Like an arrow, they hurtled down the road.
When the paralysis had worn out, Garrett had sent out his summons, fearing every second lost, yet fearing more to go alone, or with his soldiers, that while good, had never encountered demons before.
That half hour of waiting had been one of the most excruciating in his life.
Despite the horrifying news, one that would have made many take a moment to think, to hesitate, they had come to his aid, swelling the shattered pieces of his heart with gratitude.
Aveline, despite the burden of work on her shoulders, despite having already worked thirteen hours straight, had dropped everything for him, and for her.
Varric had not said a word. He'd arrived with a loaded Bianca and a grim look on his face, ready to save her from herself.
Isabela, despite her earlier history, had been the first to arrive and had nearly driven Garrett mad with her demands to head out right away and have the others catch up.
Anders had not been far behind, the mage full of sympathy, knowing all too well the dangers of demonic influence...yet speaking of hope in the same breath.
Hope...
Garrett spurred his horse, making it push even harder.
The only one who hadn't come was Fenris, and Garrett had not been surprised, though the disloyalty stung like a needle in a heart already broken by her betrayal.
How can I have hope?
He knew Dhavine, had felt her power...and if Merrill was under her spell...what could he do?
And if she wasn't under Dhavine's spell...then she had done what she'd done under her own volition.
Despair was clinging to him, like a spider within his chest, ripping and tearing, making it hard to breathe.
Garrett rode faster, looking neither left nor right, eyes on the road, willing it to pass quicker.
Next to his horse, Maric was doing the impossible, keeping pace with a horse in full pace. The dog was panting heavily, yet he too was staring straight ahead, eyes on their target.
Ahead, Sundermount loomed, dark and brooding under a cloudy sky.
The road was turning more narrow and rocky, unused by anything but a few wanderers.
Garrett didn't slow.
Neither did the others.
The road turned rocky, steep, the mountain seemingly becoming taller the closer the group came to their destination.
Garrett didn't know why Merrill had to be in Sundermount to complete the mirror, neither did he care, his mind fixed on catching up to her.
And then what?
Garrett had no answer to that.
The woman had betrayed him, used him, maybe even never loved him in the first place.
He wanted to kill her.
He wanted to save her.
I'm insane, she's driven me insane.
Then they reached the end of the road, the rocks above looming tall, but not concealing the entrance into a cave ahead. Behind him, his group was dismounting in a hurry, Aveline's voice thick with worry. "Maybe we should have a strategy as how to...Garrett?"
Haveing dismounted before his horse had even come to a stop, Garrett was climbing towards the entrance, scrambling up, sword drawn and breathing fast, Maric at his heels. Maker, let me be in time, for once...
"Or we could do that." Isabela muttered, the Rivaini grunting as Garrett heard the woman's feet patter against stone, hurrying after him.
A moment of silence, and then the others were hurrying after the noble, Aveline growling a curse under her breath.
Ahead, there was a sudden movement, making Garrett straighten and rush forward, sword drawn and shield up. Instead of some demon or monster charging out though, there was a clatter as half a dozen elves in dirty clothes rushed out, eyes wide and skin shiny with sweat. One of them, looking back, was whimpering. "Maker, that silver wasn't worth it! She's crazy!" Turning his head at the sound of the others screaming in terror, his eyes widened in horror at the sight of the armoured human rushing up at him. "Agh! Templar!? Please, I don't want to-"
Garrett crashed into the elf, swatting him aside like he would a fly, eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.
"Maker, please don't-" The elf was trying to babble at the others coming up the mountain.
Aveline's tone was curt. "Shut up and get to safety."
Then the rest of the group was rushing in after Garrett.
He barely noticed them though, gaze fixed ahead, boots crashing against the uneven footing, nearly felling him with every other step. Yet he refused to slow, to think.
Just do it, stop it.
I can't bear Dhavine doing this to me again.
Maker, I'm too late, aren't I?
She's going to...
No, don't think.
Blinking, suddenly assailed by light, Garrett stumbled into a chamber.
Despite being within a cave, the walls were smooth and bricked, like something one would find in the Deep Roads. At the top of a surprisingly high roof, a green fire blazed, seemingly without fuel, casting a pale light across the chamber. The walls, though smooth, had several alcoves dug into them, a stone chest with carved features of some long-dead elf in each. The floor, though cracked in places, was also smooth under Garrett's feet, intricate carvings of vines and flowers covering it, though nearly hidden under a thick layer of dust only recently disturbed.
At the far end, there were no alcoves, only a wall slowly curving inwards to the top...and a few steps going up to a pedestal.
Atop the pedestal, the Eluvian stood, a shimmering mirror, framed by green and gold scales, like a snake had wrapped itself around it. The silver surface was glowing, a throbbing light, like a heartbeat, deep within it.
Next to it, Merrill stood, Arulin'Holm in hand, pressing it into the side of the mirror, eyes bright with a smile.
Garrett took three quick strides into the room, eyes wide with horror. "Merrill,don't!"
Frightened, the elf whipped her head around, looking at Garrett with wide and guilty eyes.
Standing frozen, afraid to even breathe, Garrett met her gaze with his own, pleading for her to stop.
Behind him, the others were equally silent, all but Isabela. "Kitten...remember when I nearly got Kirkwall destroyed?" A pause, hesitant. "You might be about to do the same at this moment..."
Merrill stared at Garrett, then turned her gaze, looking at the others, eyes full of fear and hesitation, terrified...of herself.
She didn't say anything, but Garrett saw it plain as day. A small gasp for air, a raise of her chin...
"NO!" He took a step forward.
Eyes turning defiant, Merrill turned back to her work, pressing the Arulin'Holm against the mirror with a pulse of purple energy.
There was no sound.
Only a wave of energy, like a gust of wind, pushing Garrett back and forcing him to turn his head aside as Anders shouted a curse.
When Garrett looked back, the Eluvian was alive.
A wide smile on her lips, eyes ablaze with hope, Merrill was stepping back from the mirror as the surface throbbed and twisted like a living thing, a purple light growing within its centre.
Maker, no...
The purple light was growing, turning solid, becoming an all too familiar shape. Seductively swaying with each step, tail swinging in dizzying patterns, lips bared in a cruel smile, exposing lines of tiny but pointed teeth.
With a sigh of contentment, Dhavine stepped out of the mirror.
Her voice was but a purr, purple eyes on Garrett. "Muuuuuch better."
Silence.
Then Aveline took a step forward, stepping unto Garrett's left side, shield raised, visor clicking into place.
On his right, Isabela was swallowing, yet stepped forward, long daggers spinning in her hands, voice surprisingly firm. "You won't trick us this time, demon."
Behind him, Anders was suddenly aglow with power, a low growl emanating from his chest as Justice awoke with rage.
"Oh I won't trick you, I promise." Dhavine smirked...only for it to die on her lips, turning into an ugly grin. "I'll simply kill you."
With a thunk, the so far silent Varric shot a bolt from Bianca at the demon, only to gasp as the shot stopped half an inch from the demon's left eye.
The demon, eyeing the missile hovering mid-air, chuckled. "How crude." Slowly, the crossbow-bolt turned around...and then hurtled out, past Garrett's face before making Varric gasp in pain. Garrett couldn't turn and see how the dwarf was faring though, his gaze fixed on the demon as she coyly eyed him. "It's good to finally be fully back...that said, I still haven't had my full revenge on you." Turning her head, chuckling, Dhavine's voice was smooth as silk. "Merrill, be a dear and kill them."
No...
Merrill turned to face them, the smile gone from her lips. Her eyes, filled with hope just a moment ago, now glowing purple.
Shaking his head, Garrett took a step forward, holding his arms wide. "Merrill, don't..."
PAIN!
With a crash, Garrett's back smashed into the wall next to the entrance, his vision a blur of pain and tears, his breastplate smoking and scorched from a lightning-bolt.
Blinking, trying to focus, struggling to rise, Garrett watched the scene of horror before him.
Aveline, shouting in wordless horror, was rushing forward, seemingly not sure what to do once she'd reached the elf.
She never did though, a single flick of a bloodied left hand of the elf sending the guardswoman crashing to the floor as a missile of solid blood smashed into her, sending Aveline's crushed helmet flying off a bloodied head.
Maric, less hesitant, nearly reached the elf though, fangs bared in rage...only to bark in surprise as the ground gave out from underneath him. The vines of the floor, once nothing but carvings, turning into green plants, vines wrapping around the hound's hind legs, pulling him back, then down, seemingly trying to swallow him into a hole of the ground as the whining dog scrambled to pull himself free with his forelegs.
Having hesitated until then, Anders and Isabela finally acted, the mage casting a green-glowing spell of haste on the pirate as she with drawn daggers and wet cheeks rushed at the Dalish with inhuman speed.
The ground under the elf buckled and heaved at the onslaught of the Rivaini, the ground shooting up like a fist, sending the elf flying up into the air, spinning like an acrobat mid-air as a mist of red surrounded her. Isabela, rushing at the summoned pillar of stone before her, placed a boot on it and used it to launch herself up and back, flipping backwards as she followed the elf, eyes wide as she found the Dalish already having landed, the tip of her spear leveled at the oncoming pirate.
In a flash of silver, Isabela's daggers bashed the spear aside, only for her to gasp and stagger as the butt end of the spear whirled with the impact and smashed into the pirate's stomach. Spear still spinning, Merrill danced aside from a desperate thrust with inhuman grace, her weapon knocking a dagger out of Isabela's hand even as the ground once more bucked under the feet of the combatants.
This time, however, there was no great pillar of stone shooting out. Only a thin tapering point of stone.
Isabela cried out in agony, the blade of stone shooting into her shoulder and out the back. Then her scream turned into a gasp as another blade shot out from the ground, spearing her thigh.
Using her spear as pole, Merrill launched herself forward, her right foot smashing into Isabela's face, knocking her off the stone-blades and onto her back, the pirate gasping for air, barely moving as the injuries overcame her.
Not stopping, Merrill deftly landed on her feet, turning the tip of her spear at the pirate and thrusting down.
No! Garrett, back on his feet, yet unsure what to do, rushed forward, tackling Merrill and pushing her back into a wall, shield pinning her weapon against the wall even as his body did the same to hers.
Muttering something, Merrill put her free hand on his chest.
Garrett hesitated.
And then he staggered back, vines of thick blood blossoming from where Merrill's hand had been, shooting out across his breastplate, enveloping his torso and making the metal creak with the force of their grip. Wh-what is this!? Gasping, Garrett fell onto one knee, grip on his weapons failing as his hands moved to grasp at the vines, trying to pull them off, only to have them press in tighter, making black dots begin to dance before his vision.
Above, Merrill loomed closer, purple-glowing eyes narrowing as she raised her spear...
A bolt smashed into her right hand, sending the spear flying out of her hands with a spurt of blood even as the scent of burning flesh filled Garrett's nostrils as a magic fire cast by Anders enveloped his chest, scorching the vines of blood covering it. He moved to rise-
Only for Merrill's foot to smash into the side of his head, sending him rolling aside like he'd just been struck by a giant, rather than a petite little elf. Even as she did so, blood was pouring from Merrill's hands, coiling into long whips of crimson.
The elf bared her teeth, an alien hiss escaping her as she cracked her whips, the gruesome things lashing out with far more reach than they should have.
Varric threw himself aside, Anders raised a shield of shimmering energy before him.
Both fell to the pressure-wave though. The dwarf crashed into the wall with a crack that left him lying face down in the ground, unmoving. The mage gasped, falling onto one knee as he clutched his chest, the blue glow in his eyes fading as he slowly fell onto his side, the cracks in his face widening, bleeding profusely.
Still hissing, Merrill spun, whips a blur of red before they wrapped themselves around Aveline that had only now managed to get to her feet. The guardswoman, eyes wide, shook her head. "Merrill what are you-"
The woman's screams echoed through the chamber as dark light shot out from Merrill's hands and through her whips of blood before enveloping the human.
The screams continued, turning into a crescendo, then a shrill shriek, agony wracking the woman as she slowly got electrocuted to death.
Coughing, Garrett struggled onto one knee, clutching at his bleeding head. "S-stop..."
Shriveling into black ash, the whips disappeared as Merrill let the guardswoman fall to the ground. Instead, she turned glowing eyes to Garrett, a low growl emanating from her lips. In the distance, Dhavine's words were a distant, hushed, purr. "Yes, stop playing, kill him..."
"She will do no such thing." Turning his head, vision swimming, Garrett watched the entrance to the cave become a sea of movement as Keeper Marethari appeared, the whole Dalish clan at her heel, bows strung and ready. The old elf's gaze was on Dhavine, unfazed by the demon's smirk. "This madness ends now."
"Oh Marethari, you foolish old woman..." Smirking, Dhavine turned her head, smiling at Merrill's pale face. "...you never understood just how powerful your student was, did you? But I did..." Smirking, the demon looked back to Marethari. "You want her back? Come and take her!"
With an inhuman howl, Merrill leapt forward.
As one, the elves at Marethari's back let loose a volley of arrows.
Only for the missiles to harmlessly smash into green vines exploding from the ground in front of the elf, vines turning red and thin, covered in hook-like blades.
The vines lashed out at the screaming elves, only to explode into fire and ash as Marethari's staff glowed with power, her voice a rapt command. "Merrill, come to your senses!"
Another volley of arrows followed.
This time, they struck blood, a wall of it, growing as it poured out from Merrill's outstretched hands like a smoke. Growing and changing, the arrows breaking within the wall, falling to the ground even as monstrous faces began to appear in the blood, large and with wide mouths covered in shining teeth of black blood.
Slowly, the wall began to move forward.
Silence.
Then Marethari snapped an order in elven, and the Dalish at her back screamed and began to run even as the Keeper herself took a step forward, her staff pointing forward, a spear of concentrated fire shooting out into the centre of the wall.
A growl escaped Merrill...and she pushed forward, the wall following, pressing against the fire raking it and making it boil.
Staring in horror, Garrett watched Marethari's determined face slowly turn into fear and horror, and then, glancing back at the emptiness behind her, into a sudden look of calm, even a smile.
The smile disappeared when the walls reached her, turning into a mask of agony as blackened teeth tore into her torso and legs. A monstrous head biting her staff in two, another tearing a chunk out of her calf, a third ripping an arm off. The woman screamed, but it was a short-lived cry, ended swiftly as another set of black teeth closed around her head, ripping it off.
With a gasp, Merrill lowered her arms, the wall of blood falling to the ground, forming a deep puddle around a dismembered and gory mess that had once been her Keeper.
Garrett, swallowing, shook his head. "So much for you saving your people..."
Merrill flinched, purple-glowing eyes staring at him, then down to Marethari, then up to where her clan had stood against her not a moment ago, then back to the dead Keeper, staring.
"Well..." Dhavine chuckled. "...wasn't that fun? Now to finish off your other friends."
Slowly, the Dalish turned her head, then her body, staring at Dhavine, the purple in the elf's eyes flickering and flashing even as they narrowed.
Dhavine smirked back. "Oh? Did I push you too far? A shame...guess I'll have to find a new toy to-"
The cry of rage exploding from Merrill's throat was like nothing Garrett had ever heard before. Full of horror, pain, grief and rage, it echoed through the chamber like a clarion-call.
The elf, unarmed, launched herself at the demon.
Who with a chuckle spun aside from the mad rush, shaking her head. "Really now? I expected more from-"
Another cry, and Merrill lunged, grabbed a hold of Dhavine's tail, and sent a bolt of lighting at the demon. Snorting as she brushed aside the attack, Dhavine never even saw the kick before it smashed into her jaw, bowling her over and knocking her to the ground.
The hiss suddenly escaping Dhavine as she rolled out of the dirt was no longer amused. "That was foolish, mortal!" Suddenly hovering in the air, the tip of Dhavine's tail and her every finger grew, turning into long claws as the demon's face split into a wide growl. "The very veil bends to my will and I will not-!"
Roaring in blind rage, Merrill didn't care, the elf hurtling into Dhavine, knocking her backwards, gripping and tearing, punching and kicking like mad at the demon now flying backwards.
"Enough!" Throwing the elf off, the demon's claws dripping with blood, Dhavine's hands crackled with energy. "Die, fool!" The lightning lashed out like a blade against Merrill, the energy dwarfing the elf in size.
Only to rebound as blood spurting from Merrill's clawed shoulders shot out, knocking the energy aside like a shield...that a moment later lunged out, smashing into Dhavine's face and knocking her backwards.
All around, the air began to crackle with power, a build up of energy so vast, Garrett felt it prickling his skin and nerves. On the floor, his other companions were coming to, eyes wide as they stared at the fight in the centre of the chamber. In the alcoves of the walls, the stone chests within suddenly split and cracked, smouldering into gravel as Elven skeletons climbed out, still shimmering blades in their hands.
Maker, no...
Merrill, oblivious, paid the undead no mind as she launched herself once more at Dhavine, blood from her palms turning into blades, only to be knocked aside by the demon's claws as her tail lashed out, drawing a cut across the elf's face.
All air drawn from his lungs, Garrett tried to reach out, but everything felt too heavy and too clumsy, as if the veil itself was slowing him down as the two magic entities battled. Look out...
Merrill, still not seeing the undead coming closer, parried another slashing claw, green vines growing out from the ground trying to wrap around Dhavine, only to shrivel and die at first touch.
The demon, hissing, slashed her tail across Merrill's torso, sending a piece of chainmail flying and making the elf stagger back. Growling in hatred, Dhavine hurtled after the elf, claw splintering one of Merrill's swords of blood, the other gripping the other, pinning it to the ground as the demon's foot knocked the elf onto her back.
"And now..." Leaning down, her foot pressing down on Merrill's gasping chest, Dhavine smirked. "...you'll-"
With a howl, Dhavine staggered off Merrill, a gaping wound pouring black blood from her shoulder-blade, eyes wide as she stared at the skeleton before her raising a crimson-stained blood.
"Filth!" The demon shot out a hand, a bolt of energy shattering the skeleton to dust...and then she gasped, a blade suddenly protruding out from her chest as an undead coming up behind her pressed its blade in deep. "You can't-argh!" Dhavine's outstretched arm fell to the ground, hissing with smoke as another undead stepped on the limb. "No! No impossible!"
All around, the undead elves closed in, shimmering blades raising and falling as they surrounded the demon.
Then, there was silence.
Slowly, the undead lowered their blades, stepped away from the gory mess that once had been Dhavine, and turned their hollowed eyes to the Eluvian.
One turned its head, looking to the elf still lying on her back in the centre of the floor.
Swallowing, Merrill nodded.
The undead turned his empty eyes back to the mirror...and hurled his blade at it.
With a crash of shattering glass, the mirror broke, only the frame remaining as everything within turned into jagged edges and emptiness.
Again, the undead turned, looking to Merrill.
Who nodded, voice a weak gasp. "Th-Thank you..."
Nodding, the undead turned, marched back to their alcoves and climbed into what remained of their coffins, blades across their chests and bodies unmoving once more.
Lost for words, and too tired to speak to them even if he had them, Garrett struggled to stand, eyes on Merrill.
He watched her stare at the mirror, then to where Dhavine had been but a moment ago, then over to the remains of the Keeper, then her companions, all lying spread across the chamber, staring at her.
Then, finally, to Garrett.
There were no words to describe the look in her eyes.
Slowly, Merrill rolled to her side and pulled her knees up to her chest, arms wrapping around them.
There were no tears.
No whimpers.
Only silence.
8
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8
Thanks to Abydos Jackson,for being there.