Under Darkness [AU]

[GamesMaster]

Opening the first door reveals... huh, wonder of all wonders. It's another little garden. This one is full of daffodils: bright yellow, cheerful flowers, in raised beds. Unlike the previous garden, however, not everything here is healthy. Several of the flowers have sickly black splotches on them, as though some kind of blight has overcome them. Here, he finds tools: a trowel is stuck in a half-filled bed, and there's a watering can on the ground beside it. 

[Tethras Clan]

"Well this won't do, will it mes amies velu," he says brightly. Zevran frowns for a moment in thought- what do plants even need to live? Water, dirt and... sunlight? And something about... mulch? Or is that composite? Which one is the pile of dead stuff that rots into dirt instead of plague? Shrugging, he kneels down to inspect the dirt. First step first. If it's dry, then water it, he figures.

[GamesMaster]

As his fingers brush one of the flower petals he's hit with a vivid hallucination. It feels like a hallucination; it seems like if he wills himself to, he can see the garden lurking underneath, can return to the world he was in. But at the same time, he can focus on the scene in front of him, which feels just as tangible and real as the garden world. 

And in it, there's something lovelier than the flowers: Merrill's warm, open smile. "Do you prefer honey or cherries? Ooh, or I could put in some of both? People dip cherries in honey, don't they?" It's almost breathtaking now, to see her that way. Open. Honest. Simple. Happy. She's wearing an apron, and there's flour in her hair, and more so than usual he can see how radiant and gorgeous she is, how pure and innocent she seems. 

[Tethras Clan]

Zevran yanks his hand away as if he'd touched hellfire, falling to the ground on his side.

And weeps.


Minutes, hours, days. Honestly, he couldn't say how long he lay there, curled into a ball as his heart bleed. But finally, Silence's worried whines, her increasingly desperate attempts to cuddle and comfort him, reach him. Finally, he takes a long, shuddering breath and looks at the trembling mabari pressed against his side.

"Sorry girl. That... that was... very strong. It's okay, I'm not hurt." At Silence's soft growl, he amends that to, "not injured. Just heart pain. It.. gods Merrill was so radiant and gorgeous. Pure and innocent," he laments. "Curse that wretched piece of shit to the darkest hells for what he-"Focus. You need to focus. "...we have to go back and... report to the others," he says in a careful tone. Zevran takes a slowly, shaky breath, then forces himself upright, Silence crowding him protectively, so he can head back.

[GamesMaster]

As he looks up, he sees the ermine, gently digging in the soil near where he'd fallen. In fact, isn't that the flower he touched? No, it can't be -- that one was perfect, and this one has a large dark blotch on it. It must be.... 

Huh. All the flowers in this bed are tarnished. Then what flower did he touch?

[Tethras Clan]

"Hey, none of that," Zevran snaps sharply. "Leave the Me- the flowers alone!"

[GamesMaster]

The ermine looks up at him, staring at him -- and for a moment, those eyes are Hawke's eyes, staring through him without seeing him. Then they're just beady, animal eyes as the creature begins digging once more.

[Tethras Clan]

Zevran moves quickly, reaching down to scoop the ermine up. "They didn't- they didn't hurt me. Not really. It wasn't... The pain was from me, from my failure. It- it wasn't her fault. Never blame her. Please."

[GamesMaster]

The ermine squeaks, nipping his finger. Is it angry at being manhandled? Indignant about his accusation that it was blaming Merrill? Who knows? 

[Tethras Clan]

"Yes, that was a little rude," Zevran allows. "But... please don't...." He frowns. "I don't suppose you can nod your head if I guess something correctly? Or shake if I'm wrong?"

[GamesMaster]

The ermine looks at him, nose twitching. Does it actually understand him? It's hard to tell. 

[Tethras Clan]

"...right. Well, please don't... don't damage the flowers, okay?" he asks softly. Not really expecting an answer, he heads back out the tunnel towards the others. Who are probably getting rather worried...

[GamesMaster]

All the doors in the secret tunnel look alike; it takes Zevran a moment to remember which way he turned when he entered, so he can make sure to go back out the way he came in. 

Time doesn't seem to have passed. It's hard to tell; because it's overcast, there's no seeing the sun, after all. But it seems to be a warm afternoon in springtime, the same way it has been this whole time. Aveline and Varric definitely felt the passage of time, however, and had noticed Zevran was missing. They poked around the gardens calling for him -- none of which he heard -- and had discovered the same thing about the flowers that he had: touching one provokes a memory. Aveline got a bit of conversation with a merchant, while Varric had gotten a memory of fighting some bandits. Neither of the memories they saw seemed to be recent, and they were more worried about finding zevran than anything else. 

Wynne, on the other hand, was having a conversation with a squirrel. She's sure it can understand her -- it's sitting here on the edge of a fountain staring at her, blinking and twitching its nose, rather than running away as squirrels were wont to do. It just doesn't seem to be willing to help look for Zevran or offer any advice. 

[Tethras Clan]

Silence trots ahead of Zevran, checking in on her other pack members. Aveline is the first to notice, long used to listening for the sound if pawsteps. "Silence! Zevran!"

A short exchange of information later and the group all follow Zevran back into the tunnel he'd found. Zevran leads them to the daffodil room- easy enough to find really, it's just the first door he came to, on the left. Once there, Varric looks around. "Alright, let's give this a shot," he says to himself, then gently touches the flower in the best condition.

[GamesMaster]

Merrill rolls over in bed, eyes wide. "You mean-- can we go to one? Please?"

[Varric] laughs, her voice sounding perfectly natural as a female. "I don't think you want to go to a whorehouse, Merrill."

"Why ever not?" 

"Well, because, they're not nice places for nice girls like you." A surge of love floods through her, bringing a soft smile to [Varric's] face. Merrill truly is a marvel, a wonder. The seedy underbelly of Coalside isn't the place to bring such a perfect, lovely flower. 

But I did. I brought her to worse: the underdark. I handed her over to slavers. I destroyed her innocence. The scene, which had been almost tinged in a rosy, golden glow, takes on a dark tone. It's as if darkness is creeping in around the edges of his vision, threatening to rise up and overwhelm him and send him spiraling into the dark and the cold. 

Abruptly, Varric is dumped on his ass in the garden, as though the flower physically repelled him.