Inquisition's Placeholder of Glory

[avisionofhawke]

Or, the post from which we shall dangle the actual thread.

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[cattymage]

"Ah, Aisling...? Was the sky that green last you looked? Because it wasn't, last time I did."

[avisionofhawke]

"Andraste's pearly ass, what is that?" the rogue asked, unsettled.

[cattymage]

"Looks Fadey," he commented, stopping in place now that he'd gotten Hawke to look. "Feels Fadey. Kind of hurts to look at too long."

Not making any motions to look away yet, though, because he would really like to figure out what the fuck?

[avisionofhawke]

"Whatever it is, it doesn't look friendly," Hawke murmured half to herself. "Bloody Void...! We should probably hurry back to Kirkwall while we can..."

[cattymage]

He stared a moment, a moment longer, drawn, and then realized that the fucked up Fade cloud was probably a piss poor choice of thing to stare at, considering he felt more off the longer he eyed it.

That settled it, then. He was much more excited to see Kirkwall, especially if it meant roofs between him and that creepy glow-cloud.

Soooo, he'll just grab Aisling's hand and pull her along for once.

"Very, very not friendly," he babbled, rattled. "When we're already on the creepy mountain with the historically damaged Veil, not a good place, not a good place at all--"

[avisionofhawke]

"Yes, time to go," Aisling agreed. "What's the saying? Green sky in morning, sailor's warning? Or something like that."

[cattymage]

"We'll just have to ask Isabela, once we're in nice, safe, Kirkwall," he said, and then cackled in a too-high voice at himself because, nice safe Kirkwall, really, that's a phrase no one ever should have occasion to use.

[avisionofhawke]

One fearful flight down a freakish and horrible mountain later, they had reached a proper vantage point to tell what was going on in Kirkwall.

"Andraste's knickerweasels..." Hawke breathed as she took in the sight.

Even from here, she could see the Starkhaven banner flying proudly at the head of a massive army. A massive army that just happened to be attacking Kirkwall at that moment. It was meeting with resistance, that much was obvious, but for how long?

"Sebastian... What have you done?"

[cattymage]

A beat.

Anders turns right back around.

Aisling honey no

[avisionofhawke]

"Stop," Aisling said as she grabbed his arm. "We still need supplies. We can sneak in, get food, and sneak back out as soon as I've checked on my sister. And possibly rescued her if the Templars aren't looking. Surely an army is enough to distract them, right?"

[cattymage]

The authoritative tone and strong fingers wrapping around his upper arm in a catch-hold sends an electric jolt through his body, a bad one, that shows in the set of his shoulders and the light gasp -- _Hah! that accompanies.

He tosses Aisling a grimace, but she's stopped him effectively enough. He thought about making a go at breaking her grasp, but he's not sure if he puts it past her quite yet not to try the arm-twisting trick if he did.

...Paranoid, he was being paranoid, if he tried to shake the grip she'd probably let go like a normal person. He shoves the unbidden imagery accompanying the what-if from his mind.

"D'you really need me in there for any of that?" he pled. "I can, you know, sit on my hands waiting near the death mountain like a good little apostate, I promise."

[avisionofhawke]

"If that's what you want," Aisling said with a frown, dropping his arm. "I thought maybe you would want some supplies for yourself, but if you're perfectly content to deal with whatever ghouls Sundermount can conjure on your own, by all means. I know I wouldn't want to."

And then she turned and started striding off toward the city. And she wasn't offended at all. No, really, she wasn't. She would go in and she would conduct her business, and she would carry out enough supplies for both of them because dammit, this Anders wasn't nearly as brave as hers, and if she could save Bethany then all the bloody better. In fact, Bethany was a mage she knew would have her back regardless of the situation. Maker's breath, but this Anders was frustrating!

She didn't need help for this.

What was an army, after all?

What were a few Templars?

She would be just bloody fine.

She would.

[cattymage]

...Oh, Maker's breath.

Honestly, he'd expected Aisling to push -- been testing her, if he was being honest, because he was, frankly, very very used to making himself a bloody-minded nuisance whilst getting dragged around. He didn't know what he'd expected, but it wasn't for the woman to throw up her hands and stalk off.

He dithered, watching Aisling's form grow further, taking another long look at the Kirkwall Situation, a glance up at the sky and the mountain -- and as he made up his mind on which of all these things he was going to take his chances on, he started angrily muttering all the myriad words he knew, in several languages, for idiocy.

[avisionofhawke]

And on she marched, still working herself up into a lather because being angry was so much better than being scared.

So what if he had the same face as her lover? He clearly wasn't the same. In fact, he had done a complete one eighty in some ways.

If he didn't want to come, fine. She would take care of it herself.

[cattymage]

For one thing, he wasn't going into Kirkwall while wearing a set of Tevinter-style robes. That would be stupidity of a magnificent new level.

It is after a brush with a far-ranging Starkhaven patrol delays her that he catches up to her - looking morose, out of breath, and wearing commoner's clothes that are surprisingly at home on his frame. His staff is still on his back, but it was never a very ornamented one to start with -- with the blade, it could pass for a spear. Maybe.

Hawke and her friends have gotten away with more brazen appearances, before.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he confessed, before she could get the first word in, and its got a ring to it that says he's already said this to himself a dozen or a hundred dozen times. "Just tell me you know what you're doing?"

[avisionofhawke]

Shock. Pure shock.

Just when she'd worked herself up enough to attack any idiot who looked at her wrong, here he was proving the entire basis of her anger to be false. She didn't know what to do with that.

"Yes, of course. I know some of the best ways in and out, thanks to a few shenanigans in my first year." Her eyes were still flashing, but she was definitely calming down. "What changed your mind?"

[cattymage]

"Dramatic reflections on my motivations can wait," he insisted, not looking her in the eye -- he's really really not excited about being here, at all. "So let's go see if at least one of those little secret ways in isn't compromised, shall we?"

[avisionofhawke]

"Since Sebastian doesn't know even a quarter of them, they should mostly be fine. Don't mind the bloodstains, by the way - they're hundreds of years old... Mostly."

Because yes, they were entering through the sewers, which had once flowed with slave blood in the Tevinters' attempt to weaken the veil. It always drove Justice mad to see it, and Hawke had to admit that it stirred a bit of righteous anger in her as well.

[cattymage]

"Nothing like some grimy old blood to add real character to a place," he chirped falsely, and left I'd know that well enough to die without voice.

[avisionofhawke]

The words might've gone unsaid, but they were heard nonetheless.

"The entrance itself is a little tight, but Varric managed it," she warned as they continued onward. "You won't get stuck. After that, it opens up quite nicely, and I know where a little stockpile of torches is kept. Do you think you can handle it?"

[cattymage]

His throat felt a little dry, but - warning. That was nice! Having warning, excellent!

He threads his fingers through the roots of his hair, starting at the hairline, undoubtedly pulling it looser from the ponytail - not that he had occasion to give a damn. He could fix it easy.

"If I can't, the signal will be," he drops his voice, conspiratorially, "girlish whimpering."

[avisionofhawke]

"Don't let pride get in the way if there's anything I can do to make it easier for you, alright?" Anger had given way to concern and care at this point. "Just say the word."

And now she should really turn around and look for the entrance, because it's not easy to see.

Yep, there. Right by that large, stoney jobber.

With grace rivalling a dancer, Aisling leapt down into the gulley and removed the grate in one fluid motion. She tossed it into a nearby bit of grass with a muffled thud.

[cattymage]

"Hey now, that's what the signal is for," he protested quietly, but Hawke had already moved off to do her Roguey Reflexes thing.

Maker, watching that woman in motion...

Now wasn't the time to be appreciatively awestruck. Now was the time to squeeze through an uncomfortably tight space into a slightly less uncomfortably tight space, and not in any vaguely fun way, either.

Right. On into the breach. He sets his jaw in a mockery of resolve and gets to it.

[avisionofhawke]

Of course, the rogue went in first so he wouldn't have to be alone in there at all. Her lithe form slipped through and she turned to help her lover-not-lover (whatever they were to each other, given the strange circumstances) do the same.

[cattymage]

In this, she actually could be forthrightly helpful! Firstly, he tossed his staff in, because trying to maneuver with that on his back would be senseless -- then he wordlessly reached out a hand to hers, gripped her forearm, and made his way in with her help.