The hallway was dank, the smell nearly overpowering. Khari had mentioned the feeling of nearby red lyrium as well, though Leon himself couldn't feel anything, as was usually the case for him. It was quiet, too, nothing to fill the space except the small rustles and scuffs of their movement. At least not until they'd been walking for a couple of minutes.
He stilled then, holding up a hand so the others behind him would know to do the same. Cocking his head, Leon furrowed his brows and strained to listen. He could hear... someone groaning. Softly; pained. The kind of sound that was threaded through labored breathing, an unintended expression of agony. Someone was dying.
Leon started forward again, a little faster this time. The hall up ahead ended, splitting off to the right and to the left. The dying person—and the worst of the smell—were both to the left, so he went that way, rounding the corner in front of the others. The turn put them into a cell block, perhaps once fully occupied, but now more mausoleum or mass grave than anything.
Resisting the nearly-overpowering urge to raise his hand to his nose, Leon steadily moved forward, peering into the first cell on the right. The dim light made it hard to see much, but there was a torch in this room, at least, throwing wan light and deep shadows over the haphazard pile of corpses on the cell's floor. They were in varying states of decay, from ones that looked almost fresh to others that must have been present for weeks, shriveled and darkening. Someone clearly did not care if the prisoners died from disease... or didn't expect them to last long enough for it to be a problem.
There was another soft sound, pulling his attention away from the bodies towards a cell closer to the end of the block. Leon padded over, passing cells both occupied and empty, but seemingly none with living people inside. The source of the noise was a woman, propped against a corner in the cage closest to the stairs, legs sprawled in front of her. Her breaths were ragged and irregular, her eyes closed over in such a way that he couldn't be sure if she were awake or asleep. Her skin was a waxy, pallid white yellowed by torchlight, the veins underneath it bruise-dark. The sickly contrast spiderwebbed over her visible flesh.
"Can someone get us in there?" Leon cast around for a key, but no such thing was visible. He doubted there would even be much to do for the poor woman, but... worst-case scenario, she was still their best clue as to what was happening here and what lay ahead. There was a lock built into the cell door, sturdy enough that it wouldn't break from percussive force alone.
Romulus had not resisted the urge to cover his nose, doing so with the cloth mask he'd had draped around his neck, which he used to conceal the lower half of his face and protect against some of the stench. He nodded wordlessly to Leon's request, being the obvious candidate for quietly getting through doors in the group. Pulling off his targe shield, he kneeled before the lock and got to work with lockpicks drawn from his bracer.
Séverine kept watch from the rear, her shield covering their back, sword held loosely but ready. If it were possible, she actually looked more comfortable here than she had in the tightly enclosed room, but it wasn't as though she was enjoying herself. Just masking it about as well as Romulus's facial concealment was able to.
A click signaled the defeat of the lock at the Inquisitor's hands, and he stood, picking his shield back up from where he'd propped it against the cell bars, and pulling the door open to allow Leon to enter. His eyes wandered to the bodies in the cell he'd opened, lingering for a moment and giving him a troubled expression. He pondered for a moment before speaking, perhaps wondering if it was prudent.
"They've been vivisected," he said finally. "Experimented on or studied by being cut open while still alive." He didn't have to add that such a thing was a particularly gruesome fate.
Now closer, Leon was able to see that he was quite right—the bodies bore evidence of regular incisions; he recognized some of the cuts from books on field surgery and Mortalitasi practices. He didn't linger long, however, instead making his way to the woman. He didn't recognize her, and he didn't know if that was a relief or a shame. Crouching beside her, he reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder, attempting to either get her attention or stir her awake.
Her expression shifted; she took in a heavier breath through her teeth, hissing with some pain he could not see. Her eyes snapped open, and Leon pulled in a sharp breath of his own. They were dull, glowing red. It took her longer than it should have to focus them. She blinked several times before she recognized there was a face in front of her, and Leon stilled her attempt to move by tightening his grip just fractionally. "Easy," he said softly.
"You're not—" The woman's voice was raw and raspy, trailing off into a weak cough. A fine mist spattered the cloak over his chest; Leon grimaced.
"We're here to help you," he added, though at this point it was obvious there was no chance for that. Not in her case specifically, at least.
She seemed to know that, too. "Gia," she rasped. "I am—I was a Seeker, in Nevarra. Lucius—" A shuddering cough interrupted her words. Leon grimaced; all he had on his belt was whiskey, and that would hurt much more than it would help. He glanced back up to find that Ophelia was already holding her waterskin out towards him.
Gia had significant difficulty drinking even with help, more of it ran down her chin than her throat, without a doubt. But she shook her head after, and he withdrew it, handing it back over his shoulder to his teacher. "He gathered us," she continued. "Brought us here, told us we were mustering to move against a threat. He made us take... red lyrium."
"They didn't die from being cut," Ophelia put in. "But there's no crystals on them."
Gia dipped her chin once before her head fell back against the wall behind her. "I think... he was surprised when nothing happened. He brought in these people. Tevinters, in robes. They... they did the cutting, increased the doses. It's... it's poison, if you take enough."
As was just about anything. Leon swallowed thickly. "Is there anything else you can tell us? Is the Lord Seeker still here?"
"I think so." Gia's breaths were coming harder now, more gasps or pants than anything; it was taxing whatever reserves of energy she had left just to speak. She managed to find Leon's eyes, though; he felt distinctly like he was being looked into, though perhaps that was only the color. "Please... kill him. For what he's done. He's mad, and he's destroyed—" Another cough. "Everything I ever cared about. Kill him."
"We will." Leon wasn't honestly sure that was true. If the Lord Seeker had left, there might be no opportunity. Even if he was here, there were no guarantees. But it was what she needed to hear, and so he said it.
Gia relaxed a little. "Good. And... if you could, would you...?"
Leon did not need to ask what she meant. He turned around, eyes landing on Khari first. "Can I borrow your knife?" It would be less painful than the way he'd do it with his hands, at least.
Khari had clearly been engrossed in Gia's story, and had to tear herself from the grip of horrified fascination in order to answer him properly. Physically shaking herself she gathered her wherewithal. “Oh. Uh. Right, sure." She reached down to her belt and slid the curved knife carefully from the sheath at her hip, walking her fingers down the length until she was holding the blade, handing it towards him hilt-first. “There's really not... anything else we can do?" Her eyes fell to Gia, mouth thinning. She clearly knew. That didn't make it easy to accept.
So Leon said what he supposed she needed to hear as well. "There isn't." Quiet, but certain. He took hold of the knife with a grateful nod, turning back around to the younger Seeker. "It will only hurt for a moment."
Gia dredged up a wry smile. "You don't know that, but I'm about to find out." She pulled in a deep breath, and relaxed the rest of the way back against the wall. "Do it."
With a nod, Leon moved. Quick and decisive, he slid the knife across the major artery in her throat. Blood welled thickly from the wound—she was dead in seconds. Thinning his lips, Leon wiped the blade off on the edge of his cloak and stood, handing it back to Khari. "It seems there are Venatori here as well as Red Templars. We need to disrupt whatever research they're doing, and destroy whatever records they have of it." However mad Lucius might be now, he wasn't the kind to torture people this way merely for the pleasure of it. The way Gia had spoken of it made the efforts sound calculated, experimental, and therefore probably to some important end that Corypheus wanted or needed to know about. Nothing good could come of leaving that knowledge in these hands.
"They've probably converted most of the rooms above, but the biggest one is the main dining hall. I think we're best off starting there." They all had a rough idea of the layout, too, from his own map. There was little point in trying to decide anything now, when the plan could change thirty seconds in the future depending on what they found.
Séverine took point, leading the way with shield. Romulus paused only to give Khari a brief squeeze on the shoulder, but it was obvious that he was of the same mind Leon was. Death was the kindest thing they could give to the woman. Assuming a spot in the middle of their line formation, Romulus drew his blade again.
They moved slowly and quietly, finding a nearby set of stairs that took them up to the next floor. They slowed even further here, as they could hear the ominous sounds of others moving about above them, almost certainly Red Templars judging by the weight behind the noises. Séverine took measured steps up, checking the way forward carefully as they arrived in another hallway, clear for the moment to at least escape the stairs and gain level footing.
Unfortunately, their luck did not hold. Though the hallway they emerged into was clear, a trio of reds turned a corner at the end, putting them face-to-face with the Inquisition, only about fifteen feet of space separating them. That wasn't going to last, either: the templar in the lead immediately hurled himself forward. He was one of the larger and bulkier knights, crystallized protrusions of lyrium giving ridges to his arms and spine. One had even erupted from his forehead, slightly off-center and jagged. The two behind him were both shadows, and they charged in at his flanks. The hallways was just large enough to accommodate all three of them across, meaning that there was no way all five of Leon's party would be able to meet them at once.
He certainly intended to, however, and stepped forward to be beside Séverine; Ophelia moved up next to him on the other side, leaving Romulus and Khari to watch the rear. No doubt the noise would draw others in short order anyway. Leon took a few strides out to absorb the knight's dash, successfully stepping around him and using his own momentum to trip him, taking the both of them to the ground, where the templar's sword would be of much less use. One of the shadows drew up short at that, aiming the long protrusion on its left arm for his face.
Séverine intercepted the strike with her shield, following up with a swift thrust of the short sword into a gap on the templar's side. He growled in discomfort more than overwhelming pain, but all the same Séverine strongarmed him into the wall, where they proceeded to struggle for positioning. With Ophelia engaging the other, and Leon locked in a deadly engagement in the center, a sort of battle line had formed that it was difficult for either Romulus or Khari to contribute to without risking a hit on their allies.
"Quick, over the top," the Inquisitor suggested, sheathing his blade and briefly putting his back to the fight so he could present Khari with a foothold she could use. Obviously he meant to help throw the elf over the trio of fights, so she could tip one or more quickly in their favor by attacking from behind.
She didn't waste the opportunity, backing up quickly a few paces to get a running start, stepping up into the foothold he'd made with his hands. With Romulus's assistance, she sailed over the heads of all three Red Templars, one of the shadows only narrowly missing her when it tried to stab upwards with an arm blade.
By the time Khari had landed on the other side, her knife was in her hand, and it didn't take her more than half a second to decide where to put it, lunging for where Leon and his opponent were tangled on the floor and driving the blade up under the knight's helm. There was a dull scraping sound, no doubt where the knife encountered lyrium, but it was both long and sharp enough to do the job anyway. Even a red couldn't function with a dagger in the brain. She pulled it out again and backed up a step, giving him space to move while she assessed her new options.
Back on his feet, Leon gestured for Khari to help Séverine, and himself moved to where Ophelia was hammering away at the other shadow with armored fists, striking mostly for the softer parts of its body. If the impact sounds were anything to go by, she'd nearly completely caved in his ribs, but of course what would completely incapacitate most people only inconvenienced a Red Templar. Drawing back, Ophelia kicked upwards, striking the shadow's helm. He staggered; Leon stepped in and grabbed him from behind, fitting his arms under the templar's armpits and pulling him back against his chest. There wasn't a lot he could do from this lock position, but there was plenty Ophelia could.
Stepping forward, she tore the shadow's helmet off, exposing a face half-caked with red lyrium crystals, then took his head in both hands, wrenching sideways. He struggled, kicking back ineffectually against Leon. Their strength was formidable, but they were no more skilled than they had been before, and it was positioning that sealed his fate. His neck snapped, and he went limp in the Seeker's arms.
Meanwhile Séverine had maintained enough awareness of the fight to know that she had help to her side, and twisted the shadow in her grip in that direction as an attempted stab glanced off her armor. The templar was served up for an easy stab in the back by Khari, and Séverine plunged her short sword down into him at the neck, sinking it in nearly up to the hilt. She twisted, and with a choked cough the shadow stilled. The two women pulled their weapons free, and Séverine pushed the templar over onto his back.
She pulled up, looking expectantly down the hall but finding nothing. "That was too loud," she said. "I thought more would come for sure."
"As did I." Leon felt himself beginning to scowl. He wondered if all of this hadn't been a little too easy, from the unguarded tunnel to the unwatched prison to the utter lack of reinforcements now that they had definitely been found. "I'm beginning to believe we're expected."
Ophelia's expression was hard. "You think this was a trap. That he let it slip where he was in hopes of luring us here."
He shrugged. "In his position, it's what I'd do. Now I'm almost sure he's in the main hall. And I doubt we're getting out of here without confronting him."
He stilled then, holding up a hand so the others behind him would know to do the same. Cocking his head, Leon furrowed his brows and strained to listen. He could hear... someone groaning. Softly; pained. The kind of sound that was threaded through labored breathing, an unintended expression of agony. Someone was dying.
Leon started forward again, a little faster this time. The hall up ahead ended, splitting off to the right and to the left. The dying person—and the worst of the smell—were both to the left, so he went that way, rounding the corner in front of the others. The turn put them into a cell block, perhaps once fully occupied, but now more mausoleum or mass grave than anything.
Resisting the nearly-overpowering urge to raise his hand to his nose, Leon steadily moved forward, peering into the first cell on the right. The dim light made it hard to see much, but there was a torch in this room, at least, throwing wan light and deep shadows over the haphazard pile of corpses on the cell's floor. They were in varying states of decay, from ones that looked almost fresh to others that must have been present for weeks, shriveled and darkening. Someone clearly did not care if the prisoners died from disease... or didn't expect them to last long enough for it to be a problem.
There was another soft sound, pulling his attention away from the bodies towards a cell closer to the end of the block. Leon padded over, passing cells both occupied and empty, but seemingly none with living people inside. The source of the noise was a woman, propped against a corner in the cage closest to the stairs, legs sprawled in front of her. Her breaths were ragged and irregular, her eyes closed over in such a way that he couldn't be sure if she were awake or asleep. Her skin was a waxy, pallid white yellowed by torchlight, the veins underneath it bruise-dark. The sickly contrast spiderwebbed over her visible flesh.
"Can someone get us in there?" Leon cast around for a key, but no such thing was visible. He doubted there would even be much to do for the poor woman, but... worst-case scenario, she was still their best clue as to what was happening here and what lay ahead. There was a lock built into the cell door, sturdy enough that it wouldn't break from percussive force alone.
Romulus had not resisted the urge to cover his nose, doing so with the cloth mask he'd had draped around his neck, which he used to conceal the lower half of his face and protect against some of the stench. He nodded wordlessly to Leon's request, being the obvious candidate for quietly getting through doors in the group. Pulling off his targe shield, he kneeled before the lock and got to work with lockpicks drawn from his bracer.
Séverine kept watch from the rear, her shield covering their back, sword held loosely but ready. If it were possible, she actually looked more comfortable here than she had in the tightly enclosed room, but it wasn't as though she was enjoying herself. Just masking it about as well as Romulus's facial concealment was able to.
A click signaled the defeat of the lock at the Inquisitor's hands, and he stood, picking his shield back up from where he'd propped it against the cell bars, and pulling the door open to allow Leon to enter. His eyes wandered to the bodies in the cell he'd opened, lingering for a moment and giving him a troubled expression. He pondered for a moment before speaking, perhaps wondering if it was prudent.
"They've been vivisected," he said finally. "Experimented on or studied by being cut open while still alive." He didn't have to add that such a thing was a particularly gruesome fate.
Now closer, Leon was able to see that he was quite right—the bodies bore evidence of regular incisions; he recognized some of the cuts from books on field surgery and Mortalitasi practices. He didn't linger long, however, instead making his way to the woman. He didn't recognize her, and he didn't know if that was a relief or a shame. Crouching beside her, he reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder, attempting to either get her attention or stir her awake.
Her expression shifted; she took in a heavier breath through her teeth, hissing with some pain he could not see. Her eyes snapped open, and Leon pulled in a sharp breath of his own. They were dull, glowing red. It took her longer than it should have to focus them. She blinked several times before she recognized there was a face in front of her, and Leon stilled her attempt to move by tightening his grip just fractionally. "Easy," he said softly.
"You're not—" The woman's voice was raw and raspy, trailing off into a weak cough. A fine mist spattered the cloak over his chest; Leon grimaced.
"We're here to help you," he added, though at this point it was obvious there was no chance for that. Not in her case specifically, at least.
She seemed to know that, too. "Gia," she rasped. "I am—I was a Seeker, in Nevarra. Lucius—" A shuddering cough interrupted her words. Leon grimaced; all he had on his belt was whiskey, and that would hurt much more than it would help. He glanced back up to find that Ophelia was already holding her waterskin out towards him.
Gia had significant difficulty drinking even with help, more of it ran down her chin than her throat, without a doubt. But she shook her head after, and he withdrew it, handing it back over his shoulder to his teacher. "He gathered us," she continued. "Brought us here, told us we were mustering to move against a threat. He made us take... red lyrium."
"They didn't die from being cut," Ophelia put in. "But there's no crystals on them."
Gia dipped her chin once before her head fell back against the wall behind her. "I think... he was surprised when nothing happened. He brought in these people. Tevinters, in robes. They... they did the cutting, increased the doses. It's... it's poison, if you take enough."
As was just about anything. Leon swallowed thickly. "Is there anything else you can tell us? Is the Lord Seeker still here?"
"I think so." Gia's breaths were coming harder now, more gasps or pants than anything; it was taxing whatever reserves of energy she had left just to speak. She managed to find Leon's eyes, though; he felt distinctly like he was being looked into, though perhaps that was only the color. "Please... kill him. For what he's done. He's mad, and he's destroyed—" Another cough. "Everything I ever cared about. Kill him."
"We will." Leon wasn't honestly sure that was true. If the Lord Seeker had left, there might be no opportunity. Even if he was here, there were no guarantees. But it was what she needed to hear, and so he said it.
Gia relaxed a little. "Good. And... if you could, would you...?"
Leon did not need to ask what she meant. He turned around, eyes landing on Khari first. "Can I borrow your knife?" It would be less painful than the way he'd do it with his hands, at least.
Khari had clearly been engrossed in Gia's story, and had to tear herself from the grip of horrified fascination in order to answer him properly. Physically shaking herself she gathered her wherewithal. “Oh. Uh. Right, sure." She reached down to her belt and slid the curved knife carefully from the sheath at her hip, walking her fingers down the length until she was holding the blade, handing it towards him hilt-first. “There's really not... anything else we can do?" Her eyes fell to Gia, mouth thinning. She clearly knew. That didn't make it easy to accept.
So Leon said what he supposed she needed to hear as well. "There isn't." Quiet, but certain. He took hold of the knife with a grateful nod, turning back around to the younger Seeker. "It will only hurt for a moment."
Gia dredged up a wry smile. "You don't know that, but I'm about to find out." She pulled in a deep breath, and relaxed the rest of the way back against the wall. "Do it."
With a nod, Leon moved. Quick and decisive, he slid the knife across the major artery in her throat. Blood welled thickly from the wound—she was dead in seconds. Thinning his lips, Leon wiped the blade off on the edge of his cloak and stood, handing it back to Khari. "It seems there are Venatori here as well as Red Templars. We need to disrupt whatever research they're doing, and destroy whatever records they have of it." However mad Lucius might be now, he wasn't the kind to torture people this way merely for the pleasure of it. The way Gia had spoken of it made the efforts sound calculated, experimental, and therefore probably to some important end that Corypheus wanted or needed to know about. Nothing good could come of leaving that knowledge in these hands.
"They've probably converted most of the rooms above, but the biggest one is the main dining hall. I think we're best off starting there." They all had a rough idea of the layout, too, from his own map. There was little point in trying to decide anything now, when the plan could change thirty seconds in the future depending on what they found.
Séverine took point, leading the way with shield. Romulus paused only to give Khari a brief squeeze on the shoulder, but it was obvious that he was of the same mind Leon was. Death was the kindest thing they could give to the woman. Assuming a spot in the middle of their line formation, Romulus drew his blade again.
They moved slowly and quietly, finding a nearby set of stairs that took them up to the next floor. They slowed even further here, as they could hear the ominous sounds of others moving about above them, almost certainly Red Templars judging by the weight behind the noises. Séverine took measured steps up, checking the way forward carefully as they arrived in another hallway, clear for the moment to at least escape the stairs and gain level footing.
Unfortunately, their luck did not hold. Though the hallway they emerged into was clear, a trio of reds turned a corner at the end, putting them face-to-face with the Inquisition, only about fifteen feet of space separating them. That wasn't going to last, either: the templar in the lead immediately hurled himself forward. He was one of the larger and bulkier knights, crystallized protrusions of lyrium giving ridges to his arms and spine. One had even erupted from his forehead, slightly off-center and jagged. The two behind him were both shadows, and they charged in at his flanks. The hallways was just large enough to accommodate all three of them across, meaning that there was no way all five of Leon's party would be able to meet them at once.
He certainly intended to, however, and stepped forward to be beside Séverine; Ophelia moved up next to him on the other side, leaving Romulus and Khari to watch the rear. No doubt the noise would draw others in short order anyway. Leon took a few strides out to absorb the knight's dash, successfully stepping around him and using his own momentum to trip him, taking the both of them to the ground, where the templar's sword would be of much less use. One of the shadows drew up short at that, aiming the long protrusion on its left arm for his face.
Séverine intercepted the strike with her shield, following up with a swift thrust of the short sword into a gap on the templar's side. He growled in discomfort more than overwhelming pain, but all the same Séverine strongarmed him into the wall, where they proceeded to struggle for positioning. With Ophelia engaging the other, and Leon locked in a deadly engagement in the center, a sort of battle line had formed that it was difficult for either Romulus or Khari to contribute to without risking a hit on their allies.
"Quick, over the top," the Inquisitor suggested, sheathing his blade and briefly putting his back to the fight so he could present Khari with a foothold she could use. Obviously he meant to help throw the elf over the trio of fights, so she could tip one or more quickly in their favor by attacking from behind.
She didn't waste the opportunity, backing up quickly a few paces to get a running start, stepping up into the foothold he'd made with his hands. With Romulus's assistance, she sailed over the heads of all three Red Templars, one of the shadows only narrowly missing her when it tried to stab upwards with an arm blade.
By the time Khari had landed on the other side, her knife was in her hand, and it didn't take her more than half a second to decide where to put it, lunging for where Leon and his opponent were tangled on the floor and driving the blade up under the knight's helm. There was a dull scraping sound, no doubt where the knife encountered lyrium, but it was both long and sharp enough to do the job anyway. Even a red couldn't function with a dagger in the brain. She pulled it out again and backed up a step, giving him space to move while she assessed her new options.
Back on his feet, Leon gestured for Khari to help Séverine, and himself moved to where Ophelia was hammering away at the other shadow with armored fists, striking mostly for the softer parts of its body. If the impact sounds were anything to go by, she'd nearly completely caved in his ribs, but of course what would completely incapacitate most people only inconvenienced a Red Templar. Drawing back, Ophelia kicked upwards, striking the shadow's helm. He staggered; Leon stepped in and grabbed him from behind, fitting his arms under the templar's armpits and pulling him back against his chest. There wasn't a lot he could do from this lock position, but there was plenty Ophelia could.
Stepping forward, she tore the shadow's helmet off, exposing a face half-caked with red lyrium crystals, then took his head in both hands, wrenching sideways. He struggled, kicking back ineffectually against Leon. Their strength was formidable, but they were no more skilled than they had been before, and it was positioning that sealed his fate. His neck snapped, and he went limp in the Seeker's arms.
Meanwhile Séverine had maintained enough awareness of the fight to know that she had help to her side, and twisted the shadow in her grip in that direction as an attempted stab glanced off her armor. The templar was served up for an easy stab in the back by Khari, and Séverine plunged her short sword down into him at the neck, sinking it in nearly up to the hilt. She twisted, and with a choked cough the shadow stilled. The two women pulled their weapons free, and Séverine pushed the templar over onto his back.
She pulled up, looking expectantly down the hall but finding nothing. "That was too loud," she said. "I thought more would come for sure."
"As did I." Leon felt himself beginning to scowl. He wondered if all of this hadn't been a little too easy, from the unguarded tunnel to the unwatched prison to the utter lack of reinforcements now that they had definitely been found. "I'm beginning to believe we're expected."
Ophelia's expression was hard. "You think this was a trap. That he let it slip where he was in hopes of luring us here."
He shrugged. "In his position, it's what I'd do. Now I'm almost sure he's in the main hall. And I doubt we're getting out of here without confronting him."