Silently, we continue on our way through the cells, my heart feeling heavy and pained from the guilt eating away at me. Fiona, Cassandra, Bull and the pain the endured, must have been horrible and here I am fine and healthy while they suffered, I did nothing while my friends were tortured. I just hope Solas, Leliana and Fennic are okay…
Carefully, we continue our track; the battles have become faster and easier now thanks to having Cassandra and Bull back.
Calmly, we continue until, I spot a cell to the far end smiling when I spot a familiar figure. Solas! Relieved, we walk up to him; his back is turned to us, looking at the large wall of red lyrium that is slowly spreading all over the cell wall.
Slowly, Solas turns to us, his back once facing us turns only for his eyes to widen taken aback to see us all alive and free.
"You're alive!? We saw you die!" Solas exclaims in shock, my eyes widening at the ruby red aura emanating from him, his once calm stoic eyes now ruby red as his pale skin tone shines from the glow of crimson.
"The spell Alexius cast displaced us in time. We just got here so to speak," Dorian explains once more to Solas.
"Can you reverse the process you can return and avoid the events of last year? It may not be late!" Solas explains to us as I turn to Dorian, we already know the plan but to think Sols caught on just like that, he really is wise.
"You look terrible. Is there anything I can do to help ease the pain?" I ask feeling a wave of guilt for seeing once more the harm I caused others by not being here, when they needed me.
"I am dying but no matter. If you can undo this they can all be saved but you know nothing of this world. It is far worse than you can understand. Alexius served a master, the Elder One, he reigns now unchallenged. After you stop Alexius you must be prepared," Solas warns me gravely, his voice echoing and in pain.
"I understand, I will not fail," I promise Solas.
"If you can return to your present, you might find it helpful to know of the Elder One's plans. This world is an abomination, it must never come to pass," Solas informs me making me nod as he joins the party, now I'm more determined than ever.
Reunited, we all head off heading to find Leliana however as we do I stop in my tracks, still seeing no sign of any occupied cells or any word of Fen.
"Guys where's Fennic do you know where they may have taken her prisoner?" I ask only to receive strangely enough, silence, the others look away almost not wishing to talk of her.
"Guys…?" I voice out but they ignore me, not wishing to speak of her.
"Evelyn," Dorian's frown sent my way silences me as I release a tired sigh. Maybe its hurts for them to think, the mental strain of the torture they endured must have been killing them and here I thought I could get questions out of them, urgh I'm a fool. I shut my lips tight, we'll find Fen, I now we will, besides when we find Leliana no doubt she'll know where Fen is, she's a spymaster she practically knows where everyone else is.
"I heard Alexius barricaded himself in the front," Solas informs us as we all nods, heading there only for falter in my steps; we enter a particular hallway hearing a gruff voice demand answers.
"How did you know the sacrifice at the temple!?" The loud voice questions, his voice echoing in the empty halls.
"Never," Shocked my eyes widen at the familiar voice, Leliana! Quickly we follow the source each time, I wince when hearing the harsh slap and cry of Leliana in pain from the torture given to her from the interrogation. Hold on Leliana we're coming…
"There's no use for this defiance little bird," The voice spits out.
"Ah!" Leliana cry of pain echoes as we all turn to the wooden door, the entrance to Leliana where two interrogators are mostly likely armed and ready for a fight. Bravely, I step towards the door and-
'BAM!'
Loudly, my foot hits the door open announcing our arrival loudly as the guards turn to us, cursing however we easily handle the guards. Shocked, my eyes widen as I take a step back from the heavy stench of iron and rust in the air, my forest green eyes scanning the area, my eyes widen in horror at the rusty instruments of torture laying hazardously on the floor and table, stains and splashes of crimsons tinting the once stainless steel weapons. Numerous bodies of skeletons and some parts of flesh remain lingering in the torture chambers. I wince, hearing the faint crunch of maggots hungrily feeding of the dead remnants of what were once healthy and powerful fighters no doubt, who fell prey to these monsters.
Quickly, my ears perk up at the scrap of metal, being dragged onto the dark wooden table where the other instruments of pain lay unorganised but used a lot, however this little dagger scrapes causing an eerie dry of pain to squeak out as the Venatori spy or interrogator reaches out…horrified, my eyes widen at Leliana's state, her cheeks hollow, her eyes ruby red and her skin as pale and grey as a corpse, wrinkles adorn her skin creased form. Maker, Andraste what have these monsters done to you!?
Bravely, I take in a shaky breathe, refusing to vomit at the disgusting sounds of flies and maggots feeding of the decaying and already gone flesh, eating their feast, enjoying it, I ignore the urge to vomit instead forcing my body instead of vomiting to release a disgusted shudder as I approach the lifeless body of Leliana, fighting back, refusing to give into deaths embrace or give these monsters the satisfaction of her breaking.
Bravely, I take in a shaky breathe, refusing to vomit at the disgusting sounds of flies and maggots feeding of the decaying and already gone flesh, eating their feast, enjoying it, I ignore the urge to vomit instead forcing my body instead of vomiting to release a disgusted shudder as I approach the beaten body of Leliana, fighting back, refusing to give into deaths embrace or give these monsters the satisfaction of her breaking..
"You will break," The male Venatori states darkly the black blade to her neck only to receive her look of defiance in return.
"I will not," Hoarsely she whispers.
"You're wasting your breathe," She huffs tiredly as the Venatori turns to see my glare.
"Or you will," She growls as my eyes widen to see her being dangled down from the ceiling but her legs wrap around the Venatori's neck, swiftly suffocating the struggling Venatori until Leliana ends his suffering by swiftly breaking his neck with her legs. Defeated, he crumples to the ground, unmoving, unflinching, motionless, dead, just dead. My ears hear the soft splattering sound of blood oozing out of one of the few Venatori we deal with, unconscious the Venatori slain by my hand causes a crimson liquid leaks out from one of the Venatori' bodies, staining the already dirtied, ruined and cracked floor.
Rushing, I kneel down looting the guard for the key and stand up, using the key to free the shackles chaining and imprisoning my friend and spymaster.
"You're alive," She whispers in awe.
"I am so sorry," I whisper mournfully, finally feeling the dagger of guilt that once teasingly stab me fully impale me at the sight of my friend, practically on her deathbed from her dead rotting looking corpse to her dead filled lyrium eyes.
"That was impressive," I whisper in surprise and admiration towards her swift trick.
"Anger is stronger than any pain. Do you have weapons?" Leliana questions as I nod, seeing her limp over to a chest, I frown when I see her try to hide her limp as she gathers her things as she does I look around, only for my eyes to widen when I see something on the desk. Curious, I walk over peering over only to release a shocked gasps at the parchment before me.
Test subject RF has been transferred to the Elder One as appointed…
You will get your payment for the sale of it soon…
"Test subject? Payment? What did Alexius sell?" I whisper my brow furrowed as I begin to ponder but nothing comes to mind, did he sell our weapons or perhaps it's the red lyrium he sold to this "Elder One"? I don't know and it's frustrating me ah! No I need to focus on finding Fen and beating Alexius for all he's done to my friends…
"The magisters probably in his chambers," Leliana informs us, continuing to dig for any things she lost.
"You aren't curious on how we got here?" Dorian frowns almost disappointed or confused on how Leliana is reacting to our rescue mission.
"No," Leliana snaps and stands, bow equipped and arrows ready.
"Alexius sent us into the future, this victory, this Elder One, it was never meant to be," Dorian summaries to her. "I'm sorry for what you had to go through Leliana honestly, I will go back, I have to make sure this future never comes," I explain to her only to receive a cold, dead stare back.
"And mages wonder why people always fear them, no one should have this power," Leliana shakes her head at us.
"It's dangerous and unpredictable before the breach nothing we did…"Dorian trails off flinching from Leliana's icy cold glare.
"Enough, this is all pretend to you, some future you hope will never exist. I suffered, the whole world suffered, people suffered, people changed. It was all real," Leliana growls taking me aback as I feel a wave of anger, sorrow and guilt. I caused this grim future, I caused my friends to be slowly dying, I caused Leliana…
This is my entire fault, everything is my fault, and everything I do is a mistake…a mistake. An abomination, a mistake, a failure a…
I should never have existed. If I hadn't had existed, no one would be in this pain, if I hadn't existed no one would be like Leliana, if I hadn't existed they would have been happier, with the child they wanted, not a abomination, not a monster, not a mage…
Slowly, I feel a familiar wet substance begin to form in my minds quickly I blink them back. No I have to focus, I have to be strong, I have come too far to be backing down now, Fen would have hit me by now, calling me a cry baby, I am not a cry baby I won't be, I refuse to be, I have to be the leader, I have to make the choices, I have to be there for my friends and save them from this cruel future's fate.
"What happened while we were away?" Dorian questions Leliana.
"Stop talking," Leliana snaps harshly making me flinch from her cold command, I notice Dorian's fearful expression, taken aback by Leliana's furious fierce glare while the others remain numbly quiet.
"I'm just asking for information," Dorian says calmly not wishing for an argument.
"You're talking to fill silence, nothing happened that you'd want to hear," Leliana bitterly remarks making me look away, feeling another dagger of guilt impale my side.
After reading many notes of Alexius journal on Felix's condition, we arrive at the place where Alexius has barricaded himself but this time we have all the keys, after many fights and travelling, we collected all of the keys but much to my worry, we caught no sight of Fen. Maybe she escaped? Maybe that why the others won't speak about her, maybe she left them for dead…I…I wouldn't be surprised considering her track record…
Sighing, I shake my head and turn to the door slowly opening and we enter to face Alexius and end this nightmare future…