Evil Unknown.
Chapter Ten: The House
So ex-Templar Alistair has a child with an apostate. That...honestly was not expected. Then there's the issue of Adric and Maryanne. They're nice enough people - I just don't trust them. Adric was and is on a different side of the war that I helped start. Yet here he is - helping Maryanne the apostate to her feet, and asking how I'm feeling.
I guess getting to the truth about Bethany isn't going to be a simple 'see the demon kill the demon' scenario, is it?
Blighted hell.
"Of course it's raining. Again," Hawke sighed, as they cleaned up their camp.
"Odd weather of late," Adric agreed, glancing up into the sky, as the mage pulled her cloak over her head to cut the rain.
"We best be on our separate ways," Hawke added, glancing down at her bag, as she pulled it onto her back.
"Alistair spoke of your mission," Adric began, "You will need help."
"And what of your mission, Templar?"
"I have completed my mission."
"Then why not return to Kirkwall to report to your superior that you caught the escaped mage?"
"There are times in life when a cause greater than your own is quite literally stumbled upon," Adric began, holding Hawke's gaze, "And I believe your mission is more important to the land, then bringing a mage to certain death."
"Maybe you'll get lucky and I'll die on this mission," Maryanne spoke up, smirking ever-so-slightly, from under her hood.
Glancing over at Alistair - who shrugged, Hawke sighed, "Fine. We need help anyway. And probably a town," Hawke added, glancing up at the heavy rain, "Or tents."
"There's a rather large house we passed," the mage pointed over her shoulder, "Perhaps they would let us stay there until the rain has passed?"
"The last people from these parts that we ran into weren't exactly...the giving sort," Alistair added in, narrowing his eyes as the rain grew heavier.
"Perhaps the rain will make them have pity upon us?" Maryanne suggested, as Adric nodded.
"It seems like our only choice," he agreed, as the roar of the rain made his words difficult to hear.
"Lead the way," Hawke gestured, nearly yelling to be able to make a sound over the rain.
Twenty minutes of silent walking later, a large estate came into view. As they approached, Hawke slipped on a rock, causing Alistair to catch her arm and pull her back to her feet.
The door of the mansion was taller than Isabela was, when she sat upon Hawke's shoulders. The rogue smiled at the memory, as she approached the door to knock. The sound echoed around within the house.
There was no reply.
"Maybe no one is home?" Alistair suggested, wiping some of the water off his armor, as they stood under the overhang.
"Should I try again?" the Hawke asked, as Adric peered into a large window that stood to the left of the door. Drapes blocked the view - causing Maryanne to flick her wrist to slide the curtains.
"Looks a bit abandoned," he commented, as Maryanne peered over his shoulder.
Dim light fell in through the mostly covered windows on both stories of the house. No furniture was within view.
Thunder roared behind them, as they stared into the old mansion.
"Ready your blades...and staff," Hawke instructed, as Alistair pulled at the door.
"It's unlocked."
Exchanging looks, they entered the old mansion. Maryanne mumbled something under her breath, causing a glowing orb to appear in her hand, "I'm not sensing any dark magic here," she stated, as the floorboards creaked under their feet.
"Nor am I sensing Darkspawn," Alistair added, keeping his sword ready.
"Doesn't mean that the place is empty," Adric opened a door on the left side of the room, only to find old untouched jackets.
"Precisely," Hawke opened another door, as Maryanne attempted to cast more light around the room for them to see.
After they finished sweeping the house, without seeing as much as a rat, Hawke sat in the middle of the dusty floor, holding her side as she sat.
"Feeling alright?" Maryanne asked, setting herself next to Hawke.
"Just a bit sore."
"Don't overtax yourself," she cautioned, as Alistair and Adric rejoined them on the floor.
"Not exactly up to me," Hawke whispered, as the Warden pulled off one of his gauntlets, and glanced around the mansion.
"So what do we do now?" Alistair asked, playing with the metal of his gauntlet.
"I hate to say it, but probably hold up here until the weather lets up," Hawke sighed, shaking her head in annoyance, as a muffled thump came from upstairs.
"I thought you lot cleared upstairs," Maryanne glanced in the direction of the sound, her hand edging towards her staff.
"We did!" Alistair defended, rising to his feet, as the thumping continued.
Hawke rose to her feet, drawing a dagger, as she headed for the stairs. The thumping continued, growing in volume as she carefully moved up each step. As Hawke glanced back over her shoulder to make a smart remark about the situation, she froze. Rather than seeing a dusty floor, with her fellow travels sitting upon it - she was greeted by blackness.
"No dark magic, she said," Hawke angrily whispered under her breath, turning her head back towards the top of the stairs, as the thumping sound transformed into a growl. Pulling out her second dagger, she opened the door, where the sound appeared to originate from. An empty room stood before her - the sound gone.
"Hawwwwwke..." something hissed behind her, causing the woman to roll her eyes.
"Yes, what is it?" she replied in a bored tone, as she toyed with the hilt of her dagger.
"I know what you DESIRE."
"Great. A Desire Demon," Hawke sighed, turning herself towards the sound. Yet again, she was met with emptiness.
"A hide-and-go-seek, Desire Demon," she reiterated, in an irritated tone, shaking her head.
"Do you not feaaaar meeee?"
"Considering you don't have enough stones to show yourself - no. Not really."
Hawke turned around once more - not liking her back to an open room - jumping slightly as she noticed a form in the shadows.
"Show yourself, demon," Hawke ordered - her daggers still gripped tightly within her hands.
"Do not be so eager to attack, sister," a familiar voice slithered from the shadows, as what appeared to be Bethany, stepped into the dim, unnatural light of the room.
"Oh look, it's my recently deceased sister. I know it's not actually her, Demon. Stop playing games with me."
"Hawke?" Bethany's brows pinched together, "Why are you talking like that?" she stepped closer and closer to Hawke - clad in her Grey Warden attire.
"Because you're not real, Bethany. I'm not even sure why I'm talking to you," Hawke shook her head, growing more and more irritated.
"Where...where are we?" Bethany's voice shaking, "Sister...I'm scared."
"Let me guess - all I have to do is make a deal with you, Demon, and I'll get her back?"
"That's your purposssssse."
"No...not at all. Bethany - you're dead. Demon, I'm not on my mission to bring her back. She's...gone. I'm trying to figure out why she's dead. Try harder next time."
Hawke's vision was obscured by a purple-black smoke, which curled around her. A face in the smoke slowly formed into a skeletal face, before the desire demon took form before her.
"A naked, horned, purple woman," Hawke sighed, "Dull."
"I can give you anything...you desire."
The rogue watched as the demon transformed into Anders - its voice changing to that of the mage.
"Try again," Hawke challenged, rubbing her thumb over her daggers blade, "I'm honestly not sure why anyone makes deals with you. When has ever making a deal with a demon been a good idea? Honestly, now."
"People use me to make their fantasies become a reality," the Demon purred, returning to her original form, as Anders' form disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.
"Well good for you," Hawke tightened her grip on her daggers, "But I'd like to know where I am, if you don't mind."
"Where do you think you are?"
Hawke sighed in annoyance, before springing forward towards the demon - daggers aimed outwards. Before she could hit, something pushed her back, slamming her into the wall of the empty room.
"Blighted whore!" Hawke yelled, quickly pushing herself back to her feet - her heart thumping in her chest, as her eyes danced around the oddly now green room. A deep and distant laugh came from the walls, as the rogue remained poised to pounce.
"Do you think I'll let a mortal kill me?"
"I've killed demons before," Hawke threatened, "Some really, really screwed up ones, at that," images from Merrill's demon floated around her head, as did what became of Orsino and Meredith.
"They were not I..."
"At least they were brave enough to stand before me," she taunted, remaining perfectly still, as the demon moved around her - Hawke fighting the urge to swing.
"Perhaps I have never moved..."
In the middle of the room - where Bethany had once stood - the horned creature floated above the ground. Her toes just brushed the floor, as if the natural forces that touched everyone else did not touch the creature.
"Haawwwwwwwke," she purred, holding a hand upwards towards the rogue.
"What? Is this supposed to entice me more?" Hawke narrowed her eyes, as the demon smiled.
"You don't have to keep running..."
Springing forward, Hawke tried once more to kill the demon.
The demon held up a hand, halting Hawke mid-air.
"You're so simple minded..."
With a flick of her wrist, Hawke flew backward, hitting the ground.
As soon as the woman's back hit the hard, cold surface - everything went black. A cold feeling swept through her body.
Hawke's eyes shot open, seeing an arm hover over her face. The sound of rain screamed in her ears, as muffled speaking danced in the distance. Lifting her arms, she pressed the mysterious arm up, as she pulled herself into a sitting position.
In a rather large clearing in the middle of the forest, Hawke and the others at in the rain.
"Oh - you're awake," Alistair smiled from beside her, moving his arm away from hovering over her.
"Wha...why was your arm over my face?"
"So you wouldn't drown in the rainfall," he half-shrugged, as Adric greeted her with a nod from just past Alistair.
"Where's Maryanne?" Hawke looked around, as something behind her violently grabbed her shoulder, before moving in front of the them.
"You are all fools!"
"...Anders?"
AN: Took a bit longer than I meant it to, but what's new? I enjoyed writing Hawke's indifference to the Demon. Also - SURPRISE ANDERS. My muse for this story has gone a bit crazy, since I got some Dragon Age books and I'm replaying DA:O. Yeah.