[IC] Champions of Thedas - Dragon Age RP

[CAS1006]

Cassius simply rolled his eyes as Gerald's complaints. Though some were valid, and understandable, but being part of a mercenary company to his understanding was about taking risk for big rewards. However, he knew very little about Wardens other than they were very respected. The Blighters however he had grasp on.

"I see the deep roads as very minimal in terms of danger from what I can evaluate. The leader here stated that the Wardens cleared out the roads a great deal. One encounter a week as well as discovery. And if you see something dangerous, you don't touch it. You wouldn't jump on top of the fire. Would you?" He smirked a bit.

"On top of that, it is more dangerous above land where wild life,spirits,highway men,bandits and assassins are likely to strike you. Darkspawn are the lesser threats when there is the probability of those other threats I listed." He folded his arms.

"Besides... our lovely dwarf friend here would be able salvage and rediscover things useful. It honestly seems even less risky... lack of weather, meaning you don't have to worry about being rained on, snowed on, hailed on, lightning for all the metallic items you have. But..." Cassius pursed his lips a bit.

"You'd also need to prepare more supplies. Less likely to be stolen at that. Also. No Tornadoes to worry about." he joked.

[vancexentan]

Gerald scoffed and smirked at the comment made by Cassius uninterested in his rather sad rebuttal.

"But why pray tell would an assassin target us? And what do we fear from bandits or spirits with such a large group. Besides Inquisition forces may be encountered on the way and they could help us as opposed to hoping we don't run into darkspawn. Bandits and highway men are fodder unless they're remnants of the mages or templar rebels. Fodder we can kill with ease. If we go along to Starkhaven then we will be going along the highway most likely. We can gather supplies from passing merchants. I'm not saying I don't trust the warden efforts. BUT I do question how much they really did do and how effective it truly has been. King Cailin thought his men could clear out the darkspawn at Ostagar and now he's dead. An army led by Loghain Mac Tir a hero and veteran. If that man saw little chance in the wardens with an army at their backs I see little reason to see how successful they were without one. I say take the route more traveled and hope we get a profit in Starkhaven if not we can at least make a name for ourselves there more so than Kirkwall which stands in The Champion's shadow. In the end I doubt we will find anything else than a quicker travel pattern and danger. If the wardens cleared out them so thoroughly anything seen as remotely valuable would need be in the hands of the infamous Legion of the Dead who actively helps them. I see little gain outside a possibly quicker travel path through the deep roads to Starkhaven...or Kirkwall..."

[SimplyJohn]

Listening to them talk Martin plucked his pipe from his mouth and bent forwards with a moan. His age was getting to him and all this resting and shifting around was making his bones ache. "Remember boys, it's just as dangerous on the surface with the bandits, wild beasts and pox-filled whores as it is down in those tunnels. At least down there you know you're sticking your knackers in a blender, rather than only finding out when the pus starts to seep."

As he spoke he shifted in his seat slightly, his hand tugging at his codpiece as the unpleasant memory of a dwarven nurse looking up at him with amusement in her eyes as she applied the hot coals to places hot coals should never be applied.

"As for others from the Inquisition, most are back in Orlais and Ferelden right now. I wouldn't be relying too much on their help unless we send riders out to fetch them."

[CAS1006]

"Is it me... or do I hear whining?" Cassius put his ear out in a rather mocking display.

"Fodder? Ugh huh...ugh huh... Arrogant I see and a narcissist... got it. Not wanting to find lost materials an alchemist or a Smith could use... check." He rebutted.

[booksmusicanime]

"Though how much I despise the underground the Deep Roads is a good choice. Wouldn't it be a short travel time if we took the Deep Roads?" Lian asked sitting forward and resting her chin on her fist. Her gaze was still focused on the fire, except for the occasional glances up at the rest of the group. "I put my vote towards the Deep Roads." She said with little enthusiasm in her voice.

[SimplyJohn]

"Though how much I despise the underground the Deep Roads is a good choice. Wouldn't it be a short travel time if we took the Deep Roads?"

@booksmusicanime

"It would take nine weeks of walking to get us to Starkhaven from here. The Deep Roads would take only three, although we'd still have to come out onto the surface to get around the blockage the Wardens set up over that old thaig they made off-limits." Martin replied, not even bothering to look up as he puffed on his pipe.

[Adorabadass]

Fredrick looked at Martin, and blinked.

"Fucking EW? PUS? Martin, for the love of all that I holy, righteous and just in the world, I think that image may never fucking leave my head. Now whenever I'm woth a guy I like, I'm just gonna have that gross fucking image in my head. Waiting. Watching."

Fredrick listened to his companions, and rolled his eyes at the mages. Maker himself, they were little bitches. Freddy was a bit of a bitch himself, but at least he admitted it.

"As much as I hate the underground as well, I actually gotta side with my fellow elf here. Seems like, unlike our squabbling mages over there, she has a good fucking head on her shoulders."

Fredrick paused, and looked at Lian, "For the love of thr Maker, though, speak up. I don't know if you've faced a bunch of human oppression or some shit like that, but let me just promise you here that if anyone gives you shit for being an elf I'll knife their ears just for the fucking irony of it."

Fredrick was, truthfully, culturally quite human. However, he remembered facing discrimination many times in the past for his race. He felt any kind of discrimination was just sick.

[vancexentan]

Seeing how the conversation was going he threw up his hands and decided any words more would be a waste of time. Or the lack these fools had left. He at least would make it out alive with his strong set of skills he could deal what was down there. His 'comrades' didn't understand the full depth of the things they were asking for. Idiots. All of them. Every single one of them. Darkspawn being the least of the things down there. Hopefully, Maker willing, they won't run into red lyrium. The second he did he'd watch the idiots and if they slipped up they'd burn alive.

[Genni]

"If the wardens cleared out them so thoroughly anything seen as remotely valuable would need be in the hands of the infamous Legion of the Dead who actively helps them. I see little gain outside a possibly quicker travel path through the deep roads to Starkhaven...or Kirkwall..."

@vancexentan

"The Legion won't be of much help this far from Orzammar, but we may run into some of those new Golems I've been hearing about." Henrietta mumbled without looking up from her dissection of her dinner.

Suddenly, as if hit by lightning 'Etta's head snapped up, eyes wide and glistening with excitement as she threw the gutted fish carcass aside. "Yes! Golems..." She said, almost drooling with anticipation, "The Deep Roads sound like a great idea. Perhaps we could search out for a patrol, or set a trap for one... _{no, not a trap, that would give a bad first impression and I'd prefer to examine a golem before they get smashed apart by Paxton...} some sort of lure then, or an enticement..."

Reaching into her nearby pack the artificer pulled out a large sketchpad and drawing tools and began to scribble notes and plans, making calculations and measurements at a frenzied pace, muttering to herself wildly all the time. "...frostbark tincture? _{No, would cause too much friction on the nipples...} Ahh... dragonvines..."

[McHaggis]

.

[booksmusicanime]

@Adorabadass
Lian shot him a glare. "I can be quiet if I want to." She snapped at him before she looked back at the fire. She wasn't in the mood to talk, being stuck on a boat with them had frayed her normal calmness. She sat up straight and took a deep breath.

[CAS1006]

Cassius ignored the others before walking over to Lian.
"Something troubling you...?" He whispered trying to take into the consideration of others based on feeling and less risk of killing his companions.

Something about her seemed like she dislike others. Perhaps it with just ol'One arm,to even just emotional duress, but this was just based on his observation. "I won't pry if you don't want me to. But I rather know concerns of who I'm working with."
He sat down next to her seeing as two people out of the group saw him as sketchy. But he could hardly blame them either.

[Genni]

"Nug crap!" Henrietta called out suddenly, waving her stylus in the air for a moment and glancing around at the others with a smile on her face, as though she was expecting them to understand exactly what she was talking about. A moment later her eyes glazed over again and her face melted back into a dumbfounded expression for a second before with a smile she went back to scribbling erratically all over her sketchpad.

"Hmm... I may need to add a stabilising agent to the mixture as well..? Deep mushrooms perhaps... _{no, that'd make it glow too much...} Deepstalker jizz... hmm, might work, but getting it would be messy and it took forever to clean that stuff off my gloves the last time..."

[McHaggis]

.

[Genni]

Looking up with a cheery grin, her hand still scribbling away unbidden in her lap, Henrietta looked back and forth for a moment before finally zeroing in on Marcellus, her magnifying eyepiece turning in his direction. "I'm designing a Golem Enticement Device for when we get down into the Deep Roads. It should be able to lure a golem in and keep them enthralled by the lure until I've had a chance to dissec... thoroughly examine it."

Suddenly her hands pulling the sketchpad up, letting Marcellus see the scrawled notes, chemical formulae and mad mess of spirals and geometric shapes which seemed to form the shape of a peeing mabari, or if you turned your head to the side and squinted a little Admiral Isabela wearing only an eyepatch and a carefully placed mandolin.

"The only problem is, I have no idea what a golem may find enticing enough to be caught in wonder at the sight of it. Perhaps I should perform a study of some kind before trying to capture one, then I'd be able to learn what they'd like... _{hmm, but that would mean I'd need to capture one to study first...} We should try to search out a patrol while we're in the Deep Roads, or set a trap for one... _{no, not a trap, that would give a bad first impression and I'd need the golem alive, not blown apart by Cassius...} some sort of lure then, or an enticement..."

Dropping the pad back onto the lap the busy dwarf was away again her hands and eyes leaping from one clear space on the page to another as she sketched, scribbled and annotated the diagram with even more gibberish.

[McHaggis]

.

[Saarebas]

"Oh the Deep Roads are suppose to be lovely this time of year. Dark, dank, with a slim chance of death here and there. The three Ds every adventurer should look for." Paxton said with a slight chuckle as he addressed the group's idea of using the infamous underground passageways.

He looked over to young mage of the group, poor boy always found the need to isolate himself from everyone else in the company. Paxton gave a slight nod to the boy's claims about the dangers of the roads. "Course the Deep Roads are dangerous, only a blighter would think otherwise. Darkspawn, old Dwarven traps, and all manor of mean little creators that would love to make dinner out of our collective hides. He said, raising a finger as he listed the possible things that could end the group's journeys prematurely. "But if my memory isn't failing me in my old age the surface isn't fairing to well these days." He added as he scratched his beard. "Maker only knows how long until another giant hole into the Fade opens up in the sky and starts spewing out demons again. Best we take the dangers we do know we will have and get to Starkhaven while there is still a Starkhaven to get to. Paxton said before quickly putting in. "Though if it was up to me I would so much rather ride a griffon there, but what are the odds of finding one of those?"

Paxton's attention was soon drawn to the group's slightly scatter brained Dwarf and her seeming fascination with golems. "Golems... those poor bastards..." A slight shiver could be seen going through Paxton as he said this. "Heard that a bit of those unlucky sods were forced into becoming those... things. I have to say, that sounds like a rather rough way to go, trapped in a body of stone and steel." He said in a rather sympathetic tone, his attention focused in on the group's campfire.

[Genni]

“For the 'enticement' part, couldn't you use – I dunno – one of us as bait?”

@McHaggis

"No, golems are inorganic and don't need to eat..." Henrietta mumbled as she shook her head, her eyes never leaving the sketchpad. "What we'd really need would be some of that red lyrium, that would make a very effective lure. Its mineral composition would make a tasty treat for the creature, while its magical properties would be able to subdue its soul while I conducted my assessment.

"Also I've always liked the colour red," The dwarf continued with a soft sigh, "It reminds me of my first girlfriend... _{she made such a pretty pattern on the ceiling after the accident...}"

[booksmusicanime]

@CAS1006
"Nothing's wrong." Lian said quietly, she didn't bother to look at Cassius. Though it wasn't true. Her bad leg was throbbing and a small headache had set in. She was also lost in though, thinking of her life back with her clan. The life she had left behind to travel and make money.

[CAS1006]

"I don't believe that." He shook his head at the Dalish.
"If I had to make an observation, you look like you're in pain. Your eyes wonder as you speak, meaning you're not saying everything, or avoiding the point. Your posture suggest you may be stretching your legs even if not too much." He took note of how she said with her legs being forward.

"That, or I am wrong and you are just uncomfortable. Possibly still just keeping the muscles from tensing." He smirked a bit.
"Sorry if I seem... nosy. It is just you seem more intelligent then most others... Just an air about you I suppose." He whispered.
He offered her cake from his satchel that he had on his back that hung from his waist; It was a rather nice leather one at that.

The cake itself seemed like one that is almost the quality of what would be seen at a bakery. It even had a sweet sent to it, as well as the frosting.

What could be noted was how organized the belongings were in the satchel, he had things in small iron air tight container, which wasn't uncommon among hunters. "At least accept this as a peace offering. If it was poisonous, I would not have been eating as much of it as I do." He chuckled.