Chapter 14 : Putting the Pieces Together
Lyssa crept around the corner following Cullen from a distance. Gildre and Morrigan were nearby. She had waited for Cullen to finish his breakfast and followed him out into the street. He seemed to be heading back to Jona's. Lyssa watched him enter the building and motioned for Morrigan and Gildre to come closer.
"So, who is Cullen exactly?" Gildre asked.
"He is a templar I met a long time ago," Lyssa said.
"A templar?" Gildre asked surprised.
"Oh my... the plot thickens," Morrigan said looking up at the building Cullen entered.
"Yes, and the pieces fall into place. Very clever. I hate being queen sometimes. I simply hate it. When I get back I'm taking a long holiday. To hell with the nobles and their pointless arguments," Lyssa said angrily.
"I don't understand. Is it important that the messenger is a templar?" Gildre asked.
"Unless he has gone rogue, which I doubt, it is very important the messenger is a templar," Lyssa said.
"The templars serve the Chantry. They are not servants of the King and Queen," Morrigan said.
"The Chantry... boy the Grand Cleric must really have disapproved of finding your knickers on the altar just before services," Gildre said ruefully to Lyssa.
"My... you have been busy," Morrigan teased.
"Please... as if that were the first time it ever happened," Lyssa said rolling her eyes.
"Okay." Gildre opened. "I get why the Chantry would want to destroy the Q'unari. But why would the Grand Cleric risk the armies of Ferelden to do so? Surely there would be a better way to convert the people of the Qun than to throw Ferelden's soldiers on Q'unari swords," Gildre said.
**
"Two birds, one stone," Alistair said, summing up as the large sailing vessel cut through the water. The wind ripped through his hair.
Connor looked up at Alistair puzzled.
"I'd be willing to wager everything I have that there will be no templars sailing to Seheron. The Grand Cleric sends all soldiers loyal to the King off to fight a hopeless war. She cripples Ferelden and the Q'unari nation of Seheron in the process. All that is left is for her to order her templars to take over the city of Ferelden, in the name of the Maker of course. Seheron will be easily taken over by the Chantry once most of the Q'unari warriors have fallen in battle. The Grand Cleric will be lauded for achieving one of the biggest victories in the recent history of the Chantry," Alistair said.
Sten looked up at Alistair, "That does not explain why the Arishok would have agreed to this plot. Why would the Qun treat with the Chantry?"
**
"Hello Cullen. It has been far too long, apparently," Lyssa said as she entered the room.
Cullen turned, his sword half drawn when his mouth opened in shock.
"You! But you are...," Cullen stammered.
"Dead? I know. But that was boring. Now this... this is much more exciting," Lyssa said as she rushed forward and put the tip of her blade against the templar's neck.
"I... I will say nothing to you. You might as well kill me now," Cullen said.
"Oh, I don't plan to kill you my dear. That would also be boring. Morrigan," Lyssa said gesturing for Morrigan to come closer, "have you ever had the pleasure of sullying a templar's honor before?"
Morrigan smiled wickedly as she began unlacing her tunic. She stared at Cullen with her golden eyes and spoke slowly, "No, I have not. Is this my reward for saving you? If so, I think I'll owe you afterwards."
"No!" Cullen stammered, "Y..you cannot do this!"
"Most unfair of you, Lyssa. Why should Morrigan have all the fun?" Gildre said pouting.
"Oh, I'm sorry Gildre. I didn't mean to leave you out. Of course you may join in," Lyssa said silkily.
"You! You are a demon woman!" Cullen screamed.
"Demon woman," Morrigan said as her tunic fell away to reveal her breasts, "No, I think I've got that one covered."
And Morrigan leaned forward pressing herself to Cullen and kissing him. She let her fingers trail down his face, purple sparks arcing from the tips as she touched the templar.
"Mage!" Cullen choked, "I will never..."
"Oh, I don't think I would say never," Morrigan said patting Cullen's codpiece, "I think your friend disagrees. In fact, I think he's quite ready to be done with this templar business."
"No!! Do not touch me you vile witch! You have... you have cast a spell on me! I am not in control of my body, you are doing this to me!" Cullen cried out, tears streaming down his face.
"Oh hush now," Lyssa said cooing, "No one has cast magic on you. Your body might be out of your control but that is not from any magic. You poor thing, you must have gone mad watching all the sisters go about their business. All those young supple women. The Chantry is cruel if you ask me. You'll soon see why."
"No! Please! I beg of you, stop!" Cullen said as Morrigan reached under his tunic.
"If you wish. But first I must know what the Grand Cleric promised the Arishok. What did she tell him she would do if he kidnapped and killed me?" Lyssa asked sweetly.
"No... I will not tell you!" Cullen said shaking his head.
Morrigan pulled down his trousers while Gildre walked forward and looked down curiously.
"Oh my. I guess you can flirt after all," Gildre said smiling down. "Most impressive. I don't think I've ever in my whole life seen one quite that rigid. And... I've seen a fair share."
"Then you aren't trying hard enough," Morrigan said as she reached downward with her hands.
Cullen gasped and began crying anew, "How could you! You are a queen! She was right about y.. ahh please stop!"
"Sometimes... queens must make the truly difficult decisions. Like choosing to stop a fanatic from killing thousands of people. I do not relish this ser Cullen. In fact, it quite disgusts me. But I will do anything for my people. That is what a queen does. And if you do not tell me what I want to know, you will be quite thoroughly had this morning. Breaking your spirit will not please me one bit, but I will do it. Perhaps once you have had a morning in the company of Morrigan, you'll be more receptive to my requests," Lyssa said turning to leave as Morrigan dropped to her knees.
"No... wait! I will tell you," Cullen said crying.
"Really? Damn, this was just getting interesting," Gildre said as Morrigan stood and began covering herself up.
Lyssa turned back to the templar and pulled up his trousers.
"Tell me then, and know that I can spot a lie from a thousand paces," Lyssa said sharply.
Cullen swallowed and looked away from Lyssa's cold stare as he spoke. "The Holy Mother told him she would give him back the lands in Rivain that they lost in the last Exalted March. She told him he would be seen as the greatest general the Q'unari have ever known. She promised she would send no templars to attack when Ferelden retaliated, and she gave him details of the Ferelden fleet."
Lyssa sighed and shook her head, "All this for glory. What a waste."
"She was lying, to be sure," Morrigan said.
"Of course she was. The Grand Cleric does not have the authority to give the Arishok Rivain. The Divine might have this power, but not a Grand Cleric. This whole plan was meant to spread the Chant. She was willing to kill me, and my son. She probably has a nice, pious noble all set up to woo Alistair, hoping he'll pop out a litter of heirs. She would have made sure they were loyal to the Chantry," Lyssa said angrily.
"The King is dead," Cullen said putting his face in his hands. "Everything is falling apart. The Maker has forsaken us."
Lyssa waved her hand dismissing Cullen's comments. "Your Maker was never with you. If your Maker had wanted you to be in charge he would never have let me live. He would never have let Alistair live. He would have stopped the Theirin line long ago and put a Grand Cleric on the throne. If your Maker desired it, and had the power to do anything at all, there would be no Qun, no pantheon. There would be only the Chant. But the truth is your Maker does not care for the politics of men any more than I do. You have forsaken yourself. The Grand Cleric has forsaken you. You make decisions that will destroy thousands upon thousands of lives, all in the name of the Maker. Do you honestly believe your Maker will look upon these actions with favor? You are a fool and you deserve whatever anguish awaits you beyond the veil."
Lyssa stormed out of the little room leaving Gildre and Morrigan staring after her.
"What shall we do with him?" Morrigan asked gesturing to the templar.
"We've done enough already, I think. Leave him be," Gildre said moving to leave.
"He could cause trouble, send messages to his Grand Cleric, tell her of Lyssa," Morrigan said.
Cullen had let himself drop to the floor, crying.
"It matters not." Gildre said, "The Grand Cleric can do no worse than she already has at this point. Have mercy on the poor man, Morrigan. He is the brainwashed child of a fanatic. He knows not what he does. The man's never been allowed to have sex for goodness sakes, that's enough to put anyone over the edge."
"Fine, but I'm lodging an official complaint with you here and now. If something bad happens because of this, tis not my fault," Morrigan said leaving the room.
As Gildre turned to go he heard a soft voice behind him.
"Thank you... for your mercy," Cullen said quietly.
"You should thank the queen for that. Before I met her I would have had no mercy for you. I suspect Morrigan would say the same. I'm a little surprised she let it go as far as she did... but Lyssa's right. She's a commander and a queen. She makes the hard choices," Gildre said. He turned and left, closing the door behind him.
He found Lyssa just outside the inn, a few feet past the door, leaning one-handed against the wall, bent nearly double. Lyssa convulsed one last time, the wretched sound of an already empty stomach trying to empty itself escaping her. Morrigan was trying desperately to look anywhere but at Lyssa. Gildre stepped up to Lyssa and touched her back.
"Are you okay?" Gildre asked.
Lyssa stood and wiped her mouth, carefully detaching one lingering dribble of spittle, angrily flinging it to the ground.
"I'm fine. Let's go."
**
"How did you figure it out?" Connor asked Alistair.
"I remembered something the Grand Cleric said after the... incident with the knickers on the altar. She didn't say it to me mind you, she isn't that bold. But I heard her talking to a sister. She said Ferelden would be better off with a pious queen. Someone who could set me straight, and lead the charge against the unfaithful. At the time I didn't think anything of it. But when I remembered it, things kind of clicked into place.
"The Grand Cleric had a great deal of access to Duncan. She demanded it in fact, to make up for the... incident. I let her teach Duncan the Chant because Lyssa said it wouldn't matter. She said Duncan could decide for himself what he wanted to believe. I also remembered how much Leliana spoke to the Grand Cleric. Leliana is a perceptive woman, but she trusts the Grand Cleric implicitly. I'm sure had the Grand Cleric cleverly prodded her, she would have discovered my concerns about being a good father. Armed with that information and Duncan's writings from his studies of the chant, and the Grand Cleric could easily have forged that letter. A letter designed to play on my insecurities. Designed to make me, against my better judgment, travel to the Circle Tower.
"The Grand Cleric always plays up how she isn't a voting member of the council, how she is only the moderator. But she wields a great deal of influence in those chambers. Just the hint of a suggestion from her can make all the difference. I saw it myself many times. My guess is Bativa is under her thumb. He may not even know it. But it would make sense. After his wife was killed, Bativa became very pious. He was afraid he would not join his wife when his own life ended. She was a devout follower of the Chantry, and he loved her dearly.
"He might not have even questioned your father. The Grand Cleric may have just said that to distance herself from the whole scheme. Not everything could come from her, or it would be suspicious. With luck, Eamon is just sitting in a cell somewhere, not sure of how he got there.
"She was probably truly upset though, when she thought I had died. I think she probably hoped to control me through a new wife of her choosing. She sees how devoted I am to Lyssa, and assumes that I would latch onto another woman in a similar manner. She is wrong, but that hardly matters. Without me, it would be difficult for her to control the throne. She might be able to influence the nobles, but when it comes to choosing a new ruler, that lot isn't interested in which ruler is the most pious. They are more interested in what they'll get out of the whole thing. Likelier than not, the next ruler chosen would simply be a noble who would give lip service to the Chant, but in reality could care less.
"But... she knew if she controlled the army, whoever was king, she would have great influence indeed. Sending the troops off on a hopeless war is quite brilliant, in an evil, sadistic, cackling way, but brilliant nonetheless. She has been training thousands of templars. I asked her why she was so busy training templars, since they no longer oversee the tower. She said it was because of the tower she felt she needed more templars. If the mages went out of control, there would be no one to stop them from escaping the tower. She would need a great deal of men to hunt them down. I didn't say anything at the time. I had already taken the tower from her, and forced her to stop using Lyrium on the templars. I didn't think it was worth pressing this issue as well. In retrospect, I should have been more cautious, but, as Lyssa loves to point out, I have a hard time seeing the darkness in the world," Alistair said leaning against the railing.
"It wouldn't work to go back to Ferelden and out the Grand Cleric as a traitor?" Connor asked.
"No. I need to come back with Lyssa. We need to confront her together in the Landsmeet. She'll have a difficult time arguing against the both of us. And hopefully Lyssa can fill in any details I have missed. Things that will implicate the Grand Cleric directly. Right now all we have is supposition," Alistair said.
"I hope a war doesn't break out around us. That would make our lives more difficult," Connor said.
"And I hope we're not sailing to our deaths. Right now the Q'unari are probably awaiting our attack. I hope they're not in a shooting mood," Alistair said.
"You do not trust me, kadan?" Sten asked.
"I do not trust them, my friend," Alistair replied.