Chapter Text
He had never thought too much about Leliana’s agents that she sends out into the field. Oh, of course he knew they were around. Occasionally he’d see them, talking with her quietly on the outskirts of town, or ducking out the chantry as quickly and silently as they had arrived. But pay them attention? No. his mind was always on other things.
Never mind that one of the spies always had a staff strapped to their back and face hidden by a hood. Their stance was familiar but he couldn’t quite place it. He knew better to ask Leliana. He could smell the magic radiating from them though, but he had to remind himself that he was no longer a Templar. Apostates aren’t his concern anymore.
It was the here and now that mattered. Templars and rebel mages and holes in the sky where demons pour through and it reminded him a little too much of Kinloch hold. So he focused on what’s real and what’s important. The Inquisition.
But now he could taste the magic in the air. It thrummed against his skull making his teeth ache. And over that, the dull roar in the mountains and the legions of Red Templars marching down towards their haven, their town, and he had to swallow the fear when he heard pounding at the gates.
"We can’t come in unless you open!" a soft voice called, a boy’s voice, and Lavellan (despite her thin frame) helped him heave the doors open. He spies a Templar, dead in a pool of blood and a young man (barely a man really) stepping over his body, his face covered by the brim of a large hat.
"I’m Cole. We came to warn you, to help, but you have to help her too!" the boy beseeched, and Cullen looked around in confusion. And then he saw her.
Red hair fluttering in the wind, her bright green eyes masking the pain as she stumbled over to them, leaning against the boy for support as she pressed a hand to her side.
He thought he recognized that stance. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on a familiar (achingly so) face. She looked up and flashed him a look, a look that said ‘not now, we’ll talk about it, but not now’. He made a small mental reminder to throttle Leliana when they got of this.
"What’s going on?" Lavellan demanded, pointing the bow directly at Amell’s face. Cullen quickly raised a hand and pushed the bow down and gave the elf a warning look.
“This is the Hero of Ferelden,” he muttered, and the elf snorted slightly, but relaxed her weapon. He gestured for the boy to help her inside the town, earning him a thin smile.
"Templars are coming down the mountain," Amell said, wincing as they stumbled back through the doors. "They mean to burn haven to the ground."
"Templars?" Cullen has to believe she’s tell the truth. "Is this the order’s response to us talking to the mages? To attack us blindly?"
"They work for the Elder One," Cole said. "You know him? He knows you. You took his mages."
Amell shook her head at the confused expressions on their faces. “The Elder One… I can sense him. He is dark spawn.”
He sighed. The day just got much much worse. Lavellan turns to him and gestures her arms wildly.
"A plan? Cullen, give me something to work with!"
"Get everyone inside, and get people on the ballistas!"
He needed more time to think. But he couldn’t with her around.
"And go find a healer, tend to her wounds." he turned away, and brought his mind back to the now. He had an army to deal with. A mage who sent his stomach lurching will just have to wait.