Chapter 90

"Maker, it's so hot. I'm going to boil in my armour."

"You know where it would cooler?"

"Where?"

"In my shadow."

"I hate you so much."

"I love you too, little brother."

"What's the matter with you, anyway? You seem awfully chirpy all of a sudden."

"Well, you know your Warden-Commander?"

"Yeah?"

"Mmm. He has excellent bedside manners."

"What? No. No! Sister, please!"

"He was very thorough-"

"Stop this. Stop this right now."

Smiling to himself, Aedan slowed his step, allowing Marian and Carver to gain some distance. Whatever that went on between those two wasn't something he needed to hear. Instead, he turned to Alistair.

"Did you seriously have a party in the War Room and parade your mother around?"

The man proudly puffed out his chest. "Believe it."

Aedan shook his head, grinning. "That's great, man."

"Oh, yeah. Crises do wonders for one's personal life, I find."

"Yes." Aedan briefly glanced at Marian and smiled to himself. "They do"

"And hey, thanks. You've given me more than I can ever repay."

"Repay me by dealing with these fuckers fast, yeah?"

"You bet."

Carver Hawke, Marian's younger brother, had unsurprisingly been her contact in the Wardens. He'd told them how Wardens were gathering at an abandoned Tevinter tower in the Western Approach. The going was rough and the heat unbearable, but grim purpose fuelled them on.

Aedan looked back at Blackwall. "Warden Blackwall, be prepared. You might encounter some of the Wardens you recruited."

The man nodded stiffly. Said nothing. Ever since he was revealed to be the Hero of Ferelden, Blackwall had been keeping his distance. It didn't stop him and Alistair from seeking him out and reminiscing of old days, though. He played the part of a Warden well, did Blackwall. His heart was in the right place. Indeed, he was the ideal of what every Warden should be.

I wonder whether that idealism would've survived had he been an actual Warden.

"We're here," Carver announced. Marian chuckled.

"Ah, blood magic. You can just taste it in the air. Or gaze upon the corpses."

"How do you want to do this, Commander?" Ellana asked.

Aedan looked at Alistair. "Well?"

The man frowned. "I don't get paid enough for that. It's still your job."

"Ah, well." Aedan placed his hands on his hips. He didn't see any scouts or guards of any sort. It either meant that the residents were confident, absent... or otherwise occupied.

"The ritual's probably begun already," he said and drew some nods from the party. "Varric, Ellana, spilt up and go on either side. Flank 'em. Marian, go with Varric. Solas, with Ellana. The rest, Wardens Blackwall, Hawke and Theirin, you're on me. We're going to walk in like we were uninvited to this party."

Their roles issued, the party split up. Before going on her way, Marian smiled at Aedan.

"Be careful, okay?"

Aedan nodded. "You too."

Then, as she turned her attention to her brother, Alistair raised his eyebrows at him. Aedan ignored it. He gave the flankers a head start of ten seconds before marching forward. Wearing the Warden blues after almost a month, he felt more like one. It had seemed appropriate, as this was a Warden issue.

The scene that greeted him as soon as they mounted the stairs was one he'd seen numerous times before. Somehow, it never got better.

Warden mages were summoning demons, binding themselves to sustain them. The cost of the summoning was the life of a Warden warrior. The blood powered the ritual. At the head of it all stood a mage, Tevinter by complexion. Taking in the scene, Aedan felt the familiar coldness creeping up his spine and into the back of his head.

"I assume you're no Warden?" Alistair asked the mage, who bowed.

"You assume right. Lord Livius Erimond of Vyrantium, at your service. And may I assume you're here to stop me? Shall we see how that works?"

"I've fought worse," Carver muttered. "If I can get through a horde of mad mages, I can get through a few demons."

"A few demons?" Livius Erimond chuckled. "Wardens, hands up." The Wardens complied. "Hands down." They obeyed. "And a few Warden mages."

"Corypheus has enslaved them," Alistair seethed.

"Oh, they did this to themselves," Erimond said with a chuckle. "You see, the Calling had them terrified! They went everywhere for help."

"Including Tevinter."

"Yes. And since it was my Master who put the Calling into their little heads, we in the Venatori were prepared. I went to Clarel full of sympathy, and together, we came up with a plan... raise a demon army, march into the Deep Roads and kill the Old Gods before they wake."

Aedan exchanged a look with Alistair. A demon army, once bound, would need no sleep and no food. There was no chance of them getting tainted. It was actually ingenious.

"Oh, that's where the demon army comes from, is it?" Alistair asked. "I was wondering when that'd come up."

"You... you knew about it?" Erimond spluttered. "Well. There it is, then."

"So, basically, Corypheus corrupted the Wardens and made them do this ritual?" Carver asked.

Erimond laughed aloud. "Made them? No. Everything you see here? The blood magic to bind the demons? The Wardens did it of their own free will. Fear is a very strong motivator after all, and they were very afraid."

"That's a lie!" thundered Blackwall. "The Grey Wardens are heroes! They would never do this willingly!"

"The Grey Wardens care about nothing but stopping the Blight," countered Erimond. "They will do anything to that end."

While that was true, Aedan wasn't there to debate the morality of the Wardens. So he raised his right hand, two fingers raised in a V, and drooped his wrist. Immediately, the report of a crossbow resounded and a bolt buried itself into Erimond's shoulder. As he fell into a heap, Aedan turned to Alistair.

"Smite," he ordered. Alistair nodded and went to work. The mages, thus rendered helpless, were no threat. The demons were another matter, but with arrows, bolts and spells raining down from the battlements, they were able to make short work of the opposition.

Erimond had fled during the fight. The man was a coward that was for certain. The dangerous kind. Fortunately, he'd fled on foot. Which meant he wouldn't be going far.

"There is an abandoned Warden fortress near here, named Adamant," Aedan said. "I'd bet they're finishing up over there."

"Makes sense," Alistair replied. "Wouldn't want to raise a demon army in public. What would that do to the image of the Wardens?"

He was upset. That was understandable. Aedan looked at Ellana.

"Send word to Skyhold. We'll need to lay siege on Adamant fortress. Hopefully, whatever they have going on there will take long enough for the Inquisition's forces to arrive."