Chapter 151: Peak Security

“The Crows figured out Zevran’s alive, and they know he’s here.” Aedan waited a beat before continuing, “We were attacked on our way here from Kinloch.”

Eyes widening at his words, I did a quick visual inspection and confirmed that neither of them seemed to be injured. I’d just assumed that the Crows would let it go once they’d learned that Zevran had become a Warden. Hadn’t he said at one point that several Crows back in Antiva had become Wardens? And I’m fairly certain Aedan did Ignacio’s dirty work when we were in Denerim to make sure no more contracts would be taken out on us... It seemed, though, that Zevran looked far more sour than I would have expected even given an attack by the Crows.

“Maker,” Alistair replied while my mind spun, trying to think about all of the implications at once. “Was anyone hurt? Did they target just you, Zev, or the Wardens as a whole? I’m thinking some sort of object lesson might be in order; no one messes with one of our Wardens.”

Zevran gave Alistair a shocked look before schooling his expression. Aedan shot the elf a smug grin, and I wondered what that was all about.

And then I found out.

“No, no one was hurt. They took pains to isolate Zev, and the only reason it didn’t work was that I woke early for watch. But then ... what’s that charming phrase you use, sister? Ah, yes. Shit-for-brains, over here, is convinced that he should leave us and go after the Crows alone so that none of us will be targets.”

The former assassin winced. “He took you hostage, amore mio. Tried to use you to get to me.”

“And I slit his throat for it with my boot knife. So?”

“They will try again, maybe send more Crows, competent ones. They could try that with Sierra, yes? It would be better-”

“Bullshit,” I exclaimed, and the elf’s eyes widened in surprise. I narrowed my eyes at him. “Knock that shit off right now, Zevran. Self-sacrificing melodramatic gestures are my thing, and I don’t recall giving you permission to use them.”

Aedan covered his mouth to stifle his laugh, but Alistair guffawed loud enough I was sure that whatever guard was stuck standing outside our quarters could hear it. Zevran’s mouth made a shocked ‘o’ shape, whether at the profanity – which I hardly ever used – or the joke, I couldn’t say.

“I wasn’t aware you knew you did that, sister.” Aedan’s eyes danced merrily, and I was amazed the laugh I could see there hadn’t come rolling out.

I winked. “What would an elegant damsel like me do without some white knight to rescue me when I’m in distress?”

Alistair chortled, and Aedan snorted in amusement. When it appeared Zevran had gathered the shards of his wit, Alistair turned more serious. “Zevran, we’d have protected you from the Crows even before you were a Warden.”

“Some of us did, as I recall, even if he botched the job of protecting you from himself,” I needled Aedan.

“I said I was sorry!” he complained, aggravated.

Alistair face-palmed, I started giggling, and Zevran, finally drawn in to the silliness of our domestic unit, chuckled at my brother’s red-faced embarrassment.

When we’d all collected ourselves, Alistair went on. “All jokes aside, you were one of us before you became a Warden. If the Crows are going to target you now that they know you are ... well, we won’t stand for that.”

Zevran looked about to object, but I interrupted. “We will increase security here at the Peak – we probably need it anyway – and make sure that no one gets in who doesn’t belong here. I already have a bodyguard – I’ll just make it easier on her for her to do her job, instead of avoiding her.” I blushed, and Alistair laughed. “And if any Crows come for you here, they’ll pay dearly for the attempt.”

I got up and went behind the elf’s chair, leaning down to wrap my arms around his shoulders in a hug. After a moment of sitting stiffly, he patted my arms awkwardly; I knew he wasn’t convinced. “I’m not willing to give up and live in fear, Zev. The Crows might get me. I’m going to do everything I can to prevent that, and I’ll go down fighting if it comes to that, but I’m not going to let them ruin my life – or yours – because I’m scared. I could have been killed by darkspawn, the Architect, Loghain, Anora, deepstalkers or bandits or a whole host of other threats over the last year. If the Crows want to use me, kill me, they can just get in line.”

I whispered the last part into his ear so no one else could hear it. “You make my brother truly happy – something he’s never had before. Ever. If you think you’re going to casually walk out of his life that easily, you’ve got another thing coming, mio fratello.” I squeezed him one more time to make sure he knew I was kidding – mostly – and the wry chuckle I got from him told me he’d gotten the message.

I worked my way back over to my seat, which Alistair had taken over in my absence, so I just sat down in his lap instead.

“Told you,” Aedan whispered to Zev as I passed, and I exchanged grins with my brother as Zev flushed.

“That said, will you work with Avanna, Levi, Mhairi, and I’m thinking Loghain? I think the five of you are the best people to make sure our security is as good as we can make it.” Zev nodded mutely, speechless (I assumed) in the face of such overwhelming support. I ignored it, giving him the opportunity to collect himself. “If you need resources, let me know. For now we’re well-funded by the King, and if those mines pay off, we won’t need to rely on his charity for long.”

That seemingly settled, the four of us began to discuss everything else going on. “I’m assuming I need to take back over for Greagoir’s templars to give them a rest. How long has it been, anyway? I don’t even know what time of day it is.”

Aedan checked the wan light coming in the shuttered window. “It’s afternoon,” he told me. I was surprised; I’d slept probably sixteen hours. “And yes, the templars seem to have much more difficulty than you – they haven’t moved from that room. Can’t concentrate if they’re disturbed, apparently. I’m sure a rest would be welcome. But Avernus put some sort of sleep spell on the Architect, and he says he has some ideas he wants to discuss before anything else gets done. And poor Levi is chomping at the bit to talk to you, sis – we’d told him you weren’t well, but obviously he doesn’t know all the details. I think it would be good for everyone to see you up and about, to be honest.

“If you’re up to it, of course,” he amended, noticing Alistair’s frown deepening.

I ruffled my husband’s hair fondly. “I’m okay,” I insisted. “Really. I’m not saying everything’s just fine, but I can manage. And I don’t really have much choice. Duty, right?” I stood up, tugging on Alistair’s hand until he clambered up beside me. “But first, I have to insist on a bath. Would you tell everyone I’ll be down in half an hour?”

Aedan and Zevran agreed, and after giving both of them hugs, I shooed them out and climbed into the bathtub with my little showerhead. I’d contemplated dragging Alistair in with me, but I didn’t think I was quite ready for any sort of intimacy yet ... and we were on a bit of a timeline.

Alistair used the tub when I was done, and then chatted with me while I braided up my hair and got dressed in one of my fancy pant suits. Lucky men – he just has to throw on armour.

“I can’t believe Zev thought we’d want him to leave.” Alistair looked irritated. “Doesn’t he know us at all?”

I smiled sadly. “It’s nothing to do with us. Everyone he’s ever met before us evaluated him based on his value – as an employee, an assassin, a lover, whatever. He was valuable because of his specific skills. Here, he’s just one Warden among many – and now he sees himself as a liability. His skills in fighting darkspawn aren’t enough to overcome the risk he poses if the Crows come here. He doesn’t see himself as having any other value.”

Alistair shook his head. “And I thought my upbringing was messed up.”

I finished with my hair and went on tippy toes to steal a kiss. “You and me both. We’re just going to have to teach him otherwise.” I stole a second kiss. “Thanks for not over-reacting to the risk to me.”

He scoffed. “You’d skin any Crow alive who came after your family. And you’ll have me and a fortress full of Wardens to help keep you safe.”

I chuckled and checked my image in the mirror one last time. “Alright, let’s do this.”

My first stop, after pausing in the main hall and promising Levi, Avernus (through Jowan), Avanna, Mhairi, and Greagoir audiences at some point before the end of the day, was the closet housing the templars who were holding the Architect’s mana. With the creature unconscious once again thanks to some new potion of Avernus’, transferring his mana back to me was simple. The six men shuffled off to their rooms, a wing that Levi had dedicated to Greagoir and his templars, promising to return late in the evening so that I could catch up on even more sleep at night.

Then I hit the dining room for a meal. Most of the Wardens were there – with the exception of Solona, Faren, and Sigrun, for obvious reasons – or if not, they joined us almost immediately. Wardens, with their crazy metabolisms, are always hungry, and I was no exception; fortunately, the kitchen had been warned, and had gotten used to us in a hurry. The amount of food put out could have fed most of Ferelden’s army – or fifteen hungry Wardens. After initial greetings and hugs – everyone embarrassingly happy to see me alive and well – things were quiet as we all filled our bellies.

Afterwards, Zev closeted himself with Loghain, Levi, Mhairi, and Avanna, and I wondered what the five of them would come up with for security measures at the Peak. Anders went upstairs to check on Solona, and apparently work on his research towards Faren’s cure; all he’d say was that he would let us know when Solona was ready for visitors, and that he had several promising avenues to look into for Faren. Aedan put Conrad in charge of the rest of the Wardens, and he set up groups to go with our already-established patrols: the basement, where the eluvian was being stored and the Deep Roads entrance was; the mines; and the ramparts - and half to rest, so they’d be able to do the night-time patrols.

Alistair, Aedan, Jowan, and I headed up into the tower to meet with Avernus.

The elderly mage had arranged couches in the library where I’d first met him. The garbage pile of materials that would burn, which he’d collected over the centuries, had been removed, and the books had been reshelved, with some obvious effort to organise them. Everything was clean, and bright sunshine flooded through a west-facing window. We settled down together, and I caught Avernus’ sharp gaze on my face as I curled up beside Alistair, with Aedan on the other side.

“I’m fine, now, thanks.” I smiled, deciding to assume his concern was for my health. I never have any idea what’s really going on in the old reprobate’s head. “How are you feeling?”

He watched me for a moment more, ignoring my question, before looking away and addressing Aedan instead.

“Thank you for coming. I wanted to talk to you before your templar allies start work, and give you a suggestion of how we should handle this creature.” He gestured to the door beyond which the Architect slumbered, and then he looked back at me. “But first, I need some information from you, your Highness,” his tone was formal, but almost teasing. I grimaced, and he grinned, the expression making him look even more skeletal than normal, “on the other similar darkspawn you mentioned.”

“Corypheus?” I was surprised; I’d mentioned the magister to Jowan, Aedan, and Alistair in passing, but had never discussed that situation with Avernus that I could remember. “What do you want to know?”

“Perhaps it would be best if you started at the beginning.”

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and considering what I knew. And then I spent the next few minutes describing what I could remember of the downloadable content from the second Dragon Age game. I told them that Corypheus claimed to be one of the original magisters from Tevinter who breached the veil and entered the Golden City, and how he claimed it was black and the Maker’s throne empty. How the Wardens had imprisoned the creature, but whatever had kept him dormant had started to wear off near the beginning of the Century. Some Wardens, and I didn’t know who besides Larius, had kidnapped the pregnant wife of an apostate mage named Malcolm Hawke, and used her as leverage to force said apostate to use blood magic to bind Corypheus behind some sort of nested seals. Then, years later, Corypheus had called to some tainted Carta members in his dreams; they had attacked the children of the mage, needing the ‘blood of the Hawke’ in order to free him.