Chapter 99
They set off for the Dragonbone Wastes, and Emma spoke to Aedan about what they should do in regards to The Architect, They discussed the pros and cons and finally decided that although it had tried to do good, it seemed to fail miserably each time. The Architect had unwittingly started the Fifth Blight, had been responsible for the creation of the lunatic Broodmother that now called herself The Mother, not to mention that he'd tortured Grey Wardens in the hope of saving darkspawn and stopping all future Blights. There was also the fact that it was one of the seven Magisters' that had attempted to storm the Golden City - and in so doing, had become one of the first darkspawn. In the end, it was agreed that the Architect was just too dangerous to be allowed to live.
They fought through darkspawn and the occasional ogre in order to reach the entrance to Drake's Fall, but unfortunately, their path was blocked by a High Dragon.
Emma cast Winter's Grasp and couldn't resist shouting, "Taarsidath-an halsaam."
Aedan threw her a questioning look. "What does that mean?"
She chuckled. "I'll tell you later."
The dragon finally hit the ground with an earth-shaking thud, and they stepped past the massive body and entered Drake's Fall.
Emma made sure that all the chests were looted and all the fleshy pods were opened in order to collect the crystals needed to gain extra abilities which would come in useful when fighting the Mother. They descended down a curved stairway, all the while fighting large groups of darkspawn. At the end of the stairs they found four sockets where the crystals would fit in, but before they had a chance to do that, another armoured ogre ran out from an alcove. Emma circled around the massive beast, noticing some uncovered flesh, which she quickly pointed out to Aedan. While the ogre was distracted with a frontal attack from the rest of the group, Aedan leapt onto its back and plunged his daggers deep, cutting tendons and veins. As the creature started to stagger, Aedan tore out the blades and jumped back just in time to avoid being squashed as it fell.
They fitted the crystals in the sockets and moved on to another curved staircase and more sockets. This time it was the Architect waiting for them. "And so we meet again. I owe you an apology, Commander. When last we met, I intended to explain myself. Fate, however, intervened."
Aedan held up his hand. "I know of your intentions, I know what you've done in the name of freeing your brethren, as you call them, and I know of your failures. I cannot allow you to live." The tainted Magister had time to apologise to Utha his dwarven companion before the attack began. It was a hard-won fight, as the Architect had been a powerful Magister before his transition into a darkspawn, and it showed in the strength of his spells.
In the end, though, he was overpowered along with Utha, and after fitting the next set of crystals into their respective slots, they descended further, taking one final set of stairs, and putting the last of the crystals in place. Emma turned to Aedan. "Do you feel any different?"
He shrugged. "Not particularly. Am I supposed to?"
"Well, you should have access to three new abilities. They're only temporary, but they'll be helpful when fighting the Mother."
"Any idea how I'm supposed to set off these abilities?"
Emma gave him a sheepish smile; she couldn't really tell him that in the game you just had to click on an icon to use them. "Not really, no."
Nathaniel pointed to Aedan's arm. "Did you have a tattoo there before?"
Following Howe's direction, Aedan looked at the strange inked band that encircled his biceps. "Er, no, that's definitely new."
Emma grinned, thinking of the couple of places that Aedan did have a tattoo as she checked his other arm. "Oh, you've got two on this side." Aedan glanced over to them; they were identical to the markings on his other arm.
"So, what are these abilities?"
"Healing the whole group, which includes those who may have been knocked unconscious, then there's an area-of-effect Mind Blast, and finally a Flame Blast, which... well, to be honest, that's not much use, but the healing and the Mind Blast could be helpful, because we're going to have a few more of those overgrown maggots attacking us."
Aedan shuddered. "I really hate those things. Right, let's see if I can do a Flame Blast." He looked intently at a flesh pod... it appeared to be unimpressed. "Is there some trick to this? Maybe I need to rub the markings? Though that could be a bit tricky if I'm in the middle of stabbing something."
"Just picture a stream of flame," Emma suggested. When a minute had passed, she asked him if he was feeling anything. He told her in a sarcastic tone that he was most definitely feeling a headache forming. "Okay, not to worry. I've got healing, fire and force magic. We'll be fine."
They found an opening that looked ominous. "Well, that's where I'd hide if I were a raving mad Broodmother," Nathaniel said. They stepped through, and indeed, there she was - all flailing tentacles, layers of boobs, and numerous arms. As they approached, the Mother started explaining about how the Architect had started the Fifth Blight, but Aedan stopped her. "I've got a damn headache, and your voice is kind of annoying."
Emma gave a shout of laughter and jumped right in by dropping a Death Hex and Entropic Cloud over the psychotic Broodmother. The skin around its mouth peeled back as she let out a bone-shaking scream. Emma felt sorry for Aedan because that wasn't going to help his headache at all. As the spell cleared, the Mother cast a Glyph of Neutralization on Emma, which completely drained her mana. Her hands trembled as she reached for a lyrium potion, but she was still trying to fumble with the cork when the Childer grubs attacked. Ah, crap!
All of a sudden, a shockwave rippled through the chamber and the grubs were thrown backwards. She glanced up to see one of the bands on Aedan's arm glow a bright gold before fading away. Apparently, he'd figured out how to use the abilities, and just in the nick of time too. Eventually, the weakness subsided, and after swallowing down a potent lyrium potion, she was back in the fight. In retaliation for the glyph, she cast Elemental Chaos, and when the Mother screamed at the build-up of ice, Emma remembered she had a bit of a weakness for cold spells. With that in mind, she constantly bombarded her, until finally, Aedan leapt at the creature and jammed one of his daggers through her mouth; it pierced the back of the skull, and the Mother was finally dead. Aedan landed nimbly on his feet, minus the dagger. "Yeah, I'm going to have to get another set," he said, as they made their way back to the surface.
They returned to find Vigil's Keep looking a little worse for wear, but it had done its job in holding back the main force of the darkspawn. Oghren was hailed as a hero for his command of the forces, and for taking down two ogres at the same time. During the celebration party, he managed to drink every one of them under the table, and shortly afterwards he returned to his family in Denerim.
Velanna was unhappy to hear that the Architect was dead, as she felt she'd lost her last remaining connection to her sister. She left the Order shortly afterwards, saying that she was going to keep searching for Seranni. Anders survived the battle, but the constrictions of the Order chafed at his free spirit, and soon after he was gone. Emma was disturbed to find that on the same day, Kristoff's corpse was found to be free of Justice.
Sigrun stayed with the Wardens for some time, but in the end, she left to face the darkspawn in the Deep Roads. It seemed that her loyalty to the Legion of the Dead superseded her loyalty to the Wardens. Emma was saddened to hear that she'd left, but understood her desire to do her duty to the Legion. Nathaniel was the only recruit to stay with the Grey Wardens, and he rose quickly in their ranks with his bravery and dedication.
After a stable force of Grey Wardens were established at Vigil's Keep, Aedan proclaimed their work done, and the couple returned to Denerim for a few months, spending time with Alistair and his family before they left for Kirkwall.
