Chapter 117
The Wellspring, Underneath the Deep Roads
"By the Maker… somebody please pinch me," Bethany Hawke breathed out with astonishment at the view that opened before her eyes as she and the others emerged from the cavern connecting with the Bastion of the Pure. "Ack… Merrill!" she exclaimed, rubbing her hand when the elven mage had quickly followed through on the invitation to pinch the former spymistress.
"Umm… you asked for it?" Merrill asked absentmindedly, also never taking her eyes away from the sight before them.
The first sign of something extraordinary before them came even before exiting the cavern, when they could see bright light ahead of them, rendering the Veilfire of the mages unnecessary. The light had only the faintest hint of the lyrium blue to it, but otherwise appeared like perfectly normal daylight, which should have been utterly impossible this many leagues under the crust of the earth. The next surprising sight was the green foliage flourishing at the exit of the cave, clusters of thorny bushes and mushrooms as large as Maxime's Skyhold throne along with several large ferns growing where they had no place to do so. But these wonders were all small in comparison to what opened to their eyes as they left the cave for good and stood on the plant-covered ledge overlooking the vast space before them.
The stalactites that were hanging from the roof of the cavern before them were larger than anything they'd seen before, some of them looking to be at least thirty yards wide, like respectable reversed mountain spires. Thick, bulging lyrium veins covered each stalagmite, but the blue glow from it seemed to be subdued by the unexplained natural light filling the cavern. The most shocking part of the view was to see that almost all of these huge stalactites were connected by artificially built stone walkways, large stone platforms surrounding every stalactite, appearing to have shaped it into some kind of a structure, possibly the living quarters for the Sha-Brytol or someone even more dangerous. Considering that the bottom of the cavern could not be seen, obscured by something like a thick mist below them, it was difficult to comprehend just how the construction of these structures had been possible, the very thought striking the group with a debilitating sense of absurdity. Stalagmites were rising up from the mist-hidden bottom of the cavern, as thick as their reversed cousins, but they had not been used in construction of any of the structures, instead their caps were left untouched, blossoming with bright green foliage, wildflowers, giant ferns and strange trees with awkwardly large leaves, their kind never seen on the surface.
"Did the Sha-Brytol build all this?" Maxime asked in a voice that sounded much smaller than usually. "Or was it already here before them?"
"I don't see how anyone could have built this, regular dwarves or the Sha-Brytol," Riona shook her head. "In order to build it all, they would have to do it from above, like some kind of weird spider-creatures, but… no, I just don't see how that would have been possible."
"Unless Valta's theory about the Titans is correct," Bethany mused thoughtfully. "Maybe they could be as large to reach high enough to build something like this."
"Thank you for the vote of support," Valta smiled at the youngest of the Hawke sisters. "But that still doesn't tell us why the Titans would have built something like this. They wouldn't have been able to use any of these buildings themselves."
"True that… it would be something like us designing and building an anthill for the ants," Bethany acknowledged the argument. "I guess we should go and explore?"
"We can do that," Nathaniel spoke up, having returned from a brief exploration a little ahead. "This ledge eventually leads out to one of those connecting stone walkways. It looks stable and sturdy… very dwarven."
"Let's proceed onwards then," Maxime decided, urging his group forward, some of them looking utterly mesmerized by the view before them, having entirely lost their focus on the task at hand.
"I expected many things at the end of our adventure, but nothing quite like this," Shaper Valta spoke, looking around in awe as they reached the stone-carved bridge and made their first steps onto it. "Wait!" the Shaper suddenly stopped and ran up to the stone railing, looking over it. "The rhythm we've been following… it's coming from over there!" she exclaimed, pointing at something in the distance. One of the central stalactites was covered with the thick tree-like outgrowths of massive lyrium branches, three of them stretching downwards and connecting to a massive chunk of the purest looking lyrium deposit, a gigantic shard resting carefully atop of a circular stone platform underneath the stalactite.
"What is that?" Bethany blinked at the strange lyrium formation. "It almost looks like some kind of… I don't know… it's shaped like a large body part?"
"Then you feel the same as I do," Solas spoke up suddenly behind their backs. "Ever since we entered this cavern, everything around us has felt completely different. Organic."
"Wait… you're not saying…" Bethany staggered, suddenly realizing what Solas was about to say, but feeling as if she still had to protest against the shocking truth.
"I'm saying that we can't see the Titan because we're inside it," Solas nodded with certainty.
"That's ludicrous," Maxime muttered. "Anyway, we're here to stop the earthquakes from destroying Orzammar's lyrium mines, and that's that. No more ridiculous theories, please!"
"I think we should start acknowledging that Valta's theory just might be correct, Maxime," Cassandra argued. "The evidence of something extraordinary is around us everywhere we look, be it the Titan or something else. Stubbornly refusing to accept a different explanation could lead to our downfall, and I can't abide that, Inquisitor."
"Whatever," Maxime merely waved her off, shaking his head. "Fine, you want to indulge your stupid theories, go right ahead, I can't stop you from discussing them. Just leave me out of it. I have a job to do here."
"I believe this is also why the Sha-Brytol have been attacking us… or everyone else coming down here," Valta finally dared to continue when she was certain that the Inquisitor would not start screaming at her in a fit of anger for still daring to mention the Titan. "We have invaded the place that only the 'pure' are allowed to enter… the body of a Titan."
"Are you saying that the rhythm is coming from that big lyrium shard over there, Shaper? Is that the source of the earthquakes?" Cassandra asked, pointing at the strange growth on one of the platforms, Valta nodding assuredly at that. "In that case, I suppose we must reach it and destroy it?"
"Probably," Riona mused nearby. "Hmm… it almost looks like a massive lyrium heart, doesn't it? Valta, maybe the rhythm you have been sensing is the Titan's heartbeat?"
"But then destroying it would kill the Titan!" Bethany exclaimed. "Wouldn't that be a terrible shame even if we have no other options to stop the quakes?"
"You should probably stop thinking about the Titan as something humanoid," Solas warned. "Most likely it is something completely alien and shares no characteristics with humans, elves or dwarves. There is no reason to believe that it even has a heart."
"Yes, our elven friend is assuredly correct," Valta nodded. "But we must do everything we can to stop the earthquakes, so…"
"Yes, so stop your lollygagging, people, and start paying attention!" the Inquisitor exclaimed, standing at the head of the group and pointing towards the other side of the walkway where a group of the Sha-Brytol was laying in wait. "We have company, so shape up!"
"If I don't survive, you must promise that Orzammar will know of our discoveries," Valta spoke grimly as she readied herself for the attack together with the rest of the group. Fortunately, during their previous encounters with the lyrium-imbued dwarves, none of their opponents had managed to escape the skirmish to alert their kin about these powerful invaders and their seeming immunity to their lyrium weapons. Not having received the memo, this group of the Sha-Brytol found themselves equally surprised at how the lyrium bullets were not laying the expected waste to their enemies, and soon enough they were in a desperate struggle for their lives, eventually overpowered and slain to the last, despite the Inquisition frontline being made far less effective by Cassandra and Ruth both carrying bum legs and unable to move too fast.
"At least we're already quite close to that lyrium heart, or whatever it is," Maxime remarked, wiping sweat off his brow. "Even if with our arcane barriers these buggers aren't that dangerous, fighting them is starting to become tiresome."
"Agreed," Cassandra nodded, breathing heavily. "If there's a shortcut to be found amidst this maze of walkways, I would be eternally grateful for it."
"I don't know about a shortcut, but I know where we have to go next," Nathaniel said, leading the group forward to where the walkway connected to a stone platform affixed to one of the massive stalactites, the path curving around it to a ladder leading downwards to another platform below.
"It's like there's an entire civilization of the Sha-Brytol down here," Riona mused, looking around at the stalactites and the connecting walkways stretching for as far as the eye could see. "A civilization that can't procreate, mind you… all of this is almost too strange to comprehend."
"Don't I know it," Bethany chuckled nervously, walking next to her sister before allowing Riona to take the ladder ahead of her and follow Cassandra down to the next platform. "A city within a Titan. Incredible…"
"Interesting that the quakes have not damaged it at all," Morrigan remarked thoughtfully. "I find that odd since some of these structures, while sturdy, would appear vulnerable to repeated quakes. Especially so close to the source."
"If you have noticed, we haven't experienced a single quake while inside the Titan," Solas replied, looking a little pleased at the opportunity to upstage Morrigan. "That might be the reason for the lack of structural damage." Morrigan frowned at that, obviously accepting the explanation, but unwilling to admit it.
For the next couple of hours, the group was busy traversing the delicate walkways crossing over the misty depths, trying not to get distracted by the mind-shattering sights around them as they were forced to dispatch one group of the Sha-Brytol after another, the efforts of the lyrium guardians to stop the invaders becoming more and more frenzied and desperate the closer the group approached to the source, the massive lyrium shard, now within a figurative arm's reach from the group of ten adventurers. While the attacking groups of the Sha-Brytol did not prove too difficult to dispatch, Morrigan and Merrill never having to resort to their blood magic, the frequency of the attacks proved to be quite exhausting, especially for those members of the group who were already carrying injuries.
So, when the group of ten finally arrived at the last walkway connecting with the platform that had the massive, at least ten yards tall and wide, lyrium growth resting atop of it, at Maxime's permission they were all relieved to take a moment to catch their breath, sit down and rest, some choosing to gulp down a potion to heal and rejuvenate themselves. Even if there appeared to be no more foes between them and their target, the source of the earthquakes, they were all experienced adventurers knowing not to take anything for granted, always aware to expect the unexpected, especially in a deadly place of wonders like the Wellspring. It was during this moment of rest that none other than Merrill turned to look at the stalactite behind their backs and noticed a series of familiar ancient inscriptions covering its smoothly polished surface, the elf immediately alerting Valta to her discovery.
"Let me see… it seems as if I am becoming much better at deciphering these writings, which is as it should be," the Shaper walked up to the symbol-covered stalactite, starting to examine the inscriptions, everyone gathering behind her. "This phrase means 'the path to purity'," she said, pointing at the upper part of the rows of symbols. "And there's a reference to… the Titan's blood? It says that the Sha-Brytol come here…" Valta blinked, involuntarily taking a few steps back and bumping into those standing behind her. "…to drink it…"
"But when Dagna examined the corpse, she found that the dwarf's blood had been almost completely replaced by lyrium," Bethany blinked in surprise, one shocking discovery coming right after another. "That would mean…"
"Yes…" Valta spoke in a hollow voice. "Lyrium. The Titan's blood is lyrium."
"That would explain so many things," Riona whispered. "I've heard it so many times from dwarven crafters working lyrium telling me how it feels alive to them. Even Dagna repeats it constantly! If it is a blood of a living creature, then that makes Dagna and the others right… and also has massive implications."
"Even if it is a Titan's blood, we can't stop mining and using it," Maxime retorted. "This isn't the time for sentimentality towards some mysterious entity that might or might not even exist. We need our lyrium and we're going to take it by any means necessary!"
"Would the demand for lyrium decrease if everyone on the surface or in Orzammar knew that it's actually the blood of a Titan?" Riona mused, turning to look at Valta.
"The demand on the surface would probably decrease, but only very slightly," Cassandra replied instead. "The remaining templars would still need it, but the truth might force more of them to follow Evangeline's path. The mages of Tevinter probably wouldn't care about the origins of lyrium, nor would many mages of the South. Perhaps some of the more considerate ones might begin questioning the morality of using another being's blood. As for the artisans using lyrium to produce their wares, I imagine most of them also wouldn't care because they would go out of business if they wouldn't use lyrium in their enchantments."
"The larger issue might be the reaction in Orzammar," Valta replied thoughtfully. "Especially combined with the knowledge that the Titans were the first children of the Stone. Many might decide that to mine their blood is immoral and cannot be condoned."
"We can't allow things to come to that," Maxime shook his head firmly. "We must decide carefully what to tell the Shaperate."
"I can't report falsehoods, nor can I withhold the truth from my fellow Shapers," Valta protested.
"We can discuss that after we have dealt with the source of the earthquakes," Cassandra stepped in between the two arguing parties.
"I have a theory as to why there is nothing about the Titans in the Memories," Bethany spoke up, having thought for a while. "Orzammar's entire economy is based on the lyrium trade, isn't it, Valta?" The Shaper nodded immediately at that. "So, imagine if someone found out the truth about the Titans and decided to bring it before the Shaperate to enter it into the Memories. Would they even do it considering that it might lead to protests against lyrium mining, revolts and collapse of their economy? Perhaps that is the simple explanation why any mention of the Titans has been scrapped from the Memories? Perhaps the Crown of Orzammar realized that it would be bad if the people knew that the fortunes of the rich were made by trading the blood of beings that your ancestors might have once venerated?"
"By the Stone… yes, that must be it!" Valta realized, paling from the thought. "I knew there was corruption within the Shaperate, but this… this would be a whole new level!"
"If you bring this knowledge before King Bhelen, Shaper, don't expect a pat on the back and expressions of gratitude or even promises to make you a Paragon," Morrigan joined in, giving Valta a stern warning. "In fact, if you dare to reveal any of this to your cutthroat nobility, I would very much fear for your life. As I understand, even a small act of rebellion turned you into a pariah."
"Ah… umm, that is true, yes," Valta admitted, looking rather forlorn by now, a woman whose worldview was shattering and collapsing around her, still trying to remain strong and steadfast in the face of it. "I… damn it, I don't know what to do. Stop the earthquakes, I guess? What we have learned doesn't change what we must do."
"I'm glad that you at least remembered that," Maxime snorted, urging the group to start moving again when it seemed that Valta was in no shape to try and decipher anything else from the inscriptions.
"You know what's the funny thing about all this?" Merrill spoke up with highly inappropriate cheerfulness as they were crossing the last of the walkways.
"There's a funny side to this, Merrill?" Bethany sighed at her friend.
"Well, perhaps not funny as such," Merrill conceded with a frown. "But don't you see? Doesn't this make all mages into blood mages? I mean, you use the blood of a living being to cast and strengthen your spells."
"Huh… that's true, at least technically," Bethany admitted. "I must say, I'm going to look at drinking a lyrium potion in an entirely new light from now on. Definitely cutting the use to a minimum, that's for sure."
"Even by Merrill's new definition, I am still not a blood mage," Solas remarked with a proud smile, Bethany blinking when she realized the curious detail that she hadn't previously acknowledged.
It's true… I've never seen Solas gulping down a lyrium potion! Bethany thought to herself. That is quite odd, though, because why wouldn't he do that? Unless he actually knew all along what lyrium truly was and chose not to tell us. Maybe he doesn't use it on the principle that it's alive? I've long suspected that he possesses a much more powerful magic than what he allows us to see… like that spell with which he blasted the mages in the Exalted Plains, the ones who corrupted his spirit friend. Maybe he doesn't use lyrium because he doesn't want us to know what he is truly capable of… but why would that be? He's still surrounded by such a heavy veil of mystery and I feel like I've made too little progress in lifting it… but lately the things I'm learning about him make me a little… suspicious and even fearful, despite how amiable he might appear.
As Maxime led his companions onto the large circular platform upon which the massive lyrium heart rested, Bethany was forced to cut her musings about Solas short, instead focusing on the large lyrium growth before them. Bethany was about to speak out and ask what they were supposed to do now, when suddenly the massive lyrium shard contracted, releasing a powerful bolt of blue glowing energy that traveled towards Valta and hit the Shaper squarely in the chest, picking the woman off her feet and launching her through the air. The dwarven woman whimpered slightly, curled into a fetal position and remained still.
"Fuck!" Maxime blinked, looking clueless as to what to do. "It just… it just killed Valta! Just like that!"
"Watch out, Herald!" Cassandra called out a warning, watching as the three thick lyrium branches feeding into the 'heart' suddenly splintered and showered the entire platform with lyrium shards of various shapes and sizes. Pieces of loose rock and lyrium shards began to move towards the massive central 'heart', the large growth shaping and twisting into a towering golem-like creature with stone and lyrium chunks lining up to form two powerful long arms and several tentacle-like growths at its base.
"What is this insanity?" Nathaniel cried out, pulling Riona aside, the others also scattering as one of the massive arms suddenly came down in a powerful overhead swing, impacting with the platform with a thundering blow.
"Who the fuck knows, but I guess we're killing it!" Maxime cried out, jumping to get closer to the rock and lyrium guardian's base, but looking a little uncertain at where to stab once her was in the place to attack.
The warriors in particular were having a hard time of it up close with the strange lyrium guardian, their weapons doing little damage to the fusion of lyrium and rock. Cassandra, Maxime and Ruth continued to persistently chip away at the guardian who retaliated with swings of the many rock flails stretching out from its base, forcing the warriors to either block or dodge the blows, making it hard on the two mobility-challenged Wardens. Nathaniel found his bow to be even less useful than the blades of the warriors, the Fereldan nobleman deciding to cast his grandfather's bow aside and jump into the melee while wielding a pair of enchanted daggers that at least did something in chipping away at the rock.
With the warriors of the group facing difficulties, all the pressure to defeat the fearsome lyrium guardian now fell on the shoulders of the five mages, but it was pressure they were well accustomed with. Still, fighting an unfamiliar foe presented a unique challenge on its own, simply because they could not immediately guess the vulnerabilities of their opponent. Bethany and Riona attempted to use their force magic, but it had literally no effect at all on the lyrium guardian, same as Merrill's nature magic. Elemental magic attempted by both Solas and Morrigan seemed to be doing at least some damage, though the creature appeared to be highly resistant to ice and fire, as well as lightning when Merrill attempted an energy barrage spell. As an added challenge, all their experiments had to be performed while on the run because the creature's massive arms continued to lash across the platform, threatening to strike the unwary and send them flying from the platform towards certain death. A rain of lyrium shards poured down from the ceiling of the cavern at regular intervals, striking the platform, well capable of killing anyone who was not at the time protected by the enhanced magical barrier spell.
"Have you tried blood magic?" Solas exclaimed, watching the fan of flames from the tip of Morrigan's staff singing the lyrium guardian, but failing to accomplish much.
"On a piece of rock?" Morrigan cursed in frustration. "Wake up, dreamer!"
"But lyrium is blood!" Bethany shouted at both Morrigan and Merrill. "Maybe that's the reason why it worked on the Sha-Brytol," she cried before having to quickly roll aside to avoid an overhead swing by the guardian's arm, emerging in a half-crouch, always keeping a hold of her staff with remarkable agility that she knew she wouldn't have maintained if she had always remained behind in Skyhold.
"Let me try," Morrigan frowned, appearing frustrated at not having thought of it herself. She stopped moving and withdrew a dagger to slash it across her palm, when Riona released a cry of warning behind her.
"Morrigan, watch out!" the Champion shouted, watching with horror as the creature's massive arm came down to strike the raven-haired witch, Hawke managing to cast an extra magical barrier, but it wouldn't have saved Morrigan's life if Senior Warden Ruth hadn't reached the dark witch in time, pushing her aside and then absorbing the blow with her shield. Even with the arcane barrier and Ruth's shield, the blow had a devastating effect, the Warden's shield bending like it had been made out of straw, Ruth thrown away to remain lying precariously on the edge of the platform, a broken arm and shattered shoulder only some of her injuries. Morrigan had caught some of the blow as well, lying close by the unconscious Warden with blood oozing from a wound on her temples.
"Merrill!" Riona exclaimed, turning to look to their elven friend, their sole hope in these difficult circumstances. Certainly, while Riona and Bethany had also used blood magic in the past, they had done so under extreme duress and with all other options exhausted. In this case, they both certainly preferred that someone who was well accustomed to using blood magic would take charge of the situation.
"I'm on it," Merrill shouted back, not making the same mistake that Morrigan had made to stop moving at least for a second, managing to cut her palm as she was running and dodging the rock flails striking the platform. As soon as Merrill got off her blood magic spell, the massive form of the lyrium guardian staggered, stopping its movements for a few seconds of brief paralysis.
"Didn't like that!" Riona exclaimed with glee. "Keep at it, Merrill!"
While the spell was hardly as effective as when used against any human opponent, capable of paralyzing them for minutes, even the few seconds that it bought them against the lyrium guardian, making its movements slow and jerky, attacks much easier to predict and evade, was of incredible usefulness. The more blood magic Merrill pelted the lyrium creature with, the more vulnerable it also seemed to become to other forms of damage, the blue glow of its lyrium veins starting to dim and becoming slightly reddish as if tainted by the elven blood. Maxime, Cassandra and Nathaniel found that their blades suddenly carved through the rock and lyrium fusion as if it were butter. The elemental spells of the mages now also started to have a greater impact, Solas managing to freeze some of the guardian's limbs with his ice magic, allowing the Hawke sisters to unleash their fire spells and crumble the rock flails into rubble.
"Everyone, get back!" Maxime suddenly shouted a warning when the considerably damaged core of the lyrium guardian began to glow with painfully intense light. At the Inquisitor's warning, everyone dropped down to the ground to avoid the inevitable blast of magical energy, Bethany and Riona having managed to refresh their arcane barriers, making sure that they also included and protected the unconscious Morrigan and Ruth. With a deafening explosion that threw shards of rock and lyrium everywhere with tremendous force, the lyrium guardian's core ruptured and their foe crumbled atop of the platform, the battle coming to an explosively abrupt end.
"Ugh… that was painful," the Inquisitor grunted, rising back up to his feet, hobbling as he began to move around. "How is everyone?" he asked, looking at his decimated group.
"I'll be fine," Nathaniel was also rising to his feet, holding a hand against the bruised left side of his face as he gulped down a healing potion. Next to him, Merrill was sitting on the ground and holding a bleeding hand to her midriff, having had a large chunk of stone hit her squarely in the ribs and likely fracturing something. Maxime spent only a brief moment looking at how Nathaniel sat down next to the wincing elf and helped her swallow the contents of a healing potion, the Inquisitor then turning away to look at the as always completely unscathed Solas, possessing the uncanny ability to always escape all and any danger.
The Hawke sisters also appeared to have escaped any serious injuries, together with Cassandra now attending to their most seriously injured, the Nevarran particularly concerned about the health of her fellow Warden. "How are they doing?" Maxime asked, watching Riona gently dressing Morrigan's head wound, while Bethany and Cassandra were busy removing Ruth's damaged breastplate to get better access to her wounds once the woman's overall condition had been stabilized.
"Morrigan will be fine, Herald," Riona replied after a brief while. "A concussion is all but inevitable, but at least she's starting to slowly regain consciousness."
"Ruth is not doing so well, Inquisitor," Bethany spoke grimly as she continued to work, together with Cassandra setting the Senior Warden's shattered shoulder and arm as best as they could, but it was already clear that more painful procedures awaited the unfortunate Warden at the hands of the Skyhold's surgeon. "She will live, but we'll have to carry her out of here."
"I'll do it on my own if necessary," Cassandra snapped defensively, having caught the look on Maxime's face that all but suggested that he was considering simply leaving Ruth down here to whatever fate awaited her. "I won't leave a fellow Warden behind."
"Don't worry, Cassandra, I'll help you carry her," Maxime's expression changed quickly as he spoke up in an unexpectedly kind voice. "As long as we can get her safely to Heidrun Thaig and the other Wardens stationed there, she should be fine. And I'm sure that she doesn't weigh all that much without her armor."
"We'll get her out alive," Cassandra promised solemnly, then casting a brief glance at the Herald. "What about Valta? Is she truly gone?"
"She has to be dead. That crazy lyrium thing blasted her to kingdom come," Maxime shrugged, turning towards where the dwarven woman lay, but then noticing that she was no longer in the fetal position in which she had collapsed, now lying flat on her back. "Or perhaps I'm wrong after all…" he mused, starting to approach Valta's prone body, then with surprise noticing that the dwarven woman was starting to move, slowly trying to get up to her feet, but looking dazed and completely oblivious as to where she was. "Are you hurt, Valta?" Maxime asked her, unprepared for the answer he was about to receive.
"Too loud!" Valta suddenly screamed, clutching her head and appearing to be in sheer agony. "The song… too loud! Stop it!" She stretched her arms out in front of her, palms glowing blue, and much to everyone's astonishment, a blast of magical energy jumped from her fingertips and struck the Herald in the chest, lifting him up in the air and sending him flying, nearly throwing him off the platform.
"What was that?" Cassandra shouted, rising to her feet, looking from Valta to Maxime and back, unsure what to do. "What is going on?" she demanded, staring firmly at the Shaper.
Valta still appeared utterly confused and oblivious, but as the blue glow of magic started to fade from her extended fingertips, she blinked and looked down at her hands, lowering them to the sides and then shaking her head as if to clear it. "It's alright," she managed, taking a long, deep breath. "I'm fine… it's alright," the dwarven woman repeated, not that anyone felt reassured by her statement.
"What happened to you?" Cassandra continued her interrogation, approaching the Shaper, the Inquisitor slowly getting back up to his feet and then also hobbling towards Valta, looking poised to go for his swords if necessary. "We saw that guardian striking you with… I don't know, raw lyrium?"
"Yes," Valta nodded slowly. "I should be dying from lyrium poisoning, but… actually, I feel fine. Good, even," she added, offering them a smile which appeared perfectly genuine, the others also starting to gather around her, Riona guiding the groggily walking Morrigan, leaning on her for support, only Senior Warden Ruth left behind to rest in blissful unconsciousness.
"You mentioned a song that was too loud," Riona pointed out. "It looked like it was hurting you."
"It felt chaotic at first," Valta tried to explain. "It was the rhythm I followed here, only magnified and overwhelming. But it is gone now."
"Does that mean the earthquakes will stop?" Cassandra asked.
"The Stone is silent. The rhythm has faded, and so have the tremors," Valta replied. "Yes, we have stopped the earthquakes. The Breach is what disturbed the Titan, not the lyrium mining. It is calm now that it has a connection with one of its children… with me."
"I'm worried about this connection," Maxime growled, giving Valta less than a friendly stare. "Did the Titan make you attack me?"
"No, Inquisitor! That was an accident… I would never do anything to harm you!" Valta exclaimed, appearing deeply regretful.
"Even if I believed that, I'm concerned about you casting spells, Valta," Maxime did not relent. "That should not be possible for a dwarf."
"It wasn't really a spell, Inquisitor," Valta tried to explain. "It was… merely an accident. Everything will be fine. I don't think I could repeat what I did."
"So what was the thing we fought, Valta?" Maxime continued his inquest. "You're probably going to tell us that it wasn't the Titan itself."
"Yes, it was merely a guardian. One of many, made restless by the Breach," Valta explained.
"Can we go back to where you said that the Titan has a connection with you?" Riona asked, Maxime glowering at her for interfering, but choosing not to say anything. "What does that mean? Is it the song you mentioned?"
"Yes, I believe so," Valta nodded. "The song still echoes… but it is different now. There is no urgency, no panic in it… instead, it tells me things."
"I don't like the way this connection has changed you, Valta," Maxime frowned at the dwarven woman. "We will have to be very cautious around you."
"No… you won't have to be cautious with me," Valta replied, shaking her head with a faraway smile before looking around at the vast cavern, the insides of the Titan. "Yes, I am different, but I am still a Shaper, looking to discover the truth… and there is so much to learn here," she said, sounding enraptured. "For example, isana, our word for lyrium… we are taught that it is a gift from the Stone, but there's so much more to it than we ever imagined. I was sent to the Deep Roads to recover lost history. Now I realize that this is only the beginning of my journey, so… I am staying here. I am called to the search, Inquisitor and this is where I belong."
"This is crazy," Maxime said, shaking his head. "Are we to simply allow you to stay here and commune with this creature? How could that possibly not lead to some kind of a disaster many years down the road?"
"What is the alternative, Herald?" Bethany asked. "Isn't Valta free to decide what she wants to do? Or are you going to drag her back to Orzammar with force?"
"I would advise against that," Valta said with a polite smile. "The Titan will react unfavorably to any harm caused to me, or to any attempt to remove me from its presence now that we have forged our bond. It would take the Titan a mere flash of its thought to collapse the platform we are all standing upon, sending us to our deaths. So please, try not to provoke the Titan with any threats. I say so only for your own safety."
"Point taken," Maxime frowned. "I still think you're making a serious mistake, Valta. You act like you understand what's happening to you, but it's very possible that you're wrong. This lyrium blast… the Titan might be turning you into a Sha-Brytol, or something worse!"
"The Sha-Brytol were turned into the monsters that they are because the Titan lacked other means to protect itself," Valta replied. "But now that I am here and the Titan has a connection with someone who is truly pure… the Sha-Brytol will no longer be necessary. I am meant to become something far more than they could ever be."
"That's even more ominous," Maxime shook his head. "Still, I don't want the Titan to bury us all at the bottom of the cavern, so… I guess we don't really have much of a choice other than leaving you here, Valta."
"Thank you, Inquisitor," the dwarven woman smiled politely.
"Still, the Shaperate in Orzammar will want to know what has happened to you," Maxime said. "What should I tell them?"
"Just tell them the truth… you don't know," Valta replied enigmatically, continuing to stand at the edge of the platform and watching the group of Inquisition agents slowly preparing to leave.
"Right… well, I guess we have accomplished what we came here to do, which was to stop the quakes. Whatever I might think about leaving Shaper Valta with this Titan, I suppose there's nothing I can do to influence her decision," Maxime shrugged. "So let's grab Warden Ruth and get out of here."
"Already done," Nathaniel replied at the back of the group, carrying the female Warden in his arms, the brunette looking much smaller and far more vulnerable out of her Grey Warden armor.
"Alright, in that case… a long return journey awaits us, so let's get going," Maxime ordered, the group starting to limp their way back to the exit from the Wellspring, Morrigan still leaning heavily against Riona, Nathaniel bringing up the rear with the precious and unconscious cargo in his arms as they embarked on the final part of their incredible journey under the Deep Roads.
