A/N: This is part one of my take on Adamant. Thanks to my guest reviewer on my last chapter!
Chapter 14: Before the abyss
Magister Erimond will die by my hand.
Samira was infuriated by what had unravelled at the tower when they arrived at the Western Approach.
"I can't believe the Wardens are resorting to blood magic…" Blackwall was the first to speak as they finished saddling up their horses.
"You say that as if you're some common civilian, Warden Blackwall. I would expect you to understand the Grey Wardens do everything in their power to stop Blights, even as misguided their actions may be now." Alistair chimed in, suspicious.
"Well, yes, but that doesn't excuse blood magic." Was his response, and of course Samira had to agree.
"All this shit is giving me a headache!" Varric complained as he rode next to Hawke. Varric was all too eager to leave Skyhold before Cassandra caught wind that the Champion of Kirkwall was around, and Samira couldn't blame him.
"Bandit camp ahead!" Samira squinted her eyes against the sun in the distance, the first to spy an enemy. The group quickly jumped off their horses and engaged, Alistair and Hawke taking the lead.
"I've got the ugly one!" Samira smirked at her opponent who was about to charge her. She brought forth a wall of fire with her hands and ushered it forward into her foe, catching him and in his panic he tumbled into a comrade.
"Nice trick!" Varric said as he aimed Bianca towards a foe trying to backstab Alistair.
"We'll need tricks like that, looks like this is their headquarters in this part of the desert!" Samira remarked as she looked at the enemies before her.
Got to be between ten to twenty here. This should be fun.
"Hawke, to me!" The two mages stood back to back, Samira cast a barrier around her friends while Hawke conjured lightning bolts to provide back up.
"Blood hell!" Alistair cried out when a bandit slashed at him and grazed his skin.
"Shit, are you alright?" Hawke called out to her friend, trying to keep focused on her spells.
"Oh, this is nothing. Just a little blood to keep me on my toes!" Alistair used his shield to bash the man and proceeded to slit his throat while Blackwall covered his back.
"Aww, shit! A little help over here?" Varric called out as three bandits encircled him. Samira reacted instinctively, rushing forward to his aid with her daggers already out.
"Now, I'd say this is a little bit more fair, don't you think boys?" Samira smirked cockily at them.
"A woman and a dwarf against us? HA! Pick their corpses clean!" The main one a hulking mass said, ordering the other two to charge her. Varric shot one, leaving the other to Samira. She stepped to the right at just the right moment and jumped behind him, plunging her daggers into his back before turning around.
"You were saying?" Just when Samira thought she had turned the fight in her favor, a lone bandit charged Varric, knocking him to the ground to leave her alone with the menacing leader. While Samira had two medium sized daggers, this man had two large swords that vastly overpowered hers, but she would not back down.
"I'll have fun with that pretty little body of yours, once I kill all your friends! Might even turn you over to the Venatori when I'm done with you." The man revealed a ghastly smile, making Samira's stomach churn for the worse.
"Come get me then!" She spit at the ground, ready for him, but he was smarter than to charge her like the other one did.
The two circled each other, Samira careful of her footing and trying to remember what the Dalish had taught her. She knew she was in deep trouble now, but all of her other companions were tied up and could not so easily come to her aid at the moment. Their steel clashed, Samira doing her best to rely on her mana to give her strength to keep the bandit leader at bay, but it only did so much.
They danced back and forth, trading barbs with each other but Samira knew she would falter eventually. He was not tiring as much as she was, although she was giving him a run for his money.
"I'm tired of playing games, time to end this!" He charged at her like a bull this time, the bandit brought his sword against her with great fury she could not deflect, slashing her side open.
"Ahh!" She screamed out, immediately clutching her side and falling back to the ground. The bandit stood over her now, ready to drive his sword down to finish her off.
"Samira!" Suddenly Blackwall was behind him, driving his sword through the man's heart with great fury.
"Samira…" Blackwall was by her side as she winced in pain and tried to hold the wound closed. A moment later, the rest of the bandits lay dead to her relief, but the pain was all too consuming to focus on it.
"Shit, that hurt! How bad is it?" She lifted her hand feebly, feeling most of her energy sapped. Hawke was by her side as well, surveying the damage.
"Could be worst, if he had cut any deeper I doubt we'd be having a conversation. It's going to need stitches, let me try to heal some of it to stop the bleeding." Hawke steadied herself and took a deep breath.
"Yes, please do that! I don't want to bleed out in this forsaken desert…" Samira muttered as she tried to push the pain away. Blackwall gave a worried look as Hawke placed her hands on Samira's side and did her best.
"There, I've done what I can for now. I'm no healer by any means, so we need to get you back to the nearest Inquisition camp to get you looked at."
"Maker's breath, yes let's please do! I've had enough drama for one day…" Alistair muttered, clearly shaken by all that had happened so far today.
"I've got her!" Blackwall picked Samira's body up with ease and settled her on the horse before settling in behind her.
"I'm so bloody tired now…" Samira fought to stay awake, the combination of her wound, fighting their fair share of bandits, demons, and brainwashed wardens on top of all the travel they had been doing caught up to her.
"Shh, just hold onto me. We're almost there, love." Samira clutched onto him as they rode towards their camp, still in pain and wanting the day to be over.
"Inquisitor! Lay her down in the tent, we'll get the medical supplies!" An Inquisition soldier said with his eyes wide with worry when he saw what had happened to her.
"Fuck!" Samira cried out as the wound practically gaped open when she looked down at it. Blackwall was careful rolling up her top to prepare the medic.
"My lady, I can stop the bleeding and sew it up, but I'm afraid…" The medic stammered, careful not to aggravate her.
"What, what is it?" Samira said exasperated.
"We ran out of anesthesia supplies, we'll have to do this with you awake… you'll feel everything."
Fan-fucking-tastic. The Maker is really smiling on me today!
"Are you fucking kidding me? This is the Inquisitor we're talking about, here!" Varric said angrily as he walked into the tent.
"Well, shit. Just do it, I can take it." Samira took a deep breath and readied herself as the medic prepared to stitch her up.
"Here, kid. Drink this, you'll need it." Varric offered her a bottle of whiskey he kept stashed for travel and Samira gladly took it.
"I'm drinking all of that, thank you!" She took several swigs of it, ignoring the intense taste of alcohol that invaded her mouth. The first couple of times the needle punctured her skin Samira let out blood curdling screams. She hated needles and found her fear of them only made the pain worse as the medic did his best to stitch her wound up.
"I'm sorry, I should have been there, my lady." Blackwall offered his hand in support as she bared down the pain.
"It's not...your fault. Aww fuck, will you hurry up please!? Maker, this hurts like a bastard!" Samira squirmed in pain, impatient for it to be done with.
"Inquisitor, you have to sit still or I won't be able to finish. I'm almost done."
"Shit, you better be. Her screams are enough to scare a bronto." Varric snorted, worry furrowing his brow.
"Okay, I can do this. I just need to focus." Samira took another deep breath and drew on the Fade to calm herself and try to disconnect. She hummed to herself as a distraction and finally after a few minutes, the medic was done.
"No more fighting, or you'll tear the stitching. We'll send a guard with you and some extra medical supplies if it rips open." The medic finished his work and with a bow left the tent.
"I've decided I hate the Western Approach." Samira lay back on the bed roll and took another swig of whiskey before handing it off to Varric.
"Can't say I blame you, Samira. My chest hair has been drenched with sweat since we stepped foot here!"
"Aww, poor Varric. Maybe you shouldn't have come with then, eh?" She teased him, knowing how he would react.
"And deal with Cassandra? No way, I'd rather deal with this than deal with her trying to kill me."
"I'll deal with her when we get back to Skyhold, don't worry about that. I just hope I get there in one piece."
"Varric, can you give us a moment?" Blackwall spoke up from his silence then.
"Sure thing. Let me know when you're ready to head out." He bowed and gave them their moment.
"I won't let this happen again, Samira. I promise you." He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it, a look of desperate love on his face.
"That's very sweet, but it's not as bad as it looks. I'm just a big cry baby, but if it makes you feel better I'll ride with you back home." Their lips met with a gentle kiss before Samira sagged back onto the bedroll exhausted.
"You need a nap. We'll head back to Skyhold once you're back on your feet." He kissed her forehead, holding her tightly to him before he moved to close the tent flap behind him, leaving Samira to fall into a deep sleep.
It took another grueling two weeks to get back to Skyhold, this time the travel was slower as Samira rode more cautiously to let her side heal from the nasty cut. The medics back home remarked that it had been treated well under the circumstances, and the healing mages made short work of finishing mending it.
"Hey Inky! Heard you got into a nasty fight with a bandit! Lemme see it!" Sera and Dorian were the first to approach her, wanting the juicy details of what happened.
"Dear, that is a rather nasty scar you have!" Dorian scoffed, his vanity getting the better of him.
"You don't think it's sexy? I thought battle scars impressed the opposite sex." Samira chuckled, looking to Blackwall who blushed at the thought of it when she raised her shirt up to show the scar off. It was a few inches across the side of her stomach, just deep enough to make enough of an impression to last a lifetime.
"I think Lady Trevelyan looks beautiful regardless. A few scars here and there does nothing...to dissuade me from her company." Blackwall gave a restrained answer, but still had trouble not blushing from the inquiry made by the pair.
"HA! That means he'd still bone her! I would too, scars are super hot." Sera's unabashed opinion rang out across the courtyard, always bringing attention to herself.
"As much as I'd love to stay and chat about battle scars, I have to go to the war room to make plans for Adamant." She kissed Blackwall on the cheek and met Leliana, Cullen, and Josephine for their meeting.
"Adamant fortress has stood against the darkspawn since the second Blight." Leliana began the meeting, filling in Samira on the background of their next destination.
"Will that be a problem, Cullen? You're the expert here, I know nothing of battles from the eyes of soldiers." Samira admitted.
"Fortunately for us, it was built before the age of modern siege equipment. Our trebuchets will be valuable against those ancient walls, thanks to Lady Josephine's efforts…"
"Lady Seryl of Jader was pleased to lend hers, they've already delivered the trebuchets. That is the good news."
"And there's always the bad news…"
"We think Magister Erimond may already be summoning demons for an army at the fortress, so taking our time to strike is not a luxury we have." Leliana said.
"Our forces can breach the gate, but if the wardens already have their demons…" Cullen said, knowing that was not an option to let happen.
"Then we hurry. I need a path to Warden-Commander Clarel and my people and I will do the rest. Taking this fortress is going to get a lot of good soldiers killed." Samira crossed her arms and looked at the war map.
"They know the risks, Inquisitor. And they know what we're fighting for." Josephine's smooth reassurance still did not put Samira's mind at ease, but she knew it was an unavoidable risk they had to take.
"It'll be hard-fought, no way around it. But we'll get that gate open. Give the word, and we march on Adamant."
"Then we march as soon as possible! Thinking about these demons has my skin crawling, I'd rather we deal with this threat quickly." Leliana and Josephine nodded and turned to the preparations they needed to make for the Inquisition to leave.
"You sure you are okay from your recent injury, Inquisitor?" Cullen asked with concern.
"Oh, this scratch? Totally fine now." Samira showed him the scar and noticed his eyes lingered on her bare stomach before she let her cotton tunic fall back down. Averting his gaze quickly, he gave an awkward cough to cover up his embarrassment.
"Well, I'm glad you've recovered so quickly. We were all worried when we heard you were hurt, I bet Warden Blackwall was." He straightened his posture up from an embarrassed man back to the straight-laced commander she had known for months now.
"Oh, yes. He definitely was. I suppose I should make sure all of my things I need are in order." She bowed her head and thought to herself how scared Blackwall had been when she was hurt.
With the way he acted, I get hurt any more he might have a heart attack…
"Lady Inquisitor! Lady Inquisitor, it's finally ready!" Came the voice of Dagna from behind Samira, her head poked out from the forge door.
"You have my full attention, Dagna!" Samira scooted off to the forgery to see what her arcanist had made for her this time. The dwarf had proven herself a more than valuable asset to the Inquisition once Samira had vouched for her expertise.
"I see you're not hiding your staff any more, I hope my device hasn't malfunctioned!" Dagna tried to paw behind Samira on her belt to inspect her invention despite Samira's awkward objection.
"Oh no, it still works and it was very valuable to me during my time as an apostate. So, you said you were crafting new armor for me?" Dagna gestured her forward to where it was being kept hidden with a sheet over it.
"I think you're really going to like the design, still wish you let me make it pink though! Ta-da!" When the sheet came down, Samira saw it.
"It's called 'The Skin That Strikes' I thought that was a fitting name for you." Samira marvelled at it as she stepped forward and admired the craftsmanship. The leather and fabric was a mix of dark samite and fade-touched plush fustian velvet, and the steel plating that adorned the left arm was pure obsidian, Samira's favorite metal.
"And I have a bonus! I came upon a newly improved staff for you as well!" Dagna laughed giddily, all too proud of her work as usual.
"Now you're just spoiling me, Dagna." She sent a wink and smile her way as her new staff was revealed to her.
Bloodwake, at least twice as powerful as Wrath of Lovias and Dagna equipped it with a corrupting rune! Dorian's going to be jealous.
The ride to Adamant was just as hard as traveling to the Approach first was, the only difference this time was a bulk horde of Inquisition that now travelled with Samira. There was certainly plenty to talk about as Samira's companions rode with her as well; if she wasn't spending time talking about the Blight and the Hero of Ferelden with Alistair, she was having long conversations with Varric and Hawke about their Kirkwall days and there was always the antics of Sera and Iron Bull to keep her entertained along the way. When they finally made camp just a few miles off from their destination, Samira was all too glad to get off of Raven and stretch her legs.
"I can't say I'm not relieved that Lady Vivienne chose to remain at Skyhold for this trip." Cassandra said as she stretched her arms out and popped her back.
"'I shall remain at Skyhold and make sure order is maintained, my dear!' Yep, that sounds like Vivienne." Samira chuckled at her own impersonation of the enchanter.
"We'd never hear the end of her complaining if we had brought her along. We already have one diva with us as it is!" Cassandra let out an exasperated puff and sent a look over to Dorian.
"Oh, please. A little sand doesn't bother me. You're just a sour puss to less than modest company." Dorian wiggled his eyebrows at the uptight seeker and sent a wink Samira's way.
"Any ways, I spoke to Commander Cullen. He said we are marching on Adamant within the hour, I hope you're ready. I have a bad feeling about this." Cassandra furrowed her brow and crossed her arms in worry, even though she was no stranger to battle.
"I can't tell if you're more worried for me joining this battle or if something else is bothering you. What's on your mind?"
"It is true you are not as battle ready as I would prefer, but I have faith in you. It's what we might find with the wardens that unsettles me." Cassandra candidly said as she unsheathed her sword and began sharpening it.
"Cassandra, I may not be a warrior like you or Cullen, but I can hold my own better than most mages. I just fight a little bit differently, though I understand why you would be anxious about the only person who can seal rifts being on the front lines. And as for the wardens, let me worry about that. We can handle anything that comes our way." Samira placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder before proceeding with Cullen on the plans.
Cullen took most of their forces ahead to start the attack with the trebuchets, and when Samira and her company caught up to the fortress, the battle was ablaze. Hawke and Alistair volunteered to go with the vanguard, leaving Cassandra, Blackwall, Iron Bull, Varric, and Sera with their own force.
Oh, great. The demons are here to greet us.
Samira watched the trebuchet fling giant stones at the walls and the synchronization of their soldiers move forward, making note Cullen had trained them well. Samira cringed witnessing soldiers lose their lives as they moved the battering ram to the main gate, but steeled herself for Cullen's go ahead to move.
"I should be down there fighting with them." The herald was itching to get to the battle.
"There! We have our opening, the soldiers on the ladders will give us the distraction we need to move down to the gate. Inquisition, let's go!" Cullen ushered the remaining forces forward as they ran down the hill with shields just in case to block arrows hailing from above.
"Finally, some action! Let's put these wardens straight, Boss." Iron Bull rushed in front of Samira as her bodyguard, his huge axe ready. The ram effectively destroyed the main gate, giving them the chance to pour through ready for battle.
Samira had her staff ready in her hand as she heard a warden yell retreat off one of the nearby battlement walls.
"Alright, Inquisitor. You have your way in. Best make use of it. We'll keep the main host of demons occupied for as long as we can."
"That's a worrying lack of specificity, there, Commander."
"There are more of them than I was hoping, Inquisitor."
"You don't say." Samira had a confident voice, albeit a sarcastic one, used to dealing with demons by now.
"Warden Alistair will guard your back once you find him. Hawke is with our soldiers on the battlements. She's assisting them until you arrive." Cullen looked up at the walls seeing a demon loomed not far from them and noted, "There's too much resistance on the walls. Our men on the ladders can't get a foothold. If you can clear out the enemies on the battlements, we'll cover your advance." He was about to hurry back to the troops before Iron Bull interjected.
"Aww shit, demons. Need any help Cullen?" Iron Bull lamented, choosing to fight the wardens over the creatures.
"Not you too, Sera!" Samira just knew the elf would be all too happy to join the Qunari instead of face demons.
"Don't worry Inquisitor, Bianca and I have your back." Varric fondly stroked the butt of the crossbow, ready to help Samira.
"We should get moving, we need to clear the way to Hawke." Samira ran up the stairs to the battlements with Varric and Blackwall in tow before they ran into Alistair.
"Inquisitor, lead the way!" Another twenty minutes passed by before the bulk of resistance was put down, allowing for Cullen's troops to effectively gain the foothold into the fortress they needed, but the battle was far from over. Upon reaching the main bailey, Samira witnessed wardens fighting among themselves which made it tough for her to discern friend from foe at first.
"Stay back! We will not be sacrificed for some insane ritual!" Came the cry of one distressed warden Samira picked out in the skirmish that unfolded as she reached the stairs into the small courtyard.
"Leave those wardens be, take out the others!" Samira commanded her group as she twisted and twirled her new staff with a fiery will to save them.
"Brothers, can't you see this is madness?" One pleaded for the mad warden's to stop.
"It's no use! Their minds are not their own!" Cried out Alistair as he fought against his own brothers.
The skirmish did not last long, but as Samira turned after pulling her daggers from one corrupt warden, she found herself staring down a blade to her throat. She had no time to blink as time seemed to slow down, her pulse beat loudly in her ears as she stood almost paralyzed from fear. The blade of a nervous warden was an inch from her throat and she was at its mercy.