Chapter 106

It was in the ninth month of 9:39 that Emma awoke with sweat pouring down her body and tears in her eyes. In her dream, Warden Stroud had remained in the Fade to fight the Nightmare as the Inquisitor and Hawke escaped through the rift. When she'd played Dragon Age: Inquisition, she'd always made sure it was Stroud who was the Grey Warden, and she always left him behind. But that was before she'd gotten to know him and considered him a friend.
"Are you all right, Angel?" Aedan's voice was rough with sleep, but even so, he reached out to her. She shook her head, unable to speak over the lump in her throat. His hand wrapped around her wrist and he tugged her down to him. She curled up against his chest and let the tears fall.

Afterwards, she told him about what was going to happen, and they discussed ideas that might change the future. In the end, they decided to write to the First Warden at Weisshaupt and call a meeting of all the Warden-Commanders in Thedas. To ensure that the correspondence was taken seriously, Emma mentioned that the situation involved Corypheus. Three weeks later, they received a reply confirming that a meeting had been called, along with a request for them to travel to Weisshaupt immediately.

They'd crossed the Waking Sea, and Varric had arranged for two horses to be waiting for them when they disembarked in Kirkwall. Initially, Emma had been delighted when she'd first seen her horse, and she'd eagerly hopped onto its back. However, after travelling through Nevarra for days, and then some of Tevinter, the novelty of horse-riding had long since worn off and she was fervently wishing that a bus would pull up next to her. They had stopped at a small inn for the night and had left early the next morning to cross the Hunterhorn Mountains.

Emma shifted in her saddle. "How much further do we have to go?" She tried not to sound like a kid whining in the back of a car, but it was hard not to when her ass had gone numb over an hour ago, and her eyes were sore from the dust and grit that regularly blew in her face.
"Not long, Angel. Probably about another hour or so. I'll give you a massage tonight, that should help with the aches and pains."
She perked up. "Will that massage lead to other things?" She did an excited bounce in the saddle, unfortunately, the horse mistook the signal, assuming its rider wanted a nice gallop and took off at a rapid pace.

"Ow... ow... ow!" Each movement felt like a hammer to her lower back. "Bad horsey. Stop. Whoa. Time out. Damn it! How do I stop this thing?"
Aedan caught up, and grabbed the reins, yanking them firmly. "Are you all right?" His voice sounded a little unsteady, and she looked at him suspiciously. "Are you laughing?" He shook his head, his bottom lip firmly clamped between his teeth. She glared at him. "Yes, yes. Just let it out, otherwise, you're going to bust a gut."
The sound of his laughter followed her as she rode off in dignified silence.

They reached their destination just as the sun was setting, and the sheer size of Weisshaupt Fortress was breath-taking, made even more so by the fiery orange sunset that lit the grey stone walls. They were met by a steward, who showed them to their room to tidy up, and advised that dinner would be served in an hour. After he had left, Emma fell forward onto the bed, rubbing her backside and letting out a long sigh. "I really hope they have padded cushions at the dinner table."
Aedan chuckled and laid down beside her; she shifted a little and he slid an arm beneath her to pull her up to his side. "Well, you can always sit on my lap, Angel."
She straddled one leg over his thigh. "Somehow I don't think we'd be getting much eating done." He smiled and rolled her over, his lips finding hers in a warm, lazy kiss. "Hmm, you have a point." His hand slid into her hair as he deepened the kiss, and his hips pressed her into the soft mattress. She pulled back with a breathless laugh. "I would love to get you naked, but, we only have one hour, and I really need a bath."
He groaned and dropped his head to the curve of her neck where he nipped and licked at the skin. "Later, Angel."

However, that promise seemed unlikely, as the talks went on long into the night. Not surprisingly, they were all initially dismissive of Emma's story until she mentioned the name Corypheus. Some of the Grey Wardens looked confused, having never heard the name before, but others were surprised and worried. It was the Warden-Commander of Orlais – Clarel de Chanson that recovered first. "I've heard some stories about you Warden Cousland, but I admit to being something of a sceptic. Are you asking us to believe that you know about Corypheus because of your ability as a seer?"
Emma stared at the woman for a split-second, shocked at coming face-to-face with the person who would condone the deaths of a large majority of the Grey Wardens under her command. She pushed aside the distracting thought, and said, "I don't really care what you believe about me, but you need to believe in this – Corypheus is already free, and he will cause the deaths of countless Wardens and practically bring the Order to its knees."

Clarel looked taken aback for a moment, and then a polite mask dropped over her features, and her lip curled back contemptuously. "I find that hard to believe. I know that Corypheus is dangerous, but even he couldn't take down so many Wardens."
The First Warden held up his hand. "Warden-Commander Clarel, I asked everyone to attend this meeting to hear what Warden Cousland has to say. That's going to be a little difficult if you keep interrupting."
She gave a gracious nod and sat back in her chair, seemingly relaxed, but her eyes never left Emma. The First Warden signalled Emma to continue.

She took a nervous sip of water and then explained what would happen. "I know that Corypheus is one of the seven Magisters who tried to enter the Golden City. I know he can control Wardens, even while he was asleep in his prison in the Vinmark Mountains. Now imagine what he could do, fully awake and more powerful than ever."

A few concerned looks passed between the more senior Wardens. The First Warden drummed his fingers on the table. "That would be very bad, but if we saw Corypheus we'd know to retreat and make plans to capture him again."
Emma gave a short nod. "Which is why he will employ someone else to do his dirty work. He'll make all Wardens feel the Calling, and then he'll use a Tevinter Magister – Lord Livius Erimond - to reach out to Warden-Commanders and offer a solution to ending the Blights once and for all."

The Warden-Commander from Nevarra leaned forward. "Well, ending the Blights doesn't sound so bad."
Emma rubbed the back of her neck, trying to ease the tension crawling up her spine. "And that is exactly what he wants you to think. The Grey Wardens will become desperate when they learn that they are all feeling the Calling, and it's that desperation that Corypheus and Erimond will use against us."
Clarel, who had since dropped her eyes and had been listening closely, now raised her head. "In what way?"
Emma looked at Aedan, uncertainty in her eyes; he met her gaze for a moment and then nodded. She took a deep breath, knowing that this wasn't going to be taken well.

"At the order of the Warden-Commander, the mages will take the lives of the warriors and rogues in order to summon demons. Using this army, the plan would be to go down into the Deep Roads to search for the remaining Old Gods and slay them. However, when the ritual is completed, all the Grey Wardens would be under the command of Corypheus."

There was a stunned silence around the large table, and then they all started talking at once; outraged declarations mixed with worried questions, until at last the First Warden slammed his hand on the table, calling everyone to order. Slowly, the Warden-Commanders took their seats again, and a hush fell over the room. The First Warden looked to Emma. "When will this happen?"
"Sometime in 9:41, but I don't have a precise date."

More questions were asked, the Warden-Commanders seeking as much information as possible. Finally, the First Warden stood up, a large, grizzled figure of a man, and his deep voice rang clearly in the large room. "A scribe will note all this down, and it will then be sent out to all Grey Warden outposts so that everyone is prepared. I want it noted in the missive that as soon as any Grey Warden feels the Calling they should journey to Weisshaupt fortress. We'll then determine which ones are real and which ones are false."
The meeting was eventually called to an end, and each Warden-Commander left with a worried frown on their face. Emma felt bad that she'd dumped all this on them, but the alternative would have been much worse.

"Aedan, Emma, I'd like a word before you leave."The First Warden waited until the room was empty. "Is it possible you two will be immune to the Calling?"
"It seems likely, considering what happened to us," Aedan answered.
The First Warden rubbed a hand over his dark grey beard. "We can't let Corypheus roam free, so we need to come up with some kind of a plan."
"Oh, don't worry. There will be someone to fight Corypheus, and they will win," Emma said with a confident smile.
"A Grey Warden?"
"No, but the person will be the only one able to defeat Corypheus."
"Okay. I want the Wardens represented in this matter when it occurs. If you two are free from the Calling, then you will be Grey Warden ambassadors to whomever is going to take on Corypheus."

Emma grinned at the thought of going to Skyhold. She really hoped they were immune to the Calling, otherwise, she and Aedan would have to steer clear of Corypheus, and she'd miss all the fun – well, if she was being perfectly honest, she would miss meeting The Iron Bull.

As Aedan and Emma walked back to their room, Emma thought of something else. "We need to keep out of sight for a while."
He raised an eyebrow. "Who do we need to avoid... and why?"
"Leliana for one, and Cassandra Pentaghast. They're going to be looking for you to lead the Inquisition."
"Shouldn't we help out then?"
Emma smiled. "No, the right person will be found."
He closed the door and lifted Emma into his arms. "So, Angel. Any ideas on where we should hide?"
His hand brushed against the soft curve of her breast. "Er... well..."
He lowered her to the bed, and his other hand slid under her skirt to tease the satin skin of her inner thighs. "I..." A wanton moan fell from her lips as his fingers slipped inside her knickers, and she gave up all hope of answering him. They could deal with that problem in the morning.