CHAPTER 23: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

It took a moment for Ria to realize she was in the tunnel after waking up.

Maker, I feel like I've been pummelled to death, she thought, groaning.

The headache was gone now, but it left a remaining sensation of tightness around her head. And she felt cold, spent and hungry.

Ria felt around for her helmet and got up slowly, shakily. She listened carefully for any movement- anything that could indicate Darkspawn activity. There were none.

That must have been all of them, she thought in relief.

But the issue now was getting out of Coracavus. With a jolt, she realized her friends may still be out there… or even dead. Ria shook herself. No… they can't be. I have to believe it.

She would find a way out. She would find her friends. In order to do that, she had to leave this tunnel. With some trepidation, Ria exited the dark passage and stepped out onto the dusty marble floor.

When she did, she balked after seeing the army still there, though they weren't all crowded together as before. Rather, they were scattered all over the place, patrolling the halls. The door was clear now, but there were at least forty or so Darkspawn in the room. She gritted her teeth. This was not good.

However… if she could get past them quickly, there was a door to the end of the hall she had glimpsed before the headache. After deliberating for a few minutes, she decided.

The knight took in a deep breath and braced herself. Then she sprinted as fast as possible towards the exit. The second she moved, Darkspawn from all directions ran at her. Ria tried to ignore them and approached the door, sweat breaking out. And then… yes! She timed it well and swung her axe at the Darkspawn as she shot out into the hall. Unfortunately, there were at least twenty Darkspawn there waiting for her.

"Maker's breath," she said aloud.

The sound alerted them and they all rushed for her.

Damn, I can't fight all of them…

Panicking, she cast about for anything- just anything that could help her. Then she had an idea. Taking the shield off her back, Ria readied herself, praying that this amazingly stupid method would work. They were getting closer now, leering and cackling.

Here I go…

She let it fly with a grunt, as it required much more strength than with a plastic Frisbee. To her surprise, it took out about half of them as the leading Hurlock fell back. It flailed its arms and toppled the ones behind it like dominoes. Before Ria could celebrate this victory though, she heard movement behind her and the rest of the Darkspawn in front were still advancing.

She gripped her axe and let out a war cry before charging at them. With as much power as she could muster, Ria crushed their skulls, cracked their ribcages and sliced their torsos. Left, right, front, back. They were coming from everywhere. She swung her axe around her like a whirlwind, hearing the satisfying whumps as the blade hit the marks. It took her a few more rotations to fell them, but another wave of Darkspawn crashed into her after the ten died.

Ria narrowly dodged the incoming attack and tried to steady herself, dizzy from spinning.

Blast it, there's way too many!

She backed away quickly, swinging her axe in front of her to deter them. Then she ran for her life.

When she got to the door, she felt numb with fear after tugging on the handle. It was locked. Or rather… looking up at the narrow cracks, she could see the hint of a magical glow. Someone had put up a barrier.

So they made it! She thought, relieved.

But her elation was short lived. Right behind her, she heard the whistle of a swinging blade. Ria ducked and the sword was buried in the door. She elbowed the ghoul and split its torso with the axe. Again, she fought the Darkspawn off, backing away to the wall.

Fuck… this is it, she thought grimly. I'm not going to make it.

Then she thought of Leliana and a new surge of energy erupted in her.

If she was going to die, then she would go down fighting. With a feral growl, the knight hacked and slashed at her enemies. They were coming in like the sea now, wave after wave after wave.

There was absolutely no hope.

I told her I would never leave her...

Ria kept swinging her axe, blood and gore covering every inch of her armour. Ria didn't even think, didn't even properly see them as she slashed, parried and crushed. She felt multiple blades bang against her armour and cut her under the plates. Gritting her teeth in pain, she returned furious swipes at them.

The crowd was overwhelming, and they pushed her back further and further until she hit the wall… or so she expected to.

Instead, Ria felt nothing but air behind her as she staggered. And once more, she was in darkness. But the monsters were pushing their way through now, trying to get to her. Ria realized with a shock that she was in another tunnel.

Without hesitating she sprinted through the darkness, stumbling and nearly tripping over several times. There was a frightening echo of snarls and grunts bouncing off the walls as the army squeezed through the narrow passageway. She heard herself wheezing with the effort, the armour starting to weigh her down. She was tired and she was also running out of time.

Please tell me this leads to somewhere…

And her prayers were answered.

In the distance, she made out a faint glow to the left. Ria fervently thanked the Maker and barrelled on with renewed strength. She reached the end of the passage and turned sharply to the left. The knight nearly stumbled when she saw the source of the glow. It was a rift.

Oh, shit… she groaned inwardly.

But the Darkspawn were nearly here- she could hear the scuffling and animalistic grunts a few meters away. She didn't have a choice. The surgeon took a deep breath and jumped into the swirling green vortex.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, thought Ria gloomily as she hid behind a huge boulder.

A small voice inside told her that at least she wasn't dead.

The knight sighed and leaned her head back on the rocks, exhausted. And the chilling atmosphere of the Fade didn't help at all- already she could feel herself slipping into a dark mood. A fine mist settled around her, obscuring her vision and also herself. That was about the only good thing in this situation.

But hiding would only provide temporary safety. She had to get out of the Fade… again.

With another sigh, Ria pushed herself up and hissed as she felt her wounds burning. She grimaced and looked around. All she could see was a never ending rocky landscape. To her left, there was a slope leading to an elevated area framed by pillars that reached the ceiling.

Ria felt her heart sink as there was nothing- no landmarks, no sign of anything that could help her find her way out. In the end, she decided to just take the slope.

The surgeon walked up to the area, cringing as her hand made contact with the slimy walls. She didn't want to know what the substance was. When she reached the top, Ria paused and looked around, expecting to encounter Darkspawn. Nothing jumped out at her. But to her disappointment, the path ended here. All she had was a good view of the rest of the Fade from this height.

Ria neared the edge and scanned the landscape. Because of the mist, a lot of it wasn't visible but she could make out some of the ruins and natural phenomena that were scattered around. But then she frowned. Her eyes drifted to a few foci of glowing green in the distance. Her heart pounded in excitement- could they be rifts?

The closest one was to the north east of the outcropping, about ten minutes away. A great wall on the right had been blocking her view of the area, preventing her from spotting it. With a new sense of hope, the knight bounded down the slope again. She hurried towards the direction, descending to the lower levels.

Along the way, she encountered some shades and Rage Demons- nothing too difficult. Unfortunately, just as she neared the rift, several footsteps shook the ground. Ria dove behind a rock and peered around it to see a few Pride Demons crashing about.

This was never going to be easy, was it?

But another glance drew her attention to the smudge in the distance. Ria frowned and squinted at it. As the mist parted, her eyes widened as she saw the outline of a huge army of Darkspawn. It was even bigger than the one that pursued her. She moved her gaze to the right and her heart dropped down to the ground. It was the army back in Coracavus.

But this was not the most shocking part of the situation. She realized that there were many more armies in the distance, entering or exiting the Fade.

So many rifts, she thought in horror. Is this normal?

There were much more than she had spotted from the vantage point. Ria tried to calm herself and considered her options: the nearest rift was a few meters away- she could run for it. Or, she could manoeuvre her way around to another one that was safer. But the surgeon was impatient and there was no time- besides, there could be an army waiting for her at the other rift.

Ria breathed in and, again, sprinted as fast as she could.

She knew it wouldn't be easy.

The two Pride Demons turned slowly but gave booming laughs, startling her. Electricity crackled in the air. She wasn't going to get there in time.

The surgeon whirled around and hit the ground, rolling away from the fists. She slashed at the Demon's calf with her axe but it turned again, unfazed. It kicked at her and Ria grunted as fresh bruises formed. The other Demon was coming now, raising its fists in the air.

Oh no you don't.

Ria rolled through its legs and straightened up. Without pausing she sliced behind the knees and brought the axe down on its skull as it kneeled.

The remaining Demon roared and sent a burst of electricity towards her. Ria dove out of the way just in time. She landed on her left shoulder and hissed as sharp pain lanced through. Grunting, she got back up… and staggered.

I'm too drained for this. Ria glanced back at the rift, which was closer now, then back at the Demon. It was stomping towards her again.

The surgeon made her decision and ran for it, trying not to be weighed down by the armour. With one last burst of energy, she hurled her body into the rift again, praying that the Demon wouldn't follow her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The gritty particles of the Western Approach had never been more welcoming to her.

Ria smiled weakly as she dragged her tired ass through the hot sands. The only problem was- she had no idea where to go. But escaping the Fade again was such a relief that she enjoyed a few more minutes of freedom. Stopping at a hill, she scanned the land again. It was all sand and dusty red rocks for miles around. The only hint of habitation was a dark, jagged smudge in the distance. But Ria was a bit near sighted and couldn't decide if it was a building or just a natural phenomenon. It was the only option.

The sun was high in the sky as she journeyed there, bearing down on her skin. She took off her helmet to let her head breathe, but instantly regretted it. The sweat came down like a downpour. She put it on again. Along the way she tried to keep to the shady areas, but these weren't easy to find. Moreover, shade or not, she was so parched that it made no difference.

By the time she reached her destination, Ria collapsed in relief. It was a building- a kind of fort, by the look of it. She rested there for a while, too weak to move. But then the sun was getting unbearable and she dragged herself up to its ramparts.

What she didn't expect to find was a number of Venatori already inhabiting it. Ria groaned and drew her sword, arms too floppy to hold an axe. She growled and charged at the leader. The man looked at her in surprise as she dropped down. He held his staff up and threw a fire bolt at her, singeing her arm. Ria hissed and landed quick successive blows.

Then an arrow missed her by a finger's breadth.

Crap, I didn't see the archers.

But it turned out she didn't need to worry about them.

There was a solid thump to the right and Ria chanced a look. The Venatori Marksman died on the spot with a bolt protruding from his chest.

"Ria?" came the disbelieving voice.

Several other familiar voices joined him in expressing their shock.

The knight didn't even have a chance to reply as the Venatori leader swung his staff at her head. She ducked and pommelled his gut. He grunted and doubled over. Ria banged the side of his head with the flat of her blade and whacked his neck. The man collapsed, unconscious.

Finally, she looked around as the Inner Circle joined her in killing off the Venatori. Ria couldn't help the wide grin on her face as she saw Varric launching a bolt at a Marksman, Cassandra shield bashing a Venatori Brute, Blackwall and Iron Bull charging and the Herald hacking at a zealot. Vivienne and Dorian were activating fire mines or making blizzards. Ignoring her stinging wounds, Ria ran into the fray to help them.

After several minutes of effective combat, they all stood with dead Venatori around them, staring at Ria as if she came back from the dead.

"Hi everyone," she said with a weak grin.

Then the Herald came to steady her as she staggered, dizzy from dehydration and exhaustion.

Everyone seemed incapable of speech.

Varric was gaping at her, crossbow hanging limp in his hand. Then he ran and gave her a bear hug, slapping her on the back so hard she nearly fell.

"You came back, kid! You came back! I knew you were too smart to die!"

"Thanks?"

"We're so sorry we left you back in Coracavus," said the Herald, guilt written all over his face.

The knight held up a hand. "No it's fine… you had no choice. I'm just glad you're all alive."

She grunted as Iron Bull crushed her neck in a headlock. Ria laughed as he let go.

"Good to see you alive, surgeon," said the Qun.

"Yeah, me too."

"Darling, I must confess I didn't think you would make it…" started Vivienne. "I want to apologize for giving up on you so soon... and, of course, leaving you there to the Darkspawn."

Ria laughed. "Don't worry about it, Vivienne. It doesn't matter."

Cassandra looked similarly contrite, coming up to give her a sisterly hug. "We are all very glad to see you here, Ria. It is good to have you with us."

Blackwall even came to shake her hand, as gruff as ever. "I don't do well with these things," he confessed, looking uncomfortable. "But, we're going to need you surgeon. Good to see you alive."

There was a sniffle and Ria stared at Varric. "… Varric, are you crying?"

"No," said the dwarf, laughing. "I just have sand in my eye... Of course I'm crying! Do you know how worried I was?"

"Sorry to give you a scare," said Ria ruefully. "But I'm here now... and we can drink that worry away at the tavern. What do you say?"

Varric sniffed again and laughed. "Alright, kid." Then he rubbed his eyes. "Hey, I actually do have sand in my eyes. Can we please get out of this hellhole? I'm really missing Skyhold right now."

"I'm getting sick of it myself," said Ria, staggering again. "Do you guys have water?"

The Inquisitor handed her a wineskin.

Ria glugged it down and wiped her mouth, letting out a noise of content. "Just what I needed."

Everyone patted her on the back as they made their way out of Echoback Fort. The sun was still beating down on the sand and she was still thirsty, but Ria felt better than ever.

"Welcome back to the Circle, Ria," said Varric, grinning at her.

"Yes," said Vivienne. "Welcome back. And you can tell us all about what happened."

"All in good time," she said. "Right now, I could jump into ice cold water..."

"Hmm," said Dorian, thinking. "Perhaps we could arrange that for you."

Ria chuckled.

"Oh, and Varric?" she asked after a while.

"Mm?"

"Don't tell Leliana about this."

The dwarf looked at her as if she had horns sprouting out of her head.

"Girl, now that would be suicide."