Authors Note: Sorry this one took a bit longer, lots of content and character stuff in this one. Definitely getting to the point in this one so I do hope y'all enjoy it. Thank you to the favorites and follows as always reviews are welcome. Gizmo60: thank you for the review, very much appreciated.
Happy reading. I give you Chapter 13: The Relic
Dragon Age
"The Relic"
Chapter Thirteen: The Relic
Khrys couldn't have been more right, nothing had prepared Malcolm, or Duncan, for the environment in the Deep Roads. Pitch black, cold, with pockets of extreme heat, and of course there were the monsters…Deep Roads style. On the surface Malcolm had seen everything from giant spiders to giant dragons, down here there were deepstalkers, corrupted spiders, golems, and of course darkspawn-though they hadn't found any of them yet. Malcolm quickly discovered that he truly hated being underground, he had no sense of direction in the blackness of the Deep Roads. Duncan was a little better but it was a learning curve for even him to move confidently like the three Wardens did.
Malcom made an error when they were attacked by a nest of deepstalkers; he used his Fist of the Maker to flatten them all and nearly caused the passage they were in to collapse in on them. Himmel scolded the hell out of him for that as a rock the size of his head narrowed missed crushing it. Dinah continued to rant a bit about child mages in places that they didn't belong but she was still obviously wary of him and kept her distance. After that little rookie mistake he switched to lightening and stayed there. Lightening came to him as naturally as healing and it was far more deadly than the Force specialization that his mother taught him which was far more destructive over a large area.
After their first 'night' in the Deep Roads both Malcolm and Duncan could see the Wardens were unnerved, no darkspawn, not even a sense of them but they could tell that something wasn't right. The deeper they went the worse the feeling got. There was something unnatural about this area. Nathaniel remained on point moving faster than the rest despite his age compared to them and Himmel guarded their back. Malcolm didn't trust him, he didn't like the way the Marcher treated Duncan. He was disrespectful, to the point that Malcolm believed if given the chance he'd kill him or leave him. Nathaniel obviously didn't like Himmel either but he really didn't know why. The rogue was finicky about his company and Duncan knew him better than he ever would but he did remember his father speak of him. Nathaniel was a good man but lacked a sense of humor, a flaw in his father's mind.
Duncan drove his blade straight down into the head of the corrupted spider with a bit of roar. "I hate spiders!" he announced irritated. Duncan had never seen so many damn spiders in his entire life; they came out of the walls, out of thin air. Pitch black and full of monsters…this place sucked.
Malcolm twirled his daggers confidently before thrusting them both into the face of the giant spider that had reared up at him. "At least it's not rats."
"Everyone still standing?" they heard Nathaniel call and responded with various grunts.
"I'd prefer rats," Duncan replied to Malcolm who scoffed as he kicked the spider that had been bent on feasting on him.
"If these were rats, rest assured I'd have jumped in your arms for you to save me," Malcolm replied and Duncan laughed, that would have been a sight. Malcolm's acute awareness caught movement behind Duncan. A spider who escaped the initial fight, it leapt for Duncan. "Duncan, down!" he yelled and the Prince dropped without question. Malcolm threw his right dagger hoping to hit it before it got to him. He missed and took off a leg distracting it enough that it landed in an instinctive panicking heap. It forgot about Duncan and jumped for Malcolm. The mage sidestepped it with swift movements slicing its belly, only angering it further. It shrilled and tried to sting him causing Malcolm to jump back and then lose his footing on the crumbled edge of the road. He squawked at the sudden pull of gravity and clambered for purchase as two arrows whizzed through the air like silent death and killed the spider causing the problems.
Malcolm stuck his dagger into the stone to stop himself from sliding into oblivion; he cringed at the scraping, screeching noise coming from the dagger and mourned the damage to the custom Antivan Slasher. Now, he was dangling from that Slasher with nothing but a pit of blackness below. "Shit!" he barked loudly as he felt like an eternity before Himmel started to pull him back up. Malcolm cursed in his head more and more, cursing himself for where he was, and the fact that he lost his orientation and drifted too close to the edge. He was smarter than this; he was definitely smarter than this. "How the fuck did I get here?" he cursed to himself in the midst of his current situation.
"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Himmel said in a conversational tone, he was eerily calm about pulling Malcom up over the ledge. Nathaniel held Himmel's left arm as he pulled Malcolm up with his right.
Malcolm growled loudly as he had helped Himmel with his own strength to pull himself back up over the edge was dangling from. "I hate the bloody Deep Roads!" he growled in frustration shaking everyone off him.
Himmel patted his arm as they moved away from the edge and Nathaniel actually chuckled. "You sound just like your Father," said Nathaniel, still chuckling.
"None the worse for wear…you're alright," Himmel decided as Duncan came up to him with the dagger that he'd thrown.
"Here," Duncan offered. "Thank you." Malcolm nodded to him in a silent 'don't mention it' taking it from him before moving off to retrieve the other one.
Nathaniel had to put some effort into pulling it out of the stone and examined the tip; it was scratched and mangled with about a half inch broken off. "Well…that'll need to be reworked," he commented and gave it to Malcolm.
He groaned irritated and sighed heavily, Harritt could fix it and there was nothing he could do about it now, it would still serve its purpose to kill. "I hate this place."
Nathaniel chuckled again. "Just like your father." The time spent dispatching the Architect and the Mother was something he'd rather forget, but Anders, however obnoxious he might have been, had made him chuckle.
Malcolm eyed him as the rogue began to collect his arrows from the bodies of spiders. "How well do you know my father?" he asked and put his daggers back on his back and moved to help him collect his arrows.
"Spent a decent amount of time in the Deep Roads stopping a darkspawn master plan with the Commander, him, and a spirit of Justice," he explained causing Malcolm to pause before pulling an arrow. "Same spirit your father joined with, same one that blew up Kirkwall."
Malcolm suddenly became uncomfortable, part of it was the topic and the rest was one of Nathaniel's arrows. Unnerving, uncomfortable, he touched it to pull it from the spider that was missing a leg and recoiled. Nathaniel furrowed his brow at Malcolm's reaction but stepped forward to pull the arrow and inspect it. "Your bow…it has an enchantment on it doesn't it?"
Nathaniel nodded deciding the arrow was still good and returned it to the quiver. "Valenna enchanted it to kill darkspawn…it'll kill one with one hit," he said and Malcolm knew that wasn't the only enchantment it had on it, there had to be something else. It was true that he'd never felt a darkspawn enchantment but it felt like it tugged at his connection to the Fade. "Also to kill Shades and Horrors…there are more of them down here then you might think." A Spirit enchantment…that explained why it unnerved him so much.
Duncan observed Malcolm fiddling with the braided leather bracelet on his left wrist. There was a little bit of beadwork on it that added a feminine flare to it but it must have been sentimental to him since he was playing with it whenever they camped.
"Who is she?" he asked and Malcolm gave him a curious look.
"Huh?" to be perfectly honest, Malcolm wasn't really listening to anyone or anything around him.
Duncan gestured to the bracelet. "The woman who gave you that."
Malcolm let a half smile appear as he thought about her. "Lily," he answered.
"Who is she?"
Malcolm shrugged, he was usually very guarded about the information he handed out about his personal life. Too many people were hunting those with the same last name as he but he felt comfortable with Duncan, he didn't act like an heir to a Kingdom, he was…normal. "Girl I grew up with," he answered. "Chasind. There's scattered little villages in the Wilds, for a time my father was the only Healer for miles, that's how I met her…I've known her since I was 10."
Duncan smiled to the story. "That explains it," he began as Malcolm took a swig of water from the canteen with a questioning grunt. "I was beginning to wonder why you and Bree weren't an item."
Malcolm coughed as the water unexpectedly went down the wrong pipe surprised by Duncan's comment. He coughed a few more times and cleared his throat. "She's like a sister to me…," he replied stifling the rest of the coughing, "no way. It seems you lost out in that area too…Jean-Fredric really kicked your ass at the tournament."
Duncan knew he was teasing him. Yes, the Orlesian Prince destroyed him in the joust but he had more experience and a better technique, as for Bree…he liked her but it just wasn't the time for him. "To be honest I wasn't really trying," he replied.
"With Bree or with the joust?" Malcolm asked with a smirk and Duncan rolled his eyes.
"Shut up," he hissed jokingly at the relentless needling about the joust and Malcolm just laughed. "I like Bree but…I'm just not interested in marriage at the moment. Let me figure out how to rule a kingdom and then I'll find a wife."
That was logical, a solid plan. "Not the way your parents did it."
"My parents saved Thedas and my mom put my father on the throne," he replied and Malcolm chuckled to him.
"Lot to live up to," Malcolm chuckled. "King Duncan Theirin…figured you'd be named after your father."
Duncan shook his head. "It's was probably in the running but no…the Warden who recruited both my parents and died at Ostagar, my middle name is from a friend my mother knew in the circle. What about you…who are you named for?"
"My Grandfather, an apostate from the Free Marches," Malcolm answered.
"Middle name? Garrett right?" Duncan asked and the mage nodded but was quiet for a moment.
"My father's name."
Duncan's brow furrowed in confusion. "Your father's name is Anders," he said and Malcolm nodded, he wasn't wrong.
Malcolm allowed a slight smile. "Is it?" he said and Duncan's expression didn't change. "Anders was the name the Fereldan Circle gave him when he was first brought to the Circle. He was 7 years old, taken from the Anderfels, he didn't talk, never told them his name so they just started calling him Anders." Duncan blinked and nodded to his story as Malcolm tossed the canteen to him. "To recycled names…may our children never have them."
The further in they went the darker it got and Duncan wasn't sure that was even possible, the only light came from the torch at Nathaniel's back carried by Himmel and the one carried by Dinah at the back. Himmel helpfully informed them that parts of the Deep Roads were like this, where no light from the lava flows or glow of lyrium existed. They were the most dangerous sections since you couldn't see a damn thing. Still, after almost a week, no darkspwan and that was more unsettling to the Wardens than anything else they'd dealt with so far. Duncan stopped suddenly causing Malcolm to stop as well.
"What?" Malcolm asked noticing how the young warrior was standing, almost like he'd heard something.
He didn't respond, a strange feeling in his mind, whispering in the dark and then a sharp pain hit his right temple like a migraine and he cried out. Before long he had the rest clustered around him trying to figure out what was wrong with him and noticed he was pointing in the direction that they were heading. The chorus of 'whats' were cut short by the three Wardens freezing solid for a second and then all looking in the same direction, the same direction that Duncan was point.
"Shit," Malcolm cursed. "Well, this can't be good." he muttered drawing the Slashers from their home on his back.
"Darkspawn," Dinah said out loud readying her staff for a fight.
"A lot of them," Himmel added as they fanned out. He readied his unique weapon in staff form and twirled it a few times awaiting the battle.
Duncan growled as the pain went away but the inaudible whispering remained. "Oh, what is this?" he growled out drawing his sword.
"You're feeling the darkspawn, Young Prince," Himmel replied and snorted to himself. "It appears the speculation about you is true…you are a Warden."
Duncan didn't know how he felt about that, definitely a life changing moment for him, but something told him that this wasn't going to be as grand as it sounded. Dinah rushed to the sides of the road looking for brazier's to light. She found a few helping the party see whatever was closing in on them as the noise grew louder, a noise that could only be described as 'undead'…neither Duncan nor Malcolm had ever heard anything like it.
The darkspawn seemed to pour from nowhere, unholy walking dead. Creatures cast out by the Maker himself, Malcolm and Dinah struck first with Ice and Lightening respectively with Himmel wading into the fight. The Red Warden swung the bladed staff with his right hand and hit several Hurlocks at once, after that the fight was on.
Duncan's years of training were legitimately put to the test, he wasn't sparring or competing, this was real. He shed the green quickly and nothing but training and instinct remained. He focused and took on each enemy seemingly one at a time, once he dispatched one he moved on to the next or blocked the oncoming attack from next one. An arrow whizzed over his shoulder as he struggled with a Hurlock Alpha and into the warrior that was poised to attack him.
The Alpha Duncan was fighting with wasn't giving up but Duncan was able to draw his sword across its throat. The blood spewed from the Hurlock's throat and sprayed into Duncan's face, the foul blood got into his mouth as he decapitated the darkspawn brutally and viciously. Blood was in his eyes, his mouth, and was pretty sure he snorted it up his nose too. He wiped it from his eyes with just enough time before he was attacked by a pack of Genlock, the things were dwarf size but nimble. He killed one and then felt the frigid chill of Winter's Grasp freeze two more solid on his left, Duncan took the opportunity it hit the Dwarf sized chunks with a powerful swing turning them into smaller ice chunks then moved on to more darkspawn. Fighting darkspawn seemed to come naturally to him, fighting in general did, but it felt different against darkspawn.
Time seemed to slow and Duncan exhaled, he could see everything, hyperaware about everything around him. This blackness lightened and he could see through it, see all the darkspawn and where they were coming from, a tall crack in the stone. He knew where his allies were; Himmel and Malcolm fighting back to back, Malcolm's chain lightening arching across several darkspawn, Dinah was closer to his position, her ice magic coming up from the ground freezing several darkspawn at once leaving them to be shattered by a blast of lightening or a well-placed hit, Nathaniel was in the thick of it too flicking countless arrows into eyes and heads and using his throwing knives when they got too close. Duncan didn't know what was happening to him but he could feel a change through his body like a cool surge. His first target was a Hurlock dispatched with practiced ease; a single swing removed his head as he waded into the horde before him. Anything that got in his way he killed, Genlocks, Hurlock, Bolters, Warriors, it didn't matter his target was the Emissary. He felt a few hits to his armor but nothing that actually went through, he felt nothing, no pain, no fear, just a rush of focus and eerie clarity. The Emissary remained stationary, perhaps surprised that it was being rushed by a lone Warden but it occurred to Duncan that he must not have given it any time to do anything. Duncan caught the sword hand of a Hurlock trying to defend the Emissary and drove the Griffon sword into its throat, dropping it instantly. The Emissary was surprisingly simple to beat, a quick upward diagonal slash across his torso and Duncan moved behind it taking its head off with a decisive backward swing.
The darkspawn began to retreat with the death of the Emissary leaving Malcolm and Himmel breathing heavily back to back and surging with adrenalin. They were momentarily distracted by Duncan seeming to go berserk, his moves were inhumanly fast but extremely precise. Himmel had seen berserkers before but literally nothing like what he'd just seen. His once clean armor covered in the dark red, nearly black, blood of the Darkspawn and that same blood covered his face. Duncan looked more like a monster than a Fereldan Prince.
"Duncan!" Nathaniel shouted noticing he was pursuing the retreating darkspawn; you never pursued them deeper into the Deep Roads alone especially into a crack into the wall. "Duncan!" he shouted again but again he didn't stop.
Malcolm let out after him as Duncan continued to kill any darkspawn that got into his way, retreating or not they died. A few attacked him outright and Malcolm saw up close the deadly accuracy and the same inhuman speed.
"Duncan!" Malcolm called trying to get the berserker warrior under control, something was very wrong with him but he just cut through dozens of darkspawn all by himself. "Duncan, calm down!" Duncan turned on the person preventing his movement and Malcolm barked in pain as Duncan sliced his right forearm with his sword, he was sure he didn't mean to hurt him but it triggered Malcolm's suppressed instinct. Energy from the fade crackled around him in a momentary flash as the mage took him by the shoulder and shoved him back into the wall. "Duncan!" he roared in his face.
Duncan blinked several times at what he saw…he wasn't sure what he saw but it was enough to snap him out of it. "Malcolm…," was all he said before collapsing into him.
"Duncan? Duncan?" he repeated catching him and gentling lowering him to the ground. "Duncan?" None of them were quite sure what got into Duncan but something clearly wasn't normal. Malcolm's hands glowed with healing magic as he tried to figure out what happened.
"What's going on?" Nathaniel asked as he and Himmel appeared above them.
Malcolm honestly had no clue. "I don't know," he answered sharply as he concentrated. He could feel the taint, it was familiar. When he was younger and learning his father let him practice healing on him. The taint felt like an underlying sickness that was just barely out of reach, it couldn't be healed. Duncan's felt different though, stronger but further away. The taint wasn't what caused whatever the hell that berserker mode was.
"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" Himmel asked. "You're the healer."
Malcolm was growing frustrated. "I don't know, damnit, I know as much as you do, now back off!" he barked and closed his eyes to concentrate on what he was doing. He found no injuries: nothing that he could see or feel, it was strange, damned strange. There was blood all over his face but it wasn't his.
Nathaniel herded Himmel away letting Malcolm do his work. They went to the darkspawn bodies and looted them for everything they had. Found assorted trinkets, money, potions, and some decent weapons.
It took nearly 20 minutes before Malcolm returned to them looking as perplexed as he was earlier. Nathaniel, Himmel, and Dinah gave him their attention as Malcolm popped the top on a Lyrium potion. The draught hit him like ice; cold, refreshing, ice and he immediately felt better.
"Well?" Himmel asked beating Nathaniel to it.
"Physically there's nothing wrong with him," Malcolm said. "Whatever happened, his body is literally drained."
"So, what, is he dying?" Dinah asked, despite her chilliness she was a good team player and actually saved both their hides earlier.
Malcolm shook his head. "No. It's just whatever happened took so much out of him I can't wake him up."
"How long?" Himmel asked.
Malcolm shrugged; he really didn't have the answer to that. "I don't know…whenever he wakes up."
"That's not an answer," Himmel grumbled and huffed. "We can't stay here and wait for him to wake up; we have to keep going, it's taking too long as it is."
Nathaniel glared at him. "We are not leaving him behind, Himmel; I don't care how long it takes." Nathaniel replied.
Himmel growled, he hadn't wanted Duncan down here in the first place. He was a liability, had never been in the Deep Roads before and everyone would be spending time trying to protect him instead of killing darkspawn. "We have Wardens out there that are in serious danger we need to move faster, I'm not going to sit here and wait for someone who may or may not wake up again. I told you not to bring the Prince down there."
Nathaniel's desire to knock the shit out of Himmel was nearly overpowering but he kept it under wraps. "Warden or Prince I am not abandoning anyone down here."
"Neither am I," Malcolm added and Himmel turned toward him.
"Your Uncle is the one that we are trying to find," Himmel shot at him and Malcolm set his jaw.
"My Uncle has been missing for weeks if not months, if he's not dead already he can wait a few more hours," the mage snapped doing his best to keep a lid on his anger.
"What do you think will happen to you if he dies down here?" Nathaniel asked with a rumble in his throat, he didn't like Himmel anyway and this reiterated that.
Himmel snorted understanding what he was referring to. "I do not fear the Warden Queen," Himmel said and Nathaniel shook his head.
"You should."
Himmel remained fearless, he didn't fear her, he stood up to her, ran things his own way. He respected her reputation and deeds in saving Thedas and rebuilding the Wardens after the ranks were devastated, but he didn't quake in fear at her feet. It was part bravery but mostly it was ignorance on his part. He'd never been on her bad side so he had no idea what everyone else was so afraid of. "I don't, you may be her pet but I see her for what she really is."
Nathaniel's posture changed, aggressive ready to attack. His loyalty to Lydia was unwavering and if Himmel gave any indication of betraying her or the Wardens he'd kill him immediately. "Do you really wish to incur the wrath of a blood mage by letting her son die because you are too impetuous?"
"I do not fear the Warden Queen," he repeated and his bored tone made Nathaniel want to rip his throat out if he said it again.
Malcolm blinked. "Blood Mage?" Malcolm asked with a furrowed brow…that explained her strange aura.
Himmel gave him a smirk that Malcolm wanted to slap off his face. "Yes, the illustrious Queen of Fereldan is a maleficar."
That was supposed to remain a guarded secret, Malcolm he trusted but Himmel was coming dangerously close to crossing the line. "If you let her son die down here she will kill you, Alistair will kill you. It will be public and painful."
"I'll kill you and save them both the trouble," Malcolm put in, his causal tone was almost frightening but it pleased Nathaniel. He had his differences with his father but so far Malcolm had proven to be an exemplary young man. "You try to leave him down here and you'll never see daylight again."
Dinah didn't like his tone or his words and stepped up to Malcolm who just didn't even bother to look at her. "Get out of my face," he growled. Malcolm was unusual to the point that Dinah couldn't put her finger on it, he was unsettling and his growl was enough to make the Warden back off. Until she understood what made him so uncomfortable to her, she would bide her time.
"I could order you, Warden-Constable," Himmel stated, it sounded like a last ditch effort, he wasn't outnumbered but he and Dinah were 'outclassed', Malcolm saw to that…a mage and a rogue in one tipped the balance.
Nathaniel took offense to Himmel both professionally and personally and grabbed the man with both hands yanking him toward him. Dinah's movement to aid her Commander was stopped as Malcolm had his left dagger to her throat in the blink of an eye. She felt a strange arcane pull around him, almost like the Fade felt. "You are a murderer and a rapist and have no business wearing that uniform!" Nathaniel roared in his face. "This is my command now, Warden Himmel, this topic is closed. We wait. Respond with anything other than complete submission and your tenure as a Warden will come to a swift end."
Everything in Himmel was telling him to fight back but instead he submitted to Nathaniel, an act that left a bad taste, he wasn't stupid or reckless with his own life…Nathaniel would have killed him. End of story. If the rumors were true, Nathaniel was actively hearing the Calling; the dying Warden whose loyalty never wavered would happily drop Himmel and his lackey down one of the chasms and not lose a second sleep over it. "Yes, Sir," Himmel replied and was shoved back by Nathaniel still holding his stare.
"Malcolm, tend to Duncan. Dinah, sentry," Nathaniel ordered his tone showing his sheer irritation as he address Himmel. "You, police the bodies," he growled.
Malcolm did as asked and kept an eye on Duncan, healed his own wound, and checked the young man but sighed as there was nothing he could do to speed him awake. Something nagged him about what Nathaniel had said while crushing Himmel under his firm hand.
"Murderer and a rapist?" Malcolm questioned as Nathaniel fiddling with the string on his bow. "Who is Himmel and do I need to watch him?"
Nathaniel didn't fence with him and answered his question. "To answer your second question, yes. To answer your first, Himmel was a mass murderer and serial rapist in Tantervale and Starkhaven. Sebastian took offense to the piling bodies and depravities against women in the Elven settlements and in the cities lower class and Himmel was dragged before him by his guards. Instead of killing him outright he showed mercy…gave Himmel a choice: the executioner's blade or take his chances with the Joining. The bastard survived the Joining."
Malcolm cocked his head and looked a little confused. "I thought the Wardens got to choose who they took? Why would you take him?"
Nathaniel nodded, he wasn't wrong in that. "That's true, but our ranks were down to handfuls, Lydia took in anyone to fill them…believe me…he's one she wishes she could take back," He answered. "Believe me…no one expected him to be unanimously voted in by the Marcher Wardens as their Commander."
"What's his problem with the Warden Queen?" he asked. He had been about to ask after her being a Blood Mage, but he didn't. When he'd met her he could tell something about her was off, now knowing that she was a Blood Mage explained that.
Nathaniel tested the string by drawing it and then letting it down. "Better question is 'what isn't his problem with her'," he replied. "They disagree on everything…from how the order should be run to their standing role when not in a blight. He thinks Alistair is a fool, the Queen is a witch, and apparently Duncan is no more than a burden. I've never trusted Himmel and he knows that, he's not stupid enough to harm Duncan outright but he's not going to move mountains to save him either."
Malcolm took a step toward him, his expression moving to irritation. "You wait until now, when we are here," he gestured sharply to generalize the Deep Roads; "to tell me about Himmel and how much you don't trust him?" he snapped keeping his tone low.
"You don't trust him either don't think I don't see that, now, tend to Duncan so we can find your uncle and get out of here."
Duncan's position hadn't changed; he was still sleeping soundly, or at the very least seeming to sleep. Malcolm had sat down and was now waiting and fiddling with his damaged blade, there was nothing he could do with it now but he was still not thrilled with the damage to it.
After over an hour the Prince stirred drawing Malcolm's attention, he put the dagger down and leaned forward. "Duncan?" he questioned. Duncan groaned and grumbled as he tried to sit up. "Easy. Easy, easy, easy," Malcolm coached as Duncan struggled to sit upright but managed it in the end.
Duncan felt exhausted, drained of strength and energy; he'd been tired and exhausted before but nothing like this. "Oh…Maker's…Balls…what the bloody void happened?"
Malcolm didn't answer that yet and handed him a canteen. "Here. Water, drink it," he said and the Prince took it discovering that he was parched beyond belief. He nearly downed the whole thing in just a few large gulps before handing it back to him. Malcolm popped the top on a restoration potion and traded him for it. "And this." Duncan was pale, against his dark hair he looked like a ghost, but as he drank the potion his color began to return quickly.
Restoration potions always tasted like a sour apple and Duncan made a face shivering as it took an instant effect. "Oh, what happened?" he asked again rubbing his face with his left hand.
"Nathaniel!" Malcolm called and then put his attention back on Duncan. "That is a good question," he said. "You…went berserk…literally."
Duncan didn't remember anything about what happened; the last thing he remembered clearly was turning big ice chunks into little ice chunks, after that it all was a blur. He remembered darkspawn and the irresistible urge to kill them.
Duncan didn't feel like himself, they were up and moving but he still didn't feel quite right, he was shaky and felt like he'd run several miles. Malcolm randomly ran a healing spell over him mostly to keep checking him for any ill effects of whatever had happened.
"You doing alright?" he asked and Duncan simply nodded with the brave face. He didn't remember what happened so the only answer he had was a tentative nod.
"Yeah…" he answered tentatively. "I…I think." he added holding his right hand out and watched it tremble slightly.
Malcolm found the same thing as before, nothing wrong with him. "Well, you're not injured…despite all the blood you were covered in."
"That was the Alpha who refused to die cleanly," Duncan muttered. "Never thought I'd say I've tasted darkspawn blood."
Malcolm's brow furrowed for a moment at his comment, ordinarily he'd be worried about the taint if he ingested darkspawn blood but with Duncan it was different. "Well, you already have the taint so at least we don't have to worry about that...the Alpha was the last one you remember killing?" he asked and Duncan nodded with a grunt helping Malcolm try to figure out exactly what happened.
"Starting to think coming down here wasn't such a great idea." Duncan added and Malcolm snorted with a smile.
"You don't really have permission to be down here do you?" he asked and Duncan shook his head with a soft chuckle.
"Decidedly not," he replied. "I forged my mother's hand and used her seal…I don't think Nathaniel bought it but he didn't turn me away," he explained and Malcolm just listened. He figured there had to be something since the last place his parents would let him go is down into the Deep Roads. "Mom and Dad are gonna be pissed when I get back."
Malcolm clapped him on his left shoulder. "Well…you couldn't stay the goody goody your whole life. Welcome to the life of the riff-raff."
Ahead of them was Himmel and Nathaniel, Nathaniel still leading the party through the Deep Roads with Dinah at the rear. Himmel silently simmered after being aggressively put in his place, he knew that his only ally down here right now was Dinah and despite his attitude was curious about what happened to Duncan. The kid was up and moving again and he had to give it to him, he was tough. Nathaniel stopped and Himmel moved up next to him.
"How much further?" Nathaniel asked him and Himmel scoffed.
"This is 'your operation now', Warden-Constable Howe, you tell me," he replied and Nathaniel let out a small huff.
"Himmel, I swear I'll throw you into the nearest deep hole." He replied flatly but his voice carried the contempt for him.
Himmel huffed. "What in the Maker's bloody ass did I do to you? I know you don't like me because of my past, but-…"
"You tried to leave the Prince of Fereldan down here to die!" he snarled to him harshly but made the effort to keep is voice down. "As far as I am concerned I should kill you just for that."
"This from the man who tried to kill the Queen all those years ago, whose family slaughtered her's in a violent coup?" Himmel replied but Nathaniel had long since come to terms with his past mistakes and with his father's role in Loghain's plans, he'd made his peace with Lydia for it all as well.
"Himmel, if you don't have anything useful to contribute then what use are you?" the senior Warden hissed to him.
Himmel huffed, he'd never win this fight and it was clear that he'd never have the senior Warden's respect or approval. "Merrill didn't give specifics, just feelings but we haven't run across them yet so they must be further in."
"In short, you don't know exactly," he summed up irritated.
"Keep moving…we'll find them," Himmel assured and that wasn't specific enough for Nathaniel who grumbled but kept them moving. They could be down here for months and not find them, the Deep Roads were an endless maze of corridors, caves, and narrow-ass bridges, and if they did find them it would be a fucking miracle.
Another day took them ever deeper and the architecture around them changed, the feeling changed as well. Since they started in on this section of the roads they'd felt that something wasn't right, it wasn't the darkspawn, it wasn't the fact they were underground, it was something else. Merrill had indicated that there was something very powerful in the area that she put Carver. They didn't know if it were true or even what it was but there was definitely something unusual about this place.
Nathaniel knelt down investigating a body, it wasn't a darkspawn. "Himmel," he called noticing that it as an Elf, "one of yours?" he asked as he appeared over him along with Dinah.
Himmel shook his head. "Two men, a Dwarf, and an Elf and that is not Spike." He said, he wasn't sure who this elf was but he looked like he'd nearly been cleaved in two. That had to be damaged inflicted by Carver's epic greatsword but it begged the question of who this was. Judging by the body it had been dead for a few weeks.
"Another one here," Duncan called and as Himmel and Dinah moved over to him. Nathaniel lingered to search the body and then joined them.
"Linus…damn," Himmel cursed kneeling down next to one of his Wardens; Linus looked like he'd been stabbed in the back and had his throat cut. "Over here," he heard Malcolm call and left his fallen man to investigate further. Malcolm was crouched down by what looked like a female Elf and pulled an arrow from her to inspect it. It didn't look like a decrepit old Darkspawn arrow. "One of Tara's arrows."
Malcolm could feel something, it was getting stronger and he stood to follow it, a deep thrumming power he could feel in his bones. "Malcolm?" Duncan inquired as he watched the mage follow an invisible trail.
Malcolm shook his head at the thrumming that was nearly overpowering his senses trying to clear his head. "This way," he said he could feel the path to wherever the source of magical energy was. "They're down here." Something was telling him that both the source of power and the lost Wardens were in the same place.
Himmel's brow furrowed and he looked over at Nathaniel to see the same look on his face. Nathaniel shrugged and they followed him. Malcolm had found a similar crack in the wall that descended into the Earth. At first Himmel thought that the mage had taken him on a foolish endeavor but that changed once they discovered a group of bodies in the middle of the narrow path they'd been following. It occurred to all of them that they had been descending into the Earth at a steady grade for nearly an hour.
"What in Andraste's name is going on?" Himmel asked noticing more bodies. It was more of the same, Elves, male and female killed by sword, arrows, or magic. It was strange to see so many Elves that weren't Wardens.
"These aren't darkspawn," Duncan said out loud making it sound a little bit like a statement than anything else.
"Your point?" Himmel asked sounding annoyed with the obvious announcement.
Malcolm got there quicker. "They're all Elves," he added and now it was Dinah's turn.
"Your point?" she asked.
Malcolm shook his head as Nathaniel caught something that interested him and passed Malcolm stepping over bodies as he went. "Do you read anything the Inquisitor sends?" he asked and Himmel gave the smartass kid a glare.
"Well, she sends so much nonsense how about you clue us in," he hissed back sounding sarcastic at the same time.
Malcolm rolled his eyes and shook his head as he searched the bodies. "Solas and his agents have had an unhealthy interest in the Deep Roads for a few years now…they've been scouring it looking for powerful relics…"
"So he can sunder the world…yes, that I know," Himmel cut in and Malcolm would have thought the point was obvious but apparently not. He gestured to the pile of dead Elves he was crouched over and it seemed to dawn on Dinah.
"Not long after the Exalted Council all the Alienage's in Thedas emptied and a vast majority of Dalish clans did too, all to follow Fen'Harel," she said and Malcolm nodded giving her a slight smile.
"Give the lady a prize," he said and removed a few potions and valuable things from them before standing up straight. "These are Solas' agents…they are well armed and have no vallaslin."
"Malcolm," Nathaniel called, the torch lighting where he was, he'd moved further down the path to another group of bodies, "you might want to take a look at this."
His tone told him that something wasn't right, hell nothing about this was right. It was a good thing that he'd studied up on Solas as Khrys had suggested. He got to Nathaniel with the rest trailing behind him and looked down. Inquisition Armor, three of them…and he knew them. "Sutherland," he said quite frankly shocked to see him here. It was Khrys' lost patrol; she'd sent Sutherland, Shayd, and Voth to investigate a lead on Solas but nowhere near where they were now. "Shayd…Voth…Maker, no."
"You know them?" Himmel asked and Malcolm nodded kneeling down to see if there were any clues on them that could shed some light on how they got there and why they were there.
"This is the group Khrys lost contact with…what in the Void are they doing here?" Malcolm replied as he rifled through Sutherland's clothes. "They were last seen in Antiva headed for Rivain." There were a few other bodies nearby, the same Elves they'd been seeing.
"Looks like they were on the same trail…but who was following who?" Nathaniel asked and Malcolm took the bag Sutherland carried with maps, potions, and assorted other things in it. Shayd's quiver was empty but he did the same thing to her bag and the satchel that Voth carried. Hopefully, there were some answers in them all but he'd have to table that until later. "They bottlenecked them here…looks like they may have been protecting something further down."
"You think they gave my Warden's aid?" Himmel asked and Nathaniel shrugged, it was sound theory, it would explain the pattern of bodies they'd been finding and would explain why the missing Inquisition Agents all died near one another.
"Let's find the Wardens and ask," Duncan suggested.
They moved on, the air chilled as thick veins of ice lined the walls. Malcolm could still feel the nauseating thrum of unknown power and it wasn't diminishing, it was getting stronger. Dinah didn't appear bothered by it but he expected that he was an unusual mage that could feel things others couldn't. His curse.
Nathaniel found the architecture of the passage they were in to be familiar and not in a good way. He'd seen Dwarven ruins that looked like this before but that was in the Free Marches. The group stopped behind Malcolm as he cocked his head at the great magical barrier about 15 feet ahead blocking the path.
"Spirit barrier," Dinah said and Malcolm concurred.
"Yeah," he replied simply and they started to walk toward it. Dinah paused finding more bodies on the ground but Malcolm was more interested in the barrier.
"Xander," Dinah called softly her tone drawing everyone's attention but Malcolm's, "it's Tara." She added quietly for the rest of the group. The Dwarf's body wasn't alone; it looked like she'd gone to hand to hand after the arrows ran out since there was a female Elf in close proximity to her stuck with a Dwarven blade that Dinah knew belonged to her.
Himmel was getting angrier and angrier, so far he's lost two of his best Wardens and the growing pit in his stomach told him he was about to find more of the same with Spike and Carver. "Damnit," he growled in a mix of emotions. Tara was his best scout and he'd known her for quite some time, she'd began a scout for the Legion of the Dead until Himmel and Carver found her in the Deep Roads suffering from the taint.
"Chances of finding the rest alive are dwindling into the single digits now," Duncan said earning him a glare from Himmel and Dinah. Nathaniel shrugged, he wasn't wrong, and he praised his bluntness.
Malcolm intuitively knew how to drop barrier, he could hear the discussion going on behind him. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, this barrier is very strong," he commented and zapped the barrier with a powerful shot of lightening, the magical energy disintegrated with a pop.
They found nothing for several paces past where the barrier was but Nathaniel was severely uncomfortable with where they were. It looked exactly like the Dwarven Thaig from the Free Marches, the one that the lyrium idol came from that started the world down the path that nearly destroyed it.
"Maker no," he breathed and looked around suddenly having awful flashbacks with the mess that occurred in Kirkwall.
They followed the steps and the chamber widened, Malcolm was nearly overwhelmed by that same thrum of power that got exponentially stronger. He groaned sounding physically uncomfortable and felt like he was going to throw up. "Oh…somethings in here…magical…very strong," he warned figuring out how to compose himself. He'd never encountered a magical item that made him feel like this, whatever it was it wasn't normal.
There was a staff stuck in the ground at the mouth of the chamber with three dead Elves around it. "Spike!" Himmel exclaimed recognizing the Elven mage hoping that the fact he was sitting up meant that he may still be alive. He wasn't, there was dagger through his heart but no one close…it must have been thrown. His trademark spiked staff had a few dead Elves around it leading Malcolm and Dinah to believe that he had turned his staff into a trip mine. As soon as someone got too close whatever its enchantment was killed them.
"Your men fought to the last, Commander," Duncan commented and Himmel resisted the urge to kill the Prince for speaking. There was still one unaccounted for, Carver, his best friend had better be alive.
He growled loudly in response and stood. "There's still one left," he snarled. "Carver!" he shouted.
"That's good, Commander, call them to us…the good guys and the bad guys," Duncan admonished.
Himmel could care less if it were Solas' followers or darkspawn. "Then let them bloody come," he snapped back at the young man, he didn't care, he'd lost too many of them. "Carver!"
The chamber was a decent size, almost looked like a Dwarven vault and it had a raised area in the middle. Malcolm's senses were bombarded with the foreign magic he was feeling but as he crested the first landing of the steps he saw a dead Elf, nearly cleaved in two and a blood trail leading up the second set of steps. He hurriedly sprinted up them and saw him, his Uncle, slumped against the far wall clutching his greatsword like he was ready to come up swinging.
"Uncle!" he spoke before he realized he'd said anything and darted for him. He heard Himmel also as he crashed next to him praying to anyone who'd listen begging them for him to be alive. "Uncle Carver?" he said again and cast his healing spells. Carver was alive, seriously wounded but still alive. "Help me lay him down," he said to Himmel and Nathaniel.
"Carver, can you hear us?" Himmel asked as the Warden was laid flat on the stone. Blood was caked on his armor, on his face, and in his hair. There was a hastily bandaged wound on his right leg that Malcolm was sure smelled badly. "Carver?"
His parents may not have gotten along with his Uncle but Carver was always nice to him, he'd always bring him gifts from some far off land or Deep Road that he'd been in. He never resented him for being a mage and he treated him like an Uncle should. Malcolm didn't see enough of him but he was family and loved him all the same. There was a moment when the people talking around him were drowned out completely. He focused on his healing, diagnosing everything that was wrong with his Uncle, of course he could feel the taint, it was markedly different than Duncan's but didn't feel quite as out of control as Nathaniel's. Nathaniel was hearing the Calling and was considerably older, if he took nothing else away from this little endeavor at least he had a healthy knowledge of the taint from a healer's point of view. He could feel the drain his body had sustained, sheer exhaustion, loss of blood, an infection, broken bones, lingering effects of a spell, and what felt like a poison though that could have been the taint. He took in a sharp breath and came out of his concentration to someone saying his name, if they were asking him a question he didn't hear it.
"He's in bad shape," he announced and looked at Himmel who was across from him. "Get this off him," He ordered pointing at the bandage that was soaked through with blood on his right leg. "Dinah, water." Carver stirred as they began to prod at the painfully infected leg wound and Malcolm put his left hand on his cheek. "Hold on, Uncle."
Carver was in some kind of delirium, whether it be from fever, sickness, or just plain exhaustion. "Malcolm?" he muttered before grunting in pain as Malcolm poked at the four inch slash on his thigh. It was definitely infected, his Uncle was shivering, but he felt like he was on fire, his leg wound was piping hot, smelled bad, and was inflamed.
"Can you heal him?" Nathaniel asked and Malcolm didn't even blink.
"Yes," he replied and immediately began on his leg. White orbs came from his palms as the spirit healer showed his natural talent for the discipline.
"Nathaniel, come take a look at this," Duncan called and Nathaniel left Carver in the capable hands of Malcolm and Himmel to find out what the Prince needed him to see. Duncan had taken it upon himself to clear the chamber and had found a little alcove with something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
On a waist high pedestal was a relic the size of a human skull, it had a hexagon shape and was reddish black with a sheen too it. On the pedestal was a strange helix shape that was familiar. "What in Andraste-…" Nathaniel began and then cut himself off.
"You recognize that?" Duncan asked gesturing to the shape and Nathaniel nodded.
"The Inquisitor's mystery rubbing from the Sea of Ash," he answered and almost touched the relic but thought better of it. "When Malcolm and Dinah are finished with Carver we'll have them look at it. I'm not a mage but I can feel this thing is definitely magical."
Malcolm healed Carver but the Warden still slept, no one blamed him, he was sick and wounded so all he needed to do was recover. Himmel couldn't wait to ask him exactly what happened and why he was the only damn survivor. Malcolm hadn't used this many lyrium potions in a while, diagnosing Duncan was fruitless but took a lot out of him and healing his uncle did the same thing. He downed the shot with one gulp as he and Dinah made their way toward what Nathaniel wanted them to look at. Since entering the chamber he felt a magical power so foreign and strong it nauseated him but it seemed he'd gotten used to it the longer he was there. Dinah seemed to be okay which puzzled him to a point but he didn't have all the facts just yet. There was something about this place that he just couldn't figure out.
Malcolm cocked his head, regarding the thing that Nathaniel was looking at; it didn't take a genius to figure out that the oddly shaped artifact was the source of his unexplained nausea. "Well, that settles it," he commented out loud.
Dinah's brown furrowed as she looked over to him. "What?"
Malcolm didn't understand, he felt like he had horrible stomach bug, what made her exempt? "You don't feel that?" he asked and the Elf shook her head giving him the same almost condescending look she'd given him this whole time.
"Malcolm," Duncan began as Malcolm instinctively kept his distance from the thing, "you immerse yourself in books more than most…thoughts?"
"Why are you asking me?" he asked and stepped toward it feeling the foreign thrum coming off it.
"Whoa." Dinah commented feeling odd magical energy hitting her like a barrier. "That is weird." She added as she reached to touch it.
"Now you feel it?" Malcolm questioned, he'd felt this since he dropped that barrier, he had no idea why he could feel it and no one else could. "I wouldn't touch it, Dinah," he added as she reached for it. Something told him that wasn't a good idea and she had the same sense. "I think it goes without saying that this thing needs to come with us."
Malcolm moved closer to it and Duncan leaned against the wall to the right of the relic. He had a sense for this magical item also but to him it just made him uneasy, same with Nathaniel. "Figured that," Duncan said gesturing at the mystery symbol. The two mages wanted to investigate it further but were both of the same mind that they really shouldn't touch it. The feeling, for him at least, could only be described as an overwhelming, resonating presence of raw power. "You okay?" Duncan asked judging how Malcolm looked around the object.
He nodded to him and took a step back from it. "Yeah," he answered. "I don't think Dinah or I should touch that…one of you two should carry it."
Dinah agreed and for once didn't bicker with the 17 year old mage. For her the strange item simply projected power like an item imbued with a master enchantment. "I agree. It's obviously connected in some way to the Fade; I've never seen anything like it…there's no telling what would happen if we touched it."
Nathaniel nodded at the recommendation though not really sure how he felt about toting an obviously magical item around when even the mages he had with him didn't want to touch it. He could feel something off as well but it was the same feeling he'd had for a while now, the same uneasy feeling, and a feeling of dread. The Calling succeeded in drowning it out but he'd felt it for days…at least now he knew what it was.
It took hours for Carver to regain consciousness, in that time the chamber had been searched top to bottom and inside out. Nothing, literally nothing, of value was found aside from that relic sitting on the pedestal. They had more questions than answers by the time they were finished. The thaig was ancient, barely looked Dwarven, and the last time Nathaniel had seen something like this thaig it was in Kirkwall. The only thing at all besides rocks and dirt in the chamber was the Relic and the pedestal it sat on. What was it? Where did it come from? What did the symbol mean? What did it or could it do? Then there was the trail of bodies, Wardens, Inquisition, and what were most likely Fen'Harel agents, but no darkspawn. They hadn't seen any darkspawn since the attack in the dark; the Wardens didn't even sense them. The mission thus far was a success to a point; they'd gathered a lot of information but little to no answers.
Carver coughed as the water passed down his windpipe, he was so thirsty and hungry he just sucked it down as quickly as possible draining the canteen. "What in the Maker's name are you doing down here, Boy?" he asked firmly taking the bread Himmel passed him and looking at Malcolm.
Malcolm suddenly felt like he was a child again being scolded by his Uncle. Carver hadn't called him 'boy' since he was child. "Uhh…," he began trying to not feel like a child and cleared his throat, "came down with Commander Himmel to find you."
Carver devoured the bread in minutes and Dinah handed him some more with a kind smile. He took it and then looked at the rest of the party; he recognized Nathaniel and could have sworn the other young man was the Fereldan Prince. Nathaniel handed him another container of water and Carver gave him a nod. "Nathaniel."
"Carver," he responded in kind. "What happened here?"
Carver thought back to what he could remember, he remembered getting attacked on the road and losing Linus right off the bat. "We kept getting attacked by Elves," he said clearing his throat. "Two of them attacked us, Spike killed one I killed the other…they got Linus…," he paused and then continued. It wasn't the first time he'd lost a friend or a Warden. "Tara found the passage from the road, we were attacked a few more times, three Inquisition agents saved us…"
"Sutherland, Shayd, and Voth," Malcolm said and Carver paused talking to look at his nephew. His armor was Inquisition and he snorted to himself proud of his nephew for going his own way.
He respectfully nodded and continued. "Sutherland told me there was an item that Fen'Harel wants so he can destroy the Veil in this section of the Deep Roads. Apparently, Fen'Harel's agents knew that too, they followed them down here."
"Sutherland was last seen in Antiva...months ago…no one had heard from him," Malcolm said and Carver shrugged.
"He didn't say anything about that. He only said they had interrogated one of the Elves in Antiva and were followed here by them," he said and Malcolm's brow furrowed.
"How'd they get down here so fast?" he asked and Carver gave his nephew a glare.
Carver was annoyed, he was already exhausted and his patience was thin. "He said through an Eluvian, Malcolm, now may I please continue?" he snipped and Malcolm held his hands out in concession. He knew that tone and felt like he was a little kid again. "Sutherland told us that the Relic was located in this vault and we had to get it before the bad guys did. We went on ahead, they stayed as guard...and it all went wrong after that. We lost Tara, I took a bad hit…Spike put up a barrier…everything just blurs together after that," Himmel had already reminded him of who all he lost. Carver was just used to losing people, or he was just too tired to be angry about it.
"So the thing Solas has been tearing apart the Deep Roads for is that thing over there. His people figure out where it is, Sutherland beats them here, they find you and you're both attacked, they send you on ahead, get killed for it, and Solas' agents proceed to whittle you down to one…," Malcolm summed up and Carver shrugged, that was it in a nutshell. "This should be fun to report back to the Inquisitor and the Warden Queen."
Himmel scoffed loudly, he came down here to find Carver and his Wardens and he succeeded but he wanted to find them all alive. Instead he got the sole survivor story, he was grateful that Carver was still alive but he'd never forget the names of those he lost. "None of this would be happening if your beloved Inquisitor had kept her maniacal lover on a leash."
Only Malcolm's eyes moved at the disrespectful comment. "I really wouldn't repeat that in front of her, Commander," he cautioned his tone low with a hint of a growl behind it.
Nathaniel situated his weapons and packs eager to leave as soon as possible. "I don't know about that, Malcolm, it would be fun to watch her turn him into a smoldering corpse," he commented and Carver's brow furrowed at the less than stellar comradery he was sensing as Nathaniel turned away to collect the Relic and get ready to leave. He had decided to carry it, everyone else had reported strange feelings around it but he couldn't tell the difference between everything he was already feeling. The Calling pretty much took care of that.
Carver stood with the help of Himmel and Malcolm. "Something you said, Xander?" he asked with a joke in his voice.
Himmel snorted. "It's always something I say," he replied making Carver chuckle. Carver looked down at where Duncan and Nathaniel were. Collecting the relic that a lot of people died for, sure he wanted to know what it was beyond what Sutherland had told him in the speed read portion of the debrief but couldn't help the dreadful feeling that washed over him, that thing could destroy a lot more than just the Veil.
