Mother and Son
Lothering, 9:30, Justinian 19th Morning
"That was very generous of you, Natasha." Leliana gave her comrade a gentle hug, which was returned with a frown.
"It has been the last of the money I got from these robbers back at Lothering. I hope it will do some good to Kaitlyn and her brother."
Leliana nodded: "Sure it will. The Revered Mother promised to take a look and make sure Kaitlyn has a well-known trader take her to Denerim. With her family there and some money to start, it will be better than here by all means."
They had left Iona and Warrick back at the chantry and climbed up the slope to the windmill. Bann Teagan awaited them there, behind him the remains of the barricades, some of the villagers working to drag the corpses of the nightly attackers together and burn them. Beside him stood a single soldier with the crest of Redcliffe, the face unknown to the companions.
"Hello, my friends. I dearly would hope to give you some rest after this battle, but we must use this break to solve the problems in the castle. This man is one of my brother's house-guard. He brought me a letter from my sister-in-law." He gave the letter to Alistair, the other companions studying the soldier. His uniform was cut in some places and seemed to be worn since a week or so. He stood unnaturally still, watching Bann Teagan all the time.
Alistair let the letter sink. "She asks you to enter the castle and alone as it is, to help her save her son Connor. This is ridiculous. You can't consider this in earnest. We have to go together. No one knows which dangers await you in the castle. "
Bann Teagan showed a face full of desperation. "I know. It's insane, but I have to. I can't ignore her plea. If there is any hope to save my brother or his son, I have to go. And she made it clear that no other than I alone may pass the gates. But I have a plan. In this windmill is the entrance of a hidden path to the cellars of the castle. While I show up at the gates, you'll enter there. Ser Perth and his knights will be waiting near the gates and help …"
Alistair interrupted. "No, Ser Perth will wait here in the village. We can't leave it without protection. We six must be sufficient to battle what waits in the castle. I don't like your plan. But I know that I can't persuade you. Hopefully we won't regret it."
Opening the entrance they climbed down in the narrow, low tunnel, water dripping at some spots.
"I hate tunnels. I'm not a dwarf or some kind of badger." Morrigan grumbled, causing mild laughter from the others. On and on they went, nearly thinking this tunnel to go nowhere, but finding another stair at last. Alistair felt released, took some deep breaths and look around where they had landed. "The prison I think. If we take this way we will …"
"Jowan," a voice hissed full of spite. Alistair had problems to detect it was Natasha's. Following her stare he saw a cell with a prisoner therein, a mage as it seemed. The mage stared back in a mix of fear and hope.
"Jowan, at last I see you again. The maker is with me, giving me a chance to set something right." The voice was full of rage, sending showers over even Morrigan's spine. "Please, Natasha, let me explain …"
"No, Jowan, there is nothing to explain, only to die. You're a blood mage on the run, Greagoir sentenced you to death. And what you had done to Lily …" her voice trembled.
Leliana tried to intervene. "Natasha, please, you can't kill him cold blooded. You must give him a chance …"
Natasha shoved her aside. "I must do nothing." She hissed, her carotid artery pulsing heavily. "And I'm surely not cold blooded. Not as he was back at the tower where he sacrificed my friendship and Lily's love to escape. You'll die, Jowan, slowly, painfully." She lashed out with her magic, breaking the cells door out of its hinges with ease, sending it against Jowan and pinning him to the wall. "Your blood magic won't save you today. I'll break every bone in your body … Sten go aside."
With a few long strides Sten positioned himself between Natasha and Jowan. He calmly shook his head. "Sten, aside, I don't want to hurt you … yet. But this man has to die."
Leliana tried anew to calm Natasha down, desperately overhearing the painful moans of Jowan, cursing that Iona wasn't here, the elf having proven to be able to calm Natasha down. "Natasha, I don't know what happened at the tower. But you have been given a new chance with the wardens. Doesn't he deserve a chance too?"
Only calming a nuance down Natasha replied. "You know nothing. I was given a new chance, yes. But I didn't want it. As Stroud asked me to join the wardens I refused. I begged Greagoir to judge me. It would have been a death sentence and it would have been the right thing to do. But he refused."
Shock showing on all faces except Sten's they watched Natasha as she slowly circumvented Sten and looked again in Jowan's eyes. "I begged him, refused Irving excuses of my deeds. Surely I didn't know. Surely I did it out of friendship. But I helped a blood mage, A BLOOD MAGE." The last words were cried out in a bloodcurdling mix of pain, anger and despair, slowly transforming in a shoulder-shuddering sob. "I had to die. But Greagoir didn't allow it. He extorted my concession, my becoming a grey warden in exchange for Lily's life. Yes, Jowan, she lives. And surely not thanks of you."
Loud clatter accompanied the cell door falling to the ground, Jowan following a second later. Natasha went to the next room, giving Morrigan a sign to let her alone as the witch moved to follow her. So it was left to Alistair and Mikhail to interrogate Jowan.
"Connor is a mage. Isolde knew it. She accepted an apostate as a trainer to hide his talent. He poisoned Arl Eamon. Loghain sent him for this. Jowan isn't the culprit for the undead attacks." The voices whirled around. Slowly the puzzle parts felt in the right places, but much stayed unexplained. Alistair decided Jowan to be put in another cell, but left alive.
Lothering, 9:30, Justinian 19th noon
The fight had been hard, more so because they tried not to kill Bann Teagan. After crawling thru the castle, killing the remaining undead – with finding Velana, the daughter of the smith to be a single ray of hope – at last they reached the main hall. Connor had been waiting there with the last guardsmen, his very frightened and despaired mother and Bann Teagan, magical controlled and converted in some type of a jester. Without Natasha's magic they would have been forced to kill Teagan, as he and the soldiers attacked the group on Connor's command. Now he was back to his senses, Connor going into some kind of torpor.
"Please, Alistair. Help him. It wasn't really him. It was a demon this mage called that forced him to do these terrible things. Please, don't hurt Connor." Isolde pledged for her son's life, always pressing the issue of Jowan's debt.
Alistair felt so sorry for her. He never liked Isolde much after her treating him as a more than unwelcome sight in Castle Redcliffe, but she was a mother wanting to protect her child, one of the most natural emotions. "I … I don't know a solution, Isolde. I really hoped I had an idea other than killing him."
"Perhaps I can help." Mikhail led the shackled Jowan in the hall, releasing him from his cell on Teagan's command. "As it seems Connor made a bargain with a demon, the demon's help in saving Eamon for Connor's allowance to let the demon in his body. But you must understand that the demon is not materially in Connor's body. Instead he controls him thru a bond, a type of magical thread between body and fade. But as the demon uses this bond to control Connor, so we can use it to enter the fade and beat the demon."
A flare of hope showed in Isolde's eyes. "You mean, you can enter the fade and kill that demon without hurting my Connor?" Jowan shook his head. "I have to open the way and hold it open. Another mage has to enter the fade. Normally it would need a circle of magi and much Lyrium to accomplish this, but I have blood magic at my disposal. I can use the Life of someone to fuel the magic. But … this someone would certainly die. "
Isolde responded very silently. "So one has to die to save my son? Then it will be me."
A wild discussion erupted, all voices a wild mess. Lastly Natasha shouted them all down. "I will never allow this to happen. Neither Morrigan nor I will trust Jowan to hold this fade portal open and surely I will not allow Isolde to sacrifice herself. She has done much to redeem and I understand she wants to do all in her might to save Connor, but never this way."
Taking a few moments to collect her, Natasha spoke on: "I will open the portal. Morrigan will go thru and battle this demon. Jowan will have no part in this." Alistair shook his head. "I thought only a circle of magi could do this without blood magic."
Before Natasha had a chance to answer, Morrigan interrupted. "She could. Her grasp of force magic would allow it, I think. But …" Natasha nodding changed to a growl … "I know the dangers for her. I won't go; I can't allow this, Natasha. We need you. Connor, Isolde, Teagan, Jowan, they all mean nothing to me. We all are disposable. Only you wardens we need, even this dumbass Alistair. Find another way to solve the problem or I'll try it with Jowan."
"What, what does Morrigan mean?" Alistair tried to grasp the word's meaning. Natasha and Morrigan didn't answer, staring each other silently. Suddenly Natasha whirled around, hands up to release a single powerful spell against Jowan. But this time Sten was faster. With a loud crack his plated fist connected to Natasha's neck, sending her into unconsciousness instantly.
"Thank … thank you." Jowan trembled, knowing the spell would have killed him.
Sten coldly replied: "I did it for her, not for you. She would regret it later to have killed such a nothing as you."
"Could anyone explain me what happened?" Alistair asked desperately.
Mikhail guessed: "I think Natasha could open the portal. She is very strong indeed. But from Morrigan's words I assume she would … exhaust her very much with it."
Morrigan agreed. "She would be powerless for days or weeks at least. But more likely she would die from the exhaustion. Natasha has a very special way of fueling her magic. It is closely connected to her emotions. Her constant volcano temperament is not coincidence. This is also the reason for her being so weak after fights where she is pressed to use much magic."
"I'm sure she wouldn't like you to know it, but you have to. Forcing her to use too much magic in short time is endangering her life. And you all knew her well enough that she will not hesitate a second to save one of you with disregard of herself. I for myself don't want her to throw away her life."
Morrigan made sure her face not to show what she thought in addition. At least not for this. Later perhaps. Feeling a strange guilt in her heart, Morrigan tried hard to forget that perhaps one day she would be forced to do exactly that to Natasha.
Alistair sighed deeply. "Alright, so no blood magic ritual and no Natasha playing the hero. Any other ideas …"