Hello. [ a female voice, and a crisp Marcher-ish accent ] You're receiving this message because you're a member of the Hostile Powers project. If we haven't spoken before, my name is Yseult and I assist with leading this project. Kostos Averesch, the project leader, has asked me to reach out to all of you to talk about the work we'll be focusing on in the coming months.

We've settled on three goals that we'll all be working toward until further notice. The first is destabilizing the hold that Corypheus and his allies have on Tevinter and on the Anderfels. If we can make them less secure in their power at home it will affect their ability to continue pushing the invasion forward.

The second is to improve our understanding of our enemy's tactics. We need to know more about the forces that Tevinter and the Anderfels have in the field, how they fight, how they are supplied, and who leads them, so that we can be better-prepared to combat them in the future.

Finally, we know that our enemy has agents across Thedas. Some work covertly as spies, gathering information while pretending to be disinterested or even on our side. Others may openly advocate positions that help the enemy. We need to identify these agents wherever they are so that we can then either neutralize them or use them to our own advantage.

Achieving these goals will take a great deal of work from us all. Averesch and I are interested in hearing your proposals for how to approach these goals. If you're not sure what we should do, we'd still like to hear from you about any skills, information, or connections you have that might be useful. This will help us ensure we are directing each of you toward the work where you can be the most help.

If you have questions, or would prefer to discuss privately, you may contact us via crystal or in the project office at your convenience.

I am looking for information on the Venatori. Anything you might be able to share would be welcome.

You have my thanks.

Greetings. I could not help but notice... in the field, that a great many of you have not fought against or alongside, elephants. Since there was a sizeable contingent of them, I doubt we have not seen the last of them.

The short of the matter is: I have, and often. I would like to offer my services to anyone who wants to train in fighting them and their riders, as well as effective ways to mount them in combat or drive them off the field. If you have a horse, that would be well, as I can teach you how to use them in such instances. The more people who know this, the more the techniques can be utilised should it come up again.

Additionally, if you are... from Tevinter, I would like to speak with you about them as well. Namely, I would like lessons in your language, so soldierly expertise is not required. Elephants are as clever as men, and knowing the language they have trained in is beneficial.

[ Because elephants, like horses, are better than people, in her honest opinion. ]

Hello [ a woman's voice, low, with a mostly-Marcher accent. ] My name is Yseult and I will be assisting with leadership of the Hostile Powers project.

Many of you will be tasked with heading into hostile territory in the near future to carry out the Inquisition's work. To assist you in achieving your goals, the leadership and I thought it wise to offer all of you some additional training in skills that may prove useful in fieldwork. The first is construction of a cover identity that you can assume when operating covertly. We would like each of you to construct a cover identity and answer the following questions about it. We can then help you to refine it.

There will be missions that require very particular covers, but many will not, and it is helpful to have a default cover that works in many situations and which you are comfortable with and can fall back on if needed suddenly. Assume in this case that you will be sent on a simple mission to gather general intelligence from a city in Tevinter.

Here are the basic questions you must be prepared to answer if confronted by an enemy patrol or similar:
( Read more... )

( The voice is muffled for a moment, and presumably the crystal was activated a little early. )

Do not fret, Sestra. It is steady. Be resting.

( And, more clearly: )

We are on mission in Hunterhorns. Only two for stealth, but we are needing help for bringing our quarry back to the Kirkwall. Sarah was very brave and kept our captive from escaping, but her ankle is much broken, now, and she is very bad at steering the lizard horse.

[to those who have heard it before or have spoken to his predecessor, they might recognize the voice in his this message.]

I wonder often if I worry needlessly, for needless things. For these are troubled times upon us, and far worse things there are than...

[hm. maybe not that topic.]

Far worse things, in any case.

I wish to ask: Where might one seek information for an excursion into the undergrounds? I would call it an adventure, but I am to understand it is not the safest place to be, at times. And at places. Though it is true that I seek an adventure!

[he sure sounds excited. y'know. in that mild tolkien-elf-voice-rises-one-(1)-octave sort of way.]

As for the reason... [hhhmmmmm.] ..let us say simply that I wish to see the sights.

And, if killing anything down there is required, it would not be a problem. [much.]

So what do you actually do for fun around here? Besides drinking or sex. [ Because she already knows the joy of those, obviously. ] Do you have hobbies.

So, I'm a rifter.

[ In Kitty's last post, she'd played rather coy about her rifter identity. That is, evidently, over. She's coming at you now all honest and earnest and polite. ]

And that means I don't know this world so well. But I do know that it's a complete mess, and that I'd like to help during my time here. Which apparently is going to be quite temporary, as several of you informed me like I was to blame for it, so thanks for that, belatedly.

[ People who are jerks to rifters: you know who you are. ]

So please - tell me a bit about where I can help. Tell me about where the problems in this world really are. I know the big stuff - people being wretched and cruel to elves, the struggle over mages' rights - but there's a lot of smaller stuff I imagine I don't know about. And that I bet other rifters don't know about, either - I've also heard people complaining about rifters not helping enough, but I imagine a lot of it is that people don't even know how to start.

[ Oh, and - ] Please don't try to be funny, thanks. I'm not going to be doing anyone's washing up. Give me real, useful answers.

[ And so ends today's Campaign for Please Be Nice To Rifters And Don't Phylactery Us XOXO Kitty Jones. ]

I have sestra who is eating no meats. This is strange to me, but I like it in her. She is... thinking much, ready to starve self to save other creatures. Cosima is kind, I think.

( She says, as if Cosima can't hear this. And, a swift amendment, ) Sarah is kind, also! Both of my sisters are very good. They give... home feelings.

( Anyway, let's not get weighed down talking about that. )

There are different animals here. I am curious what the hunting of them is like.

Be telling me: have any of you eaten the dragon fleshes?