Chapter 8: The Trouble with Traps

Their party reached the campsite to find a bewildered group of familiar faces. The welcome was not a warm one, however, though many were relieved to see the others still in one piece. Varric was covered with bruises on his left side that were starting to heal, but Sera was in worse shape. She had bandages all over her legs and one of her arms that were soaked in blood. Dorian pulled out several potions he had brought and handed one to Varric before he set to healing his bruises. Likewise, Solas knelt beside Sera, who groaned after taking a swig of her healing potion. Then he set to work, inspecting the wounds with care.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you all," Varric said, sitting up on his cot and wincing as he did so. "But how the hell did you manage to get here in less than a day when it took us two weeks?"

"Magic," Morrigan said dryly, taking a seat near the fire.

"Ah. Should've guessed. Well, I've never felt worse or been happier to see you all. I take it you all got our message?"

"We did," Cassandra said, harsh eyes narrowing. "And we have a plan to recover the Inquisitor. But before we talk about that, perhaps you can enlighten us as to the full story about how this came to pass." There was a note of barely concealed malice in her voice, though that wasn't abnormal for Cassandra.

Iron Bull and Varric winced as if struck. "Right. Well, it started out normal enough. Just your average scouting mission, taking a look into things that go bump in the night. Some of the locals told us about a spot out in the woods blocked in by these cliffs that was getting hit by bandits or something because people were going missing. Merchants and mostly travelers at first. But then some kids went missing. So we went to check it out, taking every precaution," he added when Cassandra's eyes narrowed. "Anyway, we get out there and we don't see any sign of bandits. A few tracks, but mostly-"

"Wolves?" Solas offered. They all looked over to him where one of Sera's wounds lay exposed in a clear bite mark.

Varric nodded gravely. "Yeah. Wolves. Only there weren't any wolves there at the time. Then we heard a scream echo off the cliffs. Naturally, we ran to help, and we get there and there's this little girl. She's got her foot in a metal beartrap and there's wolves coming out on all sides. One of 'em lunges and attacks the little girl, and we rush in. The Inquisitor, she's as fast as Sera is and they get there first, flying into the thick of things. Meanwhile, Bull and I are trying to clear a path, but these wolves just keep coming out of nowhere. Not normal wolves either. Demon wolves. Possessed or some shit. If I didn't know better I'd say-"

"They were infected with red lyrium?" Solas guessed. "Or blood magic?

Varric sighed deeply and rubbed the back of his head. "Exactly. Not normal. Not at all what we were expecting to find. The Inquisitor is holding her own against a dozen of 'em at least while Sera gets the kid out of the beartrap. Sera gets her and starts running, but now she's got no weapon so it's me and Bull trying to keep the way clear and cover her as The Inquisitor covers her retreat. And that's when the Venatori show up." His shoulders sagged and he stared at the ground. "We shoulda known we were walking into a trap."

"That's never stopped us before," Dorian commented.

"True. But this was one hell of an ambush. Well over a dozen Venatori on top of the cliffs surrounding us, red lyrium infected demon wolves biting at our heels down below…" He shook his head. "I thought we were goners." He ran a hand over his face. "But then everything happened so fast. Three wolves leapt on Sera and Bull charged in, fighting them off of her. Sera's bleeding and covered in bites; she couldn't walk. Then the Venatori start sending down arrows and spells every which way. Bull has Sera over one shoulder and the kid on the other, so now he can't fight. Next thing I hear is the Inquisitor shouting at the top of her voice, telling us to run and get somewhere safe. I never even realized what she was doing. Maybe she didn't know. Because then all of a sudden her hand explodes in a shower of green light and this barrier bursts out, sending everything and everyone flying off in all directions. Wolves smacked into the cliffs, a few Venatori went flying off 'em, and Bull and I get sent hurtling towards the exit at high velocity. Unfortunately, I didn't quite clear some of the cliff and bashed my side up pretty good. It was a brief window, but it was enough time to give Bull and I a head start and we started running. A couple wolves are following us though, so I keep turning around to shoot them and that's when I see…" Varric shook his head and took a deep breath. "Arrows. One lodged here on her," he pointed to the right side of his lower abdomen. "And one here," he pointed to his right thigh. The group grew very still, holding their breath. "And Maker forgive me, she was kneeling there on the ground, trapped like a cornered cat, still sending spells at the beasts to cover our escape, and she locked eyes with me and told me to go and I did. Maker forgive me, but I did. We left her there and the Venatori had her overrun."

Iron Bull, who had been leaning against a tall oak while Varric told the story, punched the tree with surprising force, scattering leaves around them.

"They left us to the wolves, but we got away from them and made it back to camp. The little girl was injured, but the surgeon bandaged her up and she should be okay."

"The fucking shits used her as bait! What kind of shitbag does that to a kid?" Sera swore loudly, still clutching her side in pain, but looking much better after a healing session. "I'm gonna shove arrows up all their Venatori asses," she snapped.

"Not anytime soon, I'm afraid. Your wounds will take some time to heal," Solas told her.

"Piss on that."

"You wrote that the Inquisitor is believed to be in Caer Corswinn. Have you learned anything since?" Cassandra asked, looking down her nose at Varric.

"Yeah, the Vints are crawling around that place," Iron Bull said, crossing his arms. "It's been impossible to get close. But we think boss is still alive. And kicking," he said with a half-grin.

"What makes you say that?" Cassandra asked, expecting hard proof.

"A body washed up on shore this morning. Tevinter by the looks of him. Big guy. Thought he just drowned at first, but his neck had been snapped. We think the Vints dumped the body to try and hide the evidence."

"You can't be serious," Blackwall said, disbelieving.

"It's true. If it is the same man I saw in her memory in the Fade, she did snap his neck," Solas informed them. They all looked round, surprised. Solas repeated the story for them and there were mixed emotions all around.

Sera looked green, Cassandra looked impressed, and nearly all looked concerned. Iron Bull actually laughed. "Damn. Talk about a killer set of thighs."

"Don't be crass. She was tortured. And who knows what the Venatori did to her in retaliation," Cassandra warned, wiping away Iron Bull's smirk.

"Has there been any news about her condition at all?" Solas asked, his concern getting the better of him.

Iron Bull, Sera, Scout Harding, and Varric all exchanged glances and shook their heads. "No. Nothing. But we don't think they'd kill her. Corypheus wouldn't want that chance stolen away from him," Varric explained.

"We have a plan to extract her though. If you could help tell us what you know, we can get started," Cassandra smoothed out Solas's map of the fortress and set to talking about the fortifications, number of Venatori, and anything else of significance.

"Good. Varric, you should stay behind and watch after Sera."

"What, piss on that! I'm coming with you!" Sera tried to get up too quickly though and winced in pain.

"You cannot fight in your condition. It is not up for debate. Besides, we will need people to help protect the camp in case the Venatori show up. I entrust that responsibility to the two of you."

Sera made a hateful face, but relented, crossing her arms like an angry child.

Varric just shrugged in silent agreement and pulled Bianca onto his lap. "We'll be ready to help pull this thing off. Just make sure you all come back in one piece."

Cassandra thanked him and they set off.

Iron Bull led the way to the castle and Solas knew he felt he had something to prove after being unable to save the Inquisitor the first time. He remained oddly silent and bore a grimace as they drew nearer to Caer Corswinn and came into the sight of it. They stopped along the treeline, observing the fortifications and watchers on the walls. "Has there been anything else happening around the fortress?" Cassandra asked Iron Bull. "I feel something… off. I cannot put it into words though."

"Well," Iron Bull shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "There is this one-"

And he was cut off at that moment as an enormous bolt of green lightning burst up into the sky. They all stared in shock at the sight as the green light illuminated the dark clouds overhead.

"Yeah," Iron Bull said darky. "There's that."

"No," Solas gasped, recognizing the green color and the familiar vibrational sense of the anchor, only this time on a much grander scale than normal.

"That can't be good," Dorian said under his breath.

"What do you mean? What is it?" Cassandra asked, peering up into the sky with alarm.

Both mages could sense what the others could not, and they exchanged a worried look. Dorian opened his mouth to reply when a high, piercing scream followed as another bolt shot up into the clouds.

"The Inquisitor," Cassandra breathed, a chill combing down her spine. "No! What are they doing to her?!"

But Solas knew. He recalled the enormous focusing crystal hoisted by slaves in the upper courtyard and knew now what it was for. "They're trying to reopen The Breach," he said gravely. "They're using her as the conduit."

"Maker help us," she swore.

Another scream cut through the night, sending a collective ripple of fear down their spines as the night sky lit up again.

"No point in sneaking into the cells. She's not there," Blackwall grumbled, tightening his grip on his weapon's shaft.

"Let me guess? We're abandoning the plan and running in through the front door, murdering everyone in our path, aren't we?" Dorian drawled with a heavy sigh.

"Looks like it," Cassandra said, pulling her shield off her back and unsheathing her sword. "Morrigan, can you provide us with a distraction? Draw as many of them away from us as you can."

"With pleasure," the witch smiled, melting into the shadows.

"Let's do this!" Iron Bull took up the charge and started running across the grass towards the large, heavy oak doors.

"Oh wonderful. Same old plan as always," Dorian shook his head, running after Bull. The rest followed, charging forward. A shrill cry pierced the air as Morrigan swooped down in her griffon's form, drawing away the Venatori as she flew over the castle ramparts. One of them went flying off the ramparts after Morrigan flung him with large, vicious talons.

Dorian and Solas threw up shields as Cassandra, Iron Bull, and Blackwall all three charged the front gate. It splintered under their combined force. Luckily, Morrigan's distraction proved to be quite effective and they caught the men inside mostly unawares in those precious initial seconds.

"Let them do the dirty work, we've got places to be," Dorian shouted to Cole, waving him on to stay with them as they climbed the stairs.

Solas had never felt such single-minded focus in a battle like this in ages. He had only one goal: get to her. All else was merely in his way. Venatori ran along the tops of the inner walls, firing arrows and spells and charging to meet them. A crack of his staff sent a chain of lightning zapping through them, stunning the Venatori in place. Cole appeared then, flashing up out of the shadows and cutting their throats to finish them off. Behind him, Dorian took care of those foolish enough to try and follow them. Solas dodged an arrow that shattered against the wall behind his ear, but he did not slow as he rushed up the steps. When he reached the top of the last staircase switchback he heard shouts and ducked in time to avoid a flurry of arrows overhead. In the same gesture he swept his staff low and a wave of fire followed, scorching through several of the nearest Venatori mages. He blasted apart their shield charms with the force of his will and his command of the Fade, cleaving them aside. Fire cut through the rest and sent them scurrying for cover.

By then Iron Bull, Cassandra, and Blackwall had caught back up with them. They entered the hall before the courtyard as Venatori spilled in on all sides.

"Go, get to her and stop whatever they're doing. We'll handle this," Cassandra shouted at the three of them, her blade dripping with blood.

"This is going to be fun," Iron Bull said with a fiendish grin, raising his two-handed ax and letting out a war cry as he raced over to a corner of frightened Venatori.

Solas did not delay. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, blasting through the doors with an explosive rune that shook the ground. Three mages conjured a wall of ice to block their path, but another rune made quick work of that and it shattered to pieces. Solas hurdled over it, launching himself forward and swinging his staff so that the blade end cut into the mage's chest, dousing him in a spray of blood. He raced down the hall and found Cole running beside him.

"They're up ahead: hungry, hunting, eager for the taste of blood, bones broken in snapping jaws."

Bursting through the final door, they found themselves in the courtyard, where by then, they had been expected. Two dozen wolves with glowing red eyes watched them, ready to spring. But they didn't. Dorian and Cole drew close, all three of them standing back to back as they moved forward with great caution, watching, waiting. The courtyard was similar to what Solas had seen in The Fade, only now the enormous focusing crystal hung in place over the onyx altar where Lavellan lay in chains. Six Venatori mages stood in a circle around the altar, chanting as magical energy radiated in the center of their circle, forcing the anchor on her hand to spark. Lavellan was clearly struggling, fighting against their combined magic with all her might as they performed the ritual.

The head mage, a woman with sharp, severe features stood behind on a raised dais above the other mages, holding a bloodied knife under the throat of an imprisoned slave. Two bodies lay next to her in a pool of blood. Another two stared without seeing, bound and chained beside the dead. A tome floated at the mage's side, glowing as she performed her spell.

"Blood magic. Oh Karinna, what have you done?" Dorian muttered before cursing in Tevene under his breath.

"You know her?"

"In a sense. This is not my first time dealing with her, though it appears she's moved up in the world."

"Dorian of House Pavus. Have you come to be a part of history?" Karinna's voice echoed off the stone walls. The other mages did not cease their chanting.

"Playing pet to Corypheus now, Karinna? Isn't that a bit beneath you?"

She laughed. "Pathetic as always, Dorian. You never could see the bigger picture. This is the start of something extraordinary: the rise of magic. Corypheus is the wolf you fear howling into the night. I am the wolf at your door."

Dorian surveyed the eyes of the hungry demonic wolves surrounding them. "Yes, I see you really went heavy into the metaphor, Karinna. But you don't want to tear a hole in the sky. Corypheus tried and look at how hideous he is. Come now, Karinna, you're better than that."

And then she smiled to reveal sharp, unnatural teeth. "I know." Then she slit the slave's throat. Blood gushed forth and she thrust her hand out at the altar.

"No!" Solas shouted, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.

The spell connected with Lavellan and her back arched unnaturally. She screamed and the sound pierced his heart as all he could do was watch. Light burst forth from her hand, drawn into the crystal before it shot into the sky.

Solas rushed forward and the wolves attacked en masse. Dorian just managed to pull him back out of the way before one went for his leg. Cole flashed forward, slicing at the wolf. Dorian put up a barrier spell, but instead of being repelled, the wolves pressed in on it, standing on their hind legs.

"We have to stop her! I have to get to-"

"I know!" Dorian shouted, sending out spears of ice and waves of fire to try and keep the wolves back, but they continued to appear and press onto the barrier, weakening it.

Just then Morrigan arrived in her griffon's form, swooping down towards Karinna, who dove out of the way, breaking the blood magic spell on the Inquisitor. Solas's heart pounded in his chest as the green light vanished and her body slumped back to the altar.

A new sound came from behind them as the warriors arrived, hacking and slashing at the wolves with considerable gusto. The Iron Bull taunted the wolves, relishing in the slaughter as his own form of vengeance against the demonic creatures.

"We have to stop Karinna and her mages!" Dorian shouted, expanding the barrier to protect Cassandra and the others. "We'll get you there!" Blackwall shouted as they began to cut down the wolves that leapt at the barrier.

"Dorian!" Solas yelled, pointing to Karinna, who had taken hold of another imprisoned slave, dagger in hand.

Dorian swore and together the two mages broke through the barrier, sending spells at the sorceress, but they were too late. The dagger drew across the sacrifice's neck and she thrust her hand out again. This time, with the Inquisitor unconscious and unable to resist, the spell took hold and she was ripped into the air, hand flying open. Green energy burst into the sky, stronger and more powerful than before, lighting up the night in a blinding flash.

"Vhenan!" Solas yelled.

Dorian dashed off to engage with Korinna. "Go, I've got her!" he shouted back as another piercing, feral scream sliced through the air from Lavellan.

The sound gripped Solas's heart. He dove forward with Cole to face off against the Venatori mages. Cole slashed the first one's throat as Solas set three of them flying backwards in an explosion of fire when the Inquisitor's chains snapped from the force of the Venatori's shattered spell and then she rose, high into the air, as if the anchor were dragging her skyward like a rag doll. Solas stabbed the last mage with his staff and stared up in horror as she fought and strained against the pull of the magic. Thinking quickly, Solas raised his staff up at the glowing focus crystal and thrust it forward with a cry. The force of his spell cut through the crystal and it cracked and shattered, falling to the ground. Cole dodged a piece that would have crushed him.

Breathing hard, Solas looked back up into the sky and his heart sank as she still hovered in the air, fighting against the magical tether pulling at the anchor.

"Solas!" Cole shouted.

Whipping his head around, Solas saw too late as Dorian went flying back into a wall and Karinna thrust her hand out at him, sending a wall of fire up out of the ground and straight at him. A blow tackled into him as Cole collided with his body, knocking him out of the way just in time.

Flat on his back, he stared up at the night sky and the gathering black clouds overhead that rippled with magical energy. And in the center of that sky above him, he watched his beloved struggle with pure will against the blood magic and the pull of the anchor. She let out a cry, different from before: full of rage and raw rebellion as she resisted the pull and through her own indomitable willpower, ripped her arm back, severing the tether of power pulling her into the sky. Yet even as she fell, she twisted her body in midair and thrust her arm out as if to deliver a final blow and the built up power in the anchor exploded from her hand, sending several green bolts shooting out at Karinna. The sorceress's eyes widened in terror before she was struck and the pure force of the anchor's power disintegrated her very flesh.

But Solas didn't see it happen. Thrusting out his staff, he managed to slow her fall. Cole dashed forward and caught her before she hit the ground, cushioning her landing.

"Vhenan!" Solas shoved off the ground and raced to her, heart hammering in his chest, fearing the worst. Cole helped raise her up. Taking her limp form into his arms, Solas put his ear to her chest, listening for a heartbeat. "She's alive," he breathed, relief coursing through his veins. He hugged her to his chest, cradling her head in his hand.

"Solas?" Cassandra's voice reached him. "Is she-?"

"She's alive." He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead before hugging her to him once more.

"This is all very well and good," Dorian said, rubbing his shoulder and grimacing in pain. "But perhaps we could enjoy this happy little reunion back at camp before more Venatori show up?"

The Iron Bull stepped forward and harnessed his weapon. "Let me carry her."

Solas nodded, though his arms refused to let go even as Iron Bull knelt down to take her. "She's hurt," was all he managed to say.

"I know. I'll be careful. Promise," Bull said seriously. Solas hesitated, but then released her. True to his word, Iron Bull picked her up in his arms, cradling her like a small child.

They fled Caer Corswinn and met back up with Morrigan at their camp.

Sera and Varric both sighed in relief when they saw them all returned safely. "How's Inky? Is she going to be alright?" Sera asked worriedly as Iron Bull set her down on the cot beside her. "Why's her hand all sparky? She's not moving, is she-?"

"She's alive," Solas said, feeling her pulse again. "Dorian-"

"Yes, yes, I think we had better try to reseal the binding. I can manage the containment if you-"

But Solas was already on top of it. Together they set to work, moving in synchronized harmony as they wove the spells to rebind the anchor's spread. Meanwhile, the others looked on with baited breath, curious, but afraid to ask questions in fear of disrupting the process. All except for Morrigan, who studied the process with an academic eye. When they finished, Solas and Dorian began to assess her other injuries.

"I think she's torn every last muscle and ligament in this shoulder," Dorian said, hovering his hands over the area and performing a spell to help heal her.

"Did you see the way that thing pulled her into the air? I've seen magic before, but that was some crazy possession-like shit," Bull commented, scratching his head.

"I genuinely have no explanation myself," Dorian said, dumbfounded. "Except that to me, it looked more like a reaction than something caused by the blood magic Karinna used."

"The sorceress's spell was only ever meant to cripple the Inquisitor's resistance, I suspect," Morrigan speculated. "To force her to comply with the ritual and activate the mark. Yet even with several enchanters and a powerful sorceress's blood magic, she resisted the pull. Remarkable. I've never seen such willpower against forces of that nature."

"A factor that likely saved her, as well as the rest of the world," Solas commented, brushing aside a lock of Lavellan's hair from her face. "If Karinna had been successful, she might have torn open a new Breach in the sky. Let us be thankful she did not succeed."

"Still," Morrigan commented, tilting her head. "When the ritual was broken the mark still pulled her into the sky. She fought against it, but…" Morrigan paused, examining the Inquisitor's mark and hand with care. "Power such as this cannot be kept in check with a binding forever. It will only continue to spread." She looked at her, a note of sorrow in her expression. "It's killing her."

"What?! No!" Sera shouted and sprang up from her cot, clutching at her side. "Come on, that can't be right. What do you mean, it's killing her?" Her eyes flicked back and forth, looking at all the grim and grave faces around her.

Solas could not bring himself to look her in the eye. It was, after all, his failing that was the reason for her condition.

"I'm afraid I mean precisely that. The mark must have come from a significant source of magical power. It is leeching onto her, like a parasite, growing stronger over time. The binding is not strong enough to keep the power at bay indefinitely. Sooner or later it will take her life."

Sera sank back down to her cot, distraught. "But… Can't you like, cut off the hand or something? Like what the surgeon does if a wound's gone bad?"

Morrigan shook her head. "To remove the hand would not remove the effects of the magic. 'Tis connected to her, as intricately linked as the blood running in her veins. In order to save her life, the magic must be contained first and to do that, one must be able to withdraw the spread, then remove the arm. Though even then it would be difficult to say if she would survive. The damage may yet be too great."

Sera, never one to miss out on an opportunity to swear or curse someone, just stared at the Inquisitor, gritting her teeth. "No. No, that's not fair," she spat, wiping her eyes angrily.

"I did not realize," Cassandra said softly, closing her eyes and shaking her head. The others said nothing, but all wore grim expressions.

"There may be a way to stop it that we haven't discovered yet," Dorian said, trying to provide a glimmer of hope. "If we manage to recover the orb Corypheus has, we may be able to learn more and come up with a solution."

"Excellent. Let's kill Corypheshit and get that stupid orb thingy," Sera said, with renewed vigor.

"That's the plan," Dorian confirmed, crossing his arms.

"And what if the orb doesn't work? What then?" Cassandra couldn't help but voice her concern.

"Then we look for a miracle. Or find something else that will buy us more time. We won't abandon her." Dorian smoothed his mustache, as he often did when thinking over a complicated issue in his head.

"We will find a way," Solas said firmly, gripping Lavellan's hand tightly in his own.

"Does she know the mark is killing her?" Morrigan asked, glancing around the circle for any indication one way or the other.

"It was one of the first things I said to her when we met at The Breach," Varric grumbled. His shoulders slumped like he bore a heavy burden, his face grave. He hadn't realized he had in fact been foreshadowing the future when he'd said it.