“Magic is a cancer in the heart of our land, just as it was in the time of Andraste. And like her, we are left with no choice but to purify it with fire and blood.”
The aftermath of the Qunari attack on Kirkwall served to release much of the tension that had built up to a boiling point over the years, and for a time following that event, the city calmed considerably. Now, three years after their departure, Kirkwall has come to rest once more on a timeless issue: the conflict between mages and templars. At the head of this conflict are two respective leaders. First Enchanter Orsino grows steadily more aggravated at his repeated attempts to improve the lot of his mages leading to nothing, and Knight-Commander Meredith remains steadfast as ever in keeping her charges under the grip of a lock and key.
Kirkwall's most notable residents face great challenges in the year to come, as the ever present conflicts in their city inevitably reach a breaking point. The Viscount's seat remains empty, the woman with the strongest claim now no longer possessing the Knight-Commander's blessing to take it. As the Templars tighten their grip, their attention turns upon the Alienage, where symbols of individual and communal strength inspire the populace.
The mage resistance is alive and well in Kirkwall, cells growing independently of one another throughout the city and surrounding areas, each with their own ideas on how exactly to enact desired changes. These events, driven by the powerful people on either side of them, will serve to bring Kirkwall to the forefront of the world stage, a fearsome representation of wait awaits the whole of Thedas...
Kirkwall's most notable residents face great challenges in the year to come, as the ever present conflicts in their city inevitably reach a breaking point. The Viscount's seat remains empty, the woman with the strongest claim now no longer possessing the Knight-Commander's blessing to take it. As the Templars tighten their grip, their attention turns upon the Alienage, where symbols of individual and communal strength inspire the populace.
The mage resistance is alive and well in Kirkwall, cells growing independently of one another throughout the city and surrounding areas, each with their own ideas on how exactly to enact desired changes. These events, driven by the powerful people on either side of them, will serve to bring Kirkwall to the forefront of the world stage, a fearsome representation of wait awaits the whole of Thedas...
The Chanter's Board has been updated. New quests are available.
How could everything seem so similar, when so much had changed?
Seven years ago, Sophia had been blind in her faith to the Chantry, a girl of twenty-one skilled with a blade and with a fearless desire to step out of her sphere of comfort and make a different somewhere that mattered. Every step of the way, she had envisioned her own future as Viscountess, a distant future, when she'd cooled considerably, when she'd aged enough to become like imagined her mother might have been.
She did not have the closest friends of her life back then. She did not have reason to doubt those that advised her, apart from the troubling development with the guard captain who knew her mother. She did not have scars from battle, titles granted upon her for slaying enemies who nearly slayed her in return. She hadn't been helplessly, inextricably in love with quite possibly the most difficult man to have a steady future with.
But Hightown looked the same. Some things couldn't be changed, and the way this place operating was starting to look like one of those. It would certainly stay that way if Sophia remained in Lowtown, and continued trying to do nothing. She had hidden herself away in the Hanged Man for long enough. It was time to go back.
To start with, she needed to purchase a residence for herself. After three years, the Viscount's Keep was not exactly open to her anymore. Her father was still the last man to sit the throne, so technically she had grounds to claim it, but it would be seen as an open challenge to Meredith at this point, and Sophia was not yet ready to declare such a thing. Meredith had already demonstrated she was willing to entirely remove individuals who sought to push the Templars away from their seat of power. Her direct wrath wasn't something she wanted to incur on herself... or her friends.
But she could buy her family's older home back. She remembered the manor from her childhood, as she'd left it behind for the Keep at the age of eleven. Her father had sold it, but the owner had since passed, and the heir had no wish to maintain it. The opportunity was too good to pass up on. Thinking Lucien might be interested to see where she had spent her early years, she invited him along for the trip. That, and she tried to pounce on any opportunity she had to be with him.
Their walk through Hightown, however, was interrupted as they passed by the Chantry steps, where a crowd of nobility had gathered, as well as a number of servants and visitors, mostly congregating near the edges. Upon the platform in the center of the stairs stood the elven First Enchanter, Orsino, speaking to the interested masses. Sophia looked to Lucien uneasily.
"This doesn't seem like something that will end well."
“Does it ever?” Lucien was hardly the cynic that some of his friends were, but there was no mistaking the tension that had been on the rise in Kirkwall of late between its mages and Templars, particularly their respective leaders, who only seemed to drive one another further towards the edges of fanaticism. Neither had gone too far yet, perhaps, but both were beginning to skirt dangerously close as far as he could tell, particularly Meredith, who seemed more and more inclined to act as Viscount of the city on an indefinite basis. No longer content with a power void, she wasn’t even pretending to be looking for someone from the nobility to fill the seat anymore.
And if Orsino was in Hightown, she would know about it very soon—assuming she didn’t already. Lucien sighed. He’d really been hoping today would be nothing more complicated than going to tour Sophia’s childhood home, as he’d once shown her his. He’d remark on the architecture or the state of the gardens, listen to any stories she wished to tell, maybe even suggest some tradespeople he knew for any renovations she might wish to make. Alas, such simple contentment was rarely theirs for long; complications were everywhere.
“Perhaps we should stay.” Not a happy suggestion, to be sure, but quite possibly a necessary one. If Meredith did show up… Lucien wasn’t sure, but he’d rather be here to find out than hear about it later and wish they’d been present to moderate a bit.
Sophia was thinking something similar, and redirected herself towards the crowd. She didn't see Meredith just yet, though a few guards were already present, keeping a watchful eye on the gathered crowd.
"I know you fear us," the First Enchanter was saying, when Sophia came close enough to hear. "Knight-Commander Meredith uses that fear to take control of your city!" Sophia glanced at some of the faces present, recognizing a few. They regarded Orsino with interest, at least, though she suspected many regarded him with little more than curiosity, either as a mage, or an elf wielding some amount of power, however meager.
"She opposes every effort to replace our Viscount, and you have seen the chaos of her reign! Will you allow it?"
Off to the side standing between the crowd and the First Enchanter were Ashton and Vesper, Snuffy sitting in between them. Both guards stood at rest with their wrists locked behind them scanning through the crowd for the first sign of unrest. "Are you sure it's smart letting him talk?" Vesper asked, never taking her eyes off the crowd in front of them. Ashton too was searching through the crowd, pausing a moment on the familiar sight of Lucien's head over the rest of the crowd. It lingered only a moment before continuing what he was doing. If anything, he felt a better knowing a calmer head was among the crowd.
"We can't stop a man from speaking his mind Ves, we're just to make sure it doesn't turn violent." Ashton answered. About that time, a shimmer of light shown in the middle of the crowd, drawing both pairs of eyes to it. Honestly, the only thing that surprised Ashton was that she didn't show up sooner. "Return to your homes! This farce is over," Meredith ordered the crowd, striding through the middle of it with a retinue of Templars on either side of her.
Meredith was the kind of woman to command a great deal of attention, and indeed, most eyes turned directly upon when she arrived, but Orsino quickly sought to turn them back. "Wait!" he said, raising his hands into the air. Few of the nobles made any move to leave the scene, far more interested were they in how this would turn out. "Perhaps there are some who might disagree with you, Knight-Commander."
At that, he gestured towards a spot in the crowd. Sophia had not been aware that he'd specifically noticed her arrival, but perhaps Lucien being with her as usual made things a bit easier. The people around her gave way slightly, and quite suddenly Sophia found that she and Lucien now occupied a third platform in this impromptu debate.
"Do not hide behind Dumar's skirts, Orsino," Meredith said, taking a step forward, her steel armor making her look fairly more impressive than Sophia, in the simple dress she'd chosen for the day. "She has already made it clear that she wants no role in this."
The robed elf seemed unmoved. "Perhaps we should hear her opinion, all the same." Sophia was tempted to sigh, but resisted. She'd stumbled across what was clearly an important moment. Orsino was growing bolder with his protests, and this had the potential to become a turning point, one way or another.
"My interest is merely seeing this argument resolved peacefully."
"This is not an argument," Meredith declared. "It's treason." She stepped forward, just as Orsino stepped down from the platform to meet her face to face. She was several inches taller than him, and he had come alone, making him look like quite the weaker of the two. Likely on purpose. Sophia had to admit he had a great deal of courage, to be doing this.
"Surely Lady Sophia has some opinion on the subject, and I think it would be appreciated here. You don't fear what she might have to say, do you Meredith?"
"I fear nothing," Meredith shot back. "My only interest here is in keeping order and protecting the innocent."
Whether she liked it or not, Sophia had been pulled into this discussion, though at the moment it seemed like a mediator was needed more than another participant. These two were probably never going to be reconciled, but it was her duty to try all the same, if she was going to hold to her current path.
"To keep order, then, perhaps we should discuss the First Enchanter's concerns. Your methods of protecting the innocent have become increasingly drastic over the past few years."
"As have the actions of rogue mages abusing their powers," Meredith responded at once. "The cold corpses they leave in their wake speak far louder than the abstract freedoms they claim to seek. And as long as that's true, Kirkwall needs its templars. It needs me to lead them."
"And when will that end?" Orsino asked. "When will you stop seeing evil in every corner?"
"When it's no longer there."
She was not going to be moved on that front, Sophia could see. The woman was sustained by her work, and that work was rooting out mages that used their powers to lord themselves over others. It was driving her to sometimes create such enemies where there were none, but it was also so difficult to determine if her actions were lowering the numbers of these blood mages, or simply creating more of them. Sophia suspected the latter.
"And do you truly intend to step aside from your position of power, when a ruler steps forward and proves to be capable of defending the city?"
"I do." Meredith's tone was grave. "But it has been years, and none have stepped forward with the qualities to succeed where your father failed." Sophia was immediately tempted to declare that her father had failed in nothing, that no man could have held up under the burdens placed upon him, but Orsino spoke first.
"So the templars will rule us indefinitely?"
"We will not stand idle while the city burns around us."
"The Templar Order exists to guard the Chantry and Circle. I suggest you let the nobility rule the city. Lady Sophia, you were poised to lead us once. Will you do so now? Kirkwall needs a ruler again, so that the Templars can return to their duties."
She had expected to be put on the spot with this question, and knew ahead of time what the answer needed to be. She had to choose her words carefully, while Meredith was here, glaring at her, the words from their earlier discussion no doubt lingering at the forefront of her mind. "I have decided nothing yet, First Enchanter. But I agree that it is not the place of the templars to rule Kirkwall. This cannot continue forever."
"I do not need either of you to remind me what my duty is. The templars remain in control, until order can be assured."
"Do you see?" Orsino asked, eyes almost pleading to Sophia. "She is incapable of reason!"
If that were true, the city was on the brink of yet more suffering. A lack of reason and understanding had led to almost all of their previous debacles. It would only lead to more. "It's clear that neither side is going to give in here. Some kind of compromise has to be reached, surely."
"You are naive, Sophia," Meredith declared. Orsino glared at her.
"You will find that not everyone bows to your will, Knight-Commander."
At that moment, Grand Cleric Elthina made her entrance, the crowd parting easily to allow her to join in on the discussion. "My, my, such a terrible commotion." Her tone was wry as ever, and Sophia could not help but smile at her arrival. She had not seen the woman for some time, lingering in Lowtown as she had, keeping her faith in private.
"This mage incites rebellion, Your Grace," Meredith said. "I am dealing with the matter." At that, Elthina turned her gaze on the elven enchanter, studying him.
"Ah, Orsino. So frustrated. Do you think this is truly wise?"
"I..." his anger faltered, sputtering out. "No, Your Grace."
"Of course not." She turned to the Templars that had accompanied Meredith. "Young men, would you show the First Enchanter back to the Circle? Gently, if you please." The templars complied at once with a bow, and began escorting Orsino away from Meredith, who appeared predictably outraged at the soft treatment.
"Your Grace! He should be clapped in irons, made an example—"
"That's enough, Meredith. This demeans us all, surely you can see that. Go back to the Gallows and calm down, like a good girl." The Knight-Commander did not take the order well, but remarkably, obeyed without protest, turning sharply on her heel, and storming away from the Chantry steps.
The crowd began to disperse, now that the potential for excitement had passed. At this point, Elthina turned to Sophia. "It's good you stepped in, Sophia. Had you not—" She was cut off, however, as Sophia hugged the Grand Cleric in greeting, not exuberantly, but warmly all the same.
"It's good to see you again, Elthina. And I think your own intervention did far more than mine. There's not much that can keep those two apart." She sighed, slowly breaking the hug, but still holding Sophia by the arms.
"Sadly true."
Lucien smiled slightly, inclining his head in greeting to the Grand Cleric. “A task that only grows more difficult with time,” he mused. “I do not remember them being this at odds when I arrived here—perhaps, in the absence of something to unite against, they divide instead.” He distinctly recalled the two working together against the Qunari, and though their relationship had been a bit… chilly, it was not as bad as all this. The chevalier knew a building problem when he saw one, and doubtless everyone else did too.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Aurora moving away with the dispersing crowd, two men at her side, a bald fellow and a shorter one with dark hair, from the looks of it, but for the moment, he paid no mind. Doubtless, it would not do to draw attention to them just now.
"What we have here is a good old fashioned power struggle," Ashton remarked as he approached, Snuffy padding along beside him. Vesper was doing her job, dispersing the crowd and threatening those who wanted to linger and watch the aftermath with a loitering charge. He blew a gust of air from his nose in amusement before nodding his greeting to the Grand Cleric. "It's nice to see you again, Elthina."
"And you as well, Lieutenant. It's good to see all of you, and I hope I get to see more of you in the coming months. You in particular, dear," she added in Sophia's direction. "Though I have a feeling I don't need to tell you that. You seem to be working your way back already."
"I am," Sophia admitted. "It's going to take some time, but... yes, I am."
"That's good to hear. Now, I must attend to the Gallows. They will see reason, if the Maker wills it. Thank you again, and farewell." Once she had gone, Sophia briefly leaned her head against Lucien, sighing. She seemed to shed the tiredness from the debate quickly enough, though, and smiled for him.
"Shall we get back to it? The manor's not far from here."
“Why not? There is daylight left to us yet.”
Seven years ago, Sophia had been blind in her faith to the Chantry, a girl of twenty-one skilled with a blade and with a fearless desire to step out of her sphere of comfort and make a different somewhere that mattered. Every step of the way, she had envisioned her own future as Viscountess, a distant future, when she'd cooled considerably, when she'd aged enough to become like imagined her mother might have been.
She did not have the closest friends of her life back then. She did not have reason to doubt those that advised her, apart from the troubling development with the guard captain who knew her mother. She did not have scars from battle, titles granted upon her for slaying enemies who nearly slayed her in return. She hadn't been helplessly, inextricably in love with quite possibly the most difficult man to have a steady future with.
But Hightown looked the same. Some things couldn't be changed, and the way this place operating was starting to look like one of those. It would certainly stay that way if Sophia remained in Lowtown, and continued trying to do nothing. She had hidden herself away in the Hanged Man for long enough. It was time to go back.
To start with, she needed to purchase a residence for herself. After three years, the Viscount's Keep was not exactly open to her anymore. Her father was still the last man to sit the throne, so technically she had grounds to claim it, but it would be seen as an open challenge to Meredith at this point, and Sophia was not yet ready to declare such a thing. Meredith had already demonstrated she was willing to entirely remove individuals who sought to push the Templars away from their seat of power. Her direct wrath wasn't something she wanted to incur on herself... or her friends.
But she could buy her family's older home back. She remembered the manor from her childhood, as she'd left it behind for the Keep at the age of eleven. Her father had sold it, but the owner had since passed, and the heir had no wish to maintain it. The opportunity was too good to pass up on. Thinking Lucien might be interested to see where she had spent her early years, she invited him along for the trip. That, and she tried to pounce on any opportunity she had to be with him.
Their walk through Hightown, however, was interrupted as they passed by the Chantry steps, where a crowd of nobility had gathered, as well as a number of servants and visitors, mostly congregating near the edges. Upon the platform in the center of the stairs stood the elven First Enchanter, Orsino, speaking to the interested masses. Sophia looked to Lucien uneasily.
"This doesn't seem like something that will end well."
“Does it ever?” Lucien was hardly the cynic that some of his friends were, but there was no mistaking the tension that had been on the rise in Kirkwall of late between its mages and Templars, particularly their respective leaders, who only seemed to drive one another further towards the edges of fanaticism. Neither had gone too far yet, perhaps, but both were beginning to skirt dangerously close as far as he could tell, particularly Meredith, who seemed more and more inclined to act as Viscount of the city on an indefinite basis. No longer content with a power void, she wasn’t even pretending to be looking for someone from the nobility to fill the seat anymore.
And if Orsino was in Hightown, she would know about it very soon—assuming she didn’t already. Lucien sighed. He’d really been hoping today would be nothing more complicated than going to tour Sophia’s childhood home, as he’d once shown her his. He’d remark on the architecture or the state of the gardens, listen to any stories she wished to tell, maybe even suggest some tradespeople he knew for any renovations she might wish to make. Alas, such simple contentment was rarely theirs for long; complications were everywhere.
“Perhaps we should stay.” Not a happy suggestion, to be sure, but quite possibly a necessary one. If Meredith did show up… Lucien wasn’t sure, but he’d rather be here to find out than hear about it later and wish they’d been present to moderate a bit.
Sophia was thinking something similar, and redirected herself towards the crowd. She didn't see Meredith just yet, though a few guards were already present, keeping a watchful eye on the gathered crowd.
"I know you fear us," the First Enchanter was saying, when Sophia came close enough to hear. "Knight-Commander Meredith uses that fear to take control of your city!" Sophia glanced at some of the faces present, recognizing a few. They regarded Orsino with interest, at least, though she suspected many regarded him with little more than curiosity, either as a mage, or an elf wielding some amount of power, however meager.
"She opposes every effort to replace our Viscount, and you have seen the chaos of her reign! Will you allow it?"
Off to the side standing between the crowd and the First Enchanter were Ashton and Vesper, Snuffy sitting in between them. Both guards stood at rest with their wrists locked behind them scanning through the crowd for the first sign of unrest. "Are you sure it's smart letting him talk?" Vesper asked, never taking her eyes off the crowd in front of them. Ashton too was searching through the crowd, pausing a moment on the familiar sight of Lucien's head over the rest of the crowd. It lingered only a moment before continuing what he was doing. If anything, he felt a better knowing a calmer head was among the crowd.
"We can't stop a man from speaking his mind Ves, we're just to make sure it doesn't turn violent." Ashton answered. About that time, a shimmer of light shown in the middle of the crowd, drawing both pairs of eyes to it. Honestly, the only thing that surprised Ashton was that she didn't show up sooner. "Return to your homes! This farce is over," Meredith ordered the crowd, striding through the middle of it with a retinue of Templars on either side of her.
Meredith was the kind of woman to command a great deal of attention, and indeed, most eyes turned directly upon when she arrived, but Orsino quickly sought to turn them back. "Wait!" he said, raising his hands into the air. Few of the nobles made any move to leave the scene, far more interested were they in how this would turn out. "Perhaps there are some who might disagree with you, Knight-Commander."
At that, he gestured towards a spot in the crowd. Sophia had not been aware that he'd specifically noticed her arrival, but perhaps Lucien being with her as usual made things a bit easier. The people around her gave way slightly, and quite suddenly Sophia found that she and Lucien now occupied a third platform in this impromptu debate.
"Do not hide behind Dumar's skirts, Orsino," Meredith said, taking a step forward, her steel armor making her look fairly more impressive than Sophia, in the simple dress she'd chosen for the day. "She has already made it clear that she wants no role in this."
The robed elf seemed unmoved. "Perhaps we should hear her opinion, all the same." Sophia was tempted to sigh, but resisted. She'd stumbled across what was clearly an important moment. Orsino was growing bolder with his protests, and this had the potential to become a turning point, one way or another.
"My interest is merely seeing this argument resolved peacefully."
"This is not an argument," Meredith declared. "It's treason." She stepped forward, just as Orsino stepped down from the platform to meet her face to face. She was several inches taller than him, and he had come alone, making him look like quite the weaker of the two. Likely on purpose. Sophia had to admit he had a great deal of courage, to be doing this.
"Surely Lady Sophia has some opinion on the subject, and I think it would be appreciated here. You don't fear what she might have to say, do you Meredith?"
"I fear nothing," Meredith shot back. "My only interest here is in keeping order and protecting the innocent."
Whether she liked it or not, Sophia had been pulled into this discussion, though at the moment it seemed like a mediator was needed more than another participant. These two were probably never going to be reconciled, but it was her duty to try all the same, if she was going to hold to her current path.
"To keep order, then, perhaps we should discuss the First Enchanter's concerns. Your methods of protecting the innocent have become increasingly drastic over the past few years."
"As have the actions of rogue mages abusing their powers," Meredith responded at once. "The cold corpses they leave in their wake speak far louder than the abstract freedoms they claim to seek. And as long as that's true, Kirkwall needs its templars. It needs me to lead them."
"And when will that end?" Orsino asked. "When will you stop seeing evil in every corner?"
"When it's no longer there."
She was not going to be moved on that front, Sophia could see. The woman was sustained by her work, and that work was rooting out mages that used their powers to lord themselves over others. It was driving her to sometimes create such enemies where there were none, but it was also so difficult to determine if her actions were lowering the numbers of these blood mages, or simply creating more of them. Sophia suspected the latter.
"And do you truly intend to step aside from your position of power, when a ruler steps forward and proves to be capable of defending the city?"
"I do." Meredith's tone was grave. "But it has been years, and none have stepped forward with the qualities to succeed where your father failed." Sophia was immediately tempted to declare that her father had failed in nothing, that no man could have held up under the burdens placed upon him, but Orsino spoke first.
"So the templars will rule us indefinitely?"
"We will not stand idle while the city burns around us."
"The Templar Order exists to guard the Chantry and Circle. I suggest you let the nobility rule the city. Lady Sophia, you were poised to lead us once. Will you do so now? Kirkwall needs a ruler again, so that the Templars can return to their duties."
She had expected to be put on the spot with this question, and knew ahead of time what the answer needed to be. She had to choose her words carefully, while Meredith was here, glaring at her, the words from their earlier discussion no doubt lingering at the forefront of her mind. "I have decided nothing yet, First Enchanter. But I agree that it is not the place of the templars to rule Kirkwall. This cannot continue forever."
"I do not need either of you to remind me what my duty is. The templars remain in control, until order can be assured."
"Do you see?" Orsino asked, eyes almost pleading to Sophia. "She is incapable of reason!"
If that were true, the city was on the brink of yet more suffering. A lack of reason and understanding had led to almost all of their previous debacles. It would only lead to more. "It's clear that neither side is going to give in here. Some kind of compromise has to be reached, surely."
"You are naive, Sophia," Meredith declared. Orsino glared at her.
"You will find that not everyone bows to your will, Knight-Commander."
At that moment, Grand Cleric Elthina made her entrance, the crowd parting easily to allow her to join in on the discussion. "My, my, such a terrible commotion." Her tone was wry as ever, and Sophia could not help but smile at her arrival. She had not seen the woman for some time, lingering in Lowtown as she had, keeping her faith in private.
"This mage incites rebellion, Your Grace," Meredith said. "I am dealing with the matter." At that, Elthina turned her gaze on the elven enchanter, studying him.
"Ah, Orsino. So frustrated. Do you think this is truly wise?"
"I..." his anger faltered, sputtering out. "No, Your Grace."
"Of course not." She turned to the Templars that had accompanied Meredith. "Young men, would you show the First Enchanter back to the Circle? Gently, if you please." The templars complied at once with a bow, and began escorting Orsino away from Meredith, who appeared predictably outraged at the soft treatment.
"Your Grace! He should be clapped in irons, made an example—"
"That's enough, Meredith. This demeans us all, surely you can see that. Go back to the Gallows and calm down, like a good girl." The Knight-Commander did not take the order well, but remarkably, obeyed without protest, turning sharply on her heel, and storming away from the Chantry steps.
The crowd began to disperse, now that the potential for excitement had passed. At this point, Elthina turned to Sophia. "It's good you stepped in, Sophia. Had you not—" She was cut off, however, as Sophia hugged the Grand Cleric in greeting, not exuberantly, but warmly all the same.
"It's good to see you again, Elthina. And I think your own intervention did far more than mine. There's not much that can keep those two apart." She sighed, slowly breaking the hug, but still holding Sophia by the arms.
"Sadly true."
Lucien smiled slightly, inclining his head in greeting to the Grand Cleric. “A task that only grows more difficult with time,” he mused. “I do not remember them being this at odds when I arrived here—perhaps, in the absence of something to unite against, they divide instead.” He distinctly recalled the two working together against the Qunari, and though their relationship had been a bit… chilly, it was not as bad as all this. The chevalier knew a building problem when he saw one, and doubtless everyone else did too.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Aurora moving away with the dispersing crowd, two men at her side, a bald fellow and a shorter one with dark hair, from the looks of it, but for the moment, he paid no mind. Doubtless, it would not do to draw attention to them just now.
"What we have here is a good old fashioned power struggle," Ashton remarked as he approached, Snuffy padding along beside him. Vesper was doing her job, dispersing the crowd and threatening those who wanted to linger and watch the aftermath with a loitering charge. He blew a gust of air from his nose in amusement before nodding his greeting to the Grand Cleric. "It's nice to see you again, Elthina."
"And you as well, Lieutenant. It's good to see all of you, and I hope I get to see more of you in the coming months. You in particular, dear," she added in Sophia's direction. "Though I have a feeling I don't need to tell you that. You seem to be working your way back already."
"I am," Sophia admitted. "It's going to take some time, but... yes, I am."
"That's good to hear. Now, I must attend to the Gallows. They will see reason, if the Maker wills it. Thank you again, and farewell." Once she had gone, Sophia briefly leaned her head against Lucien, sighing. She seemed to shed the tiredness from the debate quickly enough, though, and smiled for him.
"Shall we get back to it? The manor's not far from here."
“Why not? There is daylight left to us yet.”