Doom Upon All The World

Chapter 31: Devoted To Destruction

It was warm where ever they'd been taken. Unnaturally so. The moisture in the air was enough to choke any of them. It seeped in through the nose and ran down one's throat in a heavy cloud of rank and reeking smells. The stone floor was cool to the touch but beyond that there was nothing but warmth in the area. That was if they didn't count the severe chills that brushed over them from being captured. By the way it echoed and the amount of warmth that seemed to grown the further someone went into the room, Solas guessed it was a cave. He could hardly tell though, seeing as all of their heads were covered by cloth sacks, not clean ones either.

For the first time in his very long life, Solas felt detached from his magic. He could sense it lying dormant in his being but failed in reaching and using it. He could not bring ice, or fire, or electricity to the surface of his skin. He could not send forth a rush of healing magic to Maeve to heal the gash on the back of her head. He could not draw mana from himself to bring about more physical energy. He couldn't do anything. At first he thought he'd just drained himself, that his mana reserve was low and his body was refusing to let him use that as well as the adrenaline that had coursed through him moments ago. Had it been moments? Had it been hours? How long was he unconscious? It didn't matter. All that mattered was getting out and that was going to be all the harder without being able to use magic.

It took him a minute to realize that his magic was being contained, controlled by an outside force. They'd locked a Saarabas collar around his neck and clapped the chain cuffs on his wrists. He was defenseless magic wise. He couldn't see, could hardly breath with all the stench in the air, and now he had no abilities to assist in saving them. Through the sack over his head, Solas could just barely make out something in front of him. It was a tallish figure, then again everything looked tall as he was seated on the stone floor. It looked mangled and contorted. Dread filled him up for a moment before he settled himself in realizing that Maeve could not be dead if he did not feel it. But there were indeed much worse things than death.

A low, pained groan came from the other side of the room, the direction Solas had been looking. His head shot up immediately. "Maeve?" He interjected as the voice ignored him and began choking on the awful, rancid taste of the draft in the room. The sound was that of someone that might be sick. "Solas?" The voice called back and he took a breath of relief. "Maeve," He repeated, conveying his soothed heart in her name. The reassurance that was there was heavy but bitter sweet. "are you alright? Did they hurt you?" He asked as she continued to cough out the putrid air. "Beside the rock to the head, I'm fine. Solas, do you have the kids?" She asked frantically. He knew he did. He could hear Mythalus snoring beside him. He guessed Nicolynn was on his other side. He tried to feel around, to grab for their hands but his were chained to the ground behind him making the feat impossible. "Yes, I think so. They've chained me in a Saarabas collar though. I can't get us out, Maeve." He sounded defeated as he spoke but Maeve was still struggling against her restraints.

She twisted and turned and pulled, trying desperately to break the ropes that bound her to a chair. Her feet were tied to it as well, making squirming difficult as she didn't want to tip it over and fall on her face. "The Qunari device they use to control their Mages?" She inquired, still tugging at the bindings fiercely. Solas listened as she pulled and braced against the ties. She was trying ceaselessly to get them off as Solas had fought against the chains for some time before realizing that they weren't going to come off. "Yes. If could get it off I could be of more use but there is a key as well as a control rod. I fear what they would have me do, Vhenan." He expressed. His mind was working its way around every outcome.

How could they get out? "Fenedhis!" She cursed with a shout as she slacked in her seat and stopped fighting it. She silently berated herself for not keeping up with her strength and not practicing enough with her ax over the years. Maybe she would have been strong enough to break them then. If they got out of this, she would make sure this didn't happen again. She despised the feeling of helplessness that rotted in her core. She sighed dismally as the corrosion of hatred ate at her. "What do we do, Solas?" She asked trying to guess at the direction he was in. "I don't," He paused when a low, grumbling cry broke the air at their ears. Solas' head immediately whipped to the left.