Mutiny at Vigil's Keep
(Rewatching an episode of a certain TV show and I thought this one scene fit really well into Dragon age. Points if you know the scene I've based this on. Anyway this is my take on how the rest of the higher up Grey Wardens at Weisshaupt would feel about my Warden Cousland letting the architect live)
Lara Cousland sat quietly at her desk with numerous papers and letters before her. She had not intended to stay at Vigil's Keep after her deal with the Architect and subsequent death of the Mother. But a letter from Weisshaupt had delayed her departure. Lara grimaced she had planned on leaving for Denerim to surprise Leliana after the latter's meeting with the Grand Cleric. However the letter from Wesshaupt had said that an envoy of high ranking Wardens from as far as the Anderfalls was already on its way to Vigil's Keep. It seemed that the letter itself must have been delayed as it was only a week after it arrived that the Warden envoy showed up at the Vigil.
While the reconstruction of Vigil's Keep was already well under way with workers going about every day Lara felt as if the Vigil was empty. Almost every recruit that she had trained were off on assignments investigating potential darkspawn sightings. Anders had left again on one of his many personal journeys. Oghren had been sent to Orzammar on orders of the First Warden evidently to ask the King if the Wardens might create a permanent base of operations in the city to have easy access to the deep roads. Velanna and Nathaniel had also been sent west to the Frostback mountains but a letter from Nathaniel said that they were on their way back. Lara had hoped that they would have already arrived to have company and other perspectives during the meetings with the Warden envoy. Sigrun was still at the Keep but while still a perky individual Lara could see that her disapproval of the deal with the architect was impacting her commitment to the Wardens, or at least to Lara. The mabari that Lara had had since her life at Castle Cousland seemed to be her last remaining friend at the Keep.
Sighing, Lara closed her eyes. Ever since the Warden envoy had arrived she had been embroiled in talks from sunrise to sunset about her actions with the mother and the architect. Despite word from Orazammar and the Legion of the Dead that the deep roads were the quietest they had been in living memory the other Wardens were livid that the architect had been allowed to live. They were certain that a new blight would happen perhaps even in their lifetimes because of the architects experiments. Nothing Lara said dulled the views of the others. The endless conversations and debates would circle accomplishing nothing. Lara had the sense that the envoy was waiting for something but could not see what that might be.
Suddenly the door to Lara's office burst open revealing a breathless Sigrun. "Commander" she said catching her breath "a messenger from the architect has just arrived!"
Lara stood up instantly alert. "You're sure it's from the architect?" she asked quickly.
"Absolutely" Sigrun responded "he talked about the day you made the deal with the architect and how it took place in an old Tevinter ruin. Oh and he was a talking darkspawn so there's that too" Sigrun added.
"Where is he?" Lara asked moving from behind her desk and into the hallway with Sigrun in tow.
"By the front gates" Sigrun responded "He's with the other Wardens now. They didn't think it was a good idea to bring him into the Keep just yet"
"Damn it" Lara cursed. "Of course he comes across the other Wardens first. Well at least they haven't killed him yet"
Picking up the pace Lara broke into a run towards the gates with Sigrun close on her heels. As she approached the gates she saw what must have been all of the Wardens from the envoy in a semi circle, penning the darkspawn messenger in Lara thought. Moving forward Lara pushed through the wall of Wardens mind racing about what message the architect might have sent. As she made it through the semicircle Lara suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Where she had expected to find a darkspawn hurlock there was just a Grey Warden shield with the word Traitor written across it.
Lara slowly turned around confused yet beginning to realize that she was in mortal danger. As she faced the wall of Wardens Lara let out a gasp of pain. One of the Wardens had driven his knife into her abdomen.
"For the Wardens" he said as he removed his blade.
Lara staggered trying to make sense of what had happened her hands moving to her bleeding gut but was immediately met with another Warden blade.
"For the Wardens" the second attacker said.
The pain from the knives were clouding her thoughts keeping her from thinking clearly. Any thought of escape or of fighting back were being drowned by her shock.
"For the Wardens" a third said driving their blade into Lara.
The phrase was repeated several more times before there was a pause. Gasping for breath Lara fell to her knees. One hand steadying herself the other clutching at her bloody chest. Her eyes were moving over the wall of Wardens trying to understand what had just happened. Why? Lara thought. Because of the architect? Are they so concerned about another blight that they see me and the deal I made as the beginning of another?
Lara tried to focus on the Wardens as she let out grunts of pain and gasps for breath. Then some of the Wardens began to part ranks letting someone walk through. Sigrun slowly walked forward a knife in her hand. Lara's eyes widened in shock and sadness as she realized that Sigrun had brought her into this trap. Now standing in front of Lara Sigrun paused. Lara could see the pained expression on Sigrun's face and even thought there were tears in her eyes.
"Si... Sigrun... I..." Lara quietly gasped.
Tears were now streaming down Sigrun's face "I'm sorry" she said and drove her blade into Lara. "For the Wardens"
Lara's mind had stopped trying to think about what was happening. She was dying she knew it the blood pooling on the ground was evidence of that. Loneliness began to fill her thoughts as she knelt gasping in the pool of her own blood. How long had it been since she had seen Fergus? He had taken his seat as the Teyrn of Highever. And Leliana. She had not seen Leliana in so long. They had planned on traveling the world together. After the murder of her family, after the blight, and the fighting in Amaranthine Lara had just wanted to live as happily as she could with Leliana for as long as she could. I'm so sorry Leliana, she thought. I won't be able to hear about your meeting with the Grand Cleric or listen to your songs and stories anymore. Feeling completely empty and alone Lara Cousland fell back hitting the ground with a squelching sound as she landed in the pool of her own blood.
Turning away the other Wardens began to walk away leaving the Hero of Ferelden's body where it had fallen.
Out in the fields outside of Vigil's Keep the returning Nathaniel Howe and Velanna could hear the howls of a mabari. Velanna grimaced in annoyance she had never been fond of the Commander's mabari. He was far too energetic and got into all sorts of trouble. She did not want to be met at the gates by the hound slobbering all over her. Sighing she resigned herself to the inevitable and continued for the Keep but realized that Nathaniel had stopped dead in his tracks. Turning she saw that his face had gone pale and was accompanied by a look of dread.
"What's wrong?" Velanna asked very concerned at her companions' sudden appearance.
"That's the Commander's mabari" he answered in a hushed tone.
"Yes I know. And?" Velanna was confused. The hound was howling at something why did this cause Nathaniel to look so worried?
"You must not have spent much time with mabari" Nathaniel said. "Any Ferelden worth their salt can recognize how a mabari is feeling" he continued breaking into a run towards Vigil's Keep.
Running to catch up Velanna asked "And what is this mutt feeling then? What is wrong?"
"It's the Commander" Nathaniel responded "I don't know what it is but she is in danger right now. Hurry, something is very wrong at the Keep"