A/N: a lot of the dialoge in this chapter comes from the game with some of my own changes. Next chapter brings Cullen and Lavellan back together.
RUN. HURRY. THINGS. CREATURES. MONSTERS. FASTER. PAIN. DARKNESS.
Riona awoke with a gasp as a strange green energy erupted painfully from her hand...a hand that was bound with the other to the ground. It was then she became aware of the four armed men with their swords raised and pointing at her. She had no idea where she was or how she got there but she knew she was in a whole lot of trouble. But before the panic could raise any higher in her chest the door to the stone room she was in burst open as a very angry female in armor marched in followed by a less intimidating female in a hood.
The angry woman marched up to her and demanded, "Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now? The conclave is destroyed, everyone who attended is dead, everyone but you!"
Riona's mind was reeling. Everyone dead? How? Why? They think it was me? Such questions raced through her mind but she knew it was best to keep silent lest she anger the woman even more.
The dark haired woman grabbed the hand with the strange mark, "Explain this."
"I...I can't." Riona replied at a complete loss.
"What do you mean you can't?" the angry woman demanded.
"I don't know what that is or how it got there." Riona replied panic edging her voice.
The angry woman grabbed her by the front of her shirt, her face inches from Riona's, "You're lying!"
The woman in the hood who had been silent so far, pulled the other woman back, "We need her Cassandra."
Well at least she knew the name of the angry woman now but still so much didn't make sense, "I can't believe it, all those people… dead." Riona hadn't intended to say anything but the thought spilled out none the less.
The hooded woman moved closer to her, eyeing her carefully as if she could tell a lie just by studying someone, "Tell me, do you remember anything? How this began?"
Riona thought briefly, everything was such a jumbled mess in her head but she did remember, "Running… things were chasing me...and then...a woman?" The last part coming out more a question.
"A woman?" the hooded one asked in surprise.
Riona thought harder, there had definitely been a woman, "She reached out to me and then…" nothing she couldn't remember anything else.
"Go to the forward camp Leliana. I will take her to the rift." Cassandra said to the hooded female before kneeling down before Riona.
"What did happen?" she asked as Cassandra unlocked her hands from the bar holding them to the ground.
"It will be easier to show you." Cassandra replied helping her to her feet and leading her with bound hands to the door.
Riona shielded her eyes as she stepped out of the dark building but dropped them in horror as she gazed upon the strange giant green hole in the sky. "We call it the breach. It's a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It's not the only such rift but it is the largest. It was caused by the explosion at the conclave."
"An explosion can do that?" Riona asked in disbelief sure that she had to be dreaming, this couldn't be real, could it?
"This one did and unless we act the breach may grow till it swallows the world." Cassandra said just as the giant rift pulsed and the mark on Riona's hand erupted with painful energy that knocked her to her knees. She knelt in front of the bound elf, "each time the breach expands so does the mark on your hand and it is killing you. It maybe the key to stopping this but there isn't much time."
"You say it maybe the key… to doing what?" Riona asked still gasping from the pain.
"To closing the breach, whether that is possible is something we shall discover shortly. It is our only chance and yours." She stated matter of factly.
"You still think I did this… to myself?" Riona asked in exasperation. Why would anybody do this?
"Not intentionally, something clearly went wrong." Cassandra replied clearly not wanting to admit the elf had a good point.
"And if I'm not responsible?" Riona asked wondering if there was anyway for her to get out of this situation alive.
"Someone is and you're our only suspect. You wish to prove your innocence, this is the only way." Cassandra stated pulling the elf to her feet. She was going to help whether she wanted to or not.
"I understand." Riona said with a nod.
"Then?" Cassandra began unable to believe that the prisoner would help.
"I'll do what I can… whatever it takes." she said simply.
Cassandra began leading her thru the village of Haven like a calf to the slaughter. She could feel all the eyes on her, judging her, condemning her for the role she played in the deaths of those at the conclave. Cassandra went on and on about it but Riona already knew what the deaths would mean. The conclave had failed to end the fighting but if they didn't close that massive hole in the sky the fighting between the templars and mages would be the least of their problems.
Once out of the small village Cassandra cut the ropes binding her hands. "Where are you taking me?" she asked rubbing the feeling back into her wrist.
"To what's left of the temple." Cassandra replied hurrying her along.
Cassandra told her as they traveled how she had been found, falling out of the rift. Some swearing to having seen a woman push her out of the rift. None of it made sense to her. And then a blast from the rift caused the bridge they had been crossing to give way. They tumbled down to the frozen riverbed with the rest of the rubble, staggering to their feet as demons began appearing before them.
"Stay behind me!" Cassandra ordered moving closer to the demons with sword and shield raised.
Riona did not like being defenseless, especially when the ground in front of her started bubbling green and black goo. She didn't know what that meant but knew it couldn't be good. Glancing around for anything she could use to protect herself and then thanked whatever gods were listening for the bow and arrows that lay just within her reach. She snatched them up, notching an arrow just in time to send flying into the head of the demon that erupted from the black ooze. Firing arrow after arrow faster than she thought possible she brought down the demon in front of her. She sent one last one into the back of one of the demons Cassandra was fighting just before it could tear her with its claws from behind as she sliced the head off the last demon. "It's over," panted Riona.
"Drop your weapon now!" Cassandra barked sword still raised.
"I don't think so! If you think I'm getting any closer to that breach without a means to defend myself you're crazy!" Riona argued back, not about to disarm.
"Ugh… you're right. I can't protect you. I should remember you agreed to come on your own." Cassandra said as she sheathed her sword but it was clear she wasn't happy about letting her keep the weapon. "We need to hurry… we're getting closer, you can hear the fighting."
The closer they got to the breach the more demons appeared and the more sounds of battle could be heard. Topping a hill Riona spotted a small group fighting demons near what must be one of the smaller rifts that Cassandra had spoke of. The fighting was intense and she was exhausted but as the last demon fall, the bald elf mage grabbed her hand with the mark, "Hurry before more come through." he shouted as he raised the mark toward the rift.
Green energy stretched from her mark to the rift, she could feel it pulling at her entire being. And just when she thought it would pull her in, the mage pulled her hand away and the rift sealed. "What did you do?" she asked rubbing at her hand.
"I did nothing. I theorized that the mark on your hand could close the rifts… and I was right." the bald elf mage said with an air of arrogance.
"So I can help?" Riona asked staring at her hand.
"Well good to know we won't be ass deep in demons forever. Name's Varric, rogue, merchant, story teller, and occasional unwelcome tagalong." said the crossbow weilding dwarf.
"Nice crossbow." Riona said not knowing what else to say.
"Bianca is one of a kind." Varric replied, the pride evident in his voice.
"If there are to be introductions, my name is Solas. I'm pleased to see you still live." the elven mage said with a sight bow,
"He means he kept that mark from killing you while you slept." Varric supplied.
"Well thanks I think," Riona said hesitantly. She didn't know why but she felt the mage knew more than he was letting on. He went on to cassandra about the unusual magic and the power required to have created it. One thing was sure he didn't have that kind of power but he knew about it.
While she wished they could take a breather, she knew they had to keep going. The closer they got the more demons they found. Just before they reached the forward camp, they came across another rift. Riona held her hand up to it and the same pulling energy erupted from the mark and just when it felt like it would pull her in she ripped her hand away forcing the rift to seal. So Solas had told the truth in that the mark closed the rift and for the first time since waking in the cell she felt hope.
Leliana was waiting for them when they arrived at the forward camp where a Chantry cleric immediately demanded she be placed in chains, to which Cassandra refused stating that she was here to help. But then they started arguing over which way to get to the temple. Leliana wanted to take the longer but possibly safer mountain pass while Cassandra the direct but dangerous path of charging with the soliders. In the end they put the decision to her.
"I'm not going to live long enough for trial, I say we charge and be done with it." Riona stated knowing full well that the mark would kill her or the demons would but she wasn't going down without a fight.