Chapter 87) Oathbreaker
Nuada POV
Laughter caught my attention. It was bright, cheerful laughter, a kind I had never really heard before. Confused, I wandered to the… it was called the 'Main Hall', I think? I didn't really know. I had only been here at Highever Castle for two days, and it was just as boring as anywhere else we had lived over the years.
Still, I was surprised to see Father was the source of the too happy laughing, and I paused awkwardly in the doorway as he hugged a stranger, talking animatedly, as if he were a child. The stranger was laughing just as much and just as warmly, teasing Father with an ease I had never seen.
"Oh, Nuada!" Father turned my way, face bright with a smile as he beckoned me forward. "Good timing," he said as I approached. "Rendon, do you remember Nuada?"
"I remember a tiny thing with a fascinating for pulling hair," the stranger teased. He crouched down to look me in the face. "Goodness, he's grown. Looks like you."
"That's what so many say, but I see Eleanor in him more than me." Father was still laughing. "Nuada, this is Rendon Howe, my best friend." Oh, that's why Father was acting weird then. "He's the Arl of Amaranthine."
"Oh, don't tell him that. What if he gets fussy?" Still, he offered his hand, and I realized he was asking for a handshake. He was treating me with the same respect adults treated each other, not the one adults gave little kids. "It's good to see you again, Nuada, but I'm sure you were too little to remember me."
"I guess I need to make more memories," I quipped. It sparked laughter out of them both, and I tentatively took his hand. It was warm, calloused, and his grip was firm, not trying to showcase any strength or anything. "But it's very nice to see you again, Uncle Rendon."
The dungeons were… they were far cleaner than I would have expected. That wasn't something I was glad to see, though. That meant there were people here frequently, people Howe actually cared about. He came down here often, and I had a sinking suspicion for what he did when I saw the small blood droplets.
"This place is cleaner than I remember," Leliana murmured. Confused, I turned to her. "I was… captured here. It's a long story, and I'll tell it when we're not here." She shook her head. "I do remember where one of the torture rooms is, though. My friend, Tug, died in it."
"You okay with leading us to it?" I asked her, glancing at Aiden. He simply nodded, with an amused glint in his eyes. He was going to make me take lead here. We both had a reason to see Howe dead, personal ones, but Howe was a personal betrayal.
"Yes." Her eyes were certain. "I would be honored if my memories can help save even one person."
"Then lead on."
She nodded once, firmly, and set off, head held high. The further in we got, the worse everything got. You could see mud and dust streaking the floor, blood that was too ingrained in the stone to be removed. You could hear echoing sobs and whimpers. You could smell blood, sweat, and… other things that hinted how clean things really were.
In silence, we walked, and it did not take long at all for us to reach the room Leliana remembered. Once there, I wasn't sure if I wanted to sigh or scream. We had a torture rack, and there was a person strapped on it. It was a person I knew to make things even better.
"Oswyn, what in flames did you get yourself into?" I asked, forcing myself to try and act amused. It was hard. While it didn't look like he had been stretched enough to dislocate, it was clear that he was 'almost' at that point. The ropes on the bottom were more taut than the ones on top, possibly due to a construction mistake. "Oswyn, it's me, Nuada." I crept a little closer as he blinked blearily at me. I tried not to wince when I realized someone had used the fact that he was confined to inflict other types of torture. All of the nails of his left hand and both feet had been removed, and there was an indication that his right hand was being prepped for the same treatment. Badly healed burn injuries were infected. Careful, almost surgical, cuts made me incredibly worried about his insides. "Can you hear me?"
"Nuada?" he finally croaked. I smiled in reply. "Your eyes…? Oh, never mind. Please, for the love of the Maker, get me off this thing!" …Oswyn was actually crying. I had known him for years, ever since the first Landsmeet I attended, and I had never seen him cry. "Please!"
"We're working on it." I could see Leliana already doing her best to try and undo it. "It has to be slow." I was assuming, at least. I didn't have much knowledge of torture devices, and I just wanted to cut the damn ropes and chains, but Leliana worked on slowly releasing, and I trusted her to know what she was doing.
"Father sure took his time. Did he think this would be a good lesson?"
"One, I have no idea what you're talking about. Two, I highly doubt your father would knowingly let you spend two seconds down here." Sighard was a stern, yet kind father. "Leliana's about to release you."
"Okay." Still, he groaned and whimpered as he was finally released from the thing. I undid bindings as fast as I could. "Maker, I can't feel my legs." I did not like how Wynne was frowning over them either. "Ugh… Father, I love you, but can you stop being blind to the snakes you've allied with?"
"I take it he's with Loghain?"
"He's with Anora, which means dealing with Loghain and Howe, but he's been growing more disillusioned by the day, so he might be switching allegiances." That would be nice. Dragon's Peak was a powerful bannorn. "Ugh…"
"Oswyn, I'm going to pick you up and get you off this stupid thing, okay? You are not allowed to move." Carefully, I did that, setting him on the floor. Even with that care, though, he whimpered again. Maker… "Seriously, Oswyn, what sort of idiocy did you get caught up in? Did you accept another drink from a stranger? Last time, that led you getting stuck on the palace roof."
"And this time, it got me here. I am never drinking again." He shuddered, and Wynne sat next to him, tending to his injuries. "A childhood friend of mine was at Ostagar. He told me what happened, and then just disappeared. I went looking for him…" He glanced up, and I did as well. I felt the distinct urge to be ill when I saw the corpse hanging from up there. "I can't believe Teyrn Cousland was friends with this madman."
"I can't either." The person who always made Father laugh the hardest was capable of things like this? The person who always had an ear for whatever story I felt like telling was such a monster? "Are there others?"
"Many." He managed to move his arm and pointed down the way. "Far too many." In my opinion, one was already too many.
"I'm heading ahead." I stood up, rolling my shoulders. "There's a good chance I at least know of the people in these cells." The words were bitter. "Oswyn?"
"If you say these people are good, then I'm good." Oswyn… "Just don't leave me down here."
"We won't." I waved him goodbye and headed down the hall, hunting for another door. I found one all but hidden within the wall. It was locked, but I kicked it open fairly easily, and walked inside. It was dark, and cold. I honestly wondered if this was the Void.
"Maker, have mercy on Your faithful servant." Someone was praying. "Grant me a place at Your side." Someone was praying to die. "Grant me the cleansing flames." I… knew this voice too, but I couldn't believe it was Irminric even when I was at the cell. "Andraste, bride of the Maker, please, have mercy on me."
"What's a big, brave knight lieutenant of the Order doing here?" I gently teased. His eyes tried to focus on me, but they couldn't. "Hey…"
"Alfstanna?" He reached out blindly, flailing about. "Is that you, little sister?"
"I'm flattered, Irminric, but we might want to keep that from Alfstanna." I knelt down, and took his hand. "It's Nuada. I know; I look different."
"Are you real?"
"Yes, I'm real. I'm here." Was this lyrium withdrawal? I had heard it was bad, but seeing it was… Maker, I had never even thought about it. This was the result when they tried to leave. "I'm here."
"Forgive me, I failed." His hand tightened on mine. "Maker, forgive me, I failed in my duties, and there's no telling what he's done…"
"Who?"
"The mage, the blood mage." His voice wavered, and I thought he was close to tears. I saw no signs of physical torture, but that didn't matter. Lyrium withdrawal appeared more than enough. "Near Redcliffe." Redcliffe…? "I cornered him… almost had him…" Wait, was this about Jowan? "The teyrn's men ambushed me. They had been following, and then they took him from me, dragged me here." Well, we definitely had the Chantry's support. This was testimony.
"If his name was Jowan, then fear not. He's dead." I remembered his death. I remember how Layla had nightmares about it, among the dreams of darskpawn. "He died to save a child."
"Is that so?" He smiled so warmly that he started crying. "Nuada, help me."
"I'll get you out of your cell."
"No, don't." What? "Others. There are others. Get them instead. I am fine, here. But tell Alfstanna. Tell her I'm sorry." He let go of my hand and took off his ring. I recognized it as his signet ring, something he had worn when he was heir. He had tried to give it to Alfstanna, but she had refused it, stating that it would help him remember who his family was. "Give her this." He pressed it into my palm. "Tell her to pray."
"I'll tell her." I was going to tell her to get her brother the fuck out of here!
"Good…" He scooted away, into the darkness, and I could only hold onto the ring tightly.
This was madness. My father was friends with a person who… did all of this?
Aiden carried Oswyn as we continued forward. We couldn't go backwards, but we couldn't leave him. We couldn't send him back. His legs… they weren't working. Wynne said that the muscles had been stretched for so long, and so they lost their ability to contract. It might be possible for healers to restore that, but Wynne would need another healer's help. It was a job for five or six, not one.
That was bad enough. But as we got deeper in, I realized something horrific. The dungeons were filled. Every single cell was packed with people. Maker's blood, I could see children! This was disgusting. This was beyond disgusting!
"Hang on," I whispered, kneeling down and reaching through the bars of one cell to a little girl who kept shaking and whimpering. She seized my hand in an instance, clinging desperately. "Leliana will get you out, and sing you pretty songs. Wynne will check over you health. She's a mage, but do not be afraid. She will not harm you. Aiden and I will keep you all safe." I gently tightened my grip on her hand as she stared at me, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't be older than five.
Movement caught my eye, and I turned to see Leliana working furiously in picking the lock. Her hands were steady, but her eyes were blazing. I nudged her, and pointed to the little girl when she glanced over. Anger had its place, but anger was just going to scare the prisoners. She nodded, and worked on calming down, slowing her movements just slightly so that she had an extra few seconds.
The door swung open, and I waited for the girl to let go before moving to pick her up and carry her over to Wynne. Wynne was in full grandmother mode, her smile warm and kind as she fussed over the children, and encouraged the adults. She dried their tears, and tended to every little scrape and bruise. The adults were more willing to endure their pain, and babbled to Aiden about anything and everything they had heard or witnessed while down here.
As Leliana moved to the next cell, I tapped her on the shoulder and signed that I would be going on ahead, just a bit, to the other set of cells down here. She nodded, and gave me a reassuring smile before she went back to work and I left. I paused at the door and made sure Wynne and Aiden also knew I was leaving. Aiden waved goodbye. Wynne gave me a reassuring smile, but I saw the concern in her eyes, so I made sure to smile back before heading down the hall.
It was hard walking through here, though. By this point, there hadn't even been an attempt to clean the blood and it dripped down. I could see corpses dangling from the ceiling. I could see the dead still attached to torture devices. A few had their hands crushed. A few where tied to a wheel dangling over metal spikes.
Distracted by the dead, I opened a door and entered without checking who was inside. It got me face to face with a guard, but that didn't last long, since they're apparently been in front of someone in a cell. Wow, the one guard that we'd encountered in the entire place, and I just saw someone use the bars of their own cell as a lever to snap their neck.
"I thank you for creating such distraction, stranger," I heard the person say as he casually stole keys and armor off the corpse. "I have been waiting days for the opportunity." But, didn't I know this voice?
"I have a feeling we are not quite strangers, good sir," I replied, stepping a little closer. They looked up and I smiled. "Riordan. It's Nuada."
"…What did you do to your eyes?" I had a feeling that was something I would hear for quite some time. "What are you doing here?"
"Clearly, I am wandering about creating distractions for senior Wardens." My smile was warm, but I couldn't relax. I knew Riordan. He was a friend of Uncle Duncan, senior Warden of Jadar. He counted himself from Highever, though, as he had been born there. But even though I knew him, had adored listening to his stories in the past, I just… it was hard to trust. "But what are you doing here? Don't tell me Howe caught you."
"To my shame, he did." He sighed, shaking his head. "The borders are closed, but the Wardens do still worry. By now, of course, I'm certain they have written Fereldan off due to Loghain's paranoia, but I was sent when we received no word from King Cailan as to the outcome of Ostagar."
"Everyone died."
"Yes, I heard that here." His eyes were sad. "I sent word back. I could almost hear the screams from here. We expect death, of course, but for it to be a massacre, and we were being blamed… well, I suppose history repeats itself."
"I suppose." Still, there was a senior Warden. We could finally get some damn answers. "If you head back down the hall, and turn left at the first chance, you'll find my companions. Aiden is another Warden, leader of our little group, and Wynne is a healer."
"Good, I am in need of a checkup." Riordan smiled warmly, clasping my shoulder. "It is good to see you, Nuada. I am relieved that not all died at Ostagar."
"Luck." I waved him goodbye and looked around the room. This was one of the 'high security' cells, set alone in a block, and guarding the way into the rest of the dungeons. With a shrug, I decided to head further in. It was surprisingly clean in that next part, so I guess there were fewer prisoners here. I smelled no blood and I heard nothing except my footsteps. Maybe I should head back now and…
"Well, well. Bryce's little boy, all grown up, and still trying to fit into daddy's armor." I froze as Howe stepped around the corner. I hadn't expected to run into him so soon. "I never thought you'd be fool enough to turn up here," he commented lightly. "But, then again, I never thought you'd live either."
"…Why?" I had planned on yelling. I had planned on just attacking him, hacking away until he begged for mercy. But here I was, just staring, feeling like I was a child again. I felt like I was a child, staring at a stranger as I waited for Father to introduce us. But Father was dead. "Father was…"
"A clumsy appeal, nowhere near your usual eloquence." I wasn't trying to appeal. I just… "He was a traitor to me, and a coward to his nation!" What…? "Trips to Orlais, gifts from old enemies, all while I sank into obscurity!"
"We went at Uncle Maric's request."
"And your family squandered glory that was rightfully mine!" What glory was he talking about? "How suitable that their deaths should raise me to the ear of a king."
"That's… it? That's all?" That was worth so many lives to him?
"You'd never understand." No, I didn't. "If you think you can take this from me, that I will allow it, you are very much mistaken." He shook his head, laughing at a joke I just could not understand. "Your family is done. You might have Highever, but it will be reclaimed. It was always supposed to be mine." But… "Your parents died on their knees. Your brother will fall to an assassin's blade; your sister will be turned into a pawn and serve whatever man ends up owning her. And you, fool boy, will end your days under a rock in the Deep Roads."
I couldn't… even after all of this, I couldn't believe that he would talk of Fergus and Elspeth this way. I couldn't believe any of this. "You don't…"
"I mean every word, and I am telling more truths now than I have in the past five years." That… "Even the Wardens are gone. You're the last of nothing. You've lost. Give it up."
"…I guess my Uncle Rendon died a long time ago." I… felt like crying. All of this anger, all of this hatred, and I just wanted to sob. "Did he ever really exist? Was it just a happy illusion?" Memories I didn't want came bubbling up. "Did I dream of the uncle who taught me how to skip rocks across the lake? Did I dream of the uncle who would buy me history books because my eyes lit up? Did I imagine the times where he would take me up to the ramparts of Amaranthine and tell me all about the history of the city?"
"Shut up and give up."
"I guess it was." I took a deep breath, and did what I always did when I was hurt. I locked away my heart, threw away the memories, and settled my resolve. I was a Cousland. I would do my duty. "But you are still lying, to yourself most of all, for I am not the last of anything, much less the last of nothing." I drew my blade and checked the fastenings on my shield. "I am your judge, your jury, and your executioner. I have not lost yet, and I never will."
"…There it is…" His words were a growl as he palmed his weapons. "That damned light in the eye that marked every Cousland success that held me back."
"Father taught me well."
"Yes, I suppose he would be proud. I, however, want you dead more than ever."
I lunged first, swinging down. He caught the blades and tried to kick me on my right side, to take advantage of my blind spot. But I blocked it easily, angling my shield, and kicked him in the gut. As he stumbled back, I began to recite the Oathbreaker Call.
"The accused stands before us, and we have judged him to find him wanting. My father, in his kindness, saved you at White River, judged you as a worthy friend, but you have betrayed that action a thousand times over."
He snarled and charged, striking twice. When I blocked both, he landed a punch at my head to knock me back. His next strike caught my throat, but all it did was make me bleed. I didn't hurt. Rather, I already hurt, so what was a little more?
"By his thoughts, he has betrayed those he swore to serve. For he ambushed his lord, the Teyrn of Highever, in the night, and massacred all within the castle."
He aimed again for my neck, striking twice to try and cut my head off. I waited for it to come, waited for the blades to catch my throat, and struck, catching him deep across the chest. His armor was the only thing that kept him from being cut in half.
"By his deeds, he has violated those he swore to protect. For his heavy taxation turns people out in the streets to starve and he allows his guards to murder and rape as they please."
His armor clattered to the ground and he stumbled back, growling under his breath. I shifted, holding firm, and feeling power pulse through me. A dragon's strength was my own, and as I bled, I took more of it as my own. My good eye burned as he glared at me. This next exchange… would be the last.
"By his words, he has proven himself a monster in human guise. For he brutalized the elves of the Alienage and tortured those who dare to speak out."
He lunged forward with a bellow, charging with his weapons aimed for my face and neck, the only parts of me that were not armored. But he no longer had the same advantage, and I struck him down, kicking out his knees for good measure. It really wasn't an unexpected outcome. He was older, and had not trained seriously in years. I had all the advantages.
"Andraste, in Her Mercy, might forgive you, but we, by our laws, shall not. You shall stand before Her, in Her radiance, and it is our hope you will be banished to the lightless Void, where you shall remain forever without the peace of the Maker."
He tried to stand, but I took his own sword and stabbed down, pinning his hand to the floor, leaving him on his knees. He growled and spat something, but I didn't hear them. I just held the blade above my head, aiming for his neck.
"Rendon Howe, Former Arl of Amaranthine, Usurper of Highever, Butcher of Denerim, I name you 'Oathbreaker'!"
I swung down, but paused just before I cut off his head. He stared at me, startled. I couldn't explain it. I just… had to stop. I couldn't… every time I tried to get my arm to move, I just remembered everything. They were lies to him. He'd likely had been plotting something like this for years upon years. But to me, they were real. To me, those memories had been part of the reason why I grew to love Fereldan, and why it finally became 'home'.
But I could not let him live. I was a Cousland, and a Cousland never forwent their duty. So, instead I calmly, slowly, slit his throat, making sure to actually hit the important veins.
"I suppose it is fitting that as your life bleeds out from you, the last thing you'll see is a Cousland looking down on you."
He tried to say something. But, he couldn't. So, he glared instead, with all the hatred of the world. He died with that look on his face. With his last breath, he hated me. That… that was…
Footsteps caught my ear, and I looked up to see Aiden walking towards me. His eyes were calm, despite the mess. There was no judgment in his face, and I was glad for that.
"The mage tried to attack us," he said instead. "I worried you had been ambushed." I simply shrugged. "Are you ready to return?"
I looked down at the corpse, just staring. "Hey, Aiden?" I began instead of answering. "How did you feel when you killed Vaughan?"
"Gleeful." He came to stand beside me, one wet footstep at a time. "How do you feel?"
"I feel pissed off." This was the person who betrayed us. This was the person who killed Father. This was the person who tried to destroy my family, and Highever. "I also feel like sobbing." This… was the person who was my uncle. This was the person I had loved and adored as an uncle, and had loved visiting. "But, mostly, I feel a little empty."
"I suppose you had your hatred sustaining you more than you expected." I suppose that was true. I had focused on duty, and there had been so much going on, but now I felt like I was missing a piece of me. "Do you want to mangle the body or something?"
"I cannot believe I just heard you say that."
"Come on; if anyone deserves it, it's him."
"No, but if you want to, I'm not going to stop you."
"I think I'll cut off his head and hide it somewhere down here."
"There's a cell not far from here, easy to miss."
"Perfect."
Aiden did, in fact, do exactly as he said, and it was just so… it was so morbid that I couldn't help but laugh and laugh. He looked so proud of himself too, like a kid playing a prank. I think Howe brought out the worse in Aiden and in me. It would be something to watch out for, if we ever met someone who made us so angry and hateful again.
But, of course, now we had complications. We literally had a dungeon full of people who needed to escape, on top of Anora. If we were caught…
"Looks like the barrier is down," Aiden noted. He and I had decided to head up to get Anora, while Leliana and Wynne decided to stay below with the others. Leliana knew of a way to sneak out from there. The problem was making sure no guards would find all of us. "You deal. I'll guard."
"Yeah, that sounds good," I sighed. I was… rather hesitant. So much had happened over the past… however long it had been. While I could logically believe Anora would not turn, if only for the most pragmatic of reasons, it was much harder to emotionally believe that. I… could not trust those of my past as I did before. I simply couldn't. Those I had fought with I could trust with my world, but… "But soft, what light through younger window breaks?"
"Yes, hello, Nuada, thank you ever so much for quoting from my least favorite play," Anora deadpanned immediately, her voice muffled by the door. Still I could hear the amusement in her voice. "One moment, please." There were some thumps from the door before it opened to reveal… um… "What did you do to your eyes?" Yes, I was definitely going to be hearing that question for a very long while.
"I caught a sword to the face. Why are you in armor?" It was poor armor too. Why were there boob cups? That was just going to direct a chest attack straight into the heart.
"Because there are two types of people in this house, and neither of their actions is best for me." Those loyal to Howe would kill her. Those loyal to her will insist she go back to the palace. "I like living, thank you." It was hard to imagine Loghain killing Anora. But, then again, it was hard to trust any of my memories, especially now. "Nuada?"
"Yes?"
"You look like you want to cry." I did. I did want to cry. I thought I would be happier that Howe was dead. I took revenge. He was dead, and the crimes against Highever finally had justice.
But it just hurt. It hurt to know the person I loved as an uncle would do this. It hurt that I had to kill him. Everything hurt. There was no satisfaction in this. There was no joy. It was just… it felt like an empty victory.
The worst part is that… even as I smiled at her, the warmest smile I could, I couldn't help but wonder if everything I had experienced with her was a lie too. Howe had destroyed the good memories of my past. The life I had learned to love in Fereldan and all the wonderful memories… they were tainted now.
I couldn't trust anyone from my past. I couldn't trust the people I had grown up with. That just hurt.
"We should head to the others," Aiden pointed out. He waved when Anora and I turned to look at him. "There are many others who need to escape from here."
"Right," I agreed. With a little flourish, I bowed, and offered Anora my arm, as if we were at a ball and I was escorting her. "My lady?" She laughed a little and took my arm, holding her head high. "I suppose I owe you a waltz later."
"Save the dancing for Layla, Lord Nuada." Anora gave me a curious look, but I pointedly looked away, not wanting to get into it right now. "His lover, Anora, and a mage warden." It… I had no idea if I was more put out or amused by Anora's startled look.
Regardless, we left the area, and stepped into the hallf, checking for anyone who might follow us down. However, clanking armor signaled the arrival of armed forces, and I sighed when I saw a murderous Cauthrien was the leader of the group.
Well, this just got complicated.
Author's Note: Howe is dead~ Howe is dead~ And lots of Nuada introspection. I added more people in the dungeon because it felt like something Howe would do. 'But soft through younger window breaks' is from Shakespeare, as I'm sure many know, specifically from Romeo and Juliet. I figured Anora wouldn't be fond of a play like that. Riordan is technically the first of the prisoners you meet, but I shifted him towards the end.
Special shoutout to my dear friend, Yuffie, who helped me a lot with the Howe fight~
Next Chapter – See what Cleon and the others have been up to
