He followed Uldred's scribbled map as best he could. It led him back down to the ground floor and, if he was reading it correctly, to an inconspicuous door close to the storage rooms that Niall was only now realising he had never seen opened before.
His heart lurched when he turned the final corner and found the unmistakable silhouette of an armed templar standing to attention outside the door he was supposed to be going through. They must have gotten word of Uldred's gathering and broken it up already.
The instinctual panic only lasted a moment before rationality kicked back in and his mind began formulating an innocent explanation for this late-night stroll. I was working late and got stuck – walking helps clear my head. It was hardly the most believable excuse but it was just plausible enough that at worst the templar would order him back to bed. Niall made a point to ensure he held himself with a feigned air of confidence and carried on walking in the templar's direction.
As he got closer he could make out the templar's face in the darkness. Niall didn't recognise her, which was odd in itself. She looked young, too young. Her gaze was fixed on the wall opposite her, as though she was purposely refusing to notice Niall's presence. He began to think he would be allowed to pass by with nothing but a polite nod exchanged between them – then, her eyes fixed on Uldred's note which he had forgotten he was still clutching.
"I – ," he opened his mouth to try and formulate some explanation when the templar raised her hand slightly, cutting him off.
Without a word, she turned, took a rusty-looking key off of her belt, and unlocked the door. Slowly, she opened it just wide enough for a person to slip through. A distant murmur of chatter spilled out from the crack in the door. The young templar gestured for Niall to go inside – all the while refraining from making eye contact with him – as though it would somehow incriminate them both.
Niall slinked through the door into a dimly lit, rocky tunnel, the height of which was barely taller than Niall himself. The templar swung the door shut behind him so quickly he had to tug his robe to stop the bottom from getting trapped in the doorframe. Being careful not to hit his head, he followed the sound of conversation down through the tunnels
He could feel his apprehension building as the noise grew louder. He had assumed he was going to some unsanctioned Libertarian meeting, but the source of this medley of laughter and chatter did not seem likely to be a political discussion group. As for having a templar guarding the entrance – Niall knew Uldred had his loyalists amongst the circle mages, but if he had templars in his pocket too – well Niall wasn't sure what that might mean, only that it made him uneasy.
At once, he was flooded by light as the shallow tunnel opened up into a vast stony cavern. He had had no idea anything like this existed beyond the door. The whole place was lit up by different coloured glows emitted from wisps, summoned and trapped beneath overturned bell jars that lined the walls. The lights weren't the only furnishings either – there were old futons, mismatched chairs, a couple of end tables, along with piles and piles of wooden storage boxes built up to act as makeshift partitions, cornering off areas presumably for reasons of privacy.
There had to be at least three, maybe four dozen mages there but even stranger, dotted amongst them, were several templars. The sight was unnatural – whenever mages and templars were in vicinity of each other, there was always an underlying atmosphere of distrust and unease. But apparently not here. Here, they somehow seemed to blend together as one. Almost literally, in the case of Godwin, who Niall noticed sprawled over a futon with a woman on top of him who Niall recognised as the templar he had seen Godwin pass lyrium to a few weeks ago.
Realising he couldn't just stand there and stare all night – Niall remembered his original reason for venturing here in the first place and began to scan the area for somewhere to get a stiff drink. He didn't have to look far, there were bottles strewn all over.
One conversation cut through the unintelligible noise as two mages settled close by him,
"Uldred's getting bolder." he heard one of them declare to her friend as she took a sip of wine.
"He knows what he's doing." came the curt reply. Niall vaguely recognised both of them although he had no idea who they were beyond that.
"Still," she gestured vaguely, "there're a lot of unfamiliar faces around tonight."
"Hmm," the other woman's eyes suddenly fixed on Niall, "speaking of – you're looking a bit lost, dear." Niall jolted slightly at being addressed. The woman's tone was pleasant but beneath her words was a very clear suspicion. He wasn't sure how best to respond so he went with,
"I got a note – from Uldred."
That made both of them smile.
"Can I get you something to drink?" the older of the two asked.
"Maker, yes please," Niall felt some of the tension leave his shoulders, "I don't suppose there's any whiskey on offer?"
She chuckled, "You're best bet for that is Drass," she pointed out the templar on the far side. He was leaning against the wall listening to an elf playing her lute. "He's always pleased to find another person willing to burn through their oesophagus with his bootleg firewhiskey."
"It's that bad?" Niall raised an eyebrow.
"It goes down like a fireball."
They smiled at him again then returned to their own conversation, leaving Niall with no option but to stroll up to a templar and ask him for a glass a whiskey. The whole thing felt like he was inside a fever dream as he approached Drass.
"…..ir tela las ir Fen halaaaaan… - " Drass sang out in an off-key baritone. Niall found himself watching - fascinated. He'd never seen Drass act any way but professionally when he was on duty.
"Almost," the elf interrupted him. "It's Fen halam not halan," she strummed her instrument again and sang, "Ir tela las ir Fen halam, vir am'tela'elvahen."
"Beautiful." Drass began to clap and Niall started to suspect from the state of him that there might not be any whiskey left, "What does it mean?"
The considerably more sober elf seemed amused, "It's a lullaby my mother sang back in the alienage. That last line was, 'when the Wolf won, we lost the People to war'… I think."
Their conversation was halted when they noticed Niall lingering,
"They told me you were the man to ask for whiskey?" his voice came out like he was asking permission to check out a book from the restricted section of the library.
Drass cried out an excited 'AH-HA' and slapped Niall on the back, "Brave man!" he said, grabbing an empty glass from a nearby table and pouring a suspiciously thick brown whiskey which he then handed to Niall. He drank it down in one, coughing when he swallowed and felt it scorch the back of his throat, even though he couldn't claim he hadn't been warned. Drass laughed and immediately refilled Niall's glass for him.
"This young lady was just teaching me a song." Drass bellowed and the elf gave a shy, slightly apologetic smile. He didn't recognise her face at all.
"I don't think we've met, have we?" he offered his hand, "I'm Niall."
She shook it and smiled, which he took to mean no, they hadn't met.
"Nedor," she said, "one of Uldred's apprentices."
Ah – that explained it, at least. It also made Niall realise he was yet to lay eyes on their host. He realised he should probably look for Uldred – the man must have invited him for a reason after all. Plus, it would give him an excuse to escape before Drass' crooning recommenced.
"Pleasure," he smiled at her, "and speaking of Uldred – is he here?"
"Right over there." she pointed to a huddle of people all with their eyes fixated on one man – Uldred. Uldred had his back to Niall, one arm was gesticulating as he spoke and the other was draped possessively over the shoulder of a smaller man with shaggy black hair.
Niall knocked back his second drink, this time managing not to splutter as he swallowed.
"One more for the road?" he held his glass up for Drass to fill for the third time, then made his way over to Uldred.
"That's the thing though," Niall got close enough to hear what Uldred was saying and took a place amongst his audience, "They called him unskilled, his spell-work was too messy – but did it occur to them teach him how to control how much mana he exerted per spell? No – of course not."
There were nods and murmurs of agreement and Uldred tightened his arm around the shorter man and Niall suddenly realised who it was. Jowan – the apprentice he'd seen leaving Uldred's personal quarters. Jowan's face flushed slightly as Uldred carried on,
"That was all the problem was – if you release too much mana for a simple Stone Fist spell, the stone breaks up into gravel. It certainly does not mark an apprentice as a lost cause. On the contrary, Jowan here has a lot of potential."
There was another outbreak of nodding as Uldred paused while another mage began to pour a round of wine. Jowan looked as though he wasn't sure whether to be flattered or embarrassed. It was only then that Uldred seemed to notice Niall.
"Niall," being the object of Uldred's focus was immediately disconcerting - his tone was friendly but that didn't cancel out the intensity of his gaze, "Glad you got my little invitation."
"I did – I was er – surprised to find it."
Uldred laughed and pulled his arm off Jowan's shoulder.
"I'm sure you were." The rest of his group had started talking amongst themselves and Uldred moved off to the side to sit down, gesturing for Niall to join him.
"You look uneasy." Uldred said, but with a subtle smirk that suggested he would have been disappointed if that hadn't been the case.
"This place is … I had no idea… "
Another flash of satisfaction appeared across Uldred's face,
"It's my little sanctuary." he explained, "Back when I was newly harrowed mage, I had a mentor who kept his supplies down here. We started using it as a private workspace. This was decades ago – nowadays no one seems to remember it was ever here apart from me - and anyone I chose to invite in."
Niall got the feeling Uldred considered his invitations an honour for the recipients. Which, if anything, made his own invite even more confusing.
"In your note, you mentioned an interest in my research?"
"Ah, yes," Uldred took a delicate sip of wine. For a man with such an intimidating presence there was an unexpected grace to the way he moved, "You're expertise is in mental resistance, yes?"
Niall nodded, although he felt 'expertise' was a generous word for it.
"Fascinating area – one I fear I've neglected in my own studies. My focus skews towards combat magic – more offensive than defensive."
"I suppose we all have our weaknesses – I'm appalling with elemental spells." he wasn't sure why he said that – he felt like he was missing something, some nuance the Senior Enchanter was trying to convey.
"Quite – no mage is an expert in all things, as much as we would surely like to be. But still, I would like to know more. Would you be amenable to my joining yourself and Senior Enchanter Torrin for your next session?" then Uldred barred his yellowed teeth in an unsettling grin, "Next experiment session, that is."
Niall's eyes went wide. As far as he had been aware, no one knew he and Torrin were sleeping together. No one. So how did Uldred? He wracked his brain for any other possible interpretation of the man's last comment but drew a blank. He must know. Not that it mattered if he did? The man was hosting an alcohol fuelled party in a hidden cavern, he was hardly going to report Torrin, surely? As his thoughts spun out Niall almost forgot to answer the actual question – which was confusing enough in itself. What would Uldred have to gain from involving himself in Niall's work? Niall found his thoughts turning again to the disaster that had been their session that afternoon and shuddering slightly. He knocked back the rest of his drink.
"Another?" Uldred asked without missing a beat. Without waiting for an answer, he caught the eye of someone with a bottle and pointed to Niall's empty glass.
"Thanks," Niall said to the mage obediently pouring an unknown clear liquor into his glass. Then he turned his attention back to Uldred, the brief respite having allowed him to regain composure. The effects of the alcohol must have been kicking in because his wits were not as sharp as he was used to.
"You're welcome to join. Although, today's session very much did not go well."
"Mmm," Uldred murmured in agreement, "Yes, I ran into your tutor a few hours ago – he seemed in low spirits about the whole thing." Niall bristled, disliking the idea of Torrin discussing his failure with Uldred, or with anyone for that matter.
"Anyway," Uldred continued, "let's not spend the whole evening discussing work – I should circulate." he stood up, "Enjoy the party, Niall." and with that he headed back into the crowd.
Niall stayed seated on the futon, the upholstery left a lot to be desired, the thing had been ripped and re-sewed more than once by the look of it. But he had a seat and a drink and that was all he really needed. He lent back, content just to people-watch as he mulled over his interaction with Uldred. That was – until woman's shout rang out from behind the stack of boxes beside him.
No one seemed to pay it any attention though.
Another breathy shout and Niall realised exactly what it was he was hearing.
It was confirmed a few seconds later, when the woman stumbled out looking dishevelled. Sheepishly, she smoothed down her hair and scuttled away. She was followed by a man pulling his tunic back over his head. Niall couldn't help but stare at him – he could see the outline of the man's every bone through his skin. His torso was covered in partially heeled scars and there was a deep purple bruise spread all across the front of his left shoulder. When the man looked up, Niall recognised Anders – the tower's resident escape artist. Last time he'd escaped, he'd been gone over a year. Niall had no idea how they'd finally found him after so long.
"You," Anders smiled at Niall, still trying to straighten out his tunic with no hint of embarrassment about what he'd just been doing, "You're the one who caught me feeding my cats the other week."
"Niall." he offered.
"Of course. So, Niall, who do I see around here if I want some quality brandy – preferably in a very large quantity?"
"No idea I'm afraid. I'm new to this."
Anders looked surprised, "You're the third person tonight who's said that. Sounds like Uldred's expanded his usual guest list – must be a special occasion."
Before Niall could reply, another elf who looked far too young to be here came running over,
"Anders," she beamed and threw her arms around him. Niall almost winced out of sympathy, there was no way that hadn't hurt him but Anders showed no sign of discomfort as he hugged her back.
"I know what you need to do!" the elf squealed when she released him.
Anders laughed, "Are you referring to my little electricity trick?" he winked at her and she blushed. Niall shuddered to think what kind of trick that was.
"Actually," Anders continued, "I have a new game for tonight, I just need a bowl – the bigger the better. And some brandy, the more the better. And some raisins – but I already have those."
"Give me one second." the elf disappeared, then, as good as her word, reappeared almost instantly with a large glass bowl and three bottles of brandy. She may have looked young but she, at least, obviously wasn't new here.
Anders laid the bowl on the floor then climbed up onto a chair,
"Ladies and gentlemen," he shouted, grabbing the attention of everyone present, "On my last trip outside these tower walls, I encountered a wonderful drinking game. Gather – all who wish to join me!"
A few of the drunker looking guests huddled around him as he began to explain the rules to what had to be the most ludicrous drinking game in existence. And maybe it was the effect of the whiskey but Niall found himself thinking by the void, why not, and taking his place in the game with half a dozen other recruits.
One hour and three bottles of brandy between them later and Niall couldn't remember ever being this drunk before. He was sat on the cold stones of the cavern floor, laughing uncontrollably at a joke he wasn't even sure he'd understood the punchline too. Nedor and another elf were trying to teach some of the others a traditional alienage dance which unfortunately involved a lot of swinging your partner around, which in turn involved a lot of chaotic stumbling – neither of those things were ideal when the dancers were this inebriated. Anders was lying with his head in the lap of another mage listing potential names for hypothetical cats. All around them the mages and templars were still laughing and drinking and every lingering memory of Niall's bad day had been washed away by a sea of brandy.
His languid daze was interrupted by the sound of a something metal clinking against a glass. He swivelled around to see Uldred standing straight, waiting to address his guests. He waited calmly until every conversation had stopped and everyone's attention was fixed firmly on him. Then he began to speak,
"My friends, I want to thank you for joining me tonight. Especially, my new friends – who I trust will be as discrete about the existence of our sanctuary here as we are." his pause there was only brief but it managed to serve as a warning.
"It's certainly been a memorable evening," that earned him a laugh as a few people turned to look at Anders, "I am sure most of you know by now that this may be the last of these gatherings for some time. For those of you who haven't heard, Irving has all but confirmed that I will be one of the mages sent by the Circle to fight alongside the King's army at Ostagar."
Murmuring broke out loud enough that Niall was sure not many people present had known that. Uldred held up his hand and silence fell immediately.
"Living isolated in the Circle, it's easy for us to overlook how turbulent the times we are living in are. But chaos is often what is needed to precede change. In the coming months, I believe I will be more grateful than ever for your friendship and your loyalty."
"As mages, we are expected to spend our days with our heads down. It is the easiest way to survive. They keep us surrounded by templars but worse, by the tranquil who are there to remind us constantly of the fate that awaits us if we dare to speak up openly. But it is a trick – stay subservient and you will not be made tranquil? Lies! Because if you spend your whole life passive, keeping your head down, showing blind obedience to chantry orders, then tell me, have you not become tranquil anyway?"
Mutterings of agreement echoed around the cavern.
"The life of a mage should not merely be a choice between losing yourself in an instant up in that harrowing chamber – or losing yourself slowly, more and more, over years until there's nothing left. That is why we continue to gather, to laugh, to drink, to live our lives in defiance of the tyranny of our situation. Because as I look around, I see no tranquil here tonight."
-o0o-
The crowd had dispersed soon after Uldred's speech and Niall's head finally hit his pillow just before the sun began to rise. As he drifted off to sleep, Uldred's words echoed in his mind. He didn't behave like a tranquil, did he? He wasn't rebellious but that wasn't the same thing as blind obedience? He didn't feel like he lived in fear. But then, if Uldred was wrong – why had he felt more alive tonight than he could ever remember feeling?