Chapter 53: Repentance pt1

Before the First Blight, there lived an old man and woman. One day, a beautiful stranger came to their house, seeking shelter. The old man and woman gave her food to eat and a downy mattress to sleep upon. In return, she offered them a golden mirror that would grant three wishes.

Looking into the mirror, the woman frowned at her wrinkles and grey hair. "I wish I were young again," she said. Suddenly, the face of a lovely maiden stared back at her. The man angrily grabbed the mirror, saying, "You're so selfish! You could have given youth to us both! I wish you weren't so stupid."

At once, the woman was brilliant beyond measure and saw that her husband had never loved her; he tolerated her only because her age and ignorance made his own seem less by comparison.

Angry now, the old woman grabbed for the mirror—at the same time, they both said, "I hate you. I wish that you get exactly what you deserve!" With that, they were back together, both ugly and old, but now knowing exactly how much contempt they had for each other.-The Demon's Gift From Tales of Thedas vol. XV

Kirkwall Chantry

The Chantry doors opened and Anders left in bitter anger heading back to his clinic. The first thing in morning the mage did was go the Chantry to speak with the Grand Cleric on Alrik's Tranquil Solution. Anders gave Elthina the papers, evidence of how extreme the Templars were becoming…the Grand Cleric rejected them out right and held firm on her position. He met with Ericks on the street.

"No good?"

"Spineless…hesitant. It's no wonder things are quickly getting out of control" Anders said angrily. "She's the perfect representation of the Chantry…all talk and no action" The mage's eyes quickly flashed blue.

"Hey calm down! Not in the open" Ericks said. "Look, why don't you go and get some air?" Anders just glared at him.

"Do not tell me to be calm! This won't end with Alrik" the mage said. "There are other Templars that think just like him, who believe all mages should be tranquil"

"The freedom of every man, woman, and child born in Thedas should be a natural right" he said. "But because some of us just so happen to be born with the ability to shoot fire their hands, people believe mages don't deserve freedom"

"I got it, if you can't appeal to the Chantry then appeal to the people themselves" Ericks said. Anders looked at him. "It's like you said, the natural right of every person in Thedas is to be free. Make them see things from your perspective; people tend to be more agreeable when they see themselves in the plight of others"

"You make it sound so easy…" the mage said. "But you do have a point; perhaps if I can convince enough people…the Chantry will have to listen then"

"Thank you Hawke" Anders walked away, he had a lot of work to do. Ericks went on his way until he overheard a conversation between Sebastian and the Grand Cleric. The prince looked troubled. Sebastian has spent the past three years advancing his campaign to retake Starkhaven. He has been traveling extensively between Kirkwall and other Free Marches cities, attempting to recruit sufficient allies to build an army. With Ericks securing his family a place among Kirkwall's nobility, the two have crossed paths a few times, but an exiled prince like Sebastian has far better access than Ericks to the viscount and other heads of state. So far, though, few families have agreed to support Sebastian with actual troops, leaving him in the difficult position of trying to retake his city with no army.

"I thought it would end here…" Sebastian said. "I decimated Flint Company, no survivors"

"Yet…now I know who sent them, it's harder to see their deaths as justice"

"Death is never justice" Elthina said.

"I…Hawke! I didn't see you there"

"Don't let me stop you, Shiny" Ericks said. "I love to eavesdrop"

"Hawke, if you have a moment…I've learned who hired Flint Company" The prince said. "The Harimanns, a noble family of Kirkwall" For a long time they were allies and personal friends of the Vael family, the royal family of Starkhaven, with Sebastian and his family visiting their estate many times in his youth. During the Fifth Blight, Lord Harimann convinced Viscount Dumar to aid Fereldan which earned the ire of several prominent personages in Kirkwall. Eventually this resulted in their enemies hiring Meeran and the Red Iron mercenaries to kill Lord Harimann. His daughter, Lady Johane Harrimann took over the family…though talk among the nobles says she has become quite reclusive of late.

"Any idea why they turned on you?" Ericks asked.

"Money? Power? It's hard to say" Sebastian said. "Lady Harimann was always jealous of my family for being royalty when hers were mere nobility"

"But I can't imagine that pushing her into outright murder"

"This is why the cycle of violence never gets broken…"

"You jest, but that's the truth. Give this up, Sebastian" Elthina said. "Dedicate yourself to the Chantry, as you swore"

"I must speak with Lady Harimann and find out what drove her to this madness" the prince said. "But I am the last of my line. I should not go alone and make myself a target"

Ericks sighed. "Here we go again…"

"If this allows Sebastian to make peace, it is worth doing. You've taken on lesser causes"

"Please, I have no one else to turn to"

"Alright, alright…since you twisted my arm" Sebastian walked away, Ericks was about to go when Elthina spoke up.

"I cannot fault Sebastian for wanting to know why an old ally would turn against parents" the Grand Cleric said. "But I fear he's too impulsive. He may do something he regrets"

"Please watch over him, try to restrain him. If the Harimanns are guilty, they will receive justice from the viscount" she said. "Sebastian need not take their punishment into his own hands"


First Day of Harvestmere

Mother finally began her expansion to the estate today. She brought in two dozen men from the Imperium who I'm sure were slaves, and they've been excavating the hillside behind the house. The dirt is awful. And the noise! Must they shatter every rock in Kirkwall? It's been quiet since lunch, though, and Mother is behaving very strangely. She's now talking about stopping the expansion—just like that, with no explanation. She never tells me anything...

Tenth Day of Harvestmere

Father is behaving so oddly. Today he pinched my buttocks! Just reached around the table and... I can't imagine what would make him do such a thing. And to the servant girls, as well! Some of the things he says would truly make a sailor blush. I told the maids to lock up the wine, but it hasn't made any difference so far. I'm going to the chantry tonight to pray for him.

Eleventh Day of Harvestmere

What can be happening? First Father, now Brett. I can't talk to either of them anymore. I don't know what they're drinking, but they are lost in their own little worlds. And Mother doesn't care; should she even be here, all she talks about is Starkhaven and marrying me off to that idiot Goran Vael. What madness has come over this place-Letters of Flora Harimann

Harimann Estate

On the way to the estate, Ericks and Sebastian were joined by Fenris and Aveline that spotted them on the street. Ericks soon filled them in on the situation. The gang was at the Harrimann Estate. "That's strange…the door's wide open" Sebastian said. "And not a single guard posted…this is not the Lady Harimann I remember…" They headed inside, it was quiet…unnervingly quiet as well as dark. The gang headed up the stairs where they found the fireplace was still lit, like someone was tending the flame.

"There is something very wrong in here"

Fenris frowned. "This feeling in the air…" the elf said. "Sebastian, this Lady Harimann, is she a mage?"

"I don't think so, I've been to this estate since I was a child and not once have I ever seen her perform magic" he said. "If she was, the Harimann family would be ruined as Johane is an only child and could not inherit the estate" The gang continued deeper into the mansion, it was a lot bigger than the outside would state. Further down the hallway, they could hear rambling and the gang took out their weapons and slowly turned the corner.

"More! You lazy son of a bitch! What's taking so long?" They spotted a woman in a violet dress, drunkenly ranting at a wine cask.

"Well that's a sight" Ericks said dryly.

"Flora?" Flora Harimann was the oldest child to Lady Harimann and a good friend of Sebastian. She was the black sheep of the family, known for throwing wild parties and her drunken misadventures not unlike how Sebastian used to be before being sent to the Chantry. These antics of hers has made very hard for Flora to find a husband and her parents have even threaten to pass inheritance of the estate over to her younger brother in a gambit to straighten her out.

"Why does no one in this house care what I want?" she ranted. "More wine! Or I swear, I will drown you in the dregs!"

"This…isn't just simple drunkenness" Aveline said. "She's out of her mind"

"I believe you are correct, Aveline" Sebastian said. "Flora doesn't even see us, that is no normal wine" The gang continued on their way upstairs where they spotted a young man in tan clothes ranting and pacing back and forth surrounded by servants. Next to the man were two elves, a man holding a dagger to the neck of a woman. The female elf had a look of fear in her eyes. In the middle of the room was a pot, the servants poured jewelry into the pot while others found used books and broke chairs to keep the fire up.

"More logs! It must be molten!" the man said. "You! More coins. I want every scrap of gold in this house!" Brett Harimann, the younger child of Lady Harimann. He was known to be a quiet and responsible young man with a passion for art. His painting and sculptures a well-known in Kirkwall and Starkhaven and have fetched some good coin among the nobles, he has even received commissions from the Chantry.

"P-Please, messere…"

"There's nothing to fear. You'll be beautiful" he said. "Pour it over her!"

"Don't! You'll kill her!" Sebastian said. Brett continued on his mad rant, completely oblivious to the prince's voice. The male elf looked back at the gang and came charging with dagger in hand, Sebastian punch him in the face, knocking him out. This allowed the elven woman to run away, but Brett and the other servants did not notice her escape.

"Perhaps I should be the one…"

"We must end this madness" The gang walked past the man and headed back into the hallway. "A lot of these halls and rooms are new, I don't get it…they could not have concealed such going-ons" The gang turned a corner into a room with man with black hair and a beard. He was completely nude with a female elf in front of him.

"Oh…lower…lower…"

"Ugh, Maker's Breath, I didn't need to see that!" Aveline said.

Ericks smirked. "Heh wasn't expecting a show…"

Sebastian blushed and cleared his throat. "I beg your pardon, Hawke. I did not mean to expose you to such things"

"No apologies necessary, I'm only sorry Isabela missed this"

"No! The feather! Use the feather!" The man gave an erotic gasp and then stood up. "Where have you been all my life?"

"Today, I am more than a man! Come! Felicitate me!"

"Well that's a new one…" The rogue said trying to keep from laughing. Aveline and Fenris just shook their heads.

"He has no idea we're here" Sebastian said in disbelief. "I've known Ruxton Harimann my whole life. He's a complete prude!"

"Where's your brother? Let's ask him to join us…"

"Could have fooled me" Fenris said dryly. The gang left the room before things became too awkward. They made their way to the end of the hall where they spotted stairs going down to the cellar. They headed down and found Flora, Brett and Ruxton at the center of the room.

"Turn back. There is nothing here for you"

"Odd, when we watched you being a drunken ass, you ignored us completely"

"You shall not enter!" Their eyes rolled back into their heads and they collapsed on the floor as inhuman roars filled the air. Demons appeared and attacked.

Demons…always the demons! Next Time! Review and Comment!