Chapter 82: Emprise Du Lion

"Don't."

Ana blinked, the words had been spoken in a tone that was both soft and firm. They were a command from a man who knew more than a little about command.

The inquisitor chuckled.

She would never be able to speak like that.

"Don't what?" she asked.

Blackwall snorted.

"Don't go there," he replied, "Don't look down there and go into a place where such images are all your fault."

The barrel chested warrior shook his head.

"You have come to help these people, remember that, don't let their suffering drag you down."

Ana took a deep breath.

Good words, she realized good advice…

…But…not so easy to take to heart.

The two warriors were standing on a ledge in the Emprise du Lion. All around them white capped mountains rose, the valley and water ways were equally covered, blowing snow curled in the wind as it blew through the village of Sahrnia...

Ana winced.

…Or rather, the ruins that had once been the village of Sahrnia.

The Inquisitor shook her head.

These poor people!

They had come far too late!

Villagers trudged through the ruins of their homes, their bodies wrapped in blankets, furs, or whatever else they could fine to push back the biting cold. What few guards remained dug through the remains of stone buildings trying to salvage what they could to keep the few survivors alive for yet another day.

She also noticed several quickly erected ramparts and defensive pits, all positioned along the paths leading into the mountains. Shivering townspeople who had likely never held a sword stood behind those defenses now, but it was clear that they had had little in the way of military training.

Ana frowned.

Such defenses could not hold, not against battle-hardened soldiers.

She blinked again as she let her eyes fall over the weary townsfolk. Most of the people she saw down there were either very young or very old. The youngest guard she saw was likely in his late forties. The only young women she saw were either very frail or with child.

The sight made the inquisitor pause.

Where were all the young men? Where were the strongest of the village?

She glanced again at the mountain paths; she noticed the ruins of a large elven tower in the distance. She might have been wrong, but she thought she saw a banner fluttering in the cold breeze.

She could not see the colors of said banner, but she did not need to, not if Leliana's agents were right in their information on this place.

She swallowed hard, and glanced over at Blackwall, the warrior remained silent, his posture like a spring ready to leap up. Had Cassandra been with her, the Seeker would no doubt be boiling with rage right now. Nothing got her angry faster than the suffering of innocents.

The warden was different; he had seen many harsh and horrible things.

Was he affected by what they were facing? Yes. Did he let it show? No. The man was a pillar of strength.

Ana was grateful for that.

Part of her wished that Cassandra was here, or Cullen, they would help her find her center again, find a way to get past the suffering of these poor people.

Alas, they were not here, and she hated to ask Blackwall to lift her up.

It…it made her feel weak, despite everything she had done in the past few months, she still felt like that directionless noble girl sometimes. She could not help it.

Those insecurities still bubbled up…sometimes.

"Where do we start, Blackwall," she asked, "Where do we even begin?"

He looked over at her, his eyes softened slightly. If he was offended by her moment of weakness, he did not show it. Blackwall did not do sympathetic…

…That did not mean that he felt nothing however.

"Here," he replied, "We begin here," he said pointing down at the village. These people have survived both the elements and whatever it was that destroyed their home. They are stronger than we give them credit for."

Blackwall straightened.

"They have survived, now they need us to deal with what is threatening them. We want to help, we start with that, we let them all know the Inquisitor has come to protect them, and to avenge their dead."

The warden pinned her with his intense eyes.

"You must bolster them, you must be there strength."

Ana gave him a slight smile.

"As you and the others are mine."

"Hm," the warden said crossing his arms over his chest. If he was at all flattered by her statement he did not let it show.

Ana however, knew it to be the truth.

It was the inner-circle of the Inquisition that kept her going. Cullen's heart and love, Cassandra's strength, Solas' wisdom, Varric's shoulder for her to lean on, Sera's humor, they all kept her from losing her mind in a world that had long gone mad…

…A world that she was still trying to fix.

"Your Worship?"

She turned, a lone Inquisition scout stood behind her, the boy saluted.

"Scout Harding has returned," he informed her.

Ana nodded.

She looked over at Blackwall.

"Let's see what Lace has found for us," she said.

"Agreed," he said, "the sooner we know where to point our swords the sooner those people down there can start getting their lives back."

Ana's expression turned cool.

Yes, she realized, she was kind of looking forward to that as well.

Lace would be able to tell them where the enemy was, beyond just the vague reports gleaned by Leliana's scouts. That information had been useful, they knew that the Red Templars lyrium operation was somewhere in these mountains, but it was not the same as finding her a good hard target.

The Inquisitor's expression turned predatory.

She needed a good hard target, right now.

She let her shame for not being here, and her compassion for the suffering people below turn to anger.

Come get some, Red Templars, she thought grimly.

My blade is thirsty.

IOI

"We have not been able to establish any real presence here yet, Your Worship, too many Red Templars and demons. The terrain has proven too rough for us to establish anything more than this base camp."

Ana looked down at the map that Scout Harding had spread out on the small table in her campaign tent. Behind her, Blackwall, Sera, and Dorian stood waiting for her orders. The elf and Tevinter both looked miserable, neither seemed to like the cold, not that she could blame them.

Harsh cold was not something she had grown up around either. Of course, the mages said that Sahrnia should not have been facing such intense cold this time of year either.

Vivien, who had travelled with her from Skyhold, said that she sensed something strange on the wind around Emprise Du Lion. What that was, the Enchanter could not say.

The mage had taken two or three of her fellow loyalists down to see what they could do for the people of the village. Ana had sent a company of Inquisition bodyguards with them…just in case.

The Inquisitor frowned.

Mages were a good scapegoat; they always had been, even when they were trying to help. She would travel down to the village herself when this meeting was over. She needed to speak to whoever was in charge.

They needed to know what they were up against, and what they could do to help the suffering.

Ana frowned and looked close on the map.

"What is this Lace?" she asked the dwarven scout.

Harding followed her leader's finger.

"Red Templar encampment," she replied, "My people could not get too close, they had one of those giants made out of Red Lyrium, gave me the creeps it did, Your Worship."

Ana nodded. Yes, she had fought the monsters before.

Lace was not wrong, they were quite creepy.

Still, the fact that that base existed presented them with an interesting opportunity.

She smiled fiercely.

"Is it safe to say that the Red Templars have other outposts along the route into the mountains?" she asked.

"Probably, Your Worship," Harding replied, "Why?"

"And we have not been able to find anywhere near the mountain to set up camps of our own?"

"No, your Worship, I'm sorry."

Ana smiled at the dwarf.

"Don't be sorry," she said, "You have found places for us to set up our camps, and the Red Templars were kind enough to do all the work of clearing them, and getting them ready for us to settle in."

Some of the soldiers around them chuckled. Blackwall looked over Ana's shoulder.

"It will be a tough fight Inquisitor," he said.

"The first one or two camps, yes," she agreed, "After that, we will have our beachhead, we can bring up the bulk of our forces, drive the Templars back into the mountains. In those tight quarters, their numbers won't count for much."

"Nor ours," Blackwall said.

The Inquisitor shrugged.

"Then the odds will be even, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I would bet on our brave faithful more than I would Red Templars driven mad by their exposure to that foul rock."

Ana looked up at the scouts and officers that surrounded her, her expression grim, but determined.

"For those of you that were not with us when Haven fell," she began, "The Red Templars attacked our home; they gave us no quarter, and butchered anyone they could find."

The Inquisitor's eyes flashed with anger.

"Today…we have the chance to pay them back, with interest. Our agents believe that Emprise Du Lion is the source of the red lyrium, the means by which Corypheus controls his army of Red Templars.

She gave her soldiers a fierce smile.

"I intend to break that control. The Red Templars are not men and women anymore. They are monsters, fueled by poison. Take that poison away and the monsters lose their fangs. We will show them the same mercy they showed at Haven, the same mercy they have shown the villagers here…:

Her eyes narrowed.

"No quarter, gentlemen, no mercy, but at the same time we must do what we can to help innocents. These people have suffered enough; I will not see them suffer anymore, not if I can help it."

She leaned over the table, her expression fierce.

"If we win here, the damage to the Venatori and their allies will be extensive. Cripple the Red Templars and all Corypheus will have to throw at us is his cultists. From what I have seen in other engagements, the Venatori are not soldiers. In a straight up fight, we have them."

"Inquisitor," Blackwall said raising his hand.

"Yes?"

"I've heard rumors that there was a small warden outpost somewhere in these mountains, with your permission I would like to seek it out, if we have the opportunity."

Ana nodded.

"Agreed," she said, "searching that outpost might give us more information on what happened to the wardens. What we learned from Ser Stroud was helpful…but…"

Ana pursed her lips.

She hated the fact that she had been unable to join Stroud in his search for the wardens, alas, the war took up most of her time. Corypheus' forces seemed to be everywhere, and where they appeared fade rifts seemed to multiply.

The Elder One's pawns continued to keep her distracted, which was perhaps the whole point. Everything she had heard from Varric about Corypheus suggested that the creature had some kind of strange power over wardens.

Could it be that they figured into his overall plan? Yes, he had been scattering his forces in search of elven artifacts, but could it be that he needed his former jailors as well?

The Inquisitor shook her head.

Once they had dealt with the Red Templars here, she needed to touch base with Stroud, this warden situation could not continue. If everything she had faced up to this point was some sort of…distraction, then she needed to find out why…

Corypheus, the wardens, elven ruins and artifacts…

She sighed.

It was all like some giant puzzle, a puzzle that she was trying to put together without knowing fully what it would look like when it was done.

Her eyes narrowed.

Whatever Corypheus was doing, he clearly needed time to complete his plans.

She no longer intended for him to have time.

First the Red Templars, then she would deal with the wardens…

Then…Andraste willing…

It would be the Elder One's turn.

Maker have mercy upon him, because she would not.