Chapter 11

Anders was greeted at the gate by the tall dark haired man from the battlements. He wore traditional Tevinter Magister's robes and had his long black hair pulled back.

"Thank you for granting my request," Anders said.

He man glared at Anders, "Nothing has been granted to you yet, Mage. Follow me!" The man spun on his heels and headed inside the fortress. Anders entered the great hall with the three rogues following close behind. The magister lead him across the hall and up a large staircase. Zev stayed close to Anders so that he could offer the Mage assistance if needed. Nathaniel and Darrian quietly split off from the group. Darrian insisted that there had to be an emergency escape passage and he instructed Nathaniel to find it. Darrian was going to find where they were keeping his daughter.

Anders and Zev followed the magister down a long hallway toward a large heavy door. The man swung it open and Anders and the concealed rogue entered. Seated behind an oversized oak desk was a man with long grey hair and a beard to match. He suspiciously eyed Anders as he waved him into a nearby chair. Anders sat down while Zev moved into a corner to observe the meeting.

The old man cleared his throat before he spoke in gruff voice. "It is my understanding that you have sought us out because you wished to learn from us. Is that correct?" Anders nodded. "And how did you know that we were here at this fortress?"

Anders explained that he had always been fascinated with the powerful magic that the Tevinters had so he spent many hours in the Circle's library studying them. He had read that they had two ancient temples in the Frostback Mountains, one near Marles' Pass and the other was at the top of Drake's Point. Anders went on to explain that he traveled to the temple at Drake's Point and discovered a piece of parchment from a diary that said stated that the magisters were moving to the fortress where they felt they would be safer.

When Anders concluded the magister stared hard at him for a very long time. It made both Anders and Zev uneasy. Zev placed his hand on the pommel of his sword ready to draw it quickly if need be.

The man finally spoke, "It takes much determination to travel such a great distance over very rough terrain in the quest for knowledge and normally I would reward such resolve. However, you have come to us at a very difficult time and I am unable to accommodate your request. I will give you shelter for the night and a hot meal, but you must leave first thing in the morning. If you truly wish to study the Tevinter's way of practicing magic I would be happy to write a letter of recommendation to a friend of mine in Minrathous. He will be able to propose a suitable tutor for you."

Anders smiled, "Thank you, for your generous offer. I would appreciate the letter of recommendation and the accommodations for the night."

The man smiled and extended his hand; Anders clasped it and shook it. The man said, "My name is Antonidas," he paused as he gestured to the man that escorted him here. "And this is my apprentice Rhonin." Rhonin gave a short curt nod. "Rhonin will escort you to your rooms. I am afraid that I cannot allow you to roam the fortress freely. The fortress is very old and many of the areas are unsafe. I will have a hot bath and your meals sent up to you. I will also have a few of my own personnel books on Tevinter magic sent up for you to read."

Anders smiled and nodded. "Again thank you for your hospitality," Anders replied.

Antonidas nodded to Rhonin, the man stepped forward and said, "Follow me."

Anders followed him down several long corridors before they reached a heavy wooden door. Rhonin pushed the door open and motioned for him to enter. Anders entered the room and Rhonin slammed the door shut. Anders heard the distinct sound of lock being slid into place.

Anders glanced around the room. "Zev?' He whispered in a hushed tone.

Zev materialized out of the corner shadow. "Well, I guess you heard that we only have one night."

Zev smiled, "Correction, my little Mage, you only have one night. They do not know about the three of us. If we don't discover what we need tonight you will leave in the morning as requested and join Alistair, Alex , Oghren and Kylon in the cave. Darrian, Nathaniel and I will stay until we have found what we came for."

Anders nodded, "Well at least I get one night in a nice warm bed."

Zev walked over to the door and quickly picked the lock and eased the door open. A shimmering barrier filled the doorwaypreventing him from exiting. "Can you help with this?" Zev asked.

Anders muttered a chant and the barrier came down. "Thanks, once I secure the lock put the barrier back up so that they don't suspect anything when they come back to check on you."

Anders actually was finding his evening very enjoyable. A servant had brought up a hot bath, a generous portion of meats, cheeses and fruits along with a delicious bottle of Antivian wine. Yes, at times life was good. He was reading one of the books that Antonidas had sent up and he found it very interesting. The Tevinter knowledge of the Fade and how to manipulate it was extensive. He wondered if Morrigan had studied these books while she was expecting and if this helped her navigate the Fade so well. He had just poured his third glass of wine when he heard the lock click and the door easy open and then shut again.

Darrian, Zev and Nathaniel appeared. "How did you get through the barrier?" Anders asked.

"There wasn't a barrier," Zev said as he eyed food and they wine. "Maybe they forgot to put it in place after they brought you this lavish meal. Are you enjoying yourself, Anders?" Zev asked as he walked over and picked at the cheese and fruit.

Anders nodded vigorously. "Yes, I could get use to being held hostage here…at least for awhile. Maybe till spring when it warms up."

"Well, sorry to ruin your little party, but we need your help," Darrian said.

Anders sat up and asked, "What did you find?"

"Well, Nathaniel found the escape passage down in the dungeons," Darrian said.

"Well, isn't that convenient for the prisoners. Why didn't the Templars think of that? It would have made all of my many escape attempts so much easier," Anders responded dryly.

Nathaniel shook his head and said, "The passage is in the warden's office. Anyways, it leads to a tunnel that comes out a short distance from the cave. That is probably why the previous owners had it built there so that they could take shelter in the cave and store items there that they might not be able to gather if making a quick exit. Anyways, I went to the cave and brought back the rest of the party. They are hiding in the warden's office waiting for our orders."

Darrian nodded and turned back to Anders. "After you left the head magister's office…"

"Antonidas," Anders interrupted. Darrian raised an eye brow. "The head magister's name is Antonidas." Anders relayed.

Darrian let out a long sigh, "Shortly after you left Antonidas' office he also left. I followed him to the left wing of the fortress. He passed through a barrier that I couldn't pass through. I need to see if you can remove it."

"He passed through it without removing it?" Anders asked. Darrian nodded. "Well, then he has erected a Mage Barrier. The barrier remains in place at all times and only Mages or a Templars can pass through it. If the barrier is destroyed then the caster would know immediately because that type of barrier requires constant maintenance by the caster as they continuously draw power from the Fade to keep it in place. The destruction of the barrier would break the connection to the Fade altering the Mage."

Darrian paced the floor as he worked out a plan. "So you and Alistair could pass through the barrier and explore that area without destroying the barrier?"

"Well theoretically, yes, but neither one of us has any rogue abilities and Alistair isn't the most agile person I know," Anders retorted.

"But you could cast a Detect Life spell and if you sensed someone coming you could cast a Chameleon spell. Correct?" Darrian countered.

Anders nodded, "Yes, that is correct."

"Okay, Nathaniel please head down to the prison, get Alistair and meet me at barrier entrance." Nathaniel nodded and headed out the door. "Zev since you have blond hair I need you stay here just in case they come back to check on Anders. Just pretend to be asleep if anyone comes in."

"I'm afraid that there is a slight hole in your plan, my friend. For not only is there a height difference, but unlike yourself, I do not smell of dry cat urine," Zev chuckled.

"It happened one time! And it was only because Darrian's dog scared Sir-Pounce-a-Lot! Besides, my clothes have been washed many times since then," Anders retorted defensively.

xXx

Anders and Darrian warily made their way to barrier entrance. A few minutes later Alistair and Nathaniel joined them. Darrian filled Alistair in on the details regarding the barrier. He asked him to investigate where they have his daughter and to map out the layout of the area for a possible assault.

Alistair and Anders walked over to the barrier and passed through without incident. They entered a long dark hallway that was cold and damp from the snow above seeping through and melting. At the end of the hallway were a set of stairs that descended deeper into the ground. Anders casted a detect life spell, but determined that no human life forms were in their immediate vicinity. They quickly, but quietly moved down the stairs and entered a small chamber that was dimly light by torches. Anders cast another detect life spell. The small ball of blue light bounced in midair for a moment and then moved down the corridor on the left.

Alistair and Anders started to move toward the corridor when they heard a door open and then close. They swiftly moved against the wall near the passageway entrance and Anders silently cast a chameleon spell just before two magisters emerged from the tunnel. They waited until they were clearly out of earshot and then they crept down the hall toward the close door. There was no way to open the door without altering anyone on the other side.

The two of them eased closer to the door, but remained pressed against the wall. Alistair bent down and picked up a couple of stones. He whispered to Anders to cast a chameleon spell after he tossed the rock at the door. Alistair tossed the stone at the door. It lightly hit and made a soft thud. Alistair shook his head at Anders not to cast the spell. He waited a moment and then tossed another stone this time with a little more force. The rock made a thump as it bounced off the door. Alistair nodded and Anders cast the spell.

A moment later the door swung open and a mage called out, "Whose there?"

He stepped out into the hall and called again, "Whose there?"

Alistair tossed a stone in the opposite direction of the door further down the passage. Once the mage had slowly advanced down the corridor past the location where they stood, Alistair and Anders slipped into the room. They quickly surveyed the room and realized that there were no other magisters there.

They heard the mage's footsteps get louder as he made his way back to the room muttering, "Damn rats are going to scare me half to death!"

Just as he crossed over the threshold Alistair brought down the broad side of his sword against the back of his head and the mage crumbled to the ground. Alistair pulled the mage into a dark corner while Anders closed the door and found some rope to tie the man up with. Once the mage was bound and gagged they observed their surroundings more closely. The room contained a fireplace in the center with chairs placed in front of it, a dinner table and in the corner at the other end of the room there was a toy rocking horse, a stuffed bear, a ball and few other toys for a child. Near the toys there was a door and Anders and Alistair advanced toward it when they both felt at the same time the pull and tightening in their chest. They stopped dead in their tracks and looked at each other.

"Do you feel that?" Anders asked.

Alistair nodded, "Tainted blood."

They both rapidly approached the door. Alistair flung it open; against the wall was a crib and a small head with dark blond curls and greenish yellow eyes peered at them over the railing. Alistair rushed over to the toddler and scooped her up in his arms. He smiled down at her and she smiled a toothless grinned back at him; she was an incredibly beautiful child. She was a feminine version of Darrian except for the eyes and the ears. Alistair removed one of the linens from the bed and made a papoose from it. Anders helped secure the child to his back.

They swiftly moved out of the rooms and down the hall. They entered a small chamber and were about to ascend the stairs when they heard footsteps approaching. They moved into the shadows and Anders cast a chameleon spell. Three mages entered into the room and headed for the passage that led to the Sienna's room.

The mages had almost made it past them when the child cried out, "Papi". The mages spun on their heels looking for the source of the cry. Alistair moved away from Anders and as close as possible to the mages; he promptly channeled all of his energy and released Holy Smit on them. All of the mages were knocked to the ground. Alistair drew his sword as he grabbed Anders arms, pulled him to his feet and dragged him up the stairs and out the barrier.

As they emerged from the barrier door Darrian and Nathaniel shimmered out of the shadows.

Alistair hurled Anders at Nathaniel as he gasped, "Darrian, I have your daughter on my back, but they are coming. We need to get out of here now."

"What's wrong with Anders?" Nathaniel asked.

"I had to use Holy Smith in order to buy us sometime to escape. I tried to shield Anders as much as possible, but he may be stunned for a few more minutes," Alistair explained.

"You three get to the dungeons as quickly as possible, get the others and head out the escape passage to the cave. As soon as Anders is alert have him cast a concealment charm on Sienna," Darrian ordered.

"Where are you headed?" Nathaniel asked.

"I am going to get Zev. The two of us are small enough that we should be able to escape through the window. We will meet you at the cave. Alistair, if we are not there when the sun begins to rise you get the hell out of there and get my daughter to Denerim as quickly as possible."

Alistair shook his head, "I am not leaving you!" He declared.

"Yes, you will. She is the most important thing now. She must be safe. Now go!" Darrian demanded as he turned to head for Zev's room.

Darrian quickly and as quietly as possible raced in the shadows toward the room that Zev was in. When he reached the passage where the room was located Darrian surveyed the hall. The barrier wasn't up on the door and he could see no guards posted anywhere. Still concealed in the shadows he made his way down the hall and into the room. From the glow of the fireplace he saw the outline of Zev's form. He dashed toward the bed and pulled back the covers. There was nothing there but blankets scrunched up to look like a body.

"Are you looking for him?" A cold voice asked from behind him. Darrian spun around and saw two mages holding the motionless, slumped form of Zevran between them and their staffs pointed at him. The light from the fire flickered off of Zev's face and he could see a lot of blood oozing from his forehead.

The mage from the battlements; the one called Rhonin said coldly, "You have something of ours and we want it back."