Thread: dragon age ⋮⋮ ◜ohm and rivine◞

Their time spent in the Deep Roads was beclouded by the stench of sulfur and charred rock. The odor cloyed Meraad's nostrils on occasion she had to plot an alternate route through caverns to avoid danger, much to her party's chagrin. Half of the kossith were seasoned ashaad equipped with excavation skills, others were a healthy assortment of karasaad - qunari warriors - and scholars enlisted under Arigena at her behest. Ariqun abhorred the notion, but Arigena made it apparent that it may be an impassible opportunity to study dwarves. That, however, was where Arigena's jurisdiction ended. Although Meraad was dispatched to retrieve dwarven technology, it was not for study - it was for use to protect the Qun, the qunari and their beliefs. Arigena was hesitant at first, but Ariqun's case proved to be convincing, thus she dispatched her human emissary Meraad to lead a small party into the Deep Roads. Their quest lead them well into the earth's bowels where heat was relentless and plant life virtually nonexistent. It was unusual seeing a human let alone a female lead, but because they were devoted to the Qun, the group of kossith said nothing, even if she was a sarebaas. We must be close, noted one of the scholars, Veins are thickest near thaigs. He raised his taper against a wall, chasing the shadows back to their respective corners. The wall was hundreds of feet high shadows swallowed the ceiling, but as far as the scholar could tell, the stonework was intricate and laced with traces of niello. Forward. Meraad stopped him she raised her arm as a gesture to halt then sniffed. Taint, she observed. The karasaad brandished their broadswords and advanced. Meraad was well aware of the tracks, but the scant light made them difficult to decipher - human or darkspawn, they would be prepared. With footfalls as silent as feathers she traipsed into the darkness, entirely consumed - the karasaad held a defensive position, eagerly awaiting Meraad's next command. She, however, returned with her lips pressed in a hard line. Her party knew what to do. The karasaad held their weapons. She gestured, again, for them to advance, flexing her fingers - each was branded in queer ritual tattoos reminiscent of her past. Balls of azureous light sprouted from her finger tips and grew to a redolent size like that of a small plum or fig. The light pulsated as she flexed, casting its purity several meters ahead, revealing stones, boulders, stalactites, nugs, and lastly, darkspawn. They were huddled in an adjacent grotto feasting on what was once an expedition of dwarfs. Meraad's light simply disturbed their banquet. Startled, a genlock shrieked. Its teeth glistened with the lifeblood of its prey, claws stained and its breastplate - likely stolen from its victim - dented and smeared in gore. Meraad spread her fingers and waved her arm. Lightening emerged in a wave - it rippled, spread, then drummed against the genlock which screamed and fell into a burned heap, inspiring others to jump to their own defenses. Nehraa Qun! a bandy-armed qunari cried, meeting a darkspawn mid-swing. Kill the archers! Meraad retreated to her party's flank where she could effectively cast her spells. From there she was able to warn her party members when she conjured a spell with an area of effect. Karasaad, strafe right! she cried. Her voice was heavy from battle, strained but powerful. The karasaad did as they were bid - Meraad, having been concentrating immensely, summoned a lightening storm with such ferocity that it lit the cavern from top to bottom with a nearly blinding white light. Her party members engaged in battle felt the stray bolts of lightening lick their hardened skin, singing it, but they endured. Three genlocks struggled against the storm and collapsed shortly after a hurlock, frenzied from the pain, fell into a stalactite and impaled itself. Despite their efforts, the commotion only alerted more darkspawn. To worsen their position, two ogres emerged from nearby grottos, sodden and smeared in gore. One of the qunari fell in a volley of arrows as he gawked at the ogres, another was taken by a hurlock's blade. After Meraad's storm ended she retreated to an adjacent boulder to recover her mana. The ogres would end their expedition, she knew - with no Arishok, her karasaad and ashaad were untrained and their quest would be fruitless.