Reminder: Just like the rest of my crossover stories, An Oath of Stone is of a separate continuity in regards to the non-crossover stories, especially the Oaths and Grudges series. This chapter will have quite a bit of dialogue from the game. Feel free to also check on Blood of the Phoenix which is part of the same series along with other stories. (Expect editing over time)

Thunder echoed within ancient corridors of stone as fires raged and the darkness that had once filled its paths were banished in a blaze of fire, its walls trembled as dust. Roars of pain and follows soon followed the sound of thunderous noises as large burning bodies stepped out from the blazing infernos. Their flesh melted like wax as the fat underneath further fed the flames and a smell that was deliciously akin to roasted pork began to fill the caverns.

Hunger filled the bellies of Groth Stonemaul and his Maneaters as they inhaled the aroma of cooked ogre flesh which also would have been just as good, raw and bloody. The burning ogres which had been caught in the devious trap moved towards them with arms outstretched and their voices was ruining Groth's concentration. Pulling out one of his Ogre-crafted pistols, the Tyrant aimed the heavy gun at one of the unfortunate ogres and he blew out the brains of one while the others used their swords or clubs to cut down their fellows.

For two days, something had been killing the warriors of the Rockgut Tribe and no one had any idea what it was. First there had been reports of Gnoblars going missing but it had been dismissed by Groth for the runty little things were always either murdering each other, getting eaten by his ogres or engaging with all sorts of mischief that often resulted in one of them dying. Then came the reports from the ogre raiding parties who been sent out about deadly traps that were placed along the cave's entrance which resulted in a few fatalities and several injured warriors.

Now the caverns had become a deathtrap with each corridor and tunnel hosting a deadly array of waiting death. Some of the other ogres had begun to whisper of evil spirits inhabiting the cave which had once been an orc stronghold. Groth did not believe in such superstitious tales or at least, it was what he wanted for his followers to believe.

He swore to the Great Maw that when he found whoever was setting all these traps, he would make it watch him eat its limbs first. The thought of eating made his stomach grumble for all he had to eaten in the last day was Gnoblars and their own fallen warriors. What especially made their situation worse was that the passage into the chambers which had been converted into the kitchen and storeroom had also been booby trapped.

Groth understood well enough that without the food they had stored, his ogres would quickly consume their personal stashes before turning on the Gnoblars and then each other. The fires continued to burn for a few moments before slowly dying out but the damage it had caused was already done to their already dwindling numbers. Where once they had numbered around three dozen ogres, there were now only six (including himself) who remained in any proper condition to fight while the injured would most likely become meals if they did not heal up soon.

'Get those torches blazing!' roared Groth in their native tongue of Grumbarth as darkness began to surround them again and a trio of ogres stepped towards the dying fires while each one carried a log of wood which had been smeared with flammable oil.

A loud clack suddenly resounded through the darkness and one of the torch bearers, Morog suddenly had his chest explode with smoke and fire. Seared meat rained upon the gathered ogres as Morog fell back and another pair of clacks rang out, resulting in the deaths of the other two torch bearers. The remaining ogres began searching the darkness for whatever had shot their kin but unlike other races such as the greenskins or the skaven, they were just as blind in the dark as a human was.

Once more they were plunged into darkness as the acrid stench of spent gunpowder filled their lungs and Groth began bellowing out a mixture of threats and orders to keep the rest of his warriors in line before an bright light suddenly began to shine in the darkness. Much to the surprise of Groth, he saw that standing before his warriors was a short figure clad in a stone grey cloak and a gleaming suit of chainmail armour and a sword sheathed on one side of its waist. Green eyes looked towards them with an expression of contempt and disdain as a lamp was held up in one hand and in the other, a black metal ball with a small piece of burning rope on one end.

'You bastards stole from the wrong dwarf!' shouted the cloaked creature in a surprisingly feminine voice before hurling the object which Groth quickly recognized was a bomb.

The Ogre's eyes widened with surprise as the metal object flew towards him and he tried to draw his second pistol but as soon as the gun cleared its holster, the bomb exploded in a cloud of intense heat that quickly burned Groth Stonemaul and his ogres as horribly as the ones he had just been forced to mercy kill.

Watching in grim satisfaction as the ogres were set ablaze from her Drakefire grenade, Vanyra Skorrisdottir set down her runic lantern and she quickly pulled out her repeater crossbow which was also imbued with Rune Magic. Taking aim at the burning Ogres, she unleashed a volley of steel-tipped bolts towards those who drew closer to her; each bolt was imbued with the magic that had been placed into her weapon with some even carrying miniature explosive charges at the tip. Emptying the entire magazine upon the brutes, the Dwarf Engineer felt good to watch as the rest of them were cut down as easily as goblins.

As the last of the Ogres died with its body smoldering into charred meat from the flames, she began to cautiously survey the corridor to see if any of their grobi slaves were also about and soon found the area to be clear for now. Hooking the runic lamp to the side of her belt and deactivating its illuminating magic, the Engineer cautiously moved back towards the tunnel behind her while loading a fresh magazine for her crossbow. It did not take her long to find her way back to the ogre kitchen which she had booby trapped with explosive mines.

The tunnel that connected to the kitchen was filled with the smell of meat, both fresh or rancid as well as the faint scent of spices which no doubt would have been pillaged. She tried not to think too much about what they had butchered and cut up there, considering the voracious appetites which the Ogri had. When she entered the kitchen, it was just as she had last left it, a dark, torch-lit abbatoir where several bloodied carcasses hung upside down, some of which of which were clearly human and a great iron cauldron inlaid with ogre religious symbols lay within the center.

The body of a somewhat mutated ogre shaman she had earlier slain still lay in the same spot and riddled with bleeding shrapnel wounds from a Cinderblast Bomb she had used. Adjacent to the kitchen was another chamber where the Ogres had kept some of the "fresher" meat which was her destination. Inside, she could hear the terrified braying from her pack mule, Got.

Cursing herself for what seemed to be the hundredth time for becoming careless enough to allow the grobi to steal the mule, what truly vexed her was that they had also taken the bulging bags which Got still carried. She was especially in a foul mood due to the sheer mount of explosive devices and ammunition which she had been force to use against the ogres for it was just a waste really to use it all in this sort of situation. She decided that before leaving, she should set off a few charges and cause a cave-in as payback for the inconvenience towards her.

She soon found the crude pens and cages of rusted iron that smelled of animal excrement which lined up the walls of the storeroom where her pack mule was held. Moving to the cage where she had earlier spotted her mule, Vanyra was relieved to see the various items it carried were still there, amazing really that her mule had yet to be devoured.

'Come on, lets get you out of there' said the dwarf as she stowed her crossbow upon her back and reached for the cage door. She then opened the cage where her mule was held and she heard the screeching of metal which hurt her ears. Got stepped back in fear while making braying sounds and Vanyra did her best to calm the faithful pack animal that had accompanied her since the beginning of her travels.

After a few moments of soft shushing and whispers, the mule became less agitated as she went towards the pack it carried and pulled out a carrot from a bag filled with produce which she then gave to Got. Soon leading the mule out from its cage, Vanyra cautiously moved back into the kitchen with one hand on Got's reins and the other tightly clutching her wrench. The Engineer's mind became occupied for she began to remember all of the traps she had been setting and the time she would need to disarm and reclaim the ones which still remained.

A sudden chill then began to run down her spine as she heard a deep, gurgling voice speak in a foul tongue which she had grown familiar enough in her journey to know that it was a sorcerous speech. Quickly casting her gaze towards the Ogre Shaman, she saw the obese brute chomping down on some raw meat while casting a spell at the same time. Quickly dropping her wrench and reaching for one of her last remaining Drakefire grenades, the Engineer primed the explosive and hurled it at the chanting spell caster before the ground beneath both herself and her mule collapsed.

Shouting in surprise while a terrified braying from Got followed her, Vanyra saw walls of sharp teeth surrounding her and a glowing blue azure disc of light which materialized below her. Chain links sprang out from the disc, wrapping tightly around both herself and her mule and pulling them towards it like a kraken holding on to a ship. The next thing that Vanyra Skorrisdottir knew was that she had ended up in hell…

ACT I: DUNKEL UNTEN

How did it come to this? was the thought which bothered Sereda Aeducan as she sat within her cell. Just the day before, she had been the crown jewel of Orzammar; the crowds had cheered her name in the Proving Arena, the merchants had offered their wares with great discounts and a grand feast had been made in honor of her name. Now here she was, in a prison cell dressed in clothes fit for a castless and for sleeping, there was a filthy pile of hay nearby along with rather quite grimly, a pile of moldering bones which lay close as well, probably the last unfortunate dwarf who had been placed in here.

Honestly though, Sereda knew why she was here but she could hardly believe it. Her eldest brother, Prince Trian had been murdered by her youngest brother, Bhelen who had manipulated events to make it look as if she herself had done the deed. It was not the fratricide that made it hard to believe for, such a thing was common and quietly expected in Orzammar's courts and indeed, she herself was planning on eventually having her elder brother meet an "accident" along the way.

What truly made it hard to believe was that Sereda herself was outplayed by Bhelen who she did not suspect was even capable of such plots, more so, the ability to pull one off that would result in a "two nugs, one stone" scenario. She was conflicted over whether she should feel admiration or anger towards her younger brother and she swore that if she ever saw him again, she would stick a sword down his throat. She then heard a pair of voices coming from the corridor which led into the prison and one voice which she immediately recognized had quickly filled her with a measure of relief and dread.

Moving towards the iron bars of her cell, Sereda saw two dwarves walking towards her cell, one was a bald headed and beardless guard while the other was a handsome, brown haired and bearded knight of the warrior caste whom she knew all too well to be her Second, Gorim Saelac.

'Of course, leave us alone will you please?' asked Sereda's Second towards the guard who nodded and went off towards the doorway while Gorim himself went towards her cell and stopped in front of her to simply say 'my lady… I would have come sooner had they allowed it. How are you?'

A slight smile was etched upon Sereda's lips as she saw Gorim who was perhaps the closest friend she had in Orzammar and indeed was even far more than that. Doing her best to still speak in a composed and regal manner, she then replied 'I was worried for you.'

'And I for you my heart, but I bring little but bad news though' Gorim then said and Sereda was fairly sure that she would not be too happy to hear it. 'Bhelen has taken Trian's place in the Assembly' continued her Second 'He introduced a motion to condemn you immediately, and it easily passed.'

Gorim paused for a moment with a look of disbelief on his face which Sereda herself could not help but feel the same way about as well. He then continued to speak 'He… had fully half the Assembly ready to vote on something completely against tradition and justice!' Gorim then shook his head and added 'He must have been making deals and alliances for months, if not years'

Once more, Sereda began to curse herself for not bothering to pay attention towards Bhelen for in the years of playing the games of intrigue; she had always considered Trian to be the one to look out for. With a sigh of resignation, she then replied to her Second 'you have to respect Bhelen's ability to play the game.'

Gorim gave her a somber nod for surely he would have been as surprised as Sereda was in the matter and he said 'He's more clever than either of us ever thought, some of the lords, especially Harrowmont, are suspicious of Bhelen's instant rise to power.' A brief flicker of hope filled the heart of Sereda who always liked Lord Pyral Harrowmont as an uncle-like figure but soon that small spark was extinguished when Gorim continued 'They are rallying, but far too slowly. The Assembly has already sentenced both of us…'

Knots of fear for both herself and Gorim could be felt within her stomach as she heard that last part and she could not help but ask in a voice that was full of concern towards her Second 'what's going to happen to you?'

Gorim's response surprised her for his tone was one resigned to whatever fate would befall him. 'My knighthood will be stripped' Gorim then said calm with a measure of sadness 'my name torn from my family records… but I will be allowed to attempt some sort of life on the surface.'

Sereda gasped at such a sentence which seemed so unjust and cruel for like her, Gorim was innocent of the crime they were accused of. To be stripped of his Caste, exiled to the surface and stricken from the Memories maintained by the Shaperate would mean that he would no longer be accepted by the Stone. It was a cruel and horrible fate, for one who was so loyal and it filled Sereda with a sense of anger and vengeance towards her younger brother.

'Lord Harrowmont moved for a similar exile for you' Gorim then said but the way he spoke did not fill Sereda with much hope 'but Bhelen's supporters overwhelmed him.' He then sighed with a profoundly sad look on his face as he looked Sereda in the eye and said 'you're to be sealed in the Deep Roads to fight the darkspawn until you are overwhelmed and killed.'

'It's a warrior's death, at least' sighed Sereda rather quietly who was hoping to meet such a fate at a significantly later point in her life, preferably after ascending the throne and making a few changes to how Orzammar's system and possibly with Gorim at her side and worthy heirs to rule afterwards.

'I have been given the choice to join you as well, my lady' Gorim then said and Sereda gave him a sad look as she felt her composure finally begin to break.

'Please, do not' Sereda then said as she felt tears almost ready to flow from her eyes 'go to the surface, live a long, happy life for me.'

'I would give up all the safety in the world to be with you' Gorim said rather wistfully and for a moment she feared that he was really going to follow her down to the Deep Roads. Her Second's shoulders then slumped for a moment and he continued 'Our time is up, may the Paragons guide your sword and the Stone hold you up.'

The tears which Sereda held back was now almost ready to break as she heard those words and she found herself blurting out 'wait, please.'

'We have no time, my heart' Gorim then said with a bit of urgency as he glanced towards the hallway where the guard still stood.

'Just hold me one last time' whispered Sereda.

'The Guards won't keep quiet about something like that' whispered Gorim with a bit of surprise 'your family will know…'

Sereda then sighed again and she nodded for even under such circumstances, proper decorum and standards were needed to be maintained. 'You're right' Sereda then said with sadness and regret 'we must still protect our reputations.'

For a moment, she saw a sad look as well on Gorim's face, a part of him which wished that they had at least one last moment together, regardless of the their station and he spoke before turning away 'I will always love you, my lady.'

Watching Gorim go was perhaps one of the worst things Sereda had ever felt, like in those stories about a woman who watches her love go away to war and was quite aware of reversal in roles. She then heard the footsteps of the guard moving towards her cell and Sereda looked up to see the bald red armored warrior.

'They are ready for you now' the guard then said and it felt like Sereda was walking into her own execution, which was not far from the reality of her situation...

A feeling of weightlessness and vertigo filled the senses of Vanyra Skorrisdottir as her eyes beheld the nightmarish hellscape of the Realms of Chaos before suddenly, everything went black and she quickly felt the impact of her own back landing against hard stone. The air within her lungs suddenly escaped the moment she struck the earth with a loud "oof". Groaning with pain and mentally muttering a curse to all of Ogre-kind as well as towards magicians, the Engineer breathed the air back into her lungs and she could hear the panicked sounds of Got flailing about.

'Bugrit…' hissed Vanyra Skorrisodottir as she rolled over and struggled to push herself up. Darkness surrounded the dwarf whose eyes had already been adjusted to the gloom and soon she was able to see through it as easily as day. Getting back up to her feet, the Engineer felt her vision spin for a moment and it seemed that she would need to sit down before simply shaking her head and focusing her will on trying to reorient herself.

Shrugging off the momentary dizziness, Vanyra blinked twice before feeling her head clear up. Pulling her cloak's hood back over her head, she surveyed the area around her and quickly she found herself to not be in the Ogre kitchen, instead she was in an open cavern that was clearly deep underground. After a moment she quickly noticed something off about the stones around her, there was something strange, different and disturbingly unfamiliar about it which she could not quite put her finger on.

She was also quick to notice her mule which continued to bray to be lying on the ground and struggling to get back up but was unable to so due to the weight of all the items it carried. With a soft grunt, Vanyra went towards the pack animal to help relieve its burden and get it back up to its hooves; she also noticed that her wrench conveniently lay close by. As she moved towards the pack animal, she began to feel a familiar itch on her palms and she had learned long ago learned to trust her instincts when danger was nearby.

Quickly retrieving her wrench, she then reached for the pack upon Got's back where she removed and equipped a brace of twin multi-barreled pistols which she had crafted herself over the course of her travels. Taking one pistol in her left hand and placing the other hand over the hilt of her enchanted dwarf-forged Katzbalger, she thumbed the hammer on the back of her pistol while drawing her sword from its sheath and the blade's fuller was lit with gloaming amethyst sigils. In the darkness around her, she caught sight of moving humanoid shapes and something told her that whatever these things were, whatever they are, not friendly.

Pointing her pistol towards the closest of the approaching creatures, Vanyra narrowed her eyes while trying to get a better look and what she saw filled the dwarf with revulsion. Multiple creatures as hideous as Chaos mutants attempted to circle her with a variety of swords, axes and maces drawn. Quickly scanning the surrounding monsters around her, the Engineer also noticed a few archers taking position upon some high ground and she also noticed one tall monster with a strange headdress and a staff, another damned sorcerer no doubt.

Quickly weighing her options of which one she should shoot first, Vanyra quickly turned towards one to the sorcerer and fired her pistol. The loud crack of the blackpowder weapon being discharged echoed across the cavern as the sorcerer fell and already she was on the move with the auto loading mechanism of her pistol replacing the spent barrel with another that was loaded with shot and powder. Bringing her pistol up to face another monster which looked almost like a dwarf-sized orc, she shot the thing in the face before sweeping her katzbalger to the side and catching another in the neck and nearly decapitating the thing.

A warm rush of vitality infused the dwarf's being as her sword parted the flesh of the monster. Once, she had felt uneasy about using a weapon with such a ghastly enchantment but the wizard who had imbued it was someone Vanyra herself had come to trust which was the only reason why she allowed it. The sword had served her well during the course of her travels and the magic that had been placed upon it only served to make the blade even deadlier.

An arrow struck the rocky ground on Vanyra's as more of the things drew closer with weapons raised and she spun around to face the position of another archer and she pulled the trigger on it. The second archer died like the first one with the others not paying much heed as the ones armed with melee weapons followed after her. Quickly holstering her pistol, the Engineer then removed one of the last few grenades which was still attached to her bandolier and she primed the explosive device before hurling it over the heads of the monsters.

After a few moments, the grenade exploded over the monsters in a puff of smoke and flame that sent a hail of razor sharp metal shards down towards them. The creatures that assailed her were momentarily stunned by the loudness of the explosion and the sudden death of their kin, they did not notice the second grenade that had landed in the midst of those at the front of the group, facing towards the Engineer. A second explosion of smoke, fire and shrapnel blossomed underneath those closer to the dwarf and causing horrendous bodily damage as body parts, blood and flesh were scattered about.

Not giving time for survivors to recover from the shock, Vanyra hurled one last grenade before quickly pulling out the pistol she had just holstered and fired the remaining rounds with each one felling a target before switching to the other pistol. Unleashing another volley of lead rounds with deadly accuracy, she closed her eyes and looked away as the third grenade exploded in a bright flash of retina-searing light and the Engineer then began to run towards the remaining monsters with the name of Grimnir upon her lips. Firing the last round of her pistol towards the head of one human-sized monster, she holstered the gun and pulled out her wrench, dual-wielding both the tool and sword.

With skill that had been finely honed over the course of her many adventures, the dwarf swept her wrench to the left and smashed the skull of one short monster while her gloaming sword bit deep into the neck of another. Feeling the rush of stolen life energy which reinvigorated her, Vanyra quickly moved behind one of the taller monsters and smashed the back of its right kneecap and forcing the thing down before plunging her katzbalger into the back of its neck where the blade emerged from the front of its throat. Pulling her sword out from the monster's neck, she kicked it down to the ground and spun backwards with her wrench following and striking another in its hideous face.

Fighting with a fury to match that of a Slayer, Vanyra became a whirlwind of flashing steel as she slashed and smashed at the creatures. The various ensorcelled pieces of equipment which she had acquired over the course of her travels made the Engineer faster and stronger than what would be possible from most other dwarfs. Dark, foul smelling blood that burned on contact began to coat her weapons, armour and cloak as each death further filled the dwarf with the vitality to keep on fighting.

Standing before the gates leading into the Deep Road, Sereda looked towards the bulwark with fear and she wondered if this is what it was like when someone was about to be executed. Stepping towards the gates which she had so recently taken on the way to find the shield from the Aeducan Thaig, Sereda was accompanied by a single guard while an old dwarf garbed in formal red robes often worn during Assemblage meetings awaited her and in his hands she saw him carry a sword and shield.

'Here is the prisoner Lord Harrowmont' announced the guard towards the old dwarf who was the closest friend of Serada's father, King Endrin Aeducan. With his arms behind his back, Lord Harrowmont nodded to guard and said to Sereda in a calm tone that was spoken in an official manner.

'Having been found guilty of fratricide by the Assembly of Orzammar' said the old lord 'your are hereby sentenced to exile and death. Your name is, from this point forward, stripped from the records. You are no longer a person, nor a memory. You are to be cast into the Deep Roads with only sword and shield, there to redeem your life by fighting the enemies of Orzammar until your death. Do you have anything to say before the sentence is carried out?'

'I'm innocent' was all that Sereda said in response her voice calm and collected.

'I want to believe that' said Lord Harrowmont whose tone made it clear that he himself was convinced of her innocence and he continued 'look me in the eye and tell me you didn't do this. For your father's sake.'

'I didn't kill Trian' Sereda said in the same tone, placing great emphasis on each word.

Lord Harrowmont then nodded with a look of relief mixed with sorrow and said 'I believe you, that means Bhelen planned this from the start.' The old lord's words were of some comfort and vindication to Serada who hoped that at least some people would not believe in her guilt. 'Believe me, I will spend the rest of my days making sure Bhelen does not profit by his deed' Lord Harrowmont then said before handing Sereda the sword and shield 'your father asked me to give these to you, this sword and shield are of fine dwarven make, strike a blow at our enemies.'

Taking the two and feeling at least some comfort from the protection it would provide, Sereda quietly said to Lord Harrowmont as she tested the weight of the gear 'Tell my father I went to a warrior's death.'

'I will' nodded the old lord as he then looked towards the guards operating the mechanisms to open and close the gates. 'Open the doors and let the condemned walk through' he commanded and the guards obeyed. Lord Harrowmont then gave Sereda one last, sad look and spoke in farewell 'May the Stone accept you when you fall.'

The Princess quietly nodded to him as she felt resigned towards her fate. Lifting the sword and shield in a readied stance, Sereda looked to see the gates opening and she could feel the waves of heat washing over her as a bright light filled the Deep Road. Walking towards what would surely be her doom; Sereda felt a strange mix of regret, anger and freedom towards her situation.

Looking back one last time to see the guards still manning the gate mechanisms and Lord Harrowmont who was already walking back to the city, Sereda then took a deep breath and strode forth. The gates soon closed behind her, barring any way to get back into Orzammar and ahead she could see the bright path with a cavern leading to the side. If she was lucky, she at least could kill a few dozen of the Darkspawn before going down herself.

Ascending a slight slope which led into the mouth of the cavern, she quickly noticed the booted feet of a slain Hurlock lying still upon the ground. Deciding to see if the body had anything useful on it, she kept her eyes and ears alert as well for whatever had killed it and not much to her surprise as she drew closer towards the dead Darkspawn, she heard a loud hissing from above and she looked up to see a giant spider descending upon her. Stepping back and evading a lunge from the spider as it threw its weight at her, Sereda charged the overgrown insect with shield raised and she slammed the bulwark into its mandible before plunging her sword directly into its many eyed face.

The spider instantly went limp like a puppet with its strings cut and she felt a small measure of disgust for among the many things that could be found in the Deep Roads, Giant Spiders were among the creatures she hated encountering the most. Pulling her sword out from its head, Sereda then went towards the slain Hurlock which lay nearby and she began to search it for anything useful. Finding a serviceable shortbow, a greatsword and a suit of rough studded leather armor, the Princess was glad to have at least found something that would help keep her alive.

Cautiously looking about to see if there were more darkspawn or spiders, Sereda found the tunnel to be clear for now. Setting down her sword and shield, she then pulled up her dress from the skirt first and removed her commoner's clothing before putting on the leather armor. Wishing to instead have found something more protective such as a suit of chainmail armor at least, Sereda felt at least somewhat comforted with the extra added bit of protection to her person.

Reclaiming her sword and shield, the Princess moved towards the next section of the tunnel with cautious steps while keeping an eye ahead and above. Passing through a bend where bright light shone through the ceiling, she quickly saw another tunnel with a small plateau ahead of her and she heard heavy footsteps down the passage. A Genlock archer suddenly came into her view and she saw that it already had an arrow notched and ready.

Raising her shield and charging the Darkspawn in the same way she had done with the spider, Sereda felt her right leg breaking a tripwire rope as the impact of an arrow embedded into her shield's wooden surface. Guessing that whatever trap was connected to the tripwire did not work, she lowered her shield at the last moment and delivered a deadly thrust of her sword and the Genlock did not react in time before the tip of the blade sank into its chest. She then heard the grunting of another Darkspawn to her right and Sereda looked to see a different Genlock coming at her with a dagger in hand.

Kicking the archer off of her sword, Sereda calmly faced the newcomer with a professional discipline that was mixed with her general contempt and hatred towards the Darkspawn. The Genlock lunged towards her with its dagger aimed high and the dwarf countered with a quick slash to its thighs. The superior reach of her sword allowed Sereda to strike the Darkspawn first before its blade even came close to the striking the Princess before she followed up with a shield bash that knocked the Genlock back.

Quickly going on the assault, Sereda drove her sword into the darkspawn's gut and it spewed a copious amount of dark blood that splashed over her sword arm. Disgust filled the dwarf as she pulled her blade out of it the thing and she swung the edge of her sword towards its neck and decapitating the Genlock with the brutal precision of an executioner. The Darkspawn corpse slumped to the ground and pouring more of its foul blood towards the Stone and Sereda shook her head with disdain before going into a defensive stance in case there were more.

After a moment of silence, Sereda nodded and decided that she was alone for now and she looked about the area to see if there was anything useful she could use. The Princess quickly noted upon the plateau, the corpse of a dwarf that lay alone within the cavern, such a sight was nothing unusual in the Deep Roads for warriors, mercenaries and scavengers often found their ends in the tunnels, yet the sight of such was often somewhat poignant to Sereda. Climbing the plateau from a small slope to the side, she went towards the corpse and she tried not to look too closely to the poor dwarf who looked like he had just been a Darkspawn's meal.

On the corpse, she found a serviceable looking pair of leather gloves and a dagger. The Princess was especially glad to find the dagger for while she was trained fairly well in fighting with a two-handed weapon, archery or weapon and shield, she honestly preferred to fight with a dual-wield style. Saying a quiet prayer to the slain dwarf and hoping that the Stone had already accepted his spirit, Sereda gently then placed the gloves on her hands while trying to ignore how it had just been on a dead person and stowed away her shield upon her back.

Armed now with sword and dagger, she felt a bit more confident with her skills in fighting. As she prepared to descend from the plateau, a slight tremor was felt along the stone around her and a distant booming sound that followed. Worried for a moment at the possibility of a cave-in or that perhaps there were Darkspawn getting ready to lay siege to Orzammar, she quickly remembered about the Blight that was supposed to be spreading over the surface which ruled out the possibility of a head-on assault to her home city.

Again, more tremors began to reverberate across the stones which were also followed by distant booms and Sereda wondered if others were down here fighting the Darkspawn at the moment. The embers of hope began to spark within the heart of Sereda who had just felt resigned to meet her doom for surely there could only be a few others who would choose to fight the Darkspawn here at such a time. Picking up her pace as she followed the distant sounds, Sereda Aeducan knew that she had to investigate for if there was some tiny sliver of a chance that she would survive this then it would be all she needed.

Vanyra Skorrisdottir was quite surprised to have found that her pack mule was still alive and unharmed from the creatures that had assailed them, having already set down her bloodied weapons near the animal, she searched through baggage it carried for more explosives or other weapons. The creatures were reeling back from her furious assault which had left a trail of corpses; they had fought with as much skill as a typical beastman and a savagery to match the mutated creatures which in her opinion, they seemed to have quite some similarities to the Chaos things. A grin began to spread over her lips as she finally laid her hands upon a heavy gun that resembled a cannon but was portable enough for a single dwarf to carry and the barrel of which was shaped in the likeness of a dragon's maw.

Runes blazed along the length of the gun which was appropriately called a Drakk-Thrund or Drakegun, and the eyes upon the head of the dragon head blazed with fiery lights. Quickly opening up a compartment on the back of the Drakegun, Vanyra grabbed a sturdy metal flask from her mule's pack and removed the stopper with one hand before pouring it contents into the weapon and she grabbed another flask as well. The creatures then began to regroup not far away and they assailed the Engineer in a wave of flesh and iron that reeked of corruption.

Leveling the mouth of the dragon-headed weapon towards the creatures, Vanyra felt a brief surge of anticipation as she squeezed the trigger of the Drakegun and the darkness around her was banished by bright orange flames which leapt towards her targets with a great fwoosh. Alchemical flames obliterated the armour and flesh of the monsters as an intense heat that washed over the Engineer who wore a runic amulet that now glowed with its active Rune of the Furnace, thus providing protection against flames. The smell of burnt monster flesh began to fill the dwarf's nostrils as she advanced and continued to incinerate more of the things, her hobnailed orc-hide boots crunched down upon blackened bones which crumbled into ashes.

After a few more bursts of searing flames, the Engineer released the trigger and the stream of fire died down with burning embers dripping from the dragon's mouth, the damage it had wrought was both terrible and highly satisfying to the dwarf. Piles of ashes and scorched bone lay before her in heaps, she had no idea how many monsters she had slain but was glad to see how the rest of the things were now fleeing from her. Taking the time to refuel her Drakegun, Vanyra cautiously looked toward the direction of the fleeing monsters and she saw that those who had survived were being reinforced by more coming from the tunnels ahead.

Like much of the Engineer's arsenal, Vanyra's Drakegun was heavily modified from the standard equipment used by the Throngs of the Karaz Ankor. This particular weapon for example was capable of either throwing sheets of fire like the Flame Cannon War Machines or it could also be used to launch a bolt of searing molten energy. It was also capable of firing the mighty Trollhammer Torpedoes if ever she ran into much larger and more dangerous foes like the aforementioned Trolls, Ogres, Minotaurs, Vargheists, Hydras, Mutants or Dryads and Treemen.

After reloading her weapon, the Engineer began to fall back towards her fallen pack mule that still brayed rather hysterically. Setting her Drakegun down, close to her sword and wrench, she pulled out a light, airtight, rectangular metal crate from the pack mule's back and the animal slowly managed to get back up to its hooves before staggering off towards a tunnel opposite from where those monsters were coming. Muttering a curse, the Engineer did not have time to pay much attention to the mule and she focused on opening up the box which was sealed by a metal lock that required a specific number code by rolling a series of three metal discs.

Using her right index finger and thumb to roll the metal discs which were segmented into seven numbered sections, she quickly set each one to the proper numbers and the lock opened up with a click. Lifting the lid of the crate to reveal a soft bedding of hay which contained a series of glass spheres, each of the containers carried a deadly poisonous gas that came from a most loathsome of sources. Gently picking up one sphere, the Engineer then turned back to see the oncoming monstrosities that were regrouping for another go at her, their persistence reminded the dwarf too much of the hated greenskins.

Hurling the sphere towards the things, she quickly grabbed another sphere and hurled it as well before the first even struck. The distant sound of glass shattering was heard by Vanyra as the first sphere struck and in an instant, it released a cloud of toxic gas that caused several of the monsters which eagerly tried to get back at her to keel over and choke in the blood that should have begun to fill their lungs. The second and third spheres crashed as well, creating the same deadly results and by the time the fourth and final sphere had struck, the dwarf had created an impenetrable cloud of gas that blocked the way.

Quickly reclaiming her enchanted sword, wrench and Drakegun, Vanyra did not fancy the idea of seeing if she had enough ammunition to wipe out this monstrous horde. Following in the direction where she had last seen her mule run off to, the Engineer cautiously looked back before going deeper into the tunnels ahead. Hoping that the deadly cloud would be enough to cover her escape, the dwarf moved further into the darkness of the tunnels ahead with absolutely no idea what possibly awaited her.

Feeling the comforting weight of the heavy armor that now protected her flesh, Sereda was somewhat surprised at how convenient it was that she had just found a pair of dead dwarves who still had some serviceable gear on them. Small mercies it was she supposed, at least it gave her a better chance at killing more of the Darkspawn whose presence was quite minimal so far. A slight clatter of her armor followed with each step she took and her eyes remained wary of anymore threats as her sword and dagger remained in her hands.

Sereda felt waves of heat coming from one tunnel and she saw the faint yet familiar magma glow which surely must mean that she was on the way back towards the main path of the Deep Roads. Her travel would be tense but uneventful as she ran into no other dangers until finally indeed, she arrived back into the ancient corridors which had been carved ages ago by her people. She then heard a series of clopping sounds upon the stones, like those from the animals surface dwellers ride on and she noticed a rather skittish looking furry creature carrying a heavy looking pack on it back.

A mule she thinks the creature is called for she had seen Surface Caste and human merchants use such animal to help carry wares. Suddenly growing very suspicious of this sudden stroke of luck she was having, Sereda cautiously moved towards the frightened looking animal while wondering where its owner was and soon she heard footsteps coming from a nearby tunnel. Sheathing her sword and hoping that she can acquire the aid from this stranger, she saw a grey cloaked dwarf running towards her direction while carrying a most unusual looking object that appeared as a large hollow metal tube that was shaped in the semblance of a dragon.

The grey cloaked stranger gave a brief look to Sereda who saw green eyes underneath the hood widen in surprise at the sight of the princess. Clad in a gleaming chainmail armor of a design the princess had never seen before, she also noticed the two weapons which were carried by the other dwarf, one was surely some sort of the sword while the other was a strange looking, metallic cudgel, like a mace. The stranger then began to speak in an unknown foreing tongue that sounded almost like a low rumbling and she could make out some words.

'Drakka nu-ungor!' said the other dwarf said in a female voice that was filled with alarm as she then spoke again while pointing to the tunnels the stranger had just come out from and repeated 'Drakka nu-ungor!'

'I… I don't even know what you just said' replied Sereda in her own native tongue as she looked towards the tunnel and she began to reach for her sword and dagger again.

The howls of Darkspawn were heard from tunnels and the princess cursed as she began to think that this stranger had just brought a whole pack of Darkspawn upon her. Readying herself in an aggressive stance, Sereda then heard the other dwarf repeatedly speak what seemed to be another word of the same language but was gesturing for the princess to wait. She then saw the stranger point the dragon-shaped weapon towards the tunnel weapon and noticed with a bit of wariness how the eyes of the draconic figure seemed to glow with a light of its own.

Darkspawn then began to flood the tunnel leading towards them in thick wave and she heard the other dwarf roar 'Nu Haruvalk Drengharrha! and intense flames suddenly leapt out from the dragon headed maw of the grey cloaked stranger's weapon and several Darkspawn were suddenly incinerated by the fires.

A sudden chill descended upon Sereda as she saw that her breath could be seen as mist and from her experience in fighting Darkspawn, she knew that an Emissary was somewhere nearby. The flames which had filled the tunnel quickly extinguished as she soon saw the sorcerous monster, a Hurlock Emissary accompanying the other Darkspawn with a staff in hand and a distinguishing headdress. Another burst of intense flames leapt out from the cloaked dwarf's dragon shaped weapon and towards the Darkspawn again.

The flames crashed against a wall of hardened ice that suddenly appeared between the two dwarves and the darkspawn. The cloaked stranger continued to quite literally pour more fire into the barrier before finally, the stream of flames began to die down. The stranger quickly went towards the skittish looking mule while softly speaking in her foreign tongue and she began searching through the pack on its back.

Unsure of what the stranger was honestly planning, Sereda readied herself for the inevitable assault of the Darkspawn and indeed she saw the ice wall crumble into many tiny shards that melted into water before it even hit the ground. As usual with the savage things, they attacked in a flood of bodies, each one of the monstrosities leered at them with undisguised bloodlust. Readying her blades, the princess met the first creature, a Genlock axe wielder with an expert parry of her dagger before gutting it in the stomach with her longsword.

Pulling her sword free from the corpse along with some of its foul entrails, she was quick to perform a dual-sweep with both of her weapons and cutting down two more darkspawn to her flanks before blocking an overhead chop from a plate armored Hurlock wielding a great sword in front of her. The impact was enough to cause Sereda to fall to one knee but her blades still remained locked in place and after withstanding the strike, she pushed the great blade up and plunged both of her weapons into thighs which were not covered by metal plates.

The Hurlock roared in agony as both blades sheared through the upper section of it legs and Sereda felt the satisfying crunch of bone along with the cutting of flesh. With several more Darkspawn surrounding her, the princess did not have time to finish off her opponent before another of the creatures, a Genlock came at her. Ducking her head in time to avoid the swipe of an axe towards her face, Sereda pulled her blades out from the wounded Hurlock and she was quick to slam the pommel of her sword into the Genlock's face.

The Genlock reeled back from the attack but another Darkspawn, a Hurlock launched a low sword thrust towards Sereda who tried parry it but was unsuccessful. The tip of the sword struck Sereda over her left breast but the dwarf forged armor she had claimed had thankfully prevented the blade from piercing her heart but the impact was enough to briefly stagger her. Quickly regaining her footing, the princess countered with a reverse gripped slash from her dagger and she slit the throat Hurlock's throat, causing it to drop its sword and gasp for breath as blood gushed out from the fatal wound.

Sweeping her own sword to her right and cleaving an attacking Genlock in the face, Sereda was forced back once more as she attempted to evade the strike of another Darkspawn. There were just so many of the damned thing she realized and it seemed that the doom she wished to avoid meeting had now found her. Bitterness, regret and hatred towards Bhelen fueled her anger as she continued to fight the Darkspawn who kept on pouring out from the tunnel like a flood.

Parrying another sword swing and countering it with a slash that severed a Hurlock's jaw from it mouth, Sereda knew that at this rate, she would soon be overwhelmed. As another Hurlock came at her, the princess heard a loud whirring sound which was followed by a rapid series of dakka dakka dakka and soon the Deep Road tunnel was filled with the dying screams of Darkspawn. The Hurlock that had attacked Sereda became distracted by the noise as it turned its head towards the source and its mistake proved fatal for the princess thrust her sword up and she stabbed the thing underneath the jaw, and she felt the tip go all the way up into the Darkspawn's skull.

All around her, Sereda saw several Darkspawn suddenly being cut down in droves as limbs went flying, bodies were bifurcated or various parts just outright exploding in grisly showers of tainted meat and bone. Soon the Darkspawn began to flee from Sereda and even while they tried to escape, many more of the things suddenly suffered a similar, gruesome death. When the princess finally saw the source of the destruction, she became stunned to see what it was.

It was the grey cloaked stranger who had wrought such ruin towards the Darkspawn. In the hands of the strange, Sereda saw a strange and outlandish contraption that was composed of six metal tubes that constantly spun while emitting flashes of fire. The stranger furiously spun a lever on the side of the weapon in a circular motion while steam hissed out from the bizarre yet deadly thing, and Sereda also noticed that the other dwarf was also carrying some sort of metallic pack with a thick rope-like object that connect it to the weapon.

The stranger then began to slowly follow the Darkspawn towards the tunnel and in its confines, they had even less space to evade whatever it was the grey cloaked figure was using. In less than a minute, the Darkspawn that had threatened to overwhelm Sereda and the stranger had either fled or now lay in piles of fresh, corrupted meat that fouled the air like an abattoir. Never in the life of Sereda Aeducan had she seen such death and destruction wrought in such a short period of time, first there was the dragon-like weapon that breathed flames and now this contraption.

Just who was this stranger? Thought Sereda rather warily as she wondered if the grey cloaked figure carried any other similarly deadly weapons. Soon the stranger slowed the spinning of the lever as a clicking sound began to emanate and the princess even saw that the metal tubes were actually glowing like a sword being forged. Gently setting the glowing end of the deadly contraption down upon the bloodied stone floor, the stranger looked to Sereda with a grim look and spoke in the same, rumbling tongue.

'Nu wanrag ori bin Ungdrin?' questioned the grey cloaked stranger who then pulled down her hood to reveal a surprisingly youthful looking maiden who looked to be about a year or so younger than Sereda with long auburn hair that had been tied into series of braids which were woven with a metallic cord. Again, Sereda had absolutely no idea what the stranger said and she shrugged, she then heard the stranger ask in a very confused manner 'Ek wannai Khazalid? Ek Dawi ai?'

Shrugging in response, the stranger gave Sereda a strange look before asking "Sprechen sie Reikspiel?" Again, Sereda had no idea what the stranger said but she recognized the some of the words as of being the language spoken by humans from the Anderfels. The stranger then began to fluently speak in an accented but understandable Orlesian which Sereda had knowledge of and she heard, 'Me comprenez-vous? Do you understand me now?'

'Oui, yes I understand you' nodded Sereda as she spoke in Orlesian as well for the Princess had learned much of the language from the occasional ambassadors sent by the Empress of Orlais.

'How do you not know how to speak in Khazalid?' asked the stranger in a very curious and somewhat disbelieving manner 'you are a dwarf as well, aren't you?'

'I have no idea what this Khazalid even is' replied Sereda who guessed that it was whatever the stranger was speaking in earlier. 'But yes, I am a dwarf' added the princess who was both wary and curious about this stranger.

Again, the stranger gave Sereda another odd look before asking 'Where in the Ungdrin Angkor are we? What were those monsters?'

'You mean the Deep Roads?' questioned Sereda incredulously who guessed that this "Ungdrin Angkor" was what the other dwarf was calling the ancient pathways that once connected the Dwarven Empire. As to those things… those, surely you know of the Darkspawn? Asked Sereda who was growing even more curious about this strange other dwarf who surely could not have come from Orzammar, perhaps the stranger was one of the Surface Caste?

'Deep Roads? Darkspawn?' questioned the stranger yet again before looking towards the now corpse-choked tunnel. 'Are there more of those... things, coming?

'I cannot say for sure' shrugged Sereda who was worried that the creatures would bring in more reinforcements. The stranger then muttered something unintelligible to Sereda and she began to survey the area for a moment.

'Do you have a camp or a place we can rest?' asked the stranger.

'I do not' replied Sereda with a shake of her head but an idea came into her mind 'but I know a safe place where we can find shelter.'

'We should go, before more of those... Darkspawn show up' the grey cloaked stranger then said and Sereda nodded in agreement. The stranger then went towards her mule and tried to calm the beast while the Princess kept an eye out for any more of the Darkspawn. 'What is your name anyway?' came the voice of the stranger as she placed the multiple metal tubed contraption and the pack it was connected to on the back of the mule.

'Sereda Aeducan, of Orzammar' replied the princess in a formal manner while hoping that the stranger would have at least heard of her royal family's name.

'And I am Vanyra Skorrisdottir of Khazid Zon and Karaz-a-Karak' greeted the other dwarf who tightened some ropes on the mule's back, securing some items before walking up to Sereda and offering a friendly handshake, the princess could tell from the stranger's expression that the other dwarf had never heard of the Aeducan name as well. Taking the leather gloved left hand of this Vanyra Skorrisdottir, the princess gave the other dwarf a firm handshake and a friendly nod.

Quietly amazed by this strange dwarf named Vanyra Skorrisdottir, Sereda began to have some faint hope that with the help of this stranger, she may actually survive her exile, and yet a questioned began to nag at her thoughts. Where would she go?