Travel

Cobian was checking off everything in the boats, including head counting, much to Ciara's amusement. Teagan was trying to help him, but with the rapid fire counting it was too hard to keep up with Cobian's tongue twister. Or, as Torph put it, word vomit. Epona was tossing their packs and bags in as Cobian counted, somehow keeping up with him. Lawrien however was rocking the boat she and Narascha was in.

They had found out that Narascha was the type who got seasick. Poor thing. Now she was Lawrien's to torment.

They had four separate boats, since none of them had the skill to sail a proper ship. Not that many of them had much skill in steering boats in the first place. Cobian said he could, as could Alistair, and Leliana. Sten and Zevran both said they could as well, so thankfully they had more than enough people to sail the boats.

It didn't take them long to set sail. Ciara ended up in the boat with Lawrien, Alistair, Zevran and Faren. Faren was singing softly to himself, and Ciara was surprised at how beautiful his singing was. Zevran looked mesmerised by it, so did Alistair, so Ciara had to nudge him to keep him focused on steering the boat with the oar.

She could see poor Narascha gagging over the edge of her boat a fair distance behind them. She had gotten on the boat with Epona, Morrigan, Cobian and Sten. Epona and Cobian looked horrified and curious at Morrigan and Sten, Morrigan who had gone pale.

What in the world were they talking about?

Lastly Torph was with Shale and Leliana. Shale and Leliana seemed to be chatting away keenly, while Torph napped.

Sten's boat had taken the lead, and he was paving the way with a deep frown on his face.

"He's looking for something," Lawrien said, watching Sten. "His men."

Ciara frowned. "Is he going to be an issue? I don't want him panicking and hurting someone in our party."

Lawrien tilted her head. "Dunno." She shrugged. "Guess we just need to keep an eye on him."

.::.

"Well, I supposed that teaches you not to ask the qunari to have sex with you," Epona grumbled, crossing her arms.

Cobian was writing everything down furiously into his notebook.

"Shut up," Morrigan hissed, cheeks flushed.

.::.

Torph pretty much tried to sleep through all the chatter about shoes and pretty gems.

It wasn't entirely successful sadly.

Leliana's giggling was bloody creepy. Shale's was absolutely terrifying.

.::.

It took a few days, taking rests wherever they could on land, and when not they dozed in uncomfortable, cramped boats. Epona hated it. She preferred walking. Narascha obviously did too, considering her reluctance to get back in the boat each time. But finally they arrived on the shore right across from the Circle of Magi late a night. The Circle of Magi was a looming tower that looked more like a prison than a home. To be fair, that sounded accurate, but shouldn't the Templars at least try make it feel like a home with both themselves and their captives living there? Perhaps the inside was better.

Everyone had immediately split up as soon as the boats were pulled out the water. Sort of, most of their group had headed for the inn while Sten stalked off into the night, eyes burning with pain and loneliness. The thought made Epona pause, but she saw Lawrien wandered off after him, along with Narascha, who grumbled about 'needing a walk'.

"So we're splitting up here?" Torph frowned up at Ciara. "You look concerned."

That was right, she did look worried. But why? Wasn't this her home, or was it because of the way she left it with the whole incident with Jowan.

"Something isn't right. Carrol is ferrying the boat," Ciara said, her brow furrowing.

"For the love of-" Torph threw his head back and cursed loudly. "Why can't any of these damn places be fine?"

"We don't seem to have much luck, that's for sure," Faren sighed.

"Yes, just had a little chat with the actual ferryman myself," Zevran said as he approached, frowning. "Sadly nobody is getting through to the Circle right now according to him."

"Let's go have talk to Carrol while the others deal with supplies," Ciara said.

"I'm sure we can sort this out," Leliana said.

"Otherwise Lawrien might pull an Anders and start swimming over," Ciara sighed.

They headed over there together, and this 'Carrol' opened his mouth to speak, yawning as he leaned against a post to the dock, but paused when he spotted Ciara.

"Long time so see, Carrol," Ciara greeted.

"Oh it's you. Why are you back here?" Carrol scowled.

"Grey Warden duties," she said. "And I must ask why you're here instead of in the tower. Did Greagior finally get tired of you?"

"I'll have you know that I'm doing a very important duty right now and not letting anyone in. So, I guess I'll see you later?" Carrol waved her off.

"And you're getting in my way," Ciara said, her voice turned sickeningly sweet. "And don't you remember what happens to people who annoy me?"

Carrol's eyes searched around, a nervous sweat on his brow. He looked relieved when he couldn't find what he was looking for, even went and smirked. "Lawrien isn't here to try shave my head again! So ha!"

"There is that, but there is also the fact that I could cut open your throat and leave your body here to rot and sail myself over there," Ciara said cheerfully.

Carrol choked. "Y-You wouldn't-"

"Nobody would find your body for hours at least," Ciara said, smiling sharply. "Nobody important at any rate. By then my business might be done and over with and my friends and I will be long gone."

"You can get on the boat!" Carrol cried, throwing up his hands. "You psychopath!"

"Now that isn't very kind of you, Carrol." Ciara pouted. "You shouldn't say such things to old friends."

"You threatened to slit my throat!"

"Whoever said such a horrid thing?" Ciara teased.

"YOU! YOU DID!"

"Poor guy, Ciara seems to be having a lot of fun tormenting him," Faren muttered to her.

Epona smirked. "It does look amusing."

.::.

A strangled cry made Narascha pause in her walk, but Lawrien marched on. They turned a corner to find Sten holding a man up by his neck, the pair surrounded by decaying bodies of qunari men-

Narascha flinched.

Shit, this guy must have been looting Sten's men. He must have been in charge of them.

"Where are their swords?!" Sten bellowed.

"I-I-I-" The man was shaking in Sten's hold, breathless, eyes wide, hands trembling as they gripped Sten's hand.

"He can't tell you much if you're scaring the life out of him," Narascha said, approaching his side.

"He took our swords! He took mine and my men's swords and sold them!" Sten snarled, shaking the man harshly. "WHERE ARE THEY?!"

Narascha fought off the urge to stumble back. She had never heard Sten sound so angry before. By the Ancestors, was this the man those poor farm folk saw before Sten murdered them?

Lawrien's gaze hardened. "Sten. Put him down."

"Warden-"

"Commander," Lawrien growled. "And put him down. Now."

They held each others gazes for what felt like hours. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Sten dropped the man. The man collapsed on to the grass, sobbing and gasping, still shaking violently. Lawrien stepped up to him and knelt down, her face blank.

"Where are the swords?" she asked.

"I-I don't have a-any of them," he whimpered. "Th-The guy who s-sold me th-this spot, his na-name's Fayrn! H-He took everything!"

"Faren?" Sten's frown deepened.

"Not our one," Narascha replied.

Yeah, if he went and tried to grab Faren like that Sten would be slaughtered. None of their group would be happy about that one.

"Where is he now?" Narascha asked.

"H-He said Orzammar! He's probably there by now!" The man was shaking badly, eyes still wide, and damp with tears. "C-Can I go now?"

"Go." Lawrien jerked her head.

Sten swung round and punched a tree, almost breaking the thing in half. Lawrien watched him, still blank faced, while Narascha fought off the urge to arm herself.

"Done?" Lawrien asked.

Narascha wheezed. Done? That was all she had to say? Sten could break her in half! Lawrien wasn't even the slight bit nervous about that?

"Some thief has my sword!" Sten growled at her.

"So we'll go get it back." Lawrien crossed her arms. "It's in Orzammar, where we need to go. So we'll ask after this Fayrn guy."

Sten scowled. "It's not that simple-"

"You're the one making a fuss. I'm willing to help you, because this is for both you and your men."

"Okay, hold on, I don't know what's going on here," Narascha said. "Why are these swords so important? Is it some heirloom like Cobian's, or do swords have a specific meaning to the qunari?"

"I was sent here by the Arishok, but I did not come here alone. Seven members of the Beresaad were with me to seek answers about the Blight." He began to explain, reluctantly.

"So you're here to report on the Blight to your Arishok? I take it he's some kind of leader to you?" Lawrien asked.

"Yes," he sighed, glancing over the remains of what his camp was, where bones laid bare. "We made our way across Ferelden without any incident until the night we camped here. The darkspawn came from everywhere that night, the earth beneath our feet, the air above us, our own shadows harboured the darkspawn."

Sten looked agitated again, his face set into an even deeper scowl. Not that Narascha could blame him. The darkspawn were good at ambushes, especially to those inexperienced in handling them.

"I saw the last of the creatures cut down, but I fell. It was too late."

"That sounds eerily like Ostagar." Narascha noted.

"I heard stories of Ostagar. Your kith stood their ground while others fled. No one can do more than that," Sten said. "I don't know how long I lay there among the dead and I don't know how the farmers found me. All I knew was that I was no longer among my brothers and that my sword was gone from my hand."

"So you panicked." Lawrien's face darkened.

Sten looked away, unable to look either of them in the eyes, ashamed. "I did. I struck them down."

"Why the attachment to one sword?" Narascha scowled.

Sten growled. "That sword was made for my hand alone. I carried it the moment I was set into the Beresaad. I was to die wielding it for my people."

"And you murdered an innocent family over that damn thing." Lawrien growled, shaking her head. "You're lucky I'm going to help. If it had just been for you I would have told you to go find it yourself, but your men deserve better. Their swords need to go home. You meanwhile have a lot to make up for."

"I know." Sten lowered his eyes back to the ground. "And I will do my best."

Lawrien stared hard at him, or better yet his head, before shaking her own. "You better," she snapped, and marched off. "Now let's go back."

"But the bodies?" Narascha frowned.

Lawrien's hand lit up with flames and she chucked it at the bones. "Sten doesn't care. It's their swords he needs."

Narascha and Sten watched the flames consume the bones. They watched them turn to ash. Sten looked remorseful, opened his mouth to speak, but shook his head and turned away.

"Let's go, Narascha."

Narascha nodded.

.::.

"So you don't think we should split up anymore?" Alistair frowned.

"Not until we know what is happening in the tower," Cobian said. "Carrol doesn't seem to know himself, even after his conversation with Ciara."

Torph wasn't sure he'd call that a conversation, more like a mental torture session where Ciara bullied the guy the entire time. She looked delighted about it too. Carrol had ended up going to the inn, desperate for a drink, cheeks flaming red, after Ciara spilled to them all the details about his embarrassing moments in his Templar training.

It turned out there had been a lot of those.

"We'll take our boats over and dock there instead," Cobian said. "And once we find out what the situation is we can see what we will do afterwards. Hopefully there is nothing happening, but considering everything else we have been through so far with all the undead, and demons, and darkspawn, I have a horrible feeling are chances of nothing being wrong are incredibly slim."

"Hopefully Myra is alright," Ciara said.

"She'll be fine." Lawrien smiled. "It's Myra."

"That's your little sister, right?" Alistair asked.

"Yeah. I wonder how much she's grown since we last saw her," Ciara mused.

"I hope she's shorter than me still." Lawrien grinned. "I want to bully her."

"She'll still hit you with a book regardless of your height difference," Ciara reminded her.

Lawrien winced. "That's true."

.::.

Ciara hated that the first thing she saw was the great doors barred. She couldn't help but tense up. That wasn't good. Those were never barred. Closed, yes. Not barred like the Templars were trying to trap something inside. Alistair followed her gaze and winced, eyeing her, but Lawrien ignored them both and headed straight for the Knight Commander who looked haggard.

"Greagoir!" Lawrien called out, startling him. "It's been such a long time! Did you miss me? I missed you!"

"By the Maker, Lawrien? Ciara? By the Maker what are you two here for?" He scowled, looking weary. "Maker, trouble seems to follow you two everywhere."

Ciara chuckled softly, keeping her voice deliberately smooth. "Your life would be boring without either of us causing mischief."

"I'd have less grey hairs," Greagoir grunted, though a glimmer of amusement managed to flicker in his eyes.

"Why are the doors barred?" Lawrien asked. "Where is everyone?"

The Knight Commander sighed, sounding overwhelmed. "I forgot how plainly you spoke. I shall do the same then. The tower is no longer under our control."

"Shit," Ciara cursed, and she almost smiled, amused when several of their companions threw her startled looks. "What happened, Knight Commander?"

"Abominations and demons stalk the halls of the tower," Greagoir said, his face falling, eyes wary. "We barely had time to bar the doors and stop them from escaping. The Circle is lost."

Lawrien stared over at the doors, frowning darkly. "Where did they come from?"

"We don't know. One minute it was calm and the next everyone was getting slaughtered by those monsters."

"This isn't good." Alistair was running a hand through his hair, nervous and fidgeting. "We need the mages of the Circle for our treaty."

"The treaty?" Greagoir frowned.

"We have a treaty with the Circle. I assume though since Irving is the leader of the mages here though that means only he can deal with it?" Ciara murmured, disappointed but not surprised when she earned a nod in response once he read over the scroll she had handed over.

"This is why we cut off the tongues of mages back in Par Vollen," Sten grunted.

Torph winced. "That's gross."

Lawrien scowled. "That's horrible."

"I have to agree with your qunari friend here," Greagoir admitted, albeit it reluctantly. "They would never have found themselves in the situation that we are in now. That is why I have called for the Right of Annulment."

Lawrien tensed as the fires lighting the entrance flared. "My sister is in there."

"I'm sorry," Greagoir sighed, shaking his head. "Myra was a gifted young girl-"

Lawrien's face darkened. "What did you just say?"

Flames flickered over her fists, and there was a sharp, murderous glint in her eyes.

"I don't think I heard you right," Lawrien warned, a bite to her tone.

"I ain't heard a thing!" Torph let out a strangled noise. "Not a one!"

Ciara reached out and squeezed Lawrien's shoulder. "You didn't hear the Knight Commander correctly, Lawrien. What he did say was that Myra was fighting back and that we're going to go in and help her."

"Ciara-" Greagoir shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"You're saying that to us?" Ciara smirked. "You've got a nice group of Grey Wardens here whom are used to killing darkspawn, undead and apparently werewolves now. Demons won't be too much of a problem for us."

"Werewolves?" Greagoir paused, but shook his head again. "Ciara, no, stop trying to distract me. This isn't something you and Lawrien can just rush head first into-"

Lawrien snorted. "It's not like this is Ostagar."

"She's got a point. We were swarmed in an army of darkspawn," Torph added.

Narascha grinned. "I think we could take on a few demons."

"Demons are not the same as darkspawn-"

"You've never fought a darkspawn," Ciara said sharply. "I've fought both. Trust me when I say we can handle this, and if you do decide not to trust me, then believe me when I say we will break our way through all of you to get to Myra."

"Oh my, this is getting exciting," Morrigan chuckled.

Alistair yelped. "Ciara, don't threaten them! That's not a way to ask for favours!"

"You seem to have mistaken me, Alistair." Ciara's eyes narrowed. "I'm not asking. I don't ask when it comes to my family's safety."

"Fine!" Greagior groaned. "But only because I know you will actually fight us to get through those doors. Be warned though. The moment you are through those doors we will bar them and wait for the Right of Annulment to arrive. I will only open them if Irving reassures me that the Circle is safe."

"Or we break a window and sneak out." Lawrien winked.

"No," Greagior said through gritted teeth.

"What is this 'Right of Annulment', by the way?" Narascha asked.

"Yeah, us dwarves ain't keeping up," Torph said.

"They will kill everyone and everything inside the tower to keep the demons from getting loose." Alistair said, shoulders slumping.

"Fuck. That seems extreme." Torph winced, then froze. "Wait... If we're in there and that thingy happens... We're not involved right?"

Alistair sighed. "They'll kill us too."

"Ah fuck!" Torph groaned. "Why can't any of these bastards just welcome us with open arms and say 'hello, Grey Wardens, you have a treaty? Nice we'll get on that right away!' because that would be fan-fucking-tastic!"

"You Grey Wardens don't have much luck, do you?" Zevran chuckled.

"Sadly not," Faren sighed.

"Are we still splitting up, Cobian?" Narascha asked.

"No. Plans have changed." Cobian shook his head. "If the tower is full of demons we will need everyone here to face them. There are many different types as well, so it will be full on chaos for us to fight. I'm curious how many there might be, or if this is just a small invasion force."

"Maybe not the time, noble," Epona sighed.

"Ah, yes, of course. Need to plot. Ciara, tell me everything about the tower. What is held in each floor? Who would be where?" Cobian pulled out his notebook, armed with his quill.

Ciara rapidly talked Cobian through everything while everyone else slowly blanked out. Ciara would normally be amused at those expressions, but now clearly wasn't the time. Everything was wrong. The Circle was in a dire state, and Myra was in so much danger. Anders too, if he had been brought back yet, but hopefully not. Hopefully he was somewhere safe.

"Apprentices and library are on this first floor." Cobian's eyes hardened. "So hopefully the Templars rallied there to keep the children safe."

"Unlikely, when we escaped and barred the doors there were bodies already lying," Greagoir admitted.

"And you didn't take the kids outta there?" Torph scowled.

"We didn't know who had been possessed yet or not," Greagoir sighed. "So I prioritised getting whoever of my men I could out of that hell."

Epona frowned. "But isn't it your duty to care of all within these walls?"

"Not the mages." Morrigan smirked. "Those poor sheep are just prisoners to be picked off."

"Second floor contains stockrooms, laboratories, the Chantry, more libraries, and mages who have completed their training," Cobian said, startling them out of their conversation. "That is where your sister would be, yes?" He eyed Ciara and Lawrien.

"Yep." Lawrien nodded.

"Right. Third floor has meeting rooms and rooms for the senior mages," Cobian continued on. "Templars live on the fourth floor, but hopefully they are working with the mages right now and are trying to fight back the onslaught of demons. Then there is the Harrowing Chamber."

"There is also the basement," Ciara said. "It houses dangerous artefacts, prison cells, and storage spaces."

"You're really going in then?" Greagior frowned.

"Yep." Lawrien nodded.

"You both realise that this is suicidal, right?"

"You weren't at Ostagar, Knight Commander," Ciara said. "Those that were and survived that horror are another breed of terrifying."

"You are also on wanted posters," Greagior said, his brow furrowed with concern. "They are calling the Grey Wardens criminals."

"Uncle Loghain is really being a pain right now," Cobian mused.

"Uncle?" Greagior stared blankly at him.

"There are some minor complications, but we still do intend to defeat the Blight," Ciara said. "And for that we need our mages."

"Minor?" Torph scoffed. "You call this shit minor?"

Greagior sighed, but nodded solemnly. "May Andraste give you strength, for whatever you decide to do."

"This was exactly how I wanted to spend my afternoon," Alistair joked. "A day spent with demons and malificar, how wonderful."

"And we're gonna kill them all!" Lawrien cheered.

"You say that so happily," Torph groaned. "The last demon we faced made an army full of undead to kick our asses and now we're going to face more?"

"Wait, what?" Greagior startled.

"Yeah, Ciara wasn't lying, we've faced some shit!" Torph threw up his hands. "Shit I'm getting tired of!"

Narascha grinned. "Well at least we're all here this time."

"I don't want to be," Torph groaned.

"Yeah, I'm too old for this," Faren complained.

"Aren't you one of the youngest here?" Morrigan raised a brow.

"Exactly."