Cormac shook his head. So sad, he thought.
He had watched the woman's steely expression crumble. He had seen hate in her eyes for a brief moment, before it faded to despair. He thought about how young she had looked, with her wide eyes and paled expression.
Such a small figure trapped in the midst of so much darkness. And now she was alone.
Her boisterous manner had disappeared, though he noticed that Alistair became much more assertive in the absence of her interjections. That had surprised him. He remembered the boy as the newest recruit. He had stumbled through his new role with a nervous energy that made the rest of them want to look after him. He stuttered, he stammered… he told horrendous jokes…
Cormac had not expected the battle-hardened Alistair that stood before him now. Not that it mattered. The Warden King was not of interest to him.
Cormac had explained to them that as soon as the young lady had taken the Goddess into her body, he would be the one strike her down…. ending a Blight before it could even begin. He told her that it would be a painful process, but it would have been cruel of him not to warn her, at least.
She had taken in all the information without showing much concern. She had only demanded one thing.
"If I do this, let him go."
Of course, Cormac had every intention of obliging her last request. But he remembered Alistair's impulsive side… he couldn't blame the younger man if he decided to seek revenge. After all, the mage had seen the way the boy looked at her… Best to have a plan to deal with him, just in case.
"Your thoughts on our young King, Werner?"
"Useless to us, once we have her co-operation," the dwarf shrugged, idly sharpening a menacing knife against a small, portable whetstone. In spite of his relaxed stance, his voice sounded more like a growl. "I'll slit his throat afterwards."
"Fool." Cormac saw his companion's head snap up from his concentration. "Do you want to bring half of Ferelden's army down on us? Not to mention whatever Wardens they've managed to assemble… who I'm sure would be thrilled to hear about an entire clan of tainted dwarfs."
Werner held his gaze levelly. Cormac was keenly aware of the way the dwarf fondled the blade in his hand, running his thumb along its edge almost lovingly. Although he knew he was too important to be disposed of, it was still a faint relief when he dropped his gaze back to the whetstone.
"So what's your plan?"
Cormac thought for a minute. "We need to send him back to his people. And then we need to put as much distance between ourselves and this thaig as possible. I'm thinking Tevinter; the Magisters are sure to find your people of both use and interest."
"I still find myself curious about this… coincidence, Cormac. We wait for years beyond counting for someone strong enough to finally release my house from this duty… then when our salvation finally arrives she is accompanied by not only two Wardens… but one of them you happen to know. Tell me, my mage friend… what am I supposed to think?"
Comprehension dawned on Cormac. He thinks I'm setting him up. But why such suspicion? Unless he is planning something…
"If I were planning anything, you think I'd have told you of the other Warden so we could have them killed?"
"… yes, you would have one killed… but you want us to return the other- a witness no less- to his throne? So that he may command his troops to pursue us?"
"That's why I suggest Tevinter… the Ferelden and Kirkwall laws have no sway there."
Werner began to sharpen his blade with more zeal. The ringing of metal set Cormac on edge. It had been a long time since he had feared death… but that did not mean he wished to embrace it until his task was complete. "You think the Tevinter Imperium will welcome us with open arms? Just because we carry the taint?"
"Your family have served the Imperium's mission for centuries! Surely you will be welcomed as heroes?"
"Heroes…? Heroes return showcasing a dragon's head in their grip, a fallen General's breastplate in their possession… so I am lead to believe. Tell me, what are we to return with after so long?"
The breath in Cormac's lungs stuck. "Werner… what are you getting at?"
"I'm saying that once the Goddess is in the girl's body she is trapped once again. Shall my family not return to their homeland with the trophy we have cared for for so long?"
"You want me to put the soul of an Old Goddess into this girl… and take her to the Imperium? There's no way to know if the body will survive that long."
"If we keep the girl alive during the ritual the Goddess may endure."
"This isn't what we agreed." Cormac protested.
"That was before you wanted to send a Ferelden Warden King back to the surface unharmed… Unless, of course, you haven't been honest about this little ritual of yours…?" The dwarf rasped.
"Fine. We'll play this your way Werner, but I can make no guarantees whatsoever that she will survive the process…"
"If you know what's good for you, you will…"
…..
"Full report now." Aveline ordered sternly.
The soldier nodded, "Guard Captain… we were attacked by a large number of darkspawn as we descended but we held them back. Once we had established each base, His Majesty and Serah Hawke went to check on 'Base Three'… the deepest thaig on the map."
"So far nothing unusual…" Aveline commented to Sebastian before returning her attention to the soldier. "So why this disarray? And where are Anders and Merrill… Hawke said that they were to man 'Base One'…"
"They followed the others to 'Base Three', Guard Captain… the news… we can only hope…"
"The news?"
"They… fell… Guard Captain, into a deeper road. Something was said about a trap… Serah Hawke and the King…"
"Why was this not reported to the Guard sooner?" Sebastian cut in, recognising the danger signs as the red-head's stance stiffened.
"… we sent word…"
"You sent a half dead boy who was barely able to keep his eyes open to report something of this import?" The woman snapped. "He couldn't tell me his name let alone your position."
"… I apologise…"
"What attempt has there been for a rescue?" Sebastian frowned. Maker save him… he knew something had been wrong. Perhaps if he had listened to his instincts more and pressed harder with Aveline they would have arrived in time to help. He could only pray that Hawke was still in one piece… yet as he watched the man's mouth flap helplessly his hope paled significantly.
Aveline's frown intensified. "There is a rescue attempt…?"
"We were told to hold position… Hawke's people… they went in…"
"Maker's Breath!" The Guard Captain grunted. "Your King has fallen into the depths of the world and you haven't sent out your own search party?"
She cast a glance back to Sebastian who nodded. He trusted her to lead him in this. "Thank Andraste I had the wits not to worry Bethany with this before we left… this would drive her to distraction. I want four of your guards with me. We're going after them…"
….
Werner watched Cormac go and gave a rough grunt as he returned to sharpening his blade- how he craved for the day he could bury it in the mage's back. But his lust for blood would have to wait until the creature was freed and put in the girl's body.
Of course, he had been told that ridiculous story by the older dwarves in the thaig… about Niorune's incarceration and how the Tevinter Magisters had had to create a prison of the Goddess's own element to hold her.
But Werner didn't believe the stories… and Ancestors be damned- he didn't care.
What he did believe was that the trapped Goddess… Spirit… whatever it was would be of much better use in his possession than floating about his head.
Werner had heard its call for too long… knowing that he would never reach the voice that sang to him every moment he lived had torn at his sanity… over the years it had made him hate it, but at the same time he knew he could not live without it.
It had been a lucky coincidence… finding Cormac… half dead from hunger and clearly severely unhinged by what he had seen on the surface. Werner's fellows had tried to kill him... to protect the Goddess, and he had been forced to stop them himself.
Simpering idiots. His kin were drooling and pathetic.
How he had managed to retain such lucidity, Werner didn't know. All he knew was that he gave orders and the others saw them done.
And the spirit that had been beyond his reach for so many years would finally be in his grasp.
….
"Maker… these poor people… what could be responsible for this?" Sebastian breathed.
"There are no bodies, Sebastian." Aveline stood from her crouching position. "I've examined it thoroughly… we've no reason to believe that this blood is even human."
"But you can't be certain…?"
Aveline shook her head is frustration. "All I know is I can make out tracks… recent ones. Whatever we're headed towards, we're headed in the right direction… What?" She asked as Sebastian turned his head.
He listened carefully. Rushed footsteps.
"…It seems we have company, Guard Captain…" He whispered.
She stiffened. "Where?"
"I'd say about…. Ten feet down the tunnel."
Aveline gave a meaningful look to the guards and signalled that two of them were to proceed forward… and that she would go with them. "Stay here." She told him quietly. "We'll go on ahead."
"Whatever you say."
As he watched the figures move silently into the dark, Sebastian took an arrow to his bow.
He tried to quieten his breathing and slow his heart. He had been in battle before true enough, but never had he been in a battle so silent.
The shuffling of the other two men was doing nothing to ease his peace. In fact, the way loudness of it was near deafening in the tunnel.
Sebastian trained his arrow.
Louder scuffles.
Maker, it was coming closer.
A rush of footsteps. So much faster than he would have expected.
The archer frowned. Not ten feet away? What was this trickery?
Sebastian's faith in his skills wavered. His senses told him one thing… and his head told him another. For a foolish moment, he let his guard drop… and instantly regretted it as he noted a shadow move swiftly into his vision. Too close for accurate aim.
The breath caught in his throat as a sharp pain filled his chest. He fell backwards.
It moved so quickly… he just couldn't….
He heard a call, but it seemed so distant that he couldn't make out the words.
Sebastian's eyes closed as the cold, hard floor of the tunnel greeted his shoulders and then his lower back.
Was this truly his end? Would he not die beneath the Maker's sky?
There was a loud sounding of metal and the heavy thump of something hitting the wall beside him. "You'll face me! I stand for all of us."
In spite of the pain, Sebastian felt himself sigh in relief.
….
"You cannot expect me to accept this?"
"It would be much easier if you did… and much quieter…" Hawke sighed.
"This is crazy… I won't let you die for me." Alistair argued. "There's got to be something we can do…"
"Short of wait here and accept our fate? I'm struggling to think of anything. And anyway look on the bright side, Alistair… you get to live and you finally got me out of my armour."
"Yes… well, as much as seeing you in your underwear is undeniably pleasant I can't help but be distracted by your impending doom."
Hawke gave a small, dry laugh. "Well, you're probably the only one to see it… so just sit back and enjoy the view, my dear King."
"It's not a 'view' if it's going to disappear… it's a 'sight'… and believe it or not I've no interest in letting you disappear." Alistair said with determination.
He didn't know what hurt him more; the thought of her giving her own life to save his… or the way Hawke seemed to have completely given up.
She looked so small without her armour and weapons anyway, but the way she held herself made her seem even more vulnerable. She didn't look like Hawke; she looked like a woman who had lost everything and was in danger of losing herself. Although she still made jokes, her tone was flat.
He needed to bring her back.
And then they would have a hope of escape.
…
