Chapter 46: Witch Hunt pt3

Kinloch Hold-Basement

"So the reason you are after the Eluvian is because of this woman, Morrigan?" Finn asked. "Having a Dalish warrior and the Warden-Commander after you…I would not want to be her"

"It's not like that, Morrigan took a book from Ariane's people and I just want to see my old friend again" Jenra said. "We're not looking for bloodshed"

Ariane crossed her arms. "That's up to the witch" Soon after making their way to basement, the party was attacked by the sentinels there. While they were fighting of the sentinels, Finn noticed something…a reddish-black miasma in the middle of the room. It was a Fade tear and it was causing the sentinels to go out of control, using his magic Finn was able to seal the tear and the sentinels stopped attacking and went back to their places.

"What just happened? They…stopped" Ariane said.

"While you were hacking away, I figured out there was a Fade tear causing the sentinels to go berserk" Finn said smugly. "No need for applause, well maybe just a little"

The elf rolled her eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that you are insufferable?"

"Not really, people tend to enjoy my sunny disposition"

Ariane gave an annoyed grunt and then walked into the next room where she then started to shiver. "She'va dhal! It's freezing in here!" She looked around the room, there was ice everywhere. "Ice?"

"This whole place is covered in ice wards to preserve the phylacteries in here" Finn said. "Or at least it was"

"Was?" Jenra asked.

"Yeah, the phylacteries was moved because a mage came in here and destroyed his own before escaping" the mage explained. "They're in a more secured area, and the Templars are very tight-lipped about it" The party went on their way into the next room full of old artefacts both magical and non-magical. If it wasn't for the fact the Templars heavily guarded the tower, it would be a haven for bandits and scholars. "Ah, there we go" Finn led them to a statue of a man in a robe with a spear; it was so old that all of the details had faded with time. And then a loud voice boomed into the party's head.

"The prison is breached. I see the encroaching darkness"

"Wow, it really does talk" the elf said.

"Told you. Hello?"

"The…the shadow will consume all…" the statue said. "A hunger, a cage, a yawning void…help me…"

"Is it just me or does the statue seems….afraid?" Jenra asked.

"Yes I'm getting that also, I think the tears in the Veil is causing its distress" Finn said. "Which means the statue is useless to us until we mend the Veil" The party went around the basement fighting the sentinels and sealing the tears. Once they were done, they made it back to the statue to speak with it.

"I am the spirit of Eleni Zinovia, once consort and …"

"Advisor of Archon Valerius, blah, blah, fall of the house. Yes, yes we've been through that" Finn said impatiently.

"Finn…greetings"

"So you and the statue are…close?" Jenra asked.

"We've conversed before on the Imperium" he said. "It's difficult to get straight answers out of it, you have to get through all the pretentious, grandiose mumbo-jumbo" Finn went back to the statue. "We know where a broken Eluvian lies; can it be used to find the others?"

"Scry, the broken glass, dagger-sharp, will be your key"

Jenra looked at Finn. "Scry?"

"It's a very obscure magical technique, basically trying to foretell the future" Finn explained.

"The lights of Arlathan will illuminate the scryer's path" the statue said. "The archons possessed them, but they were misused, befouled and lost, like so much the Imperium touched"

"Some were saved, carried by fugitives from the elven city. Their sorrow awoke the Stone, and her children sheltered them" it said. "In the deep halls of Cad'halash they found sanctuary, there the Lights of Arlathan lie, shielded from unworthy eyes"

"Cad'halash? I've never heard of such a place…" Finn said.

"I have, the statue must mean Cadash thaig" Jenra said. "But for the dwarves there to shelter Arlathan's elves, the thaig must be old…older than Orzammar believes it to be"

"I had not realized the durgen'len had once aided my people when they fled" Ariane said. "We must go; I'm interested in learning more"

"Goodbye Finn, we will not speak again" The mage was taken aback by the statue's remark, before he could ask what it mean, the statue went cold and dark. The party went back up and with Hadley.

Kinloch Hold

"I see you're alive, that's good to know" the Templar said. "The problem has been dealt with?"

"Yes, it should be safe to down there again" Jenra said.

"Thank the Maker for your help"

"If you don't mind, I would like to borrow Finn for a little while longer"

"Hmm? Sure" Hadley said.

Jenra blinked, that was quick. "Really? Like that?"

"Yes, Finn had permission to leave the tower to continue his research some time ago" he said. "He's strange one for sure, most mages would relish the chance to leave the Circle even for a short while, but Finn finds every excuse in the book to not leave the library."

"Exercise with do him some good" He looked at Finn. "Now you behave yourself out there, Finn"

Finn groaned. "Yes, mother" The party headed to the exit and took the boar back to the docks.

"Now mage, tell us what's going on" Ariane said.

"The Eluvians are linked, all of them. If you have one, you can find the others…assuming they even still exist" Finn said. "But the one you know of is broken, and corrupted. So we need something else to…amplify the magic"

"The Lights of Arlathan"

"Correct"

"And knowing Morrigan…we find these Eluvians, we find her" Finn was clapping his hand together while giggling in glee.

"This is exciting, we're actually going to find an Eluvian" the mage said.

Between Lothering and Brecilian Forest

Halfway to Brecilian Forest, Jenra could see the sun quickly going down. It would be dangerous to continue after dark, he went into a shallow cave. Nothing seemed to be nesting in it and it had some good protection from the elements. Jenra planted his sword into the ground. "This seems like a good place"

"Good place? Good place for what?" Finn asked.

"For a place to rest, we can get a good start to the forest in the morning" Jenra said. "Gather what you can find, and we'll have a meal" The party spread out looking for food, Finn complained all the way much to the annoyance of Ariane.

"Could you stop your whining? You'll scare the quarry away" she said.

"Ugh, why couldn't we just take a rest back at the town we just passed?"

"Because we don't have much in the way of coin" Ariane said. "Besides, human settlements are not very welcoming to the Dalish"

"Besides, the outdoors will do you some good" she said. "It may actually make a man out of you"

Finn snorted. "Do me some good…do you not see this spot here on my robe?"

"That insignificant speck? I just thought that was part of the design of your robe" the elf said.

"That's mud. There's no mud in the tower! I miss being cozy and dry" The mage heard buzzing around him and slapped the back of his neck. "I can do without these mosquitoes, hungry for sweet untasted mage flesh"

"Well you should have thought of that before tagging along"

"Like I was going to pass up the chance to learn about the ancient elves and the mirrors" Finn said. "Besides, the company is good"

"Oh…thanks" Ariane said touched.

"I meant the dog"

"Ass" Soon the party came together with the items they picked up and had a meal to last them through the night. When morning came, they set off for Brecilian Forest.

Brecilian Forest-Elven Ruins

The Elven Ruins are an assemblage of dilapidated underground ruins within the Brecilian Forest with what is perceived to be human architecture yet containing elven artifacts. Statues of the old elven pantheon, such as Falon'Din, the Friend of the Dead, still line the hallways as lifeless reminders of better days. As the party entered, they had to watch their step as some floors crumbled with the slightest pressure and the roof cracked and threaten to fall on them. These ruins were not long for this world.

"These are the ruins of the two hunters discovered. The broken Eluvian should be around here" Ariane said.

"Ooh, I'm so excited!" Finn said. In the halls of the ruins, they were ambushed by elves infected by the taint. Finn cast a grease spell to knock the archers of their feet; Fenrir charged and ripped one of the elf's throat out. Jenra cut down the arrows and cut them down before they could reload. Ariane could hear inhuman screams from behind, and ducked when a claw came for her head. A shriek attacked with a flurry of swipes, the elf cut off the hands and then went for the head.

"These people were very sick before they died. Ir abelas, lethallin" Ariane prayed.

"You…don't think it's contagious, do you?" Finn asked nervously.

"As long as you don't take the blood into your mouth, you should be fine" Deeper into the ruins, they were attacked by more tainted warriors and shrieks. The party fought their way to heart of the ruins where an altar holding a broken mirror was waiting for them. Shards were one the ground, Jenra could sense the taint radiating from them. Since he was a Grey Warden, Jenra came up and took a piece off the ground.

"I can't believe this is one of the Eluvians. It's magnificent…and broken" Finn said. "Mostly broken…we have a shard but we still need the Lights of Arlathan"

"To Cadash Thaig then"

Cadash Thaig

Since the end of the Fifth Blight, the darkspawn had once again prowled the Deep Roads with Orzammar on high alert against the horde. The party had to fight through waves of the dark creatures that seemed endless but fate would give them some respite to allow them to make it Cadash Thaig. "It's hard to breathe with all this stone around me. I…I hope this is all in my head" Finn said. "Wait, why did we stop? Is this Cadash thaig?"

Jenra nodded. "Yes, just getting our bearings"

Finn took out some folded paper out of his pockets and shuffled through them. "Right. So, I've…er been going through my old notes. Hmm"

"And?"

"And I came across this footnote…apparently, the elves would magically conceal relics of great significance, thus shielding them from unworthy eyes" he said. "Given what Tevinter did, I'd say they count as unworthy"

"You don't say" Ariane said dryly.

"So they're under an enchantment"

"That would be my guess…though the Lights of Arlathan might just be buried in the ground, too" Finn said. "Very deeply in fact, considering this thaig was built on the ruins of Cad'halash"

"Wait, how deep are we talking about?" The elf asked.

"Well…er, several miles below us…"

"I liked the other theory more"

"If the elves concealed the relics with magic, only their kin could reveal them" the mage said. "Ariane, we need your blood"

"Wait, what?!" Ariane asked taking a few steps back.

"I only need a few drops, that's all" he said. "And before you start, it's not blood magic…it doesn't power the spell, it's just a component" Jenra and Ariane looked at Finn, not convinced. "Okay, so it's a very grey area, so let's just keep this between the three of us. Shall we?" Fenrir gave an offended bark. "Four of us"

"It has to be you Ariane, the enchantment will only recognize the blood of Arlathan elves"

"Fine, only because hearing that gets me all tingly. A few drops" Finn nodded and took out a small dagger.

"I'll…be gentle" he cut the finger and Ariane gave a small yelp as blood dropped in a vial. Ariane sucked on her finger to stop the bleeding. "My spell should reveal vortices of magic, standing in them should allow us to see the energy being drawn to the relics, which will lead us to them" The party continued on into the thaig.

The search continues! Next Time! As always Review and Comment!