3. Potential

Stroud stood at one of many entrances to the network of tunnels connecting the cities of the once-great dwarven kingdoms, those few not already over-run with darkspawn at least, and peered into the depths. The now-risen sun provided enough light to make out the wide stone steps leading ever deeper into Thedas' crust. No more than a dozen paces in however, the stairs were swallowed in gloom. The senior warden turned to his fellows, shielding his eyes from the sun; though the day was yet young, he sweated lightly beneath his armour. "I sense no darkspawn though that is no surprise. No doubt we will find them further in. You," he pointed to Kalli, "Take Bethany with you and scout the area ahead of us for any traps or cave-ins-"

Kalli silenced the man with a raised hand. "I do know what scouting ahead entails, Stroud," she patiently explained.

The Antivan nodded, letting this go. "Then you had best be about it. The rest of us will remain here until you return."

Bethany fidgeted with her staff and clothing, making sure all was properly tied and buckled. As she peered into the depths, her pulse quickened, a rapid beat beneath the red scarf at her throat. Memories of her last foray below ground were still too fresh in her mind – the musty air of the underground passages, the growls and snarls of darkspawn in nearby tunnels, the unremitting dread.

"Maker give me strength," she murmured. She looked over as Kalli laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Bethany inhaled a final breath of fresh, non-darkspawny air and nodded to herself. "I'm ready," she said firmly. The hand on her shoulder remained a moment longer, squeezed gently and was gone.

Kalli jauntily saluted Stroud, a show of bravado more for Bethany's benefit than anyone else. "If we're not back in a hour, assume we've died horribly," she said with an incongruously sunny smile. Kalli slapped her thigh and Circus came obediently to heel. Drawing forth a longsword from its sheath on her back, Kalli began the descent into the deep roads. After taking a final look around her – the sunny cloudless sky, the blades of tall grass swaying gently in the breeze – Bethany too headed down, staff in hand.

Once at the base of the steps, Bethany looked back; the entrance now little more than a bright square of light, dust motes dancing in the shaft of sunlight from above. The young woman swallowed, hands firming around her staff and put the light behind her. Kalli and Circus set off at a cautious pace, the elf's keen green-eyed gaze flitting up, down, left and right, seeking tripwires and the slightly raised lip of pressure plates. Finding none, the trio ventured further in, the interior of the underground corridor stretching ahead of them into darkness.

Kalli's eyes soon acclimated to the lack of light. Though she saw nothing of note, her keen ears detected a faint sound as something scraped against the stone further ahead. Head tilted to the right, Kalli attempted to determine the nature of the sound. Not darkspawn, we would have sensed them already. Probably giant spiders. Joy of joys. Bethany eyed the elf – the Hero – curiously. "What is it?" she asked, voice low.

"Spiders, most likely. Keep an eye on the ceilings, they like to drop in from above."

Bethany nodded. "I know." As the pair of wardens set off, she asked, "What are you expecting to find down here?"

Gaze constantly roaming their stone surrounds, Kalli answered, "If we're lucky, only a nest of spiders. Darkspawn if we're unlucky." She paused. "If we're very unlucky, a brood mother."

"What's a-" Bethany began.

Kalli cut her off, "You don't want to know. You really don't want to know."

Bethany fell silent; the look on the face of the Hero No, don't call her that! was distinctly uneasy as she spoke of this brood mother. It must be bad, if it has her worried.

Circus moved on ahead of his mistress, nose to the cracked flagstones, nostrils flaring as he took in the array of scents – dust, the residue of the dark ones, rat droppings though sadly, nothing edible. A rustle of movement from above brought him up short and he barked out a warning as a large bulbous creature descended from the high stone ceiling on a runner of silk. Even as the spider's multiple legs touched the floor, Circus was upon it, powerful jaws snapping shut around a leg as his weight bore down on the arachnid. The over-sized spider emitted a piercing squeal as the mabari crunched through the leg, black ichor pulsing out.

Circus recoiled, furiously shaking his head in an attempt to cast the taste from his mouth. Scuttling forward on its remaining limbs, the spider reared back to strike, droplets of venom spattering the floor, sizzling where they landed. Aiding the hound, Kalli rushed forward, blades cleaving more legs from the beast. Bethany spun, staff raised in a guard position as a trio of spiders dropped in behind her, hissing. "Flames!" she cursed, directing several arcane bolts from the staff, forcing back the foremost creature. Swinging her left arm in a wide arc, the mage summoned a half-circle of intense, numbing cold and turned the season in the immediate vicinity from summer to winter.

Skin rippling with gooseflesh, Kalli turned from the crumpled remains of her foe and beheld an impressive sight – three more of the beasts frozen where they stood, draped with icicles. As she looked on, Bethany slammed the butt of her staff into the nearest one, opening a network of thin cracks. An instant later the creature shattered; shards of frozen arachnid ricocheting off the dwarven paragons carved into the walls.

Drawing a pair of throwing knives from the wide leather strap around her torso, Kalli stepped first to Bethany's left then right, the blades embedding themselves in the remaining spiders. Though she was reasonably sure they were all dead, Kalli experienced slight disappointment – her knives hadn't imparted enough impact to shatter her targets.

As Bethany turned to face the elf, the spell wore off and the creatures slumped to the floor, ice water disappearing between the cracks in the stone flooring. Kalli slipped past Bethany and retrieved her blades. Sliding them home, she complimented the younger woman. "Nicely done."

Bethany smiled slightly and shrugged as though to say it's nothing. She turned her attention to the mabari; Circus pawed at his muzzle, whimpering. Runners of drool fell from his jaws to the floor. "Is he going to be all right?" Bethany asked.

Kalli knelt by the dog's side and removed a crumbling piece of dried mabari crunch from a pouch at her belt. "Here boy. This will take that nasty taste away." Circus barked and swallowed the offered treat in two bites. Bethany looked on with a smile as Kalli fussed over the dog. "Who's a good boy, then? You are!" Circus barked again as though in agreement. Kalli stood, caught Bethany's smile and frowned. "What?"

"He obviously means a lot to you," she replied.

The elf nodded. "He's been with me since just after Ostagar. Darkspawn killed his old master and he adopted me." As she spoke, Kalli scratched the hound between the ears before the trio continued onwards. "Have you always lived outside the Circle?" Kalli asked as she resumed scouting.

"Yes. My family sacrificed a lot to keep my father and I safe. We couldn't stay in one place for too long for fear of attracting the attention of the templars."

Kalli raised an eyebrow. "You father? He was a mage as well?"

Bethany nodded, stepping around a small pile of rubble fallen from a damaged wall. "The Amells have always harboured magic in their lineage." After a moment she explained further. "My mother was betrothed to the Comte de Launcet but met and fell in love with my father, Malcom Hawke. They eloped and left the Free Marches for Ferelden."

Kalli smiled wryly. "I bet that went over well with the family."

"Until very recently, my mother had always believed her family hated her for what she did. As it turned out, my uncle Gamlen took the family fortune for himself, after my grandparents died."

"Your uncle sounds like such a delightful rogue!" Kalli replied with mock enthusiasm. "I simply cannot wait to meet him!"

Despite the situation – the taint, the nightmares, her longing for home - Bethany found herself laughing. "He isn't so bad. He's my family. Each other is all we have."

The other warden nodded. "I can understand that. My cousins, Shianni and Soris are all the family I have left, aside from my father. The reason I asked about the Circle is this – I wanted to know where you received your training. Your father?"

"That's right. Father was a Circle mage but escaped. He began teaching me as soon as my magic manifested itself. I was six, I think. If not for my family, I'd likely be in the Circle by now."

Kalli frowned. "Not right," she muttered, "Taking small children away from their families and locking them in some tower for the rest of their lives."

Bethany smiled. "You sound like Anders. I'm not sure how far he would go to resist the templars." She stopped walking as the corridor through which they travelled opened into a vast subterranean space hundreds of metres across. Thick stone columns supported the ceiling and spaced evenly along each wall were large stone sculptures of dwarven paragons.

Head cocked to the right, Kalli stood beside Bethany, a restraining hand on Circus' collar. "Can you hear it?" she asked, voice low. As though from inside her own mind came a sibilant hiss and Kalli knew that, were she to listen for long enough, she'd discern the occasional word. Casting a sidelong glance at Bethany, Kalli saw a line in her forehead as she struggled to sense something. "Don't try to force it. Let it come."

Bethany nodded, unfocused her eyes until she was looking at nothing in particular and began breathing slowly and rhythmically as father had taught her, gathering herself as though for battle. Something seemed to brush lightly against her mind and was gone. "I felt something," she informed Kalli. "Almost like a cobweb brushing against me but in here," she tapped her forehead.

Kalli nodded, pleased. "Good. We should return to the surface and tell the others."

Æ

Kalli squinted against the morning's bright glare as she and Bethany ascended the last step. Stroud and the others stood nearby, Redmond and the Antivan keeping watch while Josef played a small flute-like instrument while he awaited the scouts' return. Josef slipped the instrument into his pack, taking up his bow as Kalli and Bethany emerged, the elf's dog at her heel.

The archer did not quite know what to make of the elf – Stroud spoke very little of her and she'd spent much of her time thus far in Bethany's company. Despite Stroud's initial misgivings, Josef believed the young mage would acquit herself well, given time to adjust. And what band of adventurers didn't count a mage among their number? It was almost an unwritten law of the land, a cliché repeated innumerable times in the tales of adventure Josef had read as a boy – the mighty warrior, the archer, the dashing rogue and the wizard. In the tales however, the wizard was generally described as an elderly fellow with a long white beard, not a pretty young woman. Not that Josef was complaining about that last part.

"So," Stroud began, "What have you to report?"

"Giant spiders," Kalli responded, her calm demeanour suggesting business as usual. "Further in, the tunnel opens into a grand chamber. Darkspawn in there for certain." She tilted her head, indicating Bethany. "She felt them as well. Bethany has potential, Stroud. Give her some time to settle into this new life and she'll do well." Kalli smiled crookedly, "And you should see how easily she dispatched those spiders. Three at once, just like that." The elf snapped her fingers.

Bethany felt lighter than she had in many weeks as Kalli openly lauded her efforts. The senior warden nodded graciously toward her as Josef said, "Well done." He glanced at his fellow warden – even Redmond seemed impressed.

After a moment, Stroud took up his blade. "Come, there are darkspawn waiting to meet the abyss. Bethany," he addressed the young mage, "Take the lead."

Bethany spared Kalli a questioning glance. "I'm with you," the elf replied in soft tones.

Squaring her shoulders, Bethany started back down, her companions behind her. The assembled wardens made swift progress, soon arriving at the large open chamber. Again, Bethany felt something brush against her mind, an unknown other whispering to her. "I can feel them," she murmured. "Stronger now..." eyes wide, she snapped her staff up, assuming a defensive posture, "They're coming!" Even as she spoke, Josef nocked an arrow to his bow and let fly, the arrow shaft embedding itself in a genlock's right eye.

Fanning out of the corridor to give themselves room to move, the five wardens and Circus encountered heavy resistance as seemingly dozens of darkspawn swept into the open, roaring out challenges. Redmond and Stroud led the counter-assault, swords cleaving limbs and severing heads with every swing. Within moments, the stone floor was awash with tainted blood, the wardens' armour liberally streaked with gore. Dancing nimbly around the larger hurlocks comprising the enemy vanguard, Kalli swiftly brought several down as she backstabbed her way through their ranks.

There's too many of them! Bethany realised as the enemy rallied against the wardens, slowly forcing them back. "Fall back to the corridor!" Stroud ordered, shouting to make himself heard over the ringing clash of steel on steel. "'We will take them as they attempt to follow, one by one." Bethany nodded as she backed towards the mouth of the corridor – a natural choke point where the enemy's superior numbers would work against them. "Circus!" Kalli shouted as she too retreated – No, I'm advancing toward the rear! The dog obediently abandoned the hurlock whose leg he was using as a chew toy and bounded towards his mistress.

Clustered inside the corridor, the wardens pulled further back, drawing the darkspawn towards them. The narrow corridor forced them to enter one by one, Josef felling each of them with precision archery. Kalli shot Bethany a glance, "If you have any more tricks up your sleeve, this would be a really good time to pull them out!"

By way of reply, the mage raised her arms, a rush of heat surging through her and summoned forth an inferno. The intense flames immolated the bulk of the darkspawn and Kalli felt her face redden as the ambient temperature rose in the corridor. "Andraste's tits!" Redmond breathed as the flames died down, revealing the charred remains of dozens of hurlocks, the stench of burned flesh heavy in the air. A few survivors uttered guttural moans, as they attempted to crawl away.

Kalli drew a blade and picked a cautious path through the fire-blackened bodies, putting the rest to the sword. She turned as Bethany asked, hands still raised, "Is that all of them?"

The elf tipped her head back and laughed as the rush of battle receded. Smiling she replied. "All of them and then some."

Stroud cocked his head to one side as though listening for something. After a moment, he nodded to himself, satisfied. "I sense no more darkspawn." He turned to Bethany, sheathing his weapon. "Well done. If not for you, this would have ended very differently."

Redmond elbowed his companion, "Josef might have had to get his hands dirty, fighting up close for a change."

The archer shot his friend an obscene hand gesture. Stroud clapped his hands and the assembled wardens turned to face him. "Good work, all of you," as he spoke, his eyes met those of his fellows in turn. "There is still much to do but for now, we return to the surface."

Heading out once more, Kalli gave Bethany a fierce one-armed hug. "I'm damn glad you're on our side, Bethany."