Now that they had mounts available to them, it only took a couple of weeks to reach Lydes. Leliana had won the argument in favour of hiring a boat with the reasoning that the military unrest in Orlais had made the roads more dangerous than usual, and the less time spent on them, the better. They arrived at the docks of Val Royeaux, but, thanks to Josephine's insistence that they make as grand an entrance as possible, the group skirted the city walls to enter the city via the Sun Gate. This way, they would pass through the similarly-named Avenue of the Sun, where the Orlesian nobility often promenaded. Regardless of how much they appeared to be no more than a band of vagabonds, Josephine reasoned, their arrival would be noted, and that was the first step in being taken seriously.
As soon as they entered the main plaza, they could hear a chantry mother's voice carrying loud and clear across the crowd that had gathered.
"Good people of Val Royeaux, hear me! Together we mourn our Divine. Her naïve and beautiful heart silenced by treachery! You wonder what will become of her murderer. Well, wonder no more! Behold, the so-called Herald of Andraste! Claiming to rise where our beloved fell. We say this is a false prophet! No servant of anything beyond her selfish greed!"
"I make no such claim! I wasn't sent here by Andraste or your Maker!" Ellethir called back. "I am simply trying to close the Breach. It threatens us all!"
"It's true!" Cassandra continued. "The Inquisition seeks only to end this madness before it is too late!"
"It is already too late," the Chantry mother announced, gesturing to a group of fully-armoured templars approaching the podium where she stood with a sweep of her robe. "The templars have returned to the Chantry! They will face this 'Inquisition,' and the people will be safe once more!" But the templars walked right past her, and as one passed, his fist flew, knocking the chantry mother to the ground. The crowd let out a collective gasp. The templar that followed appeared equally shocked, and went to help the woman up, but another blocked his path.
"Still yourself, she is beneath us," The man said gravely.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ellethir snapped. "Are we to take it then that you are not here to deal with the Inquisition?"
He sneered. "As if there were any reason to." As he descended the stairs, Cassandra tried to reason with him.
"Lord-Seeker Lucius, it is imperative that we speak with-"
"You will not address me," the Lord-Seeker cut her off.
"Lord-Seeker?"
He turned to face her. "Creating a heretical movement, raising up a puppet as Andraste's prophet. You should be ashamed. You should all be ashamed! The templars failed no one when they left the Chantry to purge the mages! You are the ones who have failed! You who'd leash our righteous swords with doubt and fear! If you came to appeal to the Chantry, you are too late. The only destiny here that demands respect is mine."
Ellethir sneered back. "If you're not here to help the Chantry, then you just came to make speeches?"
"I came to see what frightens old women so, and to laugh."
The templar who'd attempted to help the chantry mother stepped forward. "But Lord-Seeker, what if she really was sent by the Maker? What if—?"
"You are called to a higher purpose. Do not question," The templar who had punched the mother interrupted.
"I will make the templar order a power that stands alone against the Void," the Lord-Seeker proclaimed. "We deserve recognition. Independence! You have shown me nothing, and the Inquisition…less than nothing. Templars! Vol Royeaux is unworthy of our protection! We march!" The templars he led formed up behind him as he stalked away, shoving spectators who hovered too close as they went.
"Charming fellow, isn't he?" Varric muttered.
Cassandra stared after the retreating forms in shock. "Has Lord-Seeker Lucius gone mad?"
"Do you know him very well?" Ellethir asked.
"He took over the Seekers of Truth two years ago, after Lord-Seeker Lambert's death. He was always a decent man, never given to ambition and grandstanding. This is very bizarre."
"Fortunately, the templars aren't our only hope."
"I wouldn't write them off so quickly."
"I would," Fae muttered under her breath.
Choosing to ignore her, Cassandra continued. "There must be those in the Order who see what he's become. Either way, we should return to Haven and inform the others."
Suddenly, Fae flung up a barrier in front of Ellethir as an arrow streaked through the air and pinned itself to the ground in front of them.
"Creators, was that an arrow? Did you see the archer?" Ellethir gasped.
Fae shook her head, peering up at the balconies that surrounded the plaza. "I only just saw the arrow in time, luckily it would have missed anyway."
"I think it was supposed to miss," Varric plucked the arrow from the ground, and unravelled the piece of paper wrapped around it. "A message for the Herald."
"From who?"
"The friends of Red Jenny," he read. "Whoever they are." He handed the paper to Ellethir.
While the Herald was trying to decipher the cryptic message, an elegantly-dressed man approached her. "You are the Herald of Andraste, are you not? I have an invitation for you." He handed her a delicate, silver-embossed note, bowed, and walked away.
"This one is from a Madame Vivienne," Ellethir read. "She's invited me to a…salon. Is that a party?"
Cassandra nodded. "Of a sort."
Varric grinned. "We've been in this city for what, five minutes? And already the masses are clamouring to be your friend. That's a good sign, Herald."
As the group made its way back to the Sun Gates, they were stopped once more by another stranger.
"If I might have a moment of your time?" asked an older elven woman. She wore exquisitely detailed robes, and the staff on her back shone with a pale white stone at the top.
"Grand Enchanter Fiona?" Cassandra said, surprised.
"Leader of the mage rebellion?" Solas asked with concern. "Is it not dangerous for you to be here?"
Fiona smiled. "I heard of this gathering, and I wanted to see the fabled Herald of Andraste with my own eyes. If it's help with the Breach you seek, perhaps my people are the wiser option."
Ellethir inclined her head. "I'm surprised the leader of the mages wasn't at the Conclave."
"Yes. You were supposed to be, and yet somehow you avoided death," Cassandra added, echoing her suspicion.
Fiona shrugged. "As did the Lord-Seeker, you'll note. Both of us sent negotiators in our stead, in case it was a trap. I won't pretend I'm not glad to live. I lost many dear friends that day. It disgusts me to think the templars will get away with it. I'm hoping you won't let them."
"You think the templars are responsible?" Ellethir questioned.
Fiona raised an eyebrow. "Lucius hardly seems broken up over his losses, if he's concerned about them at all. You heard him. You think he wouldn't happily kill the Divine to turn people against us? So yes, I think he did it. More than I think you did it, at any rate."
"The mages weren't willing to talk to the Inquisition before. Why now?"
"Because I've seen what you are. And I've seen the Chantry for what it is. Consider this an invitation to Redcliffe: come meet with the mages. An alliance could help us both, after all. I hope to see you there. Au revoir, my lady Herald."
Once Fiona had left, Ellethir turned to Fae. "You didn't recognise Fiona, and she didn't recognise you."
Fae looked puzzled. "Why would we? We hadn't met before."
"But she's the leader of the rebel mages? I thought you were with them, before you came to Haven."
"Oh, I see what you mean. The group I was with was mainly made up of mages from Kirkwall, and survivors from the other fallen Circles in the Free Marches, but there were other groups. There were supposed to be a few mages still in Andoral's Reach- many of their original number attended the conclave. Then there were the ones fighting in the Fereldan hinterlands, and finally, the ones who'd found shelter in Redcliffe. Fiona's mages are by far the largest group, from what we heard. In the hundreds." Fae paused, wondering if she'd given too much away already. Sure, the Seeker was an ally for now, but what if her fellow Seekers wanted to track down the rest of the 'apostates' later?
"Go on, Fae, it's alright, you can trust us," Ellethir urged.
Fae hoped that meant the Herald was just good at reading people, and not actually able to read minds.
"When I left, we were arguing over whether or not we should try to join forces with them," Fae admitted. "Some of us wanted to join her for that exact reason- safety in numbers. Others thought that joining her would just place a bigger target on our backs. I left before the vote was held, so I don't know what they decided. But if Fiona did allow them to join her mages in Redcliffe, it would have been out of compassion; only a few of us could provide any assistance if they were attacked."
"And do you believe the Grand Enchanter would show that kind of compassion?" Cassandra asked.
Fae shrugged. "I don't know. Having met her, I don't think she's the kind of person who would punch a chantry mother in the face, at the very least." Noting Cassandra's disapproving look, she sighed. "At least she's offering to help. That has to count for something, whatever ulterior motives she may have."
"We should continue this discussion back at Haven," Ellethir mused. "For now, I need you all to help me with this riddle 'Red Jenny' has written."