Author's Note: This chapter has a few of my favorite things- one of the best banters in the game, courtesy of our favorite drunken dwarf, and one of my favorite minor characters. I also butcher Latin pretty badly, as the DA wiki doesn't have much on Arcanum, the language of the Tevinter Imperium. Alas! (I'd post here what it says, but that would be a spoiler, so I'll post the rough translation in the next chapter's A/N.) Thanks everyone for the reviews and follows and all around awesome feedback!
Chapter 62 - Breaking the Girl
It wasn't long before they sensed the darkspawn. Peanut had returned quickly enough, alerting them through a series of barks, which Serena found she could interpret just as easily as if the hound was speaking the King's Tongue. Glancing at her new bracers, she smiled, the lyrium tickling at her just a bit.
Caridin's Cross quickly led out to a deeper cavern after that, where hot lava flowed freely below them, unconfined by the dwarven craftsmanship in the city. Darkspawn inhabited these new areas, working ancient forges that spewed out huge plumes of smoke.
"You ready for this, Legs?" Oghren called, a giant two-handed great sword was already in his hands. He took a couple practice swings, and Serena found herself marveling at how well balanced the weapon appeared to be for his short, stocky frame.
"Is that to be my permanent nickname now?" Serena pulled her bow, already aiming an ice-tipped arrow. Letting it fly, she grinned as it connected, landing right in an on-coming hurlock's throat. "I'll have you know this isn't my first showdown, Ginger."
"Yeah, we're professionals!" Alistair ran past with Maric's sword in hand, the runes along its blade glowing brightly against the darkspawn. Whipping his shield around, he barreled into a trio of fat genlocks, knocking them back as Sten swiftly executed them with his own sword.
Alim sprinted forward next, surprisingly fast for a mage. A spell shot out of his hand, paralyzing two darkspawn, and he turned and flung his staff in an arc, cracking the skull of a third. Leliana came to stand beside Serena, and together they picked off the rest of the darkspawn heading for the mage.
Morrigan aimed a well-placed fireball at the darkspawn forge, causing the entire thing to explode. A small group of darkspawn went flying backwards and the witched laughed, throwing another spell at them that burned them up.
"They have an emissary!" Alistair yelled, his location only visible by his blue sword. Serena saw him slash through another hurlock, trying to make his way to the magic-wielding darkspawn.
"Focus on him," Serena called to Leliana, pointing at the fat darkspawn. "I think he's leading the horde of them down here."
"There's more over the bridge!" Alim called from the right. "They've got a... a big one!"
Serena cursed. "Zevran! Come with me! Leliana, cover them, and keep on that emissary-" Sprinting after the assassin, they crossed the bridge, catching up with Alim and Serena's mabari. "The ogre's neck is the most vulnerable, unless you can get to its' back!"
"I'll try to paralyze it," Alim called, running for cover behind a pillar. "But it might be too big-"
There was a bright explosion right at the ogre's feet as Serena realized Zevran had thrown one of his homemade fire bombs. "I did not think your flip trick would work this time, Serena!" The ogre bellowed, trying to stomp out the raging fire at its feet as Serena nocked another arrow in her bow.
The next few minutes were a confused mess of people rushing by in a blur. Darkspawn surged in from a side tunnel, howling and gnashing their sharp teeth as they waved crude weapons in a threatening display. At some point Serena noticed Morrigan run past as a bear, charging into a crowd of the fiends, stomping half of them to death right out. Her fury mixing with exhilaration over the kills, and Serena felt it, felt the vivacity of her emotions... It was almost overpowering her own thoughts.
Alistair's blue sword swung by as Serena emptied her quiver and tried to switch to her daggers, planning to join him in fighting off a pack of genlocks that was trying to surround Peanut. The dog howled, long and low in an effort to stun the surrounding fiends and Serena was overcome with the dog's mind as a rush of pure energy, no, pure terror enveloped her. What were they doing to her hound?
"Peanut! Peanut, no!" Her shout was anguished as she saw Sten hurry to join Alistair in the melee, swords slashing, both desperate to reach her mabari before... before... "Noooo!"
Then there was someone's voice, someone was cursing nearby, and a wave of... something fell over her again. Fear mixing with something else, something more primal, more urgent. Her stomach lurched and she felt like collapsing.
Swaying on her feet, she felt hands tug her out of the way, the rough stone of the chamber digging against her leggings, ripping open holes as she was dragged into an alcove. Clutching her head, she heard the soothing voice of Wynne murmuring a chant as another pair of hands examined her.
"Serena? Serena, can you hear me?" It was Alim's voice. "I need you to keep your eyes closed and focus on my voice. Just on my voice. Can you do that?" She heard him curse as another wave of energy rolled over her and she whimpered.
"Peanut-"
"He's fine, he's fine! Just focus on my voice!" Alim sounded desperate and she tried to block out the feelings, tried to do as he asked... but the terror, it felt so real... and the ogre... the others...
" Alim..." She reached out for his hand, felt him clutch hers tightly, and fainted.
Alim stayed with Serena during the rest of the battle, unable to move away from her. His guilt held him rooted to the spot, it seemed. But as soon as the last darkspawn fell, Alistair was there, wiping blood off his face and hands as he kneeled beside the mage.
He hadn't meant to hit her with the spell. It was an accident. And combined with her new abilities... Alim glanced over at Wynne as she sat next to Serena, healing the various cuts and scrapes from the battle. Alistair held her propped against his chest, Serena's head resting in the crook of his neck, as if she were simply taking a quick catnap.
If she hadn't run in front of him... Well, there was nothing to be done for it now. He had intended to hit that enormous hurlock with the enchantment. It was called Horror, and it did exactly what it sounded like. If it had been anyone else, it simply would have caused them to be stunned, or perhaps even knocked down. But with Serena's hound being attacked by the small horde of darkspawn, barking madly as he fought them off, and Morrigan also shifted... her mind had picked up on their unique energies, causing the spell to go haywire.
Pale and shaking, he had grabbed her from the melee, dragged her to where he and Wynne were secluded, Wynne's glyph of repulsion glowing on the ground nearby. Serena had been barely conscious then, slipping in and out, and he had tried weaving the counterspell to no avail. She fainted, clutching his hand in a vice-like grip, and there was nothing to be done for her until the others finished off the rest of those... monsters.
Alistair had been full of questions, of course. What had happened? She had been beside him, and then she wasn't. He'd heard her scream for the hound, which Wynne had healed after he nearly lost a leg to the frenzied beasts, but then when he had searched for her...
The blonde man looked utterly miserable without her, Alim saw. He hadn't noticed how close they were, except for a few touches here and there, and the teasing from the day before, but seeing them now... He was obviously deeply in love with the girl, and worried about her shallow breathing.
"I'm... I'm sorry-" Alim spluttered again. He'd already said it twenty times, maybe more, but the look on Alistair's face... on all their faces. They blamed him for this. For the fall of their leader. "It was an accident-"
"I know, Alim," Alistair said softly. He brushed aside a lock of Serena's hair that had come loose, leaning her down to rest in his lap. "We've all accidently hurt each other, it's... it's what happens. In the fury of battle." His honey eyes stared into Alim's brown ones sadly as he traced an angry scar that ran down her thigh. "My sword did that... We all make mistakes."
A heavy silence descended after that. Everyone found things to do for awhile, whether it be checking and re-checking their supplies, or simply dawdling around their makeshift camp for want of something to do.
Eventually Morrigan's cool voice broke the silence.
"While I am just as... concerned... for Serena's state as anyone, I suggest we move on."
"I'm not leaving her," Alistair said brusquely. "We are not leaving her."
"'Tis not what I suggested." Morrigan glanced at Oghren, who nodded. "The dwarf says we're near this Ortan Thaig. I suggest we carry Serena there, then camp for the night. It will be evening soon enough, and that way, we won't have lost too much time."
Alistair appeared torn at the prospect of moving Serena in this state. Looking from Serena's prone form to the faces of the others, a flutter of emotions crossed his face before he seemed to make a decision. "Alright. I'll carry her if someone can take our packs."
"I'll take them," Alim volunteered quickly. "It's the least I can do." Alistair handed him the two backpacks, hefting Serena into his arms easily.
"Let me know if you become wary, Warden. I will carry her if you need. The assassin has also volunteered."
Alistair nodded, though his face had a hard look that said nobody would be touching Serena but him. "Thanks, Sten. I'll keep that in mind."
They moved on then, each companion keeping a wide berth from Alistair as he carried Serena along. Alim couldn't help but peek over every minute or so, as if to reassure himself that she was still there, that she was still breathing. She looked tiny in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder as they marched through the tunnels.
It was another hour or so of walking before the dwarf spoke out again. "This looks like the right way out. Ortan Thaig. It won't be long now."
Oghren was leading them at the front, with Morrigan at his side. She hadn't really struck him as the leader type, but perhaps her relationship with Serena was more complicated than he thought, and this was her way of keeping her mind of their leader's current... condition.
Alim was still glancing over at Serena, he had gotten it down to every few minutes now, when Wynne came up to him. The older mage must have noticed his distraught face for she reached over, gently clasping his hand. "There is... perhaps something we can do. It would... weaken you and I, and possibly Morrigan, but I think it is worth a shot, to try to bring her back... quickly." Alim simply nodded. Anything would be better than this shroud of guilt he seemed to be wearing over Serena's borrowed cloak.
"Alistair, I have been thinking..." Wynne's voice was quiet as she quickened her pace to match that of the tall templar. "There is a spell, I have only used it in practice before, but... it may help."
"I'm not sure another spell is what she needs right now, Wynne," Alistair replied. He glanced down at Serena and sighed. "What... what kind of spell is it?"
"It is called 'mana cleanse'," Wynne replied. "A mage expels nearly all their mana in an effort to... nullify the mana of enemies. In this case, that would be Serena."
"Wait, so you think... you think she's casting some sort of spell on herself?" Alistair shifted her in his arms and Alim wondered how the man was still carrying her upright at all. He must be very strong or very dedicated. "Is it those gauntlets?"
"Possibly. But with the mana around her depleted, she should wake up if it's a magically induced sleep," Alim added. "In theory."
"And what happens to you?" he asked. "Would you guys be able to cast?"
"No, not if... well, Morrigan and I would have to move far away while Wynne casted it, in order to not be affected. Or I could try casting it?" He stared at his boots, unable to look either in the face. "Wynne is much more useful than I am, anyway... so..."
Alistair frowned, setting Serena gently down on the tunnel floor. "What do I have to do?"
"Nothing, really. You can stay. It may take a few minutes for anything to happen." Alim turned to Wynne. "I think you should go down there with Morrigan. I'll do the spell. I owe Serena that much."
"What is going on? Do you need me to carry Serena?" Zevran had glided back to them, his eyes surveying the scene, Serena's mabari at his side, limping slightly. Wynne nodded to Alim before walking back to where Zevran had come from to join the others.
"Alim is going to try a spell. To... to wake up Serena."
Zevran's eyebrow raised just slightly. "And are we sure that is wise?"
"It's all we have," Alistair replied with a sigh. He rubbed his temples, eyes on the ceiling. "I just want her back, Zev. I need her."
Alim knocked back a vial of lyrium and grimaced, the bitter taste was one he'd never get used to. Ignoring Zevran's accusing amber eyes, he kneeled at Serena's side. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands on the girl's armor, trying to focus his will at her. He could feel the magic come to him easily, a purplish-blue color pulsing just beyond his hands. Alim began the chant.
"Desino via defluo umo magis. Excito haec femina. Desino via defluo umo magis. Excito haec femina. Desino via defluo umo magis. Excito haec femina."
As he chanted, he could feel it working, could feel her hanging there, just beyond his reach. With a great metaphysical tug, he pulled at her spirit, yanking it back into her body.
Serena gasped suddenly, her chest expanding as her lungs filled with air. Her body erupted into a series of quick spasms as she was overtaken in a coughing fit, Alistair reaching to help her sit upright.
"Desino via defluo umo magis. Excito haec femina."
"Serena? Are you awake?"
Her eyes opened slowly, the blue orbs were wide and confused. "I... I... I'm b-back? Oh, thank the Maker..." Tears slipped down her cheeks as she reached for Alistair's neck, desperate to draw him closer. "How? How did you-?"
Alim sat back against the wall, his own mana completely spent as an effect of the spell. He'd never felt so relieved to perform a spell right in his life. Running his hand over his forehead, it came back sweaty.
"Alim. He did a spell." Alistair crawled forward, pulling her into a hug, relief etched all over his face. "Oh, Maker, I thought... what happened? Where... where were you?"
"The Fade," Alim answered. "Right?"
"Yes, I... there was something, and then a spell hit me and it... it passed through me, pushed my... pushed me into the Fade again." Serena shook her head, as if to clear it of a ghost. "Niall was there, he... he led me to Alim. That's how I got back. He was anchored in both places, here and the Fade." She turned to Alim, grasping his hands gratefully. "You s-saved my life, Alim. Thank you."
Alim nodded weakly. "I... it was nothing. I'm just glad you're back."
"Did it work?" Leliana's shout echoed down the tunnel.
"Yes, she's awake! Alim did it!" Alistair pulled Serena to her feet, Zevran moving to help Alim up. Within seconds the rest of the group was there, the redheaded bard in the front, sprinting down the tunnel to wrap Serena in a big hug.
"We were so worried! Thank the Maker you're alright!" Next she turned to Alim, wrapping him in a similar embrace. "You saved her, Alim! You and Wynne are miracle-workers!"
"Ah, do not crush their ribs, my dear," Zevran said teasingly, pulling the enthusiastic redhead off the pair. "They are both weak from the effort involved, I'm sure."
"Let's hope their aren't more darkspawn waiting down the bend," Alim muttered, one hand pushing his spiky hair back. "Otherwise I'm using one of you as a shield..."
"By the tits of my ancestors... Ortan Thaig. I never thought I'd see this place in the flesh."
The thaig was even grander than Caridin's Cross, in Serena's opinion. Somehow the dwarves had managed to create some sort of lighting system that reflected off of mirrors set in the walls, throwing back golden light from what had to be a sunset on the surface.
"It's beautiful, Oghren," Serena murmured, standing next to the smaller man. Yellow stones created a long road that ran perpendicular to the tunnel they had just emerged from.
The dwarf wandered over to one of the walls, his fingers rubbing along the edges. "I can see Branka all over this place. She always took chips from the walls at regular intervals when she was in a new tunnel- to check their composition." He gazed across the expanse, frowning. "If she was still here, though, she'd have sentries out by now."
It was only minutes later when the sunset began to fade, throwing the thaig into near darkness. Wynne and Alim lit their staves, while Morrigan sent up a trio of fireballs to re-light the torches that dotted the walls. The flickering lights threw heavy shadows across them all, and Serena unconsciously moved closer to Alistair.
"We should probably get moving, find a suitable place to camp for the night before... you know, beasties start their evening hunts."
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Oghren replied, striding down the road and disappearing into another tunnel. Another hour of walking yielded them a few more battles with small groups of darkspawn, which Serena and Alim were carefully kept out of, and an ambush from a group of spiders Oghren referred to as 'thaig crawlers'.
"Aye, this looks like as good as a place as any, Wardens," the dwarf said, dropping his pack near what had been a dwarven house. "Easily defensible from the east, north and south."
They split up into two groups, half staying to set up tents and bedrolls, with Leliana and Morrigan working on prepping a meal, and the others going to find anything that could be used to sustain a fire. After helping set up the tents, Serena wandered around the group of houses, her curiosity getting the best of her. Casually trying the locks, she pulled a pin from her hair and picked one open, slipping inside.
Squinting in the low light, Serena could see the house was mostly picked over already; an overturned table and chairs, some broken bits of tableware, a ruined painting hung on the wall.
"Out, get out! This is my place! These are all mine!"
Serena shrieked, stumbling back against the wall. "Maker's breath, you scared the... who are you?"
"You've... you've come to take my claim! Thieving surfacers... scoundrels..." The stubbly dwarf moved out of the darkness just a bit, crouching awkwardly. His voice was a fierce whisper as he clutched at the old cushion of a chair. "I found it first!"
"I didn't... I'm not here to take anything from you." Serena pushed herself onto her knees and breathed deep, trying to slow her racing heartbeat. "I was just looking for information-"
"B-Begone, you! You'll bring the dark ones back, you will! They'll crunch your bones!" The bizarre man quaked before hobbling off through a hole in back of the house, his muttering echoing back to her.
A gloved hand touched Serena's arm and she yelped again, clapping her hand over her mouth as Oghren grinned. "Bit jumpy, eh, Legs?"
"Ah, yeah, sorry. There was just... a man here. Unless I'm going crazy..." Serena sighed, rubbing her temples. "Which isn't so far off to imagine down here, I suppose. How did you-"
"Saw you slip off, got curious." The dwarf shrugged, glancing around the house. "Said you saw someone, eh? Word has it you can only survive down here by eating the darkspawn dead." Oghren frowned. "It brings the taint, of course. Turns their brains to sewage, but it hides them from the darkspawn." He put a hand on Serena's arm again, careful not to startle her. "Come on, let's get you a meal, aye?"
It was well past midnight when she awoke to a hand clamping over her mouth.
"Shhh, pretty lady. Ruck has come to help you. Ruck won't hurt pretty lady if she promises not to shout."
Serena nodded fervently, her eyes looking about the tent quickly. How he had gotten in without Alistair or Oghren seeing him was beyond her. Perhaps he'd snuck in the back?
"W-what do you want, err, Ruck? That is your name, right? Ruck?"
The dwarf nodded, staring at her intently. "Pretty lady... pretty eyes, pretty hair... smells like the steam of burning water, blue as the deepest rock... so pretty when she rests her head."
Serena gulped, uneasy that this man had been here Maker knows how long, simply watching her sleep. Her hands itched for her daggers, but they were in her belt, feet away, behind this dwarven man. This... Ruck.
"You said you could help me, Ruck?"
"Ruck not pretty name, not like pretty lady. Ruck is small and ugly and twisted." Serena's gut twisted sharply as the dwarf turned, and she could see a dark splotch discolored his neck. The taint. "Pretty lady has the darkness in her, yes, but not like poor Ruck."
Serena sighed. She would apparently have to indulge his madness a bit to get information. Assuming he had any useful information to give. "You've eaten them, haven't you? The darkspawn."
"Once you eat... once you takes in the darkness... you not miss the light so much." Ruck rubbed at his face with the back of his hand, the fingers looking gnarled. "Ruck sees, yes. He sees the darkness inside you."
"I'm... I'm a Grey Warden. It isn't... it isn't quite the same." She prayed it wasn't quite the same.
"Grey like the stone. Guardian against the darkness. Beautiful... like waterfalls under the lichen. I hid, when the dark ones were here. They leave you alone if you are like them, in the darkness. But now they're gone."
Serena nodded, processing this. So the darkspawn were here, but they'd since moved on. "Do you know where the darkspawn went, Ruck?"
"I thinks they went south, pretty lady. Far, far, far to the south. That is where the dark master calls them with his beautiful voice. So much joy when he awoke!"
The archdemon. He had to be talking about the archdemon. But did he mean southern Ferelden or just... south of here? Or were they the same? Was the archdemon near them now? She found herself wishing for the dwarven stone sense.
"After the dark master awoke, he called his children and they all went," Ruck continued in his hoarse whisper. "I wanted to go, too, and gaze upon his beauty... But Ruck is a c-coward." He reached for Serena then and she had to fight the urge to pull back. "I came to show you, pretty lady. To show you what you came for."
"I... alright. What do I have to do?"
"Follow Ruck. He shows pretty lady."
Crawling out of the back of her tent, Serena followed Ruck through the shadows and into a small cave. She prayed her trust in this peculiar dwarf wasn't misplaced, and he didn't intend to kill her once he got her away from the relative safety of camp.
Serena gazed around the cave. A few worn mats crisscrossed the floor and a half-broken tent still stood in the back. She imagined that was where Ruck slept, if he slept at all. Scorch marks covered the floors where there were no mats; it looks as if there had once been quite a few fires here.
"This place, it was once for the woman and her house." Ruck hobbled into a small cave, where a tiny fire was burning. "They come for the shinies, but then they go. Leave lots, and Ruck finds it."
"This was Branka's camp, you mean? Did you find anything here?"
"Bits of things, only bits. The crawlers took almost everything." Ruck dug in an old chest, pulling out a few sheets of papers. "They takes things of steel, things of paper. Takes the shinies and the words, but Ruck- he protected these." The dwarf thrust the papers into Serena's hands, smiling a crooked grin, though with the patches of taint that traveled up his face, the effect was more unsettling than anything else.
"I... um... thank you, Ruck." Serena flipped through the pages, her eyes scanning them quickly. "These... are... these are from Branka's journal. Oh. Oh, dear." She looked up at the dwarf, a genuine smile gracing her pale features. "Thank you, Ruck. This helps a lot!"
"Anything for the pretty lady," Ruck replied, bowing stiffly. "The nice man is lucky to have such a pretty lady on his arm."
Serena blinked. How long had he watched their camp then? Hours? Long enough to see her with Alistair, for surely he was the 'nice one' in this case. She couldn't imagine he meant any of the other men traveling in her company, except maybe Alim. He was very courteous, if not a bit ungainly around her now because of the... accident.
"Ruck has a shiny for the pretty lady, too, it matches her eyes."
Oh, sweet Maker, Serena thought. She knew that tone of voice, she'd heard it from plenty a nobleman's son, trying to win her heart, or perhaps her family's copious dowry, through generous gifts. The dwarf shambled up to her, dropping a small blue ring into her palm.
"Our symbol it has. The last of my house, I was."
Serena stared at the ring in her hand, her heart felt heavy. "I can't take this, Ruck. This belongs to you-"
"No, no, no! Ruck is a twisted thing. No pretties for Ruck." The dwarf clutched his head. "Please, pretty lady. Take it and go! Go, go, go, go!"
"I, okay... thank you, Ruck!" Serena backed up from the shaking man, wishing she'd thought to grab her blades before she left the tent. "Thank you for all your help." Clutching the ring and the papers, she ran out of the cave and back down the tunnel.
"Rolling your oats. Polishing the footstones. Tappin' the midnight still, if you will."
"What are you going on about?" Alistair's voice carried out to Serena as she ducked behind a broken partition of wall. They couldn't have much longer on watch, she thought.
"Forging the moaning statue," Oghren continued. "Bucking the forbidden horse. Donning the velvet hat. Eh? Eh." The dwarf laughed to himself, and Serena could picture him leering at Alistair. Oh boy. She should have never told that man they were involved...
"Are you making these up right now? Honestly." Alistair chuckled, and she imagined him leaning back, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. "Donning the velvet hat? What does that even mean?"
"Not as experienced as you thought, boy, if you can't figure that one out." Moving carefully, Serena propped herself up on the wall just outside the rim of the firelight, the papers Ruck had given her laid out neatly on her lap.
"I rather think I look terrible in velvet, personally," she said quietly. "Makes me look fat."
"Sweet Maker, Serena!" Alistair exclaimed, slipping off the rock he was seated on. "You nearly scared me to death..." He stood up, squinting into the darkness. "How in the realm did you get out there?"
"Magic," she replied, hopping down and moving into the light. She sat down next to Oghren on the block of broken rock he occupied and pushed the papers into his hands. "You may recognize these."
"This is Branka's handwriting," the dwarf said gruffly. "I'd know it anywhere. Where'd you find these?"
"You know that someone I thought I saw before? He came to my tent and gave me these." Serena didn't need to tell them that she snuck out of camp unarmed to follow a possibly insane, tainted dwarven man down a deserted tunnel to the cave he squatted in. Alistair would probably tie her hands together and sling her over his shoulder to make sure she didn't do that, or anything like that, ever again. "She was headed for something called the Dead Trenches it says. Do you... know what that means?"
"They say the darkspawn nest there, whole herds of 'em." Oghren shrugged, as if the thought of running into an entire horde of the fiends didn't bother him one bit. Considering his rather berserk fighting style, maybe it really didn't. "But if that's where Branka went, then that's where I'm going."
"Then that's where we're going," Serena corrected, patting the dwarf on the back.