The Girl with the Grave
Day 3 - Eyes of the Dead | Humblest of Creatures
@mournwatchweek
While working in the Necropolis, Dora is interrupted by Spite remarking that he found something that she needs to see. Bringing Lucanis and Emmrich with her, Spite shows that he has found a skeleton that wisps pointed out to him. He says that it's important, but he doesn't know why. Emmrich is kind enough to use his magic to find out why, and it hits just a little too close to home for Dora.
AO3
Dora wandered around the Necropolis with Lucanis at her side while Emmrich was categorizing something nearby. Spite was curious about their surroundings, but Lucanis seemed to keep a weathered eye on Dora, not that she minded. It seemed that the Crow was keen on keeping an eye on her. Like she was a puzzle to solve.
She didn’t love the scrutiny, but Neve had mentioned that Lucanis often did it to everyone when he first got to know them. Neve thought it had something to do with Spite or possibly with his Crow status. Dora had pretended to theorize with the detective even though she knew it was his training causing it.
Dora knew that Lucanis often ignored Spite and tried to pretend that the demon wasn’t there at all. She also knew that he was difficult to read and didn’t trust easily. So, she endured feeling like a bug under a magnifying glass until he felt content with her intentions. He did the same with Emmrich and Taash as well. Davrin had just made his tolerable list, apparently, but barely. To say he trusted the Warden was being too vague.
Lucanis trusted Davrin to help him kill the gods and not stab him in the back. Davrin trusted Lucanis to do the same. Spite had been the underlying issue, though. Dora was sure that she could smooth things between the two, but Lucanis had made it clear that he didn’t want anyone else to know that she could see or hear Spite.
It didn’t help that Spite had a thousand questions for her, which she was only supposed to answer without Lucanis’s verbal cue when they were alone. He was worried about what they would think of her since she wasn’t a necromancer. Or a mage. So, she wasn’t allowed to speak with Spite while there were other people around.
Dora didn’t see any harm in the rest of the team knowing, but she respected his wishes for now. If she needed to, she would reveal the truth, but there was no need to now. Besides, she wasn’t the one who was sharing the body with a spirit.
“DORA!” Spite bellowed from on a ledge above her while Dora was trying to figure out how to open a door below him. She blinked, glancing at Lucanis. The Crow sighed, shaking his head. Emmrich was still too close for her to respond to the demon directly, and Spite knew better.
“Spite wants to show you something,” Lucanis commented as Dora nodded once, gesturing for him to lead the way.
“Oh? It should be something interesting then!” Emmrich added, overhearing Lucanis’s comment, as he made his way over.
Lucanis wasn’t sure why he agreed to come, even after Spite begged to follow Dora through the eluvian. Rook and Davrin were heading to the Anderfels, and Lucanis nearly went with them when Spite steered him away. Emmrich was pleasantly surprised while Dora grimaced, not sure what the Crow wanted. She later learned that Spite was the cause, and she wished that she could do more to help.
It wasn’t that she disliked Lucanis, but she could tell that the Crow wasn’t comfortable around her. She guessed it was because Spite was fascinated by her, so Lucanis wanted to distance himself from her. It didn’t work as Spite sought her out constantly, especially when Lucanis eventually fell asleep.
She had tried locking her bedroom door, but it seemed Spite had learned how to pick locks. He never did anything, but it was clear that Lucanis was upset every time he found himself there. Dora made a mental note to see if Treviso had any anti-Crow locks she could buy.
“We’ll see, I suppose,” Dora replied to Emmrich’s comment with an optimistic smile.
They climbed up to the ledge with the nearby ladder as Lucanis stood next to Spite to help translate for Emmrich and for their illusion. Dora glanced at him before seeing that Spite had found a someone rather than something.
It was an open sarcophagus with a skeleton inside, and Dora raised a brow at Lucanis before Spite hummed. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was supposed to find so interesting about it, but it was strange to find an open casket on a cliff’s edge.
“Wisps whisper. Return. Skeleton is important. Don’t know why,” Spite explained as Lucanis exhaled. He hated it when the demon gave cryptic answers. “Important to Dora. She should see. Should know.”
“The wisps guided Spite here to the skeleton. Something about returning? He’s not sure why they called to him,” the Crow explained, turning to Emmrich. The necromancer hummed in interest before looking over the skeleton. “Spite’s saying it’s important, though.”
“We could find out more about them if you would like,” Emmrich commented as Dora remembered Emmrich’s corpse whispering. She supposed it couldn’t hurt, and she nodded, turning to the skeleton.
Lucanis grimaced as Spite hovered over Dora’s shoulder, wanting to know more about the story. Emmrich cast his corpse whispering magic before the skeleton wiggled to unlife.
Usually, Emmrich would generally ask the corpse or skeleton questions, but there was no need for him to ask anything. The skeleton started to whisper and talk immediately, surprising each of them.
“Stumbling... the steps...” the skeleton whispered as Dora furrowed her brow. “...Skeletons saw...”
She had seen Emmrich perform his corpse whispering before, but this was entirely different from what she had seen. The voice was clearer and present rather than echoey or raspy. Emmrich continued as the skeleton moved around the coffin, almost restless, searching.
“Oh... no choice...” the skeleton muttered in disappointment, and something struck somewhere deep in Dora’s heart. She furrowed her brows as she felt sorry for the corpse. The determination and desperation in the voice were clear to her, and there was a strange almost familiarity she almost didn’t want to recognize. “...had to be brave... had to be brave...”
Dora nearly told Emmrich that she had heard enough when she was frozen by the skeleton’s next words.
“...Too late to cry... Saved the girl with the grave...” the skeleton informed before the spirit voice vanished and the skeleton fell still again.
Dora took a deep breath and stared at the skeleton for a moment before turning to Spite and Lucanis, a silent demand for an explanation. Spite shook his head as Lucanis grimaced.
She blinked as she glanced around the area, taking into account of where they were. They were in the Shrouded Halls, but Vorgoth said that she was found deep within the Necropolis in a crypt. In a grave.
“Spite mentioned that the wisps said something about returning,” Lucanis reminded softly, and that was all the confirmation that Dora needed. She turned to Emmrich, unable to look either of them in the eye.
“If you would excuse me, I am going to return to the lighthouse. I... I need a moment to myself,” Dora informed as Emmrich nodded.
“I will speak with Lady Myrna and Vorgoth about the skeleton as well. We will find out all we can before we see that he gets a proper burial,” the necromancer informed. Dora dipped her head once before she turned and left.
Spite started after Dora, but she ignored him. She could hear Lucanis informing Emmrich that he was going to go with her to the eluvian, and Emmrich said that he would be along shortly. He had only a few more things to see to, but Dora couldn’t wait around to see what those were. The necromancer would be fine on his own for a little while longer.
Dora was about halfway across the bridge from the Sunken Star to the eluvian when she heard Lucanis’s voice telling her to slow down for a moment. She paused before turning towards him. She wasn’t upset with him or Spite, but she most likely found the person who had left her down in the Necropolis. It was possible that who they found was her biological father, and she had been unprepared to face that reality.
Still, she stopped and stared at him as the Crow approached. He seemed cautious that she would do something, and she had to silently scoff. She wasn’t going to do anything to him, and she hoped that eventually he would see that. She meant him no harm, and she likely never would.
“Are you alright?” Lucanis asked, surprising the Watcher. Dora blinked at him before grimacing and clenching her jaw. She glanced over the edge of the bridge before letting out a breath.
“No, I don’t think I am,” she whispered before folding her arms. “But I would think that I will be fine soon enough.”
“Are you sure that the lighthouse would be the best place for you?” Lucanis wondered. Dora looked at him with a confused look.
“It’s where we are staying for now. Why wouldn’t I return there?”
“Because this is home, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable here?”
“Asking for less time with me already?” she teased with a sad smile. Dora wasn’t sure of his intentions but teasing him was easy if it got the meaning of his words out in the open.
“No, I just...” Lucanis started before he sighed. He was never good at this. “I just want you to be comfortable, I guess. I thought that maybe staying here might be more helpful, but if you think the lighthouse will be better for you, then we can head back.”
Dora thought about it for a moment before looking back at the eluvian. In some ways, the lighthouse had become a second home. However, Lucanis wasn’t wrong that she felt more comfortable in the Necropolis. She had hardly left the city of the dead until she had met Emmrich, and the darkness of the sunless Necropolis was a balm for her in ways that she couldn’t describe to the people who lived above.
She stared at him for a moment before frowning.
“I suppose the Necropolis would be more comfortable for me, but I don’t want to be here by myself,” she amended, about to suggest that they should head back.
“Spite and I could sit with you, if that’s what you’d like,” Lucanis mentioned. Dora paused, again surprised by the Crow. She considered it for a moment.
“You hate this place, and you can’t deny it. I know that you don’t like coming here,” Dora reminded as Lucanis grimaced. “I know Spite strong-armed you into coming with me and Emmrich today.”
“While I don’t love the Necropolis, I don’t mind spending time with you,” Lucanis replied with a sigh. Dora smirked at that as she folded her arms.
“You like to spend time with the creepy girl found among the graves?” she wondered with a dry laugh, but it was an honest question. She knew that she was unsettling on a good day, especially to mages who didn’t practice necromancy. Her connection to the Fade was different and odd. Unnatural, one mage told her.
“I could let you be by yourself instead,” Lucanis reminded coldly before she smirked.
“Well, if you don’t mind spending more time here, I would appreciate it. Although, I would prefer we didn’t speak to Vorgoth at the moment. I would like Emmrich to explain what we saw to them first. Then they can discuss what they want with me afterwards,” Dora remarked before exhaling. Vorgoth was usually a source of comfort, but anymore revelations right now would be too much for her. “But I could show you to a lesser-known part of the Necropolis, if you’re willing. It’s pretty.”
“I suppose that doesn’t sound too bad,” Lucanis mentioned as she smiled.
“Come with me,” she replied before motioning with her head. Lucanis followed as they took a detour around the Sunken Star’s building off a side path outside the walls.
Lucanis was a little nervous about going this way, but he trusted Dora to at least not push him off the edge to his death. Spite eagerly followed, however, as if he would follow her to the ends of the earth. Spite was fascinated with Rook, and that was not up for debate. However, there was something different with this interest in the Mourn Watcher. It was almost protective or adoring, if Lucanis didn’t know any better.
After a few minutes, Dora helped Lucanis up to the top of the building overlooking the Necropolis and the eternal fog that hovered over it. It was a haunting green, but Lucanis had to admit that it had a peaceful effect to it. It wasn’t pretty like a sunset or a mountainscape, but there was something about it that he could appreciate.
Dora sat on the edge of the building and took a deep breath, as if she had been holding air in her lungs the whole day. Lucanis looked at her before sitting next to her. She gave a small smile before looking over the landscape.
“Do you want to talk about what we saw?” Lucanis offered as Dora thinned her lips in thought. She wasn’t sure, but it would likely help.
“I’m sure you have questions,” she countered.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It would be easier if you asked them. I’m not sure where to start.”
“Well,” he replied, better understanding her reasoning. “You said earlier that you were a girl found among the graves. It’s hard not to compare that to what the skeleton said when Emmrich made it talk.”
“Have I not mentioned my upbringing to you?” Dora wondered, turning to him. It had been a minute since she had to tell someone about where she came from. The Crow lifted his shoulders.
“I know that you were essentially raised in the Necropolis to be a Mourn Watcher. That’s all I know,” Lucanis answered as she grimaced.
“I wish it had been that simple of an explanation,” Dora replied before exhaling. “But you are correct. I’m what’s called a founding. An orphan that was taken in by the Mourn Watch. I was a toddler when I was found.”
“Among the graves?” Lucanis added carefully, making sure that his voice only held curiosity without judgment. Dora nodded.
“Precisely. My discovery sparked years of debates and curiosity among the Mortalitasi. Now one knows how long I was in the crypt, but they guessed I was about two when they found me,” she explained as his brows nearly lifted off his head.
“Two years old?” Lucanis whispered as Dora smirked.
“Two years old. I wasn’t able to communicate effectively, but I could walk around and do essentially everything else. Vorgoth said that I would mime things to get what I wanted, and it looked similar to what the skeletons did in the area,” she informed. Lucanis clenched his jaw to keep it from dropping.
“So, you were…”
“I was likely being kept alive by the Necropolis skeletons, yes, but that’s what sparked the debate. How long was I down there for really? Two years? A year and a half? A month? A day?” Dora asked before shrugging. “We don’t have an answer, but babies and children don’t just appear in the Necropolis. No one ever came forward to claim me, and there was never anything unaccounted for in the Necropolis. Well, until today, perhaps. Emmrich will let us know if that body was catalogued or not.”
“Wouldn’t the skeletons or wisps know? Emmrich would have been there to talk to them,” Lucanis pointed out as Dora nodded, looking at him.
“Vorgoth had a lot of people look into it. The wisps had no memory of who dropped me off. The skeletons had no answers. So, my heritage remains a mystery to this day. Well, until today, potentially. It seems that we have found one person who might know more about who I am and where I came from,” she remarked with a sigh. It was strange that she might have answers after all this time.
“But your ability to survive down in the crypts started up years of debates?” Lucanis wondered, a little surprised to hear that. She laughed under her breath before she shook her head.
“No, not just that. It was my ability to communicate and observe the spirits of the Fade in the physical world without having any access to magic that brought so much interest to the academic world. It’s one of the reasons why I became a Watcher so quickly. Vorgoth was supportive, but they never pulled any strings for me or helped me advance from their station in the Watchers,” Dora explained with a smile.
“And Vorgoth, the floating brown cloak with the golden bangles, is your adoptive parent,” Lucanis recalled as Dora nodded slowly.
“They aren’t a cloak, but I guess so, yes. They are the only family I have, but I don’t call them dad or anything like that. It started out as a foster situation until they could find me a proper family to grow in, but Vorgoth ended up deciding that they wanted to have a daughter, I suppose,” she answered with a smirk. “But they said that when they held me, they saw something different in me. There was something about me that spoke to them, and they wanted to keep me close. They never did explain further, but it always sounded like they were preparing me for a destiny I couldn’t know about.”
“You don’t think they foresaw this, do you?”
“Who knows? Vorgoth is a powerful diviner and has been a Watcher for decades, if not centuries. They might have seen this coming for a good long while. As for whether or not I am destined to be involved has yet to be revealed.”
“They said that?”
“Well, they said that there was something in the Fade that showed them that I was needed on Emmrich’s assignment down in the depths of the Shrouded Halls. That was what brought me to you and Rook. It doesn’t take a genius to guess what Vorgoth was thinking from there,” Dora admitted with a shrug before she grinned. “But it could also be that I’m just destined to be Emmrich’s helper and your friend. Nothing is ever set in stone, after all. Fate is ever changing, and I think they just see the most likely outcomes.”
“I don’t find that very comforting,” Lucanis sighed as she tilted her head.
“Which part?”
“That even Vorgoth doesn’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Ah, well,” Dora chuckled, relieved that it was something normal to be nervous about. Lucanis had been tasked with killing the blighted mages terrorizing Thedas. It was natural to want a sure answer. “I know that they likely sent me to give you the best chance there is. They wouldn’t just send me with strangers for the fun of it.”
“True. Do they have a sense of humor?” Lucanis wondered as she nodded.
“It takes a while to get used to it, but you learn when they’re joking or teasing you eventually,” Dora answered before leaning back. “Thank you for coming up here with me, Lucanis. This has been helpful.”
“I’m glad,” he replied with a smile. “I didn’t expect to find myself up here.”
“I appreciate you coming up here all the same,” she chuckled, catching his meaning. She knew that it wasn’t his favorite place in the world, but he was kind to humor her. “Would you be willing to indulge me in one more thing?”
“Possibly,” he answered with a hum.
“Rook said that you two went to a nice coffee shop in Treviso. Would you be willing to show me? I haven’t been to Treviso before,” Dora mentioned. Lucanis nodded once before standing.
“I would love to take you there,” he replied, offering his hand to help her stand.
“I WILL MAKE SURE THE REMAINS ARE BURIED WITH THE PROPER CEREMONY,” Vorgoth informed Emmrich as they walked along the halls of the Necropolis. The necromancer nodded, a little concerned still.
“And what do you make of the last words of the skeleton? The point towards Miss Ingellvar,” Emmrich reminded as Vorgoth stayed silent for a moment.
“THE KNOWLEDGE BEHIND THOSE WORDS WILL LIKELY HAUNT HER FOR YEARS TO COME. I WILL HANDLE IT WHEN THE TIME ARRIVES,” Vorgoth answered, surprising their fellow Watcher. “TEODORA IS NOT YET READY TO KNOW THE TRUTH. SHE HAS MUCH TO LEARN STILL, BUT THE TIME DRAWS NEAR. IF SHE LEARNS THE TRUTH OF HER CREATION TOO EARLY, THEN SHE WILL UNRAVEL.”
“Creation?” Emmrich whispered, shocked. Vorgoth said nothing for another moment before Emmrich sighed. “What do you mean creation? People are not created, we are born. You don’t throw around words like that by accident, Vorgoth.”
“I DO NOT.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“THE EYES OF THE DEAD WILL WATCH OVER HER AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE. ONE OF THEIR OWN TURNED FLESH IN A MANNER WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE,” Vorgoth answered as Emmrich froze, knowing that they didn’t speak in half measures. Vorgoth didn’t gossip or exaggerate. They spoke plainly and with assurance. “SPEAK OF THIS TO NO ONE. NO ONE MUST KNOW.”
“But… how?” Emmrich asked, confused. Vorgoth shook their head.
“YOU WASTE TIME, VOLKARIN. WE CANNOT DISCUSS THIS NOW, BUT PERHAPS SOON,” the Watcher entity replied diplomatically before Emmrich felt the room grow colder. “SHE MUST NOT LEARN OF THIS. SHE IS NOT READY.”
“My lips are sealed, Vorgoth, you have my word,” Emmrich replied with a solemn bow. Vorgoth bowed in return before taking their leave, letting the necromancer make his way back towards the eluvian.