Dragon Age Inquisition: Faith

Places where no one wants to be

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I won’t say much about the Deep Roads, except this: only the stupid or suicidal should visit them. If neither category applies to you, I recommend finding another way to make your fortune.

Hawke came out of that thaig a wealthy woman. She was able to restore her mother to her childhood home, the grand Amell estate in Hightown. But neither she nor Leandra thought it worth the price Carver had paid.

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“Let’s see. We’re waist-deep in stagnant water, this appears to be a dungeon, and we don’t know where or when we are. How does this rank with your worst days?” Dorian asked. “Because it’s up there, for me.”

Cecily sloshed forward through the water and shuddered as it soaked into her tunic, carrying an awful clammy feeling up her body. “I’d have to think about that. This could be the worst, but the day the Conclave exploded was also quite bad. Ask me again later. If we’re still alive.”

“Of course we’ll still be alive,” Dorian said dismissively, sloshing along beside her. “I’m much too handsome and talented to die.”

His arrogance seemed almost sincere, but something told Cecily that he was as close to panicking as she was. Oddly, that made her feel better. “In that case, I’m glad I’m with you. It increases my odds of survival,” she said flippantly.

“Indeed, you’re most fortunate.” Dorian made a disgusted noise. “Ugh, I don’t want to know what I just stepped on. Let’s get to dry ground and then figure out how to get out of here.”

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Haven, apparently, was going to be full of mages.

Unhappy, unstable, recently-allied-with-Tevinter mages, brought in as full allies of the Inquisition and housed right next to a massive tear in the Veil.

Cullen was already on edge, and Cassandra’s report at the war table pushed him right over it. “What was she thinking, setting so many mages loose with no supervision? You were there. Why didn't you stop her?” he shouted.

Cassandra gave him a flat look. The do not raise your voice at me was implied. “We asked the Herald to secure the cooperation of the rebel mages. This, she has done. I may not entirely agree with her decision, but I will support it.”

“And we cannot go back on the alliance now. We risk looking indecisive at best, treacherous and tyrannical at worst.” Josephine shook her head at the predicament.

“We need their help.”

Cullen started a bit. Cecily had entered the room, the Tevinter mage—Dorian—one step behind her. Cassandra had returned from Redcliffe looking none the worse for wear, but the same could not be said for the Herald. There was a burn on her cheek, her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was ash-pale. If Cullen had to guess, he’d say she hadn’t slept—maybe not for several days.

“If I had conscripted the mages, if the Inquisition had been no better than Tevinter, they’d start sneaking out of Haven as soon as they arrived,” she continued, rubbing a hand across her eyes as she stepped up to the table. “I need their cooperation, not their suspicions.”

“The Templars were still a viable option,” Cullen insisted. “I fail to see why we could not wait to …”

“We don’t have time.”

Cullen had never heard Cecily raise her voice before. It had the desired effect; the room went quiet. “You’ll understand when I explain what happened at Redcliffe,” she said passionately. “But …”