Without pause, Evelyn fade-stepped to the back of the battering ram. It took a moment for the men to recognize her as she began to gather her mana, having surprised them with her shining golden armor when she materialized. Even across the open sandy dunes of the battlefield she could hear the Commander roaring at her, for he hated when she threw a wrench in his well laid plans. She addressed them confidently, "All together Inquisition!" Her soldiers looked at her with reverence as she gazed up and down the two rows. "On three!" She began casting her spell, as they began rocking the ram, "One, two, three!" She summoned as much strength as she could muster, casting a force-push spell at the swinging arm. Smashing into the doors of the fortress, splinters flew about, but it held. She tried twice more before her frustration bubbled to the surface. The men panted and she could see their tiredness weighing heavy in their countenance.
With a roar driven by instinct, the mark flickered to life as she raised it above her. The green light engulfed her body as fiery emerald wings splayed outwards. Her men stepped back unsure of what was happening as they too were encased in the glowing barrier. As her fist plummeted to the ground, it shot the ram's arm out of the sling into the doors with such force, that it punched a hole through the gate. The massive piece of machinery shook Adamant to its foundation, as its defenders swayed unsteadily. The metal and wood of the doors groaned as it fell from its hinges making the earthquake on impact.
A loud round of cheers echoed through the desert as Adamant's defenses were finally breached. As the Inquisition's soldiers celebrated, Evelyn was left gritting her teeth through the pain in her hand and arm from the anchor. It had never done that before, and the power it had produced she could feel was greater than that of sealing rifts. With no time to contemplate her new ability or its consequences, the penthouse of the battering ram began to collapse, "Go! You're shielded, back to the line!" The men scrambled from beneath the shelter of the penthouse to the opening of the main Inquisition line made to protect their retreat. As they escaped to safety, their comrades cheered their success, patting the men on the backs as they made their way back to camp. Evelyn, trying to hide her pain for the sake of morale, fade-stepped back to the line just behind the last of the brave sappers. An even louder cry for the Herald echoed back to them off the very walls they had just breached.
Holding her cries of pain in until she reached her companions, they immediately saw the look on her face as they grabbed a hold of her. "Don't let them see me," she groaned out as all seven of them huddled about her. The soldiers didn't need to see her writhing in pain after the anchor's unexpected outburst. Blackwall was holding her steady, as was the Seeker, while Dorian looked at the marked hand worriedly. Unlacing her glove and vambrace, they looked at the long pulsating vein that had snaked partway down her forearm.
At the Altus' touch, she whimpered and tried to pull away as the mark over sensitized her skin. He turned to the Commander speaking to him more than his patient, "We should have Solas look at this. It’s grown substantially."
"There's no time," she gritted out, yanking herself away from her friends' grasps, to rearm, "I'm fine, it just… burns." Looking to Cullen, who was giving her the stare of a sad Mabari, she tried to focus back on the task at hand, "We'll lose the advantage if we don't charge now!" Recently, she had given him many reasons to doubt her word, but they couldn't afford to let it dissuade them from the course now.
Taking a deep breath as his gaze shifted from her to the fortress, his expression hardened calling to his nearby officer, "Lieutenant Foster, you and your men will follow the Inquisitor in through the gate and secure it. I'll send reinforcements in after you." The man saluted and set to work preparing his men. "Knight-Captain Henley," the glimmering silverite armor of the seasoned Templar pushed through to them, "begin your assault on the walls."
Another familiar face was in tow behind her long-time friend, not stopping before crashing into her, "Good luck little sis-- ow!" Owayne pulled back, "Forgot how bloody sharp that armor was."
"Be safe, both of you," she looked around her brother to Henley placing a hand on their shoulders. Having given their well wishes to each other earlier, no more words were needed as they returned to their unit.
The Commander looked back to her and her team, his lion helm baring its teeth at them, "Let's go, the Lieutenant will follow close behind us."
"You're coming?" Evelyn questioned as her mark stung her again, making her suck in a sharp breath.
Pointing to her team, he leaned close replying, "They will go in first, you and I will trail in back in case the mark flares up again and we need to pull out. At least if you're coming back with me the men will reason it has to do with the battle stratagem and not an injury. If you feel you can go on, then return to the Command Post." She nodded in agreement at the compromise. The Wardens were still to be the first in, even if she had to bring up the rear, though the company was now more enticing. The last time she and Cullen were in battle together was back at Haven. With their duties separating them, as he was needed at Skyhold now more and more, she had missed being in the field with him, even if the situation was particularly dangerous.
Having made their way in through the gates with little resistance due to the Wardens pulling back to a more defensible position, Cullen addressed her companions as she stood at his side, "Your sole mission is to get the Inquisitor to the rift and seal it. From there," he now turned to her, "send a report back immediately, detailing your needs. Maker willing, I'll have the battle won by then." There was a glimmer in his eyes of both resolve and excitement.
"Understood, Commander," her affirmation was accompanied by nods from the others, including a gruff one from Hawke.
As the others drifted ahead, she lingered back a moment to hear a quiet warning from Cullen, "Take care, Inquisitor, especially with our ally."
"I can handle myself, you know I can."
"And you are sure you're alright?" He looked at her hand, "I'm serious, promise me you are. If things go wrong and I can’t get you out…"
"I'm sure, I promise."
He sighed searching her eyes for something more to say, when they saw Henley's men had started their assault of the ramparts. As they watched for a moment, it was clear they needed help, "There's too much resistance on the walls for our men to gain a foothold."
"We'll get up there as soon as we can. Keep the pressure on them, Commander," they both spun to leave, but she stopped and turned to see that he had surprisingly done the same. Jogging back over to her, without another word, he pressed something warm and smooth in her hand. Opening it, she gazed upon his lucky coin.
Shocked, she looked back up to him through the lion's maw, her jaw slightly slack as he revealed yet another surprise. A hand pulled up his gambeson and held out his vambrace to show her hidden token wrapped about the armor at his elbow. The sounds of battle muted as she stared at him unable to breathe as chills of excitement came in waves. She resisted the urge to jump into his arms, overjoyed by the small, yet tremendous statement. The coin had been his only tether to his life before the Order - before lyrium. Given to him as a charm for luck, it became something more with time. During his vigil, it was a promise to protect those he loved; During the fall of Kinloch Tower, it was a lifeline of perseverance; In Kirkwall, it was a reminder of who he was; And now, it was as close to divine protection as he could give her.
She blinked unable to accurately verbalize the maelstrom of emotions tearing through her soul, replying simply, "I'll keep it safe." Her hand fished its way into her armor, placing it in the safest location she could think of - her breast band.
By the betrayal of emotion from the warrior's eyes, he was feeling the same burning feelings having to force himself to leave her for the Command Post. There was regret etched in his face as he looked back over his shoulder, "Maker watch over you." He didn’t need to say much, because for once it seemed they were on the same page, making it that much harder for them to part at the startling breakthrough. It was only the desperate calls from her companions behind her that tore her away, looking back several times at Cullen until he disappeared.
Sprinting ahead through with the aid of her barrier, the battle was raging on uncaring of her personal developments. Stone fragments fell from everywhere as the trebuchets hounded the sides of the ancient fortress. The earth-shattering quakes threatened to knock them from their feet as if they were battling at sea. Smoke billowed into the night sky as the oil from the Antivan Fire missiles burned, reducing visibility for the Wardens protecting the ramparts. The gurgle and growls of the demon army echoed off the walls, making her shiver knowing that soon she'd be drowning in their vile ichor.
Making their way through the fortress, by the grace of Andraste, the uncorrupted Wardens surrendered willingly. Falling back to the protection of the Inquisition's forces by the main gate, their warriors at least stopped and listened to what Stroud and Blackwall had to say, having had doubt already plaguing their minds about their orders. Due to this, they encountered less resistance until they began to ascend to the ramparts. Having been detoured by collapsed portions of the walls, both fortunately and unfortunately, they found themselves surrounded by demons with the struggling Inquisition force barely keeping a foothold by the ladders. The large metal claw grips clanged against the walls, looking as if a giant spider was climbing the crenellation. Her soldiers tempted fate as they leapt onto the ramparts to be met with demons and Wardens alike. Some landed only to be catapulted off a moment later, or swiftly dispatched and thrown lifeless off the side to make way for the fighting.
"Push right! Hawke and Stroud watch our backs, Varric swivel and give callouts, and everyone else focuses attention on clearing the ramparts ahead!" The Inquisitor's voice was sure and strong. The mages' power surged forth at the ready. A wall of demons blocked their immediate path, "Cassandra, any time you'd like to…"
The Seeker was already readying the Wrath of Heaven as she stood in front of the group. Pure white lightning crackled about her and through the air as she gathered all her might to vanquish the vast horde of demons before them. Needing another moment before unleashing her holy light upon them, several ghastly shades reached for her. Dorian was in charge of defense, throwing a barrier up, as Evelyn and Varric picked the enemy off before they got close. Blackwall stood as close as he dared to Cassandra as a last line of defense, but thankfully they didn't have a chance to attack before the cleansing light engulfed the demons, disintegrating at least a dozen or more of them.
Covering the Seeker as she recovered, Evelyn switched places with her stepping up alongside Blackwall. Brandishing her spirit blade as the Wardens charged, their hope of sparing the wall defenders was gone as they clashed with them. Once recovered, Cassandra stepped forth once more to meet the enemy, allowing the Inquisitor to step back and rain fire down upon the ramparts. Varric skillfully sniped any mages he could see before they began using more blood magic. As their pace forward increased, she became aware that it was because their rear guard was struggling due to the volume of demons, pushing the faster and faster.
"We're almost to the ladders keep going, quickly! Varric, Dorian, help Hawke and Stroud!" The Inquisitor ordered as their field of battle narrowed on the walls.
Varric didn't have a good vantage point and was now firing Bianca each time Hawke turned his body. "Varric," Hawke grumbled back at him worriedly, "just don't shoot off anything I may need later!"
Calm and cool as ever, the dwarf replied, "Since when have I ever? I've grazed you here and there, sure, but you try and aim around your ass."
Dorian couldn't help but chime in after clapping a few foes with lightning, "I think, Hawke, he just called your ass fat."
Having reached the ladders, Blackwall began pulling the soldiers over the crenellation so they'd know the group were friendly. In an attempt to let Cullen know they had made it to the ramparts, she held the anchor up as high as she could. Touching its power, the magic flared like a beacon in the night. She watched for a moment before a small column of lightning lit up the sky by the Command Post. Sorin is with him, good, she thought with relief.
When she sensed the presence of lyrium close by, she looked down over the wall to see none other than Henley's surprised bearded face looking up at her. "Beat you," she smiled down at him giving him a hand up.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Upon setting his feet on the ground and seeing his men had enough room to form up, he turned back to her, "What's the situation up here?" His deep brassy voice in the midst of battle brought back memories of Ostwick.
As she was about to answer, Evelyn caught a smirk from the Champion as he yanked his staff blade out of a demon, "There's nothing wrong with my arse, is there Inquisitor?"
She and Henley shared a look. After years of Templars saying similar things to her, she had learned to ignore it, however, if Henley caught it, he usually didn't let the Knight off that easy. He yelled over the battle, "Hey Champion, you may call the Free Marches home but you're still a flat-arsed Ferelden!" That elicited several laughs and grins. Sharing another knowing glance, the Knight-Captain winked at her and they stepped to the side.
"We've encountered a good number of Wardens on our way up here who surrendered, but the ones on the ramparts never gave us a chance to appeal to them," peering down she realized she was standing on the hand of one of their dead archers. Evelyn quickly repositioned her foot, "We're going to make a push to the rift, but I fear we may need a distraction." A wayward fireball from a Rage demon whizzed towards them, but the Templar deflected it with his shield easily. "I’ve never seen so many demons." Suddenly, the stone beneath their feet began to rumble and shake. They turned to look in time to see the Eastern Wall collapsing in a huge plume of dust in the distance.
Henley pointed, "There's your distraction, Inquisitor. If anyone could get the attention of a whole fort, it's The Iron Bull." A loud war horn echoed across the battlements signaling that The Chargers had begun their assault. The two Marchers exchanged smirks as they both returned to their people.
Evelyn returned in time to hear the Seeker trying to regroup and refocus the team, "A little more concentration on battle would be appreciated! We need to push forward again to make more room for our forces!" With that, she shoved Hawke back behind her, coordinating with the three warriors to create a shield wall to advance back the way they came. "Hold… push!" She commanded as they let the enemy clash against their shields before hitting them back to gain ground while the others thinned the horde. They continued this cadence back to the stairs in which they came from.
Making their way through the collapsing fortress toward the rift, they continued to clash with demons and wayward Wardens, occasionally coming across groups of non-corrupted ones who surrendered thanks to the combined efforts of Stroud, Blackwall, and the Inquisitor. It was becoming a less frequent occurrence however, are they neared the epicenter of the enemy force. When they at last reached the inner courtyard where the large rift was located, they came to a halt at the sight of Warden-Commander Clarel and Erimond addressing the soldiers before them. They seemed to be in the midst of some disagreement as Erimond tried to hurry the blood ritual along.
Having caught her breath, Evelyn wheezed a bit in the dry air, but willed strength into her voice interrupting them, "I am Inquisitor Trevelyan, and I say to you Wardens, that you have been deceived by Lord Erimond! He is not your salvation but your undoing, for he serves Corypheus!" Evelyn tried to keep it brief, for every moment the battle continued, the more the lives of her soldiers hung in the balance.
Clarel's eyes widened, "Corypheus? But he's dead."
"Not dead, actually," Hawke stepped forth and there were whispers about the courtyard as they instantly recognized his iconic look from Varric's works, "your brethren had kept him alive and imprisoned up in the Vimmark Mountains, thinking him a key to controlling darkspawn. Sadly, the only thing he's been controlling are Grey Wardens."
"We make the sacrifices no one else will. Our warriors die proudly for a world that will never thank them," Clarel reasoned trying to justify her decision.
"And then your Tevinter ally binds them to Corypheus!" Stroud could stay quiet no longer, the simmering anger at her actions breaking through his usually stoic demeanor. The Warden-Commander's expression drew down, and both Evelyn and Erimond saw the seeds of doubt beginning to take root.
"They will say anything to shake your confidence, Clarel." The Venatori snake spoke into her ear, throwing a devilish glare over to the Inquisitor's party. “This demon army will descend into the depths of the Deep Roads to kill every darkspawn and Archdemon ending Blights forever. Clearly, it is they who serve the enemy if they wish to stop you.”
Warring with herself after a long pause, she spoke definitively, "Bring it through." Erimond sneered with satisfaction as the Warden mages slit the throats of their willing sacrifices. The blood of the fallen twisted about the green tethers of light connecting the mages to the rift. Slowly, the tear in the Veil began to grow as the blood was consumed.
Hawke sighed angrily, his natural vibrato carrying about the courtyard, "Please, I've seen more than my share of blood magic, it is never worth the cost!"
"I've trained half of you myself, do not make me kill you!" Stroud pleaded and threatened at the same time.
A monstrous roar echoed from out of the rift. Swallowing hard, she and her companions looked among themselves wondering just what kind of demon they were summoning. With reassurance, Erimond coached the Wardens through the rest of the ritual, "Be ready with the next part of the ritual, Clarel. This demon is truly worthy of your strength!"
"Listen to me, I have no quarrel with the Wardens, I have spared those I could. I don't want to kill you, but you're being used by that man," she pointed to the Elder One's lackey, leveling her raptor glare at him. Clenching her unmarked hand into a fist, she felt a surge of power stemming from her anger. The molten core of the earth was bubbling beneath the surface wanting release. Flexing the hand each finger reached out for the lava, like a child stretching up for the hand of their mother. The warning magic dancing in her eyes unnerved the coward who, like his master, was having others do his dirty work. As she continued to put the fear of the Maker in her enemy, Blackwall had successfully coaxed several Wardens into surrendering. With their attempt at persuasion ending partway in failure, as the Warden mages were lost, Evelyn was ready to serve Erimond his retribution for all the wasted lives he took in the name of Corypheus.
"My master thought you'd meddle in his plans, Inquisitor, so he sent me this," Erimond banged his staff on the ground a few times, and from in the distance came a familiar roar.
A black shadow darker than the night sky blocked out the light of the moons. Circling about the main courtyard a few times like a vulture having spotted carrion, the dragon landed atop the eagle statue. Its claws scared the symbol of the Wardens as it perched itself so the whole of the battlefield could see it. Spreading its botched set of wings, it roared down at the marked Herald, its red eyes set intently on her. With a deep inhale, the monster cocked its head before unleashing a torrent of thick sooty breath at them. Reacting instinctually, Evelyn raised the mark above her head as she had before, slamming her marked hand on the ground to shield all those around her in an emerald glow. Ignoring the dark energy emanating from its breath, the smoke gave her suitable cover to hide the way her new ability made her writhe in pain. Knowing it wasn't the smartest thing to do, it was also the only thing that could save them since there was no way any barrier the mages would cast could protect them from the dragon's most lethal weapon.
With no one the wiser to her brief lapse of composure as the smoke dissipated, the Inquisitor stood in front of them as strong as ever. "Clarel, if his control of that," pointing to the dragon, "doesn't convince you of Erimond's treachery, conspiring with darkspawn himself, I don't know what will. His master is Corypheus! This demon will not be used to kill darkspawn, but rather bring Orlais and all of the south to its knees!"
Stepping forward, seemingly taking in the consequences of her actions with horror, Clarel shot a bolt of lightning at Erimond, knocking him off his feet. The coward he was immediately ran off, leaving the Warden-Commander and Inquisitor at the mercy of the blighted dragon. Covering the Tevinter mage's escape, the situation worsened as the maleificar, having drained themselves of blood to widen the rift, succumbed to the ritual themselves. Peering into the fractal portal, she could still see a large distorted shape still pacing beyond it, but now it was joined by others. The sight made her blood run cold knowing countless demons were trying to break through the thinning Veil. As the last mage fell, the horde of demons broke free.
Led by two Pride demons, the courtyard erupted into a frenzied battle of slashing blades and claws. The mages did all they could to protect the group, but the sheer volume with the addition of the dragon was too much. Knowing she once again needed to use the mark's power to protect them, she steeled her resolve to see her through one more time. As she cried out once more, her companions, knew what was coming and held their positions. At the same time, a fissure split open the stone and a wave of lava crashed up and out of it. The orange of her Phoenix wings blazed about in a brillant display fighting off the veilfire for superiority over the mage. Distracted momentarily by her mutation, despite the growth of the anchor, the return of her fiery wings brought her some comfort that her mana was still in control.
As the lesser demons shrieked when the hot slag hit them, the dragon seemed intrigued, halting its attack to watch. When the mark's barrier degraded, Evelyn concentrated on forming a ball of lava to throw at the boney creature. The amount of effort she put into the spell was immense, but it distracted her from the prickling sting of having used the anchor a third time. Her face was set in fierce determination as the molten sphere spun collecting more and more liquid fire from the earth. When it at last became too much for her to handle, she threw her arms out in the direction of the winged beast. The missile picked up speed the further it flew, and in the end, the dragon was too slow in retreating away. Corypheus' pet screeched and wailed as the lava coated its dark scales on one side of its body. Dragons by nature had a resistance to elements but were usually weak to at least one. This creature however was a darkspawn, or so they thought, and its magical weakness was unknown. Even with as devastating as an attack it was from the Phoenix, it took flight and fled that battle.
With some uncorrupted Wardens still alive, Clarel called out, "Help the Inquisitor!" Then raced after Erimond. Having dealt a serious blow to the demon numbers on the Inquisitor’s opening attack, the odds had been evened with the added aid of the Wardens.
"Stroud, take command of the Grey Wardens," Evelyn ordered, and with renewed faith, he quickly got them into formation.
"What are your orders, Inquisitor?" He called back to her once they were organized.
Quickly surveying the scene, she commanded, "You take the lesser demons, and we'll take down the Prides!" Nodding, the Wardens charged into the shades, while they caught the attention of the two hulking demons, drawing them away from the others. With a menacing, yet cocky laugh, the Prides worked to stun and knock them down between their electric whips and lightning bombs. "Dorian, you're on defense," the Inquisitor ordered while dodge-rolling out of the way of one of their tethers. As she went to stand, a crossbow bolt flew by about a foot from her face. "Varric," she growled, and he just gave a wink, "get your arse up there!" She pointed up to a landing at a nearby staircase that would give him a better vantage point and lessen the chance of one of them jumping in front of his arrows.
Cassandra and Blackwall each engaged one of the demons, trying to draw their attacks away from the mages. The heavy hits from the Pride demons staggered the warriors, who grunted and winced as the blocked. Hawke set to weakening the enemy's defenses with immolation spells while Evelyn flanked them, slashing about with her spirit blade. Having used a large portion of her mana wielding magma against the dragon and not wanting to hit her allies with splashes of it as the courtyard was cramped with bodies and demons, she resorted to more localized attacks.
The battle was hard fought, as Dorian was struggling to deflect the attacks, but thankfully the Pride demon Cassandra was working on was weakening fast from her Seeker abilities. Targeting it, the group almost had it defeated when its counterpart struck Dorian down with a large swipe of its fist. With their protection gone and Cassandra readying to smite the crippled Pride, Hawke and Blackwall engaged it in melee giving the Seeker the time she needed to charge her attack. Meanwhile, the Inquisitor ran to Dorian, who was severely injured having been clawed and hit into the stone landing beneath where Varric stood. Five large lacerations were scored on his back and side.
"Got you covered, Blaze!" In rapid succession, the dwarf rogue fired off a volley of explosive arrows from his high vantage point, pushing the demon back as she got Dorian on his feet.
Smelling blood, the shades began diverting away from the Wardens towards the two Inquisition mages. Watching Evelyn ready her mark to save them, he stopped her, gritting out, "No, wait!" A purple mist flowed out from Dorian's hand, swirling around the courtyard. The ethereal fog crept into the eyes and mouths of the dead Wardens, breathing new life into their corpses. She had seen him use necromancy before but the scale on which he cast the spell had to have left his mana dry. Slowly, the spirits of the dead were called from the Void to assist their brethren one last time as Evelyn got the Tevinter mage to safety with Varric.
By the time the Inquisitor fade-stepped back into the fray, Cassandra had dispatched the one Pride demon and the resurrected Wardens were returning to the Maker's side having dealt the enemy serious casualties. With the battle under control, Stroud rallied his people in one last assault to finish off the lesser demons as they fought the remaining Pride monstrosity. But having relied on the Seeker's abilities heavily up to this point, Cassandra's strength was starting to wane. With Dorian on the mend taking lyrium and healing his severe wounds, Evelyn sent the Nevarran to join him to recover, leaving herself, Varric, Blackwall, and Hawke to finish the fight.
Fire ripped around its purple-armored form as she and the Champion weakened it, allowing Blackwall and Varric to land a number of critical hits. Their footing was slick as blood and black demon ichor coated the sandstone beneath their feet. Coordinating spells with Hawke, he took over the major casting while she once again brandished her dragon bone spirit blade. The glowing gold sword cut between its weakened plates, spurting back disgusting demon blood on her already soiled armor. The Phoenix was looking more like one of the Spymaster's ravens with each cut that painted her black. When the demon finally fell to a knee, the four quickly finished it off. The three on the ground stabbed whatever blades they had into its sundered body and Varric imbedded a bolt masterfully in its middle eye.
Sweating, despite the cool air of the desert night, Evelyn wiped the back of her hand across her face, wicking away sweat and blood. Everyone took a moment to gather themselves after the arduous fight, looking at their wounded. The dust of the desert stuck to whatever wettened surface it could on her companions dulling the shine of their armor and weapons. For the Inquisitor and her team, however, there was no time to waste, they needed to catch up with Clarel and Erimond. Before leaving, Stroud issued orders to the Wardens to hold the area in case more demons appeared and wait for Inquisition soldiers. Winded but still on their feet, the seven of them jogged up the tall staircase to the ramparts on the far side of the fortress.
Upon reaching the top, Corypheus' dragon was waiting for them. A powerful tail swat leveled the crenellations and tower before them as it took flight. As it did, Evelyn could see she burned the creature quite severely as the bones of its ribcage became even more pronounced. Seeing a group of Wardens to their right, the Inquisitor quickly got to her feet running towards them, "Where is Clarel?"
"That way, Inquisitor! She told us to aid the Inquisition," a warrior called over before rejoining her comrades to fight the remaining demons.
As fast as they could, they made it to the very top of the fortress, hounded by the blighted dragon the whole way, but they didn't stop. Erimond was her target and she'd be damned if she was going to let Clarel botch an opportunity to learn more about the enemy just because she wanted revenge. Maker only knew, Evelyn also wanted retribution for all the irreparable damage he had done, but the lure of finding out what more the darkspawn Magister had planned or where his lair was located was greater. Despite their intervention, he had successfully dismantled the Grey Wardens of Orlais, who was next?
"You destroyed the Grey Wardens!" Rounding the corner, they stopped to find the two mages locked in a duel. Erimond was clearly outmatched, watching as Clarel sent him flying.
Curled in a protective ball on the ground, the Tevinter worm spat back, "You did that yourself, you stupid bitch!"
Before Evelyn could intervene, the dragon landed knocking everyone off their feet. Protecting his master's lackey, the beast had the Warden-Commander pinned under its massive foot. From the sounds she was making, Evelyn knew it was crushing her. Knowing she was dying under its weight, Clarel ignited her mana in one last devastating electrical blast in the hopes of killing the supposed Archdemon. The explosion was so great, that Hawke threw up a shield to protect the group from her magic, but it did nothing for the dragon now tumbling towards them.
Running away from it, the dragon's limbs and tail cracked the wall to its foundation and the stone beneath their feet began to shift and break. Knocking her away from one of the creature's claws, Blackwall held Evelyn protectively until they hit the tilting ground, where she rolled away from him. On her back, she gasped staring up at the pad of a draconic foot before a sharp tug on her armor pulled her out of danger. Looking up, she caught the intense eyes of the Champion, who proceeded to hull her up as the danger was not yet passed. With a roar, the wounded beast fell into the deep ravine at the back of the fortress, clawing at the stone for purchase, but it was futile. The whole side of the fort was collapsing into the abyss and taking them all with it.
Falling, the Inquisitor did the only thing within her power - she opened a rift. A wide glowing mouth into the Fade swallowed her and the others, as she turned in mid-air to see them all falling in after her. Not sure why she opened a portal where once through it they were still plummeting to their deaths, she braced for impact. Closing her eyes tightly, a hand went to the place where Cullen's lucky coin jostled in her breast band, hoping against hope there was still some luck left in it.