transport log » ❝ welcome to Exsilium ❞

[initiates]

Date & Time: Sept 23rd, 2012.
Location: The Initiative Hold & Courtyard.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports have all arrived and have been shuffled into the Courtyard after their initial briefings.
Warnings: None.

You've just been hustled and bustled through mazes of information and literal, wide corridors of the Initiative Hold and you've been equipped with your weapon—be it a gun, a sword, or even your existing powers. They've handed you this light netbook and a small pouch of coins (or a debit card, if you're more inclined), and there are several Transports before and after you going through the very same motions. You can hear the Greeter's voice as she walks alongside large groups, telling them all about the history of this place and sharing with you your purpose here in a hurried and urgent tone. "This isn't standard," she's saying, walking perhaps faster than most of the people she's dragging around. "We don't normally have so many Transports at once. Please, let me show you into the courtyard."

You pass what looks like huge gymnasiums, all with dummies and targets strewn and splayed around the room. Training areas. There are even classrooms, and a few small offices. You're rushed past a large library while the Greeter informs you that you can find almost all your information there, if you've got the time to look—and trust her, you'll have time. You don't spend a lot of time in the bank, and it's a bit of a blur of exchanges with more and more of these strangely-accented and oddly polite-seeming members of the Initiative.

Soon enough, you're in a massive courtyard bustling with all the other Transports. It's not exactly what you'd expect, and it looks more like barracks than anything—huge walls of concrete and stone, separating you from all of the hallways you'd just passed through. It's raining heavily, and dark clouds loom in the air. It's a chill cold, and there are shelters—long cloth hangings that extend from the walls of concrete to house you from the rain, but not enough. Most notably, the courtyard is filled with a marketplace. Even in the cold and the rain, there are several citizens seated at their covered booths and tables. They're selling all manner of their own handmade goods and foods, and citizens and Transports alike are traveling from one small covered shop to another in search of all manner of necessities.

The Greeter's voice has become so faint now, but you swear you can make it out in the back of the crowds as she tells you, "Good luck. Be safe!"

Her voice is drowned out by the busy marketplace, though even the transactions taking place are somewhat subdued. Nobody is overly happy, really, though most citizens can be found with smiles on their faces. It doesn't seem like they're that shocked to see you, either; even if you're not bound in tattered rags and wrapped in heavy shawls as they are. You're welcome to walk up to a shop, and find yourself something to eat—hey, maybe you'll even find something akin to a raincoat. Or, you can join the others under the coverings against the walls. Where am I? What war? She was talking so fast, and it didn't all make very much sense… did anyone else catch it all?

Welcome to the courtyard. Welcome to the Initiative Hold—and most importantly, welcome to Exsilium.

Comments

[ladyspitfire]

[She spares him her thoughts about Fergus, how she worries about him. He hasn't remarried. It's not that she'd expect him to so much that she knows he's still grieving. Highever is empty. He left a family and came home an orphan. She wishes she'd thought to request for leave from the Wardens for a while so she could see him. When she goes home, she just might.

Elissa faintly smiles, fondness in the corners of her lips and in her eyes.]

And always will be. We're lucky to still have each other.

[At first, she consented to sit back and have some of her tea while he spoke. But she stops mid-sip to listen, eventually setting the cup down. He's absolutely right, of course. She's done much of the same. But perhaps she's pushed too far as well in her hopes of pulling their misshapen group together for some semblance of unity. She nods.]

I don't know Bethany well enough to know her circumstances. She's a sweet girl, though. [And witty to boot.] Anders was all right with being conscripted. It was that or be dragged back to the circle. Things just went...horribly wrong when I left Amaranthine. I still wish I knew all of what happened but he won't tell me.

[That, in itself, is strange. It's as if she's come back to find the front door's been locked on her.]

[ofthegrey]

[He taps a finger at the edge of his cup, the only sign of any internal agitation. He hadn't been thinking of it immediately upon arrival. He had no reason to. He couldn't have known other Wardens would be here, or how many.]

Perhaps he needs time. A time of Blight and the years afterward are always tumultuous. History paints us that picture vividly.

[He's quiet again while he tries to work out what he wishes to say. He lifts his cup for another slow, thoughtful sip.]

Perhaps we should focus less on being Wardens here and more on the fact that we are all far from home. The Joining is rarely a guarantee of trust or unity. Bitter feelings are often engendered. At home, we had the threat of the darkspawn as a unifying reason. It's less black and white here.

There are also current circumstances that will be volatile. We must handle those with care to ensure all of us from Thedas remain as strong as possible. That we remain united in more than simply captivity or helplessness.

[ladyspitfire]

[Anders had his time, she wants to say, and look what happened. But she holds her tongue for both Duncan's sake and her own. She isn't in the mood to talk about what he's done or what will happen. There's nothing she can do to stop it.]

I hope he'll come around to at least being more at ease with us, even if he doesn't want anything to do with the Wardens. That's all I ask of him.

[But she knows just as well as he does that being a Warden is nothing you can escape from. It is not a blessing, but a calling.]

Once we work through those things, I think we'll at least be ready to challenge the circumstances of our plight.

We've spoken about the possibility of coming together to potentially build an army here, one that will be able to protect both the Imports and the citizens. [Against the United Earth and the Initiative goes unsaid.] But we need to build the trust and rapport of others outside of Thedas before we will be ready.

[ofthegrey]

If you think it might help, I can speak with him.

[It wouldn't hurt for him to gain a passing familiarity with all of the Wardens stuck there with him, Nate and Bethany included.]

It will be a start. [He nods as he listens, the warmth of the tea slowly having him feeling human again.] Indeed, and we won't be able to do that if they see the lot of us bickering among ourselves. We may not be able to force everyone to get along. I believe we'll be able to manage talking enough sense into them not to have any public scenes. [He hopes.]

[ladyspitfire]

I want you to meet them anyway, actually. Whether we band together as Wardens or as Thedosians...it doesn't matter. I want you to meet them. All of them.

[There's pride in her voice, for her recruits, her companions, and for Duncan himself. Why wouldn't she want them to meet the man who saved her life? And why would she want him absent from her circle of friends? She only knew Duncan for a few weeks, certainly, but this is an opportunity for her to know more about him. She wouldn't keep him out of her life even if he's dead in their world.

She smiles slightly, the gesture crooked. She takes a sip of her tea.]

I don't think we'll all get along. That would be impossible. But it should be easier to bring people together once we open our eyes and realize that we're not going to change anything by standing around like sheep and bickering.

We're all we have in this new world, like it or not. We need to make the best of that.

[ofthegrey]

It's looking like there will be plenty of time for it.

[It feels odd to say for someone whose time had so recently run out. It's a moment of clarity, simple gratitude. It doesn't change his perception of the overall situation, but the mere idea that he's a dead man walking and not undead is a huge miracle he's not willing to take for granted.]

So we do, and we shall. We may have to drag a few to the realization kicking and screaming. [A soft snort.] We shall if we must.

[He polishes off his tea and sets the mug aside with a satisfied sigh.]

Thank you for the tea. I'm much warmer than I was before we came here.

[ladyspitfire]

[It brings a light smile to her face as she drinks from her cup, now warm but not so scalding. She's glad to see he's slowly coming back around after so much information has been shoved at him. The last thing she could ever want is for him to feel as though he should stand aside and do nothing because he's already dead.]

Of that, I have no doubt.

[She chuckles.]

But that's what we're best at, one way or another.

[She sets her tea down with a nod.]

It's the very least I can do. I know you'll probably have questions over the next few days while you get acclimated, especially once you've spoken to the people here. I'll show you where my room is before you settle in so you'll know where I'll be. No one's difficult to find in the apartments.

[ofthegrey]

That we are. [For better or for worse. If there's any sort of silver lining to this place, it's that he can't feel so much as a whisper of a darkspawn, just the vague sense of her across the table from him and possibly other Wardens not terribly distant.]

You'll tire of them if I ask them all. I'll ration them a little at a time. It will give us something to discuss on dull days.

Ah, yes, I appreciate that. I have a room assignment. I haven't tried to go there. I was thinking I could do so after darkness fell.

[And BOMBS, but shhhh.]

[ladyspitfire]

[Nodding, she finishes off the last of her tea and sets her cup down once more. Her smile widens.]

Yes, because I certainly wasn't badgering you with questions after those first few days.

[Once the shock of the slaughter of Highever wore off and she'd come to accept her new life, she'd been just as aflutter with questions as she had been back home.]

They're not hard to spot. The buildings in the distance, the large ones, are the housing apartments. They're easy to navigate once you understand the layout. You won't have any trouble.

[ofthegrey]

There were times I thought you might shy something at me across the campfire when I had to keep putting you off about the specifics of life in the Wardens.

[His expression eases pleasant. She and her hound had been decent traveling companions. The journey to Ostagar, for all of the grim purpose behind it, hadn't been a bad time, merely urgent and swift.]

They pay us and house us. How well they treat their fancy captives.

[A little dry.]

Shall we then?

[He's feeling restless, a need to get back out and explore, to see all that he can, learn what he can of the lay of the streets, and he doesn't want to take up too much of her time.]

[ladyspitfire]

I might have, in fact, if the circumstances had been any different.

[Spoiled, selfish thing she used to be. How quickly that changed between the massacre and Ostagar.

To his quip, she merely rolls her eyes as she begins to stand.]

Perfect hosts, frankly.

[The dog eases up onto his feet and stretches out as she passes to go pay the girl at the counter, thanking her for her hospitality and tea. She turns back to Duncan.]

I'll walk you to the main path, if you'll allow.

[She's no fool; he wants to keep exploring. She doesn't blame him. But she'd be remiss to send him on his way without at least taking him back to the main road.]

[ofthegrey]

I was prepared. [He widens his eyes just a little and gives a nod.

Snorting at that, he stands and unrolls his poncho as he lifts it from the floor. He tosses it over his head and settles it all around for maximum rain deflection. He's still wet under the armor. Sitting indoors and drinking tea has allowed his body heat to permeate the fabric so that he's not so cold.]

Worried I'll get lost? Lead the way. I'm sure I'll get lost sooner or later. It might as well not be today. Thank you again.

[He turns to the serving woman.] And thank you.

[He gestures Elissa ahead of him and braces himself for round two of the cold wet.]

[ladyspitfire]

[She's certain he was and she's glad she never resorted to such behavior.

Carefully, she pulls her hair back so it may fit easily in the hood of her own coat when she does, at last, pull it over her head. A few drops linger from earlier but nothing so bad as before.]

I doubt you'll get too turned around. The main road is easy to find after a while. But in the rain, you'd have a miserable time of it. I was lucky enough to arrive when it was warm.

[The mabari darts out first, eager to be moving, and she follows.]

Really, think nothing of it. It's my pleasure.

[It's nice to do something simple and mundane, for once, instead of ridiculous errands for others. Better, still, that it was with someone she knew.]

[ofthegrey]

Cold and wet seem to be a theme for me. It often is both whenever I arrive somewhere new. The first time I came to Ferlden it was in the dead of winter. This isn't that bad.

[He has enough of his equilibrium back to regain some of his wry humor.

He keeps pace with them and pays attention to the route this time, not as distracted by his thoughts. He's used to the close press of buildings. The pavement and lack of vegetation are what throw him off a little. It seems very odd not squelching through mud puddles and avoiding weed patches.]

[ladyspitfire]

I bet you hated it.

[She knows she would have if she had come from somewhere much warmer. But being Ferelden-born, she's taken pride in the climate, even its winters. Unless, of course, she's marching in the snow.

As they round a set a shops, her pace slows as a thought occurs to her.]

Alistair. Should I wait for you to find him and tell him that you're here?

[ofthegrey]

[His diplomatic silence in response to the question is answer enough. His first forays into Denerim and the royal palace there had him less than impressed, and nostalgic for Orlais, which he hated for different reasons.]

That might be for the best. I don't want him dropping everything to try to find me or feeling anxious if he can't right away. If I don't manage to see him in the next few days, we can reassess.

[ladyspitfire]

[He'll feel sore at her for not telling him, she suspects. But it'll be worth in the end to see him reunite with his old mentor.]

That's probably best. I don't know how I'd begin to explain it to him.

[Duncan will be better at handling it, obviously.

Elissa takes him back to the main road at last, glancing one last time around at the few people milling around to ensure there's no one else recognizable there. She turns back to him.]

I'm going to go to the Hold and see who else is there. We haven't had recruits in almost a month. It's...unheard of, or so I've been told. I want to see what I can find out.

[She smiles slightly.]

If you need me, I won't be far. You can use your device to get a hold of me...or you can ask someone. I think you'll be just fine, though.

[ofthegrey]

I'm not sure how to explain it myself. Perhaps when we see one another there won't be much need for explanations.

[He has no idea how he could be brought back from the dead or transported between worlds at all. Even with the Fade, it's not a physical transfer. So far he has had no indication that this isn't exactly that. He takes a slow breath on that thought, something to save for later.]

I'll call if I need. I'm going to do my best to start familiarizing myself with the place. Thank you again for the tea and answering my questions. I'm sure I'll see you again soon.

[He takes a few steps back, turns, and heads off away from where he was when he arrived, wanting a better overview of the terrain.]