Slight Dragon Age: Origins spoilers in this chapter :)
Ellana tied her shoelaces and then packed supplies in her backpack. They had arrived at Redcliffe the day before and spent the night getting settled after the long plane ride, which went smoothly after the book incident. Sera noisily slept throughout the rest of the trip, and Iron Bull and Solas tended to their own business.
There was a rap on the door followed by Sera's voice saying, "You decent? I'm coming in."
Sera entered the room and sat on the bed with Ellana.
"Hey, Sera. Anything up?"
"Nothing much, really. Just wondering what your take on all this was."
"In specific?"
"Nah."
Ellana let go of the backpack and looked up in thought. After a few seconds she replied, "It feels like my perception of everything has flipped in a way."
"You must've not been looking hard enough, then."
"You're probably right."
Sera reclined and put her head on a pillow. She began twiddling her fingers and glanced at Ellana. She darted her eyes to look at something else as she began, "It's why I help the Jennies, you know. So people understand what's happening around them. So they don't feel the way you do."
Ellana didn't have a response, and Sera continued, "I'm also here…to say sorry. Sorry that your face was all over the news."
"It's all right, Leliana sorted it all out."
"Yeah, by saying you were shagging a guy surrounded by dead people. I doubt that's better. But it's not okay. I should've found out first you weren't in line with them. I tried to hold off publishing the information, but the Jennies thought it too important, you know? So many put their blind trust in that Divine, it can be dangerous. I mean, look at what we're doing now."
"A person having so much power and influence can be dangerous. I agree."
Sera made a face and turned on her side to Ellana. "You believe in those Elven gods?"
"Well…yes. I do."
"Ugh, figures. You got those squiggles all over your face."
"Vallaslin."
"Yeah, that valla-whatever. As long as you don't start speaking funny to me, we'll be good."
"San, Sera. Tel'dirtha El'vhen."
Sera made another face and replied as she left the room, "Showoff. I'll go tell the others you're almost ready."
Ellana finished packing and hurriedly got dressed. When she was ready, she hung the backpack off a shoulder and went to join the other others. They were gathered in front of the elevators. Solas was standing by a window, while Sera and Bull were sitting in a pair of chairs. Sera and Iron Bull were in some sort of conversation.
"I'm just saying, you'll eventually break an elevator, Bull."
"I won't."
"But you will."
"No."
"Yes."
Solas nodded to Ellana in recognition and went to press the button to call for an elevator. Sera then moved the conversation to include her.
"What do you think, Ellana? Would Bull break an elevator?"
"Why would he break an elevator?" Iron Bull non-verbally motioned that he agreed with Ellana.
"Because of how big he is! Massive. An elevator will so break."
Iron Bull entered the conversation again, "The question you should be asking is if I'll fit in one. I usually don't, surprised the one here is big enough."
The two got into another random conversation, and Ellana went to stand by Solas and stare at the blinking light above the elevator.
Eventually it pinged, and the doors slid open. Iron Bull entered first and stood at the back. Sera, Solas, and Ellana all stood in front of him. They were on a pretty high floor, so the descent would take a few minutes, especially with all the stops the elevator had to make. Each time it stopped at a floor, others would look in to see Bull's horns and automatically step back instead of filing in.
During the ride down, Iron Bull took out his phone and tilted his head down to look at it. Ellana and Sera were also on their phones when they heard a soft thud and Solas mutter, "Iron Bull…."
They saw Solas rubbing the back of his head and Iron Bull place his phone away. Sera quicky snapped a picture of the two of them with her phone and gained glares.
"Don't look at me like that! Not like I'll give this to the Jennies."
To make the situation worse, the ringtone on Ellana's phone went off. She raised it to her face, making sure the others couldn't see it, Sera had sent her the picture. Ellana made sure not to show too much emotion, even though the picture showed Iron Bull with his hands awkwardly stuffed in his pockets, and Solas with an annoyed expression and a hand on his head.
The four of them took the rental car provided and drove to the area where an elven artifact may be located, which was known due to Solas. Because of this, Solas was the one driving. Near the beginning of some woodland, he parked the car to the side and told them they had arrived.
When they were all out, Sera turned on her digital camera in preparation and Iron Bull packed extra waters in his bag. Afterwards, they all set off.
"You sure you know where you're going, Solas?" Bull asked.
"Yes."
"Why's that?" Sera then questioned him.
"The Fade."
Sera stopped walked and stared at Solas. "The Fade?"
"Yes, why the surprise?"
"No one mentioned the Fade was involved in all this."
"Have you listened during any of the meetings?" Solas began to walk again.
Sera caught up to him and replied, "Of course I have, Elfy. I just didn't think you were serious about all that."
"I was."
"Makes sense thinking about it, I suppose."
As they continued on, the crunching of their shoes filled the silence. Ellana tried to keep memory of their trail but soon lost track. After a half hour of walking among thick trees and other foliage, a clearing suddenly emerged before them. It was filled with strewn stonework and pillars, and at the center stood crumbled ruins.
"The artifact should be inside," Solas said as he quickened his pace. The others followed him, with Sera lagging as she snapped pictures with her camera.
"You see this brazier attached to the side of the entrance? It would have been capable of holding veilfire in the past," Solas told to not any particular person.
Ellana and Iron Bull rummaged through their bags and pulled out flashlights. Iron Bull had two and Ellana had one, a slight oversight on their part.
"Ha, your hand is a flashlight, Ellana!" Sera snorted. Ellana rolled her eyes and gave her flashlight to Solas. While Sera's comment was silly, she was right. The anchor began to give a slight glow when they entered the ruins.
Solas took the lead and went down a wide corridor. There was only one way to go since the other paths were blocked by rubble.
"That's…that's a skull. And bones. I think there's a rat nest, too," Sera said with a quaking voice.
"Keep your eyes ahead of you, don't look around," Iron Bull reassured.
After passing another corridor, they stumbled upon an opening that looked like a kind of main hall. A crack in the stone ceiling above allowed a sliver of sunlight to come through.
"This doesn't make any sense," Solas stated, disappointment evident.
"What doesn't?" Ellana asked.
He went to an area ahead of where they were and stood.
"Here! It's supposed to be here!" Solas yelled.
"The artifact?"
"What else would it be?" he snapped.
The spot he was at was devoid of anything, it only held dust and dirt.
"Cool yourself, Solas," Iron Bull said as pointed his flashlight to the ground and continued, "There's a light layer of dirt over an imprint of a ring. Something was moved from here. Can't say how long ago it was, though."
Solas strongly turned on his heel to the exit of the ruins. The three of them let him leave while they stayed with Sera as she took pictures of the area.
When she finished, they returned to the entrance to find Solas gone.
"You guys remember how to get to the car?" Ellana turned to them and asked.
"You're the Dalish!" Sera cried in reply.
Ellana sighed and followed what she thought were Solas' shoeprints. At least they still had cellphone signal in these woods.
Solas was sitting in the passenger seat of the car rifling through a manila folder. "We need to visit the second location immediately."
Ellana sat in the driver's seat and Sera and Bull took their spots in the back.
The second location was a lost cause as well. They traveled to Redcliffe Farms and ventured into the small woods behind it. The artifact was supposedly in a broken-down house that was considered haunted due to spirit sightings. Strange location but because of this, no one visited it aside from the overly brave teenager or young adult.
Shortly after arriving, they noticed that the same had occurred there as well, except that the moving of this artifact was more recent. Sera took pictures as directed by Iron Bull. They would be sent to Cassandra and Leliana as soon as possible.
They returned back to their hotel in Redcliffe Village after a day of failure. Iron Bull said he would take care of informing everyone in Val Royeaux, and they went on to their rooms. Ellana used the free time to take a shower and nap before nighttime fully settled. Instead of napping, she ended up browsing randomly through her phone in bed until a text came in.
Sera – 7:32PM
you up for dinner!
7:32PM
Sure. What did you have in mind?
Sera – 7:33PM
don't know! letting Bull decide
7:33PM
Did you text Solas?
Sera – 7:35PM
why would I do that?
Ellana rolled her eyes and sent a short text to Solas, it would be up to him to decide if he wanted to join them. She wasn't gonna push him, especially after the day they all had.
She got herself ready and went to meet the others, they were waiting at the lobby of the hotel. Ellana stared at her phone when a hand caught the elevator door before it closed and prompted it to open. Ellana brought her face up and noticed that it was Solas.
"Oh, hey. I didn't think you'd join us." She clicked the ground floor button.
"We need to discuss our next steps."
"Solas…I think this is more of a social thing."
He tucked his left hand in a pocket and put his weight against the elevator wall. "You're right. Regardless, we wouldn't solve anything tonight. We can all talk about it tomorrow."
"You're still going to join us for dinner?"
"I've already made it this far, I might as well."
She chuckled, "I'm sure Iron Bull and Sera will be thrilled."
The elevator came to a slow and the doors soon opened. Solas and Ellana walked out to the lobby and joined Bull and Sera.
"What! You told him, didn't you, Ellana?" Sera exaggeratedly accused.
"No, Sera. It was the Fade."
The group left the hotel and walked through the throngs of crowds that littered Redcliffe Village's central square. The moment they stepped out, Ellana knew why Sera wanted to have dinner outside of the hotel. The otherwise quaint area had transformed to something bright and lively. All the small street shops had their doors open to the public, small food trucks were tucked into corners, and string lights were draped along the streetlamps.
Due to Iron Bull's eagerness, he persuaded that they all eat at a restaurant that served baked potatoes as a signature dish. The food was greasy, but the chili fries were the highlight of the meal. Aside from Bull, the others felt the consequences of having such a carb heavy meal soon after. The onslaught of potatoes only seemed to fuel Iron Bull.
"Ha! Just got to walk it off, guys," Iron Bull told them as they left the restaurant.
"Easy for you to say," Sera replied.
The group wandered around the small cobblestone square, examining the shops and street carts. For being in Redcliffe, a lot of the vendors had assorted handmade goods and imports from different countries.
"Oh, you guys. Do you want to go on one?" Ellana asked them.
"On what?" Iron Bull asked her back.
Ellana pointed at the sign in front of them. It was a medium sized square sign near a shop that seemed closed.
"A ghost tour."
"What? No! We're not going on any ghost tours or anything like that," Sera nearly screeched before adding, "besides, they're closed."
"They're not, I saw someone walk in and buy a ticket earlier. It'll be a great way to learn about the area from people who are from here."
"That is a solid argument," Solas concurred.
"A ghost tour? Let's do it. Don't worry Sera, I got you," Iron Bull said and nudged Sera.
Ellana smiled and told her, "Remember, Sera? Darkspawn once killed people on the very ground we walked on."
"Oh, stop it! Fine, let's do this stupid tour. Stupid potatoes and stupid tour," she mumbled in reply.
Ellana warily went inside the shop and saw an older man at the counter.
"What're you here for, miss? Want to browse or buy tickets?"
She surveyed the interior. It was an antique shop! There was nothing indicating as such on the outside, but it made sense in retrospect. Ghost tours and haunted antiques went together.
"Can I browse for a few minutes? I'm here to buy tickets."
"Take all the time you need but know the last tour leaves in thirty minutes."
"Thanks."
A few minutes inside wouldn't hurt, she'd buy the tickets soon enough before they came to look for her. Ellana traced a hand along the edges of the tables as she passed them. As she did so, she tried to guess which items were as old as they were said to be on the tags. The majority were out of style children's toys, forlorn love letters and photos, and decorated tin boxes.
Some of the merchandise placed out captured her attention, particularly the letters from people saying goodbye to their families as they headed toward an unknown or death. Most were from those who volunteered to fight the darkspawn during the Fifth Blight many centuries ago. Some were from the next century during the Qunari Invasion. It was a miracle that the letters still existed and that the paper was intact.
As she was reading a letter from a son to their mother, a familiar voice sounded from behind her, "You've been gone a while." Ellana faced it and saw Solas.
"I got distracted," she replied and waved the letter in the air for emphasis. She checked her phone to make sure they still had time before the tour, and they did.
He did a quick nod and the browsed the antiques himself. Ellana resumed reading the letter she had.
A few minutes later she heard rummaging behind her, and she looked up to see the commotion. Solas had moved several pieces to the side and was holding something that somewhat shocked Ellana.
"Is that real?"
"It is," Solas replied with his eyes still on the object.
"I've never visited a shop that sold human remains. Does the tag say anything?"
"It's a section of a wolf jaw, not human. And no, the tag says nothing."
Solas began to walk away and Ellana asked another question, "You're going to buy it?"
"Yes. Something like this deserves better than being under a pile of miscellanea." He went to the counter and paid for the item; the man gave Solas a paper bag to hold the jaw. Ellana hurriedly finished reading the letter and placed it back where it was before swiftly going to buy the tickets. Solas hadn't left and was waiting for her near the door. Ellana bought the tickets and exited the store with him.
"Maker, they came back in time," Sera cursed.
A small group had formed in the time Ellana was gone. It was presumably those who had bought tickets earlier and were now gathering to wait for the tour to start.
Sera clutched the camera bag at her side, needing to anchor herself in some way and stood closely behind Ellana.
"Sera, it'll be okay. I promise. A lot of the time the stories are made up or fancified."
"So says the lady who has the green hand."
Ellana opened her mouth to reply but closed it when she couldn't think of anything to make Sera feel better. Instead, she told her, "Then you better stay close, so nothing snatches you away. Who knows what's out there?" This earned her a mean stare.
Their interaction was cut short when they heard a nearby woman whispering to her friends, "I think that's her. It is! She's got those pointy ears and tattoos."
One of the woman's friends replied, "Maker, you're right…I can't even imagine being around dead people, let alone meeting a guy."
"Ew," the original woman said before bubbling in laughter.
The excuse they released about Ellana had its drawbacks. It didn't paint her in the best light at all. But Ellana was not the concern of Cassandra, Leliana, Josephine, or Cullen, it was the Divine's reputation and public grace. Josephine was not too keen on the excuse, but she herself knew it was the best one they could make. A pair meeting for a liaison? The public would readily believe that, if not being fodder for gossip, especially in Orlais.
Before Ellana could overhear any other unpleasant commentary, the tour guide spoke up near the fountain.
"Everyone for the tour, over here!" Once they all were condensed together in front of him, he went on, "My name is Connor and I'll be showing you around the square of Redcliffe Village this evening. Please hold questions to the end of the tour if possible."
He began to walk, and the mass followed him. His first stop was near the windmill that loomed over this portion of Redcliffe.
"If you look up, you can see the windmill sitting on the hill above us. This windmill was nearly destroyed during the Fifth Blight when darkspawn ravaged the area, attempting to destroy all in their path. If the windmill had indeed been destroyed, it could have collapsed and killed more people.
"Where we actually stand is where the fabled Grey Wardens fought and where Fereldans died protecting their homes. Many of the houses and shops you see here are inherited buildings directly from that time. With routine upkeep, the buildings have maintained their integrity.
"King Alistair soon into his reign declared Redcliffe Village a historical location for these reasons, and historians along with anthropologists often work in the area. The most recent objects unearthed have been darkspawn teeth. And with their permission, I show you this."
He held up what seemed to be a short row of discolored and awkwardly angled teeth, the skull and jaw obviously incomplete. He put the teeth in his messenger bag and continued walking. He spoke about other facts during the way until he stopped a few minutes later.
"And before us, as you can see illuminated by lights in the distance, is Redcliffe Castle– "
A man in the group interrupted by saying, "I paid money to see a castle? From outside?"
The tour guide smiled and explained, "It's the only way we can see it. Ever since the Fifth Blight, the castle and its inhabitants, including staff, are secluded from Redcliffe Village unless necessary. The rumor passed among locals is that a mage was born to the Guerrin family and he was hidden away from all when it was discovered.
"He was kept away due to his family's fear of the Circle and their associated Templars. Despite their efforts, no amount of hiding could keep magic from forming in the boy. Eventually the boy began to speak oddly, move strangely. He began to say sentences laced with double meanings, often guessing what others were thinking and proceed to laugh cruelly at them.
"Afflicted with worry, the distraught mother enlisted the help of the Wardens passing through Redcliffe," he turned his head to look at the castle, "they soon discovered that the boy was possessed by a demon. A desire demon, no less. All that time spent trying to protect their son, and in the end, they created a monster. It's unknown what happened to the poor boy, but it is said that his soul mournfully walks the halls, as that was the only comfort he ever had."
The group of people were silent, and the guide resumed his path onward. He warned them to turn the flashlights on their phones on as they were headed into wooded territory.
Ellana unknowingly stepped closer to Iron Bull and Solas, and Sera grabbed the edge of Ellana's right sleeve. The area they entered had trees, but they were sparse. The more they went in, the more the foliage and greenery was withered and decaying. Or dead. Even the lush grass that tickled ankles soon became crunchy and dry.
"Oh…Oh, look up!" someone in the crowd whispered. Above them, the bare trunks of trees curved to create an arch. Several pairs of trees formed arches and created a path in front of them.
The tour guide spoke up, "Yes, you are seeing everything correctly. We are entering the area where the apostates during the Mage Rebellion took shelter. The Hinterlands is known for being the central location in the Mage-Templar War that occurred when the mages began to rebel against their Circles."
Sera scooted closer to Ellana.
"These arches don't lead to anywhere specific, but they are fascinating to see. There have been several attempts to replant the trees throughout the years, but they always form these arches and become brittle. The same happens to the grass, it does just not want to grow here. Nothing does."
The guide began to move again and the people moved with him, but Solas did not. Iron Bull, Sera, and Ellana looked at him expectantly. Solas waited until the crowd was far enough before turning to them and saying, "There is an elven artifact nearby."
Solas took the lead, which unexpectedly led them through the tree arches. The closer they got to the artifact, Ellana's left palm began to burn. Solas stopped at the side of a stony hill that was covered with moss and vines.
"What now?" Iron Bull asked.
Solas had a frown on his face. "I know it's here." He began to palm the stone, feeling for any indication of an opening, and he found one when his right palm went right through the vegetation.
He moved the thick layer of vines and stepped inside.
"Nuh-uh. Not going in there," Sera declared.
Ellana scratched her head. She didn't want to follow him, but she had to. "Iron Bull, please stay with Sera."
She went in, following exactly what Solas did. He was standing in the darkness, his cellphone's flashlight being the only source of light.
"I can feel it, Ellana, can't you? I don't understand why it's not here. There's nothing here, again!"
As she was about to answer, Sera's voice rang behind them, "It's scarier out there."
Sera and Iron Bull looked around with their cellphones.
"Hey, Solas, did you see this over here?" Iron Bull asked as he examined a stone wall.
"What do you see, Iron Bull?"
"This wall, it's manmade and not natural." Iron Bull gave a good shove to the rocks and they shifted. "It all feels quite loose. I should be able to knock it down." Bull left the cavern and returned with a sizeable and heavy branch.
"You might not want to be in here when I do this."
The three elves stood outside as they heard Iron Bull give the wall two good hits before telling them, "Okay, you can come back in."
They walked back; phones pointed in front of them. The crumbled stone wall had given way to a small hidden space that held a desk littered with candles and paperwork but also an elven artifact to the side.
Ellana flipped through the papers while Solas examined the artifact, Iron Bull and Sera searched around them. Most of the papers were notes and some were letters, although the notes were entirely written in Tevene.
"This artifact has been tampered with. I'm afraid even your hand won't help, Ellana," Solas said.
To be entirely sure, Ellana still attempted to interact with it, but as Solas said, it didn't help. The artifact didn't react in any significant way. It also had a groove etched at the top, which Solas said was unusual.
"How long you think since someone's been in here?" Sera asked in general.
"It all looks recently used. I'd say within the week," Iron Bull replied.
"I'd say the same," Solas agreed.
None of them got much sleep that night, as Ellana, Iron Bull, and Sera returned to the hotel late and started their day early. Solas stayed near the artifact all night and said he would stay until Morrigan could extract it. The following morning, Sera loaded the pictures, including the ones she took of the letters, on her laptop and forwarded them to Val Royeaux. In a need to discuss what to leak, Sera flew back.
Sometime during the afternoon, Ellana received a call from Dorian. She knew that this had to be in relation to the Tevene writings they found.
"Dorian, did you find anything?" she asked as she answered the call.
"I…did."
"And?"
She heard him sigh and a few seconds went by before he replied, "It's not the fact that the notes were written in Tevene that concerned me."
"What did?"
"It's the cipher that they contained. It's how my old tutor, Alexius, would write his findings in. He taught it to me when I studied under him in Tevinter."
"Then that means he's working with the Black Divine."
"It does," he said with sadness lacing his words. Instead of explaining what was written in them, Dorian said he was going to fly down that night and that they could discuss what he discovered tomorrow.
A/N: Credit to FenxShiral for elven! With their lovely guide and explanations, I managed to figure out "San, Sera. Tel'dirtha El'vhen." (Okay, Sera. I won't speak Elvhen.)
Also the "Qunari Invasion" I mentioned here isn't anything specific or directly from canon. It's inspired by Trespasser DLC in DA:I. :D