Something hit Selise in the head, hard. She lay still for a moment, waiting for any following blows to rain down upon her, but they didn't come. She blinked the stars out of her eyes and tried to breathe away the aching in her ribs as her head pounded from the impact. Slowly she crawled out of the mental fog and into the dark silence around her. She hadn't been attacked, but she was on the cold stone floor, the force of her spell having thrown her off her feet
"Selise!?" came the urgent hiss of Anders' voice.
She lifted her throbbing head, remembering in a panic where she was and what she was doing. The members of the Inquisition, plus the guard and Templars, were all scattered around the dungeon floor, eyes closed and breathing the deep rhythmic breaths of sleep. Selise scrambled slowly to her feet, her vision swimming in front of her eyes. Her body felt heavy, sluggish, completely drained. She staggered over to the prostrate guard and unlinked the keys from her belt. She approached Anders cell and was brought fully back into herself when she locked onto his wide, reddish brown eyes. He looked concerned, his eyebrows lifting with worry as she took slow, uneasy steps toward him. But something in him was also quietly exuberant and surprised. In the cell next to him the prisoner looked at the bodies on the floor and then glared at her with mouth agape.
Selise fumbled with the keys, hands shaking too hard for her to get the key into the keyhole. She didn't know if she had ever put that much of herself into a spell before.
"Here, let me," Anders said gently as his warm hands enclosed around hers. She loosened her grip and let him take the keys, his arm reaching through the bars and angling around to point the key where it needed to go. Selise turned back to the cluster of bodies strewn about the room. Most of them had simply crumbled where they stood and ended up lying on their sides as though they had meant to be there. Cullen would be sore when he woke though. There was no way laying down in all that metal armor was comfortable. Same for the Templars.
She had no idea how much time they had until people began to stir. She hoped she had put enough power into the spell to keep them asleep for a while, but these were not commoners who succumbed easily to magic. These were hardened, battle tested fighters. They probably had built up a good deal of mental and spiritual resistance over the years.
The rational voice in her mind sparked on again. There was still much to do and no time to linger. Selise knelt down next to the Inquisitor, digging into the potion pouch attached to her belt. Within she found exactly what she'd been hoping for: a full supply of potions, both lyrium and for health. Selise pulled out and downed three of the lyrium potions, saving another three for Anders. She slipped another two into one pocket of her robe, and half the health vials into another pocket. As she emptied the third lyrium vial, she felt warms hands on her, one on her back and the other smoothing back her hair. Anders was there, crouched beside her.
"You hit your head pretty hard back there," he said. She thrust three of the lyrium vials into his hands and he emptied them one after the other. She took a minute to search the room. What now? They needed to flee, obviously, but Anders couldn't emerge back into the courtyard in the same cloak he had worn on the way down. Everyone had already seen him being led through the Great Hall wearing it, obviously a prisoner or criminal of some kind.
Her eyes flew to the Templars. Anders would have to put on some of the armor, most especially the helmet. That might also help him get into the supply rooms without too much suspicion. As she let her mind race, Anders hand cupped the back of her head and she felt the warm vibrations of his healing energy penetrating her skull, easing away the pounding from her impact with the floor. She rest her head in his hand for a moment and then stood, grabbing Anders and pulling him to her, briefly burying herself in his chest.
"That was…. Impressive," Anders said, his voice coming out a rasp. "I had no idea what was going to happen there for a while. I thought all was lost."
"Nothing is lost my love," she told him, "but we need to go. Now."
"But we still need to find the bo…"
"Shhh!" she ordered, glancing toward the prisoner who continued to watch them quietly. He was hanging on their every word and Selise knew now that no matter what spell she cast on him, he would remember this.
"Oy! You can let me out now," the prisoner called. "Let me out and I won't tell anyone what I saw."
Selise thought a moment. It was too late for that. There was no hiding what she and Anders had done in order to escape, though it might still take a while for them to notice the book was missing, as long as nobody told them they should be looking for it. Plus she had no doubt that this man was an actual criminal, having apparently done something bad enough to keep him locked up down here for several weeks. Feeling the lyrium soaring through her body, she pushed a small wave of sleep at the man, and he slunk down into a pile at the bottom of the bars.
"I have it. The book. I found it, while you were all in the war room," she told him. His eyes lit up even further and his mouth dropped open, "We need to split up, get everything we need and then go before they wake," she told him.
"You have it!?" he asked incredulously.
She nodded, feeling his exhilaration grow and begin to infect her. The smile spreading across her lips was interrupted by his mouth pressing urgently against hers. She kissed him back for an indulgent moment, and then pushed him gently back, feeling the pull of his tempting kiss begin to work its enveloping magic. She could fall into it all too easily and find herself naked and on the floor before she could blink, but there was no time. She was eager to get moving now that their clock was ticking.
"Put on the Templar armor. The guard tower to the right of the Skyhold gate has a store room, you should be able to find most of the supplies we need there. I'll run to our quarters and grab our things and I'll meet you in front of the gate. Act completely natural and hopefully no one will question you. I'll be as quick as I can," she instructed him and he nodded obediently, eyes twinkling.
"Selise. You're an angel," he said as she pulled away and sprinted toward the stairs.
She exited the dungeon to an empty courtyard. Cold, fat raindrops were falling from the sky and though it caused her to shiver as they rolled in icy streams through her hair and down her neck, she found that she was immensely grateful not to have a crowd of eyes on her. Even if the buildings would all be full, even if many of them were already beginning to suspect that something big was happening, at least there would be fewer people to witness the opening of the gate, or the two people fleeing across the long bridge.
Since she had arrived at Skyhold initially with such a small collection of things, she had no bag large enough to carry all of her and Anders' clothing, so she just grabbed what looked the most practical. An extra robe, a set of small clothes each. She pulled a grey wool blanket out of one of the drawers of her bureau and wrapped it around the Seeker book. They would all have to go inside the same bag, and she couldn't risk damaging the brittle pages of the book before she and Anders had even had a chance to read any of it. The last thing she grabbed was Anders' iron tea kettle. It was heavy, but they would need something to melt snow in to make drinking water. It could even serve as a pot to cook food in, she figured. She filled it with several extra pairs of socks and stuffed it onto the top of her small pack, and then made her way to the kitchen and gathered up as much food as she could, plus a tin of tea, putting it all into its own flour sack.
It seemed that every eye in the Great Hall was on her as she emerged holding her two bags. A chill ran up her spine as numerous clusters of people went silent, watching her closely as she weaved through the crowd. She had wanted to avoid using the nightmare spell, but she realized that in this case it would be the most prudent option. Either cripple one person with horrific, traumatic visions, or drain herself again by trying to disorient a huge group of people. Her eyes fell upon a man on the far side of the room who appeared to have had a bit too much to drink. He was swaying, flagon in hand, and telling a disjointed story in a loud, belligerent voice, completely oblivious to the rest of the crowd. Selise sent over the wave of energy, trying not to make the gesture too noticeable. She didn't look his way as she did it, didn't stop walking and after several steps she saw the people before her begin to turn their heads, looking past her. The man wasn't screaming in fear, instead he was barking angrily as though trying to instigate a fight. Slowly his angry voice got more and more shrill, calling greater attention to himself.
But it wasn't enough. Too many people were still watching her, especially the further she got from the ensorcelled man. She locked onto another person way ahead of her, in the corner of the room by the door, and pulsed out another wave, this one slightly stronger, hoping for a louder, more dramatic distraction. The sounds of the scream that came from the poor soul in the corner made her shudder, and she immediately regretted having to do it. She ducked her head down and quickened her pace, keeping her eye on the large wooden door. She needed to get to Anders in case he needed her help.
The door opened to an absolute downpour. The grass was slick and splashed up her legs with each step she took. She almost slid to the ground a few times as she hurried from the steps over to the guard tower. Before she reached it, she gulped down another vial of lyrium. Just in case, she thought. She threw open the door, and her breath caught in her throat. Anders was cornered in the far side of the room, with a group of guards standing before him, clearly in the middle of an interrogation. He only had on a few pieces of the Templar armor, including the helmet, which must have made the guards suspicious. Of course it would be difficult, not to mention time consuming, to remove every single piece of the Templar gear. Anders had the chest plate and arm pieces, but his legs bore only his brown breeches. Perhaps that hadn't been the best idea after all, she thought.
Every head turned toward her, but no one seemed terribly concerned. That was probably a perk to being a young looking, soaking wet girl, she figured. She dropped both of her bags on the floor by the door and sized up the room.
There were seven of them, all of them wearing only pieces of their armor, as though they had been interrupted in the middle of changing. Most of them were younger, babyfaced men, and they looked green and untested. Her whole body was buzzing with lyrium enhanced mana and she felt a surge of purpose. She could do this, she thought. She had to do this. But once again she couldn't cast out a wave to consume the whole group without catching Anders up in it. She felt the river of mana flowing toward her hands as she conjured up her spell, unleashing sharp blasts one by one at each of the guards. One fell, then another, then another. The eyes of the remaining guards went hard and dark as they realized what was happening, and they began to draw their swords.
Anders jumped into motion, throwing a bolt of electricity into the guard closest to him, sending him crashing into a wall and leaving only three standing. The one furthest to the rear ran toward a door at the back of the room, while the other two clutched their weapons, lowering themselves into loose, wide legged stances, readying themselves to fight.
One of the men advanced on Selise, his dark eyes full of fury, and he raised his sword high over his head, apparently intending to take her down with a single blow. If she put him to sleep he would still come down on top of her, she realized, and in a moment of instantaneous impulse she zapped him with a jolt of paralysis, causing him to freeze into place before tipping slowly off balance. Behind him, the room flashed white as Anders quickly dispatched the other guard with another bright, crackling bolt. This room now cleared, Selise darted around the frozen, slowly listing body before her to pursue the one who ran.
She burst through the door that the fleeing guard had exited, and found herself facing a narrow flight of spiral stairs. She climbed as fast as she could, ignoring the pain in her chest as he body screamed for more air, and then she came upon another door. She threw it open to find another room full of guards, all with swords drawn and waiting. These men were older, harder, and they kept the frightened lad who had run to them at their rear.
She heard Anders climbing up the steps behind her and she took a deep breath, drawing up the last of her mana and unleashing a shockwave that spread through the whole room with a concussive blast. She heard the bodies hit the floor heavily, one by one, their swords and armor clanging in a chorus of metallic protestation. She was drained again, her vision blurred and the room swaying woozily around her. She distantly heard Anders behind her, finally reaching the top of the stairs, and thankfully unaffected by the spell. The moment she felt his breath upon her neck she fell back into him, his arms coming up to catch her before she hit the ground.
It only took a moment before her clouded vision cleared and she began to feel steady again, the spiked adrenaline restoring at least enough strength to continue moving. She shook her head and steeled her back. It still wasn't time to collapse just yet, she told herself. But they were almost there.
"Let's go! I've got what we need," Anders whispered into her ear, and together they turned and descended the stairs.
She felt like she was walking in a dream as she stepped around the bodies in the lower floor. Anders took the two sacks she had brought along with her and stuffed them into a larger pack, which he slung over his back. He then handed her off a pack of her own. Followed by a mage staff. Selise usually never bothered much with a staff, as the focusing stones that were supposed to tap into the user's magic rarely obeyed hers. But she took it all the same. The pack was hard, stuffed full and heavy, but the adrenaline coursing through her helped her pull it on without much difficulty. She could feel a deep weariness pooling inside her, ready to catch her the moment the action was over. She didn't know the last time she had expelled her magic with such force, much less done so several times over. And with this heavy pack, how was she supposed to keep up a steady pace if they were to travel out of there on foot?
"Should we get a horse?" she asked. It would be much faster and easier to make progress through the mountains if they had a mount, even if that did mean another mouth to feed and another body to keep warm. She had been wondering about that for a few days anyway, but with the weariness nipping at her heels it seemed an absolute necessity now.
"Is that possible?" he asked. They were both panting. His wide brown eyes looked almost black.
"Let's try," Selise said and she turned and swiftly exited the tower. Anders kept close behind as they splashed across the lower courtyard to the stables. She could see several people standing around inside the main barn and she took a deep breath, pulling the last vial of lyrium out of her pocket and downing it with a wince. She would feel badly when this was all over, she knew, even without taking into account how she had overextended her magic. Even mages could get addicted to lyrium if they used it too often, and she couldn't remember ever taking so much of it in so short a time. Five full vials in less than an hour. She was truly challenging her body's limits, and she would pay for it.
As they got closer to the barn she made out only three men, including stablemaster Dennet and the dark-haired Grey Warden. They were in the thick of conversation, but all turned to look at the two people approaching in the rain. Selise didn't even want to deal with an attempt at conversation, anxious to just get moving before everyone in the dungeon woke and alerted every one within the fortress to search for a pair of fugitives. Instead she went straight for the sleep spell, knocking all three men off their feet, but retaining just enough of her energy to get them through the gate. If the Maker was on their side, there would only be one person stationed there, and no one else that she should have to deal with. She didn't know if she could take another vial of lyrium. Her body seemed permanently shaky now as it rattled with the strain of such tremendous input and output of magic. It was causing her vision to ripple, making her turn her head frequently to try to catch moving images on the outskirts of her sight, only to find nothing there.
"Remind me never to mess with you," Anders whispered as they stepped over the bulky bodies and made their way to the stables.
She rested against a wooden beam and allowed Anders to take the lead in selecting and outfitting a large, light grey horse. He came around behind her and slid her pack off, securing it with his in a bundle behind the saddle. And leading the horse on foot, they made the final journey to the gate. The woman guard who was on duty there was lost in a book as she sat at her post, and Selise quickly plunged her into a deep sleep, exhausting the last of her mana pool. Anders helped Selise climb up onto the horse and she immediately felt herself collapsing forward. He ran around into the guard's alcove and inspected the controls for the gate, trying to figure out how to work them. She watched, bleary eyed and increasingly exhausted as the massive gate slowly began to lift.
Anders quickly reappeared at her side and climbed onto the horse behind her, urging the mount forward. She was grateful to finally rest, her body and her magic completely spent. She felt Anders' lips against her temple as she closed her eyes and leaned back into his chest, letting her head fall into the nook of his neck. The horse accelerated into a full gallop and Selise opened her eyes, taking her last ounce of energy to turn and look back at Skyhold. The courtyard was still completely empty, the rising image of the stone buildings behind it clouded grey and misty by the down pouring of torrential rain. It was only then that Selise realized she was soaked to the skin. The further they got out into the icy mountain range, the more dangerous it would be for her and Anders to be so wet.
She could tell Anders knew this, as he urged the horse forward as fast as it could carry them. The poor beast was completely overburdened, but it obeyed Anders' commands all the same, pushing faster and faster, until the bridge was far behind them and the path they were on split off, and then angled downward, leading them to the frozen glacial river at the bed of the valley. Selise let her eyes fall closed again, her body and soul too tired to care much about the penetrating wetness that was rattling her teeth.
They had made it out. Hopefully it would be a little while longer before people began to wake and ask questions. Before the first soldiers would be sent out to find their trail. And hopefully much, much longer still before anyone opened the vault behind the Ambassador's book case.