Video

[dreadinquisitor]

[He wanted time to familiarize himself with this place. He needed to know if anyone else from the Inquisition had been brought across as well, and then to find them if they had. But first, he'd looked through the information they'd given him - the neat print on the strange white paper - and now, suddenly, Maxwell had a much more immediate, personal worry.

The video opens on his face; his expression a mixture of incredulity and concern.]

Hello. [It feels awkward, addressing nothing, but he pushes on.] My name is Maxwell and I have a question, and there doesn't seem to be anyone else to ask.

[The camera turns and fixes on a portion of the pages he'd been given. He points to a section, chases a sentence with his fingertip as he reads it aloud.] 'Bears will always find him.' [Then the feed swings back to him.]

Why would anyone want this? How many bears do you even have in this place, to hope to make this useful? And do they just-- roam about?[He glances away, as if one might have suddenly sneaked up on him, then back.] Are these abilities negotiable in any way?

Comments

[dreadinquisitor]

Better than sitting and waiting, stewing. That sort of thing never ends well.

[lightinside]

You're right. It doesn't.

I'm glad that someone else thinks the same way.

[dreadinquisitor]

Me too.

It's something of a comfort knowing if I must be here against my will, at least they company can be good.

[lightinside]

A nice way of looking at it. There are good people here, so that definitely helps too.

I'm Laurel by the way.

[dreadinquisitor]

Maxwell. [He ducks his head in an elegant gesture.] Circumstances aside, a pleasure to meet you.

[lightinside]

It's nice to meet you too, Maxwell. [She smiles.] Where are you from?

[dreadinquisitor]

Thedas. [Said with a small sigh, as he expects, like the others before her, he doesn't expect any recognition.] Ostwick, though mostly recently of Skyhold.

...I don't suppose that means anything to you?

[lightinside]

No, it doesn't. Sorry. [She's sincere though.] Why don't you tell me about it? Give me an idea of what it's like.

If that's okay.

[dreadinquisitor]

[It's not the first time he's been asked now, but still, there's a pause as he tries to figure out where to begin.]

It's... different, in even the most basic ways. The buildings here, even the few I've seen, are - impossible, where I'm from. And those machines, the horseless carriages? We don't have those either. And we don't have these. [He taps the communicator, just left of his nose.]

...But we do have magic. So while what this ability of mine does is strange, that one can have power isn't.

[lightinside]

The horseless carriages are known as cars. Just if you wanted to know. [Based on what he has said so far it seemed likely that he was from way back in the past.] And most people call that thing a communicator.

[Laurel considered it to be like a very advanced smartphone.]

Magic isn't something I've had much experience of where I'm from. [It wasn't about her at the moment though.] When you talk about magic, do you mean like spells and stuff?

[dreadinquisitor]

This must have been quite the change for you. Not just the being brought here, but the abilities on top of it.

[No, he might not know what a car is, but he's certainly used to the weirdness that magic can produce.]

Yes. It's an inherent ability some people are born with in my world. At it's most basic it's elemental - manifesting fire or lightning, that sort of thing - but as they develop and grow mages are capable of... seemingly anything.

[lightinside]

That's amazing. [And she meant it too.] The kind of magic you've described is pretty much the work of fiction where I'm from.

But we do have people known as 'metahumans'. They do have abilities - like super speed as an example. Others can create something out of nothing.

Would that count as a type of magic?

[dreadinquisitor]

To be fair, I'm not a mage myself, so I'm hardly an expert and shouldn't be taken as such, but... [He thinks for a moment.] Yes, I would think so. In fact, Dorian-- a, friend of mine, is quite skilled with a spell that manipulates time around him into slowing down, appearing to make those within range of it move quicker.

[lightinside]

[Laurel listens carefully to what he had to say, wanting to learn something. She was fascinated by what went on in other worlds.]

Now that is definitely interesting. The kind of spell that would come in handy...maybe not for me, but for someone else. [Okay, not true. It'd probably help her but Laurel wasn't going to reveal her vigilante identity to him.]

If you're not a 'mage' - was it? Then what do you refer to yourself as?

[dreadinquisitor]

[A brief look of confusion flits across Maxwell's face. Idly, he tried to recall if he'd ever been asked that before.]

Uh- a non-mage.

I'm just a man. [Besides the Anchor, which he doesn't count.] Human, ...though I suppose that only makes sense to clarify if you know there are other races in Thedas and can't tell the difference between them.

sorry about the delay!

[lightinside]

Oh, okay. I get it now. [She nods, understanding.] Sorry for any confusion by the way - I just want to make sure I get it right.

By other races, do you mean like non-humans too?

No worries!

[dreadinquisitor]

Yes. [A nod and a smile.] Thedas has several. Humans, elves, dwarves, and the qunari. It's usually fairly obvious which is which, given you're familiar with them.

[lightinside]

Dwarves and elves come from stories in my world. Movies, television shows.

Uh, what does a 'qunari' look like? [She may have mispronounced the name there. Sorry.]

[dreadinquisitor]

[His head tips, curious.]

Tall, muscular, grey-skinned, horns. [He mimes them, growing and curing up from his temples.] And yes, they tend to make an impression even in my world.

...What races do you have then?

[lightinside]

Guess I'd have to see one for myself to get a proper idea of how they look. [Because horns. Yeah, that was something else.]

Just humans. But there are differences among people - like the colour of their skin, their eyes, physical characteristics. Things like that.

[dreadinquisitor]

Oh, we have that to. Not all humans where I'm from look like me, and two elves or dwarves or qunari don't look the same... unless they happen to be twins.

...It's a little funny. I'm sure it all sounds fantastical to you, but by the turn, your world sounds strange to me.

[lightinside]

It does sound a little fantastical, yeah. Though, I get why you'd find my world just as odd.

I'm happy to explain things to you if you want.

[dreadinquisitor]

[A low laugh.]

I'm not sure I'd even know where to begin. It's been quite the day so far.

[lightinside]

Maybe begin with something simple? Like where is a good place to get something to eat.

[dreadinquisitor]

[A grin.]

Someone else told me about something called 'Korean Tacos,' but he wouldn't tell me what they are.