Knight's Bloom - 7 - An Inquest

Hawke didn't have time to worry any further about the mystery man, since before she knew it, she was standing on the Keep steps with Cullen and First Enchanter Tilda waiting to officially welcome the Chantry inquest members. In the distance they could finally make out the opulent procession of Orlesian clergy approaching up the long stairways from the lower city, surrounded by a sea of porters and liveried servants.

Given the formality of the occasion, she had opted to wear her circlet of office. The fact that it was already giving her a headache was something Cullen was enjoying immensely—evil creature that he was.

"Why are you laughing? Aren't you going to wear yours, too?" she had asked him as they walked outside together.

"Since Meredith's circlet was never part of the official uniform, unlike yours, I have decided to never wear it again." He had been entirely too cheerful about this fact. "But, you should keep yours on. It goes well with your scowl."

As she watched the procession arrive, she twitched the circlet again trying to release the pressure points.

"Stop fidgeting," Cullen whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending a tingling shiver down her spine. She glared at him, which only caused him to smile more.

Leading the procession was a woman clothed in sumptuous Chantry robes. Hawke assumed she must be Mother Christiane, with whom she had been corresponding. The Mother's pale blue eyes darted about, seeming to take in the drab dwarven style of Viscount's Keep and the modest courtiers murmuring around them with a disdainful wrinkle of her nose. Her robes were of standard Chantry design, but somehow also more lavish, with small embellishments and ornate details never seen on Kirkwall Chantry robes. Or Fereldan robes either, from what Hawke could recall. She figured the woman must be middle-aged, but she looked very youthful with elaborately-styled auburn curls piled on top of her head and elegantly applied cosmetics obscuring her face.

Hawke didn't know who she was expecting for something as mundane as an inquest, but no one this . . . ostentatious.

The woman sashayed up the remaining steps to greet them. "Viscountess Hawke, I presume," she said in a strong Orlesian accent.

"Mother Christiane." Hawke inclined her head. "Welcome to Kirkwall. I hope your journey was pleasant."

Christiane tittered strangely at this. "Ah, it was not, but then it is over now, no?" She tittered again. "And, this must be the Knight-Commander. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance." She was practically simpering at him.

"The pleasure is mine, Your Reverence," Cullen said cordially with a nod of his head.

Hawke was a bit taken aback with the woman's odd behavior, so tried to redirect Christiane by introducing Tilda.

After the pleasantries, Christiane turned back to Hawke. "The Divine is very saddened by the news that her dear friend Elthina has gone to the Maker's side. We hope that our visit here can sort through the details so that we may move forward to the more agreeable task of rebuilding a new Chantry for a new Grand Cleric. And a new future for Kirkwall." The Mother sounded as if she were reciting lines from memory.

"Has a new Grand Cleric been chosen?" Hawke asked.

"She has. I am pleased to tell you that Grand Cleric Augusta Terreneau will be joining you in approximately two months' time. So we have not much time to make ready, no?" She tittered again and then looked back down the steps at her retainers and clapped her hands. "Let me introduce my people, and then perhaps we can go inside and recover from climbing these horrid steps."

The Orlesian entourage was ushered inside the Keep to where Bran had arranged for a formal banquet. As people chatted and settled in to the banquet room, Hawke considered the implications of Christiane's pronouncements. Kirkwall's new Grand Cleric would be here in short order. Plus, it sounded as if part of Christiane's job would be to prepare for that arrival. She wondered if perhaps that was why the Divine had sent this popinjay instead of the arbiter she was expecting.

With a sinking feeling, Hawke wondered now how long she would be entertaining this group.

It wasn't until several hours later that Hawke could finally relax, with the last of the Orlesian contingent leaving for the Chantry compound following the lengthy and irritating dinner. She was exhausted from all the posturing and courtly compliments that had filled the ridiculous affair and was more than ready to drag herself home. But she knew she could not leave yet.

She caught Cullen's eye and subtly nodded her head in the direction of her office. He nodded and started to follow her. As they passed by Tilda, Hawke asked softly, "Care to join us?"

Tilda gave a quick smile. "Yes!"

The threesome settled into Hawke's office and she circumspectly shut the door while dragging the horrible circlet off her head and rubbing her temple. They were all silent for a moment, each with a thoughtful look their faces.

Into the silence, Tilda said, "Oh my."

Hawke and Cullen broke out laughing at Tilda's understatement.

"None of that was quite what I expected," Cullen said, with a frown.

"Nor I," agreed Hawke. "My guess is this means they're here to stay, or at least until the new Grand Cleric arrives."

"I think you're right. It seems we have the Divine's gaze once again. For better or for worse," Tilda said.

"Have either of you ever heard of this Augusta Terreneau?" Hawke asked. They both shook their heads no. "We should see what we can find out. This inquest, however, becomes more and more of a puzzle."

"Sister Helena seemed to be rather sharp," Tilda noted, referring to the serious, dark-haired woman who had asked the few sensible questions during dinner. "I got the impression that she might be here more for the inquest than for the redecorating or whatever nonsense Mother Christiane seemed to be worried about for the new Chantry."

"I got a similar impression." Cullen nodded. "She seemed a bit more . . . curious about what really happened here."

With a gentle knock on the door, Bran came in but then backpedaled in surprise. "I'm sorry, Excellency, I didn't know you were occupied."

"No, please, come in, Bran."

"I have the preliminary schedule for the inquest. Viscountess, I thought you would want to know that you are to meet with them first thing tomorrow morning." He handed the schedule to Hawke. "It seems they are calling witnesses tomorrow, and then they want to meet with the engineers and builders the following day."

"One day . . ." Cullen mused. "That's a bit short for fact finding."

"Indeed, Knight-Commander," Bran replied. "But they have also reserved the right to, ahem, change the schedule as they see fit."

Hawke could tell that this fact bothered Bran, who prided himself on being in control of such things.

"Thank you, Bran. I'll try my best to be on time tomorrow, then," she promised. He gave her skeptical look and then departed.

Cullen was concerned about Hawke's interview with the inquest, so made up an excuse to visit Aveline at the Keep in the morning. Aveline was perceptive enough to know it was a ruse, but was too polite to say anything at first. Finally, when he started having difficulty following their conversation as he watched the clock in the corner, she suggested kindly that he wait for Hawke on the balcony where he would have a clear view of the inquest room door. He gave her a grateful smile, giving up the pretense of their meeting, and hurried to the balcony.

He didn't have to wait long. Soon, he saw Hawke exit the inquest room with Bran at her side and a perplexed look on her face. She didn't seem to be in custody, so that must be a good sign. When she caught sight of him, she immediately walked over to join him at the balcony. They stood side by side for a minute, looking out over the milling people below.

"How did it go?" Cullen asked in a low voice.

"They wanted a description of what happened that day. A more detailed description of the explosion itself. Our estimate of the damage. How many people had been killed. What the necessary budget will be to rebuild. How much new staff we will need. Whether we have enough local talent or will need engineers from Val Royeaux," she said in a bemused voice.

"What?"

Hawke looked up at him, puzzlement writ large on her face. "They didn't ask me anything about why it happened. It's as if . . . either they don't care, or they think they already know."

Cullen felt a chill go through him. "What does this mean?"

She shook her head. "I have no idea."

The inquest spent about a week collecting information about the Chantry explosion, most of which focused on the aftermath of the event and how to rebuild. This resulted in many meetings with the remaining Chantry clergy, the engineers, builders and city planners, and mostly involved bureaucrats like the Finance Minister. Hawke was relieved that she had only a minor role in most of these proceedings. Nevertheless, she was counting the days until it was all over.

It had become clear that the Orlesian delegation did in fact have dual purposes. Some of them, such as Mother Christiane, were here for the foreseeable future for the task of shoring up the Chantry presence in Kirkwall and preparing for Grand Cleric Augusta's arrival. Others, led by Sister Helena, were in Kirkwall only for the inquest and official fact finding, and they would be departing after the week was out.

Together with Cullen, Hawke continued to puzzle over the "facts" the inquest was charged with finding. They had heard enough inadvertent references to the Resolutionists to begin to guess that this fringe group was being blamed for the Chantry tragedy. However, outside of these clues, typically made in passing conversation with the Chantry delegates, no one was sharing any official findings or conclusions.

They couldn't tell if the Divine would be satisfied that things had been resolved in Kirkwall or not. As the last days of the inquest approached, they began to be cautiously optimistic that they had avoided any truly uncomfortable questions, until Cullen was invited before the inquest on its last day.

Cullen could not shake his feeling of unease as he entered the inquest room that morning. He was directed to sit at a table which had him facing the inquest members. Mother Christiane and Sister Helena were joined by four other Sisters whom he had met at some point but whose names escaped him. Christiane was smiling, but the other Sisters looked grim.

The night before his interview, he and Hawke had puzzled over the many implications of this meeting. They had sat for hours over their mostly uneaten dinner at Hawke's estate, trying to guess what the inquest might have learned that made them suddenly want to talk to him. Hawke had also suggested that perhaps this had been the inquest's plan all along, to meet with him last, but they couldn't fathom a reason why this would be the case.

With these lingering questions clouding his thoughts, Cullen sat down.

"Thank you for meeting with us, Knight-Commander," Christiane began. "We know you are very busy man, so thank you for taking the time."

"I will do all I can to help, Your Reverence."

Christiane gave him a big smile, but at this point Sister Helena brusquely took over the questioning.

Helena got right to the point. "You were Knight-Commander Meredith Stannard's second-in-command at the time of the Chantry incident, were you not?"

"I was, Sister."

"When did you first come to Kirkwall?"

"Approximately seven years ago. I was transferred from the Ferelden Circle, around the end of the Fifth Blight."

"And, you quickly moved up the ranks, becoming Knight-Captain quite early, did you not?"

"I did," Cullen answered.

"We understand that the Right of Annulment had been requested by Meredith. The Divine was on her way to approving it when the mages destroyed the Chantry and rose up. Do you know what Meredith's plan was that day for quelling the rebellion without the Right?"

He felt himself treading into dangerous territory. It was going to become difficult to preserve Meredith's memory while trying to explain why he would have disobeyed her order of annulling the whole Circle, let alone why he had relieved her of command. He hoped the conversation wouldn't come around to that.

"With so many mages attacking us and the citizenry, there was no path but to destroy all who stood against us. I can only speculate that if it had been warranted, the Knight-Commander might have proceeded with the Annulment in any event; however, we found a way to still quell the rebellion without going to that extreme. A number of mages were saved."

"That is good to hear, Knight-Commander," Christiane gushed. "The Right is always such an extreme measure, no?"

Ignoring Christiane, Helena stared at him unnervingly for a beat. "I see," she said. "And, yet, Meredith still fell."

He tried his best not to look guilty, but instead sorrowful. "Yes, the battle was at times desperate and some strange magics were at play that we still cannot explain. We could not save the Knight-Commander." He was proud of himself that his entire statement was technically true.

"Do you now have a rough sense of how many of the mages were involved in the Chantry plot? I presume they were all routed that day."

"It was my understanding that it was just the one mage, Anders. And, yes, as you know, he was executed by the Champion."

"One mage?" Helena scoffed. "How little you seem to actually know of what happened that day, Knight-Commander." She then resumed her passionless questioning. "How would you describe the relationship between Marian Hawke and Knight-Commander Meredith during the days leading up to the Chantry incident?"

"The Viscountess?" The question caught Cullen by surprise. "The Champion of Kirkwall had long been a supporter of Meredith's, especially in matters dealing with former First Enchanter Orsino. Viscountess Hawke has been nothing but a friend to the Order." That seemed safe.

"But Meredith and Hawke were not always in agreement," Helena pressed, saying it more as a statement than a question.

Cullen wasn't sure what she was getting at, since publicly Hawke had never crossed Meredith until that last day. "I don't know that I can say whether they agreed on every occasion." He furrowed his brow in confusion. "I wasn't privy to their every conversation. But, publicly the Champion was not in conflict with Meredith."

"Despite the Champion's standing as a well-known apostate?"

"To my knowledge, Meredith respected her and her standing as the vanquisher of the Qunari and Champion of the people. It was Meredith who bestowed that title upon her."

Cullen finally started to worry. Is this all about Hawke? Is she in peril? But before he could learn any more, suddenly the interview was over.

"That will be all, Knight-Commander. Thank you for your time." Helena started writing in her notes. A clear dismissal.

Mother Christiane said some insipid pleasantries to him with her usual titter before he could escape the room. He immediately strode to Hawke's office, but stopped on the way when he felt eyes on him. He turned and found Christiane watching him. She smiled, blushed, and then turned away.

Cullen entered the vestibule to Hawke's office, giving Bran a cursory nod before walking in without ceremony. He found Hawke pacing. She stopped mid-stride and rushed over to him as he closed the door carefully.

"So?" she asked, somewhat breathlessly.

"I am still not sure what to think, but I believe our concerns were warranted. There is something amiss. I just don't know what it is. What was perhaps most telling is that they asked not just about Meredith, but also about you."

Hawke seemed to let this sink in before she said anything. "Tell me."

Cullen quickly recounted his interview, including some of his thoughts on the questioning.

"So it seems that they do have their own theory for who was behind the Chantry conspiracy. Do you think they know something we don't?" she asked.

"They may. I also think that they've heard some of what happened at the end with Meredith and it doesn't add up with the official story. So they're examining the holes. Of course, Varric's stories of Meredith's possession by crazy ancient magics probably aren't helping matters." He grimaced, knowing that that part would never change, except perhaps to get more fantastical.

Hawke chuckled at that, likely thinking the same thing, and then sighed. "Well, I think we just need to focus on the fact that we didn't do anything wrong." But, they both fell silent, knowing that this fact would not help them if the Divine made it an issue.

That night Sister Helena was finishing her packing in preparation for her departure the next morning when a strong knock came on her door.

"Come in," she called, knowing already who it would be.

As expected, in walked Mother Christiane with a forbidding look on her face. Gone were the affectations she had employed with the Kirkwall people, and in their place, the cold implacability she showed to her inner circle. Without preamble she said, "So you'll tell her it is as she expected?"

"Yes, Your Reverence," she said deferentially, a sharp contrast to the disdain with which she had treated the Mother in public. "We will do our best to give her the true picture of happenings in Kirkwall. That they are all covering up what happened that day at the Gallows. Despite all the conflicting accounts, it seems that apostate woman, Hawke, did overthrow Knight-Commander Meredith. It also seems that, whatever his role in that, Cullen does indeed support the apostate. The Circle appears to be back under control, but that control is tenuous."

Christiane gave a brisk nod. "If Her Grace asks about the need for the Seekers at this time, you can tell her we think it would be premature. Kirkwall seems to have no idea what is coming, so she will have time to make her plans once she is settled here."

"Yes, Your Reverence."

"Have a swift trip home, Sister, and Maker watch over you," Mother Christiane said in clipped tones. She then swept out of the room.