Review Response:
Agent 94: Hello again. Thanks for continuing to give good advice and support. I like your idea with Dragon mage, and I'm trying to fit it in, but not as a class. Will's going to be an Arcane Warrior, and I'm going to try to make that more than a mage with a sword and armor. Hope you keep reading and enjoying.
Chapter 9: Shadows Hiding in the Castle
Will groaned as he slumped back against the doorframe of the Chantry. He was exhausted, his mana reserves almost depleted by the battle.
'But it was worth it.' he thought, watching the militia cheer around him. The barred doors of the Chantry were opened, and civilians started pouring out and joining in the revelries. Most of these people had been convinced that they were living out their last hours, and were now greeting the new day with a combination of shock and ecstasy.
"Warden, I want to thank you." Murdock said as he walked over to Will. "When you first arrived, I thought you would just be able to delay the inevitable." He snorted, shaking his head. "Seems you Grey Wardens actually are miracle workers." He held out his hand, and Will took it briefly, nodding. Soon after, Will was mobbed by joyful survivors determined to shake the hand of the man they saw as responsible for their continued existence.
The chaos of the celebration lasted for hours, especially after the knights and Thunder returned from their post, and a final tally was taken. Impossibly, miraculously, not a single defender of Redcliffe had been killed, and only a few were badly injured. Morrigan was forced to transform and fly away to escape the cluster of men determined to show her their appreciation, while Leliana managed to avoid the crowd by sitting with the few remaining Chantry sisters and praying. Alistair was talking with the knights, grinning madly. Sten simply stood to one side, watching the celebration stoically. Thunder was barking happily, joining wholeheartedly in the revelry. Finally, Bann Teagan was able to drag Will away from the crowd.
"I'm afraid I have to speak with the Warden, good people!" he called, before gesturing Will to follow him. "Now that we have won here, we have an unprecedented opportunity. Whatever force was behind these attacks is surely reeling at the devastating blow we dealt this night, so now is our moment to press the attack." He lowered his voice. "I have a plan for entering the castle. Gather your team, and meet me up at the windmill." Will nodded, and Bann Teagan turned and headed up the hill, stopping briefly to grab Sir Perth and his men.
Will was quickly able to gather most of the party, though he had to send Thunder to find Morrigan. Most of the villagers had moved into the Chantry, but Will was hailed by Kaitlyn and her brother, Bevin.
"We were thinking, Warden." Bevin said shyly. He then held out the sword he was carrying. "It doesn't seem right that you all risked so much for us and get nothing in return." Will opened his mouth, but Kaitlyn stepped in.
"Grandfather would have wanted his sword to be used, rather than sit in a box gathering dust. Please, accept it."
"I don't know." Will said slowly. "This must have been in your family for ages. I can't just take it."
"But his sword broke." Bevin said, pointing at Alistair. "I heard some of the militia talking about it." Alistair nodded slowly, but seemed to feel the same way as Will. Leliana, however, looked at the pair thoughtfully.
"How about a compromise. We'll buy the sword. You two will need some money, and Alistair does need a replacement sword. Everyone wins." After a short argument, everyone decided that Leliana's solution was the best, and Will paid a sovereign for the sword. The beautifully crafted veridium blade was probably worth a lot more, but a sovereign was all that the siblings would accept. Will found this incredibly ironic, he had heard of bartering in the Tower, but it had always been the seller trying to get more and the buyer trying to pay less, not the other way around.
"You are too good, Warden." Kaitlyn said, smiling warmly. "I'll never forget all you did." Bevin nodded, and the two walked back to the Chantry. Will watched them go for a moment, before gesturing the others to follow him. Morrigan and Thunder returned as the group started up the hill, and before long they found Bann Teagan staring up at the castle, surrounded by his knights.
"It's strange, don't you think?" he asked quietly, not turning. "Standing here, it looks like nothings wrong." There was a moment of silence, before he shook his head and turned back to Will. "But enough of that, I should tell you my plan. You see; there is a secret passage here, in the mill. We can use that to get into the castle and find out what has happened to my brother."
"Then we should hurry." Will said. "The longer we wait, the more time the demon or whatever has to prepare for us." Teagan nodded, but suddenly paled and pointed behind will, cursing under his breath. Will spun around.
A woman was picking her way across a makeshift bridge over the oil pit. She wore a fancy-looking noble outfit with far too much lace, though it looked worn, and her hair was escaping from what must have been an elaborate bun. Following here was a guard, but Will noticed that the man's eyes were blank, almost as if he was asleep. Possessed, in all likelihood, or a blood-thrall.
"Teagan!" the woman called as she ran over to the Bann. She spoke with a thick Orlesian accent, so that Will almost couldn't understand her. Teagan quickly pushed past his knights, staring in shock at the lady.
"Isolde? How… how did you get here?" he asked. Lady Isolde came to a halt, with the possessed soldier right behind her. "What has happened here?"
"I'm afraid I don't have much time to explain, Teagan." Lady Isolde said quickly. "I must return soon. And I, uh, I need you to return with me Teagan. Alone." Will rolled his eyes.
"You're going to have to try a bit harder than that." Lady Isolde turned, glaring at Will, who smirked back.
"Who is this elf, Teagan?" she said coldly. Teagan opened his mouth, but Alistair spoke first.
"You remember me, don't you Lady Isolde. I'm a Grey Warden now, and so is William." She turned, noticing Alistair for the first time.
"Alistair?" she hissed, and Will was reminded of the enmity Alistair had told him about. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving my life, and the lives of the people in the village." Teagan said firmly, attempting to defuse the argument that was brewing. She looked between the two Wardens for a moment, before turning back to Teagan.
"I know that you want an explanation, Teagan." She seemed to want to step closer, but the guard behind her shifted noisily, and she refrained. "But there's not much to tell, really. There is… something in the castle, which has killed most within. I survived, along with my son, Connor, and my husband. But Connor will not leave. I think he has gone mad, he has seen so much death. Please," she whispered to Teagan. "I need your help. Connor is scared, confused. You're his uncle, you might be able to reason with him." Teagan looked torn, but Will wasn't giving up yet.
"You mentioned a 'thing'. What is it, and how does it manifest?" Lady Isolde glared at him again, before sighing.
"I do not know. All I have seen are the… bodies, which rise and attack. The mage who started this was caught, but still it continues." Will perked up.
"What mage." Lady Isolde suddenly looked very nervous.
"Just someone who was doing some work, in the Castle. I found out that he was poisoning my husband, and had him locked up. He must have placed some curse, in revenge." Will's eyes narrowed.
"You're not telling us everything," he said in a voice like ice. Lady Isolde bristled, but underneath her anger, Will saw fear.
"That's a rather impertinent accusation, don't you think?" she snapped.
"Not if it is true." Sten, of all people, rumbled from behind Will. Lady Isolde looked like she was going to keep arguing, but Bann Teagan stepped in.
"Enough, we solve nothing with this bickering!" he said fiercely. "The king is dead, Isolde. We need my brother. I will return to the castle with you." Lady Isolde looked delighted, as everyone else stared at Teagan in shock.
"WHAT?" Sir Perth cried, and Will could understand his distress. This whole business screamed 'Trap'. What was Bann Teagan thinking?
"Please, respect my wishes." Teagan said firmly, before turning back to Isolde. "Give me a moment, if you will. I must speak with the others." The guard behind Isolde glared around suspiciously, but did not speak. Lady Isolde nodded, before backing a respectful distance away. Will and Sir Perth converged on the Bann.
"I strongly recommend rethinking this, Bann Teagan." Will said. "There is almost certainly a demon on the loose in the castle, that guard is likely a thrall, and Lady Isolde isn't telling us everything." Teagan nodded.
"I know, but we have little choice. Maybe I can distract whatever is in the castle, so that you can find Arl Eamon and get him out. He's the priority here." Both Will and Sir Perth opened their mouths, but Teagan raised his hand. "Please, I know what could happen to me, but it remains my choice to make. I'm relying on you all. Sir Perth, you will have to follow me, try to avoid notice. You'll be seen, but that should convince the demon you have your own plan. That will take more heat off from William." He surreptitiously dropped a ring. "That'll get you into the castle. Please hurry." He nodded to everyone, before walking over to Lady Isolde, saying something quietly, and leaving with her. Will and Sir Perth glanced at each other, shaking their head's at the young lord's foolish courage.
"Well, I guess I should carry out my part of the plan. Maker be with you, Warden."
"Hold up." Will said, beckoning his people over. "Leliana, we're going to be in close quarters, archery isn't going to be much help. Go with the guards." She seemed about to argue, but decided that Will probably knew what he was doing. She and the knights set off, carefully following Teagan and the people from the castle.
"A fine plan." Morrigan said, drawing her staff. "Shall we go?" Will glanced around, getting a nod from everyone else. He quietly picked up the ring, before leading the way into the windmill.
It took a few minutes for them to find the trapdoor that guarded the passage, and another minute to find where the signet ring was inserted to unlocked it. After that, they started down the wet, stony passage towards the castle, and whatever lay within.
Will slowly opened the door. The team had been walking for almost fifteen minutes, and Will was hoping that this was the end of the passage.
It seemed it was, as there was a cluster of walking corpses at the other end of a short corridor, lined with cells. They seemed to be trying to get into one, and judging by the cries of fear, it was occupied. Will hissed in frustration, he couldn't use a fireball, he'd probably hurt the person inside. He did launch an Arcane Bolt, which slew one of the enemies instantly. The rest charged, but were met by Alistair, Sten, and Thunder, while Will and Morrigan continued to launch spells, ending the battle quickly and painlessly.
"Hello? Who's there?" someone called. Will's eyes widened.
"No fucking way…" he whispered, dashing past everyone else to see who was in the cell the beasts had been attacking. He stared, unable to comprehend the sight in front of him.
"Will? Is that you?" Jowan said, gazing at Will. "How did you get here?"
"Jowan…" Will whispered, still hardly believing his eyes. Suddenly, he reached through the bars of the cell, grabbed Jowan's collar, and yanked him closer. "How have you messed everything up already!"
"Please, stop that!" Jowan choked out, desperately trying to alleviate the pressure on his neck. Will let go, still glaring at the battered-looking mage in the cell. "Is that any way to greet…"
"What have you done, Jowan? Besides poisoning the Arl, that is." Will growled, causing Jowan to flinch.
"I guess you're still mad about that business at the Tower. I'm really…"
"What. Have. You. Done?" Will hissed, fire starting to lick his fingers.
"I know this looks suspicious!" Jowan cried. "I'm not behind the corpses and the killings. I did poison the Arl, but I was ordered to!"
"Who?" Will bit out, glaring at Jowan.
"Teyrn Loghain. He's the one who saved me, from the Templar who had caught me. He told me that Arl Eamon was a threat to the nation, and that I would be able to go back to the Circle if I did this one job."
"And you were stupid enough to believe that?" Will groaned, smashing his head against the bars. "You moron! Teyrn Loghain can't force the Circle or the Chantry to do jack!"
"I mentioned that, but he was convinced!" Jowan pleaded. "He told me that he would be able to smooth everything over." He shrugged helplessly. "What other choice did I have?"
"Say yes, and then don't do it? Walk away? That's just what I can think of off the top of my head!" Will said scathingly.
"What then?" Jowan hissed. "Where do I go next?" Will ignored him.
"Why did he have you do it, anyways? How did you get into the castle?" Will asked.
"Lady Isolde needed a tutor for her son. Someone who wouldn't tell anyone her son was a mage."
"What? Connor's a mage?" Alistair said, shocked. Jowan nodded.
"Yes. He had started to show the early signs; things moving, lights, the usual. Lady Isolde loves her son dearly, she didn't want to lose him, so she wanted me to teach him enough to hide his power." Will nodded. That was theoretically possible.
"I feel sorry for the poor kid, with an idiot like you for a teacher." Will growled. Jowan glared at him.
"Look, I know you're mad about the whole blood mage thing, but do you have to insult me with every sentence?"
"I just call them like I see them. Besides, if you didn't summon all these demons, then he must have, willingly or not. Great job you did." Jowan folded his arms.
"Hey, I was locked up before I could finish." He sighed. "Though I suppose that's probably what happened, Connor must have either been possessed or done something to sunder the Veil."
"Great." Will muttered, glaring at a small fireball in his hand, thinking. "Well, our course of action is clear. We have to find Connor."
"Before you go, I must ask…" Jowan stepped forward. "What happened to Lily? Is she… alright?" Will glared at him.
"She was probably sent to Aeonar. If she was, she'll be lucky to be dead at this point." Jowan's face fell.
"Oh Lily, I'm so sorry." Will felt a flash of pity for Jowan, before quashing it. He had brought all this on himself. He gestured to the others.
"Let's go." They started walking away, but Jowan called them back.
"Please, let me help. You're right; this is mostly my mess. Please let me help you clean it up." Will turned slowly, glaring incredulously at Jowan.
"Do I look like an idiot to you? All you'd manage would be to screw things up even more!"
"We could just let him go." Morrigan said.
"Oh yes, because letting a blood mage go is a brilliant idea!" Alistair hissed. "This is the guy you mentioned in your story, William?" Will nodded.
"Is that Alistair talking, or the Templar?" Morrigan said coolly, glaring at Alistair.
"I would think it would be common sense." Alistair shot back.
"Enough." Will said. "He stays here. Useless as he is, he may be needed at some point." With that, Will continued on.
Another group of corpses attacked as they left the dungeons, this group supported by a shambling corpse. Possessed by a more powerful sloth demon, it threw a ball of weakness at Thunder, who collapsed, barely able to move until Alistair dispelled it. Will was able to kill it with a blast of fire, while Morrigan froze a cluster of the corpses, and Sten drove the others back. Will tossed a small ball of fire, before guiding it through the skulls of several corpses, while Alistair started shattering the ones Morrigan had frozen. Thunder got up, and lunged onto one of the survivors who had been about to attack Will. Morrigan, meanwhile, had electrocuted the few remaining enemies.
A door crashed open, and an avatar of flame rushed through, roaring in rage. Will smirked, remembering his Harrowing. 'I've only grown stronger since then.' He tapped his staff, and a frozen cloud wounded the enemy. Morrigan also used Winter's Grasp, and the Rage demon vanished, it's remains falling back into the Fade.
"Which way, Alistair?" Will asked. The other Warden stood still for a moment, looking around, before pointing down one of the corridors.
"This way. It'll lead us to the main hall, which is connected to the rooms where Arl Eamon and his family sleeps. That'll be where Connor is." Gesturing Alistair to lead the way, Will set off.
The castle was eerie in its silence. Will had never been in a place like this. Torches still burned on the walls, the carpets were mostly clean, aside from the occasional splotches of blood. If Will hadn't known better, he would have said this was a completely peaceful place.
"Damn it, the doors locked." Alistair hissed, shoving it. Will nodded, before drawing the Rod and starting to burn through the lock. Suddenly, he heard a moan on the other side.
"Back!" he called, brining his staff up as the door splintered, ejecting another group of the dead, as well as a pair of strange, serpent-like beasts. These were shades, demons that had been made their way through the Veil but could find no host. Unlike wraiths, which made a body out of nearby material, shades simply used magic to contain themselves. Only sloth demons or stronger were able to do this, so shades were rarer than the wraiths.
Alistair moved forward, shoving two of the corpses back into the rest with his shield. Several tripped, but most steadied themselves. However, this gave Will and Morrigan time to take most of them down with magic. The two shades, however, ignored the melee and glided towards the mages. Sten intercepted the one heading for Morrigan, bringing his sword down upon it. It shrugged the blow off, however, and swatted him. Will blasted the other, but was forced to fall back behind his shield as the shade smashed into him. Thunder barked furiously as he threw himself at the demon that dared to attack his master. However, the body was not solid enough for Thunder to hold on too, and the shade ignored him and continued its assault on Will.
Alistair, meanwhile, had killed all of the remaining corpses, and turned to aid the others. Morrigan and Sten were having more trouble with their shade, as neither were as talented with shields as Will was. Alistair paused for a moment, whispering a prayer. His sword suddenly started shining, and he lunged towards the melee. His sword bit into the shade, which let out a shriek of pain as its energy was bled away by the Templar energies. It lashed out at Alistair, but his shield came up in plenty of time. Finally, Morrigan was able to focus her full power on the shade, and destroyed it with a blast of ice. Then, everyone turned on the final shade which was harassing Will.
"Looks like whatever has taken over here is powerful. Probably a desire or a pride demon." Will said, leaning back briefly against the wall. Thunder whined slightly, butting his head against Will's leg until he noticed the marks along the mabari's flank. "Sorry, boy." A quick Heal closed the wound, and the team set off again.
"What is it?" Will asked a short time later, as Thunder suddenly started barking. Then, he heard what Thunder had; more barking. A cluster of mabari rushed out of a room, charging towards Will and the others. Thunder suddenly started barking aggressively, and Will saw the madness in the other mabaris' eyes. He threw a fireball, but most of the enemies avoided the explosion, Thunder met one, and the two dogs became a swirling mass of claw and fur. Two tried to bring Sten down, but the Qunari was more than ready for them, using his sword to kill the first before coldly snapping the other's neck. Alistair was not quiet as successful, but his shield saved him from harm as his dog tackled him. Morrigan froze the dogs that tried to attack her, and only one made it to Will. It stumbled back as Will casually brought up an Arcane Shield for it to smash it's head against, before killing it with a blast of fire. Sten killed the mabari on Alistair, before watching Thunder's battle carefully, and striking down the other mabari.
"Good job, all." Will said, healing his mabari, who had taken several scratches and bites. He tensed as a voice called out.
"Who's there?" Will lead the way into the room the mabari had just vacated, and saw a young woman perched precariously on top of a wardrobe.
"Oh thank the Maker, you're still living." She gasped, before climbing down. "Those mabari were driven insane by the… whatever is causing all this. I was the only one who was able to reach someplace safe, everyone else was… eaten. Oh Maker!" She sank to her knees, sobbing. Will slowly approached her, trying to look non-threatening.
"Hey, calm down. Your safe now, we're here to help." The woman looked up, her eyes red. "What's your name? I'm William, a Grey Warden"
"My name's Velana, I'm one of the Arlessa's maids."
"You're Owen's daughter?" Will asked, and she nodded looking hopeful for the first time.
"You know my father? Is he all right? Has what happened here… spread?" Will nodded, smiling reassuringly.
"He's fine, and he's out of his mind with worry over you. You should get back to him."
"But, the monsters…" Velana whispered, looking around fearfully.
"Sten, make sure she gets out." Will ordered. "Probably best for you to circle around to the gate afterwards rather than wander around in here on your own." Sten nodded, before gesturing Velana to follow him. She glanced around one more time, before following the Qunari.
"Are you sure they're going to be alright?" Alistair asked.
"Sure they will. Sten knows what he's doing, and we cleared out most of the corpses in that direction."
"If you say so… Well, the courtyard should be that way, not far now…" Alistair led the way.
"There everyone else is." Will said quietly several minutes later, pointing towards the gate. Indeed, the knights and Leliana were all clustered around the gate.
"Let's get that gate open." Alistair said happily, walking towards the lever. Suddenly, Will felt a surge of energy, and Alistair was lifted off his feet and flew towards the other side of the courtyard. He froze in place as Will cast Force Field without thinking. A cluster of corpses came from the shadows of the stairs, followed by a massive, armored figure. Twin motes of furious red light burned where the eyes should have been, and a massive greatsword was lifted in one hand like a feather, with a scarred shield on the other arm.
"Oh sod it all." Will whispered, staring at the Revenant. These were incredibly dangerous monsters, corpses possessed by demons of pride or desire. Fast as lightning and just as deadly, they were masters of telekinesis, able to drag their foes onto their blades. Entire squads of trained, experienced templar had been killed by a single Revenant.
And it was glaring at Will, looking like it very much wanted to rip him personally apart.
"Someone get that gate open!" he screamed as the Revenant dashed towards him. Morrigan attempted to freeze it, but the ice shattered as it came into contact, having no effect on the monster. Will's fire was deflected away by the shield the beast was carrying, though the lesser corpses were blown off their feet. Morrigan was gone in a flash of light, and her massive bear form tried to intercept the raging demon. It's sword flashed, carving a deep gash into her shoulder. Will was able to close the wound quickly, but felt himself bowled over by a blast of telekinesis. Morrigan roared and threw herself at the Revenant, but it simply wasn't where it had been when she started. It's boot connected with her side, knocking her onto her side. Will tried to attract its attention with an Arcane Bolt, but was ignored.
However, even demons notice when an arrow blocks vision from one of it's eyes. Thunder had taken a running leap at the switch for the portcullis, and the knights were pouring in. Leliana drew another arrow, aiming for the other eye.
With a hiss of fury, the Revenant stabbed its sword into the ground and held it's hand out. A wave of telekinesis reached out for Leliana, dragging her towards the monster, which had instantly re-drawn its blade and was holding it out for the archer to impale herself on.
"NO!" Will shouted, smashing his staff into the creature's side. A blast of telekinesis tossed the monster aside, but Will didn't have any time to celebrate before Leliana crashed into him, knocking them both down. The Revenant skidded to a halt, glaring at Will with its good eye, before dashing towards its two downed enemies.
Morrigan, however, had gotten back to her feet and blind-sided the demon-corpse. It took a moment to smash its shield into her chin, forcing her back, before bringing it's sword towards her neck. Morrigan was able to react in time, shifting back to her human form, feeling the sword ruffle the hair on her head as it passed.
Alistair's Force Field had finally dissipated, and he rushed to aid his allies. Thunder and the knights, meanwhile, were mopping up the lesser corpses. The Revenant turned to black smoke for a moment, which flew to the top of the stairs leading to the main hall. It surveyed the battle below it, before raising it's sword and letting out a keening cry.
A wave of thick miasma flowed from the Revenant, before condensing into several balls of mist. Each of these flew to one of the corpse that littered the courtyard, sinking in.
"ARISE!" a bone-chilling voice echoed, and all the corpses jerked, before climbing to their feet, flesh falling from their forms, bones reforming. The Revenant seemed to smirk at Will's shocked look, before dashing towards him.
Will threw a fireball at the approaching enemy, which it ignored. Alistair rushed forward, placing himself between his fellow Warden and the unstoppable juggernaut. Arrows flew from Leliana's bow, and Morrigan traced a complex glyph in the air before here, before casting a hex on the terror. It shrugged off all that was thrown at it, and swung its shield back to smash Alistair out of its way.
Suddenly, the ex-Templar saw a staff appeared over his shoulder, and a shield formed in front of him. The Revenant smashed through, but the force was dulled enough that Alistair kept his feet. More importantly, he was now inside the effective range of the sword, while still being able to use his. Focusing, he stabbed the beast in the weaker armor at its knee.
Pure force shoved everyone away from the Revenant, but the damage had been done. It limped slightly as it tried to charge Will again, but it was hindered further by a barking mass of fur and muscle jumping onto its back, gnawing at it's neck. It shook the mabari off, but Will had regained his feet. Focusing, he launched three small balls of fire, which flew towards the Revenant. It tried to dash towards him, but was slowed as a Templar and a giant spider Morrigan tackled it. Before it could harm them, the three tiny, guided fireballs soared around its defenses, burning into its body. One destroyed its remaining eye, another burrowed through its neck down towards its heart, and the third entered the wound Alistair gave it before detonating, destroying that leg. A final blast of telekinesis disrupted Will's concentration, and threw Morrigan and Alistair away, but an armor-piercing arrow entered its heart, destroying the demon's control over the corpse. With a final cry of pain and rage, the Revenant fell.
Everyone looked at each other, before collapsing to their knees. Will drained a small vial of lyrium to stop the shaking in his limbs. Alistair groaned, holding his shoulder carefully. Morrigan transformed back into a human, looking exhausted. Leliana and Thunder kept their feet, having had more of a support role in the battle. They rushed to aid the knights in defeating the last of the re-risen corpse.
"Was that the leader?" Alistair asked, looking around hopefully. Will glanced at Morrigan, who shrugged back.
"I don't know, Alistair. It was strong enough to be, but I just don't know." Will said quietly.
"Are you all right, Wardens?" Sir Perth called as he rushed over. The corpses had killed one of his knights, and another was cradling his arm, but they had defeated all the corpses.
"As all right as you can expect, Sir Perth." Will said, taking the man's offered hand and getting to his feet. Sighing, he reached out and cast a few weak heals, mostly soothing pain rather than actually healing major damage.
"Now, shall we enter the castle itself?" Sir Perth asked, gesturing towards the large double doors at the top of the stairs. "We must find out what became of our Arl, as well as good Bann Teagan." Will nodded, before gesturing Alistair to lead the way.
Will heard a strange music as he and the knights approached the main hall. Gesturing everyone to halt, Alistair pushed the door open slowly. They were met with an absurd sight that would have been funny if the implications of it were not so serious.
Bann Teagan was dancing in the center of the hall, laughing. He seemed to be capable of an impressive number of acrobatic feats, including flips, cartwheels, and even a handstand. Off to one side, a group of guards were playing instruments, again with unbelievable skill. Lady Isolde was sitting in a chair on the raised dais before the fire, her face in her hands. And in the center of the dais, clapping along with the beat, was a young boy.
Probably only ten or twelve, he had messy brown hair. His face, so like his mothers, was alight with an odd joy, smiling and laughing. His eyes, however, were cold and empty. More importantly, Will could feel a demonic energy radiating off the boy. There was no doubt about it, Connor was responsible for all that had happened.
"Maker's Breath!" Sir Perth swore, pushing past Will and Alistair and entering the room. Everything stopped, as the demon/Connor looked up. The smile faded slowly into an ugly leer that had no place on a child's face. The guards stopped playing, and stood as one and moved to flank their master. Teagan, meanwhile, rolled over to the steps leading up to the dais, sitting at his nephew's feet.
"So these are our guests, Mother." Connor's voice sent a chill up Will's spine. It was as if someone had taken a child's voice, and then distorted it by adding a demon's voice, speaking in tandem.
Lady Isolde looked up, and Will saw tears pouring down her face. "Y-yes, Connor." She stuttered slightly, causing Sir Perth to cringe.
"Ah yes, I know you." The demon stepped forward, studying Will intently. "Such power, this one has. Enough to defeat my army, why he even defeated my lieutenant!" Cold laughter echoed through the room. "An elf, even. I remember your kin, elf. I had their ears cut off and fed to the dogs." Will's grip on his staff tightened, and his eyes narrowed. "Now, why would you come here, I wonder?"
"I am here to end you, demon." Will's voice cracked like a whip.
"NO! Please, Warden! Please don't!" Lady Isodle cried, standing. Everyone turned to look at her.
"There is nothing else to be done." Morrigan said, her voice almost sounding sorry. "The foolish boy took a deal with a demon. There is nothing left of him anymore."
"That's not true!" Lady Isolde stepped forward. "Connor is not always like that! His true self still comes out on occasion."
Will was watching the abomination, and was surprised to fell the energies of the demon ebb, and a frightened look appeared on the boy's face.
"Mother? Where are you? What's…" The demon's voice was gone, and there was only a terrified child.
"Oh, Connor!" Lady Isolde wept, dropping to her knees and grabbing her son in a hug. They stayed as such for a moment, before Will felt the demon reassert itself.
"GET AWAY!" it roared, shoving Lady Isolde off. "You begin to bore me, mother. I don't think you want to bore me." The noble woman backed fearfully away from her son.
"Well, Warden." The demon said smoothly as it turned back to Will. "You have had your audience. Now, I'm afraid you have begun to bore me." He gestured for the guards and Teagan to step forwarded, and started to follow, when he flinched. Connor had reasserted himself.
"Stop!" the boy wailed. "You promised!" The face returned to a snarl
"I am reminded of why I hate children so much!" the demon spat. "So stupid, but so resilient!" It glared at Will. "Very well, Warden. You get a reprieve, for now." Turning, the demon stalked towards the door leading towards the noble chambers. The guards and Teagan followed, until the latter was trapped in a Force Field. The demon slowly turned to face Will. "Are you trying to anger me, mortal?" Will glowered at it.
"Teagan stays with me, You're still weakened. You want a fight, bring it." The demon's eyes flashed, but it spun on Connor's heel and stomped through the door.
"Purge whatever control the demon had on Teagan when he comes out." Will said to Alistair, who nodded. After a moment, the Force Field fell, and Alistair leapt forward, dispelling magic on Teagan. He hissed, before the blinking his eyes and shaking his head.
"William?" he asked. Will nodded. Lady Isolde slowly walked over, and Teagan turned towards her. "What have you done? You knew what Connor had become, but didn't tell us!" Lady Isolde looked down.
"I… I couldn't, Teagan. If you had known, you might have… might have hurt him. All I wanted was for him to be able to stay with me!"
"And so you hired an apostate to teach him?" Will asked coolly. Isolde stared at him. "I met Jowan down in the dungeon. He told me what happened."
"I… I see." Isolde said faintly. "But we must figure out what to do. Please, don't kill my son!" Alistair shook his head slowly.
"Normally I wouldn't suggest that we kill a child." he sighed. "However, we may not have a choice. Connor's an abomination, we must stop him." Isodle started shaking her head furiously.
"No! There must be another way!" She fell to her knees, clasping her hands. "Please, he's my only son! I don't know what I would do without him!" Will stared into the fire, thinking hard.
"Morrigan, did your mother tell you anything about demons?"
"She did. It is… technically possible for that we could drive the demon out from the Fade. Getting there, however…" Will nodded, he had thought the same thing. He turned, seeing the confused looks on everyone else's faces.
"Most of the time, when a demon takes control of a mage, the mage's essence, soul if you will, is destroyed, and even killing the demon controlling their body won't do any good. However, it seems that Connor was not taken by force, rather making a deal with the demon. Because of this, he was enslaved rather than destroyed, and if we could confront the demon in the Fade, we could kill it and free Connor."
"However." Morrigan picked up. "Entering the specific part of the Fade that the demon would be takes a lot of power. Mother only told me the theory of it, we never had enough lyrium to actually practice."
"There is another way." Will turned as he heard Jowan's voice. Isolde looked livid, jumping to her feet.
"YOU!" she screamed. "You did this to my Connor!" She stalked towards Jowan, but was stopped by Teagan.
"How did you get out, Jowan?" Will hissed coolly. Jowan smiled slightly.
"I'm a mage, remember. I let myself out." He glanced at the fuming Isodle. "I never had the strength before, what with being tortured and all." Teagan waved all this away.
"What do you mean, there is another way?" he asked warily. Jowan looked sad.
"What Will… William and his friend said is true. It takes a lot of energy to chose where to enter the Fade." He sighed. "However, lyrium isn't the only source of energy. I could use blood, instead." Everyone stared at him.
"You think we're going to hand you that kind of power?" Will hissed. "Who knows what you'd use it for!" Jowan shook his head.
"Why can't you believe that I want to make things better? That I regret what I did and want to fix my mistakes?"
"Even if that's true, it's not an option!" Alistair hissed, glaring at Jowan. "How can more evil make this any better?" Morrigan snorted slightly, but Leliana looked as thought she thought Alistair had a point.
"There's something else you aren't telling us, Jowan." Will said quietly. Jowan looked down, sighing.
"Indeed. The ritual is… costly. To use it, I must… kill someone." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's not really an option. I shouldn't have brought it up."
Isodle, however, seemed to have other ideas. "If it is a choice between watching my son die, and giving myself to a blood mage to save him, I know my choice." She lifted her chin. "Let me be the sacrifice."
"What!" Teagan gasped, staring in shock at Isolde. "You can't do that! What would Eamon say?" Isolde glared at her brother-in-law.
"What does it matter, what he would say. He's dying, and my son will follow if I do nothing. I would rather die than see that!"
Will glanced around, not paying attention to the continued argument. He simply couldn't trust Jowan with the power that a life worth of blood would give him, but could he kill a child? He had heard the fear in the boy's voice, knew that Lady Isolde wouldn't allow it, he would probably have to physically force her aside to do the deed. But… "Hold up," he said suddenly, holding up his hand. Everyone stopped talking and turned to watch him. "There is a third option." He turned, smiling. "The Circle of Magi is not far from here. We can go there to get the lyrium we need, as well as deal with that treaty at the same time."
Alistair looked exited for a moment, before his face fell. "We can't. That demon won't stay dormant forever, and it'll take almost a week to walk to the Tower." Will smirked.
"Who said we'd be walking?" He turned to Teagan. "Didn't some of the boats in Redcliffe survive?" The Bann nodded slowly.
"Only one or two, otherwise we would have used them to evacuate. But, I heard that you cannot sail directly to the Tower." Will shook his head.
"We don't have to. We can sail to the Calenhad Dock, where we can get the official boat to the Tower." Everyone stared at Will before starting to nod.
"Brilliant." Alistair said slowly. "By boat, it should take less than a day to get to the mages, ten, maybe fifteen minutes to convince them to help, then come back. Connor should last that long."
"Indeed." Will said. "However, in case he doesn't, Morrigan, you and Sten are going to stay here, make sure the demon stays in line." Will turned to Jowan. "You're going to stay, too. And know this, Sten's orders are going to be to watch you like a hawk, and if he thinks your going to cause problems, he's going to kill you." Jowan sighed, and nodded.
About three quarters of an hour later, Will, Alistair, Leliana, and Thunder were sailing north, towards the Calenhad Docks. Meanwhile, Jowan and Morrigan were sitting quietly in the main hall, discussing potential battle plans should the demon strike. Sten and the knights stood nearby, watching. Finally, Teagan and Isolde paced, worrying about Connor.
Denerim
Teyrn Loghain stood silently in his quarters, gazing sullenly into a goblet of wine he had been drinking. Looking at the tired, haggard face staring back from the reflection.
He had expected the nobility to quickly fall into line. How could they not see that he knew what he was doing? Instead, there were rumors that a rebellion was being planned against him. In fact, Loghain was expecting the new Teyrn of Highever to come and brief him on the situation.
Not for the first time, Loghain wished Maric were here. Maric had always had a gift, able to not only make people follow him, but make them want to. He had also been wise enough to listen to the advice given to him. Unlike his son.
Loghain sighed, taking a sip of his wine. He had wondered many times where he and Maric had gone wrong with Cailin. The boy had had so much potential, could have become everything his father had been and then some. Instead, the foolish child had gone off chasing glory, not satisfied with holding together what his father had given him. Loghain had tried many times to convince the young king that there was no dishonor in keeping a kingdom strong and free, that he would still be remembered. But the boy had been adamant, the he had to do something great or he would disappear into the mist of history. That attitude had made it easy for the Grey Warden's to lead him into that trap.
Loghain had never trusted the Wardens, never been convinced that Maric's near brush with death at the Tower had not been their purpose. Maric had insisted that other forces had been at work, but his one true flaw had always been his trusting nature. Loghain had been reluctant to follow Cailin to Ostagar, but was convinced that he could save the king from his own foolishness. However, it had quickly become apparent that Cailin was too far gone to be saved. With a heavy heart, he had started to make his preparations. He had heard from one of his agents in Arl Eamon's employ that Lady Isolde was seeking someone to tutor her mage son, and had found an apostate to deal with one of the voices most likely to cause problems. He had also secured the allegiance of the Mages. However, he had not heard from either of his agents in place. Loghain hoped that nothing had gone wrong.
However, the final straw had come on that final, fateful night. Somehow, Loghain had kept up the hope that Cailin would see reason, that he could be convinced to abandon this foolishness. But it was not to be. Finally, Loghain had been forced to fulfill his promise to Maric, that he would never again put one man ahead of the kingdom.
He would not let all he had done, all the suffering, be in vain.
"Your Lordship?" an oily voice spoke up behind Loghain. He turned slowly, seeing Rendon Howe standing at the door. A sallow faced man, Howe had proven his loyalty to Loghain even before Ostagar, bringing evidence of Bryce Cousland's treachery. Howe had also… dealt with the problem. The man was incredibly useful.
That didn't mean that Loghain had to like the man. For some reason, the man's voice always set Loghain on edge, marking Howe as someone not to be trusted too much. Unfortunately, Loghain had few options.
"Yes?" he asked, gesturing Howe to enter.
"I have the report from the Bannorn. Several factions have banded together, and are demanding that you step down from the Regency. They are gathering their forces, as are those who support you. Unfortunately, it seems that a civil war is on the horizon."
Loghain cursed quietly, taking another drink. Those fools in the Bannorn were going to ruin everything. Bann Teagan must be behind all this, Loghain had been foolish not to remove him as well. "I'll figure something out. Is there anything else?" Howe shifted slightly.
"There is, your Lordship. One of the men you left in Lothering returned. He claims to have a message for you, so I brought him along." Loghain glanced around, and saw a soldier standing at the door, shuffling his feet nervously.
"What is it?" Loghain asked curtly. The captain looked up, and slowly came closer.
"My men followed your orders, looking for the two Wardens who were not in the battle. We… We found them, along with a few others. We attempted to apprehend them, but some of the locals showed their support for the Wardens. I was the only survivor, and they were going to kill me too, before a sister intervened. They… told me to give you a message: 'The Wardens know what really happened at Ostagar. We know this, and we will make you pay'."
Howe snorted with laughter, but Loghain raised his eyebrow. "You kept saying 'they'. How many survived?"
"I think only the two you mentioned, my lord." the captain spoke quickly. "The elf actually seemed to be in charge, which kind of surprised me."
This surprised Loghain as well. He had expected Maric's bastard to be the leader. It seemed that Maric had been unable to pass on any of his noble qualities to his offspring.
"Anything else?" he asked. The captain shook his head quickly. "Then you are dismissed." The man saluted, and quickly left.
"I recommend that he be… replaced. He has obviously proven himself to be incompetent." Howe said firmly. Loghain ignored him, turning back to the fire. He was trying to think of a way to deal with this new threat. "My lord, I… predicted the possibility that some of the traitors would survive, and prepared a countermeasure." Loghain glanced back as he heard the door opened again. An elf walked in. He was tanned, had tattoos all over his face, but was no Dailish. He wore leather armor, and Loghain saw the hilts of two daggers over his shoulders.
"The Antivan Crows send their regards." The elf spoke with a strong Antivan accent, smirking slightly.
"An assassin." Loghain said coldly, and Howe nodded. Loghain sighed. The solution made sense, the Antivan Crows were some of the most infamous assassins in Thedas, and would be more than capable of eliminating two junior Wardens. "Just see it done!" He hated doing things like that, it seemed so… Orlesian.
"By your will, my lord." Howe said quietly, before turning to leave, taking the assassin with him. Loghain looked back at the almost empty goblet of wine, drained it, before reaching back and grabbing the bottle.
"Maric… watch over me, old friend." he whispered as he poured another goblet-full, staring into the fire.
(Codex: Revenant)
"An entire unit of man, all slain by one creature. I didn't believe it at first, your Perfection, but it appears that this is so. We have a survivor, and while at first I thought his rantings pure exaggeration... it appears to be no simple skeleton. The descriptions of the creature's abilities were eerily similar to those our brothers at Marnas Pell encountered almost a century ago: men pulled through the air to skewer themselves on the creature's blade, and attacks so quick that it was able to assault multiple opponents at once. No, your Perfection, what we have here is indeed a revenant and nothing less."
-From a letter to Divine Amara III, 5:71 Exalted.
A revenant is a corpse possessed by a demon of pride or of desire... making it amongst the most powerful possessed opponents that one can face. Many possess spells, but most are armed and armored and prefer the use of their martial talents. They are weak against physical attacks but regenerate quickly, and commonly use telekinesis to pull opponents into melee range should they try to flee. Revenants also have the ability to strike multiple opponents surrounding them. Stay at range if possible and strike quickly—that is the only way to take such a creature down.