All the usual disclaimers apply to both Dragon Age and ESO.
Haven seemed to swell with more pilgrims and recruits since she left 5 days ago. The newly arrived gawked at Aedan before either going off to the Chantry to pray with Mother Gisele or looked where to report for their new duties to one of the advisors. The increase in people meant an increase in noise. Lenora saw that both the smithy and the field where the new recruits trained seemed to have doubled the amount of people that were there less than a week before. She could hear Threnn shouting orders to move stacks of supplies to a new warehouse as she walked past the full Chantry to the kitchens. The scene that greeted her almost made her turn around and walk back to her home in the Hinterlands.
A new arrival, a tall haughty-looking man in his fifties stood with his arms folded across his chest as he glared at the woman in front of him. Mistress Gellen was a thin Fereldan woman, who Lenora considered to be the best when cooking for the soldiers had her arms in a similar position as she glared right back at him. Standing next to them, the Ambassador looked small and somewhat helpless to stop the glaring contest between the two.
Lenora sighed softly in exasperation and quietly approached her superior from behind.
"Is there a problem my lady?"
Josephine to her credit didn't jump too high up from surprise. She looked stunned when she saw Lenora's weapons and armour, but ever the diplomat covered it fairly well.
"Mistress Varelli! You startled me. I'm glad you've arrived earlier than expected. Master Giles had volunteered to cook for the Inquisition. I'm sure you'll know how to utilize his talents best. You have my utmost confidence! Now if you'll excuse me, the Count is to arrive soon and I must make sure he and his retinue are settled in with comfort."
The shorter woman inclined her head towards Lenora and beat a dignified retreat leaving the two warring cooks still glaring at each other. Now that she was closer to the two she could see the majority of the kitchen staff huddled on the other side of the kitchen. Suppressing another sigh, she called out to the rest of the staff.
"I'm sure there is still plenty of work to do."
That served as a signal for them to resume their duties, but Lenora thought she spotted quite a few glances towards the senior cooks. She motioned for both of them to follow her and strode towards the space behind Adan's cabin. Reaching the space between the cabin and the wooden fence that served as the border to the small town she looked at the man and woman again. She addressed the woman first:
"Mistress Gellen?"
That seemed to be the key to unlocking the usually taciturn woman's speech. She whirled towards the man and almost hissed her words.
"This one thinks that he is Maker's gift to cooking. Coming in and ordering everyone about! I told him Mistress Varelli sets the rules, yet he insists that we do everything his way. He may be big deal in the Free Marches, but he is in Haven now. We have our own rules and no snooty cooks tell us what to do unless you've agreed to it first."
This may have been the most she had seen Mistress Gellen say in one conversation in the months Lenora had known her. She glanced at the still silent man and motioned for him to speak. He looked at her briefly before responding, but something about his look didn't seem right to her. He spoke, with an accent similar to Blackwall.
"What this simple woman is trying to say is that she resisted every innovation so she could feed the file and rank and leaving the more distinguished guests and the advisors of the Inquisition with nothing more than simple stew! I ran the kitchen in the noble house of Brandis in Markham for years and they only had praise for me!"
"If only you'd stayed there!" The tall Fereldan woman was almost incandescent with rage.
"Mistress Galen!"
"So you could serve your slop to Andraste's chosen? I'm only sorry I arrived too late!"
"Master Giles!"
Finally, both were silent. Lenora looked at both of them, waiting for them to calm down before she spoke again.
"Mistress Gellen, I appreciate your work whilst I was away. You can go back to the kitchen to carry on with your duties, but please send one of the junior cooks to get more sugar and spices. The cart is just outside the gates with a young blond woman guarding it. Her name is Trynhild and she is also carrying additional herbs we managed to procure from the merchants and Inquisition scouts in the Hinterlands. She'll help bring the cart in, but afterwards please show her where she must report to Commander Cullen."
The woman, red splotches from her earlier excitement on her normally pale cheeks nodded and sent a triumphant look towards the tall man. She walked away after stating how good it was to have Lenora back. Only when she was gone, did Lenora allow more time to observe the older man in front of her.
He was probably younger than her earlier estimation of him to be in his fifties. Closer to Mistress Gellen's 45, but despite his earlier haughty demeanour, she could see the sunken cheeks and his clothes, clearly made for a larger frame that he was now. He may have been a cook in a noble house once, but recent events spoke of lean days. Badly patched clothes with multiple mud stains showed that those days were most likely spent without proper shelter. The sun was slowly receding over the horizon behind Lenora, but the last rays reflected brightly in the snow. Giles flinched almost violently and shut his eyes. It may have been a momentary action, but Lenora had her answer.
"When did you start losing your sight?" She asked gently.
The man's shoulders stooped, any pretence of superiority gone.
"Almost 5 years Mistress Varelli."
"And did the family you worked for let you go, once your sight impacted your cooking?"
His shoulders lowered even more.
"No, they offered that I retire at the estate. I refused, thinking I could do better."
"Yet no one would take you once they saw that with your sight you couldn't cook as well as you used to?"
"I did indeed my lady and I wouldn't take a lower position because of my pride. Inquisition was my last hope when I arrived two days ago."
He hang his head, expecting her to do the same.
"If you've mastered your pride, I wouldn't turn away a skilled cook Master Giles."
He lifted his head in surprise, cloudy eyes widened in surprise.
"There is a healer mage working with our resident alchemist in one of the nearby cabins. Report to him to have your health checked out. I think Adan has a pair of glasses that might help you. Where I'm from, we call what you have cataracts. There is a possibility it might be fixed, but I would caution you not to raise hope until I know what the healer has to say. I assume you are staying in a tent with the other recruits?"
He nodded in response, his face losing its serious expression in favour of a small smile.
"I'll find you after the Chantry services tomorrow morning. Have some rest in the meantime. You'll begin tomorrow. You may go."
"Thank you so much Mistress Varelli. I've all but given up hope. Thank you!"
"You may need to start from the beginning Master Giles, but I suspect you'll do fine."
The man almost ran to Adan's cabin.
Lenora started rolling her shoulders to help her back, still sore from her earlier fight with the abomnation when a sharp noise, possibly a branch snapping alerted her to someone nearby. She started walking towards the nearest cabin making sure that whoever that was would follow her and then reveal themselves when the sun reflected on the wall and thus revealing their shadow. A few moments later, the rays from the waning sun hit the wall the shadow revealed the outline of a Templar armour behind her. She immediately rolled to her right to rise behind the startled Templar.
"Ser Adrien? I thought you heard the Herald's view about not spying on mages."
The young man, raised his armoured hands in peace.
"I assure you Mademoiselle. I came here of my own volition."
Lenora raised her eyebrows in surprise, but didn't say anything further as she leaned back against the cabin's back wall.
Ser Adrien was slim for a Templar, with dark hair and eyes and a very slight Orlesian accent. He didn't seem the type to join a fanatical organisation since he held himself in a pragmatic manner, evidenced in the well maintained armour without any decorations and a plain scabbard for his equally plain sword.
He took a moment before speaking, possibly trying to find the right words.
"I know that our current membership within the Inquisition is partly thanks to your information about the demon that had some…influence on us, especially on poor Ser Le Fontaine. We believed in doing what was right, but were no better than mages, who were corrupted by demons. It's a sobering thought, but that's not why I approached you today."
Lenora kept an expression of polite interest on her face. She appreciated the gratitude, but then this man joined the group that believed mages were not even people. Ser Adrien continued in the meantime.
"I'm willing to admit that our views in the heat of war were radical, but we still believe that the mages should not have left the Circles where they could be watched and protected. We cannot do this here and we are willing to abide by Herald's rules. I just wanted to let you know that I will always be grateful and if you were to be corrupted, I will not let you suffer from the demon's influence long. Its death will be swift and merciful."
He stopped speaking, the earnest expression still on his face. He spoke about demon corruption like it was an assured conclusion. She could have reacted with accusations and even violence, but decided against it. After all, shrugging off a thousand year mentality that people should be enslaved just for the crime of being able to do magic was not done easily, if at all.
"I'm touched by your concern Ser Adrien. I cannot help, but feel obliged to offer a similar boon to you. You and your friends' help was invaluable to defeating the demon and his minions and I would be a poor friend to let you suffer from a demon's possession. Furthermore, knowing your past as a member of the Templar Order I will be considerate enough not to use any magic."
Whatever the young man had expected, her response wasn't it. He opened his mouth and then closed it in order to come up with another statement in response. Lenora in the meantime pushed her shoulders away from the wall and walked to stand in front of the taller man. Wetting her lower lip slowly, she opened her eyes wider and then raised her head to meet his eyes with her own.
"Do not worry, you'll never see me coming."
This was said in a sultrier tone as she patted his shoulder in apparent consolation and then lowered her eyelashes almost demurely before walking back towards the kitchen, leaving the stunned man behind.
Only when she was approaching the Chantry did she allow herself a chuckle. She knew the man meant well, but if this was his approach with friendship to someone with magic, she hoped the man never fell in love with a mage.
The Chantry just finished its early evening service and both pilgrims and members of the Inquisition were leaving the building in small groups talking among themselves.
"Mistress Varelli!"
She turned to trace the source of the voice and her smile fell. The lay brother approaching her looked to be a middle aged man with grey barely touching his full head of brown hair, his robes slightly faded, but neat. She knew that he was at least 20 years older, reaching his 50th year when she was still in Tamriel and despite his robes he could easily keep up with the fastest scouts of the Inquisition. Probably came from being a thief for most of his life and the Thieves Guild leader for a good half of it
"Brother Nicholas" – she said frostily.
The War Room
Aedan stretched his back hearing a satisfying pop after sitting in the same position for two hours. He wasn't a fan of any Chantry service; as a former Templar he was required to attend every service and since then was never keen to go back to the Chantry. Mother Gisele however, insisted that he attend a service at least once after returning from a prolonged absence. This was primarily done to reassure the faithful she claimed. Josephine argued that his presence proved to those clerics whose opinion was still on the fence in regards to the Inquisition that he was still a faithful son of the Chantry. He wasn't one, not since his sister's death, but thought it wiser to sacrifice a little bit of his time to gain more favour for the Inquisition.
He looked over to the rest of the people standing near the table. Cassandra had a placid and almost peaceful expression on her face after the service. Nothing seemed to shake her faith, whilst Leliana still had the same inscrutable expression as before. He knew from speaking to her before, that she prayed a great deal for guidance from the Maker. He wanted to let her know that it was useless to hope, but some things a person were supposed to discover for themselves. Cullen had a look of someone going through the motions, more concerned with the constantly expanding Inquisition army and its recruits rather than concentrating on the service. Josephine was the only person not to attend this service claiming that the new noble arrivals needed to be made as comfortable as possible. He did wonder at times if she like many nobles in Orlais and Antiva, was only paying lip service to the Chantry.
He started by verbalising his report about the reception they received in Orlais from the Chantry. He described in detail their encounter with Lord Seeker Lucius. Their meeting with Grand Enchanter Fiona was brief, but he thought he communicated everything that could be important. He was about to start speaking about the new recruits that would be joining him on mission, but before he could launch into a story about Sera and her pants scheme his advisors predictably started arguing about which side to contact in regards to the Breach. Cullen started arguing in favour of the Templars once again backed by Cassandra. Both Leliana and Josephine argued for the mages. He waited the requisite five minutes to let their still unchanged arguments play out, watching the small grandfather clock standing in the right corner of the room, probably left over by one of the Clerics that perished at the Conclave. Then he cleared his throat loudly to bring their attention back to his report that was still not finished.
Cullen coloured from embarrassment and both Josephine and Cassandra looked a little guilty, yet again leaving Leliana looking unaffected by the fact that they spent yet more time on this with no resolution in sight.
"We still have a few things to do before we can court either faction. We still need more resources, including those of Dennett and his horses. Cullen, did the soldiers complete the watchtowers?"
He felt a little easier hearing Cullen recount how much the new watchtowers helped with preventing bandit attacks. This was one less obstacle in bringing order to the Hinterlands. Despite their differing views, these three were exceptionally good at their job. He doubted he could do half as well in their place, but the greenish glow on his left hand reminded him of his role in this situation. The others were discussing other tasks that were completed whilst he was in Orlais, referring to people and contracts he wouldn't know about. He was beginning to lose interest when Cassandra jabbed his side with her elbow.
"You wanted to tell us about the new recruits you will be travelling with?" The gentle prompt was from Josephine, who seemed to understand that he was bored by the minutiae of tasks he wasn't involved in. He gave her a grateful smile.
"Blackwall was in the area you said he would be Leliana. He's a warden recruiter, who hadn't heard about the other wardens leaving. He is happy to help in any way he can though. Good fighter and has some experience in leading men."
Leliana smiled. Her concern for the wardens was understandable after travelling with the Hero of Ferelden. He addressed Josephine next.
"Madam La Fer remains extremely ambitious. She is however willing to help us and offer us not only her connections and influence, but her companionship. Whilst I'm not exactly a fan of the latter, she is formidable both politically and magically. Needless to say that I'm at least glad she's on our side."
"She has arrived yesterday Aedan. Her demands were very simple once she saw that we're still building our support."
Aedan raised an unbelieving eyebrow. Josephine blushed prettily.
"Well, in comparison to what they usually are. They are however doable and she only brought 3 staff members along. The bare minimum she told me."
Cullen unsuccessfully tried to stifle a snort as Cassandra issued her patented disgusted noise.
Leliana added her bit about Sera.
"She's not the most stable person I've had to work with, but her spies within Orlais and Denerim are already passing enough information to help us."
"If you figured out how to decipher her speech, she will be invaluable when scouting." That particular jibe came from Cassandra.
"You're still sore that she managed to get you to make a joke afterwards. Varric is still recovering." He mock accused the woman.
The other three turned towards Cassandra and she paled slightly under her tan.
"Perhaps later. I don't think we have the time to tell jokes at this meeting" – she deflected. Cullen and Josephine nodded, but Leliana winked at Cassandra causing her to pale even more.
"We have a Templar who was in the process of turning into an abomination. Fortunately, we managed to halt his progress and keep him unconscious. I asked that he has a double guard of former Templars in the meantime. Cullen, I remember from Varric's book that you had encountered such a thing before. This man was a friend a while back and I would like to give him as much help as he can. Can you assist?"
Cullen rubbed his neck in a familiar nervous gesture. Mentions of Kirkwall tended to provoke this type of reaction, but he nodded in agreement.
"Additionally, we have some new recruits who decided the Inquisition was the better option and are willing to help in any way she can. We managed to persuade a few Templars that belonged to a fanatical group called the Just to join us instead. They were under an influence of a rage demon, but we managed to put a stop to that. The other members of the Just have committed at least one atrocity and I would like to see them stopped. We have the map to their whereabouts. I would like to take some soldiers and the rest of my companions to eradicate them. We've stopped the most radical elements of the mages, time to do the same to the radicals from the Templar order."
Cullen agreed – "I can give you about 10 people. A couple are veterans and the rest are promising recruits. It will give the recruits some much needed experience."
"Excellent. We managed to get two more Templars and 5 mages from another conflict as recruits. Two of them are still apprentices. One of the Templars was trying to get his mage sister out of the war zone. Unfortunately, the mages she was with were attacked by yet another group of fanatical Templars. One of the locals helped out when she cut down their leader without any help. I recruited her too."
"You have been busy." – that came from Leliana, but it was tinged with some admiration. Aedan tried not to let it show, but this pleased him. Leliana was one of the most efficient people he ever had to work with. Any praise coming from her was entirely deserved.
"That just leaves the report about Mistress Varelli." – Cassandra again. Oh well, Lenora's mage status was bound to come up sooner or later.
"Our cook also happens to be a mage. She helped out our newest mage healer and managed to acquire the location of the Just. She seems to have her magic under control, knows how to fight with a sword and happens to own a tiny brewery where she produces some good mead. Do we keep her where she is, transfer her or relieve her from her post?"
That didn't summarise Lenora as a person, but it was hard to view someone objectively once they saved your life and you actually liked them.
Josephine reacted first.
"We're absolutely not removing her from her post! I had many a compliment about her cooking from our guests and she performs her duties very efficiently. Unless she starts throwing bolts of lightning at our guests I have no problem with her being a mage. Besides, do we not accept those who want to help us? Mage or not?"
Leliana smiled.
"We're not removing her Josie. Her being a mage doesn't matter." The last sentence was aimed along with her gaze at Cullen, who flushed guiltily. She turned to Aedan and Cassandra.
"How good of a fighter?"
"Leliana!"
"Don't worry Josie. I would like to know her skills nevertheless, it may prove useful."
Cassandra answered for him.
"I believe she is more used to fighting with a staff and using magic than swords. Her martial skills are respectable and it's obvious she's had some experience. I'd say it will be difficult for me to bring her down."
Leliana was taken aback.
"That good?"
"Very much so and she uses spells that clearly don't require a staff. She took an abomination and some demons down on her own with nothing but a few bruises to show for it. At the very least, she needs regular practice to help out others." – She paused before continuing. "After her cook duties are completed of course." –that was mainly to pacify Josephine.
Cullen frowned and opened his mouth, most likely to disagree that the mages should not be monitored. At this point Aedan's patience snapped. He turned to Cullen before speaking.
"I told the former members of "The Just" that mages are people and they will not be watched like they were in a Circle. They are free now and if we're to have the support of any mage we cannot renege on our promises. This trouble started, because we treated people worse than rabid dogs all because of the gifts they were born with. If we carry on doing this, we will be no better than the likes of Lord Seeker Lambert, who is responsible for the death of thousands due to his paranoia. All of you empowered me to help the Inquisition grow and to recruit the right people. If I cannot keep my promises to them, because you decided you cannot see past the bigotry of the past, you can find yourself another Herald."
The others in the room were silent, stunned by the sudden outburst from a normally easy-going man.
Surprisingly, it was Cullen who answered him first.
"You're right of course. Prejudice against magic and the horrible treatment of those involved is what started this chaos. It wouldn't do for us to repeat the mistakes of others. I will advise the rest of the former Templars to desist watching our mages. Although I strongly advise supervision for the apprentices, if not by Templars, at least by the more experienced enchanters that have joined the Inquisition."
It seemed everyone breathed a silent sigh of relief as the best hope for closing the Breach calmed down.
He breathed in before speaking again, his voice calm and serious.
"I'm sorry, it was not my intent to shout or threaten. I believe what I say, but you did not deserve my anger because I rage against those not in this room."
Ever the peacemaker, Josephine hurried with an answer.
"Quite understandable Herald. Having to contend with the Chantry's denunciations in Orlais and the atrocities perpetrated on the innocent people of Hinterlands is no easy task. We're partially at fault as well, we had pushed you so hard and yet despite your ability to close rifts you're still human. I would suggest you rest for a couple of days to regain your strength."
As she spoke she looked at the rest of the participants of the Council challenging them with the look to contradict her. Most of them were still too taken aback by Aedan's outburst to disagree.
Aedan smiled.
"There is no need to coddle me Josie. What we're doing is important. A day or two of rest will do all of us some good. I can complete my reports in the meantime and meet with the Count as planned."
"Then we're agreed, we reduce our workload for two days to rest so we can focus with fresh eyes on the challenges ahead. We need to show the people of the Inquisition that we appreciate their efforts. This can also help us with our more influential guests. A few intimate parties can be used to conclude several negotiations."
Both Cullen and Cassandra sent her horrified looks, but Josephine was too busy scribbling notes for the upcoming party to notice. Leliana tried to hide a smile and failed.
Aedan decided to wrap up the meeting.
"Leliana, is there still no word from the scouts on the Storm Coast?"
"Not yet, if they do not report by tomorrow evening, we may have to send Iron Bull and his Chargers to investigate. This however, won't affect our plans to establish a presence in the Fallow Mire. Scout Harding and her people had already left this morning."
Cassandra not being one to stand on ceremony asked:
"If we do not have any news or decisions we should go. Resting tomorrow and the day after means that the rest of today's work may need to double. Cullen and I still have to evaluate the rest of the new recruits."
Josephine looked up from her notes.
"Of course. Please don't forget that you had been requested to meet Lord Asran Pentaghast lady Cassandra. He's your third cousin I believe. I told him you would be there."
Aedan saw Cassandra's jaw tighten.
"Thank you for reminding me Josephine."
Cassandra strode out of the room effectively ending the meeting.
Aedan wanted to follow her, but Cullen stopped him by calling his name.
"I wanted to apologise. I didn't mean to offend you. I know that as former Templars we had vastly different experiences. I probably saw the worst magic has to offer and I know my opinons are coloured by my past. I certainly didn't want to imply that we should treat the mages badly."
He stopped, not sure what to stay and in an unconscious gesture rubbed the back of his neck.
Aedan still feeling bad about his outburst earlier clasped his shoulder in reassurance.
"Cullen, even when I was still in the order your perseverance at Kinloch made you a legend. It's understandably difficult to trust mages after that. I'm just glad that you are willing to be open-minded. I spoke a little about Kirkwall with Varric, he told me that you tried to rescue as many mages as possible from the chaos after Meredith Stannard's death. Not many Templars would have done that."
Cullen's hand started to reach for his neck again.
"I…thank you. I will try to be more open to the idea Herald."
Aedan adopted an annoyed expression at the title.
"Sorry, Aedan." Cullen corrected.
"So, you're off to see the new recruits' skills. Mind if I join you?
"Not at all. As long as I get to see your latest report."
"Slave driver."
They were almost out of the Chantry hall when Cullen asked, stammering a little as he did so.
"You and Mistress Varreli. You have an understanding?"
Aedan gave a short laugh.
"I flirt with Lenora and she doesn't hit me for my bad lines. That's all. Mostly she is just someone I can talk to about something other than the Breach and the current war. I suppose she is one of the few that doesn't ask me for help. The fact that I get to taste good food ahead of others is just an added bonus."
Cullen smiled.
"So you would like her too? Ask for help I mean?"
Aedan gave an embarrassed smile.
"Am I that obvious? I wish she would at least asked me to accompany her to help her friend. Instead, she ends up helping one of our people. I still don't know if she is genuinely interested or just showing kindness to some poor bastard who got himself a permanent green light on his left hand."
Cullen snorted.
"Some light. If it helps, I hadn't heard anything untoward our head cook. She and her friend helped to escort a group of pilgrims to Haven just before the Conclave blew. We were running low on people to help and after the disaster the old cook's nephew created in the kitchen she was the only one to offer help. Her friend became one of my sergeants and they've been here ever since."
"She doesn't strike me as duplicitous, just secretive. This naturally means it's that much more difficult to figure her out. Beautiful women don't go for widowed ex-Templars like me."
"Women." – Cullen added sagely.
Before Aedan could respond Lenora walked through the doors followed by a lay brother. Spotting Aedan and Cullen, she almost ran towards them, the older man following at her heels.
"Commander," – she asked, sparing a brief nod in Aedan's direction. "May I have a moment of your time?"
"Of course." – Cullen was surprised she addressed him and not the Herald.
"Did you by any chance spot a difference in the taste of the food brought you in the last few days? Please, there is no need to spare my feelings if something tasted off."
"I didn't wat to say anything, but the food for the last few days was not the usual quality Mistress Varelli. I'm sure the kitchen was running low on spices so the taste wasn't the same."
This earned him a frown at first. Then he blushed when she gave him an appraising look, somewhat similar Isabela gave him in Kirkwall every time she accompanied Hawke when they met.
"Commander, I understand that some in the Templar order take a vow of chastity. Have you?"
"Maker, why would you ask me that?"
"Please Commander. There is a reason for this."
This came from the lay brother himself. Aedan wasn't sure, but he felt that the man seemed amused.
"No, I didn't take those vows. I don't see why you need that information in relation to a few spoiled meals Mistress Varelli."
She stopped him by laying her fingers over his.
"Please, this is important. Did you leave a lover in Kirkwall?"
Cullen turned even redder than he was. He didn't however remove her hand from his Aedan noted with a touch of jealousy.
"Noone, too busy I suppose."
Lenora turned her head toward the lay brother.
"That confirms it."
Aedan was confused and still bothered that she hasn't removed her hand from Cullen's.
"Explain what?" he asked somewhat waspishly.
"Someone has been selling a mix of herbs as aphrodisiacs to various people. In turn, dishes to certain people, such as the Commander and even one or two of the visiting nobles are liberally added to their food in the time for the food to make it to the intended victim. Unfortunately, the mix contained an herb one of the guests was allergic to. Adan barely managed to save his life."
Lenora spoke quietly, but Aedan could see she was angry.
"What do you intend to do?"
"For the moment, all food to the eligible dignitaries will be delivered by people I trust. When I find who the supplier is I intend to get the names of his clients. Then I will haul all of them in front of both Sister Leliana and the Ambassador for a punishment at their discretion."
Aedan winced.
"I do not envy anyone who'll be caught then. Both Leliana and Josie will take that kind of thing very seriously. Do you require help?"
Lenora looked at him for a moment.
"If you have time to spare. Excuse me, I need to report this to the Ambassador."
She walked away in the same brisk manner she approached.
Cullen shook his head.
"She is very angry."
"No, that's just irritation. You wouldn't want to see her angry."
That was voiced by the Chantry brother. Nicholas, that was the name.
"You know Lenora?"
"I cannot claim a close acquaintance, but yes, I do know her. "
"Is she a danger?" Cullen looked worried.
"Unless you intend to slaughter everyone in Haven at a whim, you don't need to worry. She claims to be allergic to mass slaughter and retaliates appropriately. Now if you excuse me, I need to speak to Mother Gisele."
Both men looked on as he approached Haven's senior cleric and then looked at each other.
"At least she accepted your help this time." Cullen offered.
"Women." Aedan responded.
Then they both walked out of the Chantry to meet the new recruits.
Notes:
1. Something that's not really shown in the game is the amount of people who flock to Haven once the Herald's deeds become known. The population of Haven seems to be the same from the beginning until the attack by the Elder One. Only from Josephine do we know they've had an influx of recruits and pilgrims, not to mention various guests from the nobility of the surrounding countries.
2. Cataracts are often the result of aging, but there are other factors that can influence their development, like family history. One of the symptoms is where sources of light for example sunlight, become too bright.
3. One doesn't need to play the Thieves guild DLC in ESO to figure out that brother Nick is a former Guild master of the Thieves guild. His arrival in Thedas was certainly a surprise to Lenora.
4. Fallow Mire is one of the more unpleasant exploration areas in Dragon Age Inquisition full of undead and places that are full of undead.
5. Aedan's history with mages and the Templar Order certainly does affect his decisions. Again, it's not shown in the first act of the game, but the Herald does wield some influence even before they become the Inquisitor. It's not like the advisors can find a replacement.
6. As for Ser Adrien, something that has to be considered is that for almost as long as the Andrastian Chantry was established, they wielded the ultimate influence in how people perceive mages. That's a thousand years of propaganda and established doctrine. It's not easy to overcome especially for someone whose last affiliation was a group of fanatics aimed at destroying mages. At least he is trying to be friendly.