"I must love you." Varric groaned as he gazed bleakly into the darkness surrounding them.
"I thought that was evident." The shadow he knew was Maria called back from the opposite wall.
"We're in the deep roads. Again." He felt like the entire weight of the Earth was pressing down upon him. "I feel myself getting dwarfier by the minute. Did I just sprout a beard?"
Maria laughed, the sound soft in the echoing cavern. They were waiting for Sera and Bull to return from scouting ahead, but while they waited all Varric could consider was the urgent feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.
Maria's laughter made it a bit better, not much, but a bit.
"Yes, yes. You hate the deep roads. And caves, and the outdoors." Cassandra grunted in exasperation. Varric couldn't see her rolling her eyes, but he knew she was.
"Also quiet. Most kinds of smells. Rain. Water in general…" Thom stood closer, Varric could make out his shadow ticking off things on his hand.
"Orlesian cafes, taverns that are too tidy, slopes of greater than ten degrees…" Dorian continued. Maria's laughter took on a hysterical edge as she tried to stifle it.
"And Orlesians, Fereldens, Nevarrans, mages, templars, the entire Merchant's Guild, nugs…" Vivienne chimed in.
"I'm going to choke!" Maria wheezed, breathless with laughter. "Stop!"
"What are we doing?" Bull reappeared in the cave opening with Sera at his elbow.
"Listing things Varric hates." Dorian quipped. "Any additions?"
"Oh." Bull paused thoughtfully. "Has anyone mentioned uneven ground?"
Maria snorted into her hand.
"You're a damn traitor, Princess." Varric accused, crossing his arms over his chest in faux anger.
"He hates anything that isn't Quizzie, her tits, and hearing himself talk." Sera stated, her teeth catching what feeble light they had and shining like a mouthful of knives in her mad grin.
"Look, I have to complain or you'll forget I'm here and trip over me! I'm providing a service!" Varric reasoned.
"Safe to turn on a bit of light, boss." Bull said warmly. Maria was still giggling as she tugged her glove off, casting their small alcove into sickly green light. She wiped tears from her eyes, cheeks flushed with delight as she shrugged apologetically.
"I'm sorry, that was the damn funniest thing I've ever heard."
"Flashing green. Pain racks her in the night, pulls her out of bed. She never sleeps. Why isn't it over when she's won?" Cole whispered cryptically.
"Huh?" Thom blurted out. Cole's pale eyes caught the light as he looked around at all of them.
"Things Varric hates." Cole said softly. "Right?"
The silence suddenly felt heavy and awkward, nobody making eye contact with anyone else. Bull coughed, the sound reverberating against the stone.
"So, who wants to talk about how these are the strangest deep roads I've ever seen?" Maria asked brightly. Everyone began to thaw, casting surreptitious glances at each other as Maria sailed past them, raising her hand to look at the walls. "They're awfully dark."
"We are underground, yeah?" Sera asked, drifting to Maria's left as they walked.
"She's right." Varric needed to talk too, or everyone was going to keep staring at him with that unnerving expression torn between pity and sadness. "Usually they have… lava or something in the walls."
"Ancient dwarves were nothing if not crafty." Maria chirped. "Nanna used to say the lights still worked in the thaigs that fell to darkspawn and that they would for a thousand years."
"How in the world did your grandmother know that?" Dorian sniffed in disdain.
"Hell if I know. Somebody probably told her when she was a girl in Orzammar." Maria shrugged carelessly. "No idea if it's true, but if it is I hope the darkspawn appreciate the mood lighting."
"So why are these tunnels dark?" Thom asked tersely.
"If I knew that, I probably wouldn't think it was so odd, would I?" Maria asked, pausing to stare up at a statue. She lifted her hand even higher, casting a large wolf into sharp relief. "Well, the fuck is that doing here?"
"That's elfy shite." Sera twitched her nose in irritation.
"That… doesn't belong here. At all." Varric scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That… doesn't even look like a dwarf carved it."
"It looks like all the ones in the dales." Maria pursed her lips thoughtfully. "There's an inscription here, but it's in elven."
"Shame Solas vanished like he did." Dorian muttered, appraising the statue as well. "It would be a remarkable find if we knew what it was doing here."
"I'll add it to the list of things to yell at him about when he shows back up." Sparks snapped from Maria's palm and she froze momentarily.
There was her tell. Maria, who constantly fidgeted, flitted from one thing to another like a ball of energy, was only still when she couldn't trust herself to do anything else.
If she moved, she might scream, and it broke Varric's heart. He waited another beat until she relaxed, worrying her bow with her left hand. "C'mon Princess, let's go find us some angry Qunari."
Varric met the concerned gazes of Cassandra and Dorian behind Maria's back and shook his head slowly. He promised to follow her lead, and that's what he'd do. Even if it killed him.
Sweetheart, you look a little tired
When did you last eat?
Come in and make yourself right at home
Stay as long as you need
Tell me, is something wrong?
If something's wrong you can count on me
You know I'll take my heart clean apart
If it helps yours beat
They were using gatlock to mine lyrium. Varric would freely admit he wasn't an expert in mining lyrium, although he'd helped smuggle it from time to time, but even he knew blowing up lyrium was a bad idea.
"You've got to be shitting me." Maria glared up at the stooped figure of the templar, hands on her hips. "And you helped them?"
"No!" The man protested. "Not… not with that. I didn't… sweet Maker. They brought in these other qunari and elves, but they… they don't talk. They don't do anything. They just mine the lyrium."
Maria frowned and looked up at Bull. Bull's face was dark when he answered. "Qamek. It renders you into a mindless slave. Viddath-bas, the Qun uses them for manual labor."
"There was a cave-in from the gatlock." The templar babbled. "About twenty of the viddath-bas were stuck. We couldn't get them out, so the Viddasala boarded up that part of the mine and left them!"
"Left them?" Dorian repeated, aghast. Iron Bull grunted. Maria went several shades paler and Varric reached for her waist without hesitation.
"I could hear them moaning…" The templar continued, rubbing his hands together nervously. "I could…"
"Stop!" Maria ordered sharply, gray eyes glinting in the green light from the palm of her hand. "Stop it. I don't want to hear it."
The tremor of horror in the back of Maria's voice raised the hair on the back of his neck. Maria wasn't one to betray raw vulnerability in any shape or form, the only time he'd heard her so frightened was the one time they'd stood in the nightmare demon's realm staring up at a burning city.
"Inquisitor, what would you have us do with him?" Cassandra asked brusquely.
"Get out." Maria snapped, jerking her head towards the Eluvian. "Just get out."
The templar fled into the tunnels and Sera glared after him, blowing a satisfying raspberry at his retreating back.
"The viddath-bas, boss… they're like your tranquil here in the south." Bull continued uneasily. "The Qun wouldn't think twice of leaving them to die. They're… a tool."
And the Qun discarded tools with no life left in them.
"They're people." Maria snapped, flexing the fingers on her right hand, casting waving rippling shadows on the cave walls. "And we're going to stop this shit before anyone else gets hurt."
As if anything was ever that easy.
Like a force to be reckoned with
A mighty ocean or a gentle kiss
I will love you with every single thing I have
Like a tidal wave, we'll make a mess
Calm waters, if that serves you best
I will love you without any strings attached
It's okay if you can't catch your breath
You can take the oxygen straight out of my own chest
"Well, gatlock is quite explosive. It would be a simple matter to destroy their supply, my dear." Vivienne arched one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows. "Without gatlock, their lyrium mining operation would be severely compromised."
"Gatlock isn't easy to make, boss." Iron Bull grunted as he kicked a dead qunari over the edge of the great chasm. "Take them forever to build it back up again."
"Perhaps we should discuss what would happen if we ignited this much gatlock." Cassandra reasoned. "I fear these tunnels would collapse."
"Slowly enough for us to escape, I think. It would be a bonus if it slowed down our not-so-friendly pursuers." Dorian mused.
"If everything goes smoothly." Varric mopped the sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. "Just, because, y'know… it usually doesn't."
"As much as I hate to admit it, the dwarf has a point." Thom peered at the explosive barrels. "It's a gamble, but I can't see as if we have any other option. Not like we can station soldiers down here to hold the mines. The Qunari would fight back like a bear protecting its den and we don't have enough troops at the palace."
"You're right." Cole said quietly, fiddling with his blades. "They'd die."
Nobody said anything about anyone dying. Which meant Cole plucked that cheerful thought out of somebody's head. Somebody…
"What about the miners?" Maria asked quietly.
Nobody answered. Nobody had a good answer. If they collapsed the tunnels, the Qunari soldiers would at least have a chance at escape, but they'd abandon their miners to their fates. Miners who may not leave their tasks, even as they were buried beneath the rubble.
The tranquil in the gallows didn't flee Meredith when she began to slaughter them. The ones they didn't rescue in time met their untimely ends at the edge of templar blades. They didn't fight back. They didn't beg or plead.
"It's the only way, boss. If you don't destroy this operation, they'll come back." Bull hunkered down beside her, staring into her shining eyes. "If there was another way, but this is the easiest…"
"That doesn't make it right." Cole whispered. "Swings his hammer and glares, asks me who I hurt. Asks if it matters to me. Unease twists, churns, and…"
"Kid." Varric warned when Maria's eyes squeezed shut against the sound of his voice.
"There's another way." She stated firmly, but there was a thread of desperation in it. "Another plan, and…"
"They're dead already." Bull pointed out bluntly. "And you can't save them, boss."
"They are not!" She hissed, and for a moment fury made her appear taller than the Qunari crouched beside her. "They're not dead, Bull, and you want to kill them!"
"Hawke always said she'd rather die than be made tranquil." Varric cut in softly. "It's… shitty, but that's what she always said."
"Mercy." Cole whispered softly. "Maybe."
Maria stalked away from them, from Bull's glinting eye and Vivienne's quiet sympathy. Dorian flinched when she kicked a crate hard enough to put a solid hole through the thin wood.
"And could you have done it, Varric?" Maria rounded on him with her clenched fists and chin jutting out in determination.
"I shot Bartrand." Varric dropped his eyes to the ground beneath his boots. He could still hear the thud of the bolt in Bartrand's chest. "So, I suppose anything's possible."
He would never forget the shock on Bartrand's face when he looked down to find himself pierced through. He'd drunk himself stupid over three days with Hawke, crying into her shoulder more often than not.
"He left you in the deep roads, he was mad. These people are innocent." Maria pleaded.
"He was my brother." Varric sighed, adjusting the crossbow over his back. Varric had loved him, hated him too, but...
"You're asking me to kill these people the same way my parents died." Her voice cracked on the last word, a surge of tears springing into her gray eyes. "I can't let that happen."
She'd been six when her parents died. Trapped in a lyrium mine, abandoned by their crew, suffocating miles beneath the surface. How she ever summoned up the courage to keep going into the deep roads amazed and humbled him. Varric certainly didn't know if he could have managed it.
She had her unmarked hand over her abdomen, shielding their unborn child from the harsh world, from this terrible decision. Varric wanted to shield them both, drag them back to Kirkwall, sit Maria in the garden and let the sunshine on her face. She'd never find herself back in the tunnels that reminded her of death and grief. Their daughter would blossom in the sunlight, take root in his home, grow up alongside Fledgling. Just the way he wanted.
"I am sorry, Inquisitor." Cassandra gripped her sword tightly in her hand and looked out over the mines below them. "I do not believe there is any other option."
Maria shook her head, stubborn and defensive, biting her lip as she followed Cassandra's gaze.
"Quizzie, if we don't stop 'em, they'll keep digging this shite up. And they'll use it to do… whatever this dragon's breath thing is." Sera waved her hand in the air. "Those people, up there? In the real world? Those are yer people. We're here for them, they believe in you."
"We do not make the rules of war, Maria." Dorian commented somberly. "I am sorry, truly. But this… it isn't your fault. I can light them, you do not need to fire the shot, my friend."
Varric would do it himself if it needed done, but Maria shook her head again, more slowly this time. She reached for her bow and arrows with agonizing slowness. "No." She said dully, her lashes slicked to sharp points where tears had slicked them. "It'll be on my hands, not yours."
"Everyone needs to get back." Bull advised, indicating a spot he thought save several yards away. Dorian slicked flames over the shaft of one of Maria's arrows, gently laying his palm on her shoulder for a second before her began to join the others.
"You should get back too." Maria whispered, unable to meet his eyes as she drew the bowstring back. The fire reflected like madness in her grey eyes, glassy with unshed tears. "I don't want you to be a part of this."
Her arms trembled as she held her position, a shudder that racked her whole body for a moment, made the arrow wobble precariously. "I'm staying with you." Varric placed his hand gently on the small of her back. "No matter what, Maria, I'm with you."
With both of them, right where he was supposed to be.
A single tear tracked down her cheek, through the grime and dust from the cave. She took a deep breath and the arrow stilled. All was heart wrenchingly quiet for a moment before the arrow flew, straight and perfect just as almost all her shots were. He pulled her back the instant the arrow left her bow, curled his body around hers to shield her from the explosion. So she didn't need to feel it, so she didn't have to see it.
Nobody could hear the sob escape her chest over the rush of sound, the cracking of stone, but Varric felt it. He tightened his arms around her, ignored the flare of heat from the fire behind them and pressed his lips against her hair.
I know exactly how your rule goes
Put my mask on first
No, I don't want to talk about myself
Tell me where it hurts
I just want to build you up, build you up
'Til you're good as new
And maybe one day, I'll get around
To fixing myself, too
They couldn't have known about the water. It could have been an underground lake, perhaps a reservoir of some kind, or even the damned ocean. Whatever it was, the water cascading down into the cavern presented an unaccounted for obstacle. Because, Varric noted to himself sourly, nothing ever went according to plan.
But the worst part, by far, were the screams. The rushing water took everything in its wake, qunari soldiers, the miners, crates, and destroyed mining equipment. The screams of the people drowning, panicked and desperate, echoed long after they slipped through the Eluvian and back into the crossroads.
They all looked worse for wear. Bull nursed a nasty gash over one of his shoulders that was being lovingly tended to by Dorian. Cassandra lost one of her gauntlets pulling a rather sodden Cole from the water. Vivienne's hat went missing right after the third explosion, leaving her gloriously bald head bare. Thom carried Sera, whose ankled had snapped loudly as they clambered past the dead templar that apparently hadn't made it out fast enough.
Varric himself was soaked up to the top of his chest hair and he doubted he'd ever dry out. His greater concern, however, had been pulling Maria through the Eluvian. She'd paused, looked back in despair over the destruction they wrought. Varric, cursing inventively, pulled her through as the water rose up to their knees.
Compared to the deep roads, the crossroads were silent as a tomb. There was no rushing water, no dying qunari, no crumbling stone. Only them, their ragged breathing, steady drips of water falling on the stones below them from their soaked clothing.
Maria choked on the first sob, collapsing to the ground in front of the mirror even as he tried to hold her up. The second sob echoed loudly in the quiet space, bounced off the ancient rocks and rose into the air.
"It isn't your fault." Varric whispered furiously into her hair, sinking to his knees with her. "Maria, it isn't…"
She shook in his arms even when he wrapped them around her and held her tightly. Her glowing fist beat weakly against his chest, the spirals of green magic rising up over her elbow, shimmering faintly under her pale skin. "There's nothing you could have done to save them. You did what you had to do." Varric continued, allowing her fist to connect with his chest again, feeling the anger and despair rising through her like a flood.
At least a flood was quicker than allowing them to suffocate or starve. A small mercy for the poor sods they'd left behind.
Cole's hat dripped the most water onto the ground, rivulets that ran from him across the ground as he knelt beside Maria in concern. "Bloody hands." Cole whispered, taking her free and unmarked hand. "Bloody hands are not a mother's hands. But they are yours, and you tried. You always try." He whispered. Maria sobbed harder into Varric's chest, falling limply against him as she wailed.
Dorian engulfed her from the other side, throwing his arms around her and tangling himself with Varric, pressing a kiss to the side of her head in a matter that was fierce and proud. Sera limped over, tossed herself over Maria's back and wrapped stick thin arms around her neck.
Before he knew how it happened, they were all there. Bull's hand on Maria's head, Thom's on her shoulder, Cassandra joining Cole at her side, Vivienne crouching behind him and pushing her soaked hair away from her cold, slick skin.
For once, nobody said anything.
Like a force to be reckoned with
A mighty ocean or a gentle kiss
I will love you without any strings attached
What a privilege it is to love
A great honor to hold you up
"We've got you, Princess." Varric soothed as she shuddered fitfully. "We've got you."
(AN): Song is Atlas Two by Sleeping at Last