Hi guys, I just want to thank you all for reading this epic fail of a fanfic. It's not my best, but it's not my worst either. I'm just glad there are just a few people out there who like this. It makes me happy to know I'm not writing this for no reason.
And, sorry for keeping you waiting. Things have been… well… chaotic. I'm relieved to get this chapter up.
So here you go. Enjoy.
He was smacked across the face again, sending him spiralling to the ground for another time. His face hurt from the sheer strength of each hit he had received, and now he could feel his left eye beginning to swell. Leto strained his exhausted body to get up, if he didn't want another slap to the face again. And Danarius didn't even seem to care how tired he was. He just stood there, waiting with his hands held behind his back.
"Get up," the magister spoke curtly, staring down at the bruised elf as he struggled to his feet, his arms shaking under his weight. Moments passed, and Leto was on his feet, swaying a bit with his eyes barely open. The concrete floor was cold against his bare feet and his hands were covered in grazes and scratched from when he tried to break his fall. He wanted to retaliate so badly. He wanted to punch Danarius' lights out until he drew blood. But with so many mages watching on, especially Hadriana, he wouldn't even be able to lay a finger on him without being swarmed. Leto reluctantly waited for what was to come. He didn't dare to look at Danarius eye to eye. Leto didn't want to receive another whack if he did.
"Come, Fenris," the mage said, using the name he gave Leto. It made him wince every time he said it. Even after a year, he hadn't gotten used to the name. All he wanted was to return to his mother and sister, who were probably being beaten at this moment. Obeying his master, Leto followed him into another room, fairly bigger than the one he was previously in, but the cleanliness was at its worst. Mould and moss gripped on to whatever stone they could. The room was poorly lit by nothing but torches dotting the walls. The room made Leto's skin crawl. He wanted to run, but Hadriana blocked his escape route, as did many other mages, wielding fire, ice, lightning or blood magic.
Danarius stopped in his tracks quickly, causing Leto to just stop in time to prevent himself from bumping into the magister, which could have possibly earned him a lash on the back… or far worse. He watched the older man glance to his right, eyeing off a glistening object in the middle of the room. Leto followed his glance, also seeing the shining item from a distance. He didn't dare want to know what it was. For all he knew, it could be another way of torturing him. From the corner of his eye, he saw another group of mages with a wary looking soul between them; the chains bounding him clinked as he moved. The other elf looked exhausted and could barely keep his head up, his orange hair matted and covering his eyes.
Leto watched the mages move into position as they yanked at the elf's chains, causing his whole body to be hauled up, revealing his lifeless blue eyes and the symbol that every mage dreaded on his forehead. The symbol of the Tranquil.
"A slave, very much like you, that attempted to escape. He was punished, and now you will put him out of our misery," Danarius declared as he went to pick up the gleaming object not far from him. The sound of metal against stone could be heard in the quiet room as the magister picked up the item and turned around, moving towards the younger male and handing him the one thing Leto dreaded to hold. Its curved edge shimmered in the light of the burning braziers, making the blade look even more formidable. Patterns etched the blades surface in spirals and dots. Leto wanted nothing more than to drop the dagger, but he had no choice but to face what he dreaded.
Danarius gave him a not-so-encouraging nudge, pushing him forward towards the tranquil. He held the blade limply in his hands, staring at the person he was about to kill. As he towered over his form, the former mage didn't stir. He simply stared at Leto with emotionless eyes. He then turned to his master, as if he wanted to check if he had changed his mind, but the magister just simply stood there with his hands behind his back. Leto reluctantly turned his head back and pressed the blade to the slaves throat, his body quivering in fear.
"I'm sorry…" he said and let the blade run across the tranquils' throat.
She was a fool to have left by herself. And now the tears wouldn't stop. She had pretty much put herself into a position that made suicide seem worthwhile. And now she possibly wasn't going to see everyone again. At least she was going to see her whole family again at the Maker's side.
Hawke walked through the steaming room, currently surrounded by red lyrium, rocks, corpses… more rocks and no sign of Isabela whatsoever. Maker knows how far she's already gone. And what was she thinking? Running off without another seconds thought. "Idiot" Hawke breathed. But mainly, it was more targeted to her than it was to the Pirate. Another foolish mistake she had made which could possibly result in the cost of her life. She may as well try to find Isabela while she still had the time.
All the rooms and corridors seemed exactly the same, which daunted the rouge even further than venturing the Deep Roads by herself, while trying to find someone who was currently on the move. It worried her that she couldn't find Isabela, and she was even more worried of encountering darkspawn and shades while she was here. And no matter what she did, she couldn't shake the whispers out of her head, as if they were a fly that wouldn't stop pestering you and you couldn't see where it went. Let's just hope the voiced wouldn't linger. And since after what they did to Fenris, she didn't want to go entirely insane just yet. She wanted to call out the Pirates name, but she didn't want to risk attracting any attention. It would make the whole "searching for the perverted pirate" much easier, but the shorter path would always be the most dangerous one.
Hawke entered another room, giving her a sick feeling. It looked exactly the same as the one she was previously in, yet all the doors were shut. Just the mere sight of this room made her head hurt. And the fact that it was awfully quiet, making it even more unbearable. Urging herself forward to save her the mere torture, she headed to the door to her left, only to be suddenly stopped by a sharp pain erupting from her ankle. Letting out a cry of pain, she looked down at the offending appending to see nothing but horror. Clasped around her ankle, was a rusted bear trap, taunting her with deep wounds and severe infection. She couldn't help but yell again as the pain worsened quickly, causing her to carefully fall to her knees. She didn't dare pry it open, in case her hand was to slip and trap the limb further.
"Shit. Hawke? Is that you?" called a voice she was all too happy to hear.
Anders couldn't just simply stand there and let Hawke walk to what possibly could be her death. He was going to do something about it. Taking his staff off his back, he paced to the door and proceeded to push it open. Before he could take a step into the next room, an armoured hand grasped his arm and yanked him back. Turning head to the offender, he met the glare of Fenris, who had unshed tears welled in his eyes.
"You will keep away from her, mage filth!" he spat, his greatsword drawn. "I'm not letting the likes of you go to her aid. Not when you caused so much havoc in Kirkwall." His mind went to the memory flash he just had. "And especially after all the suffering I have been through!"
"I have every right to take care of her. And what can a Tevinter slave-" Anders paused at Fenris lifted his weapon to the healers throat, rage burning like fire in his eyes.
"I am not a slave. And I no longer live in Tevinter, nor do I want to go back there" he growled, pressing the blade further, the tears fading.
"Oh for the love of- Will the both of you stop trying to get at each other's necks?!" Aveline yelled, causing Merrill to jump slightly. The red haired warrior pinched the bridge of her nose. "Threatening to kill one another isn't going to bring Hawke and Isabela back. And you two are certainly not making this mission any easier. If you don't put each other's hate aside, I will not hesitate to throw either of you into the lava!"
The two withdrew their weapons and gave each other cold hard stares, before finally turning their attention to the Captain of the Guard, who will still silently fuming underneath her armour. She turned her attention to the closed door and began pushing it open, using her right side of her body to shove it open. With the sound of concrete against rock, it was open, Aveline taking her sword out of its sheathe and removing her shield from her back.
"Now I don't care who got us into this mess. What I do know is that I'm not going to stand here scratching my ass. I've already loss someone dear to me and I'm not losing another. Either you four are with me or not, I don't care," she called firmly, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. Varric was soon to draw his crossbow.
"I'm with Red," he confirmed.
Merrill was next to bring forth her staff, gripping it shyly in both her hands. "I may be a blood mage, but I won't risk losing the first friend I truly made," she said, showing off her determination despite her stance she was currently in.
"Hawke is my friend too. And she helped me find a reason to live. Now it's time for me to return the favour. I'm not letting her die when I have so much debt to return to her," Anders said, giving Fenris another eye off.
"No one is leaving without me. If Hawke dies, I will never forgive my actions" Fenris stated, cringing in anger just thinking about finding Hawke's lifeless body on the ground. He shook the thought out of his head, not thinking about the negatives. Gathering together once again as a true team, they made their way through the door, met by nothing but silence and scorching heat. Not knowing what layed ahead of them, the group kept their weapons at the ready as they moved through the corridor and into a new room, similar to the one they were just in, except for the pit of lava in the centre was absent. A vibrant shard of red lyrium spurted from the walls suddenly, giving them a jolt of surprise and causing Merrill to send a bolt of electricity in its way. They watched the bolt of energy collide with the lyrium, only for it to be absorbed and rendered unharmed from the sudden attack. The only thing that changed was that the jewel now glowed brighter than before, causing Fenris to clutch his head in pain. Varric noticed and waved his arm to the others.
"The lyrium's affecting Broody again. We need to get out of here before things get worse!" he called and rushed to the closest door, using the force he had with his run to shunt it open. The other stumbled through after him into yet another familiar room, but with no lyrium growing. They looked towards the room they were just in, watching as the whole area began to glow a sickening red, again causing Fenris trouble. He kneeled, clutching his head. The other simply watched on as the glowing suddenly stopped, also subsiding the pain the tattooed elf was experiencing. The group withdrew their weapons, knowing they were in the safe for the time of being.
Merrill looked down, ashamed. "I'm so sorry everyone. I didn't mean to cause any of you trouble. I'm afraid I've made matters worse," she mumbled, bowing in apology.
"Daisy, it's fine," Varric assured as he watched Fenris regain his composure and stand back on two feet. "The question is what in the name of Andraste's sacred knickers just happened with that lyrium? It just… absorbed Daisy's magic."
"Powerful magic lies here" the Tevinter elf spoke, finally placing his weapon on his back. "And from what we have seen, the lyrium seem to be feeding off of the magic that lay dormant in these caverns." Aveline just looked at him.
"And you are certain about this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I have read about red lyrium feeding off of powerful magic deposits, to grow and to spread. But at the rate this is happening, I fear it could be something more," Fenris clarified. "And if we-" he paused, his ears perking slightly. He turned his head away from his team with wide eyes.
"What is it elf?" Anders asked, looking in the same direction that he was.
"I… heard a voice" he said slowly, not too sure if what he heard was real or a figure of his imagination. The others remained silent, waiting to hear the voice. And there it was again, a wail, a muffled scream, a plea for help. And another voice followed. Fenris could only hear a little of what that voice said, but both he and Merrill could make out whom that voice belonged to.
"That was Isabela!" Merrill breathed. "Please tell me that she's okay?"
"Then who was that other voice?" Aveline, but instantly realised that was a terrible question to ask.
"Hawke!" they all said in unison, watching as they saw Fenris panic a little before heading in the direction he heard the voice, using his strength to shove the door open. Another empty room, almost identical to the one they were just in.
"Is anyone else getting the feeling of déjà vu?" he called as he followed Fenris' lead, letting him open yet another door. No one responded ad he understood completely. They were more focussed on the task at hand rather than bother looking at their surroundings. 'Let's just hope were not too late. I hate to arrive and there's are a whole mob of demons just waiting to tear us limb from limb. Hopefully, luck is going to be on our side and we get there soon.' Varric thought, clenching his fists tighter as he ran, making his fingers slightly numb.
I assure you, the next chapter will be a bit better and it will follow the summary a little more. But don't worry, this story is nowhere near finished. I have plenty more ideas up my sleeve that I wish to put up.
So, I hope this chapter was lengthy enough at roughly 2,400 words. My goal next chapter is to make it a little bigger, but not too much.
Again, thank you to those who are reading this and my other fics, it means a lot.
Until next time guys! :D