Chapter 32: The Expedition pt3
We who are forgotten, remember,
We clawed at rock until our fingers bled,
We cried out for justice, but were unheard.
Our children wept in hunger,
And so we feasted upon the gods.
Here we wait, in aeons of silence.
We few, we profane.—Found scrawled on a wall in the lost Revann Thaig by explorer Faruma Helmi, 5:10 Exalted. Unknown author.
Twenty years in the Legion of the Dead. I've seen spiders larger than a bronto, broodmothers lounging in putrescence surrounded by their corrupted children, and unnamed things with flesh turned against itself. But worse, by far, was in an old mine shaft down from Heidrun Thaig. We chased an emissary down there to a tunnel dead-ended in rubble. It was a vicious fight. He picked my men off until only four of us were left. When it seemed like we'd finally fulfill our oaths, our fight woke something long dormant.
What I thought was rubble gathered beneath my feet, taking a terrible form: a beast of stone surrounding the shattered skeleton of a man. A rock wraith. The spirit of a dwarf so foul the Stone itself rejected him. One swing of its boulder-hand crushed the emissary, and then it turned its eyeless skull toward us. We fled back up the tunnel, its heavy footsteps thundering at our backs. When we reached the thaig, we finally turned, knowing that out in the open, we had no cover and couldn't hope to outrun the wraith. But when it came to the exit, it struck the trusses holding up the ceiling of the shaft, closing itself in forever. Perhaps, in the end, it felt remorse. Perhaps it was one lost soul recognizing another. —From the journals of Amrun, Legion of the Dead
The Deep Roads
After fighting off the shades, the gang took a breath. Merrill cast a ward around the area to protect the others while Varric checked on their supplies. Considering how large this thaig was it could be days or longer before they could get out. "Betrayed and trapped in an abandoned ruin underground and it's full of demons" Isabela said. "This day has been great so far" Fenris and Ericks was scouting ahead for a path they could use to get out of thaig.
"Something the matter, Daisy?" Varric asked. "You've been quiet since we've been here"
"This place is so strange…"
The dwarf chuckled. "Well no shit, you live underground too long you're bound to get weird eventually"
"That's not what I mean…" Merrill said. "So many spirits here and yet there's not a tear in the Veil"
"So what..? The demons were already here?" Isabela said.
The elf nodded. "I think so and not just that, I think the spirits were…asleep somehow" she said. "Something stirred them awake"
"Oh shit…" Varric said. "You don't think that idol Bartrand took was what was keeping the demons asleep, do you?"
"I think so" Merrill said. "And I believe the worst is yet to come" Fenris and Ericks came back to the others tired and battered.
"Ericks!" Merrill came up and healed their wounds while Varric got some food and water for the two of them.
"Elf! What the hell happened to you two?!"
"Good news, we may have found a way out of this place…" Ericks said. "Bad news, there's a lot of demons on the way"
"Nothing we haven't dealt with before" Isabela said.
"These demons are different…" Fenris said. "I didn't think it was possible but apparently these demons can possess the rocks here"
Varric sighed. "Wonderful…rock wraiths, just what we need" Bartrand once told him a story about rock wraths. Once Fenris and Ericks recovered, they lead the gang down the path to potentially escape the thaig. Dwarven legends tell of dwarves so corrupt that even the Stone rejects them. Doomed to wander the Deep Roads in an undying half-life, these creatures are known as rock wraith, and they are creatures of hunger, wrath and little more. This belief is also shared for other shades found in the Deep Roads, such as Phantasmal warriors and Forgotten spirits.
Those that speak of them tend to call them rock wraiths, though they seem to refer to themselves as the profane. This may be because they feel that they were abandoned, although it is unclear by whom. The deeper they went into the thaig, the more they saw that strange red lyrium that grew around the ruins like weeds. They saw the demons around the chucks of red lyrium like they were in a trance. Whatever was the case with this kind of lyrium it was actually calming the demons. They quickly fought off the hordes of shades in their way and continued on their path. At a narrow passageway, they spotted the rock demons that Ericks and Fenris mention. Blades and arrows bounced off the shell of the demons, the rock demons manipulated the earth causing spikes of rock to surge towards the gang.
Merrill casts a large barrier to protect the others and then casts a bolt of spirit energy that vaporized one of the rock demons. Apparently the demons didn't like spirit magic and the gang gave the elf cover she needed to cast her spells. Once the demons were dealt with, the gang went on their way. As they walked through the narrow hallways, Ericks saw Merrill a little out of breath from the last fight.
"You doing alright, Merrill?"
The elf gave a tired smile. "I'm fine Ericks, just didn't think I would be casting this many spells"
"Well if you drop, I'll be there to catch you"
Merrill blushed. "Thank you, I'll try not to trouble you" The gang were attacked by more demons and they crushed them as they came one after another. As the latest wave fell a booming voice echoed the halls.
"Enough" The ground shook as the rocks rose and formed around a ball of light. A rock demon appeared before them. "You have proven your mettle; I would not see these creatures harmed without need"
"I'd say being attack on sight gives us plenty of need"
"They will not assault you further, not without my permission"
"What are these things?" Varric asked. "They look like rock wraiths but…"
"They hunger" the demon said. "The profane have lingered in this place for ages beyond memory, feeding on the magic stones until the need is all they know"
"They eat the lyrium? That sounds…healthy" Ericks said.
"I am not as they are. I am…a visitor"
Fenris crossed his arms. "Hunger demon…I know your kind very well" he said. "The profane are its food source"
"I would not see my feast end" the demon said. "I sense your desire; you seek to leave this place. But you'll need my aid to do so"
Fenris frowned. "Don't be lured in, demons always have an ulterior motive"
"Why do we need you? We've found our exit" Ericks said.
"Your exit leads to a darkspawn camp but there is another exit out of your way" the demon said. "There is another door that leads into the paths far above us, this is what you seek"
"It is sealed however and cannot be opened without a key" it said. "I know where the key is, do as I ask and I shall tell you"
"Hmph. So what do you think?" Varric asked.
"We'll take our chances" Ericks said. "Besides I have a feeling you have another thing in mind"
"Most unwise" The rock wraith summoned the profane and shades and attacked. Ericks tossed a fire grenade and blew the demons away while Merrill enchanted the gangs' weapons. Varric blasted the rock wraiths with a barrage of arrows while Isabela and Fenris flanked the demon from both sides and cut the wraith down. Once the demons went down, the gang headed down the corridor where abominations attacked them along with profanes. Merrill slammed her staff on the ground and sent a chain of bolts through the each of the enemies, stunning them. Varric shot a rain of arrows down while Isabela, Fenris and Ericks dealt with the stragglers.
When things quieted down, the gang went on their way until they reached a large room full of lyrium pillars. "What is this place?" Ericks asked.
"This is the vault. The dwarves would have brought their…" The gang felt a rumble beneath their feet. The rocks around them started to gather into one place along with the red lyrium and formed into a gigantic behemoth behind them. "Oh, that can't be good" Ericks tossed a grenade at the wraith and the demon fell into the ground and then appeared in front of them and started to glow.
"Oh shit!" Ericks said. "Move, move!" The gang headed behind the pillar as the demon released a blast of energy from the red lyrium. The energy was so intense that it shook the room but it would seem the attack took a lot of power as the demon fell revealing a red core. The profane rose up to protect the wraith's core. Varric and Merrill blasted them with arrows and magic as Ericks, Isabela, and Fenris attacked the red core. The earth started to rumble and the rocks gathered together and the rock wraith was back again. The wraith moved to the ceiling and started throwing rocks at the gang; Merrill formed a barrier to protect the others as Varric shot at the wraith. When the wraith fell to the ground the warriors attacked the core while Varric and Merrill defended them from the reinforcements. The rocks shifted once again into a crimson orb that was sucking the gang in, Merrill cast a storm of lightning above and the demon was barraged with bolts of lightning. The others continued to attack the demon until the demon was no more.
"The rock wraiths are supposed to be dwarven legends. They're not even supposed to be real" Varric said putting away Bianca.
Ericks snorted. "Looked pretty real to me" He then cracked his shoulder. "The hits are real too" The gang then stopped and gasped in awe.
"Well…shit" In front of them was the motherload: gold, jewels, sculptures the kind of things that would make a man for life. "So…how much do you think we can carrying out of here?" The gang went through the chests and found a key within.
"A key, think it opens that door the demon was talking about?" Isabela asked. "Let's collect what we can and then get out of here" The gang collected what they could and headed to the surface where fresh air and sunlight was waiting for them. Once on the surface, the gang found a long road waiting for them.
"How long to get back?" Ericks asked.
"A week maybe…if we're unlucky"
"And if we're lucky?"
"We stumble over Bartrand's corpse on the way" They headed back to Kirkwall.
Kirkwall-a week later
The gang made it back to Kirkwall, the trip was for the most part smooth except for the bandits that attacked but they were child's play compared to what they faced in the Deep Roads. Varric took a deep breath, the dwarf never though he would miss the dirty air of the city. "Home, sweet home. Finally" he said. "I wonder if Bartrand came back to the city. You think I'd be that lucky?"
"Luck hasn't exactly been our strong suit so far" Ericks said.
"Oh, I don't know about that" Varric said. "The treasure we found in that crypt far outstrips Bartrand's stupid idol. He'll be green with envy when he finds out"
"As soon as I get the chance, I'll look up my contacts to make sure we get the best price" he said. "In the meantime, why don't you head home? I'm sure your family will be up in air about the news, we're going to be rich" The gang scattered and Ericks headed for Lowtown. With the coin they were going to get, the family mansion was as good as theirs and with clout Bethany was safe from the Templars. Although he had to prepare himself for the shopping spree that his sister was going to take him on. Things were looking for the Hawke family…or so he thought. Outside a Gamlen's house was a patrol of Templars.
Ericks' eyes went wide. "No…Betty!"
A fear come true…Next Time! Review and Comment!
