The smell of fire and blood was in the air, and the atmosphere had broken as shouts and the clang of metal echoed through the streets. Aurora may not have left home any more, but even she could tell that things had finally reached a boiling point. She still felt helpless, like nothing she could do would matter in the end. If she even wanted to do anything. A small part of her, a part that she was ashamed to admit existed, believed that the city deserved what was coming. It'd eaten so many people, broken so many souls, not most of all Milly and even herself. Maybe the cleansing fire was what the city needed most of all.
She was tempted to simply lock the doors and let what may happen, happen. There was nowhere safer in Kirkwall than her home, reinforced by Amalia herself. If there was anywhere that could ride out the storm, it'd be her hardened fortress in the obscurity of the Lowtown slums. But that was selfish. It was not what she taught nor believed. They were petty thoughts, revenge was a narrow-minded ideal that would destroy her just a sure as it would destroy the city. If she let it happen without lifting a finger to help, then she didn't learn anything.
The city was rotten, but using that as an excuse to watch it burn down around her ears to make herself feel better was shallow, and she'd be as weak as she felt all those days ago on the Wounded Coast. She let go of her legs and let the fall to the floor below her bed. She needed to do something, to prove to herself at least she was still capable of it. She rose from her bed and found Amalia's present on the floor, clasping it to her wrist. Hair fell around her face as she moved. It was a simple solution, though inelegant as they came. She collected the random strands into a whole and held it behind her head, and with a flick of her wrist, it came from, her hair sitting under her ears in ragged locks. It would just get in the way otherwise. Easy for an enemy to grab and wrench her neck from her shoulders. She wouldn't let that happen.
Aurora threw the handful of hair into the trash, sparing a glance at the flower growing out of a grey pot on her table. The embrium, she remembered it. It was... Doing well, considering the shape she had first seen it in. Shaking her head, she went to the door and began the process of unlocking it, and once the last lock was undone, she turned and spoke, "Milly, when I leave, I want you to lock the door behind me. Let no one else besides me in, understand?"
"As you wish, Rosabella," Came the empty reply. Aurora winced as she shut the door behind her. She waited outside for a moment, until she could hear all of the locks resetting themselves. Satisfied, though not pleased, Aurora wiped her face and turned, heading in the direction of the clinic. It seemed like the best place to start.
Fortunately for their efficiency, Auroraâs path crossed with Amaliaâs not far from the clinic itself, and the Qunari allowed a flicker of relief to pass over her face. âAurora. It has begun. I was going to collect Ithilian from the clinic. Lia has been taken into the Arishokâs ranksâit is unlikely she will last long there.â She paused for a moment. âWill you come?â It did not take a deep well of empathy to understand that Auroraâs condition, mentally speaking, was still far from ideal, and if she wished to remove herself from the goings-on, Amalia would not speak against that. Of course, if she had wanted that, she would have been better off not leaving her house, and the Qunari expected that she knew that.
"I will," She answered simply. She let Amalia take the lead and began to follow her to the clinic. Lia's life was only one in an entire city, but it was a beginning. Somewhere she knew she could be of some value, and something that she felt she could do. Few words were exchanged between them, with Aurora asking what circumstances brought Lia into the Arishok's army and Amalia answering simply. Whatever guilt she may have felt at not being able to lend her aid was muffled by the overbearing sense of numbness than hung over her. It wouldn't do to fret over what she did or didn't do, she only had to worry about what she would do, and that was seeing Lia out of the fighting and back into Ithilian's hands.
Once they reached the clinic, Aurora was met with the sight of Ithilian rising from his cot, sluggishly, obviously in a certain amount of pain. She winced as she watched, but said nothing on the matter. His injuries and the effect they were having was clearly visible. She kept her silence and moved to the wall beside the door, where she waited. She gave him the time he needed, but they couldn't tarry long, nor did she wish to.
Ithilian still looked about halfway to his grave, rather similar to how he appeared after escaping the Blight in Ferelden, only that had involved more blood loss and less broken bones. Nostariel's magic was the only thing that had turned him back towards life, but it would still take a good deal of time to heal, and right now, he was having difficulty standing on his own. He'd witnessed the group departing, though, and knew what the chaos outside meant. The battle had begun, the Qunari finally moving against the city. He didn't know what the situation regarding the book was, and he didn't really care, as he was in no position to do anything about it. What he could do, if he gave everything he had, was try one last time to get Lia out of all this.
"I need..." he said, breathing heavily from the effort of rising. "My bow. It's at my home. And... potions." As many as he could stomach would do the trick. A little armor couldn't hurt, either, considering he was currently without even a shirt. "We can move carefully, the three of us. Find Lia... find a place to wait this out. I can still fight." He still drew breath, thus he could still struggle for what he cared about.
Amalia exhaled through her nose, but she did not argue, instead moving to Nostarielâs cabinets and pulling down as many potions as she thought a person could handle in one sitting, and then a few more, in case things went poorly after they were up and moving again. She set them in a neat line on the edge of the counter, uncorking the lot of them. âYou drink these. I will return with your gear.â She knew the interior of his house well enough to know where he kept it, and sheâd be much quicker in the retrieval if she went by herself, especially since none of the fight seemed to be happening in the Alienage. They would likely need to go another direction to find the viddathari, and retracing their steps when they did not need to would only cost them time they could not spare.
Perhaps she could get an idea of where to start looking while she was down there, if someone happened to know what was going on.
About fifteen minutes later, she was back, laden with various items, including his usual armor and the bow sheâd found with a quiver of arrows. She had not found any extra daggers, so those, she had furnished from her own armory. âThey're at the docks." Getting everything in its proper place was a bit of a labor, but she did not comment upon this, choosing instead to help with fastenings that were a little beyond the reach of an injured arm in silence. Last of all, she withdrew something from her own belt, handing the weapon over leather-wrapped hilt first. âI believe you were missing something,â she told him with the barest flicker of a smile. The dragonbone had been cleaned of Aatroxâs blood and sharpened as much as it needed, but in all other ways, it was exactly the same as the day sheâd first given it to him, down to the single word engraved upon it.
Ithilian took the dagger somewhat reverently, another bout of thankfulness for having Amalia as his lethallan nearly overcoming him. But they had work to do. His head was spinning slightly from all the potions, but he still had the strength to pull back the string on his bow, and that would be all he'd need. He could aim for center mass until his head cleared up. Swordplay was more or less out of the question; he was in no condition to be taking on any Qunari or Templars or city guards in brawls. His companions would just have to bear the load if it was needed. This, he knew they were capable of. "Lead the way."
He kept his eyes glued mostly to Amalia's back as they departed the clinic and made for the docks. There was not a great deal of fighting spreading over towards the Alienage at the moment, but that could easily change. For now, though, they kept to side streets and altered their path whenever possible to avoid getting swallowed up in the battle, and delaying their trip. The going was hard enough on Ithilian without extra combat. The potions were working well to dull the pain, at least, and help him move more steadily.
The Qunari had vacated the docks almost entirely, no doubt pushing up in force to tear through whatever hurried defenses the city guard and whatever local Templars could put up. The majority of the Templars had been on the Gallows when the fighting started, and thus it was from the Gallows that they launched their counterattack, heading towards the docks in large rowboats. The viddathari, it seemed, were there to slow their advance. Slow, not stop, as the elves of the city had no chance in battle against the Templars, only skilled with bows as many of them were. The Templars were heavily armored and trained soldiers; this would only serve to harass them. The Arishok knew this, no doubt, but it was what any shrewd commander would do. Weaker units sacrificed to the enemy's strongest serve to delay and tire them, while the best of the Qunari could operate freely for a longer period.
The first of the boats was just reaching the docks by the time the three of them arrived, and it immediately came under fire from a dozen different angles. The elves had spread out, taking to rooftops and windows on all sides of them. It wasn't immediately clear where Lia was. Ithilian doubted she would even participate in this. But if she didn't know where else to go, or if Ithilian and Amalia had even survived this long, she was likely swept along, doing what needed to be done. They needed to be quick. The Templars were moving in quick, and Ithilian doubted they would be merciful.
"Amalia." The word was spoken with such fervent intensity, it was hard to believe that it came from the till now silent Aurora. "Did you bring any mana potions?" She asked. An iron gaze had settled around her eyes, though she looked not at Amalia, but past her and toward the Templars arriving ashore. "I'm going to need them," She gave as the only explanation. If she did nothing then more than just Lia would be lost. Those viddathari, they would be slaughtered by the Templars. They had a chance to slow them down, but the end result would be same. Aurora wasn't prepared to watch that again, not without doing everything she could to avert it.
Revenge would destroy her, but... It wasn't vengeance, not really. She did not intend to kill, only hamper and sow chaos among their organized ranks. She was better than that, Aurora didn't need to kill to achieve her goals. Death was easy, simple, cheap, she would not lower herself to their level. Executioner did not fit her. She would prove to them, prove to herself that she was in control and that she was better for it. Her eyes returned to Amalia, the steel in her eyes fading replaced by a smile. It was meant to be reassuring, though weak and fragile as it was. "I know what I'm doing."
She may well at that, but Amalia was not about to let her charge in there, a single mage, well-trained or not, against an entire throng of Templars, with only arrowsâpoorly aimed ones, if she was seeing this properlyâfor cover. They needed to do something to disrupt the ranks first, disorient the Templars and make them easier to handle while they set to the business of finding Lia, which was what they were actually here for. Her people may well be involved, but this was not her battle. And she would not fight it if she did not have to.
Reaching to her hip, Amalia detached an object that had the look of a clay discus about it. It was, in fact, loaded with gaatlok, but she lacked a proper detonation mechanism. From her bandolier, she removed three blue potions and handed those to Aurora, but not before speaking. âTaking all of those men at full strength is foolishness,â she said firmly, then held up the disc. âWhich is why there are things like this.â She glanced over at Ithilian, tempted to ask if he would be up to hitting a target of this size, but in the end, she did not. He would tell her if he felt it impossible, and if he did not, she would trust his ability to succeed. âAurora, if you would light one of Ithilianâs arrows on fire, I will toss this and he can shoot it. Mind the shrapnel.â She did not anticipate it traveling so far back as to pelt them, but it was impossible to account for every variable when working with explosives like this. If it did reach any of them, or any of the elves perched elsewhere, it would be at too low a speed to do much damage.
Ithilian wasn't certain he could hit such a target at such a distance, not at his best as he was, but he remembered another time, when Amalia had been counting on him, when he'd put an arrow through the eye of a dragon, and that target had been smaller, and not moving nearly so predictably as this one would be. He was capable of this. It would not remove the threat of the Templars, as there were more rowing in, but it would buy them some valuable time. He nocked an arrow, holding it out for Aurora to ignite. A flame ignited in her palm, a bright orange ball that hovered above the skin. Aurora passed it beneath the arrow, letting it catch fire, before she killed it.
The main effect of the gaatlok was in the disorientation and confusion that the explosion itself would produceâthe bang would be very loud, and as close as those Templars were, it may well render them temporarily deaf. There was also a fair amount of smoke, which should hinder them a bit. Hopefully, it would not obscure that which they really needed to see, but she was glad of it insofar as it would offer Aurora cover, something she was going to need. âOn my mark then,â she said, shifting her grip on the disc and taking several large steps backwards. The process of throwing such an object for maximum distance involved a bounding run and a spin, and a turn of her wrist put a flare on it such that the broadest side was presented to Ithilianâs eye as it reached the required number of meters from their position.
Ithilian's arm ached from the tension of pulling back even a single arrow, but he forced himself to steady, and aim the shot correctly. As with the dragon's eye, he forced himself to block out the other factors in his sight, like the rushing Templars, or the urge to search for Lia, and focus only on the explosive, taking only long enough to note the disc's flight through the air before loosing his arrow. He knew as soon as he let it go that it would hit.
The disc shattered under contact with the arrow, and the flames Aurora had lit it with came into contact with the gaatlok inside, igniting the deep grey powder in a conflagration of sparks. The explosion itself was loud, and though Amalia did not cover her ears, she could see several of the Templars and elves alike interrupt their motions to do just that. The force of the blast killed a few nearly instantly, and blew those close enough off their feet and to the side, a grey smoke pluming from the site of the explosion. It was not total coverage, and figures could still be made out with decent clarity through it, but it was not immediately obvious what those figures belonged to, and that would have to be enough. âIf you are to go, go now,â Amalia told Aurora. âBe cautious, leave when your cover is gone. We will find her.â
A long breath was drawn in, because she knew it'd be the last full breath she'd be able to take. The Templars wouldn't give her the time to catch her breath once she started, but nor would she them. Aurora steadied herself, wiped away all of her lingering thoughts and replaced them with the next course of action and the next path ahead. The exhale was hard and violent, as though she was expelling the auxiliary thoughts through her nose and mouth. In that same instant a layer of rock armor formed around her arms and neck, reaching up under her scarf and Ketojan's amulet, and to her chin-- serving to further hide her features.
"Of course," she answered and then she was off. She was already working her next spell by the time she reached the plume of grey. There was a sudden stutter in her step where she paused for a moment, and threw her hands into the air. The fade rippled around her hands as she heard the Templars attempt to regain order in their ranks. She was not about the let that happen, and a clap of thunder broke through the air above her. The tempest's desired effect was immediate as the first bolts of lightning fell on the Templars. Shouts of magic echoed, sowing chaos among their ranks.
But she wasn't done yet. To make sure she drew their attention toward her and away from the viddathari, and away from Lia. She broke into a dead run and exited the cloud of smoke and tackled the first Templar she came across. Her actions were swift and brutal, as both the Templar and her fell to the ground, she grabbed his arm, first wrenching it out of socket and overextending it, and then driving the heel of her palm into his elbow, snapping it backwards. Aware of another approaching her from behind, she pivoted on her hands and swept with her legs, downing him. Rolling towards that one, she gripped her leg and twisted, ripping the bone out of plane and driving another palm to the kneecap, driving it sideways and snapping it.
Her initial assault over, she kicked-up to her feet and called forth a firestorm, providing cover for her to slip off and away into the docks' alleyways, a number of Templars on her heels. The magic she used would do little harm to the resistant Templars, but her goal wasn't to harm, but to disorganize and disrupt. By the yelling behind her, it sounded like it had worked.
Determined to make good use of Aurora's distraction, Ithilian picked a side and moved into the buildings, Amalia staying close by him. They would search more quickly if they split up, of course, but Ithilian would be more or less defenseless if a Templar was able to get into close range with him, and he was quite glad for her presence besides. If Lia was here, this wouldn't be too difficult. They'd made quite the loud entrance, after all.
He shouted her name loudly, looking for signs of archers from the arrows flying from windows. "Lia!" He forced himself up a staircase and through an open door, finding two elven males armed with bows, one of which was a youth he remembered from the Alienage, from a few conversations. They turned their aim at him, but one look at the Dalish elf was enough to make them hold. He held up open palms in a gesture of peace. "You remember Lia," he said to the youth, certainly that he did. "Where is she?"
"Yes, uh... back across the street, third or fourth building." Ithilian needed no more than that. "Thank you. Leave this place, the Arishok does not expect you to survive. Find somewhere safe." He left immediately, not waiting to see if they heeded his warning. If they did not, he would not expend any more effort to save their lives. If they had any sense, they would not continue with this.
He limped quickly as he could back across the main street, taking note of Aurora's progress, before moving into the buildings ahead. Lia was not in the third or fourth building, but rather the first, in a second story window. She appeared breathless from running, but otherwise unharmed. "Ithilian!" He would have asked her to simply jump from the window, but a look to the docks informed him that more boats were unloading with more Templars. He would not be able to outrun them in his current condition. "Inside," he advised Amalia. "Aurora! Get out of there!"
With any luck, either the Templars would be more interested in reaching more valuable territory, or there would be somewhere ideal to hide in the house. He moved in through the first floor door, ascending the stairs and meeting Lia at the top. [b]"Gods, Ithilian... the guards found me somehow, I didn't know what happened to you orâ"[/color] He shook his head, cutting her off.
"It doesn't matter right now. Get to cover." He noticed that there were two other elven viddathari in the room with them. "You two as well. Let them pass over us." Nervously, they obeyed, getting out of sight.
The vial shattered as Aurora downed it's contents and discarded it. That many high level spells in such short time sucked away her mana, but she was not done yet. She was vaguely aware of Amalia's and Ithilian's location because of his shouting, and she stayed nearby so she wouldn't lose them. At the his cue to find cover, Aurora pivoted and faced the Templars chasing her as she ran backwards. She swung her arms out in front of her and laid down a sheet of cold ice. The cone of cold was not aimed directly at the Templars, that would be foolish and useless, but lower. With their armor forcing their momentum ever forward, every Templar that followed her slipped and slid causing the ones behind them to trip over their comrades.
Aurora took the moment to completely stop and shift directions, ducking into a nearby alley, toward the direction Ithilian's voice came from. There wasn't enough time to find the exact building they were in, instead she slipped into an entirely different one and shut the door behind her. Her back slammed against the wall next to it while she waited and listened. It wasn't until she heard a creak across the room that she realized she shared the house with a viddathari. They exchanged glances before Aurora pressed a finger to her lips and shushing gently. He nodded and watched the door with an arrow nocked.
Heavy footfalls passed by the door, but soon even their building was invaded. The hinges broke off the frame as the first Templarbarreled through. His gift was an arrow to the chest. He stumbled forward, the arrow affecting his breathing, but a second, better aimed one ceased all function. It was on the second Templar that Aurora decided to act. This Templar was focued on the viddathari in front of him. He never saw Aurora grab him by the arm and slamming him into the wall beside her. A snap echoed through the house as she broke his arm, and the clatter of armor followed soon after when she kicked his feet out from under him. The last blow came from her stone hardened boot when she punted him into unconsciousness.
The third Templar was on to their game and the viddathari's arrow bounced harmlessly off of his shield. Before Aurora could act, she felt the same shield open up a cut on her forehead, sending her reeling. He decided that the Apostate posed more of a danger than the elf, and pressed his advantage. The sword was quick, but Aurora was quicker, flinging a rock encrusted arm to counter the blow. It held only for a moment before the Templar's sword began to bite deeper, thanks to the antimagic he possessed. She was quick enough to save the arm, but the rock was still stained with a streak of crimson. She punched the blade away with her other fist, and sending another into the center of his armor. The impact was heavy and she could feel bones in her hand creak in protest. She grit her teeth as the pain from the cut in her arm exploded, but she still capitalized. Grabbing him by the collar, she pulled him in and drove him into the wall behind her headfirst. He slumped into a pile as she stood over him, exhausted.
Panting as her arm bled freely, she pointed at the viddathari and spoke. "Get. Out." She didn't wait to see if he listened before she ran upstairs, catching sight of a familiar face out of the window.
Amalia reached into her boot, withdrawing a knife of about a foot in length, and this, she tossed at the wall not a few feet from where Lia was hiding. It was there if she needed it, that way. Time was of the essence, however, and so she said nothing in particular, going still in the center of the room and listening. Sure enough, she could hear the sound of heavily-armored boots hitting the stairs as a group of them ascended, doubtless intent on stopping the rain of arrows pelting down on their comrades in the open field. A solid strategyâbut unfortunately for them, what they were about to burst in on was very far different from a few scared, unskilled children.
From her back, Amalia withdrew two curved, single-edged shortswords, their broad blades about three-quarters the length of her arms, flipping them backwards to rest the blunt edges along her armored forearms. She chose to press herself up against the wall on the side the door opened. They would likely take a few seconds to properly register her presence, and those seconds were something she knew very well how to utilize. The feet slowed, hitting the hallway outside the door, and there was a bit of a shuffle as they reorganized themselves; she had little doubt the one with the biggest shield would be through the door first.
She was not wrongâthe door slammed open suddenly, the first man charging through with a longsword in one hand and a tower shield in the other. She could have scoffedâa tower shield would have been so much dead weight against a Qunari warrior. She was not one of those, but it was of even less use against her, and the first blade flipped out, simply opening his throat as he passed. She still had another few seconds of surprise, and with it, she punched the second up into the soft flesh of the secondâs throat, springing back onto her hands in time to avoid the blow from the third, who had realized what was going on. This allowed several more to enter, and quite quickly, it was five Templars, herself, Ithilian, three hidden elves, and two corpses, all packed rather tightly into this small room. Given that mobility was Amaliaâs greatest asset, she was going to have to work hard to maintain it here, but her training had not instilled in her a lack of confidence. She was realistic, and the reality was that they were capable of this, if they did it together.
Considering that she'd just killed the first two of their comrades, two of the Templars saw fit to go after the Qunari in the room, leaving the other three to deal with the elves. As soon as it was obviously going to come to a fight, the viddathari had readed their weapons again, and a makeshift volley was prepared on the doorway. Two of the arrows found nothing but the broad shields of the armored soldiers, a third bouncing off the side of one's helmet. Only Ithilian's found a mark, in the slim space between the base of the helmet and the collar. With an arrow in his throat, that one fell, leaving two.
There was no time to nock another round of arrows, as they had no room to work with anymore. At that point, Ithilian was forced to drop the bow and draw Parshaara, taking on the uncomfortable prospect of engaging them in close quarters. It was that, or allow Lia to take the brunt of it, and that he was not willing to do. With what little force he could muster he rammed against the shield of the first to reach him, striking his dagger against the crown of the Templar's head, drawing a spray of sparks and flame into his face. It caused him a good deal of pain, but did not do much else, and Ithilian soon found himself pushed over by the Templar's superior strength. Grabbing the rim of the shield, he at least made sure to bring down the man with him.
That, of course, meant that a Templar fell on top of him, immediately sending stabbing pains anywhere that an armored weight came down. The Templar made to stab down on his face with his sword, but Ithilian managed to catch his wrist and hold him for a moment. It was all that was needed, as Lia came up behind him without hesitation, using the knife Amalia had tossed her way to stab into the back of his neck. Almost instantly he went limp, but the second Templar was there immediately as well. Lia wisely rolled out of the way, for the stab to hit the other Templar's back.
The two other viddathari delayed the Templar by trying to rip at his armor, or find a place to stab with their own pitiful blades. One took a shield to the side of head for his efforts, while the other suffered a nasty slash across the midsection. Ithilian struggled all the while to push himself out from under the Templar, wondering how many recently broken bones he had reinjured just now. Lia was the next to try the Templar, but she ended up pinned between the wall and his shield, clawing at the eyeholes of his helmet to buy herself some extra time.
The moments Lia bought proved to be the ones that saved her life. The killing blow never came as the hand that held his sword let go and snapped, dropping the blade to the floor. It popped again as Aurora dislocated the limb from it's socket, and then threw him to the ground. Still holding on to his mangled arm for leverage, she pressed a knee against the crook between neck and shoulder and dropped a series of heavy stone-laden blows to his helmet. It was enough to put him out of the fight.
She had jumped into the building through a nearby window, as the one she had held down near the one Lia occupied. It was simple enough for her to jump between windows and land in the middle of the fight. Popping the cork off of another mana potion, she downed it as quick as the last. She threw the vial down and traded it for the Templar's sword, pressing it into Lia's hands. "You need this more," She said, turning to see where she could lend aid.
With two more Templars attempting to back her up into a corner, Amalia chose to beat them to it, gathering her speed into a dead sprint and allowing them to follow as she ran straight up the wall, pushing off into a flip that carried her behind their backs. The sword of one passed just beneath her nose in the air. She landed in a crouch on the ground, slashing horizontally with one of the shortswords and hamstringing the one on the left where the armor was weaker and jointed behind. With a cry, he started to topple backwards, and she rolled up into a smooth kick that placed him in the path of his fellow, who had to adjust his stride to step over the man and not trip. This threw him off balance, and Amalia took advantage, stepping in under his shield and using the heel of her hand to deliver a hard blow to his jaw. Dazed, he stumbled back, and this time, he did trip over his comrade, knocking his head against the wall behind him as he fell and thwarting the otherâs attempt to stand.
It wasnât difficult to slit a pair of throats in such circumstances and her cuts were clinical and efficient, no effort wasted in the slightest.
That accounted for all the Templars in the room, it would seem, and she turned to the others. âNow seems the time to leave. Viddathari, I suggest you die for the Qun another day.â That was all she said on the matter, however; she may have been a little sore with the Arishok for taking those under her care and making them fight before they were properly trained, but she also understood the strategy in it, and, wise or not, they had volunteered for this when they had sought the protection of Qunari certainty. For certainty was no protection at all.
The young elves did as Amalia instructed, quickly but carefully making their way out, leaving Lia alone with Ithilian, Aurora, and Amalia. After thanking Aurora for her timely arrival, Lia made sure to help Ithilian back to his feet from under the slain Templar. There didn't seem to be any words important enough for her to speak at the moment. She hugged him instead, carefully so as to not aggravate any of his injuries.
"Let's go home, da'len."
She was tempted to simply lock the doors and let what may happen, happen. There was nowhere safer in Kirkwall than her home, reinforced by Amalia herself. If there was anywhere that could ride out the storm, it'd be her hardened fortress in the obscurity of the Lowtown slums. But that was selfish. It was not what she taught nor believed. They were petty thoughts, revenge was a narrow-minded ideal that would destroy her just a sure as it would destroy the city. If she let it happen without lifting a finger to help, then she didn't learn anything.
The city was rotten, but using that as an excuse to watch it burn down around her ears to make herself feel better was shallow, and she'd be as weak as she felt all those days ago on the Wounded Coast. She let go of her legs and let the fall to the floor below her bed. She needed to do something, to prove to herself at least she was still capable of it. She rose from her bed and found Amalia's present on the floor, clasping it to her wrist. Hair fell around her face as she moved. It was a simple solution, though inelegant as they came. She collected the random strands into a whole and held it behind her head, and with a flick of her wrist, it came from, her hair sitting under her ears in ragged locks. It would just get in the way otherwise. Easy for an enemy to grab and wrench her neck from her shoulders. She wouldn't let that happen.
Aurora threw the handful of hair into the trash, sparing a glance at the flower growing out of a grey pot on her table. The embrium, she remembered it. It was... Doing well, considering the shape she had first seen it in. Shaking her head, she went to the door and began the process of unlocking it, and once the last lock was undone, she turned and spoke, "Milly, when I leave, I want you to lock the door behind me. Let no one else besides me in, understand?"
"As you wish, Rosabella," Came the empty reply. Aurora winced as she shut the door behind her. She waited outside for a moment, until she could hear all of the locks resetting themselves. Satisfied, though not pleased, Aurora wiped her face and turned, heading in the direction of the clinic. It seemed like the best place to start.
Fortunately for their efficiency, Auroraâs path crossed with Amaliaâs not far from the clinic itself, and the Qunari allowed a flicker of relief to pass over her face. âAurora. It has begun. I was going to collect Ithilian from the clinic. Lia has been taken into the Arishokâs ranksâit is unlikely she will last long there.â She paused for a moment. âWill you come?â It did not take a deep well of empathy to understand that Auroraâs condition, mentally speaking, was still far from ideal, and if she wished to remove herself from the goings-on, Amalia would not speak against that. Of course, if she had wanted that, she would have been better off not leaving her house, and the Qunari expected that she knew that.
"I will," She answered simply. She let Amalia take the lead and began to follow her to the clinic. Lia's life was only one in an entire city, but it was a beginning. Somewhere she knew she could be of some value, and something that she felt she could do. Few words were exchanged between them, with Aurora asking what circumstances brought Lia into the Arishok's army and Amalia answering simply. Whatever guilt she may have felt at not being able to lend her aid was muffled by the overbearing sense of numbness than hung over her. It wouldn't do to fret over what she did or didn't do, she only had to worry about what she would do, and that was seeing Lia out of the fighting and back into Ithilian's hands.
Once they reached the clinic, Aurora was met with the sight of Ithilian rising from his cot, sluggishly, obviously in a certain amount of pain. She winced as she watched, but said nothing on the matter. His injuries and the effect they were having was clearly visible. She kept her silence and moved to the wall beside the door, where she waited. She gave him the time he needed, but they couldn't tarry long, nor did she wish to.
Ithilian still looked about halfway to his grave, rather similar to how he appeared after escaping the Blight in Ferelden, only that had involved more blood loss and less broken bones. Nostariel's magic was the only thing that had turned him back towards life, but it would still take a good deal of time to heal, and right now, he was having difficulty standing on his own. He'd witnessed the group departing, though, and knew what the chaos outside meant. The battle had begun, the Qunari finally moving against the city. He didn't know what the situation regarding the book was, and he didn't really care, as he was in no position to do anything about it. What he could do, if he gave everything he had, was try one last time to get Lia out of all this.
"I need..." he said, breathing heavily from the effort of rising. "My bow. It's at my home. And... potions." As many as he could stomach would do the trick. A little armor couldn't hurt, either, considering he was currently without even a shirt. "We can move carefully, the three of us. Find Lia... find a place to wait this out. I can still fight." He still drew breath, thus he could still struggle for what he cared about.
Amalia exhaled through her nose, but she did not argue, instead moving to Nostarielâs cabinets and pulling down as many potions as she thought a person could handle in one sitting, and then a few more, in case things went poorly after they were up and moving again. She set them in a neat line on the edge of the counter, uncorking the lot of them. âYou drink these. I will return with your gear.â She knew the interior of his house well enough to know where he kept it, and sheâd be much quicker in the retrieval if she went by herself, especially since none of the fight seemed to be happening in the Alienage. They would likely need to go another direction to find the viddathari, and retracing their steps when they did not need to would only cost them time they could not spare.
Perhaps she could get an idea of where to start looking while she was down there, if someone happened to know what was going on.
About fifteen minutes later, she was back, laden with various items, including his usual armor and the bow sheâd found with a quiver of arrows. She had not found any extra daggers, so those, she had furnished from her own armory. âThey're at the docks." Getting everything in its proper place was a bit of a labor, but she did not comment upon this, choosing instead to help with fastenings that were a little beyond the reach of an injured arm in silence. Last of all, she withdrew something from her own belt, handing the weapon over leather-wrapped hilt first. âI believe you were missing something,â she told him with the barest flicker of a smile. The dragonbone had been cleaned of Aatroxâs blood and sharpened as much as it needed, but in all other ways, it was exactly the same as the day sheâd first given it to him, down to the single word engraved upon it.
Ithilian took the dagger somewhat reverently, another bout of thankfulness for having Amalia as his lethallan nearly overcoming him. But they had work to do. His head was spinning slightly from all the potions, but he still had the strength to pull back the string on his bow, and that would be all he'd need. He could aim for center mass until his head cleared up. Swordplay was more or less out of the question; he was in no condition to be taking on any Qunari or Templars or city guards in brawls. His companions would just have to bear the load if it was needed. This, he knew they were capable of. "Lead the way."
He kept his eyes glued mostly to Amalia's back as they departed the clinic and made for the docks. There was not a great deal of fighting spreading over towards the Alienage at the moment, but that could easily change. For now, though, they kept to side streets and altered their path whenever possible to avoid getting swallowed up in the battle, and delaying their trip. The going was hard enough on Ithilian without extra combat. The potions were working well to dull the pain, at least, and help him move more steadily.
The Qunari had vacated the docks almost entirely, no doubt pushing up in force to tear through whatever hurried defenses the city guard and whatever local Templars could put up. The majority of the Templars had been on the Gallows when the fighting started, and thus it was from the Gallows that they launched their counterattack, heading towards the docks in large rowboats. The viddathari, it seemed, were there to slow their advance. Slow, not stop, as the elves of the city had no chance in battle against the Templars, only skilled with bows as many of them were. The Templars were heavily armored and trained soldiers; this would only serve to harass them. The Arishok knew this, no doubt, but it was what any shrewd commander would do. Weaker units sacrificed to the enemy's strongest serve to delay and tire them, while the best of the Qunari could operate freely for a longer period.
The first of the boats was just reaching the docks by the time the three of them arrived, and it immediately came under fire from a dozen different angles. The elves had spread out, taking to rooftops and windows on all sides of them. It wasn't immediately clear where Lia was. Ithilian doubted she would even participate in this. But if she didn't know where else to go, or if Ithilian and Amalia had even survived this long, she was likely swept along, doing what needed to be done. They needed to be quick. The Templars were moving in quick, and Ithilian doubted they would be merciful.
"Amalia." The word was spoken with such fervent intensity, it was hard to believe that it came from the till now silent Aurora. "Did you bring any mana potions?" She asked. An iron gaze had settled around her eyes, though she looked not at Amalia, but past her and toward the Templars arriving ashore. "I'm going to need them," She gave as the only explanation. If she did nothing then more than just Lia would be lost. Those viddathari, they would be slaughtered by the Templars. They had a chance to slow them down, but the end result would be same. Aurora wasn't prepared to watch that again, not without doing everything she could to avert it.
Revenge would destroy her, but... It wasn't vengeance, not really. She did not intend to kill, only hamper and sow chaos among their organized ranks. She was better than that, Aurora didn't need to kill to achieve her goals. Death was easy, simple, cheap, she would not lower herself to their level. Executioner did not fit her. She would prove to them, prove to herself that she was in control and that she was better for it. Her eyes returned to Amalia, the steel in her eyes fading replaced by a smile. It was meant to be reassuring, though weak and fragile as it was. "I know what I'm doing."
She may well at that, but Amalia was not about to let her charge in there, a single mage, well-trained or not, against an entire throng of Templars, with only arrowsâpoorly aimed ones, if she was seeing this properlyâfor cover. They needed to do something to disrupt the ranks first, disorient the Templars and make them easier to handle while they set to the business of finding Lia, which was what they were actually here for. Her people may well be involved, but this was not her battle. And she would not fight it if she did not have to.
Reaching to her hip, Amalia detached an object that had the look of a clay discus about it. It was, in fact, loaded with gaatlok, but she lacked a proper detonation mechanism. From her bandolier, she removed three blue potions and handed those to Aurora, but not before speaking. âTaking all of those men at full strength is foolishness,â she said firmly, then held up the disc. âWhich is why there are things like this.â She glanced over at Ithilian, tempted to ask if he would be up to hitting a target of this size, but in the end, she did not. He would tell her if he felt it impossible, and if he did not, she would trust his ability to succeed. âAurora, if you would light one of Ithilianâs arrows on fire, I will toss this and he can shoot it. Mind the shrapnel.â She did not anticipate it traveling so far back as to pelt them, but it was impossible to account for every variable when working with explosives like this. If it did reach any of them, or any of the elves perched elsewhere, it would be at too low a speed to do much damage.
Ithilian wasn't certain he could hit such a target at such a distance, not at his best as he was, but he remembered another time, when Amalia had been counting on him, when he'd put an arrow through the eye of a dragon, and that target had been smaller, and not moving nearly so predictably as this one would be. He was capable of this. It would not remove the threat of the Templars, as there were more rowing in, but it would buy them some valuable time. He nocked an arrow, holding it out for Aurora to ignite. A flame ignited in her palm, a bright orange ball that hovered above the skin. Aurora passed it beneath the arrow, letting it catch fire, before she killed it.
The main effect of the gaatlok was in the disorientation and confusion that the explosion itself would produceâthe bang would be very loud, and as close as those Templars were, it may well render them temporarily deaf. There was also a fair amount of smoke, which should hinder them a bit. Hopefully, it would not obscure that which they really needed to see, but she was glad of it insofar as it would offer Aurora cover, something she was going to need. âOn my mark then,â she said, shifting her grip on the disc and taking several large steps backwards. The process of throwing such an object for maximum distance involved a bounding run and a spin, and a turn of her wrist put a flare on it such that the broadest side was presented to Ithilianâs eye as it reached the required number of meters from their position.
Ithilian's arm ached from the tension of pulling back even a single arrow, but he forced himself to steady, and aim the shot correctly. As with the dragon's eye, he forced himself to block out the other factors in his sight, like the rushing Templars, or the urge to search for Lia, and focus only on the explosive, taking only long enough to note the disc's flight through the air before loosing his arrow. He knew as soon as he let it go that it would hit.
The disc shattered under contact with the arrow, and the flames Aurora had lit it with came into contact with the gaatlok inside, igniting the deep grey powder in a conflagration of sparks. The explosion itself was loud, and though Amalia did not cover her ears, she could see several of the Templars and elves alike interrupt their motions to do just that. The force of the blast killed a few nearly instantly, and blew those close enough off their feet and to the side, a grey smoke pluming from the site of the explosion. It was not total coverage, and figures could still be made out with decent clarity through it, but it was not immediately obvious what those figures belonged to, and that would have to be enough. âIf you are to go, go now,â Amalia told Aurora. âBe cautious, leave when your cover is gone. We will find her.â
A long breath was drawn in, because she knew it'd be the last full breath she'd be able to take. The Templars wouldn't give her the time to catch her breath once she started, but nor would she them. Aurora steadied herself, wiped away all of her lingering thoughts and replaced them with the next course of action and the next path ahead. The exhale was hard and violent, as though she was expelling the auxiliary thoughts through her nose and mouth. In that same instant a layer of rock armor formed around her arms and neck, reaching up under her scarf and Ketojan's amulet, and to her chin-- serving to further hide her features.
"Of course," she answered and then she was off. She was already working her next spell by the time she reached the plume of grey. There was a sudden stutter in her step where she paused for a moment, and threw her hands into the air. The fade rippled around her hands as she heard the Templars attempt to regain order in their ranks. She was not about the let that happen, and a clap of thunder broke through the air above her. The tempest's desired effect was immediate as the first bolts of lightning fell on the Templars. Shouts of magic echoed, sowing chaos among their ranks.
But she wasn't done yet. To make sure she drew their attention toward her and away from the viddathari, and away from Lia. She broke into a dead run and exited the cloud of smoke and tackled the first Templar she came across. Her actions were swift and brutal, as both the Templar and her fell to the ground, she grabbed his arm, first wrenching it out of socket and overextending it, and then driving the heel of her palm into his elbow, snapping it backwards. Aware of another approaching her from behind, she pivoted on her hands and swept with her legs, downing him. Rolling towards that one, she gripped her leg and twisted, ripping the bone out of plane and driving another palm to the kneecap, driving it sideways and snapping it.
Her initial assault over, she kicked-up to her feet and called forth a firestorm, providing cover for her to slip off and away into the docks' alleyways, a number of Templars on her heels. The magic she used would do little harm to the resistant Templars, but her goal wasn't to harm, but to disorganize and disrupt. By the yelling behind her, it sounded like it had worked.
Determined to make good use of Aurora's distraction, Ithilian picked a side and moved into the buildings, Amalia staying close by him. They would search more quickly if they split up, of course, but Ithilian would be more or less defenseless if a Templar was able to get into close range with him, and he was quite glad for her presence besides. If Lia was here, this wouldn't be too difficult. They'd made quite the loud entrance, after all.
He shouted her name loudly, looking for signs of archers from the arrows flying from windows. "Lia!" He forced himself up a staircase and through an open door, finding two elven males armed with bows, one of which was a youth he remembered from the Alienage, from a few conversations. They turned their aim at him, but one look at the Dalish elf was enough to make them hold. He held up open palms in a gesture of peace. "You remember Lia," he said to the youth, certainly that he did. "Where is she?"
"Yes, uh... back across the street, third or fourth building." Ithilian needed no more than that. "Thank you. Leave this place, the Arishok does not expect you to survive. Find somewhere safe." He left immediately, not waiting to see if they heeded his warning. If they did not, he would not expend any more effort to save their lives. If they had any sense, they would not continue with this.
He limped quickly as he could back across the main street, taking note of Aurora's progress, before moving into the buildings ahead. Lia was not in the third or fourth building, but rather the first, in a second story window. She appeared breathless from running, but otherwise unharmed. "Ithilian!" He would have asked her to simply jump from the window, but a look to the docks informed him that more boats were unloading with more Templars. He would not be able to outrun them in his current condition. "Inside," he advised Amalia. "Aurora! Get out of there!"
With any luck, either the Templars would be more interested in reaching more valuable territory, or there would be somewhere ideal to hide in the house. He moved in through the first floor door, ascending the stairs and meeting Lia at the top. [b]"Gods, Ithilian... the guards found me somehow, I didn't know what happened to you orâ"[/color] He shook his head, cutting her off.
"It doesn't matter right now. Get to cover." He noticed that there were two other elven viddathari in the room with them. "You two as well. Let them pass over us." Nervously, they obeyed, getting out of sight.
The vial shattered as Aurora downed it's contents and discarded it. That many high level spells in such short time sucked away her mana, but she was not done yet. She was vaguely aware of Amalia's and Ithilian's location because of his shouting, and she stayed nearby so she wouldn't lose them. At the his cue to find cover, Aurora pivoted and faced the Templars chasing her as she ran backwards. She swung her arms out in front of her and laid down a sheet of cold ice. The cone of cold was not aimed directly at the Templars, that would be foolish and useless, but lower. With their armor forcing their momentum ever forward, every Templar that followed her slipped and slid causing the ones behind them to trip over their comrades.
Aurora took the moment to completely stop and shift directions, ducking into a nearby alley, toward the direction Ithilian's voice came from. There wasn't enough time to find the exact building they were in, instead she slipped into an entirely different one and shut the door behind her. Her back slammed against the wall next to it while she waited and listened. It wasn't until she heard a creak across the room that she realized she shared the house with a viddathari. They exchanged glances before Aurora pressed a finger to her lips and shushing gently. He nodded and watched the door with an arrow nocked.
Heavy footfalls passed by the door, but soon even their building was invaded. The hinges broke off the frame as the first Templarbarreled through. His gift was an arrow to the chest. He stumbled forward, the arrow affecting his breathing, but a second, better aimed one ceased all function. It was on the second Templar that Aurora decided to act. This Templar was focued on the viddathari in front of him. He never saw Aurora grab him by the arm and slamming him into the wall beside her. A snap echoed through the house as she broke his arm, and the clatter of armor followed soon after when she kicked his feet out from under him. The last blow came from her stone hardened boot when she punted him into unconsciousness.
The third Templar was on to their game and the viddathari's arrow bounced harmlessly off of his shield. Before Aurora could act, she felt the same shield open up a cut on her forehead, sending her reeling. He decided that the Apostate posed more of a danger than the elf, and pressed his advantage. The sword was quick, but Aurora was quicker, flinging a rock encrusted arm to counter the blow. It held only for a moment before the Templar's sword began to bite deeper, thanks to the antimagic he possessed. She was quick enough to save the arm, but the rock was still stained with a streak of crimson. She punched the blade away with her other fist, and sending another into the center of his armor. The impact was heavy and she could feel bones in her hand creak in protest. She grit her teeth as the pain from the cut in her arm exploded, but she still capitalized. Grabbing him by the collar, she pulled him in and drove him into the wall behind her headfirst. He slumped into a pile as she stood over him, exhausted.
Panting as her arm bled freely, she pointed at the viddathari and spoke. "Get. Out." She didn't wait to see if he listened before she ran upstairs, catching sight of a familiar face out of the window.
Amalia reached into her boot, withdrawing a knife of about a foot in length, and this, she tossed at the wall not a few feet from where Lia was hiding. It was there if she needed it, that way. Time was of the essence, however, and so she said nothing in particular, going still in the center of the room and listening. Sure enough, she could hear the sound of heavily-armored boots hitting the stairs as a group of them ascended, doubtless intent on stopping the rain of arrows pelting down on their comrades in the open field. A solid strategyâbut unfortunately for them, what they were about to burst in on was very far different from a few scared, unskilled children.
From her back, Amalia withdrew two curved, single-edged shortswords, their broad blades about three-quarters the length of her arms, flipping them backwards to rest the blunt edges along her armored forearms. She chose to press herself up against the wall on the side the door opened. They would likely take a few seconds to properly register her presence, and those seconds were something she knew very well how to utilize. The feet slowed, hitting the hallway outside the door, and there was a bit of a shuffle as they reorganized themselves; she had little doubt the one with the biggest shield would be through the door first.
She was not wrongâthe door slammed open suddenly, the first man charging through with a longsword in one hand and a tower shield in the other. She could have scoffedâa tower shield would have been so much dead weight against a Qunari warrior. She was not one of those, but it was of even less use against her, and the first blade flipped out, simply opening his throat as he passed. She still had another few seconds of surprise, and with it, she punched the second up into the soft flesh of the secondâs throat, springing back onto her hands in time to avoid the blow from the third, who had realized what was going on. This allowed several more to enter, and quite quickly, it was five Templars, herself, Ithilian, three hidden elves, and two corpses, all packed rather tightly into this small room. Given that mobility was Amaliaâs greatest asset, she was going to have to work hard to maintain it here, but her training had not instilled in her a lack of confidence. She was realistic, and the reality was that they were capable of this, if they did it together.
Considering that she'd just killed the first two of their comrades, two of the Templars saw fit to go after the Qunari in the room, leaving the other three to deal with the elves. As soon as it was obviously going to come to a fight, the viddathari had readed their weapons again, and a makeshift volley was prepared on the doorway. Two of the arrows found nothing but the broad shields of the armored soldiers, a third bouncing off the side of one's helmet. Only Ithilian's found a mark, in the slim space between the base of the helmet and the collar. With an arrow in his throat, that one fell, leaving two.
There was no time to nock another round of arrows, as they had no room to work with anymore. At that point, Ithilian was forced to drop the bow and draw Parshaara, taking on the uncomfortable prospect of engaging them in close quarters. It was that, or allow Lia to take the brunt of it, and that he was not willing to do. With what little force he could muster he rammed against the shield of the first to reach him, striking his dagger against the crown of the Templar's head, drawing a spray of sparks and flame into his face. It caused him a good deal of pain, but did not do much else, and Ithilian soon found himself pushed over by the Templar's superior strength. Grabbing the rim of the shield, he at least made sure to bring down the man with him.
That, of course, meant that a Templar fell on top of him, immediately sending stabbing pains anywhere that an armored weight came down. The Templar made to stab down on his face with his sword, but Ithilian managed to catch his wrist and hold him for a moment. It was all that was needed, as Lia came up behind him without hesitation, using the knife Amalia had tossed her way to stab into the back of his neck. Almost instantly he went limp, but the second Templar was there immediately as well. Lia wisely rolled out of the way, for the stab to hit the other Templar's back.
The two other viddathari delayed the Templar by trying to rip at his armor, or find a place to stab with their own pitiful blades. One took a shield to the side of head for his efforts, while the other suffered a nasty slash across the midsection. Ithilian struggled all the while to push himself out from under the Templar, wondering how many recently broken bones he had reinjured just now. Lia was the next to try the Templar, but she ended up pinned between the wall and his shield, clawing at the eyeholes of his helmet to buy herself some extra time.
The moments Lia bought proved to be the ones that saved her life. The killing blow never came as the hand that held his sword let go and snapped, dropping the blade to the floor. It popped again as Aurora dislocated the limb from it's socket, and then threw him to the ground. Still holding on to his mangled arm for leverage, she pressed a knee against the crook between neck and shoulder and dropped a series of heavy stone-laden blows to his helmet. It was enough to put him out of the fight.
She had jumped into the building through a nearby window, as the one she had held down near the one Lia occupied. It was simple enough for her to jump between windows and land in the middle of the fight. Popping the cork off of another mana potion, she downed it as quick as the last. She threw the vial down and traded it for the Templar's sword, pressing it into Lia's hands. "You need this more," She said, turning to see where she could lend aid.
With two more Templars attempting to back her up into a corner, Amalia chose to beat them to it, gathering her speed into a dead sprint and allowing them to follow as she ran straight up the wall, pushing off into a flip that carried her behind their backs. The sword of one passed just beneath her nose in the air. She landed in a crouch on the ground, slashing horizontally with one of the shortswords and hamstringing the one on the left where the armor was weaker and jointed behind. With a cry, he started to topple backwards, and she rolled up into a smooth kick that placed him in the path of his fellow, who had to adjust his stride to step over the man and not trip. This threw him off balance, and Amalia took advantage, stepping in under his shield and using the heel of her hand to deliver a hard blow to his jaw. Dazed, he stumbled back, and this time, he did trip over his comrade, knocking his head against the wall behind him as he fell and thwarting the otherâs attempt to stand.
It wasnât difficult to slit a pair of throats in such circumstances and her cuts were clinical and efficient, no effort wasted in the slightest.
That accounted for all the Templars in the room, it would seem, and she turned to the others. âNow seems the time to leave. Viddathari, I suggest you die for the Qun another day.â That was all she said on the matter, however; she may have been a little sore with the Arishok for taking those under her care and making them fight before they were properly trained, but she also understood the strategy in it, and, wise or not, they had volunteered for this when they had sought the protection of Qunari certainty. For certainty was no protection at all.
The young elves did as Amalia instructed, quickly but carefully making their way out, leaving Lia alone with Ithilian, Aurora, and Amalia. After thanking Aurora for her timely arrival, Lia made sure to help Ithilian back to his feet from under the slain Templar. There didn't seem to be any words important enough for her to speak at the moment. She hugged him instead, carefully so as to not aggravate any of his injuries.
"Let's go home, da'len."