katabasis: (he was going to attack)
ƬƠƬƛԼԼƳ ƇƠƊЄƤЄƝƊЄƝƬ ƑԼƖƝƬ ([personal profile] katabasis) wrote in [community profile] faderift2022-07-07 06:59 am

CLOSED: My How the Turns Tables

WHO: Ellis, Richard v1.0, Glimmer, Abby, Edgard, Vanya, Richard v2.0, Fenris
WHAT: Riftwatch agents raid a Venatori survey encampment with the intent to capture a researcher or two in the hopes that they'll be able to glean information regarding Corypheus' plans for the Gates.
WHEN: Now-ish; whenever that makes sense.
WHERE: Northwest of Starkhaven, the Free Marches
NOTES:
OOC information is available HERE at the sign-ups post. The objective/points pool spreadsheet with relevant instructions is located HERE and should be open to editing. Please include any necessary content warnings in your subject lines.


THE BRIEF
In addition to a mercilessly succinct in-person briefing, a copy of the following orders are also filed:
For Immediate Dispatch,

Selected members of Forces and Project Sashamiri are to proceed by griffon-back to the last known location of the Venatori survey group. Rough coordinates provided, may be readily corroborated by Fenris and Abby. You are to seek out their current position, and assess from a reasonable vantage the details and current state of their work.

Once your evaluation is complete, you are to make your way into the camp and there capture as many Venatori scholars (or similar) as you're able. Destruction of Venatori forces, equipment, and interests is preferable where possible.* Should it prove tactically advantageous, those with anchors are permitted to open rifts and are given license to leave them unsealed should closing them in relative security be implausible.
*In the margin, in Julius’s handwriting: In the case of any notes or diagrams, acquisition would be even better, but of course if there’s any doubt of success, destruction is a viable secondary option.
Captured Venatori agents are to be pressed for information relating to the Gates, including but not limited to: Corypheus' intentions, their number, their function, how they are activated, and suspected locations. Once their intelligence has been exhausted, you are given leave to tend to any captives in such a way as you believe befits their continued value to Riftwatch or her allies.

-J. Flint
If you do open any rifts and notice any odd phenomenon, please do try to remember to jot down any useful observations when you get a chance. Likewise, if you see any strange artifacts and are not able to retrieve them, notes (or sketches?) of them would be very much appreciated. Good luck.

- Julius

THE RAID
The targeted Venatori encampment is pitched in a scrubby, lightly wooded area above a ravine located Northwest of Starkhaven. The camp, which consists of the usual pitched tents and pack animal picket lines, seems to be the base of operations for an minor excavation effort occuring in the ravine itself. Careful observation, stealthy investigation, or the general chaos of the melee may reveal the following details:
  • The camp sits alongside around a roughly built dam which is currently serving to divert the flow of a very minor tributary of the Minanter from the ravine into a muddy man-made spillway. This seems to have been done in order to lower the water level in the ravine and allow the researchers access to a small ruin there.
  • Based on the state of the work in the ravine and the activity of the camp, it seems the researchers are primarily focused on recovering artifacts from the dig site. The spillway channel is being used to sift through materials brought up from the ravine. Trays of cleaned material are arranged on portable work tables under canopies, and a small collection of either field researchers or enslaved labor (hard to say which) are studiously picking through them.
  • The camp's inhabitants consist primarily of Tevinter researchers (which may or may not be mages), some nondescript labor force (which may or may not be enslaved), and a subset of well-armed Tevinter soldiers (which also may or may not be mages and/or enslaved). There are enough people around that a straightforward assault into and out of the camp seems unlikely, but they're scattered enough between the various points of interest that diversions or stealth may be fruitful.
  • During the day, the camp's inhabitants are scattered between their various work stations. At night, everyone beds down in their various tents or on bed rolls around low fires excepting the soldiers, who keep a watch rotation over the camp, and two bored sentries armed with signal horns posted at the ravine dig.
  • The draft animals on the perimeter picket line consist mostly of stocky mules, fuzzy Free Marches horses, and two beefy druffalo. A fancy dracolisk is picketed separately within the camp itself.
Now comes the hard part.
armd: (braids)

[personal profile] armd 2022-07-13 09:09 am (UTC)(link)
You stick to them, sure, but if an opportunity presents itself... well. You take it.

Abby has her eye on one of the sentry. He's lingering away from the camp, trudging along his sightlines and miles away, figuratively speaking. She could probably get up behind him and take him out, if he stopped to stare in one direction for long enough. And if some kind of noise distracted him from the sound of footsteps creeping up...

She presses her elbow gently into Glimmer's arm, and motions to him with her chin. And then she clicks her knuckles, in clear indication.
sparklequeen: (047 » Don't need fame)

[personal profile] sparklequeen 2022-07-13 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Glimmer tenses a little as Abby nudges her, then nods and scoots a little away from Abby's side. Biting her lip, she picks up a dry twig and carefully, deliberately snaps it with a faint, distinct, 'crack.' The sentry tenses and steps away from his patrol, scanning the darkness as he closes in on Glimmer's position.

Which gives Abby the chance she needs, of course.
armd: (feral)

cw murder

[personal profile] armd 2022-07-18 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
Perfect, thank you Glimmer.

Abby waits, holding so still she's barely breathing in– and then she gets her shot when he turns and starts to walk away from his path. She lunges up out of the darkness in an instant to grab and squeeze her arm across his neck, holding tight to keep the air jammed in his windpipe.

He splutters brokenly and grabs at her, scrabbling, but he's far too late. Abby twists, and jerks his head in the crook of her arm with brutal force. There is the unmistakable, terrible crunch of a neck snapping– and she lowers his limp body toward the ground, letting him slither lifelessly out of her grip.

Silence.

Abby's panting. She waits for a beat or two even though he is most definitely dead (habit), before she signals to Glimmer, jerking her head back toward the trees.

Regroup, real quick-
heorte: (rm00323 (2))

an npc appears, free for all murder brawl in this thread

[personal profile] heorte 2022-07-18 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Fortunately, neither of the sentries were expecting danger on this quiet evening. The leisurely route taken by the wayward soldier leaves plenty of time for Abby and Glimmer to make their retreat into the darkness of the trees.

This sentry is easily marked, not only by the crunch of boots on the newly-worn in path, but by the whistling echoing out of his helmet.

It is also likely very clear at which point he catches sight of his erstwhile partner on the ground, because the whistling abruptly ceases. There is a gasp in the dark, and then—

The sonorous bray of the signal horn, over and over again as the remaining sentry draws his sword.

Distantly, the answering clatter and shouting and scraping of approaching forces carries down to them.

Distraction: successful.
sparklequeen: (016 » Tell me why do I keep trying)

Re: an npc appears, free for all murder brawl in this thread

[personal profile] sparklequeen 2022-07-19 03:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Glimmer scrambles back into the darkness of the trees. A year ago, she might have still been shocked by the sudden violence. Now... now it feels almost normal. She's killed people herself, though not the way that Abby has. She shuffles herself closer to Abby in the darkness as the alarm is sounded, whispers.

"Well, we got their attention."
armd: (green green)

[personal profile] armd 2022-07-21 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"No shit."

In the heat of the moment it doesn't occur to her that she just murdered somebody, violently, in front of Glimmer for the first time- a real person, not a skeleton, or a dead body come back to life. Later she'll realise but for now she's holding very still in the undergrowth next to her, heart clanging with adrenaline.

At least she isn't scared. All of this feels grimly familiar, actually.

Well, they've blown this wide open-

"Draw them into the woods if you can." It'll be harder to get surrounded. Abby's got her mace, and her shard is buzzing in her palm- she releases a shot of green light at a soldier charging up over the path, and catches him full in the chest. It makes him stagger.

Not bad, huh. She's got her own sparkles now!
heorte: (rm00034 (2))

[personal profile] heorte 2022-07-23 06:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Behind that soldier are more, thundering along behind them. This is not a surprise. They'd all seen the sheer numbers involved in this operation; the amount of Imperial soldiers answering that horn (still braying, louder and more insistent, even as reinforcements arrive) is about what they had anticipated.

And to the point: it is what they want, which is why Ellis doesn't move to strike down the sentry and his horn.

"Remember the plan!" is what Ellis does shout.

Because if they do scatter, it will leave Richard and his newly arrived fellow alone in that camp. Good enough for the moment, while they thin the numbers, but they'll need back up of their own eventually. Even if only to account for hostages and securing whatever artifacts and information they've found.

"Abby, again!" is the second instruction, as Ellis plunges from the bushes to meet the first brace of soldiers. "At anyone with a stave!"

Yes, the first unlucky soldier crumples like an accordion under the force of Ellis' mace, but there is no reason to believe they're all simple, armored soldiers. Mages are among them, and Ellis can do less against someone capable of throwing fire at him.
sparklequeen: (007 » There's a storm coming through)

[personal profile] sparklequeen 2022-07-23 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Though the instruction was for Abby, Glimmer is already pushing herself up from her prone position to summon forth a blast of light and energy that explodes amongst the oncoming Imperial soldiers, sending several sprawling and at least one screaming in pain as skin and flesh is burned by the burst of light that breaks the darkness and leaves more of them dazzled. All the better to attract attention and leave them unsure about what's happening, right?

"Move to the left!" She shouts to no one, trying to give the impression of greater numbers than the ambush really has. A burst of sparkling light follows as she teleports to a new position and then levels another burst from her staff at one of the stave wielding Imperials that sends him flying.

"Got one!"
armd: (big punch. huge)

[personal profile] armd 2022-07-28 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Good thing Glimmer can aim because Abby sure can't. When she fires into the crowd she hits people carrying swords as much as she does those with staves. She's not even concentrating, really, she's just- doing it. Keeping them under pressure? Covering for Ellis. The energy takes a while to charge back up and it takes her a moment or two to realise it's tiring her out the more she uses it.

So that's out. Under the cover of Glimmer's shout, she moves right, and lunges out of the brush at a mage who has turned to aim at Ellis.

Oh fuck, there's a lot of them in this area all of a sudden-

A sword edge slams into her, missing the gap between armor plates by inches. Abby nearly goes over from the force of the blow, ears ringing from the sound, her braid whipping as she turns her head to retaliate with a shout.