It was easy to say that Asala wasn't excited for the next part. Granted, she hadn't been excited to visit the Crossroads a second time either, but there she was. Khari had managed to feed them more information from their side, apparently they had apprehended the spy working in Halamshiral, and had retrieved a wealth of information from them. The combination of Rilien and Marceline in addition to the threat of an angry Khari and Zee proved to be wildly effective, unsurprisingly.
Among the information they relayed, was the password to enter the red eluvian they has passed along the way. With a new path in mind, they returned to the eluvian in question, where they now stood. In addition to the password, they'd also received word on what was on the other side, and that was the part that made Asala nervous. From what their source had said, it led to a place called the Darvaarad, a fortress located somewhere in the remote parts of Par Vollen. She'd never expected to return to her motherland, at least, not willingly, and certainly not in this manner. The fortress, Darvaarad, literally meant place that held back evil in Qunlat, and she wasn't looking forward to what these Qunari qualified as evil.
The fortress was in the command of a high-ranking Ben-Hassrath called Viddasala, one who converts purpose. They were also told that the Viddasala was accompanied by a very large Saarebas, and he undoubtedly lived up to the name of a dangerous thing.
Asala glanced between the others as they stood in front of the eluvian, awaiting for their word.
"There's a Qunari fortress on the other side of this mirror," Estella said, perhaps unnecessarily. Still her tone was almost disbelieving, as though it were difficult to comprehend that just past the glass lay some remote island off Par Vollen. It wasn't the sort of place that outsiders ever visited, so maybe that was understandable. No doubt the northern islands had more solid reality for Asala than for anyone else here. "Even if it's not well-manned... that's a lot of Qunari. I'd like to not have to engage them all, but if they really plan to do this... then at the very least we have to stop it."
Leon crossed his arms over his chest, contemplating the mirror for a moment. "In a way we're about as well-equipped for this as we can be. A strike force. I doubt the Viddasala planned on her spy giving up the password. And they won't be able to fully prepare for a breach in any case. Still... there's a chance a very large fight is waiting for us behind this, so prepare yourselves."
The Lady Inquisitor returned her attention momentarily to the specter of her brother. Whatever spirit or fragment of something wore Cyrus's face stood a fair distance from the eluvian—probably it couldn't leave the Crossroads. Estella stepped within reaching distance of him. "And you're—you're on the other side of this, right? The real you is there?"
The apparition tilted its head to the side, nodding once and reaching forward. Ghostly fingers drifted to pause at her cheek, unable to touch in the way flesh and blood could, but more solid than mere empty space. It turned its eyes out to the others and smiled grimly, the edges of it already starting to loosen, to come apart and fade away into blue light and then nothing at all. Last to disintegrate was the place it almost-touched Estella, but then it was gone.
"We'll find him," Astraia assured Estella, briefly reaching up to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Somehow I doubt that will be the hard part." Vesryn's helmet masked his features once more. His fingers opened and closed a few times over the axe shaft, and he rolled his shoulders a few times to loosen them. "Try to stay in formation as best you can when it comes to a fight. Leon and I will take the front. Asala, Astraia, use the walls to keep your backs covered as best you can, but don't get cornered. The Inquisitors can hold up the flanks, though I'd prefer they don't have to fight more than necessary." No doubt some of that was just concern for Estella, but there was also the marks to consider, and the way they were becoming increasingly unstable.
"Let's not delay," Romulus urged. "This needs to end now."
Estella nodded shortly, stepping to the front momentarily. "Maraas nehraa." Her pronunciation wasn't flawless, but it was good, and it got the job done. The mirror rippled, red fading out until the glass was clear again, alight with indistinct blue-white. She stepped back, allowing Leon and Vesryn to pass through first, following them with Romulus close behind. Astraia and Asala brought up the rear, the last to lay eyes on what awaited them on the other side.
Evening had begun to fall, was the first thing Asala noticed. Though the Darvaarad was made from the light stone much of Par Vollen's structures used, it wasn't blindingly-lit by the sun, only stark like bleached bones in the desert. No army awaited them, either—just another long length of bridge, this one probably manned by soldiers, though it was impossible to tell from this distance. In front of them, between the stairs leading up to the bridge, was a bronze statue of a Qunari woman holding a longspear, pointed towards the sky. It glinted dully in the fading light.
Asala gazed toward the statue for a few moments, unable to hide the trepidation in her face. The last time she had been in Par Vollen, it was behind a locked door, in a dark and terrifying room alone. They did not treat the Saarebas well, and she knew that the one that accompanied this Viddasala was used as a tool instead of the person he truly was-- once. The Qun had a habit of converting everything to its purpose completely. She tore her eyes off of the statue and shook her head, her grip tightening on the spear she'd taken from the battle in the Crossroads.
They moved quickly and as quietly as they could, beginning their hunt for Viddasala and a way to put a stop to her plans. The bridge was indeed manned by soldiers, but they were able to dispatch any they came across without creating an alarm just yet. They had the element of surprise here, attacking the Qunari near Par Vollen itself, and while there wasn't a great deal of noise, the waves crashing onto the rocky coastlines of the island helped mask their approach somewhat.
By the time they made it inside the fortress itself evidence of their trespassing had been noticed, distant alarms calling the fortress to action. No doubt a body had been found, or perhaps just a lack of a patrolling guard where he should have been. Their exact location was still unknown to the enemy, but the Qunari were on high alert.
It was good, then, that the layout of the fort was not overly complicated. That was unsurprising of the Qunari, given their obsession over order and efficiency. The unusual part was the content of most of these rooms. There wasn't too much time to look while they were avoiding or dealing with trained Qunari soldiers, but Asala spotted astrariums, devices for interacting with the Veil, a few oculara, even a few more eluvians in varying states of functionality. The Qunari were normally wary of magic to the point of labeling it evil. Perhaps that was the point of this place. A fortress to hold evil objects, to keep them separate from the rest of the Qunari population.
It was when they were passing through one of these storerooms of magical artifacts that Romulus's mark began to crackle violently. He shook his hand as though it had caught fire, opening and closing a fist to try to hold the magic back, but it would not be denied. "Get back!" he warned, just before a powerful blast erupted from his hand against his will. Romulus was thrown hard back into the nearby wall, Vesryn toppled over onto his back, and Astraia was actually thrown across the room, falling and sliding a short distance across the smooth stone floor.
The wall closest to the blast was cracked and crumbling, and all around them bits and pieces of arcane devices rained down, crashing into each other and creating a terrible racket. For one unbearably tense moment there was silence while all of them tried to recover. And then Asala could hear armored boots thundering towards them, along with deep voices shouting in Qunlat.
Leon reacted first, getting to the door and waiting for a few tense seconds before he threw it open, startling the Qunari on the other side for just a brief moment. He took advantage of it, grabbing hold of the first spear thrust in his direction and yanking, forcing the soldier wielding it into the room by himself. Not a good place to be; he swiftly met his end at the Lady Inquisitor's blade.
Unfortunately, Estella's mark chose that moment to do much the same thing as Romulus's had, except that the explosion seemed to happen in slow motion, time distorting around her and flinging both Leon and several more Qunari away as if they were moving through water.
Asala had saved herself from the majority of the blast from Romulus's mark, tossing up a barrier in time to absorb most of the force. There was still enough left over to put her on her back, but before long she'd made it back to her feet. Likewise, the explosion from Estella's mark came just as suddenly, but fortunately she was far enough away this time to escape it, but the same could not be said for Estella and Leon. Them and a few of the closest Qunari were flying through the air, but slowly, like they were trapped in sap. It left them open, and the Qunari unaffected by the time dilation were approaching quickly.
A barrier sprung to life just into to intercept a spear meant for Leon, and Asala pushed back, shoving the Qunari carrying it out of range. Before she let the barrier go however, she reeled back with her own spear and let it fly towards him. The shield fell just as the spear arrived. However, Asala was not practiced with the weapon more than just using it as a staff, and her aim was off and sailed past her intended mark. The Qunari behind that one was not so lucky, as he now found a javelin lodged in his bicep. It didn't slow him down much, and Asala frowned, throwing up another barrier in hopes to buy time for everyone to recover and reposition.
Fortunately, the few seconds she could buy them was all they really needed, and the group recovered well enough to take better advantage of their positioning, the Qunari forced to approach in smaller numbers due to the doorway. Even when more of them began to use the hole Romulus had put in the wall as a secondary entrance, the combination of Leon and Vesryn in the front, Estella and Romulus moving nimbly around the edges and Astraia and Asala contributing spells from the back felled their attackers.
No doubt there were more, though, and it didn't take much tactical acumen to understand that they had to get moving. Stealth was traded for swiftness, and though they encountered a few more solitary soldiers or small groups, their speed through the fort prevented any real defenses from mustering against them.
It was hard to know exactly where to go to find the Viddasala, but their path soon took them out into a courtyard, surrounded on all sides by high walls. Tropical plants grew here, lush but disciplined in the manner of everything cultivated by the Qunari. A large, rectangular pool in the center bore a stone fountain, water burbling pleasantly into the surrounding basin. It would probably only be about knee-high water on Asala, but it was easy to see the stone channels cut into the ground where it would occasionally be allowed to overflow and irrigate the plants.
On the far side of the courtyard stood a woman who surely had to be Viddasala—though they'd only caught a brief glimpse of her before, her armor was distinctive, as was the book tied to one flat shoulder-guard. She wasn't nearly as tall as Asala, perhaps a few inches beneath six feet, but her presence was much more imposing, especially standing elevated in the way she did. Another eluvian shone dimly behind her, and at her side towered Saarebas—a full head taller than even Leon, just as muscular, and practically brimming with barely-contained, raw magic.
Below them, arranged in a wide fan formation, were several more Qunari soldiers, and these looked like elites all, perhaps the Viddasala's personal guard. Men and women alike, and all of them armed to the teeth.
The woman herself, illuminated by the scant moonlight from above, crossed her arms and glowered down at them. "Survivors of the Breach. Heralds of change. Heroes of the South." None of the titles sounded complimentary on her tongue, and indeed she shook her head. "After fulfilling your purpose at the Breach, it is astonishing to hear you still walked free among your people. Your duty is done—it is time to end your magic."
"That's what this is about?" Estella's tone was torn between incredulity and what sounded like the beginnings of anger. "All of this—because you don't like that we have the Anchors?"
The Viddasala regarded her as though she were a particularly slow child. "Do you really believe that closing the Breach solved everything? That the consequences stopped there?" She exhaled a harsh breath, audible even over the distance. "The day we saw the Breach, the Qun decided its action. We would remove your leaders and spare those who toil." It wasn't completely clear which or how many leaders she was talking about, but Asala was familiar enough with the Qun's absolutes to guess. She probably meant all of them.
"But this gilt-tongued thief has disrupted everything, in your names."
It was easy enough to guess whom she was referring to with that. "And where can we find this thief?" Vesryn asked. "Judging by how grumpy you look, I'd wager he's eluded you quite easily."
"There's no time for this." Romulus's mark was threatening to overload again, but so far he seemed to be keeping it under control. "We need to see where that eluvian leads." Of course, there were large deadly Qunari in between them and it. Astraia eyed them nervously, her gaze most commonly fixed on Saarebas.
"If you understood everything he has caused, you would want to find him as much as I do." Viddasala shook her head. "But it matters not. The Qun would have taken the gentle path, but he has forced us to the way of blades. Mine will find him before his finds me." She turned to Saarebas and jerked her head down towards them.
"Kill the Inquisitors. If the others surrender, take them." She turned her back on them, striding towards the eluvian with purpose, but the group currently had bigger problems—quite literally, as Saarebas jumped the railing and fell the nearly ten feet down to land in a deep crouch in the pool with a heavy splash. He rose back up to his full height, primal earth magic gathering already at his fingertips.
He thrust both hands forward, hurling two enormous stonefists at once, and on the signal, the other Qunari charged as well, spears and axes at the ready.
Asala took the first steps forward, putting her in front of the group. She dug deep into her reserves of mana and withdrew a hardy barrier, shaping it into a half dome in front of them all. The pair of stonefists glanced off of either side and split from their paths, sailing off harmlessly behind them. With the immediate threat of them dealt with Asala retreated a step or two back to put the rest of her companions in front of her. Her eyes never left the Saarebas the entire time.
But it seemed the Qunari mage had plenty more where that came from, and lighting wreathed both of his hands after that, bolts lancing from each arm. Estella tried to dive to the left to avoid one, but it caught her in the side, and she fell sideways with a sharp cry, collapsing into the pool with a stumbling lurch. Leon moved in to cover her, intercepting the axe that whistled towards the Lady Inquisitor's head. Catching it between armored palms, he grunted under the force of the secondary lightning bolt that caught him for being too close, his balance faltering.
He just barely kept his feet, but the axe-wielder dealt him a blow to the head, hard enough for the ring against his helmet to echo. The helm dislodged entirely with the momentum, snapping his head to the side before hitting the water with another, smaller splash.
Saarebas hurled himself into the fray after that, no longer content to sling spells from a distance. Magic propelled him up into the air, and then down again with a thunderous crash into the middle of their formation, behind the front that Estella and Leon were barely holding. A blast of arcane magic pulsed from him, knocking Astraia and Romulus back several steps. Vesryn held his ground against it, but the Qunari soon encased his arms in rock, landing a quick and heavy strike to Vesryn's side. The next slammed straight into his chest, sending him tumbling backwards.
Romulus was forced to deal with one of the spear-wielding Qunari nearby, leaving Astraia to face Saarebas's wrath for a moment. She actually brought it upon herself by shoving the bladed end of her staff into the mage's lower back. His armor was ineffective, not even really designed as such, and so her blade was able to sink in easily. Pain, however, did not concern Saarebas in the slightest. By the time Astraia had withdrawn her weapon he'd turned on her. Her stonefist shattered harmlessly across his arm, delaying him only a moment. She made to swing her staff down on the base of his neck, only for him to catch the blade between rock-guarded fingers. He brought his other fist swiftly into her abdomen, and she crumpled with a choked cough. He immediately turned his wrath on Asala next, leaping across the distance between them and swinging a haymaker for her.
For a moment, Asala saw her brother. He had fought much in the same way, taking to Aurora's tutelage far easier than she had. He had even been as reckless. But Meraad had lacked the power of this Saarebas, she noted as she pulsed a wave dispel energy. The stones around the Saarebas's hands melted away, but still, the muscular fist would still do damage if he put all of his weight into it. So Asala dodged backward, but she overestimated and fell the rest of the way on her back, as the haymaker sailed above her.
It still left her in less than favorable position, and the accompanying hammerfist was fast incoming. She was able to summon another barrier, managed to block it albeit still with spiderweb cracking. The second and third widened these cracks, and Asala panicked, freezing for the fourth. That one broke through, though robbed of much of its force, drove heavily into her belly. She cried out in pain, and instinctively forced out a body sized barrier which caught the Saarebas by surprise and flung him away, afterward Asala rolled over and began to vomit violently.
Saarebas landed on his feet, but he didn't stay there for long. Estella, on her knees in the water, held her marked hand firmly in the other, light escaping between her fingers where she gripped her own wrist. But her palm flared brightly, a resounding crack flinging her backwards into the water again.
The brunt of the force collided with Saarebas, though, much more powerful than anything she could conjure with her usual magic, and he staggered sideways, knocking into one of his allies, who was trying to flank Romulus. His sheer size sent the other Qunari sprawling, and Leon was on him immediately, yanking his head up by the horns and twisting until his neck broke. Saarebas took a swing at the Commander, who caught the fist in both of his palms, for once the smaller and physically weaker combatant. But he still knew more of close-quarters fighting than Saarebas seemed to, and technique barely edged out raw strength, Leon sweeping the Qunari mage's legs out from underneath him and putting him on his back.
Another incoming spear forced him away before he could do any more than that, and though winded, Saarebas quickly regained his footing.
He only just got there before Romulus was on his back, arms wrapped around the mage's neck. He stabbed his blade into the Qunari's chest, doing a decent amount of damage and lodging him there for the moment. His mark pulsed wildly.
Astraia had only just gotten to her feet before a spear-wielding Qunari charged her. She narrowly avoided being impaled, deflecting the weapon aside with her own and kicking off the soldier's chest. The kick served more to shove herself away than do damage, and she landed in the midst of another downward slash, this one cutting a bloody line across the Qunari's lightly armored chest. It wasn't enough to end him, though, and his next spear thrust, though off target, cut across the outside of her thigh. The shaft of the weapon whipped up and smacked her across the head, sending her tumbling down to the ground.
Vesryn arrived to cleave into the warrior from behind with his axe, but Astraia had already turned and launched a desperate spell in self defense, in the form of lightning. It wasn't well-controlled either, chaining off the already dead Qunari soldier that Vesryn felled. It hit him, leaving him staggered, and bounced to Saarebas and Romulus next, still struggling with one another. The added pain of the lightning spell seemed to be enough to push Romulus's mark over the edge. He just happened to have it pressed against Saarebas when it went.
The Qunari mage utterly exploded in a blast of the mark's energy, sending Romulus flying across the courtyard to land roughly just before he reached one of the walls. As the debris from the explosion fell around them, the courtyard fell into silence. The last of the Qunari here had seemingly been dealt with.
Asala still knelt in the puddle, her hand wreathed in magic pressed against her belly. The warmth spread out from her center, healing the damage that the Saarebas had caused to her insides. With her other hand, she wiped the blood that dribbled from the corner of her lips. She glanced around the battlefield, looking for the enemy just in case they missed one, but once she confirmed they'd all been dealt with she nodded and stood.
"Let's find Cyrus," She stated, before she moved to check on Romulus's wellbeing.
Among the information they relayed, was the password to enter the red eluvian they has passed along the way. With a new path in mind, they returned to the eluvian in question, where they now stood. In addition to the password, they'd also received word on what was on the other side, and that was the part that made Asala nervous. From what their source had said, it led to a place called the Darvaarad, a fortress located somewhere in the remote parts of Par Vollen. She'd never expected to return to her motherland, at least, not willingly, and certainly not in this manner. The fortress, Darvaarad, literally meant place that held back evil in Qunlat, and she wasn't looking forward to what these Qunari qualified as evil.
The fortress was in the command of a high-ranking Ben-Hassrath called Viddasala, one who converts purpose. They were also told that the Viddasala was accompanied by a very large Saarebas, and he undoubtedly lived up to the name of a dangerous thing.
Asala glanced between the others as they stood in front of the eluvian, awaiting for their word.
"There's a Qunari fortress on the other side of this mirror," Estella said, perhaps unnecessarily. Still her tone was almost disbelieving, as though it were difficult to comprehend that just past the glass lay some remote island off Par Vollen. It wasn't the sort of place that outsiders ever visited, so maybe that was understandable. No doubt the northern islands had more solid reality for Asala than for anyone else here. "Even if it's not well-manned... that's a lot of Qunari. I'd like to not have to engage them all, but if they really plan to do this... then at the very least we have to stop it."
Leon crossed his arms over his chest, contemplating the mirror for a moment. "In a way we're about as well-equipped for this as we can be. A strike force. I doubt the Viddasala planned on her spy giving up the password. And they won't be able to fully prepare for a breach in any case. Still... there's a chance a very large fight is waiting for us behind this, so prepare yourselves."
The Lady Inquisitor returned her attention momentarily to the specter of her brother. Whatever spirit or fragment of something wore Cyrus's face stood a fair distance from the eluvian—probably it couldn't leave the Crossroads. Estella stepped within reaching distance of him. "And you're—you're on the other side of this, right? The real you is there?"
The apparition tilted its head to the side, nodding once and reaching forward. Ghostly fingers drifted to pause at her cheek, unable to touch in the way flesh and blood could, but more solid than mere empty space. It turned its eyes out to the others and smiled grimly, the edges of it already starting to loosen, to come apart and fade away into blue light and then nothing at all. Last to disintegrate was the place it almost-touched Estella, but then it was gone.
"We'll find him," Astraia assured Estella, briefly reaching up to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Somehow I doubt that will be the hard part." Vesryn's helmet masked his features once more. His fingers opened and closed a few times over the axe shaft, and he rolled his shoulders a few times to loosen them. "Try to stay in formation as best you can when it comes to a fight. Leon and I will take the front. Asala, Astraia, use the walls to keep your backs covered as best you can, but don't get cornered. The Inquisitors can hold up the flanks, though I'd prefer they don't have to fight more than necessary." No doubt some of that was just concern for Estella, but there was also the marks to consider, and the way they were becoming increasingly unstable.
"Let's not delay," Romulus urged. "This needs to end now."
Estella nodded shortly, stepping to the front momentarily. "Maraas nehraa." Her pronunciation wasn't flawless, but it was good, and it got the job done. The mirror rippled, red fading out until the glass was clear again, alight with indistinct blue-white. She stepped back, allowing Leon and Vesryn to pass through first, following them with Romulus close behind. Astraia and Asala brought up the rear, the last to lay eyes on what awaited them on the other side.
Evening had begun to fall, was the first thing Asala noticed. Though the Darvaarad was made from the light stone much of Par Vollen's structures used, it wasn't blindingly-lit by the sun, only stark like bleached bones in the desert. No army awaited them, either—just another long length of bridge, this one probably manned by soldiers, though it was impossible to tell from this distance. In front of them, between the stairs leading up to the bridge, was a bronze statue of a Qunari woman holding a longspear, pointed towards the sky. It glinted dully in the fading light.
Asala gazed toward the statue for a few moments, unable to hide the trepidation in her face. The last time she had been in Par Vollen, it was behind a locked door, in a dark and terrifying room alone. They did not treat the Saarebas well, and she knew that the one that accompanied this Viddasala was used as a tool instead of the person he truly was-- once. The Qun had a habit of converting everything to its purpose completely. She tore her eyes off of the statue and shook her head, her grip tightening on the spear she'd taken from the battle in the Crossroads.
They moved quickly and as quietly as they could, beginning their hunt for Viddasala and a way to put a stop to her plans. The bridge was indeed manned by soldiers, but they were able to dispatch any they came across without creating an alarm just yet. They had the element of surprise here, attacking the Qunari near Par Vollen itself, and while there wasn't a great deal of noise, the waves crashing onto the rocky coastlines of the island helped mask their approach somewhat.
By the time they made it inside the fortress itself evidence of their trespassing had been noticed, distant alarms calling the fortress to action. No doubt a body had been found, or perhaps just a lack of a patrolling guard where he should have been. Their exact location was still unknown to the enemy, but the Qunari were on high alert.
It was good, then, that the layout of the fort was not overly complicated. That was unsurprising of the Qunari, given their obsession over order and efficiency. The unusual part was the content of most of these rooms. There wasn't too much time to look while they were avoiding or dealing with trained Qunari soldiers, but Asala spotted astrariums, devices for interacting with the Veil, a few oculara, even a few more eluvians in varying states of functionality. The Qunari were normally wary of magic to the point of labeling it evil. Perhaps that was the point of this place. A fortress to hold evil objects, to keep them separate from the rest of the Qunari population.
It was when they were passing through one of these storerooms of magical artifacts that Romulus's mark began to crackle violently. He shook his hand as though it had caught fire, opening and closing a fist to try to hold the magic back, but it would not be denied. "Get back!" he warned, just before a powerful blast erupted from his hand against his will. Romulus was thrown hard back into the nearby wall, Vesryn toppled over onto his back, and Astraia was actually thrown across the room, falling and sliding a short distance across the smooth stone floor.
The wall closest to the blast was cracked and crumbling, and all around them bits and pieces of arcane devices rained down, crashing into each other and creating a terrible racket. For one unbearably tense moment there was silence while all of them tried to recover. And then Asala could hear armored boots thundering towards them, along with deep voices shouting in Qunlat.
Leon reacted first, getting to the door and waiting for a few tense seconds before he threw it open, startling the Qunari on the other side for just a brief moment. He took advantage of it, grabbing hold of the first spear thrust in his direction and yanking, forcing the soldier wielding it into the room by himself. Not a good place to be; he swiftly met his end at the Lady Inquisitor's blade.
Unfortunately, Estella's mark chose that moment to do much the same thing as Romulus's had, except that the explosion seemed to happen in slow motion, time distorting around her and flinging both Leon and several more Qunari away as if they were moving through water.
Asala had saved herself from the majority of the blast from Romulus's mark, tossing up a barrier in time to absorb most of the force. There was still enough left over to put her on her back, but before long she'd made it back to her feet. Likewise, the explosion from Estella's mark came just as suddenly, but fortunately she was far enough away this time to escape it, but the same could not be said for Estella and Leon. Them and a few of the closest Qunari were flying through the air, but slowly, like they were trapped in sap. It left them open, and the Qunari unaffected by the time dilation were approaching quickly.
A barrier sprung to life just into to intercept a spear meant for Leon, and Asala pushed back, shoving the Qunari carrying it out of range. Before she let the barrier go however, she reeled back with her own spear and let it fly towards him. The shield fell just as the spear arrived. However, Asala was not practiced with the weapon more than just using it as a staff, and her aim was off and sailed past her intended mark. The Qunari behind that one was not so lucky, as he now found a javelin lodged in his bicep. It didn't slow him down much, and Asala frowned, throwing up another barrier in hopes to buy time for everyone to recover and reposition.
Fortunately, the few seconds she could buy them was all they really needed, and the group recovered well enough to take better advantage of their positioning, the Qunari forced to approach in smaller numbers due to the doorway. Even when more of them began to use the hole Romulus had put in the wall as a secondary entrance, the combination of Leon and Vesryn in the front, Estella and Romulus moving nimbly around the edges and Astraia and Asala contributing spells from the back felled their attackers.
No doubt there were more, though, and it didn't take much tactical acumen to understand that they had to get moving. Stealth was traded for swiftness, and though they encountered a few more solitary soldiers or small groups, their speed through the fort prevented any real defenses from mustering against them.
It was hard to know exactly where to go to find the Viddasala, but their path soon took them out into a courtyard, surrounded on all sides by high walls. Tropical plants grew here, lush but disciplined in the manner of everything cultivated by the Qunari. A large, rectangular pool in the center bore a stone fountain, water burbling pleasantly into the surrounding basin. It would probably only be about knee-high water on Asala, but it was easy to see the stone channels cut into the ground where it would occasionally be allowed to overflow and irrigate the plants.
On the far side of the courtyard stood a woman who surely had to be Viddasala—though they'd only caught a brief glimpse of her before, her armor was distinctive, as was the book tied to one flat shoulder-guard. She wasn't nearly as tall as Asala, perhaps a few inches beneath six feet, but her presence was much more imposing, especially standing elevated in the way she did. Another eluvian shone dimly behind her, and at her side towered Saarebas—a full head taller than even Leon, just as muscular, and practically brimming with barely-contained, raw magic.
Below them, arranged in a wide fan formation, were several more Qunari soldiers, and these looked like elites all, perhaps the Viddasala's personal guard. Men and women alike, and all of them armed to the teeth.
The woman herself, illuminated by the scant moonlight from above, crossed her arms and glowered down at them. "Survivors of the Breach. Heralds of change. Heroes of the South." None of the titles sounded complimentary on her tongue, and indeed she shook her head. "After fulfilling your purpose at the Breach, it is astonishing to hear you still walked free among your people. Your duty is done—it is time to end your magic."
"That's what this is about?" Estella's tone was torn between incredulity and what sounded like the beginnings of anger. "All of this—because you don't like that we have the Anchors?"
The Viddasala regarded her as though she were a particularly slow child. "Do you really believe that closing the Breach solved everything? That the consequences stopped there?" She exhaled a harsh breath, audible even over the distance. "The day we saw the Breach, the Qun decided its action. We would remove your leaders and spare those who toil." It wasn't completely clear which or how many leaders she was talking about, but Asala was familiar enough with the Qun's absolutes to guess. She probably meant all of them.
"But this gilt-tongued thief has disrupted everything, in your names."
It was easy enough to guess whom she was referring to with that. "And where can we find this thief?" Vesryn asked. "Judging by how grumpy you look, I'd wager he's eluded you quite easily."
"There's no time for this." Romulus's mark was threatening to overload again, but so far he seemed to be keeping it under control. "We need to see where that eluvian leads." Of course, there were large deadly Qunari in between them and it. Astraia eyed them nervously, her gaze most commonly fixed on Saarebas.
"If you understood everything he has caused, you would want to find him as much as I do." Viddasala shook her head. "But it matters not. The Qun would have taken the gentle path, but he has forced us to the way of blades. Mine will find him before his finds me." She turned to Saarebas and jerked her head down towards them.
"Kill the Inquisitors. If the others surrender, take them." She turned her back on them, striding towards the eluvian with purpose, but the group currently had bigger problems—quite literally, as Saarebas jumped the railing and fell the nearly ten feet down to land in a deep crouch in the pool with a heavy splash. He rose back up to his full height, primal earth magic gathering already at his fingertips.
He thrust both hands forward, hurling two enormous stonefists at once, and on the signal, the other Qunari charged as well, spears and axes at the ready.
Asala took the first steps forward, putting her in front of the group. She dug deep into her reserves of mana and withdrew a hardy barrier, shaping it into a half dome in front of them all. The pair of stonefists glanced off of either side and split from their paths, sailing off harmlessly behind them. With the immediate threat of them dealt with Asala retreated a step or two back to put the rest of her companions in front of her. Her eyes never left the Saarebas the entire time.
But it seemed the Qunari mage had plenty more where that came from, and lighting wreathed both of his hands after that, bolts lancing from each arm. Estella tried to dive to the left to avoid one, but it caught her in the side, and she fell sideways with a sharp cry, collapsing into the pool with a stumbling lurch. Leon moved in to cover her, intercepting the axe that whistled towards the Lady Inquisitor's head. Catching it between armored palms, he grunted under the force of the secondary lightning bolt that caught him for being too close, his balance faltering.
He just barely kept his feet, but the axe-wielder dealt him a blow to the head, hard enough for the ring against his helmet to echo. The helm dislodged entirely with the momentum, snapping his head to the side before hitting the water with another, smaller splash.
Saarebas hurled himself into the fray after that, no longer content to sling spells from a distance. Magic propelled him up into the air, and then down again with a thunderous crash into the middle of their formation, behind the front that Estella and Leon were barely holding. A blast of arcane magic pulsed from him, knocking Astraia and Romulus back several steps. Vesryn held his ground against it, but the Qunari soon encased his arms in rock, landing a quick and heavy strike to Vesryn's side. The next slammed straight into his chest, sending him tumbling backwards.
Romulus was forced to deal with one of the spear-wielding Qunari nearby, leaving Astraia to face Saarebas's wrath for a moment. She actually brought it upon herself by shoving the bladed end of her staff into the mage's lower back. His armor was ineffective, not even really designed as such, and so her blade was able to sink in easily. Pain, however, did not concern Saarebas in the slightest. By the time Astraia had withdrawn her weapon he'd turned on her. Her stonefist shattered harmlessly across his arm, delaying him only a moment. She made to swing her staff down on the base of his neck, only for him to catch the blade between rock-guarded fingers. He brought his other fist swiftly into her abdomen, and she crumpled with a choked cough. He immediately turned his wrath on Asala next, leaping across the distance between them and swinging a haymaker for her.
For a moment, Asala saw her brother. He had fought much in the same way, taking to Aurora's tutelage far easier than she had. He had even been as reckless. But Meraad had lacked the power of this Saarebas, she noted as she pulsed a wave dispel energy. The stones around the Saarebas's hands melted away, but still, the muscular fist would still do damage if he put all of his weight into it. So Asala dodged backward, but she overestimated and fell the rest of the way on her back, as the haymaker sailed above her.
It still left her in less than favorable position, and the accompanying hammerfist was fast incoming. She was able to summon another barrier, managed to block it albeit still with spiderweb cracking. The second and third widened these cracks, and Asala panicked, freezing for the fourth. That one broke through, though robbed of much of its force, drove heavily into her belly. She cried out in pain, and instinctively forced out a body sized barrier which caught the Saarebas by surprise and flung him away, afterward Asala rolled over and began to vomit violently.
Saarebas landed on his feet, but he didn't stay there for long. Estella, on her knees in the water, held her marked hand firmly in the other, light escaping between her fingers where she gripped her own wrist. But her palm flared brightly, a resounding crack flinging her backwards into the water again.
The brunt of the force collided with Saarebas, though, much more powerful than anything she could conjure with her usual magic, and he staggered sideways, knocking into one of his allies, who was trying to flank Romulus. His sheer size sent the other Qunari sprawling, and Leon was on him immediately, yanking his head up by the horns and twisting until his neck broke. Saarebas took a swing at the Commander, who caught the fist in both of his palms, for once the smaller and physically weaker combatant. But he still knew more of close-quarters fighting than Saarebas seemed to, and technique barely edged out raw strength, Leon sweeping the Qunari mage's legs out from underneath him and putting him on his back.
Another incoming spear forced him away before he could do any more than that, and though winded, Saarebas quickly regained his footing.
He only just got there before Romulus was on his back, arms wrapped around the mage's neck. He stabbed his blade into the Qunari's chest, doing a decent amount of damage and lodging him there for the moment. His mark pulsed wildly.
Astraia had only just gotten to her feet before a spear-wielding Qunari charged her. She narrowly avoided being impaled, deflecting the weapon aside with her own and kicking off the soldier's chest. The kick served more to shove herself away than do damage, and she landed in the midst of another downward slash, this one cutting a bloody line across the Qunari's lightly armored chest. It wasn't enough to end him, though, and his next spear thrust, though off target, cut across the outside of her thigh. The shaft of the weapon whipped up and smacked her across the head, sending her tumbling down to the ground.
Vesryn arrived to cleave into the warrior from behind with his axe, but Astraia had already turned and launched a desperate spell in self defense, in the form of lightning. It wasn't well-controlled either, chaining off the already dead Qunari soldier that Vesryn felled. It hit him, leaving him staggered, and bounced to Saarebas and Romulus next, still struggling with one another. The added pain of the lightning spell seemed to be enough to push Romulus's mark over the edge. He just happened to have it pressed against Saarebas when it went.
The Qunari mage utterly exploded in a blast of the mark's energy, sending Romulus flying across the courtyard to land roughly just before he reached one of the walls. As the debris from the explosion fell around them, the courtyard fell into silence. The last of the Qunari here had seemingly been dealt with.
Asala still knelt in the puddle, her hand wreathed in magic pressed against her belly. The warmth spread out from her center, healing the damage that the Saarebas had caused to her insides. With her other hand, she wiped the blood that dribbled from the corner of her lips. She glanced around the battlefield, looking for the enemy just in case they missed one, but once she confirmed they'd all been dealt with she nodded and stood.
"Let's find Cyrus," She stated, before she moved to check on Romulus's wellbeing.