"We should make camp here then move in on the Carta in the morning," Cullen insisted, pointing to the place on the map just south of where the Dwarven crime syndicate was thought to have dug in. "It will give us all day to find a suitable place to camp for the following night."
"Suitable? You realize we will be camping in the Deep Roads?" Kora asked, motioning to the map. "No matter what, if we can't get in, defeat Corypheus and get back out in the same day, we will be stuck in there." Varric coughed.
"Wait, what?" he asked, shock taking over his face. "No one said anything about the Deep Roads." He glared at Hawke who shrugged his shoulders, grinning. When filling in his people he had apparently left out that tid bit when talking to the dwarf. Varric shook his head and groaned. "I hate the blighted Deep Roads." He walked away, mumbling something about 'friends like you'.
"Anyway," Hawke drawled out, "we will camp after we make the best time we can today, everything else we can deal with when the time comes. So let's get on with it, shall we?" He snatched up his staff and walked away from Kora and Cullen. They looked at each other and shook their heads.
"Bossy bastard," Cullen grumbled.
"He's your champion," Kora teased, rolling up the map and placing it in her back pack. Cullen scoffed.
"Not nearly," he said as he gave her a playful shove and moved past her. She ran to catch up, pushing her shoulder into his.
"Ass," she whispered, smirking at the taller man. He simply smirked back and gave her a wink.
The group stopped briefly just outside the perimeter of the fort for a break, everyone gearing up for what they knew would be one hell of a battle to get inside. A few minutes later they silently gathered up their things and proceeded down the path in front of them.
Cullen and Kora walked side by side, each keeping an eye out for any sign of movement. As Cullen looked down the path he noticed they were in a small valley of sorts. Scanning the crests he caught sight of someone scurrying in the direction they were also headed. He pulled his sword and shield from his back and rushed forward.
"SCOUTS!" he shouted, motioning for the Templars to follow him. Kora reached out, looking for others.
"TEN TOTAL!" she shouted, sprinting down the path to pull up behind Hawke. "Hang back, I'll wave you on when it's clear." As she turned to join the other warriors Hawke grabbed her arm.
"Do not risk yourself for me," he insisted, a pleading coming from his eyes. She felt the anxiety pouring off of him, an all too familiar feeling for her so she took his hand from her arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"I'll be fine, promise," she whispered. Hawke quickly nodded and Kora took off toward the ringing of metal clashing with metal.
By the time she'd reached them the fight was over, Cullen yanking his sword out of the chest of a heavily armored corpse. Kora stood over the body, pulling the helm off to get a closer look.
The dwarf's face was frozen in the death stare. Meeting those eyes sent a chill down her spine but she shook it off, focusing on examining the body. The dead orbs were rimmed in black and bloodshot in the same color, his skin pale and thin, the veins visible throughout it also black. The smell from it came over her, forcing her to take a step back. It wasn't just death, it was…
"Pure evil," she whispered to herself, wrinkling her nose and waving her hand to fan it away. Her stomach was doing back flips as Cullen moved to stand next to her, looking down at the body in confusion.
"He almost looks…" he hesitated, afraid what he was thinking was true.
"Like a darkspawn," Kora finished. She sighed and turned back toward Hawke and the others. Waving them on, she looked at Cullen and motioned to the path forward. He nodded, knowing without words she was just as troubled by what they saw as he was but unsure if it was a comfort.
They moved on in silence, taking out any resistance that crossed their path. When they reached a courtyard of sorts the resistance became an all out battle.
There were dozens of them, an endless stream of Carta attacking from every angle. Her Templar abilities useless, Kora bashed and slashed her way through as many of them as possible. An arrow sprouted from her shield, drawing her attention to a wall on her left. Three archers had appeared, launching arrow after arrow at their group.
"HAWKE! MERRILL!" Kora shouted. Without missing a beat the mages took one look at Kora who was pointing at the wall, caught sight of the archers and redirected their magic. Hawke froze the one in the middle as Merrill sent up tendrils of death magic at the other two. The ice shattered, broken pieces of it and the dwarf spilling to the ground below as the lifeless bodies of the other two followed.
They returned their attention to the rest, matching each blighted dwarf blow for blow. Eventually the last fell and there was a stillness, a silence that stretched out and almost vibrated in the air around them. A collective sigh broke the song and brought everyone back to reality.
"Anyone injured?" Hawke shouted. Heads shook so Hawke relaxed and kissed Merrill on the cheek before moving away from the group to scout around. Kora looked wistfully at them, thinking of Alistair and how they kind of skipped the early phase of a normal relationship. The excitement and anticipation, however, was always there, as it would be when she returned from this shit hole. She glanced around, reaching out to feel for any issues, then nodded to Cullen.
"Need a breather old guy?" she asked and gave him a wink. Still catching his breath, Cullen glared playfully at her and shook his head.
"You have a few months on me, old-er woman," he replied and sheathed his sword. Moving into one of the rooms off the courtyard, he sat down on a cot and dropped his shield next to him on the ground. Kora sat beside him, letting out a long sigh.
"I feel older right now," she breathed, looking out the door way at Lyle as he rolled his shoulders. Though his presence made her feel reassured she couldn't bring a smile to her lips. Instead, a feeling of dread took up residence in her gut. She slumped over, her head hanging low. "Shit Cullen, what have I gotten you into?"
"How did I know this was coming?" he asked, turning to look at her with a smirk. "You will never change, will you? Stop pretending you are all knowing and in control, you are not." Receiving no response, he sighed.
He removed his gauntlets and draped them across his lap, placing one hand on the back of her neck and digging into the tense muscles with his finger tips. A small groan came from her throat as she rolled into his touch.
"That goes against everything I know to be true, Knight Captain," she mumbled. He laughed gently as he continued his ministrations, hoping to provide her some small comfort to keep her spirits up. He knew what would happen if she were to fall prey to her inner darkness, he had seen it first-hand more than once. Deciding to allow her some quiet time he continued as he watched her back slowly straighten, pushing her neck into his hand.
Feeling the muscles release, Kora rolled her neck and turned to smile at Cullen gratefully. Their eyes met and all she could see were the bags under his. Worry took her once again and she hesitated but decided to ask anyway.
"It's the dreams, isn't it?" she whispered, glancing to be sure no one was near the door way to listen in. She waited, watching the emotions ghost across his face one at a time. Finally acceptance settled in and he nodded. She took his chin, running her thumb over it and nodded back. "I… I am so sorry you had to go through that Cullen. If there's anything…"
"Kora, stop," he whispered back, taking her hand into his. "There is nothing you can do, you know that. Even if you were there, Maker… " He squeezed her hand as he swallowed his tears. "I'm glad you were not there, never doubt that. I would not want this for you." Not knowing what else to do, Kora took his cheek in her free hand and forced a small smile.
"I will always be there for you," she whispered. "You are still my brother, even if I am no longer a Templar, you know that right?" Cullen nodded as he leaned over to kiss her forehead. When he pulled back he saw her smile widen, making his lips curl as well.
"I know."
The mixed band fought their way through the blighted dwarves, clearing one room at a time as they closed in on the deep roads entrance. When they came across Gerav, Varric tried to talk some sense into him, as Kora knew he would, but like the rest of his fellows the dwarf was in too deep. Once they got past him and his reinforcements they descended upon the main chamber before the entrance.
Rhatigan was ferocious, beating down every man who crossed his path. Lyle and Carver tried to double team him only to be forced to take cover by the archers above. Varric had taken down two on one side but the others were bombarding the warriors that remained conscious, littering them with arrows. Kora and Cullen held up their shields to block for those taking shelter behind them.
"We can't stay here forever, that beast will take us out!" Cullen shouted, motioning to the Wanka as it rushed toward Lyle. Lyle avoided the animal only just, shoving a sword into one of its shoulders. Kora glared at Cullen.
"No shit, but they have to run out of arrows at SOME point," she responded, tilting her shield to catch a glance at the three remaining archers. Realizing they were out of options she decided to try something.
She closed her eyes and focused on that ball of energy in her gut, the one Flemeth put there as a homing beacon of sorts. She could feel the heat as it swirled around inside her. Pulling on that, she forced it up into her chest then felt it pulse down her arms. As it neared her hands the heat became more intense until she could feel the tingle of the burn on her finger tips. Smiling, she dropped her shield.
"Try this on for size," she mumbled as she pointed her hands at the dwarves and pushed the heat from her fingers. A blast of red energy came striking out like lightening, crossing the room in an instant and knocking the archers on their asses. Kora let out a little whoop of victory. "Varric! Explosive arrow!" she shouted.
"On it, Gracie!" he shouted back, knocking a large arrow and aiming at the dwarves. They were getting up as he fired, the arrow landing right between the three of them and exploding like gaatlok. When the smoke cleared only ashes were left. Varric smirked his approval then turned to Rhatigan. "Your turn!"
The three Templars were keeping him busy, stabbing and slicing at the dwarf but keeping their distance from the large weapon he wielded. Lyle and Carver were busy with the Wanka so Cullen motioned for the others to assist Lyle as he and Kora headed to Rhatigan.
Hawke stayed in the background, throwing spell after spell at the blighted dwarf but he seemed immune to everything. He began to lose hope until he noticed black vines climbing up Rhatigan's legs. He watched as they slowly engulfed him, finally wrapping securely around his neck and choking him until he fell over dead. The Wanka fell over as well, releasing its last huff of air as everyone turned to look at Merrill.
The elf was visibly drained, her face a bit pale and arms trembling, but her smile was priceless.
"Well, glad that's over," she said as she fell to her knees. Hawke and Carver rushed to her side, fussing over her as Kora pulled a health potion from her belt.
"Hawke," she said. Getting his attention she tossed him the potion and turned back to the others. "Anyone else need one?" A collective 'yes' came from the group so Kora dug into her pack.
"Everyone has to be at 100% before we can move forward," Cullen stated to the group. Once everyone settled down Cullen took Kora's arm and lead her away. She visibly swallowed, knowing what was coming and not sure how to deal with it. He stopped by the Deep Roads entrance and turned to face her.
"Must I ask or will you just tell me?" he questioned, searching her eyes. Kora took a breath to speak but nothing came to mind so she sighed. "Kora…"
"Wait, Cullen, I…" she trailed off, looking down at her feet, then back up at him. "It's a long story that I was hoping we could avoid until after this little jaunt." She bit her lip and waited but Cullen just stared her down. "No then?" Cullen glanced toward the others to be sure no one was close enough to overhear and gripped her arm tightly, pulling her close.
"You are a Templar," he whispered, taking a breath, "and yet I saw you perform magic. How is that possible?" Kora felt that familiar anxiety, like the way she felt when she first approached him in the Gallows. Her lip trembling, she looked down at her hands and shrugged.
"If I knew I would tell you," she replied, her eyes finding his again. "All I know is that Flemeth did something to me while I was away and now things are… different, inside me. I can use my Templar abilities, more proficiently than before and without lyrium, and now apparently I can shoot shit from my hands. Cullen," Kora felt the tears welling up, "I'm scared."
Cullen pulled her into his arms, resting his cheek against her forehead. Rocking her slightly, he shushed her and rubbed her back as she quietly wept. She didn't understand what was happening to her no more than he did, but she was going through something and he wouldn't allow her to go through it alone. Making a decision that he hoped he would not regret, he pulled back slightly to see her face.
""You have nothing to fear," he insisted, pushing her hair from her face. "I'm here. You are not alone." Her smile lit up the entire room.
"You're not afraid of me?" Cullen smirked, his eyebrows lifting just a hint.
"No more than ususal."
"Knight Captain," Carver's voice cut across the room, "orders." Kora gave Cullen's arm a squeeze as she left his arms, moving toward the dead dwarf and nodding to Hawke.
"You should search him," she said, nodding to the corpse. Hawke gave her a strange look then shrugged, kneeling down to reach into the armor. As he fumbled around under the breast plate he stopped suddenly and looked up at her.
"I have to say this is the strangest thing I've ever found in a dwarf's undershirt," he smirked, pulling the staff out of the dwarf's armor. "How did that get in there?" Cullen moved to stand next to Hawke, inspecting the piece.
"I don't sense anything odd from it," he said, mostly to himself, "but that doesn't mean it's safe to use. Be careful Hawke." The mage stepped back to swing the staff around a few times when it started glowing. The glow filtered into Hawke like blood through veins. Kora could feel Cullen pulling up a cleanse so she tugged on his arm to stop him. His head snapped toward her in shock and she shook hers.
"Let it be," she mouthed to him as she turned to watch Hawke again.
"What the…" Hawke exclaimed, "I can feel it inside me!" Suddenly the glow disappeared and Hawke let out a relieved sigh. "That was… unsettling." Carver clamped a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright, brother?" he asked. Kora noted that was the first time she'd witnessed Carver speaking to his brother. Hawke was taken off guard as well but nodded a few times and caught his breath.
He stared at the staff in his hand a moment then swung it around again gingerly. When it didn't start glowing again he gave it a few good twirls and smiled. Satisfied with the balance he spotted a Warden emblem hanging on the wall. Conjuring a fireball one appeared in the jewel atop the staff and he let it loose, disintegrating the banner.
"Oooh…" Merrill rushed over to Hawke's side, wide eyed. "I could feel that from over there! You've never summoned a fire ball that strong before, I wonder how it projects like that!" As she ogled the jewel Kora put a hand on Hawke's shoulder.
"Ok, you have your new toy, let's move," she stated, nodding toward the doorway leading downstairs. "Everyone make sure you have everything you need, no turning back after this!" She looked at Cullen, trying to put on a brave face but knowing her eyes gave her away. His gauntleted hand rested on her shoulder with a nod. She pulled up her chin a bit to look him straight in the eye.
"We're almost there," he whispered, "and we will succeed." His lips turned up slightly. Kora nodded back and gave him a small smile.
"Yes we will."