The Deep Roads were as awful as ever. The only thing that penetrated the darkness was the beautiful blue of the lyrium. The rest was mostly in total darkness and they had to stop several times to avoid plummeting down into a chasm.
As they ventured forward, they were attacked by silent assassins who whispered to Beatrix, until she too went into stealth. They had a hard time fighting back at first, but they watched each other's backs in order to avoid being assassinated. Soon, they managed to kill every last one of the assassins when Dorian used a fire spell and fire wall spell in quick succession, englulfing the Qunari rogues in flames. Their screams told everyone where they were at all times, not to mention their outlines were eerily visible as flame monsters for all to see.
Once they were free of anything that moved or attacked, they trudged forward until they came to a fire pit where they found a human man, warming himself in front of the fire. Beatrix could clearly see they were very close to the actual mines themselves. When they spoke to the man, he told them he was an ex-templar named Jerran. Speaking to him revealed that there was a woman leading the Qunari, someone called Viddasala, who had given everyone orders to attack the Inquisition.
"Viddasala?" Bull interrupted. "Viddasala are supposed to find, study and stop magic. What is she doing mining lyrium?"
Jerran readily told them it all had to do with something the Qunari called 'Dragon's Breath', but he didn't know what 'Dragon's Breath' was. He only knew they needed vast quantities of lyrium to strengthen the Saarebas.
"If you can reach four main points where everything is being mined, there are gaatlok explosives around, which they are using to mine the lyrium. If you get ahold of the gaatlok primers, you can use them to destroy the four main mining sites and cut off their supplies," the former templar said. "I want nothing to do with the Qunari any longer."
"Well, thanks for your help," Beatrix said with a smile. "You'd better hurry and leave before you are captured and interrogated."
"Thank you, Inquisitor," the man breathed a sigh of relief, then made his way out of the area where he had been, disappearing from view a few moments later.
"Boss, why did you let him go?" Bull asked. "He'll probably be captured and reveal what he told us, so Viddasala will know we're after her."
"Yeah, I'm counting on that," Beatrix laughed. "The sooner the better."
"Cheer up, Amatus," Dorian said to Bull. "You may even get a chance to fight the Viddasala."
Bull burst out laughing. "There's always that, Kadan! You sure do know how to brighten my day."
"I love you too," Dorian replied.
Beatrix gave a giggle, something she rarely did. "Come on," she grinned. "Let's go blow everything up!"
Bull burst out laughing.
"I like the way you think, Boss."
"Of course you do," Varric said shaking his head. "You and the Inquisitor should start making explosive barrels and set them off once every two weeks in the mountains. Oh, wait! Forgot that can cause an avalanche!"
"Varric," Beatrix laughed. "The Iron Bull IS an avalanche!"
…
After blowing up all the lyrium mines, they still had to fight a lot of Qunari to get to the huge staircase that eventually led the way up and out of the Deep Roads.
Finally reaching the Crossroads and safe from harm, Beatrix suddenly yelled in pain. Holding up her hand, she felt the mark discharging. Although nobody was hurt, she motioned for them to stay away. Grimacing, she held her left hand in her right as she felt the magic coursing through her veins all the way past her elbow now.
"Beatrix," Dorian whispered, "you must get that looked at by Vivienne."
"She wasn't able to help me back in Skyhold," Beatrix muttered. "I'll be fine, I'm just…anxious to get back. We must warn the others about the Qunari plan, even though we don't really know what it means."
"Whatever it means, it's obvious they wish to fight the Inquisition and probably invade southern Thedas," Cassandra said with a frown. "Are you feeling well enough to walk?"
"Yes, thank you," Beatrix smiled as she clenched and unclenched her hand. The rest of her team stepped through the eluvian first. As soon as she had passed through the eluvian, however, she was greeted by the vision of Cullen, who fixed a worried look on her.
"I'm alright," she quickly said as Cullen rushed forward, taking her in his arms briefly. "I'm fine. We need to call an emergency meeting in the dungeons."
"Fine," Cullen said stiffly, his hands now dropping at his sides after releasing her from his embrace. Without another word or glance, he turned and walked out of the room.
Beatrix stared at his retreating form, her brow furrowed.
"Curly will be fine, Buttercup," Varric said in a low voice. "Don't worry about this."
"How can you be so sure?" Beatrix asked Varric as the rest quietly left the room.
"Because he loves you, Buttercup," he replied with a gentle smile. "Let's go."
…
They were talking about the recent developments in the dungeons, when both Cyril and Teagan made their way down the staircase and into the room.
"Clandestine meetings now, Inquisitor?" Teagan sneered, his angry eyes glaring at everyone in the room. "How dare you? You act like you're the solution to every problem. Why didn't you inform us about the dead Qunari? How long before you lead us into another war, Inquisitor?"
"There has been a development that is causing some alarm, Inquisitor," Cyril quickly interrupted. "One of your guards has mistreated one of the Orlesian servants of the Crown. This is unheard of and I wish for you to put an end to it immediately."
Beatrix's eyes narrowed. "Ser Teagan, I would watch what you say and learn all the facts first. And please do not interrupt me again. Lord Cyril, I will attend to the problem immediately myself."
Holding her head high, Beatrix climbed up the stairs, ignoring both the cries of Teagan's disapproval and the gasp coming from Josephine. She arrived at the left wing where the Inquisition had been accommodated, and her heart stood still with fear when her eyes recognized a round metal container next to the servant. She had just seen these and used them to blow up the lyrium mines. In an instant, she knew they were, indeed, in more trouble than they had originally thought.
She quickly had the Orlesian servant arrested, much to the Palace Guard's chagrin, and her soldier immediately handed her a note that had been found on the soldier. She quickly read it, just as Leliana reached her.
"We have a problem," she whispered to the red-headed bard. "These round metal containers are full of gaatlok. If we don't look for all of them and take them away, all of us could be blown to bits and pieces."
"This might be the 'Dragon's Breath' plan you were telling us about," Leliana said. "I'll have all my scouts search for them, Inquisitor."
"Thank you, Leliana," Beatrix smiled, handing her the missive. Leliana did not show any surprise, but smiled sweetly back at her, handing back the note.
"I need to go to where the Viddasala is, but it's getting rather late and I have not eaten anything," Beatrix said smiling back. "I'll head out with my team early tomorrow."
Leliana turned and headed back to the location where her scouts had settled in and Beatrix turned to enter the tavern.
Sera joined her at the table. "Chasing Orlesian nobles or Qunari soldiers, yeah?"
Beatrix smiled. "Nothing is quiet and peaceful in this place."
"Yeah, nobles always stick their noses everywhere. You know this is going to the void, yeah?"
Beatrix started eating a huge plate of mashed potatoes, roasted nug and vegetables as Sera went on and on about how nobles ruined everything, especially when they got together and hinted again at the Inquisition's eminent dissolution. "But you're good to have around. You could join us and we can, I dunno, shove it to nobles to get things real normal?"
"Beatrix stopped eating, her eyes now widening in surprise. "You want me to become a Jenny?"
"Yeah, cause you need to be with the good ones, yeah? Have a city like us. With us. What do you say, Cully Wully ladybits?"
"Cully Wully, ladybits?" Beatrix smiled as she resumed eating.
"You know why. Ya got married that's why, so you're his lady, and bits, cause 'BITS'!"
Beatrix chuckled, taking a long sip of her mead. "I'd love to become a Jenny! Let's toast to it!"
Sera laughed, lifting her mug and toasting with Beatrix. "It'll be grand!"
"It certainly won't be boring," Beatrix grinned.
…
It was already dark when Beatrix made her way to Cullen and her quarters. She had stopped by the office of the Divine earlier, letting Cassandra know what had happened so far. She was deep in thought, worried that they wouldn't discover all the Qunari gaatlok and that people could get hurt. She opened the door to their room and it shut behind her. In the semi-darkness she saw Cullen in a long tunic, with his loose trousers on, cleaning his shield. He looked up at her and stood, then marched directly to her, stopping only when he was standing before her.
"Beatrix, I do NOT want to be left behind ever again!" he stated, his eyes flashing angrily. "You cannot even begin to imagine how I felt and–"
Beatrix stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him, interrupting him effectively. He pushed away, nearly snarling. "If you think that's going to change my –"
But Beatrix once again stood on the tips of her toes, kissing him even more passionately, her tongue now teasing the scar on his left upper lip, then demanding entrance to his mouth. She swore she could feel Cullen's resistance slowly ebbing away, but he pushed away again. Holding her at arms' length, his eyes dark with lust. "I just want you to know that I won't stay here –"
The third kiss did it. He gave a half-growl into her mouth as he opened his lips, their tongues now battling a passionate duel. Crushing her to him, he carried her to their bed, where he stripped her of her clothes and kissed her.
"I need to wash, I'm covered in blood, Cullen please," she said softly against him.
He ended the kiss a few moments later, gazing at her with simple and evident love and adoration.
"I would love to draw a bath for you, Beatrix, but only if I can join you."
"Do you really have to ask?" Beatrix grinned.
Cullen stood up with a smile, pulling her up and against his chest. "But I am going to accompany you from now on. No travelling without me."
"Yes, my love. Whatever you want," Beatrix purred, making him let out a noise that was half a growl, half a sigh as he tightened his embrace, kissing her again and wishing he'd never have to let her go.
…
"The note said something about the eluvian next to the bookcase. We'll have to look for a bookcase around here," Beatrix said, taking the first bridge on the right.
"Yes, because that's going to make things a lot easier! A bookcase on a floating island is just the thing to have if we get lost, right?" Dorian exclaimed cheerfully. "Oh, look! We're lost! Let's read a book!"
"I can get lost with you right now, Kadan," Bull purred.
"Maker's breath! Not this again!" Cullen groaned, eliciting laughter from the rest.
Beatrix chuckled as they reached the end of the area they were standing on. Beyond floated an island, which had a strange egg-shaped object on it. Right behind the object there was a bookcase and an eluvian shimmering at the very end.
"There!" she pointed.
"Unless you have a dragon that's been previously tamed, I don't see how we're going to reach that," Varric mused.
From where she was standing, Beatrix noticed a similar object on her left. It just stood there, emitting no light or movement. Just a strange decoration. Closer inspection of it revealed a hand. She smiled when she realized what the hand symbol meant.
Taking her right hand, she placed it on the symbol. Nothing happened. Beatrix frowned. She had been so sure that…
Cullen let out a yell as she stepped forward, rushing to grab her. However, she did not plummet to her death. A walkway had suddenly appeared and held fast as they crossed the abyss below it.
Beatrix wasted no time and immediately went through the shimmering eluvian. When she and her companions emerged, they found themselves in an area full of broken buildings on different floating islands all around them. In the center building, which was larger than the rest, she caught movement. Bull handed her his spyglass after he had looked through it.
"There are Qunari there, boss," he said. "See?"
"Yes, I see," Beatrix said as she looked. She saw a bridge of sorts with broken down spaces. It looked like they would have to find the missing pieces of the bridge in order to get to the main building. Beatrix discovered she could lift them easily to their original place using the anchor.
As they searched for the missing pieces, they met the spirit of an elven archivist, and different aspects of it who revealed that Fen'Harel created the Veil and in doing so, destroyed the Elven Empire. It saddened Beatrix to hear what the elves had last shouted before their deaths.
Soon after battling a number of Qunari warriors, they finally reached the main building and met the Viddasala, who walked out of an Eluvian on a raised area in the great hall they were standing in. A great number of Qunari faced Beatrix and her team. They were right below the Viddasala and they stood ready to attack.
"Inquisitor! Survivor of the Breach, Herald of Change, Hero of the South," the Viddasala called out. "You have no idea what you are disrupting here. After fulfilling your purpose at the Breach, it is astonishing you still walk free among your people. Your duty is done, Inquisitor. It is time to end your magic."
"The Viddasala, I presume?" Beatrix smirked. "How about we put our weapons down and talk like civilized people?"
"Are you pretending now to be blind to what you've started?" the Viddasala sneered. "I am no stranger to catastrophe, but the chaos in the south defies comprehension. You've proven that we should have stepped in long ago to prevent all this from happening."
"So, I suppose your 'Dragon Breath' plan is for this? To 'step in' and control our 'magic' by murdering our heads of state? Interesting choice of action. I wonder if the leaders of the Qun are aware of what you're up to," Beatrix promptly stated.
"Don't tell me you believe that closing the Breach solved everything? That its consequences stopped there?" the Viddasala frowned. "The day we saw the Breach, we had already decided to remove your leaders and spare those who toil. This agent of Fen'Harel has disrupted everything! Lives that were to be spared lost for him! The very same agent who continues to help you, even here!"
"Who are you talking about? This agent does NOT work for the Inquisition!" Beatrix shot back angrily.
But the Viddasala gave an order to the Qunari facing the team to kill Beatrix and then join her at the Darvaarad, whatever that was. Then she left through the Eluvian she had come out of.
The battle they fought was one of the hardest so far, since they were outnumbered and there was a Qunari mage who fought alongside the Qunari soldiers. After dealing with the mage, they were finally able to kill the remaining Qunari and head out to the Crossroads at last.
Beatrix and her team made a trip up a set of stairs to another aspect of the Archivist spirit they had met before. The spirit immediately created a path for them to leave the area through another eluvian, but not before telling her the password for the eluvian that would enable them to get to the Darvaarad.
When they arrived back at the Winter Palace both Cullen and Beatrix immediately called for a meeting in the dungeons.
The meeting was an extremely tense one. Leliana reported that the gaatlok had indeed been all found and removed from the palace, but the other news she had proved to be too much for them all. They heard from Leliana's lips how the gaatlok had been placed not only in the Winter Palace, but at the palace in Denerim and other important places on the map of the southern lands.
"The Winter Palace wasn't the only place targeted?" Josephine asked. "But we cannot be the ones to blame here! The servants were Orlesian were they not?"
"The shipments of the encased gaatlok were ordered by us. Someone in the Inquisition put the order in our supply manifests," Leliana informed them.
"What?" Beatrix cried out in a strained voice. "We're the leak? I can't believe this!"
"A lot of the elves with us were picked up from Kirkwall, Inquisitor," Leliana said seriously.
"And most of the elves there turned to the Qunari for help in Kirkwall; they became their agents," Cullen added in a quiet voice.
"Viddathari," Beatrix whispered.
"Well, we can explain this to the council, let them know we've been –" Cullen started to say but was interrupted by Josephine.
"This is beyond any explanation, Commander! Do you realize what those in the Council already think of us? They stand ready to disband us!"
"This isn't our fault, Ambassador," Cullen replied, but he was again interrupted by a very upset Josephine, whose voice rose slightly.
"It IS your fault! You hid the Qunari body! You caused all this! After all I've done for – "
At that moment the mark on Beatrix's hand came to life, and it tore a scream of pain from her lips. She doubled over, holding her left hand tightly with her right. The advisors all stopped talking and looked at her in shock.
"Dammit!" Beatrix exclaimed, practically snarling the words out in anger. "We save Ferelden, and they're angry! We save Orlais, and they're angry! We close the Breach TWICE and my own fucking hand wants to kill me!" She grabbed one of the daggers she kept with her at all times and brought it down on the map of Thedas they had on the long table, stabbing it with an air of finality, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Could one thing in this BLOODY world just stay fixed?"
The advisors came around the table to stand close to her. Beatrix's eyes met Cullen's briefly. "I don't want to die," she whispered.
Cullen took her in his arms. "Shh, my love. I'll be there with you. I won't let that happen."
"I'm sorry, Inquisitor," Josephine whispered. "I'll speak to the Council…"
"I'm sorry too," Leliana interrupted. Turning to Josephine she shook her head. "I'll speak to them. You've done so much and I discovered this. It's my responsibility to tell them. Inquisitor, I – "
"It's fine, I have to end this Qunari threat. I have to go to the Darvaraad," Beatrix said, embracing Leliana and then Josephine. "I'll go rally my companions and tell them. I have a feeling I'll need all of them this time."
…
The Darvaraad turned out to be a huge fortress occupied by the Qunari. They managed to discover the way to open the locks on the great doors and fought their way inside, arriving to a huge courtyard of sorts that kept a dragon of all things.
"Dragon Breath is actually about a real dragon?" Beatrix murmured as the Viddasala appeared in an alcove above them.
"Hisraad, do your duty! Kill the Inquisitor," the Viddasala ordered Bull.
"That is never going to happen, Ma'am," Bull nearly growled back angrily. The Viddasala then ordered her soldiers to kill them and promptly left the room.
The fight against them wasn't very long, they all died quickly, with the exception of one of the Qunari who attacked with a battle axe that very nearly claimed Vivienne's life. They advanced to the area where the dragon was kept. Qunari handlers were doing their best to keep it away from the fire that enclosed the great animal in its circular cage. It could not fly off because the area had a secure stone ceiling.
"I need to set it free," Beatrix told her team. "They cannot continue to torture it like this."
"I agree, Boss," Bull said quietly.
Using her anchor, Beatrix quickly dislodged a cart that was keeping the wheels of fire from turning and then she herself went to turn the wheels to allow a path for the dragon to walk to the battlements. Now the only thing left for her to do was open the gates that was keeping it inside while her team battled the Qunari to avoid interrupting her work.
As soon as she did, the dragon looked at her and stomped off, killing as many Qunari as it could as it took flight. She ran towards the Viddasala, who once again stood before her in front of a shimmering eluvian. This time, however, she told Beatrix that it was Solas who was the agent of Fen'Harel. It was he who had caused all the attacks and all the trouble they were going through. She would kill him and end the madness if it was the last thing she did.
When she disappeared through the eluvian, Beatrix and her team were attacked by the Qunari the Viddasala left behind. They quickly fought and killed the horned soldiers and immediately went through the shimmering eluvian.
They found themselves in a what looked like part of the ruins of an elven structure of some kind. The broken down building lay among the wilderness. Hordes of Qunari attacked and, while they fought, Beatrix noticed an eluvian at the other side of the area. When they were done with the Qunari, they approached it, walking through the eluvian only to find themselves in yet another dilapidated ruin with even more Qunari soldiers who attacked immediately upon their arrival. This went on for a few more times. Her team was rapidly growing tired of the fighting and Beatrix wasn't feeling all too well herself, the magic of the Anchor slowly creeping up her shoulder and to her chest. When they met the Viddasala again, the Qunari leader ordered her Saberaas to kill Beatrix and her team, then escaped through yet another one of the elven mirrors.
That fight with the Saberaas called Saarath was the most terrible one Beatrix had ever fought. Not only was it exhausting, but Beatrix found herself running away more than once every time the mark in her hand flared up. The anchor now exploded every time it discharged, damaging her team. Fortunately, she had found an amulet of physical immunity from all attacks back at the Darvaraad, which saved her life many times over.
Saarath fled after the grueling battle, breaking free of his chains. More Qunari appeared from another one of the eluvians in the area, and they barely finished them off. They had to take a break, drinking down water and eating something before stepping through another eluvian. They progressed through more Elven ruins, arriving at what looked to have been the remains of an Elven shrine.
At this moment, Saarath appeared before them once again, guarding an eluvian behind him. Beatrix then had to fight him and this time it was even harder than the previous battle. The Qunari mage was no longer in control of his magic and started summoning demons continuously to assist him in the fight.
At the end, Cole fell in front of Vivienne and she pursed her lips and quickly healed him, standing tall once she was done, she summoned her Knight Enchanter blade once again, attacking the mage in front of her. Dorian cast a spell of haste to make them attack even faster and the Qunari mage was briefly confused by it, allowing Beatrix to come up to him and hold her mark directly up to his face as her team ran for cover.
The explosion that resulted from the Anchor discharge was fatal, and killed Saarath instantly. Beatrix was left teetering on her feet and fell to the ground shaking like a leaf. Cullen rushed back to her and embraced her.
"My love," he said quietly, pushing back a lock of her hair.
"Cullen, I – I can't breathe," she wheezed as her companions stood around quietly.
"Love, take a breath, and exhale slowly," Cullen's voice rumbled softly. "There. In and out. That's it sweetheart."
Beatrix blinked repeatedly. "I – I can't breathe well. Please, you'll have to carry me."
Cullen nodded, taking her in his arms and carrying her through the eluvian, just in time to witness a few words between Solas and the Viddasala. The elven mage spoke in Qunlat and then turned the Viddasala to stone before she even had the chance to kill him.
"Solas!" Cullen yelled from where he was standing.
The elven mage turned with a smirk on his face, which quickly disappeared when he saw Cullen was carrying Beatrix in his arms. He rushed over to where they stood.
Beatrix was now wheezing badly – the magic of the anchor had completely taken over her entire left arm. She looked up at Solas and gasped, unable to talk, then turned to look at Cullen tenderly.
"This is what I feared would happen at Haven," Solas murmured. "No mortal can bear the mark, for it was meant for me alone. The orb was Fen'Harel's. It belonged to me."
"I don't care if you are Fen'Harel! Just do something, before it's – " Cullen's snarl was cut short by a long gasp. He looked down horrified.
"Love you," Beatrix whispered as a trail of blood trickled down the left side of her mouth. Then she slumped into his embrace and was silent and still.
"No!" Cullen breathed. "Do something, the Anchor, just…"
Solas quickly removed it and turned back to Beatrix focusing on her. Golden rays shot from his hands for a short while. "The magic of the Anchor has reached her heart. I'm truly sorry, Commander."
"Why did you do all this? You forced her to fight and come here! Why?"
"I needed the Anchor," Solas replied, the look of sorrow on his face only making Cullen angrier. "I needed to tear down the Veil, to make everything as it once was. I was responsible for the fall of the elvhen. This was my burden alone. I had to make it right again."
"Make it right?" Cullen yelled angrily. "How can THIS be right? Make it right at her expense?"
"No," Solas said sadly. "I never meant it to happen like this. I never wanted her to be hurt. I respect and love her as if she was my family. But I need to do this. Even if it means the death of your world, I must restore mine."
"You would destroy the world? You would do this to her own children?" Cullen snarled angrily. "You killed their mother and now you would kill them? Fuck you!"
Cullen suddenly realized what he had said, looking down at her. Beatrix looked like she was sleeping, so lovely and peaceful. His sobs overtook him and he held her close. He didn't even register that Solas activated the eluvian they had used to come into the area. He didn't see Beatrix's friends and companions stand around him. Didn't hear them crying quietly. Didn't hear them as they all mourned. And then the screams started as he crushed her to his chest, begging for death.
He should have died along with her.
He wanted to die. He wanted the pain he was feeling to stop.
And the only way to do this was to die.
…