Alright, with this chapter I took a few liberties with the cannon story for time and length purposes. As much as I love the game and almost every mission, there are some that are simply too long to include in their entirety. As you will see in the coming chapter, some things have been altered but not completely cut out. I look forward to hearing what everyone thought. Big thanks to my beta and my wife for motivating me even after work has drained all joy from the world. Hope everyone enjoys!
000000000000000000
"Did you find anything?" Lyna asked.
"I found a copper under a bed, but other than that, nothing but corpses. It's like someone cleared out everything in these rooms already," Damien said tossing her the copper coin.
"Then shouldn't we move on?" Sten suggested sternly.
"Yeah, we should. The longer we wait the more people we are going to lose," Damien said sheathing one of his blades.
They made their way back into the hall, but the moment they stepped out the door they heard a blood curdling scream and a roar that was unlike anything he had ever heard before. Plus, the feeling that came along with it chilled him to the bone, and yet burned like a branding iron under his skin.
"Let's move!" Damien shouted sprinting forward. If he was going to lead, he would lead from the front, by example. If he hesitated, so would everyone else, right?
He entered through an archway into a massive hall with towering columns of beautiful masonry, but as nice as the scenery was, what he saw coming toward him ruined it. A massive pile of what looked like molten, red hot steel lurched its way toward him. He drew his other dagger and readied himself, but he was not sure how to attack it. It at least looked like he would burn himself if he tried touching it. As the beast spread thin arms with nothing but molten claws for hands, an elderly woman dressed in enchanter robes ran up in front of him, twirled her staff in front of her creating a rune in midair before catching it, and spreading her arms wide. A chill filled the air as the horrifying creature turned to ice and shattered into a million pieces.
"Who are you and what are you doing here? Stay back," the mage snapped turning to face Damien and raising her staff.
"Pull back on the reins there grandma. Same team," Damien said quickly sheathing his daggers and raising his hands. He still had his throwing knives for defense if he needed them, but he assumed that the elderly mage wouldn't attack unless he made the first move. She had a protective aura about her. He couldn't quite understand why she didn't seem aggressive but that was simply the way he felt.
"Wait, I recognize you from Ostagar. You're the Gray Warden who never showed his face. Why are you here? Have you come to kill us?" the woman asked tightening her grip on her staff.
"No, I'm here to save whomever I can. I swear. The Templars let me in to see if I could clear the tower. If we do, they promised support against the Blight," Damien explained.
"Clear the Tower? They sent you in here to purge the Circle, didn't they?" the woman hissed.
She had her guard up so much that every little word was causing a problem. "That's not my first choice. They said that we need to find someone named Irving, the First something?" Damien said rubbing his chin through his scarf.
"The First Enchanter. So, they sent you in to find out if he still lives?" the woman asked.
"My mission is to enlist the help of the mages against the Blight. To do that and save all those that are left, I need to find this Irving guy and bring him back to the door. That's the only way that the Knight Commander will believe that the Tower is under control again," Damien explained.
"Then, you are here to save us. In that case, my name is Wynne. I'm glad to meet in face to face," the mage said bowing shallowly.
"Damien, glad to meet you," Damien responded extending his hand. Wynne smiled and shook it before turning to look at the other side of the room. It was only then that Damien saw why she was being so snippy with him when he arrived. In the back, as far away as they could get from the doorways, well over three dozen children huddled together. There were a few mages there as well, but he couldn't tell how many. Not enough to hold back the Templars, that was for sure.
"Do you know if the Templars have the Right of Annulment yet?" Wynne asked. Damien lowered his head and stepped closer so the children would not hear what he had to say.
"Greagoir sent for it and reinforcements from Denerim, but with the rain and muddy roads I believe we should have about three days to handle everything here if we want to be done before it returns," Damien answered in a hushed whisper.
"Three days? How can you be sure?" Wynne asked.
"I asked around the village and the ferryman told me that a messenger came through town this morning. It took my group and I three days to get here, but we had a wagon, supplies and several of us on foot. Besides, I would rather be cautious about the amount of time we have, wouldn't you?" Damien said. He knew the messenger would get held up by the rain and muddy roads and the Chantry would delay them too, but three days was what he said. He hoped it would be more like five or six, but three was a safe bet.
"So, what happened here?" Alistair asked kneeling to examine the shattered creature on the floor.
"Let it suffice to say that we had something of a revolt on our hands, led by a mage named Uldred. He was at Ostagar too, but when he returned from the battle, he tried to take over the Circle. As you can see, it didn't work out as he planned. I don't know what else has happened, but I know this is his doing. I refuse to lose the Circle to one man's pride and stupidity," Wynne stated taking a step forward.
"Sounds like you are wanting to come with us," Damien said smiling and crossing his arms.
"That is the plan," Wynne replied.
"What about the children? Will they be okay without you?" Damien asked.
"Petra and Kinnon will look after the children and keep them safe, and if we kill everything we face, there will be nothing that can get to the children," Wynne stated.
"I like the way you think. Protection by elimination," Damien said looking over at the doorway he assumed led into the rest of the tower. He could feel a strong energy coming from it, not unlike the magic he felt around Wynne. It must have been some kind of barrier to keep enemies out and the children from wandering away.
"Not to be the nay-sayer here, but aren't you a little on the old side to be mixing it up with demons and abominations?" Alistair asked raising his hand meekly.
"She did take down that demon that was in here earlier, and at the very least, she could enchant our weapons to make them more effective against those monsters, no?" Leliana suggested.
Wynne smiled at the girl and approached. "I can do so much more than that."
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were itching to get back at the guys that did all this," Damien said crossing his arms.
"I suppose it would not be wrong to want vengeance for something like this, but I believe that protecting these children is the most important thing. Without defeating the demons in the tower, eventually they would be killed by the demons or the Templars," Wynne stated.
"I can respect that. Let's not waste any more time, move out!" Damien shouted waving for everyone to move.
"First thing's first, let me take down the barrier," Wynne said raising her hands. The motion was followed by a series of small pops as the barrier broke down and dissipated.
"Stay together. Leliana and Lyna, rear guard and cover. Wynne, you're in the middle with Alistair. He'll watch your back. Sten, you're up front with me," Damien ordered as he charged forward with Sten hot on his heels and everyone else behind him.
The first room they came to was a library that was far beyond anything he had ever seen. Bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling stocked with a multitude of books. How many of them could tell him more about his magic? Could there be some about Flemeth or maybe Morrigan? Could he learn different types of magic, maybe even healing spells? He quickly shook his head pushing the thoughts from his mind. He could not let himself think about learning more about his magic. He had to focus only on the task at hand.
A roar of rage yanked him out of his head as two monstrous forms came charging at him. He crossed his daggers in front of him ready to counter their attack. Sten managed to catch one of the beasts across the abdomen with his sword chopping it in half. He charged forward and flipped over the creature and swung both blades down hard separating its arms from its body then plunging his blade through the monster's back. The tip protruded from the beast's chest as it gurgled and gasped for air. Ripping the blade free, the beast fell to its knees and collapsed to the floor.
"What the hell are these things?" Damien said poking at the corpse with his dagger.
"Those are abominations. Malificar that have mutated into monsters," Wynne explained glancing under the table. Damien assumed she was looking for more survivors, but how lucky would someone have to be to survive in the tower in this state? He believed that his team would survive because they had combat experience working as a team. Not to mention each of them was highly skilled.
"They die just as easily as darkspawn, so let's get this done," Damien declared wiping the blood from his blades.
They found their rhythm as they advanced through the war-torn halls and rooms. Wynne would weaken the creatures with her magic as best she could while Leliana and Lyna picked off targets from a distance. Sten and Damien would attack and finish close-combat targets while Alistair would negate any enemy spells using his Templar training. The strategy worked well for them as they cleared each floor, but with well over fifty floors to clear, they certainly had their work cut out for them.
As they emerged on the fifteenth floor, Damien called for everyone to take a rest. He could feel that Wynne was dangerously low on magical power, but he dared not mention his ability to sense it in front of her. The rest of the group seemed relieved for the rest as well. On each floor they had run into no less than ten abominations and demons. The fighting only seemed to be getting fiercer the higher up the tower they climbed. Thus far, they had only found six survivors, all of which were injured and in need of extensive help. Damien had hoped to find a few promising mages to help fill their ranks but that seemed to be a quickly fading dream.
"Wynne, what all is on this floor?" Damien asked keeping an eye on the doorway leading to the rest of the floor.
"This floor marks the beginning of the mage quarters. Any of the mages that passed their Harrowing would be here. The other floors below were mainly for apprentices and their studies. We'll start seeing more research up here," Wynne explained.
"So, the more skilled mages would be up here on the higher floors? I'm assuming your First Enchanter's quarters are even higher?" Damien asked.
"His office and quarters are up on the Senior Enchanter's floors. Floor 46 to be exact," Wynne stated.
"And what's on the top floor?" Lyna asked.
"The Harrowing Chamber. I'm assuming that is where Uldred is holding Irving," Wynne answered.
"Why there? There has to be a more secure location like a vault or at least somewhere more defensible," Damien said rubbing his chin puzzlingly.
"The meeting where all of this started was being held in the Harrowing Chamber. Anyone that made it out might be able to tell us more, but that is my assumption," Wynne answered.
"Good enough for me. Alright, let's rest up and then we'll continue on. For the moment, I'll scout ahead and see what we're up against on this floor," Damien said drawing his blades once more.
"I can go with you," Leliana offered.
"Keep watch here. I can move faster and quieter alone. Hopefully, I won't need my blades until we link back up," Damien said twirling the daggers and running silently for the door. He had not been using his magic for fear that Wynne might notice, but without the others around, he could move faster and maybe even clear the floor before they were done resting.
As he rounded the corner, he could hear fighting further down the passage. It was muffled but the sound of combat was easily discernable. Someone was still alive, and they were fighting. Could the more experienced mages have been able to hold their own? Were they the ones using the lightning he saw during the crossing? Only one way to find out.
Damien charged forward doing his best to keep his steps quiet and his breathing slow. The closer he got before attacking, the easier it would be to save whoever was fighting.
"Hang on Neria, please try to stay awake!" The shout shook Damien's resolve. He didn't have time for stealth anymore. If someone was about to die, he needed to get there fast and end the fight. Using his magic to increase his speed, Damien crashed through the door blocking his way toward the voice. As he did, he spotted a pair of young mages in the corner of the room behind a wall of fire, but despite their flaming defenses, abominations were still trying to reach them.
The mage in front was a young man who looked to a little younger than Damien. The dark circles under his eyes showed his fatigue from constant fighting as he used his staff like a club, desperately trying to defend a young elven mage who appeared to have collapsed behind him. Damien could feel their magic was pure, surrounded by the darker, more foul magic emanating from the abominations.
Damien quickly changed directions and sprinted straight at the enemy's backs slicing into them with a vengeance. The abominations' focus was so locked on the two mages, Damien remained unnoticed as he slashed into them. He lobbed off two of the beasts' heads with one motion before using his momentum to smash another against the wall. Using the new corpse as a springboard he swung his daggers out in front of him and pierced the chest of another assailant before pushing off and somersaulting over the victim of his stabbing attack. The speed of his movements ripped the blades from the beast's chest and he brought them over his head and down on two more of the beasts. The last one tried to back away but Damien hurled the blade in his left hand, aided by his magic, and pinned it to the wall. He approached slowly and sliced the beast's throat before ripping the blade out of its chest and let the corpse fall to the floor.
"Wow, I've never seen anyone fight like that," the young man said keeping a hold on his staff. Damien smirked. Even though he had saved them, the boy was still on guard. Smart kid.
"Because I'm the only one that fights this way. Are you two okay?" Damien asked thrusting his blades down forcing the blood to spray off the weapons.
"We'll live." The response was short and Damien could feel that the mage was trying to buy time to build up his magic again.
"Well, good luck to you. I'm off," Damien said twirling his blades around him before sheathing them.
"Wait, aren't you a Templar?" the boy shouted after him.
"Do I look like a Templar to you?" Damien said turning around once before reaching inside his tunic for his pendant. "I'm Warden Commander Damien." He worried himself with how easily he was admitting to being the Warden Commander, yet still refused to show his face outside of their own camp.
"But I thought all the Wardens were killed at Ostagar," the elven girl said sitting up slowly from the floor.
"Take it easy. Get your strength back," the boy said turning slightly. Damien was becoming more and more impressed with the young man. He kept his guard up even after fighting for Maker knew how long and defended a fellow mage. If he could recruit new Wardens, this mage would definitely be one of his first choices.
"I survived and took command out of necessity," Damien stated. "Now I'm here trying to recruit the mages to help me fight the Blight, but I never expected anything like this."
"We're not even sure what's going on," the girl said.
"Well, you can head down stairs and take shelter on the first floor with the other survivors or you can help me find and save your First Enchanter to keep the Templars from invoking the Right of Annulment," Damien said smiling and crossing his arms.
"You want our help?" the boy asked. The boy's grip loosened on his staff as Damien extended his hand.
"Either way, I'm glad you two are okay," Damien stated.
"It's thanks to you. My name is Daylen Amell, and this is Neria Surana," Daylen replied taking his hand and shaking it firmly. "We'll help you in whatever way we can. Neria is one of the best healers in the tower. She can also replenish mana as long as hers holds up."
"And Daylen trained to be a battlemage. He has the elemental spells down perfectly," Neria added getting to her feet slowly.
"I'll be glad to have both of you. Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the team," Damien said waving for them to follow him.
"Team?" Daylen asked.
"You don't think I fought through fifteen floors of demons, abominations, and maleficar all on my own in one evening do you?" Damien asked glancing back at them.
"Still, why would you fight alone if you had a team with you?" Daylen asked.
"Time, my friend. You two were running out of it. If I have to put myself in danger to save someone, I'm more than happy to do it," Damien responded.
"But what if we had been maleficar?"
The question caused Damien to smile. The kid was more intelligent than he had originally thought. He could not reveal that he could feel their magic power and their purity. He needed to come up with something to cover himself… or maybe he could simply play it off…
"Then I would've had to kill you, wouldn't I?" Damien answered without turning to look at his new companions.
"I guess that was why you were watching my motions after you killed that last abomination," Daylen stated. Damien could feel their eyes on his back as they made their way closer to where the others were resting.
"Sharp eyes, kid. You might have what it takes to survive this fight after all," Damien said looking back at the pair and smiling. Honestly, it was an empty smile. He wasn't sure if any of them would survive this battle. They had cleared fifteen floors, but they still had thirty-five to go and only two days to get it done. They were fighting the hour glass just as much as the enemy for every step. Once everyone was recovered enough to move. They would need to start fighting again immediately.