oOo
By the time the rest of the party had arrived, the sun had nearly set and nothing was cheerful. The terror of the villagers was making all of us tense, and I knew Elissa was more worried about them than us. We'd already planned out where everybody would go – Wynne, Leliana and Morrigan were to stay with Ser Perth who only had a handful of men – albeit the most trained – to hold the first chokepoint. Everybody else who fought in close quarters was to stay with the villagers.
Morrigan opened her mouth to complain about how it wasn't their fight. Elissa cut her off. "We cannot battle the darkspawn while Loghain is in power and we need Arl Eamon to oppose him to have a chance of ousting him. How exactly is this not our fight?" Morrigan bristled but didn't seem to have a response so I laid the plan out for everyone. No more objections were heard and everybody took their places.
As soon as night fell, we started to smell them. The stench of death was overpowering, and when the barrels were ignited up the hill the smell of burning and rotting flesh made more than a few retch.
Then, they were upon us.
We'd encountered reanimated skeletons and all manner of wretched creatures, but nothing had quite prepared me for how fresh these walking corpses were. Their flesh had begun to sag and blacken, but they were far from being indistinguishable from each other. They still had clothes and jewellery on. Undoubtedly those from Redcliffe were able to recognise their neighbours or family. Even not knowing these people it was more difficult than I had anticipated to cut them down. The worst were the children, such small little shambling bodies, more than one Redcliffe man stumbling back to avoid having to deal with them. And so I did instead, even though it pained me, because at least I had never known these poor kids in life.
Elissa was in her element. She wove in and out of the melee like she had always been fighting in a crowd. More than once she appeared from seemingly nowhere to step in and prevent someone from being overwhelmed. Even through my exhaustion, I could see her legend forming, the way the villagers stared at her in awe. They looked at her the way I probably looked at her.
It seemed to go on forever. It was the longest night I could remember, and when it was over, I nearly collapsed in relief.
In the end, we didn't lose a single man. But it still didn't seem enough. Seeing the survivors huddle around the undead and gently move them to the shore even as they gagged into cloths tied over their noses made any sense of victory quickly evaporate.
Sleeping in armour on a stone floor with only lumpy packs for pillows had to be right up there with most uncomfortable places to try and sleep, but we passed out in a corner of the Chantry easily.
We woke blearily, just as dazed as everyone around us looked. We stumbled into the sunlight and began the unenviable task of preparing the dead for their funeral rites. Another few long, exhausting hours later, the only person who seemed reinvigorated was Bann Teagan, who had a short little ceremony outside the Chantry for us and handed me a helmet that I accepted with what I hoped was more grace than I felt.
We met him by the windmill next to where Ser Perth had taken a stand and he began to explain the secret passage through the windmill when he abruptly stopped and exclaimed "Maker's Breath!"
I turned and saw Isolde running towards us. Elissa nudged me with her elbow and I snapped my mouth shut. I gave her a speaking look and she seemed to read it correctly; her lips flattened in distaste and she squared her shoulders. Elissa disliking Isolde on my word alone was, in a strange way, one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me.
Isolde stopped breathlessly in front of Teagan and sent many thanks to the Maker that he was still alive. Teagan, genuinely flabbergasted to see her, asked her how she lived and what had happened, and Isolde refused to say – only to insist that Teagan return with her to the castle, alone.
My eyebrows shot up my forehead. What exactly was going on here?
"We will need more of an explanation than that." Elissa's dry interruption caused Isolde to finally turn, and her face immediately set into an unimpressed frown.
"What? I... who is this woman, Teagan?" She practically sneered the word woman, and I bristled. Of course that was jealous Isolde's response.
"She's the Warden-Commander of Ferelden, Isolde, and also the reason that anyone in Redcliffe yet survives." I informed her tersely, and Isolde opened her mouth in indignation before she realised who I was.
"Alistair? Of all the... why are you here?"
"They are both Grey Wardens, Isolde. And Alistair's right, I owe them my life, as does everyone in Redcliffe." Teagan cut in. Isolde turned back to us, slightly chastened.
"Pardon me, I... I would exchange pleasantries, but... considering the circumstances..."
"Lady Isolde, we had no idea anyone was even alive within the castle. We must have some answers!" Teagan interrupted. Did she really think she could get away with saying nothing and then taking Teagan away? Then I remembered this was Isolde and that yes, she absolutely would expect zero scrutiny. Of course she didn't spare a Maker-forsaken thought to the villagers below.
Isolde turned away from us again and went back to Teagan. "I know you need more of an explanation, but I... don't know what is safe to tell."
"Safe for whom?" I muttered as I kept my eyes on Isolde. If Isolde heard me, she didn't show it.
Isolde began recounting mournfully that a terrible evil had awakened in the castle that raised the dead, as if she were not already perfectly aware of the fact that we were well acquainted with the result of the risen dead. She implored Teagan to return with her to... convince Connor to leave the castle?
Elissa and I exchanged dubious looks. None of this made sense.
"Putting to one side for the moment getting Connor to safety, why has the mage responsible not been dealt with? If he has caused all this death, his execution is more than warranted," Elissa interjected again.
"I... I beg your pardon! That's a rather impertinent question!" Elissa was totally unaffected by Isolde's outrage. I shouldn't have taken such pleasure in admiring her forbearance, but I did. Isolde looked around, searching for pity. "An evil I cannot fathom holds my son and husband hostage! I came for help! What more do you want from me?"
"But... I do not understand what you mean by this 'evil'. Did it create the walking corpses? What is it?" Teagan cut in again, this time with a very pertinent question.
She explained that the mage responsible had unleashed something that had spared her, her son, and the Arl. She babbled about begging 'it' to be allowed to fetch Teagan because Connor needed help.
At this point, Wynne stepped forward. "You begged it? Are we speaking of a demon?"
Isolde tried very hard to seem surprised at the idea it could be a demon. She didn't fool me for a second, and judging by Elissa's stony gaze, she hadn't fooled her, either.
Teagan took control of the conversation and inquired after Eamon, who had apparently been poisoned by the 'mage responsible' for the undead rising. When Isolde said that the mage had claimed he was there under instruction from Teyrn Loghain, I was not surprised. When she repeated her entreaties that Teagan return with her alone, 'for Connor's sake', I was also not surprised. I had been shipped off to the monastery when Connor was only a few months old, but even by then her single-minded dedication to him had been obvious.
"The King is dead, and we need my brother now more than ever. I will return to the castle with you, Isolde," Teagan concluded eventually.
"Oh, thank the Maker! Bless you, Teagan! Bless you!" Isolde was suspiciously near tears. Teagan cannot have been that close to Connor, as Bann of Rainesfere he did not even reside in Redcliffe usually...
Teagan then turned to us. "I cannot let Isolde return alone. This is my family, I must try to help. I have no illusions of dealing with this... evil, alone. You, on the other hand, have proven quite formidable. Isolde, can you excuse us for a moment? We must confer in private before I return to the castle with you."
Isolde looked ready to protest, but the look on Teagan's face made her retreat. "Please do not take too long... I will be by the bridge," she said instead.
We watched her walk away.
"I'm guessing you still want us to enter through the secret passage?" Elissa inquired, and Teagan nodded.
"Does Isolde know about it?" I asked curiously, and Teagan shook his head. Well, alright then.
"It seems we have little choice. Hopefully, using the passage will allow us to catch whatever this evil is unawares," Elissa said.
"I will try to distract it, whatever it is. Here, my signet ring – it unlocks the trapdoor to the passage." Elissa took Teagan's ring and weighed it in her palm.
"It seems we have little choice. Try and stay safe, Teagan," I told him.
"Eamon is the priority here. If you have to, just get him out of there. Isolde, me, anyone else... we're expendable." I opened my mouth to rebuke him but he just shook his head. "I know you'll try to save everyone you can, but I mean it, Alistair. Focus on Eamon." He took a moment to take in a deep breath, eyes closed. When he opened them, he seemed older and sadder. "The Maker smiled on me when he sent you two to Redcliffe. Thank you for what you've done for these people. Farewell and good luck." He began to talk towards the castle, and then paused. "Ser Perth, stay near the Castle. Should the Wardens open the courtyard gates from the inside, you can assist." The Knight gave a slow deferential nod. "Maker be with you," Teagan called to us before he left sight.
We stood in silence for a little bit before Elissa and I turned to each other.
"Was it just me, or did Isolde seem evasive and very suspicious?" I wondered aloud with more levity than I felt.
"Very suspicious," Elissa agreed. "Incredibly suspicious, one might even say."
"Why would this it allow her and Connor to live?" Leliana asked.
"Good question," Elissa commented as she turned to face the rest of the group. "There are several other good questions, such as why this entity would think getting Connor help is worthwhile, or why Isolde's plan is to get help in convincing Connor to leave Redcliffe instead of help from the Circle to stop the dead rising. Or why Isolde has clearly spoken with it but pretends a demon being involved hasn't crossed her mind..."
"Let's not forget that she didn't answer why the mage wasn't executed," I added.
"Or why Loghain would send a man to poison the Arl, and then raise an army of the undead. Why not simply kill him?" Zevran mused.
Elissa made a thoughtful sound of agreement, and then I clapped my hands. "Well, as absolutely nothing about this makes sense, it sounds like this is going to be a nightmare and we have no idea what we will find inside. This sounds like a team job." Elissa nodded in agreement.
"Wynne, Morrigan – we're likely to need you today. Are you both rested? Do you need anything?" Elissa inquired, and once they had both confirmed they were fine and we had said our goodbyes to Ser Perth and his men, we made our way into the windmill and uncovered the trap door. Elissa used the signet ring to turn a mechanism on the side; a stench of damp and mould filled the small windmill as soon as we opened the hatch. Elissa and I stood at the edge and stared down at the slippery rungs.
"I'll go first," Elissa offered. She unhooked a torch from the wall and had Morrigan light it before she descended.
It was a very long way down before we reached the remarkably flat and straight passageway at the bottom. I realised it had somehow been tunnelled underneath the lake, and I shuddered at the thought of being underneath all that water. The ceiling was worringly damp and I passed the time reciting the Chant of Light in my head. Although it was occasionally interspersed with prayers along the lines of "please don't let us all get crushed".
We eventually reached the other side, and emerged into the dungeons of Redcliffe Castle.
We soon found the mage Isolde had referred to. Wynne recognised him immediately. "Jowan?" She asked in astonishment. "I thought you were dead, hunted down by templars." She turned to the rest of us and explained that Jowan had been caught practicing blood magic but had managed to escape the Circle.
"A maleficar? Things are even worse than I anticipated," I muttered mostly to myself. "How did you end up here?" I asked Jowan, very wary now. It didn't help that the mage was covered in blood. He looked like the poster boy for 'maleficarum are evil and nasty'.
"I was caught by the Templars and taken to Denerim, but instead of executing me, Loghain made me an offer."
"To poison Arl Eamon?" I enquired, and he nodded, looking remorseful.
"I'm not proud of my deed. Loghain said it would be a way to make up for my crime and help the country. Lady Isolde had no idea about Loghain's orders when she took me in to tutor her son, of course."
Things stopped and then sharpened abruptly.
"Why would she need you to tutor Connor?" I asked quietly.
"Connor had started to show... signs. Lady Isolde was terrified the Circle of Magi would take him away for training and sought an apostate to teach him in secret so he could learn to hide his talent. Her husband had no idea."
Oh, no. Oh no. I hoped desperately that he was a very good liar, but... "And if you're telling the truth about not being behind the undead-"
"I'm not! I swear! I know it looks suspicious but I was already imprisoned before all that began!"
I held up my hand to forestall more interruptions as I closed my eyes in despair. "If you're telling the truth, that means that Connor is responsible for the undead. Which means he is some kind of abomination."
"Jowan may not be telling the truth, he is a blood mage," Wynne reminded me.
"This is why the Circle exists, Wynne! This is why Templars exist! Because if you have untrained mages, they can't control their magic but they can accidentally tear open the Veil!" I shot back, extremely agitated. I pressed a fist to my mouth and let out a deep breath. I lowered my voice. "And if Connor is possessed, it certainly helps explain why Isolde was being so cagey earlier and why the demon wants Connor alive."
Wynne looked down. "Yes, that it does. I do not relish the idea of having to kill another child today, even if we have no other choice," she said, sadly.
"It won't have to come to that! I will find a way to make this right!" Jowan said desperately. "Please give me a chance to make this right," he begged, looking right at me.
I massaged my forehead and gestured for Elissa and I to step away. She had been unusually quiet as I conversed with Jowan.
"What do you think? Do we have him come with us?"
Elissa chewed her lip.
"Normally, I would say we leave him where he is and come back and get him once we've assessed the situation, but we might not have the opportunity to come back. I think he has to come with us. I do think he's sincere in wanting to make this right," she said slowly. Then she looked at me seriously. "But I want you to make this decision. You know Arl Eamon and I know you want to do right by him, so handle this how you think is best. I will support you, whatever you decide."
I took her hand, glad my back was to the rest of them and they wouldn't see it. "Thank you," I told her, and the corner of her lips quirked up.
We went back to the others and I told the room at large that Jowan was coming with us as I opened the cell. The maleficar seemed frightened of the danger but I gestured impatiently for him to leave. "If you want to help, then you need to actually help. Just don't make things worse. And definitely don't try anything."
"I won't, I promise. I will find a way to fix this, somehow."
I was amazed when no one raised any objections, but then, I'd used the tried and tested Elissa tactic of simply going ahead and making the decision before they could stick their oar in, and now, it was done.
"Everyone ready?" I asked, and also in Elissa fashion, waited approximately three seconds for them to speak before turning away. "Then let's go."
oOo