A/N: Alright, here we are. I meant to post this earlier but I had to re-write a lot of it and that took me a lot longer than I expected... Sigh.
I've messed with some of the original dragon age plot surrounding the lyrium idol to suit my story in this chapter.
I want to note that again, i've included some original lines (and messed with some of them) from the game which are not written by myself - see if you can spot them.
Anyway, enjoy, and tell me what you think!
CHAPTER 7
Varric was a man on a mission. I swear; people even parted for him as he marched determinedly through the streets of high town; Isabela, Anders and myself in tow. It was as though they recognised that here strode a man with an important job to do, and that the importance of said job was essential in maintaining harmony in Kirkwall. Or maybe it was because Varric looked like he would blow up any person who got in his way with his eyes.
We arrived at Bartrand's, and after Varric quickly assessed the building he turned to us, frowning,
"Something's off. Look. There are cobwebs covering the door."
He was right. Delicate silvery webs laced around the corners and crevices on the wooden door, and tiny insects were suspended in the spiders' home.
"No one's come in or out for weeks, maybe months," concluded Isabela.
I cleared my throat, "Come on, this is still our best lead," I said, gesturing to the door, anxious to see that bastard of a dwarf.
Varric nodded and attempted to turn the doorknob.
"Locked," he informed us, before promptly taking out a pin and rattling it expertly in the lock. A clicking sound was heard and Varric swung the door open. We walked inside cautiously, weapons held at the ready.
It was dark inside. Curtains were drawn and no candles were lit. It was empty. Abandoned.
"Are you sure your contact saw Bartrand? Here?" I asked.
"He saw people making deliveries," was Varric's reply.
I looked around the room again. We were all standing in statuesque poses, listening for some sign of life. When none came we moved on to the next room. And the next. But there was more of the same. Silent, dark nothing.
We walked into a small hallway with multiple doors leading from it.
"Wait," I said, holding my finger to my lips. I swore I heard a whisper coming from the door next to me. A movement, perhaps. "Did anybody hear that?" I said, looking around at the group.
They all shrugged and shook their heads. I moved towards the door and pressed my ear against it. A rustling sound came from within.
Steeling my nerves, I quickly turned the handle and jumped into the room. A group of men looked up and advanced on us. They looked wrong, I realised; their complexions were pale and their eyes were dark and empty. We defeated them quickly and without incident, but we were left feeling rattled.
"What did my brother do to these men?"
"I have no idea, but it definitely wasn't natural," said Anders, looking around the room suspiciously as though more would burst out.
"Everyone be on your guard; I have a feeling there's more where they came from," said Varric ominously.
We continued to search through the house; and Varric was right. We found more and more of these empty, cursed men. Eventually we found ourselves in the main living room, and we were greeted by a large group of these sad beings.
They swarmed us, and bodies and spells were flying everywhere. Varric sent a cloud of arrows flying through the air; landing unmercifully through the bodies of the men. Isabela danced around the battlefield; snagging as many of them as she could with her sharp daggers. Anders stood far back; sending defensive spells out to prevent any one of us from being overwhelmed and tried to heal us where healing was needed.
I was running out of energy fast – I had miscalculated the number of enemies and had used up all my mana with my powerful spells too quickly. I sent a stone fist crashing into a group of the men charging towards me, but didn't notice the one standing behind me. It shoved me to the ground; the impact knocking the wind out of me. I sent a bolt of lightning from my position, but it was pathetic; I was out of mana. It stunned him for a second and he looked around confusedly. I scanned the room; all of my companions had their hands full fending off their own enemies; they couldn't help me.
With no other option I grabbed my dagger and sliced my arm, making blood rise quickly to the surface. Power rushed through me and I attacked the stunned man; draining the strength and life from him and using it to re-energise myself. Anastasia had taught me a lot in that session yesterday, and I easily fended off any remaining attacks with my new-found skills. It was strange using blood magic in battle; unfamiliar and risky. But it was very effective, and it made me feel almost invincible; like I was on a high.
Anders sent a rush of ice magic through the last cursed being, and we all took a collective sigh of relief when no more enemies ran out.
"Is everyone alright? Anyone need healing?" he asked, dusting himself off and realigning his feather pauldrons.
I tucked my bleeding arms behind my back. I don't think I could peg these cuts on the fight.
"I think Bianca's a little sore from going that fast," said Varric, retrieving arrows from bodies and running a hand soothingly over his crossbow.
Isabela clicked her tongue, "And I always pegged you as a more gentle lover."
Varric's hearty chuckle was interrupted by a voice coming from up a flight of nearby stairs: "Varric? Is that you? Praise the Ancestors!"
Out of the shadows emerged a dwarf; and like Varric, he didn't have a beard, though he was as broad shouldered and stocky as any other dwarf. He looked tired; but definitely wasn't cursed like the other men we had encountered.
"Hugin? Hold up," said Varric, turning to us, "I know him. He's Bartrand's steward." He turned back to Hugin, "What happened here?"
"Varric, your brother…" said Hugin, lowering his eyes; his face crumpling in horror, "That statue he brought out of the Deep Roads… Bartrand said it sang to him. I've been hiding in here, but the guards… they're like crazed animals. He's been forcing them to eat lyrium. He says he's trying to help them hear the song. He... cut off parts of them while they were still alive. Please, you have to stop him."
"This… I mean, Bartrand isn't the nicest guy, but this doesn't sound like my brother."
"Bartrand took the servants and locked himself inside the study," said Hugin, inclining his head towards a nearby door, "No one's come out for days."
"Alright. The hallways are clear, you should make a break for it," said Varric.
The dwarf nodded and ran quickly down the stairs and across the room; disappearing through a doorway.
Varric walked slowly over to the door and, without a moment's hesitation, flung it open, revealing Bartrand himself, crouched in a corner, surrounded by lifeless, bloody, bodies. Except; he was barely recognisable.
He crouched on the ground; his stance resembling that of a small child. He was clutching something that glowed a soft red. He looked thin and dirty; his clothing was ripped and tattered. He must not have eaten or changed in days. But worst of all were his eyes. They were dark and red and he obviously hadn't slept in days; but they were fully animated and darted around the room madly.
He was a pitiful sight; one that none of us could have ever expected. He was so enamoured in whatever object he was holding in his hands that he didn't even notice our entrance.
"Bartrand?" said Varric, holding his crossbow out in front of him. Bartrand didn't look up. "Bartrand, you fool! What have you done?" he said, walking towards him. "Bartrand! Look at me!" he shouted.
The child-man's eyes flicked up at Varric, and recognition widened them.
"V-Varric!" he said, grinning widely. He looked like a lunatic. "Varric, you can hear the song, can't you, little brother? Listen. Listen to the song."
"Bartrand, get a hold of yourself! Do you know where you are? Do you know what you've done?" said Varric angrily.
"Shhhh! Listen. Listen to it!" cried Bartrand agitatedly.
"This doesn't feel right. If he wasn't a dwarf, I'd think a demon did this. His mind has been… poisoned by something powerful," said Anders.
My eyes were drawn to the strange glowing light coming from Bartrand's hands. A red rock peeked through the gaps in his fingers.
"Is that… the lyrium idol?" I said. We all studied the rock Bartrand was clutching at.
"You can't hear it, can you?" said Bartrand, frowning disappointedly.
"We need to get that thing away from him, I think it's warping his mind," said Anders, looking at Varric pointedly.
Varric walked slowly towards his brother, "Bartrand," he said soothingly, holding out his hand, "I need you to give that to me,"
A shudder rippled through Bartrand. He backed away, clutching the idol to his chest.
"No. You can't take it from me. Just listen to the song, little brother, just listen to it!"
Varric shuffled towards him, "I will, Bartrand. Give the idol to me, just for a little while. It will help me hear the song."
Bartrand considered him suspiciously, but then his expression transformed into a childish grin.
"Yes! Yes, here, little brother. You can hold it. Listen to it," sang Bartrand, slowly extending his hand to meet Varric's.
Varric studied the rock, "Wait. This isn't the idol. It's a piece of it. Bartrand, where's the rest of it?"
"I sold it to some woman. I broke a piece off and kept some. Just in case... Just in case," said Bartrand.
"Do you know who this woman is?" said Varric.
Bartrand shook his head and laughed.
Varric sighed and tossed the idol to Anders who wrapped it in some cloth that was scattered on the floor.
"Varric? Wait, the idol -" said Bartrand confusedly.
"Rivaini?" said Varric, "Would you mind?"
Isabela was on Bartrand in less than a second, hitting his head with the hilt of her dagger; knocking him out cold.
Varric said he'd get some of his men to collect Bartrand and bring him to a healer, despite Anders' warning that he was too far gone.
I said I'd hold on to the idol. It wasn't a good idea for Varric to keep it at the Hanged man with all those people, and he didn't want to entrust it to anyone else.
"What if it affects you, Hawke?" said Varric unsurely.
"It won't. I'll keep it bundled up and locked away," I said. I told him to see if he could find out who Bartrand sold the other piece of the idol to. Who knows how it might affect the mystery buyer.
We trundled to our respective homes, and I tossed the idol into our house's vault, securing the latch on it tightly and locking it. I made a beeline for my bedroom, and jumped face first on to the mattress. Possibly a millisecond afterwards, I heard a knock at the door, and moments later, Bodahn scurried into the room.
"Sorry to disturb you, Messere, but you have a guest. Mistress Anastasia is waiting for you downstairs. She says it's urgent."
