Author's Note: Broken Circle part 2. Gathering Wynne and travelling through the tower, Edward learns about the abominations, ventures into the fade, kills blood mages and faces interesting dilemmas. I did cut the Fade section short, as it is quite a repetitve portion of the tale. Enjoy!

Part 6.

The mage tower was built in a layered fashion, with circular corridoors flanked by rooms on the outside. The internal areas contained the stairs and usually some large room designated to a particular function, like a library or a store room. The winding corridoor past the door the templars had locked led to a second door further along. Over the doorway, a shimmering blue barrier flickered, sending a strange glow into the room which mixed with the sunlight coming in from the outer wall. Edward squinted as he saw the bright barrier, then noticed that there were figures in front of it. Quietly he signalled his friends to get their weapons ready. As they approached the figures, Edward raised his axe, hoping to get off a swing unawares. Out of the corner of his eye he saw... a child!

"Hold!" he cried.

Nereid pulled back, raising her bow so that if she loosed her shot by accident it would hit the roof.

The figures stood up, and now that the light wasn't directly behind them, Edward could see that there were a few adults and a trio of children. Hmm, I recognise the older woman... from Ostagar, perhaps? he thought.

"Stand still. I will strike you down if you approach" said the older mage.

"I recognise you! Nereid, isn't this the mage we spoke to at Ostagar?" said Edward.

Nereid came forward and said "yes, it's her. Wynne?"

Wynne looked at the pair and sighed visibly. "Thank the maker, some of you Wardens survived. I thought Loghain's treachery had doomed your order" she said.

"He very nearly did" said Alistair. "Standing before you are the last Grey Wardens in Ferelden" he added.

"Who are your companions? And these children - are they apprentices?" asked Edward.

"They are, yes. This is Petra and Kinnon, and over there is Keili" said Wynne, indicating a pair of mages close by, and another standing off to one side.

"How long have you been stuck here?" asked Edward.

"Since they sealed the door yesterday morning. We have been attacked from time to time, but I put up a barrier, which holds off almost everything" explained Wynne.

Edward unslung his ration bag, and motioned for Alistair and Nereid to unsling their water skins. He pulled out the loaves the innkeeper had provided for them, along with some cheese and salted meat. He handed one loaf to Petra and broke the other into four, passing a quarter to each child and the remaining quarter to Wynne. Petra split her loaf into three between herself, Kinnon and Keili. Edward quickly divided up the cheese and meat, while Alistair and Nereid busied themselves making sure the mages had some water. Leliana and Sten also helped hand out some food, Edward's selflessness reminding them that these mages had not eaten in perhaps two days while they all had full bellies. Morrigan inspected the barrier and watched quietly.

Wynne explained what had happened as best she knew, with Kinnon and Petra occasionally adding commentary. There had been a large meeting with the mages, where Uldred, freshly returned from Ostagar, had urged the Mages to throw their support behind Loghain. Wynne had informed Irving of the machinations of Loghain at the battle, and Irving had left to return to the meeting, saying "leave it to me". Not long afterwards, abominations had begun to appear in the halls, running down and killing mages and templars with ease. Wynne had gathered those she could to fight back, but had found herself holed up on the lowest level. Petra had nearly been killed by a rage demon, but Wynne had managed to kill it, getting stunned in the process. After that, they had hunkered down, hoping to wait it out, killing anything that came along.

"So this Uldred is the one behind all the trouble?" asked Edward.

"I would say so, Warden. Perhaps Loghain promised him more autonomy for the Circle. He was always after more freedom" said Wynne.

"There was a mage at the meeting with the King, Edward. Can you remember him? Old-ish, bald..." said Nereid.

"That's him" said Wynne. "He was called to the strategy meeting with the King, as I recall" said Wynne.

Off to one side, Leliana was entertaining the children with a story while Sten looked on silently.

Edward pondered this new information. Looking over at Wynne, he said "you should know, Greagoir has sent to Denerim for the Right of Annulment. We have perhaps five days before the troops arrive."

Wynne looked dejected and mumbled "so he did it, then."

"If your First Enchanter, this... Irving - is still alive, and we're able to get him out of the bottom doors, then Greagoir will halt the Right of Annulment" said Edward.

Brightening at this, Wynne squared her shoulders and said "so our path is set. We need to get to Irving."

"You're coming along?" asked Nereid.

"Of course. You won't get past this barrier unless I lower it."

"Ah. That's not really accurate" said Alistair. "I can purge all magics, including your barrier, as a Templar."

"I also know the layout of the tower and am a capable healer. What do you say?" asked Wynne.

"Oh, don't misunderstand me, Wynne. I'm pleased you're coming along" said Edward.

The group gathered their equipment and prepared a small bag for Wynne. While Sten and Nereid helped divide some poultices and potions, Petra quietly came over to Edward. Edward looked down at the attractive mage, waiting for her to speak. "You'll take care of her, won't you?" she said.

"Of course, Petra. She'll come to no harm with us" replied Edward.

Petra furtively looked back at Wynne, then up at Edward. "When she fought off that demon that attacked me, she collapsed. I thought we'd lost her. When I knelt down near her, she woke up again. I just worry that the strain may all catch up with her."

"There's no need to worry, Petra. She will be at the back, covering us. We'll find this Uldred person and get to the bottom of this mess" said Edward, giving the mage a comforting squeeze on her shoulder.

"I'm ready, Warden" announced Wynne from over by the barrier.

"Will the kids be safe here?" asked Edward.

"Petra and Kinnon will protect them" she replied.

"And the other one, Keili?" asked Nereid.

Wynne just shook her head. "That one, Keili, is broken" thought Edward. Wynne concentrated on the barrier and the light dimmed, then flickered and went out. The companions moved out into the towers' bottom floor, wary of their surroundings.

The first abomination that Edward saw demonstrated why they had that name. Where once was a human, now only a shambling husk remained. Below the torso, ragged remnants of mage robes hid spindly legs covered in pus-filled sores. Above the torso, it was as if a crazy sculptor had taken a human body and rearranged the features while heavily drunk. The entire creature emitted a foul reek, and large numbers of boils and pustules erupted from the skin like mushrooms after a storm. For all their freakish nature, Edward found that they could fall to the blade like mortal men. The sting in the tail happened afterwards. Morrigan was kneeling down to look at the corpse, when Edward smelt a burning and saw the corpse begin to expand. Quickly he dove at Morrigan, wrapping one arm around her slender waist. He pulled her over his own body, shielding her as the corpse blew into dust with a violent bang.

"Edward!" cried Leliana, who was close by. The others of the group emerged from around the corner where they had been looking at some carved chests. Leliana darted over and knelt beside Edward, her eyes wide. Edward was relatively unharmed, as he had his shield on his back, which absorbed the brunt of the blast. With his ears ringing, he rolled onto his back. "Are you alright, Morrigan?"

Morrigan stood up and dusted herself off, coughing, then extended a hand to Edward, helping Leliana to haul him up. "My thanks, Edward. If you had not grabbed me... well. 'Twould not have been pleasant."

Leliana checked Edward for burns, and finding none, she thanked the Maker that he wore plate mail. "So we should stay away from them when they die, yes?" she chuckled.

Edward cracked his jaw to get rid of the ringing in his ears. "Look, the body's gone. I mean nothing - no bones, no blood!" he said.

"Abominations indeed" muttered Morrigan.

Wynne quickly checked over Edward, and seeing nothing worth fussing over, she led the way upstairs. "There's someone up ahead" said Nereid, who had snuck forwards a little.

"Abomination?" asked Alistair and Edward, almost at the same time.

"No, it looks like a normal man" she said.

"Owain!" said Wynne, moving forwards to the strange man. "Why didn't you come downstairs, I could have let you through the barrier."

The other man looked at Wynne with cold, dead eyes, devoid of emotion. "I did go down there, but encountered a barrier. I came back up here to tidy up" he said, calmly.

"What's wrong with this man?" asked Edward.

"Owain is a Tranquil. He voluntarily went through a process where his mind is separated from the Fade, meaning that he loses his emotions. As a result, he can't be posessed, but he can't perform magic either" explained Wynne.

"Yuck, what a horrible thing to happen" thought Edward.

"Owain, can you tell us what has happened here?" asked Wynne.

"I do not know. Niall said it began in the meeting. He came here and collected the Litany of Adralla, then left. That was late yesterday" said Owain.

"The Litany of Adralla? That guards against Blood Magic! Is that at work here?" Wynne asked.

"I do not know" came the dull reply.

"We should move on. Owain, the path is clear back to the main doors. You should leave" said Edward.

Owain nodded and glided towards the steps that led back downwards. Wynne was thinking about what Owain had said. "Tell me, Wardens. What do you know about Blood Magic?" she asked.

"Hardly anything really. The Tevinters were supposed to use it, but that was ages ago" said Edward.

Nereid shrugged, and Alistair answered "it's a form of magic that uses blood to power spells. It also allows control of a body through the blood. It's pretty nasty stuff, banned by the Chantry. Blood Mages are supposed to be killed by Templars on sight."

As they talked about Blood Mages, they carefully made their way around the curved corridoors, beating down the occasional abomination and rage demon that popped up. Hearing voices ahead, Nereid signalled the others, putting a finger to her lips and then drawing an arrow. She peeped around a doorway, and saw three blood mages in heated argument. Backing away from the door, she held up three fingers. Edward nodded, motioning for Leliana to come forwards. He quickly looked around the doorway, noting the positions of the mages. He fumbled in his pack for a small glass sphere he'd been carrying. Inside it was a corrosive acid. Holding the sphere in his weapon hand, he whispered to Leliana and Nereid "shoot when I throw this. Nereid you take the woman side on to us, Leliana, get the guy with his back to us, alright?"

The women nodded. Alistair moved forwards, ready to use his templar abilities should one of the mages break for the door. Edward stood in front of the doorway and yelled "hey! Dickheads!" before pelting the sphere at the rearmost of the three mages. The sphere hit with the force of an arrow, smashing on impact and spraying acid into the face of the back mage, and onto the robes of the other two. Edward counted to three and then ducked out of sight past the doorframe. Leliana had enough time to line up and kill her mage, and Nereid fired a second later, burying an arrow in the ribcage of the second mage. The last mage was screaming as acid burned away his face, his eyes already gone, and glass shards from the sphere ripping into his cheeks. He was too busy dying to notice Sten walk in and put him out of his misery by ramming a two handed sword through his heart.

They proceeded in this way - fighting, resting, walking and fighting some more. Abominations and demons fell as they approached Irving's office on a higher floor. Inside his large office, large bookshelves and cabinets with nick nacks and artefacts showed some of the habits of the studious First Enchanter. As they spread out, looking through the room and taking a short break, Edward spotted a chest in the corner with no lock on it. Idly flicking it open, he looked inside and saw the book that Morrigan had described that morning. He grabbed it without thinking, and added it to his pack, taking out a couple of apples and some cheese while he had his pack open. Walking over to Wynne, he passed her an apple and a hunk of the cheese. "Where do you think he is, Wynne?"

"I'm not sure Warden. The meeting was up in the harrowing chamber. I guess he could be up there" replied Wynne.

"That's the top floor?" asked Edward.

"Yes. There's only a couple of floors between here and there. We've made good progress so far."

"What's on the next floor?"

"Templar quarters and a restricted access library" said Wynne.

"Let's get moving, people" said Edward, leading the way out and upstairs. At the top of the stairs they noticed a lot of peculiar fleshy structures scattered around the walls and pillars. Nereid poked one with her bow, and it deflated, emitting a long tinny farting noise as it did. "Great, so along with abominations and blood mages and demons, we now have to deal with whoopee cushions stuck to the walls" said Alistair.

Along the corridoor, the group opened a door to see a Templar, pinned in place by a bizarre looking woman. At first glance, Edward thought it was a woman. "No," he thought. "That's some sort of demon. The horns are a dead giveaway."

"What's going on here? What are you?" he asked the strange woman-demon-thing.

"You are intruding on a loving, intimate moment, and I dislike interruptions" came the eerie, calm reply.

"Can he see us?" asked Edward, pointing at the Templar.

"Not unless I wish it. I do not."

"What did you do to him?"

"I saw his desire for a loving wife and family, and merely fulfilled that desire. Surely there is nothing wrong with that?"

Edward thought about this, even as some of his friends voiced their disagreements. The desire demon ignored the others, sensing that Edward held the chance of her survival. "It is a simple enough wish" he said, quietly.

"So what are your intentions? All we wish is to be left alone for what little time we have" said the demon.

"Warden, this is not our fight. The Templar must choose his own path" said Sten.

Nodding, Edward said "I agree. I don't really like what you've done here, but I can't fault the Templar for such a desire. If we leave you alone, will you do the same?"

"It is agreed, I will not harm you or your companions. You have my thanks, for what they are worth" said the demon, turning back to the Templar.

Bundling the others out of the room, Edward noted Sten looking at him carefully. The qunari didn't say anything, just nodding at Edward. Leliana stepped up to Edward and said "did we do the right thing there? The Templar was happy... but" before trailing off.

"I can't fault a man for wanting the same things I want, Leliana. I certainly wouldn't kill him for them. You understand, don't you?" asked Edward, quietly.

"Of course, Edward" said Leliana. She quickly looked around, and seeing that the rest of the party had moved on, she turned back, stretched up and gave Edward a kiss on the cheek. "That's twice you've shown me you have a heart, you know" she said, smiling.

"That's our secret, alright?" said Edward, returning Leliana's smile. "Come on. The others are waiting" he said.

Wynne pointed at a pair of doors. "Through here, Wardens, then a few more rooms and we'll be at the stairs that lead to the harrowing chamber" she said. Edward and Alistair leaned against a door each, then when Alistair nodded, they pushed together. As the doors swung open, the group saw a lone demon standing over the body of a mage. A large fleshy structure was pulsing behind the demon, which looked like someone had stacked about ten arses, one on top of the other, then covered them with pink slime. The demon swung around to face them, and to everyone's surprise, it spoke. "Oh look, visitors. I'd entertain you, but ... too much effort involved."

"Fine by me. Just hold still, this will probably hurt" said Edward, drawing his axe.

"But why hurt me. Why don't you just take a load off. Relax, you need a rest" said the demon.

Edward heard Huolir drop to the floor asleep, then one by one, despite their protests, his companions slipped into a slumber. The muscles on Edward's neck tensed as he tried to move forwards, but his legs felt like lead. As he struggled, he heard the demon laughing, and eventually he too succumbed to sleep, collapsing on the ground.

Edward woke with a start. He was in a strange place where the sky was twisted and warped like toffee. Around him were pillars and statues in a grand hall. The place looked a little like the ruins near Ostagar, he thought. Getting to his feet, he walked up towards a circular pavilion where Duncan stood. "Duncan is dead" thought Edward. "What trickery is this?"

Not-Duncan spoke, saying "aah. Good to see you again, Ed. What do you think of Weisshaupt?"

"I don't have time for this bullshit. You're dead, and if this is a dream, why the fuck am I not on my farm with my wife? And since when did you ever call me Ed?" growled Edward, pulling his axe from his belt.

"Eddie ... I'm not dead" said not-Duncan.

"Well, I'll fix that right now" said Edward, lofting a perfect strike with his axe, taking off not-Duncan's head. The body vanished in a puff of white smoke, and in its' place a ward drew itself on the ground. A pedestal rose from the stone slabs, looking a little like a sundial. Edward sheathed his axe and had a look at the pedestal. Looking from the pedestal to the ward, he noticed that it was a map of sorts. Edward twisted the centre piece and his surroundings blurred and shifted, changing to another location. Standing close by was a mage, judging by his robes.

"Well done! You made it out of that false dream" said the mage. "My name is Niall."

"Niall? Owain mentioned you. Something about a Litany of something or other" said Edward.

"I had the Litany, and was heading back up to the harrowing chamber when I encountered the Sloth Demon. The same one you encountered, judging by your presence here."

"What have you discovered about this place, Niall?" asked Edward.

"The pedestal will take you to different places in the Sloth Demon's realm. There's four other main areas aside from this one, each guarded by a sub-demon. I tried to get through them, to get to the centre island where the Sloth Demon should be, but there was always some obstacle. A door surrounded by fire, or made ethereal by strange twists of this place."

"Do you think my companions will be here?" asked Edward.

"Yes, there's quite a few satellite islands. Most likely your friends will be on those. Getting to them will require killing the sub demons though."

Edward chuckled. "No rest for the weary" he said, making for the pedestal. He twisted the central dial and once again found himself in a different place.

Over the five zones, Edward found friendly allies who allowed him to use their shape shifting abilities. "So this is what it feels like for Morrigan when she changes form" thought Edward. By using a combination of the forms, he was able to slay all five of the sub demons. Returning to Niall, they agreed that freeing his companions would help make the encounter with the Sloth Demon easier, as instead of having to hold one dreamer in check, he would have to hold a few more all at once.

Huolir woke up once Edward patted him a few times.

Sten woke up once his Beresaad bretheren were slain. "Sten seems to know this is a dream" thought Edward. "I wonder why he didn't free himself?"

Wynne was trapped in despair over the loss of her mage friends and apprentices. Edward helped her snap out of it and defeat the multiple demons tormenting her.

Nereid was locked in a room with mirrors, with demons only visible in the glass. Every time she turned to face them, they vanished. As she was close to despair, Edward found her hunched on the ground. Pulling her into a hug, he told her how to defeat these demons. Standing back to back, the demons had nowhere to run, and by skewering the mirrors with the demons inside, Nereid was freed.

Leliana was trapped by her faith, with a powerful demon impersonating a Chantry Mother. She took some convincing but Edward reminded her of her vision, and the Chantry Mother morphed into a rage demon, which promptly fell to Leliana and Edwards' blows.

Alistair introduced Edward to his sister. A sister! Edward had to convince the younger man to think carefully about how he arrived there. After the fuzziness cleared, Alistair and Edward slew the demons who had held him enthralled. "I'll have to ask him about a sister when we get out of here" thought Edward.

Morrigan was arguing with a demon disguised as Flemeth. Edward watched, as it seemed that Morrigan knew the demon wasn't her mother. Once the demon started to slap Morrigan, the witch acknowledged that now the demon was getting close to what her mother was like. "Her mother used to whack her like that? That blow would rattle teeth, it was that hard" thought Edward. Morrigan saw Edward and waved him over. "Finally, you come! Please, Edward - kill this demon and we can leave this place" said Morrigan.

"Of course, Morrigan" said Edward with a sigh. With a few chops, the demon Flemeth was killed, and Morrigan was also freed.

With his companions all free, Edward travelled to the central island where the Sloth Demon ruled. Once the demon showed itself, all of Edward's companions appeared, one by one. The demon was masked in a strange headdress and a kind of parody of mage robes. To Edward, the robes looked they were made of strips of skin. Long sinewy arms with evil looking talons on each finger completed the sinister facade.

"So, you have escaped. And freed your companions, no less. My, what a hearty morsel your soul will make, mortal" hissed the demon.

"Come and get it, demon. I killed your minons and my friends and I can crush you like an insect" growled Edward.

"You separated us because you feared us, didn't you?" said Leliana.

"We found each other in this place and together we will end you" yelled Wynne.

"Enough talk! Kill it!" said Nereid, loosing a flame arrow at the demon's face.

Although there were many attacking a single demon, the creature was by no means defenceless. Edward directed Leliana and Nereid to higher ground, where they could rain arrows at the demon. While they fired, Alistair and Edward smashed into it with sword, axe and shield. Sten would take his time, lining up powerful strokes which seemed to knock the fight out of the demon. Morrigan blasted ice spells at the demon, while Wynne directed fists of stone at it, and occasionally threw out a heal spell to Alistair and Edward, who were absorbing the brunt of the demon's ire. Three times, the demon shifted form. When it did, it knocked back Edward and Alistair, but Sten held his ground and stunned it while his friends got back to their feet. Finally, with a furious howl, the demon fell to a combined strike from Sten and Alistair.

As the demon fell to the ground, Niall appeared and stepped forwards. "Quickly friends. When you get out of here, take the Litany of Adralla from my body. This realm will dissolve soon and you'll wake up in the chamber where the Sloth Demon was."

"Your body?" asked Nereid "you seem well enough" she added.

"Ahh the Demon has been sustaining itself on me for too long. For you, it will have been a short nap, but for me I'm afraid it will be too late" said Niall.

Edward stepped forwards and shook the mage's hand. "Thanks for your help Niall. We'll do as you say" he said.

"I did little. You saved your friends, and you saved me. I should be thanking you" said Niall.

Niall looked around, and pointed off to the left. "Look there - you see? It's breaking up. Farewell, friends."

In the direction he was pointing, faint islands were glowing white and fading out to nothingness. This rapidly multiplied until all around them, lights were glowing dazzlingly bright, then fading out. Soon the ground begin to glow in rivulets of light, which spread and intensified. In a short time all the group could see was whiteness, and then... nothing.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Edward.

The others were groggily pulling themselves to their feet. Edward walked over and helped Wynne up, and then Leliana, giving her a quick hug before looking over towards the centre of the room.

"Wynne, come here" said Edward, kneeling by a corpse on the dais in the centre of the room. "I think I found Niall."

Wynne looked over Edwards' shoulder and said "yes, that's him. Poor lad."

Edward found the Litany and passed it to Wynne. "Maker guide you to your rest, Niall" said Edward, quietly.

Alistair knelt opposite, and crossed Niall's arms across his chest. Finding a clean cloth nearby, he draped it over the body, and the men stood up, satisfied that Niall's corpse was attended to sufficiently.

Wynne showed the Litany to Morrigan, and the two mages began to memorise the Litany by practicing it. While they were doing this, the others scouted the room and nearby coridoor. All was clear, so they quickly had something to eat and some water. Feeling refreshed enough to continue, the group moved further along the coridoor to a pair of ornate doors, which were closed. "The stairs to the harrowing chamber are on the other side" said Wynne.

On the other side of the doors was a strange sight. A lone Templar was kneeling behind a glowing barrier. It looked like a larger version of the one that Wynne had thrown across the door at the start of their journey. Moving closer, Edward pulled out his shield and gave the barrier a tap. The barrier distorted like a pool does with a drip of water before wobbling back to its' original shape. "Weird" he thought.

"Hey! Wake up. Who are you?" he yelled at the kneeling Templar.

The Templar straightened up, looking at Edward with crazy eyes. "Not this again! You won't break me, so enough with these games! I ... will ... remain ... strong" he said between clenched teeth, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

Looking back up, the Templar exclaimed "what? Still here? But that always worked before."

"We're not illusions or spirits, boy" said Edward. "We've fought our way up to here. Your man Uldred is up those stairs, correct? What can you tell us" he asked.

"He's no man of mine, stranger. He's got a cabal of blood mages up there, and they've been taking my Templar bretheren up, and twisting and deforming them into those shambling abominations. I don't know what's worse, seeing my friends pulled up the stairs, or seeing them changed coming back down."

"What of Irving? Is he still alive?" asked Wynne.

"I don't know, I've been trapped here" said the Templar.

"We better hurry, Irving might still be alive up there" said Alistair.

"You can't know that. You can't save them. They've been surrounded by blood mages! Their wicked thoughts creeping into your mind..." ranted the Templar. "You have to kill them all!" he yelled.

"Warden, his mind is nearly broken. The time in this cage, plus seeing his friends tortured..." whispered Morrigan. "Anything he suggests would be twisted by hatred."

Turning towards his friends, Edward said in a quiet voice so that the Templar could not overhear "the reason we came here is the mages. Suggesting that we kill them all when we are so close to the top is lunacy. We're going after survivors, first and foremost."

"What if they are blood mages?" said Alistair.

"Then let the bloody Templars sort them out while we move on to the other treaties!" said Edward.

"What the Templar says does make sense, Warden. If we eliminate the Mages, the Wardens could still use the Templars in their army" said Sten.

Edward looked up at his big friend, saying "Sten, you show me one Templar who can fireball twenty darkspawn, and I'll agree with you. But until that day, we're getting the Mages out of here."

"Very well" said Sten, his voice carrying no trace of chastisement.

"What do we do with him?" asked Nereid, flicking her head towards the Templar.

"Nothing we can do" said Alistair.

"Let's go then" said Edward.

-

In the Harrowing Chamber, Uldred and a pair of abominations were torturing some poor slob of a mage. Unseen hands had twisted him into a half kneeling position, and while the group quietly entered the chamber, the mage screamed in agony. Edward could hear his joints cracking and winced. Looking across the chamber, he saw a few mages tied up, and pointed them out to Wynne. Wynne nodded, mouthing the name "Irving" while indicating an elderly looking mage with a grey beard. Uldred and the abominations let out a blast of magical energy and the tortured mage slumped to the floor.

Turning towards the group now assembled in the chamber, he said "well, well. What have we here?"

"You must be Uldred" said Edward.

"Oh, how very observant" said Uldred. "I'm impressed you made it here alive. Unfortunately that must mean you killed my servants."

"Yep. And now its' your turn, baldy" said Edward.

"Wait, wait! No need to be so hasty. I'm trying to have a civilised conversation here" said Uldred.

"You should have thought about that before, you stupid git" said Edward, advancing towards Uldred.

"So be it!" growled Uldred. As he uttered those words, his body began to glow, and the glow changed size. When the glow dissipated, Uldred was revealed in his new form, a terrifying, powerful demon.

Edward shuddered, knowing this would be a tough fight. He charged in, slamming his shield against Uldred's thick, leathery hide. Using his axe like a woodcutter, he concentrated on the knee closest to him. While Edward attacked one side, Alistair attacked the other. Glancing at Edward, he saw the place he was attacking, and thought to himself "no-one can stand if you chop down their legs". He set to work on the other leg, also attacking the knee. Leliana and Nereid had shared their poison arrows out, giving them four each. They fired off all eight, and the Uldred demon began to look like a pin cushion. As he moved, green gas would vent from the wounds caused by the arrows. Morrigan kept up a barrage of fire from her staff, occasionally throwing out a concussion blast to help Sten and Huolir, who had taken down one Abomination and were working on the other one. Wynne kept healing Edward and Sten, and as Uldred began to weave blood magic, she chanted the Litany of Adralla in a clear voice. The Litany worked, as the mage Uldred was trying to enthrall collapsed unconscious. "Niall, I'm going to have a drink in your honour tonight, my lad!" thought Wynne.

Uldred may have thought he could defeat the cocky Warden at the beginning of the fight. After a couple of minutes, he knew he was going to lose it. He had been hacked down and could no longer walk. One leg hung from a tendon above the knee, and the other was laying over near the stairs where Edward had kicked it. His hands had been chopped off when he stupidly decided to grab Edward. His blood was everywhere, he flailed in it with his useless stumps. He could feel poisons working their way through his system through arrows lodged in his hide. Worse still, he couldn't cast, as that bastard pair of Wardens had split off his jaw and severed his tongue. "I'm fucked" he thought. Whimpering, he lay and waited for the blow to end it. "What's this? They're not attacking. What's going on?" he thought. He moved his head, leaving a trail of ichor on the flagstones from his bleeding mouth. "Oh, those bastards. They really know how to rub it in." Wynne stood in front of him, where the Wardens had led her. "How ignominious. I'm to be killed by a fucking healer" thought Uldred. He watched as Wynne cast up a spell with precision and grace, despite her advanced years. "Beautiful form" was his final thought, as a stonefist the size of a mabari turned his head into paste.

Panting, the victorious group members gathered around Irving. Alistair pulled out a dagger and sliced through the ropes holding the old man down. Edward offered a hand and gently pulled the old mage to his feet. Rubbing his wrists to restore circulation, Irving looked around at the carnage left in the chamber. "Well, it's good to see that bastard get his come-uppance" he said, his voice gravelly. "You did well, all of you. Using the Litany of Adralla - genuis!" he said, smiling at Wynne.

"Irving, it was Niall who told us of the Litany" said Wynne.

"Then he should be commended for it. Where is he?" asked Irving.

"He's dead, first enchanter. A lot of people are dead. Greagoir was certain the tower was lost, so he'd sent for the Right of Annulment" said Edward.

"Oh. I see. I grieve for the lives lost, but the Right, you say? We must get down to him immediately."

Irving led the group at a sedate pace back through the tower. They collected the crazed Templar, Cullen, on the way down. The pair were aghast at the carnage that had been wreaked in their home. They were also more than a little awed that a group had managed to make their way up to them through all this chaos. Edward's telling of how they had slain some blood mages with acid and bow made Cullen laugh like a madman. Irving looked at the Templar carefully, his brow furrowed.

Greagoir was true to his word, and the lowest doors were opened. A sigh of relief rose from the trapped mages who had clustered with Petra, Keili and Kinnon. As Edward and his friends had cleared the way up, they had emerged from their bolt holes and cupboards and made their way down to the bottom floor.

Irving promised the aid of the Mages against the blight. Edward shook his hand, grateful that he had finally recruited a force for the Wardens. Alistair and Nereid were beaming, and shook Irving and Greagoir's hands.

Wynne spoke up from beside Irving, saying "Irving, I'd like permission to accompany the Wardens. These Wardens are brave and good, and capable of great things. If they'll have me, I will help them achieve their goals."

Irving looked at Wynne carefully. "Ahh Wynne. I would ask you to stay and help us rebuild, but I can see you have already made up your mind. Very well, I give you permission to follow the Wardens. But know you always have a place here" said Irving.

"We'd be pleased to have you along, Wynne" said Edward.

Nereid grinned and shook Wynne's hand. The other party members also made her feel welcome, even Morrigan was relieved to have another mage about.

On the jetty, Edward looked up at the sky. The sun had risen about half an hour ago, and Carroll was helping the group load into the ferry boat. Sten and Alistair stood close by. Edward fiddled with the device he held in his hand. He had been carrying this rod in his pack for about four days. The merchant said it was a 'control rod' for a golem.

"Where to next, Edward?" asked Alistair.

"Alistair, have you ever heard of a place called Honnleath?"

"A golem would be a good addition to our group" said Sten.

"Yes, I think that place is next. Then Orzammar. We'll see if we can find this Faryn, Sten" said Edward.

Sten nodded, and carefully climbed into the boat. Alistair thought, then said "I'd like to check in at Redcliffe when we have finished in Orzammar."

"Of course" said Edward, as he and Alistair climbed into the boat.

Edward and Sten muscled Carroll out of the seat with the oars and took over the rowing. As the gentle rhythym of the oars lulled some of the group to sleep, Edward muttered "shit!" under his breath.

"What is it, Warden?" asked Sten.

"I didn't arrange a tent for Wynne" said Edward.

Leliana smiled, and as she rubbed her foot against Edward's leg, she said "Wynne can have my tent".

Sten raised his eyebrows at the pair, but said nothing. Edward chuckled to himself. He liked where this was going.