Chapter 13
Adamant Fortress in this chapter. Even though I've promised to try not to write what happens in the game, I cannot leave out the main plot at times. This is one of the times.
I LOVED playing through Adamant. And I still do. It's one of my favorite missions in the whole game (not counting the DLCs). Therefore, I really hope I did the whole thing justice! I did add and change a couple of things, but still kept to the main plot. There is another plot that I'm writing along this one, but it will make another appearance in the next chapters, lol. It's been written in from the beginning actually, but I don't know if many of you caught the hints here and there. :P :D
If you have any comments or anything you wish to say, don't hesitate to leave a review! :D
…
As soon as they reached the Western Approach, both Alistair and Hawke took the lead. They knew a way to Adamant, and warned everyone to be on the lookout for darkspawn. Since Beatrix hadn't had time to explore the Western Approach at all, she tried to stay as close as possible, her horse picking up the pace as she rode behind them. Cullen was riding with the army a very long way back.
When they reached the site of the ritual where they had confronted Erimond, both Alistair and Hawke stopped. The three of them dismounted shortly afterwards and waited for her companions. Cullen and the army were too far away, and it probably would take them a couple of hours at the very least before they arrived, bringing with them the trebuchets and the rest of the heavy equipment they needed for battle.
Alistair looked at Beatrix, who immediately understood he wanted to speak and nodded back. He turned to all the companions, clearing his throat loudly.
"There is another fortress here," the Warden said, pointing towards his left. "It's Griffon Wing Keep. We could use it as a base until the army arrives."
"That's a good idea," Beatrix replied. "Let's hope it's empty."
"It is, Inquisitor," Alistair replied. "We didn't see anyone there on our way to Adamant."
Bull took a spyglass out and peered through it with his good eye. "There's movement on the battlements. Looks like people."
"Qunari stuff, yeah?" Sera asked curiously. "Lemme see!"
Bull smiled as he handed her the spyglass.
"That's strange," Alistair said. "Maybe there are more wardens around? Only they're here in Griffon Wing Keep?"
"You mean separated into two groups?" Dorian asked. "Why would they do that?"
Hawke shook his head, his brow furrowed. "I don't see how or why a group would leave Adamant and go to Griffon Wing Keep since they are all together for the rituals."
"You're right," Beatrix said thoughtfully. "Whoever's there probably isn't friendly, though. Maybe bandits?"
"We'll have to attack and take the keep," Cassandra said, her voice loud and clear. "We should do so now. The army will need a place to come back to after the battle."
"I agree," Beatrix said, looking to Hawke and Alistair, who both nodded. "Make ready for battle, everyone. Madame Vivienne should be protected at all costs. She is our healer."
"My dear, you do realize I can fight?" the mage asked with a frosty smile on her lips.
"Oh, I didn't say you couldn't, Madame," Beatrix gave her a wide smile. "I just said you should be protected quite a bit more than the rest. Maker forbid I keep you from fighting!"
Sera let out a guffaw, earning her a glare from Vivienne. The elven rogue stopped laughing and turned away, immediately sliding over to where Bull was standing and handing him back his spyglass.
"You know the Chargers are with Cullen, Boss. What do you want me to do?" Bull asked her.
"Use your giant hammer as much as you can, Bull," Beatrix grinned. "It stuns whoever is close, so get in and slam it down where you see a group of enemies together."
"And the rest, Inquisitor?" Solas asked respectfully with a small smile.
"All of us will fight closely together, so we'll do what we are good at doing. Only now there will be more of us fighting together, so we have to take care of each other as well. Solas, you work with fire as always; Dorian, use your electric spells as much as you possibly can. All three of you please remember to also put up barriers on all of the melee fighters at all times." Beatrix paused for a few moments smiling at her companions, then turned to Varric and Sera. "If there are people on the battlements, your spells and arrows must bring them down first if we are to get inside."
"Won't know what hit 'em!" Sera laughed, turning to nod at Varric. The dwarf grinned, readying his crossbow, Bianca.
Hawke smiled at Beatrix. "I'll put up barriers as well, the four of us can take turns," he turned to look at Solas, Dorian and Vivienne, who nodded at him. "I also know a lot of ice magic, but my specialty is force magic. I'll do what I can to help."
"Thanks Hawke, I really appreciate your help," Beatrix said with a smile. Turning around she faced Cole and he looked at her quietly, waiting for her orders.
"Cole, you're with me. Use stealth all the time, I want you to surprise them." The spirit-boy nodded at this, his large eyes following her every move and gesture.
"All of you please remember we have mages to protect! They are our most important fighters if there are large quantities of people who attack us! Protect Varric and Sera as well. Their arrows will ensure the path ahead is free. Also, try to always look ahead, anticipate moves like you always do, and work to defend if one of us is in trouble. You are the best warriors in Thedas! Don't ever forget that!"
…
They attacked as soon as they were close enough, surprising the enemies that were on watch. Both Sera and Varric tore into them with their arrows and some of them fell to the ground below writhing in pain until Bull's hammer silenced them forever. The mages were already attacking another small group on their right, while Alistair, Blackwall and Cassandra moved in for the kill.
"Vints! Bloody, fucking Vints!" Bull growled when they were done.
"Well," Beatrix said cheerfully. "There must be quite a few inside. Want to lead us into the keep, Bull?"
"Oh, yeah!" Bull replied as he swung and brought his war hammer against the door, which was so ancient it shattered into pieces.
The whole battle was over very quickly, the hardest one to put down had been the Venatori Overseer at the top of the keep. Once they were done, Beatrix took one of the Inquisition's banners from her backpack, and quickly changed the Venatori banner at the flagpole for theirs.
Cole brought Cullen and the army over to Griffon Wing when they arrived at the ritual site. The soldiers immediately helped carry the bodies out and burn them.
"Fancy meeting you here!" Beatrix greeted Cullen with a huge smile as he approached her.
"Great job taking this fortress," Cullen murmured once he was inches away. Pulling her close, he gently kissed her, obviously not caring who saw them.
She broke away first, pushing away slightly to look into his eyes, a surprised expression on her face. "Why, Commander! What about the wagging tongues?"
"You just captured a keep full of Venatori," Cullen replied with a smirk. "As far as I'm concerned, they can wag all they want."
…
They reached Adamant by nightfall, attacking immediately. The great trebuchets and Rocky's bombs managed to shatter parts of the battlements, while the great ladders swung in the air and landed on top of the remaining walls, enabling Inquisition soldiers to climb up to the battlements directly and attack the wardens immediately. The great battering ram they had destroyed the huge doors that led into the fortress and they were inside in a blink of an eye.
Cullen searched for Beatrix in the mayhem of the battle, finally spotting her. Jogging up to her, he reached her just as she was about to enter.
"You have your way in, love," he said as he embraced her. "Keep close to your companions and Hawke and Alistair. Be careful, please."
"You be careful also! If anything happens to you, I'll kill you myself!" Beatrix exclaimed as Cullen chuckled softly, tightening his arms around her briefly. His eyes caught movement on the battlements.
Beatrix turned to look up. She saw the demonic shades and sighed. It looked like the demons were running amok.
"You'll have to get through the demons to get to the Warden-Commander and Erimond, love. They are probably holed up somewhere in one of the main courtyards. We'll cover you the best we can," Cullen murmured as she nodded.
They shared a quick kiss and Beatrix unsheathed her daggers as she walked inside, her companions immediately attacking the surviving wardens in the area. Alistair turned to her, panting slightly.
"Warden-Commander Clarel must be further in, Inquisitor," he commented.
"We'll use the battlements to get to the inner bailey," Beatrix replied, spotting a door directly in front of her. "Are you familiar with the layout?"
"Oh!" Alistair replied, suddenly searching for something inside his tunic pocket and bringing out a piece of parchment. "Leliana, um…Sister Nightingale gave me this map before we left Skyhold. Her scouts apparently managed to get a clear view of the general layout of the fortress. I don't know how they did it, considering it's full of wardens, but it should take us further in."
Beatrix took the parchment, studying it carefully. "Looks like we have a lot of fighting to do before we get to Clarel," she mused, handing the parchment back to Alistair. "We'll have to be quick about it."
Her eyes scanned the area, immediately spotting a door. Cole materialized in front of her, scaring Alistair half to death, who took several steps back, inadvertently stepping on Sera who was behind him.
"Blood and shite!" Sera screamed. "Not again!"
Vivienne turned to look at the blond elvish rogue with a bored expression on her face. She rapidly sent out a healing spell that quieted Sera down, while Beatrix smiled, keeping her eyes on Cole.
"Yes, that's the way," Cole confirmed as Beatrix sheathed her bloody daggers, walking towards the door and opening it. The area she stepped into was full of dead bodies and a huge stone that had probably been fired by one of the trebuchets. There was a ladder on the far wall and she rushed to it, climbing up quickly only to realize she was finally on the battlements before she was attacked by a couple of shades.
Her companions quickly climbed the ladder to join the fray. They ran most of the way as soon as the demons had been dealt with, arriving at another area where Inquisition soldiers were fighting a large Pride demon.
"Barriers!" she called out to Solas, Dorian, Hawke, and Vivienne. She turned her head slightly to look at Cole who gave a small nod, immediately disappearing before her eyes as she unsheathed her daggers. Alistair, Cassandra and Blackwall rushed forward to help, just as Cole reappeared behind the Pride demon, his daggers connecting with the demon in between its scales.
The Pride demon howled with pain, but never managed to turn to Cole because Alistair, Blackwall and Cassandra all bashed their shields into it, stunning it momentarily.
Both Vivienne and Hawke let loose an ice spell that encased the thing in ice, while the melee fighters attacked again. The demon shattered, the ice crystals flying into the air and dissolving as soon as they hit the stone floor.
They regrouped briefly, pausing to check if they had any injuries while Vivienne and Solas busied themselves healing what they could. Once that was done, they continued their march on the battlements, fighting the wardens and demons along the way.
After what seemed like an eternity to Beatrix who was impatient to get it all over and done quickly, they arrived at a small courtyard where warden warriors were fighting the warden mages. The demons the wardens had summoned attacked them immediately, but they were no match for Beatrix and her group.
When the warden mages lay dead at their feet, one of the warden warriors – presumably the leader of the group – warned Beatrix to stay back.
"We aren't here to fight wardens!" Beatrix's shout rang out sheathing her daggers immediately as a sign that she meant no harm. "We're only here to get to Clarel and Erimond! If you step back and lower your weapons we'll be on our way in peace!"
The warden warrior who spoke to her lowered his weapon, sheathing it a few moments later. The rest of the wardens did the same.
"Alright," he said to Beatrix, "do what you must. We do not wish to attack the Inquisition any longer."
Beatrix nodded, relief washing over her as she spotted a door on her left which would probably take them further inside.
"Thank you, Inquisitor," Alistair smiled gratefully as they walked towards it quietly. "I didn't want to spend the rest of the night killing my brothers."
"You know if they attack we have to kill them, don't you?" Beatrix replied with a teasing smile.
"And here I thought we were only here for the cheese," Alistair quipped back with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Well. I'm glad that's cleared up," Beatrix responded, chuckling as she reached the door.
…
By the time they reached the main courtyard in the inner bailey, both Erimond and Warden-Commander Clarel were undertaking what seemed to be the last ritual to let in a particularly nasty demon. Beatrix caught sight of it and gasped, its many eyes seemingly staring directly at her. Not only was the thing monstrous, but it was straining to get across the veil that was still impeding its entry.
They tried to reason with Clarel, but she had already killed one of the older wardens, and the blood was slowly pooling around him and dripping from the stone table he was lain upon to the floor. The warden mages had formed a circle around it, the demons they had summoned staying close to them.
As it happened, Clarel chose not to listen to Beatrix or Alistair and gave the order to let the huge demon through. Beatrix started to curse. Very loudly. She had never felt so much anger in her entire life. Stupidity was to blame here: Clarel's stupidity for believing a Tevinter mage, the Warden mages' stupidity for agreeing to summon demons in the first place, stupidity because they believed in their cause so much, they had closed their eyes to reason.
"Please, stop!" Blackwall thundered behind her, ignoring the expletives Beatrix was spewing out. The Warden mages turned to look at Blackwall, momentarily distracted. "My name is Blackwall. Some of you may have heard about me. From the first moment I became a warden I felt I belonged. I followed happily, because my life had purpose. But if you let that thing cross the Veil, you aren't helping our cause at all, Warden-Commander. You aren't stopping the Blight. If you want to stop the Blight, stop the Tevinter mage beside you! His Master is the embodiment of evil – an ancient darkspawn that will crush us all!"
A few of the mages turned to look up at Erimond, confusion and uncertainty on their faces.
Alistair joined his voice to Blackwall. "I killed thousands of darkspawn during the Blight. Your mages are now slaves to Corypheus, Clarel. Don't do this!"
Clarel faltered, and Erimond clearly saw this. He tried convincing her, but she shook her head.
"Perhaps it would be wise to test the truth of what they are saying," the woman said, turning to Erimond.
"Or," Erimond sneered at her. "perhaps it's time to call upon a more reliable ally!" Seething with anger, he turned to look down at Beatrix. "My Master knew you would stick your little nose into this, Inquisitor. So he sent me this to welcome you!" Erimond hit the stone floor beneath him three times with the end of his staff. Immediately afterwards, the same dragon that had attacked Haven appeared, flying overhead – corruption oozing from its scales.
"Shit!" muttered Bull behind Beatrix, pulling her to safety as they all dodged the red fire of the beast. Beatrix was still looking up at Clarel as the woman stared first at Erimond and then at the dragon. She saw the Warden-Commander ready an electricity spell and Erimond pleading for her to stop.
Once the spell hit the dragon, mayhem ensued. Erimond ran off and the demons attacked them in spite of Clarel's command to the mages that they should help the Inquisitor. The fact of the matter was that Clarel was gone, chasing after Erimond, so she could not calm the mages or do anything about the utter chaos in the courtyard.
Beatrix and her group defended themselves against the assault rather well at the beginning. It was when a Pride demon was summoned that things began to go downhill. The mages were chucking down lyrium potions like water, trying to fight and protect the team at the same time. More demons replaced the falling ones and the whole courtyard stank of demon ichor. To make matters worse the dragon circled above them every now and then, breathing corruption on them.
Needless to say, they were in a very dark spot.
At that moment, Beatrix's mark flared up as she stood in front of the Pride demon, her left hand raised high, walking slowly towards it with a determined look on her face. The mark connected with the huge beast and quite suddenly a rift opened right inside it, tearing it to pieces.
Beatrix stared dumbly at her hand when she was done. She didn't even know her mark could do that!
Her companions finished clearing out the demons and mages and they looked at her their mouths agape.
"I think your encounter with Corypheus at Haven augmented your mark a little more than you thought, Inquisitor," Solas said calmly as he walked towards her, his blue-grey eyes holding hers. "Fascinating!"
"Well, we could all stand here and say 'Facinating'," Alistair said as he walked towards them. "Or we could follow Clarel and Erimond."
Beatrix shook her head, willing herself to focus on the present. "Right," she said already sprinting into a run, "we follow them!"
"Isn't 'chase' a more appropriate word?" Varric huffed behind her.
…
Beatrix sprinted into a run again, after dealing with some demons the warden warriors were fighting. It was obvious to her that these wardens and many others were now helping the Inquisition and that put her more on ease, but she still was furious over the whole mess and she hoped she could get it out of her system by killing that damned Erimond and dealing with the stupid dragon immediately afterwards if she could. She didn't even care that she was putting her life on the line even more than usual. She just ran and ran, trying to keep out of the dragon's fiery breath along the way.
Turning a corner, they finally reached them. They were standing along a stretch of battlements that led nowhere. The abyss was probably underneath, dangerous and foreboding. Beatrix skidded to a stop and watched the whole scene unfold before her in slow motion.
She saw how badly Warden-Commander Clarel was trying to punish Erimond for destroying the wardens and how insultingly Erimond responded, sneering at her. Beatrix winced slightly because she had inadvertently been digging her nails into her palms as she clenched her fists, piercing the skin. She glanced quickly at the blood spurting out, momentarily losing sight of what was happening and therefore failed to see the dragon approaching them.
The dragon grabbed Warden-Commander Clarel in its mouth, flying up to one of the towers overlooking the battlements, then shook her side to side. Vaguely, Beatrix remembered Bull going on about how clever dragons were when he started begging her to go kill the one in Crestwood. It was this conversation that had prompted her to leave Bull and part of her team in Crestwood in the first place. Now she knew for sure that this dragon was as clever as Bull had described. The dragon kept its snakelike eyes on Beatrix, as if it was letting her know she was next. It then let go of the Warden-Commander and the woman flew through the air and landed on the battlements with a sickening crunch very close to Beatrix and her whole party, who were still staring with dumb expressions on their faces.
Erimond ran off, clutching his side and Beatrix felt her anger start to surface again. Of course he was running off, the coward! Yet, there was no time to even consider chasing him. The dragon was now walking calmly down the low tower, keeping its eyes on Beatrix, its mouth open in what seemed to be an amusing grin. Beatrix backed away as it stepped closer, her party doing the same.
At that moment, Cullen appeared, turning the corner as he came face to face with the awful scene. The dragon which had attacked Haven was now moving towards Beatrix and her team, who were slowly walking backwards to the end of the battlements. He realized quickly that it meant they would either die as they fell into the dark abyss or be killed by the huge beast before them. He gave a desperate shout, causing the dragon to turn its scaly neck and head to gaze down at him, but Beatrix didn't want to see the dragon mauling the love of her life, so she quickly took one of the smaller daggers she kept concealed inside her boot and threw it directly at the dragon's underside. The small blade quickly embedded itself in a part of the beast that was not covered in scales.
The dragon felt it and turned back to Beatrix and her team, roaring loudly at them. They scrambled backwards yet again as they tried to escape its anger. At that moment, Clarel, who was still alive, threw a lightning bolt that knocked the dragon off its feet causing it to fall heavily on the battlements and as it tried to get up it slipped off the edge, causing the whole ancient walkway to start crumbling.
The mighty beast fell, but suddenly remembered it could fly. Flapping its great wings, it rose into the darkness and disappeared.
Beatrix and her companions were suddenly running for their dear life, trying to get to a safe area as huge pieces of the battlements started to fall directly into the abyss. Alistair nearly fell and clung to the edge, and Beatrix went back to help him back up, eliciting a shout from Cullen, who was now running towards them, much to Beatrix's dismay.
"Get back, you foolish man, you!" she screamed as she ran for her life, the rest of her team running wildly alongside her. But Cullen paid no heed to her words and managed to catch her in his arms, just as the whole area around them crumbled. "Let me go!"
"Never!" Cullen panted as he held on even tighter.
"Commander!" Beatrix screamed. "Your men need you! I'll be fine, I promise!"
Krem suddenly appeared and shouted, throwing himself forward and grabbing Cullen's ankles.
"Commander! Your men need you!" Krem echoed Beatrix's words, holding fast.
At that moment, one of Beatrix's hands slipped away, and Cullen felt the tears he had been holding back fall to his cheeks. Beatrix turned her body and wrenched her wrist from him, falling into the darkness as he cried out, his shout filling the area and reverberating off the surrounding cliffs. At the last moment, however, he saw a flash of green which came and went, leaving the whole area in a darkness so deep, it seeped into Cullen's very soul.
"It's alright, Commander," Krem groaned as he started to pull, heaving Cullen back up. Rocky and a few of the soldiers had also arrived and managed to pull Cullen to safety. "We've got you!"
"It's not alright!" Cullen yelled facing Krem, Rocky and his men angrily. Barris arrived with a few more of the soldiers, standing still and looking at what was unfolding before him. Cullen wiped the tears off angrily. "It will never be alright!"
"They fell into a rift, Ser," Krem added in a loud voice, trying to get Cullen to react in a more positive way.
"It doesn't matter if they fell into a rift! She's gone! She's lost! And I'm not there to help her! To protect her!"
The words Cullen wailed out stunned them all into silence. They couldn't reply, not because they didn't want to, but because they honestly didn't have the words to do so.
Because words were never going to be enough.
Not in this case at any rate.
…