dug in her bag and found a small piece of jerky that she chewed slowly and that only served to make her hunger grow. With a frustrated growl Asha grabbed her gear and headed out of the cave, happy to note that the rain had stopped and it was now a gentle mist.

Asha followed wildlife trails for a bit, trying to hunt down some small animal that would feed her for a couple days. Intent on her tracking, Asha didn’t notice the soaked elf until she was right behind him, though he hadn’t noticed her yet. “Who are you?” Asha asked, keeping an arrow nocked and taking a step back to give herself room to fire if necessary.

@Gate Keeper
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Gate Keeper
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Alarand
The Reaver



Orders were orders, but a good part of Alarand felt that this particular mission had been given to him as a personal test… a test to see at which precise point on the journey he would start madly attacking every tree along the path. If it wasn’t for the chill of the water invading his clothing, utterly soaking his loose clothing. He had removed his gauntlets in an effort to protect them from the water, but he had less than optimistic hopes that the contents of his pack were still dry, after a few hours in the rain. If there was one thing to be happy about, it was that he no longer felt cold, just numb. To make things worse, the darkening sky only seemed to grow darker. Given a few hours, and even his elven eyes would have a hard time picking out a path in the dark.

In a way, he could consider it fortunate that he hadn’t been given a travel partner- it made it easier to control the ever biting anger. He could feel it, pushing at the borders of his mind, almost a separate being. The rage could be seductive at times, but he knew better than to let it out. Three methods. Fivra had made him promise to practice at least three different strategies when he was irritated in the field. Listing would be a good start. Cold. Cold took the edge of the anger away, and replaced it with being miserable. Wet too. In the end, they were good. Blood is warmer. He winced at the thought, forcing it away. Fire is warmer. Alarand opened his mouth and forced a deep breath, and then a second. In a way, this could be considered nice. The water was clean, and forests were always more beautiful after a storm. Just a week ago, he had been suffering from thirst. In a way, he really had nothing to complain about.

It was a show of willpower for the elf to straighten his posture, push his breathing down, and pace forward into the rain, trying to force positive thoughts through his mind. Alarand was close to the clearing, at least, I think so. He had been lost for close to two hours. In a fit of rage, he had abandoned the specific trail in favor of a less muddy path. It was against his better judgement, but in this rain, most of what he did was. I thought I had gotten myself under control… and now this. The sooner he got to the cave, the better. At the very least there would be bodies fire to warm himself up. He was tired, that’s all.

“Who are you?” The inquiry startled him, and the elf barely stopped himself from jerking around. It would have been ironic if that particular ‘survival instinct’ had cost him his life. Alarand hesitated, and then stepped a little further from the voice, raising his hands slightly above waist level, palms out. “Alarand, the cold and miserable.” He slowly turned to face her, finding a rather tall female elf. She was a few inches taller than he was, with cascading red hair. He had been ambushed by much uglier people. “I suppose you usually ask for a name before shooting someone?” The idle banter was more for himself, than for her. I wonder if I’ve ever been shot… or if the archer survived. He was shivering, and probably wouldn’t have much luck trying to dodge a point blank arrow after spending a couple of hours in freezing rain. I should strike first. ask directions. “I am just a tad lost, sorry if I am invading your…” His eyes flicked sideways, glancing at their surroundings “… trees…”
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Clanty
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“I am just a tad lost, sorry if I am invading your…trees…”

Asha studied the miserable figure before her and took a step back, lowering her bow slightly. “Hello Alarand, the Cold and Miserable. I am Asha’ren the Soaked and Starving, sovereign of nothing. Only a fool would claim ownership of land as miserable as the Storm Coast just as only fools would try to invade it.” Asha teased with a smile. Then turned suddenly and loosed her bow, smiling grimly when she heard it connect.

“Would you care to join me for breakfast?” Asha smiled, walking over and picking up the rabbit she’d just shot, holding it up for him to see. “I have a fire in a cave not far from here that will give you a chance to dry out a touch. And explain where you're going, I may be able to help you on your way. Though I don't claim ownership of the Coast, I do know it quite well and have some experience as a guide." Asha grinned, her grey eyes sparkling in mirth. "You may be cold and miserable Alarand, but you're also lucky I came upon you."

@Gate Keeper
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Tuxedo Fox
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Calren Agorian sat hunched over a letter he'd been writing from within the confines of the deep mountain tunnels he and his men had called home for the past month and a half. Hailing from the great Tevinter Imperium he would literally have preferred to be anywhere but some cold damp cave in the backwater nation of Ferelden but he was more then wise enough not to question the orders of his superior Magister Gereon Alexius; the very man Calren was currently scrawling a note to.

"To my dear friend Gereon.

You will be pleased to hear that the rumors of red lyrium in this accursed place have actually proven to be true; even better though is the seemingly endless supply of free labor we have been able to acquire from the surrounding villages. It seems the locals lords are far to busy to worry about the fate of some forgotten coast towns-this has also allowed me to make great strides in my expiermentations, the results of which I am sure you will be extremely pleased to see.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that the amulets given to us by our soon to be master have done as promised-none of my six fellow mages have seen any negative side effects despite our prolonged exposure to the red lyrium. This however has not been the case for our volunteer work force, the people of which seem to share a pattern of declining madness quickly followed by uncontrollable violent urges. As it stands now our workforce has been completely depleted save for a handful of men and women who work within my own personal lab, the rest of the lot having been drivein to the point where we can no longer feasibly control them.

This has lead to us locking the scum within the Southern tunnels effectively blocking off any surprise guests for the time being-likewise the front entrance is still heavily fortified by the undead I and Radaborn were able to raise along the way here. The younger mages in our group are actually scared of these beautiful works of the arcane, the fools. Needless to say within the next day we shall be journey out into the surrounding areas to bring back more workers. As usual I shall keep you updated with anything worth mentioning and the shipments for this month look to be right on schedule.

Sincerely your dearest friend,
-Calren"

Looking his handiwork over Calren seemed pleased, the old mage folding the fragile parchment and sealing it with a wax stamp of his personal signature. Standing from his desk, which was crammed alongside his bed in the tiny place he called a room, Calren wasted no time making his way out of his room and into the larger chamber where the rest of his cohorts resided. As he walked he held his robes up slightly with his one free hand to keep them dragging on the dirty ground; his other hand clutching a black menacing looking staff.

Making his way into the largest tunnel by far in their little mining operation Calren was quick to track down a younger mage, his grumpy face scowling at the first passerby who happened to be a poor soul named "Donovan!" Calren snarled, hobbling his way over to the recently startled young mage. Apparantly Donovan had chosen the worst spot to read his book that night "Its about time you make yourself useful to the cause, here." He hastily shoved the recently written letter into Donovans hand. "Ride this to our men in Redcliff-and I'll know if you dally, clear?"

"B-But...will I have to walk past those...things out front? The young mage stuttered as he did his best to meet the razor sharp eyes of Calren.

"Not at all boy, by all means take your chances with the lunatics in the back passages-you know, the ones my magic doesn't control. Stupid fool." Without waiting for a response Calren turned on his heel, no doubt off to perform some twisted experiment in his laboratory.

Knowing just how unwise it was to upset Calren Donovan set out immediately. He made it just out of site from the caves before a arrow tore threw his throat. Perplexed at the newfound sensation Donovan stared down at the vast amount of blood now rushing from his neck, however before he could even properly respond another arrow found its mark square in his chest dropping the young Tivinter noble. He was dead before he hit the ground, never having seen the bandit that killed him.
@Saarebas@Major Ursa
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by The Kraken
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"Ah, of course you packed enough powder to blow us to the Hinterlands." Erika replied with a light laugh. "Well, keep it handy. We may need your pyrotechnic expertise after all." She said. Erika was more than relieved to have made it to the nearby cave, safe from the everlasting pounding of the raindrops outside. It was almost like torture, being that cold and wet. She had to admit, it was impressive Flint held his ground for so long without escaping into one of these tunnels himself while he was waiting on her.

Suddenly, a sickening laughter came bellowing off the walls of the cavern at the pair. Erika turned and had an arrow notched in her bow in an instant, her stance was offensive and quiet as she moved to the far wall of the cave. Unfortunately, the cloud cover outside left little light to flood the cave, and she soon realized her bow may not be of much service to her, no matter how good of a shot she was. If she couldn't see, she couldn't guarantee the shot.

Instead, her hands swapped out the long bow for the dagger at her hip, which she brought up in a defensive motion just as the source of the ill cackle came rounding the corner of the stone walls around them. He had the benefit of a Templar's uniform, shrouded in metal head to toe except for the helmet which he was lacking. In a few swift motions, Erika moved her dagger across the trained weak spots in the armor, ending with a final stab to the throat. Poor sap barely saw it coming.

Blood trickled down the shiny metal of the Templar's armor, from the wrists and elbows where the assassin's dagger had slipped through the joints in the steel to find the veins that lie in the flesh beneath. The body slumped against the cold damp wall, a soft ching sound as it did.

Erika turned to Flint with a look of relief on her face, but as she went to open her mouth to say something (a smartass comment, no doubt), the reverberating sound of footsteps could be heard echoing towards them from further down the tunnel. A lot of them.

"Tarek?!" A voice called out. But Tarek wouldn't be answering them.

The bard's eyes widened and she looked at her comrade. There was little chance they could take on the lot of them if they were jacked up on lyrium or worse. Not without any backup at least.

"I don't suppose you have that Gaatlok you were talking about earlier handy, do ya?" Erika said with a bit of humor in her voice. "Subtlety is overrated, anyway." She said with a sarcastic roll of her eyes. There was one thing for sure, they weren't going to fare well in this dark cave if a handful of Templar's wanted revenge for poor ol' Tarek there. At the very least, they needed to take the fight outside. Of course, blowing the cave and trapping them all underneath piles of rubble wasn't a bad option either.

"C'mon, we're about to have company. And not the kind who shares their tea." Erika said before quickly exiting the cave, drawing her bow from her back again as she made her way out. "I'll cover you while you set the powder, go on then Flint. Just try not to blow your eyebrows off."
Hidden 9 yrs ago Post by Clanty
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Alarand
The Reaver



“Ah, but it is the perfect place to find some peace and quiet- Can’t you feel the solitude soaking into your soul?” Alarand felt his the muscles in his legs and arms relax when the red-haired woman lowered her bow, part of him wondering how much control he really had over himself. It was hard to separate instinct and the beast from eachother, and the two often acted in concert when danger was involved. This pleasant conversation was enough to sate the monster, for now. He twitched when she moved suddenly, turning sideways to make himself a smaller target, his hand twitching. The smile on the woman’s face at the death shriek of the animal made him slightly less sure of this working out.

“Would you care to join me for breakfast?”

A decent offer, if dangerous. She had already passed up a chance to plant an arrow in his back though. On the other hand, he was cutting the meeting date close. They were supposed to gather at the entrance tonight. Though, as far as he knew, not many had been sent. His orders were to explicitly avoid combat unless strictly necessary. For good reason,
of course. He wouldn’t be doing much unless things went very wrong. It shouldn’t hurt to risk being a bit late to the party. They could leave early to get there directly after eating, with half a day to spare. “We’ll see if you think the same when I tell you where we are going.” Alarand shook his head at her smile. She was going to be stuck with them, at least until the mission was over. It wouldn’t be good for word of Inquisitors to hit the area, just before they went in.

Asha’ren
The Guide



Asha shrugged. "As long as you have coin I don't much care where you're going." She put her bow over her shoulder and drew a dagger, crouching to quickly field dress their breakfast. "For now the Coast is my home, such as it is. So as long as you'll pay me for my help, I'm happy to get you wherever you need to go." She wiped the gore off her hunting knife onto the wet grass and buried the entrails in the mud before similarly cleaning off her hands and slipping her knife back into her boot. "But let's discuss this over a hot meal, that's how business is best discussed, in a warm room with a full belly. My cave will have to suffice."



"If you say so, then I have no qualms with that." Alarand shrugged, spraying a bit of water. "Lead the way." There were going to be consequences with getting her involved though. It wasn't something he quite wanted to decide in the moment though. Uprooting another's life wasn't a small matter,
I of all people have to respect that. This wasn't exactly a safe mission either. A good part of him was turning towards the option of just getting some pointers and heading off. The clearing was near one of the larger entrances to the cave systems, so he should only have to follow the forest along the mountain one way or another to find it. "I am afraid you might have to wait a bit on the pay though, since my last trip I have avoided taking much more than a handful of coins in my purse at a time." He had thought she was a bandit at first, and it was still a possibility now, though she seemed genuine. Best to make it known before it was a problem, anyway. "But I can make sure you are compensated, if we rejoin my companions later on."


Asha frowned slightly then turned and led the way to the cave. "I can't say I like the idea of working on commission." The frankness of her words seemed not to match with the calm tone she used. She could see him tense slightly and shook her head. "I won't roll you for whatever coin you have and leave you dead. I won't even leave you out here to fend for yourself. I'll help you, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." She led the way through the tall grass, leading them on a circuitous route just in case he attacked and she had to flee. While she was willing to help someone in over their head, she certainly wasn't stupid enough to lead them to her cave without taking some precautions.



“Bring me to a fire, and I’ll cut off my pockets and give them to you.” Alarand brushed his wet hair out of his face. It was becoming long again. He eyed the trees around them, an intermixing of pine and spruce. Next time he set out on a journey, he was going to pack a spare set of clothing. His long clung to his arms, restricting movement, and his boots sloshed with each step. Occasional, he could even feel some suction.
It feels like pulling a mace out of a corpse. In all honesty, even if he had arrived at the clearing, if no one had been there the rest of the group might have met around a grave at nightfall. Alarand jerked to a stop, blinking. He needed to avoid negative thoughts. It was slowly embracing his mind, insidiously. “Well, it could be worse.” He spoke a bit louder than was necessary. “At least it isn’t snowing!” ]Yet. Alarand quickly switched topics, weather was a bad one. “It’s good to see another free elf. There aren’t enough of us around.”


"I'm not an elf. Not fully anyway." Asha said. "My mother was human." She stopped speaking suddenly, not sure why she was sharing her life story with this elf she'd just met. "Don't ruin our luck. I've seen snow out here on the Coast, and if you think this is miserable, you really don't know the meaning of the word. Here we are." Asha pushed aside a few branches and revealed the entrance to a cave. She went in first, and immediately started tending the fire, feeding small pieces of dried wood that she'd set inside several days ago. Once she had the fire going again she turned to Alarand. "Make yourself comfortable and I'll be right back." Without waiting for him to respond she left the cave and disappeared into the surrounding trees.

Asha took a small hatchet from her pack and cut several branches of varying lengths before cleaning the bark off the smaller ones and splitting them halfway along their length. The larger four she sharpened one end of and then hurried back to the cave, hoping that he had been canny enough to keep the fire going.



Interesting. A mixed blood was rarer than an Elvish merchant. Alarand let conversation die off. Neither of them were much in the mood for it anyway, forced or not. The trees had thickened considerably since she had lead him away from the animal trails, but Asha’ren seemed confident enough, though the pine needles felt harsh whenever they had to brush past a pine, the needles felt especially cruel to numb skin. He had resigned himself to the idea that trudging after her was some sort of purgatory- punishment for unforgivable crimes committed that he would never remember. His mind barely registered the entrance to the cave. To him, it appeared as if the forest had suddenly gained a ceiling and walls. I would die out here. It hadn’t occurred to him on previous missions, but there was a true difference between a city elf and the elves of old. Nature wasn’t a friend.

The moment he was in the cave, he didn’t pause for her to finish speaking before dropping his pack and fumbling with his belt, stripping off the outermost layers of robes, leaving a plain white linen shirt and the black pants on. When she left, he immediately moved to the fire, careful to avoid dripping over it. He took three pieces from the stack she had gathered and used one to collapse the fire in on itself, raking it into a tighter pile and then sandwiching it between two of the logs on the sides, placing the third piece across the two logs and up against the side of the pile of embers. He was definitely not a woodsman, but he knew how to set a cookfire. Living in an alienage hadn’t been an easy life.

The heat was addicting, and he leaned in, the moderate heat from the fire feeling almost as intoxicating as
blood lust. He eventually lay out his over-shirt and outer robe to dry, his pack had done far better than he had, the thick wax coating on the canvas had kept most of his sleeping roll dry. He had resisted the urge to wrap himself in it though, piling his meager gear away from the drips and wetness outside, leaving only his sword strapped to his waist. The clothing he still had one was still soaked though, and every moment away from the fire was agony. Alarand crouched next to it, trying to coax it larger without using too much of wood pile, rotating from time to time to warm his back.

Asha stepped back through the entrance of the cave and found Alarand huddled next to the fire. She quickly drove the stakes into the ground a foot or two away from the fire and then immediately pulled her boots off and put them over two of the stakes. “If you don’t dry your boots you’ll be miserable for the rest of the day.” She said, motioning to his boots. She pulled the canvass of the rock she’d laid it out on to dry and used it to block the bit of wind coming through the doorway and soon the cave had warmed. Seeing Alarand still shivering she put her blanket around him, the wool warm from the rocks around them. Once he looked a bit better, Asha put the smooth piece of slate over the fire and dropped the skinned rabbit onto it, smiling as she heard it hiss. “Shouldn’t be too much longer and we’ll be warm from the inside out.” Asha smiled, feeling her linen shirt begin to dry as she wiggled her toes in the warm sand that covered the floor of the cave. “Now, where are you going?” Asha asked, wanting to know just where she was taking the strange elf.
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“Not making any promises.” Flint merrily barked back as his hands were moving well ahead of his mouth; his old leather rucksack already swinging from his back as the sound of footsteps drew ever closer. Wasting no time he went about setting a proper fuse up on the delicate explosive that resembled a large clay ball all the while muttering something about “Damn Tarek.”

Just as Flint finished prepping the devastating bomb two more Templars rounded the corner clearly looking for their lost comrade; it was obvious by their exposed faces and the way they held their weapons loosely at their sides that they were not expecting Flint and Erika.

Although only face to face with the two (now shocked) Templars it was obvious that more company was soon on its way-the sound of more footsteps and clamoring armor echoing close behind the two new arrivals.

“Who are-Tarek!” The larger of the two Templars roared as he noticed his recently dispatched companion still bleeding out on the floor, the site of which had caused his face to flush red with anger. Without another question he swung his blade in Flint's direction, the little dwarf literally throwing himself against the cave wall to dodge the incoming atack.

Cradling the unlit explosive in his hand like a newborn baby Flint roared angrily “Watch it, damnit! A little help over here!”
@The Kraken
Hidden 9 yrs ago 9 yrs ago Post by Saarebas
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It is difficult to imagine any creature feeling comfortable in the Maker forsaken flood lands of the Storm Coast, but that was exactly what the giant Kossith was as he made his way through the thick brush as easily as one would stroll through the market. Despite the clouds that hung heavy over head, the rain that came down like torrents, or the freezing air that cut to the bone Vat-Katair kept a unnerving grin on his face as he swiftly strode onward with a group of his men in tow. The weather couldn't help but make him reminisce about his days back on Seheron and leading a group of his Tal-Vashoth brothers on an ambush of a Qunari encampment. He was quickly pulled out of this memory when he realized how far ahead of his men he had gotten, they seemed to be having their fair share of trouble navigating the less than forgiving terrain. "At least the Tal-Vashoth weren't such whelps." Vat-Katari thought to himself with a shake of his head, causing a small down pour of water to fall from his thick, white mane, as he waited for his men to regroup with him.

Lucky for his men Vat-Katari had already found a spot not too far from the entrance to the mines that they could use to briefly gather their barings before they started the raid. Vat-Katari eyed the cave as he ran down the details he gathered about the operation in his mind. It was some sort of lyrium mine, though there was something apparently special about the lyrium here that Vat-Katari wasn't exactly sure about. He also manage to find out that this was some sort of Tevinter funded dig so it was safe to assume that there were at least a few mages mucking about in the mines. Likewise whenever Tevinter was involved in something slave labor was a guarantee, either they brought their own or they collected some from one of the near by villages regardless that meant the workers weren't going to be big supporters of their bosses. The only real blind spot in Vat-Katari's intel was on the exact security in the mines and with Tevinter mages anything from blood magically enhanced warrior slaves to a horde of demon shades were possible.

Vat-Katari's mental check list was interrupted by movement coming from the entrance of the mine. He quickly took shelter behind a tree and signaled the rest of his men to hide as well. It was a young lad that exited the cave with quite the jumpy and skittish look about him. Judging from his robes he was an assistant mage to some other higher ranking Vint mage, Vat-Katari had seen and killed enough of both to be able to spot them on sight. Regardless of the lost and frightened look on the boy's face he was in the way of Vat-Katari and his prize so he had to be dealt with. So with one a quick gesture to Gehel, the elf now sporting a broken nose, Vat-Katari gave the order to cut the young mage's life short. Two precise arrow shots later the apprentice laid on the ground drenched in a mixture of rain, mud, and his own blood, the light draining from his eyes.

Vat-Katari wasted no time moving over to examine the body, he had to make sure that he didn't have to finish the job. Lucky for both the young mage and Gehel the elf's arrows did their job and ended the lad quickly. "Now lets see what you've got..." The bandit chief spoke to himself as he began to raid the body's pockets. Not much was on the lad disappointingly besides some tome on Tevinter customs, a few silver pieces, and... "Hmm what's this?" Vat-Katari found what looked like quite the official letter. After tearing it open and scanning over its contents his expression went to slight bewilderment to a deadly serious. "Qalaba vashedan." Vat-Katari cursed in his native tongue before turning and singling for his men to fall in around him.

"Looks like I was right boys, we have some Vint mages hold up in there." Vat-Katari said as he looked over his men. "It also seems that they raised up some walking corpses for their security." He added, getting a slight gasp of surprise from a few in the crowd. "Shut your traps!" He snapped, regaining the silence of his men. "It is just like killing anyone else, just that these guys have their throats pre-slit." He said with a dark laugh before turning to the cave and started to head in. "Come on boys, it's time to get our pay day."
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Alarand
The Reaver


Alarand wordlessly nodded at her comment, grimacing as he carefully pulled the edges of his dripping pantlegs from his boots. It was strange, how waterlogged clothing and boots were harder to get off than dry. He carefully stepped towards the entrance before dumping the water out of them, enough to fill a canteen. He moved a larger piece of wood over and sat on it near the fire after hanging his boots. There was a hypnotic feel to staring into fire, it was strangely comforting- it wasn't that it disapeared as much as it was sated by the cavorting flames. His lips parted when she dropped the blanket over his shoulders, but he decided against offering comment. Alarand idly picked off pieces of bark from the wood he was sitting on, toss it into the coals and watching them consume it.

There was more than a little disapointment went she slid a flat piece of stone over the fire, hiding the ripple of heat around the coals, and disguising their golden glow. The crackling sound of cooking meat bringing him out of his reverie. Alarand continued to watch it for a moment after she asked though, trying to organize his thoughts. Careful. It wasn't long before he stood and slowly spread the blanket near the other drying articles, as it was a bit damp from contact with his clothing. "Before I tell you," Alarand paused, rethinking what he was going to say. "You have to know that it will be dangerous to take me there..." he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "...and I can't let you leave until we finish what we came here to do." Alarand quickly raised his hands defensively before she could react. "It isn't that I don't find you trustworthy, but I can't tell you details otherwise."


Asha’ren
The Guide


looked at him closely. "That's quite the demand." She considered his words for a few minutes as she turned the meat, making sure it didn't burn. "To be fair, you don't know that I am trustworthy." Asha's eyes glittered with a bit of mirth as she fetched two smaller pieces of slate, washed clean by the rain from just inside the cave's entrance. Though her motions were calm, her mind was racing. She'd been looking for a way to get out of this constant cycle of life she'd found herself stuck in. She never made enough coin to leave the Coast, only enough to keep her in drink and food and when she was lucky, in dry clothes. Asha'ren passed Alarand a makeshift plate with half the rabbit on it. "You said I'd be compensated by your 'friends'. Compensated how?"

He watched quietly as she stood and retrieved some flat stone from the entrance for use as plates. It was clear she had been living here for some time, though he was certainly no expert in tracking or investigation. Alarand already knew that he wasn’t going to give her any true detail unless she agreed to follow through to the end. “I suppose that depends on what you want. If it’s money, I can promise ten crowns- though you will have to accompany me to the nearest settlement before I can pay.” Alarand appraised her thoughtfully for a moment before resuming, “Or, if you would like, you can accompany me on my return journey to S- the Dales.” He grimaced at the slip of tongue. Mentioning Skyhold would be a dead give away. “I am not sure if my companions will join me, but unless an emergency shows up, I intend on heading that direction. We would be safe enough, and you would be free to leave at any point on the way.” Alarand studied her face, pondering a third option.

The Inquisition was still growing, but he was certainly no recruiter. On the other hand of course, if they had been willing to work with a mess such as himself, surely an elf-blooded would be welcome. He would have to see what the others thought of the idea before speaking on it though.


Asha'ren looked at him intently. "I'll take you where you need to go on two conditions. One, that you explain why all this needed to be shrouded in secrecy with a veneer of abduction, and two, that you help me get set up in the Dales. I don't expect you to build me a house with your bare hands, but maybe introduce me to a few people? If I spend one more season out here on this godsforsaken Coast with nobody for company I'll go mad. Is that a deal you can make?" Asha asked, the intimacy that their current situation provided caused her to be brutally honest without fear of judgment. After all, how much judgment could a soaked elf really give?

Mad? He raised his eyebrows slightly. I wonder how many people truly know the feeling. “Oh, I can introduce you to people.” A slow smile tugged at his lips at the private jest. “If we make it out of this in one piece, you’ll have plenty of time on the road to extort me.” People are social creatures, I am not. To him, the idea of being alone for weeks at a time might be refreshing... though the images of being gagged, bound, and blindfolded suddenly flashing through his skull were a fairly good argument to the contrary. “I suppose now that you are leaving, the forest is open for invasion again?” He glanced around in mock approval. “It’s a shame really, considering how much effort you put into decorating.”

Alarand reached into his pocket and pulled out a wet piece of parchment, unfolding it. “Well, glad to know that they saved on the ink.” He grimaced and tossed the mess of dripping ink at the edge of the fire, where it hissed and shrank, bubbling. “In short, I need you to take me to a clearing somewhere in this valley, there should be a fairly large entrance to the largest part of the cave system near there- an obvious one. He raked his brain for the other directions, trying to remember what had been written. “A double set of twin peaks can be seen west of it, and most of the trees around it should be oak.” In all honesty, it wasn’t an excellent description, but it had seemed enough, when he had been hiking towards the visible peaks from Amaranthine, along the designated trail.

The elf sighed, shaking his head. “The cave is an entrance to a Red Lyrium mine, and we have been sent to investigate.” He separated a piece of rabbit meat and bit into it, chewing. “And, now that I told you, I can’t let you just walk away, in case we find a surprise party waiting for us when we head in.” He began separating other edible pieces away from the rest, making a pile. “We don’t plan on announcing ourselves, exactly.” Alarand gave a meaningful glance in her direction before starting in on his meal.
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The sight of the two rampaging Templars threw Erika into high gear. The rest of the world fell silent except for the almost calming thunk of the raindrops that were hitting her now exposed head as she pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back, drawing her bowstring in one swift and mechanical motion.

One, two... swoosh. The first arrow whirred from Erika's cheek and found the large brute's hand as it swung it's blade, pinning it deep against the cold wall of the cave. The scream that followed was silenced not half a second later when the second arrow found the exposed neck of the man, rendering him mute as he gargled on his own blood. This, of course, sent the other man into a fury as now two of his companions lie in piles of their own blood at his feet.

"Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast, you bastard." Erika notched her bow one last time and sent the arrow flying just as the Templar was raising his hammer to strike at Flint. The arrow lodged in the man's shoulder, between the thick plates of Templar armor that he wore. It wasn't a deadly blow, but a crippling one. Long enough for Flint to hopefully get the Gaatlok ready to blow before the rest of the brigade came in and tore them to shreds.

"Any day now, Sparky!" Erika called out, but instead of some snide comment she was met with Flint running towards her arms waving, so she took the hint to hit the deck. The resulting explosion left a ringing in her ears, and a slight pounding in her head. Well, the whole of Thedas probably knew they were here now. Bits of gravel joined in the rain and showered down around them, but when Erika turned around to look, she witnessed that whatever Templars that would have been in pursuit were now trapped in that cave, as the whole entrance was collapsed in a pile of rubble.

"Well done, Flint." Erika said with a sigh. She stood, brushing herself off. It took a moment for her to see straight, the ringing in her ears messing with her balance. Once she regained her composure, she saw just how much damage the explosion really had done. True, it had served its purpose in trapping the Templars in that cave for the time being. However, it had also managed to blow a big enough hole to open up a completely different entrance to what appeared to be a separate tunnel system.

"Would you look at that, it appears we've done some re-routing of the Storm Coast. I'm sure Leliana will be pleased to hear that in the report." Erika said sarcastically. Her gaze traveled upwards to the sky. While it was hard to tell with all of the cloud cover from the constant storm, they had already fallen behind schedule. There was supposed to be at least one other inquisition member joining them closer to the mining operation, but Erika did not know exactly when they would be arriving.

"Well, seems like this is as good a shot as any since we blew up our last backdoor entrance. Shall we?"

@Tuxedo Fox
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@The Kraken
Moments prior to the bomb erupting in its devastating display of power Flint had been thinking of just how careful he had to be with the deadly object. The fuse was set to a safe length, there were no cracks in the bombs casing, and he had a set target in mind for when he lit the fuse: the weakened and partially cracking cave ceiling that he could make out just past the two giants trying to kill him. All he had to do now was enact his well laid plan.

Being a dwarf of keen mind and clever nature his plan was to roll the deadly explosive down past the two templars infront of him in the hopes of killing as many of the approaching men that now sounded extremely close. Hopefully the ensuing blast would also take out the ceiling above in what would be a manmade cavein (or in this case, dwarf made).

Flint was triumphantly going through this plan in his head when he heard the familiar "sssssss" that signified one of his worst nightmares-somehow the deadly clay ball of Gattlok had managed to have its fuse lit from a stray spark off his attackers weapon. Unfortunately by the time Flint had noticed the one and a million chain of events the wick had already burned halfway down; quickly he assumed this had happened with the Makers help in yet another attempt to make him feel like the unluckiest dwarf in Thedas.

As Flint often did in the thick of battle though he just went with the turn of events; chucking the heavy clay ball with all his might into the air over the heads of his atackers. As the hissing explosive soared through the air Flint couldn't help but admire Erikas recent handiwork; the site of three trained Templars sprawled on the ground was something to behold after all, especially considering the young woman hadn't even broken a sweat.

That's when Flint remembered he should probably warn his comrade in arms about the impending explosion: quickly he decided that the most attention grabbing thing he could come up with was a flailing armed metal encased dwarf.

Luckily his warning worked.

KATHOOOOM

The force of the explosion literally lifted Flint off his feat sending him flying past Erika into the cave wall with a particularly painful sounding metallic thud. Despite this the dwarf rolled to his feat shaking the bits of dirt, dust, and rubble from his thick brown beard like some sort of mad dog. Quickly gathering up his rucksack, which had somehow survived the blast, Flint made his way over to admire the damage he'd done-they definitely didn't have to worry about any Templars now. Infact, Flint thought, no one need ever worry about those particular Templars again.

"Well, seems like this is as good a shot as any since we blew up our last backdoor entrance. Shall we?" His companion asked in her particularly cheery way.

Flint responded with in his own witty but gruff tone. "Ladies first." He followed the comment with a mock bow and mace twirl, as if he held an elegant cane and was bowing before a lord or lady.

---

Calren had been in the middle of scolding two of his apprentices on the basics of blood magic when an ear splitting explosion sounded from somewhere down the back entrance tunnel-the effect of the blast was such that the makeshift camp the handful of mages resided in visibly shook for a brief moment.

What is it now he lamented to himself as his eyes practically bulged out of his head in annoyance. Hurriedly the old Magistrate ran towards the back entrance. Could those blasted lyrium addled psycho paths have caused the explosion? Not likely, he quickly decided; after all the most advanced weapon that lot of crazies had were shovels and pick ax's. Unless the lyrium had somehow had an adverse reaction within their bodies causing an explosion of sorts? The very idea made Claren fantasize about the vast magical studies he could perform. This definitely needed looking into.

"Rodaband." The old mage barked at his equal as he still did his best to pear down the tunnel. All he could make out was darkness.

"I suppose you'd like me to investigate that little noise, eh old man?" The much younger looking yet equally powerful Rodaband asked while rubbing the stubble on his chin, a playful smile hanging from his mouth as it often did when he talked to Claren.

"Yes, yes. Take two of the fools with you as well, and here is the key to the barricade we set up." Clarens bony old hand held out a large brass key which Rodaband quickly snatched up. "I am especially interested in knowing if this had anything to do with our ex workers-if not, kill whoever is responsible. Better yet bring them back to me, I will be in my lab within the mine."

"You do love your little experiments, don't you?" Rodaband quipped before going off to round up his two lackeys. "Not to worry Claren, I'll return with something for you."

Claren watched as Rodaband and the two other men (he honestly couldn't recall their names, expendable trash most likely) made their way into the darkness of the tunnel-a medium sized ball of light Rodaband had summoned now lighting their way as the small group disappeared from sight.

"You two imbeciles!" Claren barked like a mad dog at the two remaining men in the room who had been tending a large pot of what was most likely tonights dinner. The two well dressed mages visibly flinched at Clarens outburst before their tormentor continued. "Its best we cover all our assets. Go to the front of the mines entrance and guard the barricade there-do not open the doors, whatever you do. If anyone is foolish enough to come that way I will have a little surprise ready for them. Regardless though, you will remain posted there untill Rodaband comes to relieve you. Understood?"

The older looking of the two mages nodded while muttering a quick "Yes sir, master Claren."

And with that Claren was off; not bothering to explain anything further to the fools that called him Master. Quickly he made his way into the actual mine shaft that descended downwards off of the main tunnel at a fairly decent slope-there was no red lyrium until you followed this incline for a good ten minutes, at which point the ground leveled out before opening into a vast cavern that they had been doing the bulk of the mining-and it was easy to see why, Claren thought, as his beady black eyes were met with the familiar beautiful glow of the amber red rocks that seemed to grow out of the cavern walls itself.

But he had no time to admire the macabre beauty of the silent mine (although it never seemed entirely quite-an eerie hum could seemingly always be heard just out of ear shot.) No, he had something extremely important to take care of.

He had to make sure his pet was ok.

---
@Saarebas
As Vat-Katari and his men made their way deeper into the ever darkening cave tunnel they would encounter no resistance; after a good ten minutes of clamoring through the narrowing tunnels they could even make out what looked like an actual gated door that had been built into some makeshift barricade that reached all the way to the cave ceiling.

This odd structure was a good twenty five yards away when the world seemed to turn upside down; skeletal and rotting figures alike breaking forth from the very earth Vat-Katari and his men had been walking on moments before. Slightly slow to pull themselves from their earthen tombs this undead army once free was a sea of shifting rusted metal and horrid battle wounds-many still clutching and swing old and broken weapons they had used in their past lives.

Quickly surrounding Vat-Katari and his men it was clear from their cold dead eyes that the one desire they still had, if any, was to turn these living intruders into yet another member among their unyielding ranks.
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Nolan hated the Storm Coast. There was absolutely nothing in the area of importance or worth in the eyes of the Warden. The near-endless rain which poured down on his hooded head did little to dispel his contempt for the area, it had begun to soak through the blue hood of his warden clothing, and essentially served now as little more than a wet cloth, slowly seeping more and more water onto the top of his head. Why the renegade Templars Nolan and his partner had been tasked with executing had fled here of all places - he did not know. Though, perhaps they had chosen the Storm Coast for the very fact that it was so horrid to trek through - one would have to be awfully devoted to want to trudge all this way just to face a reasonable number of Templars.

Using his staff as a walking stick of sorts, Nolan brought his free hand up to cover his mouth - the cold and rain had been getting to him, and it was more than clear in the thick, chesty cough which he let out. When they were done here - Nolan planned to find the warmest, coziest tavern he could - preferably one with a welcoming name like 'The Fat Nug', not one of those seedy pubs usually given a more violent moniker, such as; 'The Fighting Nug'. When it came to comfort - one word could make a world of difference. He pictured his recuperation as he trudged along - sitting by a fireplace, moving in and out of friendly conversations with the other bargoers, a warm cup of tea in his hand, and a number of sweet cakes and pastries before him, freshly baked by the Tavern owners wife. It was all so peaceful, the quiet conversation, the crackling fire and the warm atmosphere.. Th-

KATHOOOOM

The thunderous explosion only a few meters ahead of he and his partner was certainly more than enough to drag the Warden out of his train of thought, and back into the horrid reality which was the Storm Coast. Shifting his gaze over his shoulder, Nolan set eyes on his partner. He certainly didn't envy Clara - while he was certainly not warm in his own attire, and the limited armour he wore on his chest, arms and legs added to the freezing nature of their trek - he was not the one in a full suit of armour. In fact, Nolan rather admired the fact that the woman had not simply frozen to death and been unknowingly left behind by the Mage kilometers back. "Think that might've been the Templars saving us all the trouble?" Perhaps it was not the time for a humerous quip - but Nolan didn't care, he felt the need to lighten the mood somewhat, even if it was in relation to something which could have been incredibly problematic for the two of them.

Picking up the pace, it did not take much longer for Nolan and Clara to reach the entrance of the cave system - ignoring any particular cause for concern, and seemingly forgetting entirely about the explosion which had occurred a few moments before, he held out his free hand, a spark flashing before a small ball of fire - akin in size and brightness to that of a simple torch, appeared. Holding it relatively close to himself in an attempt to warm and dry himself, he pressed on into the cave - paying little attention to his surrounding as he almost tripped over the first of the dead Templars. Looking down to the man, he could gather fairly easily from the bleeding hole in his throat - that he had not blown himself up. "It would appear someone's taking our job - Clara." It was only a few moments more, passing the other two Templars who had been murdered fairly recently - that the Warden and Templar reached the cave-in, and the two who had been its cause. Nolan made no real move to action - at least not yet, after all, he was aware these weren't normal Templars, but he was curious as to why these two - who he assumed caused the explosion - were here.

"Well hello there."
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No matter how many times Clara wiped the water from her the visor of her helmet, the rainwater simply continued to flow and either way she wasn't winning: if it stayed outside the helmet it kept the steel chilled and helped her freeze within the full set of it, and if it went inside it flowed down towards her collar and crept inside her armor, making her colder again and directly uncomfortable. It wasn't the discomfort that bothered her - for as inconvenient as it was, discomfort was easily solved through discipline and will, both of which an ideal Templar had in abundance - but the effects of the cold: a cold body moved slower, ached through its movements, had restricted ranges of motion and even sensory feedback, which could all spell disaster in one way or another. After uttering thanks for her Frostback heritage, probably the only reason she hadn't become a statue a few kilometers back, she looked at her companion, Nolan, longingly for a moment as she came to desire attire a bit more like his; she shook her head until she returned to her senses and trudged on, focusing on the journey.

Clara visibly flinched at the sudden explosion. By near-instinct, she raised her left arm to bring her shield to bear as she grasped her sword's hilt and hastily drew it from the scabbard with a telltale rasp, bringing it to the ready. After looking about to evaluate their immediate safety, Clara turned to face Nolan as she eased her stance somewhat.
"Think that might've been the Templars saving us all the trouble?" punted Nolan, in a rather optimistic quip about the situation. Clara let out something of a scoff.
"I wouldn't trust renegades to be so thoughtful." she quipped back, content with the small bit of humor. After the long and cold walk here, a bit of morale-boosting wasn't unappreciated; she knew full well that morale won and lost battles of all sorts, and the jests weren't detrimental by any stretch.

As Clara walked through the cave system, she deliberately walked close to Nolan's fireball as she could in a bid to defrost her plate armor, which proved a bit difficult considering how close he held it to himself. Detecting the renegades long before Nolan, she let him trip over the first corpse as she broke away as far as the light allowed to go about examining the corpses - and discreetly stripping them of their lyrium.
"It would appear someone's taking our job - Clara." Nolan commented as Clara concluded her investigations on another one of the corpses and came to stand and face him.
"That makes it much more complex than I'd like it to be." she replied with a sigh, "I don't recall anybody else being sent to dispatch the renegades from our conversation with the Knight-Captain..." With her sword and shield still in hands, she continued alongside Nolan and his fire.

As Nolan and Clara came upon the two responsible for the cave-in, Clara took a few steps in front of Nolan and brought her shield to bear, with her sword lingering at her side in no particular state of readiness but very much still at hand - preparing to front any immediate damage if it would come to blows, for Nolan to prepare counterattacks.
As Nolan spoke, she simply stood to, staring down the two figures through the visor of her helmet.
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"Well hello there."

Flint practically jumped out of his skin-or armor-at the sound of the unknown voice coming from behind them. Quickly he reassured himself that the only reason he had been snuck up on was due to his still ringing ears; that had to be the only explanation, right? "Sodding hell man!" Flint grunted while literally taking a hop back, his heavy armor figure landing in a surprisingly graceful display for the short armored down dwarf.

He was quick to note the angry looking templar behind the man (but then again all templars looked angry.) The way she skillfully held her blade and shield made Flint think she looked quite dangerous. His eyes also immediately took in the staff of the human who'd spoke; between that and his attire Flint thought it safe to assume this one a mage-which meant the pair could have easily fried and flaid him alive from behind when he had been unaware. This meant that even if they weren't friends they apparently likewise held no love for the dead templars in the tunnel behind them.

Deciding to break the growing silence Flint comically waved his mace back and forth in Nolans direction while saying "Watch where you point that walking staff now, eh?!" He quit waiving the weapon before someone actually felt threatened "So what do you think Erika? Don't look like they were friends with our buddies back there. You know, aside from the exact same uniform and everything. That ones even got a warden crest!" He pointed the mace accusingly at Nolan despite his cheery voice.
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One of the down sides of being built like a druffalo is trying to navigate tight spaces and Vat-Katari was feeling that very draw back as he lead his men through the cramped tunnels of the mine. "Damned dwarves should of built this place so a real man could walk through here..." The walking mountain of muscle grumbled to himself as he pushed himself onward. He had to crouch slightly to keep his horns from scrapping against the low hanging cave ceiling. "This pay off better be worth it." He said, the annoyance practically dripping from his words.

After what felt like ages of crawling through endless tunnels Vat-Katari and his men emerged into a opening in the caves. He was glad to be finally able to stretch out to his full height, a series of gut wrenching cracks left his body as he did so, but he was met with a new problem in the shape of what looked like some makeshift barricade blocking the way forward. "Of course." Vat-Katari said agitatedly as he examined the blockade. It looked sturdily built and reached all the way from floor to ceiling, but Vat-Katari was confident enough that he and his men could break their way through it. He was about to give the order for his men to go plant some explosives on the gate when a thought occurred to him. "Wait... where are the corpses?"

As if some sort of higher power was answering him a literal legion of the dead rose form the ground around him and his men. The shock set in on Vat-Katari's men almost instantaneously as the looked on in horror at the decomposing corpses that began to shamble to unlife. Their fear only seemed to solidify as the horde began to surround them, quite a few of the men's weapons began to quiver from their fear as it seemed this was the first time they had ever seen the likes of the undead before. One such fearful soul was Carvel, the brutish man's eyes were filled with the same uncertainty and terror of a child left alone in the dark. "SHITE SHITE SHITE SHITE SHITE!!" He stammered as his grip tightened on his axe, his meaty knuckles turning white from the pressure.

Needless to say Vat-Katari was less than impressed with the reactions of his so called men. "SHUT YOUR WHINNING TRAPS UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO SHUT THEM FOR YOU!!" He snapped at them, breaking their attention away from the slowly approaching corpses and placing it on him. "These damned things are no better than rabid dogs!" Vat-Katari continued, as he spoke crackling balls of fire began to appear in each of his hands. "And we know what we do with rabid dogs?!" He said before he quickly lobbed one of the fireballs into the horde. The fireball burst into a explosion that consumed three of the corpses, their dried and decomposing skin working as the perfect kindling as they crumbled into piles onto the floor. "WE PUT THEM DOWN!!" He exclaimed after the explosion. "Now lets go earn our pay boys!" Vat-Katari exclaimed as he let loose another fireball that took out another four of the shambling corpses. He let out a battle cry as he lead his men in the charge against the undead horde, hurling balls of fiery death as he did so.
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Erika had returned Flint's clever bow with a curtsy of her own before stepping forwards towards the new, not-so-natural hole in the side of the tunnel. There was slight room for humor in such situations, but the pair seemed to fit it in wherever possible. Made the missions go on a little easier than such serious talk all the time, however, now it was on to business.

"Well hello there."

The Orlesian woman stepped towards the newly formed cavern entrance, desperately looking forward to getting on with the mission and getting away from the miserable elements of the Coast, but instead she froze mid-step as the words reached her ears. The chinking of her partner's armor at his sudden startling caused her to alter her movement in a quick turn about, stumbling around and grabbing for her dagger, ready to throw at whomever had managed to sneak up on the pair. It was probably quite comical to see the two so frazzled, which probably almost certainly gave the two people who now stood before them a confidence boost. Ah, yes. The Inquisition, comprised of the best of the best from all around Thedas... yeah, right.

Noticing the humorous tone that Flint took on as he finally addressed the two soggy blokes, Erika lowered her dagger. It remained casually in her hand, as the sword did in the Templar's. Better safe than sorry, after all.

"I don't know, I try to reserve judgement on the Templars since my brother joined the order. But since those lunatics back there tried to slit our throats..." She smirked at the pair, realizing they did seem a bit of an odd mixture. What were a Warden and a Templar doing wandering the Storm Coast? "A Warden, eh? Looks like some greater power is amassing all of the orders on the Coast for some miserable reason."

It was apparent that the two pairs had no bones to pick with each other, unless the Templar woman was upset by their mass burial of the like. Still, if that were the case then they would have both likely met their fate by now.

"Look, we're with the Inquisition. I'd love to tell you more, but I won't bore you with the details. We've no quarrel with either of you, but we do have a job to do." She said rather matter-of-factly. The ball of fire that the Warden mage held close to him made her envious for a moment, not only for its warmth but for the light it provided in the dark tunnels. Oh, how she longed to be cozied up to a warm fire with a pint of cider in her mitts. The comfort of their camp at Haven was too far away to think of now, though. They had garnered too many complications on this simple mission already.

"So, we are of no trouble to you if you are the same to us. Right Flint?" Erika said, looking to her smaller- but equally dangerous- partner. "However, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly brings a lone Warden and Knight-Lieutenant pair to this part of this lovely countryside? Honeymooning, perhaps?" She questioned jokingly, a smile now on the assassin's face. "I'm Erika, by the way."

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