The Deep Roads

[igetthatalot]

Varric does not like being underground.

He's said this before, plenty of times. It's a known fact. He hasn't mentioned it since five minutes after they stepped into the Deep Roads (how Blondie managed to secure those Gray Warden maps of the entrance he doesn't know, but he's grateful). It would be bad form, considering how much of this expedition was his idea in the first place.

But, Maker, it's been four days now- he thinks- and they're still picking their way downwards with no sign of treasure anywhere to distract him from the knowledge of just how much stone is positioned directly over his head. This... this is not his idea of a good thing.

They'd better find the good stuff soon. This is getting way too old for his liking.

Comments

[da2_npcs]

"Can't talk," says Merrill tersely. "Casting."

Maker's breath, that's a lot of fire.

[birdofkirkwall]

It really, really is.

Hawke spares a glance behind them, to makes sure they're not being snuck up on, before she returns her attention back to the burning spider.

She can't help but watch on in awe until.

"Merrill? Sweetheart, I think it's long dead, now."

[da2_npcs]

"You can never be too sure," says Merrill. Varric just shakes his head.

"Come on, you three. Much as I'd love to warm my hands by the light of a roasting spider, there's probably darkspawn up ahead."

[birdofkirkwall]

Hawke just shakes her head fondly at Merrill, and leads the group away.

"Off to kill more darkspawn, then. It's probably for the best, because I'm fairly certain that spider is not supposed to smell appetizing."

Of course, they do run into more darkspawn, which is sort of a given at this point given that they're on their home turf, and mid-battle, Hawke gets a strange sort of glee in punting a skinnier looking fellow off of the cliff-side.

[igetthatalot]

The caverns here aren't lit by bubbling lava, but by glowing blue veins of lyrium. Its low blue glare is as steady as sunlight as they approach a narrow passage that opens out into a far larger pillared gallery- one that happens to be strewn with darkspawn corpses that they didn't make.

Varric's eyes travel up from the dead horrors to a single standing figure.

"Well, I'll be a nug's uncle," he says. "Isn't that Bodahn's boy?"

[birdofkirkwall]

"Fairly sure it is," Hawke says, picking her way down the steps amid the darkspawn corpses. "That is, unless there's another dwa-"

She was focused on the darkspawn before, but the wall on her right ends, the area opening up to reveal a frozen ogre in mid roar.

For one, horrifying handful of moments, she's back in Ferelden, and all she can hear is Carver screaming. A very undignified yelp is all she can manage, and she skitters backwards into Isabela.

[da2_npcs]

Isabela's caught many a sailor when he was off his balance before; she catches Hawke reflexively. "Steady, now," she murmurs. "It's not going to hurt anyone."

The sound catches the pale-haired dwarf's attention. Sandal turns to the newcomers, smiles brightly, and says, "Hallo!"

[birdofkirkwall]

Hawke's hand wraps around Isabela's briefly and squeezes she sucks in a shaky breath before exhaling a steadier one.

Mentally shaking herself of the memory, Hawke releases the pirate's hand and steps forward, crouching down to Sandall's level.

"Well isn't this something. How did you manage to kill all of them?"

[igetthatalot]

For a moment, it almost seems as if he's not going to speak. Bodahn did warn them that young Sandal wasn't entirely right in the head- lyrium-addled as a child, or something.

But then he nods solemnly and holds out a round grey stone engraved with a peculiarly glimmering dwarven rune on it. "Boom," he says.

[birdofkirkwall]

Hawke nods at the explanation, taking the offered stone gently and looking down at it.

It's simple enough, it seems.

"Good job," she praises, then, looks towards the frozen ogre. "What about that?"

There's another long set of beats, where it doesn't seem like the boy it going to answer. When he does, though, it's just as enigmatic as 'boom'.

"Not enchantment."

[igetthatalot]

"Smart boy," Varric murmurs, and Sandal smiles happily. "Listen, Sandal, your father asked us to find you. Can you wait right here until we come back, so we can take you to your father?"

To Hawke and Merrill- mostly- he adds, "We can't keep him with us, and I'm not about to send him back on his own. Seems like he'll be all right here, though."

[birdofkirkwall]

Hawkwe's eyes remain fixed on the ogre for a few moments. "Sure looks that way to me," she says in response.

She straightens, looking down at Sandall.

"You'll remember that, right? S-"

The boy nods emphatically.

"Smart boy. Stay here."

[igetthatalot]

"Come on," Varric murmurs. "We still need to find a way past that collapse."

And, preferably, away from that.... frozen ogre.

[birdofkirkwall]

"Good idea," agrees Hawke.

That ogre is just too damn unsettling.

She clasps the buy warmly on the shoulder before they head off, leaving him with a bit of food and her canteen for the moment.

"Let's go kill some more darkspawn."

[igetthatalot]

A side passage perhaps half again as wide as the ogre reveals what looks like ancient, crafted stairs. They lead upward, into a high-roofed tunnel with a perfectly flat-

No, a paved floor. And here the pillars aren't stalactites and stalagmites grown together, but carven stone- dwarven work. The dim red glare of what's probably the lava-stuff again shows them at regular intervals, and some carvings of what might be old, old dwarven script.

No wonder there are darkspawn howling in the distance.

[birdofkirkwall]

Hawke whistles low at the sudden change in scenery.

"Well then, this looks pretty impressive. Think it means we're on the right track?"

[igetthatalot]

"Looks like it to me," says Varric, and glances to the right, where the bottom two-thirds of the tunnel have filled with rubble.

Naturally, the darkspawn sounds are coming from the left.

[birdofkirkwall]

Of course they are.

Hawke just groans frustratedly at the noises.

"So, I'd like to make a motion. After this is all said and done, no more darkspawn or Deep Roads ever again."

[igetthatalot]

"Seconded," chorus Varric and Isabela in near-unison. Whatever Merrill's vote on the subject is goes unheard; battle against these things is noisy and horrific, and by the end of it there's blood and body parts and worse everywhere.

[birdofkirkwall]

She's wiping the darkspawn blood off of her blade when she spots the golems against the wall, and she pauses, half expecting them to come to life and attack them.

That seems to be their luck these days, after all.

"People are going to come ask me to help save their second cousin or some such from the deep roads," she says, picking up on her previous thread of thought. "'Please, Hawke, save them!', and I'm just going to laugh. One of you hit me if I don't."

[igetthatalot]

Thankfully, the golems don't move. They're probably stronger than the shackles holding them to the wall, but so far as Varric and Hawke can tell, they're not going anywhere.

"Tell you what, Hawke," says Varric as they make their way down a half-flight of stairs into a vast room lit on one side by an enormous lyrium vein and on the other by ancient dwarven lamps of some red stuff too shielded to see clearly. "I'll make a special point of paying for the courier to go find the nearest Gray Warden instead next time, personally. We can leave the darkspawn to the professionals. How does that sound?"

This room doesn't end in a tunnel, unlike the chambers they've encountered before this. At the far end a half-flight of stairs leads up to a heavy-looking iron-bound door.

[birdofkirkwall]

"It sounds like you're the best friend a girl can ask for," Hawke says cheerfully, pausing to inspect the lyrium vein now that they don't have darkspawn to deal with. "You know just what to say to a girl."

With that, Hawke leads the way up the stairs, muscling the ancient door open and-

There's a roar, and a yep, and...

What happened earlier, with Merrill and the spider? That's now replaced with Hawke, her daggers, and an ogre.

[igetthatalot]

Well.

At least the ogre's big enough that Varric can target some of its bulk without fear of hitting Hawke, right?

... that's a lot of ogre blood flying around the room.

[birdofkirkwall]

SHINK, SHINK, THOQQ!

The ogre roars, staggering to the ground and staying down.

Hawke, meanwhile, shows no signs of stopping her assault.

[da2_npcs]

"Ah- Hawke?" says Isabela, raising her voice. "Hawke, you can stop now. it's properly dead."