The path the scouts took to get to the blockage is twisted and complicated, and in places it's lit by what looks like bubbling channels of lava. (Or something, anyway. When there's enough lyrium in the native rock, you get all kinds of interesting effects in the vicinity.) A side tunnel offers passage to a larger, more open space. It's just big enough for Varric to let out a sigh of relief before the horrible gurgling scream of something neither human nor dwarven rents the air.

"Darkspawn," says Varric, who's already got Bianca ready. "Well, it was going to happen eventually."