Chapter THIRTY-FIVE
"Have you noticed how many Tranquil are in the Gallows courtyard lately?" Anders asked as Aria, Varric, and a highly incensed Fenris entered his clinic in Darktown nearly an hour and a half later. He noticed that Aria's eyes were red with tears and she wouldn't look at Fenris. Her mother had just died and here she was, fighting for his cause. He tried to feel guilty, but instead he felt proud. He knew he could trust Aria to aide him. "And don't tell me I'm just sensitive to it," Anders continued, his words aimed at Fenris. "I've been watching, and every day there are new Tranquil, selling their bloody wares. Good mages, too. People I know passed their Harrowing."
"Chantry law states mages that pass their Harrowing cannot be made Tranquil," Aria coldly said for Varric's benefit. Aria was sure Fenris already knew that.
"Exactly," Anders breathed, his eyes beseeching all of them. "The templars are using the Rite of Tranquility to silence those who speak against them. It isn't supposed to be used as a punishment; it's a safeguard, and they're abusing it. They're working on a deliberate plan to tranquilize every mage in Kirkwall within the next three years!"
"Forgive me for being the voice of reason, but how in the name of the Maker can you possibly know that?" Fenris snarled, stepping up so that he stood between Anders and Aria.
"There are groups in Kirkwall who help those fleeing the Circle. I've talked to people inside," Anders ignored him and still spoke to Aria. "The plan is the work of a templar named Ser Alrik. I've had a run-in with him myself. He's the one who did the ritual on Karl. Nasty piece of work. Likes to make mages beg. No doubt he's got his eye on Bethany—and he'll do whatever he can to implicate her in some wrongdoing so that he can tranquilize her, too. The Knight-Commander bears you no small amount of ill will, Aria."
"What happened?" Aria pressed, grabbing Fenris's hand and holding it. It was a gesture of equal parts restraint and love at the moment; Fenris's hate of Anders had returned tenfold.
"I've been involved with an…underground resistance," Anders said then, which they had all already known. "Mages living free in Kirkwall who help others escape. I can't tell you any more, for your sake and theirs. You have too much involvement with the Guard and nobility." He addressed Fenris once more, "Suffice it to say, I've been in the Gallows. I've seen his work firsthand. My information is good—and his next targets have been identified."
Aria took a step back, glaring at him. His doubt in her commitment to opposing the Kirkwall Circle was deeply insulting. It wasn't like she held balls and routinely fraternized with the guards and the nobility. Well, beyond Aveline and Donnic anyway. They didn't count—they knew about Anders and Merrill, and yet, those two still walked free of the Circle. "What else can you tell me about Ser Alrik?" she testily asked.
"The Knight-Commander is at least sincere in her convictions. However misguided, she believes she's helping people. Ser Alrik's a sadist. Cold-blooded as a lizard. He likes to experiment on mages. He finds out what it takes to push them into the arms of demons," Anders explained.
"So he's doing this what…behind Meredith's back then?" Aria queried, gently releasing Fenris's hand. He still glowered at her, his eyes spitting acidic green sparks at her. Figuratively speaking, of course.
"That's what I hope," Anders replied. "If we bring the evidence of this plan to light, there must be people who will stand against it. Perhaps even the Grand Cleric will finally be forced to act," he continued, moving past them and checking outside the doors of the clinic. He motioned them to follow him. "My friends in the mage underground know a way inside. A secret entrance under the walls of the Gallows. That is why I asked you to come with me tonight. I need your help to stop him."
Fenris stopped abruptly, catching Aria by the shoulder and spinning her to face him. He backed her up to the wall and pinned her there. "You're not helping Bethany by doing this. You're only going to make it worse for her! And then how much will you hate yourself?"
Tears sprang anew to Aria's tear-ridden, raw eyes, like salt in a wound. "What am I supposed to do? Let them destroy her, so that every time I'm summoned to the bloody Gallows to carry out the next investigation, I have to see her walking around like a simpleton, peddling her soaps for a living?"
"This is not the right way to stop it!" Fenris yelled, his chilling emerald gaze swiveling to level on Anders. "You'll get her killed! Both of them!"
Anders shook his head and kept walking. Varric stepped up to Fenris and gently separated him from Aria. She shook her head as well and caught up with Anders. Varric and Fenris were not far behind. Fenris cursed under his breath in his snarling baritone voice and Varric wisely kept his mouth shut.
They reached the secret entrance half an hour later in a particularly decrepit part of Darktown. Anders lifted the trap door and looked up at Aria. "I've always feared being made Tranquil. Now, more than ever."
Aria shook her head. "That's not going to happen."
"Some mages need to be made Tranquil," Fenris outspokenly growled.
"Your opinion has been noted. You can stay here if you like," Aria spat at him.
Fenris glared at her then strode up to Anders. He jabbed him in the chest with his index finger, hard enough to force the mage back a few steps. "You made a promise! I told you what would happen if you broke it!"
"I will keep that promise," Anders solemnly stated, his hands extended palms out in a placating manner.
"See that you do," Fenris quietly, but venomously replied. "Let's go."
They filed into the tunnel that led them underneath the city. Varric decided to take the role of buffer, and he kept himself between Aria and the two warring men who now strode side-by-side, glaring at each other.
Aria wanted to ask about the promise, but the ill timing prevented her from doing so. They would need to be quiet if they were going to sneak up on Alrik. Another outburst from Fenris would surely give them away. Aria was already walking on egg shells as it was, especially now that she had knowledge of a bargain that had been struck between Anders and Fenris concerning her.
They walked for what seemed like ten miles to Aria, but what in reality may have only been a half of a mile. The uncomfortable silence was deafening and the whole situation made her feel as though her skin was crawling. She was a nervous wreck.
Anders halted the group when they heard voices coming from around the bend in the narrow corridor where they now stood. Aria turned her head and cupped her ear with her hand to eavesdrop a little before they got to the fun part.
"No! I haven't done anything wrong!" a young girl's voice rent the silence of the cavern.
"That's a lie," a malicious sounding male voice came in response. "What do we do to mages who lie?"
"I just wanted to see my mum! No one ever told her where they were taking me!" the girl's voice pleaded again.
Justice's white light flashed through Anders and he fought him down. Aria stepped forward, but Fenris pushed her back, his body coming between them. He shook his head curtly at Hawke, silently telling her to stay away.
"So you admit your attempted escape," came the man's voice again. "You know what happens to mage girls who don't toe the line around here, don't you?"
Aria struggled to listen more closely, to discern just how many bodies there were around the corner. She could hear the clink of armour as others shifted restlessly. She could hear at least four other persons present, as she was able to distinguish at least four sets of lungs expelling breath. Her amber gaze met the darker brown one of Anders. His eyes pleaded with her.
"Please, no!" the girl's voice shrilly echoed throughout the tunnels. "Don't make me Tranquil! I'll do anything!"
Aria darted past Fenris, swiftly and silently, Anders following right in her footsteps, spinning his staff into combat position. She unsheathed and flicked her daggers, her eyes darting around the chasm that opened above and around her. She kept to the shadows, noiselessly sneaking up on the group. The templars had their backs to her, and the girl knelt on the ground before a bald-headed, tall, surly templar. Aria recognized him as one of the guards who had accompanied Bethany when she first arrived.
"How do you think Knight-Commander Meredith will react when she finds you've been flagrantly abusing the Rite of Tranquility?" Aria boomed, abruptly drawing the templars' attention.
But the focus quickly shifted to Anders—or rather, Justice, who had completely taken over his body. "You fiends will never touch a mage again!" he snarled, swirling his staff as he stalked forward. His skin looked as though it were made of stone and had cracked, revealing an ominous blue-white light behind it. His eyes glowed a cold ice blue.
All hell broke loose then. Aria and Justice launched simultaneously for Alrik, while Fenris and Varric slipped into crowd control on the eight or so other templars present. They couldn't hold the templars completely, and Aria was reluctantly forced to engage the two that now attacked her.
She ducked under the swing of one of their greatswords and smashed herself into the templar's shield, sending him sprawling on his derriere. She spun and ducked again as the second tried to get her with his longsword, sweeping his legs out from under him in the same motion. Aria whipped one of her throwing knives at the neck of the first templar, then brought the pommels of her daggers down hard on the top of the second templar's helm. The first templar sank to the ground, frantically trying to dislodge the knife in his neck, but the wound she'd inflicted severed his carotid artery and he was not long for this world.
The second templar threw Aria off, sending her smashing into the cavern wall. She grunted with the impact, then winced. Broken ribs were certainly not one of her favourite battle injuries. Aria struggled to her feet and snagged a health potion from the sewn in pocket on her belt and downed it quickly. The magical elixir didn't heal the bones entirely, but it gave her enough reprieve to continue the fight.
The templar regained his fighting stance as Aria recovered and he swung at her again. She dropped, narrowly evading the blade's bite. She kicked his feet out from under him once more, this time sending him flat on his back. Aria rammed one of her daggers to the hilt just under his arm when he tried to stand again, puncturing a lung in the process. She buried the other dagger into his neck, severing his spinal cord just under the earlobe.
She turned and launched another assault on Ser Alrik, who was distracted by his combat dance with Anders. Aria tripped him too, then brought her blade to his throat. He grinned wickedly at her before she severed his head from his body.
Aria looked around then, and saw the three of her other companions just finishing the other templars. Aria was going to say something to Varric but the words were lost when Aria saw Justice approaching the girl.
"They will die!" Justice fumed. "I will have every last templar for these abuses!"
"It's over, Anders. They're all dead," Aria stepped between Justice and the girl, appealing to the man she knew still existed within the normally benevolent abomination.
Justice shoved Aria aside, hard enough that she lost her footing and slammed into the wall again. Fenris sprang towards him, but Justice knocked him back with one swift swing of his staff.
"Every one of them will feel Justice's burn!" Justice cried, stalking towards the girl once more.
"Get away from me, demon!" the girl cried, holding her hands up in a feeble gesture of defense.
"I am no demon!" Justice roared above her, fierce and powerful in his righteous brand of rage. "Are you one of them, that you would call me such?!"
"She's the very thing you're trying to protect!" Aria screamed at him, struggling to her feet and stepping towards him again. "She's the reason you did this, Anders!"
"Justice answers to nobody!" Justice spat back at her. "She is one of them!"
"Please! Messere!" the girl begged, falling to her knees.
Justice rose to his full fury and Aria felt helpless. He was going to kill that mage and Anders would never forgive himself. But then, just before the staff came down on the girl's upturned, pleading face, the white light extinguished. Anders was back in control. He stumbled backwards and covered his face. He wept right there, falling to his knees.
The girl ran and Hawke limped over to where the mage knelt, shaking with silent sobs. When Aria rested her hand on his shoulder, he abruptly stood again, and his eyes pleaded with her.
"Maker, no! I almost…if you weren't here… I… I need to get out of here!" Anders cried. He bolted back down the passage from whence they'd come.
Aria went after the girl down the passage that led in the opposite direction, Fenris and Varric hot on her heels. She found the girl a little ways down, sobbing where she fell against the tunnel wall. Aria reassured her and got her to her feet.
"You…you saved my life, messere," the girl said to Aria. "What was that thing?"
"He isn't what you think," Aria started, but was interrupted by Fenris.
"He's exactly what she thinks!"
"Can I…go home now?" the girl asked, her mocha-skinned cheeks stained with fresh tears. Her dark eyes entreated Aria for mercy.
"Ser Alrik is gone. You'll be safest in the Circle," Aria replied, ignoring the grunt of frustration that came from Fenris.
"Without Ser Alrik… Maybe Bethany's right. The Circle isn't so bad. Thank you again, messere," the girl said, then ran farther into the tunnel.
Aria turned and went the opposite direction, her mind still on the task. They needed to provide evidence of Ser Alrik's abuses so that she could bring them before Knight-Commander Meredith. If she had condoned these acts, Aria was taking the matter over Meredith's head to the Grand Cleric. If Meredith was innocent of any knowledge pertaining to this twisted, sick bastard's plans, then Aria would feel much better about Bethany being in the Circle. The fact that the girl knew her sister made Aria feel that much more confident in her decision to persuade the girl to stay in the Circle. It seemed Bethany had made some good impressions on the youth in the Gallows. And Aria knew the girl wouldn't make it if she just upped and left on her own. They'd hunt her down for sure, and she'd meet death at the end of a noose.
They looted the bodies of the templars, Aria taking it upon herself to search Alrik's corpse. She found a letter in the messenger bag he'd been wearing, along with a bag of silvers and some vials of health and stamina potion. She pocketed the money and vials, but read the letter.
To Her Excellency, Divine Justinia,
I am well aware both you and Knight-Commander Meredith have rejected my proposal, but I beg you to reconsider. The mages in the Free Marches are past controlling, their numbers have doubled in the last three years, and they have found a way to plant their abominations within our ranks. They cannot be contained!
The Tranquil Solution is our answer. All mages at the age of maturity must be made Tranquil. They'll coexist peacefully, and retain their usefulness—a perfect strategy! It's simply the best way to ensure all mages follow the laws of men and the Maker.
I remain, as always, your obedient servant,
Ser Otto Alrik
"His claim was correct then," Fenris snarled by her ear, having read the letter over her shoulder.
Aria started and almost dropped the letter. "It would appear so. Right down to Knight-Commander Meredith rejecting Alrik's proposal," she replied, stuffing the letter in her pocket. "I have to show it to Anders. Do some…damage control."
Fenris whirled away from her, throwing his hands up in the air. "Bah! Why do you even bother?! Why do I even bother! He doesn't care, either way. He will do everything he can to see mages ascend to power. Can you not see that? Are you so bloody blind?"
"He's not after power!" Aria launched back at him. "He wants freedom! Have you looked at Bethany? She's skin and bones! She's so…bitter and tainted. My sweet, gentle, innocent sister! I tried to protect her from that! I tried to keep her safe from all this…madness in the world!"
"So that's why you're doing this? Not because you want to help him?" Fenris snapped at her. "That's your real reason?"
"I failed Mama! She's dead! And so is Bethany if she's kept in that…that…foul, rotten, evil place! I can't fail again, Fenris. I won't fail again!" Aria screamed back at him. "I have to get her out, and Anders is the only one doing anything about it!"
"This isn't the way," Fenris softly and sadly stated. "This path you're on…this isn't the way."
"I'm out of options," Aria replied, gulping down air to keep from sobbing again. Her throat was sore and her eyes couldn't take more tears.
"No, you've just been so…bloody unfocused on which fires you should be putting out first," he gently stated, tentatively reaching his hand out to her while remaining at arms' length. "How did you get here, where you are?"
Aria eyed the hand he offered warily. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, leading up to the Deep Roads expedition, you were a slave driver to that one goal. You were possessed by the need to achieve. It gave you perspective and it let you see the right paths."
She took his hand and let him pull her to him. "How can I focus, when everyone in this city is ripping me in twenty thousand different Maker-damned directions?"
"Learn how to gracefully say no," he quietly replied.
"Wow," Varric cut in then and Aria blushed, having forgotten he was there. "You two really run the gamut when you have a fight."
"That wasn't…a fight," Fenris dryly said.
"Maker. If that wasn't a fight, I'd hate to see what you do call a fight," Varric laughed.
"Let's head back to the clinic. I want to wrap this up so I can get a few hours of sleep in before Bethany is up and about," Aria intervened, turning and heading back towards the Darktown entrance.
As they walked into the clinic Anders called home, he had his back to them, cleaning off one of his work spaces.
"Trash, trash, keep, trash, trash," he frantically muttered and his hands shook.
"Hey…" Aria said to get his attention. He didn't turn to face her. She sighed and started digging in her pocket for the now crumpled up letter. "This was all he had. Looks like the Tranquil Solution began—and ended—with him."
Anders straightened and looked up sharply at Aria. "Let me see that!" he said, pacing over to her and taking the letter from her hands. "The Divine…rejected the idea. Meredith rejected the idea!" He looked back at Aria, his eyes hopeful. "This was—not what I expected. Perhaps I should try talking with the Grand Cleric. Maybe she's more reasonable than I thought. Thank you," he said then, waving them out. "I have many new things to consider."
Aria slightly bowed, a sign of respect, and the three of them went back to the Hanged Man together. Isabela and Merrill were still in Varric's room, along with Gamlen and Bodahn.
"You went to a fight and you didn't take me?!" Isabela indignantly cried when she saw their faces. She was three sheets to the wind and setting full sail to cloud ten.
"We needed sober people," Fenris deadpanned, dropping his lean frame heavily onto the couch beside Bodahn.
"I was sober when you left," Isabela purred, sidling up to Fenris and licking her lips. "Let me guess… Green thong?"
"And that's it for Isabela tonight," Varric chimed, escorting the drunk rogue pirate captain onto the landing. He closed the door and locked it behind him.
"Aria, if it's not too much to ask, may I stay at your estate this evening? I would like to…spend some time with Bethany, before that bitch yanks her chains back to the Circle," Gamlen said as Aria started removing the most restricting pieces of her armour.
"Sure. Bodahn, see to it that my uncle is made comfortable," Aria distractedly replied.
"Right away, Mistress Hawke," Bodahn happily stated, finishing his pint and following Gamlen out the door.
"Varric…may I stay here tonight? I don't want to walk home right now," Merrill asked the dwarf.
"Of course, Daisy," Varric cordially and sweetly replied. He sat down on the sofa across from Fenris after snatching the last shot from the altar where Leandra's portrait still hung.
Aria plopped down next to Fenris and removed her light greaves, sighing at the rush of cool air that greeted her skin.
"Well done dodging that potential catastrophe tonight, Hawke," Varric toasted her, then downed his shot. He threw the glass at the fire place and the flames jumped higher for a split second.
"That did get rather sticky there for a second, didn't it?" Aria asked, leaning back against the soft plush cushions. She looked over at her mother's portrait. "Bethany is so much like her."
They all were quiet a moment. Varric dozed where he sat. Fenris leaned forward, his elbows bent and perched on his knees, his fingers laced together. He glared silently at the floor, the trim Aria had given him didn't allow his hair to fully conceal his eyes anymore. Aria looked between them and decided it was time to go.
She gently shook Varric awake again and explained that she and Fenris were leaving. He bade them good night and they set to the walk back up to Hightown.
"You are still angry," Aria said once they'd cleared the steps and walked across the empty bazaar. The moon was a couple days away from full and lit the square serenely.
"I'm not—angry," Fenris snarled.
"Yes, you certainly are," Aria challenged him.
"I think I'm the better judge as to what mood I'm in, considering it's my mood," he retorted.
"Well, considering that sometimes, we don't realize we're in a mood until someone calls us on our bullshit, I'm gonna have to say… Bullshit," Aria snapped back.
They began to jog, Fenris glaring over at Aria every few paces. They ran to his doorstep. He made a show of being a perfect gentleman opening the door for her, then slammed it closed once they both were inside.
"Why are you angry again?" Aria asked, the note of her voice pleading.
Fenris grabbed her by the shoulders then and gently drew her to him. "I'm not angry. I'm frustrated. There's a difference."
"Please don't make me choose between my sister and you," Aria whispered, her cheek rested on the chest plate of his armour.
"I won't, Aria. Ever. But I might make you choose between Anders and myself. Eventually. When you're not so much of a bad luck magnet," Fenris rasped, then he bent and lifted her into his arms.
"No. No, you're not going to charm me into forgetting about this," Aria giggled, though she didn't convincingly try to escape.
"Forget about what?" Fenris feigned innocence with his trademark sardonic flair.
"What promise did Anders make you regarding me?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck as he carried her to the stairs. He set her down and they held hands as he led her to his room. Once inside, he quickly started removing his armour.
"Fenris?" Aria asked, letting him dodge her for that last moment.
Fenris sighed. "We promised not to tell."
"I never thought I'd live to see the day where you two conspired willingly against me," Aria testily stated, turning her back to him as she began working on undoing her own armour.
"How could anyone ever trust me if I can't keep as simple a promise as keeping my mouth shut?" came the mocking reply.
Aria rounded on him and he turned her momentum against her, firmly holding her with her back to the wall. "Then tell me this," she grunted, "What will you do to him if he breaks his promise?"
"The same thing I did to Hadriana," he fiercely whispered, his forehead touching hers.