The half-Avvar warrior growled.
"Fine, we'll see about such notions once I am a Templar myself."

Tyrus nods and starts to prepare to leave. While working and waiting he tries to talk to the warrior. "Templar? I had no idea you have such high ambitions. Had it been your dream since your childhood?"

Just trying to RP a little, we can move on or roleplay this out.

Fost shrugged.
"My mother was very devout. If I had put a mind to it I might have become so myself, too. A learned cleric."
He chuckled.
"Imagine me preaching."
His brow furrowed.
"Is it a high ambition? I am not sure, truth be told. I do believe that magic in the wrong hands is dangerous. I do believe that innocent people need to be protected. I do believe that you need to be properly armed and armoured to fight one's enemies."
"And I was quite impressed with the perseverence of Ser Andra."
"I am low born, I will never be a respected knight or commander. Looks to me that being a templar allows you to be much more independent than in the employ of some lord."
He looked at Tyrus.
"Seems like a good choice to tread that path. Whether I truly qualify remains to be seen. Bringing back Fenwithe safe and sane might go a long way."

As he listens he clearly slows down his preparations. "I haven't even seen you pray yet. Not that I'd know what it looks like. We're not as... religious in Tevinter as the Fereldens." He nods slowly. "I always thought that joining the Templars would be some sort of badge of honor. Something to aspire for every young boy and girl." He stops and looks directly at Fost "I've also heard that hating magic is a requirement to join."

In reply to Erin (msg # 283):



As she leaves the building, Erin remembers Mairet said the others called her "Gran." That wasn't much different from an elder, really, especially in this small of a place. She doubts they have a headman of any kind, especially since they were under the spell of that demon for who knows how long.

Finding Mairet is easy enough - she and Garreth are standing together in front of the home they were hidden behind earlier - and the older woman smiles warmly upon approach. "There y'are, sweetie!" she calls. "Liss'n, I wanted to say sorry for how I treated y'n afore; that critter that had taken the elf girl had us all twist'd 'bout. I hope y'n harbor no ill feelin's at us f'r it."

"Hush now, say no more about that, magic schmagic. I actually was looking for you for another reason, we are in need of some kind of cart for our journey. I had a bit of an idea, regarding it. Since you and Garreth were going to visit his relatives, I thought that perhaps you could do a little detour to Lothering with us first." Erin further explained. "Once there, you can take the cart with them to his family's farmstead first and then back here when they finally return. If you're willing... This business, I don't really know how long it would take, and I would loathe to take the cart from you for who knows how long until it can be returned." She was no stranger to life in such places and how the loss of a piece of equipment could disrupt the daily lives and chores that kept food on the table.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:52, Fri 08 Sept 2023.

The couple exchange a glance. Garreth shrugs slightly, and Mairet nods.

"I don't see why we can't accompany you back to Lothering. It'd give us an opportunity to gather supplies, and the cart'll be handy for that," Garreth answers. "Are you taking only the apostate, or will the she-elf be going, too?"

"I am not sure, depends on how well she is feeling I suppose. But I presume the templars would like to have every witness available to the foul deeds if at all possible." Erin tapped her chin, giving it some further thought. "Not like his guilt is in doubt anyway. That man seems like a piece of work, magic or not."

"Anyhow, I had another thing to ask, where is the refuse here? Apparently they dumped some dress there that needs retrieving for some purpose."

"Oh, yes, that'll be in the pile out back," Mairet says. "Go 'round to your left, there, and follow the path back."

She leads Erin to the (map north) side of the house and points down the path that stretches out between it and the small home next to it. In the distance - about a good 15-20 yards or so, is a middling-sized pile of vegetable matter, discarded rotting meats, and other waste. It's hard to see a  linen dress among the mess.

Fost's head turned to the appstate and back to his companions, and back again.
"Right, so when do we leave."

Tyrus looks over to where Erin dissapeared to. "She's looking for the dress and asking after a wagon." He pauses for a moment "I think we can leave soon."

Erin nodded and glanced at the pile, she was going to use the glaive to try her luck first, more as a measure to save time than out of squeamishness. It wasn't as easy to roll one's sleeves, so to speak, while in armor. With some luck, the dress would come into view after a fair bit of poking around.

Picking through the compost with the blade of her weapon (and a distance that, thankfully, allows her to breath slightly easier), it doesn't take much work for Erin to find the shift, horribly soiled by the muck surrounding it. What it is wrapped around, however, surprises her: A foot-tall polished stone figurine of the Holy Andraste, smashed in twain.

Fost & Tyrus
"Are we good with moving out so late in the afternoon? We'll definitely be camping in the wild if we do," Wendoll wonders.

Fost shrugged.
"If we can secure a place to sleep here and also keep Fenwithe arrested and with no chance at escape I sure have no objection to start our journey at first light."
Admittedly he had quite simply lost track of time while they had waited.

Tyrus weighs the pros and cons for a minute, "I'd prefer to leave as soon as possible but I can wait." He turns his head towards the apostate "We'll have to make sure he's secure. perhaps lock him up in a shack or something?" He looks around "We could tie him up to a tree too."

Erin's eyes widened as she found the little surprise in the pile, wasting no time, she ran back to the others with the prize. So much for throwing away a dress, there was no dimension in which that apostate wasn't a reprehensible individual...

Erin bursts into the house just as Tyrus mentions the tree. She's carrying a soiled and rank shift that could have been white at some point, as well as a broken statuette of the Holy Andraste.

Disgusted by the sight, Wendoll quips, "I suspect he had a hand in that, too. Someone mentioned stringing him up to a tree? Could we attach him by the neck?"

He turns his head towards Erin and nods while wrinkling his nose and looking at the... dress. His expression changes when Wendoll speaks up "Tie him to a tree, just to make sure that he won't escape." He turns to Erin "Good job it must have been rough to get through the pile, we'll put it in a sack or something and wait until tomorrow to leave for Lothering."

"Not really. But what about the statue? Where did it come from? And why thrown it in there?" She pressed. Erin was by no means a fanatic, but that type of blatant disrespect if not downright blasphemy for the religion she had been raised into, specially coming from such a demonstrably loathsome individual, didn't sit well.

Fost looked at Nolan first, he was local, after all. If that statue belonged to the village shrine or even to a specific villager, the archer might be able to answer.

Nolan leans in to take a look, then sighs. "That was mine, actually. Purchased it from an old woman in Highever about a year back, after guarding a merchant caravan from Denerim. Fancy destroyed it when she realized I wasn't as enamored of her as the other men."

"It wasn't really needed anymore, you know," Fenwithe pipes up, his tone casual and matter-of-fact. "Fantasy is our goddess, now."

"That's it," Nolan growls, taking a step toward the apostate and reaching out to grab him. Nolan's expression is largely neutral, but he appears ready to do Fenwithe harm.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:16, Mon 25 Sept 2023.

Seeing Nolan’s intent, Tyrus calls out for him to stop. The arcane authority in his voice is enough to cause the hunter to hesitate just long enough for Fost and Wendoll to grab him.

OOC: This is going to be an opposed Strength (Might) test. Because Wendoll is assisting Fost, Nolan will have a -2 penalty to his test. Nolan rolled a 10 (dragon die 2), so that’s Fost’s target.

The burly warrior's thickly muscled arms wrapped around Nolan like a vice, pinning the archer's arms to his body and quite immobilizing the enraged local.
"Easy now.", the deep-chested bass a simple, no non-sense, statement in Nolan's ear.
"We decided to keep him alive until the Templars do with him what they will."
"We stick to that decision. Period."
"Nod if you are cool. If not I'm just going to squeeze until you're unconscious."
No threat, no intimidation, just a simple statement of fact.
Fost still did not like the decision, but he would not object now it has been made.

---

rolled 16 using 3d6+5 with the AGE System with rolls of {6}, 1, 4.  STR (Might)

Nolan briefly struggles against Fost's grip, grunting as he strains to reach the apostate. After several tense moments, he relaxes and exhales, nodding when prompted. "Yes, I'm good. Sorry." Once released, the hunter leaves the house.

As they continue to determine where to secure Fenwithe for the night, Garreth suggests barricading him in the firewood closet in Ginny's home. He explains she's staying with one of the other families now that Fantasy is gone; her "disturbance" lingers and she's not entirely capable of caring for herself at the moment, so her home is otherwise unoccupied.

The group finds the firewood closet sturdy, if a little empty, and easily securable (with no other outlet for escape). Garreth notes that some of the men of the farmstead are eager to make amends by standing watch over the closet throughout the night, allowing the "heroes of the day" to rest without worry.

(Of note, the rest of the house is, well, rather disheveled, as if it hasn't been cleaned in some time. Some furniture and other decor are broken, indicating violent outbursts may have occurred during that time.)

OOC: Let me know if barricading Fenwithe in the firewood closet at Ginny's is acceptable, and if you're ready to move on.

Once you get back to Lothering, we'll close up the adventure, do epilogue scenes for the characters, and I'll give out final episode experience.

Tyrus nods "It looks sturdy enough. I'll need some time to sit and think after what has happened today." He looks through the firewood closet for a moment "We should make sure that there's nothing inside and I think we should stay with him while giving him food and water."

Let's make sure we took everything off him and that there's literally nothing inside the shack. I'm ready to move on to the next stage then.