The expedition travelled for another week, using the side tunnels to go around the collapse which had momentarily halted their progress. Bartrand, Hawke, Varric, Isabela and Merrill led the way, following an alternative route which the map had thankfully provided. Varric couldn't help but notice that the Rivaini and Lana were deliberately walking on opposite sides of him, as though using him as a barrier between them. He found it odd too that their conversations were lacking in the usual sexual content they normally had in abundance (bar one or two innuendos here and there). The dwarf said nothing though. If Bethany had have been here he might have brought it up, asking for her opinion on the matter, but alas there was only Merrill.
The young Dalish mage was strolling along behind him, humming cheerfully under her breath as though they were all just at a relaxing picnic on the beach rather than wading their way through dangerous, Darkspawn-filled tunnels, lucky to have even made it this far without anyone being killed. Varric often wondered how the little mage survived in Kirkwall. She was as cute as a button, pleasant to everyone, without a single bad bone in her body...well, apart from the whole Blood Mage thing. Varric shook his head. How in the Maker's name did Daisy make a deal with a demon when she couldn't even find her way home without using a ball of twine? The dwarf chuckled to himself. Merrill was as naive as they came. He wouldn't trouble her with his suspicions about Lana and the Rivaini. Why break the perfect little bubble she lived in?
Hawke and Isabela had distanced themselves from each other for the past week, each of them reluctant to talk about how they had nearly had sex in the middle of The Deep Roads (and unknowingly in front of Sandal). Maker, that would have been an 'enchantment' alright! It had recently occurred to both women that their impending kiss had meant something a little more than winning a mere game of seduction, and they had become slightly freaked out by the idea that they had both wanted it there and then despite that fact. Isabela believed that Hawke was starting to have feelings for her which went deeper than plain old lust which was why Lana was willing to kiss her back that time, while Hawke was busy trying to remind herself that having sex with Isabela was a really bad idea and that she just had a momentary lapse in concentration as the pirate took her unawares. Of course, neither woman voiced her concerns to the other. Talking about feelings wasn't really their style. Maker, perish the thought! An emotional conversation of that caliber and one of them was sure to vomit, if not both. So naturally, both women shied away from the topic entirely, unwilling to admit that no matter what ulterior motives lay behind that kiss, they still wanted nothing more than to tear off each others clothes and have rough, passionate sex together (bad idea or not).
Bartrand held up his hand then, and the expedition came to a stop. They had just entered a massive clearing, completely unlike any part of The Deep Roads they had seen so far. Something was moving nearby.
"What's wrong?" Hawke asked, walking over to the dwarf.
"Don't you hear that?" Bartrand whispered, looking up at her. Lana saw a look of worry in his eyes. Suddenly there was another scurrying sound. A ripple of fear spread throughout the expedition hirelings. They muttered and shifted their weight.
"Quiet you idiots!" Bartrand admonished.
Hawke and the rest of her companions scanned their surroundings. The sound was getting closer. Lana closed her eyes, trying to place it. She began to take a few steps away from the group. The others looked at her curiously.
"Hawke?" Isabela whispered, "What in the Maker's name are you doing?"
Lana turned to her and raised a finger to her lips, silencing her. She backed herself slowly towards the nearest wall, staring at her companions with a crazy look in her eye. The pirate was wondering why she was acting so strangely, as were the others. Once Lana's back was an inch away from the wall, she stopped.
"Hawke?" Merrill asked in a terrified squeak, "...You're scaring me!"
The scurrying sound happened again then. This seemed to be what Hawke was anticipating. With lightening-quick reflexes she spun around and reached into the hole in the wall behind her.
"Gotcha!" she shouted.
Some of the hirelings yelled and jumped back as Lana dragged out of the shadows a struggling Dragonling, both hands wrapped around its neck as it screeched and thrashed, trying to escape.
"DRAGON!" a scared digger cried, pointing to Lana as she wrestled the thing to the ground. The entire expedition backed away as far as they could, even Hawke's companions. What were they so afraid of? It was only a damn Dragonling. With one swift movement Lana wrung the creature's neck, killing it instantly. The crack echoed throughout the tunnels. She stood up straight and turned to the others happily.
"Relax," she said unfazed, wondering why they were still backing away, "It's dead."
Isabela pointed behind her, "HAWKE RUN!" she shouted.
Suddenly there was a deafening roar from the tunnel, louder by far than anything down here so far. Hawke's breath caught, her eyes wide. She turned to look behind her, just on time to see a fireball melt the rock and travel up the tunnel towards her. Lana instinctively dived to the side, dodging the flames and landing roughly on the ground. She felt her skin cut on the rocks as she reached out to cushion herself. There were agonizing screams behind her as the fire reached the remains of the expedition. Lana looked up from where she lay. A dwarf was running towards her, completely engulfed in flames, another was rolling in the dirt trying to extinguish himself. Seeing Isabela, Merrill and Varric safely hidden behind a wall, she turned back to where the flames had come from to see the source of the fire. Standing at the end of the direction they had been heading stood a dragon the size of a small house. Holy Maker!
Hawke jumped to her feet as she saw more flames build in its throat. She dived into a crack in the wall, feeling the flames surge past her, the unbearable heat as it scorched its way up the tunnel once more. Lana was breathing heavily now.
"HAWKE?"
"I'm here Varric," Lana replied, hearing the dwarf's voice echo down the tunnel towards her. She couldn't see the others from her position, "I'm fine."
"We need to clear the path. There's a horde of Dragonlings behind us so there's no going back. The rest of the expedition is battling them as we speak so we need to hurry."
"Shit!" Lana cursed to herself.
"Any ideas?" Isabela called out.
Hawke whipped out the Deep Roads map and checked it. The slim tunnel that she was in now happened to lead down to where the Dragon was. She couldn't believe she was actually considering this but there was no other way. Maker, this was insane!
"Just one!" Hawke called back, stowing the map back in her pack, "But it's a long shot! I need to distract the Dragon. Keep its attention focused on you."
"What are you going to do?" Isabela called, intrigued. Lana laughed.
"You'll see, Rivaini! Just try not to get that pretty face of yours burnt! It's your only asset after all what with your vulgar language."
She heard Isabela's laugh echo off the walls. "You'll pay for that!"
Another blast of fire flew up the tunnel past them all. Lana cursed to herself, pressing her back to the wall once more. Sweat was dripping from her body already, brought on by the gathering heat in the tunnels.
"How exactly do you expect us to distract it?" Isabela asked, "Dance naked in front of it, singing the Rim of Gold?"
Lana chuckled. "I think that would just distract me!" she called back. Laughter from her three companions echoed down the tunnel once more. "Just...buy me a bit of time! Flash you're ass, give it some food, talk dirty to it, seduce it...Anything!"
"Alright," The pirate called back laughing, "We'll think of something. Just tell us when."
"Ok...ready?" Hawke asked, "NOW!"
The Dragon screeched once more and began moving closer to the tunnel. What every the others were doing had certainly peaked its interest. Hawke dropped her pack to the ground and made her way down the tiny passage way she was in, withdrawing her daggers as she did so. She could hear numerous fireballs being aimed at her companions back in the main tunnel. The ground here was treacherous and steep, causing Lana to lose her footing several times before finally making it out the other side.
Sliding along the wall to the exit, Lana tried to catch her breath. When she reached the edge she peaked out. She was right in line with the Dragon, about ten yards away. The beast was staring up the other tunnel, throwing more flames at its irritators. Isabela did tend to have that effect. The woman had a talent for irritating things and she knew certainly how to use it. Aveline would readily agree to that. Lana took another look at the Dragon before pulling her head back in again, unable to believe what she was about to do.
"Shit!" she whispered, psyching herself out, "Shit, shit, shit!...Lana you are a crazy ass bitch! What in Andraste's holy knickers are you thinking?"
She took one last peek out at the Dragon and hid again, laying her head back against the wall, her breathing becoming heavy. She reached up and grasped tightly the red bandana which Bethany had given her before she left. Her sister never did like Dragons.
Lana exhaled, "This is for you, Bethany."
Without another seconds hesitation Hawke ran out from her hiding place. She sprinted as fast as she could towards the Dragon, a dagger held in each hand. As soon as she was close enough she leapt. The Dragon reared its head and let out a roar as it felt Lana land on its back. It flapped its wings angrily, trying to throw her off. Lana, still holding her daggers, used the scales on the Dragon's back to climb up along its spine. Suddenly a wing caught her hand. One of her blades slipped from her grasp and clattered along the floor. With no time to spare she navigated her way along the thrashing Dragon's back and seated herself between its wings as though riding a horse. She raised her remaining dagger in the air with both hands and plunged it into the beasts back. Blood bubbled beneath her blade and began to pour out of the wound. The Dragon threw back its head and cried out in pain. It began bashing into the nearby rocks, trying to throw Hawke off even more now. This time it succeeded. Lana's head cracked off the tunnel wall and she fell to the ground unconscious.
Isabela, Merrill and Varric saw her fall and they sprinted the length of the melting passageway to finish the Dragon off before it noticed Lana was at its feet. There was no need though. The Dragon opened its mouth, ready for one last attack as it saw the others approaching, before staggering on the spot and falling to the ground in a heap, shaking the entire Deep Roads with its weight.
"HAWKE!" Isabela shouted. The three of them ran towards her as fast as they could. The pirate kneeled down beside her and shook her roughly. There was blood pouring from the back of her head where she had cracked it off the rock.
"Oh Hawke!" Merrill cried, "Please wake up!"
"She'll be fine Daisy," Varric comforted, "She's just unconscious."
"Know any healing spell's, Kitten?" Isabela asked. Merrill nodded.
"I'll try," she said, kneeling down beside Isabela. "I don't think the cut will heal but I can at least bring her round I think."
The Dalish mage held out her staff and began muttering incantations. A blast of blue light then soared from the tip and was absorbed by Hawke. The woman then began to stir. She opened her eyes slowly and straightened up slightly. Her hand reached up to touch her head and she looked at the blood on her hand.
"Sore head?" Isabela asked jokingly. The pirate was smirking down at her. Lana returned the smile through her grimace.
"Maker, what is it with me hitting my head on things?" she replied, "Seriously, if it's not a headboard then it's just not worth it!"
Isabela and Varric burst out laughing. The pirate stood up then and reached out a hand, pulling Lana to her feet. Hawke stumbled forwards slightly, still a bit dazed.
"Wow!" she breathed, loosing her balance. Isabela caught her, reaching under her arms as she came at her face first. Their bodies pressed together as Lana tied to straighten herself. Isabela raised her up. The two women looked at each other, their faces close. A moment of tense silence passed between them. Hawke blinked once, trying to focus her eyes.
"Oh great," she said, "I'm seeing two of you now. As if one of you wasn't enough."
"Hey!" Isabela said, chuckling slightly, "Don't think I won't give you another blow to the head."
Lana chuckled, pulling back from the Rivaini, who still held her arms outstretched in case she should stumble again. Hawke groaned and rubbed her temples.
"Ugh...I need a drink," she said, shaking her head slightly.
"You're a crazy bastard Hawke, I'll give you that!" Varric said proudly.
Hawke chuckled. "Now you'll have a real story to tell about me."
The dwarf considered this. "You're right. I think I'll add a few more Dragon's to be on the safe side though...and maybe a few Darkspawn Hurlocks, you know...just to even the playing field."
The four of them laughed.
"The day you tell a true story, Varric, will be the day that Anders kisses a Templar," Hawke replied. The dwarf chuckled behind her as they made their way over to Bartrand and the rest of the expedition who had just appeared in the clearing. One of the hirelings had Lana's pack. He handed it to her.
"By my ancestors!" The dwarf said, staring up at the Dragon's corpse. "I didn't think that was possible."
"Anything's possible when you've got Hawke flying around," Varric replied, "Oo that's a good line. Remind me to write that one down."
Hawke chuckled. "Well," she began, lifting her dagger from the ground and pulling the other from the Dragon. "Shall we get a move on?"
"You'll need to cover that cut, Hawke," Merrill said, "Darkspawn can taint your blood though open wounds. It happened one of our hunters before, back in Ferelden."
Hawke sheathed her weapons and took Bethany's bandana from around her neck. She wrapped it tightly around her head, covering the bleeding cut and tied it at the nape of her neck, flicking her hair out from under it.
"Stealing my look?" Isabela teased, gesturing to her own blue bandana on her head. Lana chuckled.
"You've influenced me," she joked, "You know, I think I'm going to get pair of those great big gold earrings you're wearing and pierce my lip as well."
Isabela, Varric and Merrill laughed.
"I'd be happy to pierce you," Isabela replied with a wink. Lana giggled.
"I bet you would."
"Alright," Bartrand interrupted, staring from one woman to the other as though wanting nothing more than to see that happen. And he wasn't the only one. Half the men in the expedition were staring at Lana and Isabela with wide eyes as though their wildest dream was about to come true. "Let's just...get going again before I get distracted."
"Holy shit!" Varric exclaimed.
Bartrand paused, a look of amazement in his eyes. They had just appeared at a massive clearing after travelling for an hour. It was made of red stone which almost seemed to light the path ahead. This part of the Deep Roads was different from the rest. It seemed like it hadn't been touched in centuries and yet everything still looked shiny and new.
"Is this what you were expecting?" Hawke asked Bartrand. He seemed to be more entranced than the others.
"I thought...and abandoned thaig, something old but...what is this?" he said.
"Did you know it was here?" Lana asked.
"Not for certain," Bartrand replied, still not able to peel his gaze from the view, "Heard about it in old scavenger tales after the Third Blight. A week below the surface they said...at least it would have been if we hadn't had to take so many damn detours...But nobody believed them."
Hawke hadn't realised that when they set off on this expedition, Bartrand had had some idea of what he wanted to find, some specific direction he wanted to go. She had thought it was just a blind treasure hunt. Lana felt uneasy then, wondering if there was anything else that she didn't know about.
"Look's like they were right," Varric said.
"Make camp here!" Bartrand ordered to the others, "...We need to take a look around."
The expedition hirelings began to unpack the tents as the five of them made their way forwards, eager to check this place out. They dropped their tents for the others to pitch while they explored. It was odd. There were no statues of paragons as was usually the case with dwarven thaigs. The walls had strange markings which even Bartrand didn't recognise and there was a cool breeze drifting through the entire place as though there was an opening to the surface nearby. It was a little unsettling. Bartrand stopped to examine some ruins while Hawke and her companions went on ahead. They reached another clearing, bearing the same architecture as the last one.
"Hmm, this one looks still intact," Varric said as they made their way down the slope, "Think we'll find anything?"
Lana smirked, hearing the sceptical tone in the dwarf's voice, "Doubting your brother's good judgement, Varric?"
"This entire place gives me the chills," Isabela said.
"Maybe you should wear pants for a change then," Lana said, smirking at her.
"Oh ha ha!" the pirate replied, grinning back cheekily, "Don't act like you want me to, Sweet thing. We both know you'd be lying."
Lana chuckled and turned back to the way ahead. "Well, let's get down and see what we can find."
"Hopefully it's worth it," Varric said. His unenthusiastic tone unsettled Hawke. Something told them all that they needed to be extra cautious down here. This area wasn't like the others. It was foreign, and none of them wanted to be taken by surprise. The continued onwards, weapons at the ready.
After around half an hour or so, they came to a door. Hawke pulled the latch, surprised to find it opening at her touch. This was too easy. She threw and uncertain stare at Varric before pushing it open fully. Inside was a stair case which led to some kind of altar. The four of them entered the room through the open door and ascended the stairs, immediately becoming entranced by the stone plinth in front of them. Something was shining from it.
When they reached the top of the long staircase the four of them crowded round the shiny object. It was an idol of some sort.
Hawke exhaled, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" she asked, her eyes fixed on it.
"What is it?" Merrill asked.
"Who cares?" Isabela replied excitedly, "It's shiny!"
"Doesn't look like any kind of lyrium I've ever seen," Varric said.
Suddenly there was a noise behind them. The four of them jumped, breaking out of the strange trance which the idol seemed to have caused. They turned back towards the door. Bartrand it seemed had been following them as they cut their way through numerous creatures to get here.
"Look at this Bartrand," Varric said, "An idol made out of pure Lyrium I think! Could be worth a fortune."
Hawke reached out cautiously to touch it. The idol burned red as her hand approached. After a seconds hesitation she grabbed it. The glow disappeared. Lana turned to Varric and smiled, handing it to him.
"Not bad," he said, smiling back. "Let's see if there's anything else further in."
He tossed the idol back down the stairs towards his brother. Bartrand grabbed it and turned back, walking towards the exit. Hawke was just about to walk further in when she suddenly heard a loud scraping noise behind her. The heavy door they had just come through was closing by itself.
"THE DOOR!" she exclaimed, running down the stairs and jumping the last few. The others sprinted after her. Lana reached it first and stretched out her arm. Her hand closed around the edge and she tried to pull. Something was stopping her though. An unseen force was pulling against her and the door was closing against her will. All of a sudden it snapped shut...on her fingers.
"AHHHH!" Lana yelled in agony. She managed to pull back her hand just in time before the heavy door embedded itself completely against the frame, locking tightly. There were several popping noises and a slight crack. She held her throbbing hand in the other one and kicked the door with her foot in anger. Far from relieving her pain though it just gave her another one on her toes.
"Hawke, what happened?" Isabela asked as the others reached her. She placed a hand on Lana's back as the woman cursed continually under her breath. Lana held up her right hand then, answering the pirate's question. It was shaking uncontrollably and her ring finger and little finger were both bent at an awkward angle. The others recoiled.
"Ouch!" Varric exclaimed in disgust. He began to hammer on the door urgently. "Bartrand! Hawke's hurt! We need to get back to camp but the door shut behind you."
All of a sudden there was a low chuckle from the other side of the thick door. Then Bartrand spoke.
"You always did notice everything, Varric."
Varric frowned. He glanced at Hawke and then back at the door. Hawke became furious. It wasn't some unseen force pulling against her, it was Bartrand.
"Are you joking?" Varric asked in disbelief, "You're going to screw of your own brother for a lousy idol?"
"It's not just the idol," Bartrand replied "The location of this thaig alone is worth a fortune and I'm not splitting that three ways! Sorry brother."
"Bartrand?...BARTRAND!"
They heard footsteps as Bartrand walked away, abandoning them to their doom. The four of them stood in stunned silence, unable to believe what had just happened. Varric mimicked Hawke and kicked the heavy door. Hawke leaned against it then and slid to the ground, holding her hand. She'd had a really shitty day. Knocked unconscious and now with dislocated and possibly broken fingers.
"Let's hope there's another way out of here," Merrill said sadly, staring around with wide eyes at the unfamiliar room.
"Oh, I swear I will find that son of a bitch...sorry Mother...and I will kill him!" Varric shouted angrily.
"Get in line!" Hawke exclaimed through gritted teeth, holding her hand in pain.
"What are you going to do Hawke? Wave your dislocated fingers at him?" Isabela joked. Lana glared up at her and raised the two fingers which hadn't been dislocated up at the pirate. Isabela giggled.
"Good to see some of them are still working then," she replied, smirking, "I was worried we'd die down here without us having a bit of fun first."
Hawke snorted, regaining her sense of humour, "You said it yourself, Bela. Men are only good for one thing, woman are good for six...I think I could still handle it."
Isabela laughed. "Not what I had planned for us."
Hawke groaned once in response, the pain overcoming the humour now. Her fingers had completely popped out of their socket. "Someone please help me put my fingers back in place."
"I can do it," Isabela said, "Had to pop one of my crew's fingers back in place after her dislocated it on the rigging. Nasty stuff it was!"
"Eugh," Varric said, "I think I could do without watching that right now. I'm sickened enough as it is. Let's go scope out up ahead, Daisy."
Varric and Merrill walked on, back up the stairs. Isabela bent down beside Hawke and took her hand. It looked disgusting seeing her fingers bent like that.
"On three," Isabela said. Hawke shook her head.
"No counting...Just do it..."
Isabela grimaced. "The count to three was more for me to prepare than you," she said, revolted by the deformed hand she was holding.
Hawke groaned, "I thought you said you'd done this before!" she hissed.
"I have!" Isabela said, "It doesn't mean I like doing it!"
"Then just... bloody hurry up!" Hawke replied through gritted teeth. Isabela exhaled.
"Here, bite this," the pirate said, holding out a thin piece of stick. Hawke placed it in her mouth, holding it in her teeth.
"Ok...One...Two...Three!"
Hawke bit down on the stick as Isabela shoved her little finger back into place with a sickening 'pop'. She quickly did the other one before Hawke could complain. The stick in Lana's mouth split in two then as she bit down harder, groaning in pain. She spat it out, breathing rapidly as Isabela released her.
"There, fixed," she said satisfied, "Come on."
Lana allowed Isabela to help her to her feet for the second time today. The Rivaini took a bandage from her pack and wrapped it around the already swollen fingers. She handed Hawke a potion.
"Who said drinking never cured anything?" The pirate joked as Hawke knocked it back.
"Definitely neither one of us," Lana replied, grinning. She tossed the empty vial aside then.
"You know, I think Varric is now in the lead for the award for most screwed up family instead of you," Isabela joked, as they both followed the other two up the steps.
Hawke chuckled as be she could, "Thanks, feels good to know that there are families out there worse than mine. I don't think I can take much more of my mother."
"Ah you're mother's nothing compared to mine," Isabela said. "Perhaps you'll get the pleasure of meeting her one day when the Qunari come to conquer us, then you'll be thankful for Leandra."
"Aww," Hawke crooned mockingly, "You going to bring me home to meet the parents, Bela? We'll all sit down and have a nice tea together, talk like ladies do and wear pretty dresses and shoes?"
Isabela chuckled, "Oh shut up Hawke. That's that concussion talking now."
Both women laughed as they made their way through the tunnels, following the others into the unknown passageways of the ancient thaig. Maker knows what was waiting for them up ahead. Treasure was a fickle friend now. All that mattered was finding a way out. And when they did, not even The Maker himself could protect Bartrand from their retribution. That bastard was going down, one way or another.