Author's Note: Apologies on getting this chapter out a little late (a lot late.) It was rather difficult to write, and fit in all the parts I wanted to without choking the story too badly. In other news, I'll be out of town next week for the holiday, so updates will resume the 28th of November. Special thanks to everyone taking the time to review and follow the story, especially KnightofHolyLight and ZoraAngel, who always have the most amazing feedback.
Chapter 70 – Justice and Vengeance
"I thank you for creating such distraction, stranger. I have been waiting days for the opportunity." A scruffy looking dark haired man stumbled out of the cell, glad in the dead guardsman's uniform. Serena took another step back, feeling Alistair's hand at her back. "Do you think you could- Alistair? Is that you?"
"Who...? Wait. I do know you. You were at my Joining." Alistair stepped forward then, pulling Serena gently beside. "He's one of us. A Warden from Orlais." He looked to the man, now Warden, again. "Jader, right? Or was it Montsimmard? I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't remember your name."
"I'm Riordan," the man replied with a bow. "Senior Warden of Jader, but born and bred in Highever, and glad to be home."
"So you were captured, I assume?" Serena asked, removing her helm and shaking out her braid. Sweat had beaded up inside it, plastering her bangs to her forehead. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Serena Cousland. This is my brother Fergus, and Warden recruit Alim Surana."
"A pleasure to meet you all. I did not dare to hope that it would be fellow Wardens who would rescue me." Riordan frowned, shaking his head sadly. "I was captured with an offer of hospitality and a poisoned chalice. I was... fool enough to think Loghain didn't yet know who I was."
"Oh, Loghain can smell an Orlesian from a full day's ride away, I'm sure," Alistair joked lamely.
"Yes, he had been by only once. Most of my... dealings... have been with Howe. I was sent when we received no word from King Cailan as to the outcome at Ostagar. The king had invited all the Wardens of Orlais and their support troops to join him, then... nothing."
"So there's other Wardens in Ferelden now?" Serena asked excitedly. A flurry of excitement fluttered in her chest, like a bird's wings, as the prospect of more Wardens joining their cause.
"We had two hundred Wardens and two dozen divisions of cavalry. The first we heard of Loghain's edict was when everyone was turned back at the border. That was when the rumor reached us that Wardens were being blamed for the massacre." Riordan glanced from Serena to Alistair, tight-lipped, as if he couldn't imagine the sorts of abuse they'd been put through. "We finally decided it was safest to send someone alone, to learn how best to fight the Blight and this regime simultaneously. As a native Fereldan, I volunteered to make the crossing."
"Is there a way to get word to them? We are working to bring Loghain down through the Landsmeet, so we can march against the archdemon with the full force of Ferelden's army." Serena exchanged worried glances with Alistair. "We've seen it, Riordan. The archdemon. It was leading the darkspawn to the surface, in the Deep Roads."
"We saw it when we went to secure the dwarven treaty," Alistair added.
Riordan's blue eyes opened slightly wider, but otherwise, he stayed relatively calm for someone who knew exactly what an archdemon actually entailed. "This is much more dire than we previously thought. I could get word to the others, but the Wardens won't risk their strength fighting Ferelden's civil war. If they spend themselves against Loghain, then there is truly no hope."
"They recall accounts of the first Blight, how many cities fell. If Ferelden is too foolish to save itself, at least we'll be ready when the archdemon leads its forces further." He raised a dark eyebrow. "I had heard you have been raising an army yourself. There is talk... the Dalish, the Circle of Magi... and you confirmed the dwarves of Orzammar yourselves. But perhaps if the edict can be lifted... I will send a message as soon as we are gone from this place."
"Are these missives yours, ser?" Alim asked suddenly. He was holding the Grey Warden coded papers, and they saw the Senior Warden's eyes widen again.
"Yes! These are my records... the names of the dead I could recognize at Ostagar and what I could find of... of Duncan's own recruitment records." He cradled the small stack of papers in his hands, tucking them in his space between his chest and breastplate carefully. "There are copies of the Joining ritual I rescued from our Denerim vault. Those should never be seen by any outside eyes, but I trust their encryption."
"Speaking of the Joining..." Alistair began, nudging Serena lightly.
"Oh yes, Alim is a recruit. If the other Wardens aren't... able to make it... We were hoping you could help us perform the Joining for him. We were thinking, well, at least there'll be four of us then, right?"
"For the Joining to work, the recruit needs not only fresh darkspawn blood, but a drop of blood preserved from an archdemon. Ferelden's supply should have been in the vault, but it was gone. I can only imagine someone took it out and Loghain either confiscated or destroyed it."
"We need to get it back then," Serena replied. "First things first, though. Take my helm, and head up this passageway. You can slip out easily enough if Howe is... actually, do you know where Howe is?"
Riordan frowned, a dark look passing over his features. Serena wondered what Howe had done to him, in an attempt to get at Grey Warden secrets for Loghain. "I saw him go into the dungeons. He may still be there."
"Torturing elves, I bet," Alim said darkly.
"Or nobles," Fergus added.
"We've been staying with Arl Eamon, at his estate near the Market District, Riordan," Alistair piped up. "If you need a place to stay, I'm sure he'd make you welcome." Alistair exchanged another look with Serena. "If you could maybe update him on our progress... Let him know we're not dead..."
"What is you are trying to do here, if I may ask?"
"Queen Anora is being held captive, along with... many others. We're... trying to rescue them."
"Well, I shall not hold you back further. I will see you at Arl Eamon's, then. Good luck, my brothers and sister." Pulling the helm over his head, he waved briefly before heading back up the passageway to the estate proper.
"He snapped that man's neck. That was... wow." Alim ran a hand through his dark mane of hair before replaced his own helmet. "Do they teach you how to do that or... is he just...?"
"Uh, I think that was just a Riordan special," Serena murmured, leading them further into the dungeons. A trickle of fresh blood dropped from a stretching rack nearby. More puddles of dried blood dotted the floors, the smell of copper was making Serena sick to her stomach.
The dungeons dropped another level they found, as most of the cells near Riordan were empty. It appeared as if Howe, or his guards, had moved all the other prisoners downstairs. Either for safety, or more seclusion during torture, Serena couldn't be sure.
"Who goes?" a guard barked at them.
Without her helm, it seemed pointless to pretend. "Warden Commander Serena Cousland," Serena replied angrily, staring the man down, her hands on her silverite daggers at her belt. She felt Alistair stand at her right, his sword still at the ready, glowing gently blue in the darkened dungeons. Fergus was at her other side, his own sword out.
"Anybody who tries to come in here without Howe's say so, we get to do what we like with 'em." He turned his head slightly as four men revealed themselves from the shadows beyond, swords already drawn. "I think we finally got a bit of entertainment here, lads!"
Serena struck quickly, sliding her dagger across the guards' throat and dropping him at the ground before he even had a chance to register her. She brandished the bloody blade in front of the other men as a clear warning. "Like a hot knife through butter," she growled. "I highly suggest you walk away. Now."
"Bitch! You bitch!" Another guard came at her, catching his long sword between her two crossed daggers. "We'll sodding murder you, Cousland bitch!"
"Great vocabulary you got there, mate," Fergus called, bringing his own sword around to stab deep into the man's side. Kicking him back to the ground, the two siblings stood back to back as they whipped through the rest of the men in the room. Serena saw Alistair and Alim slip past and head around the corner, where she could hear the sounds of more shuffling, presumably taking down even more guardsmen.
"Clear them out," Serena shouted, bringing her dagger down on another guard. Catching up to the others, they moved together into another room, this one filled with guards and a few mabari. Pushing out with her senses, Serena commanded the dogs to return to their kennels, leaving the guards nearly unarmed.
One of the dogs refused to obey, however, instead it barreled through the pack of guards, knocking most to the ground as it tried to reach Serena. With an ear-splitting howl, the mabari shattered the chaos with its call as Serena and the others made short work of the fallen men.
When the men had been dispatched, Serena turned to the dogs, releasing them from her hold. Their rage dissipated, most stayed in their kennel while the one who'd broken free stepped forward, circling around Serena.
"But where is Zevran?" Serena asked aloud.
"I am here, my friends," the assassin replied, leaning in the doorway, one of his long daggers was covered in blood. His normal devil-may-care attitude was foregone here; his face set in hard lines. "I have found where they are housing the other prisoners."
The room was choked with the stench of decomposition. Serena pursed her lips and tried to focus on her surroundings, but that was almost worse. Bodies, some burned, others just slowly decaying, hung from the rafters, littered the floor in piles... it was a literal torture and dismemberment chamber they were making their way through.
"Is there anybody out there?" a strangled voice choked out. "Please, Maker, please help me... Don't leave me here... Get me... get me out of here!"
A man was tied to a stretching rack in the center of the next room. He looked exhausted from screaming, and Serena immediately went to him, cutting the ties at his ankles and wrists. Deep welts circled his wrists where the ropes had gouged into his skin, and he was covered in bruises in varying stages of healing.
"Was this supposed to be a lesson?" The blonde man rolled to his side, trying to find his feet to stand. He had a throaty sounding voice, and Serena found herself wondering if perhaps he'd been choked. "I... did my father... did he think it was funny to leave me for so long before sending you?"
"Here, let me wrap your side..." Serena pulled some fresh bandages and a health poultice of Morrigan's from her pack as Alim moved to help her bind his wound with a touch of magic. "That should ease some of the swelling. You must be Bann Sighard's son."
"I doubt I'll ever be able to raise my arms again..." the man lamented quietly. "I... I owe you my life... and now that I look, I see you bear no livery from father. To whom should I direct my gratitude? Wait... wait, I know you, don't I?"
"I'm Serena Cousland."
"Ah, yes, I believe we met once at a party... I'm... Oswyn, if you remember..." He winced again, his eyes closing tightly in pain and Serena felt Alim touch him with another burst of healing magic. She wished Wynne were around, she could set his wounds straight enough. "So... why did you come... if my father didn't send you?"
"We're here to find you, and some other prisoners Howe is holding," Serena replied. "This is Alistair, the rightful king of Ferelden."
"Maric's bas- I see, I see... Then I need not question why you're here further," Oswyn murmured. "Your claim to the throne is the greatest threat to Loghain's regime, but know that you have my heartfelt gratitude and, I assume, the gratitude of the entire Dragon's Peak Bannorn."
"If my father sent no one after me, I can only assume that he does not yet know the true colors of the snakes he has allied with... but if you talk to him, I'm certain he would offer you any reward you might ask."
"Dragon's Peak's alliegance in the Landsmeet would be enough, my lord," Serena said with a small curtsy.
"Oh, don't-" Oswyn rasped, holding out a hand as Alistair and Zevran moved to help him. "I... I owe you a great debt this day... all of you. You said there's to be a Landsmeet, though? Howe said the Arl of Redcliffe was dead, and the Landsmeet called off... I swear... if there be any forum to speak out against Loghain, my father will be there."
"I must try to get to him. I... I cannot see the last of this place too soon." The pleading note in his voice was unmistakable, and Serena felt her heart break that they couldn't have reached him sooner. The damage the rack had done... surely some of it would be permanent.
"I can get him to Wynne," Zevran said, "And meet you all back here. We've devised a way to smuggle people out of the dungeons through that kitchen entrance, Leliana is waiting." With a swift nod, he led Oswyn away through the passage.
The adjoining rooms held few guards, all which were easily dispatched. Looting the keys from the guards, they entered a corridor of cells, though only a few actually held prisoners. The first held a bent man, babbling incoherently about a battle in which he'd participated.
"They said to retreat... the horn sounded... we turned... screams..." The man shook, wrapping his arms around himself. "We rode and they screamed... They said it was only darkspawn, but we ate them too. They died and we left them. In the swamp. The witch. The witch!"
"I don't think you'll get anything more out of him," Alistair whispered. Turning to the man, he spoke louder. "Ser, you can... you can go. Go somewhere safe, if you can. The chantry, perhaps."
"Safe, safe... is there a safe? Perhaps next door..." Without another word, the man stumbled away down the passage where Zevran had headed with the tortured noble, muttering inanely to himself.
The next held a templar, deep in lyrium withdrawal, according to Alistair, who refused to leave his cell at all. Pressing a ring into their hand, he pleaded that they return to his sister, "Bann Alfie". Afterwards, he completely shut down, backing into his cell and ducking his head. Serena kneeled down and murmured a small prayer for him, hoping it eased some of his pain.
"Hello? Hello? Who's there?" Another muted voice from down the passage echoed strangely back to them. Serena exchanged worried looks with Alistair. They'd already seen so many horrible things, things Howe and Loghain had done to these people... she wasn't sure if she could take seeing more.
"Soris?" Alim ran towards another cell around the corner, Serena right on his tail as they stopped in front of two cells. Serena could feel his magic pulsing, a weak freezing spell. He was attempting to open the door by breaking the lock with ice. "Soris! Kallian! Oh, I didn't know if you'd-"
"Alim? Is that you? How did you-" A pale red haired dwarf stood up weakly from the ground, looking gaunt from lack of food. A long gash cut across the skin just under his right eye. "What month is it? I feel like I've spent half my life down here..."
In the next cell a blonde elven woman was laying down, curled in a tight ball. Fresh bruises colored the patches of skin that were visible beyond the tattered rags of clothing she wore. Serena picked the lock quickly as Alistair and Fergus moved to help the woman to her feet.
"Were... are there more of you?" Serena asked quietly of the red-haired dwarf.
"Kallian and I are... here," Soris said lamely. "Nelaros..."
"My husband is dead! They paraded his head in front of me as proof!" the blonde elf cried suddenly, shaking Alistair and Fergus off. "Don't touch me, shemlen, unless you want those hands to become detachable."
"Are there any others?" Serena asked again. She didn't want to press the issue, especially since both of the elves appeared beaten to near death, but she had to know if there were other people in need of their assistance.
"What about Valora? Shianni?" Alim was checking the other cells, nearly frantic.
"Shianni got out, we think... they haven't... We don't know about the others. We don't know if they're still alive."
"Where's Vaughan?" Kallian said suddenly. She seemed to have regained her vigor for the moment, as her blue blue eyes burned with something cold, something Serena immediately recognized. Hatred. Vengeance.
"Vaughan...?"
"That bastard son of Urien's!" Kallian burst out. "Vaughan!" She shook a bit then, almost uncontrollably, and Serena realized the rags she wore were the tattered remains of a wedding dress. She felt fury bubble up in her own gut as she remembered what Alim had told her.
"There was some celebration, a wedding I think, I'd never seen a wedding, they don't allow them in the Circle, so I thought I'd take a peek... Then these men storm the Alienage... someone said it was the Arl of Denerim's son, but I don't know about that. I'd never seem 'em before... Anyway, they grab a bunch of the women and run for it!"
Putting two and two together, Serena grabbed the elven woman's hand, pressing one of her daggers into it as she locked eyes with her.
"Come with me. We'll find him."
"You would hang, you know," Kallian whispered. "If they found out you passed a knife-ear a blade." She raised a blonde eyebrow. "Especially with the intent to do harm to shem- humans."
"Don't say that," Serena snapped. "You're not a bloody knife-ear. You're a woman; a woman who has been terribly wronged. And I'd hang for a lot worse than giving you a blade, regardless." She snuck a look around the corner, hearing the chatter of more guards. "How good are you with that, by the way?"
"Good enough to do some damage," the elf replied. "How many are there?"
"I counted five."
"Vaughn must be around here somewhere."
Serena shook her head. "Not if Howe's in control. I wouldn't be surprised if he's not locked up somewhere here, too, being the rightful heir to the arling and all."
"Locked up or not, I'm going to cut him into pieces so small, his own mother wouldn't recognize him." And without another word she pushed forward around the corner, surprising the men sitting there playing cards, of all things. Serena quickly followed, tossing Duncan's dagger into the throat of the first guard as Kallian engaged two of the guards at once, gutting one swiftly as she landed a kick into the other's chest, knocking him onto his back.
Shifting her movements to complement Kallian's, Serena kicked another guard out of the way and stabbed, keeping her back to the elven woman's. They tore through the room in a fury, Kallian's angry energy was rolling off her in waves, and her rage at being pent up and abused for months on end was being unleashed at last. When every guard had fallen, the elf looked around, as if still spoiling for another fight.
It was in the next passage they found more cells, though only one was occupied. The blonde stopped in front of it, the dagger held tight in the palm of her hand. Serena could see a reddish haired man, maybe in his mid-twenties, hunching in one of the corners of the cell. His hair was greasy and unwashed, but he didn't appear abused as the other prisoners did. Serena found it strange Howe would torture one noble's son, but not another. Perhaps he admired Vaughan's sadistic streak.
"There you are, lovely," Kallian cooed viciously to the man, whose head snapped up immediately at the sound of her voice. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
"Well, well, if it isn't my knife-eared slut. Back for round two?" Vaughan stood up, leaning towards the elven woman menacingly. "I sure loved the sound of your screams."
"I never screamed for you," the blonde hissed, slipping her hand through the bars and grabbing Vaughan by the collar. With a swift tug, she pulled him forward roughly until he banged his head into the metal.
"I'll... I'll gut you... knife-eared... bitch..." Vaughan growled as Kallian brutally slammed him into the bars again.
"What a fantastic idea!" Kallian called harshly. Smiling cruelly, she shoved the borrowed dagger deep in the man's throat, twisting the blade with extra delight. Blood gushed from the wound as Vaughan dropped to the ground in a heap, clutching at his ruined neck. His mouth opened and shut uselessly, and Serena was shocked to see him still try to hurl curses at the elven woman, as if that were more important than trying to breath. The more he tried to speak, the worse the blood flowed until his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell back dead with a thump.
There was a long pause where the blonde woman simply stood there, staring down at the corpse of her former abuser with cold blue eyes. Then there was a loud snort and the blonde broke into crazed laughter.
"Are you alright?" Serena asked quietly.
The giggling subsided after a few minutes, turning into a strangled sort of sob. Kallian's shoulder fell forward as she hunched into herself once again, and Serena found herself wishing she had the words to console the obviously grieving woman.
"I thought... I thought I would feel... better," Kallian choked out at last. "I thought... he... he did things..." A tear slipped down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away, as if ashamed. "He raped Shianni... he beat me. I... I had to do something." She paused, wiping another tear away. "Revenge."
"Howe murdered my whole family. Only my brother and I survived." Serena moved then, wrapping her arms around the slighter woman. She was surprised with the elf didn't resist, and instead hugged her back, clinging tightly to Serena as her misery took hold. "Sometimes justice and vengeance... they can... taste the same."