A/N: Guest: He will use it again eventually, though the idea of using lyrium for caps doesn't ever occur. It will be used for certain other projects though. Guns in general will be making an appearance during Act II, and will be talked about heavily between Acts II and III.

Chapter 6

"There was a door to at the far end of this chamber," Hawke noted. "We might be able to circle around and intercept Bartrand."

Clark nodded, then ran back up the stairs, followed a moment later by the rest. The door led into a hallway lit by veins of red lyrium embedded in the walls and support pillars. As they walked in Hawke could hear the same singing building in his head again. He started to relax a little, the song was far more wondrous when it came from all around him. Around him the others slowed as well, entranced by the music.

Only Clark seemed unaffected, and he was halfway down the hallway before he noticed the others weren't keeping up. He turned and winced as he saw their expressions. He hesitated, then headed back. "Come on," he urged. "We need to hurry."

Hawke went marginally faster, but obviously not enough. Finally Clark sighed, drew back a fist, and punched Hawke in the stomach. For a moment Hawke started to strike back, but then the pain overtook the music in his head and he said, "What's happening?"

"I'd guess it's the lyrium," Clark answered, motioning at the veins along the wall.

Hawke nodded, "I can still hear it, stronger than ever." He blinked, trying to fight it off, then suddenly said, "You really can't can you."

Clark shook his head, "magical manipulation doesn't work on me. So far as we can tell it never has."

Hawke grimaced, "You're lucky. The song is wonderful, but I can't seem to think straight if I focus on it."

The pair rapidly woke the others from their trance as well. Alim said finally, "we need to get out of here. As fast as possible. I don't want to think about this place will do long term."

The others nodded agreement and started forward again. This time Clark held back more, occasionally checking on the group to make sure they were still lucid. Despite a faster pace it took the group nearly an hour to enter the chamber the hall led them to. Before Hawke could register the song growing fainter he saw rags on either side of the group coalescing into forms and shouted, "Shades"

Without pausing the arcane warriors split with Alim's two subordinates striking the left, and Alim charging the right. Bethany struck down one with a fireball, and Alim smashed the second demon with his hammer. As the monster disintegrated Hawke muttered, "Why can't I do that?"

Beside him Clark answered, "Masterwork runes. I had Sandal enchant their weapons on the way down here." One of the demons broke through and charged at the nonmagical trio, only for Clark to slash at the creature, and disintegrate it as well. As an afterthought he added, "Mine too actually."

Hawke shook his head and answered, "I wish I'd known."

The last demons were destroyed and the group descended the room, but as they neared the chamber's other end a pair of stone monsters advanced from the room's sides.

Alim and the Arcane Warriors stepped back from them and Alim asked, "What are these things?"

Behind them Clark was quiet, then finally answered, "I have no idea. Destroy them."

Alim nodded, and brought his hammer down on what should have been the first one's head. The spot gave way, but the monster continued advancing regardless. He stepped back and swung again, destroying its lower arm. The monster simply swung the other arm at him, and Alim's shield barely blocked the blow.

The fight continued as Alim and the other warriors tried to destroy the creatures, Bethany threw every spell she could think of at them, and Hawke tried to defend against the second creature's attack with his shield.

He glanced back and saw Clark pacing and heard him mutter, "There has to be something. How were they stopped before…?"

Hawke shook his head and barely got his shield up in time to block another blow. Suddenly from behind him heard Clark shout, "ah ha." Then quieter he said, "Varric, the chests. Do you see the glowy bits?"

Varric frowned at the creatures, judging the small targets then finally said, "I think so."

Clark nodded, "Shoot them."

The dwarf knelt, readied his crossbow, and after a moment of aiming he fired. The bolt soared past Hawke's ear and went into a narrow crack in the creature's chest. There was silence for a moment, then the light went dark and the rocks collapsed.

Seeing the demonstration Alim raised his hammer and brought it down on the monster's chest with all his magically enhanced strength. The stone carapace cracked under the blow, then shattered under a second. For a moment Hawke was blinded by the light that emerged as the creature fell back, then it faded and he saw the outline of Alim bringing his weapon down a third time, and the light faded.

The lifeless husk of rock collapsed without whatever was inside to keep it alive.

There were more shades and the rock creatures waiting in ambush as they left the chamber, but with knowledge of how to destroy the rock creatures, and opponents from only a single direction, the arcane warriors destroyed them easily. This hallway led to an enormous chamber, lined with red lyrium along the walls, and with outspurts that reminded Hawke of trees.

Behind him he heard Alim mutter to Clark, "These things almost look, well alive."

Clark nodded and whispered back, "You don't think the lyrium might be, well Tainted do you?"

Alim frowned and said, "But the Taint only affects living things, right? That would mean…" He trailed off as the meaning hit him. Finally Alim said, "I think I've found Finn's next research topic. He was bugging me for one when we left. Something about wanting an excuse to not be part of your experiment."

Clark laughed, "He does realize the Gwarren Circle is volunteer only right?"

Alim started to respond, but before he could Varric said, "More monsters."

Alim rejoined the arcane warriors and prepared to destroy another of the rock monsters when one raised an arm and said, "Enough. You have proven your mettle. I would not see more of these creatures harmed without need."

Behind them Bethany muttered, "Define need."

Hawke quickly said, "You're not going to attack?"

The monster answered, "They will not attack without my say. The profane have lingered here for untold ages, feeding on the energy around you."

Hawke thought for a moment, then said, "They lyrium. The lyrium sustains them. But what about you?"

I…am not as they are. I am a visitor." The creature answered.

Bethany whispered from behind Hawke, "I think it's a demon, feeding on their hunger."

The monster made an affirmative sound and said, "I would not see my feast end. You seek to leave this place, but you will not be able to without my aid."

"I don't like the sound of that," Alim said. "Trusting demons is never a good idea. That's a point they hammered over and over in my Harrowing. I suggest we destroy it."

Clark answered, "No, we should deal with it."

Before the debate could begin the creature said, "There is only one door from this place, and only I know where the key is located. Do as I ask and it is yours."

Hawke considered and finally said, "Very well, what is it that you want?"

"Very wise," the creature answered. "Close to here is a crypt, holding a creature that has held me back for too long. Destroy it and freedom is yours."

Hawke nodded and said, "Then show us this crypt."

The creature motioned toward one of the other rock monsters and said, "Follow this one. It will take you where you need to go."

Hawke nodded and the second creature began up a set of stairs. Hawke and his companions followed. The monster led them through a series of chambers and passages until finally stopping before one final door. Hawke pushed it open and looked inside. The room seemed deserted. Hesitantly he stepped inside, the arcane warriors following directly.

Finally he asked, "What is this place?"

Behind him Varric said, "This is the Vault. The dwarves would have kept their…"

He stopped as the rocks from around the room began to assemble themselves into a shape. The legs came first, then he saw the spirit manifest itself as the chest armor began to build. Behind him he heard Clark say, "Alim, my satchel."

Hawke glanced back and saw Clark had pulled out a pair of the spheres he'd seen earlier, but now a string on each was burning. Clark pulled back his arms and threw. One sphere fell inside the armor as the creature closed up its chest cavity, the other landed well short.

Seeing the miss Clark shouted, "Get behind something," then dove behind a pillar. Bethany and Alim followed him, while Hawke, Varric, and the other two warriors dove behind a boulder.

Hawke heard a horrible roar, then a second. Fragments of rock and metal fell on his back, but the worst was the sudden deafness from the noise. Finally he pulled himself up and saw the others doing s as well. As the ringing faded he asked, "What were those?"

Clark answered, "Grenades. Little balls with a big of gunpowder inside."

Varric whispered, "I think this is what Javaris was after."


"Who?" Cassandra asked.

Varric blinked then said, "Oh, right, I forgot I didn't tell you about him. He's not important, but I think the gunpowder was the same material the Qunari use. The weapons used by Fereldan later, and I hear by your own Chantry forces now would seem to support it as well."

Cassandra shrugged, "Make sure you don't leave out anything important dwarf."

"I won't," Varric assured her. "Now where was I?"


Hawke nodded and said, "Probably, and given the reaction of the Arishok mentioning it would probably be a bad idea."

Bethany was the first to say, "What was that?"

One of the other Arcane Warriors, Hawke could never remember either of their names, said, "It was a rock wraith. We studied them years ago, but they're supposed to be a myth. The others might have been some kind of a smaller form."

Varric nodded, "Now that you mention it, these things do remind me of the legends too, but more importantly, look at what it was guarding."

He motioned toward the back of the Vault where thaig's treasure was stacked.

Their demonic partner formed itself from the rocks of the wraith's corpse and declared, "That isn't yours. The key you require is in the chest. Leave the rest, for it is mine."

Varric whispered, "Not to state the obvious, but can you imagine what this would be worth on the surface"

"You will not," the demon roared. "It is mind, all of it. Take only the key, or I shall destroy you."

Varric sighed, but said, "I guess we have no choice…" without warning he fired a bolt into the creature's chest, and the demon fell as the body was destroyed, "…allow Bianca to renegotiate." He finished.

Varric started going through the gold, picking out the choicest pieces, until finally Clark said, "Not for nothing, but we have something more important than this to do."

After a moment Hawke said, "He's right Varric. We can come back later. We need to catch Bartrand now."

Varric nodded and said, "Then let's go."


He stopped the story for a moment and Cassandra asked, "Well?"

Varric shook his head. "It took us nearly two days to figure out we had no idea how to get back to the main portion of the Thaig. We eventually made our way back to the Vault and took the choicest items out before simply giving up. Three days after that we made it back to the path we'd taken into the Deep Roads. By then Bartrand's expedition was long gone. We tried to close the distance, but it was futile. They simply had too large a head start, and we were exhausted and running out of food. Eventually we made it back to the Thaig entrance and retrieved our packs, but the trail was cold."


Hawke sighed as he looked at the familiar part of the Deep Roads, they were finally within a day's journey of the exit. He started to laugh, when he heard the coughing behind him. He looked back and saw Bethany looking pale. After a second the coughing stopped and she said, "Could we stop here for today. I'm not feeling very well."

Hawke smiled, "Of course. One more day won't hurt us. Get some sleep Bethany we all could use some more rest."

The group settled to make camp and Hawke lay down to sleep. He was awoken hours later by another coughing fit and sat up to see Bethany vomiting on the stone in front of her. Clark was nearby, boiling water and having Alim prepare ice packs. Hawke moved over to them and asked, "How is she?"

Clark shook his head, "Not good. She's been getting worse for most of the day. I'm making some tea, it might help."

Hawke looked at him then finally said, "You're lying. It won't help and you know it. What's wrong with her?"

Clark sighed, then looked away and said, "Fine, she's dying. I think she's been Tainted, I don't know when but probably from the ambush a yesterday."

"Is there a cure?" Hawke asked.

"Not that I know of," Clark said, a bit quieter. "The only alternative is joining the Wardens, and I don't have any archdem…" He trailed off as he realized he was giving away too much information.

Hawke winced as Bethany began to spasm, apparently having lost control of her limbs. Then from behind him he heard Clark snap his fingers and say, "Oh I'm an idiot. Quick, wake the others." Hawke did so and Clark ordered, "Varric, Alim, Eadrik, Eamon, I need you to hold her still."

Varric glanced at Bethany as she shook and said, "Won't that hurt her?"

Clark snapped, "She's going to die if you don't. Within an hour most likely. Now do it."

Alim nodded and motioned the others to different limbs. Hawke watched anxiously as the four grabbed his sisters flailing limbs and forced them still. Before he could ask what next Clark said, "Now I need you to get her mouth open, and hold it there, understand."

Hawke nodded, fighting down the temptation to ask why. Instead he went over to his sister and whispered, "It's okay Bethany." He pried her mouth open and saw it had turned black, and her eyes flashed open and they had turned the same color. He winced, but put it aside and started singing a lullaby their mother had used when the siblings had been younger. If Bethany could hear or see him she gave no sign, but he imagined she was slightly calmer. He looked up and saw Clark digging through his bag for something.

Finally the Fereldan pulled out a small bag and scooped something out of it. He came over and knelt above Bethany, then grabbed her tongue and lifted it, before sprinkling some kind of dust underneath. Without pausing he pulled his hands back and said, "Shut her mouth, now." Hawke complied, and after a moment Bethany began to cough again.

The fit became more violent, and the girl struggled more with each second, until after an agonizing series of minutes she stopped and began to stop trying to flail her limbs. The group continued to hold in place until finally it became obvious Bethany was asleep.

Hawke looked at his sister and finally said, "What was that?"

Clark leaned against a rock, and yawned, reminding Hawke the Fereldan hadn't slept, but finally he said, "The Ashes of Andraste."

Hawke stared at him and whispered, "You mean, you actually found them?"

Clark nodded, "Oh yes, got a dragon to kill itself in the process too." He looked down and said a little quieter, "And we were supposed to only take a pinch, but I might have taken a little more than that, maybe a handful, or two."

Hawke smiled and said, "Then I don't care what else comes of this trip, thank you."

Clark nodded a little, then went to sleep.


"The stories are true?" Cassandra demanded. "The Temple of Sacred Ashes actually is the real resting place of Andraste?"

"Why so surprised Seeker?" Varric asked. "They've only held it over the Chantry's head every time the Divine threatened punishment."

The Seeker blushed a little, then admitted, "To be honest I always thought the Urn existing was a myth Alistair made up to swindle the Divine out of money. You know they received almost two thousand sovereigns total to rebuild the Imperial Highway and build the Temple, yet it never quite went as far as expected."

Varric shrugged, "I do seem to recall the Fereldan making comments about how you needed to adopt double entry bookkeeping if you wanted to outfox him with money. No idea what that meant of course"


The trip back to Kirkwall from the Deep Roads took four days, but Hawke entered the city with his head held high and he was full of triumph. They had brought back nearly twenty pounds of gold total, making the trip well worth the expense. And it left them with plenty of money to make more trips.

He quickly stopped at a Lowtown House, and unceremoniously paid the couple living inside twice what the building was worth, then went to his uncle's house and told his mother about their new home.

Over the next two months Hawke and Varric returned to the Thaig four times to bring more of their find to the surface.

Finally in the Hanged Man Varric gave Hawke a rough estimate of the total value of their treasure.

Hawke stared at the number and said, "Four hundred sovereigns?"

Varric nodded and said, "Each my friend, plus one hundred for the Fereldans since they lost the scepter. It'll take me a few months to get the treasure sold or turned into coin, but when I'm done we'll both be rich. The viscount will have to give your family back their titles and estate with this much money."

Hawke laughed and rang the bell for the serving girl to bring them another round of the Hangman's finest ale. As they waited he asked, "Any news of Bartrand?"

Varric sighed, "Not yet. The little snake hasn't even challenged my usurping of the family seat on the Merchant's Guild, or taking possession of the family assets. It's not like him. I've got people watching his house though, if he comes back we'll know."

Hawke nodded, "What will you do if you find him?"

Varric scowled, "Honestly I don't know. Nothing I can come up with seems a fitting punishment. His betrayal almost killed Sunshine. I might just give him to the Fereldans. It sounds like Clark has a few interesting ideas. I'm not sure what crucifixion is but it sounded painful."

The two finished their drinks in silence and finally Hawke rose and said, "I should get going. Mother will be worried if I'm out too much longer." He left Varric to his work, and returned home, not to Gamlen's house, but his family's house. His family. They'd started with nothing in Kirkwall, and now there was nowhere to go but up. Inside his mother was working on a proposal to the Viscount and Bethany was sewing a patch onto her old robes. Hawke made a mental note to buy them both new clothes in Hightown on his next visit, when he heard a knock behind him.

Surprised he opened the door to see Clark standing there, looking profoundly uncomfortable. Valena was standing behind him with a determined look on her face. After a few stuttered starts Clark finally asked, "Is Bethany here, and may I speak to her?"

A/N: William's comment about taking more than a pinch is not a retcon from the previous story. He was simply lying in his original account of what happened.