Chapter Sixty-Five: Law and Order
The next day of the trial was somewhat different to the previous in one particular respect.
The military presence had been increased. Well, in the context of Troy, perhaps that isn't the most helpful description; every citizen of Troy is a soldier. Double the number of guards, and all of them selected for size from the Grenadier and Highlander regiments as well as the Valo-Kas, to be rotated regularly, kept fresh.
No one in the Army High Command wanted repeat of scenes like the crowd moving to attack the strange, unidentified Chantry soldiers. Made us all look bad, but particularly the Army. The legitimacy of the public anger aside, of course.
The courtroom had all the finery as before, tricolours and blazing braziers to light up the inside, but a more subdued atmosphere. The audience was the same mix of members of the public, and our own leadership of all stripes. Again, the High Chancellor, Julie, Tam, and the other political chefs were there to see us. There was no chatter this time. Everyone was eager to hear every word the defence said.
Armen amused himself by leaving a dramatic pause after he stood up to call the first witness, sweeping his laughing eyes over the crowd before he finally opened his mouth.
"We call Warden-Constable Bethany Hawke to speak," he said, slowly and clearly.
The large doors to the outside opened, revealing eye-splitting sunshine for a moment, before we all adjusted. Hawke was escorted in by two of the Chantry soldiers and four Grey Wardens, wearing her Grey Warden uniform and armour. She and the other Wardens stopped short of the court area itself, turning to Tam. They saluted their Warden-Commander, receiving a salute in return, before they broke off again.
Makes me wonder even today if Tam had ordered the Warden-Constable to comply.
Bethany Hawke strode up to the witness stand, and took her oath to remain truthful, her face without emotion by design.
Aurelia was the one to approach her, to begin the questioning, tapping her naginata on the floor as she walked in the way she does, it being quiet enough in the room to hear it despite the hundreds of people.
"Warden-Constable, could you tell us who you are?" Aurelia said, "Who your sister is?"
"I am the daughter of Leandra Amell and Malcolm Hawke," Bethany replied, "And my sister is Marian Hawke."
Armen handed Aurelia a document, who quickly looked over it, reading aloud.
"Leandra Amell, of House Amell, highborn of Kirkwall. Malcolm Hawke, a powerful mage and ally of the Grey Wardens. And of course, Marian Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall... Correct?"
"That's right," came the reply.
Aurelia nodded, looking the witness over with a warm smile.
"You yourself are a powerful mage, I hear," she said, "You arrived in Kirkwall from Ferelden as a refugee fleeing the Fifth Blight?"
"Right again."
Armen handed over another document.
"Your joining of the Grey Wardens a little more than a year after your arrival is a matter of public record," Aurelia said, holding the piece of paper up, "But presumably, you lived in Kirkwall for some time without the protection that the Order provides its mages. Could you describe the conditions under which you lived?"
"Bad," Bethany said simply, before elaborating after a moment's pause, "Templars were free to roam through most the city to search for mages. Hightown was safe, but we couldn't afford to live there."
There was a pause. Bad memories, the cause. Perhaps.
"My sister and mother did their best to keep me out of their hands. It wasn't easy. We had to work to survive, as the Amell fortune had been squandered by my uncle Gamlen. I became a Grey Warden was because our only escape was to take part in an expedition to the Deep Roads. I was exposed to the Blight. The only cure for being Blighted is to take the Warden Joining."
Aurelia pounced.
"So, even before the Qunari attacked the city, before nobles fled, before law and order broke down," she said, "There was nowhere safe for mages who weren't wealthy?"
Or had wealthy backers. The memory of Lienne de Montsimmard came to me. It seems every Orlesian noble with a rank north of baron had at least one mage in their employ, though Lienne herself was noble-born.
"Actually, Lowtown was pretty safe back then," Hawke replied with a shrug, "It was practically a maze, lots of alleys to duck through, and people weren't too friendly with the Templars. Didn't like their homes or businesses being searched at the drop of a hat. Once you learned who the Chantry fanatics were, it wasn't too hard to live."
"Yet Lowtown is, or was, one of the most dangerous slums on the continent, is it not?" Aurelia smirked, "Rife with crime and disease, or so its reputation would suggest."
"It wasn't pretty," Hawke admitted, "My sister helped clean it up a bit."
"But not enough for civil authority to fully reassert itself," Aurelia said, "Someone like Anders became invaluable to the people there, given the injuries and illnesses that cropped up in such places."
"He did have a clinic, but you've already talked about that."
"Let's move forward to the incident," Aurelia continued, "You were present, correct?"
"I came back to Kirkwall just in time to see Meredith's madness, yes," Hawke replied, "That … bitch is the one who really started the war."
Cue the gasps of surprise. Another damned twist.
"Please describe the events as you saw them," Aurelia asked, "Tell us how Meredith is actually responsible for the war."
"I met up with Marian as her company were on the way to the Gallows," Hawke said, "We actually ended up in Lowtown, because that's where Meredith and First Enchanter Orsino were. There was talk of blood mages and how the First Enchanter was hiding them. Orsino threatened to take the whole matter to the Grand Cleric for a final decision."
"Which again supports the notion Meredith and Orsino both regarded her as the highest authority," Aurelia said, somewhat imperiously, "Or else it would not have been much of a counter threat to the Knight-Commander."
"That's the impression I got," Hawke agreed, "Meredith was not pleased to hear it. Anders appeared just as this was happening, and told them both that bringing it to the Grand-Cleric was no longer an option. That's when the Chantry exploded."
"What was Meredith's first reaction to the attack?" Aurelia asked.
"She invoked the Right of Annulment right then and there," Hawke replied, "Sentencing every mage in Kirkwall to death for the actions of Anders alone."
Meredith guaranteed that a wider conflict would break out by placing the burden of guilt on every mage. Of course, it also meant something else.
"In other words, the Knight-Commander accepted that Anders did have the authority to act on behalf of all mages in Kirkwall," Aurelia stated loudly, "The Chantry and the Templars have assumed so from the beginning. They've acted accordingly at every moment since. Otherwise, only Anders would have been punished. The South today would not be a battlefield for mage and templar. Warden-Constable, what happened after Meredith invoked the Annulment?"
"She went to coordinate it, and left Anders to Marian and Isabela..." Hawke said, "My sister let Anders live. She had seen how mages were treated for years, and with the Annulment going on, knew that mages would need a Champion of their own. This is why Sebastian left Kirkwall and has never spoken to my sister since."
"Sebastian, Prince of Starkhaven?" Armen asked from the defence table, "The same man who has invaded and occupied Kirkwall?"
"He didn't like Marian letting Anders go one bit," the Warden-Constable shrugged, "He was always too pious for his own good. To the point of not seeing us as human. Mages, I mean."
"Thank you," Aurelia said, turning to the Seeker, "Your witness."
It was Grand-Cleric Brandon who stood up however, slowly so as not to knock the high hat off her head, the only thing that gave her any significant height at all. It also covered the rather unflattering USMC haircut she was sporting underneath, but maybe it just gets hot under the brim for the poor clerics. We were closer to the equator now, after all, and the summer heat was creeping in.
"Warden-Constable, you are aware of the law outside of Troy, correct?" Brandon said politely, her heavy Orlesian accent not corrupting her command of the Common tongue, "What the law says about mages, however unjust it might be."
"I am," Hawke replied.
"Mages must remain under Templar supervision in a Circle," Brandon stated, as kindly as she could, "That was how it was. Not only for the protection of everyone else, but their own protection. It is only the revelation of the Marquis' existence, proof against all magic, that changes this."
As I was the one who could walk through magefire and demons alike to stop whatever apostate decided to try anything. Needless to say, the Grand-Cleric's theological standpoint was not shared by the Seeker. If Pentaghast's eyes narrowed any further at her co-counsel's remark, the heat of her objection obvious, they would have welded shut.
"Anders acted without regard for that law," Brandon continued, "Nor with any regard for the peaceful reform movement that existed in the Circles. But his disrespect was not uncommon among mages. There were Libertarians willing to act, as the traitor Thrask's conspiracy proved. In your time in Kirkwall, did you ever meet other mages that openly defied the law?"
Hawke's eyes darted, outside of her control, to a part of the crowd. To the chirpy Dalish girl named Merrill.
"I did," she said, "Though if you expect me to name them, you'll be waiting 'til the flames swallow you."
Brandon held up her hands. "My purpose is not to put you on trial, child," she said, "I am establishing the fact that there were other mages that defied the law. I can only imagine that they remained free due to cooperation, and that this was known to the Templars. To Knight-Commander Meredith, to be precise. Would you say that is an accurate deduction, given that you once were one of those mages?"
"I guess," Hawke ventured, not sure where the testimony was going.
"In other words, Meredith had cause to believe Anders was not acting alone," Brandon said, "Her condemnation of the mages of Kirkwall, no matter what you might think of it, was not acknowledging that he had a right to act for them, but rather that he was part of a wider apostate conspiracy."
"Except she didn't seek out that conspiracy," Hawke snapped back, "She just decided to murder everyone, the innocent and the guilty together!"
"Or she decided to pre-empt an uprising timed to start with the attack," Brandon said, "The defence counsellors have made mention that even the suspected supporters of the mages were robbed, raped and murdered. The Seeker and I are not here to deny that conditions in Kirkwall's Circle were appalling, quite the contrary. We only deny that mass murder was an appropriate and legal solution."
"I suppose you would suggest quiet prayer and contemplation instead," Hawke quipped back.
"Dignified protest and refusal to cooperate first," Brandon said, calm as a pool of water, "But we are getting off topic."
"Yes, we are," said Clermont, "Both counsel and the witness will keep their exchange firmly on the case at hand. That is not a request."
Brandon inclined her head to the man. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought it was a little mockery on her part, but she was a serious woman. Too serious for that.
"Warden-Constable, the Knight-Commander attempted to order the execution the Champion," she continued, "Isn't that right?"
"Yes. She had gone completely mad by that point," Hawke replied, "She had been corrupted by red lyrium. The Acting Viscount already explained about what the stuff does. Meredith somehow had a sword made of it. Though I don't know why you are asking me this. Varric was there too."
"Did the Templars follow their Knight-Commander?" Brandon asked, "Did they follow her in her madness?"
"No, they didn't," Hawke replied, "Knight-Captain Rutherford ordered them to step aside, and when she began to make statues come to life to kill my sister and her companions, he ordered them to help us."
"And this was the end of a long period of paranoia on the part of the Knight-Commander?" Brandon said, "Was it obvious to all that something was greatly wrong?"
"It was the reason I returned to Kirkwall," Hawke said, "What was going on... it was all Meredith's orders. She tied the noose around the city's neck and ordered her Templars to pull it tighter and tighter. I came back to see what my sister was doing about it, if she wanted to flee?"
"Then I have only one more question..." Brandon said, "But I must beg the court's leave, I will ask the witness to speculate."
The Grand-Cleric of Troy's eyes swept up to me, expectantly. I grit my teeth, suppressing a growl of annoyance moving up my throat. Asking permission to break the rules, going back on what had been agreed before, the prosecution had complained about that very same thing when Armen had asked for more time for the trail. For a fair trial, in effect.
"Ask the question and I'll stop the witness from answering if I don't like it," I said back, flatly, "Maybe I'll forgive you. If the Maker wills."
Brandon inclined her head again, a deep nod, acknowledging my authority. Guess I played the Chosen One card well. She turned to Bethany Hawke once more.
"Warden-Constable, if Meredith had been removed," Brandon said, "Do you believe there could have been peace in Kirkwall?"
I leaned forward onto the desk. I saw at once where Brandon was going with that question. And the defence might be in trouble. It was a good question, although it was pushing it in terms of the rules. I decided I'd allow it.
"I don't know," Hawke replied, not seeing what I had.
"Lying to the court is a crime, Warden-Constable," Brandon warned, her voice returning to the more familiar fire and brimstone we were all used to from her, "You have openly accused a Knight-Commander of the Templar Order of abandoning her duty to keep the peace, of the most vile corruption, and what's worse, your accusations are well founded."
"My own investigations found Meredith Stannard to be at great fault," the Seeker provided from her seat, "We accept and concede this fact."
"So, when you say you don't know, we cannot believe you," Brandon said, "I'll make it easier for you. Would there have been a greater chance for peace if Meredith had been removed from the situation?"
Hawke frowned. The woman wasn't stupid, she was just honest. She didn't want to give the prosecution ammunition, but she didn't want to lie either.
"Meredith was paranoid, her second was not," Hawke said, "There might have been peace if she had gone. For a time. Kirkwall is not the only place mages were abused. There would have been a greater chance for peace without Meredith, yes, but with Grand-Clerics like Elthina sitting around doing nothing about abuse, it was always going to be temporary."
"Mages want to be free, to live outside prison walls, to have lovers and spouses and families, and there can be no peace until that is allowed."
Hawke snapped her mouth shut, not trusting herself to continue and remain civil. But her point was well made. Unfortunately, so was Brandon's.
"Temporary peace is still peace, my child," Brandon said, "Time without death and killing, time that could be used for talking and thinking. Without Meredith, there was a greater chance for life over death, peace over war. Yet Anders decided to attack an old woman who wanted peace instead. Decided to throw peace to the wind and murder thousands."
"The prosecution has finished with this witness, my lord."
The next defence witness was Merrill of the Sabrae, after another short recess. The guard had been changed over, the qunari mercenaries of the Valo-Kas predominating while the Grenadiers went off-shift. The crowds were more cooperative, but watching them was still a task. After all, a large proportion of spectators had been serving soldiers themselves, and the rest were enlisted conscripts.
Julie and Tam had left, to get some rest I thought. Which was fine by me.
Merrill kneaded her hands a little as she approached the stand, leaving behind her staff with another elf of the Kirkwall delegation. She was dressed in robes with the emblems of that city adorning her, her loyalty on full display.
Viscount Bran had been discussing something with her for some time, and I almost wanted to interrupt the conversation from the bench to tell him to stop coaching the witness. But when it came down to it, Bran looked as nervous as Merrill did when the time came.
The political stakes for Kirkwall couldn't be higher, after all. A lot rested on a conviction. The liberation of their city. And of course, Velarana had made sure they knew it.
Merrill took her oath to the old elvhen pantheon, to the annoyance of the prosecution, cheering up a bit as Armen turned on the charm, winking at her and complimenting her on her courage on agreeing to speak. Merrill was instantly charmed, being good-natured, though she saw through Armen to boot, chirping that 'it was very nice of him to say so' after the compliment, all the while eyeing Ciara.
I wasn't the only one in a famous relationship.
"Merrill of the Sabrae," Armen began, moving to a more formal tone of speech.
"Just Merrill is fine," the witness cut in with a smile, "I'm not really with my clan any more any way."
"Merrill," Armen corrected himself, "You have lived in Kirkwall since the Blight, arriving about the same time as the Hawke family, is that right?"
"Oh yes, we crossed the sea on the Pride of Amaranthine almost ten years ago now," Merrill replied, "I got sea sick. It was horrible! But I was doing it wrong, or so Isabela told me. Like how sex done badly can make you sick too. That's another thing Isabela said."
There was a peel of laughter. Many were aware of 'Admiral' Isabela and her ways by then, not least the numerous Jaderites in the audience. Armen smiled widely.
"Kirkwall," he said, "A nice place to live?"
"Oh yes!" Merrill said, "The people there are lovely. Well, the ones that don't try to rob you anyway, but they go away with some flames. And the Templars. But you can't flame those sometimes..."
"...The weather is great too, except when there is a storm..."
"...Of course, you can't go some places there at the moment. Red lyrium. Makes you hear voices. But it's still a lovely place. You can be who you want to be, most of the time."
I have to admit, I drifted in and out of her explanation, as it drifted far and wide. She had repeated to some degree everything that other witnesses had recounted, albeit with a sort of dry humour that I had to believe was being put on. Either that, or she was just plain adorable.
At the very least, it verified the defence's arguments about the state of Kirkwall to the satisfaction of all.
"The Templars; how did you deal with them?" Armen asked, "They were a huge threat, as the Warden-Constable established. Did you not join the mage underground?"
"Oh no, that was much more Anders' thing," Merrill said, "I'm Dalish, we're used to avoiding the Templars. There's a sort of deal with your Chantry, so they ignore us. I guess I never thought it wouldn't apply to me too, even though the Templars did try and catch me a few times. It isn't easy to catch anyone in the Alienage though."
Confirming that Anders was indeed the last of the mage underground, but leaving the door open for the Seeker to ask if Merrill believed that Anders represented her. The answer to which was almost certainly no.
"And you have lived in the Alienage the entire time you've been in Kirkwall?"
"Yes," Merrill said, "I've made lots of friends. They're family now, my new clan. The mages and Templars have occasionally fought in the city, and I've kept them as safe as I can. To pay them back for taking me in. I owe them all so much. Hawke too."
"Did you ever actually meet Grand-Cleric Elthina?" Armen continued, "Or any Chantry official?"
Merrill frowned. "Only with Hawke, does that count?" she said, "Does Sebastian? Prince Sebastian now, I guess. Not that I want him to count. His soldiers aren't nice."
The poorly veiled reference to the occupation of her adopted city notwithstanding, it was easy to see that the defence were ramming home the point of Chantry neglect.
"Did the Grand-Cleric ever try to help as far as you know?" Armen said, "Call off the Templars?"
"The Templars were never called off," Merrill replied, "Hawke bribed them a lot. Marian, not Bethany. Although Bethany too sometimes."
"Are you aware of any of that money making its way to the Chantry itself?" Armen asked, "To Grand-Cleric Elthina?"
The chair under Seeker Pentaghast scraped loudly off the bare rock as she rose sharply to her feet in protest.
"I object!" she stated firmly, at a volume the entire Assembly hall could hear with ease, "The witness wasn't summoned to repeat rumour."
"We don't have elvhen servants from Kirkwall on hand to call to the stand," Armen countered, "Nor would they speak if called. Merrill is a long-established resident of the Alienage. Exactly where many servants live, including servants of the Chantry. If anyone willing to speak is going to know if the Chantry was receiving bribe money from corrupt Templars, it is this witness."
"The witness can't repeat what other people said they saw," the Seeker pressed, "This is a trial, not an interrogation. We are not looking for a lead, we are coming to a conclusion."
We had agreed on the rule before, but Armen was betting that Merrill's credibility could let him step over the line, based on her evident honesty and position in the elvhen community of Kirkwall. He bet poorly on this.
"I agree with the objection," I said, "You can't repeat rumour. Though I wouldn't be surprised if it was true."
"Then I again ask for more time," Armen replied at once, "Let us call people from the Alienage to testify."
"Corruption in the Chantry ranks isn't strictly relevant anyway," Clermont jumped in, "The charges are terrorism, murder and illegal use of magic. Corruption does not excuse any of those charges. Only tyranny is a legitimate defence against a terrorism charge at any rate."
"Corruption and tyranny go hand in hand," Armen replied smoothly, eyeing Clermont with a smirk, "After all this time with us, I would've thought you had learned that by now."
"Don't badger the judges," I replied, "Ask something else."
Armen bowed theatrically to me, his usual sarcastic acquiescence in such scenarios, hand extended. I gave him a quick 'get on with it' gesture with my hands. He had just been complaining about not having enough time. Now he was throwing it away.
Or maybe he wasn't.
A slight smell in the air wafted towards me from... I couldn't figure out where from. Everywhere, it seemed like. A sickly, sweet scent, like rotten apple. Something clicked in the back of my head; this was a familiar thing I was experiencing. All the alarm bells for 'chemical warfare' went off in my head. I ordered my body to move, my mouth to speak, to command or run or cover my face.
To no avail.
My body refused to budge, slowly slumping over the table in front of me. My mouth couldn't do much more than slur my words. My mind rushed, trying to figure out what was wrong, if this was my final few seconds, but not for long. The darkness overtook me. I felt fatigue in my very bones drag me down into the depths.
My last sight before going complete was Lavellan falling from her chair, just barely stopping from cracking her skull open, the last of her strength put into her arms to cushion the fall.
When I awoke, I was still exactly where I had laid down; slumped over the table.
There was no sound, like someone had just pressed a mute button... or put up a magical barrier. Take whatever world's comparison you suits best, it was as quiet as a tomb. One without spirits.
Still groggy, I lifted my head, not my body, and looked around.
The entire Assembly was on the floor or collapsed over the backs of their chairs unconscious. The audience, the guards, the prosecution and defence, the VIPs and my fellow judges. The lights were still as bright as they had been, and there weren't guards from the outside frantically seeing why everything was so quiet, so it couldn't have been more than a few minutes since we had taken our nap.
I needed to get up and see what was happening. My strength returning to me in pieces, I levered myself up onto my palms and rose to my feet, the chair behind making the first real noise I could hear as it was pushed away. Others began to stir, Clermont letting out a muffled curse, my movement disturbing his involuntary slumber.
Something was missing. But I couldn't put my finger on it.
My eyes went to Aurelia, laying across both chairs behind the prosecution desk. Fear shot through me like a lance. Unknown chemicals and pregnancies don't mix. My strength returned as one, though my coordination didn't. I cleared the table, knocking my knee painfully off the leading edge, stumbling down both it and the podium, across the small open space past Armen and to her.
I gently pulled Aurelia onto lap, nudging her to wake. She was still breathing. I kept nudging her, until her eyelids cracked open ever so slightly.
"Wha..." she half-whispered, eyes shifting from side to side. They met mine and widened immediately. No doubt I looked stupidly worried, which gave her a hint as to how dangerous a situation it was.
She pushed me away, which I resisted for a second as I had no idea what she was doing, but her persistence in trying convinced me to do it. I stood and took two steps back before falling straight on my ass, the effects of whatever the hell I had breathed in being too potent to shake off so quickly.
Unless you were Aurelia.
She sat up, crossed her legs under her somewhat awkwardly given her condition, and closed her eyes. Spreading outwards from her chest, every blood vessel in her body began to glow a bright red under her skin; a spell I remembered at once, the same one that Tiberius Senior had used to purify Julie's blood when she had been hit by an infected projectile from a Templar bow at L'Ambassade.
Thirty seconds later, and Aurelia was back to full capacity, getting to her feet and coming over to me. "You came straight to me," she smiled down, touching my cheek with her hand, "I won't forget that."
"I hope not," I said, feeling like I had to chew through the air to get the words out, "What happened? You're not in danger are you? The baby?"
"Sleeping gas of some kind," Aurelia said, "Might have been a problem for anyone else, but my family has ways. We'll have to purify the blood of anyone with child though, for safety."
"Why?" I asked.
"You haven't noticed?" she said, "That gas must be pretty powerful."
Aurelia took a few more steps, past Armen and Merrill's sleeping forms, to something on the floor at the very centre. She nudged it with her boot, and it clanged. A side swipe, a rattle.
Chains. Specifically the ones that had been securing the accused.
Anders was gone. Nowhere to be seen.
"Fuck," I said, as I understood exactly what had happened, "He escaped."
My Tevinter spouse agreed with a nod.
"He must have had help from some of ours," Aurelia mused, "Considering how tight we have made the security around the settlement, trying to stop Crows and the House of Repose from gaining entry..."
I nodded. The number of people who could have pulled this off without tripping any of our security measures at all could be counted on one hand, and two of them were Aurelia and I.
"Sound the alarm."
Anders was nowhere to be found.
As soon as the order had gone out, the entire city had been sealed. The Hospitallers saw to the drugged audience, while the Guard and Lancers patrolled continuously on the perimeter. The shore batteries and our ships-of-the-line threatened anyone attempting to leave by sea with destruction. The rest of the Peacekeepers detained and questioned everyone Anders had arrived with.
Quite literally everyone. Not a single one of the mage's followers had escaped with him, indicating that they didn't know he was about to escape, or that they were playing the long game. The latter seemed unlikely, all those questioned seemed genuinely distraught to be told that they had been left behind.
We eliminated the Chantry people as suspects too. Grand-Cleric Brandon would never have participated in such a plot; her entire position relied on adherence to our laws. Cassandra Pentaghast likely wouldn't have been above such a plot, but she was not Lady Nightingale. I doubted she could have gotten sleeping gas or powder past our searches.
As the day drifted away with no results, our options for finding Anders began to narrow. The Assembly is in the very centre of the settlement. He wouldn't have been able to move about unseen, not by conventional means. This meant he was either hiding in someone's house, or he had gotten away by some magical means before we could close off the perimeter defences.
I called a meeting of the High Command at headquarters to decide on the possible next step; searching every single house, door to door. A big step, a possibly illegal one too given our laws, so the politicians caught wind of it quickly. Naturally.
The one who could order me to stand down being the most important.
We were all standing around the central HQ table, a slightly outdated map of the city rolled out on it with little blocks representing battalions on top of it, to help explain my plan.
I was just beginning to do just that, our officers and the heads of most of the fraternities watching with interest, when the High Chancellor herself waltzed in, her Marine bodyguards in tow.
"You can't search every house," Velarana declared as she entered.
"Yes, I can," I said, mistaking what she was saying, "If we keep a close perimeter, go block-by..."
"Allow me to rephrase," she interrupted, "I forbid you from doing so."
"But Anders is sure to escape if we don't check..." I tried.
"He has already escaped," the Chancellor snapped, "We already look like fools. Incompetents."
"This is not the first time he has escaped," Mariette weighed in, "In fact, he escaped the Circle, the Grey Wardens, and evaded the Chantry for a decade."
"Irrelevant," Velarana snapped, "We do not have the goodwill with the other realms those organisations had or have. We screwed up. Or rather, you did, Marquis. I hold you personally responsible for this failure."
A ripple of resentment went over the Peacekeeper officers faces, narrowed eyes directing themselves to Velarana. This reinforced my initial thought: It wasn't my damned fault. But only just. Anders was an escape artist. Perhaps I had taken every precaution, but perhaps I should've just tried him at a military tribunal and shot him the same day. My mouth stretched to grimace, but I brutally put that expression down before it could manifest further.
"Yes, Madame Chancellor," I said, straightening up, "I accept full responsibility. I underestimated the ability of our troops to hold such a dangerous person."
The Chancellor eyed me coolly, before letting out a breath of exasperation and leaning across the table at me. I wanted to flinch. She hadn't believed the sincerity of my response.
"You can remedy this by recalling the court and declaring your verdict," Velarana stated, each word delivered very deliberately, "Do you understand my meaning by that, Marquis, or do I have to spell it out?"
Namely, that Anders was guilty under the laws of the Trojan Republic.
"No, ma'am," I replied, "I understand your intention completely."
"Good," she replied, "As for the rest of you, there are only so many routes one can use to leave Val Halla. No ships have left or are due to leave, and the Navy is already searching every one. The Peacekeepers are to fan out along the known land routes. Ostwick, Hercinia and the mountain road to Markham are to be combed from both sides. I expect to see deployments through the eluvians to Ticonderoga, Carillon and Gibraltar."
The names of the three main forts we established, connected to Troy by eluvian. Ticonderoga was in the shadow of Last Mount, on the border with Ostwick. Carillon was in the hills to the north, not far from the Grey Warden outpost. Gibraltar was atop a rock on the south bank of the Alba, just opposite Hercinia itself.
"As you command, ma'am," I replied, "Generals, muster the brigades. Soprano, get to Gibraltar. McNulty, you take Ticonderoga. Marcus, take my brigade up to Carillon. Go organise it. Now."
Salutes were snapped off. The doors were opened. The officers left. All with indecent haste. Not hard to tell why. Most wanted to avoid the Chancellor. McNulty and Soprano on the other hand, from the thunder hiding just behind their faces, simply didn't trust themselves to remain civil if they stayed in Velarana's presence.
It was quiet when they had all gone, for more than a little while. Considering that Julie, Tam, Aurelia and Leha were all present, that was some feat.
"Anything else?" I asked the Chancellor.
"There will be an investigation into how Anders was able to escape," she said, "You and I both know that one of ours had to be involved." I stared back at her, unable to deny it.
Julie cleared her throat to get our attention.
"Not necessarily," she said, matter-of-factly, "After all, the trial was being guarded by the Valos-Kas. They're mercenaries. Perhaps they were paid to get Anders out." She finished the statement with a wince... the baby was kicking.
That was a plausible theory... yet it was very bad news. Not because the mercs had taken a contract *against* our interests, but because it had been Julie to bring up the possibility. There weren't many people who had the cash to throw around like that. Julie happened to be one of them.
The High Chancellor walked around the table, and stood inches away from Julie, easily within arms' reach.
"You will find yourself in front of a trial yourself, a treason trial," Velarana said, all menace, "If I discover any evidence that you were involved."
"You won't," Julie chirped back happily, the biggest 'fuck you' of a grin imaginable on her face.
The Chancellor's anger expressed itself only with a brief flaring of the nostrils, before she turned around and left, her bodyguards in her orbit. All heads turned to Julie.
"Clear the room!" I commanded at the top of my voice, sending the Army administrators fleeing to other parts of the building or outside of it entirely.
"What was that?" Aurelia demanded in Common, as soon as she was sure unnecessary witnesses were gone. Her Orlesian was improving, I thought, since she followed the previous exchange.
"I simply informed the Chancellor of where she should look," Julie said, "It isn't my fault that she did not like the information."
"And how exactly did you have the information?" Aurelia said, in a tone that made me glad that she didn't have her naginata to hand, "It was you, wasn't it? You freed Anders."
I half expected Julie to explode with protest, but she did no such thing.
"I did not organise or pay for the escape of Anders," Julie said, cool and collected, "You will find no evidence that I made arrangements, no matter how many people you talk to, torture or mind-control with blood magic."
She might as well have just said 'You're a Tevinter, so you can't talk to me like I'm the criminal'.
"Ladies..." I began, "Let's all take a deep breath." I looked to Tam for help, but she shook her head. She must have seen this clash coming, somehow. It was the personalities, I can say now with certainty.
"Maybe I won't find evidence that you did it," Aurelia said, ignoring me, "But you're involved. You knew who to talk to and told someone. Or promised repayment of gold when all of this has blown over."
"Prove it," Julie shrugged.
"Do you have any idea what you have done?" Aurelia growled, upwards at Julie, as she had closed the distance, "We would have won that trial. Anders would have been acquitted. Now that won't happen. There will be no fair hearing, and the Southern Chantry's version of events will stand."
"The Chantry's version of events was always going to stand," Julie replied, heat finally coming to her tone, "You and Sam have been busy lately, so you haven't read the intelligence reports. The Marcher cities are on the verge of civil war. Starkhaven is already purging its Libertarian elements. Wycome's humans and elves are ready to kill each other at the slightest provocation. Markham City is about to be a battleground between the university and the townspeople."
"So what, we don't have time to embarrass those who would put mages in chains?" Aurelia asked.
"The time for arguing is done," Julie replied, "If we don't start the war soon, all of our potential allies will be dead before we can act. Anders needed to escape to make that happen..."
"Because the Chancellor would demand that I find him guilty in his absence," I concluded, "Clever. Though that implies you did have something to do with it. What happened to 'we can't compromise the trial?'"
"Like I said," Julie replied, "Matters have gotten ahead of us. You will find no evidence that I paid for or organised anything. The Kirkwall expedition can go ahead, and unlike Velarana, I'm confident that Starkhaven at the very least will be unable to stomach our intervention..."
"But you did whisper in someone's ear," Aurelia said, stalking away, "I knew all along that you were a manipulative trollop, for all your talents. We know exactly what you did to secure your political ascension, in the early days. You really are Orlesian, and I do not mean that in a good way."
"You have no idea why I do anything," Julie replied, venomously, "How could you, living in that golden tower with your slaves?"
"I have fought in the jungles of Seheron," Aurelia laughed, "Golden towers, servants and feather beds are not in great abundance there. Ask your wife."
"Have you ever gone hungry?" Julie asked, "Been chased around by men of base morals because you're unmarried? No, you haven't. You're too rich to have ever been deployed where hunger might be a problem, and if someone chased you, you'd burn them to ashes with a click of your fingers."
Aurelia finally gave up, and went to leave. "I do not wish to insult you further," she said as she stopped at the exit, "Our children are family, we must not cross lines too often. But understand this: I will not tolerate you betraying the state, betraying the family, again. You might be immune to my magic, but I can cut you in half without it."
The doors flew open magically, slamming against the wall, allowing her passage before slamming shut again with the same magical force.
I felt like I could breath again. As the argument had went on, a terrible thought had began to eat at me. That this argument was the source of the future conflicts that would divide my descendants and force them towards war. And having seen war a-plenty, I wanted to avoid that outcome even more, if such a small thing could have caused it. If you're going to war, at least make it for a reason that's worth killing thousands for.
"What a bitch," Leha said, "Anders escaped. Big whoop. I was talking to the Seeker's pet Merchants' Guild member a little while back, apparently the man has escaped from the Chantry more times than you can count on fingers and toes. From the Circle at least seven times. "
"Armen might be pissed," I countered, "He probably wanted the chance for an acquital too. Maybe more so than Aurelia."
"Armen is a good soldier," Julie replied, "He'll fall into line, once he sees that the situation has moved beyond trials. The war is already breaking out across the Marches."
Which is probably why the Telmessos didn't stick around to see the trial, if the part about Markham was correct. The city, not the man.
Tam shifted on her feet, the movement drawing my attention. Her mouth was tight, as her brain ticked over something. Nervousness? It was hard to tell. I nudged her, gently, to get her to speak.
"What did the Tevinter mean?" she asked at once, "She said 'we know what you did to secure your political ascension'. What did you do?"
Tam and I knew at once it was bad, because she immediately took off as fast as her legs could take her, an 'Oh Shit' in the look she gave Julie as she passed.
Julie simply hung her head for a minute, before meeting our eyes with a strange determination.
"Come with me," she said, making her way to the corridor connecting the HQ to our private quarters.
We followed, through the corridor, through our living space, into our bedroom. This whole part of the building was dark, all the candles out and the shutters to the outside closed and locked, but we knew it well.
"Get comfortable," Julie said, making her way to the main brazier to light it with a flint.
Tam and I did just that. I stripped down to my shirt and pants, Tam stripped entirely and got into bed, under the thin summer blanket. It was a strange mimicry of our usual evening routine; we did everything as usual, except we were transfixed on Julie.
I remained standing, until Julie finished her lighting of the fire. On finding me still on my feet, she pointed to the bed. I sat down, my obedience born of a desire to hear what she had to say.
Julie herself stripped down entirely, slipping the Libertarian mage robes down over her shoulders and baby-bump, and stood silent for a moment. She was unable to look at us out of guilt. That sent a twist through me. I didn't want her to feel that way. I also wanted to know why she would feel that way, and what wrong she had done to create such a feeling.
Tam gestured for her to join us on the bed, which she did, slowly. But she still wouldn't look at us. So I very delicately put my hand under her chin and pushed it up. She wasn't crying, she was calm, on the outside.
"I slept with Pierre," she said abruptly, "The Baron."
The admission just hung around for a minute. Not because it was some great revelation, but because it was not. Tam and I exchanged looks of confusion, daring each other to point out the obvious. Tam urged me to do it with a rise of her brow, leaving me with nothing else to do but clear my throat and respond.
"We know," I said, "Not only did you tell us, but that was obvious."
Julie apparently had seen that reply coming.
"I meant after we returned to Hearth from Halamshiral," she said, "After I had met you. Just once."
Which was somewhat more of a revelation. I had suspected this was the case at some points, but Julie had never shown any sort of clue except disappearing for hours on end. I would imagine that wasn't simply to go to Pierre des Arbes, the months before the outbreak of war in Orlais were just as busy as they ever had been.
Julie wasn't done.
"I can't help it, I just... gather people that I feel can protect me," she continued, "Before Pierre it was the captain of the guard at the south gate."
"And after Pierre, it was me," I concluded, "And then Tam."
I recalled the moment from our prison escape that Tam sliced open Baldy the Prison Marshal from balls to neck, and the sort of awe that Julie had in her eyes on seeing it. The very moment when she calculated, consciously or otherwise, that Tam was useful for her survival. Which then led to a reflection on my own first moments with Julie, and at what point did she decide I was someone to trade with; love for protection, or sex for survival.
Julie gave a single nod. "I didn't like the captain," she said, "I liked Pierre. I never expected to fall for you and Tam. I just did. It never felt like a transaction with you. And here we are."
I sighed loudly, trying to breath out the sense of betrayal I had over it. From one perspective, it was incredibly manipulative of Julie to have done this. Considering her ability to sway others, not entirely unexpected. There was another perspective, though.
Tam stood up from the bed, a hand over her face. "It bothers me," she said quickly, not looking at us, "I don't know why. It should not. The Qun taught me that sexual pleasure is a separate matter. But..."
"But you can't shake off the pain in your chest that tells you otherwise," I agreed, sitting up as Julie knelt on the bed beside me, "I don't think she did it to deliberately hurt us... right?"
"Not at all," Julie explained, gathering the blanket around her front, "Before all this, I was a just a blacksmith. A girl blacksmith. It might be okay for noblewomen to play the man's role, but not commoners. We don't get the protection of blood and rank. People thought I was a whore, even before I had slept with anyone. Why do you think I knew Lydia? At one point, she approached me about protection, having heard that I was selling myself from some person I had rejected."
Lydia meaning Soprano.
"I had two choices, marry or find a protector," she said, "Especially after my father died, but even before that. It was by no means certain that I could continue my smithing or my... political activity if I married, only the nobles get independence afterwards, so I chose the latter. The captain of the watch was a brute, but I learned how to sway him. And his wife. He is.. was a baronet, so I also learned much of noble manners from him. After that, it just became so natural to pretend."
Tam sat back down on the bed. "So what you are saying is that what you did was not entirely voluntary?" she said, "Instinctual?"
"It was something I learned to do to protect myself," Julie said, shaking her head, "I simply assumed it would be okay to do it to you. I can't rely on arguments like 'instinct' to save myself. This is why I'm confessing. It was only once, and it was only days after we got back to Hearth. I had no idea what we were going to turn out to be back then. Who knows, you might have found out later and the hurt would have been even worse than it is now. But I want you to know that this hasn't been some make-believe thing. I'm not sure it ever was. I was attracted to both of you from the moment I met you."
Julie took a breath. "I am still convinced it was fate," she said, looking up, "The will of the Maker."
She turned her eyes to us again. "So I beg your forgiveness," she said, "Because I love you."
I had no words. Nor did Tam. My throat had sealed itself off, as if the mixture of anger, repulsion and jealousy had formed a tar at the back of my throat. I knew we were on a precipice. Repudiation or forgiveness. Made all the more complicated by Julie's situation.
But what would happen if we fell down into that precipice? If repudiation won out? My mind knew the answer to that. Nothing good. The other option was difficult... but the reward was that we would be a family.
All we could do was draw Julie into a hug. What she had revealed was a betrayal... but it was an old one. Not in terms of strict time, but in how much had happened since. A betrayal when what we were was far less solidly determined. And the possibility of it happening again was zero. We knew that.
So, we did forgive her. Or at least, began the process. As much out of rationality as love.
Fortunately for me in particular.
The court was recalled the next afternoon, after I got up at dawn to talk to my fellow judges.
The audience this time was the actual National Assembly, not members of the public. The guards were exclusively the Gendarmes, the regiment that had been turned into the civilian police force, at my request. The whole escape had ironically started us on the way towards demilitarisation of our judiciary, insofar as it ever could be with the entire populace under arms in some form or another.
In the front row was our entire political leadership.
Velarana, Fisher Junior to the right, Aurelia in the centre, Leha and Julie to the left. The witness stand, counsel tables and the other practical trappings of the court had been removed. The hall was once again our country's meeting place.
To the side, Seeker Pentaghast and Grand-Cleric Brandon
All eyes were on me as I entered from the ring section of the building, from the Libertarian fraternity's offices, with Lavellan and Clermont in tow.
We sat at the high table, my fellow judges simply waiting patiently as I organised my notes, drank a little water, and began to speak.
"The accused, Anders of Kirkwall, has successfully escaped the custody of the forces of Troy."
I looked up at the elected representatives, wondering what they'd do. No reaction.
"Having consulted with my fellow judges, we agree that he can be tried and sentenced in his absence. We also think that his actions have spoken for themselves. No more witnesses will be heard, or arguments made. We've got enough for a fair verdict."
Murmurs of disagreement from some quarters of the Libertarians, waved off by everyone else. I awaited the commotion's end, as much to allow myself time to spring a surprise on everyone. If the Chancellor wanted a complete whitewash of a verdict, she should not have chosen me to run the show. To say nothing about Julie's manoeuvres.
"On the charge of murder of the Grand-Cleric of the Southern Marches, Elthina of Kirkwall, we find the defendant not guilty."
A cheer went up from the Libertarians, whistling and clapping, Clermont standing up and roaring at them to remain at order but failing. They only shut up when I raised a hand.
"The Grand-Cleric was directly responsible for the deadly threat to Anders' life," I explained, "Due to her abdication of her role as civilian overseer of the Kirkwall Templars, leading to the murder, rape and abuse of thousands. The refusal of the Chantry to replace her left only one path to resist tyranny. As such, her death was legitimate self-defence."
Feet-thumping followed, as our own Grand-Cleric went a deathly pale colour. Not that Brandon would ever fail her duties in the way Elthina had, but it's not every day that someone in that position of authority gets to see someone acquitted of murdering another.
I was outvoted on that verdict, but given what had been going on in Kirkwall, I wasn't overly beat up about it. Lavellan in particular made a strong argument: If someone orders their subordinates to kill you, it is that person who is trying to kill you as much as the subordinates. Killing them is therefore self-defence. The Grand-Cleric was the Chantry leader, and it was the Chantry that demanded the mages be locked up.
"On the charge of the use of magic for malign purposes," I continued, "We find the defendant not guilty."
More cheering, shouting and clapping from the Libertarian section. The High Chancellor looked at me with eyes that said she was looking forward to unleashing a political shitstorm on me for this. Not that I cared.
"The use of magic to kill does not inherently constitute the crime of malign use," I stated, reading off Clermont's reasoning at the top of my voice, "No more than a strong man using his strength to kill in a similar situation of oppression is 'malign use' of his natural talent. We heard no compelling evidence that Anders intended the scale of the disaster, only that his intended target was the Chantry cathedral itself."
It's not like we could have got Anders on that anyway. We might as well start locking up our own mages, in that case. They'd been killing in the name of liberty, ours and theirs, for quite a while now. Clermont in particular was very adamant that we could not set the precedent, so we didn't.
The place quieted down fairly quickly afterwards, to hear the final verdict. On the accusation that was unique to our law, the accusation that the Chantry had not brought but we ourselves had.
"On the charge of terrorism," I said, "We find the defendant guilty as charged."
I paused once again. Total silence.
"Anders of Kirkwall did not have legitimate authority to declare war against the Chantry on behalf of the mages of Thedas," I said, "He was neither elected by his fellow mages, nor appointed by the Chantry or the senior enchanters of the Circles, nor is he a magister of the Tevinter Imperium. That he was the last member of the mage underground didn't give him the authority to act. That the Templars thought he was their principal enemy didn't either."
"His killing of Grand-Cleric Elthina was self-defence, but his killing of almost everyone else was not. He deliberately targeted innocents. He did so negligently, leading to the deaths of many more innocents, if we accept the red lyrium chain-reaction as fact."
I stood up, placing the notes down on the table.
"The crime of terrorism has only one punishment," I declared, "I sentence Anders of Kirkwall to death! As he has escaped, by my authority as both Chief Justice and Commanding-General of the Free Army, he is hereby declared an enemy of the Republic, and it is the duty and obligation of every soul under my command to kill him if they are able."
The hall was stunned. As I knew they would be.
"I don't say this lightly," I said, returning to my seat, and calming my tone, "We all know what the mages went through. We heard it. But we must be careful in how we react. The people responsible for that abuse will be held accountable, if they have not been already. I promise you all that."
Rumblings of discontent from the Libertarian mages. But no complaint you could recognise as a sentence. No fighting, no surge to strike me down, nothing. I like to think they knew I was on their side regardless of the verdict, but I have to admit, there's also the strong possibility that their fear of me exceeded their anger.
The best way to fight through the bitterness of the result was to get moving on the next thing.
"We have work to do," I said, "I ask the Assembly to immediately authorise the deployment of our Army to Kirkwall, at the invitation of its leaders, to remove the occupying forces of Starkhaven. Prince Vael has taken that city in the name of finding Anders. Anders is not there, and now the whole world knows it. Time for Vael to go."
"Kirkwall belongs to its people," I concluded, "And we will return it to them."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, we're off to Kirkwall.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Rolling edits to apply as usual.
Please leave a review, it helps motivate me and improve my writing!