A/N: Hey, all! Sorry I'm a little late. It's been a very long couple of weeks, but here we are and enjoy!
The bright light enveloped them and in a blink, they were standing back in the circular Tower room. There was a whump as the abomination's body hit the ground, going still next to Niall's. Ffion stared down at both and felt more tired than ever. She wanted this to be done, she didn't want to fight Uldred, didn't want to deal with anymore abominations and she was ready to scream... or start crying uncontrollably. She wasn't sure which one was going to come first. It felt as though she had been up and fighting for days, though it was clear the time had passed very differently in the Fade. It had been just moments before that the demon trapped them and the Warden was too tired to be impressed by this.
"Ffion?"
Alistair was questioning, not seeing the play of emotions on her face. Leliana, however, who was watching the young Warden with a knowing gleam in her pale blue eyes, stepped forward and bent over Niall's body. She rifled through the robe's pockets and finally pulled the scroll from one of them. Turning back to the group, she held this up.
"Let's finish this," She commented and her eyes were bright.
Wynne was pulling a potion bottle from her belt and she held it out to Ffion. The Warden glanced up at her, frowning in confusion.
"This will help a little," The Enchanter explained, "Leliana's right, we have to see this through."
Ffion downed the potion and felt a little of her strength return. She shifted her belt and then the blades at her back and nodded to the scroll in the Orlesian's hands.
"How does that work?" She asked, "I don't quite understand what Niall meant. I remember you saying that it fights blood magic, but how?"
"I will use it," Wynne answered and accepted the scroll from Leliana, "If Uldred is trying to turn the mages, I will be able to recognize when he uses his power. The magic within this scroll will be more powerful than his and as long as it's used in time, it will stymie him no matter what."
"It's time to teach the bastard a lesson, then," Alistair's voice was determined and his honey colored eyes were hard.
They were banded together once more and Ffion was thrilled to see Tilly at her side where she belonged. Wynne led the way to the next floor and into a foyer-type room. There, a few of the bookshelves were still standing upright and they pressed on, stepping over toppled chairs and overturned tables. Books, scrolls, and loose papers were scattered everywhere; a tipped lamp here and there had scorched the rich rugs and left black smudges on the stone floor. Ahead of them was another door and they had just about reached it when they heard the voice.
"Wynne?" It was a young woman's voice and there was a shuffling from a deeply shadowed corner of the room just to their left, "Is it really you?"
A mage about Ffion's age stepped from the corner, sheltering four small children behind her. She was grim, her face was dirty and smudged with dust from hiding, but that did nothing to conceal her beauty. She was delicately featured with a slim nose and full lips, her cheekbones were more pronounced with the determined set of her jaw and her green eyes were large, serious, and very intelligent. Her pale blonde hair kept falling forward into her eyes as it slipped from a once elegant twist and small, graceful hands gripped her staff tightly.
"Thank the Maker," She murmured as she saw Wynne more fully. The children responded to the relief in her voice and edged closer, not wanting to let their protector too far from their reach, "This has been awful."
It was then that the others could see she had been hiding the young ones in a large wardrobe. She must have been in the middle of seeing if the coast was clear when Ffion's band came along.
"Solona?" Wynne said finally, getting over her surprise and easing the hold on her staff, "My dear, what on earth are you doing up here?"
Solona swept a hand back towards the children and one of the little girls darted to take hold of her. The others were encouraged by this and they were all crowding around the mage. She placed the base of her staff on the ground so she could lean on it.
"It was my day to tutor and, well, you know how I like to teach," A ghost of smile creased her tired face, though her voice was as exhausted as Ffion felt, "We were in the middle of our treasure hunt when the commotion started. I just had time to hide them and I watched while Uldred and a few other mages took the First Enchanter through those doors. I think they were headed for the Harrowing chamber, but I didn't want to risk these ones to... whatever was coming next. Wynne, what's going on? No one has come out yet and I swear I could hear... screams."
The little girl whimpered, responding to the fear in Solona's voice just as she responded to the relief. The young mage didn't let this stop her protective watch over the children and she extricated her fingers from the girl's and rubbed her back soothingly. Her green eyes didn't leave Wynne though.
"From what I have seen and what Pila told us, Uldred is attempting to take over the Tower," The Enchanter was talking carefully, clearly not sure how much she should reveal, "There's a lot to tell us he was using blood magic... and he possibly could be possessed."
Solona looked stricken and her hand squeezed briefly at the girl's shoulder when they shook with silent sobs. For as young as the girl was, she understood fully what those words meant and Solona tried to comfort her.
"Hush, Mina, I won't let anyone harm you," She said and then looked back at Wynne, "Blood magic... again? I was hoping... after what happened with Jowan and Lily that... Oh, what a mess!"
"Jowan?" Ffion asked, her surprise getting the better of her, "You're the Solona that... Jowan's friend?"
"Yes, well, I was," Solona frowned, "Wait, how do you know Jowan? I thought he disappeared for good."
"Blood mages never go away," Alistair muttered.
"We don't have time for this," Leliana cut in, not wanting the ex-Templar to flaunt his prejudices now. She happened to agree with him, to an extent, but now was neither the time nor place to argue the virtues and vices of magic use, "Who knows what damage has been done already."
The others were readily agreeing with this and Solona looked torn. She was glancing between the children behind her and Wynne, and her lips parted.
"They need you more right now, my dear," The Enchanter said quietly, gently. She read Solona's face with ease and was hoping to put a quick stop to her train of thinking, "You are doing the right thing, protecting them."
"But if you're facing blood magic, you'll need all the help you can get," Solona argued. Her hand reached down and grasped Mina's, "Mina, love, I want you to go and hide in the cupboard again. Keep the others safe and calm; I'll come and get you as soon as I can and we'll finish our treasure hunt."
"Solona-"
"Can you promise me that?"
Solona was bent before the little girl, looking her directly in the eyes and it reminded Ffion so much of herself and Oren that she changed tactics and didn't interrupt again.
"Yeah, of course I can," Mina answered and they could practically see the magic dancing from her fingertips, "But is it wrong to do my magic when you're not here?"
"No, love," Solona answered, shaking her head, "No. When you're protecting those who can't take care of themselves, when you're protecting yourself, it's magic you have to use. Don't be afraid, Mina, just take care of them."
"I will, Sol, I promise," Mina said solemnly, acting much older than she looked.
Solona brushed the girl's vibrant red hair back with one hand and then kissed her forehead.
"Good girl," She straightened and looked at the others, "Listen to Mina and don't open the door to that cupboard unless you hear my voice or the Senior Enchanter's. You understand? Good, now go on. And be careful."
She waited until the cupboard was shut tight and all was quiet. Taking her staff up in her hand, she turned to them and her face was determined.
"Let's go," She said firmly and wasn't about to be talked out of helping, "I'll do whatever you need."
Wynne would have argued, but Ffion went to the door ahead of them and stopped any discussions before they started. She wasn't ready to listen to the two mages go at it and when she opened this door and started for the next, she didn't have to worry about it. Four abominations sprang up from the ground as she reached for the doorknob and, after seeing firsthand what sort of damage Solona could do with her magic, she was ready to side with her no matter what anyone said.
The young woman was as adept with damaging magic as Wynne was with healing. Morrigan was perhaps more spontaneous with her spells, giving her a slight edge since no one knew where she intended to fire, but Solona concentrated. Her blasts of ice, fire, and stone dealt more damage than the witch's. The demons didn't stand a chance and they were gone in no time. What they weren't prepared for was what came next.
In the room they entered, there was yet another short flight of steps. And beside this, a young man was trapped behind a pale purple wall that shimmered rather dangerously. His blonde head was bowed, both hands covering his ears as he mouthed his prayers silently. The Templar armor was gleaming in the poor light and he was clearly a well-built young man. Solona gasped and was rushing towards him before they could stop her.
"Cullen?" She said softly, uncertainly, one hand reaching towards the wall and stopping short of touching it.
The Templar's hazel eyes came open and focused solely on Solona. His handsome face crumpled in something like despair and he dropped to his knees. He buried his face in his hands as though accepting a defeat none of them could understand.
"How far they must have delved into my thoughts," He said fiercely, refusing to look up at any of them, "The bastards! Tempting me with the one thing that I always wanted and could never have!... Using my own shame against me... my ill-advised, stupid, infatuation with her... A mage of all things!"
"Oh!" Solona dropped her hand, her cheeks flooding with bright color as she understood what he was saying. Her green eyes flashed to them quickly and then away, barely flickering over Cullen, "Oh dear!"
"Stupid, pathetic... Damn it!" The Templar's voice was sharp and violent and he glared up at Solona with such vehemence, she stepped back, "Be gone, demon, I'm not ready to give in to you yet."
Ffion had moved to stand next to Solona and she was just as surprised by Cullen's anger. He looked at them in a confused, hopeless sort of way, his eyes flickering between all of them before landing on Solona again. He slowly got to his feet, backing away and beginning to pace restlessly.
"I... I don't understand," He said and his voice was desperate, "That's always worked before. Please, if you're going to kill me, do it now. Don't wait and torture me. It's better to die at the... supposed hands of someone I care about than a complete stranger."
"Cullen..." Solona murmured, reaching for a second time and looking between him and Ffion beseechingly, "Please, Cullen, don't think or say such things. I am not a vision, I'm real; just like those with me."
He was trying his best to ignore this and Wynne stepped in.
"Cullen, listen to Solona," Her voice was tempered, motherly, and her blue eyes were concerned, "She is telling you the truth."
The Templar's hazel eyes flickered to the Enchanter and his frown deepened. His cheeks flushed much like Solona's and though he looked at her briefly, he was too embarrassed to keep eye contact. His lips parted to respond, but nothing came. Ffion, starting to hurt again and feeling her exhaustion creeping back, stepped closer but remained wary of the shimmering cage.
"It's not an illusion, Cullen," She added firmly, "We came to help. I promised the Knight-Commander that we would do whatever we could. Is there a way to-"
"Then you can't hesitate," Cullen interrupted and seemed to come to life, "You must destroy every mage in that room. I have been trapped here since this started and the noises coming from there... It's horrible, the screams and cries... Please, you can't hesitate."
Leliana's harsh intake of breath, Solona's blanching and Wynne's open horror went unnoticed under Alistair's observation. He had moved closer, standing at Ffion's elbow next to Tilly.
"Can't you feel his hatred?" The ex-Templar's tone was much like Wynne's, though it had an edge that told them he knew firsthand Cullen's anger, "He's seen so many of his friends hurt and killed, too many, to feel anything else."
There was a sudden scuffle and crash from the next room and it seemed to fit Cullen's adamancy and Alistair's interpretation of it. Leliana responded to this more quickly then the others. Pale blue eyes were lit and one of her hands reached back for her bow.
"We have tarried long enough," She said, "Ffion, what do you think?"
The Warden studied Cullen a moment longer. The Templar's hazel eyes were fixed on her and he shook his head a little.
"Please, serah, you can't-"
"I can't make a decision without seeing this for myself," She interrupted and this time could hear her exhaustion, "That's all I can promise."
Cullen's shoulders sagged and though his gaze flickered briefly to Solona once more, he spoke to Ffion, his voice rough,
"Maker go with you then. I hope your mercy hasn't damned us all."
Ffion gave him a nod and turned away. Cullen had had his say and there was clearly nothing left to discuss. Solona was the only one that hesitated, looking searchingly at the Templar who had gone back to his prayers without a word. She extended one hand to the cage and then left it fall, instead murmuring quietly,
"Bless you, Cullen."