Mila guided them to the war room before leaving to find her father. Isabella thanked her as she could hear the Wardens arguing with each other about the battle raging outside the walls. With Davrin and Lucanis behind her, Isabella walked into the room, finding Antione and Evka among the several Wardens arguing with the First Warden.
"We have no choice, ser. We need to fall back to the dragon trap," Evka informed, walking towards her leader. The First Warden hunched over the map before shaking his head.
"Forget the trap, we need to rally the troops outside the wall. Send word to Commander Janos," the First Warden demanded, reorganizing the war table. Isabella shook her head, throwing the commander's broken sword onto the table.
Silence fell in the room as the battle could be heard beyond the walls. The First Warden glared at her as she held her chin up proudly. Evka and Antione glanced between them as Isabella could feel Lucanis start to reach for his rapier.
"Commander Janos is dead," Isabella informed finitely.
"What are you doing here?" the First Warden spat before turning to one of the Warden guards. "Arrest her."
"You need to listen to her," Antione argued. "She's been right about the blight, and whatever is in the clouds is unlike anything we've seen before."
"Do you hear yourself?" the First Warden shouted. Isabella eyed the guards as they hesitantly walked towards her. She pushed past them, walking towards the Warden leader. "Stop finding excuses to be a coward."
"You hear it, don't you? The archdemon?" Isabella guessed, noting that the leader was bleeding from his ear. He turned to her with a scowl as she squared up to him. "It's calling to you, isn't it?"
"This is preposterous," the First Warden argued. "Send our troops out to fight the enemy."
"The enemy is outside the window!" Isabella growled, pointing at the cloud just beyond the building. "Your Wardens will all die if you don't do anything. The Wardens are the only ones in Thedas that can stop this, but not if they burn your fortress to the ground."
"Not on my watch," he argued before Isabella stepped towards him.
"Thisisyour watch! The archdemon and the gods are mocking you," she informed with a sneer. "Unless you become the leader who defied a god."
The First Warden glowered at her, his thoughts turning. Isabella met his challenge, narrowing her eyes. They needed the Wardens on their side if they were going to have a chance, but she wasn't above knocking the First Warden out if she needed to. She would at least try diplomacy first. The First Warden glanced around the room, seeing the waiting gazes of his fellow Wardens, and he made his decision.
"Then they will know our steel," he replied as relief flooded her system.
Isabella closed her eyes for a fraction of a second before she saw the archdemon aim for the window in front of them. The First Warden ordered everyone to take cover, and Lucanis just about tackled her to the ground, bringing her against the toppled war table. She blinked, remembering that he had more acrobatic skills than he usually showed off. The First Warden turned away from her to Antione.
"Antione, the dragon trap," the First Warden began as the Warden shook his head.
"It's never been used, and it's over nine hundred years old," Antione answered. The First Warden nodded, turning back to Isabella.
"Rook, you need to get that trap ready," he informed as she furrowed her brows.
"Me?" she asked as he nodded.
"Yes, you were right, and we need to take down that archdemon," the First Warden explained, glancing back at Davrin behind her. The monster hunter nodded once, remembering the way to it. "Consider your warrant rescinded."
"Thank you, First Warden," Isabella replied, bowing in her sitting position with her fist over her heart.
"Now go trap that archdemon," the Warden ordered, pointing at the door.
Isabella needed no more motivation as she dashed towards the second exit with Lucanis and Davrin both on her heels. Once they left the war room, however, it seemed that chaos had broken loose. Darkspawn of all sorts were battling against the wardens as Davrin took the lead, guiding them towards the quickest route to the dragon trap. At least, it would be quick if they weren't stopped every few feet by a new monster. It would've been better if Ghilan'nain wasn't taunting the Wardens every thirty seconds with horrific comments.
Isabella kept her distance as she shot arrows at the darkspawn while the other two were cutting and gutting. The darkspawn seemed to be growing in size and numbers as Wardens screamed around her. She did her best to try to stay in the moment, ignoring the horrors of the battle around her. She couldn't think about the death and destruction right now. Then the Wardens sounded the horns nearby.
"What do the horns mean?" Lucanis asked loudly, kicking a ghoul off the edge.
"Calling reinforcements to the east battlements!" Davrin answered, driving his sword through the chest of a hurlock.
"Where are we?" Lucanis sniped back, stabbing another darkspawn through the neck.
"The east battlements!" Davrin added as Isabella swallowed. She kept her aim focused on the blight boils, keeping the blight down to a minimum. She wondered where the rest of her team was, hoping that they were relatively safe. At least safer than they were at the moment.
Eventually, they were able to thin the darkspawn enough to move forward towards the trap. Davrin pointed out the library across the fortress, mentioning that it was located just on the other side of the building. Isabella nodded firmly, letting him take the lead. While she knew the destination, he still knew how to get there best.
"I thought you were going to punch the First Warden back there," Lucanis mentioned as Isabella smirked.
"Thought about it," she murmured.
"I can't believe you managed to talk him down," he remarked with a slight laugh.
"Let's hope he earned that second chance. It would be easier if we have the Wardens on our side after this," Isabella reminded as Lucanis chuckled.
"Still networking, even now."
"Someone has to. Relations are important when gaining allies against the gods."
Davrin guided them through the barracks and down to the main gates. Isabella hadn't expected the inner walls of Weisshaupt to look so much like a town or city. Only it was badly damaged and mostly covered in blight. A flash of Treviso caught in her mind of what would have happened if the dragon had its way with it. She shook her head, following Davrin through the maze of buildings toward the library.
"Rook! Davrin!" Antione shouted from one of the balconies. Isabella turned to see the Warden point towards another point in the area. "Head to the bell tower! The rest of the wardens are rallying there!"
"We'll meet you there!" Isabella shouted back, waving her hand above her head before Antione found his own way through the town.
Davrin guided them through the streets as they continued to run into more and more darkspawn. Isabella grew worried that she would run out of arrows at this rate, and she wondered where the hoards had even come from. Where had the gods hidden legions of darkspawn for so long? She tried to push that thought aside for now as she focused on the problem in front of her. They needed to get to the bell tower to regroup, and hopefully the rest of her team had gotten the message as well.
They cleared a hill, and Isabella took a deep breath, seeing that the bell tower was maybe a street or two away. A bloodcurdling shriek sounded above them before the archdemon attacked the bell tower, aiming at the Wardens in and around it. Davrin cried out as the tower crumbled down. Isabella clenched her jaw, realizing that they needed to stick with the original plan. They needed to get to the library and fast.
"What's the plan now?" Lucanis demanded, gesturing towards the broken tower. She narrowed her eyes at his tone.
"We need to get back to the library," Isabella answered, pushing Davrin forward. "We don't quit, Dellamorte. We need to keep going."
They turned the corner and ran through the ruins, and Isabella kept her eyes on Davrin's back. She couldn't see the corpses on the ground. She needed to keep moving forward if she was going to get through this. They could mourn the fallen once the archdemon and Ghilan'nain were both dead.
Davrin urged them down an alleyway as Isabella was knocked down by a blight tendril, blocking their path. She quickly stood, scrambling backwards before a separate tendril cut off their escape. Isabella glanced around, realizing that they were surrounded by stone and blight with no way out. She wondered if maybe they could figure out how to get over the blight when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.
"Mila!" Isabella recognized as she saw the girl on the ledge above them. She threw down a rope ladder as Isabella ushered Lucanis and Davrin to climb up first. Once she was up on the ledge, she gathered the ladder and handed it back to Mila. "Oh, you are a lifesaver."
"The darkspawn nearly ate you for lunch," the girl remarked as she guided them through the building, dropping the rope bundle on a table. Isabella chuckled, shaking her head.
"We better not stay for dinner then," the Crow suggested.
Mila guided them through the abandoned house and to an upper courtyard, which ended up leading to the library. Isabella took a deep breath, realizing that they were in the home stretch. There were more darkspawn, but they were almost to the library. Once they could get through the library, then it was just a quick jaunt to the dragon trap. They were almost done.
"Mila, find somewhere safe until we can get into the library," Isabella instructed, gesturing towards the stairs. The girl ran away from the danger as much as she could as Isabella drew her daggers. She had less than a dozen arrows left, and she wanted to keep those for when she really needed them.
Davrin led the charge with Lucanis and Isabella close behind, attacking and defending as they went. As long as they could stay one step ahead of the darkspawn, then they would be alright. They tried to cut their way to the library, but their timetable changed when two ogres appeared. Isabella yelled in frustration, throwing one of her daggers at the monster. She was at her wits end. Her brain was fried, and her nerves were frayed. She wasn't even sure if she felt fear anymore.
Isabella ran to the ogre, yanking the dagger out before dodging its blow. She continued to dance around it, slicing and stabbing wherever she could reach as the others tried to keep the rest of the darkspawn off her back. She could hear them bicker amongst them, and she hoped that it was friendly banter at least.
Once the two ogres fell among the rest of the darkspawn, a horde of ghouls broke through, running towards the library and Mila. Isabella screamed darkly, running towards them and attacking. She was able to deter a few and distract the rest.
"Get your asses in here!" Taash shouted from the library. Isabella turned to see them holding the door open slightly. She signaled for Mila to run towards the Qunari before whistling to Lucanis and Davrin.
"Let's go!" Isabella called out before she sprinted towards the door. She could hear the two men run up behind her as she saw Mila run to safety under Taash's arms holding the oaken door.
Once the four of them had slipped inside, Taash along with the rest of the team shut the door, holding it firm against the darkspawn. Isabella pushed against the wood, glad that she was at least able to lean against something for a moment.
"Good to see you three alive," Neve commented as Isabella snorted.
"We'll see how long that lasts," she replied as the doors shook. It was unlikely that the darkspawn would give up soon, and they needed something to keep the doors shut.
"If these doors don't hold, all bets are off," Davrin added, saying the quiet part out loud.
"And the dragon trap?" Isabella reminded.
"The dragon trap will work," a man answered before releasing a mechanism, locking the library door. Isabella stepped back, seeing another Warden had rescued them. "Set it off and then get out of the way."
"Dad!" Mila shouted as she ran up to the man. Isabella exhaled, so relieved that they hadn't found her father as a corpse or worse. Lucanis walked up behind her, catching her attention.
"And how do we get the dragon to land?" he asked as Isabella sighed.
"Do you still have the dagger I gave you?" Isabella countered. He nodded, producing the knife for her. She grabbed it and attached it to her belt. "This will get Ghilan'nain's attention. It was what she was after before."
"And then what?"
"She'll send the archdemon after me, just like she did with the dragon in Treviso. We trap it, and kill it," she answered before smirking. "And then… you take your shot."
"Just like that?" Lucanis replied, his voice uncertain.
"We fight right until the end," she answered. He frowned, not liking what he was hearing. "It could work. We have to try."
"Or this plan could kill you," he argued as Isabella thinned her lips.
"If I don't, more people will die. Today, tomorrow. When would it stop? How many more will Ghilan'nain kill if we don't stop her today?"
"Is this a fight you can win?"
"I mean to find out," she whispered. Lucanis stared at her for a moment, his eyes boring into hers as she held her head high.
"Right, then let's go," Evka urged, walking into the room. Isabella faced the Warden as Lucanis turned his head away, glaring at the ground.
"I know the way to the trap," Davrin informed, guiding Isabella away. Evka walked over to the rest of Isabella's team, instructing them on what to do to prepare for the dragon trap should it fail. Isabella tuned out the orders. If the trap failed, it was because she failed or was killed.
Lucanis and Isabella followed Davrin through the blighted library as they destroyed boils and tendrils to make their way to the trap. Isabella steeled herself, wondering if she was being too rash and reckless again. At least it was only her life she was gambling, and hopefully everyone else would be able to get to safety if she failed.
"Davrin, about this trap," Lucanis began as Isabella broke through another blight boil. "I thought only a Grey Warden could kill an archdemon."
"And die doing it," Davrin answered. Lucanis and Isabella both froze, turning to the Warden.
"What?" she whispered, as Lucanis tilted his head.
"It's complicated, but it's the expectation of every Warden. We're prepared for the sacrifice. I'm ready," Davrin explained, glancing back.
Isabella slowed her pace, shocked by his words. She hadn't known him for long, but she could believe that he was willing to give his entire life to end an archdemon. It was noble and honorable, but Isabella couldn't help but think about Assan and where it would leave the griffon. Without Davrin, where would the griffon be?
"To die?" Isabella asked as Davrin shrugged.
"Who knows? Maybe they'll hang my portrait here one day," the Warden remarked as the door swung open to the next room.
"You have my utmost respect for the sacrifice, Davrin, should it come to that," Lucanis mentioned sincerely. Davrin paused, glancing back at the Crow.
"And I know you'll finish the job and kill Ghilan'nain," Davrin added with a smirk. Isabella swallowed, wondering if there was another way for the Warden to live.
Soon, Davrin led them out of the library and onto the roof, where the dragon trap lay in wait. Isabella stared at it, reminded again of the consistent griffon imagery of the Wardens. She nodded towards Lucanis, signaling him to get into position to receive the dagger when the time came. Davrin stayed close off to the side near the wall, waiting for the archdemon to be caught.
Isabella stepped onto the platform by herself, staring at the pale blue dagger in her hands. The damn dagger that seemed to always put them in a heap of trouble, no matter what. She took a deep breath and turned towards the wall.
"And now, I die," Isabella muttered dramatically before she thrust the dagger into the air. "Hey Ghilan'nain! Is this what you're looking for?"
Isabella did her best to stand stock still as the cloud face approached the ledge she stood at, shrieking at ungodly levels.
"The Dread Wolf's Dagger! Retrieve it!" the goddess screamed as the archdemon appeared behind her.
Isabella waited, clutching the dagger in her hand as she watched the archdemon dance around in front of the trap. She whispered an old Antivan prayer under her breath, hoping that the creature would step on the pressure plate. And with luck, it did, sending harpooned chains to ensnare the archdemon to the floor. Ghilan'nain screamed in pain as the cloud face fell away.
Once the archdemon was incapacitated, Isabella ran towards Davrin as he walked towards it. The Warden saw his leader and faltered. He glanced at the floor in thought before giving a trying smile.
"Davrin," Isabella started.
"Give Assan a hug for me," Davrin whispered.
"Hold your blade, Warden!" a deep voice bellowed. The First Warden, injured and bleeding, hobbled down the steps towards them. Davrin reached out to help, but the First Warden waved him away. "Let an old man atone for his wrong doings."
"All is forgiven," Isabella replied, understanding what the First Warden was doing. What he was sacrificing. The First Warden laughed dryly, shaking his head.
"I shouldn't be, but thank you for lying to an old man," he replied. Davrin glanced at Isabella before stepping aside to let the older man pass. The First Warden approached the archdemon with his sword held high. "We mortals have a war, victory. In peace, vigilance. In death, sacrifice!"
Just as the blade nearly penetrated the archdemon's skull, Ghilan'nain manifested from the blight, stabbing the First Warden in the stomach with her tendrils before standing at her full height. Isabella covered her mouth in shock as she saw the streams of blood pouring out of the Warden down to the ground as the sword clattered on the stone floor.
"You mortals are nothing but weaknesses. The blight could perfect you, yet you rail against it like temperamental children," the goddess growled before thrusting her hand into the First Warden's already torn entrails, squeezing more blood out. Once she was satisfied, she dropped the body as the archdemon liquified into pure blight, dripping into the crevices. "The blight is life and creation itself, and I will show you."
Isabella grabbed her daggers, stowing Solas's dagger for now. Lucanis appeared at her side again, seeing that the goddess was up to something much different than any of them expected.
From out of the blight pool, a horrific wyrm head with an elongated neck stretched out towards them. Ghilan'nain cackled, introducing her truth archdemon and source of her power. Isabella swallowed, realizing just how over her head she was. She dodged nearly every attack, doing her best to kill the monster when it got near her.
When they were able to weaken it, Ghilan'nain called it back only for her to produce two heads instead of one. Isabella cursed under her breath, doing her best to keep up as she fought back against the now two monsters. Davrin and Lucanis continued to shout at each other, both quite upset about the development of multiplying heads. Isabella kept her mouth shut for the most part, just wanting to put the damn creature in the ground.
It wasn't until the creature produced three heads were they finally able to put down the creature for good. As the last head was struggling, Isabella tossed the blue dagger to Lucanis to get ready before calling out to Davrin to prepare for his ultimate sacrifice. While she hated the idea of it, they didn't have much of a choice. It was either everyone or the archdemon taking Davrin with it.
Davrin took his stance, stabbing his sword through the top of the archdemon's skull, killing the creature. Isabella watched, expecting the Warden to slump over or possibly cry out. Instead, Davrin glanced around, confused by what he was seeing. Isabella could see a red wisp of wind connect the archdemon to Ghilan'nain as the goddess shrieked in pain. The archdemon was dead, and that meant that her immortality's source was gone.
"Lucanis! Now!" Isabella screamed as she saw Lucanis jump from the dragon trap.
He jumped from the griffon's beak, utilizing Spite's wings to help guide him to his target. Isabella watched as he grew close, but the goddess saw him at the last second. She threw up a tendril of blight at the last moment, knocking him just slightly off his course, slicing a gash into her face. He landed near Isabella as he sneered.
Ghilan'nain touched her face before she screamed and shouted, her voice reverberating horribly off the walls. Isabella motioned for Davrin to run back to the eluvian. She grabbed Lucanis's arm, which he shrugged off and turned to her.
"We gotta go," she informed.
"Give me one more shot," he growled as the blight started to grow uncontrollably around them. Isabella shook her head before shoving his shoulder towards their exit.
"We can try again later. If we stay, we'll die," Isabella argued, gesturing towards the growing blight before breaking out into a run.
Luckily, the blacksmith and Mila had the bright idea of moving the eluvian closer while the darkspawn and Ghilan'nain were distracted so they didn't have to dash clear across Weisshaupt to escape. Isabella exhaled, relieved to see each of her teammates among the Wardens.
"Is it working?" Isabella asked as the blacksmith shrugged.
"It should be," he answered as she nodded, starting to push people in.
"Best odds I've heard all day," she replied as they barely made it in before the blight covered the area. Just as Isabella made it through, the glass cracked and fell behind her. The eluvian in Weisshaupt had shattered.
Weisshaupt had fallen.