Asunder read-along: Chapter 4

[tersa]

THE READ-A-LONG

What is this? The read-a-long is an opportunity to do a long distance book club with other Dragon Age fans, where once a week one chapter will be discussed in David Gaider's tie-in novel, Asunder

[Official book teaser blurb]The destruction of Kirkwall's Circle of Magi has brought chaos to the lives of mages and templars throughout Thedas. Some mages teeter on the bring of rebellion against their templar watchers, while others struggle to maintain order and stability amid the tides of change.

In the majestic White Spire, at the heart of templar power in Val Royeaux, tension have reached the boiling point. The actions of a few radicals draw the attention of the Seekers, a powerful and secret segment of the templars, who arrive to take command and restore order no matter the cost. To make matters worse, a mystical killer stalks the White Spire's halls, invisible to all save one lone mage.

As Rhys is the only one who can see the killer, all eyes turn to him as the prime suspect in the murder investigation. With little hope of proving his innocence, Rhys's future looks to be short and grim. But his skill with spirit magic earns him a reprieve, as he is drafted into an expedition traveling deep into the western wastelands of Orlais. There, his fate will become entwined with that of a beautiful templar, a tormented soul, and Wynne--heroine of the Blight. Together they will uncover a secrete far greater than they imagined. One that will change the fate of mages in Thedas forever.

If you've read it and have Thoughts or Feels, comment to discuss! Discussion can be serious or snarky, but please keep it constructive and not destructive.

- Chapter 1 (09-Sep)
- Chapter 2 (16-Sep)
- Chapter 3 (23-Sep)

(If the first person who gets to this post can start a comment thread entitled 'Serious Discussion' and a second one for 'Snarky Discussion', I would greatly appreciate it.)

[Chapter 4--Dragon Age 2 spoilers]Chapter 4 Synopsis

Rhys recollects first noticing Cole, around the same time of the uprising in Kirkwall, and how the man's mystery gripped him until he eventually met, then befriended the lost mage. But now, his accusation reveals that Cole did murder those mages and why, a reason Rhys can't quite wrap his brain around or accept. He tries to take Cole up to the Tower proper to face the consequences, but Cole runs from him, eventually evading Rhys entirely.

Evangeline, doing a check of the guards in the Tower, realizes something amiss and discovers Rhys is missing from his cell. Rousing First Enchanter Edmonde, they recover Rhys's phylactery from a dual-locked, dwarven-build room high in the Tower, then she goes searching for him. Down the glow of the phylactery leads her, until she pauses at the dungeon to find the guards had been hearing things in the Pit. Deep and deeper she goes, until she comes upon Rhys near a destroyed sacrophagus, probably immediately after the break in narration. She questions him and he's evasive, glancing at a spot with 'nothing in it' that still draws her suspicion. At the end of the confrontation, she cold-cocks him with the pommel of her sword and proceeds to drag him back towards the Tower.