Chapter 67: Justice

It gets easier.

Cassandra had promised Ana that back in Redcliffe so many months ago. Back then, the Inquisitor had been horrified by the violence around her, troubled by her conscience after slaying her first opponent in battle.

She still thought about that moment, about him, the boy in the blue robes. She still saw his face at night, wondered what he might have become had she stayed her hand that day. Would he have become a better man, or would he have learned nothing in that moment, would the realization of his own mortality be enough to make him see the error of menacing innocent refugees?

She could not say, and found that she no longer wanted to know the answer. That boy was dead, she had done her best to learn, to be the kind of person who accepted what she had to do. As Inquisitor she was expected to make some very tough calls, to weigh the lives of the people, and decide what was best for them. It was a terrible responsibility, and she had spent the last several months trying to live up to it.

Now, as they fought their way through Caer Oswin, as they dealt with the Order of Fiery Promise, she realized how easy killing had become. The Promisers threw themselves at them, trying to stop them, but they were so poorly trained, or too arrogant to realize they were outmatched, it was sad really, pathetic.

Had she fallen so far? Was death so easy for her now, that she did not even consider these men and women worthy of life? Had she become as ruthless as the Inquisitors of old?

It was a frightening thought to be sure.

Still she did not hesitate; these fools had decided to ally with Corypheus. They had slain the Seekers of Truth in his name. These fanatics had cared nothing for those lives; they only sought to carry out their mad agenda. They wished the world to end.

The Inquisitor grimaced.

She had fought too hard to bring the world back from the brink; she would not let a group of fanatics undo everything they had accomplished.

She did as Cassandra taught her. She tried to think of all the lives they had saved, not the ones she had taken. She focused on those lives, the mages that they had protected the innocent villagers who would not suffer the wrath of the Venatori. These were the people that she fought for. If her soul had to be scarred to keep them safe so be it.

If she had to become a cold hearted killer, let it be so that others did not have to become killers in her stead. If she could protect the innocence of one person in Thedas, then she had done her job.

And still the Promisers came, and still she cut them down.

She shook her head.

One tried to attack her; he used a feint that would not have fooled her back when she was training with her family's master of arms. She knocked his guard out of the way; he was slow in his armor, uncomfortable in it, sloppy…

She took his head before he even had a chance to retreat.

She did not even give the body a second thought.

You should have run when you had the chance, she thought.

You will not get another.

She had come to hate the dark halls of Caer Oswin, she was eager to be done with this foul business….

…As soon as they were done here, the better.

She fell in step with Cassandra and Bull, so far they had found no sign of any living Seekers, with each moment Cassandra grew more and more agitated. They cleared the fortress' throne room, and proceeded upstairs.

They could hear voices in the distance, more promisers she supposed.

Ana steeled herself for the coming battle.

Let the bastards come, she thought grimly.

Let them come.

IOI

Cassandra was a woman on a mission. It did not matter how many Promisers stood in her way. It did not matter how many dared to even try to deny her passage…

The Seeker's eyes narrowed dangerously, she would find the answers she sought.

So far they had found only bodies of the Seekers who had come here. She still could not believe it! How had the promisers captured so many, there skill in battle was horrid!

How could they have undone the seekers of truth so completely?!

She kicked down another doorway, plunging through even before Iron Bull, this time she found to Promisers standing over someone in seeker armor, someone who was groaning weakly.

Someone was still alive, she thought.

Thank the Maker!

The Promisers turned their weapons ready.

Cassandra met them head on.

The Seeker's blade flashed as she dealt death to the two cultists, neither cried out nor tried to run, they met their deaths with the solemnness of true fanatics.

Cassandra spun, checking the room for anymore enemies, seeing none she made her way to the fallen.

It wasn't for nothing!

She had at least saved someone today.

The young man rolled over, she was shocked to see who it was, of all the men in the order!

"Daniel," she cried, "Oh Daniel, you are alive!"

Daniel coughed weakly, his eyes were cloudy with pain, but still were able to find her face, find her and focus.

He smiled weakly.

"Cassandra," he hissed, "You…you are alive! How…how did you…argh!"

The young man grasped his side, Cassandra was there holding him up, the look on her face was that of pure joy.

"Rest easy," she cooed, "I'm going to get you out of here."

"No," he croaked, fighting against the pain, "You can't…they…they put something inside of me, a demon…it…it is…"

The warrior woman's eyes widened.

"That is impossible," she gasped, "You can't be possessed! You…"

"No time," he spat weakly, "Cassandra please, you must…listen! The Lord Seeker…you…you must…"

"We will find him Daniel, we will make this right!"

"No…Cassandra, no," he coughed spitting up blood, "You…you do not understand. The Lord Seeker…Lucian…he…he has betrayed us! He…he summoned us here, one by one. We…we walked into his trap. He…he did this to us Cassandra."

The warrior woman's eyes narrowed, if what Daniel was saying was the truth?

It…it made a grim kind of sense.

The Promisers would never have been able to defeat the order on their own, but if the Seekers arrived one or two at a time, unprepared for a trap. It…it would have been a massacre!

She, she could not believe that Lucius…that he would…

Ana came to her side; the young Inquisitor's blue eyes were cold, colder than an icy sea.

She looked down on Daniel with pity.

"It seems we have our answer, Cassandra," she said.

Cassandra Pentaghast swallowed hard.

Yes, they did.

She felt the rage growing in her like an inferno, an all annihilating blaze!

Lord Seeker Lucius…

He would pay for this!

Ana looked down at Daniel, the pity in her eyes was true, but so was the grim acceptance of what needed to be done.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" she asked.

The poor man coughed.

"Please," he begged, "Don't…don't leave me like this! The pain…I…I can't…"

A single tear ran down Cassandra's cheek, the first tear she had shed in a very long time.

She…Daniel…she couldn't just…

"You…you should have come with me," she whimpered, "You did not believe in the war any more than I did."

Despite the pain, Daniel chuckled.

"You…you know me," he said, "I…I just had to have that promotion. I was always the good soldier, now…now I…"

He coughed anew; blood splattered the cobbles before him. Cassandra held him until he was able to breathe again.

He gave her a pained look.

"Cassandra," he gasped, "Please…I…I am ready."

She nodded grimly and stood. Daniel looked up at her with his pained eyes. He might still have been in agony, but he looked upon her with nothing but gratitude.

He nodded once.

She drew her sword.

Daniel closed his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered, offering her his neck.

Cassandra Pentaghast stifled a sob.

"Go to the Maker's side, Daniel," she murmured.

She swung her sword, the blade found its mark with no resistance.

Daniel's body slumped to the floor.

Cassandra stood before it, her sword arm trembled, but she did not look away, she did not take her eyes off the boy's body.

She owed him that much.

Ana gave her mentor a worried look.

"Are…are you all right?"

The Seeker took a deep breath.

"Daniel was my apprentice," she said, "Never have I met a better young man. He…he was…"

Behind them Iron Bull snorted.

"He is dead because this Lord Seeker Lucius guy betrayed you," the Qunari said gruffly, "Are you really going to let him walk away after that?!"

Cassandra's eyes narrowed dangerously. The cold look she gave Bull told the tale.

No, she would not.

Sera looked down at the body shaking her head.

"It is like I've always said; never trust anyone who has lord in their name, ruthless shitebag, assbiscuit!"

Cassandra normally would have said something about the elf's words, but now…she found that she could not.

Lord Seeker Lucius had done this, he was a traitor!

Cassandra steeled herself; she calmed her nerves and readied her sword.

She would see justice done this day!

For Daniel.

For all of them!

IOI

Ana led the way up out of the darkness of Caer Oswin and back into the light, all around them ruined towers stood in various states of decay.

The Inquisitor's eyes scanned those ruins, any of them would be a good hiding place for attackers looking to ambush them, but none emerged.

The group made their way up the path, it lead to a small clearing, a table stood at the top of some steps at the far end, and around that table stood several Promisers…

…and Lord Seeker Lucius.

The man looked much like the one they encountered in Val Royeaux, he wore the armor of a common Templar, but unlike his promiser allies, he was quite comfortable in it. The way he moved suggested that he was a man comfortable in war. In his hands he carried a large leather bound book.

He smiled serenely at Cassandra, who pinned him with a hateful gaze; if looks could kill the Lord Seeker would be a pile of ash right now.

"Cassandra," he purred warmly, "Welcome."

"Lord Seeker Lucius," she replied, her voice dripping with venom.

He turned to Ana.

"And if I'm not mistaken, this young woman must be the new Inquisitor, welcome to Caer Oswin!"

She gave him an icy smile.

"Do you have anything to say before we carry out your execution, former Lord Seeker?"

Lucius laughed at her.

"Oh my dear, so little you understand."

He turned to Cassandra.

"It is ironic, is it not," he said, "We seekers were once the original Inquisition, we fought to bring order to a world gone mad, now…look at us."

He shook his head.

"We were wrong Cassandra," he said, "The chantry, the circle of magi, the Templars, it was all a mistake. Now we are answering for that mistake."

The Seeker glared at him.

"Why did you do this?" she demanded, "We were your brothers and sisters, why did you do this to us?"

He gave her a knowing smile.

He held up the book.

"You have never seen this have you?" he said, "It has been passed down from Lord Seeker to Lord Seeker since the very beginning, this book of secrets."

The man's eyes narrowed.

"We seekers were not the saviors we pretended to be Cassandra, we were monsters! This world we created, that we helped maintain for so long, it is wrong, so very wrong."

He sat the book down at his feet, before drawing his sword.

"Once you have read it, you will understand the reason why this was all necessary."

"Necessary?" Ana spat, "It was necessary to ally yourself with Corypheus? It was necessary to murder your fellows in cold blood?"

"Corypheus is a monster, make no mistake, but he will not stand again us."

The Lord Seeker smirked.

"The Seekers are the true monsters Cassandra, but there is a way out, I have seen it! I have seen the path to salvation, this world is broken, it can't be fixed, it must be consumed in flames, only then can it be reborn as the paradise the Maker intended."

He turned to Cassandra; his eyes alight with fanatical joy.

"Join us, Cassandra, it is the Maker's will, we can finally set this world on the true path! We can finally save it! It is the Maker's will!"

The Seeker raised her blade, as she dropped into a fighting crouch.

"You know nothing of the Maker's will," she spat.

Bull raised his ax.

"So," he said jovially, "Are we going to talk all day, or are we gonna kill something. I'm starting to get bored."

The Promisers behind Lucius began to spread out, trying to surround Ana and her allies.

The Inquisitor decided not to give them the chance.

"It is time Cassandra," she said.

The Seeker did not even look at her.

She did not need to; they both knew what needed to be done.

They got on with it.

Cassandra sprang forward. Lucius met her blade with his, while Ana, Bull, Solas and Sera engaged his Promiser allies.

The two Seekers locked blades; they stared into each other's eyes.

This battle would end only one way.

It would go to the end, and…

…to the death.

IOI

Lucius tried to push her back, but Cassandra was unmoved, her anger had made her a juggernaut, and not even a former lord seeker would stop her, not that Lucius would have acknowledged that.

No reason had left the man long ago, along with his sanity.

He smiled at her.

"Very foolish, my dear," he cooed.

"I do not think so, Milord," she replied.

She pushed him back. Both of them moved with the skill of highly trained warriors, their blades clashed as Cassandra pushed him back. Promisers tried to come to his aid, but were cut off by Ana and the others.

Cassandra did not stop, she pushed forward, eager to see justice done. It had been a long time since Lucius had been in a fight for his life. As a senior member of the order he had spent too much time in the last few years only pushing papers. His skills were not what they once were.

The result of their battle was never in doubt. Even he likely would not have denied that.

Lucius smiled at her.

"You can't save them, Cassandra, they will burn. You will all burn; it is the Maker's will. It is…"

The Seeker snarled.

Her sword caught him in the side, the blade slicing deep just beneath his breast plate. The wound caused him to lose his shield. She stepped inside his guard, elbowing him hard in the jaw, breaking his jaw and shattering several teeth.

Dazed, Lucius staggered back, he tried to parry her next blow, but by that point he was seeing double.

Cassandra's blade found his neck, found it, and bit deep.

Lucius Korrin's head flew from his shoulders. As he fell Cassandra kicked his body hard, it flew over the edge of a crumbling wall.

It fell down, down into the woods far below.

The Seeker stood there, staring silently forward.

It…it was done.

She tried to breathe, despite the pounding in her heart.

It…it was done, but…

What was going to happen now?

What was she going to do next?

She did not have the slightest idea.

"Cassandra?"

Ana once again was at her side. The Inquisitor looked worried about her.

The Seeker smiled.

"I'm…I'm all right Ana," she answered.

The Inquisitor smiled with relief.

Cassandra sighed.

She wished she shared in it.

She turned to where Lucius had left his book of secrets; she scooped it up in her arms. She recognized the seal of their order.

The sight made her sad.

Why had Lucius done this? What could he have learned in this book that would make him even consider doing all this?

It…it made no sense at all.

Part of her was tempted to destroy it, to erase the last stain of Lucius' memory, but she did not. Whatever was in this book was part of the legacy of the order.

She could not simply let it be forgotten, as much as she wanted to.

The Seekers, they could not all be dead! They could not be! She would have to find them, she needed to find them, and then…once they had gathered. They could answer the questions that now haunted her.

What happens now?

What…is next?

Those answers would not be easy to find, but they would do it.

She owed it to the others, to Daniel…

Cassandra sighed.

The Maker's will be done.