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They had been walking what felt like days, but it was hard to tell since they were underground. Suddenly, one of the scouts came running back. "There's been a collapse—the way forward is blocked."
"What? Is there some way around?" Bartrand asked, furious.
"Not that I've been able to find. The side passages are too dangerous." The scout shook his head.
In response, Bartrand hit him in the face. "Useless. What am I paying you blighters for?" He gestured angrily to his men. "Set camp."
"Problems, Brother?" Varric asked as Bartrand kicked a rock angrily.
"Sodding Deep Roads. Who knows how long it'll take to clear the path?" Bartrand muttered.
"Shall we not try to find a way round, instead? Seems like the logical choice." Varric suggested.
"You think I'm an idiot, Varric? The scouts say the side passages are too dangerous." Bartrand snapped.
"See? This is why your bring someone like me along." Marian chucked.
"We'll take a look. If we come running back, screaming, you'll know staying put was the right decision." Varric cracked.
"Fine. Fine. Find a way around. Just do it quickly." Bartrand muttered.
They went to gather the group before Bodhan stopped them, looking concerened. "Uh… I hate to add to your burdens, my friends, but I fear I must. I fear my boy, Sandal, wandered off. He's somewhere in those side passages, right now. I beg you, keep an eye out for him. He just… doesn't understand danger like he should."
"We need to search the side passages. We'll bring him back, we can." Marian said.
"Poor Sandal. I can't believe he's done this." Bodhan sighed in relief.
"Let's move quickly, then."
"This is why I left the Wardens." Anders muttered as they walked towards the side passage. "I hate the blighted Deep Roads."
"Do Grey Wardens go often to the Deep Roads to hunt darkspawn?" Wanda asked.
"Very often during the Blights." Anders said. "More so, when…" He paused. "It's a long story and now's not the time to talk about it. I hope this place is not going to be too flooded with them, now that the Blight is over."
Wanda could tell Anders hated the darkspawn in the Deep Roads.
Soon enough, a horde of darkspawn appeared but Wanda managed to blast some of them away before Merrill and Anders threw fireball, burning most of them as Carver and Fenris cut through them and then facing a horde of giant spiders before they saw a blonde dwarf boy standing among the corpses of darkspawn as he stared at the ruins before he turned to Varric.
"Well, I'll be a nug's uncle. Isn't that Bodahn's boy?" Varric said.
"Hello." Sandal said as he turned to them.
"It is. The great warrior stands victorious." Carver laughed.
"Are you alright?" Wanda asked as Sandal seemed unharmed before they saw the dead darkspawn and a frozen giant ogre.
"How did you do this?" Marian asked.
"Boom." Sandal said, showing them a rune.
"And how did you do that?" Marian asked, gesturing to the frozen ogre.
"Not enchantment." Sandal said before he walked back into the camp.
"Wow." Wanda said, not sure what to say. She had read that most dwarf cannot perform magic but for some reason, Sandal, for his lack of brains, was able to enchant weapons and armor and apparently, was more powerful than he seemed to be.
"Smart boy." Varric noted. Come on. We still need to find a way past that collapse."
Varric had a running bet going with Anders as to who could kill more darkspawn, Fenris or Junior. A moment later, he got a running bet going with Carver over who could kill more darkspawn, Anders or Marian or Wanda. So far, the Hawke siblings and Wanda were winning. Carver had a slim lead over Fenris, but Marian was more than making up for it. Merrill on the other hand was at the bottom of the barrel though she did not seem interested about this bet.
Wanda, Anders and Merrill easily dispatched of the darkspawn with their powers, while Marian, Fenris and Carver used their blades to slice through them. The Deep Roads were also filled with traps, such as booby-trapped floor, spikes or arrows firing from the walls before they encountered a giant ogre.
The ogre threw a boulder at them but Wanda smashed it into bits, while Marian threw a flask in the ogre's face, blinding it as the ogre charged towards them. They dodged as the ogre hit a wall, its horns stuck before Carver and Fenris sliced it in the legs as it fell on its knees, while Anders and Merrill blasted it with lightning, burning it to death
But, as they went to another part, they heard a roar that most of them recognized.
"Tell me it's not what I think it is." Anders groaned before they saw a giant lizard-like creature with wings fly out from the cavern.
"A dragon." Carver said.
Wanda shielded them all as the dragon breathed fire. Anders sent a hail of icicles at the dragon, knocking it down but it quickly recovered and roared. They all dodged, when the dragon attempted to eat them and knocked Fenris and Marian away with its tail. As it attempted to eat Fenris, Carver lunged forward and cut its head off, enthusiastic about it.
"I slew a dragon! Ha! See that, Sister?" Carver cheered as Varric, Marian and Wanda shook their heads at his antics. He was going to be very difficult to live with for the next few days.
"Ah, here we go." Varric glanced down the corridor. "This goes right where we want it to." He glanced at the others. "Let's go back and tell Bartrand. He'll be so pleased."
The first sight of the thaig took their breath away. The earlier Deep Roads had all been uniform. These… half the angles and lines did not seem to add up. The geometry and architecture made Wanda's head spin.
"Holy shit." Varric summed up what they all were thinking.
"Is this what you were expecting?" Marian asked Bartrand, who shook his head.
"I thought… an abandoned thaig, something old, but… what is this?" Bartrand wondered.
"How do you even know it was here?"
"Old scavenger tales. After the Third Blight. A week below the surface, they said, but nobody believed them…"
"Looks like they were right." Varric said.
"Make camp here! We need to look around." Bartrand ordered as he began to study the thaig. "I don't get it. Nothing in this thaig makes sense."
"What do you mean?" Wanda asked.
"We're well below the Deep Roads. Whatever dwarves lived here, they came long before the First Blight. But without the statues of the Paragons? I don't recognize these markings on the wall or anything in the rubble." Bartrand said, confused.
"Who knows how all these ruins are? Maybe your people were different back then." Marian tried.
"I know enough about our history to know we haven't changed much. Dwarves have been mired in tradition for many ages." Bartrand said. "These dwarves might have been unique. If so, I hope they kept their valuables close at hand."
"This is starting to remind me a little of "The Hobbit"." Wanda noted.
"I've yet to see a giant talking dragon guarding a horde of gold and a giant gem." Varric chuckled. "I'd like to read those books you've told me about."
"They certainly are similar to this around here to a point." Wanda said.
"At least there's no magical ring or dark mage or whatever." Varric said as he looked around. "Hmm…Whatever's through there, it seems still intact. Think we'll find anything?"
"Bartrand is far more enthralled with this place than you are." Marian said.
"Unlike him, I wasn't born in Orzammar. I wouldn't even be down here, if there wasn't profit in it." Varric said. "This entire place gives me the chills. Let's hope it's worth it."
"Whatever we find, it might not be pleasant." Marian said.
"Hmph." Varric nodded in agreement. "I suppose we'll need to go down there to find out?"
The cavern was filled with some shade demons and a fiery demon that made Wanda gasp. It blew some torrent of fire as Wanda shielded herself before Anders froze it and smashed it to pieces, while Merrill burned the shade demons and Carver, Marian and Fenris attacked a giant golem. Carver lunged at it and smashed it before they walked deeper into the thaig until they entered a chamber, where was some kind of an altar or table in the middle, up on an elevated platform as they saw a red glow on top of it.
"You see what I'm seeing?" Varric asked.
They felt some energy radiate from the idol. "Is that… lyrium?" Marian asked.
Anders nodded. "It's definitely magic. And not the good kind."
"Doesn't look like any kind of lyrium I've ever seen." Varric said and Marian nodded in agreement. It was glowing red, rather than the normal soft blue. And it felt… hungry. Wanda felt something… dark coming from the idol. She could not tell what, though. Varric glanced back over his shoulder and saw Bartrand wandering in. "Look at this, Bartrand. An idol made out of pure lyrium, I think. Could be worth a fortune."
Bartrand let out a low whistle. "You could be right. Excellent find."
Wanda reached for it and picked it up but immediately pulled away from the idol, feeling something strange about the idol.
"Are you alright?" Carver asked.
"I'm not sure we should be taking this." Wanda said.
"Come on, what's the worst that can happen?" Carver said as Varric tossed it to Bartrand.
"Not bad." Varric said. "We'll take a look around, see if there's anything further in."
"You do that." Bartrand said with a hungry look in his eyes as he was leaving the chamber and closing the door as Marian and Wanda turned to him.
"Hey!" Wanda exclaimed as Bartrand shut the door.
"Bartrand!" Varric yelled. "It's shut behind you!"
They heard Bartrand laugh behind the door. "You always did notice everything, Varric."
Wanda glared, wanting to now rip him to pieces.
"Are you joking? You're going to screw over your own brother for a lousy idol?" Varric demanded incredulously.
"It's not just the idol. The location of this thaig alone is worth a fortune, and I'm not splitting that three ways. Sorry, Brother." Bartrand said as he was walking away.
"Bartrand! Bartrand!" Varric banged on the door, yelling. "I swear, I will find that son of a bitch—sorry, Mother—and I will kill him!" He snarled angrily.
"We need to find another way out first. Then we'll deal with your brother." Wanda said as Varric sighed.
"You're right. First things first." Varric said. They turned to the other door, which they luckily were able to open until they found a vault guarded by a golem and a pack of shade demons.
Wanda smashed the golem into bits, while Marian, Fenris and Carver blocked as the shade demons attacked before Anders burned them and healed their wounds before they looted the vault.
"At least we got more gold." Wanda said, trying to be an optimist. They kept fighting their way through the demons until…
"Enough." The voice was deep, oddly resonate, and echoed through the chamber. In response to the sound, the shades immediately flowed backwards as they stopped fighting as the rocks formed into some yellow glowing giant. It spoke again as it took a step towards them. "You have proven your mettle. I would not see these creatures harmed without need."
"I'd say being attacked on sight gives us plenty of need." Marian said sarcastically.
"They will not assault you further, not without my permission." The stone creature said.
"What are these things? They seem like rock wraiths, but…" Varric shook his head.
"They hunger." The stone creature replied. "The profane have lingered in this place for ages byond memory, feeding on the magic stones until the need is all they know."
"The lyrium?" Wanda looked around. The lyrium in this place was odd. Lyrium was usually a blue mineral but the veins in this part of Deep Roads were red. "That's what keeps them alive?"
"I am not as they are. I am…" The creature shifted slightly. "A visitor."
"It seems mostly interested in their hunger. It's a demon, come to feed." Anders said.
"I would not see my feast end." The balls of light that seemed to serve as the being's eyes narrowed slightly, and apparently focused on Marian. "I sense your desire. You seek to leave this place, but you will need my aid to do so."
"Don't do it." Anders said. "Demons will trip you up every time."
"Could be a way out of here, I don't know…" Carver shook his head. They had to be desperate if Carver suggested dealing with a demon.
Wanda had read enough books and seen enough films to know that deals with a demon never ends well. "I don't trust that thing."
"What are our options?" Varric asked.
"I'll give it my answer!" Marian punched the demon as it groaned in pain.
"Foolish!" The demon said as more shades and demons emerged. Wanda destroyed the shades as Anders knocked the demons back and Carver and Fenris cut them down before Marian and Varric and Merrill finished them off.
"They seem more powerful than most demons." Merrill noted.
"It might be because of the lyrium in the thaig." Anders agreed, all of them having a bad feeling about it as they went deeper into the tunnels, while quickly dispatching of more demons they had encountered.
"What is this place?" Marian asked.
"This is the vault. The dwarves would have brought their…" Varric trailed off as the sound of stone scraping came from behind them. They slowly turned around to see the rocks assemble into a giant that was glowing red, forming a giant rock wraith.
"Oh, that can't be good." Varric said.
The rock wraith fired some red blast of energy but Wanda deflected it. Marian pulled Fenris and Carver away so that they could dodge before the demon appeared in the center of the chamber, seeming to charge.
"Move!" Marian ordered as they took cover behind pillars and the demon radiated with some energy, burning everything it came into contact before it stopped. Anders called up lightning, trying to pin the profane in place as Wanda fired hex blasts before Varric fired a bolt into the light that glowed in the demon's head, while Marian and Carver stabbed it, finishing off the creature.
"The rock wraiths are supposed to be dwarven legends." Varric said. "They're not even supposed to be real."
"Seemed real enough." Wanda said, considering her own bruises..
"I suppose it doesn't matter. Look at what it was guarding." Varric said as they saw around a corner a pile of gold and jewels. It was obviously worth a fortune. Enough for Leandra to buy back their family estate and set them for years, maybe more.
"Let's see if there's something that can help us get out of here." Marian said as they began to collect all the valuables they could that they found most valuable to sell before heading to the exit.
"Hmm… I'd say this is our way back." Varric said, looking around as Anders and Marian nodded in agreement. The architecture seemed as normal as it could in the Deep Roads.
"How long to get back?" Marian asked.
"If we're unlucky, maybe a week." Varric said.
"And if we're lucky?" Wanda asked.
"We stumble over Bartrand's corpse on the way." Varric said. It took them few days until they found the dead dragon they had killed earlier. On the way back, they had to settle for deep mushrooms and deepstalkers, some lizard-like creatures for food, as it disgusted them to eat them, especially Wanda.
"This part of the Deep Roads look familiar." Marian noted.
"We're back where we started, and in only five days. Not bad, eh?" Varric said before Wanda turned to Carver, who seemed… strange.
"Are you alright, Carver? You seem… pale." Wanda said.
"Think we could… Take a break? I feel… wrong." Carver breathed out.
"Let's make camp if you're sick." Marian said.
"I'll wager it was those deep mushrooms we found." Varric said.
"No, it's…" Carver trailed off as he fell to the ground.
"Carver!" Marian exclaimed, kneeling to him.
"Oh, no…" Wanda said, remembering what had happened to Wesley as Carver seemed to get paler.
"It's the blight. I can sense it." Anders said.
"Just like that templar, Wesley. I'll be just as dead, just as gone." Carver said.
"There must be some other way!" Marian begged.
"I'm not going to make it. Not to the surface, not anywhere. It's getting worse." Carver said, getting weaker.
"There might be something we can do." Anders said, kneeling to them. "I stole the maps from a Warden that had come to Kirkwall. I wanted to know if he was looking for me. He wasn't. The maps were for planning their own expedition into the Deep Roads."
"The Grey Wardens are here?" Wanda asked. She remembered that the Wardens she had met and Flemeth mentioned that becoming a Grey Warden is a cure to the blight but not everyone survives the Joining.
"If the Wardens are here, I know where." Anders nodded. "We could bring Carver to them…"
"And, what? Become a Grey Warden?" Carver questioned.
"Is this even possible?" Marian asked. "How does someone become a Grey Warden?"
"I can't tell you. But it's not something you can undo, once it's done… even if you want to." Anders said.
"This just keeps sounding better and better…" Carver muttered, barely able to sit.
"They might agree to it, however. That's if we can find them in time." Anders said as Wanda and Marian helped Carver on his feet.
"Becoming a Grey Warden is a cure the blight, right?" Wanda asked, remembering what she had heard from the Wardens she had met in Lothering.
"Yes. I suppose it is." Anders nodded before his expression turned grim. "But it's not without a price—and not one everyone is willing to pay."
"What price? Maker's breath, spit it out." Marian snapped. Every second passing could cost her brother his life.
"The process of becoming a Warden is… unpleasant. And irreversible. It also means you might never see your brother again. He might survive the blight, but at the cost of becoming a Grey Warden. It's not an easy life. Trust me." Anders said.
"But you're not a Grey Warden anymore." Wanda noted. If Anders could run, so could Carver. And if the Wardens tried to take him back…
"You think I got away? Eventually they or the Circle will drag me back. I've got no illusions about that." Anders said sadly.
"If it were my brother, I would've done anything to save his life." Wanda said, feeling sympathies for Marian, who now cursed herself for not leaving both her siblings with their mother.
"If there's even a chance, we must take it." Marian said.
"Then I hope I'm right." Anders said as they picked up Carver, carrying him.
As they walked, Marian and Wanda could not help but notice Merrill's face as if she had witnessed something like this before, they then remembered Merrill had told them that her friend Theron got tainted by the blight and had to be taken away by a Grey Warden.
They walked on before what felt like hours and then they found the Wardens fighting against darkspawn and instantly went to help. Once the fighting was done the leader of the Wardens narrowed his eyes. He was in his forties with black hair and had a very thick moustache.
"Anders."
"Fancy meeting you here, Stroud."
"I could say the same. I thought you were through fighting darkspawn?" Stroud folded his arms.
"I'm not here to fight darkspawn. I came looking for you." Anders gestured at Carver.
"You… mean the boy as a recruit. Of course you do." Stroud shook his head as he turned towards them. "I'm sorry. I know this comes as no comfort to you, but we do not recruit Grey Wardens out of pity. It is no kindness."
"You think it's kinder to let Carver die from the blight?" Marian demanded.
"Sometimes it is, yet." Stroud said, looking sympathetic.
"Stroud, trust me when I say this one is worth your time. With the Blight over, you Wardens don't have recruits lining up." Anders pleaded.
"This is no simple thing, Anders. This may be as much a death sentence as the sickness, and you know it." Stroud said compassionately.
"What is going on here?"
They saw a dwarf emerge from around the corner that Wanda recognized. It was the dwarven Warden she had met last year in Lothering.
"Anders?" Faren asked, staring at Anders.
"Warden-Commander." Anders bowed respectfully.
"And you're the witch from Lothering, I remember you." Faren said, turning to Wanda, who nodded.
"I was telling them that the boy cannot become a Warden. He is not likely to survive." Stroud said as Faren turned to Carver.
"He'll die anyway. Take him and try… I'm asking you." Anders pleaded.
"Stroud, I invoke the Right of Conscription. We're taking the boy." Faren said.
Stroud considered for a moment before nodding as he turned to Marian and Carver. "If the boy comes, he comes now, and you may not see him again. Being a Grey Warden is not a cure. It is a calling."
"Are you sure about this?" Carver asked, turning to his sister.
"I'm not sure about anything but I want you to live." Marian said. Wanda herself felt a lot of sympathy for her.
"I wish there had been another way." Wanda said.
"We must move quickly if we are to make the surface in time." Stroud said.
"Then…" Carver managed a smile. "I guess this is it. Take care of Mother."
Marian's and Wanda's eyes got wet, as they hugged Carver.
"Stay safe, Carver." Wanda said.
"You too, Wanda. Look after mother and my sisters. Both of them." Carver said.
"I will." Wanda promised before the Wardens took him away.
"You know the Wardens who stopped the Blight?" Wanda asked as they were leaving the Deep Roads.
Anders nodded. "Six months ater the Blight ended, Faren became Warden-Commander of Amaranthine. An arling north of Ferelden, which used to belong to Rendon Howe."
"The one that killed Elissa's family, her and her brother being the only survivors." Wanda nodded, remembering King Alistair's mistress. She had heard that Elissa later hunted Howe down and got her revenge.
"When I met Faren, I was an apostate, who had run from the Circle of Magi from Ferelden. The templars were about to take me in but Faren invoked the Right of Conscription and recruited me. I then helped Faren in Amaranthine with the darkspawn flooding the arling." Anders said. "Sometime later, Elissa came to visit us, being King's mistress and chancellor and we discovered that the Wardens had arrested a thief, who tried to break in and steal valuables in the Vigil's Keep. And you would not believe, who it was. Nathaniel Howe."
"Rendon's son?" Wanda asked.
"Indeed." Anders nodded. "Needless to say, the Howes became pariahs after Rendon's crimes had been exposed and Elissa killed him for slaughtering her family. Nathaniel wanted revenge at first but then he decided to just steal some family things that had been left in the Vigil's Keep, since the fortress used to belong to the Howes until King Alistair and Queen Anora left it to Faren. When Elissa talked to him, she had a bit of a hard time to convince him, since Nathaniel had not known the truth
He had assumed that Elissa's father was a traitor and at first he wanted revenge but like I said, he just stole his family things from the keep until the guards caught him. The seneschal wanted to execute him. Faren wanted to conscript him, since Nathaniel seemed to be a capable warrior. He managed to beat six guards before they locked him up."
"And Elissa?" Wanda asked.
"She had known Nathaniel since they were children. She actually pitied him for not knowing the truth. She let him go with his family things, mainly out of respect for their childhood and because she felt he did not deserve to be punished for his father's sins." Anders said as Wanda blinked in surprise. "I know. All of us were just as surprised. Nathaniel later returned, realizing he had nowhere to go and wanted to redeem his family's name. He asked Elissa to make him a Grey Warden."
Wanda raised her brows, realizing why. "I suppose he wanted to redeem his family's name?"
"That is correct." Anders nodded. "Few weeks later, Elissa and Nathaniel met with Delilah, Rendon's daughter and Nathaniel's sister. She herself had no idea about Rendon's crimes either until later and she had caught Nathaniel up on everything. After that, Nathaniel was more easier to get along with. He was a good man. Just… needed a direction. He and Elissa then became as close as they could get, considering they had known each other since they were children."
Wanda nodded. Nathaniel's story reminded her a lot of hers and Pietro's.
They had returned to the gates of Kirkwall as Varric spoke up.
"Home, sweet home. Finally." Varric said as he turned to them. No one was really in a mood for talking for days after what had happened in the Deep Roads. "I wonder if Bartrand came back to the city. You think I'd be that lucky?"
"Honestly, Varric, as much as we'd like to have some words with your brother, he's not the sibling we're concerned about right now." Wanda noted as Varric sighed, cursing himself for not considering Marian's feelings.
"I know." Varric nodded. He wished he knew what to say. Words didn't fail him often. He turned to Marian, sympathetic. "I'm… sorry about what happened to your brother." And his own brother had been responsible. Varric vowed to make sure that Bartrand would pay for his betrayal.
"He'll make it. Carver's stronger than you think." Anders assured them.
"I should have seen Bartrand's betrayal coming." Varric punched the wall as they entered the city. "I'll find that maggot if it's the last thing I do." He glanced up at Marian "I imagine you'll be heading home to… tell the family."
"I don't have much choice." Marian said, both her and Wanda dreading Leandra's, Bethany's and Gamlen's reactions to what had happened to Carver.
"You'll be a wealthy woman, Marian. It wasn't all for nothing." Varric sighed. He was fairly sure his friend would throw every scrap of loot they had carried out of that thaig to get her brother back.
One by one they all left until it was only her and Merrill remaining. She gave him a sympathetic look as they walked down towards Lowtown, until finally she had to speak.
"About your brother… oh, Marian, I'm so sorry. One of my clan got the corruption. Back in Ferelden. The Wardens took him from us, and I never saw him again. But the cure worked." Merrill said.
"If this elf never returned, how do you know the Wardens' cure worked?" Marian questioned.
"You must have heard the story: A Dalish Grey Warden slaying the Archdemon at Denerim. That was him." Marian turned and stared at her, the Hero of Ferelden came from her clan? She then sighed. "My clan has heard nothing from him since then. Not very encouraging, I suppose. Forget I mentioned it. Everything will be fine."
"Thank you, Merrill. I hope you're right." Marian said, although she was not getting her hopes up.
"I'm sure everything will turn out well." Merrill said.
"I… don't even know what to say." Wanda said as she and Marian were returning to Gamlen's house.
"I dread to think how Bethany, mother and Gamlen are…"
They stopped, when they saw Knight-Captain Cullen in the house with Bethany in shackles.
"What's going on?" Marian demanded.
"Please, don't do anything." Bethany said.
"Mistress Bethany is being taken to the Circle of Magi in the Gallows." Cullen said.
"What? Why?" Wanda demanded.
"I have to. It's for the apostates, isn't it?" Bethany said.
"Consider yourselves fortunate. The viscount has requested we spare your family from punishment for harboring a dangerous mage and Miss Maximoff for saving his son." Cullen said.
"Carver isn't with you?" Leandra asked, noticing that her son had not returned.
"No." Marian said.
"Is he… coming back?" Bethany asked.
Marian sighed. "I… don't know."
Bethany and Leandra were on verge of tears as Wanda and Marian started to explain what had happened in the Deep Roads. Cullen decided to give them few hours of privacy before he would take Bethany in.
Present
"So the Champion's brother was a Grey Warden and her sister was in the tower." Cassandra said.
"Yes, but that's not the connection you're looking for." Varric gestured.
"Isn't it? The involvement of the Grey Wardens makes perfect sense, alongside her sister being trapped in the Gallows. And the Champions' companions? Merrill, Aveline, Isabela… and that Warden, Anders?"
"Don't remind me. I introduced them." Varric said.
"We thought they all came from Ferelden together, but now it makes sense. Motive and opportunity."
"It's still not what you think."
"Then I need to hear more."
"Unless you've already decided. I can always go if you don't need me anymore…" Varric gave her a hopeful look.
"Tell me what came next."
This is the end of the first arc. Next chapter starts the second arc of the story.
So, what do you guys think about it?
Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far and want for me to continue.