ACT II: Into The Depths We Go
The ground was flat and tilting. The earth slumped and sucked at our heels. The water had been drained away, but the rain continued and the ground had no time to recover. We found much what one would expect if a lake was drained away: plantlife sagged with its weight with no water to support it, the old homes were soggy and drooping, groaning as boards and roofing came loose once exposed to the air.
And the dead. They were numerous.
Skeletons that had been held at bay by the weight of the water or that hadn't found a way to shamble out from the depths could see us clearly. The wandered toward us only to fall prey to our blows. Bull and I could make quick work of the shamblers. They were animated, but animation did not save them from decay or the gnawing chew of acidic lake water.
"Is it… is it just me, or do they feel like…." I struggled to find my words. The skeletons held no weapons and were silent as they moved. Not even their bones creaked with their steps.
"Like they aren't putting up a fight?" Bull finished for me. He gripped a skeleton close by and picked it up by its skull. The jaw fell from its hinge and with a good shake, the skull snapped off from the spine. I shuddered as Bull sighed and tossed away the skull.
"Why would they?" Blackwall carefully stepped around a skeleton at his feet. "These weren't warriors. They were civilians."
"What is commanding them?" Dorian asked, the staff he held was lazily drifting in his grip, the end of it near his heels as he walked with us.
"Nothing but the Fade." I answered, listening to Solas' lessons echo through my thoughts. "The Fade has enough violent emotion here to sustain these poor souls. They're probably trapped."
"Meaning if the rift is closed, then we can put these souls to rest." Dorian concluded with a nod. "Now, if only those caves were not on the other side of the lake." I rested with my elbow propped on the pommel of my maul, the head of which was my support with it wedged between two rocks. My gaze floated over the corpse of Old Crestwood, my thoughts whirling.
The caves definitely need to be cleared. My gaze shot to the far end of the shore, where the docks would be bare and the land swept up toward the old camp that the Inquisition had set up to prepare for our long stay. But something doesn't feel right. It's too… quiet. No Wardens. No demons. No darkspawn.
"Boss?" Bull prompted from my right side, the tips of his horns barely in my field of vision.
"I don't like it." I replied quietly. That brought the attention of all three men to me. I shook my head and kicked at the head of my maul to swing it back up into my grip and holster it. "I don't like how planned this feels." Bull looked out over the dead village, steam escaping from his snort.
"You feel the rope, but can't see it." He added thoughtfully.
I snapped my fingers at him. "That's it. Someone's got my end of the leash and I don't know who the fuck it is."
"Charming." Dorian chuckled. "Are we expecting a trap, then?"
"Something to that foul taste." Blackwall agreed, leaning against his shield. "I say we meet it head-on."
"Damn if you do, damn if you don't, right?" I nodded. Something itched. Some caught fabric or piece of needle pricked and teased at my skin. The blood in my ears rushed and my heart hammered in my neck. What is that? Where the fuck is that coming from? Something was amiss and it was making me sick to dwell on it.
My crew and I spent the better part of an hour navigating through the mud and slick rocks. Spindleweed everywhere. Almost all of the cabins we found were gutted and swept through, the floodwaters consumed the personal items and lives of the residents of Old Crestwood. Before long, the itching feeling that settled in my bones had grown to uncomfortable static and when we stumbled upon a rift, I realized why.
Oooh, no. My radar got bigger.
"There aren't any demons." Dorian commented as we spied the rift from the safety of distant hillcrests.
"There isn't anything alive here. No reason to come through." I speculated. Though, even without the soul to possess, the demon could still come through and cause some chaos. The rift hummed with a quiet buzzing of white noise and trembled through the air like a withering flower. It was strong, but caved with sorrow. It, like the inhabitants around it, had very little will to fight.
"I almost feel bad." I murmured to my group, taking my weapon from my holster.
"You would feel worse if you left them to suffer." Dorian replied.
"Well, yeah." I answered softly. It had been ages since I faced a rift, and to come across one that felt so dead already was hugely unnerving. It was like waiting for a rattlesnake to strike, but you couldn't hear the tail end go off. We approached cautiously. Skeletons rose from the mud with some missing limbs and others broken in half. It was a sorry sight to see. Bull stomped forward on heavy feet and without much effort reached for the creaking creatures and tore their heads from their spines.
"Watching you do that is mildly upsetting." Dorian murmured, staying just out of reach of the rift. I walked up to it, dancing around some of the stones to get even footing in case something did decide to burst through as I closed it.
"What you do is mildly upsetting, v — mage." Bull replied darkly. He hurriedly corrected from Vint at the nasty look I shot his way, clearly slapping him with a don't you dare glare. I would have laughed at the fumble if I wasn't already focusing on keeping my stomach steady from the turbulent emotions coming from the rift.
The rift glowed in the darkness of the storm, swirling with the wind and dripping in the rain. The faint echoes coming from within tore at my heart. Gentle screams and hollow sobs of voices that couldn't escape the flood. My eyes closed and with a shaking arm, I rose my left hand and reached for the tear in the Veil. There was a tug and my eyes flashed over. The tether appeared between my palm and the rift, but the normal tug of war was absent.
My fingers curled around the meat hook attached to my tendon and with a step back, I gave it a steady pull. A hissing noise came from within the depths of the rift and for a second I irrationally feared I had set off a bomb. The rift burst at the seams and the screaming became louder, the hot white noise blistered up my arm and through my shoulders, chewing at my neck. A wince hit my face, but I remained planted and continued to pull. The rain was the only reason I wasn't sweating bullets.
"C'mon, you." I muttered to it, twisting my wrist instinctively, as if I could tighten my grip on the tether. The rift wiggled in the air, the screaming turned to shouting, indistinctive words popped through the air, warnings and calls for help, children wailed through the darkness and then the sudden memory of rushing ice water swallowed my mind. Reflexively, I yanked on the tether and the rift's jaws snapped shut.
I hadn't realized I dropped to my knees. Tears stung my eyes and carefully I placed my hands out on the mud to hold myself up. Bull's ankles came into view and he hunched down with me, waiting. Dorian's hand came to rest on the space between my shoulders, his fingertips ghosting along my neck.
"Oh, my darling dove." Dorian murmured sympathetically. "Are they all like that?"
"Oh." I whispered into the rain. My blurry gaze came up to Dorian's chest. "That's… right. You haven't seen one closed before, huh?"
"No, and the stories fail to capture that." Dorian smoothed his hand down my back and my muscles felt weak. We hadn't fought this rift like the others, but it had been just as draining. My heart shuddered weakly in my chest and with a sigh, I leaned back onto my haunches. My hands patted my knees and with some effort, I stood to my feet.
"Not to be dramatic, but. Yeah." I cleared my throat. I shook the mud from my hands and rubbed at the back of my neck. "They're mostly like that. Each rift is different, depending on the area. But. Yeah."
"Are they all painful?" Dorian asked gently.
I nodded, distracted, "Yeah."
The looks Dorian and Blackwall faced me with were tragic. Bull stood next to me with an eyebrow raised, tilting his head with a small jerk to get us going. Relief fluttered in my chest. At least someone isn't going to treat me like I'm broken. It's just a rift. It hadn't been just a rift near on a year ago, but there was no point on dwelling what I couldn't control.
"Ready, steady, go." I led on.
-0-
"I thought we said there would be no demons!" Dorian's spell cracked near our heels, bursting the earth and snagging the Sloth as it hurtled toward us. Caught in the swirls of magic, the Sloth snarled viciously and scraped at the air to reach for Bull. The Qunari met its face with a mighty swing of his maul.
I had ducked around him to startle the Rage coming behind the Sloth, distracting it as Blackwall lunged from its flank and smacked it heartily with his shield. With the demon stunned by the blow, I skidded closer and rocketed my maul's face into the demon's gullet. There was a vomit of flame as the creature howled and locked its claws over my maul, but I only used that to yank it forward and kiss my fist.
"I said it was a theory, dandelion!" I shouted back, twisting my maul out of the demon's hands and twirling it over my palm with the momentum to bring the head down and knock it against the demon's footing. It screamed only to gurgle as Blackwall's sword speared through its thick neck. The heat of the demon's body disappeared into the rain, its form slumping briefly before it crackled into energy, fading back into the Veil.
I shook out my head. "They must be coming from the caves."
"Naturally, if the rift is in there." Blackwall tapped the end of his shield against the ground, remnants of the demons fell from the grooves of his shield.
"Are there bodies down there for them to possess?" Dorian asked, shifting slightly to take cover from the rain under a sloping broken roof. I walked over to him and did the same, leaning against his side as I drained out my ears. Who knew rain could go up? I was starting to miss my desert days.
"They don't always need bodies." I answered with a grunt, smacking my temple lightly. "Some of the more powerful spirits get caught in the rift and shoved through, so they turn into demons."
"Or they're already demons to start." Bull amended, chuckling as he watched me.
"That, too." I sighed as I stood upright. "My best deduction is that the rift in there is pretty massive, so it's just spitting out whoever is close enough, and nobody's happy about it."
"Well, we've found the bodies the Sister told us about. Dorian's marked them with a rune." Blackwall held his hand over his forehead, shielding his eyes from the rain as he spoke. "That leaves finding the entrance to the caves, and possibly the mayor's old home."
"I would be amazed if any evidence survived." Dorian snorted, his hands resting on his staff. "Between the onslaught of the rain and the flooding, by all rights nothing should survive this madness."
"Amen." I grumbled. The skin under my armor itched and burned from being rubbed raw by the wet leathers and weight of my plates. Irritation was beginning to bloom under my scalp and was working its way down to my shoulders. I need to get out of this rain before I do something regrettable. And considering the amount of secrets I was holding, that was a fuck load of regrettable things.
"You!" A voice screamed behind us, echoing through the rain. Dorian and I leapt from the dilapidated house, shrieking like banshees, landing right into the awaiting arms of our startled warriors. "You there! I order you to tell me why nothing here heeds my commands!"
"What in the actual fuck." I gasped my held breath, holding my neck instinctively. Bull adjusted his grip to accommodate for my sudden weight, easing me back down to earth from where he held me against his chest, I could feel the rumble of his laughter. Dorian had managed to leap fully into Blackwall's arms, the warrior having cast aside his shield to avoid the collision.
"Maker's balls," Dorian swore viciously, "it's a spirit. A sentient one!" The spirit's incorporeal body floated above the ground, its lower torso swirling, the skull hollow and eye sockets deep in darkness. The energies that formed it shifted from orange to yellow, blazing like a sun in the tempest.
"Silence!" The spirit spat at Dorian, its voice and skull warping. "Let the other one talk!"
"Oh, hot christ, it means me." I cautiously stepped the tiniest bit closer to the floating figure. "Hi, hello. Stupid question: are you a spirit or a demon? Just for classification purposes." Bull and Dorian shared a snort behind me. The mage was placed back on his feet with Blackwall shaking his head in disbelief.
"Demon? Those dolts who would suck this world dry?" The spirit rose a bit in the air, the voice snarling in its throat. "I am called to higher things." Good God, was this going to be my play at exorcism? The Mark in my left hand only pulsed faintly and it was a curious thing to feel; does it not react to 'normal' spirits? Are they stable enough that I can't sense them?
That was terrifying. No wonder it had managed to sneak up on me.
"What is a spirit like you 'called' to do?" I posed the question politely. Demons had been mindless, striking without cause or fear, and cared nothing for self-preservation. The spirit in front of me, though aggressive, made no push to attack or overwhelm. Like handling a hot potato. Could be dangerous, could be nothing.
"I lead armies, kingdoms, lords! I am imperial." The spirit glowed bright with pride. "I am Command."
"Ooh." I exhaled, excitement bubbling in me. "Solas told me about this!"
Bull frowned next to me. "Told you about what?"
"Spirits are embodiments of aspects, of characteristics or traits prominent either in their life, or in our world." Oh, if only Solas had been with me, he would have adored this experience. I would have to remind myself to tell him later. "This spirit wasn't necessarily a person, or if it was, their strongest trait was their commanding presence."
"And this means what for us?" Dorian stayed well behind me, his arms crossed over his chest. "How does one get rid of a spirit when they're commanding everything else around it?" The question rolled around in my head, I desperately tried to pull on any knowledge that Solas had given me, or anything I had from my old world.
"They probably have unfinished business." I murmured thoughtfully. I turned to the spirit, "Command. May I ask why you're here?" The spirit's glow dimmed for a second and sputtered, the rain passing through it with a shimmer.
"What of it? I felt your coming." The spirit paused, pondering me with a tilted head. "Is there something alike in us?" It felt me coming? I hadn't sensed it at all, but considering that the spirit ran on emotion, I wasn't all that surprised. Fascinating. What I wouldn't do to have a notebook with me at the moment.
"No," I shook my head, uncertain if the spirit could actually see me, "all you sensed was the Anchor in my hand." The spirit blitzed with some sort of static and shuddered in the air, the voice contorted for a moment.
"Then you are less than I thought, but feel no shame." The spirit lamented heatedly. "Some must follow those who lead." I withheld my thoughts to myself, but a small, amused smirk touched my lips. Some time ago I would have agreed, now it was only a piece of amusement to have anyone or anything call me less.
I raised a hand, pacifying it. "Could you tell me what is keeping you here, spirit?"
"This world!" The spirit shrieked, arms akimbo. "It ignores me! I order the rocks to part, but they do not. I bid the sky draw close, and it stays still!"
Blackwall snorted behind me, "What is it expecting? Absolutely obedience?"
"Yes," Dorian answered before I could. He stared at the spirit, his fingers on his chin. "In our dreams, when we are in the Fade, the spirits and demons can make the world anything they need. The mortal world is —"
"I don't know how you mortals stand it." The spirit interrupted loudly.
"Why haven't you gone back to the Fade?" I asked politely, fighting a laugh as Dorian shot the spirit an extremely sour look. How rude, I could practically hear it in his voice.
"I will not be denied. I refuse to leave until something obeys my orders!" The spirit demanded. A sigh slipped up through my lips. Exorcism, here I come. Where's my priest? My fingers rose to my temples and rubbed circles into my skin for a moment. I don't even remember half my prayers.
"Then I feel compelled to help you." I replied, my hands dropping and flashing the spirit a winning smile. "I pledge myself to your service." Bull had a minor convulsion behind me, jerking as if he was about to snatch me back from the jaws of life, but his muscles tightened and he paused with impatience slapped across his face. The hell was that?
"Excellent! I have only one command." The spirit brightened happily. "A creature made of rage had the gall to chase me across the lake. Destroy it in my name and be rewarded!"
"Well, I've heard worse orders." I muttered, watching as the spirit floated away from us and back into the rain. My heels brought me around to Bull, my hands on my hips with my head tilted at him curiously.
"Don't give me that look." Bull snorted, steam from his nose. "Did it occur to you not to agree to a bargain before you hear the conditions?"
"What?" I shrugged my shoulders. "It's just a spirit. Not even a very powerful one."
Blackwall shot a look at Bull, brow raised high. "You have lost all privileges in telling me to trust her judgement."
"Hey, goth-man, I am right here." I huffed at him with a brief glare. "I'm not so stupid as to make a deal with a demon, mage or no."
"Yes, well." Dorian seemed reluctant to parry against me, but did so anyway. "Even spirits can be conniving enough to twist their words into binding contracts. For now, I will side with them and ask that you be a bit more careful next time."
"Right, because next time I'm totally going to be able to stop and have a conversation with a demon." I retorted hotly and marched my way past them toward the next cabin. Bull and Blackwall immediately fell into formation on either side of me, with Dorian pulling up the rear.
"Knowing what I know about you, I wouldn't disbelieve it if someone told me you did." Blackwall sighed, picking up his shield and shouldering it. With gusto, I flipped him a vulgar salute I had learned from my days in training with Cullen's troops.
Assholes.
-0-
I shut my eyes against the flash of light from Dorian's staff. We had finally found the mayor's old abode and my mage had set a deep, glowing red rune into the wall facing us. I didn't have a standard or flag to set up (not expecting to need one), so this would have to do for our reclamation effort. Dorian stepped away to inspect his work and nodded with satisfaction. It was easily visible through the rain and would allow Harding to start the clean up from a base point.
"Boss," Bull called out from inside the cabin. "You need to see this." Up the stairs I went, the darkness of the mostly intact cabin making it hard for me to spot my Qunari in the back corner. The roof was enough to stave off the rain and I shook my head out as I entered.
"What is it, buddy?" I peered around his arm. He stood at the base of a chest, the lock having been ripped open in his search. The metal securing the chest had rusted, but held. The wood was warped and mangled, but what he held in his hands was only damp. I reached for the scrap of paper. Dorian and Blackwall had made their way inside, noses poking around the empty home.
"There's still some ink on it." I whispered to Bull. I concentrated on the scribbling. "The… work you ordered is done. Did — do what you want. I'll… be — in the hills? Is that what that says?"
Bull peered down as I held the paper up to him. "I'll be in the hills trying to forget it. It's signed Robert." Static shot through my hands and the paper went tight in my grip. What are the odds? What did he do? Why does the mayor have this?
"Wasn't that the gamekeep that died when the bandits moved in?" Blackwall muttered behind us, arms crossed.
"And if we're speculating that the controls to the dam had been fixed when the mayor told us they were destroyed…" Dorian continued quietly, his staff tapping against the ground briefly.
"Did Robert fix the controls to flood the village and then run?" I murmured thoughtfully, trying to piece the puzzle together. "But then… why would he — the work you ordered?"
"Sounds like the mayor didn't give us the full story." Bull rumbled from over my head. "We're going to have a talk with him before long."
"Fuck," I swore violently, "that's why he — that's why he was against us draining the lake, remember?"
"He passed it off as concern for our wellbeing, but that was a lie." Bull confirmed with a gentle nod. Of course, Bull caught it when we were having that talk, I just didn't know what he had seen that I missed. Fucking hell. I rolled up the small scrap of paper and reached into my belt pouch, taking up a potion.
"Anyone hurt?" I asked. Blackwall held out his hand, catching my idea, and swallowed the potion in two gulps. Once the liquid was cleared, I swiped a knife with a handkerchief through it to make sure the scrap of paper wouldn't be further damaged. I stuffed it into the vial and set it back into my pouch.
"Let's go see what we find in those caves." I growled. Dorian and Blackwall parted to allow me passage through them, Bull following closely behind. Thankfully the entrance wasn't too far from the mayor's house. Broken wooden gates sagged under the rain and covered a darkened entrance that led into the mountain. Bull managed to find a few torches just at the mouth and held them up for Dorian.
The lights were lit and we trudged inside.
