They left the lyrium well and headed back. They reached the male Warden first. He started screaming when he saw them.

"No! Get out! Go!"

"He's delirious," Cullen said.

"Warden, try to make sense. What happened here?" Circe shouted.

"Died. All dead. Torn apart, harvested. Stop it. Please..."

"We'll do our best, but you'll need to come with us now."

Cullen helped him get up. The male Warden looked at Circe in disbelief, but accepted her order without a word.

They reached the female Warden as well. When she saw them, she got up. "You... Are you for real? You have Warden armors... I-I'm confused."

"Calm down. We're Fereldan Wardens. I'm the Commander, Circe," Circe said in a soothing tone.

"M-my name is Bethany," the girl said, clearly shaken.

"What happened here?"

"Those creatures... They ripped men apart... We fought them, but..."

"You did well."

"Thibault! You survived!" Bethany saw and hugged the male Warden they'd found. He hugged her tight against his chest and pressed his face to hers. Suddenly, she seemed startled. She turned to Circe as her blue eyes widened. "Our Commander! We have to find him!"

"We will." Circe assured her.

"I know where he went! Follow me."

Bethany practically ran through the halls and down the stairs; they could barely keep up with her. They came back to the room with the piles of corpses.

Bethany gasped. "These... These are our brothers and sisters..." She put her hand over her mouth and whimpered.

"Commander!" Calum yelled. "Here! Footprints!"

Cillian saw them, too. "Looks like someone was badly injured and got away."

Circe followed the footsteps that led into the next room. The room was pretty much ruined and full of scattered rocks. Something moved in one corner. She got her staff ready and approached. She gave a sign to Torrence to move one of the rocks and see what hid behind it.

"You'll never have me!" someone shouted.

"By the Maker!" Thibault said to himself.

The man in a corner started wielding his two-handed sword.

Cillian cast paralysis on him.

"It's Stroud! Don't hurt him!" Circe yelled.

"It's our Commander!" Bethany cried out.

Circe kept her distance. "Stroud... Can you hear me?" He blinked. "Listen to me. Stay here and don't move. We'll get you out in no time."

The paralysis passed and he could move again. "Commander... I..." He hung his head. She knelt beside him.

"It's not your fault."

"Please, don't go any further. There are many of them. They cannot be defeated."

"Harvesters?"

"I don't know what they are, but those creatures are vicious. We killed at least thirty of them. Just thirty... and there were fifteen of us..."

"Alright... Stay here. I'll come back for you."

He grabbed her hand as if he wanted to stop her, but after a few seconds he loosened his grip. "I...yes, I understand. In War, Victory."

She stood up and gave him a reassuring smile. "We'll come back for you."

They got back to the room filled with heaps of corpses and headed towards that hallway in which the creature had escaped.

Bethany ran after them. "Let me fight with you. I'm a Force mage. And a Healer!"

"I want to fight with you, too." Thibault said placing himself beside Bethany. "I am a skillful warrior."

"Count me in," they heard, and they saw Stroud limping his way towards them.

"No, Stroud. You're hurt." Circe refused.

"Commander..." he looked at her with pleading eyes. "Let me die honourably."

Circe just nodded and led them to the entrance of the sunken grotto.

"OK, Wardens... This is it. We've never faced a foe like this before," she said. "They're tough, they're relentless. But, we will stay until the mission is done, because our loyalties lie within the Wardens." She took a good look of each of them. "I'm not going to lie to you. We can easily die here. But, even if we win, don't expect gratitude or praises. We don't do this for glory. No one will know we saved them! We are the Grey Wardens! We're not just making the world safer; we also make the world better. And that's what's important."

They entered the room that pulsated with red light. The stench was unbearable. Over two dozen creatures fed on festering bodies. Circe and the other surrounded them slowly.

"Circe..." Cullen barely whispered. "If we-"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear that."

The creatures noticed them and started hissing and skittering. All of the Wardens had their weapons prepared.

Two of the creatures focused on Circe.

"For the Grey Wardens!" she shouted as the creatures jumped towards her.

NOTE:

This chapter is strongly related to DLC The Golems of Amgarrak. Like in game, my Warden was there before, saving Jerrik's brother.
Some of the dialogue from the same DLC is used here, too.

~SPECIAL THANKS to my betas- Graymalkyn and Eynla~