Temene let a small fireball burst from her hand, signaling that the attack had begun. They rushed down for the shipwright's trellis and prepared to make their stand with the militia. A trap made of burning oil did little to slow the corpses down since they had little flesh remaining on their bones. They attacked viciously, wave after wave until the first hints of morning appeared in the sky. It was a difficult fight from sheer amount, the corpses fought clumsily and were easily broken.
Many men in the militia had fallen nonetheless, but the village remained safe for another day. Teagan made plans to head towards the castle when the sun rose. The Wardens rested and tended to the wounded as best they could. There was a slight uproar near the edge of the village as a young woman ran through, desperately looking for Bann Teagan. Some of the villagers quietly mumbled about the Arlessa that had left them to die. "Teagan, there you are, finally!" Isolde said with a heavy Orlesian accent.
"Isolde?" Teagan answered. "How did you manage to escape the castle?"
"I saw the battle was over and slipped away to find you. You must come with me," Isolde begged.
"It isn't wise to go alone. We should all go to the castle and find the cause of this evil," Temene interrupted.
"Excuse me, I was not speaking to you," Isolde replied rudely.
"Isolde, please. These Grey Wardens came to help," Teagan responded.
"What do I care about Grey Wardens? I need you to return to castle with me now!"
"Without them I would be dead. Do you not recognize Alistair," Teagan added, motioning towards Alistair, who stood at Temene's side.
Isolde only gave Alistair a parting glance and nod of recognition. "We do not have much time," she replied, taking Teagan by the hand.
"We need to know what is happening in there," Temene raised her voice, angry at the Arlessa's ungratefulness. "These corpses are the work of magic and the villagers say a mage was at the castle? What has happened?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you," Isolde shot back before Teagan gave her an angry glance. She cowed before him and quieted down slightly. "There, there is a mage in the palace and he is the cause of all of this. Eamon's illness, the corpses. I was just trying to protect my son."
"Protect him from what?" Temene asked.
"He had magic. I did not want him to be sent away to the Tower so I, I hired an apostate mage to teach him to hide his abilities."
"You let an apostate mage teach your son magic?" Alistair replied in shock.
"I didn't want him to teach him anything, just to hide it," Isolde whined.
"How did you find this mage?" Temene wondered.
"He just showed up one day and offered his services."
"And you didn't find that the least bit suspicious? Or think of reporting him the Chantry?" Temene shook her head.
"I wanted him to help Connor. Please Teagan, you must return with me now. We cannot delay any further."
"Very well," Teagan sighed and looked at Temene slyly. "I just need to speak with the Wardens for a moment. Wait for me at the gates."
Isolde frowned but left Teagan to speak with the Wardens. As soon as she was out of earshot Temene quickly replied, "I don't think this is a good idea."
"I know not of Isolde's insistence to bring me to the castle but I have a plan," Teagan said. "There is an escape tunnel in the mill that leads directly to the castle. You can enter that way and try to see what is going on. I will tend to Isolde for the moment and do my own investigation."
"I agree with Temene, I don't think you should go," Alistair added. "Why wouldn't she want as many people as possible to return to the castle with her?"
"I do not know, but I must obey her wishes," Teagan replied. "Use the tunnels to enter the castle and meet me inside."
Teagan left them and joined Isolde at the castle gates, which they disappeared into. "At least she was grateful for us saving her village," Temene rolled her eyes sarcastically. "This maleficar must have opened a void in the Fade. There is no other way for the dead to rise."
"Let's get going then and put an end to this," Alistair replied.
They headed up to the mill that sat above the village and found the trap door that concealed the tunnels. It was dark inside and they needed a torch to guide them through. The tunnels looked disused and were full of cobwebs. They reached a stone wall that was barricaded by a heavy door. It took a hard shoulder to open, but Alistair managed, rubbing his arm afterwards.
The door opened up into a dusty dungeon that appeared deserted. Most of the metal doors rusting and a slow drip of water formed a puddle nearby. A voice called out to them after their loud entrance. "Hello, is anyone there?" the voice called.
"Jowan?" Temene narrowed her eyes, looking into the dark cell. She recognized his plaintive tone right away.
"Temene, what are you doing here?" Jowan asked.
"I could ask you the same thing, but I remember well what happened in the Tower," Temene shook her head. "How could you have done such horrible things and what have you done here?'
"You know him?" Alistair asked.
"He is a blood mage and a liar," Temene replied angrily.
"I am not the only liar in the room Temene," Jowan shot back. "You said you were going to help Lily and I, and you led us right into the Templar's trap!"
"I was trying to help you Jowan," Temene responded angrily. "You would never have escaped on your own and when the Templars caught you, you would have been executed. I was trying to give you the option of life and tranquility. You do not deserve the gift of magic."
"I would rather be dead than Tranquil."
"Why did you come here? Why did you seek out the Arlessa?" Alistair interrupted.
"Who are you?" Jowan asked angrily.
"He is a Grey Warden as well," Temene responded. "Answer his question."
"I was caught trying to sneak into Denerim, I had an old friend there. Teryn Loghain heard about my apprehension and offered me a deal. My freedom for," Jowan paused for a moment. "For poisoning the Arl."
"And again you sacrifice others to save your own skin, you are worse than the darkspawn," Temene spat back.
"I thought I was doing Ferelden a service. Loghain said the country would be stronger with the Arl out of the way."
"Oh, you foolish boy," Wynne finally protested.
"I don't need a lecture from you Grandma!" Jowan replied angrily.
"And the corpses? Why did you summon the corpses?" Temene asked.
"No, the corpses were not of my doing. I do not know where they came from," Jowan replied. "Please, if you let me out of here I can help."
"We can manage on our own," Temene replied.
"So you're just going to leave me here?"
"For now," Temene replied, heading for the door.
She couldn't believe Jowan had made such a gigantic mess again. She wondered how he had gone so far from the boy she grew up studying with. She remained angry as they made their way upstairs, demons and corpses guarding the way. She knew he must have been lying about summoning the corpses and demons, but did not understand for what purpose. She would feel a sense of relief handing him over to the Templars. She knew he deserved Tranquility more than death.