Burials are damn near impossible when one is surrounded by solid rock, as it turns out. It took several tries and near total temporary hearing loss to use magic to gouge out a hole off the side of the stone road that was big enough to fit a human body. Delilah searched Murray's bag for his personal journal and any food or supplies that could be useful, then returned his satchel to him. Everyone poured fistfuls of dirt over him and sealed his body in with large stones, as fitting a funeral as they could achieve given their circumstances.
Once everybody had paid their respects, they continued walking, but this time the chatter was minimal. Murray's sudden and morbid death weighed heavily on everybody's mind, leaving them in a somber mood as they delved ever deeper into the earth.
After easily another three hours of walking, Delilah suddenly realized that the faint vibration in the floor and walls around them had finally become an audible hum.
"Do you hear that?" Delilah asked, breaking the silence.
"What is that?" Varric said. Everyone looked around, as if just becoming aware of the faint, haunting noise.
"That," Castielle interjected, her voice oddly strained, "is the call of an Old God."
Everyone's eyes turned to her, awaiting an explanation. "We're getting close?" Dorian probed.
"Yes, our maps showed that Razikale was imprisoned in this area," Finn explained. "We're getting close to her projected prison."
"So we're really going to do this?" Delilah said, somewhat nervously.
"Not much point in going this far if we're just going to chicken out at the end," Sigrun chuckled. "Besides, the Wardens have been planning this expedition for decades. The last one was a failure because the cave-ins from the Calling killed so many of the previous Wardens who tried to come down here. It nearly did the same to us."
"What are we even supposed to do once we find the Old God's prison?" Cassandra asked.
"We kill it," Castielle said simply. "We're going to test our cure first, however. Have you ever killed a high dragon?"
Memories flashed by of the seven or so high dragons that Delilah and her companions had slain; the Fereldan Frostback as well as the high dragon possessed by the spirit of Hakkon Wintersbreath being the most exciting ones of them all. The memories of singed clothes and burnt hair, evenings of patching up frost and fire burns and later, celebrating the slaying with the Iron Bull in the Herald's Rest tavern…
Delilah shook herself out of her reverie. "Yes, we've killed a few," she answered. Castielle gave a faint smirk.
"Well, high dragons are intense, to be sure, but they're nothing compared to archdemons," the senior Warden explained. "Though as far as I know, this Old God hasn't been corrupted into an archdemon yet. So we're not sure what its power level will be, compared to high dragons and archdemons. But, as I have experience with both, we'll manage to do just fine, I'm sure."
As she spoke, Castielle reached into her pack and pulled out a small bottle full of a dark green liquid, and passed it to Sigrun. The dwarf uncorked it and took a swill, grimacing at the taste.
"What's that?" Delilah asked, curious.
"Our experimental cure for the Calling," Finn replied. "We've given it to several Wardens at various stages of enduring the taint, to see if it has to be given at a specific stage in order to change the effectiveness. Warden Commander Cousland and I have already taken it."
Castielle nodded as he spoke, putting the resealed bottle back into her bag. "Once all this is done, we'll be returning to Weisshaupt with our results."
"So you're a scientific Warden expedition, huh?" Varric joked.
"Something like that," Finn replied, his eyebrow quirked up in amusement.
"Regardless, we should continue on," Castielle continued. "We should be just a couple hours away from the thaig where Razikale is imprisoned."
Delilah sidled up to walk next to the senior Warden. "How does one kill an archdemon, anyway?" she asked. "You're the only person alive who's ever killed one. You're a legend."
The shorter woman chuckled. "Well, you would think that a good sword would do the trick," she said thoughtfully. "And you'd be partially right. But only a Warden is capable of slaying an archdemon, and I can't explain why."
"She's right, about not being able to explain," Varric piped up. "Hawke's brother Carver became a Gray Warden and became super secretive about it all."
"Carver? I met a Carver in Weisshaupt," Sigrun chimed in. "Tall guy, short black hair, blue eyes? Biceps bigger than my head?"
"That's him," Varric said, surprised. "You know him well?"
"Oh, I wish," Sigrun sighed. "But I've got a girlfriend so, you know, I gotta behave. Velanna would have my hide if I went off with some human."
Castielle chuckled. "That she would."
They continued on. The humming grew louder; it didn't have any specific melody but it still felt distinctly song-like. Far from making Delilah's skin crawl like she'd expected, it seemed to awake strange emotions deep in her soul.
"Is this really what the Calling feels like?" she asked Castielle in a hushed voice. She rubbed her arms, brushing away the gooseflesh that had popped up.
"I haven't experienced my Calling, so I don't know for sure," the Warden admitted. Far from her previous cool and unruffled appearance, now she appeared uneasy and on edge. "I've spoken with some senior Wardens who started to experience their Callings before they left for Orzammar, and they said that it was a sound of terrible beauty and awful yearning."
Delilah fell silent. She didn't know if that described this strange, haunting feeling, precisely, but she did know that it set her hair on end and set her anxiety ablaze.
A low rumbling echoed from far ahead, before fading slowly away. Everyone glanced at one another. "Was that another cave-in?" Dorian asked nervously.
"As we approach the old god prison, cave-ins will be more likely," Finn remarked. "It's what stopped the previous expedition, after all."
"Let's just hope we're luckier than they were," Cassandra muttered.
"I'll just be glad once this is over with," Varric groaned. "Andraste's ass, if I never come back to the blighted Deep Roads, it'll be too soon."
"Agreed," Delilah added.
The Calling grew steadily louder as they continued deeper underground. The walls vibrated tangibly under their touch, and pebbles and dust rained down on them almost continually.
"A single darkspawn is ahead," Sigrun warned suddenly. "Just around this corner."
Delilah hefted her staff off her back as everyone readied their weapons. "After you," she said to Castielle, gesturing at the turn in the road. The Warden gave her a faint smile, readying her crossbow.
Before they even rounded the corner, the creature rushed forward and jumped them.
The thing was faster than anything Delilah had ever seen before. The torchlight only illuminated a blur as it bolted between them; it knocked Dorian and Sigrun back and charged Castielle, emitting a bone-chilling shriek. Delilah sent a blast of fire at it but missed; Castielle fired bolt after bolt in rapid succession. The creature shuddered as it was pierced again and again, but it didn't slow. It bowled into the Warden and knocked her to the ground.
The two grappled on the ground. Its jaws snapped inches from the Warden's face, spittle flying off the jagged teeth. Cassandra leapt forward and hacked at it with her sword, but only succeeded in angering it. Its claws ripped at the Warden armor, tearing her cloak and drawing blood. Castielle bellowed in pain and shoved it off of her with one massive push.
The creature stumbled back and snarled. More bolts whizzed past and pierced it, and Delilah recognized the red-fletched bolts as Varric's. Almost out of nowhere, Sigrun appeared behind it and leapt onto its back. The darkspawn let out a bloodcurdling scream as her daggers sank deep into its back; it tried to reach back and claw her off but she clung on doggedly. Ice shards flew past and buried themselves deep into the center of its chest. Its screaming cut off, and it crumpled to the ground, dead. Behind her, Delilah heard Finn let out a triumphant whoop.
Off to the side, Sigrun was helping Castielle up. Finn and Delilah jogged over.
"Are you alright?" Delilah asked worriedly. The Warden shook her head as if to clear cobwebs from her mind.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said, waving them off. Despite her words, her voice was high and tight from pain. "Just a little scratched up. The Shriek just caught me by surprise, that's all."
"Need me to patch you up?" Finn offered.
"I'm afraid so," Castielle sighed. "We will need to be at our full strength when we arrive at the Old God prison." She tugged off her now tattered, fur-lined cloak to reveal the deep gouges in her shoulder and upper arm. Finn placed his hands over the wound and soft blue light poured forth. The senior Warden squirmed as her flesh knitted itself back together, grunting once through gritted teeth.
"Andraste's dimpled asscheeks, I'll never be used to that feeling if I have to experience it every day for the rest of my life!" Castielle exclaimed. She rotated her shoulder, testing to see if the healing would hold. "Looks like I'm back to normal. Shame about the cloak, though, it was a gift."
"Good," Sigrun said. "Are you alright to continue?"
"Yes," Castielle replied. "Let's go."
Delilah sidled up to Finn as they walked. He glanced at her and gave a shy smile. "Inquisitor, was it? Not sure I ever officially said hi." He stuck his hand out, and the elf clasped it.
"Just Delilah is fine," she replied with a smile. "Titles like that don't really do anybody any good when we're stuck like this."
"Too true." The man scratched at the side of his nose idly. "So, what can I do for you?"
"I'm actually curious about your skills with spirit healing; I've been attempting to learn but I find it difficult to say the least. Did you learn that on your own?"
Finn laughed a bit. "Ah, no. I learned most of the theory behind it while I was still in Ferelden's Circle, and had access to their massive library. Much of my practical experience has come from following the Warden-Commander," he explained, nodding towards Castielle, who led the group several feet in front of them. "We each owe the other our lives, many times over. But I'll never be able to repay the debt I owe her for freeing me from the Circle," he said more softly.
"You're an apostate as well?" Delilah asked, curious. Finn wiggled his hand noncommittedly.
"More or less," he frowned. "It's not really being an apostate when you're a part of the Wardens, after all. As it is, it's only due to her that I was allowed out of Kinloch Hold at all. And once I realized what exactly I was missing by willingly staying trapped in those stone walls, I vowed to never go back. She offered protection by way of joining the Wardens, and I accepted."
"And I've been stuck with you ever since," Castielle called back. Finn and Delilah jumped guiltily.
"Didn't realize you were listening in, Cas," Finn chuckled. "Besides, if I weren't here, who would heal you every time you managed to get yourself hurt? You really ought to work on your constitution if you insist upon jumping into the middle of every single battle, like you seem to enjoy."
"If I didn't leap into the middle of the fray, who would protect your skinny little ass?" the senior Warden teased. The entire party chuckled, and some of the atmosphere's tension seemed to finally dissipate.
It wasn't too much longer before the sloped road under their feet began to gradually level out. The combination of their depth as well as the steadily increasing volume of the Old God's call was making Delilah's ears hurt deep in her skull; she stuck her fingertips in her ears and rubbed, attempting to ease the pressure. It only helped a little.
If the three Gray Wardens were in pain from the Old God's call, they didn't show it. Following the Shriek's attack and the lighthearted banter, even Castielle seemed to have calmed somewhat. She still seemed anxious, but her energy seemed focused now as her goal drew near. Delilah turned her gaze from the woman to the dark road stretching out into the distance, and did her best to soothe the anxiety within herself. Her thoughts returned to Cullen, and wondered if word had yet reached him of their peril. As dangerous as this situation was, she was suddenly very grateful to have her most trusted friends at her side.