Chapter 33

Rendezvous at the Eye of the Hurricane

.

The path was tortuous, and blood was painted across every part of the landscape as the group made their way towards the Chantry, passing as close to the city limits as possible so not to draw more attention than they already had. While there were still many enemies surrounding them with every step they took, many Darkspawn were still scattered around the city, destroying everything that insisted on standing.

Their fatigue was great, and even doing their best to keep the unabated pace, aching muscles and injuries that had accumulated over time were starting to weigh negatively on the scale.

If they were still alive, it was only because of the Archdemon's overconfidence, supported by the smooth victories in Ostagar and the quick domination of Lothering, which had led the horde to split to conquer other regions of Ferelden as soon as possible. As much as the Wardens were clearly outnumbered, they would be in a much worse situation if the Darkspawn hadn't separated. Still, there were losses, and as the allies began to fall, the harder it became to move back to the Chantry.

As much as Morrigan possessed a good stock of mana potions, her own performance was greatly decreased. Kallian managed to stabilize her wound, but it was still a broken arm, and the witch was feeling more pain than she was willing to admit. Even so, she kept casting her ice stakes at a very consistent pace, which was a slight relief.

Their happiness, however, never lasted long. The ogre who had broken through the Chantry's doors was right in front of them, scattering a trail of destruction wherever it went.

Noticing its vile presence, the group stopped a few meters behind, in an attempt to create some sort of plan involving the twenty two soldiers who were with them - a plan with no deaths, if possible.

"That's not good," Noah said, wiping at the sweat and blood that dripped down his forehead.

"If we prolong the fight..." Kallian said, starting to pace. She didn't want to give voice to the rest of her thoughts so she wouldn't discourage the others, but there was no need to finish it - the longer they would take to beat him down, the more people would die. One didn't have to be a genius to understand that. "We need a plan. A good one."

"We need a miracle," Noah said, and as sarcastic as it was, that was exactly what everyone thought. In the current circumstances, it was exactly what they needed. "Can you do that trick with your daggers? You know, climb on its back and make it easy for the rest of us?"

"I could," Kallian replied, crossing her arms. "The point is, how will I get there, without a distraction?"

"If you were a real rogue, you wouldn't need distractions ..." Noah snapped. It was hard for him to accept the fact that she couldn't cammouflage herself, something he considered critical to a successful mission. It would help them a lot, but every time Kallian was questioned about it, she just avoided it, just like all other issues from her past that she continued to hide.

"Please, not this again..." Kallian rolled her eyes. She didn't look back, so she wouldn't have to face the prying eyes of the others.

"I could throw you there," Noah suggested, scratching his chin. "You are no heavier than my sword. It wouldn't be hard."

Kallian grimaced. "Of course, then the ogre will grab me from the air and rip my head off with its teeth."

"Hmm," Noah murmured, as if thinking. "Is that an option?"

As if Shaw-Shaw had understood his words, he growled at him in protest.

"I didn't hear that." Kallian rolled her eyes again, turning her attention back to Morrigan. "We cannot rely on your ice, right?"

"I'm afraid not," Morrigan admitted. She didn't want to admit it, but the magic she had used the last time in the Wilds was still experimental, and it consumed a lot of energy and mana, neither of which she had at the moment.

"Right ..." Kallian said thoughtfully. She looked around the scene, looking for something, anything that could help her to create a plan, but it was very hard to rely on something when almost everything around her was either broken or on fire.

"Ice ..." Noah said, suddenly remembering the stone the dwarf had given to him. The rune was familiar to him, although he wasn't sure about what it meant. He pulled the object from his pocket and looked at it once more, attracting everyone's attention, especially Kallian's.

"The enchanted stone ..." Kallian said, without much thought. She didn't understand much about runes, but she knew magic, and that small stone had a very large amount of it concentrated within.

"How did you ..." Noah began, but changed his mind. "Forget it, I'd rather not know" He held it out, so everyone could look at the inscription. "This is an ice rune, right?"

"Yes," Morrigan replied this time, running a finger lightly along the golden inscription. "An explosive rune, specifically."

"And how does that work?" Noah asked, slightly apprehensive to be holding something explosive so close to him.

"Willpower, like all magic." Morrigan said. "Want it to explode, and it will be done. Otherwise it will be as good as a paper weight."

"We can use it against the ogre," one of the guards said, excited. Even the possibility of avoiding this fight would be a great relief.

"Don't be stupid," Noah said, shaking the stone in the air. "This alone will never be able to knock that thing down."

"Actually, it can," Kallian interrupted, taking the stone from him. "This small thing has more magic than meets the eye. Guess that might work."

Noah sighed heavily. "If I ask you how you can be so sure, will you answer me?"

"Nope. You will have to trust me," was her only reply. Noah was increasingly intrigued by her, but it seemed impossible to get a concrete answer. Her replies were always vague, empty, never enough to give a clue about what was so different about her.

"I have a bow," one of the guards said. "We can tie the stone on one of the arrows and shoot at him."

"No," Kallian said, removing one of the bandages from her bag and tieing the stone on the hilt of her dagger. "An arrow, in such case, is unpredictable. We only have one chance, and we don't know what this thing is capable of. I don't want to blow up the rest of the Chantry by accident."

"What will you do? Carve it into its flesh by yourself?" Noah asked, incredulous.

"Yes," replied Kallian promptly, making a final knot tight enough so the stone wouldn't escape. "In my own way." She brandished the dagger in the air, testing the strength of the ties. "Distract it."

"Me? Alone?" Noah asked, crossing his arms. "You gotta be kidding ..."

"Thirty seconds,that's all I need." Kallian stared at him intently, silently asking him to trust her. As much as Noah had two or three reasons for denying such crazyness, he agreed. In the current circumstances, perhaps they really needed to rely on this madness, since all good sense seemed to be lost to the Void.

"Twenty seconds," he snorted. "Whatever you want to do, do it fast."

"Make sure that no Darkspawn reach Noah," Kallian gave one last order to the soldiers before running. "And pray for this to work."

"Protect them, Qunari." Noah pointed his sword toward the giant. "I'm watching you."

The Qunari only nodded. Noah knew something of the Qun - what honor meant to their people, and what brute strength represented, so their fair duel must have counted positively, and made him respect Noah enough to follow his wish . At least, that was what he wanted to believe.

"Come on, boy!" Kallian held the dagger by the blade and motioned for Shaw-Shaw to follow her.

While the little elf went around behind the ogre, Noah ran right before its eyes, dragging his sword on the ground with one hand and holding a huge piece of debris with the other.

"Oi! Drooly!" Noah cried, throwing the piece of wood on the Ogre's face. "You want a piece of me, don't you? So come and get it!" he growled, swinging his sword at the massive beast. His ribs screamed in protest with the sudden movement, but he did his best to ignore the pain.

The Ogre, Maker bless its limited intellect, easily fell for the provocation, dropping everything it was doing to try to get to its new victim. With every punch Noah tried to defend himself behind his sword, making every bone in his body creak as his feet were dragged back with the impact. He avoided the ones he knew he wouldn't be able to defend and as a consequence, the beast turned into a big moving target.

Kallian hated it. She knew she would have only one chance, so she needed the Ogre to stop at least for a moment. Shaw-Shaw and the guards were doing a great job in keeping the Darkspawn away from them both, but even so, she couldn't take aim to throw her dagger at it.

If things kept up like this, she would have to plant the bomb with her own hands, even if it meant blowing up along with the Ogre.

The situation got out of control when Noah finally gave in to the pain and fell to the ground, a few meters from the beast. Although no bones were broken, the Qunari had hit him hard earlier, and as much as the adrenaline had been doping his pain, his body was starting to have a hard time trying to obey him.

At this point, Kallian was already running, ready to plunge the dagger into the Ogre's back, when an arrow hit the beast right in the eye, preventing it from reaching Noah, and at the same time, causing him to stand still for a brief moment.

"Noah! Get down!" Kallian shouted, throwing the dagger like a dart at the back of the Ogre. Noah stood up quickly, despite his pain, and threw himself as far as he could on the ground, protecting his head with his hands. The ogre, in turn, roared in outrage, and even another unerring arrow of Mahariel into its neck didn't stop it from pulling the dagger from its own ribs, as if it was a mere wooden stick. The Dalish kept launching the arrows she had found along the way, but the ogre didn't seemed to care at all, still mesmerized by the small weapon in its palm.

"Kallian!" Alistair shouted, realizing that the Ogre had turned its attention towards the little elf. Even with only one weapon in hand, she didn't hesitated - she looked the beast in the eye, daring him silently. At her side, Shaw-Shaw growled violently, all his fur bristly on his back.

What was supposed to be the beginning of a violent struggle between the Ogre and the group had ended with a loud explosion, which involved the beast completely enveloped in smoke before it could make another move.

In front of the Chantry there was now a frozen Ogre.

"Oh, shit!" Kallian exclaimed angrily. "Shit, shit, shit!" She kicked the Oghre's foot, frustrated. Her dagger was in the hand of the beast, and now was buried in a solid, thick layer of ice inside its big palm, which was clenched over its head.

"Da'shal!" Mahariel called, running toward Kallian, with Leliana and Alistair following closely. The little elf just nodded, shaking her hand trying to summarize everything that had happened so far with a simple we're fine, hoping that she didn't have to answer any more questions. Luckily, the Dalish didn't talk much, and for the first time it came in handy.

After Alistair helped Noah to his feet and forced a potion on him, the group was finally was reunited. Perhaps the Ogre's defeat had been intimidating enough, because the rest of the Darkspawn briefly kept their distance, but none of them cared in the slightest.

They all needed to breathe, and for a few minutes they did nothing more than look down at the frozen form of the giant Darkspawn.

Leliana broke the silence, and explained in a few words what had happened to them, and soon Noah started talking, figuring out escape routes and trying to put a plan together. The best solution would be to get back to where they'd came from, since it was relatively empty. The decision was unanimous, and despite curiosity over the Qunari, no one dared to question his presence. He was helping, and that's what mattered.

While Noah spoke, Kallian's gaze fell upon Alistair. It wasn't like she didn't care about which escape route to take, or about the plan, but she could not avoid doing so.

When her eyes met his, a strong feeling came over her. All her concerns about the previous night, which her mind had neglected until now because of the massive load of stress and anxiety, had returned tenfold. She still didn't know what to do about it. How would things be from now on, or what was worse, how he would behave from now on. If she was confused before, now she was angry.

Who did he think he was to act like that? If that human thought she was one of those whores that he could do whatever he wanted to, he was very much mistaken. She was not his property, to submit to all his wishes and accept everything he might want from her. She would not accept that, not in this lifetime. She would ...

"Are you okay?" He whispered softly, gently wiping away the blood that trickled into her eyes. A weak, but sincere, smile crossed his lips.

Kallian just nodded, staring at him. The Templar had a worried semblance, tired eyes and furrowed brows. But despite all the chaos happening around them,he smiled warmly to see that she was well, which made all her rage disappear at once, and reminded her of how relieved she felt to see him again.

Relief? No. It was as if the weight of the world had come off her back. Though they may seem like the same thing, there was a colossal difference between preferring that someone didn't die and wantingsomeone to live. And once that barrier was crossed between the two, there was no turning back.

Kallian smiled back.

The bad part of caring for someone was precisely this - getting too involved, the constant worrying, the need to see the other person safe and well... Her relationship with Alistair was already moving forward, and as much as her head kept throwing problems and if's to her about how absurd it was to be involved with humans, little by little the voices began to fade - weak and occasional whispers that, just as dried leaves, fall in the first autumn wind.

"That's it, then," Noah's voice interrupted their silent communication. "Let's move, now!"

"Wait," Alistair said, with a hint of desperation echoing in his voice. "What about the refugees?"

"The Chantry is on fire," Noah said, frowning. "As much as it doesn't please me, we cannot save everyone."

"They are trapped ..." Alistair stammered, his voice losing strength. "I sent them in there..."

"Deal with it," Noah replied dryly, straight to the point. "For what we're trying to do, dying is not an option." His face darkened suddenly, and he grabbed the Templar by his elbow. "Come on."

"Wait!" Alistair protested, pulling free from his grip. "You will leave them to die?!" He clenched his fists, the anger boiling in his veins. Mahariel let out a muffled grunt by his side, being hit by a very unpleasant deja vu. She didn't allow hersel to have a say in this matter. Her choice wasn't only about her personal will, but even so, she didn't want to take sides. It was hard decision to make when all options seemed painfully wrong.

"Bryant, he ..." Leliana made her thoughts known, weakly and with tears in her eyes. "Bryant died to save us ..."

"And that justifies leaving them to die?!" Alistair cried, losing his patience. "We're talking about people, for the love of the Maker!"

"Shut up and let's go!" Noah commanded, moving to the front of the group. It was hard for him as well, but their priorities should be considered carefully. Grumpy might sound cruel, but he had experience being in command. He was aware that not every decisions could be happy ones, and sacrifices were needed sometimes. If they wanted save an entire country, they needed to survive first.

Opting for the greater good was never an easy decision, and he was taking on this responsibility himself. It was a burden the two elves should not carry, and apparently it was more than Alistair and Leliana were prepared to handle.

Then, Noah took a deep breath and began marching away, determined to save the lives of those who were in reach of his fingertips, rather than bet higher and lose everything they had accomplished so far.

Kallian said nothing, just watched him in silence. She knew what Noah was doing. He was being practical, choosing the most logical, and therefore the easiest and safer, way for everyone. The point was that the little elf was not used to the easy path, so it didn't matter how she chose to face this situation - they were all stupidly uncomfortable outcomes.

While part of her was trying to convince herself that this was the only option they had, the other secretly longed for something to happen. She had no right to oblige everyone to risk their lives like this, but deep inside, she wanted to do something else before leaving. Maybe that was why she was so relieved when Alistair grabbed her wrist.

"Kallian, please ..." He whispered. "We have to do something... They're stuck there and it's my fault." His grip tightened on her hand. "You asked me to try to understand your side, so please try to understand mine this time ..."

Even though the elf already had an answer in mind, she just stared at him. Entering inside a burning building was not logical, but neither was the invasion of the city, and yet, there they were - treading the hard path.

The major reason for her hesitation was that Kallian was not fond of sacrifices. The last time she'd left someone behind, it was not truly her choice, and even so, it was the biggest regret of her life. Her mother and brother died because of it, and if she could choose again, she would have stayed and died with them rather than live with the guilt.

Since then, Kallian decided that she would no longer accept that any other innocent would die for her to live. Be it human, elven or dwarf.

When she looked at Alistair, the grip on her wrist became firmer. He silently pleaded that she would not let him down, surrounded by an aura of guilt and despair that she could have touched if she wanted. He had no one else to count on - no one took him seriously but the little elf, and he knew that she would consider his words.

"Noah!" Kallian cried decisively. When the warrior turned to face her, she almost regretted having called him, so angry was his face.

"No," Noah growled, his eyebrows contracted.

"Yes," replied Kallian, taking a deep breath before continuing. "You go." She pointed to the east, toward the forest. "When we were traveling to Ostagar, we spent one night beside a spring , south of that glade protected by a huge round stone. I'll meet you there."

"Don't waste our time." Noah closed his eyes, slowly running his hand through his hair. "You two are going to kill yourselves!"

"You will know if we die," Kallian turned away, walking up to Alistair's side. "If that happens, you'll go on without us."

"I hate you..." Noah snorted, putting his hand on his forehead.

Kallian sighed, "I know."

"Thank you ..." Alistair whispered to the little elf, smiling.

"Thank you my ass," Kallian said after being sure that Noah wasn't listening. She could feel how many Darkspawn were still inside the building, and the number was not as threatening as she had expected. The tricky part was the fact that they were more concentrated at the entrance, where the fire had not reached yet. "Be assured that if it ends badly, I'll come back from death to bear your soul to the Void with me. Are we clear?"

"Yes, mistress!" Alistair said, feeling partially relieved. He wanted to give those people a chance, and not even the prospect of the danger ahead made him hesitate about his determination. They needed a plan to get there, yes, but they would make it, one way or another.

Both wardens nodded, before heading towards the Chantry. Before they could go far, however, Leliana called them back.

"Wait!" The sister said, pulling her daggers from her belt. "I'll come with you."

"But you have oil on your ..." Alistair began, but was interrupted by the sound of tearing cloth; Leliana had just cut off her robe, revealing clean and fancy leather armor, full of curves and details, as all good Orlesian stuff was. Customized by herself, apparently. "... Clothes."

"Come on, I know a secret passage!" She said while grabbing a quiver from one of the bodies on the ground, and putting it on her back soon after. Alistair looked at Kallian, who just shrugged. If it didn't do any good, it wouldn't hurt either.

Noah only watched in silence as the three ran towards the back of the Chantry. He was angry, yes, but not enough to allow the maddening buzzing in his ears to interfere with his choices. Mostly because secretly he approved the little elf's decision. He also was certain that the remaining Darkspawn inside the building would not be a real threat if they make the right decisions. And for being so aware of what was happening around him, the fact that Mahariel was trying to follow them did not go unnoticed.

"No, you will not." Noah held her elbow firmly, pulling her with more strength than necessary.

"Hands off!" Mahariel tried to pull away from him, but Noah wasn't willing to let her go - his grip remained firm, even after her all her efforts to get free. "I'm not your slave, human!"

"You're covered in oil," Noah pulled her close to him, so his gaze could met hers. She was taller than Kalian, so he didn't need to lift her arm too much to get what he wanted. "If you want to die, great. I have a sharp sword on my back that can do the job easily, if you want it. However." He brought his face closer to hers, growling every word in such a threatening way that a chill ran down her spine in the rythm of his breathing. "If you really want to help them, you'll wield that damn bow of yours, find some arrows and help me to protect this blighted place. The choice is yours."

Mahariel said nothing, just made an exaggerated move to get away from him, her eyes burning with hatred. Still, he didn't let her go right away, holding his grip long enough to make it clear that he had loosened it only because he wanted to do so. Between following his pride and feeding her hatred, it was clear what his choice was.

"So, I suppose this means that you're going to stay," Morrigan said, more a statement than a question, full of herself and too sarcastic for someone with a broken arm.

"Yes, we will." Noah growled, emphasizing each word. It was clearly an order. "We will form a semi-circle around the entrance. Nothing shall enter," He pointed to the four remaining Templars, positioned in the external arc. "And whoever leaves, will die." He pointed to Morrigan, Shaw-Shaw and the Qunari, in the internal arc. "If they die in there, be ready to run. Are we clear?"

Everyone nodded, and then the barrier was quickly formed in front of what was once the Chantry door.

Not satisfied yet, Morrigan approached Noah subtly, insisting on speaking louder than necessary.

"They bypassed your authority in front of everyone, and now you decide to go against her orders and stay, instead of following the plan that was made instead of yours," she started to walk slowly around him, wiggling seductively in that way she did so well, drawing an imaginary line around his shoulders with her fingers. "Feeling a bit of the rebel here, no?"

"Drop it." Noah pushed away her hand. "You know I have no patience for your stupid games, so get straight to the point or shut up."

"I was wondering how long it will take until you give up again." Morrigan gave him a smirk before going back to her position. "Because you have a very curious habit of turning your back to the world when you feel upset. I thought you didn't care."

Noah looked at Morrigan, furious with the pretentious statement of the witch. He would never let them down, never, not even under the worst circumstances, and this certainly wasn't going to be the first time.

"You don't care, either," He growled. "But yet you're still here, so instead of trying to piss me off, I suggest you keep quiet and use the rest of your energy to kill these beasts, if you don't want to die." He rested his sword on the ground, in front of her. "The same offer I gave to the blond elf, extends to you as well. Choose wisely."

This time, Morrigan was the one to remain silent. Not because of his well-placed threat, but because he'd made her think. She could be really far away by now, if it wasn't for her broken arm. Flying through the skies of Redcliff, perhaps, free and safe, surely.

But then, here she was. Not by choice, really, but ... if given the chance, would she follow the same path? If she could have flown away, would she still be here, in this defensive formation, doomed to ruin? Or would she have made the same decision?

If Kallian had not returned for her, the answer would have been obvious, but now she was not sure of anything, anymore. Was it the circumstances holding her here, or did she really wanted to stay?

She may never know the answer, but for the first time in a long time, something had sparked her interest. And for that, she would stay. So, at least, she would not owe anything to anyone.

A\N: A dangerous choice was made. They'd reached the Chantry in time, but everything was far from over. If it was your gameplay, and your decision, what would you do? Would you follow Noah's suggestion to save the lives within their reach and leave as soon as possible, or would you follow Kallian and Alistair inside the fire building, risking everything to save all the innocent people (including woman and children) trapped inside?