Chapter Four, I've already run out of jokes to name the titles and I'm too scared to stop.
I don't have a beta so this is bound to have several grammatical screw-ups.
Also, language.
Also Also, Merry Fucking Christmas, here's my gift to you lovely folks.
"I hate waiting, it makes me nervous," Jowan grumbled to Lily as Alim turned the corner.
"Hey Jowan, Got a nice hot rod for those pretty hands of yours," Alim said knowingly trying to embarrass his friend.
"Is that Blood?" Lily asked pointing to Alims slightly stained robs.
"Don't worry about it." Alim brushed off the comment as if it had been about a speck of dust or stray piece of hair rather than the blood of several other living creatures, "Anyways, I got the Rod of Fire™"
"That was quick!" Jowan said giddily having either ignored Alims first comment or just hadn't registered yet.
"To the repository then," Lily said just as giddily as her fellow lovebird.
"Could you have said that any louder?" Alim griped in a teasing fashion as the group hurried out of the religious room.
"Man this place needs a good cleaning." Alim remarked as he looked at the various web infested corners of the rooms, "One spark and this place could burn for weeks."
"The Chantry calls this entrance the victim's door, it is built of two-hundred and seventy-seven planks, one for each original templar," She paused, almost in reverence to the door, "It is a reminder of the danger that those cursed with magic pose."
"I honestly don't care, but if this thing's got some significance it's probably magical." Alim turned towards the initiate, "What's the catch?"
"The door can only be open by a Templar and a Mage," Lily explained.
"Fucking peachy." Alim groaned, "What's our loophole?"
"The Chantry provides the password to prime a magic ward and the mage touches it with mana."
"I'm assuming you have the password, and there must something I have that Jowan doesn't for him not to be able to help you with this," Alim reasoned, "And it can't just be my good looks."
"Oh haha." Jowan mock laughed.
"The ward only responds to mages who have been through the Harrowing." Lily clarified.
"What do I need to do?" Alim asked stepping towards the door.
"First the Password," Lily turned towards the door and placed her hand on it, whispering under breath, "Sword of the Maker, tears of the fade."
A soft swooshing sound resonated around the room, "Now the door must feel the touch of mana-" Lily had turned to explain in a hurried tone, but before she finished her sentence Alim had fired an Arcane bolt at the door, causing it to swing open with a slight chime echoing in the air.
"No time to dilly-dally," Alim said stepping past the stunned initiate, who was broken from her stupor by Jowan's gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Quick, use the rod to melt the locks off." Jowan almost pleaded as Alim dug through his robes excuses for pockets.
When he finally pulled his rod from his robes pockets, Alim pointed at one of the locks and let a stream of mana flow into the enchanted stick.
Nothing happened, outside of the rod warming up. 'In hindsight, knowing how paranoid these fucks are, it makes sense that they double locked everything.'
"Lily, something's not right!" Jowan exclaimed in a worried tone.
"No shit Sherlock." Alim chipped in as he put the heated rod in his pocket.
"I can't cast spells here, nothing works" Jowan finished, waving his hands in various gestures for magical spells.
Lily looked at the door closer, "These wards carved into the stone, this must be the Templars work. They negate any magic cast in this area, I should have guessed" Lily explained.
'That explains why whispy and my armor is still working.' Alim thought as he had the spell wisp dance around his finger, flakes of stone falling off every now and again.
"Why would Greagoir and Irwing use simple keys for such a door?" She asked rhetorically, "Because magical keys don't work," If there had been anything loose on the ground nearby, Lily would have kicked it.
"How do you keep mages away from something, make their powers completely worthless!" Lily started to pace in front of the chamber door, "That's it then, were completely finished-where are you going?"
Lily had cut herself off when Alim started walking down the hall, to the only other door in the room. Alims answer was a simple, "Can't hurt to look through here then."
Lily looked to Jowan for an explanation, but the mage just shrugged and followed his friend down the hall.
When Alim was a few steps away he pulled out the rod and pointed it at the lock on the new door. This time when he channeled his mana through it, a spurt of fire shot from the tip and melted the iron lock.
"That's not good," Jowan said as the suit of armor behind them started creaking.
"The fuck you standing there for, burn the mother fucker!" Alim shouted as he cast Weakness on the suit of armor. Jowan threw fire at the possessed armament while Lily started beating it with her bare hands.
Thankfully the armor fell quickly under the two mages onslaught.
"Lily, you might want to stay back until you get a weapon or something," Alim said handing her a lesser health poultice when he saw her already bruising hands.
"I'm fine," Lily said as she picked up the armors hand ax.
"Alright," Alim said as he led the group on.
Fourteen Armor sentinels, Three robe sentinels, and four deep stalkers later Alim found himself in a room full of bizarre magical junk, as well as several miscellaneous items heavier, the trip also had led the young elven mage having adjusted to the strain of his spells enough to use more of them, Mainly Stone fist and Arcane Shield, causing Alim to shimmer on top of the effects he had going on.
"No one's going to miss this," Alim mumbled as he pulled a staff of Blackened Heartwood from a chest in the back of the room, and replacing his previous staff with it.
"That old wall looks like it's about to come down any minute." Jowan marveled from the other side of the room, unintentionally calling Alim over there, "I think the phylactery chamber is on the other side of the wall behind this bookcase."
Alim nodded, "Help me move it," He ordered as he grabbed a side of it.
After a few minutes of the admittedly physically weak mages struggle to shift the bookcase a few feet, they finally managed to do so. Lily may or may not have been trying to hide a laugh at the two men's exhausted state, they slouched over trying to catch their breath.
"Now we just need… to find a way… to get through it." Jowan heaved as he pulled himself up.
"Maybe this artifact can do the trick," Alim suggested pointing to the conveniently placed artifact not two yards from the wall.
"I'm sure it will." Jowan agreed.
Alim placed the tip of the rod on the back of the dog shaped statues head and channeled his mana through it. The magical energy took the shape of fire as it passed through the rod, and was amplified by the enchantments placed on the statue, turning what was once a mighty flame into an inferno.
The powerful spew of fire burst the ancient wall down in a shower of brick and mortar.
"Ya know, we're lucky that walls weren't a load bearing wall." Alim thought aloud after the fact, earning him a stare from both of his companions, "What?"
Jowan moved closer to the new doorway and peered inside, "It worked, this is the phylactery chamber!"
The trio rushed into the chilled room, a small amount of fog hung low in the air.
"We must find Jowan's phylactery, quickly!" Lily said as she moved to look through the towering shelves, only to be caught off guard by the Sentinels, one of which was made of a heavier suit of armor and held a shield.
Again the three suits fell beneath the onslaught of the three, but not without damage being dealt with the party this time. Jowan and Lily both sported cuts and bruises along various parts of their bodies. While Alim barely had a scratch on him due to his stone armor, the strain of having three different spells active as well as using two more for offensive purposes was starting to wear on him.
"I just need a moment to catch my breath," Alim said as he plopped himself down on the stairs and pulling out a lesser health poultice for the other two, "Go get his phylactery, I wish to be rid of this."
The two moved further up the stairs and searched through the various cases, granting Alim several minutes of rest to reciprocate his stamina.
"I found it!" Jowan's voice echoed around the room with his joyous tone, "I can't believe this tiny vile is all that stands between me and freedom."
Jowan stepped towards the edge of the balcony, "So fragile, so easy to just be rid of it," He said in an almost ominous tone, "To end its hold over me."
He dropped the small glass over the edge of the balcony, the sound of glass shattering filling the room not a moment later.
Jowan tilted his head back in joyful relief, "And I am free."
"Come on, we're done here," Jowan said as he passed Alim on the stairs.
"Well someone grew some balls." Alim picked as he pulled himself up to follow his friend.
The trio exited from the once locked door and took their time traversing the stairs.
"Andraste's tits!" Jowan exclaimed halfway up the stairs.
"What's wrong?" Alim asked in genuine concern.
"I just got what you said back in the chantry room," Jowan said with a blush on his face. Both Lily and Alim were silent as they looked at the embarrassed man, then they looked at the other and couldn't contain their amusement.
"It's not funny," Jowan almost shouted as the two laughed hard enough to knock them to the floor.
"No, it's hilarious." Alim managed to squeeze out in between his dying chuckles, "The fact that it took you an hour to finally register is what's really funny."
Once the two's laughter had fully subsided and Jowans face no longer resembled a tomato, the trio finished there treck up their stairs.
"We did it, I can't believe it!" Jowan turned towards a solemn-looking Alim, "Thank you we could never have-" Jowan was cut off by the sound of clanking metal.
"An initiate conspiring with a blood mage, I'm disappointed, Lily." Greagoir's tone was ice as he stepped closer to examine her.
"She seems shocked, but fully in control of her own mind. Not a thrall of the blood mage then." He sounded disappointed.
"You were right Irving, the initiate betrayed us." The older man admitted in a resigned tone, "The Chantry will not let this go unpunished."
The old Templar pointed to Alim, "And here's your lacky who so efficiently delivered these miscreants into our hands. Your plan worked Irving." Alim felt a knot of guilt and dread form in his stomach as Irving seemed to take pleasure in the Templars admittance.
"You Betrayed us, How could you!" Jowan shouted angrily, turning toward Alim
"Jowan, please don't make this worse," Alim knew his plead was futile, but he pleaded nonetheless, "Irving does what he can to protect the mages."
"Enough, As knight commander of the Templars here assembled, I sentence this blood mage to death." Greagoir said in almost a neutral tone, "And this initiate has scorned the chantry and her vows, take her to Aeonar."
"Th-The mages prison?" Lily stepped back in fear as two templars approached the two, Alim stepping to the side to avoid what was going to happen next, "No, Please not there-"
Something visibly snapped in Jowan, "No- I won't let you touch her!" He shouted as he pulled forth a knife and plunged it into his hand, the blood growing disproportionately and surrounding him.
With a gesture of his hands, the magic knocked all in the room save for Lily to the ground, wounding the two Templars who had attempted to take her away.
"By the Maker," Lily stepped back in fear, "Blood magic, How could you!" Lily's face warped in anger, "You said yo nev-"
"I admit I- I dabbled, I thought it would make me a better mage." Jowan tried to reason, no matter how piss-poor of one it was.
"Blood magic is evil Jowan," Lily said in a small, fearful voice, "it corrupts people, changes them."
"I'm going to give it up, all magic," Jowan pleaded, "I just want to be with you, Lily!" The blood mage seemed as if he was about to fall to the floor, "Please come with me!"
"I trusted you," Her voice was slowly filling with disgust, "Sacrifice everything for you, I don't know who you are blood mage, stay away with me."
Jowan's heartbreak was visible in his face and posture, even as he bolted out of the Tower.
Alim shakily rose to his feet, his various spells having barely protected him from Jowans rage. The elf meandered over to check on Irving.
"I knew it… Blood magic" Greagoir said in a shaken but awed voice, "But to overcome so many… I never thought him capable of such power…"
Alim remained silent.
"None of us expected this, Are you alright Greagoir?" Irving asked in a worried creaking tone.
"As good as can be expected given the circumstances, If you had let me act sooner none of this would've happened!" Greagoir was almost shouting, "Now we have a blood mage on the loose and no way to track him!"
Alim again chose to remain silent, words at this point and time were practically useless.
"Where is the girl?" Greagoir asked as he turned to where she had been standing before.
"I… am here, ser," Lily announced herself in a weak, defeated tone.
"You helped a blood mage! Look at all he's hurt!" Greagoir shouted gesturing to the Templars who were trying to assist their fallen brethren.
For a third time Alim remained silent, Lily was resigned to her fate and Greagoir was determined to give her it.
"Knight-Commander… I… I was wrong. I was an accomplice to a… blood mage." Lily said in an almost dead tone, as she hung her head low, "I will accept whatever punishment you see fit. Even… Aeornar."
"Get her out of my site." Greagoir turned his face away from the remorseful woman and snapped angrily towards Alim, "And you were in a repository full of magical artifacts locked away for a reason."
"Did you take anything important from the repository?" Irving asked.
"No," Alim said, channeling all of his persuasive power into the one word, despite the fact, there was obvious proof resting on his back. Lucky for the young elf, the two old humans bought the lie.
"But your antics have made a mockery of this circle!" Greagoir made a noise of disgust, "What are we to do with you?"
"Nothing, I was doing as I was told." Alim defended himself, despite the fact that it wasn't going to do jack shit in the way of helping him.
"As I said, he was working under my orders," Irving confirmed Alims defense.
"And this improves the situation? The phylactery chamber is forbidden to all save you and me!" Alim would've bet all the copper in his pocket that he just saw the Knight-Enchanter foam a bit at the mouth.
"I had my reasons." Irving seemed to almost sass the other elder.
"You're not all-knowing Irving, you don't know how much influence the blood mage might have had. How are we to deal with this?" Greagoir seemed to be on the urge of having an aneurysm.
"Knight-commander, if I may..." A new voice entered the chamber, Duncan coming to stand behind Alim on his right side, "I am not only looking for mages to join the king's army, but I am also recruiting for the Grey Wardens."
Duncan placed a hand on Alims shoulder, "Irving spoke highly of this mage, and I would like for him to join the Wardens ranks.
"What!" Greagoir was surely going to tear his vocal cords with all his shouting, "You've promised him a new Grey Warden?"
'I didn't know they had the Olympics here, Greagoir would be perfect at the long jumps judging by that conclusion he got too.' Alim thought to himself.
"He has served the circle well, He would make for an excellent Grey Warden" Irving argued.
"We look for dedication in our recruits. Fighting Darkspawn requires such dedication, often at the expense of all else." Duncan explained.
"I object, You say he operated under your instruction Irving, but I do not trust him," Greagoir threw his two copper in, "I want to investigate this issue, I will not release this mage to the Grey Warden." Greagoir spat the term as if it were an insult.
"Greagoir, mages are needed, this mage is needed." Duncan pleaded, "There are worse things in this world than blood mages- You know that."
"I take this young mage under my wing and take all responsibility for his actions" Duncan declared.
Greagoir's face grew red, "This mage does not deserve a place in the Order."
"Why, do we not reward service? This mage has served the circle well." Irving disagreed and turned to Alim, "You have an opportunity few even dreams of, do not squander it."
'I love how their debating giving me a death sentence, and the one that's for it isn't the Templar.' Alim reflected upon his predicament, 'And I can think of about five other individuals who would probably want this fate right now.'
"So, I guess I'm becoming a Grey Warden." Alim couldn't keep a smile off his face. A decades worth of planning and studying was used all for this moment.
"Yes, Be proud child, you are luckier than you know," Irving said, unaware of just how much Alim knew.
"Thank you for everything, First Enchanter," Alim tilted his head in a small bow to the elder.
"Come Now, you knew life awaits" Duncan ushered Alim away.
'It's going to be a pain in the ass to pack up my things.' Alim gripped to himself as he went to go do just that.
So I actually got this one done pretty quick, despite it almost doubling the stories length. As of writing this "Wardens Song," Has hit One-hundred views, which has me rather excited. Also if anyone prefers Ao3 to this site, I've started cross-posting this story there. If you feel so inclined, please leave a review, I'd love to hear any feedback.
Have a good whatever now!