Chapter 21: Enemies Among Us pt1
It has been asked, "What are maleficarum? How shall we know them?" I have been as troubled by this question as you. You have come to me for the wisdom of the Maker, but none have seen the Maker's heart save Beloved Andraste. And so I have done as all mortals must, and looked to the words of His prophet for answers. And there, I found respite from a troubled mind.
For she has said to us, "Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him." Therefore, I say to you, they who work magic which dominates the minds and hearts of others, they have transgressed the Makers law. Also, Our Lady said to us, "Those who bring harm without provocation to the least of His children are hated and accursed by the Maker." And so it is made clear to me, as it should be to us all: That magic which fuels itself by harming others, by the letting of blood, is hated by the Maker.
Those mages who honor the Maker and keep His laws we welcome as our brothers and sisters. Those who reject the laws of the Maker and the words of His prophet are apostate. They shall be cast out, and given no place among us.-From The Sermons of Justinia I.
Hightown
Ericks and Bethany was standing outside a large mansion in Hightown. The mansion was a beautiful marble that has greyed from weather and age. Vines and other plant growth intertwine with the building giving the mansion an almost mystical look to it. On the two pillars was the Amell family crest faded and damaged. This was the home of their mother once upon a time, but their uncle Gamlen lost it and the will in one of his games. Now this beautiful mansion was now in the hands of filthy slavers but there was nothing they could do until they could get the will which was locked in the vault inside. The siblings went to the side to find another locked gate to the estate.
"This is it, the wine cellar Mother told me about" Bethany took out the key and placed it inside the lock. "It fits! We can now get in and get our grandparents' will"
"Hold it, Betty! It may not be a great idea to head in now" Ericks said. "In the middle of the day, we just look like we're breaking in plus there no telling how many slavers are in there" Bethany sighed, her brother was right of course but the mere thought of slavers fouling up their home was just too much. She locked the gate and the siblings headed back home. As they made their way out of Hightown, they spotted a Templar speaking with a woman. They kept their distance.
"Have you seen him?" the distraught woman asked.
"Keran, was it? No, there are many Templars in Kirkwall, woman" The Templar walked away leaving the woman crying.
"That poor woman…" Bethany said.
"Just ignore her, Betty; this has nothing to do with us" As they walked past, the woman in her desperation was looking for anyone that could help her. She then reached them. "Shit…"
"Please, can you help me? My brother" The rogue really wanted to say no but Bethany was staring daggers at him get him to help the woman.
"Don't worry. Helping people and killing people are what I'm best at" The woman was taken aback and Bethany just shook her head.
"Er, I, ah, hope there will be no call to kill anyone, serah" she said disturbed. The woman then paced around. "Keran was always so devout, so idealistic"
"He was so proud when the Templars accepted him. I pleaded with him not to join the order, but he wouldn't listen" she said. "You hear dark rumors about the Templars and Knight-Commander Meredith. And now my brother is gone" Knight-Commander Meredith was a name commonly uttered in Kirkwall. To her admirers, she was a hardworking and dedicating woman that does all she can to keep the mages in check. But to her detractors, Meredith was fierce and utterly without pity…some even say she is insane, that she sees demons everywhere. However few say such things out in the open as Meredith has eyes and ears everywhere and inviting her wrath tend to be harmful to one's health.
"What exactly are these rumors you've been hearing?" Ericks asked.
"People harboring escaped mages just disappear, Templars interrogate and threaten passers-by" the woman said. "My friend has a cousin who's a mage, and she says he was made tranquil against his will. You hear more with every passing day" Ericks and Bethany looked at each other; this was very similar to what they heard from Anders when they first met.
"So you think the Templars…what? Killed and ate your brother?"
The woman paled. "Maker forbid! I don't know what happened. He just stopped writing me" she said. "I tried to see him, but the Knight-Commander threw me out. They won't tell me anything!"
"So strange…" Bethany said. "I would expect that behavior about mages but not about Templars"
"In the Gallows, there are other recruits, Wilmod and Hugh" the woman said. "They joined at the same time as my brother, and his closest friends. If anyone knows where he is, it's them"
"Maker bless you and watch after you in the endeavor"
The Gallows
The siblings was at the Gallows, Bethany waited just outside as to not attract the attention of the templars to her. Near one of the agonized statues stood three Templars talking amongst each other carefully and quietly. It wasn't just mages that feared the Knight-Commander, her own subordinates feared her as well. "Do you know a recruit named Keran? His sister is looking for him"
A female Templar crossed her arms. "We cannot speak to you, messere"
"Really, because I was under the impression that his closest friends would know what happened to him" Ericks said. "But if you can't speak to me, I'll just have to give that poor woman the bad news about her brother"
"To the Void with that! Keran and the others are missing" the second Templar said.
The third Templar looked at him. "But our orders!"
"The knights aren't doing anything to find them, maybe it's time to find some outside help" Apparently Keran wasn't the only one missing. The first ones disappeared weeks ago, since then there had been at least half a dozen missing. Wilmod and Keran were the most recent.
"If it's that bad why keep quiet?" Ericks asked.
"You obviously aren't a Templar, messere"
"A knight-lieutenant gives you an order and you obey, without question" the second Templar said. "They told us not to breathe a word about Keran and the others"
The female Templar frowned. "They must have their reasons"
"And that'll be a great comfort if you go missing next"
"Talking to me is already breaking your orders, so you might as well share the good stuff" Rumors have been going around that Meredith has some new initiation the recruits have to go through. If a recruit was not strong or fervent in their belief, they would die.
"And you honestly believe that?" the female Templar asked.
"The recruits keep going missing, what else am I supposed to believe?"
"Wilmod came back" The two Templars looked at her shocked. "He did, I saw him this morning" The initiation required one to do some questionable things the order does these days. Meredith only wants Templars that could do what 'must be done'. There were some Templars here in Kirkwall that questioned some of her methods and orders, this initiation could be a way to gain Templars loyal to her and weed out potential threats to her authority. Although many in the order were split on whether the Knight-Commander would go that far to stay in control.
"If Wilmod came back, he might know more about the other missing recruits" Ericks said.
"Maybe…"
"Wilmod told me he was going outside Kirkwall. 'Clear his head' he said" the female Templar said.
"Why didn't you tell us this?"
"Knight-Captain Cullen ordered it, right before he chased after Wilmod" she said. "That wasn't too long ago, if you hurry, you may catch them on the road" Ericks left them and picked up Bethany as they went to the city gates, Varric and Isabela saw the Hawke siblings in a hurry and decided to join up with them. Ericks catches them up on things as they leave Kirkwall.
The Wounded Coast-Wilmod's Camp
The gang found a small campsite along the Wounded Coast and headed toward it. There they spotted a brown hair Templar threatening one of his own. "Andraste be my witness, Wilmod. I will have the truth from you. Now!"
"Mercy, ser, mercy!" Wilmod said in fear.
"Were it that easy"
"D…don't hit me" Cullen kneed him in the gut and then pointed his sword. "I will know where you're going and I will know now"
"Has he gone mad?!" Isabela asked.
"I've heard of discipline before but this might be going too far" Varric said. The gang ran towards the two Templars. Cullen looked at the gang and frowned.
"This doesn't concern you, stranger" he said. "Move along"
"I thought Templars only treated mages this badly, nice to see you're branching out" Ericks said dryly.
"This is Templar business, move along" Wilmod then started to laugh as he got up. His face twisted into a horrific grin as his voice started to change.
"You have struck me the last time, you pathetic human. To me!" 'Wilmod' started to change and he became a demon, a shade. It summoned dozens of abominations that surrounded the gang and Cullen.
"Maker preserve us…" Cullen said as he stood his ground. Varric and Bethany kept their distance and pelted the abominations with arrows and magic while Ericks and Isabela dealt with the shade. Cullen glowed and disabled the magic around him, and then he cut the abominations into ribbons with his sword. Ericks through a fire grenade at a group of them while Isabela dodged and them parried their moves. Once the shade and its abominations had fallen, a rage demon appeared and cast a stream of fire at Cullen. The Templar held up his shield while Ericks and Isabela came up close and slashed at it. Bethany enchanted Varric's crossbow with ice magic, the dwarf took aim and fired several arrows into the demon's chest. The fight was done, but this battle unnerved them.
"I knew…I knew he was involved in something sinister" Cullen said. He checked the bodies of the abominations. Ericks nodded to Bethany to keep out of sight, he didn't think Cullen noticed Bethany casting spells but the rogue wasn't taking any chances. "But this…is it even possible?"
"Think he was possessed?" Ericks asked.
"Normally, we only worry that mages will fall victim to possession" he said. "I've heard of blood mages or demons in solid form who could summon others into unwilling hosts"
"Huh, nothing surprises me about Kirkwall anymore"
"I am Knight-Captain Cullen. I thank you for your assistance" he said. "I've been conducting an investigation of some of our recruits who gone missing. Wilmod was the first to return"
"I had hope to confront him quietly, out of sight"
"If you didn't know he was possessed, why draw your sword on a recruit?" Ericks asked.
"He'd only been back a few days when he left again secretly; it set off some warning bells" Cullen said. "I meant to scare him into a confession, he had to believe my threat were genuine"
"So the Meredith isn't conducting some sort of deadly ritual?" Ericks asked. Cullen looked at him curiously. "Your recruits told me this"
Cullen shook his head. "Preposterous" he said. "Recruits can be worse than a weaving circle with their rumors. There's vigil before Templars take their arms but the gravest danger they face is falling asleep"
"So what do you think happened?"
"More than I anticipated" Cullen said. "Wilmod has never been fully…convinced of the Order's rules. Mages cannot be our friends, they must always be watched"
"I thought Wilmod might be meeting with some old friends who'd escaped the Circle"
"Doesn't take magic to be a bastard" Ericks said.
"I was at Kinloch Hold in Ferelden during the Blight. I saw firsthand how Templars' trust and leniency can be rewarded" He said. "I still have nightmares of Uldred's depravities"
"Where there's one demon, there's usually more. Where do we start digging?"
"I fear it is time to widen this investigation. My discretion may have cost me one of our best recruits, Wilmod's friend Keran"
"They were last seen together at the Blooming Rose" Cullen said. "But I had no luck interrogating the…ah…young ladies there. I doubt they know anything of magic or demons"
Ericks smirked as he rubbed his chin. "I'd be willing to search there"
Cullen nodded. "The Order would truly be in your debt if you helped us with this" he said. "If you learn what happened, please come tell me in the Gallows. I will ensure you are rewarded"
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