Dragon Age: Inquisition

Cullen/Inquisitor Trevelyan (can be read as male or female)

Summary: Cullen travels to investigate the Inquisitor's Circle for abuse after seeing how far the templars had fallen.

As Circle's go, it was rather visually appealing. The grounds had once been well cared for, that much was obvious, and thus far the mage-templar war had left the area surprisingly untouched. No obvious signs of abuse or neglect, and above all, no statues of tortured slaves looming over the site. Where the Inquisitor had studied magic was definitely no Kirkwall and Cullen could not stop the sharp sign of relief from escaping his lips. He had worried, and for good reason. If Meredith could fall so far, others were not immune.

It was easy enough to make an excuse to travel to the Free Marches. Preserving what knowledge remained inside the abandoned Circle towers was not only a priority of Vivienne's, but of the Inquisitor's as well. So it was with Trevelyan's blessing and a small escort of his men that Cullen had left for Ostwick. His true intention, a quick, private glimpse into the Inquisitor's past, would remain secret and why not? He would return with whatever tomes or books remained. Any other knowledge he would gain along with that needn't be shared. He just wanted something to quiet the fears that men like Samson and templars like him had brought unapologetically roaring to life.

Cullen sent his men to search the tower for any knowledge that may aid the Inquisition. Tomes on healing and protection were to be their top priority. As for himself he set to wandering the walls, not yet knowing what he was looking for.

There were two barracks for the mages, separated by gender as was the standard. After some quick searching he found a bunk with more elaborate sheets and quilting than the others. As the daughter of a noble family, the Inquisitor may have received special treatment. Cullen did a little snooping and sure enough he found a piece of slate nailed to the foot of the bed with the Inquisitor's first name written neatly in chalk. Nothing else caught his eye; he assumed the Inquisitor had taken whatever personal items had previously been there with them when they had left.

He moved on, well, down would be more accurate. Cullen noticed that the Circle was considerably less cared for in other, more private places as he ventured down flight after flight of stairs. When he stopped he wasn't certain how to feel. The basement, dungeon others might have named it, was similar to the one in Kirkwall, though on a much smaller scale.

The room was rather barren and dark save for the torchlight he carried with him. No obvious torture devices loomed out of the darkness. There were only beds inside, beds with leather straps dangling from posts. This was not good or bad. Cullen recalled that such bunks were held in Kirkwall for purely safety reasons. Mages often reacted to fear with violence, but that violence wasn't always at their so called captors. When he had explained to Hawke back in his Kirkwall days that mages sometimes had to be protected from themselves, his meaning had been misconstrued.

One such bed held a small, leather bound journal on it's surface and after thumbing through the first couple of entries Cullen found something worth reading.

Remind me to report Giroux. Old bastard is loosing his touch with the mages. Caught him telling a kid, just a child, that if they were weak they'd turn into a bloody demon. Can't we save that talk until they can at least lace their boots on their own? Next day one of the older mages fails the Harrowing and gets loose, the kids sees it and falls into a panic attack. Kid says the Maker hates demons and doesn't want the Maker to hurt 'em. We can't get the kid to calm down for nothing or stop thrashing so Giroux binds the kid to a table and puts me on guard duty. It's a load of-

He stops reading and replaces the journal back on the bed when something glimmers in his peripheral. A small gold chain is caught in one of the straps. After some work Cullen pulls it free and lets it pool into his palm.

The length of the chain is so small that he imagines it could only fit a child. It's only ornament is a small Chantry symbol in gold. He pockets it and thinks nothing more.

The Inquisitor is chuckling as they help Cullen pick up the scattered pieces of parchments and knick-knacks he had flung off his desk in a comic gesture of passion just hours before. He had been sure that something from his desks (and probably something important) had slipped through one of the cracks in the floorboard. Cullen could see something glittering in the cracked wood but was unable to reach it. And as the Inquisitor's fingers had just proven more nimble than his own, Cullen had enlisted their help in procuring it.

"Almost...got it. Just a moment," Trevelyan mutters absently before they quickly pluck out the gold bracelet from the circle. The Inquisitor studies it, intrigued, before standing up again. "There you are, Commander."

"Thank you, Inquisitor," he quips, reaching out to take the bracelet back before the Inquisitor suddenly clutches the chain to their chest, amusement gone and shock taking over their features.

His stomach drops as the Inquisitor's next words are, "How did you find this? I thought I lost this years ago."