Chapter 82: Waiting
Seri sighed as she sat heavily down on the steps of the windmill; it had been almost two hours since Alim had led his small group into the secret passage. The elf had committed their forces to aiding Bann Teagan in saving his brother and nephew…
Seri doubted the wisdom of this mission.
The way Alim had explained it to them, he seemed certain that Lady Isolde was hiding something, that the noble woman knew more about what had happened than she let on, add into the fact that she and her guard still lived while the rest of the castle had been filled with undead made things even more confusing.
Why would the undead spare the woman? Why was she and her son so important to them, or whatever had summoned them?
The dwarf frowned.
If she was still back in Orzammar she would say that any lady in Isolde's position was likely baiting a trap for a rival. If this Arl Eamon was as sick as everyone here claimed than Bann Teagan should by right be the new Arl.
Perhaps the woman sought to block that? Perhaps she was behind the undead attacks, to secure the throne for herself?
Seri shook her head; she had spent too many years ferretting out conspiracies in Orzammar. It had made her more than a little bit paranoid.
Not that that paranoia had saved her in the end.
A shadow covered her, forcing her to look up.
"We are preparing to head for the gates Milady," Ser Perth informed her, "You and the others are welcome to join us in our attempt to retake the castle."
Seri sighed and rose to her feet.
Whatever the danger, let no one say that a member of House Aeducan was afraid to stand tall and face it. Alim seemed to believe they had a chance to save the Arl. The elf had been right before…
She had to trust that he was right now.
She and the others made their way up to the castle; once again they would fight at the side of the knights of Redcliffe. Theron being the Grey Warden present took the lead. Kally and Shayle followed in his wake while Gus or Fergus as they now knew him followed behind them.
The nobleman seemed troubled at Kally's anger, they had become friendly in the past few weeks so that did not surprise her, still…she found it a little troubling.
She had always thought humans up here on the surface looked down on the elves.
Why did Fergus find the girl's disregard so troubling?
Personally she had no problems with the elves, Alim, Theron, and Kally had both proved their worth as warriors, if the humans were too blind to see that, they might find themselves under elven blades someday.
Not all elves shied away from weapons after all.
As always she once again found herself walking beside Zevran. She hated to admit it, but she had come to welcome the elf's presence.
The assassin smiled at her.
"Once more into dark places eh?" he commented.
The dwarf shrugged and drew her blade, checking it for any signs of imperfection.
"We have faced worse on this journey Zev," she said.
"Truly said, my dear Seri truly said."
The warmth in his voice surprised her, truth be told after the insanity of the battle the night before, she would not have been surprised if the elf would have come to her, offering to lay with her to celebrate their surviving a terrible battle.
She was shocked when he did not, no innuendos, and no veiled advances.
She was even more shocked when she realized that she might have accepted if he had come.
Seri's brow furrowed with thought.
She had initially regarded Zevran as a fool, she had known plenty during her days in the Assembly, a vainglorious man who believed that he could use charm in place of intelligence, he was a gifted killer, but given his defeat at Alim's hands she had doubted that his skill was up to the level of which he had boasted.
She had…reconsidered that initial opinion.
There was…more to Zev than she had originally suspected. He was quite skilled, and she could see why he had been so successful in his previous line of work. He had proven himself to be a skilled fighter and hunter.
Seri frowned slightly.
Now…she just had to determine if he was playing her for some other reason than what he said. He had managed to breach her defenses, she acknowledged that now, but before she could allow him to proceed she needed to make sure that he had no hidden agenda besides winning her favor. He could be…
Stop it!
The voice in her head was her own; the exasperation in it shocked her.
This isn't Orzammar anymore! You have no crown to tempt Zev and no one is paying him to get close to you. Ancestors save you Sereda Aeducan get off your pedestal and think with more than just your head!
The dwarf shook her head.
You're not a princess anymore, you are a surfacer, if you want Zev…go for it, but stop looking for threats where there are none!
Not a princess…not anymore.
It…it was a hard thing to accept, all her life she had played the game of dwarven politics, flirting, threatening, and outsmarting her enemies and allies alike, and all for the desire to please her Father…
…To make her way one step closer to the throne.
It was hard to let all that go, to realize that she did not need to do such plotting and scheming anymore. That…that she was not Aeducan anymore, she was just Seri…
She was not sure if she was fine with that.
"A bit for your thoughts Milady," Zev asked.
She gave him a sheepish grin.
"Likely they would not even cost that much anymore Zev."
The assassin laughed lightly.
"You sell yourself too short my dear; a beautiful woman's thoughts are always prized by a man."
A bit of pink colored her cheeks.
Beautiful.
She had been called that before of course, either by nobles seeking to win her favor in decisions in the Assembly or suitors seeking to get closer to her house…
Zev of course wanted none of these, not that they were hers to give any longer.
Seri smiled slightly.
It was truly a strange thing being decided entirely on her own merits.
Her thoughts drifted briefly to Ser Gorim, her loyal second and friend. Of course, as they had grown up together they had been more several times, when she had needed comfort that she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she could trust.
She could always count on her dear second to give her what she desired…but now…now…
Melancholy washed over her.
Ser Gorim was gone now, exiled up here to the surface, it was unlikely that she would ever see him again.
Perhaps…perhaps now it was time to trust again, to seeking out comfort when it was offered.
She regarded Zev, her eyes going over him, planning, and evaluating…
Perhaps.
IOI
Alim awoke slowly, to a world that could be described by a single word.
Ache.
His entire body ached, it…it felt like all the wind and the mana had been knocked out of him with a single heavy blow.
Yet, for some reason, he still drew breath.
His enemies had been extremely careless.
"Alim?"
Leli's voice penetrated the haze of pain and exhaustion; he managed to open his eyes to find himself laying on the floor of the dungeons of Redcliffe, Leliana kneeling beside him, a worried look on her face.
"Ugh," he groaned.
"What happened?"
"You were about to kill the mage we were sent to find," she said, "Alistair had to stop you. He…he smited you."
Alim was suddenly wide awake, anger flashed in his brown eyes.
"He did what!?"
He tried to rise, only to be overcome by a wave of nausea and dizziness. Alistair stayed close to Morrigan, who despite all their arguments lately seemed to be shielding him from his fellow warden's anger.
Lucky for Alistair.
Alim fell back, Leliana caught his head.
"Easy," his lover soothed.
Wynne stood over him, a disapproving look on her face.
"If you are quite done behaving like a boar warden, perhaps we can get some answers here."
The elder mage reached out and began to glow with golden light.
Alim felt his exhaustion lessen, Wynne's magic bolstering his strength.
The memory of the last few minutes came back to him now.
He sat up glancing at the cell and its lone occupant.
"Um…hello again Alim," Jowan said sheepishly.
He glared at his friend…his "former" friend.
The day he had been taken from the tower returned in full vivid detail.
"You just can't stay out of trouble can you Jowan?" he snarled, ""You blunder around and destroy everyone around you with your bungling."
The dark haired mage lowered his head.
"You have every reason to be angry with me Lim," he murmured, "I don't blame you, but…but please…you must answer one question for me."
The man's eyes turned pleading.
"What happened to Lily? After I fled, what…what did Greagoir do to her?"
Alim's ears lowered slightly. The part of him that remained that boy that blamed chantry sister's for everything that had gone wrong in his life wanted to torture his old friend, to say something crushing…
If not for his dalliance with Lily, would Jowan still have fallen?
Fortunately for Jowan, that part of Alim was all but gone, worn away by his love for Leliana. Jowan had made his own choices, so had Lily.
They both had to deal with the consequences.
"I…I do not know Jowan," Alim replied, "Greagoir was plenty pissed, and with good reason. Lily violated her vows; he might have sent her to Aeonar. I…I just do not know."
His old friend moaned in self-pity.
Alim struggled to his feet. He tried not to feel sorry for his old friend, it was hard though, there had been a time that Jowan had been like a brother to him, one of the few friends that he had had.
The friend who had betrayed him.
The friend who had lied to him.
The blood mage.
IOI
Questioning Jowan had led to few answers. He claimed that he was not responsible for the killings and the undead here in the castle. He did admit that he had poisoned the Arl however, under the direct orders of Teyrn Loghain.
Alistair gripped his sword tighter, thinking of the man who had raised him, poisoned by the man he hated and this…this blood mage he had sent to do it.
Of course, Jowan's questions yield another surprising realization, namely concerning the Arl's son and heir.
Connor, son of Isolde and Eamon, was a mage.
That was why Jowan had been allowed to come here. Apparently before the Blight, Lady Isolde had had agents in Denerim seeking any information regarding apostates loose in the city. Shortly before the battle of Ostagar, Loghain had discovered this and approached the Arlessa.
He had offered to help.
While tending to matters in Ostagar, Loghain's men had brought Jowan to Castle Redcliffe, the Teyrn had saved Jowan from the Templar that had been hunting him and had offered him a deal to let Jowan return to the circle.
Alim rolled his eyes when he heard that last part. The Templars and Chantry saw magic as outside the jurisdiction of the nobles. The Knight-Commander had no more reason to listen to Loghain then he would a stable boy.
Jowan had fooled himself, even as Loghain fooled him.
Alim's old friend had also claimed to have had nothing to do with any demons. Though, he suspected that Connor might have done something, that the young mage might have accidently sundered the veil, and that the demon had come through that way.
Alim nodded, that made sense.
He asked Jowan why he had not used any shielding magic on the boy, like the senior enchanter's had done for them when they were children.
Jowan confessed that he did not know that spell.
Alim cursed under his breath, of course, he had only known it because Irving had been grooming Alim to follow him when he retired.
Now, they once again found themselves caught by Jowan's ineptitude.
Alim sighed.
Maker what a mess.
They needed to do something to try and end this. Jowan knew the castle and only he knew how much magic he had taught Connor.
As much he hated to admit it, they still needed Jowan's help.
Alistair was not happy about that, the idea of letting blood mage loose, and after everything he had done.
Morrigan did her best to sooth him, though a fight almost developed right then and there between the two.
Wynne and Alim had stopped that with mutual withering stares.
The elf understood Alistair's point, he did not want to put his faith in Jowan either, but what choice did they have?
Leliana picked the lock to Jowan's cell and let him out. He did not seem happy to be out among the walking corpses, but Alim would not let his old friend just sit in his cell.
Jowan had helped cause this mess, he was damn well going to help them try to fix it.
The elf offered to watch him; he knew his fellow mage quite well. And he had still not forgiven him for what had happened back in tower.
He warned the blood mage, try to run or betray them in anyway, and he would regret it for the rest of his very short life.
Jowan nodded nervously.
The tone in Alim's voice left no room for doubt.
They no sooner left the dungeon when more corpses tried to overwhelm them.
Jowan stuck to hexing them, his spells somewhat limited by the fact that he could not use a staff, and both Alistair and Wynne would not allow him to use his blood magic, not that he needed to.
Alim proved to be an able protector.
The elf whirled sword and staff in hand, the corpses were no match for the warden. He cleared their path almost single handedly.
Jowan's eyes widened, he…he was impressed.
The party battled it way through the keep, striking down both shades and corpses. The only living soul they discovered was the girl Velanna, one of the Arlessa's maids and daughter of the town blacksmith.
Alim advised her that the path was clear behind them, if the girl was quick and careful she could escape the castle through the secret tunnel in the dungeons.
The girl fled, Leliana shot him a warm look, grateful that they had been able to fulfill at least one of their promises and return the smith's daughter.
Alim accepted that look with shy acceptance.
At least one good thing had happened today.
IOI
"You have grown stronger."
Jowan's comment did not surprise Alim; his friend was never one for polite silence, especially when there were things that made him curious.
Alim had liked that curiosity once, now it simply annoyed him.
"I know what I am now Jowan," he replied, "Among the Dalish…I…I learned what my powers mean. I…I am heir to an ancient legacy among the elves. Once…once we were many…now…now there is just me."
Alim's ears lowered slightly.
"It is sad."
Jowan nodded. Alim did not think his friend understood, frankly, he did not entirely understand it all himself. The memories of stormbreakers and arcane warriors were a part of him now, but that did not mean that he completely understood everything.
He might never understand everything.
Leliana moved ahead of the group clearing any traps left by the undead or the castle staff before the monsters overwhelmed this place.
Alim was concerned for her welfare, but held his tongue.
If Leli could not take care of herself than no one could, he knew that better than anyone.
Jowan, who knew him better than anyone beside Leli and Irving, regarded her.
"So…um…who is the red head?"
Alim's ears lowered slightly.
"Her name is Leliana, and she is none of your business Jowan."
"She sounded Orlesian?"
"She was raised in Orlais. I said leave it alone."
"I don't mean any disrespect," his old friend said.
Alim sighed. Jowan fell silent, for a few seconds anyway.
"So…um…you and her…?"
Alim whirled on his old friend.
"Damn it Jowan!"
The mage raised his hands in surrender.
"Well you can't blame me for being curious," he said.
"Maker," Alim spat angrily, he struggled against his exasperation. He counted to ten and did his best to control his breathing.
When he responded it was through gritted teeth.
"To answer your question," he murmured, "Yes, she and I are…"
Jowan nodded.
"Um…well done, she…she is quite beautiful."
Alim tried to squash the pride he felt at the statement. Too many in the tower would have felt him not worthy of a woman like Leliana.
He was happy to prove all those nay-sayers wrong.
"So…ah…where did you two meet?"
"Back in Lothering, she…she was…was a…"
Alim muttered the last part.
Jowan gave him a look.
"She was a what?"
Alim mumbled the response; part of him did not want Jowan to hear what Leli had been doing in Lothering…
He was not ashamed of it, but he knew how Jowan would react.
"I'm…I'm sorry Lim, but I still did not hear…"
The elf gave an exasperated sigh.
"She was a lay sister in the chantry all right," he spat.
Jowan paused.
Alim did not want to look at his old friend.
"A…a sister?" he asked.
"Yes Jowan."
The other mage glared at him.
"After everything you said about Lily, you…you ended up with a chantry sister?!"
"It isn't the same Jowan."
"Isn't it?"
"No," Alim growled, "Leli came to the chantry for safe haven and to learn. She never took any vows Jowan. Lily did…and she no doubt understood what it meant by getting involved with you. Had…she found a way to leave the chantry first…maybe you two could have had something. She might have gotten in trouble and been expelled, but at least she would have been free…"
Alim glared at his friend.
"You chose to dabble in blood magic. You used me and Lily to get your phylactery. Had you gone to Irving first…he might have done what he could for Lily."
"But I would have been made tranquil!"
"And Lily would be safe right now."
Jowan fell silent; his face was that of a tortured man.
Despite his anger, Alim could not help but feel sorry for him, the man he had once loved like a brother.
"I'm sorry Jowan," he murmured, "but what did you think would happen? Even if Lily had gotten away, I would still have been punished, and when she found out about your blood magic you would have been right back where you are right now."
Jowan gave him a sad look.
"Do…do you…you blame me, for what happened?"
Alim sighed.
"I can't say for certain if I would have ended up here if you had not done what you did. Because of the Grey Wardens…I…I have found so many answers to so many questions, and…and I found Leliana."
The elf smiled wistfully.
"Do I blame you for what happened, no, I chose to aid a friend and I stick by that, and…and I cannot argue with the results. What I have found…"
He shook his head slightly.
"I'm sorry about Lily."
Jowan nodded.
It was not much, but it was all that Alim could offer him.
He just had to live with what happened.
Like his friend had learned to.
IOI
The wardens and their allies managed to fight their way into the courtyard. The undead attempted to swarm them as they stepped into the sun.
Among them a corpse in armor made from pure shadow, its eyes glowed red beneath its helm.
Alim recognized the creature as a revenant; they had faced several on their journeys over the past few months.
He reached out to the few clouds that were moving over head.
Lightning crashed down in the undead warrior.
Leliana darted to the gate control, releasing the portcullis and lowering the draw bridge.
Ser Perth and the rest of their companions flowed into the courtyard, engaging the few remaining walking corpses.
Alim met the Revenant blade upon blade. The demon possessed corpse was strong, but even it was no match when so badly outnumbered.
The demon fell as Seri, Fergus, Kally and Oghren added their blades to Alim's.
The creature fell, its armor vanishing, leaving just a burnt skeleton behind.
The elf sighed as the knights moved to secure the courtyard. When they had been in the castle proper, they had not been able to reach the main hall, the doors had either been locked or warded, but this one seemed clear.
Alim reached out with his magic, he could still sense the malevolence of this place, and the demonic energy that held the castle had not diminished with their small victories.
There was only one thing left to do.
Ser Perth had his knights secure the courtyard, while Alim led them up the steps into the great hall of Castle Redcliffe.
He could sense the demon inside…
He did not intend to keep it waiting.