The morning was rainy once again and Temene woke up to droplets pattering loudly on the roof of the aravel. Anders was still fast asleep next to her, his hand cupping one of her breasts. She slid it off gently and wiggled her way out of the covers, trying not to wake him. He awoke regardless of her care and stretched his arms over his head. "It's raining again," he sighed.

"It is autumn, it is always rainy in autumn. It will soon be winter." She pulled her tunic over her head and began lacing it up.

"Will you wear your hair down today, for me? I love when you wear it down." He stroked a strand gently with his fingers. She ignored him, but didn't tie up her hair. She buckled her cuirass over her tunic and slipped her warm stockings and breeches on. She wrapped her cloak around her and stepped outside to put her boots on. She could hear the crackle of a fire and the rain spitting on the flames and knew someone was already awake.

"Nathaniel, I would like you to remain at camp with Oghren. This hill offers a good view of the valley. If you see any darkspawn, sound a call and shoot any that approach." Temene sat down at the fire and adjusted the hood on her cloak.

"Will you be safe with that woman? She seems unstable." Nathaniel whispered quietly even though Velanna was no where to be seen.

"It will be two mages against one and Justice will be looking to take her head at any time."

Justice stood at the edge of camp near the cairns, looking like a statue of armor. Something about the spirit disturbed Temene, though Anders seemed quite fascinated with him. Anders sat down at the fire with them, his brown cloak pulled too far past his eyes. "What did you make us for breakfast?" Anders asked cheerfully. "Not more porridge I hope."

"Browned bacon and boiled eggs. There are some sweet cakes as well." Nathaniel seemed unamused by Anders speaking to him like a servant. "Perhaps you can take a turn at cooking, though I'd prefer not to eat burned rabbit or whatever you Anders' pass off as food."

Oghren climbed up the hill waving his hand across his nose. "Probably shouldn't go down there for a while. I buried it, but boy did it want to linger."

Temene made a face and was suddenly without an appetite. She left the fire to look over the other side of the hill. More stone ruins could be seen among the trees, some completely covered in moss. Nearly all of the branches had lost their leaves and Temene knew it would be an early winter. She wasn't looking forward to trudging through the snow with her group of vulgar fools. She was eager to rout out the darkspawn however, and led them on after breakfast.

Velanna's clan had passed a large mine on their way through the Wood and she guided them towards that. Any place that led underground was Temene's best guess as to where the darkspawn had gone. The mine entrance was held shut with thick wooden doors and a crumbling tower above. The doors groaned when opened and a stale air lingered out. Part of the tower's ceiling had collapsed, letting a few shafts of light fill the front entrance. A large wooden staircase led down into the loading area and had held up surprisingly well.

They climbed down the creaking staircase and into the area that had once been the unloading area. Baskets and winches still hung in place, but were frayed and rusted. "Someone has been here at least." Temene could see the dust on the ground disturbed in places. Most of the foot traffic led to a large circle that had been carved into the floor. "This is strange." Temene stooped to look at some of the small runes carved into the circle. "This doesn't look like any Tevinter writing I have seen."

She brushed some of the dust away and suddenly felt all of her muscles tightening at once. She couldn't move her head but as she moved her eyes, she saw her companions equally paralyzed. 'It is some sort of trap,' Temene thought to herself, trying to conjure magic to resist the effect. A thin cloud of gas began to arise from the small holes in the circle and she felt herself growing very tired. She fought for as long as she could but eventually collapsed into darkness.

When she woke up again she was cold and weak. She opened her eyes and saw her companions sitting around her. They had been stripped of all their clothes and weapons and wore only dusty rags. Temene's arm ached and she saw a puncture wound in the crease of her elbow. "What happened?" she asked, realizing that they were confined within a cell.

"I don't remember much after we stepped onto that circle. I saw some creature above us on the stairs. It almost looked like an abomination," Anders sat with his back against a wall.

"Because I am dead, I did not sleep, though I was unable to move." Justice stood up and began pacing. "I do not know what manner of creature it was, but I could sense evil in it. A dwarf was with him, though she appeared to be tainted as well."

"It seems we have been led into another trap. This must have something to do with the sentient darkspawn. They have never showed any signs of cunning before." Temene climbed to her feet and touched the metal of the door, wondering if it could be melted with a hot enough flame.

"Don't bother with the door. There are anti-magic wards carved into the floor." Anders stood up and walked towards her. He lowered his voice when he approached her. "They brought you in last. We are all too weak to do anything, but, I don't know what they did to you. The thing you said about the brood mothers, they didn't?" He couldn't bear to say the rest and looked at her sorrowfully. He let his hand rest on the small of her back.

Temene shuddered, but she didn't feel that she had been violated in such a way. "I don't think so." She bit her lip. She didn't want to think about it, the thought made her want to retch. She sat down again and began to wonder what they could do to get out. If any guards came, they could not be killed with magic as they had been in Fort Drakon. She couldn't imagine why the darkspawn had taken them captive instead of killing them. She could only hope three wiry mages and a corpse could overpower their gaolers if they came. She tried her best to conjure magic despite the wards, but it was no use.

They sat in silence for a while until they heard the sound of footsteps. "If it looks like we can overtake them, we must take the opportunity," Temene whispered, crouching behind the door. She sensed the taint, but did not know how many were coming. They were all surprised when only one woman entered the small prison block. Velanna seemed the most surprised of them all and ran towards the cell bars.

"Seranni!" she exclaimed.

As the woman approached the cell, Temene could see why she sensed a darkspawn. Seranni had been transformed into a ghoul and her skin was mottled from the taint. "Step away from her," Temene warned Velanna.

"Seranni, what are you doing here?" Velenna ignored Temene.

"You have to leave now," Seranni said, pulling a key from her apron.

"What do you mean? What happened to you?"

"I can't explain it." Seranni backed away when Velanna grabbed her arm. The key clattered as it hit the floor.

"Wait, come back!" Velanna yelled.

"She has been infected with the taint. There is little we can do." Temene said, bending down to reach the key that had fallen. Her fingers scraped against rock floor, trying to reach it. She had to stretch her arm to the point of pain, but she finally managed to grab the key.

"We have to go after her!" Velanna screamed as Temene tried to put the key in the lock.

"We can't rush out without knowing what is going on. We are four against who knows how many darkspawn. And we have no weapons, no protection," Anders replied as Temene unlocked the door.

"She couldn't have gone far, but Anders is right. We cannot run into the unknown. These darkspawn should have killed us, we need to find out what they were doing here." Temene opened the door and stepped out.

She approached one of the doors carefully and put her ear against it. When she heard nothing, she opened it slowly. It was a small storage room that had once held food for the prison cells. Everything inside had long decayed, but there were a few dull swords stacked on top of the dusty crates. "These are better than nothing," Temene said, handing Justice the other sword.

"I sense something nearby, but it is strange. I don't understand it," Anders looked at Temene.

"These are not normal darkspawn. I don't know what is going on, but something has changed with them. During the Blight I would get a very strong sense when they were near, this time it is clouded by something."

"Well, the sooner we get out of here, the better. Nathaniel and Oghren might come and we don't want them getting trapped like we did."

Temene nodded and checked the door on the opposite side of the small prison. It led to a hallway, where only silence and cobwebs hung. She lit a small fire in her hand and held her rusty sword with the other. The short hallway led to a lab of sorts, though its purpose could not be discerned. They found their way to a cavern where a few darkspawn and ghouls prowled around. They were able to surprise the darkspawn and kill them quickly before any alarm could be sounded. "Ew, this ghoul is wearing my clothes," Anders made a face as he took back possession of his staff. He pried the amethyst band he always wore on his thumb off the body as well. "Why would it be wearing all my things?" Anders wondered, wiping the ring off on his tattered shirt. "I don't want them back now."

"Everything about this place is strange," Temene shook her head. She looked around the cavern and saw that it split off down two hallways. "And I don't know which way to go."

She guessed at a path and led them forward after relieving one of the darkspawn of his sharper blade. It felt awkward without the hum of Spellweaver in her palm, but she carried it with confidence. She heard a small whimper and readied her blade. She was surprised to find a man in Grey Warden armor lying on the ground. "Who are you?" the man asked, fear choking the words in his throat.

"You are a Grey Warden?" Temene asked. "I am the Warden Commander, sent from Denerim. How did you get here?"

"Lady Surana, we had expected you at the Keep. Only the darkspawn attacked first. They dragged me here, crushed my legs. They even took my wedding ring," he sighed, trying desperately to sit up.

"Anders, can you help him?" Temene looked over her shoulder.

Anders knelt down and tried to lift up the man's bloody pant leg, but he cried out in pain. "Please, don't, there is nothing you can do. No healer in the world can mend shattered bone. I don't have a lot of time left, please Commander, promise me you will take my ring to my wife. She lives in Amaranthine. Her name is Nida."

"He's lost a lot of blood," Anders said, feeling the man's pulse. "I fear he is too far gone."

"Please, my lady, do not bother with me. You must get out of here. I heard the other wardens screaming."

"What are they doing here? What do they want with us?" Temene asked.

"I don't know," the man winced as Anders helped him lie back down.

"I will be able to ease your pain some," Anders added, placing his hands on the man's chest. The bright glow from his palms faded slowly and the man closed his eyesand let out a long sigh. "He will die soon," Anders looked at Temene sadly.

"And I plan to find out why he died in this pit," Temene bit her lip in anger