Vigil's Keep

Gaius would receive a message from the Commander, informing him that he was to head to Valammar with one of the wardens in order to study some of the locks in the vaults found below the surface. Roderick had heard of them while serving in the Inquisition and he figured he might send his new artificer and stonemason to take a proper gander at it. In the time between Corypheus' death and the Exalted Council, whatever Red Lyrium that had been there was contained and it had stopped encroaching on the surface... at least that was what the other mages in the Inquisition had told him anyway.

Still the order was simple, go in, examine the locks, seal up any remaining openings if they saw any darkspawn. Merin and a Warden, Natalie, would accompany Gaius on the trip. Natalie was a silent strong warrior lass, who donned the armour of the Grey Wardens with pride. While new to the order, she took her duties seriously and brought along her tower shield.

Merin was the dwarf stonemason, who insisted on travelling with a keg of ale. Only to be vetoed by the Commander. Throughout the whole journey, Merin would be complaining loudly about the lack of alcohol, only silencing from threats by Natalie as she tired of his whining.

At the sealed entrance of the thaig, Natalie held out two pieces of cloth to them. "Mind you, cover your mouth and nose with this. If there's any darkspawn nearby, don't let any of the blood get into your mouth. Only wardens can deal with their lot and neither of you are trained to handle them. If there's an attack, stay behind my shield and let me handle them... well stay a few feet back most of the time anyway until we're sure that the area is clear. Reports said it should be the last time a warden popped in to check, but we can never be too cautious in this case."

Inside the cavern, it was quiet and serene, filled only with the sounds of rushing water as daylight came through the yawning maw where the soil had collapsed into the thaig.

Gaius had been given a nap to where the vaults were located.

Ready nearly the instant Gaius received the orders, his usual light leather armor was put on and his usual choice of twin blades tied about his hips in a belt. He was a silent companion for the most part. Didn't seem to have anything to say about the Warden and her enthusiasm for being one or the desire for ale which he couldn't blame the other for. It was when the new Warden started telling him to be careful of the darkspawn and to stay behind her that he scoffed some. It was barely a thing, but it was impossible not to. As if anyone in these times didn't know how to defend themselves.. as if anyone in these times buddying around the Wardens wouldn't know better but to be careful but also understand that it was better to fight when you were capable than to wait for the one person with a shield to fall before deciding to lend a hand. "Your shield is a bit small to cover three of us, but I'll be sure to let you handle as many will suit your ego if that is what this is." He was ready to be to work.

Natalie broke into a laugh at Gaius' scoffing, something that hadn't happen yet up till then.

"I appreciate you two lending a hand, but only when it is safe for you to do so. The darkspawn aren't like your regular lot of opponents. But I'm sure you've heard about how the Taint affected people during the Blight. Not that you have anything to worry about other than a painful death."

Merin didn't seem that eager, though he fiddled about with his crossbow.

"Say what you will, but my orders were to keep you two as safe as possible in any event. Even if it means risking my own life to give you all a way out," Natalie said before she started across the platform towards the levels of the Thaig.

There were a few rooms that had been unlocked, and the stones that lit them still glowed. Ancient dwarven technology was always a marvel to behold. Various runes were carved upon the doorways, more for decoration than anything else. Once Natalie was sure that there was no other creature save for rats about, she ventured in, taking in the escape routes.

In one of the rooms that the Carta had used, a vault stood in the middle, locked and held shut by its mechanism. Part of it had been restored but a good amount of it was missing. Gears were lost, springs had rusted and fused shut from the moisture provided by the running water. Natalie took a position near the entrance of the, keeping guard.

Merin meanwhile, was being helpful as he searched about for any left over wine about the room.

Gaius snorted when the Warden went on again about protecting them from darkspawn. She seemed determined to maintain her heroic superiority and truthfully.. Gaius didn't care that much. Especially when he got to the vault. There was pure gold in front of him in the form of a system he had never seen before. There was no need for pen to write down and remember. As soon as he understood how it worked, it could be replicated. Over to some of those rusted gears, he would state the obvious. "Unless we have proper materials, we cannot close this door using it's own system. As clever as it is, the materials weren't satisfactory and I doubt they have them down here else they would have used them in the first place. We would have to smith the right replacements, something that wouldn't rust and could handle this sort of weight." It was a shame to not be able to play with it right now. With how out of sorts it was, he didn't even think it safe to experiment. Especially when there were two others and he did not yet understand if any of it was built into something more complex. He supposed that was not his job down here though. Examine them. And seal up any openings. Examining was happening.. but it was such a shame he could not do anything with this right now.

Natalie herself thought Gaius was an idiot really, then again she had the arrogance of a warrior. As she stood guard silently, her eyes scanned the area, looking for any sign of movement. None so far that caught her eye. Reports from the other wardens had been good. Although the lower levels warranted caution, partially due to the structure, and the potential routes to the Deep Roads. The warrior figured Gaius wasn't talking to her. She wasn't here to examine things. Merely to protect.

Merin on the other hand, went over as Gaius spoke, examining the vault. "Hrmph... definitely. There's a workshop in Val Royeaux that can make parts... though we can see if our own blacksmiths at the Keep can help out. That being said, you'll need the proper tools for measurement. Stone work here's quite old." The dwarf took a look and made a few notes, determining the age of the vault door from its craftsmanship.

From sniffing about for wine, Merin had found a couple of notes and he read them. "Found this over there, seems like something left over from the Carta. They've been trying to get into the vault as well and had some parts they've scavenged and stored in the storeroom next door. Maybe we can see if there's any parts there."

[Rolling 1 for nothing. 2 for present materials but damaged. 3 for some good materials and some damaged. 4 for well preserved materials.]

Gaius wouldn't have minded the Warden not being entirely fond of him. Different cloths.. as the saying went. It was fine by him. Merin seemed his sort though, even if Gaius would have prefered to wait for any drinking thoughts long after they were out of a place with dark spawn threats. While he had limited experience with them, he did have some. Enough to know any blur of the mind could mean horrible results.

Over towards where Merin was searching, he began to poke around. "I am surprised to find what they have left here, but it is a relief. I could repair this vault here, get a better idea of it's workings, and we could claim it. Having hidden vaults doesn't seem like such a bad idea. If it isn't wanted, I could speak with the Warden Commander and see if he would prefer it's like built directly in the keep." Hidden vaults further away, though, seemed a fantastic idea.

Merin glanced at the parts. Natalie remained where she was though she glanced over her shoulder as they found the trove of bits and pieces.

Merin glanced at the pieces. "Well think they managed to find it and fit it in... although makes you wonder if they took it out. Wonder if the vault's there to keep something in, not to keep people out you know?" the dwarf said as he rubbed his beard glancing at it.

"Whatever is in there, it isn't Darkspawn. The nearest ones are several levels down," Natalie said calmly. "And none are coming up." She could tell when they were near, and nothing was setting her off.

"A warden telling me there are no darkspawn is good enough for me." There could be any number of things in there and they might as well get to it. Merin was right. But, if something had been in there and locked away this long, perhaps it had died.

Gaius would get to work. It was like a new toy, and when things started fitting together he became more and more enthusiastic to see the results. Working on it gave him practice and helped lock it all into his memory. This could be useful later.

Natalie stepped indoors, ready to take on anything if whatever trapped pounced out... although she wasn't expecting much. This was a dead vault to her and she watched the artificer do his work. She did admire his skill, as did Merin.

Gaius managed to fit all the pieces in. They had definitely been taken out deliberately. Not an extra piece was around, not one piece left.

When the vault door opened though, inside were several chests which looked... horrible really.



The walls were encrusted with red crystals and in the corner, there was some movement. A dwarf partially encased in the red lyrium opened his eyes to look at them.

"Are you here to save me?" he asked weakly. A closer examination would show that the crystals had taken over most of his body, and he was being sustained by their unearthly power. The fellow's neck was encrusted with its tendrils, though as he tried to move, there were some cracking sounds.

"Maker's breath.." it was huffed out as a curse. Not this stuff. No, this he was more familiar with than darkspawn. To kill it was his first reaction. Keep it from spreading. No, this door needed to be shut back up. This was that warden's business, she was the fighter. Frowning at her and expecting her to answer the dwarf and fully expecting her to do the right thing by killing him. Nothing could help this man, it was far too late. And anything with red lyrium needed to be destroyed.

Already he was looking around, trying to make sure that there were no others in this vault. This was familiar in the worst of ways. Even if he had not seen as much combat as his brother, he had seen enough to last him. Enough men with red spikes protruding out of their back, eyes sharp but dead of anything beyond what had warped them.

Natalie frankly wasn't expecting anyone alive in there, and from her stance, she drew her blade as she stared at the lyrium encrusted dwarf. The fellow looked harmless... so to speak. Although he was in a lot of pain. It wasn't as if he had ingested the lyrium like the Red Templars did, but it was devouring him slowly, sustaining him and yet destroying him.

Seeing that Gaius was deferring to her judgement, Natalie frowned.

"I'm afraid not in a way that you hope... There's no cure for someone found turned into red lyrium... the least I can do is to give you a painless death," she spoke as she held her blade up. The unearthly red glow of the crystals lit up the mirrored surface of her blade.

"They had me trapped here, to see what it could do... then they just stopped coming," the dwarf spoke as he looked at them, tears forming in his eyes. Natalie frowned as she came closer, drawing a small dirk. "I am sorry my friend... do you have any last requests?"

"Could you... could you figure something to tell my mother if you see her. She lives in Dust Town by the name of Misha... tell her her boy did something good..."

"I can't promise anything, but your words will be remembered."

Merin had retreated outside of the vault, not wanting to see the upcoming scene.

The dwarf closed his eyes and there was a quiet gurgling sound as Natalie took out a dirk and slit his throat. The red liquid that joined the crystals was not a soothing sight at all... more so when they realised that the chest of his carcass was heaving up and down, as if he was still breathing.

With an enraged cry, the warden started hacking at the remnants of his body... only for it to reveal that most of it had been taken over with red lyrium... and it was causing the pulsing... and finally everything was still.

Turning to Gaius, she frowned as she cleaned the blood off her blade. "Did you learn anything in destroying Red Lyrium while in the Inquisition?"

Gaius didn't seem too put off by the killing of the dwarf. "Are you really going to find his mother?" He wasn't sure if that had just been something said to comfort the unfortunate fellow. Unfortunate.. a very mild term for what had been done to him. It was easy to put the story together, who likely took them and why they had stopped coming. The inquisition had not finished it's job.. there may be more poor souls like this. More infected.

"Yes, though most often I have seen those taken by it killed. With large deposits breaking them down seems to be helpful, and I have heard that often a mage is useful. Particularly one with skills in the arts of manipulating fire. The best we could do is exactly what you already did." She had broken up a good bit by doing what she had, he assumed. "Anything left made of red lyrium, we should leave. I don't know if much will be salvageable in here. If I were to do anything about it, I would burn as much of this room that could be and then lock this vault back up. Hopefully the other vaults we find down here don't have similar reasons for being dismantled."

Natalie shrugged a little. "I'll include it in my report to Commander Vimes but whether he decides to do anything about it is his matter. Unless you would want to take the job." There was no suggestion of Merin heading to Ozarmmar to settle that matter. Taking a look at the rest of the chest, the woman started to bash the remaining red lyrium up to shatter and break them.

"We'll probably send one of our mages here then. Your skill will be needed to open the vault."

"Or you know, we could blow it up," quipped Merin from outside. "Got a few grenades here that could be useful. Though that'll damage the vault for sure."

Natalie looked at Gaius, the ball was in his court to decide if he wanted to retain the vault's structure to study it or destroy what they had found for now before it became worse.

"You don't make a promise to a dying man without making certain it will be met. No reports about it. If you do not mean to see it through, I will do so. A mother is wondering where her son is, and you can stop it." By now she probably assumed that he was dead. It had to have been a long time since they locked the soul up in here. It made him think about how he should write his mother when he returned.

"My vote is blow it up. Get rid of this place. Maker may it be nobody ever see red lyrium again." Blow up any of it that they could find. He would start to gather what pieces of the vault device that might be useful to recycle. Taking a cog now would prevent another from having to be smithed later. Save hours of valuable work for the smith.

Natalie shook her head. "I didn't promise anything. I have other duties to tend to and they would not permit me time away to Ozarmmar. But if you insist on that duty to our dwarven friend then I shall not include it in my report."

Both the Mason and Warden nodded their heads at the idea of blowing it up.

"Probably for the best," Merin said as he got his pack and started loading up on fire grenades. "The walls look solid enough to hold the blast and retain the structure. Not as if I'm going to blow the whole place up."

Natalie went out of the room to scope about before coming in. "Artificer, my recommendation would be to settle this room, then head back to the keep. There's several vaults downstairs that could be looked at, but an explosion would definitely alert any darkspawn to our presence. We could head down first, but I'm not sure if it'll be any benefit. The mechanisms could be the same, and we might just find more Red Lyrium."

"Bloody roads. Everything should have been collapsed years ago." Every path in, every path out. That was what the real search should have been. There would never be a task like that taken on, and some idiot would always try to be getting in. He hated seeing the red lyrium, but Gaius would be satisfied blowing this room up at least.

"We will run after this."

He would help unload the explosives if it were needed, lament just a bit that this wonderful mechanism was never going to be useful here, and be ready to move on.

Once the explosives were in place, Natalie would volunteer to remain behind to detonate it while Gaius and Merin had a head start... mostly for Merin's sake. His shorter legs couldn't take him as far in the same amount of time. While Gaius and Merin settled the explosives, Natalie worked on removing her heavier armour. Much as she was used to wearing it, running away from an explosion in it was not exactly a viable option. She'd place it far away enough, hopefully, and made her way back.

She would wait until Gaius and Merin were far away enough before setting the fuse lit. The woman ran towards them, clearing the blast radius soon enough when the explosion went off, causing a mild tremor.

Unfortunately as Gaius had said, everything should have been collapsed long ago... While the rock around the room held, the pathway Natalie was running on was not. The tremor had weakened it slightly. As she ran towards the two of them, the rock crumbled where her foot landed, causing her to slip with a yell that was drowned with the accompanying falling rocks.

It would only be safe enough after a while once the rocks had settled to come and check and if Gaius did, he'd see a frightened warden, holding on for dear life onto a vine with both hands. Soil and rock occasionally shook loose but it looked like it was holding for now.

Gaius did not feel comfortable leaving the warden behind, but he was sensible enough to understand reasoning. Natalie was a warden, unlike him. This was her place and he wouldn't be so bold as to suggest himself in any situation that might deal with her expertise in the case of possible darkspawn or the possibility of her needing to feel out another way should it go awry. Besides, Merin was not the sort who should be running.. he was more of a drinker. So without much more than a bit of obvious hesitation he would move ahead until Natalie yelled.

He thought her dead, at first. But he was not the sort to accept it as truth without checking. If Merin would, he'd encourage him to stay back. There was no need for three of them to end up in a bad situation. When he found her hanging, he breathed out in some relief. "That is a convenient vine." They needed to work quickly if they were to get out before being swarmed, and so he picked his way down to try and find a sturdy enough space to attempt and pull the warden up.

Merin remained behind. He was just a stone mason, hardly a warrior. Natalie nodded her head when Gaius said it was a convenient vine. "One that I'm glad exists! Natalie glanced down occasionally as Gaius made his way down.

"They're coming," she said quietly sensing the Taint building up. There were some movements from below, the sound of armour that carried upwards. No doubt it was curious darkspawn coming up to check what was happening. As Gaius made his way down, he'd dislodge some of the rock. It was treacherous for him as well and it was hardly stable.

The way downwards was near vertical. Gaius was able to get close enough to Natalie although he rock he stood on didn't seem that stable. The warden moved to come closer to the man.