ACT II: The Cursed Be Damned
"There is so much shit going wrong in this town." Bull grumbled next to me. My crew and I stood huddled at the center of town just before the stairs that led up toward the Mayor's house. Meeting Jana had only been a mild precursor to the mess that we were to step into with the rest of the village. We had spent the better part of two hours snagging villagers to investigate the issues we had seen, only to be pointed back toward the mayor's house.
"Dead coming back, no merchants, no couriers." Blackwall added, his gaze on the townspeople that wandered past us with their meager things. Crops were low according to one villager, the water was going bad with all the runoff from the rains said another, and the bandits were taking the last bit of anything edible as payment for leaving them alone. The dead were rising because no one had put them to rest, said the Sister.
What a mess.
"Not to mention this terrible weather." Dorian pushed the tips of his hair from his face and then reached over and pushed the wet wisps of my hair away from my eyes as well, my head craned back with the gentle touch. "Look at her, only here half a week and she's waterlogged and dreadful."
"Bite me, flower pot." I shook out my head like a dog, letting the hair splatter around my cheeks and ears. He laughed as I did so and my attention focused on my other companions. "This is not going to be an easy fix, y'all."
"If we can fix it at all." Blackwall countered, using his shield as a stand. "Harding mentioned the fortress holding fifty, but I have no doubts that beyond and further we'll find more."
Bull nodded, "They've set up a patrol and choke point. Nothing gets in or out without them knowing and taxing it." There was a small sigh that slipped through me, they've only left us alone in the hopes that if they don't disturb the hornet's nest, we won't come to hunt them.
"So what do you suggest we do? I know we gotta talk to the mayor, but after?" I asked with a glance between them. The villagers had no care for what we were doing in their home, there weren't enough of them to boot us out, and too few for us to concern ourselves with being spied upon.
"If we're going to deal with everything, then I suggest a list." Dorian clapped his hands once and glanced between us. "I have limited battle expertise, but usually handling the biggest thing first frees up quite a bit of time."
"That's not a bad plan." I agreed with a hand to my neck. "I need to get to the lake, I have no doubt in my mind that the rift is causing the dead to rise, I think tackling that would be easier with a fortress to use."
"Agreed." Bull and Blackwall chimed in. Bull took the lead with a glance between me and the mayor's house. "Best to let the mayor know what's happening, in case any spare bandits from inland decide to retaliate."
"Can't have them holding the village hostage if we take the fortress." Blackwall huffed. "It would defeat the purpose of taking the fort."
"Yeah, I can agree with that." I rubbed my hand against my neck for a moment before letting it drop with a sigh. "Onward, then. Let's see if the mayor has any insight on that dam." We trudged on through the mud and stones. The stairs were slick with the rain and as I led them up the flight of steps, Bull's fist came to rest on my spine to keep me from slipping back. The gesture brought a small smile to my face.
Giant statues of celtic-style wolves breached the top of the stairs, howling silently at the sky. Lightning flashed over our heads and the thunder followed not long after. The storm might be tied to the rift in the lake, it would make sense why it was so close and so constant. I wandered over to the main house once the ground leveled out, a sign dripping next to the door with faded carvings titling the cabin as 'The Mayor's House.' My knuckles reached the door first and rapped a rhythem swiftly for entry.
A spare few moments passed before the door swung open. The mayor, a man touching the end of his forties into his fifties, stood in front of us. Graying hair damp against his skull with clothes moist from the weather. He grimaced at the sight of us, but turned back from the doorway to allow us inside. The floor was relatively dry, like the rest of the home, the fireplace blazed loudly to the right, the living space warmed by its life.
Do not shake the water off, mongrel.
"Inquisition, please, make yourself comfortable." The mayor waved us to the seats near a small table close to the fireplace. I glanced at my men and with a glance at each other, there was a collective agreement to remain standing. Oh alright, fine. I would stay with them, the thought of being caught off my feet wasn't a comfortable one.
"Thank you, Mayor." I answered instead. "Normally I would ask about the weather or some other small talk, but it seems a moot point." The man blinked in surprise, but a small laugh still sputtered up from his chest, his shoulders relaxing a mere fraction.
"Ah, quite. It's… well, we've never wanted for rain since it started, I assure you." He glanced at the door as thunder answered his jest. A second passed before he returned to me, "Tell me, Your Worship, is there any way to stop the dead for rising?" A curveball of a question shot my way. Right, starting with the biggest, hardest things first.
"I have a pretty solid theory that the undead are appearing because of a rift in the Fade." I replied readily, shifting in my armor. "The Fade is strongest where the most vivid or violent memories exist. If I can get to it, I can stop this." The mayor's gaze shot down to his feet for a moment as his teeth worried at his mouth. The moment was swift and he turned up to me, thoughtful.
Bull frowned for a second just at the corner of my eyes. My attention sharpened on the mayor.
"The light at the lake?" The mayor pondered the question. "It's coming from the caves below Old Crestwood, then. Darkspawn flooded it ten years ago during the Blight. It wiped out the village, killing refugees we took in." My eyes shut tightly at his words, pain blooming in my chest. That's what they were talking about, the missing people and missing bodies for burial.
Fuck me.
"I saw a dam." I came back into the conversation, my eyes hard on the mayor. "If we use it to drain the lake, I can get to that Fade rift."
"Drain the —" He stopped short, choking with his eyes blown wide. "There must be some other way!" I paused and watched him, confused with the sudden refute. Is there something on the other side of the dam that we don't know about? People? Supplies?
"We're trying to help." Blackwall replied with a dark frown on his face. "The Inquisitor is the only one who can close the rifts." To play on his words, my left hand rose from my side and I tugged my glove off, letting the Mark glow brightly in the dim cabin. The mayor's gaze flashed to my hand and then to me, the fear crawling over his face. I slipped my glove back on with my narrowed gaze on the mayor, what… are you hiding?
"You'd — you'd have to evict the bandits in the old fort to use the dam." The mayor fumbled his words and brought his hands together, his fingers twisting. "I can't ask you to risk your life." I opened my mouth for a second, a quick retort of do you realize who I am? on my lips before I stopped hard.
That was exactly the kind of thinking and attitude I had never wanted to get sucked into. Taking a moment, I inhaled deeply and held my breath, letting the words form on the back of my tongue.
"Mayor." I started.
"Gregory, please." He stuttered, hands flat together at the palms. "Gregory Dedrick."
"Mayor Gregory," I corrected with a gentle voice, "Crestwood can't last much longer. I don't want to leave without doing what I can." Blackwall smirked just off to my other side. Bull nodded his head, following my lead. Dorian was shuffling something behind me, aware of the drama and watching it unfold.
"I…" He hesitated, his gaze bouncing between us. He sighed heavily. "I suppose it must come to this." The mayor stepped around me and avoided Bull as he made his way over to the other side of the cabin. The other end held together a work area and a bedroom separated by a single wall. At the shelf lined with sagging books, he reached up to the highest level and fiddled around in search of something.
"I have a key that unlocks the gate to the dam controls past the fort, the bandits had taken the place from Robert, our old gamekeeper." He found it and dragged it off the shelf, palming it for a moment with his gaze lingering on the length of it. I held out my hand to prompt him and he released it into my palm. "The rift must be in the caves, as I said."
"Thank you, Mayor Gregory." I bowed my head briefly. "We'll do our best to make sure your people don't continue to suffer."
"Please, do." He replied sadly, his gaze distant. "But Inquisitor… I would not linger there."
-0-
"So how does one uproot a parasite?" Dorian asked me lightly from my right side, trotting with me through the mud. We had left the mayor in haste knowing that our course of action would take us back to the fort to clear it of its so called parasites.
"Usually with finesse, but I don't care much for delicacy." I answered, extremely grumpy at tripping over a rock I had mistaken for a pile of mud. It was unnerving how steadily and unrelentingly the rain came down from the heavens.
"We'll have to find a way in, the doors will be reinforced." Blackwall grumbled from behind, bringing up the rear and covering our exit from Crestwood. No more Wardens appeared and the highwaymen were suspiciously absent despite our tromping through half the village and over the main roads.
"The mayor said they killed the old gamekeeper in the fort and took up residence in it when the dead first showed up." Bull murmured off to my left, watching the road ahead of us as I had to watch my damn feet below me. "Means they knew about it beforehand, at least, and they know to cover the roads."
"We'll see what Harding has to say." I straightened my walk once we were back on the solid, compacted earth that was the main road. "Maybe the scouts have found a way in for us."
"We could be choked if it's too small, Boss." Bull advised with a wary eye down to me. "We need an entrance big enough to shove our boys through, or we'll be picked off."
"Not if you're quiet." Dorian replied with a look over my head at Bull. "You could send in a mage or two, have them blanket the area."
"Too risky." Blackwall countered with a shake of his head. "They could be overpowered. There's no guarantee there aren't former Templars in their ranks."
"Fuck," I swore hotly, "I didn't even think about that. I just assumed they were normal bandits."
"Banditry is easy to turn to when you don't have another source of income." Bull lectured quietly. "They could have mages, too. It's what the Chargers were built for, we need to hit them hard and fast." The ping-pong match had subsided into the chatter of the rain dropping around us. My hands came up to rub the cold from my face, the tip of my nose was iced through.
I need to know what Harding found, my ears were rubbed next, hair wrapped around them in tangles, I don't want to go in there blind. The Inquisition camp came upon us soon enough, the torchlights burning bright green from Vivienne's veilfire. Probably the only thing to survive this fucking weather. Harding and Krem were seated close to the requisitions table, their heads bowed together under an oilcloth to keep out of the rain. A map was in Krem's lap.
I let out a whistle to alert them. The soldiers closest and within earshot stood at attention and waited until I dismissed them with an impatient wave of my hand. Harding and Krem stood up with the lieutenant keeping the oilcloth up over his head, extending his arm out to cover Harding. I choked on swallowed snickers at the sight.
"I'm seriously hoping you guys have good news for me, because I have fuck all." I told them once we were huddled together. Krem struggled for a moment, wondering what to do with the oilcloth before settling into a defeated stance and kept it over Harding's head. My little scout looked extremely amused and fought a smile from her mouth. Brats.
"Good news and bad news, I'm afraid." Harding answered readily. "Good news? We take the fort, we'll get to the dam."
"Bad news is the only way into the fortress is through the front door, short of using siege weapons." Krem continued with a sigh. "We found an entrance along the shore that looks like it comes up through the cellar of the fortress, but without knowing for certain…" He shrugged under the oilcloth as his voice trailed off.
"It could be trouble, yeah." I ran my hand over my head, fingers snagging in my hair. "Alright. I need the Chargers ready, we're going to have you up front as shock-troops. Have Rocky ready some explosives."
"Boss?" Bull blinked down at me in surprise.
I flashed him a grin. "Reinforced doors, right? Who says we can't do this with a bang?" The look of awe that came over the Qunari's face shifted quickly into one of feral humor and he shook out his head, shoulders tensed up with excitement.
"Do as she says, have Skinner shadow him to keep any bandits off until he's finished." Bull ordered. Krem nodded and without much adieu, gently dropped the oilcloth onto Harding's head and dodged out before she could retaliate. Blackwall and I reached forward to bring it off her, but the scout remained resolute under the cover.
"Alive?" I asked.
"Yes." She glared.
I did laugh this time.
It took minimal time to set up. Vivienne had been ordered to stay with Sera and whatever troops we didn't take with all of them to head to Crestwood proper and hold up against retaliation. Solas and Varric hadn't yet returned from their hunt for Hawke, and though it was worrisome, I had to trust they were alive. I've already got a bit too much on my plate.
Delegation was key.
To avoid alerting the bandits too quickly of our arrival, we waited until the dead of night. Blessed and cursed with a new moon that left us blinded in the dark, the raining cascading as it ever was over our heads, and the dead stillness of absent wind, we would have the perfect cover and the worst fighting conditions all at once. The Inquisition forces had snuck around the fortress an hour or two after the sun had set and ambient light was snuffed from the sky. Skinner and a few of my scouts had subdued the patrols. Rocky had his hand ready on the detonator with the explosives sitting at the mouth of the entrance.
"They've got to know we're coming." Dorian whispered from beside me. I sat huddled in the tall brush with the crew; Blackwall and Dorian stood to either side of me, with Bull guarding the front, hunched and prepared to launch through the entrance at first signal with my hand resting at the middle of his back.
"Of course they do." Blackwall replied lowly, glancing around me to Dorian. "Both parties are well aware of what's about to happen, the deciding factor here is who's better prepared."
"We are." I answered and reached out with my other hand to scoot him back. My gaze found Rocky and I held up my full hand, let's get ready to rumble! Bull trembled under my other hand, his muscles tense and coiled with anticipation.
Pinky went down first, Rocky bunkered into the boulders and grinned at the door. The Inquisition forces had saddled up against the walls of the fortress, leaning into the shadows and letting the rain bounce off their heads and chests.
Ring finger brought Krem slithering through the Inquisition soldiers that lined the left side of the entrance, pulling a few of them back from the blast radius. His tower shield went up and he ducked behind it, another soldier on the opposite side doing the same.
Middle finger and my crew started to quiver in their places from excitement, resting on a hair-trigger.
Index finger remained, Dalish fade-shifted through the troops, dropping barriers over their heads in the last final seconds, the soldiers glowed a purplish-blue hue and shimmered in the rain. It was mere seconds that we stood there.
My thumb was the last, and with it coming down, I smacked Bull's back as Rocky's explosives thundered through the air and ripped into the mouth of the fortress, the shockwave beat into the tower shields before careening into us. I huddled behind the bulk of The Iron Bull and his heels caught the ground to brace against the blast before pitching himself forward. Like clockwork, the Qunari sprung from his place and crashed through the brittle wood of the massive doors, the soldiers flowed in from behind.
Archers lined the first defense from the roof of stables inside the fortress. Their swordsmen were hunched on the wings of the door like the Inquisition had done and jumped to snare the first few that came through. We had known that, we were prepared for that, as Bull roared through and brought his maul through with a devastating swing, slamming the head on either side with reckless strength.
Krem was accustomed to his commander and slipped through in between swings and brought his sword through the legs of the closest unfortunate soul. Dalish flashed off to the other side and with a twirl of her staff, a sea of fire burst from her feet and snarled over the earth. The rain did nothing to deter the hellfire, the flames rose like grasping fingers and began to melt the metal of the bandits' armor.
It rooted them in place for the rest of us. Blackwall dodged forward once Bull had shifted further through the entry way. Blackwall shield bashed two approaching highwaymen and his hatchet hissed through the air and caught one of them with a bite of steel into the clavicle. Inquisition soldiers flooded in behind us, their shields up to keep the arrows at bay, a solid wall marched across the courtyard, shoving the bandits back into the fortress.
"Bull!" I commanded. The Qunari dragged his maul through the muddy earth, flinging it at any bandit that approached and turned on his heel at the sound of my voice. Without sparing me a glance, he took two or three hefty lunges toward me, slotting neatly at one-third of my vision and becoming my shield.
"Dalish, shatter!" Bull hollered. A scream of ice spiked through the ground and shook under the feet of the bandits and ensnared the howling armored mabaris that rocketed our way. I swerved around Bull with my back to his, using his momentum to bring my maul into a crashing swing on the head of the nearest animal. The ice had eaten up to its ears and crystalised the poor creature, leaving it open to my swing. The other was too far for either of us to reach, but Blackwall had seen the chaos and sped up to the next one.
Dorian's black-purple streams of magic moaned past us over our heads and soon the highwaymen we had disposed of were clattering back to their feet. Charred and decapitated bodies rose and wobbled on their broken knees before lifting swords and shields, turning toward their once brothers-in-arms.
"Push past them! Don't attack the dead!" I screamed, noticing a few of the Inquisition had hesitated at the sight of the raised bodies. Once more I was behind Bull and shoved my shoulder into his back, prompting him to move. He did so, thundering through the flailing bandits to get me to the stairs. Blackwall came up behind us and covered my end with his shield. Dorian couldn't be found and Dalish was a mist to the rain. Krem commanded the courtyard with his own barking commands, keeping the Inquisition forces focused on holding ground against any who tried to escape.
Up the stairs we flew. Skinner and Grim had come up along the side of the stairs, the nimble elf had launched herself with a foot to Grim's back and then his shoulders, sailing past us like a ghost on the railing and deeper into the fortress. Grim parkoured off a few crates and jumped ahead of us on the stairs, following close behind her. Bull and I weren't far off and had an easier time of it when no bandits came out toward us.
We reached the entryway into the second courtyard on the next level with Grim caught at the door by a tower shield. Bull marched up behind his man and with one nasty palm thrust, shoved the tower shield back and tumbling. Grim and I slipped through with a shared look. Grim nodded and bolted away, leaving the highwayman to me on the ground. My maul came up from over my head with a two-handed swing and hammered into their neck. The armor whined as it bent inward and blood spurt from the impact for a second or so before it drained into the ground.
Bull's shadow came back up to my left side and I continued our march, swerving and swiveling behind the Qunari to take any bandit that he missed on his blindside, a few more died to that maneuver. A horn blew from somewhere distant in the fortress and the Qunari set a growl to his teeth. My hand came back up to his side and gripped him to keep him with me.
"Stay with me," I ordered, my fingers biting into his slick skin, "I'll let you loose soon enough, I promise." A rumbling, echoing chuckle vibrated through my fingers and I let go to let him push forward. The second courtyard held a good portion of supplies, scattered all out over the grounds. There were archers up on the next landing, but Skinner had reached them and if the screams were anything to go by, she was in full terrorizing mode.
Grim was at the center landing of the courtyard, dancing around lumber and crates to deal with a fully armored warrior with another tower shield. With a brief double tap of my palm, Bull shot from my side and met the game head on, covering Grim as a blow had winded him down to one knee. With the guard distracted, I raced up the stairway toward Skinner. More screams came from behind us, but a quick glance let me see Dalish and Dorian come through with ice crawling up the stonewalls and a shambling mabari guarding Dorian's heels.
"Shit!" Skinner cursed into the rain. I was halfway up the stairs before I could see what she turned foul about; a bandit had slipped past her and beelined it for me. His helmet was low and bore no shield that I could see. My grip tightened on my maul and only steps he was from me before I swung my maul from the ground up. The bandit ducked to the right, his helmet catching just the edge of my weapon, but I could now see his.
Daggers! Rogue — shit, fuck — dodge!
My knees buckled instinctively when the rogue turned on their heel to dive for me, daggers at the ready. My weight hit the ground and I threw myself down to the left, rolling with my maul held out to avoid hitting myself. The daggers clanged with each other overhead. My heel caught stone and my opposite knee turned up to brace me into a kneel. The rogue turned around with an underhanded grip on a dagger. Without a second thought, I swung my maul out along the ground and caught the bandit's ankle, then yanked my maul toward me to trip them.
Skinner flew up from behind me, taking advantage of the other's surprise and went for his throat. She landed with a wet thud on his chest, her daggers shoved into his neck and lung. The bandit struggled for a moment, only to choke as Skinner flicked her wrists and snapped his neck. It was over in seconds.
Neither she nor I waited for the other, we were on our feet and charging over the landing to get to the next area.
"Skinner, shadow!" Bull yelled from down below. Grim was being hauled to his feet from under a pile of wood, Bull's face was smothered in blood. The elf pulled out from the lead and instead shifted and swam through the rain to come around me and shadow at my non-dominant side, her daggers glinting in the downpour. Ah, that's what he meant — clever.
I shot through the door like a madwoman with the head of my maul used like a battering ram. Skinner and I flew inside, unaware of whatever was on the other side of the door. The small room numbed us to the sound of the rain before we ducked through the next door. The third level bloomed out and stretched toward the towering walls that climbed up into higher levels. Archways patterned the opposite end and from within we could hear voices howling through the rain.
"Cut them off! Keep moving!"
Skinner hissed at my heels, annoyance rolling off her in waves.
"Skinner, fetch the strays. Leave anything bigger than you to us — go!" I ordered her. With the speed of a fired bullet she zipped away from me and dove into the archways, the shadows obscuring her form just enough to catch a few of them in surprise. I searched through the rain for another way in and up toward the tower. I can't trust there isn't something bigger up there, I need reinforcements. A few hollow screams rattled through the rain, and then silence.
Bull and Grim ran through the door, slowing to a stop near me when I was spotted. Bull's gaze flashed over me, assessing damages, before he snorted steam from his nose and looked for Skinner. The elf appeared in the darkness, snaking up to us and planting herself at Bull's side, her voice quick and quiet through the rainfall.
"I've killed the scouts, but there is another up at the last level." She reported, her gaze focused on Bull. "He is no shem — Avvar, perhaps. Large, armored. I saw a warhammer." Clattering footsteps came up from the entry into the level with Krem leading the helm. Dorian and Dalish were just behind him and they marched over to us.
"All secured down below, Your Worship." Krem saluted me. "We've got soldiers posted at the doors and through the cellar, with Blackwall to command them."
"Good. Dalish, if you could?" I tilted my head at her. She smiled and with a tap of her staff, another barrier kissed over our heads and blanketed us. Dorian came along to my right side and inspected me, his hand reached out and rested at the back of my neck. A shiver of a minor healing spell warmed my skin.
"Thanks." I murmured, rolling my neck. I glanced between him and Bull. "If you wouldn't mind?" Bull narrowed his only eye at Dorian, but held his hand out. Dorian made no jest and reached out to shake the Qunari's hand and the spell blossomed up Bull's arm a second later. The blood dripping from his brow stopped, the rain washing away the rest.
"Plan?" Bull turned to me, letting go of Dorian's hand. I had quite the collection of people; mages in the form of Dalish and Dorian. Hitters like Grim, Krem, and Bull. Skinner had done her duty beautifully. My attention shifted to her. She stilled and narrowed her eyes at me.
"I need you to run, Skinner. Get word to Harding, tell them to start heading this way." I waited as she brought her gaze to Bull. He reached out and tapped her shoulder, sending her off with a tick of his head. In a blink she was gone and I waited with my group, my eyes peering through the rain and darkness. We need to end this fast if they have an Avvar with them.
"We have a few scraps left, and the big dog. Grim, Krem, keep the strays off my back." I nodded to them, waiting for the accepting salute. To Dalish and Dorian, I said: "Fence in the area, focus the fight to Bull and me, okay?"
"You'll be alright?" Dorian asked with a concerned frown. "We can bring in Blackwall from the lower level. The soldiers don't need him anymore."
I shook my head. "We don't have time for that, it'll let them prepare and booby-trap the area."
"She can handle it." Bull rolled his shoulders. "We need to get moving before we lose momentum."
"Agreed." I answered and shouldered my maul. Krem and Grim nodded, then with measured steps they made their way through the arches and up toward the last and highest level. Dalish and Dorian followed behind them with the grace of dancers, to leave Bull and me bringing up the rear with lumbering steps. Bull eyed me from my left and my skin prickled with the attention.
"Something the matter?" I asked him, shaking the water off my head and shoulders with a quick jerk of my head.
He shook his head lightly. "No. You're holding up well, Boss. Good to fight next to you." And now just like that, all those emotions I had repressed come rushing back. I hate you so much, you asshole. Heat sparked at the back of my neck and flashed into my hair, my ears felt like they were curling from the sensation. I bit the inside of my cheeks and kept my pace steady.
"Same to you, Bull. Shall we?" I asked lightly, clearing my throat. Silently, we pulled up as Krem and Grim took up either side of the entry into the last level. It was roofless, with bars on the arches that acted as windows all along the left side, leading out toward the flagpole base at the far end from us. The ledge on the right was steep with a low stone wall as the only barrier to keep one from falling. My group waited for my signal, and with a sharp jerk of my flat hand, we were off to the races.
There were three that remained to guard. Out by the ruined tower that housed the flag I could see the massive form of their warrior. Our attention focused on the smallest group with Grim and Krem rocketing from their hiding spots and diverging each to a separate fighter. Dalish swung her staff low to the ground and ice sprang up high enough to keep the exits covered. Dorian took the few that Skinner had killed before hand and brought them back into the fight, their lungs moaning from the effort.
Bull and I shot past it all toward the warrior and even in the darkness of the rain, I could see the horned helmet I had once seen on Morvan the Under. Fucking shit, are we dealing with a clan?! Bull had reached the stairs before I had and when he did, two spiked armor shields came up from the ground. Fuckers were hiding in wait for us! I reached out and barely managed to capture Bull's strap to his shoulder armor and jerked him back.
Surprise lit the Qunari's face at my vicious pull, since I had actually caused him to stumble.
"Boss?" He blinked between me and the approaching group, their steps steady to keep the towers close together as a barrier. I shook my head and dragged Bull back. Thinkthinkthink — it's too narrow, they'll shove us off, they'll pin us! Bull could see it now, too, there was no railing or stone guard to keep us from tumbling off the ledge of the steps.
"I got an idea," I glanced back at where the others held the fight, the three remaining highwaymen putting up a harder resistance than most. I swallowed and gripped my left hand into a fist over the strap. Fucking hell, Solas is going to be so pissed, but we can't get caught like this! With a horrendous heave, I hauled Bull back toward me and turned on a heel to slam him up against the wall, the Qunari's eye going wide in shock.
"Don't move!" I ordered him, but it was lost in a cascade of thunder. The Avvar was on us, steps away as he raised his maul. Bull took no heed of my orders and was rearing his weapon back to meet the blow, my name falling from his lips.
My left hand released him, scraping along the wall as I hastily pivoted on my heel to greet the Avvar face to face. The Mark glittered under my glove before it ripped the fabric into my scarred palm, the light of the Fade growing. It gave me precious seconds as the Avvar and his guards hesitated at the sight.
It was just enough.
With a swing I brought my hand up and saw through the glow of light the thin wisp of the Veil, just as I had seen it in that cave all those weeks ago. My fingers passed through it and a searing white noise clattered into my palm. My grip snagged the wisps and with all the strength I had used to manhandle my Qunari, I yanked.
Consume! I commanded wildly.
The Mark lit like a firework, sputtering for a moment before a second later the Veil was wrenched open with a deafening scream. A shockwave of power and essence from the other side burst outward and knocked me back against Bull, the Qunari's arms coming to wrap around my waist before he turned us so I was pressed and protected against the wall. My vision was obscured by his arm and shoulder, but the Mark pulsed with each burst of energy from the rip I had created.
I could see the feet of the Avvar and the bottom of the tower shields slowly fade into particles of nothing, streams of ghostly essence that were caught up in the hunger of the Fade. There was no concept of how long it was, Bull's chest was my barrier against the chaos, screams that echoed through the rain before the Veil forced itself closed with a violent swoosh. A jolting pain, a sensation of gnarled ice ricocheted up through the Mark and into my arm.
The Mark pulsed in time with my heart for just a moment before it went pale in my palm. My ears were ringing, I could hear Bull and Krem calling for me, deep against the thunderous tide in my skull. My eyes shut and my hands came up to hold my ears. Stop, I wanted to say, but my lips were glued shut. The voices turned heated, arguing, and though I couldn't tell who was arguing with who, I didn't want them to continue. My right hand fell from my ear and I reached for the first closest thing.
My hand fell to Bull's chest and the Qunari's ribs shuddered under my touch, but his hand came down over mine and held it. There was a beat of silence and then swiftly I was lifted, my legs level with my hips as Bull's arms shifted from protective barrier to cradle. My head was tucked against his neck and chest and my skull pounded with each step he took. It was everything I could do to focus, to keep my thoughts quiet so I wouldn't burst at the seams from madness.
We are going to do that never again, Jaime Wyatt. I hissed between my ears, my eyes shut tightly. That has got to be one of the stupidest things you've ever done.
The rain had stopped at some point, there was a jolt, a jostle, and a brief fall with skin and armor scraping against wet stone. Small beacons of light grew past my eyelids, but my eyes refused to open. My heart thundered in my chest hundreds of miles a minute. Both of my knees were bent over someone's leg, one arm wrapped around my back with the person's second knee pressed against my spine. Someone's got you tucked into their lap, my hazy mind supplied. A large hand came to rest on my diaphragm.
It's Bull, my brain figured out with delirious amusement.
"Easy," Bull's voice echoed in between my ears, "deep breaths, Boss. C'mon, deep breaths."
I'm trying, I wanted to say, but I had no sense of control over my body. My throat refused my voice and my lungs protested the lack of oxygen, despite the fact that I was most likely hyperventilating right this second. There was no pain in my arm anymore as there previously had been when I used the Mark, but I felt this repercussion was far, far worse.
"What in blue blazes happened?" Dorian's voice warbled somewhere just out of my range. The shout had me instinctively curling and Bull's arms tightened around me.
"Hold off on the questions, Vint." Bull growled over my head, his voice rumbling through his chest into my left ear pressed against it. "Let me get this under control first — Krem! Get them out of here, get me Stitches!"
"Here," Dalish's voice dripped like the rain, "I know what that was. She's overwhelmed."
"I know that, Dalish." Bull groused, his arms tightening around me. The tips of Dalish's fingers brushed my face and neck as she tried to shuck me from Bull's hold.
"Chief, please." Dalish was in no rush, she waited a polite few seconds and chuckled when Bull's arms gently released me. A hand came over my closed eyes, Dalish's palm was unnaturally cool and her words were warm against my ears. A breath of cold spread across my skin and forehead, easing down into my neck and shoulders, it coiled my tension only in the briefest of moments before it released it.
I sighed, the sensation was heavenly and I melted against Bull's chest.
"There." Dalish took her hands away. My gaze was static as I blinked my eyes open. "The energies of the Fade can be a lot to handle. She should be fine now."
"Thank you, Dalish." Bull sighed, relieved. He shifted me higher in his hold, closer to his chest. Not like there was any place for me to go. Any closer, I would be an organ transplant. "We'll have Stitches look over her anyway. Find Skinner, check the place for any stragglers."
"Aye, aye, Chief." Dalish stood and glanced me. I offered her the tiniest wave I could manage with the tips of my fingers. She smiled wonderfully for me and returned the gesture before leaving. My ears had returned to their duties, the world coming back into focus. The steady pace of Bull's heart was to my left ear, and the sound of rain to my right.
Bull's hand left my back and rested on my head. "... what am I going to do with you?"
"I'm awake." I hastily explained, not wanting to be caught in the awkward moments of a confession. Not that he would, but I've seen too many rom-coms to trust it.
"I know you are." He growled, his hand dropping from my head to the back of my neck. "What is wrong with you? What was that, Boss?" Any number of explanations came unbidden to my lips, but all of them were more frightening than the last. Who's going to trust someone that can just rip the Fade open at a moment's notice? Who's going to trust me not to kill them with a wave of my hand?
Bull shifted so that his hand left my neck and the same arm wrapped over my shoulder, hugging me to his chest. The other arm had come around to rest across my hip, his legs moving gently to keep me warm and cradled. I peered up, but all I could see was the edge of his chin and length of his neck. A flush blossomed across my face and guilt chewed at my stomach. I wanted the comfort, desperately, but this felt like theft.
"I thought we told you not to use the Mark like that?" Bull scolded me softly, his throat bobbing against my temple. I swallowed with a shudder racing down my spine. I'm going to die here, from heatstroke, and I'm ashamed to think it would be the best day of my life.
"It was a shitstorm. We couldn't see, and they had shields." I defended weakly, because in retrospect, the whole plan I had to use the rift to give us space to retreat sounded like a fantastically idiotic idea. My eyes shut momentarily, praying gratefully that Solas would only hear of the stupidity and not see it first-hand.
"Boss. That's setting off an explosive to deal with a stuck window." Bull chuckled, the hand at the small of my back patted me lightly.
"I didn't say it was a smart plan. Just a plan." I grumbled, the wavering in my voice masked by it. I can't handle this. We're just — friends? Co-workers? Boss and employee? Fuck if he's like this with me, I can't imagine what — nope.
I let the thought fall away. Now was not the time to deal with a fangirling heart.
"I think I'm okay now." I muttered against his chest and then wiggled to shake free of his arms. They fell away easily and the cold touch of rain-cooled air graced my face and soggy hair. A shiver quaked my body and I was violently against it. Fuuuuuck that shit.
"Never mind." I argued, reaching for his arms and tucking myself back in.
His echoing laugh was enough to soothe my rattled nerves.
