A loud roar echoed through the ruins as Linn led the group down the stairs. Linn hesitated at the entrance to the cavern. As she made eye contact with a concerned Wynne, Linn gripped onto her staff and reconsidered her plan. She and the others had no idea what creature this even was. Sending in Sten, Shale, and Alistair might just get them injured, and once they were down, the others would be sitting ducks.
"Oh, be careful!" Leliana whispered and pointed to a floor tile. "See how that one is raised slightly? That usually means there's a switch underneath."
"Oh and there's traps," Linn muttered with a sigh. "Absolutely fantastic… Hey, guys, new plan. I'll go in while you guys wait here."
"But the traps-" Leliana started, but Sten cut in.
"You would have us stay back like cowards?"
"No… more like a tactical ambush. You saw yourself how deadly surprise can be when dealing with darkspawn," Linn pointed out, and Sten gave her a reluctant but thoughtful nod. "As for the traps… If I stick by the wall, then I should be okay. It seems like most of the traps are at the center, right, Leliana?"
"It seems so," Leliana agreed reluctantly. "But perhaps it should be someone with armor. What happens if you are attacked and we cannot reach you in time?"
"Don't worry. I'm pretty good at running away from danger. Lots of experience… And I'll put up a barrier. That should cover me until I make it back here… Does anyone have any better ideas?"
The group looked at each other nervously, but they didn't seem to have anything other than everyone going in there at once. Linn entered the cavern and kept to the right wall as she slowly crept into the room. Avoiding the mosaic in the middle of the room, she took a moment to look around for more traps. An odd flapping sound echoed through the chamber. Linn looked up to see a large flying reptile circle the room before it let out a loud screech.
"You fire-breathing son of a bitch!" Linn muttered before throwing up a barrier and sprinting back toward the others. "Get ready everyone! It's a goddamn DRAGON!"
As Linn ran through the doorway, she could hear the creature screech as it landed behind her. Shale, Sten, and Alistair took the lead, quickly surrounding the creature at the doorway. Leliana and Zevran waited until Linn got behind them to unleash their arrows. Morrigan and Linn then hit the dragon with spells, while Wynne kept Shale, Sten, and Alistair healed and protected. The dragon let out a screech and lunged at Alistair, but Shale quickly grabbed the dragon by the throat. After a quick glance at Morrigan, Linn cast an ice spell at the creature at the same time as Morrigan.
The creature tried to break free from Shale's grasp, but the golem held it in place as Sten swung down his blade. There was a spray of blood as the creature's head separated from its body. The dragon collapsed to the ground, and Shale kicked its head into the center of the room. The head bounced and rolled into the room, setting off the traps. Morrigan let out a frustrated groan as explosions rocked the room.
"I see that the sister is correct about the traps," Shale said after the air had cleared.
"Yeah? No kidding?" Alistair retorted as he leaned back against the wall. "Do you think… Do you think that the traps reset?"
There was a long silence as the group stared into the room warily.
"With our luck… of course," Linn replied tiredly.
"I could disarm them," Leliana offered. "But… would someone mind staying with me as I do so? I would rather have someone with me… Just in case."
Linn convinced Sten, Wynne, and Morrigan to stay with Leliana as Linn continued into the ruins with Alistair, Zevran, and Shale. After looking at the dragon's corpse one last time, Linn breathed a sigh of relief that she had left Rabbit to "guard" the camp. She had no doubt that the dog would have jumped at the dragon and gotten himself hurt.
Linn turned to Alistair and asked, "Are you okay? Did it get you?"
Alistair turned away with an awkward shrug and replied, "I might have some interesting new bruises, but otherwise I'm okay. Thank you… for asking."
"I have a chip in my shoulder from that beast," Shale complained and gestured to its arm irritably. "I suppose it is better than being a creature made of flesh… What with the unsightly fluids."
Linn chuckled and replied, "Well… I guess that I'll just have to find more gems. People will be so enamored with your pretty rocks that they won't even notice your scratch."
"Hmph," Shale muttered, but it seemed satisfied with her answer. "Enamored? As they should be."
Linn led the way into the tunnel at the far side of the room. Shivers went up her spine as she noticed the glowing aura of a spirit. She came to an abrupt stop, but the spirit quickly vanished into the ruins. Suddenly, undead warriors rose from the ground to block the passageway. Linn quickly muttered a fire spell. As soon as the flames flickered out, Shale bolted at them and knocked them down. Alistair and Zevran made short work of the undead before they continued further into the ruins. There was a strange feeling in the air that Linn couldn't quite place. Even though she couldn't see the spirits, she could feel their presence, and one felt like it was close.
Linn tried to focus on finding the spirit as Alistair, Shale, and Zevran focused on fighting the undead. There was an odd sense of urgency emanating from the spirit. It was almost as though it was begging her to do… something. The passageway led to a large room with a mosaic on the floor. In the middle of the mosaic was the spirit of a young boy. The boy didn't seem to be able to hear her, only calling out in a different language. A rattling sound made Linn stop and look around. More undead rose as she walked into the mosaic.
"Goddammit," Linn muttered before once again calling forth fire to burn the undead.
After the group had defeated the shambling menace, Linn looked around the room to see that the ghostly boy had vanished without a trace.
"Spooky," Zevran whispered and looked around the room. "I wonder just how many spirits this place holds."
"At least one more," Linn replied, and Zevran shot her a worried look. "I don't see it, but… I can feel it. I think it's coming from this direction."
"Then we should stay far awa– Why are you heading in that direction?" Zevran asked with irritation and disbelief.
"It feels like… it needs help. Stay there if you're so afraid."
The small library seemed to be calling out to Linn as she descended the stairs. Books lay strewn all over the floor. As she bent down to touch one, she noticed an odd glint near the corner. An odd gem laid on the ground, and it appeared to be encasing a liquid… blood. However, as Linn leaned down to get a closer look, she couldn't find any sort of opening. Closing her eyes, she focused on the strange gem. An old magic vibrated through the gem.
"Is that blood in there?" Alistair asked, causing Linn to flinch slightly at the sudden noise. "Whose, I wonder? You'd think it would be all dried up after so long. There must be magic involved."
"It is warm," Shale muttered. "There is a soul within this stone, that much I can see."
"Well, I can feel the magic even without touching it… Do you think it's elven?" Linn asked and glanced at Zevran.
"It looks elven, all right. Considering what I know of my ancestors you could fit into a gem half that size, that's all I could really tell you," Zevran replied with a shrug as he looked at the gem with wary curiosity.
Linn picked up the gem and turned it in her hand. A strange warmth flowed from the gem through her hands, and in her mind's eye, she saw strange visions… no, memories. They were memories from someone else. The spirit inside the gem seemed to recoil from her, and she felt alarm and fear from the gem followed by memories of laying on the floor for years and years forgotten and alone.
Linn opened her mind to the gem, sharing some memories of her time in Hell. Of a big black door and the screams emanating from it. The spirit calmed at her memories, and she felt… sympathy.
"I'm sorry that I scared you… I felt you searching for help," Linn spoke in a soft, gentle tone, trying to soothe the spirit's wariness.
Linn could feel the spirit pondering her presence before it decided to share more. Visions of the spirit's time in this place flashed through her mind. It had nearly gone mad at the loneliness between bouts of slumber.
"What's your name?" Linn asked.
Sadness surged through the connection as she discovered that the spirit had forgotten its name long ago. A vague memory entered her mind of an elven mage in silver armor, but it was very brief.
"So you were once a mage?"
The spirit concentrated on the memory, and the vision became clearer. The elf had been both a mage and a warrior. The spirit tried to share the name of the order it had once belonged to in a foreign language. However, even though Linn couldn't understand the language, she was able to feel its meaning.
"An Arcane Warrior? What exactly is an Arcane Warrior?"
The spirit did its best to conjure up more images. Linn closed her eyes to get a better glimpse as she saw an order of elven mages who channel their magic into their strength. They were mages who fought with weapons. Linn couldn't help but share some of her excitement with the spirit. There was something about that… It just felt right.
The spirit offered to share what knowledge remained within it of the Arcane Warrior. To teach her how to become one and share it with others. This is all the spirit had left to offer: the last of its memories. Linn sent her confusion across their connection. She wanted to know what it wanted in return. With a heavy heart, the spirit replied that it only desired one thing: oblivion.
"How do I free you?"
The spirit shared a vision of a gem being placed on a stone gem vibrated before exploding, allowing the spirit to leave. There was a hopeless yearning radiating from the gem. Linn supposed that being trapped in a gem for centuries would drive just about anyone crazy. After opening her eyes, Linn scanned the room and found the altar just a few feet away. She held onto the gem gently as she stood back up.
"Are you certain about this? Once I put you there… There's no going back from this."
The gem buzzed with irritation and desperation. Clearly, this was what it wanted. Linn approached the altar, and she could feel the spirit gathering its energy. There was a simple question that echoed from the spirit: Are you ready to become an Arcane Warrior?
"Yes, I am ready," Linn said quickly with excitement before she calmed herself. "I mean… it would be a great honor."
Linn clutched the gem as the spirit flooded her with its memories. Hazy and incomplete… However, she was able to absorb the basic concepts. As the spirit begged her for release, Linn gently set the stone on the altar. A part of her wished that she had learned the elven phrase for goodbye, but the spirit already understood. A simple phrase popped into her mind as the spirit joyfully embraced oblivion.
"Dareth shiral," Linn muttered as the gem shattered.
"What was that about?" Alistair asked with worry as he looked at the blood on the ground.
"A spirit was bound to the gem. I released it," Linn explained as she searched the room. "Alistair, can I borrow your sword for a moment?"
"Sure," Alistair replied as he handed her the blade, but he seemed uncertain and a little worried.
Linn held the blade in her hand. There was something that just felt… right. Concentrating on her magic, Linn focused on the blade. Magic blossomed through the metal, creating a bond to her. It almost felt like the blade was now an extension of her body. The sword felt almost weightless as she swung it through the air with ease.
"How… How did you do that?" Alistair asked and looked at the blade with wide eyes.
"A gift from the spirit," Linn explained with a smile as she handed the blade back to Alistair. "Seems like I need to find myself a sword now."
"A mage wielding a blade. How unusual," Shale said thoughtfully. "But I suppose it is a great deal more useful than a mage who breaks every staff they find."
"Hey! Who told you that?" Linn demanded irritably. "And I still have one of them…"
"We should go check on the others, no?" Zevran cut in, but Linn noticed that he wouldn't meet her eyes.
After sharing a frustrated look with Alistair, she led them back through the hallways and toward the corridor to the rest of the group. Leliana had not only disarmed the traps, but she had also unlocked the nearby chests.
"That's awesome! You're awesome!" Linn complimented Leliana as Leliana giggled. "Now we just have to get this back to camp. I bet Bodahn will be more than happy to take it off of our hands for some gold… and maybe even a sword."
"Oh?" Morrigan asked with a calculating stare at Alistair. "Did someone misplace their weapon?"
"No, it's for me," Linn spoke up quickly, knowing how heated it could get between the two of them.
Morrigan paused and gave Linn a confused stare.
"The faster we get this to camp, the faster you get an explanation," Linn promised, and Morrigan grabbed a few of the items with a huff of impatience.