Chapter Ten: Let's Do the Time Warp Again!
Chapter Summary: "It's astounding, time is fleeting. Madness takes its toll." - The Time Warp - The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Author's Note: Well, it had been my intention originally to avoid going into dark stuff, or at least into detail. Buuut that's evidently happening (pardoning the silly chapter title, I couldn't help that). So, just to warn, this is rated E(/M), now for more than one reason. The events at Redcliffe were fairly dark in the game, though because you get thrown ahead in time, you miss most of it and you're back quickly. There'll be fluff and humor again, soon, though. Just probably not a whole lot until Skyhold is in play. The next chapter will hopefully make up a little for that with some more plot bunnies and some fluff(-ish, maybe stretching that term), buuut it's also looking like it'll get a whole lot worse before it gets better (ch.11 will most definitely be edited down for y'all at FF, sorry). Many apologies to those who were looking for a nice fluffy story. This and the next were written as one chapter at first, but I've broken it down to add more to 11 without everything being overwhelming.
What's kind of sad is that I'd probably have to get pretty overly extreme and graphic before the violence would be cited as NSFW and rule-breaking for FF. That said, if anyone thinks it is, I'll edit it down and keep the full version on AO3 with a provided link (FF's M rating is so bloody arbitrary). xx
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"Fuck. Fuck. Fucking, fuck. What just happened?" Nichole staggered to her feet from her position thrown into sludge. It was dark here, lit dimly by the radiance of giant red rock spires jutting from the floor and walls around her. Alexius wasn't here. This wasn't the throne room where she'd just been standing confronting him. That green wormhole thing had done something.
Fuck magic.
Dorian was a few feet from her attempting to brush off the gross goop from his clothing. He seemed more disgusted by the sight of his dirty robes than alarmed by their new situation.
She should have listened to Cullen and gone with the Templars.
"Well, I believe-" Dorian was cut off from his answer as two armed guards came rushing through the gated stairwell before them.
Though their helmets covered their faces, their shock at seeing them was evident from how they jumped. "Blood of the Elder One, where'd they come from?" one exclaimed before they both drew their swords and charged them.
A blast from Dorian struck one back while Nichole drew her sword against the incoming blade from the second. No-one was moving fast in this knee-high water, but the heavy armored guards were especially ill-suited for this, thank God.
Nichole and Dorian used this to their advantage, doing what they could to knock their opponents prone – while avoiding it themselves – dispatching them in their struggles to regain their footing. The Mage grappled with his opponent, holding him under until all movement ceased. A swift spell ensured that he was done in for good. Nichole opted for the quicker option of driving her sword downward through the neck of the guard under her. Blood stained the water around her along with wherever it managed to contact her attire.
Nichole trudged over to the gate where the stairs rose out of the grimy water. She sheathed her blade and tried to squeeze out as much water as she could from the clothing under her armor and boots, hating the feel of everything and trying not to get overwhelmed with all that was happening. "So, you were saying?" she prompted of Dorian. She wiped a hand along the side of her face, unwittingly streaking her face and catching strands of hair in blood from her glove. Now that she was out of the water, a clammy chill was setting in brought on by the less than hospitable atmosphere of the basement-esque area.
Dorian had followed her and was wringing out what he could of his robes. "Ah, yes. This is probably not what Alexius intended when he used that magic. We've been displaced. The rift must have moved us towards the closest source of arcane energy."
"So, where are we? Is this still the castle? Because that's the last thing I remember." Nichole looked around, trying to figure out if the architecture matched what little she paid attention to earlier.
Dorian's brow furrowed as he looked about, "I don't think it is 'where,' but 'when.' Alexius used the amulet as a focus – it moved us through time."
"How is that even possible?" Though magic made little sense to her, she almost felt silly saying such a thing when it was clear that such extreme kinds of magic existed – she was living proof!
His eyebrows rose in agreement, "That is an excellent question! We'll have to find out, won't we?" He gestured ahead of them up the stairs, "Let's have a look around and see where the rift has taken us. Than we can figure out how to get back. If we can."
"And what if we can't get back?" She didn't want to hear the answer that was coming.
"Then we get comfortable in our new present." By his tone, he didn't seem to happy about it, either, but it wasn't showing in his demeanor.
Nichole slumped, rubbing her palms against the familiar ache blossoming through the left, "Great. Doing this all over again. Once was bad enough."
"Ah, that's right! It's hard to tell what is fact and what is merely rumor and speculation surrounding the Inquisition, but I did hear that you are supposedly not of this world – dropped from the sky, some say. It was one of the more farfetched things out there, so I was rather skeptical."
The gears in her head cranked out an idea, "But if we figure out a way back to our time, that could help us figure out how to get back to our world, too, right?" Could it be that easy? The magic was used to get them here, albeit not purposefully, so something similar could work to get them back home, right?
"I'm afraid that I cannot say. There may be some potential there, yes." He sounded like he wanted to keep her spirits up for now, at least, so there was little telling what he actually thought about all this.
"Okay, so, we should find Alexius and try to use the amulet thing to get us back. Would any of the others have been dragged through like us? And are just somewhere else around here?"
The Mage shook his head, "I am doubtful. Alexius would not have chanced a rift so large that he risked catching himself or Felix in it. The others are probably still where and when we left them. In some sense, anyway."
"Lovely, let's see what we can find." They both began up the stairs, trying to be as silent as possible, lest they attract more unwanted attention from guards. The last thing they needed was the whole place alerted to their presence. There was no way just the two of them would be able to survive a swarm of prepared guards. They'd have to move quickly, though. There was no telling when or if others would come down this way.
Dorian had some knowledge of the castle, but he wasn't nearly as familiar with these lower passages and dungeons as he was with the upper levels. The whole place was in an awful state of disrepair. What Nichole would swear was slime coated much of the stone walls. Mold and mushrooms and other fungi were plentiful, as was that creepy red rock everywhere.
An eerie silence filled the halls, broken by the occasional drip-drip-dripping of water. Some halls had sconces aflame to light the way, but more often than not, they had to find their way by the light given off by the red rock spires - Dorian didn't want to attract attention or expend valuable mana with unnecessary magic. Every once in awhile they'd hug the walls and duck behind empty supply crates at the sound of armored footfalls and muffled voices from unknown locations. Some supply crates were not empty, though Nichole wished they were. It was so wet down here, everything was rotting and molding and the stench in many places was nauseating. Nichole could feel the sweat dripping down her neck and back under her armor. It was humid, but a chill hung in the air.
It felt like they were getting nowhere in this labyrinth of halls. Nichole wasn't even really sure what they were looking for, or what they might find. Many rooms had floors and equipment smeared with red stains. Some looked old, but a frightful many were fresh. Chains held up long dead corpses and skeletons in the odd cell, left forgotten by uncaring guards. They didn't look long or close enough to determine if they belonged to anyone they knew.
Nichole jumped and dove reflexively behind an open wood door when echoes of a man's pain-filled screams reached them. It sounded distant and a twisting guilt knotted her stomach as she realised that it was better that they avoid trouble for now. She and Dorian alone could not afford to waste precious energy.
Choking back the bile threatening to push forth from her throat, they moved on to the next room of the hall. This one was made up of more barred cells, no guards in sight, but there was an occupant here, held in the furthest cell back on the right.
Searching for familiar features, Nichole crept closer as silently as she could so as not to alert someone who'd potentially raise an much unwanted ruckus. The silhouette was sitting shadowed, so it was difficult for Nichole to get a good look at them. The captive was mumbling what sounded to be a prayer, and Nichole immediately recognized the voice, cracked and dry though it was.
When she was close, the woman's face jerked upright. "Who's there?" she called out,
"Cassandra?" she whispered, hoping that the Seeker was of sound mind and sensibilities to be of help and not blow their cover. There was no telling what had been done to her in whatever amount of time had passed. Nichole walked closer.
For a time, the woman just stared, wide-eyed and mouth agape. "Maker… Can it be? I saw you die!" she exclaimed, still in shock. "And yet, you've returned to us. Has Andraste given us another chance?" Cassandra went on to berate herself - probably not for the first time - for having failed her and everyone else.
Ignoring the Seeker's babbling, Nichole took notice of her state. Her eyes glowed an eerie red and crimsoned veins webbed across her paled, sickly complexion. "Cassandra, you look awful. What happened to you?"
Cassandra shook her head and stood, "Nothing that can be helped now. I will be with the Maker soon."
Dorian stepped forward to join them. "Alexius sent us forward in time. If we find him, we may be able to return to our present."
Cassandra stepped forward on uneasy feet. Nichole didn't know how long she'd been here, but she looked visibly thinned and gaunt - not the muscled warrior she had only just left behind. "You mean to go back in time? You can make it so that none of this ever took place?"
Nichole nodded, "If Dorian can reverse the spell, then yes."
Frowning, Cassandra spoke, "Alexius is not the only one you will have to deal with. He has a master. After you died-"
"We didn't die!" Nichole interrupted.
"We could not stop the Elder One from rising." Cassandra shook her head in sorrow. "Empress Celene was murdered. The army that swept through the lands afterwards - it was a horde of demons. Nothing stopped them. Nothing."
Nichole reassured her that they would do whatever they could to prevent these events from happening again once they returned.
Since they now had a weaponless Cassandra in tow, they doubled back to where Nichole last thought she'd seen a usable weapon. On the way, the Seeker informed her that there may still be others being held here, among them Leliana and Bevin, not needing to detail that the reason they wouldn't be would be due to their possible deaths.
Nichole wanted as many people to fight the Magister as possible. Alexius had a year to gain power, and who knows what kind of powers, so they were already at a severe disadvantage. She hadn't seen much of the skills of the Nightingale firsthand, but the woman had a ruthless reputation so they had to find her if at all possible.
Cassandra followed behind her closely. As they checked rooms, the Seeker spoke, "The guards often speak of a girl with 'creepy eyes.' I have always assumed that they meant Our Prophet. She should still be down here, as well. But I warn you, from what I have heard, she may not be…in any condition to help."
Nichole's heart jumped to her throat, afraid of what she might come across down here. She had a sinking feeling that Cassandra was putting her words lightly in hopes that Bevin wasn't as bad off as she knew.
Enchantress Fiona was found in one of the most alarming states, yet. Within her cell, it was hard to tell where the red lyrium ended and where Fiona began. She was able to fill them in on some more details, but otherwise would not be able to help. They couldn't do anything but reassure her that they would fix this before leaving her and moving on.
Seeing the cells overgrown with red lyrium now created a new pit in her stomach with the knowledge that a person could have once stood there and had been condemned further to such a cruel fate.
By Dorian's estimate, there wasn't, or at least shouldn't be, much more left of the castle depths to check. More than once they found themselves slinking down halls already visited or thought to have been passed already. They dispatched guards where they could do so silently, hopefully chipping away at the number they'd have to ultimately deal with to get through Alexius.
Nichole didn't know why, but she hadn't expected to find Solas here. He looked to be in marginally better condition than Cassandra, but even he was infected with that red glow. He stood with his arms braced limply through through the bars of his cell, forehead resting against the chilled metal.
His eyes remained closed at their entrance, but opened when she called out to him. Standing properly, surprise was fleeting on his face. He didn't expect to see them, least of all her, but that mind was undoubtedly well past the shock and working out the implications.
"You are alive," he stated calmly as they worked to open the cell door.
"The spell Alexius cast displaced us in time. We just got here, so to speak," Dorian explained. If not for the gravity of the situation, Nichole may have found humor in the fact that Solas was probably the first to be able to fully understand those words. Dorian looked thankful that he wouldn't have to go into details again.
The elf spoke earnestly, "Can you reverse the process? You could return and obviate the events of the last year. It may not be too late…"
Dorian nodded in confirmation, "I think so. We must get to Alexius first, however."
"I'm glad you understand all of this. Can't say I have much idea what's going on," Nichole admitted.
Solas smiled brokenly, "You would think such understanding would stop me from making such terrible mistakes. You would be wrong." His shoulders slumped, like there was a great weight upon him that was threatening to crush him underneath. "This world is an abomination. It must never come to pass."
"I have filled them in on what has happened," Cassandra turned to say from where she stood lookout at the door.
"Is Bevin here?" Nichole asked, wanting some kind of confirmation for whether her fellow outworlder was here or even still alive.
He passed a hand over his head, suddenly looking despondent and unable to meet her eye. "She is near. As is the Sister Nightingale." He was certain of their location, but his sudden change in demeanor gave Nichole pause. The elf nodded towards a door on the opposite side of the room, "Beyond the pass, through there."
It would be one of the last rooms they'd checked searching for the two women when they finally barged into the dungeon. This one was quite a bit larger than the others she'd seen and outfitted with cells and various kinds of torture and medical equipment. At the center, Leliana hung limp by her wrists from binds leading to a winch at the ceiling.
Upon their unceremonious entrance, the lone guard standing before Leliana let the taunt fall from his lips to spin on them. Striking like a cobra, Leliana sprung to life hooking her legs tightly around the guard's neck until she had the leverage to snap it.
Despite what Nichole had just witnessed her do, the Sister looked like death. Her skin was withered and dry, with strange blotches in patches. Her eyes held a cold desertedness – as though she'd long since lost the desire to live, lending to a kind of ruthlessness that one gains only when they've nothing left to lose. Her clothes were in tatters down her corpse-thin body. She looked like she'd blow away or fall to dust in the slightest of gusts. Rivers of blood ran down her arms from inflicted slashes and wounds to drip onto the floor below her.
Nichole and Cassandra ran forward to release her from the cuffs holding her up.
"You're alive after all!" Leliana breathed, rubbing her reddened and scarred wrists as she looked over Nichole.
"You're safe now," Nichole smiled.
Leliana made a sound of disgust. her face remaining cold, "You need to do better than 'safe.' You need to end this." She determinedly walking over to what had looked to be an empty cell from this angle. The Sister gave a half-hearted jerk to the locked bars before stepping back and driving her heel into it in an action filled with such aggression that it caused half the group to jump.
Solas was quick to her side while the others followed more trepidatiously, unsure of what they might see there within.
They came forth bracing up a figure that Nichole hardly recognized but for the stark crimson marks still resting high on her cheeks. She had a hand clenching at the front of Solas' tunic, her whole figure beyond gaunt and starved. Her hair had been chopped short and uneven to her head, further lending to how skeletal she now looked. The grimy rags that hung off of her may have once been clothes that fit, though they could more likely just be random swaths of cloth tied about her form.
When she finally looked up - well, that wasn't really an appropriate term - Nichole unconsciously took an uneasy step back. Angry, raised scars covered and bubbled over her face where her eyes and brows should have been.
"Jesus Christ… What did they do to you?" Nichole choked out. Then she really looked at the woman. Nose broken and scarred over. One ear missing, chunks of the other gone. Whole fingers were cut from her right hand. She favored her left leg. There were areas where it looked like her flesh had been carved from her body; places where she'd been cut open and crudely stitched back together. Brandings of some odd symbol resided in haphazard places. Her breathing was labored. It was probably a miracle that she was even alive, much less looking as healed over as she was.
"Nikki…" Blue wisps of magic gathered to her face and she turned her head to Nichole. "It's best to not think on that. I am not long for this world." That was probably one of the few mercies that could be afforded to Bevin right now. Nichole was anxious - to get this over with and back to the present, and with mental prayers that they could even achieve that.
When Bevin shivered, which was almost easy to miss given how shaky she was on her feet, Nichole only then noticed just how cold it was in this room. It wasn't warm by any stretch in the rest of the lower castle, but she could see her breath here. And, unlike the rest of the halls so overgrown that certain areas were difficult to pass, this dungeon was completely devoid of red lyrium.
"There's no lyrium in here, but it's all over everywhere else. Is that on purpose?" Nichole asked while she began stripping the dead guard of any usable clothing to fight off the chill and better protect Bevin and Leliana.
Bevin's head tilted, moving side to side, somehow taking in the room. Her voice came light and airy, trailing off in places where she seemed almost distracted, "It was...discovered that Leli and I have...something in the way of immunity to blight sickness. They decided that we...were not to be afflicted while they could still get something...out of us. They've always thought that I was hiding some knowledge of...it from them. When I wouldn't help them, they tried to destroy my sight...and the torture escalated." She was oddly calm through all of this. No outbursts like the others. Maybe just resigned to it all.
"You should conserve your energy," Solas spoke softly to Bevin.
Nichole watched as the magic flickering across her face died out. She handed her the guard's tunic and Bevin scrunched her nose up at the smell, but concedingly jerked it over her head with a little help.
Dorian stepped forward, looking closer, curiously at Bevin. "Tried? You can still see? Or do you mean you are still visited by visions?"
She nodded, "I have the ability of both."
"Even ignoring the, evidently failed, marks of tranquility, that is quite the miracle given the damage they've done. You truly are blessed by Andraste herself," Dorian finished on a note of awe.
Bevin chuckled softly at that and probably would have been rolling her eyes if she could. Even now, how she couldn't believe in some kind of divine intervention or blessing, was beyond Nichole.
There was a table nearby filled with papers that had now gained Dorian's attention. He began shifting through them rapidly, setting some aside and carelessly throwing others to the floor. Nichole decided to join him, but kept an ear on the hushed conversation happening behind her.
Cassandra and Leliana were confirming together what they knew of the layout of the upper part of the castle and any strategies they may need going forward. Solas and Bevin were having some sort of very close heart to heart.
"I must apologize, Bevin. We were far too careless, too harried in our botched attempt to rescue you and the others here. It broke me hearing what they did to you these past months, and to know that it went on for far longer… If only I had my strength."
"I'm just glad that there's an end in sight. Not the one we wanted, but we'll finally be able to let go."
Nichole looked over her shoulder at them. They were embraced tightly, her head tucked under his jaw while he rest his cheek and nose in her mess of hair. Their faces were turned away, but their voices were full of sadness.
They were saying goodbye. Her heart became heavy as the writing on the papers in her fingers became blurred. She hastily blinked away the tears forming in her eyes and tried to steady her breathing, needing to at least feel like she was in control and being strong and knew what to do, even when none of that was true. Nichole was intruding on their moment, while some selfish part of her was feeling like she deserved to be there because she was about to lose who she'd come to see as her friends - no matter that they were going back to where those very people would still be standing - to blades and demons, and they were praying for death to finally take them. She didn't know why she felt so guilty - this was all Alexius' fault, after all.
She wanted to turn around and hug them all and bawl her eyes out for the sacrifices they had made and were making.
"Are you sure that you are of strength to fight?" she heard Solas ask. Nichole didn't think Bevin would sit this out unless she thought she'd do more to hinder than help.
"I have little choice. If anything, I shall be but another body buffering them from the ensuing onslaught." How morbid. Bevin continued on in a lilting language that Nichole couldn't identify let alone understand. "I will take over for her, friend. I have little power, but enough to sustain us for at least part of the fight."
"These are not the circumstances under which I had hoped we would meet again," he despaired. Elvish? Nichole had never really paid attention to Solas' words before. But when did Bevin learn it? Nichole was under the impression that she'd been here for most of the year that had past.
"All the more important it is that they succeed in this endeavor. We may have failed here, but a brighter future is still possible."
The others eventually joined her and Dorian at the table. Nichole had little idea what she was reading, but he had deemed much of it too important to leave behind, doing his best to filter out what was pointless from what could have a need in their time.
Dorian looked up to Leliana as she approached them. "You aren't curious how we got here?"
Leliana crossed her arms and shook her head, "No. Bevin foresaw your arrival."
"I lost fingers for that one." Bevin waved her hand with a lopsided grin.
The Sister explained further, "We knew you were coming, just not when. It gave us some hope of an end."
"Well, it should all be over soon," Nichole said as Dorian began jamming stacks of papers into her pack since he had little way to carry them.
"Right, once we reverse Alexius' spell, none of this will have ever happened." Those were the wrong words to say, and Nichole couldn't help but cringe as she heard them. But there probably weren't many right things to say right now.
Leliana scowled darkly at him. "But it did happen. These are our lives. It was not a game, not pretend, what we," she gestured to the others, then to Bevin, "what she went through. The whole world suffered. It was real." She pursed her lips holding back a series of coughs and took a few steps back. Nichole watched the Sister shake her head, refusing to be seen as weak. "And you Mages wonder why people fear magic," she grumbled.
Leliana looked around to who had been gathered. "Do you have weapons?" she was walking towards a chest that Nichole hadn't seen when they entered. She threw it open and began rifling through the contents.
"We do," Nichole gestured to part of the group. "I think Solas and Bevin are the only ones without still."
"He's in luck," she said, tossing back a battered looking staff. "That's the only staff, however."
He caught it and turned it over in his hands. He didn't look pleased with the quality or some feature, but understood there wasn't much room to be choosy. "It will suffice."
Bevin must have felt Leliana's inquiring gaze, "Short blades will do, but I can probably work with anything." Nichole's brow furrowed. Outside of some light sparring with Cassandra, she'd never seen Bevin use blades in battle. She didn't even think the woman was comfortable with anything other than her eerie looking staff. She wasn't going to ask questions now, though, if the other woman was really insisting on fighting. Nichole watched as the Sister gently handed Bevin a pair of short swords, taking a mismatched pair for herself.
Cassandra began outlining what she thought would be their best plan for attack. "We've determined that Alexius is most likely in his chambers. We should avoid what fights we can on our way there, then barricade what we can of the room where we will ultimately be fighting him."
"Unless much has changed, I should be able to navigate us better on the upper floors," Dorian supplied. "I will keep us to more out of the way paths where possible. I do remember where his chambers should be. Let us hope he is there."
"You must return to your time before the Elder One is alerted to your presence here," Leliana implored.
"Focus on Alexius, and we will hold back what comes." Bevin punctuated her words, "Do not worry about what may happen to us." The others nodded in agreement.
They began filtering out of the dungeon to start working their way towards Alexius once and for all.
Solas snagged her arm to hold her back a step from the rest. He was very close, whispering in her ear, "Be very wary of what you choose to impart to those of your time. While there are matters of importance, there are things that they may not yet be ready to know, especially within those papers. That includes my past self. I trust that you will tell the Tevinter Mage to hold his tongue, as well." The elf didn't give her any time to respond before he was moving past her to walk aside and guide Bevin, who looked to be only using her magic sight thing selectively for the time being.
Bevin made a weird comment about how the red lyrium felt "hangry."
Everything was going fairly smoothly, dispatching the few patrolling guards left of the lower levels silently, until they finally breached the surface. They'd come to what looked to be the great hall - and a whole mess of guards. They didn't know of or find any other way to avoid them, so they would have to cut through the lot. At least the element of surprise was on their side this round.
They split into two groups to take on either side of the room, hoping to contain the fighting and finish quickly before anyone was alerted by the inevitable noise. She had Solas and Bevin at her back as they took on the south side of the hall.
Nichole was able to take one guard down off the bat as she ran forth in the beginning chaos and slammed her blade through the open half of his helmet, passing it through his neck or skull with her momentum. With a kick, she shoved him off her sword and spun on her heel to meet the next enemy.
Around her sprung up the tingle of Bevin's barrier. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched a fleeing guard become frozen in a pillar of ice before shattering at the impact of a thrown dagger.
She met the blade of a guard with her own and pushed to drive him back. She felt the heat at her side as the other guard was taking incoming fire from her allies. Nichole ducked and allowed the barrier to take an overhand strike. She swept at the guard's feet in attempt to unbalance him, then used his stumble to regain his footing to push him into the line of fire from someone's spell.
The guard screamed in pain, but didn't go down. Before he could step forward to re-engage her, a blade flew at him to impale his side through the opening of his armor. Electricity struck him, then arched towards the barrier around her. Nichole reflexively drew her arms up in guard, still not used to this particular magic of Bevin's, and watched through her fingers as it arched again to light up the other guard in battle with them.
The one she'd been fighting spasmed as blood spewed from his mouth. The dagger in his side glowed violet and jerked free of him as if on some sort of invisible line. He fell forward dead within seconds, blood pooling around him, and the blade flew back to Bevin. The barrier around Nichole shattered and faded.
More of Bevin's body was glowing with that ethereal blue magic stuff, but it died down as soon as she was clear of immediate danger. She then leaned heavily on Solas' arm for support. Whatever she was doing helped her a ton in battle, but also took its toll further on her weakened form.
They took the time to identify where they'd be heading next while the other group took down the last guard on their side. They then all regrouped and made haste moving on once it was clear no-one was injured enough to warrant medical attention.
These upper floors were just as much of a maze as the lower ones. With the red lyrium and more locked doors blocking whole passages, they found themselves needing to backtrack and take roundabout halls and go completely out of their way as they worked their up the floors.
At one point, it seemed like they'd never reach Alexius as they ended up being lead back down two floors, through some creepy garden-courtyard - Holy Mother of, that was the Breach? - then across an even creepier grotto, just to find a way back up on the other side of this stupid lyrium where they'd pretty much started.
Odd parts of the floors were made up of whole areas with rail-less catwalks, freefalls, and drawbridges. Prompting an outburst from Bevin after a battle that required so much extra care to not fall off the sides to their deaths, especially for the one needing magic sight to navigate, "Who the fuck designs a castle like this?" Well, as far as paranoia went, this was probably quite the internal defense - that is, if you knew there were intruders. Nichole felt she needed the laugh, even if it wasn't wholly appropriate. It was comforting to know that Bevin hadn't changed much on the inside.
When they finally reached what was thought to be the room they were looking for, they were met with a giant metal door that required some odd key. Nichole was nearly of a mind to try prying the thing from the surrounding stone wall with her fingers. Her left hand was itching and pulsing, telling her that there was likely a rift beyond here.
Dorian ran his hand along the inscribed door towering over them. "Well, I can say that, if anywhere, this is probably where Alexius has holed himself up. This mechanism looks as though it should fit with those corded fragments we picked off of those guards and servants." Dorian began digging through his pockets, much to Nichole's relief and disbelief. At least one of them had some foresight.
He 'ah-ha'-d and held up the fragments, fitting the pieces together into the lock. Before he could try activating it, Nichole warned the group of the likely Fade rift somewhere beyond the door.
The Alexius they were met with was not at all what she had expected. He was resigned, nearly repentant at what he had done. Nichole, though highly skeptical, felt as though he'd merely give them the damn amulet just to be done with this. But of course, that would have been far too easy. Couldn't have that.
She would have strangled Leliana for her stupid actions, seizing Alexius' son and slitting his throat in front of him, if there had been any time to do so. She had to settle for letting out a yell of exasperation and preparing for battle with who knows what.
The group fell in with their plan, the others reshut the giant door and took on the few surrounding guards filing in from the shadows while she and Dorian concentrated on Alexius.
Which was seethingly difficult to do since he could apparently freaking teleport. Then, as soon as she got a good strike in that went unparried by his staff, a Fade rift was summoned.
Solas yelled across the room at her to remind her to focus on Alexius instead of the new swarm of demons. Hard to do when there are way more demons than allies.
She and Dorian hacked and slashed and burned their way through the demons blocking their path from a fleeing Alexius. At some point, Nichole felt that familiar barrier magic envelope her, but gave it no thought as she fell into her pattern of striking through it and pulling back to let it take hits to give her openings.
Nichole closed one rift just to have another open right as they seemed to have corned Alexius. This time, he chose to stay in the fray of the fight instead of fleeing to the outskirts of the room for her to chase him. This made it all the more difficult to concentrate on attacking him since she now had to dodge the wayward attacks from demons.
Right as she was closing the second rift was when Alexius finally fell to an attack of opportunity as he came too close to the range of someone's blade.
Dorian was at his side in the next instant turning the Magister's robes out for the amulet that caused this whole mess. It glinted in the light as he held it up.
"Oh, Alexius," Dorian lamented, "He wanted to die, didn't he?"
"This Alexius was too far gone, but the one from our time might still be reasoned with," Nichole tried to suggest helpfully.
"I hope that is true. This is the same amulet that he used before. I think it's the same one we made in Minrathous," the Mage explained.
"You made this thing?" Nichole exclaimed angrily.
"Well, yes, but it's a good thing," he insisted. "I should be able to work out the spell to open the rift to get us back within an hour!"
Leliana intervened, "An hour? That's impossible! You must go now!"
That was when they heard it. The screech that couldn't possibly be made by any living creature. It shook the very foundation of the ground they stood on.
"The Elder One," Solas said solemnly.
"He's here. Demons will be with him," Cassandra said from beside her.
The future-group shared a look. Bevin spoke up, her voice oddly clear and lilting, the magic flowing across her once more, "Our lives are yours. We will buy you as much time as we can."
They didn't give her or Dorian any chance to stop them as they were quick to reopen the door and seal it once more behind them. Leliana was the only one to stay behind, steadying herself and blades in hand.
Dorian grabbed her arm, pulling them as far away as possible while he began to work out the needed spell to send them back.
The whole castle was now under constant shock and trembled beneath them as the walls looks ready to come crashing down at any moment. The giant door held solidly to several barrages from the other side.
Nichole began to panic that they wouldn't succeed when the door started creaking violently under the stress of whatever was trying to force it open.
She had never been so scared as when that door finally gave way in a loud crash of metal against stone. The entire room beyond was filled with demons and whole walls had come down with the ceiling. The beasts were coming straight for them, affected little by the slashes and blows that Leliana was delivering left and right.
Dorian had to pull her back when she caught sight of her friends' limp, lifeless bodies being torn apart ruthlessly. Her breaths came harsh in her throat as she bit back a sob. One was still dragging Cassandra behind itself as it entered the room until it tossed her aside like the woman was weightless garbage.
The sudden light that surrounded them was almost too late, but it could not have been more welcome.
Nichole shook, eyes clenched tight and praying hard that they were finally back in their time. Once her breathing steadied, she could hear words being spoken and she opened her eyes to peer through her hands.
Alexius was standing before them, a look of disbelief and defeat on his face.
Nichole did what any rational person would do after such a stressful event caused by the man: she walked up and punched him square in the face.
She then numbly went through the motions of dealing with whatever noble this was now in front of them and dealing with the rebel Mages.
Nichole barely noticed herself walking out of the now busy castle as she found an out of the way spot to finally collapse in a heap to let it all finally wash over her. The tears now allowed on her face brought relief and it felt as though a big weight had fallen from her shoulders.
God, she needed a nap.
And a shower.