itinere | featuring creatures no one in Itinere ever wanted to know existed }{ OPEN

featuring creatures no one in Itinere ever wanted to know existed }{ OPEN

[ when the first few demons started popping through the walls, hawke thought it was just another tuesday. a very dull and irritating tuesday, but tuesday nonetheless. demons are slightly more threatening. when she finds a revenant and an arcane horror, she's sure that will be the end of it.

that's before she finds the nightmare demon.

before the first darkspawn.

worry for the general population has her fighting the weird device to get a warning out while she can. as usual, though, she sounds just as dryly sarcastic and witty as ever. ]

I don't know if any of you have noticed, but we seem to have been overrun.

[ she turns the camera, successfully this time, to see the actual things around her. corpses, most of them on the ground from where hawke downed them earlier. when she stops the camera pan, the view settles on the darkspawn ogre fighting a nightmare demon. ]

The giant one on the left with the big horns is a darkspawn. An ogre, specifically. It's lovely on its own, but do try not to get its blood on you or in you or anything like that. Don't let it draw blood, either. Believe me, you don't want to know why.

[ not that she won't tell anyone who asks. this wouldn't be something she would need to explain in thedas, but she's learning that this is not thedas. that had been a good thing up until five minutes ago. ]

The other may or may not look like a giant spider. It's a nightmare demon and it manifests as whatever it thinks will frighten you the most. For most of my group back home, that meant spiders. Because it's always spiders.

Whatever it looks like, both of these can be killed, either by magic or conventional weapons like hitting it with a large stick. If you can't fight, find someone who can. Like me. I'd be happy to make sure none of us catches the Taint--

[ right about then is when the nightmare demon gets bored and wanders off. the ogre seems to have finally noticed hawke, as it turns towards her and lowers itself. she knows what this means. ]

Oh, sure, come interrupt me. I've always loved--

[ it charges. she dodges. the device gets dropped. ]

Anyone nearby who can give a girl a hand?

[ but that's about all anyone will get until the ogre is dead and hawke can pick up her device again to reply. it might be a while.

either way, she'll be wandering the streets afterwards trying to assess the damage and help people get to safety. because that's what she does. she might be a reluctant hero but she is a hero. ]

(( ooc: anything from this list is fair game all month! and feel free to poke me if you have any questions :) hawke is available for action or network. ))

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[ the mages porthos knows have probably never lived in a world where known mages were locked up in towers and watched by templars who were trained to kill at even the slightest hint that a mage was doing blood magic or summoning demons. where mages could be made tranquil, permanently cut off from their dreams, their magic, and even their personality, all because someone suspected they were too weak of mind to resist a demon. where a knight-commander could invoke the rite of annulment with proper approval and kill every mage in the circle tower, even the ones who weren't actively practicing blood magic or possessed.

where outside people could be killed for harboring mages.

sometimes, on her dark days, hawke is glad bethany didn't live to see life in the gallows. she isn't sure her sister would have managed six years in that place and she doesn't think she could have kept them both out. it was hard enough keeping herself out from under knight-commander meredith's fingers.

on the flip side, the mages porthos knew before hawke probably didn't have to deal with things like darkspawn or dragons, either. she might have spells like fist of the maker or firestorm, but in close combat? she's screwed. ]

Maker's breath, if you ever meet a dwarf named Varric, don't ever tell him about this. He'll write another book about me and I'll never have peace. [ it's mostly good-natured teasing at this point. varric is her best friend, right alongside aveline, and though he might be a chronic liar, his book the tale of the champion did her life some sort of justice. personal though it was. ] Praise and glory for Thedosians tends to come with lots of death and destruction.

[ pause. shrug. ]

Why not? I could use some good luck.

[ aaand she probably just jinxed them both. as she glances forward again, she sure does see a sight that looks like their dragon friend fighting a couple of very large and very yucky spiders. hawke pulls a face. ]

The Maker always did have a terrible sense of humor. Please tell me you're seeing the same giant spiders I am and that they aren't your worst nightmare come to life.

[ Porthos does not know of those mages background. In truth, once they had stolen the battle from him without lifting a weapon, he had wanted very little to do with them. Perhaps that was unfair in and of itself. But for a warrior like Porthos to be rendered useless, it was not a good feeling, so perhaps he cannot be blamed for that entirely.

However, he does know of injustices toward an entire group. Just look at him and consider that he is from the seventeenth century. He is half Moor in a time when people with darker skin are loaded up in ships and sent to the new world to be sold. Not only did he escape that fate because of his father's abandoning him and his mother on the streets to escape scandal, but he also had to work harder than any other man to not only fight for France in the infantry, but also to work his way into the King's Guard, the Musketeers. And yet he is still looked down upon without even having to utter a word.

Yes, Porthos knows all about unfairness and prejudices. ]

There are books about us too, the Musketeers. [ Don't think that Porthos isn't shocked by that. He is. But given the heroics he actually lived through, it also isn't surprising in some ways. ] Found it quite disturbing when first I heard of them.

[ He grins again. ] Ah, but therein lies the trick. Praise and glory and the livin' to celebrate it. I promise you a pint of ale if we live through the day, my lady.

[ Of course, he sobers when she mentions giant spiders. Living on the streets growing up, he's seen his fair share of spiders and other unsavory critters. But when he turns to look, this... thing, as tall as half a building, takes the cake. It is so very disturbing. He draws his long sword again, as well as his rapier. ] We're seein' the same thing. Shall we cut off it's legs?

[ they really would understand each other on so many levels if they got to talking about certain experiences. things might not match up perfectly, but they're very, very similar.

for now, hawke just grips her staff tighter as she watches the fight ahead of her. ]

Deal. No tacking it back, [ she warns about the pint of ale. that sounds just perfect right now. she's seen several in thedas that were twice as tall as she is and at least twice as long as she is tall. probably three or four times. they're utterly disgusting and she hates every stupid one. ]

Well that answers half of my question. I'd rather fight the dragon than the spiders, so I hope you're referring to cutting all of their legs off.

[ her tone is dry as usual, though she sobers up as one of the spiders seems to notice them. ]

If you have more luck than I do, you might cancel mine out. [ please, please, please let this be a normal spider. she hates that she's even hoping for that. ] Either these are giant spiders, in which case everything is as fine as giant spiders get, or it's a nightmare demon. And they're worse than they sound. [ much, much worse. she's already lost someone to the last nightmare demon she faced. she's not willing to lose herself or anyone else to another. ]

I think this is the part where I say trust me to heal you with my magic and I'll trust you not to let anything come stampeding over me. [ teamwork. it's the best thing. ] And then we cut off the legs of everything. Probably harvest a little blood and a fang. Some alchemist or apothecary can use them.

A Musketeer never welches on a deal, Madame Hawke. [ They're men of honor. Mostly. Sometimes Porthos can have less honor than most due to his background. Musketeers are an elite regiment of noblemen. That Porthos was allowed in before he was granted his title, well... he's different than most.

As for the overly large spider, well, it's like nothing he's ever seen before and he isn't quite sure what to do with it aside from cut off it's legs and then pierce it through the middle. Truth be told, he's been flying blind with most of the beasts he's seen since they started pouring into Itinere. There is nothing like this in his world, after all.

Thankfully, Porthos's nightmares have nothing to do with spiders. Hopefully that makes this a regular spider.

He runs in and slices one leg off. The pincers extending from its mouth swipe at his face, one of the only bits of skin not protected by thick leather and forged iron. He knows he's bleeding and hopes Hawke's magic is as powerful for healing as she says it is. His face has enough scars, thank you very much. His sword lifted and he slices through another leg, spinning and bringing the rapier down on another. Three legs off and the thing is making a strange skittering sound and trying to pounce on Porthos. ]

[ hawke's lips curl upwards at his words. it's good to know that he has honor. reminds her of aveline. and sebastian.

she keeps up her end of the fight, sending a burst of healing at the second scrape. it's like a soothing balm that washes over him, knitting together what wounds the spider opened. the skittering and hissing sounds are normal. apparently spiders in thedas hiss, too. and at least this one doesn't seem to be doing what the nightmare demon did. hawke can live with that.

unfortunately for them, the other spider seems to notice them right about then. and the dragon. hawke grits her teeth, turning her attention to the onslaught. ]

Watch out!

[ making sure she doesn't hit porthos, she pushes her arm through the air in front of her, bringing up a wall of ice behind porthos that traps the spider trying to sneak up on him. the dragon seems content to screech at them for now, but hawke doubts that will last. keeping an eye on her companion, she focuses on the spider she's got frozen. he can take out the one he's got and if she can't handle hers, she can trust that he will help once his is dead. ]

[ He feels the healing in a very strange way. It almost has a rejuvenating effect and Porthos plows on. One of his swings with his long sword misses as the spider moves to his side. He easily spins and gets another leg.

Have you ever seen a four legged spider? Porthos hasn't. But it seems to be having trouble supporting the weight of its body. Then he hears Hawke's warning and turns to see a second spider. He reaches his long sword beneath the wounded spider and when it once again has trouble supporting itself, it literally falls on his sword.

The rapier is outstretched as he pries his sword out from the dead spider. The second spider is advancing and then... the dragon. Surely he's been in worse odds. Surely. At some point. Though he isn't sure if they count since they were worse odds against humans, not fantastic beasts like these. ]

Got it! [ He tells her as he finally pries his longsword free. He stands and sees the second spider trapped in ice and nods approvingly at her. ] That's a nice one. Don't suppose you could do that to the dragon too. [ He's ready when the spider unfreezes. He leaps in and spins, hacking at legs the same as he had before. One leg gone, then two, then three, again and again until the body falls to the floor. This time Porthos thrusts his sword in through it's mouth and pulls up, literally gutting it. At least his long sword isn't stuck this time.

He checks to make sure Hawke is still well before looking up at the dragon. ] And now you.

[ hawke is okay with a four-legged spider not going anywhere. though it doesn't help the gross part, since apparently thedas spiders don't skitter so much as they hiss. or, well, the spiders around kirkwall hiss. the ones in ferelden and orlais definitely skitter. so it's a toss-up.

either way, she hates all spiders. they're gross.

still, they might be fighting fantastic beasts, but he's got a mage on his side. that counts for something. at his question, she smirks. ] I could, but it wouldn't have the same effect. I can't make an ice statue out of something that large. [ she can, however, do something else and before porthos charges off towards the dragon, she waves to make sure he stays put for a few seconds. not that she's ever had trouble with friendly fire (ha, ha, ha puns), but it's always good to be sure. she lifts both hands into the air like she's lifting a large boulder over her head. fire curls and licks around her hands and a few seconds later, fireballs begin to rain down from the sky. slowly they fall, one after another, for ten seconds, bathing the dragon in firestorm. ]

I can burn it, [ she offers with amusement, nodding for porthos to take his charge now. the dragon is far from dead and he'll have more chances to do his own damage to it. she can just chip away with crazy spells like that.

next up: fist of the maker. temporarily flattening a dragon should be fun. ]

[ Porthos is okay with spiders, as they are common everywhere in Paris. It's the size of these spiders that is disconcerting. Most certainly, it is a good reason to rid the world of them. That, and the fact that they're trying to kill the both of them. It's self defense.

Porthos catches her motion to stay put and he does, waiting patiently to see what she's going to do. And none too soon as he was about to rush in which is his way. What he sees is indescribable, fire curling around her hands and she is not burned. He looks up as the fireballs begin to fall from the sky. Amazing. And kind of terrifying for a man so unaccustomed to magic as Porthos is.

When she gives the go-ahead, he runs in, avoiding a fireball here and there. Then his swords are slicing and jabbing at the dragon. Something makes the dragon roar as it's knocked to the ground, another spell from Hawke to be sure.

Porthos takes this opportunity to not only slice off the dragon at the neck. It takes hacking at it three times, but then using his long sword to thrust it into the weakened dragon's soft underbelly.

He turns back to look at her, eyes alight and wild as any warriors would be in the immediate aftermath of battle. ] We killed a dragon! [ Forgive him his excitement. He's never slain a dragon before. He's sad Aramis missed it. ]

[ it's fortunate that hawke's magic doesn't really do friendly fire, so even if he had run in, she would have been able to avoid casting directly on him. all the same, it's best not to tempt fate. so she's glad that she doesn't have to and that porthos is good at leading and following.

fist of the maker usually comes in handy, as it not only flattens the dragon quite literally, but also lowers its defense to almost nothing, making it the ideal target for porthos' blades. as he deals the final blows towards it, she grins in response, both in triumph and in relief.

she pauses just long enough to catch her breath before she makes her way over to see what the dragon has on it. ] Don't forget to loot it. We might be able to use the blood in alchemical potions or healing things and whatever else its skin can make. If we're really lucky, it'll be carrying its entire horde and we can either wear it as equipment or sell it all.

[ that's how she got part of her champion's armor, after all. ]

[ It's not a far stretch for Porthos to conclude that loot is the same as pilfering things from the dead on a battlefield after all is said and done. However, the dragon is so big and it's mass so great that he has a hard time figuring out how and what he should loot.

He goes to one of the webbed feet and breaks off a fairly large claw for his growing collection. Then he looks over to Hawke for assistance with the rest. ]

Are you askin' me to skin it, Madame Hawke? Could take a good of time, don't you think? [ Forgive him, Hawke. He knows not of what you speak. ]

[ she can't really blame him for not fully understanding her. thedas does seem to work on warped and strange frequencies, as compared to everywhere else she's heard of here. so she pauses in her work and gives her head a shake. ]

More like they somehow carry their horde in their mouths or their bellies and we might be able to take it for ourselves. [ pause. ] After we clean it.

[ what. it can get a bit gross. ]

Could be weapons, equipment, gold, anything. [ literally. she's seen all of that and more. and usually in large amounts. ]

In their mouths, you say?

[ Yeah, that is a completely different frequency than Porthos is accustomed to. His nose wrinkles a bit as he walks around the beast to the front of it, a mouth with sharp teeth that was just, a few moments ago, breathing fire.

He lowers himself and with leather gloved hands pries open the mouth as much as he can. And to his surprise, he sees the hilt of something and reaches in to withdraw a large, glistening sword.

To say he's surprised when he looks back to Hawke is an understatement. ] Such tales are to be believed, it seems.

[ it's weird and a bit gross. ]

This armor I'm wearing? That's how I got the body armor part.

[ she's... not actually kidding about that. pulled it straight from the skull of a high dragon.

though she does look pleased that he finds the horde, watching as he pries a sword from its jaws. ]

Well look at you. That looks like it'll swing well. Wonder if there's a rune on it.

[ if not, there's not much she can do about it. sandal was her enchantment expert and he's not here. sadly. she misses bodahn and his son.

as much to shake herself from her melancholy as it is to continue the search, she moves closer to dig around in the mouth herself. no weapons or armor for her, but she does find a decent amount of gold coins and gems. ]

Come on. Let's split this.

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