Vigil's Keep

Two wardens who had been sent to scope out reported darkspawn activity had gone missing. They were last seen passing through the Village of Crestwood, heading out to Old Crestwood. The wardens had been missing for a week since then.

Two wardens would be dispatched to find out what happened.
Javier - Rogue (human - Free marcher)
Skaldrin - Warrior (dwarf with Castless branding)

The party would first arrive at the Village of Crestwood to gather information and to sniff out if there was anything else going on.

Two Wardens... and two observers. Selora had wanted to see how the Order functioned and made it known she was willing to be involved in the field. The Warden presence here wasn't so large that two members missing went unnoticed for long. Suggesting that a mage would offer additional advantages in the search, Selora was there and mounted when the search party would set out. The usually dour Lucius even seemed eager to be out of the keep; he was a man of action more than lounging and for whatever flaws he might have, cowardice was not one of them.

Selora was clean, a welcome relief, and had switched out her more formal robes from when she'd met Roderick for a more rugged set of travel robes. It came complete with a hooded cloak to keep the weather at bay as well as the dust from clinging too closely to her clothing. Her staff was set by her saddle, much like a Knight might hold a lance, where it was readily available if attacked.

The previous evening, she'd availed herself to the resources of Vigil's Keep and, with some elfroot she'd found, mixed together some simple healing potions. They wouldn't put a severed limb back on but they'd help stave off death and prevent infection until the afflicted party could seek more intensive care. Her magical healing abilities were limited, unfortunately. Spirit magic was not her strongest suite.

Javier was a fellow who favoured his arrows well enough. The man was the chattier one of the lot, commenting and going on about the birds present as they went along. He was the younger of the two wardens, and seemed rather educated. Although he tended to chatter at a speed at which made his Free Marcher accent sound rather hard to discern if one wasn't used to it.

Skaldrin just grunted along to whatever Javier said, though he didn't seem that bothered by the young fellow's chatter.

Javier would try to engage Selora, or Lucius in talk. "Well the weather's been a good lot since the Inquisitor fixed things and got rid of the draggin. I don't suppose we could stop for a wee lil' drink at Crestwood if we're stopping for information. Would be a good way to gather news too."

Skaldrin snorted at that. "If you're looking for an excuse to drink while on the mission, forget it. The tavern's in the town is still closed and no one's going to be getting anything to drink. Besides, you're a light-weight," the dwarf commented. Javier looked so crestfallen at the news that he was sullen for a while until a partridge flew in front of them.

The village was definitely recovering from the slew of undead that had plagued it. They had been given the Mayor's old house to use as their base as the former wardens had been.

Inside the house, there were the belongings of the missing wardens. Their day packs were gone but several other personal belongings remained including a half finished letter.

The letter detailed their mission, which was to mainly wipe out any remaining darkspawn. Several places were marked all over the map of Crestwood. It wasn't any good because triangulating between them just led to the village itself.

Lucius wasn't the most conversational of men, being more akin to the dwarf, but he held his peace and withheld from appearing in any way irritated. Selora knew the truth behind his mask of composure though as Lucius had been a member of Magister Deracles' personal guard before being given the 'honor' of accompanying an elf to Fereldan. For her part, Selora was perfectly willing to listen to Javier though she didn't offer as much comment so much as nodded her head to much of what he said.

"I'm afraid I'm not much of a drinker." Selora had smiled with a faint bemusement. "If you are a lightweight, then I'm not sure what the next lower category was."

She enjoyed a spot of wine from time to time but by and large preferred to keep her senses sharp. Dangerous things could happen when one's guard was down and demons could take advantage of any weakness to try and possess a careless mage. Selora had seen firsthand what the creation of an abomination looked like and had no desire to witness her own flesh twist and warp so. Did the act completely destroy the mind of the original host or meld the demon and host together into one? She wasn't truly sure and had no plans to find out firsthand.

Finding the missing Wardens belongings was a boon but beyond confirming that they had been there, it told the group little. Selora skimmed over the half finished note, their mission simple enough. Scout for Darkspawn and eliminate them if found. Perhaps it didn't go as well as they'd hoped... or perhaps they'd been waylaid by forces beyond their control or beyond their skill to handle. It was possible there were still demons loose.

"This map is of little use." Selora sighed. "I am not familiar with the area either."

The Fade could hold answers but she didn't possess the lyrium needed to seek in depth within it.

"Javier, Skaldrin, how well do you know Crestwood and your missing peers? It makes sense to me they would move in a circular search pattern looking for Darkspawn camps but I do not know Warden tactics."

Skaldrin mused a little as he observed the belongings, looking towards Selora when she spoke. Javier on the other hand, was busy examining the whole house to figure out if any clues were left behind. Her question gave the dwarf something to think about. Being the senior... well older warden, Javier left most of the thinking to him and talking to him when it came to the more serious matters.

"Well it's usually paired up for the time being, one senior warden with a newer recruit to help replenish our numbers. I'm not familiar with the younger fellow, but Tobias, we served together in the Inquisition. Bookish sort, had a logical mind, not that good of a fighter with his offensive spells but you could always trust one of his barriers," Skaldrin said as he looked towards the map.

"We don't really go... in any way honestly. We go where the Darkspawn are and we know where they are." The taint drew them towards each other... Warden senses tingled when that happened.

Javier's nosing about eventually turned something over.

"Well I dinnae they intend te be out long. There's some left over tea in the teapot that's... gone a bit too characterful for drinking. Tobias once threw a kettle at another recruit for not taking care of the cleaning proper," the Freemarcher said as he continued poking about.

"Found a few of their reports too that they were writing back to the Warden-Commander."

Javier laid out the reports on the table. There was definitely darkspawn activity in the area, although Tobias had detailed the discovery of several new caves that had not been marked by the Inquisition during it's time. Either they showed up recently or were made and the wardens had wanted to inspect more of it. Tobias had speculated that it was unlikely that they occurred naturally and that worried him.

Selora looked over the new evidence then back to Skaldrin. He was the veteran and she was an observer. It was their mission even as she'd lend her magic to its cause. That one of the missing Wardens was a mage struck her interest as well. Her own style was somewhat opposite; her barriers were enough to stop a few blows but her offensive magic was something to behold. Darkspawn and Qunari had this much in common; they were both best well cooked and she was adept at doing so.

"New caves..." She mused. "The mission is yours, Skaldrin. Perhaps your Warden senses will steer us towards wherever your comrades were investigating if there are Darkspawn out here. Otherwise, the new caves seem a logical place to begin our investigation. We know where they've been which may lead us to where they are now."

Skaldrin couldn't help but smirk when the woman mentioned his warden senses.

"I'd go with the new caves... looks to be the best place to start. Either way if its new caves, could be new darkspawn surfacing routes. Best to check them out. Think we'll go with the nearest and use the house as the base. Heck, if we find evidence of them, it'll probably be scorch marks or something from fighting. Either way, we best be prepared for anything. Given they were intending to come back soon, it'll probably be one of the nearer caves."

The wardens gathered a day's supply of materials before picking a location. Once in awhile, Skaldrin would stop their progress, sending the Freemarcher ahead as a scout while he tended to the horses... and his own pony. Javier took to the route lightly, examining some of the trails where he could. Most of it had been muddied by rain or creatures, though he did his best to seek out the missing wardens. There wasn't much evidence despite his extreme scouring of the most direct path. Whatever evidence that the missing wardens had left had been removed by the elements... whether purposefully or deliberately it was hard to tell.

Each time the boy came back with nothing to report until they reached the entrance of the cave. It was a small entrance, probably one that occurred when the rains shifted some rocks. Javier reported only the movements of fennecs and some bears but that was it. Perhaps the most interesting thing was that several metres inside, a torch for veilfire stood at a corner. Whatever flames it held had been extinguished.

"No footprints here Skaldrin, least none of the booted sort. Think Tobias and Annalene didn't come by here. Ground looks dry enough not to be disturbed," Javier reported. "Can't sense anything but could just mean they're dead... we should probably take a look. Might have some baubles of the sort that we can recover for some funds for the Keep."

Skaldrin rolled his eyes at the newer warden but glanced to Selora to assess her comfort. He knew certain elves didn't like caves.

"Veilfire." Selora said mostly to herself. "Rather interesting thing to find out here."

She knew what it was, of course. Perfected by the elves and predating the Tevinter Imperium, it had a myriad of uses. Illuminating, conveying messages... she'd heard there were numerous ruins in the Hinterlands and elsewhere in Fereldan but it was nonetheless exciting to find one herself. She caught the Dwarf looking at her though and tilted her head.

"I'll be quite fine inside there." Selora said. "And if there are darkspawn or other creatures within, a mage may be just what's needed."

Plus she was an elf. It was an elven ruin then some of the magical defenses, if they lingered, might be held off by dint of her blood.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Skaldrin nodded his head and he headed downwards towards the cave.

"Well light it up mam," Skaldrin instructed though he torches, passing it to Javier.
Deeper into the cave, they'd find some human sized footprints, two of them. Javier followed along heading in first. Skaldrin didn't seem too worried, though he held his shield ready if need be. He always was behind the boy, allowing the other to scout first.

"Well I'm be changing me thinking. Two footprints, did a round and came out soon enough. Think the animals must have gotten them away, the footprints that is," Javier said as he reported. "No embers present but it's possible that Tobias didn't use one. Most of the things aren't disturbed, but there's a couple of vases."

Several elven artifacts could be found in them. Predating the Dalish definitely but it did look like the cave had been some sort of small storage. The artifacts would be non-magical in nature, but mostly hunting tools.

If Selora had lit the veilfire, there would be several runes inscribed in ancient Elven on the wall. They seemed to be directions leading them to somewhere in the middle of the Crestwood region. Perhaps a route home for the former users of the cave?

Selora concentrated on the empty torch and funneled her imagination into practical reality. The Fade was where all, save Dwarves, went when dreaming and magic was in its own way the act of bringing a dream to life. There was a minor sensation for those present, no doubt felt before when magic was worked in their presence, of sleepwalking. An ethereal sort of dissonance for only a fraction of a second as the impossible was spun into reality.

As they proceeded inside, she noted the footprints as well. Selora was no tracker but these were recent enough that a blind Nug could have followed them. There wasn't much sign of disturbance aside from a cursory search of some old vases. The elven artifacts were far more interesting; Selora cared little for racial history but they could have insight into magical techniques... no luck, mere hunting tools. Still, they might fetch a price to collectors, and she 'suggested' Lucius gather them. The armored man was all smiles to accommodate her if by smiling one were to mean scowling.

The runes though...

"A moment. Let me study these." She told the Wardens as she looked them over with a keen and interested eye. "It's a map, of sorts. Skaldrin, bring that patrol schedule they drew over here..."

If he obliged, she looked between the runes and the map the Wardens had retrieved in an attempt to correlate where the missing men may have gone. Or, if not, the next ruin that this marker pointed to. If the men were dead, no magic could bring them back. But the mission could still be a great success if they retrieved something of true worth in the search.

Javier would sort out some of the loot with Lucius... he'd glare daggers at the man if the other tried to get his hands on it. Clearly he was claiming it for the use of the wardens! Though he wouldn't tell that to Selora out of fear of being turned into a newt but if the armoured man continued to insist, Javier would be very insistent that he'd handle it.

Skaldrin obliged with the mage's request, bringing the maps over. It would seem that while Tobias may have been a mage, he lacked the ability to read the runes... but several of the new caves spotted corresponded to some of the map. There were a couple more markers that didn't show up on the map. Some where Crestwood and Old Crestwood had been.

Selora raised an eyebrow at Javier's exuberance; there were no Tevinter caravans here to cart the artifacts away before anyone could say naught. They were going back to the same place as everything else, to Vigil's Keep. All the same, it was well worth it to allow him his possessiveness as it was vexing Lucious considerably. The Imperium warrior wore a perpetual scowl to the point where Selora was convinced he'd been born with one. The mage said nothing and instead focused on the task of the map with Skaldrin.

"Hmm. This cave here, here, and here correspond to what's written on the map." She spoke aloud to the dwarf. "There are a few additional markers that didn't appear."

She did her best to note them.

"It doesn't tell us where they went but it gives us more places to look." She looked around the ancient ruin. "I doubt there is little else here to occupy our attentions. Once our compatriots are done shoving eye daggers at one another, we can continue on unless you have some business remaining."

Skaldrin didn't seem to care either way if the Vints helped themselves to some of the artefacts or not. He was more interested in finding the missing Wardens.

Javier meanwhile bantered happily with a cheery smile, all the while pocketing materials left and right while distracting the warrior with hand gestures if he could. It wasn't hard to guess what sort of past he might have before coming to the wardens.

"I think we can try this next spot," he suggested.

Once they were ready to move, Skaldrin sent Javier off first while they waited at a spot as usual.

The boy showed up looking rather grim after a brief bit of scouting. "We got the Carta moving about. Probably stragglers from somewhere I think. They've got a main camp set up at one of the caves and were collecting a couple of things. I'm guessing here but they might know something about Tobias and Analaise."

Skaldrin let out an audible groan when he heard Javier's news. "More dwarves," he grumbled.

Carta... well, that was a conundrum. They might know more about the missing Wardens but it could also be because they were the ones who had murdered them. If the Carta didn't want anyone to know what they were up to out here either then it would definitely turn into a battle. Selora wasn't opposed to killing, sometimes Thedas was better off without certain people in it, like the Qunari.

"They may know more about it." Selora conceded. "It's how willing to share they'll be which is of more concern."

She looked to Skaldrin; his reaction to news of other dwarves had been amusing. There was a story there, perhaps. Or he was an old grumpy ass. She gave it equal odds of either.

"Still, it is an opportunity. If they have any illicit Lyrium on them I may be able to make use of it to search for the Wardens in the Fade as well. Do you believe talking may yield fruit or should we simply incinerate them?"

Skaldrin gave a sigh. He really didn't look that pleased.

"Probably. I suppose as the token dwarf I'll speak to them first. I might even know some of them... and if I do, then it'll go south rather quickly. Used to run with them back down in Ozarmmar," he muttered before he got off his pony, walking towards them. Javier followed along behind, keeping his distance but close enough to head over if his knives were needed, but he seemed to vanish into the shadows, keeping hidden

The Carta stopped their movements when they saw Skaldrin approach, growing wary.

"Not with any force," Skaldrin said as he came close. "Just looking for my fellow Grey Wardens. Have you seen either of them?"

"Maybe," came the helpful answer from one of the gruff fellows.

If Selora and Lucius watched, Javier moved amongst the shadows, slipping past the carta quietly while Skaldrin had their attention.

Skaldrin kept his eyes on the leader as he spoke. "One's a mage, bookish sort, wears sight correcting glasses. Shouldn't be hard to spot. Mages are always easy. Now I don't want any trouble but I'm just looking for my friends."

From the cave entrance, something came flying out to land behind some of the Carta members. It was a mage's staff, with some blood. Skaldrin pounced into action, drawing his sword and slashing at the dwarf he had been talking to. In the back, before one of them could move, a thin red line appeared over his neck as Javier struck.

The rest started to rush towards Skaldrin, weapons drawn. One fired an arrow towards Selora.

Enemy count:

1 bowman dwarf - 1/4 health (Javier's)
1 thug dwarf - 1/2 health (Skaldrin's)
4 dwarves - 1 bowman, 2 assassin, 1 thug - full health

It wasn't the first time someone had tried to kill the elf mage and fortunately, up to this point, they'd all been unsuccessful. She saw the arrow flying towards her and her first spell was a defensive one as she moved towards cover... or crouched lower if there was none in range. Selora focused her mana and that dream-like sensation filled the air again as she erected a barrier. The incoming projectile would have struck her shoulder but all of its energy was deflected harmlessly into the Fade, leaving the she-elf unharmed.

Lucius was hardly one to stand idle and his sword and shield were both drawn in the blink of an eye. He charged at the dwarf bowman, shield raised to protect his face and body, the rest of his exposed limbs still covered in heavy armor. Three hundred pounds of man and metal thundered down on the Carts dwarf like an enraged Bronto.

Lucius' charge went well. The bowman was distracted by Selora, mostly enchanted by her barrier and failed to notice the charging warrior. She went down hard, body flung as the shield met with her body and she remained down. Skaldrin himself slashed at his dwarf, giving a challenging cry as he downed his opponent.

"Is that all you got?! I've seen nugs who've fought better! Is this what Beraht's left overs have been reduced to?" he cried out. At his taunting the enemies turned their attention. Comparing them to nugs?!

The dwarf was a fearsome warrior, shouting and screaming like a mad man, except his attacks were precise and coordinated.

Javier danced in and out among the Carta, although there was a cry from the boy as he was struck by a dagger in the side, causing him to stumble. Thankfully by then, the assassin's attention was taken by Skaldrin and they made their way towards the dwarf. One dwarf against several others. It didn't look good if he was on his own.

Enemy count:
1 bowman dwarf - 1/2 health
1 thug - 3/4 health (struck by Javier)
2 dwarves - 2 assassin full health

Javier was doing fine, dancing in and out, and Selora wasn't overly worried about him. He took a dagger wound but it was nothing that would be immediately fatal if his armor had done even a halfway decent job of protecting him. Lucius, for his part, yanked his blade free of the dwarf which he finished off on the ground then made his way towards the other bowman. Shield raised, weapon arm poised, he advanced as quickly as his armor would allow him to shut down the ranged combatants.

With her barrier still active, Selora felt much safer than she had a moment ago. She saw the two dwarves advancing on Skaldrin and she reached out to the fade once more. Flames danced on the end of her staff as she swung it around, as if gathering fire like tufts of cotton out of thin air, and that odd dissonance touched everyone's minds again as a flaming sphere was flung towards the feet of the two Carta warriors.

It promptly exploded in a blossom of flame and heat, a dull roar filling the air and burning the grass and rock beneath them to a crisp and doing its level best to char broil them inside their armor. It was somewhat danger close, Skaldrin and Javier would no doubt feel the heat, but the two Wardens should have been well out of the blast radius as the Carta's worlds became burning flame.

Javier was quite fine as Selora expected. It wasn't just that his armour did a good job, the wardens recruited from the best as well. That ferocity and tenacity that made the Wardens fearsome warriors was seen within the two of them. Despite the wound, Javier continued twirling about, daggers flashing as he landed blow after blow upon the Carta in a flurry of cuts. One moment he was there, next he wasn't, although his speed had slowed down compared to before, but adrenaline was a wonderful pain killer.

Lucius' drew the attention of the bowman who turned his crossbow towards the Tevinter warrior, firing at point blank. It was a wild shot and had a good chance of missing. Even so, the bowman was no match for the warrior.

As Selora drew on the fade, the Wardens moved out of range as if they had practiced with these sort of attacks, and perhaps they had.

Screams and burned flesh filled the air, only to be silenced promptly by flashing blades. The distraction was all that was needed for Javier to flank the dwarves and strike a killing blow. With their opponents dead, Javier let out an appreciative whistle.

"Not bad Mam," he said with a smile, then grimaced a little as he checked his sides. A slight pool of blood was forming on his leg where their opponents dagger had sliced through his pants leg and skin.

"Didn't see Tobias or Analese when I went in, but that's Tobias' staff all right. They might be deeper in," he said as he sat down on the ground to roll his pants leg up to inspect the damage. Superficial but it should be tended to eventually. "Are you able to knit the skin together?" he asked Selora. He knew not all mages packed healing spells in their arsenal, and he wanted to be sure.

Skaldrin on the other hand, didn't bother with Javier once he saw the boy was going to be fine. He headed towards the staff to pick it up before looking into the dark cave's entrance before coming over to the group. "Well either they're in there, or darkspawn. I'm favouring the former."

He could sense something, if faintly.

"Caves and Darkspawn." Selora mused. "A lovely combination."

She stopped by Javier and looked at his wound. It wasn't deep but it did need to be tended lest it get infected. If he kept bleeding, there was no telling what it might attract inside the caverns as well. She knelt down and put her hands together, palms out over the injury.

"I'm no healer but I know a little."

The Tevinter elfess half closed her eyes as she drew the Fade down again; some Darkspawn could sense mages, she'd heard, but as she'd already used magic it seemed a moot point. If they had divined her, they'd divined her. There was a white light from Selora's palms as she knit dream stuff into a magical bandage. The wound scabbed over and the torn edges turned into an unpleasant looking bruise. The bleeding did stop though.

"As I said." Selora looked at it. "Combine it with this."

She pulled a medicated bandage from her pouch, laced with elfroot and other mending herbs. A quick wrap and a tie off, the pain would begin to fade as the ointment took effect. Standing, Selora nodded.

"I can do no more for now." Then she looked to Skaldrin. "We should ascertain the fate of your missing Wardens for certain. Perhaps against the odds they've been taken prisoner or managed to survive."