The Protégé

Chapter 2

It had been a long journey to Amaranthine. I was grateful to finally arrive. Another of Leliana's agents greeted us as we entered the city and filled us in on new information.

"He was definitely here," the welcoming agent told me. "The stories have only gotten more numerous since you left Skyhold."

She handed over the paper copies of her reports. I scanned through them and saw that a surprising number of stories had been reported since we left.

"Perhaps this wasn't all for nothing," I told the human with a smile. "At least it's clear he's sticking to the mines as the Warden-Commander predicted. Thank you, miss...?"

"Dyer." She stuck out her arm to shake my hand.

"A pleasure, Dyer. I'm Falon Lavellan. These two are Shepard," I said motioning to the cloaked male elf, "And Falconer." I indicated the female dwarf.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lady. I suggest you make yourself at home today and get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll begin our inquiry."

With that, she led us down to an inn where we would spend our stay. I did not miss sleeping on the ground, so sleeping in a bed was a plus for me. We kept a low profile, taking food in our rooms and limiting our entertainment to playing cards with each other. Finally, it was time to call it a night, and we retired to our rooms for the evening.

The fire was roaring with a vengeance when I entered my quarters. The light flickered on the walls in a hypnotic manner that lured me to the world of dreams after I changed my clothes. The Fade led me to the same place it did every night. I was in the clearing again, listening to the line he fed me about my vallaslin. My hand raised to touch the branches on Mythal that graced my cheekbones. How aptly they had predicted my future. I tuned back in to hear that he didn't want to continue the romance. Sadness's bittersweet call echoed through my being. It left faster than it came as I felt familiar eyes on me. I whirled catch the disappearing form of a wolf. He was still keeping an eye on me then. The scene from the grotto was gone when I turned back around.

Suddenly, a hand on my shoulder jolted me awake. I bolted straight up in bed from surprise.

"Sorry to wake you, my lady. It's time for us to go."

I nodded groggily at Dyer and told her I'd be out in a moment. I changed once she left and prepared a pack. Once I threw on my cloak, I left my room and greeted the others. We quickly made our way to the inn's stables and mounted out horses. The journey to the Wending Woods was not a terrible one, but it was clear this place belonged to the wilds. It took us some time to locate the newer mine entrance as the original one had been destroyed. Shepard threw a rope over the edge and double-checked the knots of the pulley system miners used to take out the veridium.

"Should be safe to descend," he told us.

"Be careful until I inspect the mines," Falconer warned us. "I'm not sure I trust human mines. Too prone to collapse."

"Sounds like fun," I told them, grinning darkly. With that, we began the drop down into the abyss.

It was eerily silent in the caves below. We made a plan to go deeper and look for any sign of activity that wouldn't match a miner's work. Falconer went first to ensure the safety of the caves. Shepard remained behind her, and Dyer and I stood side by side in the back. I gave my staff a twirl and readied myself for anything. Luckily or unluckily, a couple hours of walking passed without finding anything unusual. We eventually came to an area with many side caves.

"Careful," Falconer warned again. "These side caves don't seem stable, and they're probably a bitch to try and navigate."

We went down the main tunnel quite a ways. Then, Dyer pointed out a scrap of paper on the ground, which a miner wouldn't be using. The others moved forward to inspect the paper. As they crowded around it, I could've sworn I heard a whisper from a side passage. A fire appeared in my aloft hand to light my way as my feet led me down the path to follow the whispers. After a good distance, I didn't see anything. I was about to chalk it up to a draft when I heard a small boom.

I ran down the path I had come from, but I was too late. The cave-in began in that direction. Terror filled me as I turned around to avoid it, but I wasn't quick enough. A rock slammed down on to my skull, knocking the sense out of me. I fell to the ground as rocks piled on my legs and back. My fire went out, not that I would've been able to see anything. I hear a guttural voice swear and looked up to see another fire that outlined the dim form of a... man? He looked wrong. What did he look like? I couldn't remember. I ached everywhere. My face felt warm and stick.

"H-h-h-help. M-m-me. P-p-p-please," I managed to get out before darkness swallowed me. For the first time in a long time, I didn't arrive in the grotto in the Fade. Why was that important? I couldn't remember. Somehow, I knew how to find my way there. I sat in the cool grass as if it was the first time. It was the first time, wasn't it? Why did I feel like I had been here before? The Fade didn't react to my presence. Me as in I, and I am... I couldn't remember. Who was I?