There and Back Again Ch. 139

I pondered this. "I wonder...do ghouls feel different to you, than darkspawn?"

He raised his eyebrows. "I don't think so. What are you thinking?"

"Well, in game," I began thinking out loud, "the two groups of darkspawn – the Mother's and the Architect's – they fight each other. We would find groups of them trying to destroy each other. Neither of them have the numbers that they would have had in game – the Architect doesn't have as much Warden blood to work with, and the Mother didn't have time – but the Architect does, or did, have Utha. Do you think you would have sensed her?"

He shook his head. "When we saw them in the Dragonbone Wastes, I didn't even realise she was a ghoul until you said something. She felt just like normal darkspawn. Do you really think...?

"I don't know. I guess it depends – on how much she hadn't known about the Architect. I think he kept the truth from her, used the accelerated taint to manipulate her. In the book, when Genevieve and Bregan realised what he'd done, their reactions were...violent. They both tried to kill him. Maybe she'd do the same? I guess I'd prefer to believe that than think that she went along with him all this time even knowing the truth."

He hummed in agreement. "Anyway, the emissary we killed was one of the Mother's disciples. He'd found some way – I assume using blood magic? – to control their minds, like an Archdemon."

"The Mother knew how to do that, in game. She must have taught them. Do you remember hearing about the Broodmothers the Legion and Conrad killed in that collapsed Thaig?" He nodded. "In game, somehow, the Mother was controlling them – and using them to breed her army. That's one of the reasons it wasn't as difficult getting at her as it should have been."

He shuddered, pulling me closer and kissing my forehead. "I wonder just how much control each Broodmother has over her...progeny, anyway."

"That's something that I wondered too, especially given how keen the Architect was to 'free' a Broodmother." I thought for a minute. "I also wonder whether Weisshaupt knows more about Broodmothers. The Wardens at Soldier's Peak from a few centuries ago too. Maybe that's what their research was all about?"

My musing was interrupted by Alistair's confused expression, and my eyes went wide as I swore.

"Sonofa...I didn't tell you!" I sat up, running an agitated hand through my unruly curls.

"Love?" Alistair sat up as well, rubbing my back soothingly.

"With everything that happened with Faren, and the Architect, and the Mother...I never gave you guys much of a report about the Peak." I shook my head, disgusted with myself. "Damnit. Well, I guess we'll have to go over it twice, because I think I'd better tell you now, not wait for Aedan."

And I did. I told him about the mines, the tavern, the smithy, and the renovations, and then about the Deep Roads entrance in the basement.

"Makes sense," he mused. "They're a long way from Orzammar or any reliable source of darkspawn blood to perform Joinings and monitor the darkspawn activity in the Deep Roads otherwise."

"There's more, though. Faren found...well, I think it was a research facility. It predates Avernus, if that tells you anything. But there were cages, stacks of paper...someone was keeping darkspawn, even ogres, alive down there. There was an arena...it made me wonder if they were using them for pit fighting or something, but now I think about it, they might have been doing research on fighting techniques, or the taint, or...I don't know."

"That's...disturbing. Did you read any of the research?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "The parchment was so old it disintegrated if you touched it. I couldn't read anything. But, you know...there are at least two large rooms full of books in the Keep. I think one of the first people we might need to hire is a scholar – to sort through it, make some sort of catalogue, and read through anything there and see if it's relevant."

"We need an archivist." He looked at me, expression unreadable. "I'd prefer it was a Warden."

I considered. "I can see that. If there's secrets...maybe we have a part-time Warden archivist and some sort of scholar who can work together? It seems like a waste to have a Warden whose only job is as a librarian. The scholar can teach, if there's ever kids at the Keep, and manage the library, but anything Warden-related gets handed to the Warden Archivist?"

He smiled. "See? That's why you get paid all that coin." He grinned and leaned in for a kiss. "Can I ask you about something else?"

I nodded, curious.

"That mirror we hauled out of the Dragonbone Wastes..."

I smiled. "The eluvian. I suppose I never really did explain why, did I?" I flopped back on the bed, and Alistair leaned up on one elbow beside me. "Well, let me start at the beginning. So, Morrigan is pregnant, right?" He nodded at me to continue. "The thing is, she thinks Flemeth is after the child, and maybe after her as well. And no, before you say it, Flemeth isn't dead. She gave an amulet with a...I don't know, a part of herself, stuck in it...she gave it to a refugee who fled to Kirkwall after Ostagar." I almost made a horcrux comparison, but it wasn't like Alistair would have known what I was talking about.

"Anyway, so Morrigan is looking for somewhere to go to be safe, somewhere she can raise the child and train him in magic. I suspect she's also seeking information to allow her to defeat Flemeth, but that's beside the point. Anyway, somehow, she's going to learn about eluvians. In Arlathan, they were used as sort of...portals. To where, I have no idea. Maybe to Arlathan itself? Or some other world? But Morrigan thinks she'll be safe there for a time. She will learn there was one in the Brecilian Forest somewhere, but it was corrupted and destroyed. She'll find shards of it, and use them to track down this eluvian, since they're all connected. So at some point, she's going to have to come to us."

He sighed. "I'd like to hate her, but..."

"She's the reason Zevran is alive. I know, dear." I leaned over and kissed his shoulder. "She's also my friend. Do try to be polite when she comes to visit?" I grinned at him, and he chuckled. "It also gives Conrad the chance to see her again – and a choice. Because if he wants to, he could go with her."

"Through the eluvian?"

I nodded. "And I think he very well might. I find that reassuring, I have to admit. He can help protect her and the baby."

"He can also keep her from doing anything stupid." I scowled, and he had the grace to look sheepish. "I don't mean malicious, love. It's just...scared people do reckless things sometimes. Conrad has a good head on his shoulders, for all he acted like a half-wit gigolo when we first met. He won't let her go too far out of fear."

I giggled at hearing Alistair say the word 'gigolo'; when he gave me a funny look, I curled up and guffawed. After a minute he chuckled and rolled onto his back, waiting for me to stop laughing. "Very funny," he groused. "You can stop making fun of me any time."

I rolled over suddenly, throwing one leg over so I was laying on top of my husband, my thighs straddling his hips. "Make fun of you, dear husband? Perish the thought." I kissed him, and we forgot all about the Architect, darkspawn, and Morrigan for the rest of the morning.