A/N: Hello readers! It's been a little while. I've been busy with school and the like. But this chapter has actually been written for a while, eheh. I try to give myself a little cushion so I still have something to post if I can't write. Oh, and sorry it's a bit short. I'm terrible at planning chapters out :(
The events of that unfortunate man kept replaying themselves in my head. What if my good intentions were for naught? What if Lucia and I were expendable, those foolish enough to assist Jowan with his fool's errand? I continued to doubt myself as we followed the poorly-lit path ahead of us.
"How far down is this place?" Lily whined, pulling up the hem of her robes as to not trip over them.
"Keep in mind we live in a tower, Lily," Jowan answered lightly, but his tone was patronizing.
Lucia walked a few paces ahead, a spell wisp hovering about to light the dark cavern. I could not help but wonder at how charmingly naive she looked, marching ahead with a determined look on her face, but her eyes still gleaming with excitement. Lost in my musings, I nearly bumped into Jowan who had suddenly stopped.
"This is it. The Chantry calls this entrance the victims' door. It has two hundred and fifty-seven planks, one for each original templar. It is a reminder-"
"Very interesting Lily," I interrupted, rolling my eyes. "So do you have a way in?"
Lily bit her lower lip, eyes narrowed. "Fine, fine. I'll say the password, then you must touch the door with mana." She cleared her throat and held out her outstretched palm, almost as if she were casting a spell herself.
"Sword of the Maker, tears of the Fade."
At her words, a pressure in my head I had not even noticed was relieved. Nodding towards Lily, Lucia pressed her fingertips to the aged wood. At her touch, the door swung open as if by some unseen force.
"Creepy," I muttered, before shrugging and continuing forward. I didn't have to walk for long though.
"Oh you must be joking."
In front of us stood yet another door. We were only a few riddle-telling trolls short of a bad adventure tale. The others looked so utterly defeated that I couldn't help but snicker at their expense.
"Don't you worry, I'll take care of this," I said smugly. "Knickers of Andraste, hem of the Veil!"
Lily gasped at the mention of His bride's underthings, but a giggle escaped Lucia's lips. Jowan groaned and she promptly stopped, but the corners of her mouth continued to twitch.
"Did you go to the storeroom, Lucia?" Jowan asked, his voice monotone.
Lucia nodded and procured a rod of fire from her pack. I cocked an eyebrow as she prodded the door's lock, but to no avail.
"I can't use magic here," Lucia stated, her brow creased.
"This must be the templars' work. Of course! I should have guessed," Lily said scathingly. "How do you keep mages away from something? Make their powers completely useless." Her amber eyes were bright with passion and rage.
"What? Now what are we supposed to do?" Jowan cried, wringing his hands.
I cleared my throat and all the headless chickens turned their gaze towards me. "Ah, well, I'm assuming you didn't think this far ahead," I said with a smirk. "Luckily, there happens to be another door over there."
I gestured towards a plain wooden door that looked like it led to a cupboard, not a treasure trove of magical artifacts. Lucia walked ahead and, with an unseemly shout, kicked off the latch. The door swung open, revealing an open room full of ancient-looking ornaments.
She looked over her shoulder and shrugged at her gaping friends. "I was tired of charms and all that other hogwash. A swift kick still works well enough, right?" She smiled wide, signaling us to laugh, but silence hung in the air. Lucia's shoulders slumped as she strode on ahead, using her staff as a walking-stick.
The door had taken us to the area which contained dangerous magical objects, not the phylacteries. This meant fighting our way through a small army of spirit sentinels, navigating a maze of Tevinter statues and forbidden tomes, and pilfering some of the more useful articles. We were all exhausted afterward, but we finally found what we were searching for. The repository was cloaked in a mysterious haze that drained all warmth from the small room. I had to resist the urge to conjure a fire wisp, lest it go awry and disturb any of the hundred of vials situated precariously above.
"Wow..." Lucia breathed, and I could only silently agree. In each vial was one mage's key to freedom, and I bitterly regretted that mine was probably locked away somewhere in Denerim.
"We should spread out an search for Jowan's phylactery..." Lily muttered, and we all drifted apart to different corners of the repository. Every phylactery looked the same, opaque glass vials filled with murky red liquid, the blood separated and unnatural-looking. I strained my eyes in the low light to read the names carved into the glass base.
"I found it!" Lucia called, her voice light with relief. We all rushed over, careful not to accidentally send the other phylacteries cascading down.
Lucia cradled the flask as if it were a precious babe, shielding it from harm. Jowan snatched the phylactery away, holding it up to the light and inspecting the carving at the bottom.
"You found it! That's my phylactery. I can't believe this tiny vial stands between me and freedom," Jowan said, his eyes wild with excitement.
Lily, Lucia and I were stunned into silence, enraptured by the aura of power emanating from the flask. Jowan rolled the vial's neck between his fingers.
"So fragile, so easy to get rid of it, to end its hold over me..." Jowan whispered, his eyes glazed over as if hypnotized. He relinquished his grasp on the vial and it plummeted to the stone. It shattered, the sound of broken glass resonated through the grim chamber, blood spreading over the floor and trickling through crevices like crimson rivers.
