fadewalk | RP: Open (ALSO in the dungeons of Skyhold) DEMON FIGHT

Cullen left his weapons and armor locked away safely before going down to the dungeons and locking himself into the cell. He carefully pushed the key beyond his reach, then went to sit in the center of the cell with his legs folded beneath him.

He'd thought it through as carefully as he could.

They needed to be able to defend themselves against potential threats that arrived. That much was painfully obvious to him. But they also needed a system of checks and balances to make sure no one would attack a rival and claim it was for the good of the group. Without a governing group or lawkeeper--and with mistrust so easy here--the best solution seemed to be to put himself on trial as well as the woman he was accusing. If he was a danger to the group, they could leave him to rot, and considering Anders was in charge, there was always a chance they would...but as he closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, he felt weirdly almost peaceful.

He'd seen her, he faced her down, and he'd managed to choose justice over vengeance. He'd managed to let reasonable doubt sway him toward what felt like the fairest and safest course that might even help build that law out of chaos they so desperately needed.

He couldn't help but feel Cassandra would be proud of him, even as she threatened to knock him about the head. But he wasn't allowed to be a man with feelings when he had to be the Commander, and this? This was a very good reminder of that.

(OOC: Later, the thread gets a bit bloody. Trigger warning for semi-graphic description of dirty fighting and injury.)

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"Focus on Neria," Cullen said, straightening as the group heal settled over him. He was still a little banged up, but Anders' first spell had dealt with the worst of the damage, and Neria was in more need.

He moved out of the cell, looking for sign of where the demon could have gone, but there was no trace.

"Maker," he breathed, then turned to Sera, quickly scanning her. "Are you all right?"

There was blood on Sera's shirt, a hole torn in her jerkin, ruined like as not, but the mage had done enough to keep her guts inside, and she shook her head at Cullen, nodded, and then shouted, "No I'm not pissing alright! That was a demon, a scary lady-faced demon! So you were right, right! She was evil this whole time!"

She hadn't lowered her bow, a new arrow nocked, and she swung it toward the two mages, scowl fierce and upper lip drawn back in a snarl.

"I... might have broken a rib... or two."

She coughed, breathing in a disturbingly wheezing way when she forced her body to sit, back against the stone wall, pained expression before glancing at Cullen.

"I can recall the demon's scent, I can track it later." and then, glancing at Sera "Lady Trevelyan is not the demon. The demon is just trying to impersonate her. Someone should watch over her before the demon decides to kill her to take her place."

Anders scowled at Neria as she forced herself to sit up and kept talking, and knelt in front of her.

"Be still, you silly woman," he said, exasperated, though something in the words was fond. He placed his palm against her stomach and closed his eyes, letting a tendril of magic work its way through her body till he found the breaks. Then he opened his eyes and brought up his other hand to cup her neck, letting his healing magic flow between his two hands. His brow furrowed in concentration as the bones knit back together. A faintly soothing smell, like elfroot and ozone, filled the room.

"There," he said when it was done. He tapped her under the chin with a crooked knuckle. "You've gotten careless without me around to patch you up, Neria," he scolded, a small smile on his lips that didn't quite meet his eyes.

He got to his feet abruptly, turning to face Sera and Cullen. "She's right, though. Evelea isn't the demon. It's an Envy demon, trying to take over her form. Somehow her arrival here dislodged it before it could succeed. Evelea is unpossessed, we've made sure of it, but that...thing is still running about." He glanced at Neria, lips quirking. "I guess that settles the question of whether or not it followed her here, doesn't it?"

Then his eyes finally settled on Sera's bow, and he sighed, even as his fingers tightened on his staff. "Kindly lower your bow, please; I don't know how well I can contain Justice with you threatening an innocent - and, I might add, thoroughly terrorized - mage, even by implication."

"She isn't threatening the Herald," Cullen said, meeting Sera's eyes and tipping his head in question. In his experience, giving imperious orders to her outside of combat was a good way to get metaphorical sand kicked in your eyes. "We're safe for now," he promised. "If the demon's out here, then it's no longer in her--and you've already injured it. We can track it down and finish it off."

She was possessed.

He wasn't going to let his heart pound double-time over that thought. Not yet. Not until he had all the information. But...

She was possessed.

Those two mages Sera didn't know from spit, but Cullen... well a least she knew he wasn't a fan possessed arseholes. She blew a ripping raspberry at the one in the feathers, someone had called him Anders, but he couldn't be Anders that would be crazy.

Oh bloody shite, he was. He was and they were all acting like it was fine, even Cullen. Her eyes widened just a fraction and then she shook her head, hair scattering around her face. "This is the worst balls I've ever wanted to kick, yeah? I'll go see if I can spot where it went all leaky upstairs." She gave Cullen a critical eyeballing. "You don't get ripped in half, alright?"

She kept an arrow knocked and seemed to melt into the shadows as she scampered off toward the stairs on silent feet.

"What a... charming young woman."

Neria hid a grimace as Anders' healing spell worked its way around her broken ribs, chuckling. "You know Anders, I only got careless in the hopes you'd show up to save me in some bright, shining spirit horse. My heart beats for you." and she blinked repeatedly, false languid eyes. "Or it could be I wasn't prepared to be tossed like a toy."

She stared at Cullen, trying to read his expression in silence.
"So... Cullen... are you alright? How would you like to proceed?"

Anders glanced at Neria, his lips quirking. "We shall have to find a way to tell Alistair, and Jicosa and Fenris, the good news, then, now that I have at last arrived in respectably dashing style." he quipped.

The almost-smile didn't last long. He watched Sera go for a moment before he looked to Cullen, and gave a nod to the templar's last statement.

"That is the idea, I should hope."

"First I need to be released or not," he said simply. "I am here because I apprehended what I had good reason to believe was a direct and immediate danger to the group, but we can't just allow people to act as the law when there is no law--which mean a system of checks and balances is required. I acted, she was judged and deemed safe by her peers, and now I should be judged and deemed safe or not. If it's clear I attacked the Herald out of malice instead, then I should be left here for a time as punishment. If I had killed her, I should be left here all the longer."

(OOC: I just wanted to make sure you guys aren't waiting on me before carrying on. Sera's out of the scene, so please carry on with the Cullen - Neria - Anders posting order. :) )

(ooc: soooo, yes, I was just waiting for you, hahahahaha. I was in doubt about you leaving the scene for realsies or not, thanks for coming by xD)

"Cullen, I'm afraid unless you're out of combat, we can't afford to waste people capable of fighting, not until we solve this situation with the Envy Demon."

Neria stood up, grabbing her staff and dusting off her clothes.

"I may not agree with your brash judgement of lady Trevelyan, but leaving you alone down here is not an option. Which reminds me lady Trevelyan herself is alone, Silenced, just waiting to be targeted by the Envy Demon once again. Want to make up for this mistake? Protect her until she can fight for herself. You used to be a Templar, looking after a mage seems fitting for your training." her smile didn't reach her eyes "And before you ask, yes, the irony is deliberate."

The smirk Anders shot Neria said he approved of this sentiment. Heartily.

"I have to agree with Neria," he said, then sighed. "I can't fault you for your actions, at least not entirely, Cullen; a demon wearing her face did do horrible things to you. But locking yourself up isn't anything remotely resembling a solution. Although I am of course of the opinion that locking people up is never a solution, but that is neither here nor there."

Cullen inclined his head. "If I am not a threat," Cullen said, "then I am free to go mobilize defenses. I thank you both for your assistance."

He left to go see to the castle's defenses.

(OOC: I'm out!)

"B-but!--"

She watched Cullen leaving, then turned to Anders.

"Can you believe this guy? A good mage can't even coax a templar into looking after another mage! I might be losing my hand."

Anders shrugged.

"It's Cullen. He's an ass. He was an ass in Kinloch, he was an even bigger ass in Kirkwall, and now apparently he's an ass in charge of an army. Brilliant. The future you lot are coming from is just peachy."

His lips quirked. "He appears to be becoming marginally less of an ass, but I can't say I'm holding my breath about it. In any case, it's not you."

"No, I really used to be better than this. I also used to have the right words for everything." Neria let out a sigh "Three years of road trip with Nate and Velanna must have some sort of side effect, like losing eloquence."

And she smirked.

"Okay, what now? Let's go for the demon hunt?"

Anders twisted his hands around his staff.

"Oh, why not? Someone will probably want healing when they're done with that thing, so I might as well be there."

"This almost feels like the old times. You, me, Justice and Sigrun, bogged 'till our thighs on Blackmarsh, hunting demons. We should call Sigrun, so the party will be complete."

Anders put a hand to his head, and there was a popping noise and the smell of ozone and then the cracks to the Fade splitting open his skin.

"WE WOULD LIKE THAT."

Justice was the one to answer, though the smile on their face belonged to both.