Part X
The Warden and the demon-witch followed the red clad figures into the ancient temple. Up cracked steps and along a stone walkway they went, the bricks containing many chips and some weeds growing in between, until they stood before a set of large metal doors that were cast with ornate images of long-dead gods and heroes doing battle with ancient demons. The lead member of the group pulled open the door and gestured The Warden and his companion inside.
"Master Denolian waits for you inside." he said with a bow.
After walking through the doorway, The Warden found himself standing in a large worship hall of some sort. It was a long and narrow room with many rows of pews separated by an aisle covered in lush velvet carpet. Many hundreds of candles lit the room, some set in places against the wall, while others hung overhead in extravagant chandeliers. The smell of many different spices and incense filled the air, their strong fragrances permeating everything around. At the far end of the room was a tall podium that sat behind a large black marble altar that was trimmed with gold and silver markings. Standing near the pulpit was a man wearing a fine white robe inlaid with religious and ceremonial markings. The man, hearing The Warden and demon's entrance, raised his head towards the sound.
The glint of a smile could be seen beneath the hood of the man's robe. With smooth and gracious steps, he climbed down from the podium and stood in front of it as The Warden approached him.
"Welcome, Warden." the man said, "I am Denolian, the high priest of this temple. I've been waiting for you."
"I know this place." the demon-witch noted, "Twas you that called to me in my dreams."
"I prayed the Maker would guide you here, and He has. You no doubt have many questions. All will be answered in good time, I assure you." Denolian replied, "Unfortunately, however, there is a pressing matter that requires my attention. Please, be our guests for the night and I will explain everything over dinner this evening."
The false Morrigan leaned her mouth close to The Warden's ear and whispered, "Lest the idea of spending another night in a cramped boat appeals to you, I suggest you accept his hospitality."
"It's agreed, then." The Warden said, "We'll be your guests."
"Excellent!" Denolian exclaimed, "I'll have Eldrich show you to your quarters."
The priest pulled a small bell from his robe sleeve and rang it; the high pitched dinging sounds reverberated clearly off the stone walls. The large door swung open once again and the man who first showed the pair in, reappeared. "Yes, your grace?" the man asked.
"Eldrich, take The Warden and his lovely companion to their quarters for the night."
"Certainly, your grace." Eldrich replied with a deep bow, "If you'll please follow me, my lord." he said to The Warden as he head for the doorway.
The trio walked along the stone pathway that wound through the temple compound on the way to one of the other structures. The large temple complex contained no less than five buildings, from what The Warden could see, the worship hall being the largest. Eldrich was leading them to one of the smaller structures on the eastern end of the grounds.
"What is this place?" The Warden asked as they walked.
"This temple is very old...abandoned long ago by an ancient and foreign people. Their language is strange to us and we don't know who they were or even what they called this place." Eldrich answered, "But we call it 'The Maker's Palace'."
"That's an odd name. Why do you call it that?" The Warden inquired, slightly puzzled.
"What else would you call the place where the Maker will appear when he returns?"
"Why would he return here?"
"The Maker summoned Master Denolian to this island and told him it would be so. We do not question why."
"How quaint. Even this far from the shores of Ferelden do we yet see blind faith." the demon said in a condescending tone.
"My faith has served me well, my lady." Elrich replied.
They entered the smaller building, which had the same strange symbols and markings carved into its stone as the other structures. Its walls were made of the same black marble as the temple and the torchlight reflected off the smooth stone. After walking down a short corridor, they came to a door.
"He we are." Eldrich said as he opened the door, "Feel free to make yourselves comfortable. You may venture to any part of the temple you desire, but I strongly suggest you do not go far into the forest beyond. Many an unwary brother found himself lost amid its tangled clutches, never to be seen again."
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." The Warden said, passing through the doorway and entering the room. The demon-witch followed.
"If you need anything, please, don't hesitate to ask." Eldrich offered, "I'll come get you when dinner is ready this evening." he finished with a bow, turned, and left back down the corridor and out of the building.
Without saying a word, The Warden grabbed his backpack and removed it from his shoulders, laying it down in the center of the plain but clean looking bed and then turned to head back out the door.
"And just where do you think you are off to?" the false Morrigan asked in an annoyed voice, hands on her hips.
"I'm going to take a look around." came The Warden's reply.
"Like hell you are." the demon-witch fumed, "Our first chance to be alone since we wed and you would squander it on sight seeing?"
"I need to find out all I can about this place and these people before we meet with Denolian tonight."
"You shall have plenty of time for that later." the demon said as she moved her body dangerously close to his, "But now 'tis time for you and I and something we've not done since before we were married."
Unable to put up much of a resistance to the soft kisses she placed along his neck and chin, The Warden found himself having a difficult time putting a thought together in order to respond. Finally, after much focus and effort, he was able to say, "Morrigan...wait. I can't do this right now." And he started back towards the door.
"Are you telling me you are saying no to these?" the demon-witch asked as she pulled her top open allowing her breasts to fall out and freezing him once more in his tracks.
"You don't play fair." he said, "...but I can't."
"What reason could you possibly have?" the demon hissed, obviously very aggravated.
"Because Denolian is hiding something. I can feel it. I have to find out what he's up to. If I don't, it's going to eat at me and be a distraction."
"And what cause have you to think this?"
"None really. It's just a gut feeling." The Warden answered as he held her soft hands within his and gazed into her golden eyes, "It's crazy, I know. But I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right here."
The demon sighed and rolled her eyes, "Fine. Go and search this place from top to bottom. And when you've discovered nothing, you shall return to me and we will speak no more of this foolishness."
He smiled at her. "Thank you." he said as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss against her cheek. And, with a turn, he was through the door, into the corridor, and gone.
Morrigan, Leliana, and Zevran searched the area by the shore for anything that could be used to float them out to sea and after The Warden. But there was nothing of use to be found. What deadwood lay on the shore was either too small or too gnobbled and crooked to be of help. The small bushes and trees along the coastline were scraggly, wiry, and not fit to be made into neither boat nor raft. The trio had only one option left: turning back.
The only way they could follow The Warden now was by boat. The closest boat available to them were those of Alistair's royal navy that were docked in Amaranthine. It would take at least a day to make the trip from Highever, where they would have to go first in order to get Alistair's royal seal, thereby granting passage aboard his ships, and still at least another two days sailing. And that was if the winds held, otherwise it could take far longer still.
That was at least four or more days they would lose. By that time, Morrigan feared, The Warden's trail may go cold and she would never be able to find him. To avoid that possibility, Morrigan hatched a plan of her own, a plan that carried great risk, but if successful, could greatly aid in her search. The witch planned to use the Orbs of Arastani to try to contact The Warden. She hoped she wouldn't be contacting legions of darkspawn as well.
The trio safely made their way back to Castle Cousland, and, judging from the looks on their faces, both Alistair and Fergus knew what the outcome of their search had been. Zevran and Leliana stopped to talk to the king and teyrn who met the party as they came inside the castle. Morrigan chose instead to quietly head to her chambers without saying a word. She was exhausted, the stress and uncertainty were starting to take a heavy toll on her. And, if that wasn't bad enough, her back had started hurting again.
Upon arriving at her and The Warden's private apartment, she cast her pack aside, leaving it in the middle of the floor where it landed, and plopped down on the bed. The witch barely had the strength to remove her boots, which she tossed to the side. A loud sigh escaped her as she lay back against the soft pillows, the first comfort she'd had in days.
Morrigan tried her best to lay still and relax, attempting to ease the painful spasms in her back and stomach by willpower alone. For a long time, her body refused to cooperate, and instead of subsiding, the pain became steadily worse. The witch's hands dug into the mattress with each wave that washed through her, sweat starting to bead on her forehead. But finally, after what seemed like an eternity of agony, the pain began to fade and her muscles released their tight grip. Morrigan, totally drained, fell fast asleep.
Meanwhile, in the castle study, Alistair, Fergus, Zevran, and Leliana were all discussing the current status of the search for The Warden and what to do next, the king and teyrn having both been briefed on the situation. Alistair agreed to send his fastest ship, the Gryphon, which was anchored at Amaranthine. Even still, it would take a few days to reach the area and the coast of Ferelden was dotted with hundreds of small islands. Searching them would take months, at least. A courier was sent racing from the castle on horseback to alert the Gryphon to be ready to sail the instant Leliana, Zevran, and Morrigan boarded the ship.
Many coastal maps were rolled out over then teyrn's desk as they debated over which places to start looking first. Figuring that the craft The Warden and the demon used was small, that should have limited the number of islands they could reach. And it would most assuredly rule out them being able to make it as far north as the Free Marches.
With those things in mind, those gathered in the study began combing the maps and looking at the islands within a few miles of the coast. Most of these were small and rocky places, little more than stone lumps poking up out of the sea. That narrowed their choices down considerably until only a few likely candidates remained. Of these, only one stood out: Dragon's Tail Island. It was an island that sailors had avoided for centuries, claiming it was a dark and haunted place, possessed by foul and evil creatures. It seemed like the perfect place to start their search.
"Where's Morrigan?" Alistair asked, "After all the fuss she made you'd figure she'd be here."
"I don't think she was feeling too good." Leliana replied, "I saw her head off towards her chambers."
"In my experience, women who are with child rarely feel good." Fergus added.
"Her back was bothering her before, it might be doing so again."
A look of concern came over the teyrn's face, looking to the bard he asked, "Her back was hurting her?"
Leliana nodded affirmative, "She said it was nothing."
"She would." Alistair said.
"That doesn't sound good. She's not far along enough for her back to hurt yet." Fergus remarked, "You might want to go check on her."
"Me check on her?" The bard asked, miffed, "Why does it always have to be me?"
"Because this is a woman type of problem and more importantly, she'll yell at any of us." the teyrn answered.
"Fine. But she yells at me, too." Leliana said as she stormed out of the room.
The bard walked along the castle corridors, muttering to herself about how unfair the situation was, going around turns and up stairs until she was in front of Morrigan's door. Leliana stopped outside, preparing herself for the verbal onslaught that was about to ensue, as she slowly raised her hand to knock on the rough wooden door. But before she had the opportunity, a scream erupted from the other side.
"Morrigan!" Leliana exclaimed, "Are you alright?" she asked as she banged on the door with her fist. "Morrigan!" the bard continued to yell but still no reply came.
Leliana clasped the metal ring in her hand and pushed the door open. She raced inside to find Morrigan sitting up in her bed with a look of abject terror. The witch held both her hands before her face, staring at them in stunned silence. They were covered in blood. The witch's skirt as well as the blanket she lay on were drenched in blood as well. All of it Morrigan's.
"Oh, Morrigan...no..." Leliana gasped.
Faint rays of sunlight trickled through the tiny slits that served as windows, barely casting any light at all inside the dark temple in Highever. The robbed priests and brothers inside went about their daily routines as they scurried to and fro within the stone walls. The entire time a deep chant echoed through the temple that seemed to come from nowhere yet was everywhere at the same time. It was a variation of the Chant of Light. With a loud and whining creak, the front door opened, bathing the interior of the building in sunlight, and Dyana stepped inside.
The captain had come alone to see Altavar. There was something that was troubling her for the past day an she was having difficulty putting the matter to rest. From the description that the king gave, the red robed man who attacked him outside the small cave appeared to be a brother with the order. If it was true, that would mean the Order of Bohlen was behind everything, including the dragon attack. This information did not sit well with the captain at all, and she meant to get to the bottom of things.
"You lied to me Altavar!" she exclaimed when she burst into his private office near the rear of the building.
"My good captain, whatever do you mean?" he asked in an innocently soothing voice.
"The people who planted the dragon egg, they were members of the order, weren't they?" Dyana demanded.
The priest bowed his head with a deep sigh and said, "Then it's true. They were members of the order, as much as it pains me to admit."
"I don't understand..."
"There are those among our order who tend to be a bit...overzealous at times. I feared that something like this could happen and always suspected that some of our own could be responsible, but I never spoke it aloud. I hoped that if I didn't acknowledge it, then it could not possibly be so. I was wrong."
"Tell me what's going on. The truth."
"Several of our younger members had shown for some time that they would like to take a more...active...part in the Maker's plan. They felt that by sending a message to The Warden on his wedding night, he might be persuaded to end his unholy folly with the maleficarum. At least that was the impression they gave me. I can't say for certain as they never made me privy to their plans. I do not know where or how they acquired the egg, as I have not seen them since the day before the wedding. I assumed the dragon killed them as well. Call it poetic justice."
"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" the captain asked.
"Though the Order of Bohlen is older even than the Chantry, our numbers are few. And because we acknowledge the one true Maker and were the first to follow the Andrastic teachings, the Chantry tolerates our presence, but just barely. Aylesa would love nothing more than to have a reason to banish us from Ferelden forever. I do not intend to give her one."
"More than two hundred people were killed by the dragon. You still should have come forward and said something. I can't just ignore that."
"Nor should you. But what can be done? Those responsible for this horrible crime are already dead. Do you plan on executing them a second time for good measure?"
"Well...I suppose not." The captain said as she thought about Altavar's response, weighing it in her mind.
"I trust you will still be attending this evening's services? We'll be hearing a sermon written by Master Denolian, himself. It's sure to be quite insightful." Altavar said with a polite smile.
"I wouldn't miss it for anything." Dyana replied slyly as she head out the door.
After spending the better part of the day exploring the temple compound, The Warden returned to his guest quarters, not having found anything out of the ordinary. And while he and the false Morrigan waited for Eldrich, The Warden pondered the strange feeling in his gut that he hadn't been able to shake since arriving on the island. He was certain things were not all what they seemed to be, but, as of yet, he lacked any evidence to support it. He hoped that their dinner with Denolian would be more enlightening.
"I suppose you find that particular wall more interesting than you do me?" the demon-witch asked, her question dripping with sarcasm.
"What?" The Warden said, his mind being pulled back from elsewhere.
"You've done nothing but sit there and stare at that wall. What could there be about it that would mesmerize you so?"
"Oh, sorry." he replied, apologetically, "I was just thinking."
"What about?"
"You said you didn't want to talk about it." he reminded her.
"That again?" the demon huffed, folding her arms, "Surely you have better things to do with your time than waste it on trying to see things the are not there."
She moved over to where he sat and straddled his lap, setting all of her weight on him. She put her slender fingers against his chin and guided his gaze to hers. "For the first time in over a year, we are alone together. And this is how you would squander it?" she said as her lips crept closer to his.
"I'm...I'm sorry." he stammered, "That's not what I was trying to do."
"All shall be forgiven..." the false Morrigan purred in his ear, "But it will require a great deal off effort on your part. And I intend you to spend the entire evening working to make things right." she said as she reached her hand around behind her, between his legs and lightly cupped his loins in her hand "And this shall be the tool you'll use." she finished, gently squeezing before releasing her hand.
"I'm looking forward to it." he said as he leaned his mouth closer to hers. But before he could claim his prize, as usual, there came a knock at their door.
"Who is it?" The Warden called out with more than a little frustration in his voice.
"It's Eldrich, my lord. I've been sent to call you to dinner. Master Denolian waits for you in his private dining room." the man on the other side of the door said.
"It looks like Gregory will have to wait." he said to her, disappointed.
"Who?" the demon asked.
"What do you mean, 'who'?"
"Oh...of course...Gregory. How foolish of me." false Morrigan stumbled, sounding more confused than anything.
With a grumble, the demon lifted herself from The Warden's lap, allowing him to stand and open the door. Eldrich stood patiently in the corridor, waiting to escort the couple to dinner. They followed the robed brother as he led them to still another of the temple's buildings, this one housing the kitchen and dining hall for the temple faithful. In the back of the structure, secluded from watchful eyes, was Denolian's private dining room.
"I'm so glad you could make it." Denolian said as The Warden and demon walked into the room and joined him at the large round table in the middle. "I even have a small treat for you Warden. Please, enjoy." he said, pointing to one of the many plates that lie on the table. On the plate was a rolled up piece of flatbread, stuffed with meat.
"Merlan's tarts." The Warden said, instantly recognizing the dish. He turned to the demon-witch, intending to warn her only to find she already had bitten off half a tart, popping the rest into her mouth after finishing the first bite.
He watched her slowly chew the morsel, then swallow. "Those are quite good." she said after she finished and reached for another.
"Huh..." was all The Warden could say as he scrunched his eyebrows.
"You look like a man with something on your mind, Warden." the priest said with his velvet voice, "And I'm not talking about the food."
"You're very perceptive. Yes, there are some things that are bothering me."
"In my occupation, it pays to be observant. Tell me, what's on your mind."
"For starters, you can tell me what's really going on here. Many of your members are well armored and carry weapons beneath their robes. And I can tell they've been trained how to use them."
"Apparently, I'm not the only one who is observant. Very well, if you must know, I will tell you." Denoloan said as he started to explain, "While the Chantry pretends to ignore us, in truth we are the subject of repeated attacks by their revered Templar Order. They call us heretics and their goal is to drive us out of Ferelden completely. Some of our members have taken an oath to protect this order and those who worship here. It is an unfortunate, but necessary precaution, I assure you."
"Why would they do this? The Templars hunt down rogue mages, not attack unarmed men."
"A question we asked a hundred times, ourselves. A question with a most unlikely answer."
"Explain what you mean."
"The Order of Bohlen's history predates that of the Chantry's. We were the first to speak the Maker's true words and follow the Andrastic teachings of His holy bride. However, the path we follow tends to be...a harder path... than that of the Chantry. Regardless of this, for centuries there was peace between our orders. Only over the past few years has there been real conflict. Ever since Alyesa became the Grand Cleric. While in public she was known as the most stern Grand Cleric in generations, privately though, she sought our destruction. As the years passed and her power grew, in secret she began to systematically disassemble the Chantry. She was becoming more lenient to the sins around her. Your lovely bride being the largest example of that."
"Be careful what you say..." The Warden warned, sternly. "I'm aware that my marriage doesn't exactly please the religious establishment, but they don't know her like I do." he said casting his stare straight into the demon's eyes, "And they never will."
"My apologies, Warden. I meant no insult. I was merely proving a point." Denolian offered with a humble bow of his head.
"That being?"
"We believe that Alyesa may not be at all who she claims. We think she is a foul demon whose purpose is our slaughter and the destruction of our faith. Even now she seeks to call an Exalted March against us, her army massing somewhere secret within Ferelden. As outlandish as this may seem, its the only reasonable answer."
"You're going to need to show me some proof of this claim."
"We wouldn't have brought you all this way if we couldn't provide it." Denolian said with a smile.