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Team Mage to the Tower, Part 3

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Literature Text

Author: The Misadventurers
Game: pre-Dragon Age: Origins
characters/pairing: Oto, Jowan, Ereb Amell, Kylla Surana
Disclaimer: Dragon Age IP belongs to BioWare.



The Misadventurers is a fan-universe based on BioWare's Dragon Age video games. It follows the basic canonical storyline of the game, but with lots of random insertions, comedic twists, and heart-string plucking angst all rolled up into one very epic role-playing series. This particular story takes place some seven years before the events of Dragon Age: Origins, and is set in Kinloch Hold, also known as the tower of the Circle Mages in Ferelden.



The inside of the kitchen was dark, but the lively smell of grease and citrus cleaner greeted the apprentices as they each peered curiously inside. By the dim illumination of the hallway torchlight, the kitchen seemed like a completely new and different place. Cabinets that in daytime shone warm and worn with familiar use now loomed like ominous figures in the corners. Flour bags and bread baskets that shone innocently by the light of day now crouched in the shadows like waiting predators. Kylla looked at Ereb and bit her lip. But Oto only smiled and strode confidently into the room, an epicurean master in her own element. Jowan whistled and sauntered in as well, followed more tentatively by the two youngest apprentices.

Ereb looked at Kylla questioningly, "But the Templars don't need staffs, do they?"

Kylla shook her head. "I don't think so. We get one when we become full mages, right?" said Kylla.

"Yes," nodded Ereb.

"Did a templar take someone's staff?" asked Kylla.

"I'm looking forward to getting a jolly big staff," murmured Ereb.

Kylla beamed at her friend. "I'm sure you would look very handsome with it. You'll have to show me!"

A choking sound escaped Jowan, whose face was even darker in the shadowy light. He was trying not to laugh and the two younger apprentices did their best to ignore him.
"Maybe we can polish ours together," Kylla suggested, and smiled earnestly at Ereb.
Next to Jowan, Oto had begun slapping her palm against her forehead. She shot a strained look at the two young apprentices, but neither could see her expression in the dark. Instead, Oto began looking for the match and candles that the head housekeeper usually kept next to the door. Finding both, she struck a match and put it to the candle wick.

"I'd love a long, rigid staff like the First Enchanters," said Ereb, swelling with pride at the thought, "So mighty."

"I bet you'd like to polish his staff, wouldn't you," snorted Jowan. Oto slapped his arm half-heartedly, too busy lighting candles in the room to illuminate to room to properly chide her friend.

Ereb nodded earnestly, "It'd be an honor!"

"He'd certainly enjoy that," Jowan remarked dryly, "How about you go to his study and ask him right now?"

"He's asked me to hold it for him once in class," Ereb said, smiling proudly.
Kylla was the only one who looked properly impressed. "It's also got a big knob on it, doesn't it Ereb?" she asked, and Ereb nodded furiously.

Kylla sighed. "First Enchanter Irving let me polish his for him, once."

"Really?" Ereb asked, now his turn to be amazed.

"I put my whole heart into the effort!" Kylla said. Ereb regarded Kylla with awe.

"You know, kid, that's not the size of the staff that matters, but the firepower !" declared Oto, brandishing a thick candle in each hand.

Jowan leaned over and whispered loudly to Oto: "I thought he was more into boys." But out loud Jowan said, "Oh, but size does matter. Those who argue against it merely never had the *pleasure* to enjoy a nice big..."

Neither Kylla nor Ereb were listening. "The regular polishing boy was out sick that day," said Kylla, "and the First Enchanter needed it polished in a hurry before a meeting with Wynne! All the important mages have very large staffs." Kylla nodded knowingly.

Ereb sighed with longing, "That's why I want one so badly..."

Kylla reached out and took her friend's hand, "I'm sure you'll grow up to be a mighty powerful mage with an absolutely astounding staff."

Ereb gulped nervously, "Oh... I don't know about that..."

"Dick," said Jowan.

Oto's hand flew faster than Jowan could duck. The strike to the back of his head made the apprentice cringe and growl at the tangle-haired girl. "Don't say such gross words, you jerk !" She admonished.

But Kylla and Ereb had hardly noticed the other two, so caught were they with their bright-eyed hopes for the future.

"I believe in you, Ereb!" Kylla gushed. "And with heart, pluck, and determination, I'm sure you can do it!"

Ereb started to respond, but the flood of words came too quickly into his mouth and he started to stutter uncontrollably.

"Yes, dear Ereb," said Jowan, "One day, even *you* will have your own staff."

Ereb stopped trying to speak and eyed Jowan with suspicion.

"And a pair of balls to go with that…staff." chuckled Jowan.

Ereb frowned. "I've already told you. I don't play sports!"

"What would Ereb need balls for?" asked Kylla. "Balls are for children."

"Not even pocket- billiard?" asked Jowan. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Kylla looked stubbornly at him, neither comprehending his insinuations, nor convinced by his thin arguments. "Billiard is the game of the Sloth demons!"

Ereb stuck to his story: "I don't play sports," he said again. "It aggravates my asthma."

"You should, if you wanna impress ladies, kiddo !" said Oto, slapping the thin boy's back. "Ladies don't like boys with no muscles, you know !"

"R... Really?" Ereb asked. He glanced at Kylla to gauge her reaction.

"Oh." Kylla said. The small elf seemed to need a moment. She had not realized that ladies needed to like men with muscles. Her expression grew thoughtful as she considered this new social mandate which Oto so confidently espoused.

"Of course," Oto rolled her head authoritatively just as Senior Enchanter Valentai often did when lecturing. "They all say that they like personalities, phisic doesnt matter , blah , blah...It's not true !"

Kylla looked at Oto with wide, wondering eyes, clearly in awe: "Oh!"

"Personality goes a long way," Jowan chipped in, "but so does a firm butt." He tapped a finger against both his back cheeks to demonstrate.

Ereb looked down at his arms and clutched his robes about himself self-consciously.

Kylla wrinkled her nose and gave Jowan a look that said, "Jowan is big liar and anything he says is probably untrue!"

Jowan put a hand over his heart and grinned at her. "I would NEVER lie."

"Oto... Ummm... Is... Is it the same for everybody? Does everybody like muscles?"

"Well, let's say it helps. A lot. And of course," Oto continued, "don't dare to tell me you'll date an interesting girl if she weighted 150 pounds !"

"Does it... Ummmm... Does it help you get f-f-fuh-friends?" Ereb stuttered. He looked furtively at Jowan who was now waggling and sauntering around the room.

"Weeeell...For friends I don't think you'll need them - except if you want gay ones - but for ladiez, I'm sure it does !" grinned Oto.

Jowan turned and sashayed back towards Ereb. "It might help against the beatings," he purred. Ereb turned pink.

Kylla had found a handkerchief somewhere to twist, which she twisted now anxiously. "That new girl, Lily, says that the Maker decides who your destined partner will be. So does it really matter if a man is muscled or not if the Maker's already preordained our match, Oto?" Kylla looked imploringly at the older girl's words, as if her words could, indeed, defy Destiny.

"Maker, schmaker," said Jowan, but he did so half heartedly.

"Huhhhh...I'm not very sure if I wanna believe the 'Maker' says," mused Oto, who had been taught by life that faith in her own abilities got her further than wishing on some unreliable god." But even if it were the case, I don't want to be destined to an ugly one!"

Kylla suppressed a small gasp, clenching pale hands over her mouth and hiding her expression behind her handkerchief. The dark skinned Rivani girl had always been a free spirit, and seemed a good person, but her beliefs were often very controversial, especially amongst the sheltered Circle. Kylla glanced at Ereb to see his reaction, but found her friend deep in thought. At least, until Jowan punched Ereb on the arm.

"Ow!!!" said Ereb and glared at Jowan with tears in his eyes.

"Well, I think we can establish that you're surely not destined for a templar," Jowan laughed.

Oto was nodding her head sagely, once again channeling Senior Enchanter Wiggums, "If you want to have someone, you just have to do everything possible to have him !

"Unless you really can't have him," said Jowan pointedly. "Like a *templar*."

Oto waved a dismissive hand. "Tshh. It'll just need a bit more effort, that's all!"

"Why would anyone want a Templar?" Kylla asked. "They're always so mad."

"Hmmm...Mad in a cute way!" murmured Oto.

Undeterred, Kylla turned to her staunchest supporter: "Don't you think Knight-Commander Greagoir always looks mad, Ereb?"

Ereb nodded and responded in a whisper: "He's terrifying..."

" UHhhh this one is definetely NOT cute." Agreed Oto.

"Not anymore," smirked Jowan.

"I'm sure he never was," declared Oto.

"Oh, I wish Greagoir would this and I wish Greagoir would that," Jowan clucked, holding two clumps of his hair in his hands and flapping them about. "Kiss kiss this, Mr. Templar *that*!" Jowan pranced around the room in a bad imitation of Oto. "That was you, last year."

"HEY stop that you DORK," Oto shouted, as she tried to scramble over the countertops to catch her flouncing friend.

"I love Senior Enchanted Wynne," Kylla sighed, oblivious to Oto and Jowan's conversation. "She is so dignified and strong! And she's so kind to the small apprentices! And a brilliant healer. I hope that I can match her spiritual healing powers one day."

"I'm sure you will, Kylla!" encouraged Ereb. "You may even surpass her, what with your natural talent and hardwork!"

"Oh, don't Ereb. I'll never be as good as her. She could save the world with her kindness." Kylla smiled sadly, lost in thoughts inside herself.

Ereb never what to do when his friend entered into this state. At times like these, all he wanted was to take the elf girl in his arms and rock her until the sadness went away. But instead…

"I... I'm sure you could, too." Ereb muttered to his collar.

"I only aspire to have a fraction of her compassion and kindness," Kylla continued wistfully. She looked down at her hands as if she did not recognize herself, and then did a very peculiar thing. Folding one hand over the other, she clenched her fingers tightly together and gathered her hands over her heart, the whites of her knuckles like pale bars over whatever darkness she held within.

"Ooh, Jowan," Came the mocking moan the boy who was still mimicking Oto. Jowan had barricaded himself behind the large baskets at the far end of the kitchen," Don't you think Greagoir's soooo dreamy?"

Oto threw an empty burlap sack at Jowan, snarling. "You can tell that to your imaginary girlfriends! You are always hiding how many girls have turned you down and I've *always* had to listen to your complaints!"

Ereb's hand twitched, thinking that perhaps, perhaps today he might just work up the courage to pull the elf girl's hand away and hold it in his own. He imagined himself taking both her hands, holding her tight, and whispering to her that she was not alone, would not be alone, and had never been alone as long as he breathed and stood beside her. And that today, perhaps today…

"It.... it... it... uhm, uhm..." Kylla gasped, her eyes wide and fixed at a point behind Ereb. Slowly, her hands fell apart and a single finger rose to point into the hallway. Ereb's eyes followed the movement and he turned around.

"That was just bad luck!" Jowan shouted, as a hail of dry beans came hurtling his way.

"There are so many people that refused to date you that the only ones who are left are the frogs of the lake !" Oto shouted back as she picked up a large skillet and brandished it in the direction of Jowan's head.

" F-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f...." began Ereb.

"Ot--Oto..." panicked Kylla.

"...F-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-irst....." Ereb tried again.

Oto turned to look at Ereb, "Huh?"

"I'd rather date a frog from the lake than a Templar!" taunted Jowan, taking advantage of the lull.

Kylla closed her eyes in the hopes that First Enchanter would disappear.

"Huh..." Oto blinked and looked in the direction that Ereb and Kylla were both facing, frozen in place. "I think that this is the moment where we..." She dropped the skillet and began bounding over tables, headed for the back exit, "…run?!"
Jowan's head popped up over the fortress of baskets that he was using as a defense against Oto. "What?" he asked, totally oblivious, "Why?"

Next to Kylla, Ereb turned very pale and started to sway. Kylla clutched at Ereb's arm. "We should go back to our rooms!" She began trying to pull Ereb out the back door. Ereb's hand flew to his mouth. "I... I.... I think I'm going to be sick...."
At that moment, Oto's bouncing figure landed next to the his. She clamped on hand around each of the apprentices' skinny arms and grabbed and pulled, "GO !!!"

Responding to Oto's commanding voice, Kylla started running forward, taking refuge in the act of simply obeying orders without question. Ereb stumbled along, one hand still over his mouth while trying not to vomit from sheer terror.

A crackling sound scuttled in the corner as Jowan finally noticed the First Enchanter's figure in the doorway. He flailed and tried to dash for the door, but slipped on the loose beans that Oto had thrown at him and fell backwards into the woven pile with a definitive crack that heralded his inevitable descent into detention.

"Hah, c'mon boy, another staircase and we'll be out of danger!" Oto encouraged as she dragged the two younger students through the second kitchen door. Kylla pulled at. Ereb, who still had his hand sealed in front of his mouth and was making miserable retching noises. The trio escaped up the stairs and turned the corner, huffing and gagging. Ereb slid to the ground and threw up.

"Now," Oto panted, "the old man won't find us here."

Kylla leaned her forehead against the wall, paler usual despite the run. "I need to go back to my room immediately!" she sobbed to the fortress stone. She clenched both hands into tight little balls over her chest, as if afraid her heart would burst.
"Yeah, you do that," muttered Oto. "I'm sorry it turned that way but..." She offered a hand to the clumsy boy. "It was fun, wasn't it ?" The ever-irrepressible apprentice grinned at the other two.

Ereb still looked green around the gills. "I really don't feel..."

"AHHH don't puke on me!!" Oto exclaimed as she jumped back.

"E... Ereb... let's go back to our.... rooms." Kylla whispered, shaking her forehead against the stone.

Ereb vomited in the corner in answer.

Oto, for once, marveled in silence.

"Oh gosh," Ereb sobbed, mortified.

"You have a long way before you can pick up ladiez, guy," Oto chided. Ereb's eyes filled with tears of embarrassment. One hand over her own mouth, Kylla tried not to gag as she handed Ereb a lavender-scented handkerchief, hoping the soothing scent would calm her friend. Unaccustomed to any acts of kindness, and suddenly reminded of his homesickness by the lavender scent, Ereb began to cry in earnest, large glistening blobs of hot tears quivering at the corner of his eyes before dribbling down to his chin.

Oto patted Ereb's back : "There there, go back to the dormitory and take a good nap.  You have to accompany your girl, right ?"

In response, Ereb just bawled louder. Kylla patted Ereb's hand shyly.

"Let's go back, Ereb." She said, her fingers pulling delicately at her friend's sleeve. Ereb sniffed, "Oh-o-okay..." he agreed, snuffling into the handkerchief and struggling upright. Oto smiled at the two and patted each on the head, nudging them gently in the direction of the apprentice quarters. She sighed at the silhouette of the two, hand-in-hand, the small elf barely reaching the edge of Ereb's shoulder. What would they do without her? She thought to herself. Outside, thunder crackled, the roar of the storm shaking even the stones of the cold fortress that the mages of Kinloch Hold called home, reminding them that though the sullen hallways and dour faces of the tower were a hard life to endure, out there, life could still be worse. But someday, Oto thought, someday she would leave this dreary place behind and find her place in the world. Someday, there would be a place filled with cakes and desserts for all, where perhaps a mage could love a templar and not face the wrathful ire of every Chantry under the sun.

The thunder cracked again, making the hair on Oto's back crawl like spiders up her spine. Not today though, she thought. She dared not venture out under the wind and rain that fell like devastating fire upon her skin. "But someday…" she promised to the world, her chin set and her eyes determined as she found her own way in the darkness to the apprentice quarters she shared with a dozen others.

Someday…
<< Team Mage to the Tower, Part 1 | Team Mage to the Tower, Part 2

In this last section, the kids learn that breaking the rules isn't always all it's cracked up to be. For Kylla and Ereb especially, it's not a good night to try new things. :XD:

There's some foreshadowing in the last few lines, " Someday, there would be a place filled with cakes and deserts for all, where perhaps a mage could love a templar and not face the wrathful ire of every Chantry under the sun." It's not part of Dragon Age canon at all, but someday, Oto and her templar will indeed find a place they can be together -- far from the sun and the scrutiny of Thedas's bigoted Chantry.
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Supergirl411's avatar
loved it! MORE MISADVENTURES PLZ!