Sparkler and the Wolf

51: Blood Magic and the Fade

Dorian had them stand ten feet away from where Varric had spotted the drops of blood. He stood back himself, muttering a long string of words in Tevene, his hands making quick patterns in the air before him. A moment later a soft blue glow emanated from his palms and a drop of that blue light dripped down to the ground and began to pulse.

The light was faint at first and then began to glow, traveling back toward the room with the ladder. Dorian flicked his wrist again in a snapping gesture, a frown on his face.

"Venhedis." He swore, waving his other hand for the others to join him while his eyes remained fixed in the ground. "Whoever did this, my initial assessment was correct." He said as the others joined him.

"Which is what?" Cullen asked.

"A bubble of silence and a modified version of a crushing prison. You and I walked right past Fenris." Dorian scowled. "They then waited for us to leave the tunnel before they moved him."

"Why are we standing around talking about it then?" Sera growled. "And what's with the glowy stuff on the ground? Shouldn't we follow it?"

"I'm getting to that." Dorian retorted, his voice strained. "There was a lot of blood magic used here. I... I don't want to think about this... but, we must be very careful going forward. Fenris was caught in a rune trap, which means they know we're here and how many of us there are. Likely they've known everything the minute we arrived."

"So if they're expecting us, any further traps will be specific to each of us." Cullen concluded.

"Exactly. Though they might not be prepared for you Commander. Like all mages from Tevinter, I doubt any of them have ever faced a true Templar."

"But we don't know for sure."

"No." Dorian sighed.

"Well, I've got some stealth clouds I can use and not just for hiding myself, but redirecting attention." Varric said. "If I go ahead of you, Sera can follow but take a less direct path. Make it seem like we're not sure where they went and you two follow."

"It could work, but it will put both you and Sera in the most immediate danger. They aren't interested in you, they're after me which means everyone else is expendable." Dorian cautioned.

"Danger, shmanger." Sera growled. "Let's get going yeah? Grumpy needs us and I need to stick them with arrows for taking him."

"Alright." Dorian agreed. "Just... be careful."

Varric looked at him, his eyes troubled, as he turned his attention to the faint blue path on the ground. "Don't worry Sparkler. We'll find him and give those Venatori what's coming to them."

Dorian nodded and fell in behind the two rogues as they followed the path down the tunnel they'd not been able to check earlier. It led them back to the veil-fire cave, making them all tense as they climbed the ladders for a second time that day.

Back outside, Varric tossed a few smoke grenades ahead of where he walked, waiting several minutes before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. Sera followed, meandering down the path as though confused about which direction they should take. Cullen and Dorian followed, their faces tense as they kept their eyes on Sera, ignoring everything but her.

After twenty minutes of this, Dorian was loosing patience, his hands welling with magical energy where they hung loose at his sides. "Dorian. I know you're worried but there's no reason to think they'll do anything before they catch you."

"There are plenty of reasons." Dorian hissed. "Or have you forgotten that Fenris is a walking lyrium mine?"

Cullen gasped, his eyes widening in horror. "Maker. Surely they wouldn't..."

"They would. They have no reason not to. I'm sure they're well aware of Danarius' research on the matter. There are few enough like Fenris in the Imperium that they are a prized commodity. If not for their desire to catch me, they would most certainly have gone after him."

"Forgive me then. I... that hadn't occurred to me. But I promise you we'll find him."

Dorian refused to meet Cullen's eyes as he nodded. "I know." He said, though he didn't add, hopefully before it's too late.