There are rumors: more sightings of darkspawn, getting closer and closer to the city of Amaranthine. Rhyanon remembers Denerim and shivers at the thought of what will happen if the city itself is invaded. Even a small force of darkspawn would be enough to cause major destruction, a hundred deaths... she has to stop it.
She gathers her small force of Wardens and determines that they will take the fight to the darkspawn, go into the Deep Roads for only the second time in her life. She still has nightmares about what happened the first time. If Anders recognizes her discomfort, he at least has the grace not to say so. She gives him equal courtesy, although she stays close as they head into the darkness of the underground, the narrow passages of twisting rock walls that only occasionally open up into the wide roads and thaigs of the ancient dwarves. If they are to find the source of the darkspawn, they might be down here for days. Weeks. A sense of constricting dread squeezes tight around Rhyanon as they set camp in the shadow of an ancient dwarven thaig. Oghren doesn't recognize the place, but they are a long way from Orzammar. Rhyanon supposes she shouldn't be surprised.
She curls up close to Anders in the tent they share that night, and neither of them speak their fears aloud. He combs her hair with gentle fingers and hums under his breath, lulling her to sleep.
Anders wakes before Rhyanon does the next morning. He crawls out of the tent to have a look around. He gets to his feet and walks over to the remnants of the previous night's fire. Perched nearby, roasting a pile of sausages on a stick, is the newest Warden recruit, the elven woman Velanna. Anders hasn't shared more than a few words with her, but he plasters a smile on his face and approaches gamely.
"Hello," he greets her cheerfully. She looks at him with narrowed eyes that scream suspicion if not outright hostility.
"What do you want?"
"A little of that breakfast, if you're offering."
"I wasn't."
"Okay," Anders says, and he means it. He sits down on the same flat rock where he had spent most of the previous night with Rhyanon, and watches as Velanna putters around the campfire. He expects her to retreat to her tent when she's finished with the cooking, but she surprises him by sitting down across the fire. She eats without speaking to him, but Anders continues watching her, unable to shake his curiosity. She'd been killing humans when Rhyanon recruited her into the Wardens. Her violence has been contained since then, but her anger hasn't dimmed. Anders can feel the heat of that anger in the mana that flows through her. Velanna is a free mage, and she fascinates him.
"Do you want to spar with me?" he asks her. Velanna raises an eyebrow.
"Spar?" she repeats.
"Yeah, you know. A practice fight."
"You wish to test your magic against mine."
"I'm curious how it would turn out, yeah."
Velanna shakes her head. "There is no need for such a test. We have real enemies to fight."
"I guess you're right," Anders agrees, after several long seconds.
He turns, at the sound of something moving behind him.
Rhyanon pads out from the inside of the tent, still looking sleepy. "What's going on out here?"
"Nothing," Anders assures her. Velanna straightens up, as though waiting for an order. She's ready to get a move on; hunting darkspawn has offered her the sense of purpose she desperately needs. Rhyanon acts every inch the Commander, as Anders and Velanna look on. She rouses the rest of the Wardens and makes sure everyone is fed, then begins to break camp with surprising efficiency. In less than half an hour, the dozen of them are ready to go.
Rhyanon looks at Anders, who still seems dazed, lost somehow, trapped inside his own head, his own fears. Getting him out from underground will always be the right thing. At least that's what she tells herself. He still looks haunted by the darkness, and that look on his face makes it easier for her to convince herself that she's doing the right thing. After another hour or so of sitting awake in the perpetual night, Rhyanon lets the fire die, and she crawls into her tent, happy to have Anders there with her. He drapes his arm over her body and she sleeps pressed up against the warmth of him. The nightmares still keep her awake through most of the night, but listening to Anders' even breathing helps to lull her toward at least a sense of calm, even if she isn't getting any rest.
She gets up without having any true sense of how much time has passed. She doesn't expect anyone else to be awake, but when she pushes her way out of her tent, Velanna is pacing around the dead campfire. She looks up as soon as Rhyanon stands.
"I wish to speak with you, Commander."
Rhyanon nods. "Go ahead." She moves a little closer to Velanna, hoping to make the conversation a little less formal and awkward. Velanna does not appear to notice, but she does keep her eyes on Rhyanon as she begins to talk.
"You know that I left my clan to search for my sister." Rhyanon nods, and Velanna continues. "I believe we will find her here. I do not wish to return to the surface until I have found Seranni."
"You think your sister is in the Deep Roads?" Rhyanon repeats. She sounds a little dumbfounded, even to her own ears. And part of her is screaming inside because she doesn't want to spend any more time underground than she has to. But Velanna deserves to be heard.
"I was told that she and the other women who had gone missing from the surface had been taken by darkspawn. We are obligated to look into this, are we not?"
"Of course we are," Rhyanon agrees. "But do you have any idea where to start looking?" During the Blight, she'd never seen evidence of the darkspawn kidnapping people. If she'd known about this before, she could perhaps have asked the emissary some pointed questions about it. But it's too late for that now.
"If Seranni is here, I will be able to find her." Velanna doesn't elaborate as to how, but Rhyanon believes her anyway. Maybe the elves have some kind of magic she doesn't know about.
"Lead the way."
Of course they have to wait for the rest of the Wardens to wake up, but that doesn't take too long. They have gotten into sync with each other after so many days down in the dark together. Anders is the first to exit his tent. He scrubs his face with his hand and smiles when he sees Rhyanon. Once again, her heart sinks at the thought of having to tell him that they'll be postponing their journey underground for who knows how much longer.
But when she announces the plan that she and Velanna had developed, Anders seems just as willing to participate as everyone else. Rhyanon helps everyone break their camp; they are all used to the routine by now, and it takes almost no time. She digs some trail rations out of pack and makes sure the rest of the group eats too. And then, they head into the winding passageways of the Deep Roads, eyes open and hands on their weapons.
Velanna goes first, squinting into the darkness and walking with careful but confident steps. She never even looks over her shoulder to see if the others are following. She just takes it as given that they are. Rhyanon stays close on her heels, paying close attention to her body so that she will recognize the first sign of darkspawn nearby. But there's nothing.
After nearly half a day of traveling through the winding, narrow tunnels, Rhyanon calls a halt. Velanna is impatient, but even she recognizes the wisdom of stopping for food and water and a brief rest. The group of Wardens stays subdued, barely speaking to each other except for the necessities. They are tired, and tired of being down here in the dark. But they know what they signed on for, so they follow Rhyanon without complaint. She isn't so stupid that she fails to notice the way they trudge through the tunnels though. She hopes, for their sake, that they find what they are looking for, and soon.
As if to answer her unspoken prayer, she perceives... something. It doesn't feel like darkspawn, exactly, but there is something familiar to the song she hears. It is softer than she is used to, barely audible. But maybe it is only that it is still far away. She holds up a hand to indicate to the other Wardens that they should wait, and let her listen. All movement stops. Rhyanon lets her eyes fall closed as she strains to hear. When she opens them again, she finds Velanna.
"That way," she says, pointing, and the elven woman nods.
The group of Wardens picks up its pace as the darkspawn presence grows nearer and more obvious. The song, once quiet, is now almost deafening. The underground paths have grown more narrow, until there is not even space enough for Rhyanon to stretch out both arms before hitting the rocky walls. She holds her breath, unsettled. She knows what it feels like to be herded into a trap.
A foul wind blows in front of her face as the narrow caverns open up suddenly into a giant, open space. Rhyanon squints into the darkness high above, but the rocky ceiling is so far up that she cannot even see it. Only the lack of visible stars or sky prove that it must be there.
"Help me!" someone yells. "Help me, please!"
Rhyanon snaps to attention. It's only then that she realizes Velanna has gone running ahead of her.
"Seranni!" Velanna yells. Her voice echoes off the stone walls.
Rhyanon glances quickly back at the other Wardens, then squints into the shadows. It's impossible to see anything but darkness up ahead, though a chill runs down Rhyanon's spine, and she is certain there are darkspawn waiting for her there. "Velanna?" she asks, but the elven woman doesn't answer. Rhyanon heaves a deep breath and plunges forward, taking careful steps. Her hand rests on the hilt of the sword she carries on her hip. Belatedly, she realizes that she can cast a magical light. She mutters the spell under her breath, calling forth a steadily glowing orb of yellow-white that illuminates the room. The room ends with a curved wall several paces ahead of Rhyanon, and in front that wall are cages, tall enough for an average human to stand. The cages are crammed full of wailing women. These are the prisoners the darkspawn have been taking. Rhyanon feels physically ill.
Velanna stands in front of one of the cages, stretching her fingers through the bars. "Seranni," she repeats, over and over again.
"Get me out of here, Velanna, please. You have to-"
Rhyanon is about to run forward to help with that task when a roar echoes through the cavern. The women begin to cry even more loudly. "Don't let it take us!" they beg.
Rhyanon whirls around, and draws her sword. But she is completely unprepared for what she sees. She can handle darkspawn. Even the hulking hurlocs or their mages, the emissaries. But what stands before her now, gliding forward on a mass of giant rolls of fat that seem almost like tentacles, is a true monster. Several pairs of breasts sag down the creature's naked front. Only its face resembles other darkspawn.
Rhyanon holds her sword out in front of her, preparing for the beast to attack. But it doesn't. It just squints down at her. "Why have you come here, Warden?" Another talking darkspawn. Just what she needs.
"What are you?" Rhyanon asks. Surprisingly, her voice doesn't shake. She takes another breath and draws her mana to the surface, though she does not unleash it yet.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rhyanon sees Velanna fiddling with the lock on her sister's cage. Maybe if Rhyanon can stall this creature long enough, the rest of the Wardens can free all of the prisoners. She can't announce the plan, of course, but she hopes perhaps Anders and the others will somehow pick up on it all the same.
"I am the future of the darkspawn," the creature croons. Rhyanon shivers. "I can show you, if you wish."
"No thanks."
No more time. No more distraction. Rhyanon charges forward and sinks her sword into the monster's blubbery flesh. The creature howls with rage and pain. It doesn't seem to be able to fight much, though. Maybe they can make it through this without too much difficulty.
Rhyanon has just barely finished thinking the thought when a seemingly endless stream of darkspawn pours out from a previously hidden tunnel. They rally around the monstrous creature, placing themselves between it and Rhyanon and advancing on her with weapons raised.
"My children come to my defense," the creature – the mother – explains.
For a long moment, nothing happens. None of the darkspawn attack. They seem to be waiting for orders, and none of them are taking revenge for the wound Rhyanon has already inflicted on their progenitor. Can they still make it out of this after all?
There are far too many darkspawn for her small group of Wardens to take down in a fight, she knows that.
"Help me!" Seranni screams over the unnatural silence. The darkspawn surge toward her voice, though Velanna has finally succeeded in getting the cage door open. Seranni can't run out though, not without running into the darkspawn. They leer and spit at her, and least until Velanna calls forth a wave of crackling flames that pour out from her outstretched hands. The darkspawn trample their fellows behind them in their mad rush to get away, and Rhyanon swings her sword to behead and cut the limbs from the darkspawn nearest her. But the darkspawn are a swarm, and they just fill in the holes, so quickly its like those gaps were never there at all.
There is a crackling of electricity – Anders casting a lightning spell that washes through another section of the horde.
"Stop!" Rhyanon yells. "All of you, you have to stop!"
The sounds of battle slow, then stop entirely.
"What do you want?" Rhyanon asks the mother.
"You come into my lair and you think to ask such a question." The creature's voice is a malevolent hiss. Rhyanon trusts it even less than she trusts the emissary. But if a truce could be made with one of the darkspawn, then maybe it can be possible again. Rhyanon has to hope that is the case. The darkspawn mother squints its beady eyes at Rhyanon. "I seek to create. To give birth. These are my children. There are many, yet without me, there cannot be more."
The answer to Rhyanon's question suddenly washes over her in a sickening wave. The darkspawn cannot reproduce on their own. They need women, prisoners, from the races who dwell on the surface. Women who are corrupted and changed beyond recognition. Rhyanon had thought that the taint was the worst it ever got. She'd had no idea. Bile rises up in her throat, and she has to breathe slowly and carefully to stop herself from vomiting. Suddenly the walls of this large and open room threaten to close in on her, and she almost loses control of her mana. Only Circle training prevents that from happening.
"I can't let you." Rhyanon says. She doesn't stammer. Her certainty fills her with a crazy kind of confidence. There is still no way out of this alive, but she will not sacrifice any of these women to such a horrific fate. She absolutely refuses to do that. She holds her breath, waiting for the inevitable attack to come. The darkspawn mother squints down at Rhyanon with an expression somewhere between sadness and confusion visible on its twisted face. It opens its mouth, and something like laughter spills out.
The monster's face contorts, and Rhyanon is certain of the evil intent behind the mother's twisted smile. This isn't something she can make a deal with, it isn't like the emissary. Fine. She holds her sword out and calls her magic to her. Ready for a fight.
Behind her, the locks on the cages rattle and click open. Rhyanon doesn't even have time to wonder how that happened before she is forced to confront what it means. The darkspawn mother is sending its children to protect it. The prisoners – elves and humans both – charge toward Rhyanon in a mass of crazed flesh. They have no weapons, but there is a manic glint in their eyes that is frightening enough. Rhyanon doesn't want to hurt them, but they come ripping at her with their bare hands, and in their single-minded fury they don't respond to her shouts.
Several of the wild-eyed women launch a coordinated attack, aiming to take Rhyanon down. Rhyanon swings her sword, still hoping to cripple rather than kill. But having to pull her punches makes her slow, and her second-guessing might get her killed. One of the women cries out in pain as Rhyanon's sword cuts deep into her arm, sending sheets of blood pouring down her bare flesh. Rhyanon whirls around, distracted by the crackling sound of electricity – lightning without the thunder.
A wave of that yellow-purple lighting washes over Rhyanon and all of the women surrounding her. Rhyanon grits her teeth against the pain, but the magic inside of her surges up to protect her, and she reflexively casts a protective spell that absorbs the worst of the damage. The women around her have no such recourse. They fall to the ground, writhing and crying. The darkspawn mother howls in fury and frustration.
Rhyanon knows this temporary break in the fighting won't last long, so she moves as quickly as she can, running for the safety offered by the other Wardens, who stand near the entrance to the cavern and look to her to tell them what to do.
"Concentrate fire on the mother," she tells them. "And thanks for the rescue," she adds, looking at Anders. He gives her a determined nod, and Rhyanon can feel the mana swirling inside him as he prepares to cast another spell. She reaches for her own magic, and stretches out a hand as she focuses on the Mother. Her eyes close as she concentrates, imagining a fire consuming the creature from the inside out. When she opens them again, it's to see the darkspawn abomination wreathed in flames, and shrieking. Rhyanon smiles.
As she watches, arrows from Nathaniel Howe's bow pepper the monster, and Anders continues to cast lightning spells, calling forth the full fury of the heavens even down here underground. The other Wardens fight their way toward the Mother so that they can unleash hell with swords and knives.
Rhyanon keeps one eye on the prisoners, but they seem quiet. Incapacitated, but not dead. Anders clearly knew what he was doing. It's still Rhyanon's goal to rescue these women, to take them out of here. But to do that, they have to kill the Mother. Rhyanon wonders about the hold the darkspawn has on the women she had been keeping in those cages. They are surely already Tainted. But maybe there is a way to solve that problem. She has to figure it out. She has to.
Some foul black spit flies toward Rhyanon, Anders, and Nathaniel. It's easy enough to duck out of the way, but Rhyanon is filled with revulsion anyway. In response, she calls a fireball to her hand and lobs it at the Mother. Nathaniel lets another arrow fly. Surely, the creature must be hurting by now – but if it is, it shows no sign. As Rhyanon watches, the rest of the Wardens hack and stab at its layers of blubbery flesh with their blades. Black blood oozes out of the cuts and punctures.
The Mother lets out another howl of rage, and another wave of darkspawn presses forward, wrapping themselves around the Wardens in close combat, until Rhyanon can't even see them anymore. And still, the monsters press ahead, coming for her and Anders and Nate. Rhyanon has to trust her Wardens to be able to hold their own, at least until she can protect the back line fighters first. She lets the darkspawn get close enough that she can see their gnashing teeth and sickly yellow eyes. She swears she can feel their foul breath on her neck. But she doesn't flinch.
Instead, she opens up her hands and lets flaring jets of flame race out. They hit the first of the approaching darkspawn and catch, washing the entire area with crackling heat and the stench of rotting, roasting meat. Rhyanon holds her ground. Those first darkspawn fall to the stone floor, screaming and writhing and dying, and tripping up the rest of the darkspawn behind them. They make themselves easy prey, for which Rhyanon is grateful. She steadies herself as Anders steps up behind her, ready to take over for the few moments it will take her to regain control of her mana enough to cast another spell. She takes a deep breath and focuses on her power, working to shape it in some useful manner. Anders lets loose a surge of power of his own, sending lightning in crackling waves over the darkspawn's twisted grey bodies. All the while, Nathaniel continues firing arrows into the horde.
All through the battle, Rhyanon keeps trying to catch glimpses of the Wardens fighting the Mother across the cavern. There is too much chaos in the fight, though. There's no way of telling if they're making any progress. She wonders, even as she casts spell after spell, if it's even possible for them to win this. Or are they too outnumbered, just prolonging their inevitable demise?
"Rhyanon!" Nathaniel calls, and she snaps to attention just in time to duck under a darkspawn's axe. She calls a burst of flame into her hand at thrusts it outward, burning the darkspawn to charred meat within a matter of seconds. She stands there, breathing hard, and reminds herself that she cannot even think of giving up the fight. If she dies here, it won't be because she laid down and let it happen.
Across the room, the Mother is howling continuously now. Rhyanon wonders if that means her fellow Wardens are having success in their attempts to kill the creature. She hopes so.
And is it just her imagination, or is the darkspawn horde beginning to falter as well?
It feels like Rhyanon's skull is splitting open as the Mother screams more loudly than she ever has. The creature's voice echoes off the cavern's rocky walls. Rhyanon struggles to get a grasp on her mana, but she manages to call it forth to the surface. It surges through her fingers and over her skin. She stretches her arm outward and lightning crackles and dances all along that limb, and she sends it forward to crash into the Mother, sending the monster barreling backward to slam into the wall. The ruler of this band of darkspawn does not get up again, and Rhyanon allows herself to breathe.
She looks around, at the other darkspawn, the soldiers who are now acting like mindless minions. Some of them swing weapons in her direction, or at the other Wardens, but they are easy to dodge, and the creatures hardly fight back against the Wardens' coordinated assault. Though there are dozens of the darkspawn, most of them are mopped up easily by Rhyanon and Anders' primal spells: fire and ice and chain lightning that are designed to take down whole armies' worth of enemies, and do the job very well.
In a matter of minutes, the underground cavern is full of little but corpses. Rhyanon steps carefully over the dead and dying darkspawn, and squints into the shadows. The doors of the cages that held the women prisoners are open now, some of them swinging slightly as though they were only recently moved. Velanna and her sister stand nearby, in a protective stance. Most of the women are crouched at their feet, or even laying on the ground. Many of them are whimpering, or crying.
Rhyanon hurries over, dropping to the ground next to the nearest fallen woman.
"Are they dead?" she asks, her heart sinking.
Anders kneels down next to her and puts his hand to the elven woman's neck. After a moment, he shakes his head. "Not dead."
"We can't carry them out of here. It'll take days to get back to the surface as it is."
"And what if the darkspawn follow us?" Nathaniel asks.
Anders looks between Nathaniel and Rhyanon. "I can heal them," he finally announces.
Rhyanon nods. She understands probably more than Nathaniel does. Anders can heal them, but it will take a while, and he will need protection while he does it, because he will not be able to fight at the same time.
"Do it," she tells him. "We'll watch your back."
Anders nods, and gets to work. He kneels down next to Velanna's sister, Seranni. She blinks blearily up at him, halfway between conscious and unconscious. "It's okay," Anders murmurs. "I'm going to help you." He takes Seranni's hand as Velanna paces restlessly behind him. He lets his eyes fall closed, letting himself focus on his mana rather than his mundane senses.
It takes a moment to get at the heart of what's wrong. These women weren't taken down by physical attacks, there is almost not a mark on them, no blood, nothing that might easily explain why they are all so near death. Something else is at work here. Some dark magic. The Mother had held these women fully in its sway, and its death seems to have broken something inside them. Anders wasn't aware that any of the darkspawn could be capable of such a thing. And he isn't sure how to fix it, either, if fixing it is even possible.
He settles back on his heels, his hand holding Seranni's. He gently pushes his mana into her, trying to coax her into life. He can feel her skin warming up as he does so, and her breathing grows more steady. Anders opens his eyes, glad to see Seranni's eyes fluttering open as well. He doesn't break his connection with her, not yet, aware that if he does, it will likely send them right back to where they started. Seranni isn't a mage. She can't do this by herself. But... on a whim, he waves Velanna forward. She's never seen her show any sign of healing skill, but she should still be capable of this. Mana is life, and in its raw form, it can help keep Seranni alive, at least until she remembers how to survive on her own: how to breathe, how to stand, how to move forward. Anders places Velanna's hand over her sister's and tells her to keep feeding Seranni mana until she's able to sit up and talk.
Then, he moves on to the next woman. This one is a human, disheveled and dirty, but Anders knows what he's doing this time and he doesn't spend as much time fumbling to figure it out. The woman doesn't seem as overwhelmed by the darkspawn's influence as Seranni was, either. She seems to respond to Anders' gentle coaxing much more quickly. She's already pulling herself up and looking at Anders with a bright, unblinking stare when he opens his eyes to check on her.
"Who are you?" she asks.
"I'm a Grey Warden," he tells her. It's the first time he's ever said so out loud, but it's never felt more right.
"Thank you," she whispers.
Anders nods. He wants to ask her what happened, how she got here, if she has anyone looking for her back on the surface. But he can't afford to spend the time, not right now. There are half a dozen other women waiting for his help. He's surprised to find Rhyanon has already started rousing one of them; obviously she's been watching him enough to catch on to what he's doing. Anders nods his appreciation, then moves on.
He is exhausted by the time he's finished. He can barely move. The pain of reaching for mana and coming up dry reverberates with every breath. He looks toward Rhyanon, but she still looks strong and capable. She is better at rationing her power than he is. He always wants to give everything he has, if that's what it takes to heal someone else.
The women stare at the group of Wardens with dead looks in their eyes. "Can you walk?" Anders asks. "We're going to get you out of here."
Slowly, Seranni nods. The rest of the women seem to follow her lead.
As they make their way through the Deep Roads, the kidnapped women constantly look over their shoulders, as if expecting the darkspawn to jump out at them at any moment. Rhyanon, too, half-expects an ambush. But there's nothing. The Wardens and the women they are shielding make their way slowly through the spiraling tunnels back up to the surface. Velanna never lets Seranni out of her sight, and Anders often notices the two of them sharing whispered conversation in the Elven language. He wonders what they're talking about, but he knows that whatever it is, it's likely none of his business. He stays close to Rhyanon.
He tries to watch her, to judge how she's feeling, but she's remarkably hard to read. It's like she's turned into a different person, the Warden Commander, who is unshakeable and completely in control. He tries to take his cues from her, but it's impossible for him to feel confident down here underground. In his opinion, they can't get back to the surface soon enough.
At some point, after what feels like days of walking, Rhyanon takes his hand. The two of them walk up into the light together.
Seneschal Varel doesn't even bother to hide his relief when Rhyanon and the rest of the Wardens return to the Keep. It's obvious by the look on his face that he hadn't expected to ever see them again. He even shocks Rhyanon by sweeping her up into a hug. After a moment he seems to realize what he's doing, and, startled, he lets her go.
Behind them, the women they had rescued from the darkspawn stand there, blinking and uncertain, huddling close to Anders and the rest of the Wardens. Anders smiles at them in what he hopes is a reassuring way, trying to convince them that they will be safe, up here at Vigil's Keep.
Rhyanon stands there, grinning, in the courtyard. It's obvious just by looking around that the work on the defenses has continued even in her absence. Piles of bricks and stone are stacked up next to the walls, ready to create reinforcements that will keep the place safe. There's a lot to do, and Rhyanon surprises herself by feeling fully ready to take it all on.