Chapter 2: Warning
Merrill awoke to the sound of knocking on her door.
Slowly, she opened her heavy eyelids and studied her surroundings. She was still in her main room, at her dining table, hunched over the tome she had found last night; she didn't even remember falling asleep. She gently pushed her empty tea cup and plate to the side and stared at her tome. The last thing she remembered was reading about ancient blood magic spells; many new and stronger spells that she never would have thought to be possible.
Her thoughts were interrupted by more knocking.
"Oh, sorry! I'll be there in a moment!" She shouted loud enough for her visitors to hear. Merrill began to walk towards the door, ready to greet her guests, when she remembered the tome lying on the table. Creators, how could she have almost forgotten! She cursed silently to herself, and made her way back towards the table. She closed the tome and quickly hid it under her bed. When she finally made it to the door she wasn't surprised to see Hawke, with a cheeky smile, on the other side.
"Good morning, Merrill! I'm glad to see you've made it back on your own safely." Hawke greeted her.
"Nice to see you again, Daisy."
"Oh! Hello Hawke and Varric." She smiled and opened her door further to allow them in. As she did so, she noticed Fenris in the back, arms crossed, looking off into the distance.
"… Fenris," she greeted the elf. He ignored her and simply followed Hawke inside.
Hawke pulled out a coin purse from his pocket almost immediately after entering the room. It was decorated with a small forest-green ribbon that had been tied into a neat bow, preventing the contents from spilling out.
Merrill laughed lightly at the sight of it. Hawke had always been a good friend to her, despite leaving her out of most of his adventures; she knew it was nothing personal.
"Before I forget, here is your pay from yesterday," Hawke handed her the purse. "And look! It has a green bow on it! The same color as your eyes. Am I not a charmer?"
"More like a terrible flirt." Varric commented. Hawke gave him a comically hurt look, which actually drew a small, quiet chuckle from Fenris, who had been hiding behind both the men.
"Anyway, Merrill, I would have given your coin to you last night, but you were already gone by the time I left Aveline's office," Hawke continued.
"…oh…right. Sorry about that. I just really needed to get some rest." Merrill attempted to hide the sadness in her voice and eyes as she placed the purse on mantle of the fireplace. She then went to clear off her table. "So, I take it Anders was too busy?" She paused from her cleaning when she realized what she had said.
Hawke was visibly taken aback by her question. "Uh… yes, as a matter of fact, he was. What made you ask-"
"Oh, well he's not here! With you that is! Um…" Curse her transparency. "Would you like some tea? I could warm some water up right away!"
"That's alright, Daisy. We're here on business," Varric looked up at Hawke.
"Huh? Oh, right! Merrill, I was hoping you could come with us to the Deep Roads to hunt down some bandits," Hawke said.
"Oh sure! Not a problem. Just give me a moment to wash up and to pack a lunch." She turned and started to make her way to her bedroom.
"Would you rather we waited outside?" Hawke asked.
"Oh no, it's alright. I shouldn't take too long." She disappeared into her bedroom to grab some clean clothing to put on after her wash. Before she headed into the wash room, she took one last look at the tome hidden under her bed.
"If Aveline's directions are correct and Hawke hasn't gotten us lost again…" Hawke rolled his eyes at that. "Then the entrance to this cave should just be over that hill." Varric folded the map and handed it back to Hawke.
"You know, Varric, not all of us are professional map readers." Hawke slipped the paper back into his pocket. "I've never needed to use a map around Lothering," Hawke mumbled to himself.
"Now, Hawke don't beat yourself up with a stick," Varric said. "Not unless it's a really long one. With spikes." This received him a playful grunt from Hawke.
Merrill watched the friendly bantering in silence. She loved and treasured moments like this; they were so rare for her to have these days. Walking through the woods with friends, casually chatting and poking fun at one another, the sun glimmering through leaves of the trees casting beautiful shadows on the short grass and dirt, and the soft scent of flowers; it reminded her so much of the time she had spent with her clan…before she had learned blood magic, that was.
She inhaled deeply.
There was no point in thinking about such things now. She should simply enjoy this! She was out of her stuffy house, out of the Alienage, outside the walls of the city, traveling through the woods and over gentle streams with people she cared for; she should continue to admire the nature before her, along with the beautiful blue sky.
"Have you given any thought to what I've said?"
Oh look, a thunder cloud.
Merrill turned to face Fenris. She hadn't noticed that they had been walking side by side for some time now. His face held a neutral expression; it was difficult to know exactly what he was thinking.
"Yes and no," she answered as she looked down at the ground. "Honestly, Fenris, I was much too upset to truly reflect on anything you had said." She wasn't expecting sympathy, and she was not surprised when she saw none when she peered up at him through half lids.
"It was not my intention." She found that hard to believe. "I was simply stating the truth."
She sighed softly.
"I think about my choices all the time." She paused briefly. "I thought about them before last night… before I met Hawke," she flexed her fingers nervously, "…and I will continue to think about my choices tomorrow."
"You claim that, and yet you still practice blood magic?" Fenris's face darkened slightly; his voice was carrying a hint of frustration. "Do you not realize what you have lost?"
"…I...know quite well what I have lost personally." Memories of her old clan flashed through her mind. "But I'm willing to sacrifice…myself, if it means recovering even just a small piece of our heritage. I cannot stop now. Not when I feel that I am so close."
"Consequences be damned then?" Fenris' eyes felt like they were burning into her. She dropped her head down once again and watched her feet as they walked. He didn't understand her. No one has ever understood her.
Merrill remained silent.
"Someday you will see that blood magic always does more harm than good, and will always lead to suffering of a kind, whether you intend it to or not," Fenris ended the conversation there. He walked up ahead, leaving Merrill with only his words.
They reached the cave after about ten minutes of navigating through the forest. The cave's opening wasn't that well hidden, just two miles off the road, surrounded by trees and a couple of large boulders. The opening itself was surprising large; it could easily be found by anyone looking for it. Not that anyone would actually want to go in; the entrance was quite foreboding.
"Maker! Are these bandits daft? Who looks at a cave like this and thinks safety and refuge?" Hawke said.
"Desperate bandits, perhaps?" Fenris offered.
"If I were a bandit, I would rather serve my ass on a silver platter to the guards than walk into this death trap," Varric said.
"You can practically feel, smell, and even taste taint coming out of the cave!" Hawke walked forward and peered into the darkness. He could see some natural sources of light a couple feet away, revealing a crooked path leading down further into the cave. "Oh, Aveline, the things I do for you," Hawke sighed.
"Why hasn't anyone sealed this entrance yet?" Merrill looked towards Varric. "I thought you said that the Dwarves sealed all the entrances to the Deep Roads, Varric."
"Oh, they did, Daisy. I'm guessing this was once an ordinary cave, filled with giant spiders and the occasional walking skeleton, until some walls started to crumble; and now it is filled with giant spiders, walking skeletons, and darkspawn," Varric explained.
"I highly doubt there are darkspawn this close to the surface," Fenris interjected. "There would have been reports of darkspawn activity."
"I think Fenris is right." Hawke stepped away from the cave entrance and walked towards his companions. "I'm guessing the hole linking the cave to the Deep Roads was created recently." Hawke paused for a moment. "I seriously hope these bandits are not as stupid as I think they are, and didn't go into the Deep Roads simply to avoid jail time."
"With your luck, Hawke, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they did," Fenris's said with slight smirk.
"I'm with the Elf on that," Varric added.
"Yes, yes, joke all you want." Hawke pulled out his daggers and made his way back towards the entrance. "Now enough lollygagging, we're here to capture a couple of bandits."
And with that their hunt began.
Author's Note: I really should have had put this note in the first chapter. ^_^;
I should really thank Hatsepsut for beta-ing my story. If it were not for her, I probably would have never been confident enough in my story to publish it. She has been a wonderful beta and teacher. That is the truth. :3