Disclaimer: I do not own anything Dragon age related.
A/N: I'm obviously still working on the story, but here's an updated version of chapter one.
Chapter one: Aeducan
The favored child of the dwarven king, you proudly take up your first military command... only to learn that the deadly intrigues of dwarven politics can pose a greater danger than even that faced on the battlefield.
Duran grumbled as he came to another dead end. He stared at the large pile of caved in rocks before turning around and going back the way he came. 'How the darkspawn make it anywhere without getting utterly lost is beyond me.' He thought irritably. He didn't know how long he had been in the Deep roads now, but he estimated that it was close to three days. His expression darkened when he thought about why he was in the Deep Roads, a place that no sane person (Other than a Warden) would travel alone.
He had been framed for the murder of his older brother, Trian, by his younger brother, Bhelen. Kinslaying was one of the worst crimes a dwarf could commit, not that it didn't happen all the time, just that no one let themselves be caught. Duran had been branded guilty without a trial and sent into Exile in the Deep Roads, a sure death. The only thing that had saved him was his good friend, and Second, Gorim, who was able to give him a sword before he was sent to his death.
As Duran fought his way through Giant Spiders, Deep Stalkers, and pockets of Dark spawn, he picked up any money he could find and while he briefly considered taking some of the armor of the deceased things, he didn't because they clearly hadn't been successful in keeping their original owners alive. So he spent his time trying to find the Grey Wardens that he knew were down here somewhere. At least, he hoped they were still down here, because if they weren't, his next best bet to staying alive would be to find the legion of the dead.
Duran froze, partway down the corridor and listened, he could hear metal clashing, obviously a fight was happening, so he rushed forward, keeping his wits about him, but eager to help. He quickly found the battle, a small group of wardens fighting off a number of dark spawn, and he jumped into the battle to help dispatch the last of the dark spawn before turning back to the group of Human men.
"Atrast Vala, Duncan." He greeted the Dark haired Warden that he recognized from the Nobles feast. Duncan looked surprised to see him.
"Atrast Vala, Duran. What are you doing in the deep roads? Is there another expedition?" He asked. The other Wardens looked at him curiously as he let out a low growl.
"No, I was exiled three days ago." Duncan's eyebrows rose in surprise, obviously knowing the consequences of a dwarf being exiled.
"You've lasted very well, for being down here on your own for so long." He said, his tone impressed. Duncan eyed Duran for a moment before crossing his arms and nodding. "Well, we are always in need of Wardens, and I think you would make a fine one."
Duran didn't even think about it before nodding.
"Yes, I was actually looking for you, in hopes that I could join."
"Then we should head back to the surface, you clearly need armor, and boots." Duncan said, eyeing the thread bare clothes Duran was wearing and his bare feet. He then turned to the other three wardens that were with him. "These are some of my fellow wardens, Aeden, Derrick, and Gale." He pointed to the other humans in order before turning back to him. "Are you in need of first aid?" Duran shook his head.
"No. However, I would very much like to leave this place." Duncan nodded sympathetically and motioned the others to move out.
As they walked, the youngest warden, who looked to be only slightly younger than Duran's own 32 years, with the raven hair fell into step beside him.
"If they fit, I have a set of boots you can borrow, until you get your hands on some of your own." He offered. Duran rose an eyebrow and looked up at him.
"You really think they'll fit my feet-" He trailed off, waiting for the mans name, since he hadn't paid much attention to who owned what name.
"Gale." The man supplied before looking down at their feet. "I don't reckon there's too much of a difference." He said, swinging his pack around and yanking a pair of boots out from off the top of his supplies. Duran nodded and grunted a thanks, he didn't relish the thought of wearing them without socks, but he'd take what he could get at this point. Gale seemed to know what he was thinking because he called out.
"Oi! Aeden, don't you have an extra pair of socks Duran here could borrow?"
The human who looked closest to Duncan's age with Blonde hair that looked to be greying prematurely looked back and nodded.
"Sure do. Don't need them back though." He said as he stopped and dug through his own pack real quick. Once he found his own set of socks, he tossed them to Duran and shouldered his pack. Duran once again grunted a thanks and quickly pulled them and the borrowed boots on.
"How do they fit?" Gale asked curiously as Duran tested them by walking a few steps normally then pivoting as though turning on an enemy then stopping abruptly, retying the laces and moving again.
"A bit long, but they'll do." He said. Gale nodded.
"Good. Can't imagine wandering around down here alone and without shoes." He said. Duran could see the curiosity in the man's eyes, but he wasn't going to indulge him. He still really didn't want to think about his exile.
"I can imagine worse." Duran said shortly, thinking about how lucky he was to at least been provided with a weapon. Gale seemed to understand that he didn't want to think about it and dropped the subject.
"Oi! Duncan, how much longer you think we'll be in here? I'm ready to see the sun again." Derrick, the man who also had Blonde hair called after a few hours of silence. Duncan paused and looked around.
"Maybe another day or so. We'll come out somewhere close to Redcliff." He said. He turned his head to look at the group. They seemed to be doing okay, but Duran looked as though he was starting to drag, but that wasn't surprising since he doubted the Dwarf had eaten or drank since being banished and was probably running on little to no sleep as well.
"We'll make camp here, eat and rest up a bit then head out again." He finally said when they came to a spot that was decent and protected enough from attackers.
The wardens nodded and started to take off their packs and set up camp. Duran just sat down, grateful for the rest, but not willing to complain. He was taken by surprise though, when a water can was shoved in his face. He blinked and looked up to see Derrick holding it out to him.
"Take it. I'll wager you need it." He said shortly, waiting just long enough for Duran to get a grip on it before spinning around and walking off to start the fire. Duran raised his eyebrow, uncorked it and sniffed it. When he deemed it safe, he took a healthy gulp of it, nearly sighing in relief as the cool water soothed his throat and moistened his mouth. As he sat, he studied the group, taking note of the dynamics of it and the chain of command[D1] . Duncan was clearly the Commander, despite the fact that it was actually his title, the others clearly respected him and trusted his leadership.[D2] Aeden also seemed to be the de facto second in command. He clearly wasn't the actual second, he just didn't have the 'I'm in charge, obey me.' Air around him. He also seemed to be more at ease with taking orders than giving, but knew how to do it when needed. Derrick was gruff and seemed to be more withdrawn, but constantly on the lookout. It was clear to Duran that he was a rogue, his eyes caught more than the other two warriors (he didn't count Duncan because he wasn't entirely sure just what he observed.) Finally, Gale seemed to be the youngest and most-light hearted. He was probably the friendliest and most open of the group and was the one that kept the rest of the group's spirits up.
After Camp was set up, Duncan quickly put together a stew and passed it out. Duran raised a skeptical eyebrow at how much food the four Wardens had, but put it down to them being humans. He was also relieved to see that Duncan had not given him a whole lot. Despite the fact that he was hungry, he didn't want to get sick from eating too much, too fast, too soon.
"How will we do watch this time Duncan?" Aeden asked after everyone had their fill. Duncan contemplated for a moment before saying,
"You'll do first watch, I'll do second, and Gale can do third this time, give a chance for Duran and Derrick to sleep. Then we'll switch it up again tomorrow. After that you can figure it out on your own when you head down to Ostegar." Duran frowned in confusion.
"Why are we going to Ostegar?" He asked. Duncan turned to him to explain.
"You and I aren't going immediately, but these three will be going down to join the rest of the Wardens and the Kings army fight to off an encroaching horde of Darkspawn. You and I are going to head to the Circle tower then to Denerim and the Brazillian forest to hopefully recruit a few more people and check on something before we head down to do your joining."
"What is the joining?" He asked. He watched suspiciously as the other three wardens traded significant looks before busing themselves with something else. Duncan looked at him seriously.
""The joining is a secret, but every Warden has to go through it. We pay a heavy price to be able to do what we do. But enough of that, rest and we can discuss the Wardens more as we travel."
Duran nodded and leaned back against the wall and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning was silent as breakfast was quickly served and the camp packed up. Duran felt more refreshed than he had in a long time, with some much needed sleep, food, and water, he was feeling quite energetic. The only thing that dampened his enthusiastic energy was his apprehension about reaching the surface. He'd lived underground his whole life, and he didn't really want to lose his stone sense, but he was also curious about things on the surface. How did people live? What did daylight look like? The grass? The Ocean? What would it be like to mingle with races other than his own? With people who didn't automatically know who he was and treat him as a prince?
These were all questions that fluttered around in Duran's head throughout the day. The only time he wasn't thinking about it was when they fought little pockets of dark spawn. In what seemed like no time at all, and an extremely long time, all at once, little of pockets of light started to shine through the caved in spots, the cave floors started to incline until they came to the surface.
Duran stopped and looked around, blinking and shielding his eyes from the sun.
"You okay?" Gale asked, shaking him out of his stupor. Duran gave himself a small shake to knock him back into his senses before nodding.
"Yes. I've never been to the surface before." He said quietly, looking around. Despite his excitement of seeing and learning something new, his heart sank as the reality that he could never go home washed over him.
"Never?" Gale asked in surprise, also looking around. "I couldn't imagine that. I was going crazy after several days under ground." Duran smiled grimly.
"I suppose I'll feel the same way about being top side." He looked up into the sky. "I know it's ridiculous, but I can see why so many dwarves think they'll fall into the sky." Gale looked at him incredulously.
"Really? Why?" He asked.
"I suppose because you can't fall up with a ceiling over your head." Duran explained, finding the man's skepticism amusing.
"Have you never met a dwarf who just went topside?" Duran asked as he picked up his pace to catch up to the others that either didn't notice the two fell behind, or were graciously trying not to make Duran more uncomfortable. Gale shrugged as he kept pace with Duran.
"Nope. Only Dwarves I know were born and raised up here." Gale explained.
"So there's no other dwarves in the Wardens right now?" Duran asked curiously.
"There's one other dwarf right now, but he was born in Denerim." Duran's eyebrows rose in surprise, the Grey Wardens were held in very high esteem by most dwarves and to hear that there weren't that many was a surprise.
"I'm surprised that more dwarves haven't joined."
"We're still a relatively small group here in Ferelden. We had been banished, but the late King Maric brought the order back about 20 years ago. Unfortunately most people just don't see much need for us because until recently, there's not been a lot of Darkspawn activity." Duncan explained, catching everyone's attention. "Sorry to interrupt, but this is where we'll all part." He said. He turned to Aedan,
"You, Derrick, and Gale need to go to Ostegar." Duncan then pulled two sealed letters out and handed it to him.
"Give the top letter to Seamus, it'll explain what I'm up to, and the second to Alistair, his will explain my plans for the recruits and that I want him involved. You'll need to hurry though, I don't plan on taking to long, it should take us two days to reach the Circle, then three days to Denerim if I can secure horses, and a week through the Brazillian forest and four days to Ostegar. Plan for our arrival in two weeks though." Duncan ordered before turning to Duran. "You'll be coming with me as I hopefully pick up the last few recruits, it will give you a chance to get to know them better if they come and I'll be able to answer more of your questions."
"May the Maker protect you, Duncan." Aeden said. Duncan nodded to him.
"May he protect us all." Duncan said seriously. Gale turned and gave Duran a clap on the shoulder.
"It was a pleasure to meet you Duran, I'll look forward to meeting you again after your joining." He said. Duran gave a small smile and nod.
"I as well."
After everyone's good byes were said, Duncan and Duran, traveled North East to Lake Calenhad, to the Circle of Magi, to try and recruit some more mages for the army, and hopefully into the Wardens. During the trip, Duran peppered Duncan with questions about the Wardens, both the individual people and the Order, about what he would be expected to do, and about surface life. Duncan patently answered all of his questions.
The walk to Lake Calenhad had been a surprisingly quick one, Duran mused, mostly because he had spent the majority of the time asking Duncan questions such as what politics were likes, what various things were that he had never seen, what could/would be expected of him as a dwarf to act like around humans/elves, questions about the Wardens, and about the landscape. In turn, Duncan also asked questions about the Dwarves, Darkspawn, and the Deep roads. To Duran's great surprise, the circle of Magi was in the center of the lake, with no way to it other than to cross the lake with a boat, which he looked at warily.
"If I may, Duncan, I believe I would prefer to camp here, or stay at the tavern if you're staying the night." He stated. Duncan nodded in amusement, seeming to understand where he was coming from.
"I'll give you some coin to stay in the tavern, they might have some things you can stock up on." Duncan handed him a small pouch of coins. Duran nodded and turned and walked into the tavern, it didn't really seem as though anyone was really in there other than the barman, some shady human in the corner, and a young boy that was working hard at cleaning the tables.
"Ho there! What can I do for ya?" The barman asked.
"I need a room for the night, a hot meal and if you have anything to sell, I'd like to see what you have." Duran said. The Barman nodded and motioned to the boy who scrambled out of the room and motioned for Duran to come closer.
"Don't have much as far as wares go, but we do have enchanted amulets, rings and belts from right over at the circle, as well as a couple sets of leather armor and some Kadis." He said, leading him to a side room that had, literally, a couple sets of leather armor and various enchanted pieces all in locked glass boxes. He looked them all over and was pleased to see that one of the sets of armor was his size, though it was disappointing that it was light armor when he normally wore heavy armor.
'Something's better than nothing.' He sighed to himself, longing for his old Silverlite Dwarven armor rather than this rather basic made Rough Leather armor.
"How much for the Leather armor there? The whole set?" He asked, looking it over. The barman rubbed his chin thoughtfully before saying,
"Hmmm, this is a worn set, but it'll keep you safe, 50 silver."
"The make isn't that wonderful and it's made of cheap material. Worn armor is not always the best kept and is more likely to fail you when you need it. I'll pay 35 silver, no more." Duran haggled. The barman looked a touch conflicted, but seemed to know that the armor was not going to sell for much more than that because he agreed and gave it to Duran after making sure he had the right amount of money.
"Thank you sir, you look weary, should we have your meal brought to your room? Or will you stay in the bar?" The barkeep asked. Duran thought about it for a bit, but the call of a bed, was to strong.
"I'll take my meal in my room, thanks." He said, following the man back to the bar room.
"Tomas, show the Dwarf to his room, and take his meal with you." The man called to the boy who had just scrambled back into the room with a bowl of stew. Duran turned to the keep and said,
"I'm waiting for a human man, named Duncan. If he asks, tell him where I am." The keep nodded his understanding before turning back to his other patrons, and Duran turned to follow the boy.
"Here you go." The boy said as he opened a door at the end of the hall. He put the bowl down on the bed side table, and left before Duran could say anything. Duran stared after the boy in bewilderment and slight amusement before sitting down and scarfing his dinner down, grateful for the flavorful meal after having the same bland stew day after day. After finishing his food, he kicked his boots, which were really Gales, off and made himself comfortable on the bed, glad he wasn't on the ground again, and quickly fell into a light sleep, not caring that it was the middle of the day.