The Road to Branka

"First day they come and catch everyone," spoke a distant voice. Lenna's ears perked; everyone seemed surprised by this.

"Second day the beat us and eat some for meat…"

Lenna started following the voice, to the disappointment of some of the group.

Alistair caught up to her, and whispered, "You don't go near spooky voice you know..usually you want away from such things.

"This is the first lead we've had in here. If it's a darkspawn trap, I'll apologize…"

"Third day, the men are all gnawed on again…fourth day, we wait and fear for our fate." The voice paused, "Fifth day, they return, and it's another girl's turn."

Lenna was puzzled by what was being said but continued down the hallway. For fForsome reason, there were few darkspawn this way.

"Sixth day, her screams we hear in our dreams… Seventh day, she grew as in hre mouth they spew."

Lenna was starting to think that maybe Alistair was right, but they pushed forward joining the dwarf as she finished her poem.

"Eighth day, we hated as she is violated…ninth day, she grins and devours her kin…Now she does feast, as she's become the beast."

Lenna looked around cautiously, but all that was around were dead bodies.

"Now you lay and wait, for their screams will haunt you in your dreams."

Lenna approached the woman.

"What's this…a human…feeding time only brings kin and clan…I am cruel to myself dreaming of strangers face, and open doors.." Hespith stated matter of factly.

Lenna examined the woman closely. This poor woman had a fever, but the corruption was different than what she had previously experienced.

"Your corruption…it looks different…" Lenna hesitated.

"Corruption? The men did that their wounds festered…and their minds left. They were like dogs, marching ahead, the first to die. Not us, not me," she hesitated, "not Laryn. We are not gut, we are fed…friend, flesh and blood and bile and all I could do was wish Laryn went first. I did that I wished that on her. I wished it upon her so that…" She paused, feeling grief for her actions, "So that I would be spared. I had to watch…I had to see the change. How do you endure that? How did Branka endure?"

"What change…what are they doing?" Lenna seemed horrified by this talk but hid it as well as she could.

"What they are…allow to do…what they think they must! And Branka…her lover and I could not turn her forgive her…but no! She cannot be forgiven." She whispered loudly, "Not for what she did. Not for what she has become!"

"What did she do? What did Branka do?"

"I-I will not speak of her! Of what she did! Of what WE have become, I will not turn! I will not become what I have seen! Not Laryn NOT Branka!"Hespith retreated further into deep roads, sneaking past the group.

Lenna was horrified of what they might encounter, but she pushed forward, following their only lead, Hespith.

As they followed Hespith, they could hear her still speak as Darkspawn attacked again.

"She became obsessed…that maybe the word but it is not strong enough. Blessed stone, there was nothing left in her but the anvil."

Nearing a double door, Hespith spoke again, "We tried to escape, buth they found us…they turned us…"

As they reached the Dead Trench, Hespith spoke again, "The men, they killed…they're merciful. But the women, they want. They want to touch, to mold, to change until you are filled with them…"

Lenna tensed as she heard this. Everyone seemed hesitant hearing what the darkspawn were doing down here; Shale seemed to be the only one who wasn't too concerned; she seemed to be imagining the darkspawn were pigeons.

The closer they got to Hespith, the more darkspawn were waiting for them. They took Laryn. Made her eat the others, our friends…she tore her husband's face and drank his blood."

Soon, they started to see odd flesh on the ground., "And while she ate, she grew...she swelled and turned gray and smelled like them. They remade her in their image. Then she made more of them…Broodmother." Hespith's voice lingered.

The group turned the corner, stepping over squishy gushy meat, past bulbous sacks, and neared the room, They saw the Broodmother, surrounded by tenticales, terrifying and…hungry.

Lenna was speechless. How many others had ended up like this? How many women in the grey wardens went to answer their calling and got a much worse fate? How many more of these creatures are suffering? She bottled those thoughts up for the moment, her friends had already charged past her, hacking and slashing at I, shooting it with all they had. While hesitant, Lenna joined the fray, though not for long. A tentacle loomed behind her, forcing her back against the wall and knocking her out cold.

No one seemed to notice this until the broodmother laid defeated, eand veryone sighed a sense of relief. Alistair was puzzled not to see Lenna. He scanned the room for her before seeing her half-lying against the wall behind her.

Whyne's eyes followed Alistair as he practically ran to Lenna's side. Seeing this herself, she followed. Everyone seemed puzzled that they hadn't noticed this.

Alistaipettedet her cheek gently, "Lenna…wake up." He demanded in a hushed whisper

Whyne joined him, kneeling on the other side of Lenn. "Whyne waved some smelling salts under Lenna's nose.

Quickly after that, Lenna came to rubbing her head, "Well that felt great…" She muttered and moved to stand up.

Alistair looked at Whyn., "Is she going to be okay?"
Whyne nods. "She'll be fine. She just shouldn't sleep for the next few hours."

Finally, Hespith spoke again, "That's where they come from. That is why they hate us…that is why they need us…and why they take us…why they feed us." She spoke grimly. "But the true abomination…is not that it occurred, but that it was allowed. Branka…my love…The stone has punished me, dream-friend. I am dying of something worse than death…betrayal…" Hespith turned and left the group to their own devices.