tɦɛ iɳquiรitѳʀ (freemarched) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-09-30 18:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, maia amell (the warden), maxwell trevelyan (the inquisitor) |
Who: The Inquisitor & The Warden
What: Showing Maia around a certain fortress
When: Recently
Where: Skyhold, mostly in the library
Rating/Warnings: 'Tis low!
Status: Complete
Skyhold was gorgeous. Maia was also a little jealous. It was larger than either of the keeps she’d taken over, neither of which had crossed over like so many other things had. She supposed that was a good thing. Maia was good at pulling together coalitions but she’d never particularly been interested in actual governance and running things, which is why she took off at her first opportunity to search for a certain Witch. So she had no need for a keep. But she was still a little jealous. “I wonder why it was abandoned originally. Before you’re Inquisition found it again.” “Difficult to say - we never did solve that mystery, as in, who left it in the state of disrepair that it was in when we arrived,“ Max responded, pausing in their rounds to check on the Crystal Grace, those beautiful blue flowers blooming nicely up in Skyhold’s garden. In giving Maia a tour, it was also prime opportunity to see how the plants and various herbs and flowers were doing - he really did love cultivating the collection of things from Thedas, and he couldn’t picture a better place to do it. Because Skyhold really was gorgeous, ancient protective magic warding off evil having seeped into the fortress’ very skeleton. He couldn’t help pruning the plants a little too, even the thorny ones. Out here, there were various stone benches to relax on and also an infirmary close by - he’d made sure the castle had access to a medical facility, rather than put in a sparring ring of sorts. It seemed prudent, given that both he and Dorian knew Revival - but not much else beyond simple healing spells. And he wanted his companions to be as healthy as possible. “Ferelden claimed Skyhold for awhile though - so I would bet something related to them.” “Do you think it was attacked? Or the disrepair simply the product of time.” In a world like Thedas, a fortress could be forgotten in decades, let alone centuries. There were probably some Warden outposts lost since the first or second Blights, even. Sometimes, she wanted to go find them. Easier said than done. The flowers, she thought, would be better appreciated by Morrigan, but they were quite lovely. Max seemed to be taking good care of them, and she thought it was cute. The herbs interested her, but mostly in hypotheticals. Hypothetically, could any of them help her gain more power to defeat potential Blights. That could just be the Warden in her talking. Moral quandaries tended to be decided by necessity rather than anything else. “I don’t recall reading anything about it in the Circle libraries. But then I didn’t have full access until shortly before everything went tits up.” The seeds to plant rare herbs, that he remembered traveling all over creation for, Max was grateful to have those flourishing at Skyhold. Deathroot and Black Lotus, herbs for a whole variety of uses - he’d been making a decent amount of money, selling them to various shops in the OC. Not enough to quit his day job right now, however, since he planned to devote more attention to modernizing Skyhold he’d have to save up as much as possible before he cut back on his caseload. “From the way the fortress looked at first, I would guess that it eroded over time. But who can say for sure - I don’t recall much of use in the Circle libraries anyway,” he chuckled, dusting his hands off. “We have some books here, in the general library - lots of them written about Thedosian history, if you’re interested. Might as well show you the library now anyway?” Trevelyan added, lifting an eyebrow. Books - always so tempting, weren’t they. Maia’s eyes practically lit up at the thought of books and all that history and knowledge she might learn. “Our world is one where history and myth are tightly intertwined. You had me at books, good sir.” “All too true. No wonder you’re a professor,” Trevelyan grinned, leading the way back inside. He pointedly ignored Solas’ room, on the first floor - doors opened to the throne room and one to the guard tower; the third floor in the massive, circular space was actually the rookery - but he considered that Leliana’s, and the second floor was his destination anyway. The research table was the prime focal point here - there was a whole smorgasbord of books and scrolls. Maia could take what she wanted, to read, Max didn’t mind. He also tried not to look too wistfully at Dorian’s leather chair - the fact that he still wouldn’t come to Skyhold bothered Trevelyan more than he admitted to most. But anyway. “Feel free to peruse,” he insisted. “It might be a tricky path down the mountain carrying a lot of books, but you’re free to borrow whatever you’d like.” “I did write my thesis on the similarities between world myths.” She winked, clasping her hands behind her back as she followed him. The throne room was rather spectacular, but she was more interested in the library. Her eyes widened. “Was much of this collected or did you some how luck out and find a stocked library with intact books? I really wouldn’t be surprised at the latter.” He always liked seeing the wonder on people’s faces when they saw what a medieval castle library looked like. Or a medieval throne room. Or even a war room, with its giant table carved from a tree meant to be a symbol of peace between two factions. For those who dreamed of Thedas, it was like coming home in a way. Remembering that little bit of history which made you part of who you were today. “In the dreams, collected over time,” Max responded, and lit a few of the wall torches carefully, with a twist of his hand - it’d be so much easier to cast when he had the functional lyrium-infused prosthetic limb, instead of the standard variety. “You should have seen the cobwebs in this place then. But here, we lucked out - much of Skyhold was how we dreamed it. Leliana didn’t seem too surprised to see my particular decorating choices.” It made Maia ache. She rubbed her fingers up and down her chin, taking in the books and the wide circle of knowledge that was available. It really was remarkable and she could probably spend hours down here at the very least. “You should start one of those shows. Medieval Manors with Max Trevelyan!” That made him laugh a little. “Tempting,” Max even contemplated the perks of fame - though really, he’d had enough of those being the Inquisitor. “I do plan to modernize the place. I’ve gotten estimates from solar power providers, and am working on that - it’ll be ready in time for Leliana’s wedding for sure, with electricity and running water.” Hot water too, nothing freezing cold and straight from a well. “I’d like to do all these renovations respectfully though. As much of Skyhold’s integrity and spirit we can keep intact, all the better,” he said as he flipped through a particular open book on the research table. “I told Morrigan you and her are welcome for a stay whenever you’d like. To test out the amenities?” He planned to give a rustic getaway to Lina as a wedding gift too, also as a thank-you gift for her help with the lyrium-infused prosthetic. Solar out here was definitely a great idea. There wasn’t much else they could do to bring power here, short of running lines or seeing if were was any geothermal activity. Maia nodded. “I’m looking forward to that, weddings are always fun.” Maia gave him a lopsided smile. “Thank you. Something we shall definitely take you up on.” “Good,” Max returned the smile, pleased to bring even a little bit of happiness to friends - especially those who also dreamed of Thedas. Their lives were rough as it was, and that world was not an especially pretty world. Visually, maybe, in certain parts not ravaged by war. But otherwise it was stumbling over frozen dead bodies in camps and battling to make it another day, depending on what the villainous threat happened to be. He wasn’t sure what was in store for him, what with how things ended, but maybe he would begin to dream again. Something new. “Anything else in particular, in the fortress, that you want to see?” The tavern, maybe? The wine cellar? Cullen’s quarters with the lack of roof? Darkspawn, dragons, the walking dead, crazed cults and templars. Bears. There were many threats in Thedas. But there were friends too, and some good memories besides. “Why don’t you surprise me, love? What do you have that I just shouldn’t miss?” Free reign, what a fun thing it was. Max hummed thoughtfully, drawing a mental map of Skyhold and deciding what would be interesting to peruse. Most of the friends he brought here appreciated the tavern, first and foremost, or the library - but he hadn’t taken many to what remained in the basement yet. So far just Morrigan (they had been running around as cats though, did that count?). “I’ll take you to the Undercroft,” he decided. “We’ll exit out through the throne room. But it’s where I crafted a lot of weapons, and also did potion crafting - so one of my favorite places.” Usually you could also find Dagna the arcanist there, or Harritt, who happened to be the Inquisition’s blacksmith. But obviously not now. “I think I’d like to see it,” Maia replied, nodding her head. She wondered if there could be a way to repair or further empower weapons the dreams had given them. She had a couple of her staves, after all. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to know if there was a way to repair or replace them. “You crafted many weapons yourself? I might have to ask for some tips.” “Depends on the complexity - Potions were mainly what I stuck with and I obviously didn’t do what the arcanist did but I would occasionally craft runes meant for enhancing weapons once she showed me more tricks of the trade,” Trevelyan explained, leading the way there. “Like getting essences from fallen creatures - sometimes those come in handy, when you bottle them.” He would explain more of that to Maia though, telling her what he knew. And if he could help her enhance her own weapons somehow, then why not? The sharper the better around here sometimes. |