"Stay alert," Anders warned in a low voice. "There are darkspawn nearby. Quite a few of them." He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end in response to the familiar yet unwelcome tickling of his senses.
Misery peered back the way they'd come from, then towards the closed door in front of them. She raised an eyebrow curiously. "How do you know that? I don't see anything."
"I don't need to see them. Grey Wardens can sense the presence of both darkspawn and other wardens."
Varric chuckled. "A built-in darkspawn sniffer? Yeah, you're definitely coming on the expedition with us."
"Didn't you say that you were no longer a Grey Warden?" Aveline asked.
Anders scowled. "Yes, well, unfortunately you don't get return the lovely welcome gift they give you for joining. It's rather permanent."
"I think I would have asked for a fruit basket instead," Merrill said.
"A fruit basket… would have been nice actually," Anders replied, nodding slowly in agreement. "In any case, be on your guard."
Misery frowned as she stared at the door. Darkspawn… Even having seen the foul creatures scurrying off in the distance from an earlier vantage point, the knowledge they were about to be face to face with them again triggered unpleasant memories of Ostagar and the flight from Lothering.
She stole a quick glimpse of Aveline, and judging from the ginger haired warrior's expression her mind had gone to the same place. From there Misery took inventory of the rest of her companions. Bethany appeared nervous but determined. Anders' expression was grim, perhaps even a little melancholy, but without a trace of fear. That impressed the rogue.
Misery's eyes drifted over to the two that had never faced darkspawn before. Varric seemed antsy, as if he just wanted to get on with it. Merrill… the elf was trying to hide it, but Misery could tell from her body language that she was terrified.
Misery put away her bow in favor of daggers. In her right hand was the elven blade she claimed from the shadow warrior atop Sundermount. In her left was the so-called key obtained a few hours earlier. She steeled herself in anticipation of the conflict to come.
"Do not be intimidated by their appearances," she said evenly. "Fighting darkspawn is no different than what we've been doing. They have archers, swordarms, and whatever else. Ignore what they look like and focus on the specific threat each represents. They die just like anything else."
Aveline nodded. "From what we've seen, darkspawn have little individual skill. They generally rely on numbers to swarm and overwhelm their foes. You mages should be prepared to use spells that target areas rather than individuals. I'll try to stay out of your way, though I can't promise Hawke here will do the same."
"I'm sure any friendly fire she gets hit with will be purely accidental," Varric remarked dryly.
While Misery merely rolled her eyes in response, Bethany backhanded the dwarf in the shoulder. "Don't even joke about that."
"Relax, Sunshine, she knows I don't mean it… mostly."
The mage opened her mouth to retort, but Misery cut her off. "Focus!" she demanded, her eyes darting back and forth between Bethany and Varric. "We don't have the luxury of getting taken by surprise." In a quieter voice she added, "And I am stretched thin enough as it is. I can't be on top of my game if I'm worried you two aren't on top of yours."
She turned away without waiting for a response and reached for the door handle, leaving Bethany and Varric to exchange curious glances about her impromptu confession. They both hoped it was a good sign that she'd been a bit more open since being forced to come clean about what had been bothering her all day.
To Misery's surprise, the door was locked. She shook the handle in frustration before letting go of it and stepping back.
Varric sighed. "Give me a minute, I can pick-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence before Misery launched herself forward and kicked. The bottom of her foot connected right above the handle, the force behind it tearing the locking bolt from the rotting doorframe, nearly ripping the hinges from the frame as well as the door flew open and slammed against the interior wall. The noise echoed throughout the hall.
"…or there's always that…" Varric concluded.
The commotion drew the attention of the locals, and the group was barely into the lengthy hall before a variety of darkspawn were rushing towards them.
Misery felt the heat from a ball of flame roaring past her on its way towards the lead hurlock charging them and the trio of genlocks at its heels. The explosion blew all four darkspawn from their feet and enabled Misery and Aveline to quickly clean up before they could recover.
Arrows whistled past Aveline's head as she ran to intercept the next wave. "Archers!" she shouted.
"On it!" Varric shouted back while moving to the edge of the room in order to see around the clashing of blades in front of him.
The downside to being a dwarf in battle was that his line of sight was easily blocked, forcing him and Bianca to move around quite a bit to get clear shots. Sometimes it irritated him that Misery could stand behind him and fire arrows directly over his head without having to worry about hitting him. Such was life when the top of his head only came up to her chest.
The upside to being a dwarf in battle was that the enemy focus tended to be drawn to the taller, more visible companions. At times Varric felt a bit like a ghost on the battlefield. Not that he was complaining about that.
Firing on the archers this time, however, drew the attention of a pair of genlocks, who broke off from the main group and rushed the dwarf. Varric turned and pumped a triplet of bolts into one of them, knocking it back and down. The other got to him while he was in the process of reloading Bianca's firing chamber.
Varric ducked the incoming axe blade and engaged the retractable bayonet on the crossbow, spearing the genlock and then kicking it away. Before he could do anything else though, two more genlocks came at him. One seized hold of Bianca in an attempt to wrestle her away. While struggling to hold on, Varric couldn't avoid the other genlock's attack and the slash of its curved short sword tore through the arm of his duster and claimed flesh. Varric let loose a string of expletives, and with one arm weakened he lost his grip on Bianca.
His dismay was interrupted when the severed head of the genlock that had cut him hit him in the chest and then rebounded off to hit the floor. The body fell alongside it while Aveline spun back the other direction to intercept another threat.
Varric lunged at the genlock that now had Bianca in its possession, barely avoiding another incoming blade in the process. The genlock was quick, however, and avoided the dwarf's attempted tackle. Varric rolled to the side and braced for an expected follow up from the hurlock that swung at him moments earlier, but it never came. As the beast was winding up, a series of stabs riddled its torso and dropped it.
Misery leapt over the dead hurlock and brought both daggers to bear on the genlock holding Bianca. She got the genlock, but took an arrow in the side in the process and fell sprawling. Another hurlock moved towards the rogue with its massive two-handed sword, intent on claiming her head in her moment of near complete vulnerability.
Varric didn't hesitate. He threw himself over the top of his fellow rogue, and the next thing he knew a silverite Dar'Misu with his hand wrapped around the hilt was in the hurlock's throat. He withdrew the blade in anticipation of meeting another threat, only to find none. The last of the darkspawn had just fallen to his companions.
He glanced to his left at the sound of a loud grunt coming from Misery, seeing her angrily cast aside the arrow she'd been hit with. Almost reflexively he dug a healing potion from his pack and handed it to her. She nodded in thanks.
"Seems you do remember how to use a dagger," Misery remarked between gulps.
Varric stared down at the bloodied blade still in his hand. "Yeah, seems that way…" he mumbled absentmindedly before moving to retrieve Bianca.
Misery shook her head when Varric started apologizing to the crossbow, but opted not to comment on it. Instead she gestured for Bethany.
"Varric needs a healing spell."
Bethany started to cast but stopped herself. "Actually… Merrill, I want you to try it."
"Me?" the elf asked in surprise.
"You can do this," Bethany said. "Just remember what I taught you."
When Merrill frowned skeptically, Bethany smiled in encouragement. "Look at it this way. There is no pressure right now. We're not under attack, and even if you can't fully heal Varric's wound, Anders and I are here to help. You're only going to get better at healing magic if you practice it."
"Of course, you are right…" Merrill replied. Not that she needed to, but she moved closer to the dwarf and put her hand on his shoulder. Smiling tentatively at him, she said, "It will be alright, I can do this."
Varric wasn't sure if she was encouraging him or herself, and he wasn't exactly comfortable with being experimented or practiced on or whatever, but he was smart enough not to give the elf a negative reaction. He forced a brief chuckle. "Nothing to it, Daisy. Take your time."
The elven mage's brow furrowed in concentration. It took a few moments, but Varric began to feel a pleasant tingling. The sensation didn't last very long and his arm was still sore after it went away, but there was noticeable improvement at least.
He grinned at the hopeful expression on the girl's face. "The arm isn't perfect, but it's better than it was. Nicely done."
Merrill beamed in pride, causing Varric to chuckle genuinely this time. He understood her personality though. She had an almost desperate need to feel useful, yet too often feared she wasn't. Being able to contribute in such a directly beneficial way would go a long way towards boosting her confidence.
Misery approached and nodded her own approval before holding out a shortbow to the elf. While the mages had been focused on Varric, Aveline and Misery had been looting.
"If you're still serious about taking up archery," the rogue explained, "I think this bow will be perfect for you. The quality is better than almost anything we'd find over the counter from a Kirkwall merchant."
"And you can't beat the price," Varric noted.
"Looks Tevinter," Anders remarked. When the others looked at him, he added, "I mean, I don't know anything about bows, but the carvings, sharp curves, and sharper points are similar to Tevinter staves I've seen in books."
Varric smirked. "I suppose using black walnut is keeping with the whole 'Black City' theme they've got going as well. Daisy, you'll scare the piss out of people just carrying that thing around with you, whether you actually know how to use it or not."
"All that's missing is the standoffish Dalish attitude to go with it," Aveline said.
Merrill ignored the jibe at her people. Even surrounded by dead darkspawn she was too happy with how the last several minutes had gone to let the remark bother her. Misery hadn't mentioned teaching her archery since the first time they discussed it, and Merrill hadn't wanted to pester her by bringing the subject up again. So she was ecstatic that Misery not only remembered, but had even thought to find her a good bow. That knowledge caused the last of her lingering frustration with Misery to dissipate.
As the group collected themselves and began moving on, Varric realized that Misery intentionally didn't give the elf a quiver of arrows to go with it. Good thinking… Don't give her a chance to get any crazy ideas in her head while we're down here.
-==0==-
"Check this out," Misery said, gesturing towards a massive metal disc sitting on a pedestal. It looked to be a piece of art and was easily ten feet in diameter. The image of a griffon standing behind a goblet was emblazoned on the disc. Of bigger interest, however, was a circular swirl of glowing blood red light that seemingly hovered on the surface, almost as if it was supposed to represent the contents of the engraved goblet.
"I wonder what that's about?" Bethany asked no one in particular.
Anders scratched at the stubble on his cheek. "The griffon is the symbol of the Grey Wardens, and the swirling red glow on the chalice represents the Joining ritual."
Misery reached out curiously to touch the orb of light, blinking in surprise when it extinguished at her touch. "Ummm…" She turned to Anders.
"Don't ask me what you just did." He shook his head. "No idea."
With no apparent effect from her action, the rogue shrugged her shoulders and gestured for them to move on.
Not long afterwards they came across a similar marker featuring the griffon and chalice.
Misery frowned before looking over at Anders. "Do you want me to touch it?"
He snorted. "Oh, if only Isabela was here to comment on that."
Misery ran her fingers through her hair, sighing in exasperation. "I'd be more inclined to cut it off."
Bethany shook her head at the former Grey Warden who was mock wincing before turning her attention back to the pedestal. "Maybe these unlock something elsewhere? A vault perhaps? I read about that sort of thing in a book once."
"Oooh… Grey Warden loot!" Varric exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Let's do it."
When no one voiced an objection, Misery reached out to the swirling glow, watching as this one extinguished at her touch just as the other had.
They moved further down the hall until a shimmering barrier came into view. The barrier had three of the swirling red orbs of light floating on the surface, though only the center one glowed. The two on either side of the center one were dimmed, appearing to have already been extinguished.
As they got closer, they could see that the barrier formed a transparent wall stretched across a small room otherwise completely enclosed by stone, and the purpose of it was made clear by the room's inhabitant - contained within was a demon. The barrier was a microcosm of the floor they were on, a prison within a prison.
"Great…" Varric muttered. "Another one of those geth things."
"How about we leave it alone?" Aveline suggested. "You know, this time without being stupid and throwing anything at it?"
"What do you think it is doing here?" Merrill asked.
Just then a disembodied voice reverberated throughout the chamber. Misery and Bethany both gasped in unison almost as soon as the deep baritone voice began to speak in its grave tone.
"…be bound here for eternity - hunger stilled, rage smothered, desire dampened, pride crushed. In the name of the Maker, so let it be."
"F-father!" Misery choked out.
"How can that be?" Bethany asked.
Merrill was confused. "That voice… was your father?"
"Yes…" Misery whispered hoarsely. She knew her father wasn't actually here, but unexpectedly hearing his voice again after so many years left her struggling to keep her emotions in check.
Aveline frowned. "What do you think he meant? It sounded like he was commanding something."
"Be bound here for eternity…" Anders repeated. "Sounds like he bound this demon."
"Do you think that thing is Corypheus?" Bethany wondered.
Varric shook his head. "No way we're that lucky. Blondie, you hearing any music?"
"No… I can't see this being Corypheus."
"Sister?" Bethany asked. "Are you going to be alright?" It was obvious that Misery was still rattled.
The rogue sighed deeply before nodding. Gesturing to the barrier, she said, "I'm guessing that the two inactive orbs correspond to the two I touched earlier."
Anders nodded in agreement. "I don't know if this remaining one alone is enough to keep that demon imprisoned. We should probably just drop the barrier and kill the thing to be sure."
"What is it with you and releasing demons?" Aveline groused.
"I agree with him," Bethany said softly. "It would be irresponsible of us to leave a weakened barrier and possibly let it escape."
"Fine…" Aveline grumbled while moving out of the way. "Bethany, Anders, Merrill, and Varric - form a line and get ready to unload on the demon as soon as Hawke drops the barrier and gets her ass out of the way."
"On the count of three…" Misery said after everyone moved into position. She glanced back to confirm they were ready, then reached out to the remaining orb. "One… two… three!"
The glow snuffed out and a loud whoosh accompanied the barrier dissolving. Misery darted out of the way and almost immediately the small prison was bombarded with fire, lightning, and a storm of arrows. The demon fell under the onslaught, but not before summoning a quartet of lesser shades.
"Not this time!" Aveline shouted, recounting the time atop Sundermount where they'd been caught off guard by the sudden appearance of shades. The guard-captain bashed the one closest to her with her shield, knocking it back and then using the separation to run it through before it could recover.
Misery followed Aveline as she moved on to the next shade, then split off to take on one of her own. She ducked a swipe of its heavy claw and rammed both daggers into its side, using her weight to rip downwards through its flesh. The shade roared while attempting to shed its attacker, but a pair of bolts from Bianca put an end to its struggles.
The mages made quick work of the remaining shade while Misery helped Aveline finish off hers. After they finished the voice of Malcolm Hawke boomed loudly once more.
"I can do nothing about the Wardens' use of demons in this horrid place. But I will have no one say any magic of mine ever released one into the world…"
Misery and Bethany's eyes went distant at the sound of their father's voice. It was clear to the others that Misery was the more affected of the two, and they exchanged uncertain glances.
"Misery?" Merrill said after several long moments of silence.
The rogue glanced over at the sound of her name and sighed deeply. "Alright, let's go…"
Bethany stepped in front of her sister. "Do you need a minute? I don't think your head is here right now."
"I'm fine."
"Sister… I don't think you believe that either."
It was Varric's turn to sigh. Under different circumstances he would have been much more sympathetic than he was feeling at the moment. It wasn't that he was unsympathetic. Rather it was that Gerav was too fresh in his mind, those emotions too raw. And he was having a hard enough time not resenting Misery for being too focused on herself to recognize that her being the one that killed Gerav was actually the least important part of how that entire scene played out.
Still, practicality was winning out. Varric knew they needed a focused Misery, and he also knew that she wasn't going to admit to needing a pause to collect herself. So he'd just have to manipulate the situation to make it happen without her realizing it.
"Blondie, we heard Papa Hawke say something about the Wardens' use of demons. That a common practice? Are we going to run into more of them?"
Anders shrugged. "Like I said before, the Grey Wardens like their secrets, even among themselves. It sounded to me like he disapproved of whatever they were doing here, but I have no idea if binding this demon was helping or hindering that effort."
"I would think he was helping," Merrill said. "Otherwise, why not kill the demon? Or use magic to force it back into the Beyond? Binding a creature indefinitely is a cruel fate to inflict."
Bethany huffed. "Right, Maker forbid someone imprison a demon," she replied. "And what makes you think he could have sent it back?"
"I-I… I am sorry. Sometimes I forget that my people pass down knowledge of ancient magic that your circles either do not know or do not teach."
Anders threw his hands up in the air in annoyance. "Yes, Merrill, we all know how superior the Dalish are in every way to us shems."
The elf stared at her feet, shifting uncomfortably. "I have never claimed to be better than anyone," she said quietly.
"Enough bickering," Misery stated, flashing a glare at all three mages before her eyes settled on Merrill. "My father was a good mage, and an even better man. I trust that whatever he did in this place was for good reason."
Merrill didn't say anything in response. Instead she merely glanced upwards into the rogue's eyes and nodded briefly. It was a gesture that didn't express agreement or disagreement with the statement, only that she understood what she perceived to be the underlying point being made. Don't question Malcolm Hawke.
"Let's get going," Varric said. "Doesn't sound like we'll learn anything else standing around speculating."
"Agreed," Misery replied, motioning for everyone to get moving.
Varric shook his head slightly at the thought that while it wasn't his intention to start an argument among the mages, it had at least accomplished the goal of getting Misery back on track. It was a thought that carried a tinge of bitterness with it, as it led him to wonder if she'd ever do the same for him. He realized it had been a lot easier to accept Hawke being Hawke when it wasn't personal.
He also realized he had no idea what he was going to do about it.
-==0==-
Further in they found several pages of stained parchment in the crumbled ruins of a small room. It was difficult to tell what the room might have once been used for since even though this area of the Deep Roads looked to have once been inhabited by the Grey Wardens, there were surprisingly few furnishings left amid the rubble.
Despite the antiquity of the stonemasonry, the condition of the pages they found suggested they'd been dropped relatively recently. The pages contained what appeared to be research notes written by someone named Janeka, and one page in particular drew their interest. It described how the Grey Wardens discovered in the wake of the First Blight that some darkspawn were of high enough intelligence to think, speak, and even command portions of the horde in absence of the Archdemon.
The notes went on to describe the existence of darkspawn that could wield magic with the skill of a Tevinter magister, and how a Grey Warden named Sashamiri set a trap right here in this tower that captured the greatest of these darkspawn – Corypheus.
"Lovely…" Bethany remarked after Anders finished reading the lengthy notes out loud. "And the Grey Wardens had the gall to throw a fit over you and Justice, with their history of playing with darkspawn and demons?"
"You might be missing the point," he replied. "Corypheus has apparently been alive for well over a thousand years. How do you even kill something like that?"
"What were they trying to accomplish here?" Aveline asked. "I can't say I like what we're getting into."
"This Corypheus does seem to be quite powerful," Merrill added.
Anders scoffed. "So I'm not the only one who thinks we need to leave and return with an army instead of continuing on with just the six of us?"
"Except we still don't have a way out of here," Bethany noted.
Misery ran her fingers through her hair while contemplating the situation.
"What's the plan here, Hawke?" Varric asked. Group discussion aside, decisions generally came down to what she wanted to do and whether or not she could be deterred from her path if necessary.
A frown crept across the female rogue's lips, but not for a reason any of the others would have ever guessed. After she'd first figured out awhile back that Varric only called her by her surname anymore when he was annoyed with her, she would get amused when it happened. Now she increasingly disliked it, yet she couldn't pinpoint why exactly it bothered her.
"With Rhatigan and most of the Carta stationed here dead, is dealing with Corypheus even a requirement at this point?" she asked, thinking out loud. "I admit I don't like the prospect of spending my life worrying that he might get his claws into someone else and send them after us… but that might be preferable to taking on something that might have actually been one of those magister-lords the Maker cast down from the Black City."
She took a deep breath that she exhaled slowly before continuing, "Maybe we just find an exit and go home." A couple of moments later she shook her head and answered herself, "No… I can't leave without a resolution one way or the other. I can't live with this hanging over our heads."
Misery turned away from the others and looked down the long hall into the darkness ahead. "I have no choice but to keep going," she said in a quiet voice, "but I won't ask any of you to follow. Feel free to leave if you want."
"Oh, stuff it already!" Bethany exclaimed. "You are not getting rid of me, so spare me the theatrics."
"This isn't a game, Bethany. I am deadly serious."
Varric shook his head. "Really? You couldn't have picked a better word there than 'deadly'?" It was his turn to sigh. "Shit… I'm with you… Just… try not to make me regret it."
Aveline was torn. The Hawkes were her friends, but her duty now was to Kirkwall. And throwing herself into a possibly hopeless battle was compromising that duty. Still, she felt trapped to a degree. She suspected Anders would join her if she said she was going to look for a way out, but she was also aware that splitting up was possibly even more dangerous, further reducing the odds of surviving a run-in with a pack of darkspawn.
"This isn't your fight," Bethany said to the guard-captain, guessing at what was going through her mind by the look of consternation on her face and the gnawing on her bottom lip. "It's alright."
Aveline schooled her expression into a slight smirk. "You think I'm going to face your mother's wrath for coming back without you?"
Her statement might not have been the entire truth of the matter, but Aveline knew that nothing good could come from full disclosure. Morale was bad enough without her admitting that she was sticking with them essentially out of circumstance.
Bethany returned the smirk, while Misery gave no reaction other than to continue staring off into the distance with her back turned to the group.
Merrill put her hand on Misery's shoulder. "You and Bethany have been so good to me. I will help you."
Anders sighed. No offense to the others, but if he had an exit available he would take it. He had no delusions that going up against Corypheus and his merry band of darkspawn was going to end well. And regardless of his prior feelings for Bethany, he had no investment in this particular venture. However, much like Aveline, he understood there was more strength in numbers than trying to go it alone, and consequently that his best chance for survival was to stick with the group for now and hope for the best.
"Let's get going…" he said, not bothering to hide the sense of resignation in his tone. "But please… don't charge ahead blindly. Give me a chance to sense if darkspawn are close by."
Misery turned around and nodded firmly. "We're leaning on your expertise here. If we need to stop and wait, take a detour, or whatever else – that's your call."
She wasn't oblivious to the fact that Anders gave them a much needed advantage, or to his reluctance to be there. So for the benefit of the former, she was willing to accommodate the latter by playing nice.
-==0==-
Anders whispered for the group to proceed cautiously. He could sense something ahead, but wasn't sure what exactly it was. The taint tickling his senses didn't quite feel like either darkspawn or wardens.
Misery held up her hand and glanced back to the group. She could hear something rustling about in the room they were approaching, and as they got closer she was able to see a severely disheveled male human scavenging in some rubble. The man wore rusted, battered heavy armor, and from the side she could tell he was missing large chunks of his dingy brown hair and beard.
The man jerked upwards at the sounds of footsteps. He got to his feet and spun around to face the visitors.
"The key!" he exclaimed. His voice was rough, as if unused in quite some time. He scurried towards them, limping badly. His left arm was clutched to his side, leaving the impression that it also had been injured at one time and never healed properly.
"Did they find it? The dwarves? I heard them looking… digging…"
Misery dropped into a fighting stance with her daggers at the ready. "Not another step, freak!"
The man stopped his approach, but it wasn't clear if it was due to Misery's command or her openly hostile physical reaction.
"How is it that you bring the key here?" he asked.
Misery's eyes flicked down to the blade in her left hand and back to the man. She noted the pupils of his eyes were similar to the corrupted dwarves they'd fought all along the way, shrunken to the point of barely being visible. And his armor wasn't simply rusted, but rather stained with blood so many times over without being cleaned that the stains were permanent. The hilt of the longsword sheathed on his back was in desperate need of a rewrap as well. This was a warrior, and clearly one who had been down here in the Deep Roads a long time. It was hard to tell just how old he was, but Misery guessed he was in his mid 50s at minimum.
"What do you know of this 'key'?" she asked suspiciously.
"Magic… old magic, it is," he answered. "Magic from the blood. It made the seals. It can destroy them."
"Would those be the seals holding in Corypheus?"
The man looked around nervously. "Do not say that name! Do not wake him! Not while you hold the key!"
"Yeah, well, I'm not leaving without killing him. Do you know where I can find him?"
"I will tell you no more than I told the dwarves. There is only one that can use the key, and you are not him."
Misery blew out a long exasperated breath, standing up straight and letting her daggers drop to her side. "Can you at least tell me where the exit is? The way we came sealed behind us."
The man began to pace. "No way out when the walls stand! The Wardens build their prisons well, you see. If the center holds, who cares what else is trapped?"
Aveline smacked her forehead. "I don't think we're going to get any help from this wretch, Hawke. He's too far gone."
The man perked up. "Hawke! You are the blood of the Hawke! I smell no magic on you."
"I doubt you could smell anything but yourself at this point," Misery retorted.
Her sarcasm had a deeper purpose than simply poking at him, however. She was suspicious of the old man's statement and sought to keep his focus on her, lest he figure out that Bethany was both a mage and a Hawke.
Varric chuckled. "I'm guessing it's been a few years since his last bath. Last time I smelled something that bad came from Revas after you fed him the Hanged Man's stew."
"Mystery meat of the day is always a bad idea," Anders muttered.
The man once again seemed oblivious to the barbs. "Yes, yes… you hold the key! The key to his death… Yes, I can show you the way out, yes…"
Misery scowled. "And I should trust you why? Who are you, and what are you doing down here?"
"You ask me that? I am the one who belongs here, not you. You are no darkspawn."
"Oh, you mean to say you are a darkspawn?" Misery countered.
"He's a Grey Warden, Hawke," Anders said. "Or at least once was. Poor sap probably came down here for his Calling."
"Calling?" Bethany asked.
Anders started to wave her off and say that he'd explain later, but the man answered.
"Grey Warden! Yes! Guardians against the Blight. The music gets louder, its call too strong to ignore. I am dead, except I never died."
Misery shook her head in confusion. "What?"
"I know the way out," the man said. "Follow me. Down and in. Down and in."
"Anders?" Misery asked. "Do you think this crazy is under Corypheus' control? Should we go our own way instead?"
The former Grey Warden scratched at his beard while thinking. "Even if he does work for Corypheus, that's where you're trying to go anyway, right?"
"Not crazy, no…" the man said. "Trust me. I know the prison's secrets. The seals hold us in. Anything comes in, nothing ever leaves. Not without the key. You must use the key on the seals. Every seal, you touch the key to it. Only then they open. Only for the Hawke. Not back, not up. Only way out is down and through the heart. Down… down in the depths."
With that he limped away, leaving the others to follow.
-==0==-
Misery gripped her throbbing head. Part of her silently lamented that her prior blood magic high had worn off. Another part of her was pissed off that the freakish old man who set them on the path of using the Hawke dagger-key to get past the prison's seals left out the teeny tiny little detail that approaching a seal with the key would spawn a guardian demon ready to defend the seal with its life.
Yet another part of her was relieved that despite the unexpected appearance of a ten foot hulking seal guardian, they'd managed to get through the skirmish relatively intact. She wondered how many of these they would need to go through in order to even reach Corypheus.
Before entering this room they'd found more of Janeka's research notes, this time explaining the prison's structure. It consisted of an unspecified number of levels each sealed separately by a blood magic ritual where an untainted mage used their life essence to create a one-way barrier, corroborating the old man's story about not being able to get back out once entering, as well as Anders' prior speculation that Malcolm Hawke might have been involved because they specifically required a mage that wasn't a Grey Warden. And apparently the blood magic rituals had been repeated more than a few times over the centuries in order to maintain the strength of the seals.
In the aftermath of defeating the first guardian, Misery felt like something was off about this whole process, though she couldn't quite make the connection to what it was. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by the old man slinking into view.
"Two thousand years…" he muttered. "The magic holds, never broken."
Misery glared at him. "Thanks for the warning about the fucking demon guarding it."
He seemingly ignored her remark while heading straight for the circular platform the guardian had spawned from, a platform framed by four glowing pillars. "Give it the key," he continued while gesturing towards the pillars. "Let the key take the magic back to itself. Absorb it, all who came before… and the seal is broken."
Misery glanced down at the dagger-key in her left hand and then to the pillars. "Does it matter which one?"
"Different magics held in each pillar, beyond that I do not know. Only that one pillar falls to the blood, they all fall…"
Misery frowned as she fell into thought for a moment. "Bethany? Can you tell anything about the different pillars?"
The mage walked over and took the dagger from Misery, then climbed on to the platform and moved between pillars, examining them with her senses.
"The pillars are infused with elemental magic – fire, ice, lightning, and nature," she said after a few minutes. "From what he said about using the key to absorb the magic, I suspect the blade will become enchanted with the element of the pillar we choose. Since you're the blade wielder, do you have a preference?"
Misery shrugged. "I already have a lightning enchanted dagger, so let's go with something different."
"How about ice?" Bethany asked. "Father liked ice spells." She flashed a grin at her sister.
"Ice it is then."
Misery began to stand, intent on touching the key to the pillar herself, but Bethany turned and did the same before she could get up. The dagger glowed brightly in response, pulling the magic until the pillar fell dark. Almost immediately the remaining three pillars flickered and dimmed.
The old Grey Warden's eyes widened in surprise. "You! You are of the Hawke blood as well! And an heir to his magic!"
Misery leapt to her feet and raced to the platform while silently scolding herself for letting her guard down and outing Bethany.
"Stay away from her," she warned in a low voice, standing between her sister and the Grey Warden with her other dagger held outward in a threatening manner.
The old man backed up and gestured for the girl to calm herself. "The blood works! It is good… You are the key to his death. I would aid the blood of Malcolm Hawke in that, not prevent it. Only then can we be free. Follow me… I will show you the next seal."
"Just who are you?" Misery demanded.
The man stared at the ground. "Name… so long since I've said my name. What was it? La… hmmm… Larius! I was Larius. There was a title, too. Commander… of the Grey."
Anders raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You were a Commander of the Grey? I wonder how long ago that was."
Misery waved her hand irritably. "What else do you know of this prison? Why should we follow you deeper in? If we've just released the seal to this floor, we can now leave the way we came in."
She had no intention of leaving, but she didn't like how anxious this Larius was to lead them further into the depths.
"The magic…" he began, "it calls to the blood of those who hold it. The last to hold it, the Hawke. I… I was there when he laid the seals. Before I became this. It was… a mistake to preserve Corypheus. Too dangerous. Should have ended him then. Must end him now."
"You knew my father?" Misery asked, staring back skeptically.
"You favor him…" Larius said before grasping his head as if in pain. "C-Corypheus calls! In the darkness!" He quickly scampered away.
"Wait!" Misery exclaimed, but he ignored her and kept going, passing through the doorway leading further in.
"Maker…" Bethany whispered while handing the dagger-key back to her sister. "Has he really been down here almost twenty-four years?"
"Maybe not, Sunshine," Varric answered. "He might have left with your father and come back later. Still, either way it does seem that he's been here a long time. And the way the darkspawn don't seem to notice him, it's like he's practically one of them at this point."
Misery shook her head. "Regardless, he's lucid enough to remember what my father did and how this place works. For now we'll follow, but keep your guards up."
As she and most of the others began to move in the direction Larius went, Anders cleared his throat. "Wait…" he said quietly. When the others stopped and looked back, he continued, "I… umm… the seal on this floor was removed, so… the barrier blocking the way we came will be gone now. I-"
"You're leaving," Misery interjected. "Just come out and say it." There was knowingness in her tone, yet it was without condemnation or malice.
Anders nodded while shifting a bit uncomfortably at the scrutiny. "Yes…" He sighed deeply. "The way Larius can hear Corypheus like the tainted dwarves only confirms that it's a bad idea for me to stay with you as you get closer."
It was a convenient excuse to extract himself from the situation, and while there was truth in it, it wasn't the complete truth. However, he wasn't going to add that he strongly doubted they would succeed against a First Magister turned darkspawn unless pushed on his decision.
No one challenged him though. Misery merely nodded in acknowledgement. Bethany approached him and smiled sympathetically.
"We understand. Take Aveline with you, keep each other safe on the journey back to Kirkwall." She looked over at the guard-captain and nodded firmly, a nod that was returned. They both understood.
Misery was torn about Bethany. Her instincts said to minimize the risk to Bethany even if it increased her own, prodding her to insist Bethany leave with Aveline and Anders.
At the same time, she wanted her sister close. There was the practical matter of her arcane knowledge being very useful, even more so with Anders leaving. But there was also the selfish desire to have her sister close to her as she retraced their father's steps and undid his work. That wasn't enough to override Misery's ingrained impulse to protect Bethany at any cost, but it was enough to keep her from putting up much of a fight.
She sighed. "I suppose there's no chance I can convince you to go with them, is there?" she half-heartedly asked.
The younger girl's glare served as her response, drawing a nod of resignation after a few moments.
"Good luck," Aveline said. "I mean that. Come see me when you get back."
Misery's eyes flicked over to Varric, who was walking towards Aveline and Anders. She assumed his action meant he intended to leave with them, and to her surprise that thought stung. She turned her back and moved a short distance away, trying to force her mind to focus on the next step towards Corypheus.
A couple of minutes later her attention was grabbed by a light punch in the arm. She let go of her Dalish amulet she was running her fingers over and turned her head to see Varric looking up at her. A quick glance over his head revealed the other four were huddled in discussion roughly thirty feet away.
"Hey…" he began, but before he could say anything further, Misery cut him off.
"Don't leave," she blurted out without thinking. "I know I have no right to ask after what I did, but… stay… please."
The surprise at her request gave him a momentary pause before he caught himself and exhaled slowly. On the one hand, it made him happy that she wanted him with her enough to ask, even though he wondered if the reason was personal or practical. But on the other hand…
"How many more times do I need to say or show I've got your back before you actually believe me?" He shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere, Misery."
"I…" she began before stopping and looking into his eyes. "I wouldn't have blamed you…"
Trying to lighten the mood, Varric chuckled softly. "Yeah, I think the only one I put up with more shit from is Bartrand, and that's only because I'm related to that nug humper."
Misery rubbed her temples wearily. "I'm sorry for earlier. I mean, for overreacting and questioning whose side you were on. For whatever it is worth to you, I think that despite what I said, I knew you wouldn't have hurt Bethany."
Varric nodded. He believed her, but at the same time they were just words and that tempered his emotions.
Sighing, Misery started back towards the group. "Come on, V, let's get moving."
The dwarf blinked in surprise. She just gave him a nickname? He didn't know what to make of the casual delivery of it either, as if she hadn't given it any thought before saying it, but figured now wasn't the time to crack a joke about it. Instead he fell in step as they went back to the others.
-==0==-
After Anders and Aveline left, Bethany turned to her sister. "Anders brought up a very good point. We shouldn't break any more seals until after we're done with Corypheus."
"Why's that?"
"Think about it… if we remove all of the seals and then can't defeat Corypheus, we've just done all the work to free him from this prison."
Misery raised an eyebrow quizzically. "At that point would it even matter? He'd have our blood and the key, right?"
"I… I suppose so. No sense making it easier though."
Merrill shook her head. "This feels so wrong to me. If nothing that comes in gets out, how did your father leave?" When the others looked at the elf, she continued, "We had to pass through the first barrier before reaching the first seal, and you could not pass back through even though you are Hawkes and had the key. So what are we not being told?"
Misery nodded in approval at the girl. "Oh, I intend to find out the answer to that and more."
Bethany tugged at a strand of hair while thinking. "Demons…" she finally said with a sigh. "I'd bet the Grey Wardens were using demons bound by blood magic to traverse the barriers via the Fade. Conceptually similar to what Merrill did on Sundermount, but with more finesse and less brute force."
"Something else doesn't add up," Varric said. "Why didn't they destroy the key or, no offense, kill Papa Hawke when he was done? It's like they wanted to leave open the possibility of setting Corypheus free later."
Misery looked in turn at each of her three companions. "I think the one thing we do know is not to take anything we're told at face value. Also, we no longer have our 'darkspawn sniffer' as Varric called him, so we're going to need to be even more careful moving around in here."
Bethany smirked. "That applies to you too, you know."
"Yes, that applies to me too," she answered, nodding in agreement. "Trust me, I know I can't do this alone. For now, let's catch up with Larius and see about finding somewhere to set up camp. I'm pretty much spent at this point, so I'm assuming you could all use the rest as well."
Despite the calm air Misery was projecting, she was full of doubt – self-doubt that started with wondering how her father would feel about her deconstructing the prison his blood had maintained. She also had a hard time reconciling the man she knew with the apparent blood mage who bound demons and darkspawn throughout this place. Was it more than simply gaining passage to Ferelden that made him go through with the rituals in the first place? What would he say to his daughters if he could talk to them at that very moment? That uncertainty bothered her even more than the doubt she felt over getting through this alive.
Undoing his work also reminded her that no matter how hard she tried to be like him, she usually failed. In her mind this day reflected that once again. Her father was a builder, she was a destroyer. He was good at drawing out the best in those around him, she was good at driving them away. He had many talents. Sometimes she felt like the only thing she was good at was killing things.
Something she never stopped to consider, however, was the fact her father never wanted her to be him. He'd never intended his message to her before his death to come to this - the loss of her self-identity... and self-worth.
AN: Not really sure what I was thinking when I said last time we'd get through Corypheus in this chapter. Then again, I'm somewhat concerned that I'm dragging this particular quest out too long. In hindsight it might have been better to spend less time on the first half of Legacy in order to keep from needing four long chapters to get through it, but nothing to be done about that now. Anyway, I'm shooting to have chapter 26 done next week, but I'll admit I ended this chapter at this spot mainly because I'm hung up on something in the next part. Hopefully I'll get it worked out soon and the words will start flowing again :)