Chapter 137: Cleaning House
"I'm sorry, but…but I cannot let you enter."
Alim's brow furrowed slightly. He hated to admit it, but he had expected…more out of the elven guard.
It had only been maybe ten minutes since they left the orphanage. The bulk of their little force had stayed back, less they spook the Tevinter guards into doing something drastic.
Alim frowned.
Speaking of drastic…
He was still not sure what to make of Jowan, of what his old friend had done.
IOI
The group had emerged from the orphanage to find Shianni waiting for them, interesting enough, not a single person in the Alienage had heard anything of what was going on inside. Alim and his friends had been fighting a war against the now dead rage demon and its brood and not a single person heard anything.
The elven mage shook his head.
Typical.
He noticed Alistair approach a small elven woman laying not far from the entrance, hiding in the shadows. Alim could not see everything that passed between them, but when it was over, the girl rose from where she had been hiding, a small amulet clasped within her tiny hands, a small but happy smile on her face, while her eyes looked into some distant future.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" he had asked.
The girl gave him a dreamy look.
"I'm fine now ser," she cooed, "I must live my life."
She walked away without another word.
Alim never saw her again.
He glanced at Alistair who could only shrug.
At least someone was happy after what they had done in the orphanage.
The warden mage coughed and brushed soot off of his white coat. He found himself glancing over at Jowan. His old friend had fallen very quiet since their encounter with the rage demon, and the death of Ser Otto.
Alim' ears twitched.
Jowan had saved them, he did not doubt that. A Templar would have been furious at his use of blood magic, but there were no Templars here. Ali was the closest thing they had to one, and even he did not seem overly bothered by what Jowan had done.
The elf pursed his lips.
He did not approve, and suspected that Wynne did not either, but at the same time, Jowan had enabled them to accomplish their goals.
Wasn't that the whole part of bringing him along today?
Alim sighed.
They had all been watching when Ser Otto had died, the demon had impaled him through the back, and as the fire had risen around them even Alim had been hard pressed to hold it back. Jowan had not hesitated; he had taken the initiative and done what was needed to be done.
Alim found himself thinking back to Duncan, what the old warden commander had said to him on their journey from Kinloch Hold. By helping Jowan, Alim had committed a crime against the circle, the Templars would have condemned him for that but Duncan had still supported him.
He suspected that Duncan would not have been so judgmental; Alim had brought Jowan along to see if he could perform when he needed to, he had done that. Ser Otto had already been dead, impaled through the chest, fire consuming his body. Jowan had made use of the man's death to keep the rest of them alive. The Rage Demon had not given them any chance to save the half-blind Templar…
…Jowan had used his death to save the others, to save Leli…
Perhaps that was all that should have mattered.
His old friend had acted when he had needed to. The wardens would no doubt need that kind of quick thinking in the future, if they were to rebuild after this, provided that any of them were still alive to rebuild.
No, Alim would not just him for doing what was needed. Jowan was a warden now.
He was now one of his brothers.
IOI
The main entrance to the Tevinter's quarantine was too well guarded for them to simply just…break in. Fortunately the elven crowd drawn the bulk of the Tevinter guards to the front of the building, a fact that Shianni was now encouraging by a bit of good old rabble rousing. Kally had insisted on letting her cousin do her part to distract the Tevinters. She had faith that the girl could keep the foreign mages occupied.
So far, the girl was living up that promise.
Before they had begun this little break in attempt, Shianni had given their little group the layout of the Tevinter's little base. The place had been a warehouse a few months before, with two main ways in and out. The main door was currently occupied, but with the crowd out front, the back door was almost undefended…
Almost.
A lone guard covered the back. An elf hired by the Tevinters to watch the back, and make sure that no one else got inside. The man was clearly uncomfortable as Kally and Alim stood before him, their arms and armor made them far more difficult to discourage than the typical elven visitors he had dealt with up until now.
Alim smiled slightly.
He had no desire to harm this man. All he wanted to do was get inside the warehouse and see what the Tevinters were up to. He had never met a Tevinter mage before, but from his readings in the tower they were not known for an abundance of Andrastian charity.
Their presence here…it did not make any sense. Loghain had long been a supporter of Ferelden making its own way in the world, the fact that he would allow foreign mages into Denerim was perplexing to say the least.
The warden mage also had to ask the question, what were the Tevinters getting out of being here? It was not like the Alienage could afford their healing spells; these poor people barely had enough to keep roofs over their head and food in their bellies.
Kally tried the diplomatic approach; this man was after all one of her former neighbors after all.
She smiled shyly.
"We just want to make sure that everyone is okay," she said batting her eyelashes at the guard, it might have been more effective without the eyepatch, but the two had to work with the tools they had been given.
The guard remained unmoved.
"No one is allowed in," He said, "You could bring the plague out into the rest of the Alienage, we could all get sick."
Kally was not put off.
"My friend here is from the Circle of Ferelden. He knows healing spells. We will be quite safe, and we will not stay long."
"Only for a minute," Kally said quickly.
"I'm sorry but no," the man said, "Look I didn't cause the Blight, or the plague, or anything else. I'm just trying to help, and put a little food on the table in the process."
The guard rubbed his neck nervously. He carried a sword but Alim doubted that he had the necessary skill to use it. If it came to a confrontation this man would not last very long. Maker knew; Kally could likely have dealt with him herself.
Alim frowned.
No, he was not going to kill this man for just trying to make his way in the world. He…
The warden mage tilted his head slightly.
I'm just trying to help, the man had said…
…And put a little food on the table in the process.
Alim smiled.
He had an idea.
"How much are the Tevinters paying you for this?" he inquired.
The guard's ears twitched.
"Enough for me to do my duty," he answered.
Alim's smile widened.
"Would six sovereigns be enough to make you look the other way while we had a quick look inside?"
The guard's eyes widened.
Six sovereigns was a fortune to even a well-off commoner in Denerim. The warden could only imagine how it would look to someone living here in the Alienage.
Kally glanced at him, the price was steep, but time was of the essence.
They needed to get inside this warehouse.
Now.
The guard considered his offer, his elven ears lowering and rising slowly.
"Six?" he murmured.
When he looked at Alim and Kally again, his whole manner changed.
"They will not be happy that I let you in," he said.
"Why," Kally asked, "what is in there?"
"I don't know," he said, "But Caladrius, the mage in charge warned me there would be terrible consequences if anyone got inside."
The elf shook his head.
"I'm getting out of here, before they realize how you got in."
The guard fled quickly scooping up his rain cloak and covering his head. Alim and Kally watched him go, both with thought looks on their faces.
"It would have been easier just to knock him out?" the girl said.
Alim snorted.
"Less chance of anyone noticing this way," the warden said, "Besides, we learned something…"
The warden frowned.
"The Tevinters are not here for charity's sake."
Kally drew her blade as Alim slowly opened the door. He was not quite sure what they were going to find on the other side, but he doubted it would be the Tevinters caring for sick elves.
Kally entered first, followed shortly by Alim, both elves had their weapons drawn. The main room of the warehouse was clean, clearly the Tevinters were eager to make their living quarters as comfortable as possible, several cots lined the walls, enough for the guards and mages to use, but not nearly enough to cater to the sick of the Alienage, which of course brought up another question…
Alim's eyes narrowed.
Where were all the elves?
No one was here, no one. According to Shianni they had been bringing people in here for weeks and not a single elf had returned to their families.
Kally glanced around suspiciously, she said nothing, but she did not need to.
Alim did not need to be a mind reader to know she wondered the exact same thing that he did.
Where was everybody?
Kally went to a desk in the corner, she slid the papers their around, reading what was there.
"Alim?" she called out.
The mage turned.
"You should see this," she said with a frown.
He joined her at the desk, his eyes never going far from the entry way, they could hear the crowd outside, but who could say what might happen if one of the Tevinters poked his head inside.
Alim looked at the papers. He might have been wrong, but they looked like sheets from a ledger, something any common merchant might keep. What he was seeing was quite confusing; numbers, initials, and sums of coin, a lot of sums of coin."
Alim shook his head.
What was all this.
BhF 8 sov ship 1 M
DhM 8 sov ship 2 C
YhMc 12 sov ship 1 M
He did not get what the initials stood for; 'sov' was likely sovereign. Ship was fairly easy to guess, these were likely items to be shipped, but what items…
Alim was not sure what to make of it all; that is when he heard the moaning.
He gestured for Kally to be silent. The noise was coming from a door near the back of the warehouse, an office perhaps, or storage area for supplies or tool.
The two elves approached carefully, weapons drawn. Alim stood back ready with a spell if needed.
Kally waited for him to be in position before opening the door, she glanced his way, waiting for her leader's signal.
Alim once again glanced at the door leading outside, still no Tevinters; he decided they had best get on with it.
He nodded to Kally.
She opened the door.
"Help us," a weak voice moaned.
"Help us please!"
Kally gasped as she looked inside.
Alim approached his eyes widening at what waited for him on the other side of that door.
The warden mage's shock turned to anger.
Thunder rumbled overhead.
Bastards, he thought grimly.
Tevinter bastards!
Alim turned to the main doors. His eyes crackling with lightning.
It was time to clean house.
IOI
Alistair stood with the others waiting for Kally and Alim to return. The rest of their group stayed close by, waiting for leader to return.
The former Templar tensed, not really sure what was about to happen. Lim had seemed confident about finding a way inside. When he returned, hopefully they would have a better idea of what was going on.
The Tevinters remained distracted; Shianni had the crowd nice and worked up. All eyes were on the elves outside the quarantine. Not a single person glanced at the building itself.
Carver moved up next to Alistair, the young warrior clenched and unclenched his fists, impatient to begin…whatever it was that was to come.
"How much longer?" he asked.
"When Lim gives the signal,' the former Templar answered.
"Okay," Carver said trying to keep his impatience in check.
"When will that…"
Thunder rumbled overhead, the clouds darkened, turning angry on what had been only a lightly overcast day.
The Tevinters and elves glanced skyward; the sudden change in the weather no doubt had surprised them.
That is when the door blew off the hinges of the quarantine. It slammed into the backs of two Tevinter guards sending them sprawling.
The two mages that had been trying to calm the crowd whirled in surprise.
Alim stood in the door way, lightning crackling off his robes, hat and staff.
"Bastards," he snarled, "Tevinter bastards!"
The two mages glanced at each other, then quickly drew their staves, their guards pulled swords and pikes.
Lightning flashed down striking the spot between them and Alim, the flash momentarily blinded the mages and everyone else.
Alistair drew his sword, and glanced at Carver with a slight smile.
There is the signal," he said dryly.
"Let's move."