CHAPTER 3: To Follow the Herald
A/N: I know that the game layout of haven's chantry have the advisers sleeping on separate beds in the room to the right of the war room, but I added more rooms because the chantry could afford it and changed the layout of the place. Sorry if that's disorienting to you. A note on the language in this chapter, for purposes of obscuring information, I have a conversation take place in Orlesian (French). I'm not a speaker of French and used translations. I hope they're accurate. If you don't feel like translating it, you'll be in the same boat as the character(s) who don't understand it either, so don't worry.
Despite her size, the newly dubbed Herald of Andraste was not actually too difficult to carry back to Haven. As quick stretcher was prepared; Cassandra and Leliana were the ones who carried her. Her pole-bearers in a way. The symbolism wasn't lost on the more intelligent members of those who fought to stabilize the Breach. It was still there, but the sparkling green on Yasmin's hand had noticeably halted and the Breach itself had entirely stopped spawning demons.
Once they were in Haven, Cassandra quickly had one of the housed prepared for Yasmin. It was one of the first houses inside the gates. Leliana took one look at it and decided it wasn't secure enough. "Not secure enough? Is she still our prisoner then?" Cassandra asked as she, Cullen Rutherford, and Josephine Montilyet milled about the war table.
"No. I think she's proven she truly means to help. Even if it was initially out of an instinct for self-preservation, we would still owe her a debt. When I say it's not secure enough, I mean that it's vulnerable to attack. My agents had already fended off multiple attacks when she was unconscious after the Breach had formed. I think we should keep her here in the Chantry, perhaps in one of our rooms?" Leliana phrased it like a question, but it really wasn't and Cassandra knew that.
Cullen shrugged, "So who do you propose she room with? Not me, obviously. Rumours of the impropriety wouldn't do us any good. Unliekly such rumours would arise if she shared with one of you."
"That's oddly considerate of you Cullen," Josephine replied with a smile that was both slightly mocking and genuinely impressed at his foresight. Cullen just huffed and ran his hand through his hair.
"I was thinking Josephine. She has the largest bed, and her room though small, is deepest into the Chantry, therefore easy to post guards outside without drawing too much attention," Leliana said.
"That's alright with me," Josephine shrugged.
Just then there was a knock at the door. A frantic one at that. Cullen was closest and pulled the door open for them.
"Charter, what is wrong?" Leliana asked once the elf was revealed.
"Soeur Nightingale, avec votre permission, j'aimerais déplacer le Herald dans un endroit plus sûr," Charter said in fluent Orlesian. She obviously didn't want Cullen to know what she was talking about. Cassandra and Josephine each spoke enough of Leliana's adopted language that the tradecraft wasn't meant to obscure meaning from them. Though, for all Cullen knew, Charter didn't speak Common.
"Oh, qu'est-ce qui a motivé ça? Est-ce qu'elle va bien?" Leliana responded. She ignored the strange looks from the other women in the room, and the annoyed look Cullen levelled at her.
Charter nodded, but then added, "Elle a une autre marque que vous devez voir."
Leliana raised her eyebrow at that. "Aide Lysette à la ramener ici. Placez-la sur le lit de Joséphine."
Charter nodded and left the room. "Is anyone going to tell me what just happened?" Cullen asked with more than a little annoyance in his voice.
"The Herald will be brought to my bed." Josephine replied as diplomatically as you like. "We need to make plans to expand our reach beyond this valley," she added, changing the subject to something that Cullen would bite into. "Leliana, have your agents secured a basecamp in the Hinterlands yet?"
"Yes. Though they are not numerous enough to do much more than that. Giselle is rightly worried that the fighting will soon kill everyone caught in the middle."
"We don't have enough soldiers to send as a detachment and also maintain the garrison we'd need here to fend off an attack on Haven. Your scouts will have to step up," Cullen growled.
"Mind your tone, Templar," Leliana replied flatly. "I'm not a mage you can coerce, and you don't have Meredith to protect you anymore."
"Enough, you two!" Josephine headed off yet another pissing match between the two diametrically opposed colleagues.
"What of Roderick and the Chantry?" Cullen asked, pointedly turning away from Leliana to face their diplomat.
"The Chantry may need convincing, but I believe they might support us in time." Josephine replied.
"The Chantry is in shambles with the Divine dead. And Roderick for all his bluster, does have an influential voice as one of the few remaining priests in his echelon," Cassandra growled.
"He'll either agree with us, or he won't be welcome in Haven any longer," Leliana replied matter-of-factly.
"That will cause the Chantry to fear us more than they already do," Cassandra pointed out.
Leliana shrugged, "We cannot control their fears, only our own."
"While that's all fine and dandy, what do we do about the Herald?" Cullen asked.
As if summoned by his words, Charter once again knocked on the door before entering. She gestured that the Herald was in Josephine's room. A young and pale woman about Leliana's height flanked Charter. "What was your name again, recruit?" Cullen asked of her.
"I'm Lysette, Commander. I was a Templar recruit, formerly of Kinloch hold on Lake Calenhad," the Templar replied. She couldn't be older than twenty-five, probably closer to twenty. She had her hair pulled into a neat ponytail, and her armour was of an Orlesian Chevalier rather than the traditional burning sword emblem that adorned traditional Templar armour.
Cullen and Leliana winced, which Josephine observed with great interest; but that could be explored later. "Sister Nightingale, Lysette knows as much as I on this matter, so I felt it prudent to ask her to remain. Though nobody else knows. Lysette made sure of it; which was quite deft thinking on her part. Not even Solas and Adan."
"You speak Common after all, and you sound Ferelden," Cullen said with a slight frown.
"Yes," Charter replied with a nod before turning to Leliana once more.
"And you felt the need to keep me in the dark…why?" Cullen replied acidly.
"Because you're a Templar," Charter didn't mince words.
"Why would that–," Cullen responded with an affronted tone before Josephine cut him off.
"This argument gets us nowhere. What is it you want Charter?"
Charter seemed to balk for a moment being under the scrutiny of all four of the orchestrators of this operation. "I want Leliana and you to determine whether or not the Herald of Andraste's secret is shared with the Templar and the Seeker. She obviously was hiding it for a reason, and I'd like it if her privacy was respected. But I also believe our diplomat and spymaster need to know. Commander Rutherford and Seeker Pentaghast are strictly military, and it wouldn't affect them going forward with their duties." Charter's voice grew stronger as she reasoned her explanation.
"Such loyalty is commendable. Even if I find you frustrating," Cassandra said with her signature scowl. "Why are you so loyal to her already? I didn't take you for the most pious sort."
Charter's hand briefly drifted up to touch the sewn together gash on her forehead. "She saved my life, Seeker Pentaghast, and tended my injury when there were far more pressing concerns than my wellbeing. No shem–human other than Sister Nightingale has showed me such unprompted kindness."
Cassandra held Charter's nervous but unflinching gaze for a moment before turning to her colleague. "Leliana, you trust Charter's word on this?" Cassandra asked as she made her way over to the smaller table and picked up a rather large book with a very particular emblem emblazoned on the cover.
"Yes. Josie and I will discover this secret, and consult with the Herald when she wakes."
Cullen had enough of this, "Templar, I'm ordering you to tell me, as your Commander." Josephine gasped at his rudeness and Leliana glared daggers at the man, and Cassandra made her signature disgusted noise.
Lysette shifted uncomfortably while her face flitted through several different emotions before she steeled herself…she settled on anger. "No sir."
"I have no use for a soldier who won't obey me. Leave Haven, or suffer the consequences of insubordination," Cullen ground out.
Before Lysette or anyone else had the chance to reply, there was a prolonged keen of agony coming from Josephine's room. One thought grasped all of them at once: the Herald was under attack.