Chapter 1: The Fall
"We're making significant dents into the Venatori," Theo said, gesturing to the map on the makeshift war table. It wasn't as detailed or as large as the one back at Skyhold, but the variety of pins stabbed into it marked off sites of victories throughout this part of Western Orlais. Just now his green eyes were fixed on a gap in the pins on the map. "If we go to Adamant, we can strike a definitive blow."
Cullen rubbed his eyes and scratched at the stubble growing in on his chin and cheeks. Between the sun and the lyrium withdrawal, and the long nights of planning, he was exhausted and barely keeping it together. "I don't know that we have the troops for a full-scale siege," he said.
It was the wrong thing to say. Dorian knew it the moment Cullen opened his mouth. Theo's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched just a little tighter. "Perhaps we can wait?" he ventured. Though he wasn't one of the Inquisitor's advisors, he'd become adept at mediating what Theo wanted to do, versus what the advisors suggested he needed to do.
"You heard Eremond! He's making a demon army to storm the Deep Roads," Theo said, his cheeks flushed. "And once the old gods are dead, what then? Let the darkspawn loose? Turn the army on the rest of Thedas?" He glanced down at his glowing hand. "We can stop him. Stop this. We've seen the future, and we're the only ones who can stop it from happening."
"I hate when you get so impassioned," Cullen said at last. "If we can get the advance scouts to take out some of the forces, the army might have a chance with a siege."
The tension melted out of Theo and he exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. "Thank you, Cullen."
Cullen just nodded his acknowledgement and headed for his quarters. Theo headed out as well, Dorian following. They walked down the halls of Griffon Wing Keep toward the room set aside as the Inquisitor's quarters. The halls were quiet and dark, though still retained some of the heat from the hot daylight. "Don't say it," Theo said after a few paces in silence.
"You know I can't avoid speaking my mind," Dorian told him. "It is a rather brilliant mind at that." Theo sighed as they entered their room. "You have advisors for a reason."
Theo tugged off his sweat-soaked shirt, dropped it on the floor, and then fell back on the bed. He closed his eyes. "I know, and I understand the need for caution. But there's also a need for action."
"Eremond really got under your skin," Dorian said quietly. He slipped off his robes, letting them drop into a pool of silk and samite on the stone floor at his feet. He sat beside Theo and brushed his too-long hair off his forehead. Theo's eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks and his breathing eased as he relaxed.
"He's not under yours?" Theo asked in disbelief.
"Just because he's also Tevinter doesn't mean I care for him and what he stands for," Dorian said. "I thought we'd been through this with the Venatori."
"We did, but Eremond…"
Dorian nodded knowingly. "Because he's a Magister. In that case, we went over this already with Alexius. He was also a Magister, and my mentor." He took Theo's hand and kissed it. "My loyalties have been with the Inquisition from day one."
"I never doubted your loyalty." He twined his fingers with Dorian's and tugged gently.
Dorian followed the hint and reclined next to the Inquisitor. "I know. But it's not a question of loyalties. It's more an issue of fear." Theo turned his quizzical gaze on Dorian, the dim firelight reflecting there. "I support you totally. Though with each mission we go on, the dangers increase and I fear losing you."
Theo smiled. "You won't lose me, Dorian. I walked out of the Fade once. I could do it again. I would do it again if it meant getting back to you." He cupped Dorian's cheek gently and placed a light kiss on his lips. "Adamant is an old fortress. Our siege engines can take it. We have good forces. All we need to do is take down Eremond and Clarel."
"I fear my confidence is rubbing off on you in the worst ways," Dorian said, though he was glad to see Theo taking charge, not backing down from a fight or deferring to others. But as they slipped beneath the sheets and the chill of the desert night crept in, he still could not quash his own fears. Magisters, monsters, demons… he could face those. They were easy enemies. But his own fear, and the thought of losing the one man he'd come to love, was harder.
They stood before the walls of Adamant as the battering ram pounded relentlessly on the front gate. Theo had an arrow nocked; Dorian had a spell ready to fire off. Bull paced restlessly, holding his huge maul as easily as the others held knives. He was a mountain of muscle and tension, ready for a fight. Dorian wasn't sure if the Bull inspired the ranks of soldiers, or frightened them.
Suddenly the ram crashed through, reducing the gate to sad splinters. The sound of Wardens and Venatori within the walls grew louder. The ram was hardly out of the way before Bull was climbing through the shattered gate. Dorian grabbed Theo's arm briefly. "Don't do anything stupid," he chided, though he smiled.
Theo grinned back. "Bull took all the stupid with him, so don't worry," he said. His face fell slightly as the shouts began turning to screams as Bull began his work. "Are you with me?" he asked, looking young and scared in the billowing smoke.
"Til the end," Dorian said. Though it was a most inopportune moment, he pulled Theo in for a kiss.
"For the Inquisition!" Theo bellowed as they broke apart, and he barreled into the fray.
Nothing stupid, indeed.
Theo managed to stay on the edges of the fighting though, moving through the shadows and picking off the opposition with well-timed arrows. Dorian followed his lead, especially when he realized that Theo was slowly making his way closer to the inner keep. Bull followed them, keeping enemies at bay and beckoning to Cassandra. The Seeker slammed a warden out of the way and ran to catch up with them. "Seeker. Take out whatever mages you can," Bull ordered. Theo opened his mouth to protest. "No. You may be the Boss, but I'm Ben-Hassrath. We need strategy, I make strategy. And you're the only one who can do that… glowy thingy," he added and Theo couldn't help but smile.
"So much for him taking the stupid, eh?" Dorian murmured as they slunk through the darkness into the quiet of the inner keep.
"The night's still young," Theo said with a grin.
They met Hawke and Stroud on a ledge overlooking the courtyard. Hawke was having a hard time keeping Stroud from rushing down in his anger. Clarel stood beside Eremond, her brandished knife glinting in the moonlight. The roar of fire and screams of battle were far away; only the creaking, clinking of armor could be heard.
"Bring it through, Clarel," Eremond commanded, his voice echoing over the yard.
A shifting green fade rift lit up in the center and a warden limped out from a passageway. Clarel and the old warden spoke, too low for Dorian to hear from his vantage point. But he did see the man nod, see the gleam of the blade as it sliced down, and the blood, black in the moonlight as it gushed out of the man's neck.
Stroud screamed and was climbing down; Hawke fired off a Force spell. Bull and Cassandra both swore and followed Stroud. And sure enough, Theo was following them all, his glowing hand sparking as he made for the shifting, sparkling rift. It was Dorian's turn to swear as Theo all but jumped down, hitting the ground and rolling before springing to his feet and running toward the rift.
The creepy solemnity of the courtyard was broken. Confused wardens reached for weapons and demons began to slip through the rift. Dorian cast his terror spell, and the terrified wardens added to the chaos. Eremond was yelling. No one was listening. Theo flung his hand toward the rift while Cassandra used her Seeker abilities to disable Eremond.
Maybe this would work, Dorian thought as Eremond writhed and the fade rift twisted and folded in the air under the power of Theo's mark. Dorian flung out his staff in a wide swath, conjuring a wall of fire to keep the enemy away and allow Theo the time to finish.
But his flaming wall wasn't enough to keep out the dragon that came on gigantic flapping wings, stirring up a hot wind and fanning the flames into a burning maelstrom that Dorian could not control. "Run!" he shouted to Theo.
The dragon had landed and it swept its tail like an enormous flail, sending wardens flying through the air. Theo dove out of the way, but wasn't fast enough, and the tip of the tail caught him across the hip. He stumbled back through the flames and rolled to the ground and lay there, unmoving.
Dorian screamed out and fired spells at the dragon with no finesse. He didn't think, didn't strategically plan his spells, just cast with all the power he had within as he made his way to Theo. The dragon gnashed its jaws at him, but its attention was suddenly diverted by Iron Bull's war cry.
Theo was already trying to get up, wincing as he did. "I had it," he said, breathing heavily.
"I'm sure," Dorian said, helping the Inquisitor to his feet. "Where are you going now?" he snapped as Theo turned and began to limp off.
"Clarel!" Theo shouted behind him.
Dorian swore softly. He was exhausted from expending so much mana so quickly, and he shot down one of the lyrium potions he kept in a vial on his belt. It helped, though it was no substitute for true rest and regeneration. Hawke and Stroud joined him as they dashed across the ramparts.
"STOP!" Theo suddenly cried, and Dorian halted, throwing his staff out to protect Hawke and Stroud from barreling headlong into the sudden gout of dragon fire that crossed their walkway. The heat was searing; Dorian flung his arm up to protect his eyes and the silly, vain side of himself that even the Inquisition couldn't squish, cursed the fact his eyebrows were probably singed off.
The dragon roared and flapped away and when the fire dissipated they saw Theo standing there, holding his bow. "She's around the corner," he said, breathing heavily as Dorian and the others caught up with him. "I'm fine," he added more quietly, catching Dorian's concerned eye. "We'll catch up with Clarel, stop this, and then head back home for drinks and bed."
"And a bath," Dorian added, brushing ash and dust off of Theo's shoulder.
"And a bath," Theo agreed with a grin.
But when they reached Clarel, there was very little left of her. The dragon had circled around the other side of Adamant and attacked, leaving a staff, some boots, and a slick of blood black in the moonlight.
"Looks like it did our job for us," Hawke said with a raised eyebrow. She leaned on her staff and they all watched as the dragon finished chewing on Clarel.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Dorian finally said. "But shouldn't we attempt to finish it off before we meet the Warden Commander's fate?"
Dorian's voice of reason spurred them to action. Theo nocked an arrow and pulled back. Stroud brought up his shield. Hawke fired off an ice spell, and they let loose. The arrow tore through the dragon's wing; the ice froze its jaws and it began to thrash about. It turned its glowing baleful eyes upon them and managed to break the ice around its jaws.
The wings were damaged, but it could still run. It didn't let its size hold it back, its wings and legs pulling down columns and stones as it pursued them.
"Run!" Hawke shouted, and they all turned. She slammed the butt of her staff into the stones of the rampart and the walkway began to rumble and shake. With the first step of the dragon's feet the stones began to fall away.
They ran as the dragon kept up pursuit in spite of the falling walkway. It was gaining ground. Dorian ran, the very air burning his lungs as he tried to stay ahead of the rampaging death machine behind him. Stroud was beside him, Hawke behind them… where was Theo?
Dorian turned just in time to see the dragon fall through the collapsing walkway. Theo met his eyes as he tried to outrun the falling bricks and stones. Reached out his hand toward Dorian, who couldn't move fast enough to grab his hand. The dust plumes filled the sky and Theo's scream echoed in the ensuing night.