Far too long in the Western Approach had made Solas and Cassandra grouchy and sullen, and when they weren't bickering they travelled in strained silence, pointedly ignoring one another. The inquisitor had long since given up trying to reconcile her companions, instead opting to scout the distance for any signs of Venatori, leaving them to their sulking a short distance behind. She saw nothing, however, and they all looked so tired, so she motioned to them to take a rest. With huffs of tepid annoyance, they plonked themselves down in the shade offered by a sand dune, backs turned to one another. Lavellan sighed. Deciding to take her rest where she could observe the desert, she sat at the crest of the dune, and sipped a little water. After a while, Cole scampered up the dune to join her, and she smiled at his approach.
"How are you holding up, Cole?"
"Annoyance…they want to talk, to shout, but they are tired, frustrated, the hot fills them with fatigue, like a blanket, but not comfortable."
"We'll be leaving soon, then they can shout at each other somewhere more pleasant." She offered her water skin to him and he took it with slight hesitation, before taking the world's smallest mouthful of water and returning it.
"You are tired, too. Longing, as well, for…" He frowned. "I cannot hear it." The inquisitor smiled slightly.
"I want to get back to Skyhold. We've been in this blasted desert for days I'm sick of it."
"But that's not what you're longing for it's…something else. A person?" She laughed.
"You're too perceptive. Here." She held the skin out again. "Drink more, you look dehydrated." At that, Cole gave her a wide beam, an expression which startled her; he so rarely smiled. He took a sensible mouthful this time, which satisfied her. "We should get moving." She sighed, and looked at her friends, still sullenly ignoring one another. "Oi!" She called, and they frowned at her. "Come on, I know you're tired, but the faster we meet up with the soldiers and wipe out the Venatori the faster we can get back." Solas and Cassandra exchanged a glance, harrumphed at one another, then trudged up the dune to meet them. "C'mon." After what seemed like a scorching eternity, but in reality was probably only about half an hour, Cole reported the presence of inquisition soldiers nearby, and so the party altered their course towards them. The soldiers had nestled a little camp in-between two giant rocks, which Lavellan noticed was pleasantly cool, for a desert, and which provided good shade. That would be good for the soldiers; less heatstroke, and the rocks created a choke point were they to be attacked. She snorted, wondering when she'd become so aware of battle customs. Like an actual soldier. She guessed she'd had to be; one wrong move would mean her death, and bizarrely the death of the whole of Thedas. She was still wrapping her head around that one.
"Nothing to report, Ser." Announced the requisition officer as she strode in, and she nodded curtly in reply, slightly sick of hearing that phrase. There was never anything to report. Scanning the camp, she spotted Gately, the officer in charge of this mission, and beckoned her companions to follow her as she made her way over to him.
"Ah, Inquisitor! Allow me to welcome you to camp. Unfortunately you won't be able to rest long; we just spotted Venatori movement on the ridge." He gestured to the foreboding cliff, and Lavellan saw boxes piled up on the ridge, and then movement. "There's another one of the buggers."
"What's in those boxes, red lyrium?"
"We believe so. Let's get in there, smash it up, smash them up, and get back to Skyhold."
"Nice and concise." He laughed and thwumped her on the back. She had to conceal the fact that it felt like he'd just broken all her ribs, and offered a weak smile, silently screaming. "Come on soldiers, let's move out!" There was a cry of consent, and the mass of steel began marching along the ridge, swiftly followed by the Inquisitor and her party, after Cole had helped her recover.
As they moved, Solas and Cassandra began bickering again, in a way which wouldn't even seem like bickering unless you knew them. It was completely passive aggressive and sarcastic; a battle of veiled insults. Lavellan hadn't even known Solas was capable of sarcasm. Eventually she could stand it no more, and spun around abruptly, poking a finger in each of their faces.
"Will you two cut it out. This is the last thing we need to do before a fight. We're meant to be a team, stop this. Now." Solas turned his gaze skyward, arms crossed, but Cassandra lowered her head.
"You are right. This is very unprofessional of me, I apologize." Lavellan smiled.
"It's all right. We're all overheated and tired. Let's go and get this over with." They nodded.
The raid was as uneventful as a raid could be, and they successfully eradicated the Venatori, as well as shoving the boxes of lyrium off the cliff to shatter below and get lost in the sands. Lavellan wiped her forehead after pushing the last box off, sick of the heat, sick of the fighting, and very much wanting to curl up in her massive bed back in Skyhold with Josephine. She grinned, thinking about her return. Josephine would make a fuss, she always did; checking her over, making sure she wasn't hurt, reacquainting. Feeling better already, Lavellan went to gather her friends and make sure they were ready for departure; she wanted to spend as little more time her as possible. Of course, it would be a few days before they got back, especially since they were travelling with a company of soldiers, but she felt good now that their missions were complete.
After a brief stop at the camp to gather up belongings and provisions, the company set out for what had become home. The mood was high, the soldiers exchanging battle stories and banter, which they could do with ease since there'd been no fatalities. A few lay groaning in wagons used to transport the injured, but she'd been informed they would recover.
"How are you, Lavellan?" She jumped, having been lost in her thoughts.
"Oh, Solas. I'm fine. I just want to be home."
"Home?"
"Well, Skyhold." Solas smiled.
"I wanted to apologise, for being confrontational earlier. That was beneath me."
"Don't worry about it Solas. I was getting irritable too. It's hard not to in this heat."
"You've been a good friend to me. I am grateful for that."
"And you to me." They exchanged smiles as Cassandra fell into step beside them.
"Josephine will have missed you." She said by way of greeting, causing Lavellan to blush and stutter her reply.
"Well, I-I um…"
"That's who you were longing for?"
"Cole!" The others laughed, and she ruefully rubbed her neck, her face becoming even more flushed than the desert had already made it. "How do any of you know, anyway." She grumbled.
"You are not subtle, Inquisitor, and neither is she. Josephine has been distracted as of late, as have you, therefore it is not impossible to deduce that there is som-"
"Okay, okay!" Cassandra stopped speaking and gave her an amused look, one which quickly turned to horror.
"Venatori, watch out!" There were gasps as a large group of Venatori could be seen rushing towards them, then the blurred slither of dozens of swords being drawn.
"We've been tricked!" Yelled the Captain. "It's an ambush! Stand your ground." The soldiers shook as the Venatori, a group of warriors and skilled mages considerably larger than the Inquisition's party ran towards them, bloody curses on their lips and murder in their eyes.
"They would sacrifice their own people for an ambush?" Cassandra exclaimed incredulously.
With each second the Venatori grew closer, the chanting of their spellbinders increasing in volume, causing fearful looks among the soldiers.
"Stand firm!" Called the captain, but there was pain in his eyes. He knew there would be losses. Severe losses.
"Captain! We cannot face this attack! We must retreat!" Cassandra rang over the shifting soldiers. The Captain gave her a defeated stare.
"We cannot retreat. Their spellbinders would pick us off one by one."
Solas moved in front of Lavellan, staff outstretched towards the oncoming horde.
"Protect the Inquisitor! She's too important to lose!" He called, and the force shifted into a defensive position around her, Cassandra and Cole also moving in front.
The Venatori were still on the ridge, thundering footsteps mashing with the sounds of fired spells.
"Shields!" The force covered overhead, spells clattering on the magically reinforced shields. Somewhere to her right, Lavellan heard a scream. No.
"Captain this is hopeless!" The force paused, all eyes on the captain as he raised his face to the sky, then beat his fist against his shield.
"Then we'll give them a fight they'll remember, eh?" Then he turned, unwavering gaze fixed on Lavellan. "Run, Inquisitor. The inquisition can't lose you and we can cover your escape. Go."
"No! I won't just leave you all to-"
"Lady Pentaghast, take her and run." Cassandra paused, tears in her eyes, then she stiffened, nodded, and grabbed the Inquisitor by the arm.
"No!"
"We have to go, Inquisitor." Cassandra began dragging her towards the back of the force, Lavellan resisting with every step, watching with desperation as Solas and Cole disappeared within the frightened soldiers. Another volley of magical attacks caused more screams. The drum of spells against shields sounded like thunder.
"I said no, Cassandra! I will not leave my people here to die."
"You are too important! Without you we cannot seal the rifts!"
"What sort of Inquisition abandons its people? I will not go." She shook Cassandra away, and, ignoring her cries for return, ran towards the Venatori. Surely there was something she could do. Anything.
"Inquisitor!"
"Stop her!"
"Lavellan!" Solas cried out after her as she broke free of the force but she didn't turn back. The Venatori were almost off the ridge now, almost onto the Inquisition. Suddenly an idea came to her. Increasing her speed, she flung her arms in front of her and began gathering the energy she needed. Green sparked like lightning from her hand. I need to be closer. She skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliff, vaguely registering Inquisition members running after her, but she was focussed on the spell she needed. Reaching within and then beyond she pulled magic from her, pushing the strands towards the cliff and a deadly purpose. Once the strands had melded with the rock, she pushed a rift from them.
The cliff exploded, a cascade of debris and Venatori tumbling into the drop, green light sparkling. The ground kept opening up, closer and closer and she knew she should move away but she could not. Her body would not move and the cliff was coming. Why can't I move? Get up! Then she saw a spellbinder, hanging from the crumbling edge, one hand extended towards her, mumbling. His look was poison, his mouth twisted into a cruel sneer. No! People were shouting for her, running, but they couldn't reach her. The ground beneath her feet opened up and she fell into darkness. Once she had fallen, the spell was broken, and she grabbed desperately at the rock, trying to slow her descent. It was to no avail. She hit an outcropping and pain ripped up her side. Then another, and the pain was gone.