A large open room. Perfect for the bad guys. Three corpses literally jumped to their feet as we approached; at least I know how to take down zombies. The problem was there were a lot of them; I lost count after those first three. Alistair and I got flanked almost immediately. There was a brutal, ugly melee where the mages ended up fighting almost hand to hand with the deadites. Alistair and I both turned around to help as best we could, but we had to take care to not hit friendlies.
And suddenly something hit me like a linebacker. I was slammed into one of the zombies hard enough to knock it away from Wynne. Despite the pain I was feeling from whatever hit me I took advantage of the distraction and crushed its (the zombie's, not the distraction's) head while it staggered. Before I could get back into the fray, though, Wynne grabbed and pulled me out of Leliana's way. I heard her bow twang and an arrow hiss away; that was shortly followed by a screech from across the room.
Wynne's hands flared with light. I felt the pains disappear; I nodded thanks to Wynne and jumped back into the fray.
Another room but with two demons in it this time. Alistair and I held them at the doorway, but Neria's blizzard wasn't quite centered properly. And then the abominations began exploding. Both Alistair and I ended up with frostbite and second degree burns to go along with our cuts and bruises. Wynne and Neria spent a few minutes patching us back up, but did I mention that tanking sucks?
A group of Templars reacted to our opening a door by popping off their anti-magic explosions. Fortunately for the men it didn't affect us, but I heard cries and grunts from behind me as the mages were sent sprawling. Alistair and I braced for impact as the Templars rushed us and we somehow, with Sten's help, managed to contain the rush in the doorway. An arrow hissed into one of the Templars but didn't seem to hurt him.
"Abominations! Take them!" someone called from the back of the room.
Alistair had briefed me on these guys: use thrusts to pierce the weak spots of the armor, or swing the blade flat at their heads. The plate armor they wear is pretty strong stuff; apparently it's built to handle attacks from abominations and/or demons, and we had a hard time getting through. But, fortunately for us, the Templars didn't seem to have their heads in the fight. Aside from stunning the mages their tactics consisted of running into Alistair and me and trying to get past us to the ladies. Their fighting didn't seem to be up to par either; I didn't (and don't) know if that's from the mind control the demons were using on them, or if they just weren't used to fighting opponents that fought back with swords and shields.
To be honest I didn't (and don't) care. In retrospect I probably wasn't ready to go up against a real, thinking opponent. Darkspawn and demons are one thing: they just charge and try to overpower you by strength or numbers. (Although, according to Alistair, smarter groups of darkspawn use more elaborate tactics.) I expected the Templars to simply be better than they were. As it was I managed to ring one Templar's bell first thing and he went down pretty quick.
The melee was even more brutal than before. The quarters were too tight to really swing swords properly (except for Sten, who just reached over us to chop at heads) so both sides ended up slamming at each other with shields and pommels. Even Cullen couldn't get through, although if he had he wouldn't have fared well. I ended up saying fuck it to my sword and dropped it; I was actually more effective without it. I just started reaching in and grabbing at whatever was in reach; it's really easy to pull a shield down and let Alistair or Sten whack at whatever it was protecting.
The only advantages we had were the downed Templar that half-blocked the door, and the mages; they'd eventually managed to recover both their feet and their mana and turned the tide in our favor.
I found out later there was a demon in the room, but during the fight I didn't know or care. I was punched, scratched, bashed, and even took a (very light) blow upside the head. I think I gave back as good as I got, but my chain ended taking a lot of abuse, and it doesn't provide the protection plate does. I definitely need to upgrade, but I don't know if they'll let me out of here with a set of Templar armor.
Three of the six Templars survived. Wynne was probably not trying to kill them; Morrigan probably was. Neria I'm not sure about, but the guy I knocked down was alive despite the probable brain damage I'd given him. Alistair pulled off the Templar's helmet and handed it to me. The girl, it turns out, I'd knocked out was young; she looked like she was still a teenager. She was alive, but probably concussed badly enough that she wouldn't be for long without medical help or magical healing.
So when Neria came up to me after the fight to take care of my bloody head wound I pointed her at the girl. "Take care of her first."
"No." The refusal was flat, but I could sense the anger. Neria had been thrown back into the wall by the anti-magic blasts. One of her braids had come loose; hair was in her face, and she had a bloody streak down the side of her neck. Her robes were rumpled, scorched, torn, and stained with various bodily fluids. She looked tired but stubborn.
"Please, she'll probably die-"
"I don't care." She didn't even look at the fallen Templar. If the two were in my 'verse they'd likely be hanging out at the mall together. But here…. "You're the one I care about here." She grimaced then gave me a tired smile. "Not that way, but, you know…. I'm taking care of you." She called up the healing energy and reached out for me.
I caught her hand. "Please."
Neria was torn between pleasing me and not giving a damn about the Templar. She stared hard at me for a moment then finally gave in. "Only because you asked. Wynne? Could you check on her?" The older mage assented and moved to the fallen Templar. Neria looked back to me. "Good enough?"
"Wynne's exhausted."
She was. Wynne didn't look as ragged as Neria, but was moving in a way that said she didn't have much left. Still, Wynne had that determined look that meant she'd see this all the way through if it was at all possible.
"Maybe, but she's a better healer than I am. And head injuries are tricky." She gave me puppy dog eyes. "Now can-"
I released her hand. "Go ahead." I have to admit I felt a lot better after she took care of me, but I was still worried about the Templar. No, not because she's a girl, but just because. If it weren't for the demon infestation she'd probably be glowering harmlessly at some mages as opposed to trying to kill us.
Anyway, the relief must have shown on my face because Neria gave me a warm but tired smile. "All better now, right?"
"Well, not all better, but good enough." I was still tired, and had a bunch of little aches and pains, and my knees were hurting. But, overall, good enough.
"Hold still," Neria said. Another healing glow appeared in her shaking hand. She pressed it into my chest.
The aches faded a bit and I felt my energy returning. Not to the point it was at when we started the slog, but definitely better than it had been. But the infusion made me feel warm and sleepy and I leaned into Neria. "Sorry, but that was nice. I think Alistair would like one, too."
She gave me a grin. "I'll do that." She pushed me back to standing and went to find Alistair.
I looked down at the helmet I was holding then at Wynne. "How is she?"
Wynne looked like hell. Working on the Templar must have drained more juice than she'd let on. "I think she'll be fine. She might need some time and some more healing, she should be fine." Her eyes weren't really focused and her voice was a long way away.
"How 'bout you?"
She reached into a fold of her robe and pulled out a vial with some blue liquid. Mana potion. She popped the top and slugged it down. The spark suddenly came back to her eyes. Wynne gave me a wink. "I'm not supposed to use those, but sometimes…."
"I totally understand. Got a spare one for me?"
She smiled at that. "Now, where's Neria?"
I pointed to where she was speaking with a refreshed Alistair. Wynne set her mouth and stalked over to the pair. The Templar was breathing steadily but was still unconscious. I looked at her helmet. It seemed like it was large enough to fit me, so I gave it a try. I had to take my glasses and the coif off. The back of the coif and the underpadding were split in two.
"It's not supposed to do that," Alistair said.
"I have no idea when this happened."
"You were very lucky."
"You're telling me." I felt the back of my head but there wasn't even a scratch. The nylon cord I'd used with my glasses was cut halfway through. I spent the next few minutes futzing with the Templar helmet to get it to sit right. When she was finished arguing with (that is: speaking sternly to) Neria about something (probably the Templars) I asked Wynne to hold my glasses. Not having them didn't matter because I couldn't see squat out of that helmet anyway. It makes me wonder how much actual watching the Templars are able to do.
The center room contained some more zombies and a couple of animated skeletons. Along with more abominations. More slashing damage, more burns, and more healing ensued. Damn it was getting old.
But more importantly there was some kind of growth coming out of the floor and the statuary. Kinda like fleshy moss combined with that skin that pudding gets when its been in the fridge too long. It looked infected, if that's possible for stone. Wynne told us it was demonic corruption; Morrigan said it reminded her of darkspawn taint. According to Wynne the corruption, unlike darkspawn taint, wasn't infectious, but none of us touched the stuff and we didn't walk on it until our mages burned a path across it.
The entry area to the next level had more of the corruption, but a lot more bodies, burned and otherwise, than anyone was expecting.
"Templars," Alistair said. "Knights and even some Initiates." He shook his head. "I could have been here if not for Duncan."
"You all-"
"Quiet!" Sten ordered. He followed up with a whisper. "I hear voices." He pointed with his sword. "That way."
"These are Templar quarters," Wynne said quietly. "I believe this is one of the commanders' rooms."
As we drew closer we could the voices more clearly. A deep, husky, feminine voice speaking smoothly counterpointed by a stilted, forced male voice. Alistair and I threw odds 'n evens to see who'd go look; he lost. But as he eased up to the door the female voice changed.
"There is someone at the door, my dear. I will see who it is and return in a moment.'
"Please hurry, my darling."
Alistair backpedaled to me and, somehow, through our helmets, gave me a look of embarrassment.
And the desire demon stepped through the door. It approached us slowly, (attempting to do so) sensuously, but failing in my eyes. Maybe I'm too old or too cynical, but its hyper-sexuality just doesn't do a thing for me.
"You are intruding on a loving, intimate moment and I dislike disruptions."
Alistair snorted. "There's nothing loving or intimate going on here!" His voice was muffled by his helmet but I could detect the outrage. And his body language screamed this is wrong!
"Who is there, darling?"
"I'll be but another moment," the demon called over its shoulder. It turned back to us. "Do not spoil this for him; I am giving him everything he always wanted."
"It's an illusion. It's not real! It's- It's wrong!" Alistair snapped. His voice was cracking.
"Is it so wrong? He is happy now. I give-"
"No! Release him or die!" Alistair pointed a shaking sword at the demon.
It took a step towards Alistair and cocked its head. "I would be willing to release him," she purred while staring at Alistair, "but I would ask for a fair trade in return." She took a final step and stopped with a purple finger on Alistair's shield. With seemingly no effort she pushed the wall of wood and metal down, then reached for him. "This one would do nicely; he is-"
I took a step towards Alistair and gave him a shove. "Snap out of it."
Alistair shook his head and snapped his shield back up. I heard him growl but he didn't move.
The demon snatched her hand away then locked eyes with me. "This one…yearns."
Home. Money. Sex. Home. Power. Excitement. Comfort. Home. I forced myself to blink. "But it's all bullshit." It wouldn't feel like it, though…. I shook my head and the demon's thoughts left me.
The demon looked behind me. "You, darling; you have-"
Leliana let out a shuddering breath. "The Maker protects-"
"Enough!" Neria sounded pissed again. "No Templar is worth-"
"Neria," Wynne said warningly.
"Not even the large one?" the demon asked.
Sten snorted. "I cannot be tempted by anything you have to offer."
Neria again. "Keep the Templar for all-"
Wynne. "Neria, no! We cannot leave him like-"
"He wouldn't give us that much consideration."
Somewhere behind the botox-pleasure-face I could see anger developing in the demon. "My patience is waning. "
Alistair turned his head. "Neria, are you sure about this?"
"'Tis an ironic fate, is it not?"
"No!" Wynne shouted, and the air crackled as a spell shot past me.
Ice formed around the demon but it flexed and shattered the thin layer. "Husband, bandits at the door! They come for the children!"
A man's voice responded from the room. "Hide yourself and the children, my love! I'll take them! Come my friends!"
Aw, crap.
One of the mages hit the demon at the same time an arrow did. The demon screeched and a Templar appeared at the doorway, sans helmet. "Maker take you!" He popped off one of those anti-magic explosions, but, guess what? Alistair and I aren't mages, and the ladies were safely behind us. The shockwave washed harmlessly over us. Then the adds came out of the room: a few zombies and an abomination.
A single Templar versus three mages isn't a fair fight, even when the Templar has some melee backup. We meatshields did our job and kept the mages safe while they turned the hallway into a grinder. Alistair tanked over the demon; Sten and I took care of the Templar. He went down hard when a blow from Sten got him in his head. After that it was just a few more seconds of mopping up.
"Did the Knight-Lieutenant survive?" Wynne asked. "I kept trying to put him to sleep, but he wouldn't…."
He was bleeding pretty bad from his wound, and from an ear and his nose. It didn't look good, but Sten checked him. "He lives."
"Let me see him."
"Wynne, no! We don't have time for this."
"Neria, I will not leave this man to die."
"Wynne, he's a Templar; do you think he'd care that much about us? Just leave him." Neria looked at Alistair and shifted gears. "I'm sorry; I know you'd care. I meant no offense."
"Uh, none taken."
"I am not leaving him. If need be go on without me. I'll catch up."
"Wynne, no! We need you more than he does."
"I won't argue with you any longer. Now step aside."
I'd been watching the hallway for more adds and felt rather than heard Wynne come up behind me.
"If you'd pardon me, young man."
"Me?" I asked as I stepped aside. "That's not something I normally get called."
Wynne knelt down to examine the Templar. "What do you normally get called?"
"Usually it's somehey!"
Neria had slapped me on the helmet. Not hard, but it got my attention. "Let's go," she said. "Alistair, you too."
"Hang on a minute; you knocked my helmet out of whack." I took it off and made a show of futzing with it. Neria was making one of those get-someone-killed decisions in order to prove a point. I still haven't called her out on it but I'm gonna have to soon. I was able to give Wynne a couple of minutes while Neria waited impatiently for me. (Although, to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to putting the helmet back on. It's hot, heavy, and I can't see for squat out of it. But better that than the potential alternatives. I'm sure you can come up with a few.) I think Wynne realized what I was doing because eventually gave me a quick nod. I futzed a bit more then acted like whatever was bothering me had been fixed. Wynne had the grace to stay with the Templar as we moved forward.
The Templars exploded out of their quarters while popping off their anti-magic explosions. It was my turn to pull; I'd opened the door and immediately sprinted back to the group. Fortunately we'd stayed spread out so the mages weren't in immediate danger. There were at least half a dozen Templars in there plus a desire demon. When I yanked the door open multiple waves of anti-magic washed over me. Guess what? Not a mage! Neria tossed a well-timed (and aimed) blizzard behind me. For a change I actually got to watch and comprehend the action. Leliana skewered the demon even through the blizzard winds. The Templars staggered through the winds trying to reach our line, but collapsed as each of the mages individually targeted them. One of the Templars actually reached us, but he didn't have anything left. Again, there were survivors, and again, Neria and Wynne argued about what to do with them. I ended up giving up my rope to help secure this bunch.
Alistair yanked open the door to the next room then visibly relaxed. "Safe!" he called back to us.
Sten and I moved forward, then the rest followed as Alistair called out again. There was more demonic growth in the place along with the bodies of two mages, one man, one woman.
I walked up to the man. It was Niall. He was holding a large but thin book tightly to his chest; I figured that was the Litany he'd told us about. "Sorry, man, but we tried," I said, and knelt down to take the book. He, or rather his body, didn't want to let it go. I tugged on the book and had a WTF moment. It seemed like he was holding on to the book. I took off my gauntlet and placed my bare hand over Niall's nose. It took a moment, but I finally felt a weak breath. "Wynne, he's alive!"
It didn't make up for everything else that had happened, but I wanted to think that somehow I'd convinced Niall to hang on those last few minutes. Turns out it was Leliana's kiss that broke him free. Niall told me later he woke up with a woody then immediately passed out again; we'd broken whatever connection the demon had with him. He later thanked us all but gushed over Leliana (not that I blame him), but, hey, the kiss was my idea, right?
A/N: Wow, the hit count is OVER NINE THOUSAND! Thank you, everyone!
