"What the hell do you mean 'the Chantry wouldn't listen'?"
Jasper threw his hands up in irritation. "Exactly what it sounds like!"
Cassandra let out a disgusted grunt. She started to speak, but thought better of it, and resigned herself to a groan. Her fist slammed off the table and Jasper could literally see the tension rolling off the Seeker. He stood by, just as irritated as she was, but waiting for a plan of some sort. After all, he wasn't the one in charge anymore.
"I will...speak to the Revered Mother," Cassandra said after a moment. "You two, scour the market for any sign of where the mage came from." She gestured to Cullen and Solona, who were presently standing near the doorway with Damien. The young man was the source for the entire mess to begin with, having been attacked earlier in the day and only barely fending the mage off until Jasper went out to look for him. The templars hadn't been able to kill the insane girl that had started a murderous rampage, and as soon as Damien even remotely tried to help, which he did, they cornered him too. It took Jasper's intervention to keep him from being killed.
"And what about us?" Jasper chanced as he watched the young templar leave with his...friend.
"You and Damien need to make sure this won't happen again," Cassandra answered. "And...to make sure Ferelden's monarchs are safe. If that mage's information was correct..." She trailed off and Jasper shuddered as he recalled the haunting letter.
Five hundred sovereigns on both heads of Ferelden. "To the victor go the spoils."
—R
He didn't want Leliana to have been right. He didn't want to see Ferelden collapse, but that's what it looked like the mages were striving for. And so far, they were succeeding.
Jasper never considered himself patriotic until very, very recently.
If Ferelden fell, that would open up the gateway for the rest of Thedas. Thinking of Ferelden being in the hands of blood mages and crazed templars alone made him sick, but thinking of the rest of Thedas... No, he really didn't want to even consider that as a possibility. He wouldn't let that happen. He'd rather die.
"It'll be done," Jasper said. He turned on his heel and started for the door, but Cassandra called out to him.
"You might want to put your armor back on."
He nodded. "And if...by some good grace, Leliana returns?"
"Then we see what she has and we go from there," Cassandra answered. "But until it happens, consider your friend dead."
He nodded again.
He didn't want to believe it, but they'd lost a lot of good friends to these blood mages, and no one was infallible. Leliana and Aedan... They could be part of a rapidly growing number.
It took some weaseling. Lots of weaseling. Lots of persuading and making promises that couldn't be kept. And yet, Leliana had somehow managed to get her and Aedan horses from Amaranthine's stables...for free.
Riding with her current injuries wasn't easy. Convincing the Chantry to give them clothing was just as difficult, if not more. Aedan ended up being the one to pull those strings, and came out with a set of armor to boot. Typical templar armor, blue, red, and gold robes beneath the silver plate mail. It was a spare set of armor should Amaranthine ever get a Knight-Captain of its own, and he was lucky to have been the man they gave it to. The Knight-Commander was glad to, actually. Long as Aedan used it when he was killing mages. Leliana got the distinct feeling that Amaranthine's Knight-Commander was one of those templars who hated mages more than they hated following orders.
Aedan had yet to put the armor on, preferring to wait until they reached Denerim to get into the robes that would restrict him from horseback. Leliana, meanwhile, just left the idea of armor behind, and was sitting on the roan's back in simple clothing. Even with the basic medical attention they'd been given by the Chantry sisters, Leliana's burns would still take weeks to fully heal, and Aedan's eye would need to be constantly bandaged for at least another fortnight.
Neither of them were in fighting condition, but the horses would give them the chance to run for it should the need arise. Unfortunately, if anyone was smart, they'd just attack them during one of their many breaks. The mounts cut their travel time well over halfway, taking them a day to reach Denerim from Amaranthine if they played their cards right, but their injuries forced them to stop and give the rubbing and bouncing a break.
Leliana slowed her horse for one such pause. Aedan rode ahead before stopping, wheeling his horse around in an arc and trotting back to her side, watching with his brows furrowed in quiet concern. His wounds weren't nearly as severe as her own, mostly cuts and bruises, and he admitted to having an easier go of riding than she did.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
Leliana ran a hand through her hair. It would need to be cut at some point, having grown out past her shoulders. She always hated how quickly her hair grew. "I don't know. How can something hurt so much that I can't pinpoint where the pain starts and stops?"
He gave her a small smile and placed his hand on her knee. About the only place he could touch without hurting her any more than necessary. "All wounds heal in time."
"Only the physical ones," she mumbled. That made her think of everything she tried to avoid: relationships, romantic or friendly, torture...Denerim. How the hell could she look at that city again without feeling some sort of pain?
Aedan must've noticed the small grimace that appeared on her lips. "What's on your mind?"
Leliana blinked, tore her eyes from the horizon, and looked back to him, flattening her expression immediately. "I'll...tell you later."
"You say that a lot," Aedan remarked, "and then never tell me."
She sighed. "I'm sorry."
"We have time, Leliana. What are you thinking about?"
"It's nothing," she insisted. "Denerim just brings back painful memories."
Aedan's brows furrowed, but he nodded. "Well...if you need anything, I..." He scratched the back of his head and flicked his wrist helplessly. "You know what I mean."
"Thank you, Aedan."
He just nodded again. "Ready to get going? We're almost there."
"Ready as I'll ever be."
After sharing a reassuring smile, Aedan turned his horse about and kicked its flanks. He took off down the road, and with another sigh, Leliana followed.
Far ahead, miles and miles away, she could faintly see the outline of the same forest she first met Aedan in. The Brecilian Forest. Being able to see it meant they were nearing Denerim, which was good, but at the same time, she couldn't shake the urge to avoid the city at all costs. She had a bad feeling gnawing away in the back of her mind; it only got worse the closer the came to the city. Something was going to happen, and she suspected she wouldn't like it.
It didn't take much longer for the city to come into view. Just beyond was the northern most reaches of the Brecilian Forest, stretching over the hilltops to have the tips of their trees swallowed by fog. To her, it looked like where the world ended. There was such a foreboding feeling, even at this distance, that Leliana wanted nothing to do with that wood, or the road that led through it.
She recalled a similar feeling from her first foray there. It always felt like something was watching you. Even the trees gave off that feeling. There was something wrong within its depths, but Leliana refused to be the one to figure out what it was, let alone go out and actually solve the problem. She had enough problems with the mages anyway. If the issue was really so debilitating, the Dalish who were rumored to dwell within could fix it.
"Looks like it's going to rain," Aedan commented as she rode up beside him. He was shielding his eyes from the rays of sunlight leaking through the clouds, having stopped to survey the land ahead. "But it always does that."
"There are worse things than rain, I suppose," she admitted.
"True," he agreed. "Come on. It's not much farther."
"I wasn't the one who stopped this time."
He chuckled and shook his head. "No, but I bet I'll beat you there." Leliana's brows shot up, but before she could reply, he had already taken off down the road, leaving her behind in a small dust cloud.
After coughing up a lung, Leliana's head snapped up and her horse bolted after his. Unfortunately, it seemed like Aedan's mount was the faster one, and was always one step ahead of hers. Aedan noticed as well, shooting her a grin over his shoulder. His horse put on a burst of speed, and suddenly, it didn't matter who the better rider was (though she assumed she was). Her horse couldn't catch up no matter how much it quickened its pace, and by the time they did rejoin him, he was waiting at the bend in the road that would take them to the city. If they continued on this path, they'd eventually enter the forest, and that was the absolute last thing Leliana wanted.
"After you," Aedan said, gesturing to Denerim.
"Then I'll beat you."
He scoffed. "I already beat you and you know it as well as I do."
"Keep dreaming," she retorted, waving a hand dismissively.
Aedan laughed, setting his horse off at a trot. Leliana's horse matched the other horse's pace easily, and they approached together. Her eyes caught the closed portcullis, the gate locked behind it, and the two wary guards watching them. She frowned a bit and elbowed Aedan.
"You see that?"
He frowned as well, but nodded. "Something's going on."
"I don't like the looks of it," she admitted. "Amaranthine closed her gates and it took days to get back in."
"I'm sure they can be reasoned with." Leliana wasn't as sure as he was. "Come on," he repeated. "Let's see what's happened."
If Jasper ever thought he could hate nobles more than he currently did, he was beyond wrong. As he and Damien stormed from the palace's gates, the temptation to punch the smug smirk off their "escort" was overwhelming. The damn guard had been the one to tell them the king wouldn't believe them, that they were just stupid for trying, and he'd been right. He seemed rather proud of himself for that.
Jasper clenched his fist. "You don't have to—"
"King Cailan's orders," he said. "Get your asses moving." He shoved Damien for emphasis, roughly, and Jasper's temper flared. Damien was far younger than either of them, and it was so painfully obvious that the guard merely did it to get his point across.
Jasper started towards him, but Damien fixed him with a look, and he pulled up short. If the kid knew better, he should know better.
He grunted and about faced, then marched off, Damien rushing to catch up. The guard followed their movements perfectly, only stopping when the pair had left the fortified walls of the palace. He stood to watch as they quickly disappeared from sight.
As soon as they were alone, Jasper reached out and punched the nearest building. "This is so pointless!"
Damien jumped, spooked, and cautiously said, "Not everyone is going to listen?" It came out a question, frightful and confused, and Jasper sighed, shoulders sagging. Damien was a jumpy kid, wasn't he? He'd have to be more careful around him.
"That's because half the people in this damn country only have empty space between their ears," he replied, grumbling to himself. "Come on. Let's go tell Cassandra. She'll want to hear this."