Chapter 3: Dangerous Trails

In the end, I made the decision to join them on the expedition. I made sure to send a letter to Hawke with my reply, and now I found myself with a light bag packed and slung over my shoulder, standing with the rest of the caravan members, ready to depart from the merchant's district in Hightown. Really, my entire tent and all my supplies fit into my tiny pack. There was no point in leaving anything behind since I didn't have much in the first place. If we were going to be gone for weeks, possibly months, I'd lose anything I left behind in Darktown. Too many sticky fingers that grabbed unattended items.

For once, I was feeling a bit self-conscious. This was a very unusual feeling for me. Most of the people here looked…well…professional. It wasn't just mercenaries for the added muscle, but there where all kinds of educated-looking folk about. I just looked like a dirt-covered ragamuffin standing around awkwardly while everybody else was making their preparations. Thankfully, Hawke and her friends were nearby and ready to go, making me a bit more comfortable. Hawke was busy giving a warm hug to a greying woman that was most likely her mother, Bethany taking her turn when the two women were done saying their goodbyes. Even a mabari, probably the family dog, was waiting for a turn. It was nice to see such a close-knit family.

I smiled at them. It was nice to know that someone as kind as Hawke had a good family that would be waiting for her safe return. Though they would worry every second she was gone, sometimes knowing that someone was out there, waiting for you, gave people the courage to do things like this. It gave them the determination to come home triumphant. I had to admit, I was a little jealous. Nobody would be waiting for me to come home from this adventure. Maybe a time ago there would have been, but not now.

My attention went towards the rest of her group, noting that Anders, Varric and Fenris were patiently waiting for Hawke's goodbyes to come to a close. The other companions that weren't coming along were standing around with the crowd to see Hawke off. They kind of…stood out from the common rabble. I recognized Isabela, but the red-headed woman in set of town guard armor and the pretty Dalish mage were totally new. I'd have to make their acquaintances at a later date, we were getting ready to leave, after all.

I didn't want to be standing around any longer with this pack of strangers surrounding m, so I scurried over towards the familiar trio instead. Varric smiled at me and gave me a clap on the shoulder, Anders nodded warmly in my direction, and Fenris just ignored my presence. Humph. I doubted the two of us were going to get along whatsoever with his cold attitude.

By the time Hawke was done saying goodbye to her family, the dwarf that was apparently leading the expedition, Bartrand, was speaking up to the small army of hirelings he had gathered for the expedition. His voice was rather loud and commanding so he could be heard over the crowd, so I couldn't help but turn to listen. It could be important information to keep in mind, after all. The more you know.

"We've chosen one of the hidden entrances. The Deep Roads there will be nice and virginal, ready for a good deflowering, hah!"

Varric gave a weird cough while I just completely blanched. What did he just say?! By the Maker, that was rather vulgar. Important information, my ass!

"…Now there's an interesting image…"

"That's putting it mildly, Varric…"

"It'll take a week for us to get to the depth that we need, and there are bound to be leftover darkspawn from the Blight. Big risks, big rewards."

This guy didn't seem to be too worried about the daunting task at hand. Thankfully, Hawke spoke up, talking actual sense.

"…We shouldn't be taking any needless risks…"

"This isn't a foolish endeavor. This will work! Now, before we depart, make your final preparations. We're leaving in five minutes."

Our little party glanced amongst ourselves, taking stock of our traveling party and our supplies. All of us seemed to be ready at least. The rest of the caravan was busy packing up and making sure they had all of their supplies loaded up and prepared for whatever we were going to be finding in the Deep Roads.

"I'm glad you decided to join us, Naela. We have a lot of hirelings around here, but your knowledge of herbs will be invaluable. I don't think Bartrand had the sense to hire one, by the looks of it…"

"My brother couldn't find one that wanted to risk their necks going into the Deep Roads. Believe me, he tried to find one in case we find some rare specimens out there. Most herbalists he tried to commission preferred to stay in the safety of their gardens. Kind of ironic really…"

"Hah. They're not real herbalists at all if they aren't willing to get their hands dirty. In any case, I'm happy to tag along. It's nice to get out of the city once in a while, despite our chosen destination. It's rather exciting! I'm ready, if all of you are."

"I've been trying to get this expedition off of the ground for weeks! Of course, I'm ready! Bianca is excited, too."

"…Bianca…?"

"…The dwarf's crossbow. He named it."

Fenris seemed kind of annoyed as he finally spoke up, a pale eyebrow raised at Varric as if questioning his sanity. That seemed like something that would happen often, because the beardless dwarf brushed it off like it was nothing. These people were so strange, but there was that sort of…kinship about them. Sure, they were an odd bunch with so many differences, but they blended well together, as strange as that sounded.

"…Well, why is she called Bianca? Surely there is a story behind that."

"Now that is one story I'll never tell."

Thankfully, Bartrand was there to save Varric from explaining why he named his crossbow that particular name. Maybe I'd ask him another time. My curiosity was killing me!

"Personal drama over with? Then, let's get underway."

Everyone in the party glanced at each other briefly before we moved to follow him, Varric pulling up alongside his brother with a confident smile.

"Been a long time coming, eh, Brother?"

"That is has. The Deep Roads await!"

With a raised fist, Bartrand led the caravan forward with so much energy, I thought the tiny man was going to explode. Hmmm. Dwarves are very strange. Really, was this a good idea? So many things could potentially go wrong…

…Just what had I gotten myself into…?

…..

As Bartrand had said, it took us a week to get into the depths of the Deep Roads like we had planned…but, sadly we were stopped short of our destination thanks to a scout discovering that a collapse had blocked any further travel through our original path down. We ended up making camp earlier than we had wanted to. While the others were off talking to Bartrand about our options, the rest of us not-so-adventurous types were setting up our camps for a brief respite. Most of us had been walking for hours and complaining about sore legs and feet.

Me, on the other hand? I was enjoying the trip, taking in the sights. I'd never been to the Deep Roads before, and I was excited to get to see what kind of architecture and treasures we'd find further in. Sure, my bare feet were looking a little worse for the wear, but I didn't mind it much. I was used to rough terrain on are feet anyway. I still refused to wear shoes, despite Anders's insistence. He'd tried to check on my feet a few times over the course of the trip, but I'd avoided it every single time.

Finally, Hawke came over towards me and I got up from my little camp, raising my eyebrow in curiosity. It looked like she had something important to say. Maybe conveying Bartrand's next orders? There was no way he was going to give up now, dwarves were too stubborn.

"We're going to go ahead into the side passages and see if we can find a way around the cave-in."

"…Didn't Bartrand's scouts say it was far too dangerous?"

"I think we can handle whatever's down there. You going to be all right here with the rest of the crew, Angel?"

"Yes, I should be fine. I'll just have to keep myself occupied somehow. Maybe I can help out around the camp, or explore within a reasonable distance to see if I can find some plants. Besides, finding deep mushrooms in caves above ground is rather tedious, I'm sure I can find a steady supply of them down here and stock up! I think the alchemists would prefer fresh ingredients over the dried stock we have right now."

"Sounds like an excellent idea. We'll be back later, all right?"

"Please be careful, Hawke! There may be few darkspawn, but darkspawn are still darkspawn."

"We'll be careful, promise, and we'll be back before you know it! Varric, Anders, Fenris? Let's go."

I sighed, watching them leave into one of the dark side passages without hesitation. Maybe I should have asked the alchemists to give them extra potions, just in case? Well, too late now, they were already gone and probably out of my reach. I sighed, shaking my head and turning my attention to the camp stretched out around me. Might as well make myself useful around here, right? I dusted myself off and waded through the camp, looking around to make sure nobody needed any assistance. So far, everyone was nestled in their camps comfortably.

Most of the folks refused to even look at me as I passed by. The few that did, well…gave me either strange or dirty looks when they thought I wasn't looking. Guess no one wanted to socialize with a 'filthy knife ear'. I quickly gave up on any prospect of giving any of these people a hand. They likely wouldn't accept it or they'd continue to ignore me. Either way, it was up to me to keep myself occupied until the rest of my companions returned.

With a sigh, I went to go retrieve my herb basket and slip away into the entrance of one of the side passages. I wasn't going to go far enough inside to attract danger, I just wanted to check for mushrooms. It was going to be a simple trip…! That, well…kind of lasted a few hours instead of a few minutes. I found several mushroom patches inside the side passages and kept stopping to harvest the best ones, but I made sure to keep my eyes open for any signs of danger and didn't go any deeper down the tunnels than was necessary.

I lost track of the time rather quickly. When I finally finished my exploration, I headed back to camp only to find that my companions came back, looking a little worn out, but triumphant. They must have found a way around, because everywhere I looked the camp was being picked up and repacked. I was already scrambling to catch up, dismantling the tent and throwing everything into my bag a bit hastily so I could rejoin Hawke and the others. It was time to get a move on, and the caravan was moving out the second everything was repacked. Bartrand and Varric were leading the way, talking excitedly while I fell into pace with Hawke, Anders and Fenris. I had to take two to three steps for every one of their steps to keep up. Curse my small body!

"Found the way through, Hawke?"

"We did! We eventually found a path that'll take us straight to where Bartrand was wanting to go. We shouldn't have to walk too much farther to get there now that the way is clear of darkspawn and spiders."

"So, the scouts were right; the passages weren't safe at all. Is everyone all right?"

"It was nothing that we couldn't handle. I've been in the Deep Roads a few times before, so at least we know what to expect down here."

"Wait, you've been down here before?"

"I used to be a Grey Warden, of course I've been in the Deep Roads. Did I neglect to mention that…?"

"You did! I've actually never met a Grey Warden before! They say that you're immune to the darkspawn taint. Is that true?"

"It is true, we're immune to it."

"You also neglected to tell her that you're possessed by a demon."

"Wait, what!?"

I turned my head to look at Fenris incredulously. That was the first thing I had heard come out of his mouth all day. Not only that, but it was a rather serious accusation. How rude! There was no way that Anders was possessed! He was far too nice to be possessed by a demon. Most of the time, demons can be a bit obvious when they possess someone. It's rather hard to miss with the odd uncharacteristic behavior they display.

"…That's not the truth, Fenris, and you know it. Stop telling her lies."

"You simply coat the truth in honey, abomination."

"Oh, would both of you stop it already?! You're acting like children. This is no time for bickering in the first place! We have a job to do. Anders, feel free to explain, now that Fenris has dropped the information rather unceremoniously on the poor girl's head."

"…Justice is not a demon. He's…"

"…A spirit of justice, right?"

"How did you know?"

"…I've…picked a few things up over the years from the Dalish I run into occasionally. Most people don't understand that there are benevolent spirits that embody the good traits of humanity, while demons embody the bad ones. Justice is one of the good ones, for obvious reasons. Nobody ever really stops to think or to study the good spirits. 'They are from the Fade, so they are obviously bad', right?"

"…Right. This spirit was trapped outside of the Fade, unable to return. He needed a host, or he was going to disappear forever."

"Oh, I get it. So rather than force himself upon someone else or letting him vanish, you volunteered to help him. That's rather noble of you. Even if it's a good spirit, it's still daunting to have someone else around you at all times, invisible but ever present. That's one of the nicest things I've ever heard a person doing for a spirit."

"See? SHE gets it. Thank you, Naela, I appreciate that."

"The world isn't as black and white as everyone likes to think it is."

I made sure to give Fenris a bit of a dirty look. I usually don't hate people, but I hate him enough that I've found myself easily dropping curse words at him and just generally unable to stand his ever-brooding presence. He's like a dark cloud looming over everyone with his negativity. He only returned my irritable look with one of his own before he turned his attention back to Bartrand and Varric, who led the way through the complicated tunnel systems. Finally, we stopped at the expansive set of ruins stretched out in front of us.

So far, the trip had been nothing but caves filled with junk, excavating equipment, or endless staircases of stone leading into nothing. Here, it was looking like actual ruins, with ancient carvings and beautiful stonework. Still, this was... different, in other ways. There were spots here and there where blue crystals gave us light, but I could see these bright red…veins…growing all over the place.

This place was…strange. It wasn't just the red lights and ruby crystals everywhere that made it so terribly ominous. Something was…wrong here. There was an odd energy in the air, one that I hadn't encountered before. Then again, I don't usually take trips into dark and foreboding places such as this. I was out of my element on this one.

"…Holy shit…"

Varric was the first to speak up, glancing around with wide eyes as they stared at the entrance to what could be the expedition's ticket to success.

"…Is this what you were expecting?"

Even Anders was surprised, and he was rather familiar with the Deep Roads. Did the Grey Wardens go down this far? Probably not, since Anders didn't know that this was here, either.

"I thought…an abandoned thaig, something old, but…what is this?"

"How did you even know it was here?"

That was a really good question from Hawke. How DID he know this was down here?

"Old scavenger tales. After the Third Blight. A week below the surface, they said, but nobody believed them…"

"Looks like they were right."

I was enjoying Varric's interest in the find, I truly was, but... those scavengers had found something...disturbing. I could feel it in the air. This place was old…very old. Still, that strange energy was giving me the chills as we stepped closer. Something was…wrong here. I wasn't quite sure how I could tell, but I had a bad feeling about this place.

"Make camp here! We need to look around!"

Bartrand's shrill voice yanked me out of my musings. Right, camp! I was already setting about joining the rest of the caravan with setting up the camp and watching as the scouts took off to go explore, including Hawke and friends. It didn't take me long to set up my own things, so I decided that I'd go tag along with them. Nobody else in the caravan wanted to talk to me, and exploring on my own in an area even more unknown than the Deep Roads was probably not a good idea. I'm confident in my abilities to keep out of trouble, don't get me wrong, but that strange energy was giving me pause. I didn't want to go wandering off on my own. Instead, I caught up with them after they finished a brief chat with Bartrand and some other dwarves.

"Tagging along, Angel?"

"I have nothing better to do but look for herbs. There could be a rare species growing down here in the darkness, after all. I'd rather not rely on Bartrand's hirelings to keep me safe, thank you very much. So far, they've been less than useless. You lot are doing all of the work, as far as I can tell."

"That seems to be the case…hold up, what's that?"

Hawke stopped as our path led us farther into the ruins, nothing but eerie red light showing us the rocky path farther down. Even worse, that strange energy I'd been feeling was getting stronger. Whatever the source is, we were getting closer. I was about ready to turn tail and head back to camp when Varric spoke up.

"Hmmm. Whatever's through there, it seems still intact. Think we'll find anything?"

"Bartrand is far more enthralled with this place than you are."

"Unlike him, I wasn't born in Orzammar. I wouldn't even be down here if there wasn't profit in it. This entire place gives me the chills. Let's hope it's worth it."

So, it's not just me, possibly…is Varric just creeped out in general by these ruins, or is he feeling the same energy I am…?

"Whatever we find, it might not be very pleasant…"

Anders was right, something unpleasant was definitely down there. I wanted to turn back, but Varric was already on the move, descending down the pathway.

"Humph. I suppose we'll need to go down there to find out."

Of course, we'd hardly taken two steps and I spotted the familiar shadowy shapes out of the corner of my eye: Shades. They were the most common and basic physical form of lesser demons. Those were accompanied by what looked like stone golems moving about. Right…the dwarves had made their first golems out of stone, so there was bound to be many of them here.

I stepped towards the back of the party immediately while everyone else drew weapons and jumped into the fray, cutting the monsters down mercilessly as we made progress down the crimson-illuminated path. I could only stay out of the way and watch quietly while they cleared the way with relative ease. They were practiced fighters and good at working as a unit, so the threat was gone within moments thanks to swords, sorcery, and arrows. At least the caravan would be able to come down safely later.

Why are Shades even HERE, of all places? Something is so very wrong; I can feel it! We need to leave; this isn't worth it…!

Thankfully, that was the only handful of trouble we ran into. The surprisingly short path led down to a door, in which all of us promptly headed through once we realized that it was unlocked. It was here that I was most tempted to turn and flee. The energy…it was here. The long corridor only led to another door; the hallway was lit on either side by lava pools lining the edges of the floor. Whatever was behind that door…it wasn't good. It was such a negative, gnawing energy…!

Our group headed in without so much as a second thought. I scurried right along behind them, only because I didn't want to be left alone. Every nerve was screaming for me to turn back, but I had to see what was causing this eerie sensation right down to my very marrow. That, and a not-so-small portion of me was telling me not to leave my new friends alone with whatever was causing this monstrous energy to radiate and rock me to my core.

Stepping into the room, I nearly vomited instantly. It was definitely coming from in here, the aura was far too potent. There was a dramatic stairway leading up to a large stone podium carved into the rock, upon which sat a glistening red object. It looked like it was made out of…lyrium? Really? Such an unusual substance to carve into art…and lyrium was typically blue in color, not red.

I just about fell too my knees as I got closer and closer to the center of the room, the party happily rushing up while I took my time. The idol, it had to be the idol in the room that was causing this sensation. It didn't appear to be bothering anyone but me. Thankfully, nobody had taken notice as of yet. Instead, I hung back close at the bottom of the stairs while everyone else headed up the steps to check out the idol. What kind of lyrium had THIS sort of effect on me…? I ended up moving to lean on one of the support pillars at the sides of the room while the others talked.

"…You seeing what I'm seeing?"

Varric was absolutely fascinated with the thing while Hawke was giving it a suspicious look.

"Is that…lyrium?"

"It's definitely magic…and not the good kind."

I had to agree with Anders. That thing was…evil, whatever it was. The longer I stayed near it, the sicker I felt. It was taking all of my effort to keep from revealing my condition to the others. They would know something was up with me if they took notice.

"Doesn't look like any lyrium I've ever seen."

I doubted anyone had seen lyrium like this, even though Varric seemed like a dwarf that knew more than he let on. What WAS this terrible substance…?

Footsteps echoed behind me and our group turned to see Bartrand entering the thaig. Everyone focused their attention on the incoming dwarf…except for Fenris. He spotted me and gave me a furrowed brow. I turned my head to watch Bartrand come in, acting like I was fine. Of all people, I didn't want HIM fussing over me. I'd never hear the end of it, and I knew that he only cared about my safety because Hawke did, not because he himself was concerned.

"Look at this, Bartrand! An idol made out of pure lyrium; I think! Could be worth a fortune!"

Bartrand emitted a low whistle as he glanced up at his brother, rather impressed at the news.

"You could be right…excellent find."

My face went pale as I watched Hawke approach the idol.

Don't touch it! For the love of the Maker, DON'T TOUCH IT! IT'S EVIL!

…She touched it without a single problem and handed it over to Varric.

"Not bad. We'll take a look around, see if there is anything further in."

Varric carefully tossed the idol towards his brother. My eyes were glued to that wicked thing as it sailed through the air. It was…whispering. I couldn't make heads or tails of what it was saying, but that was only freaking me out even more. I slid down the pillar, letting my rear end hit the floor. I'd had enough of that blasted idol. Bartrand caught it, looking over the idol carefully before moving to leave the thaig.

"…You do that."

The others preoccupied themselves with searching the rest of the room while Fenris specifically moved to approach me. Ever the observant one of the group, apparently. He seemed like that kind of person, always on the look out for trouble, glancing over his shoulder. No wonder he noticed. He gave me a scrutinizing look as I stood. I was already feeling better with the idol being taken from the room.

Before he could even open his mouth to question my odd behavior, I noticed it out of the corner of my eye at about the same time Hawke did: the door to the thaig was closing behind Bartrand!

"The door!"

She shouted out and rushed towards the door, the rest of the party in full pursuit. Even with Fenris and I being the closest ones to the door, nobody managed to reach it in time before the stone door slid shut. They tried to open it back up again, but it just wouldn't budge!

"Bartrand! It's shut behind you!"

I could hear laughter from the other side…laughter clearly coming from Bartrand.

"…You always did notice everything, Varric."

"…Are you joking?! You're going to screw over your own brother for a lousy idol?!"

Varric was pissed, understandably so. He just locked us all in!

"It's not just the idol! The location of this thaig alone is worth a fortune, and I'm not splitting that three ways! Sorry, Brother!"

"Bartrand! Baaaaartrand!"

…But it was too late. I could hear his footsteps fading down the hallway and out of earshot. He had just abandoned us all…for money! I knew I shouldn't have come on this trip, especially when greedy temptations were involved!

"…I swear I will find that son of a bitch – sorry, Mother – and I will kill him! Ugh, let's hope there's a way out of here… Angel, stay close."

"…Right…"

The initial shock of us potentially being trapped underground wore off quickly, and I was feeling better now that the idol had been removed from the room completely. Fenris still gave me an odd look, but now wasn't the time. We all had to get busy finding a way out. Thankfully, there was a door on the opposite side of the thaig. It was our only option at this point, whether it led deeper in or gave us a way out. With us being separated from the caravan, we had only the supplies we were carrying as well as our wits to get us out of this mess. Things just got a LOT more complicated.