"And you're certain Lady Beverly will not be attending the fete?" Josephine leaned into Leliana's shoulder, prodding her with both a quill and arched eyebrow.
Leliana sighed, "Yes, the arrangements have been made."
"Good, because we do not want a repeat of last time. We're still finding pieces of him across Skyhold," Josephine cut back writing a line across her clipboard and then shoving one of the picks across the big map.
Lana had been hmming and nodding through most of the meeting while she lost herself out the window, but Josephine's cryptic words snagged her attention, "Pieces? Was his body exploded? Do you have access to gatlock?"
"Oh stars, no," Josephine shuddered at the very idea.
"She meant his clothing," Leliana chuckled. "The man drank from the wrong goblet, foolishly dosed himself with a wyvern poison meant for another, and spent the rest of the night convinced he was a dragon."
"Three soldiers had to coax his bare ass off the flag pole," Cullen grumbled. "Because he was 'too important' for us to shoot him down."
"Sounds like my kind of Satinalia," Hawke quipped. She sat beside Lana along the wall of the important room, her legs thrust so far off the shared bench the advisers had to stumble around her to get at their map. They were supposed to be formulating a plan to deal with the wardens, but they'd spent most of the morning talking about the nit and gritty of life at Skyhold while waiting for the Inquisitor.
"The man also kicked over three feeding troughs, rolled around in pitch for the roof, and attempted to...become amorous with a statue," Cullen said while his fingers batted against his sword.
"Please tell me it wasn't one of the horse ones," Lana sighed and caught the commander's gaze. He rolled his eyes and shook his head drawing a smile to her lips. Out of the corner of her periphery, Lana caught Leliana watching her with a quirk across her face.
The door blew open and the Inquisitor finally graced them all with his presence. An instant solemnity swept over the advisers from his presence. He bowed his patrician head, "Forgive me for my tardiness, there was an incident that required my attention."
"I hope it didn't involve pitch and a horse statue," Hawke said in a booming aside to Lana. Of course the rest of the advisers heard and couldn't stifle the giggle.
"I'm afraid I do not understand the reference," the Inquisitor said, his piercing grey eyes darting through the three professionals fighting to get back to neutral. He turned on his heel and eyed up the two women crashed together on the bench, "Please, fill in for us what you know of the wardens."
"Ah," Lana rose to her feet to approach the map while Hawke leaned back and placed her hands behind her head.
"What?" Hawke shrugged from four sets of eyes glaring at her relaxed posture, "All I know about wardens involves darkspawn, blight, and their thoughts on riding reverse-"
"All right," Lana interrupted, "please, do not elaborate on...I have this." She approached the great map and stepped beside Leliana. They'd had an honest discussion away from prying eyes where Lana told her everything, nearly everything. Leliana had a great chuckle over the image of Lana's body smothered by the oversized clothing courtesy of the commander, then offered her own as recompense. She'd intended to take the nightingale up on her offer but their catching up took so long after a time, Lana's were returned. She was surprised how white the Skyhold launders spruced up the vest; that was unlikely to last past the day.
"To understand what's happening, what must have them concerned, I have to tell you about what makes a grey warden. This is..." Lana sighed. She'd been prepping herself for this. After Clarel called for her head she thought it'd be easy to distance herself. Still, the rules of the order clung to her like twisted bedsheets. They may be threadbare and moldy, but they were all she had left in the world. "In order to sense darkspawn, to become a warden, we drink their blood. We take in the taint."
"Merciful Maker," Josephine gasped, her quill actually pausing. Leliana knew, or at least suspected enough to be unsurprised. Lana's eyes darted up to the only templar in the room. The wardens were always a bit iffy on whether the joining was blood magic or not, though she suspected they kept it secret so they'd never have to answer the question. Cullen looked wan but stoic, his heels dug in. Well, time for the next bombshell then.
"People think it makes us immune to the blight, but it doesn't. Not really. We're all...dying. Every warden gets twenty or thirty years and then the taint wins," Lana heard more gasps but she plowed through, needing to get this out. "That's when we start to hear voices, the darkspawn calling to us, or the archdemon, or maybe the blight itself. No one's certain."
"Like your dreams?" Cullen interrupted. His voice was barely a whisper, but it drew everyone's attention.
Lana nodded, "Yes, but something's happened. The calling it's...it's in everyone's head and it shouldn't be. Regardless of age or when someone took the joining, they're all hearing it. Every warden in thedas thinks they're going to die."
"Is it affecting you, Lady Amell?" the Inquisitor asked. He dressed himself in the garb of the Inquisition, the grey-tan leathers buttoned with the symbolic eye, all human attire save a pair of softskin dalish gloves. The familiar embroidery lightly touched her hand, as if he wished to comfort her through a difficult time. She almost snorted at the idea.
"When I'm focused on a task, talking to someone or casting magic I cannot hear it. But in the calm, it slips back into my mind, like whispers or a song on the wind."
"It's why I'm here!" Hawke shouted while waving her hand for emphasis. "I'm good at distractions."
"That's not why...well, that is true, you are good at them," Lana admitted. Was that why she kept Hawke around?
"Why didn't you mention this before?" Leliana pushed, a note of concern marring her porcelain face.
Lana shrugged, "Warden secrets. I didn't even realize it was affecting every warden until I ran into Hawke here. While I was investigating the red lyrium I received a summons from Clarel. She was calling all of us to Orlais to solve this crisis of the order."
"Could it kill you?"
She shuddered at the panic and also resolve in Cullen's tone, as if he could somehow fight the taint out of her. Lana could reassure him, she grew good at lying for comfort, but he deserved the truth. "I'm already dying, have been since the blight began."
"But this calling, what effect does it have upon you? We've heard of what Corypheus can do to warden mages, the sway he holds," Leliana whipped her head to Hawke who sat up now with a glare in her eye. Anders was her one weakness. Fire, demons, blood mages, poison spitting giant lizards; none of that slowed Hawke down, but if Anders so much as whimpered she fell apart. Maker only knew what Hawke saw in him, but she'd defend him to the death if it came to it.
"Varric's been chatty, I see," Hawke grumbled stewing into her folded arms.
Lana shook her head, "I hear nothing more than the archdemon, it is simply louder."
It should have been enough, but Leliana continued, "Your collapse earlier."
There was nothing getting past the spymaster. "It is an unrelated matter. I...would prefer to, it's not important."
"Lady Amell," Josephine swept in with her honeyed words, "if it could endanger the Inquisition..."
"Then we have a right to know," the Inquisitor finished.
"Fine," Lana snorted as she spread her hands across the map and dropped her head, "post guards around me at all times if you're worried. I grew up in the circle, it's unlikely I'd even notice bumping elbows with a soldier or two."
"Commander?" Leliana turned to Cullen.
"I trust her," he said sincerely. A warmth spread up Lana's cheeks and she shook her head. Foolish given how many unknowns they faced, but sweet. It was doubtful she'd say the same if the positions were reversed. "We have more than enough templars and mages walking around Skyhold to deal with any matters should they arise. Which is still assuming that Corypheus' control could extend that far."
"It is still a risk, a calculated one perhaps, but..." Josephine said.
"What if I promise to watch her? I've been doing it for a few months already. What's one more?" Hawke called out.
"And you have training in disarming magic?" the Inquisitor turned to her.
Hawke's jaw dropped open and she shook her head, "Uh, I was in Kirkwall - land of blood mages and demons and other bitey things. They kinda made me their Champion for being good at that stuff. I think I can deal with a bit of magic here and there."
"And it does not fail to pass me by that you two are related," the Inquisitor continued.
"So, what's that mean?" Hawke interjected. "Think I will falter in my 'line of duty' cause we've got the same great grandmother?" The two fell into bickering over who could best stop Lana in the event of a total catastrophe with Josephine joining in. Even Cullen tossed a comment or two their way all in support of her. Only Leliana remained out of it, her eyes piercing through every speaker and weighing them carefully.
Lana slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "The problem is not me!" As every eye turned to her, she shrunk down and mumbled, "At least not just me. I tried to attend Clarel's little soiree but was intercepted."
"By three wardens looking for easy pickings," Hawke shouted. If it weren't for her cousin remaining nearby it was doubtful Lana would be alive enough to be a threat to anyone. They'd claimed they were there to escort the Hero of Ferelden, but the more questions Lana asked, the more agitated they became until - as all things seem to do - a fight broke out. While picking over their bodies, Lana found the writ for her arrest: alive or dead.
"I never discovered what Clarel's game was, but her turning on me, sending wardens to eradicate another Warden Commander is unheard of. We've had our differences, and I suspect she's still jealous of missing out of the blight, but this...Either the Warden Commander of the forces in Orlais, Ferelden, and some of the Free Marches has decided to revolt against the order's laws or she's been corrupted."
"My vote's on the latter," Hawke called.
"So," the Inquisitor spoke softly while ignoring Hawke's pleas for attention, "what you're saying is the next step should be finding a way to discover Clarel's true plans. Any ideas on that?"
Lana turned to the quiet elf and sized him up anew. She'd heard the short short version from Hawke - blessed by Andraste (or not) closed the hole in the sky, mountain fell on him, he survived, got given the sword of power, leads the Inquisition - all very heroic things that could warp to darker ideals when held up to the light. But, for being thrust into a seat of power by either divine providence or random chance, he bore it well. Better than her, probably better than Hawke. It was hard to tell with that woman. She seemed allergic to real command and favored slipping off to the pub when anyone was looking for a leader. This one didn't bluster, he watched. He didn't stomp in and demand the floor, he waited patiently to be given it. But, she suspected, if something crossed him he'd thunder from on high to stop it. She wasn't certain if the man frightened or impressed her.
"Yes, I have one," Lana reached into her vest pocket and unearthed her own death warrant. The picture was a terrible likeness and unnecessary, everyone in the order knew her. "If the wardens want me, then we let them have me. Use me as bait."
"Over my dead body," Cullen stormed. Every eye whipped up to him, but he didn't crack from the pressure or blush himself to death. Another fire burned across his face as he sliced his hand through the air to punctuate his words, "You're our only connection to the wardens in Orlais. If we stretch your neck on the line, then we lose that insider information. I will not allow it."
"Is that your decision to make, Commander?" the Inquisitor said in his soft tone.
The sneer didn't break from Cullen's face, but his eyes danced over the Inquisitor. "I gave my opinion, that is all."
"I do not relish the idea of placing you in harm's way, but I could seed a few hints amongst known warden contacts as to your location." Leliana leaned over the map and prodded through Orlais, "The question is where to set the trap."
Lana plucked up the pick in Redcliffe and twisted it around in her hands. It was a long shot, but it might work. "I have another idea. We were too few in the Ferelden order for many years, so we relied upon dead drops to pass messages, ask for supplies, aid, little things. I could light one of them up and arrange a meeting here." She stabbed the pick down just outside of Teagan's village near a lake she once loved.
"An interesting idea," the Inquisitor said.
"This assumes anyone is left to answer," Leliana said, "but it could work. And if not, there are still my spies."
Lana frowned at the idea, more than likely word of her being with the Inquisition would spread off the mountain faster than any of Leliana's spies could spin the lie. But if this beacon worked, then it wouldn't be a random Orlesian warden she'd get answers from. It'd be one of her own.
"Inquisitor?" Lana asked, turning to him, "What do you say?"
"If you believe this beacon will work, then we may was well try it first. I will be traveling through the Emerald Graves to answer Fairbanks' inquiry, but if you require any assistance..."
"I can lend a hand," Cullen interrupted.
"That works as well," the Inquisitor barely even blinked from the commander throwing himself forward.
Lana nodded. If this worked, she'd finally have her answers. She'd finally know what happened to all her wardens, the ones she recruited, trained, commanded, befriended. Vigil's Keep provided no clue to their disappearance, but this might. Lana flicked the pin with her finger and said, "I need to get to Redcliffe."