The encampment the Inquisition had set up in the area amounted to little more than a small cluster of tents, but they had to make do with it for now. After this Pike fellow's rather timely disappearance, they'd set the professional scouts on his trail. Cyrus had little doubt Lia and Captain Riviera would be able to figure out where he went—he didn't seem to be the particularly cautious type. It was almost disappointing he wasn't also a Magister; the motherland seemed to be doing such a good job of convincing everyone else of its congenital wickedness lately.
Adjusting the scarf he'd wound about his head for protection, Cyrus squinted out at the red sand of the desert. It was nothing nearly so unbearably hot as Seheron, a place he'd been only once and never planned to visit again, but it was certainly almost as arid. He sat at the entrance of the tent he'd borrowed, legs crossed beneath him. He could hear Stellulam moving around a bit behind him; perhaps the Warden had finished treating the injury to her arm. Nostariel was quite a talented healer; Cyrus wasn't sure he'd ever met a better one, actually. He'd never had more than the barest knack for it himself. Perhaps it had something to do with personality.
After a few minutes, as the sun was beginning to bathe the sand with an orange glow the sound of horse hooves thumping drew nearer, and the pair of scouts returned. Lia dismounted first, pulling back her hood and running gloved hands through her hair. She looked frustrated, or perhaps just a little disappointed.
She led her horse to the small supply of water they had with them, offering the mount a very welcome drink. Patting her twice on the neck, she then turned and approached Cyrus, glancing around him towards the tents. "How's Stel doing?"
“Well enough. Her mark stabilized itself after the disruption stopped. It was more painful than actually injurious, and the Warden has taken care of the rest." He frowned slightly when he said it, draping his arms over his knees. While everything he'd told her was true, that didn't necessarily mean it should be. After a destabilization of that magnitude, he'd expected to be trying to fix the mark himself for the better part of the afternoon. While he hated to admit it, it wasn't something he fully understood, and Cyrus had been... concerned. That he might not be able to fully compensate for the damage.
But either it had miraculously repaired itself, or... Estella had done so. Most likely unconsciously, since she didn't seem to understand why it was so strange that she hadn't suffered much worse damage. It gave him a lot to think about, but those thoughts were perhaps best saved for another time.
“Did you manage to locate the trail of our little mad friend and his deluded Warden compatriots?" The expression on her face did not suggest complete success, but he doubted very much that she'd returned without any news at all.
"We did," she answered, nodding uneasily. "They went west. We followed for as long as we could, but the trail led to a fortress. It's very old, but well defended. The construction looked dwarven."
"That would be Adamant Fortress, I think," Vesryn cut in. He was finally out of his armor and looking more comfortable now, though he too had a heavy scarf loosely wrapped around his neck to ward against the blowing sand. "Very dark walls, right?"
"Yeah. The Grey Wardens are there in force. We didn't encounter any more search parties on our way, either. I think they all pulled back within the walls. Getting inside will be tough, and I'm not sure what we can accomplish if we do make it in." She shrugged. "Maybe the Wardens will listen to reason if we approach in peace?"
"Considering their reactions to everything thus far, I don't think reason is their greatest strength right now." Vesryn glanced back to where the Warden Nostariel was continuing to work. No doubt they could overhear them. "No offense, Warden, but your Order seems to have gone mad."
“None taken." Her expression was grim. She was mostly idling time at the moment, it seemed, tidying the spare supplies she'd brought along with her. She'd long since finished treating what few injuries there were, and seemed to be a little unsure of what to do with herself. Perhaps so much time constantly on the run had made inactivity rare enough that it was now uncomfortable—Cyrus couldn't claim to know. “But I can almost understand, truthfully. I've no plans to participate in any blood magic rituals, but if I knew a way to make the Calling stop..." She lifted her shoulders slightly and grimaced.
“For whatever my estimation of the situation is worth to you, I suspect you will have to seize the fortress. Once you're there, some might be convinced to take your side. Not everyone was equally comfortable with Clarel's plan."
“Then I think it might be best if we develop a strategy for that," Estella put in, rotating her shoulder on the formerly-injured side. “There was a smaller fortress somewhere here in the Approach, right? If we can use that, we might be able to stage ourselves better if it does become a siege..." She seemed far from enthused by the prospect, but grudgingly convinced that it may turn out to be necessary. Flexing the hand with the mark on it, she peered at the green light there for a moment before raising her eyes to the others.
“You weren't able to get that far out earlier, right? Any idea if it's occupied?" Likely if anyone was in it at all, they'd be bandits or suchlike.
"Well considering Pike is here, I doubt Corypheus would send only one man into the whole of the Western Approach," Ashton said, brushing the sand out of his hair. From the canteens in his hand, he had just returned from refilling them after he and Lia had arrived. He held one out for her to take, "If the Venatori were to hole up anywhere in this damn desert, that keep would be it," he said, glancing at Lia as he spoke, "We also saw these weird lights in the keep's direction on the way back, my guess would be magic." With that he took a sip from his canteen.
"Blood magic, it always makes things better. Almost reminds me of home," he said with a deep frown and a shake of his head.
“While we might be able to get away with a straightforward frontal assault, I do think it would be better to find some other way in." Cyrus did not doubt that the firepower in this little group was extraordinarily formidable, but that was no reason to be stupid from a strategic point of view. “If we can find such a way, we might want to set up a distraction so that the rest of us can take advantage." It would certainly be a great deal easier to wipe a squad of Venatori off the map if they could do it with the element of surprise on their side.
“There are an awful lot of caverns under the sand, it seems like," Estella said, settling herself down next to him and bracing her elbows on her knees. “Maybe one of them leads us where we need to go?"
"Um?" came a mousy voice from behind them. However, the tall silhouette that it cast only belonged to Asala. "Did... you mention strange lights?" she asked. Ashton turned his attention toward her and nodded. She then stepped into view and a for a moment seemed unsure with so many new eyes focused on her, though as always she still managed to continue to speak. "I believe that those light are uh, indicative of magical defenses," she said, raising her own hand which was awash in light itself.
She furrowed her brow for a moment and nodded, "I would believe that they are protecting... something," she said, glancing to Estella this time. "A vulnerability," she added, her tone in agreement with Estella's observation.
"So we find a way in," Vesryn said, arms crossed. "Then what? Kill them all? I'd rather not get ourselves surrounded by Venatori. We do have some numbers at our disposal though, most of them skirmishers. I say we split groups. Our Kirkwall natives here," he looked at Nostariel, Ashton, and Lia, "lead the scouts in a ranged attack from outside. Draw their attention, pick a few off. Meanwhile the rest of us find our way inside, and hit them from within while they're distracted." He shrugged. "If they sally out and attack our scouts in force, just pull back. We'll take the fort from behind them."
"The darkness and the lack of Wardens around should help us scout the area now," Lia said. "We'll make sure there's another way in before we commit to anything."
“Well, supposing there is, I think we have ourselves a plan." Cyrus arched his brows and shrugged. “We don't have long left before dark, so I suggest we prepare. Asala, if you'd like to come with me, we're going to talk about magical siege defenses a bit." He stood, brushing sand off his trousers and the back of his tunic, and tilted his head towards the southern exit from the campsite. They'd need space to practice, after all.
Adjusting the scarf he'd wound about his head for protection, Cyrus squinted out at the red sand of the desert. It was nothing nearly so unbearably hot as Seheron, a place he'd been only once and never planned to visit again, but it was certainly almost as arid. He sat at the entrance of the tent he'd borrowed, legs crossed beneath him. He could hear Stellulam moving around a bit behind him; perhaps the Warden had finished treating the injury to her arm. Nostariel was quite a talented healer; Cyrus wasn't sure he'd ever met a better one, actually. He'd never had more than the barest knack for it himself. Perhaps it had something to do with personality.
After a few minutes, as the sun was beginning to bathe the sand with an orange glow the sound of horse hooves thumping drew nearer, and the pair of scouts returned. Lia dismounted first, pulling back her hood and running gloved hands through her hair. She looked frustrated, or perhaps just a little disappointed.
She led her horse to the small supply of water they had with them, offering the mount a very welcome drink. Patting her twice on the neck, she then turned and approached Cyrus, glancing around him towards the tents. "How's Stel doing?"
“Well enough. Her mark stabilized itself after the disruption stopped. It was more painful than actually injurious, and the Warden has taken care of the rest." He frowned slightly when he said it, draping his arms over his knees. While everything he'd told her was true, that didn't necessarily mean it should be. After a destabilization of that magnitude, he'd expected to be trying to fix the mark himself for the better part of the afternoon. While he hated to admit it, it wasn't something he fully understood, and Cyrus had been... concerned. That he might not be able to fully compensate for the damage.
But either it had miraculously repaired itself, or... Estella had done so. Most likely unconsciously, since she didn't seem to understand why it was so strange that she hadn't suffered much worse damage. It gave him a lot to think about, but those thoughts were perhaps best saved for another time.
“Did you manage to locate the trail of our little mad friend and his deluded Warden compatriots?" The expression on her face did not suggest complete success, but he doubted very much that she'd returned without any news at all.
"We did," she answered, nodding uneasily. "They went west. We followed for as long as we could, but the trail led to a fortress. It's very old, but well defended. The construction looked dwarven."
"That would be Adamant Fortress, I think," Vesryn cut in. He was finally out of his armor and looking more comfortable now, though he too had a heavy scarf loosely wrapped around his neck to ward against the blowing sand. "Very dark walls, right?"
"Yeah. The Grey Wardens are there in force. We didn't encounter any more search parties on our way, either. I think they all pulled back within the walls. Getting inside will be tough, and I'm not sure what we can accomplish if we do make it in." She shrugged. "Maybe the Wardens will listen to reason if we approach in peace?"
"Considering their reactions to everything thus far, I don't think reason is their greatest strength right now." Vesryn glanced back to where the Warden Nostariel was continuing to work. No doubt they could overhear them. "No offense, Warden, but your Order seems to have gone mad."
“None taken." Her expression was grim. She was mostly idling time at the moment, it seemed, tidying the spare supplies she'd brought along with her. She'd long since finished treating what few injuries there were, and seemed to be a little unsure of what to do with herself. Perhaps so much time constantly on the run had made inactivity rare enough that it was now uncomfortable—Cyrus couldn't claim to know. “But I can almost understand, truthfully. I've no plans to participate in any blood magic rituals, but if I knew a way to make the Calling stop..." She lifted her shoulders slightly and grimaced.
“For whatever my estimation of the situation is worth to you, I suspect you will have to seize the fortress. Once you're there, some might be convinced to take your side. Not everyone was equally comfortable with Clarel's plan."
“Then I think it might be best if we develop a strategy for that," Estella put in, rotating her shoulder on the formerly-injured side. “There was a smaller fortress somewhere here in the Approach, right? If we can use that, we might be able to stage ourselves better if it does become a siege..." She seemed far from enthused by the prospect, but grudgingly convinced that it may turn out to be necessary. Flexing the hand with the mark on it, she peered at the green light there for a moment before raising her eyes to the others.
“You weren't able to get that far out earlier, right? Any idea if it's occupied?" Likely if anyone was in it at all, they'd be bandits or suchlike.
"Well considering Pike is here, I doubt Corypheus would send only one man into the whole of the Western Approach," Ashton said, brushing the sand out of his hair. From the canteens in his hand, he had just returned from refilling them after he and Lia had arrived. He held one out for her to take, "If the Venatori were to hole up anywhere in this damn desert, that keep would be it," he said, glancing at Lia as he spoke, "We also saw these weird lights in the keep's direction on the way back, my guess would be magic." With that he took a sip from his canteen.
"Blood magic, it always makes things better. Almost reminds me of home," he said with a deep frown and a shake of his head.
“While we might be able to get away with a straightforward frontal assault, I do think it would be better to find some other way in." Cyrus did not doubt that the firepower in this little group was extraordinarily formidable, but that was no reason to be stupid from a strategic point of view. “If we can find such a way, we might want to set up a distraction so that the rest of us can take advantage." It would certainly be a great deal easier to wipe a squad of Venatori off the map if they could do it with the element of surprise on their side.
“There are an awful lot of caverns under the sand, it seems like," Estella said, settling herself down next to him and bracing her elbows on her knees. “Maybe one of them leads us where we need to go?"
"Um?" came a mousy voice from behind them. However, the tall silhouette that it cast only belonged to Asala. "Did... you mention strange lights?" she asked. Ashton turned his attention toward her and nodded. She then stepped into view and a for a moment seemed unsure with so many new eyes focused on her, though as always she still managed to continue to speak. "I believe that those light are uh, indicative of magical defenses," she said, raising her own hand which was awash in light itself.
She furrowed her brow for a moment and nodded, "I would believe that they are protecting... something," she said, glancing to Estella this time. "A vulnerability," she added, her tone in agreement with Estella's observation.
"So we find a way in," Vesryn said, arms crossed. "Then what? Kill them all? I'd rather not get ourselves surrounded by Venatori. We do have some numbers at our disposal though, most of them skirmishers. I say we split groups. Our Kirkwall natives here," he looked at Nostariel, Ashton, and Lia, "lead the scouts in a ranged attack from outside. Draw their attention, pick a few off. Meanwhile the rest of us find our way inside, and hit them from within while they're distracted." He shrugged. "If they sally out and attack our scouts in force, just pull back. We'll take the fort from behind them."
"The darkness and the lack of Wardens around should help us scout the area now," Lia said. "We'll make sure there's another way in before we commit to anything."
“Well, supposing there is, I think we have ourselves a plan." Cyrus arched his brows and shrugged. “We don't have long left before dark, so I suggest we prepare. Asala, if you'd like to come with me, we're going to talk about magical siege defenses a bit." He stood, brushing sand off his trousers and the back of his tunic, and tilted his head towards the southern exit from the campsite. They'd need space to practice, after all.