Varric's estimate had been right on the money, as usual. When the call went out for the city's noble warriors to head to the Keep, to participate in the battle plans, a grand total of twenty four knights, three barons, and a single count ended up joining us.
We also drew in the three senior most Enchanters from the loyal Battle Mages, and the usual smattering of senior Templars and Guards. The exception was the Captain of the Stone Watch, who had volunteered to take command of the siege positions while the rest of us were up here. We were also down Brennan, who was personally commanding the Guard and Night's Watch at the Grand Chantry since there was still a massive number of blue bloods congregated within.
Fortunately she'd had her people open up the Keep's old war room for us. It was a bowl style amphitheater, with a broad stone table in the center. Pretty well designed, if I was being honest. The rows were tight enough that most of those sitting down would be able to see any maps laid out on the table, and be easily able to hear the leaders in the center.
Isabella elected to lurk near the doors, adding to the Templars standing guard, while Evelyn accompanied Cullen and I down into the bowl. There she helped me get Meredith's old map of the city laid out, the two of us pulling out the various icons representing our forces, and estimates of enemy numbers.
Once we'd finished, and he was sure no one else was coming, Cullen waved at the doors.
"Close it." He ordered, the two men in armor obediently slamming them shut. The noise cut through the quiet conversation, an expected silence falling over the room.
"You all know who I am by reputation, if not personally." He said, turning to look all of them in the eyes as he spoke. "As you know my second, the Lady Maeve. I will say this once so that it is clear. There is no place among warriors for divisions, for power plays, or whatever other foolish nonsense that the Orlesians call the Game. Is that clear?"
A quiet rumble wasn't anywhere close to unanimous, and that made him frown.
"That," Cullen upped his tones to a sharp bark, "Is not good enough! If any one of you would rather spend your time scoring political points rather than confronting the enemy of our people and our faith, the door is there! You will depart now, be marked for the cowards that you are, and never be welcomed back."
Several of the men, mostly younger ones, looked as though he'd just insulted their honor. Others, one grizzled man with a long beard in particular, simply looked quietly amused.
To a man the Templars and Guards among them looked like they expected half of the new arrivals to depart, and seemed both impressed and annoyed when the challenge to their bravery worked. None of them got up, and his second call for understanding brought a far more unified response. Cullen nodded in approval at the noise, and motioned for me to speak up.
"All right." I said loudly, doing just that. "We'd have really preferred to have had this meeting last night, but the Grand Cleric insisted on delaying it until after the ceremony. What that means is that we've already established our rough plans. We've divided them into three; Best Case, Middle Case, Worst Case. We'll start with what we know, and our deployments."
While a couple didn't look happy that I was the one doing the briefing, most leaned toward, the better to see how the little statues were being arranged on the map.
Feeling a bit theatrical, I drew my sword in a casual motion, and used it as a pointer as I began circling the table.
"As you can see, our situation is shit, to put it politely." A muffled chuckle told me that my coarse language was winning me points, rather than losing them. No surprise really. The knights and nobles who'd come with us were the serious warriors.
The show-ponies and tournament-knights had stayed behind at the Cathedral.
"The Templar Order has gone from just about seven hundred, to just below five hundred warriors." I said, tapping where they were positioned. "That does include the hostages still in the Gallows, which cuts the numbers down further. Three hundred of those are now camped here, in the Docks, overlooking the Qunari Compound and the Gallows. The remainder are spread out, helping at various Chantries, or overseeing the sealing of tunnels in Darktown."
A few nodded, but when no one spoke Cullen did. "This is not a dictation, knights of Kirkwall. If you have questions, ask when we pause."
The old graybeard rose at once, "Could we not attack the heretics through those tunnels?"
"The Qunari sealed them off." I replied. "And we think they've filled the tunnels on their side with some kind of poison. We're paying the Coterie to seal them further, and to keep watch, but we don't expect any movement in either direction down there."
He grunted. "And the Mages?"
"Getting there." I promised.
A quick nod and he sat down, letting me go on to describe the patrol routes the Guards were currently on. How their own losses had been heavy, but how Brennan was keeping fifty men ready to bolster the Templars at all times. Then how the Stone Watch and Night Watch were handling the Guards' usual duties in Hightown for the moment.
"That's temporary." I said, tapping that part of the map. "We need those troops on other duties, and as soon as we can arrange it, we'll be rotating them out."
Cullen gave me a tiny glance, that was off-script, and I quickly went on. "I expect the nobility's first demands be that their own people take over those duties, and we're going to allow it. We want our people, the ones who've faced real battle, to be ready in Lowtown for what's coming."
Another Knight, a sallow-faced man, spoke up. "What of us, and our men? Some are still in those blighted tunnels, helping the criminals stand watch. That is not the duty men of our stature deserve."
Cullen answered, pacing over to wave at the Docks. "You will all be rotated to the Docks, to face the Qunari directly. That will put more of best soldiers in place to prepare for them, and free up more of my Templars for the first stage in our counter-attack."
The notion of attacking made them all perk up in a hurry, something that seemed to amuse him. "Lady Maeve?"
Nodding again, I moved up near him, tapping the harbor with my sword. "The Qunari have sealed themselves in their Compound. They've begun fortifying their defenses further, clearly intending to hold out on the defensive until their convoy arrives. When that happens, we expect them to try and break out, which is why our first goal is to stop the Qunari from entering the harbor at all."
My sword shifted, tapping the island that the Gallows sat perched atop of. "The Mages have made it clear that they will not raise the Chains unless their demands are met, which means they intend to let the Qunari ships into the city. Within the next few weeks we could see anywhere from hundreds to thousands of enemies landing right on the docks, covered by their dreadnoughts."
Winces and grimaces told me that they all understood the threat.
"As a result, our focus is to deal with our existing enemies as quickly as we can." I went on, "The Mages being the primary focus, since they control the strong point that we desperately need back. We have to force them to either raise the chains, or outright yield their position. To that end, the Knight-Commander has put an attack plan together. Messere?"
Cullen surveyed the men and women around us, nodding once. "It will be a two pronged assault, meant to break both sieges with as little loss of life as possible on our side. Our goal is not to exterminate our enemies, but to force them to yield in Andraste's name, so that we will have as many warriors as possible for what comes next."
Turning, he traced an armored finger along the map, going from the Docks to the Gallows. "To begin, I will personally be leading a Templar assault on the Gallows through Darktown. Our objective will be to recover as many of our own as possible from the cells they are assuredly being kept within. If we can also reach the Gallows' food stores, we will burn them as well before retreating."
A woman in the upper benches spoke, "How many Knights will accompany you?"
"None." Cullen quickly went on before they could protest, "Our initial scouts confirm that the Mages have begun to fill those tunnels with magical traps of various kinds. Only Templars will be able to nullify them, to proceed through with the strength to battle magic in close quarters after."
She nodded, accepting the point. "And our duty, then?"
He motioned my way. "You will all be under the Lady Maeve's command, participating in a critical role in our second assault."
Numerous eyes turned to me, leaving me to exhale and explain. "Two objectives as well. First is to draw the attention of the Mages. Make them think we're throwing everything at the Qunari, not at them. Make them relax and let the Knight-Commander rescue his people. Our second objective is to win this damned war in a single night, if we can."
What followed was the plan that Cullen and I had put together last night, with some input from his officers and Isabella.
"The Qunari's primary weakness at this point is their lack of mages." Cullen, thankfully, continued handling the primary explanation. "To that end, our Mages will begin a sunset bombardment of the Compound with long range magic from nearby rooftops. They will be joined by the stolen gaatlok weapons of the pirate vessel in the harbor. Captain Isabella?"
Isabella spoke up from her spot near the door. "I've got plenty of their powder ready to go. We'll need to pull back a bit from the docks to make sure the shots fall where we want them to, but we'll make a real mess of those walls for you."
"Thank you." Cullen said, turning back to to the map, rapping his knuckles hard on the Qunari's position. "Between her ship and our mages, we expect the Quanri's western wall to fall."
Heads bobbed in understanding, the Enchanters present all puffing a bit when they got looks of their own. All of the mages clearly thrilled to be allowed to contribute, to prove their loyalty.
"Once the wall is down, the Qunari will be forced to sally forth." The Knight-Commander went on, using his sword to indicate the potential maneuvers. "If they do not, we will simply continue our distant assault until they lay slain, or surrender. It is not in their nature to passively accept such a fate, so we expect them to charge our mages to attempt to eliminate them."
A tiny motion of his hand had my sword join his, tapping a point on the map. "We will be ready. I will be in direct command of the main force right here, blocking the approach for where I want our mages. We'll be a mixed group of the City Guard and Templars, three hundred strong is our rough aim. Once the Qunari hit us, that is when all of you, the city's knights, will finish them off."
Vicious grins appeared, an eager young man speaking up, "We hit them in the flank, yes?"
"Both flanks." I corrected, tapping two points. "All of you knights will be here, near the Docks, just in case the Qunari try to make for where the Siren will be supporting the bombardment. As soon as the signal goes up, you'll charge in. Your first goal is to find the leader of the Antaam. Bastard is too clever for my peace of mind. I'm offering a hundred sovereign from my personal accounts for his head."
It would be a significant dent to even my finances, but it would be worth it.
More grins came and went, and I continued, "At the same time, more of the Guard will assemble here, just north, along with whoever can be spared from the Night and Stone Watch. They will advance at the same time. We're going to hammer those soulless bastards from every direction at once."
Hitting them from three sides would hopefully overwhelm the Qunari's discipline, and cut them off from their Compound as should have happened the last time. Trapping them in narrow streets where our mages could stay above them, and could wipe them out en masse. If they had any sense at all they'd surrender quickly, and we'd be able to call it a quick win.
If they didn't, we'd be ideally positioned to finish them all off with hopefully minimal casualties on our end.
We went into the details at that point. Cullen calling out names, assigning specific Knights to specific duties. Got a better idea as to how many men they'd be bringing with in total; just over a hundred, mostly thanks to the single Countess present. A hard looking old woman, she was the only rural noble who'd joined us, and she'd brought better than fifty trained and armed levies with her.
She got placed in command of that group as a result, with the oldest of the Enchanters being named in command of the mages after. Said mages were quick to accept their new leader, but the knights jockeyed a bit. Arguing a bit about who would be commanding which column down which street. I mostly stayed out of that part, letting Cullen handle it. I amused myself, and Evelyn, by muttering commentary about the speakers under my breath.
Little Trevelyan's poker face remained shit; the poor girl had to bite down against the giggles once or twice.
Eventually I had to head back to the center to clarify the attack plan I wanted, confirming which streets we'd be using, that kind of thing. All in all I thought that part of the planning session went fairly well. At least until Sallow-face ruined the mood by speaking up again,
"A bold plan, but did the Grand Cleric not speak against any further assaults?" He asked, crossing his arms. "And we all know that the new Viscount will do as she tells him to."
"She did." I allowed, "But that was before we knew that the Gallows Circle had rebelled. We're in a far worse situation now than we were in the aftermath of the battle. We're spread thin, facing too many threats, and no matter how much bullshit we're fed, I think we all know our odds of getting reinforcements."
Dark grumbles came from several throats, Gray-Beard's the loudest.
"The Dame's right." He rumbled, rising to his feet once more. "If it was just the ox-men, we could close up the harbor. No way their ships would get through the Chains, and we could hold the walls easily enough. But those damned traitors out there aren't giving us a choice. We have to kill one of the snakes at our feet, before the third one shows up."
Nobody looked ready to argue with him, though Sallow-face still looked shifty.
The far older man stared him down until the other looked away. Huffing in victory, he turned to me. "Will the Grand Cleric bless this plan?"
"Battle planning is up to us." I said firmly, even if I shared the doubts. "She said as much this morning before the ceremony."
He tipped his head, asking his next question. "Good. What of the other plans you spoke of? The three cases?"
Cullen handled that. "Our Best Case plan is exactly what we just went over. The Qunari are defeated in detail, by yielding or death, and the Mages either yield or raise the chains to continue negotiating. In either case, we will be able to redeploy our warriors to the city's walls. There we can easily withstand any assaults from the land, and hold out until the Right Hand of the Divine arrives."
Which would hopefully be soon. A month, two at most, if Cullen's squire was able to get to Starkhaven as quickly as possible. If Cassandra dropped everything and came rushing south. Maybe even earlier if she came ahead of any troops she could raise, to personally see what was going on.
Not that it would really matter to me. By then the Alienage would hopefully be empty, and I'd be vanishing along with them, but with a bit of luck she'd help Cullen get things put to right in the city.
Just because I was done with this city didn't mean I wanted it to burn. Not when Varric, Anders, and Cullen would all be staying here. I hoped to convince at least the first two, but Kirkwall remained Varric's home.
I had a hard time imagining him leaving willing, if I was being honest. That meant I still had to do my best to help win here, even if I wouldn't be sticking around for the aftermath.
"Our Middle Case,' Cullen went on, "Envisions that the attack swe described cannot go in for one reason or another, or those attacks are otherwise pushed back. In that case we will pivot, with the Siren and our own mages attempting to suppress the Gallows' Mages long enough for a team to reach the Chains themselves. They will raise them, and destroy the mechanisms to lock them into place before returning to the city."
Another knight called out, "Seal the harbor? The city's trade would die!"
I scoffed loudly, "The city's trade is already dead, and we could fix the chains later. In the short term it would give us the time to gather more men, or for the Seeker to arrive. Either way, we maintain our sieges, and be ready for any opportunity to make a second attempt at our best case plans."
The various knights, mages, and officers who hadn't known the plans didn't seem to like the Middle-Case much.
I wasn't really surprised by that. Few in here would be among the wealthier nobles in the city. Many, just going from their clothing or equipment, were probably barely keeping their heads above water when it came to their finances. Winning glory in battle was the one thing they really had going for them, as Knights.
And if they won enough glory in battle, there was every chance they'd draw the right kind of attention. Find themselves a profitable marriage, or one for their children. Win a good alliance.
None of those things were likely to happen if sitting around, maintaining a siege was the main plan.
Nor did their moods improve when we spent an hour or so on those details. There weren't as many to go over, since it largely amounted to continuing to do what we were already doing. The only real shift being adding the larger numbers of Knights and their followers to our siege lines, allowing for Cullen to better rotate our troops around into slightly better positions.
Once that was done with, he had me move on to our last situation.
"That just leaves the Worst Case scenario." I said, sure that none of them would like it. "That one's trigger is pretty simple; the Qunari ships get into the harbor. If that happens, everyone is to drop whatever they're doing and retreat to Hightown. Let as many civilians bolt as you can, but get yourselves and your troops up those stairs."
The usual protests about abandoning the largest part of the city came from a handful of those present, to which Cullen responded..
"It will not be a permanent withdrawal." He assured them. "But it will be a necessary one. The Docks and Lowtown cannot be defended if the harbor is breached. You are all wise enough to know that."
Most seemed to, though a few still looked unhappy at being told to abandon the civilians. Just a few, though. The rest seemed completely fine with running and living instead of being told to fight to the death to protect commoners.
Cullen went on. "By retreating to Hightown we drastically shorten our lines, and should be able to withstand any possible assault. We will be further aided by the fact that Orsino and his Gallows mages are unlikely to ally or cooperate with the Qunari, leaving them with an enemy in their rear. We should be able to hold out quite easily until the Right Hand arrives from Starkhaven."
"Or," I added, "Until Elthina convinces the rest of the nobility to contribute levies or mercenaries."
Gray-Beard continued to be the most vocal of the lot. "What of the Alienage? Is it to be abandoned along with the rest of Lowtown?"
I drew myself up as best my stature allowed. "Yes. I will be the last through our own gates, and will close them behind me. We'll hold out under siege just as Hightown will."
Which was a bald-faced lie, considering what Elowen had decided this morning, but it would remain as the 'official' plan. It also worked to keep everyone else calm, reassuring them that we wouldn't be asking them to risk their own lives to cover an evacuation of mere Elves.
After that we fell into our third details session, making sure everyone knew the best lines of retreat back up to Hightown. Established just who would be gathering where once they were up the stairs, who'd be defending which part, that kind of thing.
The rest of the council went by without too much further involvement from me. Mostly because, as Cullen told everyone, I'd be holding a second one of these in three days. Our Best Case attacks would be launched at sunset the day after. Everyone had that long to recover from their wounds, clean up their equipment, and conduct what training they could to be ready.
Then we began to break up, the others all filling out. Within a couple of minutes it was just the three of us in the bowl, plus Isabella, leaving Cullen to regard me.
"I did not miss your references to the Watches being present." He said. "Why the sudden change? I thought we were in agreement that they will remain on duty in Hightown."
I crossed my arms, leaning an armored hip on the table. "Elowen's orders. The nobles did not respect her this morning, and neither did Elthina's subordinates."
Cullen sighed. "I sympathize, but we need them where they are."
"No we don't." A nod at the table, "Cullen, Brennan's got a Guard force just sitting around in reserve right now. We rotate them back up to quiet duty at the Chantry, and pull the Watch down to take their place. You know my people would much rather prove themselves by fighting instead of having to stand around, pretending to ignore insults."
"...perhaps." He allowed. "I suppose they are all veterans now. They would be more ideal to have in such a reserve role."
Heh. Had him. "Exactly. Let me talk to Brennan later, and we'll arrange the swap. I'll talk to Ruka as well, see if he wants the Stone Watch rotated down as well."
He gave me a tired wave, and permission to do just that. Then he went on to say, "I am going to conduct another review of the siege lines, and of the men I intend to take into the tunnels. What are your plans for the evening?"
"Check in on the Alienage, then I'll come down to join you." I replied. "If we're lucky, we'll get to finish with that before Elthina makes us come back up here to explain ourselves."
"She will understand." He waved his hand tiredly, turning away. "The logic of our plans are sound, and the Grand Cleric will see it. Trust me."
"Messere." Was the only word I said, since it was better than telling him that I didn't believe that she would.
Then he was off, leaving me with just my friends for company. Isabella came down at once, sliding behind me yet again. That time her hands found the sides of my neck, gently rubbing, leaving me to groan and lower my head.
"You all right, sweet thing?" She asked softly.
I closed my eyes for a long moment, just enjoying being touched.
Evelyn spoke up hesitantly, "Maeve?"
"I'm all right." I said, slowly opening them again, still looking at the little lines on paper. "What do you think of the attack plan? Evelyn, I mean. I know you think we should just be leaving, Isabella."
There was a huff behind me, the light massage continuing, while the squire shifted her weight to our right. After a moment she found her voice.
"...will the Grand Cleric really approve?" She asked.
I snorted. "I seriously doubt it. She did give us permission to draw up battle plans, which we've done. I don't think it even crossed her mind we'd plan for an attack. That's her problem now. Everyone will know we plan on launching our attack within a few hours. Will know we've got decent odds of pulling it off. If she tries to say no, it's going to destroy her credibility with the Templars."
Evelyn swallowed, paling a little. "But... the conversation earlier. She's telling everyone that the situation isn't dire. That an attack won't be needed."
"Yup." I said tiredly. "It's part of Elowen's plan. The woman's turned into a mean politician."
"...plan?"
Isabella sighed, explaining it to her. "It's simple, girl. They mean to force the old bat to choose what's more important. Trusting her Templars and warriors, letting them do what they think is needed... or protecting her honeyed words to the merchant nobles."
The little one didn't look happy. "The Knight-Commander-"
"Cullen has no idea." I shook my head, sighing. "The man has no head for politics at all. You heard him. He genuinely thinks she'll approve of the plan. I know better. There's a chance that she'll cave, that she'll let us go through with it, but I doubt it's better than a one in three shot."
"Then... what was all of this for?" She asked.
"Best case, middle case, worst case." I replied. "Best case is that Elthina realizes we can give her a win here, and let's us get on with the plans we just made. Middle case is that she tries to shut us down, and Cullen realizes we have to do it anyway. Causes a political crisis later, but gives us a chance to deal with it as victors."
She nodded slowly, "But... the worst case is that she says no, and he obeys?"
"Yeah." A finger tapped slowly on the table. "Honestly, little one? If that happens, the Qunari are going to make the harbor, and everything is going to go to hell. If that happens, Isabella is sailing out with the wounded right away, with our letters for Hawke. If I can convince Varric and Anders to go with, I will."
Isabella made a low noise. "I still say we abduct them both."
"You don't abduct friends." I told her flatly. "It will be there choice. Either way, you're leaving by ship, and the rest of us are going by way of the Eluvian. When that time comes, I have orders for you, Evelyn."
"Messere." Evelyn tried to draw herself up, but her hesitant tones ruined her posture. "Am I... am I not going with you?"
"No." I told her gently. "Not at first, at least. If you want to continue being my squire, I certainly won't say no. We'll just be apart for a bit before we can get back together."
Her pale throat worked in a swallow. "I... I understand. Um, where am I going?"
I waved at the door, "With Cullen, to Seeker Pentaghast. You are to tell her, and only her, how we got out of Kirkwall. I'll come and find you as soon as I can after that, all right?"
The girl bit her lip, "Yes, messere."
Sighing, I shifted my way out of Isabella's grip. The pirate watching as I walked over to the teen, reaching up to gently cup her cheek. "Little one, I'm not sending you away. I'm sending you because you're one of the few I can trust with the truth. All right?"
There was a tiny nod into my palm, "Yes, my lady. Do you... I will still be your squire, once you find me? You promise that I will be?"
"If that's what you want." I told her. "Unless you'd rather moon over Cullen some more."
A tiny huff tickled my skin, her own pinking slightly. "Maeve! Be serious!"
"I'm tired of being serious. Now come on, I'm starving, and I want to see what Merrill found before I have to go tour the siege lines again." I glanced to Isabella, "You still with us?"
A finger flicked one of my ears in reply, "Only if you give me the saucy details about that bruise on the kitten's neck, and just what this silly girl thinks is so special about Curly."
Evelyn blushed, I rolled my eyes, and we got moving, chatting as we did.