The sound wasn't as bad, coming from the idol, as it was in the room with the spiders, or perhaps Anders was used to it now. But no matter how much money the thing was worth, it wasn't not worth touching. He wanted to scream at Saoirse when she picked it up and the relief that flooded him when she threw it to Bartrand was palpable.

For a couple of seconds. Until the door started to close.

"Bartrand, it's shut behind you!" Varric called, all four of them pressed against it as though they can make it open again from physical touch.

"You always did notice everything Varric."

"Are you joking? You're going to screw over your own brother for a lousy idol?"

"It's not just the idol. The location of this thaig alone is worth a fortune, and I'm not splitting it three ways. Sorry Brother."

"Bartrand. BARTRAND!" Veins stood out on Varric's neck. Anders didn't think he'd ever seen the dwarf lose his temper before and it was all the more terrifying for being unexpected. Or expected, and then delivered.

"I swear I will find that son of a bitch (sorry mother) and I will kill him," Varric said, hands still resting on the door. "Let's hope there's a way out of here."

Anders swallowed heavily. The veins of corrupted lyrium surrounding them bathed the room in red light and Justice scrambled in his head, desperately trying to repress the wrongness of his song but Anders could hear nothing but the creak of rope and the scrabble of rats in a dark room.

"Come on magey, we can't stick around here all day."

Great. The dulcet tones of a surly brat. "Right," he muttered. "Yes. Of course."

Inside he was screaming.

He'd never had to spend this much time in the deep roads before. In Amaranthine it had been short trips - the longest the one to go down to the lair of the mother. They had been under for more than a week already and his palms itched and he sweated and he wanted out so badly that it was all he could do not to snap and snarl at their companions whenever they spoke.

He felt a hand on his arm and looked up to see Varric, eyeing him with some concern. "You all right, Blondie?" he said.

He breathed deeply. "Yes. Fine."

"Perhaps we should check those maps of yours again, mm?"

"Good idea."

They found a room relatively free of red lyrium strands and made camp, thankful at least that they'd brought their packs. Anders had insisted on everyone carrying their own food, potions and gear, despite the temptation to put it in the supply carts. He'd seen wardens trapped away from others too many times not to know that having a few canteens of water and some jerky in your pack could be enough to keep you alive long enough for your brothers to dig you out.

His hands were shaking as he pulled out the warden maps and handed them to Varric. Even without his a true stone sense, the dwarf was more comfortable down here than the rest of them. And there was something about his cheerful competence that made Anders feel safe.

"So Varric. Are you going to tell me you didn't see that coming?" Carver's voice was particularly grating tonight. Anders almost would have preferred the song of the red lyrium.

"Of course I expected it," Varric's tone was flippant. "He's Bartrand. But I expected him to try to cheat us afterwards not now. Now is stupid. He's lost his muscle, and the only warden. If he isn't eaten by darkspawn on the way back out he's the luckiest piece of nugshit this side of the void."

"Shouldn't you have planned better for it, then?"

"I don't know, I thought better of him, Junior. It's a sad day when you discover your own flesh and blood is stupid as well as backstabbing."

"Carver shut up," Saoirse said. "We're in trouble and we need to find a way back to the surface. Griping about it won't help."

Carver opened his mouth to respond but thankfully must have thought the better for it. Anders enjoyed the relative silence while Varric mused over the maps and Saoirse busied herself cooking a meal. She was a decent cook, but surprisingly not as good as Carver. Skills they didn't bother to teach to circle mages would be necessary on farm, he supposed.

"How are you doing?" her hand on his arm, offering him a bowl of stew, was a shock. He was losing track of time.

"Oh, fine. Fine. Just… " he shrugged. "Not my favourite place to be trapped, you know?" He drew a breath.

"Where as I, personally, have always wanted to be buried a few miles underground with no clear exit," she said. He looked at her to find her smiling and he found he was able to smile in response, some of the tension leaking away. He wasn't alone down here after all. And Saoirse had a way of fixing things. Things that he didn't think could be fixed, most of the time.

"Here," Varric said. "What do you think, Blondie? You've got more experience with how Thaigs are set out."

Anders chewed thoughtfully as he looked. They'd crudely mapped the part of the Thaig they'd explored and he was grateful for the dwarven habit of building symmetrically whenever it was possible. "We should be able to get around the other side," he said. "As long as it's not caved in or blocked by darkspawn."

"Marvelous," Carver grumbled from the other side of the fire.

"Hey, at least there are no broodmothers down here," Anders said, trying for levity. "Do you know how many breasts those things have?"

"I keep wondering if one day you'll open your mouth and say something worth listening to. Stupid of me."

"For you, Carver, I will never be tempted to try."

"No wonder they locked you up. It was that or tie you in a sack full of bricks and dump you in a river."

"You know, I think they actually try that with some mage children."

"Shut up."

"Please," that was from Saoirse. "Both of you." She waved a hand and conjured ice into the pot on the fire, then heated it with another expert burst of fire. He envied her mastery of fire. Even after all these years it was the one spell he couldn't bend to his control. "Take that and go wash up, little brother. I'm sick of the sound of your voice, and considering our situation, only going to get sicker."

Carver grumbled, but did as she asked.

Once they were packed up and ready to leave, he felt Saoirse's hand on his arm again. He looked down to see her eyes fixed on his, expression serious. "Are you sure you're all right?" she asked.

He smiled down at her. "Of course I am."

She nodded, but looked unconvinced. "Let's go then."

Varric and Carver took the lead through the maze of dark tunnels.

OOOOO

The last of the bizarre rock things fell to Carver's sword, after she'd frozen them. Saoirse swore long and hard, they were difficult to kill and even though they were slow they just kept on coming. As the stone crumbled and she tried desperately to start catching her breath, she was startled by a voice, far, far too deep and gravelly to be human. It was as though the rocks themselves had decided to speak.

"Enough," it said. "You have proven your mettle. I would not see these creatures harmed without need."

She leaned on L'il Leandra, heaving a breath and scowling at the … thing that had formed out of the rocks. It was… icky. "I think being attacked on sight gives us plenty of need."

"They will not assault you further. Not without my permission."

Varric looked uncharacteristically frightened. "What are these things? They seem like rock wraiths but..."

The thing responded. "They hunger. The profane have lingered in this place for ages beyond memory, feeding on the magic stones until the need is all they know."

What was it with talking monsters and foreboding speech patterns? she thought.

"They eat the lyrium? Sounds like a healthy diet."

"Good for the teeth," Varric grinned. Carver glared at him.

"I am not as they are," the thing said. "I am…. a visitor."

She had her suspicions, but she decided it might be a good idea to ask the only… expert in the field. "Anders… what do you think?"

"It seems mostly interested in their hunger," Anders said. It was hard to tell, in the red light, but he looked paler than usual. And he was pretty damned pale normally. "It's a demon. Come to feed."

"I would not see my feast end." She sighed and shook her head, but the demon didn't seem to see her irritation. Probably didn't have much experience with actual mages if it spent all its time in the deep roads sucking the hunger out of rocks.

She would never understand demons.

"I sense your desire," it continued. "You seek to leave this place, but you will need my aid to do so."

"Don't do it," Anders said, almost sadly. "Demons will trip you up every time."

"Could be a way out of here," Carver said. "I don't know."

"What are our options?" Varric asked.

"I have no intention of becoming this thing's next meal."

"Most unwise."

It attacked. She'd kind of expected it, but it would have been nice to have a bit more rest. Next time she'd have to think of something more interesting to discuss with the demon trying to tempt her into becoming an abomination.

When the battle was over they were exhausted. It was something of a relief, not to have to meticulously clean the darkspawn blood and guts from their armour the way Anders had been obsessively making them every time they encountered the beasts, but she couldn't let go of a small tendril of fear. The demon had seemed sure they would not be able to escape without its help. She could only hope it was being… demon-y and not…

Too late for regrets. Too late for lots of things.

"Let's go," she said.