Chapter Nine: Repel
The mages flee back to the docks and Marian pushes the people of Kirkwall faster. Her cries for blood and vengeance fill the air when they clear the last of the Imperial Magisters to boats hastily retreating back across the bay. She has her friends at her side when she jumps on a free boat and assembles a crew. The mob follows her lead and she has a ramshackle armada following the withdrawing boats. She thinks that they'll head out to sea and that they can call this invasion a wash but instead they turn to the west, to the Gallows. Beside her she hears Varric curse under his breath.
"Those damn fools are going to take the Gallows. If they get in there's no way Cullen and his men can hold them. They'll be nice and fortified in there, Hawke."
She's had the same thought. "I know, Varric. We need to make sure they don't get the chance. Archers!" She raises her voice so the boats closest to her can hear her. "Fire on the enemy as soon as we're in range! Do not let them take the Gallows!" The message gets passed on to the rest of the boats and there is a hail of arrows when they close the distance. There aren't enough Magisters still on boats to cause massive damage but the archers take out a dozen easily.
As the boat docks Marian sends a prayer to the Maker to give her strength and charges for the front doors.
~!~
"MAIN BATTLEMENTS. TWO UNITS EACH HALLWAY. KEEP THEIR MAGIC DOWN AND YOUR HEARTS UP GENTLEMEN." Cullen looks from his troops behind him where the first of the Magisters are cresting the top of the first stairs of the Gallows. He swallows, hard, and pushes away any fear that might threaten. No time to lose his nerve, to be sure. He'd had plenty of time to get back to the Gallows before he'd realized the townspeople in the city were pushing the Imperium back to the water and towards them. He'd organized as well as he could and the mages are safely tucked away.
Solona is safe.
His guards form into their lines and break off accordingly. There are worst places to make a last stand, Cullen knows, and so long as his troops can keep the enemy from infiltrating the interior, they might just make it. There is an eerie moment of while the enemy approaches and the men wait patiently for their chance to create a kill pocket. It is in that moment a strong burst of elemental magic burst forth from the railings to either side of him. His men panic momentarily, wheeling and looking for the enemy behind them.
There is only the familiar blue shirt of the templars worn by the fierce-faced First Enchanter of Kirkwall. Solona raises her arms again, summoning a might fire storm. The mage to her right casts an oil slick right before she casts and the first wave of Magisters hit the ground. The fire storm sets the entire group ablaze and there is a moment of pause as the screams of the dying fill the air.
An ice storm descends then, cast by the Imperium, that kills the fire and the Magisters start to advance again. Solona seems to have been expecting this, though, and shoots up a wall of fire right to the outside of range of the ice storm. Cullen watches, in amazement, as another oil slick, from a completely different mage, catches the second wave of Magisters.
The Circle has taken out at least twenty Magisters; the templars watch, in amazement, as the Imperium turns tail and starts to run. Cheers erupt on both sides of him as the inhabitants watch the invasion force flee. As the last head disappears down the stairs he hears a mighty cry farther away and a blast of magic shoots three Magisters back up to the courtyard.
His forces silence themselves and brace for another attack.
Instead, the people of Kirkwall are marched up the stairs with a defiant-looking Hawke leading the charge. She is a fierce sight to behold; covered in blood and dirt she looks much the same as when they first exchanged words out on Sundermount. He feels a smile stretch across his face. Kirkwall has risen up to defend themselves.
"What a surprise to see you, Viscountess. Lovely day for a walk, isn't it?" She grins back at his cheekiness and beside him he can hear Solona laugh too. The joke feels strange coming from his mouth, but it breaks the tension still humming through his men and women.
"Well, you know. The bay is beautiful this time of year." The dwarf and Bethany flank the Champion and they exchange smiles. Upon seeing her cousin, safe and sound up on the railings of the Gallows, Bethany lets out a happy shout and runs to her. The two embrace tightly and Cullen thinks that this day hasn't been so bad, after all.
His elation is short lived, however, as the townsfolk filtering into the square form a circle around the Champion, surrounding her and closing in. They are crying for blood and Cullen watches in amazement as the dwarf is thrown free. "Hold her tight, men! We'll clear this city of all its foes today!"
~!~
Marian is exceedingly surprised when her quirky interaction with the Knight Commander is cut short by the people of Kirkwall closing in on all her sides. Hands grab her roughly from behind with the force of a mob because, well, she's now surrounded by her saviors and they do not look happy to see her. "This is all your fault Fereldan! Ever since you arrived . . . we've lost everything because of you!" The man who shouted for the mob to hold her swings a wide arc at her head that Marian barely manages to dodge. The hit lands on one of her captor's forearms and she is mostly free but still surrounded.
That's not quite justifiable, she thinks. She's saved this city countless times. She's the damned Viscount for Maker's sake. She is their HERO. Sure, they were pretty irate with her earlier but there is time for talk, now. She'll go willingly.
They seem to think otherwise and she feels hands everywhere, tearing at her armor. One pulls her belt free and she cries out as her supplies drop to the ground at her feet and are trampled. The crowd, she believes, has no intention of letting her go anyway except to the Maker.
She has to get out of here. NOW.
She can't move though. There's too many. She's trapped. Trapped. Her eyes rise to the upper stairs, where her sister has run to. She looks for Bethany, pleads with her mentally. Come on sister. Help me.
The hands go still. Absolutely motionless. There! At the edge of the crowd! Bethany's glyph of paralysis has given her the opportunity. She wastes no time and slips back, back down towards the docks and the rest of the city and escape. She hears her sister cry out behind her and Hawke pauses one last time to look back. The templars, what few remain, are moving the people away from her and the mages, only a handful now as well, rush forward to help with crowd control.
Marian raises her hands, catching Bethany's eyes. I'm sorry; I have to go.
She has to get out.
She turns and flees.
The boat ride is quick and silent. She watches a Tevinter ship still burning in the harbor from an unknown explosion. The docks are quiet as she runs and she keeps going. Up and up endless steps back to her estate. She needs to leave this city as quickly as possible but she needs to go home first. There are a few things that she cannot leave behind, no matter what.
Hightown looms in front of her and she doesn't slow as she takes these damned stairs as quickly as possible. She's through her front door in seconds. Santo waits for her, in the living room, wearing the face of misery she's not seen on a dwarf in a long time. His expression stops her cold and she remembers.
How could she have ever forgotten?
Elissa
She'd sent a message to the estate for the Queen to meet them at the Keep. But Elissa had never shown. The Queen will no longer be safe here, for sure. "Where did she go!" She's harsher on Santo than she has a right to be but she's in a hurry dammit.
"Looking for you m'Lady. Some time ago. She went to the Keep, from what I saw, as you bade her. She said . . . if she doesn't come back . . . King Alistair." She sees the letter clasped in his hands now and understands. Elissa is fully prepared, then, for what awaits her.
Marian grabs what she can manage to fit in her bag from her room and is back out on the streets. She can hear the crowd, apparently free from the templars and the mages, coming up from Lowtown. She's running out of time.
The Keep is not so far from her house that she ever regretted the morning walk to work but now, with hundreds of people who want to kill her at her heels, she curses every step. It is abandoned. The stairs are still littered with the dead; most are the bodies of Magisters she had left in her wake earlier and a faint beat of hope flutters her heart. Elissa, hopefully, has made it safely inside.
The door is already open when she approaches, wide enough for her to slip through without touching the wood. She can hear the shades as soon as she steps into the darkness of the main room. They haven't noticed her yet, so she hopes, and she searches each out.
Six are clustered around the door to the guard's quarters, clawing at the door as though they were dogs whining after a hidden vermin. Someone is back there. Alive, or dead, she doesn't want to think about that. She finds the last of her fire flasks at the small of her back and approaches the shades silently.
One flask will not kill all of them. Two flasks could take out half. Three shades against one of her . . . her odds could be worse. At least they're not scary big statues comes to life. Rationally she admits that facing those creatures down again would be much worse.
The group gives off an inhumane screech when the first flask explodes and she can indeed hear the death wail of a few she the second flask follows. She's gotten lucky. Four small piles of dust are left on the floor as the remaining two shades turn to face her. They seem . . . displeased.
This is what she's good at and she smiles with all of the confidence of the Champion.
She's ready for their charge, throwing up a puff of smoke and flanking around to their back sides. Her blades strike out simultaneously on her first target. It's been weakened already and seemingly evaporates in front of her.
The other, her last enemy, also looks weakened and very very angry. It catches her with an arm before she can dodge it but she comes right back at it, swiping furiously. It knocks her back. She resets her position and jumps high. Again, both blades strike out and find their intended target. She is left alone and breathing heavy but not still.
She pushes to the door and tries to open it. It's locked. Of course it's locked. Marian drops to a knee and pulls out her pick set. She makes quick work of the door and pushes at it again. It budges but only an inch or two. Something is blocking it from the other side. She shoves harder and the resistance falls away. She can hear the sound of a body tumbling down the small set of stairs that leads into the room.
Maker's breath. It's Elissa.
Marian has to fight to keep her balance with all the blood on the floor, Elissa's blood. At the foot of the stairs she turns over the warden gently. She checks for a pulse. And lets out a huge sigh of relief when she finds it; faint but its presence gives her hope. The armor Elissa wears is in shreds and her complexion is wan with the blood loss.
She needs a healer.
There's a crash from Aveline's office and it startles Marian so badly she falls back. Noise is good. She hurries to the door but her hand hesitates on the knob. Or maybe it's not. Noise could be more enemies, maleficars lying in wait or perhaps another scary Qunari that wants to take her head off. She pulls a blade to be sure and pushes into the room.
She sees nothing initially. The room is dark except for the faint light filtering in through the windows. It is also destroyed. Wood splinters and books litter the floor. In the shadows, behind the remains of Aveline's desk, Marian sees movement and steps farther into the room.
The movement happens to be Merrill, dirty and bloody and looking for all the world as though she's been through the war. Perhaps she has. Marian wishes she could feel the warmth of a friendship when she realizes it's the young mage but she doesn't. The two have grown distant since the death of Anders. But, it's Merrill and Merrill has learned how to heal, at least a little.
She takes a step forward. "Come quickly. I need your help."
"Oh, really?" Arms raise and cross in front of the elf's chest. There's an air of petulance about her and Marian can feel her temper shortening. "And why would I do that?"
Marian regrets the space that's grown between them. She regrets the hurt that the elf has been through and the part that Marian herself has played in it. But she has no time for this shit. She takes another step forward and grabs Merrill's arm. The elf knows that she won't hurt her, seriously, but she still gives into the intimidation.
When Merrill flinches outwardly Marian flinches inwardly. She hates to have to do this but she must. "I'm sorry. For everything, truly I am. And if I had the time I'd explain all of the ways that I've let you down and I've never been there for you but Merrill, I need your help now and then I need to go."
She pulls the elf to the doorway and shoves the door the rest of the way open. Elissa still lies at the foot of the step, slowly dying if she's not already dead. At the sight of the warden Merrill gasps and falls forward, onto the woman. "What happened to her?"
"There were shades, out in the entry way, when I came through. She must have been hurt. Made it back here, where she's been dying for who knows how long. Merrill, I need you to heal her. I have to get the two of us out of the city before we're killed."
The elf is quiet for a moment before she reaches into the pouch at her side and pulls out a familiar blue vial. Merrill drains the lyrium potion and moves her hands to Elissa's chest. Healing, of the magical variety, has always fascinated and distracted Marian. The pure blue glow and the utter calm washing over her pulls her back to a place which takes away all panic. Even though she's on a deadline now and she has to go go GO she relaxes inside her armor as Merrill works on Elissa.
A moment passes, then more, and even longer until the elf leans back, her energy drained. Elissa does not awaken. When Merrill speaks her voice is thread. "She was hit with a spiritual drain as well as a swarm. The cuts on her body are healed. I've dragged the last of the residual damage from her. There is no guarantee that she'll ever wake though."
This is not the best of news but it is enough. Marian can't hear the mob but it's only a matter of time before they find her here. There are not enough places to hide in this town. She hopes that the house doesn't get burned down.
Merrill starts asking questions when she hauls Elissa up over one shoulder. The other woman is heavy and Marian staggers. "What's happening Hawke? Why are you leaving? I don't understand!"
She can escape down the back exit. It empties towards the docks at a guard station but on the outskirts of the town. They keep a few horses stabled there. Marian can get the two of them out of the city and over Sundermount within the next few hours, if she hurries.
Merrill is still talking and Marian wants to hug her; thank her for this act of kindness that she doesn't deserve. But the words stick in her throat. There is so much that stands between her and the many that helped her become the Champion of Kirkwall. She supposes that she'll no longer be the Champion and all she will be now is herself, once more.
"Merrill. I am sorry. I- I was never the friend to you that you deserved and I'm sorry I couldn't tell you that before now. Before I have to go. I probably won't be back. And I need you to do me a favor." The elf's line of questioning ceases at this and she becomes quieter than Marian is used to seeing her. "Tell the others, if they're still alive, that I'll miss them and that I appreciate all of their help. That I value their friendship, even yours."
Merrill stops her as she reaches the stairs leading down into the Keep's storage. "Where will you go? Back to Ferelden?" The elf stares pointedly at the woman. Marian is surprised that Merrill would recognize Elissa. "She's got her Grey Warden signet ring on. Only a few of those in the world; only one of them worn by a woman."
She laughs, relieved and glad that she's been so blessed with friends. Even when she doesn't deserve them. "I don't know where we'll end up but it will be far away, I'm sure. Take care of yourself Merrill." She's gone before she can hear Merrill's soft response.
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