Reviews:
cjboughton:
I uploaded the new chapter for the Overlord story in case you haven't seen it.
alan:
Glad you like it.
edboy4926:
I'm glad you liked it. Hope it continues.
superfanman217:
Here you go.
prophet:
Glad you like it so far. As for your suggestion, I actually have that planned for this chapter.
A/N: So, I forgot to upload this chapter on here after I finished it! Whoops! Guess that explains why no one commented. Please, remember to review with any comments, question, concerns, or constructive criticism that you might have.
Chapter 2:
Questions Answered
Wayne felt like he was floating on water, completely surrounded by blackness. He couldn't see anything, but his body felt so weak and tired that couldn't see any reason to try and find a way out of this blackness. He just wanted to rest a while, but a voice pierced the darkness, preventing that.
"Are you just going to lay there all day, Ranger?" asked the voice.
Wayne looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man suddenly appearing over him, a man he knew all too well.
"Drill Sergeant Acker?" he asked, weakly. Even in the complete darkness, Wayne could see Acker clearly. The drill sergeant looked just like he did the last time Wayne saw him. He was wearing the usual uniform of a soldier with his wide-brimmed hat. His hair was shaved to nubs and his brown eyes glared down at him with his admonishing seriousness.
"I asked you a question, soldier," he asked, looking down.
"I'm tired, drill sergeant. So, so tired," Wayne said, wanting to rest.
"What are you, some pussy-foot duck? Some lazy-assed flyboy that sits on his ass all day?" Acker asked.
"No sir," Wayne said, more strength finding its way to his voice.
"What are you?" Acker asked.
"A ranger, sir," Wayne said, firmly.
"That's right. Now, get up you have a job to do. There's more to this Breach business than what there appears to be," Acker said, firmly.
"What do you mean, sir?" Wayne asked, confused.
"You'll figure it out. Remember what I told you and the rest of the trainees when you were just some untrained maggots," he said.
Wayne nodded, "I will, sir."
"Good, now GET YOUR ASS UP!" he ordered.
Wayne's eyes snapped open and he jerked up, finding himself on a bed in some kind of single floor wooden house.
'Definitely better than the last place I woke up in,' he thought. Any further thoughts were interrupted when he heard a gasp and a loud bang. Faster than even he thought possible, Wayne had his sidearm in his hands, aimed at the source of the sound, only to find it to be a kid, a teen to be precise. An elf, Wayne guessed from the kid's pointed ears.
The kid looked like she was about to wet herself, which made Wayne mentally slap himself and lower the gun.
Before he could speak, the elf dropped to her knees and bowed her head, "I beg your forgiveness and your blessing. I am but a humble servant."
This took Wayne aback, since it was pretty much the exact opposite of his treatment the last time he woke up in a strange place.
"It's alright, kid. Stand up, would ya?" Wayne said, uncomfortable by the girl's actions. The girl did so, but looked uncomfortable about it. "So, what happened? Where am I?"
"You are back in Haven, my lord. They say you saved us. The Breach stopped growing, just like the mark on your hand. It's all anyone has talked about for the last three days," the elf said.
"Wait, three days? I've been unconscious for that long?" Wayne asked in shock.
The elf nodded. "Seeker Pentaghast said she wanted to know when you awoke. She's in the Chantry with the Lord Chancellor," the elf boy said, backing away towards the door, clearly frightened at the prospect of Cassandra being angry, "'At once,' she said." With that, the elf-girl ran out of the door, closing it behind her.
Wayne got out of the bed and put his vest on before seeing his weapons on the table and checking them for any tampering. Even the sniper rifle, which he thought he lost since his being sent through that original rift, was there. He grabbed each of his weapons and headed for the door. He opened it to find a huge crowd of people and, out of surprise, slammed the door closed again. He leaned against the wall and peeked out the window to get a better look at what he was dealing with.
'Huh, doesn't look like a lynch mob,' he thought, his finger still on the trigger just in case, 'Well, I guess if they were planning to lynch me, they wouldn't give me my weapons back,' he thought before he took another look outside, 'Well, can't stay in here forever.'
With his resolve solidified, he took a deep breath and went out the door. He walked towards the crowd and was surprised when the soldiers cleared a path through the crowd. Most of the people in the crowd seemed to be wearing strange robes similar to those he remembered that douche Roderick wearing. The people were whispering to each other as he passed, calling him the 'Herald of Andraste,' not that he understood what the hell that meant.
'Guess the Chantry's that big church-like building,' he thought as he walked towards the largest building in the village, 'Maybe Spook or Xena can explain who this Andraste character they're saying was watching over me is. Must be some goddess or something.' As he was walking, he couldn't help but notice that the glares he'd suffered under the last time he was among the people were replaced by the looks of awe and, while they were quick to point out that the problems weren't all fixed, they were appreciative of what had been done thus far.
Upon entering the large church-like building, Wayne immediately recognized the sound of Cassandra shouting and questioning someone's sanity. Then, he unfortunately recognized the voice of a certain douche bag chancellor that was insisting that Wayne be taken to some place called Val Royeaux for trial.
Deciding to make his presence known, Wayne went through the door where the voices were coming from.
Roderick recovered from the surprise of him bursting into the room first, "Chain him," the chancellor ordered the guards by the door, "I want him prepared for travel to the capital for trial."
The guards, however, didn't move until Cassandra spoke, "Disregard that and leave us."
The two guards saluted with their fists to their hearts before walking past Wayne and going out the door.
Roderick, however, didn't appreciate having his orders contradicted, "You walk a dangerous line, Seeker."
"The Breach is stable, but it is still a threat. I will not ignore it," Cassandra said, firmly.
"I did everything I could to close the Breach. It almost killed me!" Wayne said, getting tired of Roderick's baseless accusations.
"Yet you live. A convenient result, insofar as you're concerned," Roderick sneered.
"Well, excuse me for wanting to live," Wayne replied sarcastically.
Cassandra stepped in the conversation again, "Have a care, Chancellor. The Breach is not the only threat we face."
Leliana stepped into the conversation, "Someone was behind the explosion at the Conclave. Someone Most Holy did not expect."
"Like a man dressed in strange clothes and carrying strange weapons?" Roderick asked, glaring at Wayne, who replied by raising a single finger.
"Perhaps these hidden threats died with the others…or have allies who yet live," Leliana said, looking meaningfully at Roderick, who looked shocked at her implication.
"iI/i am a suspect?" he asked in shock.
"You…and many others," Leliana assured.
"But not the prisoner," Roderick questioned, annoyed.
"I heard the voices in the temple. The one attacking the Divine sounded nothing like Wayne," Cassandra said, "Besides, he was willing to risk his life so that the Breach could be closed. I believe in his innocence."
The Seeker's serious and impassioned argument in his defense surprised Wayne. 'I may have to stop messing with her…nah,' he thought, mentally laughing.
Roderick still wasn't satisfied, "So his being found at the scene, that ithing/i on his hand; all a coincidence?"
"Providence," Cassandra disagreed, "The Maker sent him to us in our darkest hour."
"Say what?" Wayne asked, completely confused as to what she was talking about.
"We will explain later," Leliana said, "The Breach remains and your Mark is still our only hope of closing it."
"That is inot/i for you to decide," Roderick insisted.
Seeming to have enough of his complaints and whining, Cassandra grabbed a book from one of the nearby tables and slammed it onto the table in the center.
"You know what this is, Chancellor," she said, stabbing the book with her finger. Wayne was about to ask the importance when she explained, "A writ from the Divine, granting us the authority to act. As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn." With that, she started advancing on the now nervous chancellor, "We will close the Breach, we will find those responsible, and we will restore order. With or without your approval."
Knowing he lost and to speak further would only make things worse for him, Roderick stormed out of the room.
Seeing Wayne's completely lost expression at the thick book still sitting on the table, Leliana spoke up, "This is the Divine's directive: rebuild the Inquisition of old, find those who will stand against the chaos." She turned to Cassandra, We aren't ready. We have no leader, no numbers, and now no Chantry support."
"But we have no choice: we must act now," Cassandra turned to Wayne, "With you at our side."
"Huh?" Wayne asked, still not fully grasping the situation, "Why me? I mean, I want to help, but what is this Inquisition anyway? It surely can't be like the one I'm familiar with."
"Before we get into that, we should first introduce everyone here," Leliana said, gesturing to the two people that had thus far remained silent, but now stepped forward. One Wayne recognized as the commander at the Temple of Sacred Ashes and the other was an attractive dark-skinned woman in gold and purple clothing. "You've met Commander Cullen," she said, gesturing to the man, "He will be in charge of the Inquisition's military forces."
"A pleasure to see you again," Cullen said, nodding at Wayne, "I'm glad you'll be with us."
"Likewise, commander," Wayne said, his training kicking in as he addressed the man with a higher rank.
"Just Cullen will do," he said, "You're not going to be one of the soldiers, but rather one of those here that will help shape the Inquisition, so we'll be on equal ground."
"Really? Why am I invited to this position?" Wayne asked, looking around at the group.
"You hold the Mark," Cassandra explained, "We can't very well close the Breach for good without you."
"Well, I guess that makes sense," Wayne said, still not sure about suddenly being in some high position in an organization that seemed to have the potential to make major waves. He turned to the final member of their little cabal, "And you are, miss?"
"Josephine Cherette Montilyet," she said, bowing slightly as she held what looked, to Wayne, like a medieval clipboard, "I will be the one charged with acting as diplomat and ambassador. I am eager to learn about where it is you have come from. As ambassador, I pride myself on learning the aspects of different cultures."
"I have to admit that I am curious about where you come from as well," Leliana said, "Your clothing, weapons, and even the way you speak some times are all…unusual when compared to what I or anyone here really are used to."
"I'm a Ranger in the U.S. military," Wayne said, figuring that might offer some explanation.
"A ranger? So you are sent to scout out wilderness areas?" Cullen asked.
"Heh, we do a lot more than that. We're the ones sent in first," Wayne said with pride, "The tip of the spear. The ones sent to clear the way for the major forces, not to mention other special duties, like POW rescue."
"So, you are well-trained," Leliana said, which Wayne nodded in agreement to, "And this 'U.S.'? I've never heard of a land with this name."
"The full name is the United States of America," Wayne explained, "If you've got a map, maybe I can get an idea of where I am in comparing it," he said, still hoping that someway he'd at least be able to find his way home once this job was done.
"Certainly," Cassandra said, grabbing a rolled up parchment from a table against the wall before unrolling it onto the table in the center to reveal a map of a continent that Wayne didn't recognize.
"How big is this continent?" Wayne asked.
"It would take years to walk from one end to the other," Josephine explained.
"Jesus, that makes it bigger than Asia," Wayne muttered, "No way this is just a place no one discovered yet, so where the hell am I?"
"Nothing looks familiar to you?" Cassandra asked, curious.
"No, Xena, nothing. We've circumnavigated the globe on numerous occasions, so there's no way we'd have missed a continent this massive," Wayne said.
"Xena?" Josephine asked, curious.
"Yeah, I give people nicknames, but I've gotta know where the hell I am," Wayne said before the door opened again.
"I believe I might have a theory about that," Solas said as he walked in.
"What do you know, Elrond?" Wayne asked.
"Solas is more familiar with the Fade than anyone that has joined us," Cassandra said, "If anyone can guess how you got here, it is him."
"The Fade? What's that?" Wayne asked.
"It is the place that the rifts and the Breach connect to. The world of Spirits," Solas said.
"And demons," Cassandra interrupted.
"Of course," Solas agreed, gliding over the interruption, "Granted, it is more complicated than that, but we will get into that later. It's common knowledge that the Fade is quite literally infinite in terms of space, so my theory is that the Fade actually connects to other worlds."
"Other worlds?" Josephine asked.
"Yes, we know there is this world and the world of the Fade, so it would not be a great leap to think that there are others," Solas said.
"That's the best explanation I've heard so far," Wayne said, shrugging, "When this is over, do you think you can find a way through the Fade to guide me home?"
"It would be…quite difficult to do so," Solas said, "The Fade is not like this world, it is affected by the thoughts and feelings of people. It is ever changing and it is likely that the path you took no longer exists."
"Shit," Wayne sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"I will look into it, however, when I have a moment," Solas said, reassuringly.
"Thanks, Elrond," Wayne said, smiling.
Solas nodded and said, "If there's nothing else, I will take my leave."
When Solas left, Wayne turned to the other four members of the group, "So, what's the first step of this Inquisition?"
"We spread word that the Inquisition is reborn and start getting our forces prepared," Cassandra said.
"Alright, what can I do to help with that?" Wayne asked.
"There are some members of our forces that have requested aid, like our quartermaster, the apothecary, and the blacksmith," Josephine said, "If you could help them, it would aid our forces."
Wayne nodded his acceptance of the suggestion and the group headed out to do their differing tasks. Wayne helped the quartermaster find some supplies, the blacksmith gather materials for the troops' weapons, and the apothecary find the notes of his late predecessor. He also spoke to the different people he figured he was going to be dealing with the most, like Cullen, Varric, and the others. Wayne learned that Varric was a renowned author, a member of the merchant's guild, and a spymaster similarly to Leliana, though he admitted that she was much better at it.
Solas taught him about the Fade and his hobby to visit it in his dreams while sleeping in old forts and on battlegrounds. It was after learning about the Fade and its different aspects that Solas asked the question Wayne himself was afraid to ask himself, "You are aware that it's possible that when the Breach is closed, the way to your homeworld will be lost? No more Breach, no more rifts being formed."
Wayne nodded grimly, "Yeah, the thought has occurred to me. I'll…deal with that when it happens. Besides, right now, the rifts are rare in my world, but if I don't close the Breach, my world along with this one could be in trouble."
"Indeed. I will continue to research however I can on the subject, but you may want to be prepared," Solas said sadly.
Wayne nodded, "Thanks, Elrond," he said before he left the elf. He next went to see Josephine in her office in the Chantry, where she was having to deal with some angry noble telling her that the new Inquisition needed to leave Haven, since he owned it and didn't want a 'heretical organization' in the village. Josephine, however, convinced him otherwise by using his own faith against him before the man left.
"That was pretty impressive," Wayne said, "You handled that guy pretty well."
"Thank you. The Marquis is but the first of many that we will have to deal with as we continue our works," Josephine said.
"And I'm sure you'll be able to handle it, Padmé," Wayne said, smiling at her.
"Padmé?" Josephine asked, "I heard that you like to give nicknames not unlike Varric, but I am curious as to why you chose this one for me."
"It's in reference to this one character from a famous story. She was a renowned diplomat and refused to compromise when it came to righting something she knew was wrong. She'd refuse to bend her morals no matter what. You just strike me as that type of person," Wayne said with a smile.
"Oh, I thank you. I am very flattered for the complement," she said, her dark skin becoming darker from the blush.
"I'm glad, so how did you come to join our little Inquisition?" Wayne asked.
"I'm an old…friend of Sister Leliana. She asked me to join while I was working as an ambassador for monarchy in Antiva," she explained
He next found Leliana in a tent outside the chantry, praying of all things, which greatly surprised Wayne.
He couldn't hear most of what she was saying until she seemed to forgo prayer in favor of specifically addressing her 'Maker,' "Is that what you want? Blood? Is that your game?"
"If your Maker's anything like the god most worship back in my world, you'll be waiting a long time for an answer," Wayne said, leaning against the post holding up the tent.
Leliana stood up and turned to him, "You speak for Andraste and the Maker. What is their game?"
"Sorry, Spook, but I only speak for myself. Don't know what your gods are thinking," Wayne said.
"They demand so much from us, but they won't even protect the greatest among us. Surely, this can only be some game of theirs," Leliana said.
"Well, I can't say one way or the other, Spook. Hell, I can't even say if they exist with certainty, but consider this, if the Divine hadn't died and the explosion hadn't happened, then you guys might not have taken interest in me when I was found and I might have died and the Breach wouldn't have been closed," Wayne said.
Leliana stared at him for a second before saying, "I…hadn't thought of that. It is true that the Maker doesn't in an obvious way, but I thought you didn't believe in the Maker? In fact, it doesn't appear that you believe in the god of your world either."
Wayne shrugged, "I'm open to the idea, but I personally prefer to just take care of the problem in front of me rather than wait for a deity to show up and do it for me."
Leliana smiled, "You know, I believe this is the most serious I've seen you, since we've met."
"What can I say? I'm a man of many layers," he said with a smirk.
"So, did you need something?"
"Just wanted to get to know some of the people I'm going to be working with," Wayne said.
"That's understandable. I suppose I tell you of my past," she said before going into how she went from being a bard to a lay sister of the chantry to a companion of the man that would become known as the Hero of Ferelden, who stopped the last Blight, which found out was when an army of creatures called darkspawn invaded the surface, to finally the Left Hand of the Divine.
Detecting the reverence that she seemed to hold for the dead Divine, which seemed to be even more than some seemed to hold for her, Wayne asked, "So was there something more between you and the Divine? More than Left Hand and Divine?"
Leliana's friendly smile faded then, "Typical. I respect and revere her so obviously we were lovers," she said with annoyance.
Wayne was surprised by the venom in her voice, since this time he wasn't trying to annoy her, "Uh, actually, I was thinking she was like your favorite aunt or something."
Leliana's expression turned to one of surprise and remorse, "Oh, I…I apologize, Wayne. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."
"Eh, forget it. You're hardly the first woman to get pissed at me and I guarantee you won't be the last," Wayne said with an honest smile.
Leliana laughed lightly at his words, "I'm sure. What with your constant teasing of Cassandra, I'm surprised she hasn't attempted to hit you yet."
"Oh, I'm sure that's coming," Wayne said, "Well, I'll let you get back to your work."
Leliana nodded and said, "Don't be too long. We've received some information that could be important."
"Okay, I'm heading over to where Cassandra and Cullen are working with the troops. I'll tell them to head to the war room," Wayne said.
"There's no rush. Certain preparations need to be made anyway before we can act on the information," Leliana said.
Wayne nodded and headed out to the field outside Haven where Cullen was running the troops through drills. After learning about Cullen's past as a templar first at the Ferelden Circle and then at the Kirkwall Circle, where Wayne learned the war between Templars and Mages was said to really have begun. After giving Cullen, or Galahad as Wayne called him now, the news about the information that Leliana had, Wayne headed over to Cassandra, who, after some light prodding, gave Wayne some very surprising information.
"Hold on a second. You mean to tell me that not only are you a member of a family of dragon hunters, but also you're a member of the royal family!? And you saved the last Divine from a dragon invasion!?" Wayne asked in surprise.
"Yes, though most of Nevarra can say that they are members of the royal family and I had help with the dragon. I just killed the blood mage controlling it," Cassandra said before Wayne started laughing lightly.
"Man, I really did pick the perfect nickname for you," he said, which earned him a confused look from the Seeker, "Xena's full title is 'Xena: Warrior Princess."
"I'm not a princess. Merely a member of the royal family and not even really that since I became a Seeker," Cassandra sighed.
Wayne just shrugged and said, "Close enough."
Cassandra rolled her eyes, "Was your coming here just to annoy me and pry into my personal life or did you actually have a reason for being here?"
"I can pick only one?" Wayne asked with a teasing smile, making Cassandra groan, "Spook got some information she wants us to hear, so I figured I'd come and bring you to the War room."
Cassandra nodded and said, "Then let us go." The two headed to the chantry together. She noticed him closing and opening his Marked hand. "Does it trouble you?"
"Can't say it is a comfort," he said, "But I'll deal with it. At least it doesn't hurt anymore."
"We take our victories when we can," she said, smiling a little before she became serious again, "What's important is that it's stable as is the Breach. You've given us time, and Solas believes a second attempt might succeed, proviced the Mark has more power."
"How much power, dare I ask?" Wayne asked.
"The same level of power used to open the Breach in the first place. That is not easy to come by," she explained.
"You mean the same amount of power that resulted in a massive explosion?" Wayne questioned.
"Yes, but we believe we will be able to prevent such an outcome. We will be using the power from a number of sources."
"What sources?" he asked.
"We will get into that with the others when we decide what to do next, but now we should see what Leliana has learned," she said, before they went into the war room.
When they entered the room, they found Josephine, Cullen, and Leliana waiting for them.
"So, what's the news, Spook?" Wayne asked the spymaster.
"The Chantry has decided its stance on us and it's not good," she said.
"Shocker," Wayne muttered, "What did they say?"
"The Chantry has denounced the Inquisition and you, specifically," Josephine said.
"Guess they still believe that I blew up your Conclave," Wayne said,
"That is not the full issue any longer," Josephine said, "Some are calling you the 'Herald of Andraste' and that frightens the Chantry. The remaining clerics have declared it blasphemy and we heretics for harboring you."
"Figures," Wayne sighed, "So, what can we do about this?"
"Before we can work on closing the Breach, we need the Chantry on our side," Leliana said.
"It may not be as difficult as that," Josephine said, "We need them to be neutral to us at worst if not our allies."
"And how do we do that?" Wayne asked, "None of them seem likely to talk to us."
"That is the good news that we have," Leliana said, "I've been contacted by Mother Giselle, a revered mother out of Jader. She says that she has information that can help with our problem with the Chantry, but she insists on meeting with you before she gives us the information."
"Could this be a trap?" Wayne asked, "Some way for the Chantry to get us to lower our guard before they attack?"
"With what?" Cullen asked, "They only have words at their disposal with their forces rebelling."
"Alright, where is this Mother Giselle?" Wayne asked.
"Her last known position was here," Leliana said, pointing to a place on the map on the center, "In the middle of the Hinterlands."
"What's the catch?" Wayne sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that straightforward.
"It's right in the middle of the conflict between the mages and templars and it is close to the village of Redcliffe, where the rebel mages have made their home base," the spymaster explained.
"So, she's in the middle of a warzone," Wayne said, "Great."
"I will send my spies to rendezvous with Mother Giselle. They'll be able to slip past the fighting, find her, and protect her," Leliana said.
Wayne nodded, "Do it, Spook. We'll head out to meet her immediately."
A/N: And there's chapter 2! So, I realize it wasn't action-packed, but I needed to introduce Wayne to the different players that he'd be dealing with. Next chapter will have more action, promise. Please, favorite, follow, and/or review!