The first thing they did was explore the first floor quarters. Books were lying haphazardly on the floor and broken, dead bodies along with them. Templars and mages alike were all dead, blood surrounding their bodies and covering their clothes. The quarters had no life to them anymore, hopefully the rest of the tower would have some.
Ezra opened the door to the next hall and came across hope. It was a mage fighting off an abomination. Some children were behind her, the children scared and shaking. Two other mages were standing at the ready if the first mage should fail. The first mage froze the beast and struck it down, returning it to whence it came. She then turned to see the party walking in.
"It's you!No...come no further. Grey Warden or no, I will strike you down where you stand!" she told them.
"Wynne? What are you doing here?" Ezra asked. He remembered her as one of the mages back at Ostagar. He had only spoken to her briefly but remembered she was a friendly face to a stranger in a new land.
"I am a mage of the Circle. More importantly, why are you here? The templars would not let just anyone by," Wynne asked.
"We came to ask the mages for help."
"And you were told that the Circle was in no shape to help you, I suppose. So why did the templars let you in? Do they plan to attack the tower now?" she asked.
"Don't worry the Right of Annulment has not arrived," Ezra assured her.
"They sent for it then. I feared they might have. What else could they do?" She sighed and shook her head. "So Greagoir thinks the Circle is beyond hope. He probably assumes we are all dead. They abandoned us to our fate, but even trapped as we are, we have survived. If they invoke the Right, however, we ill not be able to stand against them."
"What happened here?" Leliana asked. "There is so much death."
"Let it suffice to say that we had something of a revolt on our hands, led by a mage named Uldred. When he returned from the battle at Ostagar, he tried to take over the circle." Wynne shook her head. "As you can see, it didn't work out as he had planned. I don't know what became of Uldred, but I am certain all this is his doing. I will not loose the Circle to one man's pride and stupidity."
"Leave it to us. We will save the mages," Ezra said.
"I erected a barrier over the door to the rest of the tower, so nothing from inside could attack the children. You will not be able to enter the tower as long as the barrier holds, but tI will dispel it if you join with me to save this Circle," Wynne told them.
"Very well, we shall help you," Ezra said agreeing to her terms.
"Once Greagoir sees that we have made the tower safe, I trust he will tell his men to back down. He is not unreasonable."
"Greagoir will only accept it if the first enchanter says it is so," Alistair told Wynne.
"Then our path is laid out before us. We must save Irving."
"What about the children? Will they be safe here?" Leliana asked.
"Petra and Kinnon will watch them. If we slay all the fiends we encounter on our way, none will get by to threaten the children," Wynne answered.
"I suppose that will work," Ezra said.
"Petra, Kinnon...look after the others. I will be back soon," Wynne said to her fellow mages.
"Wynne...are you sure you're all right? You were so badly hurt earlier. Maybe I should come along?" the one mage said to her.
"The others need your protection more. I will be all right. Stay here with them... keep them safe and calm."
"Have faith," Ezra said to the worried mage. "We will not fail."
"Your confidence is refreshing, though you should make sure it does not blind you to your weaknesses. If you are ready, let us go end this." Ezra nodded and Wynne dispelled the barrier. She told the party to be careful as she did not know what beast lurked on the other side.
The other side of the barrier was much like the side they came from. Filled with the stench of death. Only on this side there were abominations waiting for them. When they entered what Ezra assumed to be a library an abomination was lurking about until it saw the party and charged at them.
These Abominations were as strong as they were disgusting. They had possessed the bodies of dead mages and were using them to attack. The bodies had been mutated by the possession and were hulking monsters with no desire other than destroy and kill.
The five of them took down the abominations lurking in the library but not without a few cuts and bruises. The party learned the hard way that abominations exploded shortly after death and caused injury. Fortunately Wynne specialized in healing magic and was able to heal most of the cuts, the bruises would have to heal on their own.
Before they could exit the library and move to the upper floors they encountered one last batch of abominations. These proved a bit more difficult as they were lead by a 'greater demon'. With one slice after another Ezra was able to take down the weaker demons. Suddenly the greater demon smacked him to the floor sending his daggers out of his grasp.
"Ezra!" Alistair shouted. He ran to the elf's aid and was able to get him out of the way and dodge another attack from the beast. Leliana took one arrow out of her quiver and shot the best multiple times before Morrigan cast a frost spell that sent the beast back to the fade.
"Thanks," Ezra panted as Alistair helped him to his feet.
"Are you alright? That looked like it hurt," Alistair said.
"I should be fine."
"If you two are finished we have much more tower to pass through before we get to the top," Wynne said walking up the stairs. The two men separated and followed the mage up the stairs.
On the next floor they ran into a man, Owain, who had been trying to tidy up. He tried to leave but couldn't because of the barrier. Wynne told him he should have said something and that she would have opened the door for him. When asked how he was so calm Wynne explained that he is one of the Tranquil.
"What are the Tranquil?" Ezra asked having never heard the term before.
"The Tranquil are mages who have gone through the Rite of Tranquility. They can no longer dream nor draw on the Fade to perform magic. They feel no emotions and can only form logical opinions," Wynne explained.
"I would prefer not to die. I would prefer it if the tower returned to the way it was. Perhaps Niall will succeed and save us all," Owain said.
"Succeed at what?" Morrigan asked.
"I do no know, but he came here with several other, and too the Litany of Adralla."
"But that protects from mind domination. Is blood magic at work here?" Wynne thought aloud.
"I do not know," Owain answered.
"Niall was in the meeting. He would know. Blood magic...I was afraid of this," she said and Ezra assured her they would be able to handle whatever came their way. "We should find Niall. The Litany will give us a fighting chance against any blood mages we encounter."
The party continued through the tower finding blood mages conferring together. The mages fought and were slain, though Ezra did so reluctantly. One of the mages lay on the ground and asked for mercy saying that they only did this to free themselves. She told them that Loghain said he would help them be free of the Chantry.
"Nothing is worth what you have done to this place," Wynne scolded. Ezra did not know what he could do for her and left her to wallow in self pity.
The further they went into the tower the more abominations appeared. Every corner they rounded, every room they went in, seemed to be bursting with abominations. The party fought hard even though they could feel their strength wavering. No matter what they had to save the Circle, if they failed not only would they loose their lives but so would many others.
They came across the First Enchanter's office and found no sign of the man. His office was lined with many artifacts and shelves containing spell books. The party took the briefest rest to regain their strength before continuing on.