Playing the games, you'd think it would be easy to stumble across a long-lost Thaig. That you could just find the things by wandering around near some old rocks if you just kept your eyes open for the signs.

The reality of Thedas was, just as always, not cooperating. A full week of wandering about in the wilderness hadn't led to much besides more saddle sores. Our search wasn't helped since Fenris was the only one of us who'd ever been in this area. Not that he really knew the region; he'd only passed through on his way to Kirkwall.

As a result he didn't really have any memories that helped, leaving us with little to do but go up and down the various hills. That wasn't to say the search was totally hopeless; it wasn't. The main road we'd been using had been a Tevinter road, back when their Empire was the only one around on the surface. It followed that any nearby Thaig with a surface entrance would have been close to the sky for just one reason: trade.

So in theory there should be a secondary road, or the remains of one, that would lead us to our destination. We just had to find it.

In theory.

In practice we made it up to two weeks of wandering before our luck finally turned. We didn't find the Thaig, but we found something nearly as good; a party of Carta following the road in the same direction we were going, their carts heavily laden with bags of food.

We followed them at a distance for a few more days. It wasn't a great feat of tracking, or stealth. The lot ahead of us was just as lyrium-addled as the group we'd killed in the woods. It would have been pathetically easy to wipe them out just as well, if I was being honest. Their idea of proper sentries and scouts amounted to a couple of guys staggering around on 'patrols' once every couple of hours.

But that wouldn't have let us find the Thaig, and on the third day, they led us right to it. It was well that they had because someone had done a surprisingly good job of concealing it. They'd covered up the entrance with several boulders, completely obscuring it from the nearby road. They'd gone so far as to drill bolts into each of the big rocks, making it easier to tie ropes to the backs, the better to covertly rearrange them to better block off the entrance when they weren't using it.

We'd have probably gone right past it if we hadn't been following them. Probably could have walked right over it if they'd had the giant rocks pulled in tightly, instead of rolled out to let the wagons through.

After that, well, we got to put several years of practice to good use.

I carefully got my arrow settled, keeping my breathing steady. The tightest nod from Varric that he was ready set my arms into motion; we rose swiftly, muscles straining as I pulled back on the string. A split second to aim, and my fingers loosened, sending the deadly missile on its way.

Varric pulled Bianca's trigger a heartbeat later, her bolt snapping down range, my fingers already blurring to pull out a second arrow while he kept his aim focused, ready to shoot again.

We needn't have bothered; his shot took his target in the chest, felling him instantly, while mine buried itself in a sentry's throat. Both dwarves toppled without a sound, with a minimal bit of thrashing about.

We didn't wait for anything else. Both of us turned, adjusting our aim, then loosed our second shots at the remaining sentry; a dwarven woman answering the call of nature near a bush. I don't think she had any idea of what was coming until two arrows buried themselves in her back, sending her slumping over.

Only then did I pause, listening.

When I didn't hear anyone shouting in alarm, I brought a hand up and waved.

Fenris, Merrill, and Anders immediately rushed past us, Varric and I covering them from our position. Darting across the hard ground, they ignored the dead guards in favor of the hidden entrance that they'd been protecting. Probably intending to close up as soon as they'd finished up what they'd been doing.

Our friends moved in, vanishing into the Thaig as quickly as they could. I saw Fenris's shock of white hair go in first, followed quickly by Anders, then Merrill. The two of us stayed in place until Merrill briefly reappeared, waving her staff once.

"Too easy." Varric muttered, the pair of us racing to catch up as Merrill darted back inside. "Way too easy."

I grimaced, getting my bow slung around my back so that I could draw my sword. "That's my line. Do I need to say you jinxed us?"

He let out a noise that wasn't really a laugh, letting me get ahead of him just before the narrow gap in the rock. You could sort of see where the ancient stone masons had once framed a proper door, probably an ornate wall, but now it was little more than a crack in the ground. Wide enough to fit a small wagon, but still small enough that it could be easily concealed from the road.

On the other side proved to be roughly hewn stone, a couple of torches, and a corpse that had clearly been run through by a massive sword. Skipping over the bloody mess that Fenris had left behind, I followed the red footprints down. I didn't have to be a dwarf to tell that the tunnel was spiraling downwards very quickly, probably dropping us several stories underground without going that far horizontally. I mused on that until we ran into the others lurking at the exit.

Fenris was just barely looking around the corner, Merrill and Anders behind him. Both held a hand up to their lips, though only Merrill pointed a finger at me afterwords.

I nodded once, murmuring the words. "Silence is golden."

The spell spun outwards from me, the blue sparks forming into a hemisphere around us before fading away.

"We're good." I said, more loudly. "What's out there?"

Fenris shifted, holding a hand up. He stayed silent long enough to make me realize he was waiting to see if anyone had heard me, and only when he was certain they hadn't did he reply. "There is a bridge across an underground river just around this corner. The wagons we followed are being unloaded on the far side."

"How many Carta?" I asked.

"At least a dozen in sight. I would guess at least twice that for the entire Thaig. Perhaps more."

Five of us against a dozen wasn't terrible odds, considering that three of us were mages, Fenris was a force of nature, and Varric had a crossbow that was the next best thing to a modern rifle. Two dozen would be pushing it though. Unless, of course, this lot were as mad as the last group we'd fought. Or if we could make them come at us through a choke-point or two.

He must have been thinking along the same lines, because he answered my next question before I could ask it.

"The wagons are in an open space, but there's a narrow stairwell leading up on the right." Fenris reported. "It leads directly into some kind of structure, a gatehouse for the Thaig proper is my guess. There's two windows for archers on that side, and more overlooking the bridge."

Meaning the Dwarves who'd originally built this place hadn't been stupid. They'd made sure it was defensible.

"Have to be fast then." I bit my lip, thinking it over. "How long's the bridge?"

"We can sprint it." He replied.

"Then that's the plan." I said. "You and me out front, we head right for that stairwell, cut down anyone in our way, get up it before anyone can stop us. I'll clear the first room with magic. Everyone else will deal with anyone we leave behind us, then catch up as fast as they can."

Fenris nodded, casually working his claymore onto his back, drawing his shorter blade instead. "Works for me. Are you actually able to barrier more than one person?"

I huffed a little, "Yes, so long as you don't wander off. My range is still shit. Merrill, can you handle the silencing spell? Let's keep it up until they sound the alarm, make them see us instead of hearing us."

A bit of work got us rearranged, our first spells in place. Anders layering his barriers over himself and Varric while I did the same for Fenris and I. Merrill took over making sure none of the noise we were making carried, then hid behind Anders since she couldn't keep that spell going along with a proper shield.

We all checked our gear one last time. At Varric's nod to show he was ready, I patted Fenris on the shoulder, wordlessly telling him it was his decision.

To my surprise he didn't flinch at being touched by a mage. Instead he simply nodded as well, watching intently, leaning forward just enough to see what was going on. I saw him start tapping a finger on his weapon, counting something, then his entire body seemed to tense up.

"Now!"

I was right on his heels when he burst around the corner. We sprinted out onto a stone bridge, not more than thirty yards away from the far side. Just as he'd said, the caravan we'd been following was set up there, tired Dwarves unloading crates and barrels with no real enthusiasm. A few others were trundling up the narrow steps to the right, vanishing into what was clearly a guardhouse built to overlook the bridge and entrance.

The Carta didn't notice us until we'd passed the halfway point. It was only then that one of the women dropped the barrel she'd been carrying, shrieking at the top of her lungs. "Enemies come!"

"Schwert!" I shouted in reply, sending a battering ram of blue sparks out from my fingers.

The telekinetic strike ducked low, then snapped up at the last second, following my will. It hit the woman around her belly, driving her off her feet, throwing her back and out of the way.

Of course if her scream hadn't alerted everyone, the sound of her slamming into the ground would have.

Men and women alike began shouting, running in every direction. Maybe half came right at us, their eyes gleaming red in the torchlight, carrying whatever they could grab as weapons. The rest seemed saner; rushing towards racks of waiting spears, clubs, and bows.

Fighting the urge to set them all on fire, I brought my sword up, following Fenris as he met the first of the lyrium-addled smugglers. His sword flashed, beheading the man, his lyiurm brands lighting up a second later to simply carry him through a second.

The man gaped in shock, stumbling in confusion until my sword opened his throat to his spine.

Wood met steel, a Carta swinging a plank as a club, forcing Fenris to defend for the half-second it took me to catch up on his right, lunging to drive my sword into his foe's chest. The man didn't have time to die on his feet; two of his compatriots simply shoved him over the side of the bridge in their rush to get to us, both coming in with their bare hands.

Fenris relieved the female of the pair of her limbs at the same time as I slashed at the eyes of the man trying to deck me. Both of them screamed. Neither stopped trying to swing at us, at least until I shoved the blinded man into the water, and Fenris ran the woman through.

A bolt snapping past my ear to slam into another revealed that Varric had joined the battle, Bianca's rhythmic clanking audible whenever there was a pause in the shouting and screaming.

I took the lead from there, finishing off the man Varric had only wounded; the first wearing something resembling armor. He was the last between me and the narrow stairs, and I rushed up them, trusting that Fenris would be right behind me.

The door began to shut before I was halfway up, another growl of my Germanic spell driving it back into whoever was trying to stop us from getting inside. They recovered quickly enough to try again, but not before I simply drove my shoulder into it, my momentum forcing it back open, the word of a different spell on my lips.

"Fuego!"

Roaring fire vomited out from my upraised hand; my most lethal spell filling the confined room I'd just entered. A spell I'd based on videos of Vietnam-era flamethrowers, something nothing like the comparatively mild flames that most Mages in Thedas used to make their fire magic far more efficient.

Theirs was a brief, intense heat.

Mine was magical napalm.

Men and women of the Carta began howling like animals almost at once. The liquid flame clung to their armor, to their skin, burning it away within seconds. That close I could see the briefest moments of horror before their faces became incapable of making any expressions, my arm sweeping the lethal magic right to left across the space.

The screams were bad enough, but it was the smell that was the worst.

Nearly four years on Thedas had made me a jaded bitch, but I still paused long enough to throw up in the corner when I cut power to the spell; all of the flames save those with fuel vanishing, leaving six or seven smoldering corpses along with some furniture that was crackling away.

Fenris used my momentary incapacitation to sprint past me, leaping over a smoking body to rush through the door on the far side.

Spitting out the taste of bile, I ran after him, not letting myself look too closely at the mess I'd just made. These people were red lyrium addicts. They'd already been dead before I'd gotten here, and being set on fire at least killed them quickly compared to what that crap they were eating would do to them.

I followed Fenris into a narrow hallway, lit by recessed torches. By the time I caught up another pair of Carta emerged from a doorway at the far end, engaging him with short blades. Not in the mood to draw this out any further, I whispered another Schwert, aiming it at the knee of the dwarf on his left.

The limb buckled, the man snarling in surprise as he collapsed, leaving Fenris able to deal with the other one on one.

A flash of his lyrium brands later and his opponent was bleeding out on the ground, the second man dying in the middle of trying to get up.

With them out of the way, our charge deeper into the Thaig brought us into the next room just in time to see three more of them slamming a massive door closed... with them on this side. All three turned to face us, their eyes glowing dangerously brightly.

They were in armor. Full plate even, all three carrying cleaver-like blades, spreading out like veteran soldiers who knew not to group up against a mage. A quick glance revealed a room that was empty apart from the torches on the walls, lacking any kind of furniture or decoration. A stone box, in other words. Yet another defensive chamber before what had to be Thaig proper on the other side of that shut door.

"You." The Carta in the middle growled, baring yellowed teeth at us. "You will not stop us this day!"

"We already have." Fenris replied, "Your-"

"Not you!" He spat, pointing his sword at me. "You! You! Interloper!"

"What?" I blinked, not sure if the feeling in my gut was a sinking one, or if I was still nauseous from the smell of burnt Dwarf. Probably both. "Me?"

"We shall slay all of your kind!" Rotten-teeth bellowed. "In the name of the glorious song, we shall not suffer a single interloper to live!"

More blinking. "What-"

He stormed forward with a roar before I could even try to talk with him, his flunkies moving in along with him. One went straight for Fenris; the boss and the other came straight for me.

The sight of steel got me focused, pulling at what mana I had left. "Fuego!"

The leader howled like the damned soul he was when the fire rushed over him, his charge turning into a stumbling collapse, but I didn't have time to sweep the spell over the other man. I let go of the magic, parrying the first attack, falling back laterally from the wild swings.

His armor turned aside my quick riposte, sparks flying, our blades clashing again when I had to block another heavy chop aimed at my hip. He was quicker than I expected, far more in control after his initial rush. From the brief glimpse I had of Fenris's half of the fight, his own opponent was similarly better off, holding the tall Elf at bay even if he was clearly on the defensive.

I held back, retreating sideways, letting him think he was driving me toward one of the corners. Saw his expression twist into something smug, excited as he pushed harder. Slashed and cut, making me block rather than parry, then he abruptly switched, thrusting hard for my heart.

My own blade lashed out in a thrust aimed for the gap in his helmet the moment I saw his sword come up.

His weapon struck my barrier, sliding off of the magical force field.

My own stabbed through his red eye, punctured his skull, and ended up in his brain.

He didn't quite realize that he was dead at first, even when I yanked my sword back. His face twisted in a snarl, arms coming around to try and cut at me again... and then his remaining eye rolled back,. Armor clattered as he fell, leaving me free to charge at the sole survivor's back.

Fenris killed him before I took more than one step that way, leaving me to stumble to a somewhat awkward stop.

"Were you toying with him?" I demanded.

"Of course not." He was already turning toward the door, staring at it. "This was too easy. I expected there to be far more."

I let out a tired breath, stepping around the bodies on the floor. One of which was still steaming slightly.

"Me too. I'm hoping there's not an army on the other side of that door. I'm about tapped out of magic."

He grunted, "No other mysterious extensions of your power?"

"No, thank God. Hold this."

Fenris turned, blinking as I held my sword out for him. He took it, leaving me free to start rifling through the small pouches on my belt. It took me two tries to remember where I'd put it, my lockpicking kit emerging once I found it.

"Isabella's last present." I said by way of explanation, moving up to kneel down next to the handle.

"Useful. Useless if there's a bar on the other side." He replied.

I shrugged, carefully picking out which size to try first, getting to work. "That's what your mighty muscles are for."

There was another little snort, but he didn't keep up the banter. I appreciated that because it let me focus. I'd been picking locks since I was five, and usually I could go through them rather quickly, but this one was proving more annoying than usual. Or maybe I was just distracted by the number of people I'd just burned alive. Or the fact that their eyes all glowed with that horrible crimson hue that told me just what they'd been working with.

Or maybe it was what that last bastard had said to me, before I'd torched him.

This was not what I'd been expecting out of this little expedition dammit.

Pausing my work for a few seconds, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm down when I let it out.

Later. I would deal with it later.

My fingers resumed twisting and turning, feeling the lock responding as I worked at it. "Got it. Ready?"

"Yes."

I final little twist had the door click softly. To my surprise it actually did open, there wasn't any kind of bar, or deadbolt, or anything else holding it shut on the other side.

Of course the door swung about three inches before something slammed into my barriers hard enough to shatter them, an involuntary shriek hurting my throat on its way out. Things were already going dark before Fenris slammed the door shut again, leaning hard against it to keep it that way.

"Witch! What's in there!?"

I tried to find my voice. Tried to remember when I'd fallen back onto my ass. Staring up at the ceiling, it took two rasps before I managed a stuttering word. "Lyr... lyrium..."

"Lyrium?" He repeated, "Lyrium made you howl like that?"

Swallowing, I rolled onto my side, finding myself panting for breath. Getting a hand around, I managed to push myself up to a seated position, where I found that Thedas was spinning slightly around me. Getting my other hand up, I gave myself a slight slap on the cheek which didn't help as much as I would have wished.

My fingers did come away wet though, which was alarming.

Extremely alarming when I held them up and realized that it was blood.

Fenris shifted into view, keeping one foot near the door to keep it shut, the rest of him leaning down slightly. It was hard to read his expression, but it looked alarmed. "Ah. Lyrium the color of the idol, then."

"G-Guess so." I cleared my throat, trying to banish the stutter. It helped a little, but I felt wretched. Worse than I'd felt after a particularly skilled Tevinter mage had thrown me around a cargo hold before Fiolya had caught him from behind. "How bad do I look?"

"Rattled, and your eyes and tears have blood in them." He jerked his chin back the way we'd come. "How far back do you think you'd need to go for me to check the room?"

"Dunno." I admitted. "Give me a minute."

He did, even if he watched me like a hawk through the rest of the conversation. "Did you hear it? Like you claimed to with the idol?"

I shook my head slightly. "No. Think you shut the door in time, and my barriers slowed it down. Shattered 'em good though. Like a hammer. Head hurts, but I didn't feel the magic like I did with the idol."

Being Fenris, he didn't look entirely relieved. "Will other mages react like you do?"

"Don't know. Don't think so." Concentrating let me get my legs under me, and a slow push got me upright again. I still needed to put my arms out for balance, Fenris reluctantly offering one to help. I took it, holding onto his wrist, trying to will my heartbeat to slow down.

Holy fuck. I'd really hoped that my reaction to the idol had been just that; a reaction to the Idol.

Apparently it was my reaction to red lyrium in general, which was all kinds of not good. That crap would be popping up all over the place in just a few years after all. Even if I never went anywhere near the Inquisition storyline, something I had every intention of avoiding, there was still every chance I'd run into this crap when I went to track down Solas.

Or, you know, just randomly thanks to the Venatori or Red Templars seeding it all over southern Thedas.

It took me another minute to feel secure on my feet, testing my balance. As soon as I was confident I wouldn't fall over I let go of his arm, and he retreated to keeping his back to the door to hold it closed.

"Get Varric." Fenris ordered, "There weren't any side doors, you'll be fine. I'll keep this sealed."

Completely fine with not being the leader for the moment, I took my sword back, then got started on my walk.

Honestly I felt better with each step I took away from the door, following the trail of bloodshed back the way we'd come. It was a bit longer of a walk than I'd thought in the rush of the fight, and it took me a couple of minutes to make it back to the scorched room.

I walked in to find Anders using a bit of frost-magic to douse the last of the flames, a bandanna around his nose to help deal with the smell. It probably didn't help much, but it did make his widening eyes obvious when he saw me.

"Maker's breath. Not again!"

"Not as bad." I said, holding a hand up to wave off his rush over. "You get them all out there?"

"Yes, but it wasn't all of them." He motioned with his staff at the bodies around us, "Even with this lot, there should be at least six more from how many were in the caravan, not including any who were already here. Did you kill them all?"

We hadn't. Dammit. That meant there had to be more in there with the lyrium. Either they were waiting to make a last stand, or more likely, they were currently fleeing down some other tunnel beyond it.

I shook my head, "Only five, and there had to be more than that living here full time. Only one door ahead, Fenris is keeping it closed. I'm sure you can guess I'm not going anywhere near it again."

Anders swore again, nodding. "I'll go stand guard with him. You get Varric, and we'll figure this out."

Nodding again, I set off to do exactly that.