It took us a full night and day to reach the borders of redcliff. We barely stopped, only to drink or go for a piss, that was it. Truth be told, we were all exhausted which in my mind deemed the plan even more of a risk. Still, it had to go ahead or else we would no doubt send the Herald to her death. We had spread out around the hills that surrounded Redcliff, so as to get a good view down. There were two guards posted at the windmill, which meant they must have found the escape tunnel. I hoped that they hadn't posted too many guards then. It was a slim hope. I signalled Grant to move then, and in a wave of hushed boots we swept down the mountain. To untrained ears we were but an evening breeze. The two guards were easily taken care of and the bodies hidden nearby but my heart was in my mouth and something told me that this plan was going to be disastrous. Grant seemed to notice this as we carefully opened the door down to the tunnels. All he could do was nod and half smile, as if that would ease my fears. I took a deep breath in before going down into the dark, leaving the blood red glow of the sunset to the rest of the world.

The ladder down was damp and cold and rusted. It was endlessly dark down here too, my eyes hadn't yet adjusted, it seemed like I was just descending into further shadow. Finally however, a warm fire lit glow cast shadows below my feet as I neared the bottom. Unfortunately, amidst the comforting crackling of flames, I heard the whisper of a strange language I did not understand. So there were guards posted down here. I signalled quickly up to Grant and he nodded, silently following me down. I took a deep breath and continued to pad down the ladder, my heart hammering so loud I was sure the Vints would hear it. I had no real plan of how to deal with these two, at least I assumed there was two. I could only hear two voices. That was until one of the bastards stepped right into my path way at the bottom of the ladder. I froze. He hadn't noticed us yet but if the ladder so much as creaked he would look up and discover us. I felt Grant freeze too, felt his hard stare on the top of my head. I felt the pressure of 25 other sets of eyes watching me, waiting on me to give the order. What order was there to give?

If Mahanon saw what I did next, his heart would have given out. Of course, Grants piercing gasp almost lead me to believe that his own heart had done just that. I couldn't see any other option, the guard was five feet below me. So I let go of the ladder and let myself drop those five feet, landing on the guard and shoving a dagger into his head. We hit the ground with a loud thud and a clatter, much to the alarm of the other guard, but before he could say what the fuck, I had an arrow in his neck. His body shook in shock, his eyes went fearfully wide and blood spurted out like a fountain to merge with the dirty puddles of water on the stone floor. Then he too fell with a thud. His impossibly wide eyes never leaving mine. Harden your heart. A voice whispered in my head, like memory... like a conscience. It was silent after that, so I signalled the rest to follow and we continued on. I didn't even try to avoid the pools of blood swirling at my feet.

The first floor was relatively simple, as I hoped it would be. The layout matched the maps exactly so we were finished within the hour. The only thing that unnerved me was the amount of prisoners in the cells. Most of them were asleep but the few that I could see did not look like criminals. It was mostly women and children and... I wondered why. Still we met at the entrance to the second floor and as the plan was laid out, we split in two. I headed for the scullery and stores, Grant to the kitchens. Again, like the maps had shown, there were very little corners, but there were guards. Three so far, but a dagger in the back and another two well placed arrows by my comrades and they were dealt with. The stores were large but all empty aside from the odd guard patrolling. The sculleries however... they were full of make shift cots and beds and in near everyone of them slept a young man or a woman or even a child... most of them were elves. I turned to the twelve behind me and put a finger to my lips. We shouldn't waken them, if only to save them fear. However I still needed a plan for the courtyards and maybe one of the staff who had worked here would know the castle well. So I bid the others to wait while I approached the bed of a young Elven woman. I crouched down beside her and covered her mouth gently so she wouldn't scream. Unfortunately her green eyes flashed open and she struggled, her cries thankfully muffled against my hand.

"Shh! Shh! It's alright, we're here to help." I whispered but she still struggled. "Look, we're not here to hurt you, we're with the Inquisition, can you tell me how to get through the courtyard."

Nothing I said seemed to calm her, in fact it only made her worse and the others behind me were shifting uneasily at the noise. I tried again to quiet her but she kept struggling, biting my hand so hard she drew blood and let out a blood curdling scream, waking the rest immediately and surely alerting every guard. I jumped back and looked around the room, they all sat up on their beds, their eyes baring into mine as the woman continued to scream... in a language that could have only been Tevene.
"Shut her up!" One of my men hissed, notching an arrow to his bow. They rest began to shout now, and I heard calls from the other rooms. We were going to be slaughtered if the guards came down here. The woman continued to call out. She wouldn't stop.

I can pin point the exact moment when my heart was lost to me. When I couldn't shield it anymore, when I'd hardened it so much that it may as well have been stone in my chest. That's what it felt like. When her warm life blood spilled out over my hand as I shoved my knife in her throat. As her terrified green eyes stared into mine. As the rest of the room fell as silent as the grave. That is when my heart turned to stone. She fell back on her cot as I wiped her blood from the blade. I turned back to the rest. My men looked at me in shock, some in horror. But I was following orders, I was doing what needed to be done. The other guards would be on us soon if they hadn't already got to Grant. One life for twenty five. One life for the The Herald's. One life for the rest of the fucking world. That's what I told myself. I did what had to be done. What no one else would do.

I avoided the gazes of my men and marched over to the closest other slave. That's what I assumed they were.

"You speak common?" I demanded and I had never heard my voice so cold. He began muttering things incoherently, clasping his hands together as though begging.

"I speak common." said a quivering voice at the other side of the room. It was a young boy, blond, elven and he looked utterly petrified.

"You will tell us how to get onto the walls of the courtyard." I said lowly. He looked about nervously and shook his head.

"I- I can't... if I do they'll kill me. They'll kill all of us. Please... we're only slaves, we do not want a part in-"

"Either they kill you, or I do. If you tell me what I need to know you will be safe." I hated how my voice sounded. But I couldn't bring myself to care. I was numb, cold and the weight in my chest wouldn't leave me.

The boy's eyes filled with tears as he glanced at the body behind me. I wondered what the Herald would say, what Solas would say... Dorian and Cassandra. I wondered what Mahanon would do if he knew of this. I wondered what my mother would do...

"There is a way, a staff entrance onto the walls for bringing the guards their meals... I can show you."

True to his word the boy showed us the way. We met again with Grant and made our way onto the walls, taking out any and all guards easily enough, we had the element of surprise.
It was sunrise by the time we were finished in the courtyard, and by the time we reached the castle, the herald and her entourage were arriving too. When we reached the main hall, my hands were so bloody that I'd be washing it out of my nails for months, washing the smell of death out of my hair for months... but no amount of soap or perfume would wash away the memory of that frightened woman's bright green eyes. I could barely meet the glances of any of my men, not that they would meet mine. Someone had obviously told Grant for he would not even look in my direction. I wanted to cry. Even as the Herald marched up boldly to Alexius and demanded his surrender, even as Cassandra nodded proudly behind her and smiled at me. Even as Dorian passed me a wink and Blackwall the same. Even as Solas looked at me like he would rush over and hold me at any second, as though I was made of glass... I couldn't feel anything. Only the rock in my chest where my heart had once been. Blood no longer flowed through me, it was ice. I was cold and unfeeling... and it made me want to scream.

I stood there in the shadows, watching the exchange, watching Alexius become angrier with every word the Herald said and I hated him in that moment. He was the reason. It was because of him that girl had to die. I could kill him, right now I could stick an arrow in his throat. But just as I was about to do just that he pulled out an amulet, a very familiar amulet. I felt a familiar power too and I saw Dorian rush forward to protect the Herald. It was the time amulet. And before I could even help myself, I too had rushed to protect the young Herald. She could not die now. Before I knew it however, a green vortex appeared, a rush of magic and then... darkness.