Choices

Faren had decided he liked none of this. At all. The kid was a demon, the Arlessa was very angry, Ciara was clearly injured, but sat in her chair by the fire with a pleasant smile nevertheless. Sten looked like he wanted to bite someone's head off, and Narascha looked ready to punch something, as did Epona.

"Okay, so the demon is not exactly within the child, it is in the Fade," Epona said, brow furrowed. "So it is not exactly like a common possession?"

"Exactly." Jowan nodded. "We could save him, but we either would need a lot of lyrium or..." He shifted, hesitant.

"Blood magic," Torph finished. "But you never exactly said what the price would be, blood boy."

Jowan squirmed. "For that kind of ritual?" He paled. "It would require someone's entire life force..."

Faren watched as Torph stared up at Jowan with a look of irritation.

"Fuck," Torph cursed. "I was hoping you weren't going to say that."

"I hope it isn't virgins blood," Zevran laughed softly, trying to lighten the mood.

Alistair flushed.

Jowan sighed. "No."

"The child is an abomination," Morrigan said, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. "You should simply put him down and end all this."

"Agreed." Sten nodded.

"Of course you do." Alistair glowered.

"No!" Isolde sobbed. "Please, not my son. He's done nothing wrong!"

"He's been slaughtering your people..." Cobian said quietly, shifting, clearly uncomfortable.

Faren didn't blame him. This was horrible and he didn't know what to do. Blood magic was evil, but if it could save the boy then it might not be their worst choice. If they left Redcliffe now for the Circle the problem was that the demon could start just killing people again.

This was bad. So very bad.

Zevran eyed him and tapped his dagger, lips thinly pressed. Faren frowned at the gesture. Zevran was willing to kill Connor? But that was cruel. Too cruel. Zevran had only just left the Crows. He shouldn't have to do such horrible things anymore. Lawrien threw Zevran a worried look too, eyes pained.

"You're the one who is always been the freak, Cousland!" Isolde spat.

Lawrien's eyes sharpened. "Don't talk to my friends like that."

"You-"

"They saved your village. They saved you. If they hadn't came along, if they hadn't stayed, your people would all be dead and you would be surrounded by rotting corpses probably until the Blight was over," Lawrien snapped.

"It's alright, Lawrien," Cobian reassured. "Isolde has always thought of me as strange. I'm just too clever for her."

Lawrien grinned. "Duh. You're the smartest one here."

Faren couldn't help but smile at that. Yeah, Cobian was by far the smartest guy here. Faren had faith that Cobian could come up with something to save the situation, or at least try to make it somewhat better.

"Which is why I propose this," Cobian began. "We split up ourselves and our companions once again. Some of us will stay behind to contain the situation here, and if need be, execute the demon if the situation gets out of control-" He talked right over Isolde's protest. "To protect Redcliffe and its people. The other group shall go to the Circle. Ciara and many of the villagers here are in dire need of a healer, thus I propose we ask the Circle for help, and while they help us here we banish the demon from Connor, releasing him from its grasp."

Morrigan crossed her arms. "It's quite the waste of time."

"Not really." Cobian smiled. "We need to go to the Circle and get the treaty sorted with the mages, so in all honesty we are on the correct track. We just need to have a safety measure in place just in case things grow dire here again."

"Yeah, but here lies the problem," Torph sighed. "I hesitated. I was going to plant my throwing axe in the back of that kid's head-" Isolde and Teagan gasped. "But I couldn't do it. He's just a kid."

Cobian frowned. "Yes, that is the part I haven't quite figured out yet."

"You don't have to do any of that," Isolde said sharply, staring at Jowan. "You said it would require a life? Then take mine!"

Morrigan chuckled. "A willing participant? How handy."

"What?" Teagan gasped. "Isolde, are you mad? Eamon would never allow this!"

Isolde glared at him. "Either someone kills my son to destroy that thing inside him or I give my life to save my son's. To me, the answer is clear."

"How does using blood magic make any of this right?" Alistair scowled.

"Because none of this shit ain't right at the moment," Torph snapped. "We have a possessed kid who has murdered most of his own village. The people he was supposed to protect, right? The people under his family's protection?"

"The dwarf makes a point," Epona said, startling them all. "If it is as Cobian has said in the past, they are the ones to protect those in need, which has clearly not been done here. Killing the demon is our best option, but Torph is also right, how could any of us live with killing a child in cold blood?"

"And what would a knife ear know of protecting people?" Isolde scowled.

"I should put a knife in your ear, stupid shemlen," Epona sneered. "And I know far more than you seem to, considering the amount of corpses outside your home right now."

"Oooh, can I watch it knife someone?" Shale beamed.

Epona faltered. "I... I have to admit I still don't know who you are, but you are very fascinating."

"A golem," Cobian said happily. "A short one in comparison to the notes I have read on them, but there weren't much on them to begin with I must admit-"

"Uh, Cobian?" Teagan interrupted gently. "I don't think this is the time."

"Fair point," Cobian admitted.

"I believe we should go to the Circle," Leliana said. "We could save the child and avoid the corruption of blood magic."

"Maybe this should be put to a vote," Ciara said tiredly, leaning heavily in her chair. "We have three options here. Go to the Circle and get help, leaving some of us behind in case the worst happens, this would take time and resources, but we do need to go to the Circle anyway." She rubbed her forehead, grimacing.

Lawrien took over swiftly. "We use Jowan's blood magic and Lady Isolde's life force to banish the demon. I'm willing to go into the Fade and do so. This is the least riskiest option to be honest. The demon can't kill anyone else, and we can leave here without worrying about the others and Redcliffe, but Lady Isolde will die."

"Then there is killing the kid," Torph grunted. "But dunno who could do that."

"I can." Sten nodded. "I will take the burden."

Narascha frowned. "Are you sure? Sten, this is still a child."

"But an abomination. I will feel no guilt," Sten said firmly.

"A little bit," Lawrien murmured. "But there is no one else who can do it without crumbling." Her eyes did flicker to Zevran, who looked relevied. "Sten knows he can push past it, that he will survive, and none of us could. We'd be weakened and we need to be strong for the Blight and the Archdemon." Lawrien's eyes softened. "Thank you, Sten."

Sten grumbled.

"We can't just kill a child, Sten!" Leliana protested. "He's just a boy! A boy who can be saved. Epona, you must agree with me. You're a mother too. You know this can't happen."

"Leave my daughter out of this." Epona scowled, crossing her arms. "And the situation here wouldn't apply to my camp. We know how to handle demons in most cases since our mages are taught properly and not imprisoned for their gifts."

"Leliana is against killing Connor, but what about blood magic?" Ciara asked, raising a brow.

Yeah, Faren would guess probably not for it.

"I'm against that too." Leliana shook her head determinedly. "I believe we should go to the Circle. We could do many great things at once, like get the treaty sorted with the mages, see your home and sister, then save Connor and the villagers."

"T'is but a waste of time," Morrigan scoffed. "Let the woman sacrifice herself for her son, and we can end this foolishness once and for all and get on with what we really need to do."

"I don't know, Oriana protected Oren." Cobian lowered his gaze to the floor. "I wasn't there in time to save them. I regret that deeply."

Teagan softened. "Howe is a filthy traitor, Cobian, and I swear when things are put to right we will get his head on a spike."

Cobian smiled weakly. "Thank you."

"My mum protected me too, and lost her life doing so," Faren admitted reluctantly. "It's not a good feeling for any child to go through."

However if his uncle was right it would have been even worse for his parents. Faren's death would have destroyed them.

"But at the same time no child should have to die before their parents. They are supposed to live and grow."

Torph snorted. "My old lady chose alcoholism and used to beat the shit outta me until she couldn't no more. Got too big for her to bully."

"How charming," Narascha muttered.

"Yes, sounds like a lovely woman," Zevran snorted. "Maybe I got lucky not knowing mine."

"Mother relationships aside, I'm with Morrigan on this one," Torph said, jerking his head at her. "It solves the villagers problems. If we go off on a hero quest with soft hearts we could be leaving those poor sods down below at risk again. If Sten can't kill the kid, if he hesitates, or if the demon kills him, then everyone down there is fucked again. This is a Blight we're in. We can't just walk about with big eyes and big hearts, otherwise we'll be slaughtered."

Alistair frowned. "So you just want to sacrifice Lady Isolde?"

"Yeah, I'd sacrifice a lot of people if it meant ending this Blight before it kills millions of people in the world," Torph said coldly. "I like living, but as you've lectured to me before, Alistair, this is bigger than all of us. The dragon could end the world. It nearly has before."

"He does have a point..." Ciara said softly.

Alistair scowled at her. "You can't be serious."

"You know my views aren't as idealistic as yours are on the Grey Wardens, Alistair." Ciara leaned back heavily against her chair, sighing. "The world isn't so simple as black and white, our choices will always have consequences, no matter how good your intentions are."

"Bloody hell." Narascha shook her head. "Enough with the debate. Show of hands who wants to kill the boy? Know that there will be repercussions, we want the Arl's help, but he also has a duty to protect his people, who aren't safe at the moment, so we have no idea if he will still help us or not after all this is said and done."

Sten and Shale both raised theirs.

"Okay, then to the Circle?" Narascha raised a brow. "Again, there could be repercussions to this as well. If whoever goes there runs late, Connor and the demon could attack again. The villagers will not be guaranteed their safety, and even if they aren't late, Connor and the demon could still attack. If they get past Sten and whoever stays with him, then Redcliffe's people will fall."

Leliana's and Alistair's hands went up immediately. Faren debated. He didn't trust the blood mage's magic. Blood magic was meant to be evil right? And they couldn't just kill Connor. Faren also didn't want Connor to lose his mother. It was a horrible feeling, knowing that his own mum's death was Faren's fault.

Faren raised his hand, but he could see that Cobian and Ciara were unsure.

"I don't exactly know how stable your magic is, Jowan," Ciara admitted.

"I can do it," Jowan said grimly. "I don't really want to, but if we can save Connor, then it might be worth the risk."

"So the rest of us are for the blood ritual?" Narascha asked, eyeing them all.

"Debating." Cobian was pacing back and forth. "Lots of debating. Morals say we cannot sacrifice anyone, but you are correct. We do not have time."

Ciara sighed. "I'm in the same position."

"I say we have a willing sacrifice, so let's just get it over with." Zevran shrugged.

Epona nodded. "The villagers need the protection and reassurance that this is over. That we aren't just leaving them behind to fend for themselves."

Faren couldn't help but smile. "You're worried for humans, Epona?"

Epona rolled her eyes. "Quiet, da'len."

"Fuck it, I'm for sacrificing the woman," Torph said.

"As am I." Morrigan nodded. "T'is only sensible with a willing sacrifice."

"And I'm of the same mind," Narascha sighed.

"You all know I'm against it," Teagan said weakly, eyeing Isolde. "But I am outvoted on the matter."

"Thank you all," Isolde said, smiling shakily, relieved but nervous nonetheless. Faren didn't blame her. "If it will save my son then I am not afraid."

"Then let's go save your son," Lawrien said, turning to face Jowan.

"Are you sure about this, Lawrien?" Jowan asked.

"I trust you," Lawrien said. "You're my big brother and I love you."

"I am sorry..."

"I know. You've been sorry for a long time," Lawrien acknowledged. "Let's do this, Jowan."

"R-Right."

.::.

"Lawrien, you do realise this is the most dangerous for you," Ciara said as Lawrien stretched out her limbs.

Jowan was setting up the floor, laying out the glyph in blood, letting it soak into the floor. Morrigan sat out the candles, the pair whispering to each other, while Teagan and Isolde spoke quietly to each other a few feet away from them.

"I'll handle it," Lawrien insisted.

"You'll be fighting any manner spirit or demon in the Fade alone," Ciara said softly. Lawrien might not take the situation seriously. If any of the demons possessed her in the Fade they'd have another demon in Redcliffe, and Ciara would lose her sister.

By the Maker, Lawrien could die. This could kill Lawrien and one of them would be by her side to help. Ciara wouldn't be by her side. She'd lose Lawrien and Ciara wasn't sure if she could handle that because Lawrien would be gone forever-

"Ciara." Lawrien laid a hand on her shoulder, her uninjured one thankfully, and squeezed gently. "I will handle this. Trust me."

Ciara released a shaky breath and reached up to squeeze Lawrien's hand. "You know I do."

Lawrien smiled. "Then let me fight this."

"Just make sure you come back to us..." Ciara said. "I would hate for this to be the last time we saw each other again."

A big part of Ciara would die with Lawrien. Ciara already knew that.

"Of course." Lawrien nodded to the chair. "Now you better go sit back down before you faint again, well unless you want Alistair to carry you to bed again," Lawrien added, winking.

Ciara rolled her eyes. "Yes well, sadly not in the way I ever wished him to."

Lawrien grinned. "Maybe one day."

"I also have questions for you after this is over." Ciara eyed the sword by Lawrien's hip.

"We've got a lot to talk about. All of us." Lawrien eyed their gathered group. "But for now, just put your trust in me. I'll make sure Isolde's sacrifice is worth it. Redcliffe will be safe and so will her son."

"I'm ready, Lawrien." Jowan eyed them both despairingly, his gaze going to Isolde before he looked at the ground, ashamed.

"Then let's save Connor." Lawrien walked up to the opposite side of the circle as Lady Isolde carefully stepped in, kneeling on the ground in a praying position.

Ah, yes, she was praying. Ciara could see her lips moving, forming the words.

"Lady Isolde? Lawrien called.

"Yes?" She glanced up at Lawrien nervously.

"I promise your sacrifice will not be forgotten or in vain. I'm going to save them both," Lawrien said.

Isolde smiled shakily. "Thank you."

Jowan's magical energy began to grow. Morrigan watched him, eyes curious, but Ciara ignored her. She watched her siblings. She watched as Jowan ripped all of Isolde's life energy from her and poured it into Lawrien, and all Ciara could do was watch as Lawrien hit the ground hard, going limp while Isolde's body flopped to the floor.

Teagan let out a choked cry.

"Lawrien shall be fine," Epona said, staring at Lawrien's prone form. "She is our Commander, if anyone can do this, it is her."

"I know." Ciara stared at Lawrien too, and the sight ached. "I just hate that I cannot follow her into this battle. That I have to leave her alone."

"We just have to wait patiently." Epona smirked. "A skill not suited to Lawrien. I mean what would happen if Morrigan had went in instead of Lawrien?"

Ciara couldn't help but laugh. "She'd go insane waiting-" She winced when her shoulder throbbed painfully, but her smile still lingered. "Thank you, Epona."

"Don't mention it, shemlen. I'm still going to burn your corpse or put it in a tree."

Ciara chuckled. "Just as Duncan always feared back in camp."

Epona rolled her eyes. "I believe we were driving him insane."

"Myra did warn him about Lawrien and I, but I suppose he had no warning about the rest of you," Ciara said.

"None at all." Epona crossed her arms. "Cobian who speaks of his studies relentlessly, Faren who jumps on Dragons-"

Ciara startled. "Wait, jumps on dragons?"

"Cobian who decided to test if his shield was magical or not but putting himself and it in the line of dragon fire-"

"What?!" Ciara squawked.

"And I who has this damnable armour stuck to me!" Epona snarled, yanking at her boot again. "Curse you!"

Ciara couldn't help but watch in horror and fascination as the boot wouldn't come off of Epona. She writhed, hissing and grunting, tugging at it with all her strength, but it didn't budge an inch.

"I..." Ciara blinked. "I don't entirely know what to say to any of this..."

"And Lawrien spoke to an amulet that had a spirit in it," Faren added. "Or a demon. Not sure. It said it was an elven knight and taught Lawrien how to use a sword?"

Ciara looked at Alistair, and he looked just as baffled as her. Good. That meant she wasn't going crazy and mishearing people.

"Is this normal topside?" Torph asked.

"No, this is weird," Faren sighed. "Weirder than bringing along the assassin who tried to assassinate us."

"I for one I'm very happy you brought me." Zevran smiled brightly.

"I still have questions about that," Ciara admitted.

"Lawrien." Epona's group all said at once.

Ciara sighed. "Fair enough, and Faren, how is any of this odd to you when your uncle's body has weapons that go through his body like a ghost?"

Zevran paused. "Wait, how?"

"Some weird bloodline stuff." Faren shrugged helplessly. "Lawrien and Epona had this whole thing back in the ruins in the forest that I still don't entirely get."

"I wrote it all down," Cobian said. "But it is kind of messy."

"I'm still trying to figure out how to tell the tale myself," Leliana admitted.

"And I thought we had it bad," Alistair laughed nervously. "I mean we even activated a golem and their story is crazier than ours."

"Well hopefully if we all deal with the Circle treaty and Orzammar treaty together then things will be normal," Ciara said, then added. "Hopefully."

Torph snorted. "Bet Duncan's glad he missed this shit."

"He'd cry," Ciara sighed.

Narascha chuckled. "I think he'd start begging the Archdemon to eat him just to put him out of his misery."

"Poor Duncan." Alistair shook his head. "He'd go so grey dealing with all this."

"And I wouldn't blame the poor sod," Torph said. "We've only got one treaty sorted, and we've all got bounties on us. We've not even been Grey Wardens for a year yet."

"Okay, perhaps we should start from the beginning where our groups separated," Ciara said.

Leliana smiled. "I shall begin the tale then!"

"Lovely." Morrigan rolled her eyes.