Chapter 2


Creatures sang hymns of strange rhythms. Croaking and buzzing and whirring along. Brolin joined them, and together they made a mess of a sound. His soft voice ushered forth a stream of nonsense words. At some point, he began naming the animals that scurried past him on the trail.

"Fiz-dweller!" he shouted, as a hairy creature rushed into a thick set of bushes.

"Whoa! Wait up!"

Another harmless animal trotted alongside him.

"Smooth rabbit-pet!" he giggled, pointing to a nug, "Did Mother and Father send you to accompany me on this journey?"

Its answer was silence. In Brolin's head, he imagined that the nug had responded with a clever remark. It was there for the adventure, just like him.

"Come on!" he shouted, "What's a conquest without running through the forests?" Brolin veered off of the dirt path and launched himself into the woods. Most of the foliage was dense—made up of thin trees and wiry bushes. His wooden sword chopped away incessantly at them all. Brolin's mind was working hard to imagine the scene…an army of Orlesian men in place of the trees. They stood silent and tall. A mass of patient killers waiting for him in the midst of the Hinterlands.

"Take that!" Brolin screamed as he sliced a branch off of a tree. "You will not invade Ferelden!"

A pack of birds flocked elsewhere, sensing his approach from their isolated perch above. Brolin tracked their departure as they took flight. He pictured it as a victory. As the remaining Orlesian army retreating from battle. He raised his arms high in the air, an act of triumph.

"We have won!" Brolin shouted excitedly, "Victory is ours for the taking!"

His nug companion scurried away, neither caring for nor acknowledging Brolin and his reaction. The young boy watched the tiny creature for a lingering moment, then he continued, his steps guiding him to a clear patch of land. Past the remaining trees and the hordes of bushes was a lone cave. Its entrance—comparable only to an abyss. It reigned over Brolin as he stood entranced, motionless at its berth. He tried to peer into its depths, but he couldn't see too well. The darkness within the cave was greater than the sky…if such a thing could even be possible.

Brolin approached the cave and whistled loudly—his echo twisted and turned away from him.

"I bet the Arch-Demon lives down there…"

The wind howled. Ominous in a way. Appropriate, seeing how it was a dark and unknown cave. Most likely the dwelling place of a beast. Like a bear or other furry monster. After a while, Brolin entered the cave, using his senses to determine what was inside. He stuck his arms out, his fingers moving up and down in an attempt to feel.

"Is anyone there?" he asked.

His own voice bounced endlessly within the cave, circling around him as he stood in the midst of the darkness. The cool breeze from outside was gone, unwelcome within the sanctity of the perpetual blackness. Brolin was unsure of his decision. The cave was an unknown. It was scary and damp and everything in between. At the same time, it was the farthest he had ever gotten in his adventure. He realized that something great could have been waiting further in. It was a poking in his belly. A need somewhere deep within that inspired him to keep walking.

He opened his eyes wider, hoping the interior of the cave would become visible. Eventually, it did. Though what he saw, sitting a few feet away, made him think twice about staying.

"Hello?"

Brolin was staring at a girl. She looked young. Similar to his age, yet, she seemed younger than he was. Her eyes averted his gaze, just the softest blue staring back into his. Brolin examined her features, allowing his question to go unanswered as the silence drifted on. He noticed her clothing—tattered and dirty. Old-looking. Rundown. He felt a string tug at his heart. He felt pity for her…and something else. Her cheeks were smooth, soft golden curls falling beside her face. She motioned to place a lock of hair behind her ear with a hand which barely poked out from its sleeve.

"Hi…" she said quietly.

Brolin took a step toward her. A subconscious act. An attempt at bridging the distance between them.

"My name is Brolin!" he exclaimed, "What's yours?"

His voice boomed all around the cavern, deflecting off of rock walls and a cluster of stalagmites in the corner. The girl seemed to follow the sound, noting its presence. An oddity where none had existed before.

"I don't have one," she replied, "I lost it a long time ago…"

The sadness in her voice was apparent. It took time for Brolin to process the words. To understand what she meant.

"What do you mean? What happened to it?"

Brolin stared at her intently, his attention on the girl entirely. She glanced at the dusty cavern floor and then back to him. Her sullen eyes picked up with the faintest sign of life. Something danced behind them like the sun when it set each evening. Brolin almost pinned it down. He nearly discovered what it was. But then it was gone. Fleeting. Escaping the cave and the Hinterlands and everyplace all at the same time.

"Do you live here?" she asked.

"Yeah…well…sort of. I live on my farm. It's not too far from here! Do you want to go see it?"

His question was like a dagger thrown from behind. Its target, her backside. She shook her head quickly, dismissing his invitation.

"Why not?" Brolin asked, gesturing with his hand, "It's only a short distance from here."

"I can't leave," she said, suddenly, "my…I…just can't."

Brolin raised his brow, "That's not an answer. Come on! It'll be fun."

The girl traced the dirt with her finger and then she motioned for Brolin to draw near.

"I want to show you something," she said.

Brolin rubbed the hilt of his wooden sword and then skipped over to her. His eyes focused on the ground, where it looked like she had drawn a face. Or a house. Or a Darkspawn. It was hard to tell. After guessing at what it could possibly be, he finally gave up and waited for her to speak again.

"I call it…Shroown."

"Shroown?" Brolin repeated, confused, "What's that?"

"It's magic," she replied.

"What kind of magic?"

"The old kind." Her words were so cryptic. Her essence drew him in further.

Brolin stared at her. His eyes started at the very top of her head and then slid down to her pale face. Her skin was soft, like nug skin. But it was much nicer. More pure. Better. Cleaner. Brolin felt a funny feeling in the bottom of his stomach when he looked at her. For a moment, she stopped what she was doing and then she glanced over to him—her eyes latching on to his. A moment of silence separated time. Then she smiled. Brolin's heart leapt. It was a flutter where he had never felt it before. A sudden thing.

She giggled—a soft tone—and then she continued to trace her finger in the dust.

"What is that?" Brolin whispered.

"You'll see…"

Brolin waited for something to happen. His mind worked up a grand explanation. The girl…she must have been a princess. A majestic princess trapped in a cave, all alone for hundreds of years. Nobody found her because they couldn't find the cave. But now, Brolin, conqueror and adventurer, was here to save the day. All he had to do was wait for her to draw the magical portal back to her Kingdom and then everything would be fine.

But, soon, Brolin sensed another presence.

It clung to the entrance of the cave like a bird often would in the trees. Lingering. He felt a chill run his spine as his eyes honed in on a figure. It towered over him in height. Brolin's thoughts flashed danger.

"Run!" he thought to himself.

Except there was nowhere else he could go. The cave ended. Its blueish-gray wall wrapped around Brolin and the girl as they stood in the ashy dust.

"Who are you?" Brolin asked.

The figure took three steps forward and stopped.

"Don't come any closer or else I'll use my sword! I mean it!" he whipped out his wooden blade and held it up in the air. His sight shifted from the menacing figure to the girl. After a moment of debating with himself, he kicked a bit of dirt over to the girl in order to get her attention. Then, he held his hand out.

"Come on! We have to get out of here."

The girl shook her head, her demeanor shifting back to its dullness again. This time, she seemed shy. Almost embarrassed.

The figure made its way closer. So close that Brolin could hear its breathing. After a bout of silence between the three of them, the figure reached into its cloak and pulled out a thin candle. It lit a match and ignited the wick, casting a small pocket of light around the inner sanctum of the cave. Instantly, Brolin saw that the figure was a man. Though, he was not like any man Brolin had ever seen before. Dark streaks ran from the corners of his mouth, where thin lines became jagged as they traveled further down his neck. His lips were pale and so was his skin. A look that spelled 'doom.'

Brolin screamed as soon as he laid eyes upon him, a harsh shrill penetrating the air. The man hissed, extinguishing the flame before rushing over. Brolin leapt from his place, kicking dirt as he searched for an exit. His eyes flung wildly from side to side—his imagination devolving into nothingness as instinct started to take over.

"Stay away!" Brolin yelled, "Stay away, stay away stay away!"

His cries were heard by no one but the girl and the terrifying man. Brolin knew that help was not going to come. He had to take matters into his own hands. Swiftly, he gripped his sword and swung—coming within inches of the man's chest. The sound of wood nipping cloth rang the air, followed by the man's deep voice.

"Silence, child!" he beckoned, "Be still or your life will be mine!"

It was like a nightmare come true. The fear overpowered Brolin's will. Gone was the triumph he had seen earlier over the Orlesian army in the woods, or the quiet victory he had achieved when he left the farm. There was no adventure. No greater mystery beyond the mountains. Here…there was only darkness and the night's many horrors. He squirmed under the weight of the man—as his muscled arms wrapped around Brolin's tiny frame. He felt the air leaving his lungs.

"P-please…" Brolin's head cocked sideways, his eyes buried into the void of the man's cloak. Nothing could be seen. There was no light, he realized. None at all. It didn't wait for him as the life slipped from his insides. Nor did it come to rescue him from the danger. He was alone. Trapped in a cave where no one was going to find him. Nobody at all.

It was the last thought he had before the abyss swallowed him whole.