Linn looked down into the hatch's opening and let out a small groan of frustration. Bann Teagan had decided to follow the arlesa into the castle ahead of them. She wanted to be mad at him for doing so, but it was obvious that he was worried about the arl's son Connor. Linn quickly followed the steps down into the passageway with Alistair following close behind her.
The passageway led to what Linn assumed was the dungeons. As she approached the doorway, she could hear screaming from the other side. After a glance at the others, Linn ran for the door and opened it to see more of the corpses roaming around. As though they felt her presence, they all turned to the group at once.
"Oh, wonderful," Morrigan muttered, and Linn quickly cast a spell to burn the corpses.
The fire didn't slow them down as they ran straight for Linn. Quickly dodging behind Sten, Linn continued to hit them with spells as Alistair and Sten charged forward. As the last charred corpse fell to the floor, Linn took a closer look at the room around them. They were in the castle's dungeon, and someone had been screaming for help. Linn ran forward but stopped dead in her tracks in front of the cell.
Jowan stared back at her with confusion and anger.
"You!" Jowan started but stopped when his eyes focused on Sten.
"Yeah, me… And what did you do, Jowan?" Linn asked accusingly as she crossed her arms. "When the arlesa mentioned a mage, I never would have guessed that it was you. Did you decide to take everyone with you when you got captured?"
"No! You have to believe me. This wasn't my doing," Jowan frantically pleaded. "I… I know it looks suspicious, but I'm not responsible for the creatures and the killings when all that began." Jowan stopped to give her a desperate look. Linn scowled in return, and Jowan continued witha sigh, "She must have told you what I did to the arl… At first, Lady Isolde came here with her men demanding that I reverse what I'd done. I thought she'd meant my poisoning of the arl. That's the first I heard of the walking corpses. She thought I'd summoned a demon to torment her family and destroy Redcliffe. She… had me tortured. There was nothing I could do or say that would appease her. So they… left me to rot."
"Why did you poison the arl to begin with?" Linn asked warily, noticing Alistair's glare at the mage. She hesitated to believe his story, but he did sound genuinely remorseful.
"I was instructed to by Teryn Loghain," Jowan admitted. "I was told that Arl Eamon was a threat to Ferelden… that if I dealt with him Loghain would settle matters with the Circle. All I wanted was to be able to return."
"So Loghain promised you amnesty and then left you to rot… Honestly, that's about what I would expect from the man," Linn said with a sigh.
"Before I say anything else, I need to ask you a question," Jowan pleaded pitifully. "You can do whatever you feel you need to afterward, but I need to know… What became of Lily? They didn't hurt her, did they? The thought that she might have paid for my crime…"
"That's a rather big ask of you," Linn replied evenly. "Quite frankly, you should have known better."
"You're right! I should have! But please just tell me she's all right!"
Linn hesitated, wondering if a lie would be more comforting, but he deserved the truth. "I don't know, Jowan. The Chantry took her away before I joined the Grey Wardens. I have no idea where she went."
"Oh my poor Lily," Jowan murmured into his hands. "She must hate me now if she lives. What have I done?"
Linn shared a look with Morrigan. Surprisingly, Morrigan turned away to look at Jowan with pity. Linn turned her attention back to Jowan. There wasn't time for this; they needed to take care of the corpses first.
"Maker…" Jowan muttered as his hands gripped the bars. "I've made so many mistakes. I disappointed so many people… I wish I could go back and fix it. I just want to make everything right again."
"Well… you did listen to Teryn Loghain of all people… why?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Jowan asked in confusion. "I was desperate, and this is Teryn Loghain we're talking about, for Andraste's sake! Why wouldn't I believe him?"
"Maybe because he's a crusty snake who left everyone at Ostagar to die!" Linn snapped back, and Jowan flinched as though struck. With a sigh, she asked more gently, "Why did the arlesa hire you in the first place? She was… quite cagey with me when I asked for more information."
"Connor had started to show… signs," Jowan replied with a meaningful look. "Lady Isolde was terrified the Circle of Magi would take him away for training."
"Connor? A mage?" Alistair said with an accusing look at the mage. "I can't believe it!"
Jowan continued with a wary look at Alistair, "She sought an apostate, a mage outside the Circle, to teach her son in secret so he could learn to hide his talent. Her husband had no idea."
Linn closed her eyes and focused on the traces of magic around her. After opening them, she muttered, "I see… I think I know what's going on here. The boy's been possessed." Linn paused when she saw the look of horror and sorrow on Alistair's face. "Desperate people make desperate decisions… We need to get to the boy and see if there's anything we can do. And Jowan… now we just need to decide what to do with you."
Jowan hung his head and said sorrowfully, "I know I was a fool, but I want the chance to make this right… please… help me fix this."
"I say kill the mage," Sten spoke up, and Linn saw the fear in Jowan's eyes. "He cannot be trusted."
"He doesn't need to die, surely," Morrigan argued with an irritated look at Sten. "I say this boy could still be of use to us. But if not, then let him go. Why keep him prisoner here?"
"Hey, hey!" Alistair interjected. "Let's not forget he's a blood mage! You can't just… set a blood mage free!"
"Better to slay him?" Morrigan questioned Alistair angrily. "Better to punish him for his choices? Is this Alistair who speaks or the templar?"
Alistair argued back, "I'd say it's common sense. We don't even know the whole story yet."
"Give me a chance, please!" Jowan pleaded.
Linn could feel the anger surging within her, but she also felt… sympathy. She truly believed that Jowan wasn't a bad person, just selfish and impulsive.
"Each of you has a point. For now, Jowan, you'll stay put. I can't trust you to not try to run at the first opportunity, but… I don't think you deserve to die either…"
"Then I will wait. If you change your mind, I will be here," Jowan said with a tearful look.
Linn led the way out of the room. Anger fought with anxiety as Linn led the group further into the castle. The walking dead came from every room as they made their way through the castle, but Linn still checked every room for survivors. None that she could find. Hearing sobbing from one of the doors, Linn quickly ran forward and opened it to find a woman on the ground. There was a small scream of terror from the woman as she closed her eyes tightly and flinched away.
"Are you… Are you the blacksmith's daughter?" Linn asked in a gentle voice.
The woman's eyes opened quickly, and she cried in relief as Linn helped her to her feet. Linn directed her out the way that they had gotten inside before leading the others deeper inside the castle. They had killed most if not all of the undead in the area. The woman should be fine as long as she got out quickly.
Refocusing on the task at hand, Linn moved through the dimly lit hallways with her staff ready. She closed her eyes and focused on finding the magic that she had felt earlier. It was harder to focus on it now. The source of the magic was close, but the very air was saturated with demonic energy. She couldn't sense which direction it was coming from, much less pinpoint the source's location.
"Are you okay?"
Linn opened her eyes to see Alistair's concerned face. She froze for a moment at how close he was, and he quickly took a step backwards.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Linn reassured him with a slight cough. "The air is just…"
"Rancid," Morrigan finished with a disgusted look. "And thick with magic."
"We need to keep moving forward," Sten announced before he began to lead them.
Alistair stayed with Linn as they entered a courtyard. For a moment, Linn was just excited to breathe air that wasn't thick with corpse-stank, but that moment was short-lived. Demons emerged from the shadows. Linn and Morrigan quickly attacked the creatures with magic as Sten and Alistair ran to cut the demons down. Linn could feel the creatures panic as they focused on her. She prepared herself for them to try to rush at her, but Sten and Alistair kept them back.
There was a surge of energy, and from the shadows appeared a demon holding a shield and sword. It focused on Linn and ran toward her as Linn quickly booked it away from the demon. Luckily, she was able to outpace it, and Sten and Alistair took advantage of its intense focus on her to slash it from behind. As she made another lap around the courtyard, Linn could hear Morrigan casting spells behind her. The warrior demon dissipated with a ghastly shriek.
Even Sten was winded as they climbed the steps to the castle's front entrance. Linn took a moment to compose herself before she opened the door. Surprisingly, no demons or corpses ran at her from the shadows. There were no screams of terror. In fact… she could hear a child's laughter. Linn turned to Alistair in confusion. He looked more terrified at the sound than confused as he clutched his sword's grip tightly. Linn led the way inside with careful footsteps. The sound of laughter led them to a room where there was a young boy clapping at Bann Teagan dancing and throwing himself around the room.
"Oh, nightmares…" Linn whispered as she stopped dead in her tracks. "I'm going to have nightmares about this, for sure."
Linn's eyes met the arlesa's as she approached. The look of desperation on the arlesa's face made the hairs stand up on the back of Linn's neck. The boy stopped clapping and glared at the group as they approached.
"So these are our visitors? The ones you told me about, Mother?" the boy asked in a voice that was much deeper than it should have been.
"Y-yes, Connor," the arlesa stuttered, keeping her head bowed in fear.
"And this is the one who defeated my soldiers? The ones I sent to reclaim my village?"
"Yes," the terrified woman whispered, and Linn glared at the both of them as she tried to figure out how she was going to get the demon out.
"And now it's staring at me!" the boy said angrily. "What is it, Mother? I can't see it well enough."
"Oh, you want a closer look?" Linn asked as she stepped forward.
The boy took a slight step back as he looked into her eyes. Linn narrowed her eyes to focus on the child. She had found the magic's source… and the demon's eyes widened as it looked into Linn's.
"You… Stay back!" the boy said with fear.
The sudden panic must have interfered with the demon's hold as the boy's voice changed. He sounded like a normal scared little kid as he asked, "M-Mother? What… What's happening? Where am I?"
"Oh, thank the Maker!" the arlesa said with relief. "Connor! Connor, can you hear me?"
"Get away from me, fool woman!" the demon said with a glare at the arlesa. "You are beginning to bore me."
The arlesa turned to Linn and the others and begged, "Grey Warden… please do not hurt my son! He's not responsible for what he does!"
"What did you to do Bann Teagan, demon?" Linn asked with a glare at the demon.
"Here I am! Here am I!" Bann Teagan shouted in a strange, jovial tone with a laugh.
"I like him better this way," the demon said as it watched Linn warily. "No more yelling; now he amuses me!"
The arlesa continued to plead with them that it wasn't Connor's fault. With a sigh of frustration, Linn took her flask out of her coat pocket and took off the top. She didn't know if holy water would work on the demons of this world, but it looked like she was about to find out. The demon eyed the flask warily.
"Let's keep things civil," the demon bargained, and Linn slightly relaxed. This was what she would expect from a demon. "You came for an audience. Tell us… what have you come here for?"
"To see the Arl… but seeing how he's not feeling well, I guess that I'll first need to deal with you."
The demon looked interested, and Linn noticed how its eyes lingered on her shoulder. It was wary but curious. No doubt that it had sensed something… And now it wanted to play with the new toy.
"You've had your fun here, demon. Now I'd suggest that you leave. Before things get messier than they need to be."
The demon glared at her. It hesitated before it retorted in a petulant tone, "And why would I need to be frightened of a witch?!"
"Because I'm a witch that kills bad demons like you," Linn replied with a smirk. "Reach out with your powers and tell me that I'm wrong. That I'm not dangerous."
Linn stood confidently as she felt the demon's magic probing hers. Suddenly, the demon flinched back, and his voice changed back to the voice of a little boy.
"Don't let her hurt me, Mother! She's evil! Kill her now!"
The soldiers charged forward as Linn put some of the water in her hand. Alistair and Sten tried to rush forward, but Linn blocked them. She focused on the water in her hand and threw it at the guards. The water became a mist. The guards screamed in pain, but when the mist cleared, they seemed to be back to themselves. Bann Teagan looked around the room in surprise as though having just awakened from a dream.
The boy had disappeared in the scuffle, and the arlesa had collapsed in the corner with her head in her hands. Linn allowed them a few moments to gather themselves before asking one of the guards to go to the village and get Leliana and Rabbit. The group was likely going to have questions, and Linn was only going to answer them once. She turned back to the group to see them each giving her a curious look.
"What's in that flask?" Alistair asked as the arlesa helped Bann Teagan to his feet. "That doesn't seem like a safe drink."
"It's safe as long as you aren't a demon… though some demons are more strongly affected than others. It's called holy water."
Bann Teagan looked at the flask with curiosity, but instead of asking her about it, he simply thanked her for the rescue.
"Blessed Andraste!" the arlesa exclaimed after putting her head in her hands. "I would never have forgiven myself had you died, not after I brought you here. What a fool I am!"
"Exactly why I said that it was a bad idea to start with," Linn muttered, and the arlesa turned to her with frantic panic in her eyes. "No excuses from you! And don't blame Jowan either. In fact, bring him from the dungeon. I may have a plan to save the boy, but… I need some more information to do so."
