Struggles and Triuphs pt. 12
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In all reality Elissa's emotions were dancing on a razors edge. This was a very dangerous game that she and Alistair seemed to be playing. Now was not the time for distractions, they had far to much to do. All they had been doing was looking at one simple map and yet every time she had leaned over to study something more closely she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. Andraste's Mercy but she could still feel it even now. This could not be happening, not here, not now.
They had fallen into step side by side. Elissa had to will her eyes to keep staring straight ahead rather than where they wanted to linger. She had to call up all of her experience as a noble's daughter to school her face into something resembling calm. From the brief glances that she had allowed herself of Alistair he was doing his best to follow suit. This was going to be a long journey if they kept things up this way.
Morrigan and Leliana rounded out the rest of the party. Elissa wasn't exactly certain why she had chosen the apostate to join her in the Circle Tower, other than to keep as close an eye on her as possible. She still wasn't certain how much she could trust Morrigan and it would help to see how she reacted to being in a place that she so obviously despised. No doubt they would be getting into more situations that were no less dire and troublesome and Elissa needed to know, right from the very start that Morrigan could be counted on during this war. Though this meant that Elissa had to hear Morrigan and Alistair bicker some more, but she was getting quite adept at blocking it out.
In any case it wasn't long before they had reached the Circle Tower. For some strange and unknowable reason the Magi had decided to build said tower right in the middle of Lake Calenhad. Elissa had always shrugged it off as something that Magi just did. It wasn't really something she had felt the need to speculate about. Until now that is, the Circle Tower looked like it was under some great peril from within. There was one Templar guarding the only entry point to the Tower. Oh this is going to be fun. Elissa thought disparagingly.
“You ever wonder why the mages built their tower out in the middle of Lake Calenhad? Do they have an aversion to practically or something?” mused Alistair to no one in particular.
Elissa laughed in spite of herself. Alistair had managed to voice almost exactly what she had been thinking, at least in regards to the unusual placement of the tower. She shot him a quick glance and a brief grin before pressing on. Surely there would be a way to get into the Tower and talk with the First Enchanter. Perhaps the trouble at the Tower was something that could be easily solved, in any case that was what Elissa hoped for. Though she knew somewhere in the back of her mind that thins would not be as easy as all of that. With a heavy sigh Elissa lead her party forward.
“You! You're not looking to get across to the tower, are you? Because I have strict orders not to let anyone pass!” said the Templar.
“I am a Grey Warden and I seek assistance from the mages.” said Elissa confidently.
“Oh you're a Grey Warden are you? Prove it.” said the Templar.
Elissa sighed and handed over the ancient treaties with the Grey Warden's seal on them. She hoped that these would be convincing enough to let them pass.
The Templar seemed unimpressed. “Yes? Oh a Grey Warden Seal. A-ha so you're claiming to be one of those. You know I have some documents too. They say I'm the Queen of Antiva. What do you think of that?”
Elissa smirked and rolled her eyes. “Aren't Queens usually female?”
“Don't question royalty!” snarked the Templar, “Anyway it was good chatting with you. Now on your way. Right now. Go.”
Elissa wouldn't be so easily dismissed. “Can we work something out?”
“That dark haired temptress over there...surely the tower would be far too dull for her. Because it gets a little lonely out here sometimes...and you know you could just leave her here with me--” said the templar.
Before Elissa could reply with something akin to 'Not a chance in hell.' Morrigan responded: “Oh. Excellent I have been hoping for new prey.
Elissa choked back the derisive chuckle that she felt.
“Prey?” asked the Templar.
“'Twill take but a moment. Prehaps you should go aboard the vessel to prepare while we are away. We must now row ourselves across I fear the lad will no longer have the use of his limbs, or his eyes once I'm done with him.” said Morrigan.
“Er..maybe I should--”said the Templar nervously.
“Wonderful! I can sense the terror! Oh, that will make the loving all the sweeter.” said Morrigan.
“Soyousaidyouwantedtogetaccross? Maybeweshouldgonow. Rightnow. NOW.” said the Templar in an obvious hurry to get away from Morrigan.
“Yes let's get going.” said Elissa not bothering to hide her amusement at the Templar's obvious discomfort.
Inside the tower was even more tumultuous than even Elissa had been expecting. Just beyond the sturdy doors that lead from the reception area to the rest of the tower itself she could hear the distant sounds of battle. It was no surprise that the Knight-Commander in charge refused to let them in initially. In fact he seemed ready to burn the place to the ground. A sense of panic seized Elissa, they needed the Circle if their plans were to ever amount to anything. With some quick diplomatic skills she convinced the Templar to let them pass, to see if she and her party could quell the fighting. His reply was gruff, but he let them pass nevertheless.
The large oak doors slammed shut ominously. Elissa held back the frightened shudder, it would not do for the rest of her team to see her looking so frightened after all. Instead she steeled herself and charged further into the tower. She held the flashbacks to certain events that had happened no more than a week ago, and from the corner of her eye she could see Alistair similarly steeling himself away from those unpleasant memories. It would all be worth it once they had the tower under control, if they could get the tower under control.
As soon as she pushed open the nearest door she could see a few mages fending off an Abomination. The oldest and clearly the one who was in charge managed to kill it without too much trouble. Elissa had to pause and admire the woman's grit. Clearly this would be a good person to have on their side if they ever had a hope of getting out of there alive.
The woman turned around calmly at the sound of their entrance. “It's you! No, come no further. Grey Warden or no I will strike you down where you stand.”
“I'm not here to fight.” Elissa said making calming gestures.
“I will accept that for now, but what are you doing here then?” asked the woman.
“I came here seeking the aid of the Mages.” said Elissa.
“And you were told that the Circle was in no shape to help you I suppose. So why did the Templar's let you in? Do they plan to attack the Tower now?” asked Wynne.
“No they are waiting for reinforcements.” said Elissa.
“So Gregor thinks that the Circle is beyond hope. He probably assumes we are all dead. They abandoned us to our fate, but even trapped as we are we have survived. If they invoke the Right however we will not be able to stand against them.”
“We waste time here when there are Abominations to kill.” said Elissa.
“If you are here to kill Abominations let me help you. I erected a barrier over the door leading to the rest of the Tower. So nothing from inside could attack the children. You will not be able to enter the tower as long as the barrier holds, but I would dispel it if you join with me to save the Circle.”
“Very well I will help you.” said Elissa.
“Once Gregor sees that we have made the tower safe I trust he will tell his men to back down. He is not unreasonable.” said Wynne.
“Then we should set off immediately.
“You want us to assist this preachy school-mistress? To rescue these pathetic excuses for mages? They allow themselves to be corralled like cattle mindless. Now their masters have chosen death for them, and I say let them have it.” said Morrigan in the most heated tone that Elissa had ever heard from her.
“You could have been one of them if things were different.” said Elissa.
“I could be here had my mother not shielded me from the Templars, so I am to show sympathy? My mother often said that things are the way they are because they could not have been any other way. I always questioned this. Do what you wish I care not.” said Morrigan.
“Thank you Morrigan.” said Elissa.
“Peitra, Kinan look after the others I will be back soon.” said Wynne.
“Wynne, are you sure you're alright? You were badly hurt earlier. Maybe I should come along.” said one of the girls.
“The others need your protection more. I will be alright. Stay here with them keep them safe and calm.” said Wynne.
“Let's be off. We have talked away enough time.” said Elissa.
“If you are ready, let us go end this.” said Wynne.
They approached the stone archway that was the entrance to the rest of the tower. “Here we are, I'm somewhat amazed at myself for having kept it in place this long.” said Wynne.
“What are you waiting for? Remove it.” said Elissa somewhat impatiently.
“Be prepared for anything. I do not know what manner of beasts lurk beyond this barrier. Are you ready?” asked Wynne.
“I am ready. Destroy the barrier.” said Elissa confidently.
“Alright be on your guard.” said Wynne as she held up her hand.
The magic seemed to flow from the barrier and swirl around her hand. The air was thick and tasted slightly of ether where the magic flowed past Elissa. There was an odd pounding in her ear drums as Wynne destroyed the barrier. It was Elissa's first real time experiencing someone doing magic so close to her. The sensation was odd, like there was an almost tangible power that Elissa would never be able to grasp. After what was surely only a few seconds-though to Elissa it felt more like a few hours-the barrier was destroyed and they could move further into the tower.
Elissa charged on ahead. It wasn't long before they ran across their first real Abomination, though not as grisly and terrifying as her first darkspawn kill it was still rather intimidating. With a low guttural growl Elissa brought both of her weapons to bare and began to slash at the beast wildly. She could hear Wynne and Morrigan chanting their spells somewhere behind her. She was standing at the beasts back and she could hear Alistair yelling in defiance and bashing the thing with his shield. The thing actually bleed, which probably should have surprised Elissa as much as it did.
It didn't take them long to bring down the hulking Abomination, certainly not as long as it had taken to kill her first darkspawn enemy. Though as soon as she had turned around she could see that two more Abominations had popped up to take it's place. The only indication she had had was that they made an odd sort of hissing sound right before they appeared. At least with the darkspawn she could sense them coming. Elissa had no time to think about the matter further though and plunged back into the thick of the battle.
What surprised Elissa the most about this battle was that she was actually getting good at wielding her weapons. Even after a short-albeit brutal-week her movements were becoming sharper, less wasteful. The dagger in her off hand felt more like an extension of her own arm rather than a clunky tool. She still had a long way to go before she felt like something other than dead weight though. Alistair still had to work twice as hard as he should have in order to compensate for her relative lack of experience. Fortunately it seemed that their team was able to make quick work of Abominations.
One room down...thought Elissa wearily as it seemed that no more Abominations would be likely to pop up. She was all for pressing forward while their momentum was good. The sooner they could clear out the tower the better off everyone would be. Elissa felt a surge of hope that maybe they could help save the tower. She tried not to think about the fact that it was the first real burst of hope she had felt since Ostagar. Instead she focused on pressing her team forward, thinking of such things would only get someone killed.
In the next room there seemed to be a whole swarm of Rage Abominations. They looked tougher than their earlier counterparts by far. Elissa slowly paced around the room in order to get a good backstabbing shot this time. She couldn't just blindly rush into things all the time, otherwise she would be the one constantly in need of healing. For a brief instant one of the Rage Abominations seemed to turn its back on her. That was all the time she needed, with a quick assured motion she darted in and stabbed the monster at its weak point.