A Warden. Jacquelyn was mentally kicking herself for getting too caught up in everything else and almost completely forgetting about Blackwall's existence - though as with so many others, she was uncertain she could completely trust him. It was one of the things she was learning about being the Herald of Andraste and the Inquisitor. It was very difficult to know who you could trust and who you couldn't. There was also absolutely no guarantee that Blackwall would know Stroud, but having him along for the mission would hopefully prove to be beneficial. With any luck he would have some insight into anything that Stroud had to say.
Jacquelyn found Blackwall in the back of the stables, doing some kind of wood work. For a moment she didn't say anything, just stood there with a curious frown on her face, watching him. She hadn't known about this side of him, he'd not seemed the type when she'd met him in the Hinterlands. And it wasn't like she'd had a lot to do with him since then. Jacquelyn had just been a bit too busy with other things. Like running the Inquisition. There hadn't been a lot of time for idle chit-chat. Mostly she had been sorting out those arriving at Skyhold on pilgrimages.
"Do you know of a Warden called Stroud?"
Blackwall stopped what he was doing and turned to face the Inquisitor, putting down the tool he had been holding.
"Never heard of him," he answered plainly, as though unsurprised by her arrival. "The Wardens aren't exactly a small organisation, and I didn't stay with most of them. My orders were around recruitment."
Jacquelyn pursed her lips slightly. To be completely honest, the news didn't surprise her. But she'd had to ask.
"I am headed to meet with him, and I would appreciate it if you could accompany me. It would seem that you and Stroud are the only Wardens we can locate at this time, and your knowledge and insight into Warden matters could prove to be helpful."
"Of course. Anything I can do to help," Blackwall walked over to Jaquelyn. "When are we leaving and where are we headed to?"
"We shall leave for Crestwood tomorrow morning. Varric and Dorian shall be joining us to meet with our contact to introduce us to Stroud."
"I'll be ready."
Blackwall calmly walked past Jacquelyn. She didn't know exactly where he was headed, but that didn't matter. She followed him out, heading back to her room, lost in her own thoughts. It would have been nice to be able to get Cullen's opinion on her plan to meet with Stroud, but Leliana, Josephine, and Cassandra's opinions would have to be enough. Originally, Jacquelyn had wanted to take Cassandra with them to Crestwood, but Leliana and Josephine had advised against it, pointing out that it was likely Cassandra was still a bit too enraged about Varric not telling her where Hawke had been all this time. That, and they trusted Cassandra best to lead the Inquisition's army while Cullen was away.
It was quite inconvenient that he had gone off with Siara to talk with Alistair. It had also been a little while since they had heard from Cullen and Siara. They had received a messily scrawled letter saying that Alistair had asked for assistance with a Venatori 'infestation' in the castle, signed by Siara, but it had been a few days since then, and there had been no word of, or from, Cullen. Jacquelyn worried about her commander, concerned that Siara had done something to him. It was unlikely that she had, and Jacquelyn knew it, but who knew how the Blade's mind worked.
Jacquelyn doubted that even Siara knew how her mind worked, sometimes.
Thankfully the journey to Crestwood was relatively uneventful,despite the rift in the middle of the lake, a few shambling corpses and a couple of Wardens just outside defending an elf by herself just on the outskirts of the village. A couple of the corpses were attacking them, and of course Jacquelyn and the group stepped in to assist, though Jacquelyn couldn't help but be a little surprised about the Wardens being there in the first place. Wardens had been missing for so long and a couple of them just so happened to show up when she and the Inquisition were looking to meet up with another of them? It seemed a little suspicious to her. A little too convenient.
They finished off the shamblers then turned to face each other. Both the Wardens were men, though one of them wore such a heavy helmet that Jacquelyn couldn't make out a single thing about him. He seemed to be the one in charge.
"Thank you for the assistance," he said as the other Warden helped the elf to her feet, quietly telling her to head back to the village.
"Of course," Jacquelyn responded. "It is the least we can do. Though I must admit, I am a bit surprised to see a couple of Wardens out here. Might I inquire as to what you are doing?"
"We were given orders by Warden Commander Clarell to search for another Warden. Warden Stroud," the helmeted Warden answered. "We've been searching for him for weeks, but he's proving to be difficult to find. He was last seen in this area, but he has been slippery in the past."
That wasn't good news. They needed Stroud. He hopefully had information that would help in the defeat of Corypheus. At the very least, he would have insight into the Wardens that he would likely share with them. He was more likely to cooperate with the Inquisition than these Wardens would be, even if they didn't seem like bad people. Perhaps she could use that.
"You helped that woman," she started. "Would you be able to take a break from searching actively for this 'Stroud' and help protect the town? They could use all the help they can get."
The Warden shook his head apologetically.
"I'm afraid we have our orders. As unfortunate as it is, we cannot put the search off. If the Inquisition can help this town it would be best. For what it's worth, I'm sorry," he turned to his colleague. "Let's go."
The two Wardens walked past the small group, Jacquelyn and the others watching them go. When she was confident they weren't going to look back, Jacquelyn allowed a look of annoyance to cross her face.
"Well this certainly makes things more interesting," she said.
"Indeed," Dorian agreed. "It's a right shame they couldn't stay to help the town. Good thinking on your part, though."
"It still did not work."
"We should get moving," Blackwall said. "We're lucky they're headed in the wrong direction for now, but we need to meet with Stroud before they realise."
Jacquelyn nodded. Blackwall was right. The sooner they reached Stroud, the sooner he would be in comparative safety as he could move again.
They managed to find the location that Hawke gave for their rendezvous with relative ease. Hawke was waiting for them, standing casually at the entrance to the cave. It didn't look like he had been there too long.
"Glad you found the place. I just got here myself," he greeted.
"The directions you gave us were easy to follow. Thank you," Jacquelyn responded. Hawke nodded, motioning into the cave.
"Shall we? My contact should be at the back of the cave."
"We encountered some Wardens protecting a villager from corpses when we were entering Crestwood," Jacquelyn mentioned, starting to walk forward. "We made sure we were not followed, but they mentioned they were searching for Stroud."
A slightly dark look crossed Hawke's face.
"I saw them," he told them. "They might be good men, but they've been given bad orders."
"Let us hope they continue to look in the wrong places," Jacquelyn said, a small frown on her face. Even if she was still unsure if she trusted Hawke and his friend, she may as well be polite. And if Stroud was helpful, then having him found by Wardens with 'bad orders' would not be beneficial to their cause.
The cave itself was unfortunately damp, droplets of water falling from the ceiling. It smelled wet. It felt wet. And Jacquelyn hated it. Varric also seemed displeased, but that was as much as anything likely due to it being a cave. She could remember him mentioning in the Hinterlands when they had entered a cave that not all dwarves liked caves. The other two looked less bothered, but still not happy about the cave. Thankfully it wasn't too deep, and soon they arrived at a boarded up area with some delightful paintings on the wood. Jacquelyn glanced around at Hawke, who motioned her onwards, and proceeded to push open the door.
The area they found themselves in was larger than Jacquelyn had been expecting, though she wasn't entirely sure what she had been expecting. The area was in slight disarray, what looked like piles of old mining equipment or other miscellaneous junk littering the stone floor. In the middle of the room was what looked like a statue carved into the natural rock of the area, candles around it lighting the room. Jacquelyn looked around, a small frown on her face. So far there wasn't much sign of life here other than the candles littered around the place. Then she heard the quiet tell-tale sound of a sword being drawn, turning to face a dark haired man with an impressive moustache pointing a sword at her. Jacquelyn assumed he must be Stroud, judging by the Grey Warden armour he was wearing. Hawke stepped forward before Jacquelyn could say anything.
"It's just us. I've brought the Inquisition," he assured the Warden.
Stroud looked at Hawke before slowly lowering his sword and sheathing it.
"My name is Stroud," he greeted, his voice thick with an Orlesian accent, "and I am at your service, Inquisitor."
"I thank you," Jacquelyn nodded. "We could use the assistance. Especially with what we know of Corypheus, and what we do not know of the Wardens. The Warden we have currently with us, Warden Blackwall, was given recruitment instructions before they seemed to vanish, and I know the Wardens have their own troubles. Do those troubles have anything to do with Corypheus?"
"I fear so," Stroud frowned slightly. "When my friend Hawke slew Corypheus, Weisshaupt was happy to put the matter to rest," he turned and started heading over to a table with maps scattered over it, his back now to the small group, "But an Archdemon can survive a wound that seems fatal, and I feared Corypheus might possess the same power. My investigation uncovered clues, but not proof. Then, not long after, every Warden in Orlais began to hear the Calling."
Hawke's eyebrows shot up, a worried expression on his face while Jaquelyn started to frown.
"Maker, why didn't you tell me?" Hawke demanded.
"It was a Grey Warden matter. I was bound by an oath of secrecy."
"What is this 'Calling'?" Jacquelyn asked, feeling a bit lost in the conversation all of a sudden. Stroud turned to face them again.
"The Calling tells a Warden that the Blight will soon claim him. It starts with dreams. Then come whispers in his head," he explained. "The Warden says his farewells and goes to the Deep Roads to meet his death in combat."
"And you are saying that every Warden in Orlais began to experience the Calling?" Jacquelyn's eyebrows shot up. This was not good news, not in the least.
"Yes," Stroud nodded. "If the Wardens fall, who will stand against the next Blight?" Stroud asked. "It is our greatest fear."
"So Corypheus is bluffing them. He's controlling them with the Calling, and they're falling for it," Hawke growled out, folding his arms. "That's annoyingly clever of the bastard."
"But is he mimicking it?" Jacquelyn asked. "Or is it real? And have you been experiencing this Calling?" she turned to Blackwall. "Have you?"
"I do not know," Stroud admitted. "Even as a senior Warden, I had heard only the vaguest whispers of Corypheus. The Wardens believe that this Calling is real, and they will act accordingly. That is all we know for certain. And sadly, yes. I have been experiencing the Calling. It lurks like a wolf in the shadows around a campfire. The creature that makes this music has never known the love of the Maker, but… at times I almost understand it."
"I do not fear the Calling," Blackwall's voice was strong, and proud, "and worrying about it only gives it power. Anything Corypheus does will only strengthen my resolve."
Jacquelyn nodded, still a bit worried about Blackwall's state of mind despite his words. It was a bit of a non-answer that he gave her, but for now she would accept it. She would have to discuss it with him in more detail later, make sure he knows that if he experiences the Calling particularly strongly that he should talk to someone about it, even if it was not her. They needed to know if he was about to be called away by Coryheus or start thinking of sabotaging the Inquisition.
"Do we know how Corypheus is making all these Wardens hear the Calling?"
"I cannot say. We know little about him, save that he is dangerous."
That wasn't exactly useful information. Jacquelyn already knew he was dangerous. He had, after all, quite successfully beaten her at Haven. She wasn't too proud to admit, at least to herself, that the only reason she had survived Haven was because of Siara. Not that she liked the thought.
"He is a magister, as well as a darkspawn - and speaks with the voice of the Blight. That lets him affect the mind of Wardens, since we are tied to the Blight ourselves. It must be how he created this false Calling,"
"A strong theory," Jacquelyn said, "but it is a theory nonetheless. At the moment the 'how' is of little consequence, unless we can figure out how to block the connection between Corypheus and the Wardens. For now the more important factor is that it would appear that most, if not all, Wardens are experiencing the Calling, even if it is false, and believe that they are dying. Which cannot be a good thing."
"We are the only ones who can slay Archdemons. Without us, the next Blight will consume the world. Warden-Commander Clarel spoke of a blood magic ritual to prevent future Blights before we all perished. When I protested the plan was madness, my own comrades turned on me."
"Blood magic?" Jacquelyn bristled at the thought. "The Wardens would go to such lengths?"
"As I said, I protested it as madness. But the Warden-Commander would not listen," Stroud looked sad and spoke with a heaviness to his voice. Jacquelyn shook her head, resisting the urge to run a hand through her hair from stress. This was getting out of hand. Corypheus, Callings, darkspawn, Blight, and now blood magic? It was all starting to feel like it was out of her depth. But the mark on her hand, and being named the Inquisitor by the people meant that she was the only one who could really put an end to all of this.
"Where are they?" she asked, pushing forward through her doubts.
"Grey Wardens are gathering here," Stroud turned to his table with maps once more, "in the Western Approach. It is an ancient Tevinter ritual tower," he explained, heading for the entrance to the cave. "Meet me there, and we will find answers."
The small group watched him leave for a moment, then Jacquelyn turned to her party members and Hawke.
"At least we have learned something," she said, trying to sound cheery, but her frown gave her away. "Though I wish we had learned more. I feel we still do not know enough of Corypheus to be able to do much to stop him easily."
"We'll figure it out, Princess," Varric assured her. "Nothing is unbeatable."
Jacquelyn smiled at the dwarf. Even if she didn't fully believe his words, she appreciated them. At least someone still had confidence. If just one person believed in her ability to defeat this foe, then she would be able to.