Fenris rolled out his shoulders as he prepared himself to march into the Deep Roads, finding himself tense at the prospect of not knowing what they were to find down there. He spared a moment to be grateful that Anders, upon the mage's own request, was staying behind.
"I do not envy you," Anders said, shaking Varric's hand. "If I never go into the Deep Road's again, it'll be too soon."
"Don't worry yourself over it, Blondie."
"Thank you, Anders," Hawke said, shaking his hand. "We couldn't have done this without you."
"Yes, yes. Just hurry back, will you? Then you can all buy me drinks with your newfound riches."
"I will do no such thing," Fenris added.
"Obviously," Bethany said with a tilt of her head and an elbow in Fenris' side.
"Bethany!" a voice shrieked from across the courtyard. Bethany and Hawke both winced as Leandra came barreling toward them. "Thank goodness I found you in time."
"Mother," Bethany said. "Is everything alright?"
"No, everything is not alright! I just heard that everyone thinks your sister is a iman/i."
"Quiet yourself, woman," Hawke whispered harshly, pulling their mother over to their group. "That rumor exists for a reason."
"Honestly, Anara," Leandra said, putting her fists on her hips. "How am I ever going to find you a suitable husband if all of Thedas thinks you're a man?"
Fenris and Varric tried to stifle their laughter.
Hawke threw them an icy look just briefly enough to shut them up.
"Mother, that secret has served us well in keeping us safe and out of the sight of the Templars. You would do well to keep it a so."
"Honestly, that's completely ridiculous."
"She's right, Mother," Bethany added. "Haven't you ever wondered how we can live in the poorest part of town and not once have our home invaded or our things stolen?"
"Fine, fine, you insufferable girls, but I am not happy about it."
"Thank you, Mother," Hawke said softly. "Was that all you wanted to bring up?"
"Of course not," Leandra sneered, her arms flailing. "You think I came all the way up here about your cross-dressing fetish? I'm here for Bethany; you can't take her down into the bowels of the Earth with you."
"What?" Bethany said. "Mother, don't be ridiculous."
"I am not being ridiculous, Bethany." She turned back to Hawke. "You, I understand. I always thought you'd throw your life away on some ridiculous adventure too risky for your own good, but you need not risk Bethany's life to do so. Do not drag her down to hell with you. I will not lose you both."
Fenris saw the hurt flash across Hawke's eyes and found he disliked Leandra a little more with every encounter he had with the woman.
"She is not dragging me, Mother. I want to go!"
"If she stays," Hawke said softly, almost more to herself than to anyone else, "I won't be here to keep her safe." Her eyes rose back to her mother's. "If she comes with me, I can protect her."
"You call dragging her through an army of darkspawn and Maker-knows-what-else keeping her safe? No. She stays with me. She has been perfectly safe up until this point and she can stay safe up here."
"Mother!" Bethany began to protest.
"She's right, Beth," Hawke said, the defeat she felt obvious in her posture. "You need to stay here."
"No," she said. "Nara, don't do this. I'm coming with you."
"If you come with me, who will take care of our mother? Gamlen? No, we both know better. You have to stay here and take care of her for me."
"VARRIC," Bartrand bellowed. "Are you and your freakshow coming or what?"
"Yes, your shouting-ness," Varric groaned. "We will be right there."
Hawke quickly wrapped Bethany in a hug. "Stay out of sight, and keep Mother safe. I will be back before you know it."
"I swear to the Maker: if you get sliced open again, I will kill you myself."
Hawke released her sister and watched as what was left of her family slowly headed out of the courtyard.
"I'll go," Anders said with a sad exhale, moving to stand at Hawke's side. "You're going to need me now, anyway."
"I'm sorry, Anders," Hawke said softly.
Not as sorry as I am,Fenris thought.
"It looks like magic," Anders said, observing the idol Varric was handling. "And not the good kind."
"There isno good kind," Fenris added.
"Shut up, Fenris."
Hawke was listening to the bickering between the two, but her eyes lingered on Bartrand. Varric tossed him the idol and an odd light had left Bartrand's eyes, his voice suddenly an eerie monotone. Once she realized he was shutting the door behind him, she leapt onto the railing of the stairs and slid down, but she didn't make it in time: the door was blocked from the other side. She should have seen it coming, damn her. Bartrand always rubbed her the wrong way, but she thought at least having Varric with her would ensure they didn't get royally screwed.
So much for her best laid plans.
"Are you joking?" Varric shouted, slamming his fists into the stone door so hard he bruised his hands. "You're going to screw over your own brother… for what, some lousy idol?"
"Not just the idol," Bartrand spat from the other side of the large door. "The location of this place alone is worth a fortune. A fortune I refuse to split three ways."
"Bartrand," Varric shouted, slamming his fists into the door again and again. "BARTRAND!"
"Varric," Hawke interrupted, taking down her mask. "Calm down."
"I swear," he said, continuing to hit the door. "I will find that son of a bitch – sorry, Mother – and I will kill him!"
Hawke grabbed Varric's wrists, forcing him to stop pounding and turned him toward her.
"Varric, no one is denying that your brother is a weasel and that we would all like to see him splayed in a pool of his own blood, but right now we need to find a way out of here before we all starve."
"We would dehydrate long before we would starve," Fenris offered.
"Helpful," Anders spat.
"Anyway," Hawke said, by way of interrupting, "my point remains valid." She released Varric's wrists and stood to look at the room. "Spread out. We need to find a door. I've never met a door I couldn't open."
"Oh? And what about that door," Anders said, motioning his head at the one Bartrand had locked them behind.
"Well, doors with large stone latches barring the other side notwithstanding. I suppose I should have said I've never met a lockI couldn't open."
"Ah, yes. That does make more sense."
They spread out to look for another way out of the room, and as they searched, Hawke felt that familiar panic rising in her chest and making the tips of her fingers tingle. She had to get out of here. They had already been on this fool's errand for three weeks, trudging through the dark and ankles deep in muck. Bethany was of the surface, completely unprotected from those that would incarcerate her, or worse. What would happen if she got hurt? Or killed? Or taken by the Templars? How would Hawke even know? Hawke shivered at the thought. She couldn't be thinking like this, she had to concentrate.
"Hawke," Fenris said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I think I've found something."
She went to stand behind him, observing the large wooden slab that appeared to be a door.
"It looks like it has a locking mechanism," Hawke said, starting to dig in her pack for her lockpicks. "If I can manipulate it, I can probably—"
She was interrupted by the large CRACKof Fenris putting his foot through the door. Freezing with her lockpick in her hand, she slowly moved her head too look at Fenris in stunned silence. A smile was tugging at the corners of his lips as he reached through the new whole in the door and unlocked it from the other side.
"Subtle," Varric said.
"We haven't time for subtleties," Fenris said as the lock clicked and he pushed the door open. "I imagine Hawke would like to get back to her family."
"Even so," Hawke said, putting her lockpicks away with a smile, "a warning wouldn't go amiss."
"Shall I narrate everything I do?" he asked with a sarcastic eyebrow cocked. "Very well, I am going to step through the door now."
"Yeah, okay, smart ass," she replied as she pulled her mask on.
"Well," Anders added. "At least one part of him is smart."
"Which is one more than we can say for you, fool mage."
"Mommy, Daddy," Varric drawled. "Stop fighting. You're ruining my birthday."
After Hawke refused to oblige the hunger demon and they had finished defeating his legions of rock wraiths, she dusted off her legs and strapped her daggers back on her back.
"That was a good decision," Anders said, going to her side. "Obliging demons never leads anywhere good."
"Would that you could follow your own advice," Fenris said, shoulder-checking the mage as he passed.
"Exactly my point," Anders defended, scowling after the elf.
"So," Fenris said over his shoulder, "your point is that you make poor decisions, then?"
"I—no."
"Oh, you two certainly go on," Hawke said as she made her way passed them.
"This… creature the demon warned about," Varric said, falling in step with Hawke. "What do you think it is?"
"Nothing we can't handle, I'm sure," she said. "After all, we've fought golems, demons, and even another dragon matron; and no one has ended up sliced open. What more could there possibly be?"
They heard a rumbling from behind them and turned to see a massive ancient rock wraith forming behind them. All four of them stared up at it with mouths open and eyes wide.
"You were saying?" Fenris said softly.
"Move," Hawke commanded.
They dove out of the way and began their assault on the thing, but it became more of a marathon than a sprint. They needed to continually shield themselves behind the large pillars scattered about the room which, while being welcome breaks from the action, was wasting time they didn't have.
"Maker," Anders said, falling onto a knee behind one of the pillars and using his staff for support. "How does one even go about defeating an ancient rock wraith?"
"I can tell you how you don't defeat it," Hawke said between huffs. "By stabbing it."
"Quit your despairing," Fenris spat, "we are wearing it down. We must persevere." With that, he turned and sprinted around the pillar to re-engage the beast.
There had to be a better way. As Hawke slashed this way and that, trying to make small chinks on the inner husk of the wraith, her strength was quickly waning. She tried to scramble back into cover, but she lost her footing and face-planted into the rocky ground. Iron hands gripped the back of her shoulders and just managed to pull her back behind the pillar in time.
Fenris slammed her back against the pillar and braced against it with an arm on either side of her head as the world around them surged crimson and exploded.
"Foolish girl," he cursed at her, his emerald eyes bright and seething. "Keep your wits about you."
That was all he said before he barreled around the pillar once again, roaring against the effort the swing of his sword took. Hawke tried to catch her breath, but she could see Varric was running short on arrows and even Anders was running out of will. Something had to be done.
Fenris came back behind the pillar to brace against another explosion and Hawke grabbed him by his chest armor.
"Can you throw me?" she asked.
"What?"
"Throw me, Elf," she repeated, pulling down her mask. "Can you throw me onto the wraith?"
"Has your exhaustion driven you mad, woman?"
"If you can throw me high enough before it closes up again, I think I can take it down."
"And if you cannot?" he asked, the words coming out through his teeth.
She thought about that for a moment. "Do you have any better ideas?"
"We can take it down if we keep at it," he said.
"Fenris," she said, moving her hands onto his shoulders. "I can do this."
He exhaled through his nose and nodded at her. They both started to chip away at the wraith again until it began the ritual anew. Together they started to back away and Fenris turned to watch her. She grabbed his arm.
"If this doesn't work—" she began.
"It will," he assured her, silently hoping the wraith wasn't about to make a liar of him.
She didn't protest, just kept going until her back hit the far wall.
Her speed never ceased to surprise him, and now he was seeing it from a whole new perspective as she barreled toward him. Fenris set his stance wide and lowered his center of gravity, lacing his fingers into a foothold between his legs. Once she was in position, she jumped, placing her foot square in his hands. With a roar of effort, he lifted her over his head and threw her back toward the wraith. Perhaps a smarter man would have retreated into cover as a precaution if the plan failed, but Fenris simply turned and watched her soar through the air toward their target.
She reeled both daggers back behind her head, her feet tucking back behind her and arching her back as far as she could. When she landed on the wraith, she scrambled up to its core and plunged both her daggers, like fangs, into its glowing red core.
It wailed and shook with pain, and she reeled her blades back and sank them into the tender core again, hoping it would be enough to make it drop. The wraith quaked under her feet, and she managed to see Varric through the glow shouting at her. She couldn't hear him over the rumbling and screeching of the wraith, and she held on as it started to thrash. As she tried to brace against the red core, it cracked and chipped away making a bright red light pour through.
"Shit," Hawke cursed, figuring Varric must have been trying to tell her to get away. She got to her feet but before she could jump clear, it exploded in a giant haze of crimson and white. She was sent flying into one of the pillars before falling limp onto the stone floor. Shards of rock and dust rained down around the party. Fenris and Varric ran to Hawke while Anders stared, mouth agape, at the spot where the wraith had been.
"Andraste's light," Anders said to himself.
"That… didn't feel good," Hawke mumbled as Varric helped her to stand.
"Maker's breath, Hawke! That was fantastic," the dwarf crowed.
"Foolish," Fenris said, crossing his arms. "But… effective."
"Was that… a compliment?" she asked, slurring her words and sporting a goofy grin. She swayed back and forth as Fenris watched her eyes trying to focus on his face.
"No, it wasn't."
"Oh, good," she said, reaching down to steady herself on Varric's shoulders. "You should avoid being nice to me… you'll give me a complex."
"Are you… well?" he asked, putting a firm hand on her shoulder in an attempt to steady her.
"Yeah, Hawke, you're not looking so good," Varric added.
"I'd… like to see what you look like after being launched… from the back of an ancient rock wraith into a damn… wall!"
"A fair point," Varric conceded. "Lord, this will make a good story."
She didn't say anything, just pressed her palm against her forehead.
"You won't even need any of your usual exaggeration for this one," Anders added.
"Blondie, I'm surprised at you," Varric said."Every story needs exaggerating. For one thing, Hawke won't be such a right mess afterward in my version."
She brandished a finger at him, but in the wrong direction. "You know," she slurred, "if I didn't see two of you right now, I'd punch your stupid face."
"Well," he said with a laugh. "Thank the Maker for small miracles, I guess."
Then she fainted.
Fenris couldn't help but laugh as he watched Varric and Hawke, arms linked together, dancing around in circles with a sack of gold hefted over each of their shoulders. They danced and sang a jaunty tune as they made their way into the sunlight.
"Hey Ho! To the bottle I go.
To heal my heart and drown my woe.
Rain may fall and wind may blow.
But there still be many miles to go.
Sweet is the sound of pouring rain.
And the stream that falls from hill to plain.
Better than coin or polished brass.
"Is my steel boot up Bartrand's ass!"
Varric took the last line upon himself in an impromptu rhyme that buckled the pair of rogues over in giddy laughter. Anders and Fenris shared a glance, as close to smiling at each other as they had ever come. And, like two parents observing their silly children, there was a unique feeling of camaraderie between the two as they realized they were united by something greater than themselves.
They had been trapped in the bowls of darkspawn territory, faced an impossible threat, and came out not only breathing, but richer than any of them had ever been. They did not have to like each other, but Anders had healed Fenris in times of need regardless. In turn Fenris had protected him when that need arose…
…And they were both fighting against the fact that they were becoming rather fond of not wandering through the world alone anymore.
