Here is the next chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it. Thank you so much for your reviews. I love getting to hear from the people that are enjoying the story. I am going to try and post again soon as long as work doesn't get in the way again. Everyone cross your fingers please! Enjoy!
00000000000000000
Haven... if the freezing winds, snowy and slippy paths, and thin air was not inviting enough, the villagers that called the area home could not have been less welcoming even if they tried. A single guard greeted the company coldly and might as well have simply told them to turn around and head home. Damien had left Bodhan and their cart in Rainsfere to let their horses rest since the constant travel had obviously started to wear on them. The same could be said for his companions especially after climbing the mountain roads to the small village. After traveling in the lower lands of the Bannorn, being so high up in the mountains made each breath feel like only half a breath. Damien hoped they could find a place to stay to get use to the elevation before they had to press on or get into a fight, but he had a feeling that they were not going to be so lucky.
"Commander, there is something really off about this village," Daylen stated as his eyes narrowed and his grip on his staff tightened.
"I feel it too," Damien agreed. It was not a dark magic that he was feeling, but it was certainly not normal. Could the village be a hiding place for mages? But if that were the case, why would the search for the Urn lead them there? No, this whole village had be involved with the cult that had attacked them at the Spoiled Princess. That was the only situation that made sense.
Looking around the group, everyone seemed on edge. Brax kept sniffing at the air and lowering his head like he was avoiding a scent.
"Alright, I'm going to poke around discreetly. Everyone else, keep an eye out but don't draw too much attention to yourselves. Whatever you do, don't mention we are here for the Urn or we might end up fighting the whole damn village," Damien instructed adjusting his scarf.
"Why? There has to be someone here that could help us out," Daylen speculated.
"Look around. We'll be lucky if the villagers don;t try and kill us just for showing up. I think the whole village is in league with those guys that attacked us at the inn," Damien explained.
"I can feel eyes from everywhere. We are the center of attention right now," Kalli stated as she started to reach for her weapons.
"Keep calm, Kalli. No one is going to attack a group as heavily armed as ours. They are probably trying to figure out why such a large group showed up. Anyway, keep your guard up and your heads down. I'll be back soon," Damien said moving in between two buildings. Using the walls, Damien sprung up to the roof tops using the walls to jump off of. During his thief days, he had learned that rooftops were often ignored even if there was someone on them. He just had to watch where he cast a shadow and keep an eye out for on lookers who might see him from a window or hear him on the street.
Damien moved through the eerie little village like a shadow in the wind glimpsing through windows and eavesdropping on a few hushed conversations. He quickly learned about a network of caves leading to what the villagers referred to as the Lair or the Ruined Temple. Perhaps they were two separate locations, but either way it it sounded like their destination was going to be further up the mountain.
As the young warden made his way to the Chantry, he could feel the presence of magic which struck him as odd since the Chantry had always stressed the control of mages and refused to let them into their ranks.
Peeking in through the window, he spotted an elder man leading the congregation in some kind of prayer that he did not recognize. There was something off here beyond anything he had expected.
Men were not allowed to lead any Chantry as the Revered Mothers how answered to the Divine did. Men could become brothers and evangelize to the masses, but running a Chantry always fell to a woman. Damien could see that the man was the leader of the group simply by the way he carried himself. He had seen it so many times when dealing with street gangs and crime syndicates. He wondered for a brief moment if he was starting to show those signs now that he had been leading the Wardens and their compatriots for some time.
I certainly have changed a bit, Damien thought as he moved toward another window. I wonder why I've been so set on protecting these people that I have known for all of a month or so. Maker, I've even made myself a target for our enemies to come after rather than let someone else take the lead.
Damien sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He knew why even if he didn't want to admit it. There were several reasons. He belonged to something bigger now rather than just a band of thieves and he liked that feeling of belonging that came with it. On top of that, he never wanted to see what happened to Henness, Lockey, and Griggs happen to any of his new friends. He had confidence in his ability to defend himself as opposed to defending others. Besides, even if assassins did find him and attack, he had the skills to vanish before their eyes. None of the other Wardens had that particular skill. Perhaps it would benefit them if he started teaching at least Kalli, Lyna, and Lelianna how to move the way he did. In return, they could teach him some of their skills.
The window he wanted was high over him and he needed to pull himself up just to get a look inside, but the moment he was able to see a little bit of the room, most of the blood drained from his face. An older man, perhaps in his forties, lay panting on the floor with his leg turned the wrong way. A man wearing similar armor to that of the men Damien had fought near Lake Calenhad stood over him.
"Tell me true, Brother Genitivi. Who know s you are here? How many of you heretics are coming to desecrate this holy place?" the thug snarled killing the man's already injured leg. Brother Genitivi screamed in pain clutching his leg. Knowing Brax, the mabari was likely smelling the blood in the air earlier.
If they were torturing him for information, they would not trying and kill him or over due it. That being said, it did not give Damien and his team much time to rescue him. If he remembered correctly, Brother Genitivi was a scholar who specialized in research on the Urn of Sacred Ashes. If he was in the village being tortured, it might as well have confirmed the Urn's existence and location. The Lair/ Ruined Temple was likely its resting place.
Damien moved quickly back through the village avoiding any eyes that might find him suspicious until he was back in the main square where his team as waiting.
"So, what did you find?" Alistair asked.
"This is the place for sure, but we need to move now. There is someone being tortured in the chantry. We save him and we might have a fighting chance of getting to the Urn," Damien replied waving for the group to follow him.
"What do you mean?" Alistair asked as the group followed Damien up the hill.
"It looked and sounded like they were interrogating him and asked how many other heretics were coming. They also called the guy Brother Genitivi, but he wasn't dressed like a brother," Damien answered.
"I have heard of Brother Genitivi before. He is a leading historian specializing in the resting place of Andraste," Lelianna informed them.
"Hot damn, we are in the right spot. Let's go save him and then get that Urn," Damien responded keeping pace with everyone else.
As they came up the hill to the chantry, Damien could feel eyes on them again. They needed to smash through whatever resistance there was inside to get to Brother Genitivi then secure the building.
"Sten, break the door. Shields right behind him with Leli and Lyna on the flanks. Kalli and I will advance behind the shields and strike. Mages, support magic, but if you see an opportunity to deal some damage, do it. Morrigan, watch behind us. If the village guards come up that trail, eliminate them," Damien ordered. The group moved into the formation barely even slowing down. They were starting to truly get a sense for each others movements and abilities.
The doors of the chantry nearly flew off their hinges as the Qunari smashed through them with his sword. Alyssa and Alistair charged forward with Damien and Kalli right behind them. Damien could hear the arrows fly through the air as panicked screams filled the building. Several of the villagers inside ran for other exits but a few pulled weapons and attacked.
"Disarm only! No killing yet!" Damien ordered using the pummel of his dagger to knock out an attacker. He quickly made a detour heading straight for the side of the chantry that he saw Brother Genitivi getting tortured and found a wardrobe with a cool breeze emanating from under it. Concentrating his magic into his leg, he kicked the piece of furniture as hard as he could sending the whole thing back into the room it had been hiding. Brax came bounding in after him tackling torturer and baring his teeth at the man.
"Brax, don't kill him unless he moves," Damien said getting to his feet slowly and glancing around the room. The man that Brax held captive seemed to be the only enemy in the small room while the victim lay unconscious on the floor near the far wall.
"Wynne, Neria, get in here!" Damien shouted jumping the man's side and quickly looking him over. His wounds were severe. Without first aid and healing magic, he would be dead in two hours or so.
The two mages came in and immediately rushed to the man's side to preform first aid and start healing his wounds while Damien made his way over the man the Brax still held to the floor with his massive paw while snarling down at him.
"Good boy, Brax. Let him up," Damien said patting the dog on his shoulder and rubbing between his ears. The dog stepped back and sat down on his haunches keeping his eyes focused on the man. Damien pulled up a small box to sit on and perched himself in front of their captive.
"Now, what should we talk about," Damien asked narrowing his eyes.
Their captive was an older man with graying hair and a long beard. Damien could feel a bit of magic from him which confused him since he wore a chantry robe.
"How about we start with your name? How about it? It would be really rude not to at least know each others' names," Damien said cocking his head slightly he needed to get the man talking. Once he started speaking, Damien got the feeling this old man would spill a lot more than he wanted to.
"I am Revered Father Eirik and you must leave this sacred place, heretic," the man snarled.
"Now doesn't that sound familiar. Just like those thugs that tried to take me down at the Spoiled Princess along with the Redcliffe knight I met. Just in case you're wondering, their mostly dead and the other three betrayed you and told us where you were. You know what, I didn't even have to torture them or use truth potion on them. Is that fantastic?" Damien exclaimed over-dramatically waving his arms. He quickly settled back down leaning in close to the old man again. "You know, Father, if your defenders are just as weak as the men I killed back at the tavern, your defenses are seriously lacking. However, if you wanted to save their lives, you could just give me what I want."
The old man stayed quiet staring up at Damien like a statue that had fallen over. Damien's eyes narrowed as he drummed his fingers on his knee. After a few seconds, Damien smiled. He was right all along and the man's smug expression was all the proof he needed.
"You don't have it here... its up in the Ruined Temple or Lair... whatever you call the stupid place," Damien announced patting Brax on the head again. Again, the man's expression did not change at all. "And there is a key to get in that you have on you, isn't there?"
Eirik shifted slightly to try and turn his chest away from the warden but Damien was too fast. Years of thievery nearly made it too easy to snatch an oddly shaped medallion from around the man's neck and pull it free.
The old man attempted to move and catch Damien's hand, but Brax reacted biting down on the fool's wrist and pinning the now bleeding appendage to the man's body with the dog's massive weight.
"Good boy," Damien praised patting Brax on the shoulder. "I'd really like to know how to use this medallion while you still have a good hand to show me, but I doubt you want to. Brax, feel free to use him as a chew toy, just don't kill him yet. And no dismemberment."
The dog released the man from his maw before biting down on the man's leg and starting to drag him around the room playfully while the victim hollered and squirmed trying to get away from the mabari. To Damien, it honestly looked like fun as long as Brax did not actually bite through the skin.
"That hardly seemed necessary," Wynne scolded as Damien knelt next to the mage's patient.
"True, but it makes me smile," Damien said beaming widely. "How is he?"
"He will live, but his leg is broken in three places. He has internal injuries that will take an extended amount of time to heal as well as visible bruising over most of his body," Wynne reported.
"He may never fully recover," Neria added softly applying a healing poultice to the man's bruising side and back.
"Would he be able to talk to me before sundown?" Damien asked maneuvering the medallion in his hand slightly.
"He could but I would recommend that he rest. Any kind of movement, be it carrying him or him moving on his own, could cause more harm to his body," Wynne stated.
"Talking, Wynne. That's all I need is to be able to talk to him," Damien clarified glancing back at the dog as he pulled his living chew toy across the room by his uninjured arm.
"I suppose he could regain consciousness in as little as an hour, but he will be in extraordinary pain," Wynne stated.
"Maybe we should numb his leg or something? If there isn't a spell for it, we could use the snow outside," Damien suggested.
"It is not merely his leg, Damien. His abdomen is extremely bruised with internal damage. Simply talking will be painful. We will numb him as much as we can, but it will still be painful," Wynne explained looking over at Neria who nodded in agreement.
"Alright, do what you can. I really do feel like a heretic for doing this, but I think I'm going to have everyone secure the chantry and make camp in here until we find out how to get to the Urn," Damien said looking back out into the sanctuary and bowing slightly to the altar. He was an devout man since the chantry had saved his life several times before with their charity. He had even stolen the gems known as the Tears of Andraste from a noble a few years earlier simply to donate them to the chantry. Making camp with a chantry's walls and spilling blood within them made him feel like a blasphemer.
"Alright Brax, let him go," Damien ordered.
The mabari dropped his now battered and extremely slobbery toy and sat back on his haunches panting. If Damien had not known any better, he could have sworn the dog was grinning.
"Are you ready to show me how the medallion works?" Damien asked squatting down next to Eirik.
"You will never set foot in her holy place, heretic," the old man spat.
"Sorry to hear that," Damien replied standing. "Brax, he's all yours." The dog barked happily grabbing hold of the man's leg again and started dragging him out of the small room as his victim flailed about like a grounded bird.
"Damien, why does my dog have a person in his mouth?" Alyssa asked appearing in the door way.
"What? I'm interrogating the man. Brax is assisting me. Come on, let the boys play," Damien said folding his hands and pouting. Alyssa immediately started laughing and waved her hand dismissively.
"Fine, fine. But if Brax gets indigestion from eating him, I'm blaming you," she warned.
"Noted. Now see what you can do about securing the chantry. I want any entrance other than the main door locked, reinforced, and secured. Same goes for the windows. We'll be staying here until we figure out where we need to go to find the Urn. Until then, see about getting everyone something to eat and get some rest. Sten and Morrigan will stand guard for now, but you and Alistair will relieve them once your done eating," Damien said looking around the building. Most of the windows were very small and not even Kalli with her slender frame and small stature could fit through. Maybe a child could get in, but that was questionable too. The only entrances they had to worry about were the doors.
"Understood. I'll pass out some of the rations," Alyssa responded heading toward the rest of the group.
Damien opened his own bag and dug some of the dried meat he had with him out and started munching on it.
"What I wouldn't give for some venison stew right now," Lyna said sitting down next to Damien.
"With such small servings for our rations, talking about hot stew is demoralizing," Damien replied playfully nudging her with his elbow.
"Right, sorry. Still, I would kill for some hot food in this weather. I think the tips of my ears are going to fall off," Lyna complained cupping her hands over her pointed ears.
Damien laughed and pulled his scarf a bit tighter. "That's why I never go anywhere with out this."
"Eat your food, jerk," Lyna teased back.
Being around everyone felt natural. Almost as if they had been together for years rather than a few weeks. Damien felt closer to the other three wardens than anyone else in the world. Not even Lockey, Henness, and Griggs could have competed. On top of that, Kalli, Neria, and Daylen might as well have been younger siblings. Damien wasn't sure what having a mother was like, but he assumed that it would have felt a lot like how he felt around Wynne. Morrigan and Leliana still seemed distant to him, but that was just how Morrigan was, and Leliana had only just recently come clean about her past with him. Sten still needed some getting use too, but at least he seemed to trust Damien's judgment ever since they found his sword in Redcliffe. Then there was Brax. The mabari might as well have belonged to Damien all long with they way they acted together.
Everyone ate and kept their eyes on the main entrance while Neria and Wynne worked on Brother Genitivi. The tension hung thick in the air as the wind howled outside, all the while Brax drug the screaming Eirik across the sanctuary over and over again only stopping to allow Damien to ask him if he had had enough before letting the dog continue his playtime, much to the amusement of most of his companions.