Artemis was jolted awake as she felt herself being dragged off her bedroll and across the cold cavern ground. She squirmed, trying to rid herself of whatever had caught her, but the grasp on her ankle was strong. Just then, a voice too loud and low to be enjoyed at this time of morning sliced through the cold air. "Rise and shine Boss. Well, rise at least, we've a big day ahead of us. You know, rips and drapes and stuff."
Dorian's scoffing remark followed quickly, "they're rifts, Bull. And it's the Veil, not some gaudy Orlesian window coverings. Now let the Inquisitor go."
Artemis' leg was dropped and she rose to her feet slowly, rubbing her eyes and taking in her surroundings. The rest of the camp was up and sitting around the fire, occupied by a variety of tasks. Varric was crafting some caltrop traps from various things he'd gathered the day before and Sera was checking the consistency of some of her poisons. Cole was checking the weight and balance of his knives and daggers, tossing a few into the air much to the anxiety of the others, before buckling them in various places over his body.
Artemis returned to her sleeping mat and gathered her things, retying them together messily. "Right, well we'd better get a move on. We have to try and get this thing closed as quickly as we can before anything nasty comes through. Sera, what's the weather doing outside?"
Sera snorted and the Inquisitor turned around to face her, wondering why her question had garnered such a response. Before she had the chance to say anything however, her gaze was drawn past the group and out the mouth of the cave. The morning was a mixture of different shades of grey, and there was a light dusting of snow covering the ground. She strode to the opening and leant out, looking around. She felt the cool caress of snowflakes across her face, blinking them out of her eyes before sneezing. Her nose began to itch so she withdrew herself and faced the group, donning an awkward expression. "Who cares if it's snowing…right?"
She was met with grumbles from her companions, wordless objections to the idea of travelling through snowy and windy weather. She sighed, not particularly looking forward to the day's journey ahead, but with any luck, she figured they could be there before nightfall. "Come on guys, it's only barely snowing. Think of it as an adventure. It'll be fun."
Sera tapped her finger to her chin as she spoke. "Hmm, those are the exact words you said before we trudged through that tunnel full of deepstalkers on the coast. Shall I remind you how much fun we didn't have that day?"
Varric laughed heartily, eyeing one of his finished traps. "Boy am I glad I wasn't with you that day Moony. Deepstalkers are creepy…"
Artemis hushed the group before convincing them to gather their things and mount up. They ventured out of the cave as the trail of smoke from the exhausted fire drifted up and merged with the grey sky above. As planned the night before, Artemis stayed by Sera's side, chatting with the elf about their various trips across Ferelden. Cole had began the morning behind the elven pair, but before long he slowed down and fell into stride with Varric's smaller horse. Varric picked up on the boy's air of sadness and wondered what was playing on his mind.
"What's up Kid? Not a fan of snow?"
Cole didn't turn his head to look at the dwarf while he spoke, rather keeping his eyes trained on the elf in front of him, but emotionless and unseeing. "The snow, cold yet calming. So pale, pristine, perfect. Each snowflake is unique, perfect in every sense of the word. I like the snow." Her hair which is so long and so white flows behind her like a blanket of snow itself. Each individual speck is lost in it's depths, encompassed by the silken threads.
"Then why the gloomy face? Cheer up before I start thinking I'm back in Kirkwall with that broody elf." Varric rolled his eyes, remembering how Hawke just had to bring Fenris along every time they went anywhere.
Cole looked around him before turning to Varric and lowering his voice, barely above a whisper. "What did you mean last night?"
Varric bright smile turned slightly skewed before answering. "What do you mean last night? I don't think I said anything particularly interesting."
Cole furrowed his eyebrows, frowning at the difficult dwarf. "When you were with the Inquisitor, telling her about the King's rose." There was no hesitation in the young man's voice, instead it was direct and simple, quite contrary to most of his other expressions.
The smile had completely disappeared from Varric's face only to be replaced with a look of concern. He too lowered his voice and removed one hand from his horse to clasp Cole's arm. "Look Kid, I know how you feel about her, you told me everything I needed to know. I also know exactly what Moony is feeling, but you have to trust me when I tell you this, no matter how much you might disagree. I'm sorry Kid, but I can't help you any more than I already have."
Cole tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth to object, but was cut off by Varric raising his hand. "This emotion that you're experiencing, most likely for the first time, is something incredibly pure and delicate, not something to be trifled with by an outsider. I've had my fair share of time feeling the way you do now and just like you I wanted to ask someone wiser what the hell I should be doing. But looking back I realise that everything I was told to do and say and feel was just bullshit spun by people who were just as inexperienced as me. Relationships between two people are unique and no one can tell you what to expect or what will work because they simply cannot know."
Throughout Varric's lecture, Cole listened intently, absorbing every word in an earnest attempt to gain some understanding about the state he was in. By the end he was just as in the dark as he was when he first felt his gut tie itself in knots. Despite this, he understood what Varric was saying overall and he nodded his head. "Thanks Varric," he replied simply.
"Just follow your heart, Kid. That's all anyone can ever do in this world."
Cole looked up at the grey sky, letting the snowflakes get caught in his long eyelashes. Follow my heart? How am I supposed to do that when it cannot speak to me? He stretched his neck down, putting his ear as close to his chest as he could. It does nothing except beat in a steady rhythm. Sighing heavily and returning his gaze to the elves ahead of him, he concluded that he would take another look in Varric's book to see if there was any mention about how to follow a heart.
The party stopped for lunch when the snow stopped around mid morning. The morning's bad weather had driven most of the larger beasts off into shelter, and all that was caught was a couple of foxes. With the biting wind at their backs and the bleak conditions ahead of them, they mostly ate in silence, only the occasional sarcastic remark chased by a witty quip. Artemis had barely spoken two words to Cole the whole day, and this dampened his spirit even further. The spark inside him was in perilous danger of blowing out.
By midday the snow had resumed its steady falling and with a check of their map they guessed they were no more than a quarter hour from a small village and from there, a little over two hours until they reached the area Cassandra had marked the rift as being. A small time later they had begrudgingly left their mounts with the village's quartermaster, along with a sack of coin, and set out on foot in the increasingly deepening snow.
"Remind me again why we left the perfectly good coin with that grisly quartermaster? Oh yeah, and the horses too?" Sera was stomping along beside Artemis, sending small sprays of white dust up every footfall. To say she was irritated was an understatement.
Artemis sighed not for the first time that day and pulled her cloak tighter around her. "Because Sera, do you honestly think the animals would be able to make it safely along the narrow paths we are going to have to sidle along?"
Sera grumbled an inaudible reply before starting to kick up plumes of snow as she walked. Behind the leading pair Varric was struggling with the depth of the snow as each step forced him further down, his legs currently frozen from the knees down. Just behind him however was the giant qunari who seemed unfazed by the ground under his feet. His booming laughter rang out, travelling a large distance the mage beside him was sure, before he lifted the dwarf up and into the air.
Varric twisted and writhed in the air as Cole watched on, slightly amused. "What do you think you're doing. Andraste's goat, put me down!"
"But you're sinking further and further down my little friend. Soon you'll be up to your neck in this stuff. You can sit on my head if you want, c'mon it'll be fun remember."
Varric managed to unhook Bianca from his back and point it at Bull. "I don't give a nug's wrinkled ass if I'm up to my neck in the snow. No dwarf get's picked up, carried or tossed. That's the universal rule as old as the Stone itself." He narrowed his eyes. "Now down, or Bianca get another taste of qunari."
Bull shrugged his broad shoulders and opened his hands, allowing the dwarf to plummet downwards. Hitting the ground he sank deep into the snow before reappearing and shaking the white dust from his hair and face. Sera giggled and pointed and him before managing to speak a sentence between snorting laughter. "It's because you're so dense Varric."
The playful antics continued through their dangerous climb, everyone trying not to think about the cold or their hunger and tiredness. Their spirits teetered along a knife's edge, dangerously close to slipping into anger and frustration at the odds stacked against them. As hopes dwindled at reaching the summit before night fell or the harsh winds swept them away, they finally crested the mountain and all sat down resting their shaky legs. Off into the distance, not too far from where they were gathered, the familiar green glow of the Fade seeping into this world could be seen. The sight of it made Artemis' hand sting as she recalled the pain it took to close so many rifts before.
As they slowly made their way towards the rift, Artemis began to refresh the companions' memories about closing the rifts. "Ok, so hopefully you all remember the drill. Kill anything that comes out. It looks like I'm going to have to tear it fully open before I can close it and I'm afraid I can't be subtle about it. Just stay safe and I'll try and be as quick as possible."
She took a quick check of the surrounding area around the rift and positioned everyone in her mind. "Varric and Sera, I want you up on that rocky shelf making sure nothing gets away." Varric nodded in approval and readied Bianca. Sera gave a swift salute and took off bounding.
"Dorian you can be wherever you feel most efficient, I just ask you keep anything off my back while I'm closing." Dorian agreed and began circling the rift looking for the most advantageous position.
Artemis smiled at Bull and Cole who were left with her. "Come on my boys. You know how it is. We will be the innermost defense. Let's go." With that the trio jogged forward until they were all but standing underneath rift. She gave one last look around to her companions, nodding at each as a sign of reassurance.
Artemis closed her eyes and focused on the tingling sensation in her hand. She felt it grow cooler, the familiar chill of the Fade entwining around her fingers. She clenched her hand tight and thrust it in the air, feeling the tingle intensify. The rift began to shift and the air around the group buzzed as if lightning had struck nearby. The Inquisitor opened her palm skyward before ripping it downward and tearing open the Veil, allowing the Fade to bleed through.
At this moment, a searing pain jolted through Artemis' hand and up her arm, something which was not usual when dealing with rifts. She staggered almost falling to a knee but managed to stay standing. What is happening? Is this some aftereffect of the Breach being sealed?
Cole had seen the Inquisitor waver and was so very tempted to close the distance between them in a single leap to comfort her. But when he saw her regain her composure, his heart steadied itself as well. And just in time it seemed as a horde of terror demons burst forth from the gouge in the sky.
Chaos ensued as arrows flew and spells soared. Bull's axe arced through the air slicing demons and spilling black blood into the ground, staining the snow. Artemis backflipped to put some distance between herself and the fighting so as to take aim. As soon as she landed she fired a shot at a fearling clutching for Dorian. Sera and Varric had those fleeing under control, but Cole and Bull were beginning to become overrun as the outpouring of fearlings did not cease.
I must close this quickly before it gets too out of hand. Artemis sprinted forward and ducked under a huge swing from Bull before rising and thrusting her bow into the abdomen of a demon. She continued to swing at the creatures, the strength of her metal bow staggering the foes. She heard a curse from the qunari and spun to see a nimble abomination dangling from his horns while clubbing the large head between. Cole had one eye closed and was lining up a dagger to throw but frowned in hesitation, realising it was too heavy a gamble in case he missed and lodged his knife in the Iron Bull's skull. Voicing his protest to Artemis, she leapt into action, grabbing one of the gangly legs of the creature and yanking it free. Throwing it to the ground, she pulled an arrow from her quiver and shoved it into it's neck, silencing it's gurgles.
Dorian yelped in surprise as the head of the horde made it's appearance through the rift. The towering and spindly form of the fear demon was a sight to behold and invoked a particular sense of dread no other could summon. All attacks turned to it except those of the rogues on the cliff edge. Cole launched a venom coated knife and it hit it's mark, burying itself deep in the demon's eye socket. The demon let out a blood curdling screech and dropped onto all fours.
This is my chance, it must be now! Artemis once again lifted her hand upwards, tapping into the pool of cool energy she now associated with the Fade. Her arm began to tremble as the rift shuddered, beginning to close. The tingling grew unusually strong and she started to panic, pain spreading through her whole body. She clenched her teeth, willing the Maker and all the elven deities to give her the strength to slam this door from the Fade shut.
"DO IT ALREADY MOONY!" Varric's shout echoed across the field impossibly loud, but Artemis could only hear a muffled mumble. Her head had become hazy and her vision blurred. She fell to one knee, looking up at the green glow above her, wondering what went wrong. She collapsed into the snow, her hand burning with an unknown ferocity. She watched lifelessly as Bull took the head of the fear demon and Cole rushed to her side. Despite seeing his lips moving and his hand coming to her face, she could hear nothing and feel even less.
As the rest of the companions came into her view, Artemis' vision dimmed and she felt chilling fingers mingle with her own burning ones. The strange hand then clasped hers and pulled her from existence.