Maric raised his hand. “Err … this is the route we went last time. If we get off of it, I don’t know that I’ll be able to bring us back.”
Genevieve scowled, staring off in the direction of the approaching darkspawn. She appeared to be weighing the options carefully, the torchlight making her face glow. Finally she gave a sharp nod. “We don’t have any choice, for now. Kell, we’re going to rely on your direction sense to find us a way around.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Oh, Maker’s breath,” Duncan swore softly. Genevieve pointed a finger at the lad without even looking his way and he clamped his mouth shut, looking sour as he did so.
They turned down the side passage, the hunter leading them now. All their weapons were out, and so Maric decided to follow suit. He drew his longsword, its blade pale dragonbone and etched with runes that glowed a bright sapphire. It drew the immediate attention of the others and they ground to a sudden halt, staring at him in surprise.
Utha stepped forward, eyes wide, gesturing sharply.
Julien frowned nearby. “She wants to know where you got that,” he explained.
“I found it here in the Deep Roads,” he admitted, “in the hands of a long-dead dwarf. I offered to give it back to the dwarves, but King Endrin refused.”
Utha nodded, and made another hand gesture that didn’t need to be interpreted. She was impressed. The others nodded approvingly, and turned to keep moving. Duncan hesitated, however. “Does it always glow like that?” he asked.
“No. It’s reacting to the darkspawn, I think.” He held it out toward the wall, something he’d done when he first found the blade, and watched the reaction of the Grey Wardens as the corruption covering the wall recoiled away from the blade like a living thing. The stone beneath was now bared, sapphire light shining over it.
“Sounds handy,” Duncan muttered.
“I used to be lucky that way. Magical swords lying around, people racing in to rescue me at the last moment, bumping into dwarven legions in the middle of the Deep Roads, that sort of thing.”
The lad stared at him, apparently assuming he was joking. “Well, let’s hope your luck continues, then.”
“Let’s hope.”
They pressed on, almost running now. The clinking sound of their metal armor was added to the thump of their packs and the tread of their boots on the rock … and off in the distance Maric could hear a humming. It was a deep sound that reverberated throughout the passage, a dread whisper that seemed to come from all directions at once.
He remembered it only too well. Darkspawn.
Without speaking, they broke into a full run. Twice Kell urgently gestured to the rest of them to switch directions into a side passage, the last time bringing them through a hole in the wall into a natural cavern. Maric felt uneasy about leaving the Deep Roads. The floor was uneven and slick, and the cavern led downward sharply. Would they even be able to find their way back?
There was little time to think about that, however. They sped through the dark caverns, and when they eventually reached a fork in the path, Genevieve called for a halt. As they waited, panting for breath, she waved for the torches to be doused. That was a bad sign, Maric thought to himself. Duncan and Utha quickly smothered the flames, which had already burned very low.
Fiona raised her staff, and with a whisper it began to glow once again. She kept the light dim, however, so it barely shone farther than their immediate area. Moving in these caverns would be difficult this way, with all the loose stones and debris lying about. That seemed less important than the rapidly approaching drone of the humming.
It made Maric’s skin crawl. Next to him, he could see Duncan nervously fingering the hilt of one of his daggers. The lad’s dark skin glistened with sweat, and his eyes flickered back and forth in agitation as if watching for something to jump out of the shadows.
Why they had stopped running, he didn’t know. The entire group seemed frozen in place, holding their breath as they waited. The tension was almost unbearable. “What are we waiting for?” he finally demanded.
Nicolas jumped, startled, and frowned at him angrily.
Genevieve held up a hand to Maric, but didn’t look back at him. Her intense gaze was elsewhere, as was Kell’s and several of the others. They were all staring off into the darkness at something he couldn’t detect. “We are waiting to see if those ahead will pass,” she explained, her voice low.
“We are caught between two groups,” Kell whispered.
Julien fingered the hilt of his greatsword nervously. Maric could see the sweat running down his brow. “Maker, my enemies are abundant,” the man intoned, “but my faith sustains me; I shall not fear the legion.”
“There may be a way … ,” Genevieve began uncertainly, but then paused. She glanced at the hunter and he nodded. Gesturing for his hound to follow, Kell immediately spun and began sprinting back the way they had come. She ran after him. “Quickly,” she ordered.
They raced back through the caverns. Maric wanted to ask why they were heading back, but they were going too fast. He could only assume that what ever they had sensed ahead was worse than what was behind them.
“Maric, when the battle begins, stay back with the mage!” Genevieve shouted back to him as she ran. “Guard her! Duncan, stay with him!”
He barely had a moment to let the command sink in when the fight began. With a great war cry, the white-haired woman surged ahead, sword lifted high. Nicolas and Julien flanked her, the former with spiked mace and shield and the latter with two-handed blade. The three of them fell upon a line of darkspawn who appeared in the staff’s white light almost as if from nowhere.
The tall hurlocks hissed in outrage, bringing to bear their own jagged-looking and primitive weapons as they suddenly recognized their ancient foe. They were too late, however, and the heavy warriors carved a path of carnage through their ranks. The humming sound grew loud and angry all around them. Darkspawn ichor fountained from gaping wounds as steel sliced easily through corrupted flesh.
Maric backed up, his runed longsword held warily before him. Duncan stayed close by, crouched low to the ground with both his daggers out. It was a feral pose, Maric thought, one that spoke of a quick and dirty fighting style.
Fiona stepped forward beside him, the glow of her staff intensifying until it was brilliant enough to light up the entire passage. “No point in hiding it now,” she growled. She put out a hand against Maric’s chest. “Stand back.”
Holding up the staff, she spoke a few soft words under her breath. Her eyes closed and the aura of magic intensified around her. He stepped back as ordered, and as he did so a ring of power surged forth from the mage. The air wavered slightly, filling with an unnatural sheen, and as the ring rushed down the passage and passed through the darkspawn ranks they appeared to slow slightly. Their weapons moved as if the air itself had become thick and sluggish. The Grey Wardens, however, were not impaired.
Genevieve and the other warriors pressed forward, grunting with effort as they hacked with their heavy weapons. All three of them were veterans. Their blows were careful yet powerful, and they wasted no more time on a single opponent than was absolutely necessary, kicking back a mortally wounded darkspawn with a boot if need be to make room. Neither Genevieve nor Julien seemed hindered by the lack of room for their large blades. They switched effortlessly between parries and jabs, even striking with the hilt when need be. Nicolas used his shield not only to protect himself, but to block attacks aimed at the other two whenever he could. His mace struck rapidly, its blunt head crunching jaws and breaking hands so that his opponents dropped their weapons.
Each of the three stayed aware of the other two, keeping their distance even and ensuring that none of the darkspawn passed their line. Their attacks were effective. The darkspawn reeled back, the alien humming taking on an angry and growling tone now. The warriors pressed forward, black ichor staining their armor and their faces, and for a moment it looked as if the trio might actually hold the narrow cavern on their own.