Sorry about the long wait. I was busier over Christmas than I thought I'd be.
After a few hours of searching, the group found some people hiding behind a barrier. "Oh thank the Maker!" a woman exclaimed.
A man walked up to the barrier, "Thank you for saving us. I knew the Bann would eventually send someone."
Aedan was confused. "Nobody sent us. We came on our own."
The man frowned. "So, the Bann left us here to starve? If he didn't send you; how did you know about this place?"
"A merchant told us about this place actually," Aedan told him.
Surprise came across the man's face. "Why would a Merchant- Oh. You're here for Shale aren't you?" the man said with disgust.
"What's wrong with the golem?" Alistair asked.
"That monster murdered my father," the man told them.
Wynne turned to Aedan. "Perhaps we should rethink having this golem."
"I don't know. We don't know if golems can knowingly kill their masters. Nevertheless we should approach this Shale with caution. Accident or not, it still killed its master." Aedan addressed the group.
"Aedan, you told me that you would take fewer risks; now you're about to activate a golem that killed its previous owner." Morrigan told him with a warning tone.
"I know Morrigan. I think that we should try this though. I want everyone ready to destroy it at the first sign of hostility." Aedan instructed. "Now we know why we got the control rod for free."
It didn't make Morrigan happy that he was doing this, but at least he had a plan for if things didn't go as planned. 'I may not like it, but this risk might be necessary. If that thing threatens him I will reduce it to a pile of pebbles.' Morrigan thought.
Aedan turned to the man, "How do we activate it?"
"Are you serious? All you have to do is have the control rod and say the... Oh you are clever Mother. She must have given the merchant the wrong password."
"Yes. I gathered as much," Aedan said with annoyance clear in his voice.
"I can give you the real one; but you must find my daughter Amalia. She went down those stairs a few days ago but hasn't returned. I'm worried that something has happened to her."
Aedan put a hand on the man's shoulder, "Don't worry; we'll find her."
The group went down to the cellar fighting through Shades and Rage Demons. They eventually reached a room with a girl playing with a cat. "Hello. Have you met Kitty?" the girl asked in a distant tone of voice.
"Good. you're safe. Your father is worried about you. Let's go Amalia, go ahead and bring the cat." Aedan told her.
The cat's eyes began to glow purple. "She does not wish to go back."
"The cat... talks?" Alistair asked in surprise.
"Of course she can silly. Kitty is fun to play with and talk to."
"Ah, a Desire Demon," Wynne whispered.
"Let me guess," Aedan told the demon. "Either Wilhelm or Amalia's father trapped you in this cat and you want me to free you so that you can enter Amalia."
"Yes. That is true. I do not wish to harm Amalia, I only want to see this world through another's eyes."
"I could free you. If I do, you must leave this village and find a different host though. If you truly wish no harm to her, you would agree to these terms."
"Aedan that isn't wise. You are suggesting that we free a Desire Demon so that it can possess someone." Wynne scolded.
"Wynne, Amailia is still in danger right now. The demon could kill her even without entering her. It has control of her mind and can make it shut down at any moment. We came down here to save her; if you have a better way of doing it tell me." Wynne stayed silent. 'I have one chance to surprise the demon and kill it right after it leaves the cat. I hope that works.' Aedan thought.
The cat's eyes began to glow again. "I agree to your terms. Like I said I do not want to harm the girl. I merely desire to see the mortal world through a mortal's eyes. If you are going to free me, you must complete the puzzle behind me to do so."
Aedan pulled Alistair aside to tell him his plan. "Look. The demon will have to focus in order to leave its prison. In doing so; it would likely too focused on leaving to be aware of its surroundings and keep its control of Amalia. Once it leaves the cat, behead it. We only have one shot at doing this, so don't fuck up." Aedan whispered.
After finally completing the puzzle the cat began to glow. "Yes I am finally free!" the demon exclaimed.
The demon's true form was becoming clear. "Alistair NOW!" Aedan shouted. Alistair took his sword and swung horizontally across the demon's neck, effectively removing its head.
Across the room; Amalia blinked and shook her head. "Wh-where am I? What's going on?"
Aedan walked up to her. "It's alright, you're in the cellar. Go upstairs, Your father's worried about you."
Everyone went back to the ground floor of the home. "Thank you for saving my daughter. If I may ask, why was she stuck in the cellar?"
"A Desire Demon had control of her mind and was trying to take control of her body as well." Aedan told him sadly. "I believe that you would like to spend some time alone with your family so I would appreciate it if you gave us the password to activate Shale now."
"Oh right. The password is Dulen harn."
The group walked up to the inactive Shale. "Alright everyone, let's activate this thing. Get your weapons ready just in case it attacks us."
"Are you sure this is wise Aedan?" Leliana asked.
"No I'm not; but this golem could be useful. I'm going to activate it now. Dulen harn."
The golem slowly started to move until it was looking at Aedan. "I knew the day would come that someone would find my control rod, and not even a mage this time. You probably stumbled upon it by accident."
"Well aren't you pleasant." Aedan said sarcastically. "I guess you would have preferred to remain a statue?" Aedan mocked. "If not, you could be little more thankful that you aren't a stature anymore."
"It thinks I should be grateful? Of course it does. I have watched these pathetic villagers scurry about for I don't know how long. Many many years." The golem remarked.
"So they had no idea that they were being watched? That's pretty creepy." Alistair said.
Morrigan decided to join in. "Then you should be thankful to the one that allows you to stretch your legs now golem."
"One of the mages I see. Charming." Shale said dryly. "I was beginning to get used to the quiet too. Are all of the villagers dead?"
"No. There are some survivors." Aedan told it.
"Some got away then? How unfortunate."
"That's horrible." Leliana said.
"It's still better than dull." Shale told her.
"Well go on then. Out with it. Give me a command." the golem demmanded.
"Why would I give you commands?" Aedan asked.
"Oh come on Aedan, give it some sort of command. Maybe you could tell it to attack Alistair. It'll be fun." Morrigan told him.
"It does have the control rod doesn't it? I am awake so it must."
"What's wrong?" Aedan asked.
"I see the rod but I feel... nothing." Shale explained.
"Perhaps the rod is broken." Aedan said. "If so, you have free will."
"Yes, but what should I do with it? I have no memories beyond this village."
"You could join my team in fighting the blight. You'd be quite the combatant against the darkspawn."
"Well it's better than nothing."
On the way back to camp, Morrigan walked up to Shale. "Let me be clear golem. If I see you as a threat to Aedan for a second I will reduce you to a pile of pebbles."
"You can try." Shale replied. "I have no desire to harm it, it set me free and I will not repay it by killing it."
