Thanks to my dear Seika for still having patience with MANY errors I make. :D
Tainted Lives
"Take care of yourself; the Deep Roads are dangerous. Keep your energy for fighting, healing, or any case where it's absolutely necessary to use, but don't waste it by showing off." Wynne tucked an unruly lock of hair behind Airam's ear and smoothed his robes. He looked terribly embarrassed, but held his ground bravely.
"Of course. I don't show off."
Wynne snarled. "Only because I'm there to stop you. Otherwise, you'd waste your energy every time someone complained it's too hot or dark or whatever else."
"But Gran–"
"Oh, I don't have any illusions of you listening," she sighed. "Despite what you might believe, I used to be young too. Just be careful."
"Don't worry, Gran, we'll be fine."
Zevran watched the scene, wondering why it made him feel so uncomfortable. He didn't like Wynne. She was an insufferable know-it-all who thought that her age gave her the right to stick her ugly crooked nose into other people's business. There were a few times when she irritated him so much that the old hag was very close to having a deadly accident. So why did moments like this make him uneasy, almost… envious? No, that was ridiculous.
"All right, then. Are you all ready? Can we go?" Airam briskly walked over their backpacks lined up against the wall, trying to mask his embarrassment. With a sigh, he put the backpack on his shoulders.
After the breakfast was eaten and digested, all the lost socks were found and packed, and they said their goodbyes to everyone at least three times, it was safe to say that yes, they were finally ready to go. If his Crow Masters could see the chaos that ensued each time they left somewhere… he grinned. The ways of their fearless leader were perhaps less efficient those of the Crow Masters, but much more fun.
"What?" Airam asked defiantly, when he noticed Zevran's grin. "There are no books. You took out the last one an hour ago."
"Which means you had a whole hour to put it back, yes?"
Airam shot him a look of pure disgust and turned away, but not before he caught the hint of a sly smile on Airam's face. Ah-ha. So… not in the backpack? He chuckled. Always so creative in finding ways to smuggle books, this crazy kid.
Finally, they were all ready and filed out of the inn. It was early morning, but that didn't matter here: the air was dry and hot at all times of the day. The streets were almost empty, and the few dwarves that hurried by didn't pay any attention to their strange procession. Good. The less curious eyes the better.
The guards in front of the gate to the Deep Roads saluted them and wished them luck in grave voices–obviously not believing they would return. But they would. They were good at extraordinary tasks. What were dwarven tunnels to mountains teeming with lunatics and dragons, or a wild ancient forest full of living trees and werewolves? They would be fine.
oOo
He wasn't sure what he had expected from the Deep Roads, but he was slightly disappointed. The roads were broad, high, and paved the same way as in Orzammar, illuminated by many torches rimming the walls. Everything was peaceful and quiet; their steps echoed through the vast space.
"So… this is it?" Airam voiced his disappointment.
Oghren snorted. "Nah. We haven't reached the fun part yet. These first miles are regularly patrolled by Orzammar guards, so there are no darkspawn here."
After a few minutes, they had their first proof of his words. There had to have been a big battle shortly before their arrival, or so Zevran thought. The blood and corpses looked rather fresh. All of the bodies belonged to darkspawn, so the dwarves had to have won. He quickly looked around, listening carefully for any hint of guards, but everything was quiet.
"How come we didn't hear the fight?" he asked.
"How do you expect to hear a battle that ended days ago?"
"Corpses decay differently in hot and dry air," Sten explained. "I would expect an assassin to know that."
"Ah, my grumpy friend, I am only involved in the pleasant part before the killing and the act itself. I do not stay around to do cleaning, yes?"
"That doesn't matter now," Airam said quickly, to avoid a quarrel; after the night at the inn, he was still trying to be friendlier towards Sten. "Let's move on."
The further they went, the more remnants of past fights they saw. Always only darkspawn; and yet it felt depressing and sad. Maybe it was because of all the cracks in the walls and on the road, or the tiles broken and blackened with dirt and blood. There were less and less torches on the wall and the air smelled so badly that it made Dust Town look like a pleasant spa. Airam summoned wisps, one for each of them; their greenish light made everything even more eerie.
A few miles later, the road came to a sudden end, blocked by a huge pile of rocks and soil. Two great tunnels opened at the each side of the road; the stench coming from them was sickening.
"This is sooner than I expected," Oghren said.
"You expected the road to be blocked?" Airam asked. "And you didn't think you should tell me?"
"Nah. What would be the point? It doesn't matter. We can use the tunnels."
"But how did you know the road would be blocked?"
"Because the sodden roads are too wide."
"I see," Sten muttered.
Airam looked from one to the other. "Well, I don't. What does it have to do with anything?"
"The dwarves don't have enough force to defend them. If they left the roads as they are, it would make an advantage for darkspawn to attack," Sten explained, when Oghren didn't reply.
"What about tunnels, then? Why are they still open?"
"More importantly," Morrigan cut in, "how will we now get to Caridin's Cross? 'Tis not certain these tunnels go there."
Oghren shrugged. "We know the direction. We will find the way."
That didn't sound very reassuring, but there was nothing else to do. After a short discussion, they decided to try the tunnel to the left first; the air was bit more breathable there.
"This is getting better and better," Airam muttered as they entered. "And I can already feel darkspawn. I can't tell how many, but they're not far. Better be ready, everyone."
"You surfacers are all sissies," Oghren said derisively. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."
Zevran chuckled. "Shall we compete for points? Dwarven axe against elven daggers? If you win, I'll buy you an ale of your choice. Full barrel. What say you, hm?"
"Deal. And if you win, I'll buy you the strongest dwarven drink. It's called Dragon Piss. One glass and you'll grow a beard."
Dragon Piss? Hm. Perhaps it would be better to lose, for a change.
oOo
The tunnels were the most disgusting place Zevran had ever seen. Once or twice they got back to the road again; after the dark tunnels, the roads seemed bright and beautiful, and full of fresh air. But it never lasted long before they reached another blockage; darkspawn had conquered this part long ago, and there were more holes in the walls than in Alistair's favourite cheese.
Brasca! Why were darkspawn so stupid! If they simply cleared the road, instead of digging the tunnels, this would have been so much more pleasant.
The darkness was worst of all. Everyone except Oghren and Shale soon lost their sense of direction and time after few hours. They walked on, until they were too hungry or too tired to continue. Only then they would stop and have a cold meal–the tunnels were not build in the generous dwarven way; it would be dangerous to lit a fire. Sometimes the tunnel would open into a cave; if they were lucky, they reached them before it was time to lie down. If not, they had to sleep in the tunnel, which was both uncomfortable and dangerous. For the first time, they had two guards during nights. But as each was patrolling the other end of the tunnel, it was not possible to talk. It seemed ages since he had had a proper chat with his crazy kid.
Yes, he truly hated the tunnels.
That they were full of darkspawn and overgrown lizards did nothing to improve his mood. The lizards were the most annoying creatures he ever had the pleasure to kill. They were weak, but always attacked in huge packs. In the narrow tunnels, it seemed every time they killed one, another two popped up. After what felt like a week or so, the tunnels and caves started to change. They were bigger, taller, and occasionally they saw ruins of old buildings.
Oghren was pleased to see that. "We are lucky, Warden. We travelled faster than I thought."
"So this is Caridin's Cross, then?"
"No, it's even better. We're near one of the ancient thaigs. It is possible Branka came through here on her search of the Anvil."
"A town? Excellent!" Airam's eyes immediately sparkled with a new spirit and determination. "Let's go, I want to reach it before dinner!"
Sten nodded approvingly. "I agree. We need to search for clues as soon as possible."
"Sure, sure! But, say, Oghren, did ancient dwarves know bath tubes?"
"Bath tubes?" Sten's approval dissipated as quickly as it came. "Warden. How can you think of such petty things –"
" 'Tis a brilliant idea," Morrigan snapped. "If you don't want a bath, by all means, no one will force you. In fact, I can also cancel the bug repellent spell from you. No need to waste magic on such a petty thing." That was enough to silence the Qunari–without that spell, the tunnels would have been much more unbearable.
The prospect of hot, steaming bath improved the mood immediately. And when they saw the tunnel opening into the biggest cave yet, Airam hurried forward, ignoring all warnings. As usual. He cast a spell to see what was in the cave.
"Andraste's holy shit!"
That didn't sound like awe. More like panic.
"Warden, what–"
"Run! RUN!" Their currently not so fearless leader sprinted back to them as fast as he could.
For a second, they all just stood there watching him, more amused than scared. Then they heard it. The quick scraping of many legs, crawling impatiently towards them.
"Retreat! That's an order!"
There were huge shapes emerging from darkness behind Airam. Zevran decided that whatever they were, he didn't really want to know. He took one of the grenades with strong poison off his belt, and the moment Airam reached him, threw it towards the shapes. Not waiting to see if it worked, he turned and followed Airam.
After some time they couldn't hear the sound any more, and dared to stop. All was quiet. Nothing was behind them.
"You may calm down now," he turned to Airam, whose face was still ashen. "I guess the poison got it, whatever it was."
"I really doubt that, Zev. Or does your poison work even on spiders?"
"It is afraid of insects?" Shale asked in disbelief. "I thought It has more courage, but It is an ordinary squishy thing after all."
"It may be a squishy thing, but it likes itself enough not to want to become food for spiders," Airam snapped irritatingly. "There must be at least a hundred of them in that cave. And–and one of them was five times bigger than when Morri transforms."
Sten was just as offended as Shale. "That's ridiculous. Do not hide your fear behind-"
" 'Tis quite possible, in fact," Morrigan cut in. "Every nest has its own spider queen; they are extremely big and strong."
What was this? Morrigan, helpful and supportive, twice in one day? There must be a catch. Zevran decided to keep a closer eye on the witch. But right now, there were more pressing matters. "So what are we going to do? Can we go some other way?"
Oghren shrugged. "We can go back to the last road exit and try few other tunnels, maybe they will go in the direction we need."
Nobody wanted to do that. Airam wasn't happy about it, but even he agreed that the only solution was to fight their way through the nest.
"You do not have to worry, bello mio," said Zevran, "I will protect you from all of the evil spiders, yes?"
"Such bravery, Zev! As you wish, then. I have an idea how to do this, and you'll have a crucial part in it. You are the only one who is ridiculously awesome and can do it. Without you, we're all doomed. Will you help?"
"Ah, say no more, you make me blush like a little girl. You know I'm your man, without reservation."
"Excellent! What I want to do is this: Morri and I will prepare our strongest spells–the same as in Redcliffe. But we can't cast them from here. We'll have to go back, right to the entrance of the cave, and prepare them there."
"What if the spiders notice you?"
"Well, that's where you come in. You'll creep into the nest before we come and stay hidden until we start casting. Then, you'll show yourself to spiders, and distract them until we're ready."
"You must be joking, yes? Ha, ha."
"What's wrong? Surely a great assassin like you is not afraid of few spiders? Don't worry, I will protect you." Airam's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Come on, it can't be worse than in the Assembly of deshyrs. After all, why should I be the only one always thrown in the middle of monsters?"
oOo
If he survived this, he would never again tease Airam about spiders. He halted, barely avoiding a spider that crawled right into the place he wanted to step in. It was almost impossible to sneak. The blasted creatures were everywhere, covering almost every centimetre of the floor. Three times already he was almost sure they noticed him; luckily it was always a false alarm. He was drenched in cold sweat. Never in his life had he been this afraid–not even in the Circle Tower. Could spiders smell? Or hear? He hoped they couldn't.
At least they were not very fast. With those big, fat bodies and thin legs it was a wonder they could move at all. They were the ugliest and creepiest creatures he had ever seen–especially their eyes. They had a huge pair of eyes in the front and with two smaller eyes at each side; but they had another two pairs in the rear. He only knew what was in front because one of them was feeding on an unfortunate hurlock.
He decided he was far enough in, and turned back to watch the entrance. There was no sign of the others yet. What took them so long? What if something happened? What if they couldn't come? What if they didn't want to come? The Crows wouldn't. They'd use him as a sacrifice and sneak unnoticed through the room. Of course, Airam wouldn't do it... but Sten? Or Morrigan? What if they convinced Airam–a wave of panic rushed through him. No. No, they wouldn't do that. They wouldn't!
Then a rock projectile hit the spider nearest to him. Shale! They were here! Now to do his part. The spiders jumped at him the moment he dissolved the shadows. Literally. How could they jump like that? But the shield and glyphs Airam cast on him resisted their attacks, and the spiders bounced back. It would have been funny, if it hadn't attracted the attention of every bloody spider in the room to him.
Brasca, what were those two doing? How long could it take to cast two spells?
As if in response, the temperature in the cave dropped rapidly, and the air sizzled with lightning. Here it was–the combined power of Airam's blizzard and Morrigan's tempest. He almost cried in relief as he watched the ugly creatures freeze. And a moment later, Sten, Oghren and Shale ran to his side.
"Ah, there you are," he said with a wide grin. "You almost missed all the fun. I started to think you gave up on our bet."
Oghren snorted. "Heh. As if I would lose to the likes of you. I can kill more spiders with my fart than all of you together." He swished his axe and cut the nearest spider in half.
"I have no doubt of that," Sten said dryly, as he shattered another. "Don't."
Shale didn't say anything, just slammed her fist into another spider.
Zevran grinned. Together, they were unstoppable, ridiculously awesome–
"Zev! Sten! BEHIND YOU!"
He swirled around and saw... legs. And the bottom of a huge belly. What the–then it dawned on him. The spider queen.
The spiders were crawling from all sides, obviously determined to turn them into dinner as soon as possible. Zevran couldn't blame them–you didn't get several such juicy morsel like him or Airam every day. Shale would be hard to chew, and Sten and Morrigan would probably be indigestible… but he preferred not to find out.
The biggest problem was jumping; the damned creatures could jump on them from the other side of the cave. To see big, strong claws flying at you at terrible speed was enough to give one nightmares for the rest of his life.
Brasca! Such a fight was not for him. He needed to disappear and attack from behind. But how? They were surrounded! All of the remaining spiders were now focused on them. At this rate, they were all going to–
A sudden flash illuminated the cave, and the huge monster was encircled by a wall of light.
"I'll keep the big one from attacking!" shouted Airam. "Finish the small ones!"
Finish? I haven't even started yet! A thunder echoed through the cave. It had sobering effect on Zevran. That's right. I'm not fighting alone. We can do this. He glanced over at Sten, who was attacking spiders with his usual stoic expression, and his mood immediately improved.
The storm was growing stronger every moment. Strong wind was bringing whirls of snow and ice, tipping the scales to their favour. The temperature dropped down even more. With surprise, Zevran realized he liked the fresh wind and cold and took several deep breaths. It was the best proof how disgusting this place was, making an Antivan enjoy the snow.
The spiders obviously disagreed; the constant sizzling sound of the lightning was driving them crazy. They tried to escape, but there was nowhere to run. The snow drifts managed to slow them down. And when they tried to jump, the wind would carry them away from their target. Confused and panicking, they became berserk, striking blindly at everything that moved. He almost felt bad for them… but between killing them and becoming their snack, he knew his choice.
He pulled out his daggers from another dead spider and turned to check the others. Shale was on the other end of the cave, throwing stone missiles; Sten and Oghren were fighting together, encircled by several spiders. It didn't seem they were having anytrouble.
"Aim for their legs!" he advised anyway.
Oghren looked over the shoulder at him. "Oh look. The pointy ears killed its first one," he snickered. "You owe me a barrel of ale, lass."
There was no time to answer; another spider was already trying to sneak up at him. Tch. As if a mere spider could outsneak a Crow.
When they finally turned to the spider queen, it was already hurt and disoriented on its enormous legs from Airam's and Morrigan's constant paralysis and freezing. Which was good; they were too exhausted to fight it at its full strength. It was a long, tedious fight and they all sighed with relief when it was finally over.
They were mostly uninjured, with a few bruises and scratches here and there; fighting with mages made things so easy! It seemed so long since he had fought without a mage at his side; Zevran wondered why the Crows didn't insist on having one during each fight. It was much more efficient and neat. Not that he was going to suggest it. Just to be on the safe side, he forced Oghren and Sten take antidotes against spider poison.
"Maker, I'm tired." Airam slumped down on the floor and rummaged his backpack until he found a lyrium potion. "If it goes on like this, I'll run out of potions in two days."
Zevran gave him a reproachful look. "You should not drink so much of that stuff. It's dangerous."
"You don't say. Since when you're an expert on lyrium?"
"Since Wynne explained it to me. She said-"
"I know what she says about it, thank you," snapped Airam. "I will remind you that you promised not to impersonate Gran. I love her, but one is enough. Unless you want to bake a pie. That is allowed."
Sten looked at Zevran with sudden respect. "You can bake a pie?"
"Alas, no. My education in that area was neglected, I'm afraid. But maybe our lovely wild witch can."
"Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I am your servant," Morrigan bristled, when Sten turned to her. "And stop staring at me like that. 'Tis maddening!"
Zevran looked around the cave. Perhaps he should collect some spider poison, and make some more antidotes–what was that? There was something crawling near the tunnel at the other end of the cave. It didn't look like a darkspawn... he quietly got up and sneaked closer.
It was a dwarf. Not one of the guards, that much was clear at the first sight. He looked... wild. Dressed in furs and hides, crudely sewn together, with long hair and a beard that looked as if it was never introduced to a comb; and the smell was second only to darkspawn. Whoever this dwarf was, he had been living in this terrible place for a long time. What was he doing? At first he thought the dwarf was also collecting poison, but it was not so. He was... eating.
"He's eating spiders?" Airam asked, bewildered, when he returned to inform the others about the dwarf. "Eeeew. Whoever it is, he must be hungrier than a Warden. Poor sod."
"If you want to help that dwarf, you will have to give him your own supplies," Morrigan joined them. "Do you think he's one of Branka's people?"
It probably was. Who else could it be? It was worth asking him, at least. But the moment he saw them coming, he yelped and crawled away with surprising speed. They grabbed their things and ran after him, through the cave, another tunnel, until they came to a small, narrow hole in the wall. Not big enough for spiders, and easily defended against darkspawn. Not bad.
"I hope you don't expect me to crawl through that," Morrigan said the moment they found it. "I refuse."
Airam sighed. "You know, I knew you would say that," he said, which made Morrigan scowl even more. "And Sten and Shale are too big. Anyone else wants to stay?"
"Nah. I'm coming." Oghren put down his backpack. "But don't you dare go drinking my stuff while I'm gone, or I'll feed you to the nearest darkspawn."
"You need not worry, dwarf. Nobody is interested in that piss of yours," Morrigan snapped haughtily.
"Is it piss? I thought it was ale," Sten said.
"It's ale," Oghren protested. "The best in the whole world."
Morrigan ignored his comment, and turned to Sten. "Have you ever heard of ale smelling that bad?"
"No," Sten admitted.
" 'Tis as I said."
"Sodding surfacers," Oghren grumbled. "Wouldn't know good ale if you fell in it."
"Falling in it? Not even the Archdemon deserves such a cruel death."
Airam laughed and tapped Oghren on the shoulder. "Come, we better go. You should know that you can't win an argument against Morrigan. Alistair could talk about it. Zev, are you coming?"
"Ready when you are," he said, grinning. He could imagine what Alistair would have to say, if he was here.
"All right, then. We'll meet you in the cave with the spiders. It shouldn't take more than an hour or two." Airam sighed. "I hope. After that battle, I need a bath more than ever. Scout ahead a bit, but don't go too far and try to avoid any fighting. Between yourselves, as well." He chuckled, ignoring Morrigan's pout.
"You better worry about yourselves. Do not expect me to come running to your rescue if you get into trouble," she said coldly.
Airam laughed. "I love you too, Morri. Let's go."
oOo
Airam sent Rask in front of them, to follow the dwarf's smell; they crawled behind him on their hands and knees. Luckily, it didn't take long before they heard Rask's barking, and crawled out into a small cave. It was crudely furnished, probably by things found in the ruins, and enlightened by a small fire.
The dwarf was crouched in a corner, covering his head, terrified of Rask's growling. Airam quickly called off the mabari and step a little forward, with his arms spread.
"Please, don't be afraid. We mean no harm to you. We would only like to talk."
The dwarf shot a quick look at him, but then he shook his head. "No! No! Go away! Ruck does not want to talk to you. This is Ruck's house. Leave it, leave Ruck alone!"
"So your name is Ruck? I'm Airam. Nice to meet you. Please, all we would like to know is if you know anything about Branka, the paragon. Did you come here with her?"
"Branka? No, no, no Branka. Ruck knows no Branka. No paragon. Ruck is here alone. Ruck doesn't want Branka at his territory. Is she here? Take her, take her and go away. Leave Ruck alone!"
"No, she is not here. She came, two years ago. Were you already here, at that time?"
"Yes, yes. Ruck was here. Five years, five years in darkness. Ruck does not complain, Ruck deserves darkness."
"Five years?" asked Airam incredulously. "That is a cruel punishment. Nobody deserves that."
"Ruck does. He got angry. And then, someone was dead. They wanted to send Ruck to the mines. Ruck didn't want to go to the mines. Everyone would know what he did. Mother would know. She would be sad. Ruck didn't want her to be sad. So he ran here, instead."
Zevran stared at the dwarf. He sentenced himself to life here, because of one killing? It wasn't even a proper murder; only a crude act of rage. He wouldn't be surprised to find out the dwarf was drunk, at that time. And for that he confined himself here? Just so his mother wouldn't find out? It seemed so... excessive.
"Ruck does not know Branka, but Ruck remembers a lot of dwarves came once. They stayed in his territory. Near old houses. Scarred of Ruck's prey. Ruck was hungry for days, till they left."
"That was Branka with her people, I'm sure of it!" Airam beamed. "Do you perhaps remember which direction they left?"
"No, Ruck doesn't know. Ruck only remembers two dwarven ladies. Ruck remembers, because they were pretty." The dwarf smiled. "Yes, yes. Pretty ladies. Very pretty. They went away from others, and Ruck followed in shadows and watched. Ruck meant no harm. Only watched."
"Yes, I understand that," Airam smirked, shooting an amused look at Zevran. He pretended he didn't notice.
"They were angry. Shouting. One of them wanted to go back home. But it made the other one angry. She said, she would go with or without the others."
"Sounds like Branka," said Oghren, trying hard to look indifferent. "She decided to find the sodding Anvil, and nothing would stop her."
Airam nodded. "Please, continue. Do you remember anything else?"
"Yes. Ruck remembers the first one crying. She did not want the other one to leave. Then they hugged and kissed-"
Both Zevran and Airam quickly glanced at Oghren, who was glaring at Ruck as if he wanted to behead them on the spot. Then he pulled a flask from his pocket and took a long swig.
"Hah! That's a pile of nug shit," he said when he finished. "He's good as sodding gone. It is useless, Warden. We're wasting our time with him. We should go back."
The dwarf frowned at Oghren. "Ruck is not mad. Ruck doesn't like you. You don't know. You don't have the darkness. He does," he pointed to Airam. "I can see it, the darkness in you. You're the same as Ruck. Same darkness, in your blood."
"The Taint," Oghren muttered quietly.
Airam winced and stepped back from dwarf. "No. I am not like you!"
"Did you eat the dark ones, too?" the dwarf continued. "It helps. When you take the darkness into you, you don't miss the light so much any more."
"I did not eat darkspawn and I'm not like you!" Airam yelled, suddenly surrounded by an icy aura.
The dwarf pressed himself against the wall, covering his face again. "Don't hurt Ruck! You promised you wouldn't hurt him," he whined.
"No… of course not." Airam rubbed his eyes. "Do you remember anything else?"
But Ruck shook his head. "Ruck doesn't remember. Ruck doesn't want to talk to you any more. Leave Ruck alone!"
"All right, all right, we're going. Thank you for your help. Let's go, guys."
Zevran felt sorry for the miserable wretch. It was cruel to leave him here like this. "Perhaps it would be more merciful to kill him," he suggested. "I saw poison victims who were in better shape. Let me end his suffering."
The intensity of Ruck's whining increased tenfold. Airam watched him thoughtfully, then shook his head. "No. No, we will not kill him. We have no right to end his life just because we don't like it. He deserves to live as he wants. Or do you disagree?"
"That…" Zevran sighed. "No. It's true."
Airam turned back to Ruck and smiled. "I am sorry we bothered you. Don't worry, we're leaving now. I'm sorry I can't help you more, but at least have this. As a thank you for your information, all right?" He pulled the few healing potions from the pouch at his belt. "Drink it when you're sick, or injured. It will help."
That calmed Ruck down, a little bit. He took one bottle and sniffed it; his face spread into wide grin. "Ruck likes its smell. Nice. Fresh. Ruck misses cool water… will it stop the song?"
"No. I'm sorry. Nothing can stop the song," said Airam softly. "Take care of yourself."
Oghren was first to leave, hurrying forward without saying another word to Ruck. Quite understandable, after the news he heard. But Zevran was more concerned about Airam, who was walking quietly, lost in his thoughts, hardly noticing where he was walking.
The taint. The song. What did it mean? Remember what happened the last time you drank blood. The words Alistair had said in the Temple echoed through his mind. Was this what it meant? Did Airam drink the blood of those blasted creatures? But why would he do such thing? And, more importantly, if he had the darkspawn taint… would he also change like Ruck, in time? A cold dread filled him. Maker, no. Please make him be all right.
oOo
Despite her harsh words before, Morrigan seemed quite relieved when she saw them coming. "Good, you're here. We found the town; it is right behind this cave. Come. I left the two oafs there to check if it's safe. We can talk properly when we settle down for night."
"That's amazing news, Morri!" Airam's mood improved immediately. "Lead the way, then."
The town was indeed just few minutes walk away. It was built in the same generous way as Orzammar, with broad roads and tall buildings, though their shapes and decorations were slightly different.
"I was wondering about something, Oghren," he said, "and I believe you are the right man to explain it. Why do you dwarves build such tall houses? Are you trying to compensate for something?"
"Compensating? Heh. Merely showing off how big we are."
Sten frowned. "Dwarves are not big," he objected.
"We are, where it matters. We are-"
"We are not having this discussion," Morrigan cut in dryly.
"We are not having any discussions, right now," Airam corrected. "Let's see if we can find any clue that Branka was here and which way she went. Ruck said they were staying near the houses, but it's quite possible they were staying in the houses, so I suggest starting there.
"Oghren, you're with Sten, search the area to the left. Morri and Shale, you have the central plaza, Zev and I will take the right. Any objections? Good. If you find something, call."
The excitement, if there ever was any, evaporated without a trace on the first floor of the second house. It was slow and boring work, if not very difficult. They had no idea what they were looking for, so they mostly went into the houses, checked chests, cabinets, drawers and such. In most cases they found only spiders–of normal size, thank the Maker. Everything they found were old and covered in dust and might had been laying there for centuries.
But there was a ray of joy in it, too; the dwarves did have bathtubs. Which was good, because he was now covered not only in spiders' blood, but also in dust. Together it formed a disgusting, itching crust. If he didn't clean himself soon, he would jump out of his skin, literally.
They just got out of the tenth house or so, when they heard Shale calling. The others were already standing in front of the biggest house; the palace of a ruler, no doubt, waiting for them.
"Did you find anything?"
Morrigan was smiling proudly. "They were staying in this palace. Branka had the biggest bedroom on the third floor."
"How do you know?"
"We found her journal." She nodded towards the book Oghren was now reading. "I gave it to him, since he was her husband."
"Her journal? Fantastic!" Airam laughed. "I'm starting to believe Leli's vision, you know. The Maker is on our side, guiding our steps! What were the chances that we'd find her journal? All right, let's make this place suitable for people again."
'Making it suitable for people' meant that Morrigan first cast the spell to get rid of the undesired inhabitants of the house. He had already seen this spell many times–they used it to clean the rooms in inns. But this, this was on entirely other level. Both fascinated and disgusted, they watched as a long stream of all kinds of bugs, worms, spiders, rodents and rat crawled away as fast as they could. Rask ran along them, sniffing and puffing, until something bit him in the nose. Whining, he returned to Airam, and didn't move until all vermin was gone.
"All right, then. Zev, you're cooking. Morrigan will help me to prepare baths for everyone–yes, Sten including you. No protests. It's an order. You and Shale go and prepare rooms for sleeping. You don't have to do anything, Oghren. Your only task is to read that journal, and find out where they went. Start from the end, if I may suggest. You can read the journal properly later, but right now focus on information we need. All right? Be good boys and girl and I might have a surprise for you."
That evening was the most pleasant since they entered the Deep Roads. The bath was wonderful; Morrigan even gave them some herbs with a wonderful, refreshing smell. It could not replace soap completely, but it was nice to have hair again, not the matted, dirty mass in the shape of his helmet. Airam's surprise was a box of cookies that brought an expression of pure bliss to Sten's face.
And yet… something was wrong. Now that there was nothing more to organize or do, Airam became more and more quiet, not participating in jokes and stories. After some time he excused himself and went up to their room. Zevran was worried. He had an idea of what was the cause, of course. This time, he would not leave him alone, like after the talk with Alistair in Orzammar.
oOo
He knocked on the door, before peeking in. "May I come in?"
Airam was sitting on his bedroll, hugging his knees. "As you're supposed to sleep here tonight, yes, you may," he snapped, but then he sighed. "I'm sorry, Zev. I'm… too tired. I won't be good company tonight."
"You don't need to be 'good company'," he said softly and sat down next to the boy. He hesitated, unsure how to continue; then he decided that for once, it was better to get to the matter directly.
"It is because of Ruck, yes?"
Airam averted his eyes. "He was right."
"In what?"
"I'm like him."
"Because you drank darkspawn blood?"
"What–how–how do you know that?" Airam turned back to him, eyes wide in surprise. "That's a Warden secret!"
Zevran shrugged. "Alistair said you drank blood, back in the Temple. So when Oghren mentioned the taint and you said you didn't eat darkspawn, it wasn't difficult to put it together."
"You're really are incredible," Airam said with a sad smile. "So now you know."
"That you're the same as Ruck? No, I don't know anything like that," he snapped.
"But I will be. It's just a matter of time."
"Oh, so Duncan was like Ruck?"
Airam drew in a sharp breath. "Be glad Alistair's not here. He'd killed you on the spot if he heard that. No, of course Duncan wasn't like Ruck," he said, laughing. "Then again, neither me nor Alistair knew him for very long," he added stubbornly.
"Tell me–I don't want to pry about Warden secrets, but... does it mean it's enough for me to drink darkspawn blood and I'll become a Warden, as well?"
"No!" Airam's face became ashen by fear. "You must never try it. Swear to me, Zevran, that you'll never even think of it! It is poison; it would kill you, or turn you into a ghoul like Ruck. The Joining is also dangerous, but if you survive, the poisoning slows down, for... some time."
"Thirty years?" he suggested with a sly smirk.
Airam stared at him. "That's... wow. Do you remember everything we said, since you joined us?"
"That's the assassin training," he shrugged again. "To recognize, collect and analyze useful information. But more importantly, how can you say you are the same as Ruck, knowing all this? Ruck came here because he was desperate and frightened, and has been eating darkspawn and other tainted creatures ever since. It's a miracle he's still alive and more or less sane. You, on the other hand, took a single sip of a darkspawn blood, under the control of the Warden Commander. You are not more like Ruck than you are like tainted wolves, or spiders."
"So... you're... you're not disgusted by me? Now that you know that I'm tainted? That I have darkness in me?" Airam carefully avoided his eyes.
"No offense, bello mio, but you know nothing of real darkness," he said bitterly. "Let me tell you a story from Antiva. The only one that matters. Then we can talk about darkness within, yes?"
Airam nodded.
"Two years after I became a full Crow, I already made a name for me. I had no wish to leave the Crows at all. So, my Master decided to make me a leader of a small team. Nothing grand, just me and two fresh Crows. One of them, a human man, by the name of Taliesen. We knew each other since we were kids. The other was an elven girl I never saw before. Rinna, was her name. She was... beautiful. Wicked. Tougher than any men I had ever met."
"You fell in love," said Airam softly.
"In truth, I'm not sure. But we did became lovers. All three of us, I mean." He shot a quick glance at Airam, to see his reaction to that; the boys ears were red like tomatoes, but he didn't say anything.
"We were a good team, and soon became famous. Other teams envied us, our Master bragged that we were the best team ever. Life seemed so easy! For the first time in my life, I was... content. It went like that for years, during which Rinna and I... we became close. I thought I had closed my heart, that I was a perfect Crow. But she touched something in me. It frightened me."
"And Taliesen, he wasn't jealous?"
"Back then, we didn't notice. Or care. Then we got a top-ranked mission, a rich merchant with a lot of guards. It took us weeks to prepare everything. Rinna was our scout, gathering information about the guy. On the day we wanted to act, Taliesen came to me and showed me some documents. They proved that Rinna betrayed us. So, we prepared a trap and confronted her. Of course, she denied everything.
"She begged me not to kill her. But I didn't listen. She said she was innocent, that she didn't betray us... that she loved me. Kneeling before me, with tears in her eyes, she was begging for mercy. I laughed, told her she was fool if she believed in love. That I never loved her."
"But you did," Airam whispered.
"Did I?" he asked bitterly. "Taliesen cut her throat, while I was holding her wrists. When she was dead, I spat on her corpse for betraying the Crows.. The two of us then continued the mission... and we found out that she was telling the truth. She didn't betray us. It was some other guy. Rinna, my Rinna was innocent. And I let her be killed, cut like a pig."
"Oh Maker. I–I don't know what to say."
He closed his eyes. Here it was. Now Airam would finally push him away. It was all he deserved... though he didn't know how he would survive it.
"I'm so sorry, Zev." Airam pulled him into tight hug. "It is horrible."
"Didn't you listen? I let her die!" He pulled away, both relieved and angry that the boy didn't want to see the truth. "That is the true darkness. That's what kind of man I am, Air."
"That is not true," Airam insisted. "You were… forced and twisted to be like that. But it's not in your nature. Or you wouldn't be here."
Zevran sighed. Why must this kid be so stubborn? "That I'm here is just a chance," he explained carefully. "You see, when we returned from that mission, we found out our Master knew already what happened. And he didn't care. He laughed at us, and reminded us of what we really were. Nobodies. Worthless slaves, to be used or destroyed as their Masters wish. And that our day would come, too, one day. I realized I only have one freedom–to choose when and how that day will come. But I did not want to fall on my sword like a coward. I wanted to die in a battle. That's why I accepted the mission to kill the Wardens. I thought, if I die, good; if I survive, I'll try again."
"See? You just proved my point," Airam said with a smug grin.
"What point? I just said I wanted to kill you! And I did my best to accomplish it, if you remember."
"Really? You better not say that to others. It would ruin your image completely," Airam snapped. "Even I recognized it was a trap, you know. The woman came shouting, 'please help, they're killing us!' but there were no sounds of battle. How dumb did you think we were?"
It was impossible not to laugh. "Ah, what cruel words! Hm… in truth, I underestimated you, yes. I watched your activities in Lothering, and decided that you are… royally naïve, shall we say. I didn't think you were any threat. I humbly admit I was wrong. But, as you let an assassin like me live-though I am eternally grateful for that, do not doubt that–I was not completely wrong, no?" he nudged Airam in the ribs.
"Ah, but how could I kill someone so sexy?" Airam nudged him back.
"Oh, you think I'm sexy, do you?"
"Of course–ah, I mean–I should check if Oghren found out something useful in Branka's journal." Airam scrambled to his feet, red almost like Alistair. Interesting.
"Wait," he called, as Airam reached the door. Airam turned to him, with a small embarrassed smile. "Thank you."
"Thank you, Zevran. I–maybe it was reckless, to let an assassin live. Alistair also thought so, you know. But I'm very happy I was reckless, then. I don't know what would I do without you. I don't think I–ah." Airam stopped, blushing more than Alistair ever did. "I better go, before I make an even bigger fool of myself."
And before Zevran could say anything, he was gone.
For a long time, Zevran sat on the bedroll, gawping at the doorknob, mulling over the last sentence again and again. Did he mean–no, that was just his own wishful thinking. But what if… just maybe… could that be even possible? No. Most unlikely, that. But he could at least hope, no?
If you want to have nice nightmares, google pictures of jumping spiders and imagine a huge, few meters big ones attacking you. ^^ I based the spiders in the Deep Roads on them. With few changes (like nesting together), to make it fit the canon.
Wynne's pie - yes, it is possible to bake in camp, without a stove. You only need a special pot, that you put under ambers. I ate fish, tomatoes and even bread baked that way many times, and I know some people who really bake pies in it, and swear it's the best, because they have special smell and taste. As that pot is used for centuries, I decided there was no reason why Wynne couldn't have one. But it's one of the things carried in Bodahn's cart, as it's quite heavy. So no pies in Deep Roads. :(
And, before you ask - if Airam didn't flee, Zevran WOULD kiss him, yes. But that's not going to happen so soon. *evil grin*