Into the Chaos

chapter twenty-three

A flash of light and Dorian and I are back to when we started.

"You'll have to do better than that." Dorian says.

Alexius drops to his knees. "You won. There is no point extending this charade. Felix... "

"It's going to be alright, Father."

"You'll die."

"Everyone dies."

Some soldiers come and take Alexius. Felix trails after them.

"Well, I'm glad that's over with!" Dorian says as some Ferelden soldiers come marching into the Throne Room.

Alistair and Anora walk into the room. Alistair says, "Grand Enchanter, we'd like to discuss your abuse of our hospitality."

Fiona hesitantly approaches them. "Your Majesties."

Anora addresses the room, "When we offered to give the mages sanctuary, we did not give them the right to drive our people from their homes."

"King Alistair, Queen Anora, I assure you, we never intended..."

"In light of your actions, good intentions are no longer enough."

Alistair continues, saying, "You and your followers have worn out your welcome. Leave Fereldan, or we'll be forced to make you leave."

"But... we have hundreds who need protection! Where will we go?"

I hurriedly walk forward. "The entire reason I came to Redcliffe was to get your help. Go to Haven, and you'll be fine."

"And what are the terms of this arrangement?"

"Fight by our side. I offer a full alliance, as long as the mages choose a new Grand Enchanter when you all get to Haven. Don't worry, the Inquisition will honor this. They let me make the choice. You aren't going to get a better offer from anyone else. I suggest you take it.."

"We accept. It would be madness not to."

"Great! I need to go. Sorry to rush out, but a friend of mine needs some help. I really need to get there. Can someone point me in the direction of the stables? And Therinfal Redoubt? Oh!" I wave my hand at Leliana. "Tell Cullen not to worry about keeping them in check or whatever. Josephine has a good point. Cassandra does too. No one else was here. I made the choice. You got to trust your people. I'll tell you what to look into as soon as I get back."

"What's the rush?"

"I did say right? The templar thing went sideways. Decius needs help." I pull out my Book of Shadows and start flipping through it. "I just wish I had... None of these would work and I can't..." I don't have the resources to change my spells. I slam the book closed, bow to the King and Queen, and leave the castle.

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An hour later, I stop the horse. I'm at the spot Decius was supposed to meet Barris at, that much is obvious. There are multiple bodies. Arrows are sticking out of many of them but there are also marks that could have only been made from our magic. Taking Decius like this... It would have had to have been an ambush. He wasn't expecting them to attack. If there are this many bodies here, how many are travelling with him? I cast Sending.

"Decius? I'll find you ASAP. Promise. Can you tell me how long you've been travelling? How many are with you? Have they given you anything?"

There's a few moments of silence before he responds. "Hours, at a guess. No stops. At least ten men. I'm chained, can't move. Gave me... water? Maybe magebane? Might be the manacles. Hurry, Sesheta."

I frown as I look around. He doesn't often use that title. There's a small farmhouse further down the water's edge but it certainly is not close enough to have heard any commotion.

I guide the horse to the edge of the water. I let her drink for a few moments as I look around more closely. There are fresh wagon tracks leading to and from the field. They seem consistent enough to follow. That should make the journey easier. I won't have to guess at directions.

I walk for a few minutes, following the wheel marks, before getting back on the horse. A couple more minutes pass before I work up to a steady gallop.

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It's not far into the night when I finally catch up to them. I had slowed my pace slightly after I spotted them at the top of a hill so they wouldn't see me. I hadn't gone any faster after that. They were going slow enough to allow me to gain on them at the slower pace though. They stopped for the night off to the side of the road. It was a low, flat point in between a few hills.

I could see Barris talking to some of the others from my spot on one of the surrounding hills. There were maybe eight templars in all. Four were guarding where they were holding Decius. Two were at the fire, Barris and someone else. And there were at least two more patrolling the edges of the camp.

Decius, from what I can tell, is awake. Paler than usual, though that could be due to the dim light, and is shifting his shackles. They were placed around his ankles and wrists but not joined together. Perhaps they had originally put his hands at his back? The chains around his feet did connect to the cage though. The outside of the cage.

I cast Sending again. " I can see you. The chain is connected to the outside right? After they go sleep, I'll kill them all. Just a few more hours."

A/N;Sending - Can deliver a 25 word message to anyone you are familiar with as long as they are on the same plane of existence.