Andraste's Chevalier

Chapter 7- Lost

"I regained consciousness when Sergeant Bluebeard appeared from the tunnel, the girl in hand. I verbally reprimanded him for being a willing accomplice to Knight-Lieutenant Riverwood's unauthorized expedition. Sergeant Bluebeard was charged with his fifth disciplinary hearing under my tenure. (Filed as his 698th grievance under his permanent career record). I then Sergeant Bluebeard as to why Knight-Lieutenant Riverwood was not present."

- From Patrol Report. Year 3000, 5th day of BloomingTide. Captain Elric Falmore

The first thing I heard when I woke was a mumble.

The next thing I noticed was that everything was dark, and finally that everything hurt. Someone or something was pinching against my chest. It was hard to breathe.

However, the pain brought clarity to my thoughts. I started to remember what happened. The tunnels. The bridge. The last thing I saw. Crumbling stone and screaming troggs. Falling into the abyss.

Was I dead?

This certainly wasn't how I imagined the afterlife. The Church of the Light said all who proved themselves would become one with the Light upon death, living in eternal splendor and contentment. Those who did not were damned into the horrible chasm known as the twisting nether, where souls would wail and languish in eternity.

The mumble changed into an incomprehensible chirp. It sounded like...someone trying to say something? I couldn't make sense of the words.

At the moment, it didn't feel quite like eternal damnation or eternal bliss. I certainly still had a body. I couldn't see worth a damn but I could feel that I was laying on some... rocky slope. The pinch in my chest was getting worse. I moved my hands over my chest. It felt like...armor?

I was still wearing my armor. I was still alive. How did I survive the fall?

I could feel the dent in the chestplate. That was the cause of the pain, my armor must have been caved in during the fall. My sense of smell began to return. I could smell something...something foul. I turned my head.

That was a mistake. Even in the dark I could recognize the outline of the dead trogg's face. The sudden appearance made me involuntarily breathe, deeply. I got a mouthful of something that resembled cow manure and old sweat.

It was too much. I flipped to the side, and emptied the contents of my stomach.

I was alive. Yes, I just swallowed the equivalent of a mouthful of cow manure but I was still alive.

The pain in my chest was unbearable now. I reached to my sides. There were release straps under there. I couldn't reach it with my gauntlets on, so I removed them. The metal gloves fell with a clank. I tried again and pulled the leather loose. My chest and shoulder plates came undone and fell free.

The pain vanished. I gasped. I could taste the musky cave air. I was still in the tunnels.

How long had it been? Did Bluebeard make it out? Where was I?

The chirping started to morph. It started to resemble words that made sense.

"--lyzing lan----, Analyz--- lang----."

"Is there anyone there?" I asked.

"Linguistic analysis complete...." I heard in a monotone voice.