Chapter 21: The Next Step
"The rogue Templars and apostates that threatened the Hinterlands have been dealt with, the survivors have scattered, and can be hunted down at our leisure."
Nicholai stared intently at the map. A piece of parchment could not describe the damage he had seen during his month in the Hinterland, the suffering that the Templars and mages had brought upon the people living there, the destroyed homes, the innocents murdered simply because they had gotten caught up in the war.
The mage shook his head.
At least that was over, the Inquisition had made sure of that.
He was currently meeting with the rest of the Inquisition war council. He had to admit he had been a little intimidated the first time he had stood in this room. He might have been the son of a powerful Bann, but that seemed small compared to the company that now gave orders to the Inquisition.
Leliana and Cassandra, the left and right hands of the Divine, both women had seen and done much in their lives. One a hero that had saved the Divine and so many others from a flight of dragons during the ten year gathering twenty years earlier, and the other a hero of the Blight, she had stood beside the legendary Alim Surana, her bow aiding him as he brought down the fifth Archdemon.
Commander Cullen had once been knight-commander of Kirkwall; he had served under Meredith Stannard, and according to legend, tried to stop the mad Templar when she tried to have the Champion of Kirkwall purged with the rest of her charges. Some might say that he was partially responsible for what came next, the madness that led to the mage rebellion. Nicholai was not one of those, he had lived in the Circle; he had seen the coming storm. There had been too much anger coming out of the other circles, he had seen that at every meeting of the College of Magi in the last ten years.
Kirkwall may have been the spark, but the blaze had been set years earlier. If not Kirkwall, something else would have ignited the inferno.
Josephine Montilyet, the former Ambassador from Antiva to Orlais, she had come to the Inquisition with a well-known noble pedigree, and a reputation that even he had heard of, even it had been only in passing. It was not surprising that Sister Leliana had approached her about aiding the Inquisition in these troubled times. Trevelyan had already seen one instance of her calming visiting nobles; others would no doubt come, so it was good that they had her on their side.
The Inquisition could not ask for a better advocate.
Now he stood before these four, explaining the last month they had spent in the Hinterlands. He may have had the power to seal rifts, but it was here that the Inquisition would decide their next move in attacking the breach.
It was here that what they did next was decided.
"So it is over," Ambassador Montilyet said with a sigh, the refugees of the Hinterlands are now safe."
"They are safer than they were Ambassador," Cassandra chimed in, "But stopping the Mage-Templar fighting is only one aspect of a larger problem."
"There is still a lot of outlaw traffic on the king's road, and into the east," Trevelyan said motioning to the map, "The bulk of it seems to be focused on this castle in the south. For a pack of outlaws they seem far better equipped than most."
Trevelyan sighed.
"We dealt with one of their camps, but it may become necessary to root out the rest of them. I will see to it myself should the problem persist."
"If that is what it takes, Herald," Cullen said with a nod, "So be it, what about the old horse-master from Redcliffe, has he agreed to aid us?"
"He was having problems with demon possessed wolves," Cassandra chimed in, "We dealt with that, but the outlaws we spoke of may yet remain a problem for his farmers."
"He has asked us to construct a few watchtowers," Nicholai said motioning over the map, "If we put them here, here, and here, then he should be willing to give us the mounts we need."
The mage smiled.
"It would be nice for the Inquisition to be able to field a decent cavalry."
Cullen's eyes swept over the locations that the man had provided.
"Should be easy enough," he said, "My men can have those watchtowers up in no time."
"Protecting the refugees and remaining farmers would go a long way in securing many allies," Ambassador Montilyet said, "Though we still have had no luck approaching either the mages or the Templars to aid us against the breach."
"You have thoughts on that point Ambassador?" Nicholai asked.
"Indeed," the Antivan said with a gentle smile, "I have spoken further with Mother Giselle, her insistence on having you address the surviving clerics in Val Royeaux does seem to have merit."
Cullen snorted at that.
"I don't see the point myself," Cullen said, "The chantry has not lifted a finger to help anyone since the destruction at the Conclave, and by asking for their support we are just giving credence to the idea that we care what the chantry says."
"We still have no way to gather any support in out attempts to seal the breach," the Ambassador reminded him, "If we could convince the chantry that we are not an enemy to be feared, perhaps the mages and Templars would be more open to speaking to us."
"But in doing so," Leliana said with a slight tilt of her head, her blue eyes glinting beneath her cowl, "We are ignoring the danger to the Herald. Let us not forget that the chantry branded us heretics. Who is to say that they would not use the opportunity of this meeting to eliminate someone they consider a threat."
"And how would they do so," the Antivan asked, "They have no Templars to carry out their will."
"They have coin Josie," Leliana said coolly, "Bounty hunters do not need to believe in the Maker. All they need is the smell of gold and they are off to eliminate their target."
Nicholai winced.
He was well aware of the fact that he had a price on his head, both the one set by the Templars during the early days of the rebellion, and likely new ones since the destruction of the Conclave.
The mage's brow furrowed in thought.
Would the cleric dare put a bounty out on him? It was possible he supposed. He had seen how Chancellor Roderick had reacted to him, and that was even after he had stabilized the breach.
Who knew how far the distance revered mothers would go?
Fear often many people make foolish decisions.
"Mother Giselle feels that at least some of the clerics may listen," the Ambassador continued to push, "It may be worth the risk."
She looked up at Nicholai.
"Maybe we should ask the Herald."
Nicholai glanced up at her and at the rest of the council. He had not really gotten a chance to know them all yet, not in the way he had gotten to know his old allies during the rebellion. The only one he could say that he could trust was Cassandra. Their last month fighting together had forged a bond between them.
He did not think that she liked him, but respect had definitely taken root. He had saved her life during the attack on the apostate camp in Witchwood, and she had saved his during a rather tough fight sealing one of the breaches on the king's road, a despair demon had had him in its grip, and the Seeker had stood between it and him, giving him time enough to recover his wits and strike the beast down.
He glanced over at Cassandra, she seemed focused on the task at hand, but he did not doubt that she would stand with him if his life was in danger.
She had too much honor to do otherwise.
She had confessed that she was not sure whether he had been sent by Andraste or not. She believed that he had been sent to help, but as she had said, the Maker's help takes many forms.
She was at least willing to see where their pathway led.
"I'm willing to try," he admitted, "I'm just worried that this may not accomplish anything. Even if the mothers hear me, who is to say that they are willing to support us."
"Well said Herald," Cullen said crossing his arms, "this may be waste of time."
Cassandra sighed.
"I shall go with him," she said, she turned to Ambassador Montilyet.
"Mother Giselle said she could provide us with a list of names, use them."
"But why," Leliana said, "We are just…"
"What choice do we have Leliana?" Cassandra sighed, "We can do nothing more against the breach until the mages and Templars agree to hear us; this may be the only way to arrange that."
A knock at the door caused all the counsellors to turn.
"Yes?" Cassandra called out.
"It's Kurtz, Milady," the sell-sword answered, "You better have Commander Cullen get out here right now, the Herald too if that is possible."
Nicholai's eyes narrowed, it was rare that he heard concern in Kurtz' voice, the gnarled old bastard had seen so much in his time that little phased him.
Yet, he sounded concerned now.
"What is it Kurtz?" he asked.
"Our mages and Templars are gathering outside," the man answered, "I…I think they are getting ready to kill each other."
All five members of the council made for the door, Cullen and Trevelyan in the lead. They could hear angry voices beyond the doors to the chantry, the few sisters that had been outside had fallen back inside, just in case the violence sprang out of control.
Cullen and Nicholai made for those voices, while Cassandra and Leliana remained behind to protect those in the chantry if they failed. They had all suspected that there would be problems trying to integrate the former enemies into the Inquisition…
Now they needed to head those problems off. If they did not…
The Inquisition could die in its infancy.
Kurtz stood with Trevelyan and Nicholai as they opened the doors, over a dozen mages faced off with over a dozen Templars just outside.
Neither side looked much like they were in the mood for talking.
Cullen recognized the man leading the Templars, one of the survivors from the Conclave explosion. His armor bore the markings of a full Knight-Lieutenant, but Cullen had yet found him a place among the officers here.
On the mages' side, stood one of Trevelyan's original followers, Girard was his name, if Nicholai was not mistaken. Girard had been a member of the Libertarians, yet he had stood with Trevelyan since the fall of the siege of Tantervale.
The man had never had a good view of Templars, Nicholai remembered that much.
It was not surprising to find him among the rabble rousers now.
"Your kind killed the Most Holy," the Templar growled at the mage.
"Lies," Girard spat back, "Your kind let her die."
The Templar growled and started to reach for his belt, getting ready to draw his sword.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH MAGE!"
The mages began to raise their hands and their staves.
Cullen and Trevelyan jumped between them.
"Weapons down," Nicholai shouted to his fellows.
The all paused shocked to see him standing there.
"NOW!"
Cullen seized the Knight-Lieutenant by the arm, stopping him mid-draw.
"Enough," he ordered.
The Templar looked like he had been slapped.
"Knight-Captain?" he said, sounding confused.
Cullen pushed him back.
"That is not my title," he said almost sticking a finger in the man's face.
He turned to the other Templars.
"We are not Templars anymore. We are all members of the Inquisition!"
"The Commander is right," Trevelyan said to his fellow mages, "the breach is our enemy, not each other."
He frowned at Girard.
"When you agreed to stay, you promised to let go of the past."
He looked out over the mages.
"We want the world to look at us and see more than a pack of ruthless apostates. The only way to do that is stand with the rest of the faithful."
He was pleased to see at least a few of his fellows showed signs of shame.
After everything that had happened.
Trevelyan was glad to see that at least some of his brethren still held their oaths sacred.
"We're all members of the Inquisition," he said, "Like the Commander said."
"And what does that mean exactly?"
Both Trevelyan and Cullen turned.
Chancellor Roderick made his way through the crowd, the Templars parting in the man's wake.
Trevelyan frowned.
At least they knew what had caused this, or rather who.
Cullen seemed to share his opinion; he glared at the man in the red and white robes.
"Back already Chancellor," he inquired, "Haven't you done enough?"
"I merely sent my report to Val Royeaux," the man answered.
"And had us all declared heretics," Cullen spat.
"That was never my suggestion," the chancellor replied.
"Yet you did nothing to prevent it."
The Chancellor did not answer that, the man simply stood a little straighter trying to appear taller than what he was.
Nicholai tried not to let his anger get the best of him.
The little man had all but condemned him before their first meeting, had Cassandra not stood up for him, he likely would have been dragged back to Val Royeaux and executed for blowing up the Conclave.
That knowledge made it very hard for Trevelyan to see the man as anything else but an enemy.
Still…the man was smart enough not to openly try to oppose them.
It was likely the only reason he was still allowed to walk the streets of Haven.
"Back to your duties," Cullen shouted at the mages and Templars, "All of you."
Slowly the two groups dispersed.
Trevelyan motioned to Kurtz to go with the mages, make sure that they did what they were told. The sell-sword might not have been in command, but he had fought beside them enough times now that they did trust that he was not their enemy.
Kurtz would do more to keep order than a hundred Inquisition soldiers, at least until Trevelyan had a chance to talk to Girard and the others.
Right now though, he thought with a frown.
Right now, they had to deal with the chancellor.
The man refused to look at Trevelyan, he clearly saw Cullen as the true source of authority here.
Lucky Cullen, Nicholai thought, with the barest hint of a smirk.
"I'm curious commander," the man began, "How you and this…Inquisition are going to restore order like you promised."
"Of course you are," Cullen sneered, "I suppose that is the only reason you decided to show up now."
Trevelyan gave the chantry man a cheery smile.
"Tell me commander," he said dryly, "Why exactly are we letting the chancellor remain in Haven?"
The man glared at Nicholai.
"Clearly your Templar knows where to draw the line mage,' he answered.
"I can speak for myself Chancellor," Cullen growled.
The man fell silent.
Cullen glanced at Nicholai.
"I allow him to remain Herald because he is toothless. No point in turning him into a martyr because he runs at the mouth, and he is a good gauge of what you might face in Val Royeaux."
"A good enough reason," Nicholai quipped.
The chancellor gave him a sour look.
"You claim to be trying to restore order, yet it is clear that your decision to let mages and Templars serve together is not working. Your soldiers would tear each other apart if left to their own devices."
"Yes," Cullen agreed, "And I suppose that would never happen within the chantry."
"We have centuries of tradition to fall back on, Commander," he reminded them, "We are not looking to turn over every apple cart."
"But you would be willing to let the Herald of Andraste be used as a scapegoat? You are willing to let the Templar-mage fighting to continue?"
The Chancellor snorted.
"The Maker and Andraste will show us the way," he said imperiously.
Trevelyan shook his head.
"You know," he said, "We're willing to compromise. We are at least willing to speak with the chantry. You and yours are the only ones who continue to say that it is impossible to work together."
"We might. I never said that cooperation was impossible," Chancellor Roderick sighed, "I have merely preached patience. We should give Val Royeaux a chance, we should wait and let a new Divine take the sunburst throne; then we will have a leader, a true figure of authority guide us back to order."
"If that is even possible," Cullen snorted.
Nicholai frowned as he regarded the chancellor.
"I've seen the chaos out there Chancellor. I've seen the death and destruction, waiting patiently is not an option."
"So what is the alternative,' Roderick asked, "That the faithful should turn to the rebel Inquisition and its Herald, should the people of Thedas simply put their trust in a star struck wanderer sitting on a mountainside?"
Trevelyan smirked at that. He glanced over at Cullen.
"Do you see me as a star struck wanderer Commander?" he asked dryly.
"You seem very lucid to me, Herald."
Nicholai chuckled.
"See chancellor, I'm not so bad if you give me a chance."
The man snorted and turned away, where he was off to no one could say.
Nicholai sighed and glanced over at the commander.
"Perhaps the Ambassador is right after all," he said.
"Maybe we should head to Val Royeaux."
The two men spotted Natalya coming up the path; she passed Chancellor Roderick without a word. As for the Roderick himself he did not give her a second glance, unusual considering her connections.
She smiled as she approached.
"That did not look pleasant," she said dryly.
"You have a real gift of understatement Nat," her brother said.
Cullen excused himself; he murmured something of checking on their Templars, to make sure that the trouble they had seen had truly passed.
That left the two siblings alone, staring up at the swirling breach in the distance.
It was Natalya herself who broke the silence, she sighed heavily.
"It is not enough is it?"
Nicholai glanced over at her. She looked worried.
"What we have done so far," she clarified, "We still have a long way to go."
Nicholai nodded.
His sister was not wrong.
The mages and Templars remained distant; fighting between the two remained a problem.
He did not like the idea of betting everything on a visit to Val Royeaux, but it was like Cassandra had said.
What choice did they have?
If they were to move forward, the road passed through one city now.
The mage shook his head.
They had no choice.
They needed to go to Val Royeaux.