Dragon Dawn

AN: Yes, I am aware that this is stupidly random and far from my best work, but it's a plot bunny that just wouldn't leave me alone : (. The Warden and his team are based on the Sacred Ashes trailer.

Leliana had thought that her time in Ferelden had hardened her against the cold. Turns out that climbing a mountain is a little chillier than praying in a lowland, backwater Chantry. Pulling her cloak tighter around herself, she focused on putting one foot in front of the other, her eyes down both to protect them from the howling winds and to keep an eye on the treacherous mountain path.

Somewhere ahead, she faintly heard Aedan Cousland's voice. "Keep moving! The tomb should be atop this peek!"

The group had just fought their way through a cultist and dragon infested series of caverns on the mountain where Andraste's Ashes were buried. That, more than anything, drove Leliana onwards: to have the chance, the honor, of seeing the remains of the Maker's Bride was more than she had ever dreamed of.

"Lovely! We can freeze to death while digging for the bones of a madwoman!"

…Apparently not everyone thought that way.

Still, it seemed to be getting a bit warmer. Perhaps they'd reached a sheltered part of the path, the growing shadows seemed to indicate as much, though Leliana wasn't willing to raise her head to check unless… wait… It was still getting darker, faster than it should have. The sun was still in the sky; Aedan was not fool enough to lead the party up the mountain at night. True, the mist had dimmed the light somewhat, but this was much worse.

Aedan must have thought the same, as he called "Hold," from the front of the line. Looking up, Leliana gasped as she saw that they were now surrounded by trees: tall, healthy pine trees that most certainly hadn't been there a moment before!

"Morrigan," Aedan said, his voice as calm as ever despite its slight edge. "Talk to me, what's going on?"

"Why do you always assume I have all the answers?" the witch hissed, pulling her hood down as she looked around. "I didn't sense any magic as we walked, and everything is too ordered for this to be the Fade. Perhaps you simply were not looking hard enough?"

"Trees do not simply appear from nowhere," Sten, the Qunari warrior and fourth member of the group, rumbled. "Such things are the realm of saarebas."

Glaring at the Qunari, Morrigan closed her eyes for a moment before jerking them open. "The Fade… it is weak! My magic…" She raised her staff, and a crackle of lightning traced across it, but even to Leliana's eyes it was weaker than she knew Morrigan was capable of. "What's going on here!?"

Aedan stepped forward and placed an armored hand on the witch's shoulder. "Steady," he breathed. "Everything will be fine." He looked around. "Perhaps this is some test of the Maker's, to see if we are truly worthy of approaching the tomb. If that is the case, then we must press on." Leliana nodded, and though neither Sten nor Morrigan seemed convinced, neither of them spoke up.

'At least it's warmer now,' Leliana said, keeping her eyes peeled as they continued up the snowy path.

Aedan's hand drifted towards the sword at his side as his eyes flicked from shadow to shadow. Despite his confidant words earlier, he was still ill at ease. He'd been briefly in the Fade at the Circle Tower, but Morrigan was right, this was much different. Was it truly the Maker or Andraste's work, judging the party? This seemed an odd way to do it, but who was he to question divinity?

A sudden noise caused him to come to a halt, his hand jerking up to stop the others. "Did you hear that?"

"It sounded like a scream," Leliana said, pointing. "Coming from that way."

Drawing his sword and unslinging his shield, Aedan nodded. "Let's go. Whoever it is might know what's going on." The quartet set off at a jog, following the noise of a few more cries.

"Michael! Help me!" a girl's voice drifted on the wind, a mix of fear, pain and desperation. Aedan forced himself not to break into a sprint; the ground was treacherous, and he wouldn't do her any good by injuring himself before he even got to her.

"She must be in there!" he called, pointing his blade towards the massive, ruined building the loomed out of the fog. "Quickly!"

"Oh no, Michael!" It was closer this time, and a moment later Aedan faintly heard a door slamming.

Seeing another door from the direction they were coming, Aedan set his shield into his shoulder and accelerated. "FORWARD!" he roared, slamming into the weakened wood with all his might. It splintered before his charge, and he struggled for a moment to keep his balance even as he surveyed the situation, time almost seeming to freeze as he took stock.

The first thing he saw was the girl, probably the one who'd been screaming. She was ill-dressed for the weather, a pale white shirt with short sleeves and strange blue pants. Her blonde hair was tied in twin braids, not hiding the cuts across her face, just as the shirt didn't disguise the injuries on her arms. Still, she was screaming, kicking and flailing, apparently determined to fight to the bitter end.

The second thing that drew his attention was the monster that she was struggling against.

It looked almost human, but pale and distorted. Its arms were unnaturally thin and long, ending in massive claws that it used to drag the girl towards a set of stairs. Its legs were similarly elongated, forcing it into an odd crouching stance to reach the girl. That was probably what was saving her life; if the thing had been able to bring the full weight of its natural weapons to bear, it would have ripped her apart in a second.

As he steadied himself, the beast turned its head towards him with an inhuman shriek. Its eyes were a milky white, perhaps it was blind. Its face was roughly humanoid, save for the vicious teeth jutting from its mouth, teeth that were stained with what could only be blood. This thing was clearly some sort of abomination.

Aedan bared his own teeth: he'd dealt with abominations before. Banging his sword on his shield as the rest of the party spread out behind him, he raised his voice. "Face me, demon!"

The monster hesitated, clearly unused to people standing up to it. It shrieked again, rising to its full height. The girl started trying to crawl away, her screams reduced to whimpers. The abomination's head jerked down.

"NO!" Leliana cried, shooting an arrow. The demon shrieked again as it was struck in its thin, bony chest, only for the arrow to snap on impact. Still, she'd served to get its attention back, and it took a step towards them as it dropped onto all fours, hissing dangerously. Then, it lunged.

It was fast, faster than any creature Aedan had seen before. Even a Darkspawn Shriek wasn't so agile. Before his Joining and the struggles that followed, Aedan probably would have been overwhelmed. However, he was a veteran of many battles now, and so he brought his shield up and braced. He felt the creature's impact, but stood his ground, allowing his blade snaked under his shield and ram into the abomination's side.

Its skin was strong; rather than pierce all he did was knock it back a step, and a second later its clawed arm lashed out at his head. Again, though, his shield was fast enough that the talons found only silverite, producing a jarring screaming noise.

Before it could attack again, Sten was there, Asala swinging into the creature's side. Aedan had hoped that the Qunari's blade, backed by his massive strength, would be enough to finish this, and it was enough to create a nasty gash in the monster's side and launch it away with a pained howl. However, the beast was still alive, rising to its feet and screaming at them again.

At that moment, however, one of the doors along the wall burst open and another figure sprinted in. A young man, wearing cloths similar to the girl's, he didn't seem much of a threat. However, in one hand he carried what looked to be some sort of weapon: almost like an elongated crossbow that was missing the bow part. Hopefully he knew how to use it.

Apparently, he was enough of a threat to tip the balance. Outnumbered and surrounded, the abomination seemed to decide that its prey wasn't worth dying over. Shrieking in frustration, it jumped again, landing perfectly balanced on the railing of the stairs before scuttling out of sight like a spider apparently retreating.

Aedan wasn't willing to risk letting his guard down just yet, though. The beast could simply be circling around. "Sten, that way!" he said, pointing the other direction and ignoring the shouts from the young man. "Morrigan, see to her! Leliana, where is it?"

"I think there's some sort of tunnel down there," Leliana said, cocking her head. "Whatever that thing was, it's moving away, fast. I think we scared it off."

Aedan slowly nodded; Leliana's hearing was exceptional; he'd trust her judgement. "Keep an eye out," he said, stepping back to get a better look at the two strangers.

The man had made his way to the girl's side and was currently engaged in a glaring match with Morrigan. "Who the fuck are you?!" he snarled, gripping the weapon-thing tightly though thankfully not pointing it at anyone. "What was that?! What's going on?! Jessica!"

"Calm down," Aedan said. "Panicking won't help her." The man looked up, only to jerk back with another oath as he took Aedan in. "As for who we are, we're here to help you. My name is Aedan Cousland, Grey Warden. Morrigan's going to help your friend; those wounds need attention." Aedan wished Wynne was here; the Senior Enchanter would have been able to erased those injuries with a wave of her hand, but she wasn't here and Morrigan was.'

"Why the fuck are you in armor?! What is this, some sort of LARP crap?! How did you even get up here?!" The strange weapon shifted dangerously towards Aedan.

Suppressing the urge to knock it away with his sword, Aedan softened his voice. "Hey, easy, easy. I know you're scared right now, scared for your friend. What's your name?"

The man, closer to boy, really, stared at Aedan as if trying to judge if he was really there, before seeming to decided that it was best to play along. "Michael," he said, letting the weapon fall back. "Michael Monroe. Is Jessica going to be alright?"

"Morrigan?" Aedan asked.

"She'll live," the witch said. "That is, assuming her idiot friend will let us help her." Michael bristled, only for his head to snap down as Jessica whimpered.

"Mike?" she said weakly.

"Jess! Yes, Jess, I'm here, I'm right here." Dropping his weapon, he reached down and started brushing her hair.

Pulling his cloak off, Aedan offered it to Morrigan "Get her wrapped up in this; she must be freezing." After the witch accepted his offering, he turned back to Michael. "Listen, we need your help. We can't stay here, that abomination could come back any time. We need to get to shelter, do you know a place?"

Dragging his eyes away from Jessica, Michael nodded. "Yeah, there's a lodge, where everyone else is. Jess and I… oh God…"

"Focus, Michael," Aedan said. "Can you get us back there?"

"I… I think so," he said. "But-"

"No buts. The longer we stay out here, the greater the risk to Jessica."

That did it. Michael's face hardened as he looked down at the girl. "Alright," he said. "Is she ready to move?"

"I doubt she'll be walking for a while," Morrigan said. "Someone will have to carry her. I say we leave her behind; she's-"

Clamping his hand down on Michael's shoulder, Aedan spoke over his outraged shout. "No, Morrigan. We will not leave her." Leaning down, he whispered in her ear. "We need answers, Morrigan, and the best way to get them is to have Michael in a good mood, him and his friends. To do that, we need her alive."

Looking slightly mollified, Morrigan stood. "Well, if someone's willing to carry her, then we can leave now; she's as stable as she's going to get out here."

"I'll do it," Michael said, whether because he didn't trust them or because he realized he was the weakest link Aedan didn't know, but what was important was that both Aedan and Sten would be able to fight if the abomination came back. "Alright, Jess," he said softly, slinging the weapon over his shoulder and crouching down. "I'm going to pick you up now, okay? Just like the knight does with the princess in those movies you always watch."

The girl let out a weak laugh. "If this is a movie, I want my money back," she whispered, raising her arm to let Michael get his under her. "But what… what was that… that thing…"

"An abomination," Aedan said as Michael lifted Jessica. "A human, possessed by a demon. Probably Hunger, by the looks of it."

"Demons aren't real," Michael said.

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "I do believe there is a contender for someone more stupid than Alistair," she snarked. "'Demons aren't real?' Really?"

Suppressing a sigh, Aedan stepped between the two. "I assure you, demons are very real. You saw that thing, surely you don't think that's natural?"

Michael shuddered. "Yeah, I know, but…"

"Please," Leliana whispered. "Let's just go; your friend needs to get warmed up, there's only so much those cloaks can do. She needs to get inside."

Once again, thank the Maker, the thought of Jessica was enough to get Michael to cooperate, especially as she weakly nodded when he looked down at her. "Alright," he said, taking a deep breath. "Alright, this way."

Aedan took the lead, the rest of his party fanning out around Michael as he carried Jessica out of the ruined building, directing them towards the lodge he'd mentioned.

This was a waste of time, Sten thought. Morrigan was right, bas-saarebas that she was, they should simply have left the girl behind. She was too weak to be of help, and any information she could provide could be just as easily gathered from the others.

However, he did not voice his thoughts: it was not his place to question his kadan, he'd made his opinion known at the base of the mountain, he didn't need to do so again. Instead, he focused on his mission: keep watch for the monster that stalked these woods.

In the hour that had passed since they had set off towards this lodge, the beast hadn't been seen, though Leliana had said she'd heard it once. The group had frozen, and it seemed that it had decided it was unwise to attack a prepared, cautious foe, and had soon moved away. Still, the delay had rankled, especially considering that their "guide" seemed more interested in talking to the girl he carried than in directing them to where she would be safe.

"Alright," Michael said. "We should be almost there; this is the main path to the lodge." It looked little different than any other path, but Sten didn't speak up. "You hear that, Jess, you'll be inside soon. We'll get you warmed up, Josh probably has a first aid kit, then first thing in the morning we'll get you to a hospital." The girl mumbled something that Sten didn't care to hear, focusing more on listening for the monster: this would be the most likely time for an ambush.

Thankfully, it seemed that it was still wary of them, as they were able to approach the large, imposing building without incident. Pushing the door open, Aedan looked around before gesturing everyone inside.

"Josh!" Michael shouted, moving to lay Jessica down on an opulent couch. "Josh! Someone, get over here, Jess needs a first aid kit!"

Silence.

Could the monster have simply gone ahead, killing everyone here? Was it even now lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike? Sten readied Asala,

"Michael, you said there would be others here," Aedan said, turning slowly in place with his shield up.

"There are!" Michael said. "I don't know where the fuck they've gone! JOSH! Get your ass down here! Jess needs help!"

"Mike?" A girl's voice drifted down the stairs, and a moment later the sound of bare feet on wood reached Sten's ears. "What are you doing back here, and what's goin-AAH!"

The speaker was standing at the top of the stairs, a girl holding a towel around herself instead of cloths. "Sam!" Michael called.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE AND WHY ARE THEY IN THE HOUSE?!" the girl shrieked, clutching the towel more tightly as she shrank back.

"It's okay, Sam," Michael said, raising a hand. "I know things are a… a bit weird-"

The girl's eyes flashed. "We are so far beyond weird we can't even see it in the rear-view mirror," she snarled. "Where is everyone? What have you done with them?!"

The Warden muttered something under his breath before putting his sword away and raising his hands. "Miss? Sam? It's okay, we're not going to hurt you," he said. "Perhaps you'd like to get dressed, and then we can talk more freely."

"I'd love to get dressed, except someone thought it'd be a funny joke to steal my cloths," Sam said. "And you still haven't answered where everyone else is."

"We don't fucking know, you're the one who was here!" Michael said. "We don't have time for this, Jess is hurt bad!"

Sam's eyes widened. "Jessica?" she said, taking a half-step down the stairs before coming to a halt, glancing around.

Leliana hurried towards the stairs, pulling her cloak off. "Sam, I know you're worried, I would be too if a bunch of armed strangers showed up in my house, but I swear that we're not going to hurt you. My name's Leliana, and even though it's not perfect, you can use my spare set of armor until you can find your real cloths."

Sam blinked before looking at Michael, who nodded. "Please, Sam, they saved Jessica's life. I have a bunch of questions, but I don't think they're going to hurt us."

The blonde slowly nodded. "Shit. Alright," she said. "Leliana, you said? I'll take whatever you can give me." Leliana quickly nodded and trotted up the stairs, leading Sam out of sight.

"Sten," the Warden said softly. "Keep your guard up, I don't like this. That thing's probably still around, and we seem to have several people missing." Sten nodded, and Aedan turned back to Michael. "How many of you are there supposed to be?"

"Eight," the boy said. "Jess and me, Sam, Josh, Emily, Matt, Chris and Ashley." He shook his head. "But enough of that, who are you? Where did you come form, and why are you dressed like fucking renaissance fair rejects?"

Sten raised his eyebrow. "Charming," he muttered.

"We aren't exactly sure how we got here," the Warden said, throwing a sharp glance at Sten. "We were climbing the mountain towards the Temple of Sacred Ashes, only to find ourselves on this mountain. Where, pray tell, are we?"

"Temple- Are you fucking kidding me? That's some RPG bullshit right there!"

"I do not know what you mean by 'RPG bullshit,' but might I remind you that we saved your life," the Warden said. "Your suspicions and fears are natural, but remember that, without us, you and your Jess would be dead."

Michael jerked back as if struck before sighing. "Yeah, I know," he muttered. "Sorry… it's just been a long night."

The Warden placed a hand on Michael's shoulder. "I know," he said softly. "But I'm afraid it will likely be longer. The abomination is not dead; it will return, and your friends are still missing."

"Don't fucking remind me," Michael muttered. "Alright, so you're some sort of paladin, that other girl, Leliana, is a rogue, I'm guessing he's a fighter, so that would make her a mage. That about right?"

"Perhaps he does have a brain," Morrigan muttered.

"…anyways, don't you have, like, healing magic? Why are you wasting time with bandages?"

"A fair question," the Warden said. "Our healer, Wynne, was not with us when we arrived; for all her talents Morrigan is better at destroying with magic than healing. However, she knows her medicinal herbs, so you don't have to worry; Jess will be just fine. Our first move should be to find the rest of your friends, do you have any idea where they might have gone?"

Michael shook his head. "No. Jess and I left; we… we needed some privacy. Josh offered us a cabin; this whole mountain belongs to his family. Then we ran into that… thing, and it dragged Jess off, and I chased it, and you know the rest." He slumped into a chair near the couch. "Fuck, I hope everyone's okay. After last year…"

Before either of them could speak again, Sten raised a hand; he'd just heard a door open. "Could that be some of them?" he asked.

"Josh?" Michael called, standing. "Is that you?"

"Michael?" a boy called. "What-" Running footsteps were heard, and a moment later two more people entered, a boy and a girl. The boy was sporting a heavy bruise on his face, and the girl was splattered with blood on her left side, and both had wide, wild eyes.

"Shit! What happened to you two?!" Michael cried.

"Mike… oh God…" the girl whimpered, "Josh… he… oh god oh god oh god…"

"Was there a monster?" Aedan asked sharply, grabbing his shield from where he'd put it down as he stepped forward.

Both of them stumbled back as they looked at him. "What-"

"Look, they're from RPG land, they're good guys, saved Jess and my lives, just roll with it," Michael said. "But what about Josh? Where is he? What-"

"He's dead," the boy said. "There's a maniac here, he took Josh, took Ashley, there was a saw…" the girl started whimpering incoherently.

Sten, despite what others might believe, was not heartless. As he watched these children, bas though they were, breaking down in front of him, he pitied them. They were clearly unused to death, and it would be cruel to hold them to the standards of the Antaam. But the world was not a kind place; there were at least two threats in the immediate vicinity and they needed information. "That's six confirmed," he rumbled. "That means there are still two of you unaccounted for. We need to find them, before they meet a similar fate. Where are they?"

"We saw them," the boy said. "Emily and Matt… they said they were going to get help, they were heading towards the cable car."

The Warden swore. "That means they're out there with the abomination," he hissed. "Leliana!"

"What?" the bard said, hurrying down the stairs, followed more slowly by an obviously uncomfortable Sam.

"We know where the last of them are, we need to go get them before they get themselves killed. Sten, you stay with the others, make sure they stay safe. Find a defensible location and hold tight." Sten kept his face impassive as always, but something must have leaked through, because the Warden continued. "You can handle things if the abomination comes while we're away."

"I'll go with you!" Michael said, hefting the small cannon that he carried (Sten would have to report that to the Ben-Hassrath, it wasn't his place to deal with it, but the other races could not be allowed to have gaatlok.)

"You'll just slow us down," Aedan said sharply. "We're veterans; we can handle ourselves. By the look of you, this is the first time you've ever held a weapon."

"My friends are out there!" Michael shouted. "Josh is already dead, and Jess nearly died too. Whatever or whoever's doing this, I want to fight them! Besides, I know the area better than you!"

The Warden stared at him for a long moment before nodding. "You'll just follow us if I say no, and Sten will have enough to worry about already," he said. "But know this, if you come with us, then you will follow my orders, instantly and without question. Do you accept that?" Michael didn't look happy, but he nodded. "Very well, let's go."

Sten watched impassively as the group moved swiftly out the door; if anyone could keep the untrained whelp alive, it was his kadan.

"Now," he said. "Let us find a defensible location. Where would be suitable?"

Morrigan had gotten used to a lot in her time with the Warden; some good, some bad. It was… nice… to have someone to talk to, someone to watch her back (no matter how many times she'd told herself she didn't want it). That got easier every time he insisted on inserting himself into a situation for no benefit because of some sob story. Didn't the Wardens train themselves to focus on the big picture?

"This way," the annoying brat, who was accompanying them for some unfathomable reason, said. "Just down here, past the gate." She supposed he'd been of some use; he did know the way around now that he didn't have to waste his time cooing over his girl. It meant they were actually getting somewhere, though it was still likely all they'd find were the two fools cooling corpses-

A flash of red in the sky drew her gaze; some sort of light rising from what looked like a skeletal tower that she'd faintly seen through the snow. "There!" she called, pointing.

"A flare?" Michael said. "What the fuck does Em think she's doing? Why not just go to the cable car?"

The Warden's eyes narrowed. "No time for questions, we need to go," he said. "The abomination will have seen that and be on its way! How do we get up there?"

Michael shook his head. "This way," he said, pointing towards another path. "What on earth's… hey, wait up!"

Snow crunched under their feet as the Warden led the way up the path at a quick jog; not too fast, not too slow. As she ran, Morrigan began gathering her magic; it was still weakened in this strange place, but it would be enough to do what had to be done. No matter her personal feelings, the Warden had to live, or she'd be stuck with Alistair.

As they passed through a wooden covering, a horrible shrieking noise filled the air, like countless knives scraping against armor. "The tower?!" Michael screamed. "EM!" He almost pushed past them as he broke into a sprint, but Leliana caught his wrist.

"You won't do your friend any good by rushing to your death!" she cried. "Stick with us!"

As the hurried up the path, Morrigan got her first clear view of the tower as it toppled over. Made of metal rather than stone or wood like she'd thought, it still was not strong enough to prevent it from falling towards the cliff edge. Faintly, she could hear a girl screaming from the top.

A shadow moved in the trees, and Aedan skidded to a halt. "You three, get them out of the tower!" he shouted. "I'll hold it off!" Before anyone could disagree, he stormed forward, banging his sword on his shield in bravado. "LET'S MAKE THIS QUICK, SHALL WE!"

For a moment, Morrigan hesitated; her heart skipping a beat as it always did when Aedan ran off to do something foolish. She knew he was strong; knew he'd be alright… she shook her head; there was not time for emotions. "Let's go," she snapped, hurrying past the others towards the fallen tower, which creaked ominously.

"EM!" Mike screamed again, staring at a figure dangling from what had been the top of the tower. "EM! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"MIKE?! MIKE HELP MEEEE!"

"I'M COMING, EM, I'M COMING!"

Again, Leliana grabbed Michael's arm. "Wait!" she cried. "The tower's still falling!" Ignoring the shrieking from behind them as the Warden and the abomination battled, she stepped forward and shouted. "HOLD ON TO SOMETHING! THE TOWER-"

A massive crunch caused everyone's head to jerk; the tower was slipping deeper into the gorge. Screams and curses drifted from the tower as it fell, it top burning in places, into the ravine.

"NO!" Michael wailed, tearing at his hair. Morrigan cursed; they'd come all this way for nothing, just like she'd-

"Wait!" Leliana cried, pointing. "It caught on something! We still have time!" She turned to Morrigan. "I have some rope, but you're the only one who can get down there in time! Climb down and get it to them, please!"

"Are you crazy!?" Michael gasped. "That's sheer rock, nobody-"

"Shut up," Morrigan snapped as she focused. Thankfully with her experience shapeshifting was not a magically taxing spell, but it still required concentration. Focusing on her years of study of the spider, she fixed every detail in her mind, willing her body to match her intentions before letting her power loose.

Even if she'd been somehow unable to feel the change, the most amusing squawk from Michael would have alerted her. Leliana, having seen this form many times before, simply offered the rope to her fangs. Grabbing it, she scuttled down the "sheer rock" towards a platform she'd spotted near where the tower had settled. Shifting back, she took a moment to watch the two people on the tower argue.

"Matt, you've gotta do something right now what are you waiting for?!" the girl screamed up at the dark-skinned boy standing on the tower proper.

"I'm thinking!" he shouted back. "Let me think!"

"Don't think you idiot just get me out of here!" For someone hanging over a massive fall, completely at the mercy of the one standing above her, this girl had sass. Morrigan wasn't sure if she should be annoyed or impressed.

Deciding to put an end to this farce, Morrigan spoke up. "As amusing as this is, I'll never hear the end of it if I let you fall. Grab the rope."

"How-" the boy gasped, nearly toppling off the unsteady tower and causing it to jerk, which in turn caused the girl to let out a startled shriek and slip, barely able to catch herself.

Still, her mouth was free, so she decided to use it. "Oh, I'll get right on that with all my fucking extra hands!" she snarled, trying to glare backwards at Morrigan.

Using her telekinesis to float the rope close to the girl, causing the boy to gasp again, Morrigan shot back. "If you're too weak to let go with one hand for one second, then I guess you're not worth saving."

The girl gaped for a moment before narrowing her eyes. "Fuck you!" she snarled, letting go with one hand to grab the rope just above the knot that Leliana had put in it at some point, before transferring the other one. "There, happy now?"

"Never anything but," Morrigan said before releasing the telekinesis.

"AAAIIIEEEEEEEE! FUUUU-" the girl shrieked as she swung to the wall, slamming into it nearly hard enough to jar her loose.

"EMILY!" the boy shouted, jerking. The tower swayed.

"JUMP YOU IDIOT!" Morrigan cried; she had not gone to all this trouble just to let one of these morons die because they were too dumb to think of themselves. Thankfully, it seemed the boy was well trained to follow orders, as he leapt towards Morrigan without missing a beat, escaping just as the tower collapsed and fell down the ravine.

"Is everyone okay down there?!" Leliana's voice drifted down. From the sound of cursing just below her, it seemed the girl had managed to hang on.

"We're all fine," she called back.

"Like hell we are!?" the boy shouted. "What the fuck's going on?! Who are you? How did you get down here? How did you make the rope fucking float?!"

Morrigan rolled her eyes, not this again. "The answer to all your questions is magic. Magic is happening, I'm a mage, I got down here with magic, and I used magic to make the rope float. I'm also going to use magic to try and get you out of here, unless you have a problem with that?" The boy gaped at her for a long moment before shaking his head silently. "Good boy, now keep quite while we wait for your friend to be rescued." The girl glared stonily at Morrigan as she was hauled up.

"Well, you're off the tower, Em," the boy said as she passed. She simply transferred the glare to him as she passed, eventually reaching the top and being pulled to safety. A moment later, the rope fell back down. Taking a deep breath, the boy grabbed it and actually started climbing himself. Transforming back, Morrigan clambered up the wall and back to safety.

Aedan was helping to hold the rope steady from where it had been tied, none the worse for wear save for a few scratches in his armor. Letting out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, Morrigan looked around for the corpse of the abomination, only to find it missing.

"It escaped again," he said. "But Leliana found its weakness; it was giving me some trouble, so she shot a few arrows at it. One of them was a fire arrow, and that pierced its skin." He grinned dangerously. "Now that we know that, the next time we meet, it's finished."

'Which means maybe we'll get out of here,' Morrigan thought, though she didn't voice it.

"Wait, what are you talking about?!" the girl shouted. "You owe us an explanation! Who are you and what are you doing on this mountain?!"

Morrigan snorted. "Seeing as we just got through saving your lives," she said, "I don't see why we owe you anything."

"Morrigan," the Warden said warningly, but surprisingly Michael interrupted him.

"Em, I know things are crazy, but they're not bad people. They saved Jess's life from that thing that's coming after us, probably mine too."

Emily glared at him for a moment before muttering something uncharitable under her breath. "Alright," she spoke up, "I'll admit, you did save Matt and I. Thank you." Morrigan couldn't help but smirk; that had to have been painful to say.

The dark skinned boy glanced between the two children with a thunderous expression on his face, but a distant shrieking noise caused him to flinch. "We need to get out of here! We were able to call for help; a helicopter's coming at dawn, we just need to survive that long. We need to find the others…"

"Everybody's up at the lodge," Michael said. "We should let the nice people with big swords and magic get us back there in one piece."

"An excellent idea," the Warden said as he took the lead.

Several more shrieks were heard as they retraced their steps back to the lodge; the creature was following them, and it was angry. Aedan had pulled a bottle of blazing white liquid from his belt and was holding it near his sword, and Leliana had another fire arrow nocked. Sadly, Morrigan's expertise lay in other elements, so she focused instead on keeping the children in line, waiting for the moment when the beast would grow impatient and attack.

However, once again, they reached the building without incident. "Sten?" the Warden called.

"Down here," the Qunari shouted back. Now that Morrigan listened, she thought she heard hacking coughs down there as well. The Warden must have heard it too, as his brow furrowed as he led the way down the stairs to an intriguing scene.

Sten was standing over a fallen figure in an ugly white mask, his sword pointed at the throat. The children, meanwhile, were scattered around a door among what looked to be the scattered remnants of a barricade, clutching at their throats and coughing.

"What happened?" Leliana gasped.

…

Sten suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as another unexpected bang caused one of the bas girls to squeak like a mouse that had been trodden on; one would think they'd have gotten used to it by now.

Ever since they'd barricaded themselves in one of the downstairs rooms, someone had been trying to get them to come out. Things had tipped over without apparent provocation, strange voices had been heard, and other such magical happenings. If Sten wasn't here, these fools would have almost certainly rushed out to try and find or escape the madness, not realizing they were playing right into the enemy's hand.

"Are you sure we shouldn't-"

"No," Sten growled. "We stay here." What part of this did they not understand?

Before anyone could interrupt again, the voice returned.

"Very well, my subjects. If you are so determined to stay put, then I suppose I will have to make that room your tomb." Sten tensed; it seemed that the saarebas was ready to make its move.

With a clunk, a picture fell off the wall, revealing a hole. A moment later, a large, red cylinder was pushed in by an unseen hand before the hole was blocked.

"What the-" Chris muttered, stepping towards it.

Sten, however, heard the hiss and knew instantly what was going on. "Gas!" he called, grabbing the boy and yanking him back as a sickly smell started to assault his nose.

The children were panicking, obviously, but thankfully Sten was Qunari. He had been trained for how to deal with gas attacks. Waving his hand, he signaled everyone to follow him as he stormed towards the barricade; it would be safer outside this death-room than inside. Puffing tainted air from his lungs, he swung Asala into the barricade.

The wooden furniture that had been piled against the door splintered under blow after blow, and when most of it was cleared away Sten put his shoulder to the door and shoved it open, leading the coughing bas out of the room.

"What the…"

A figure stood outside the room, staring at them. He must not have expected Sten to be able to get out that quickly. Taking advantage of the surprise, Sten thundered across the distance and brought Asala's pommel to the figure's masked face, causing him to topple with a pained howl. Sten aimed his blade, preparing to end this-

"Sten?"

It was his kadan. He'd want to see this. "Down here," he called, keeping Asala steady. It seemed he'd been able to rescue the others, as six sets of footsteps hurried down the stairs.

"What happened?" the Chantry sister asked.

Concisely, Sten explained what had transpired. The Warden nodded along as he moved forward, keeping his own blade drawn and ready.

"Excellent work, Sten," he said before glaring down at the masked figure. "Now, I'm guessing you're the one who summoned the demon into the abomination, is that right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the figure said in a raspy voice, trying to get up before the Warden put a boot on his chest. "Ow! That hurts you prick!"

"You sicko!" Chris shouted. "You killed Josh you son of a bitch!" He started making his way over, but Sten stopped him: this was a matter best left to professionals. The Warden nodded his agreement before looking back down at the enemy and pointing his sword at his neck.

"There is an abomination on this mountain," he said. "And if we hadn't been here-"

"Who are you? What's an abomination? Let me up!"

"Why should we!" Michael snarled, aiming his weapon. "You almost got us all killed you bastard, why shouldn't we just shoot you?"

The masked man jerked under the Warden's boot. "Mike!" he said, starting to raise his hands before stopping when the Warden's blade moved menacingly towards his neck. "Mike, let's think this through…"

The boy didn't look convinced, his finger tightening on the trigger. Sam, however, was staring oddly at figure. "I think we need to see what's under the mask," she said slowly, almost seeming afraid of what she'd discover. The Warden glanced at her before nodding and stepping back.

"Take your mask off, but no funny business," he said.

The figure stared at him for a long moment before slowly reaching his hands up and peeling the mask off his face, revealing a bloodied, haggard face…

"JOSH?!" almost everyone shouted.

"Boo," he muttered, trying to get up again, only to be stopped by the Warden's blade.

"You're not standing until I know what's going on," he said coolly.

The children, however, didn't seem to be listening. "What the fuck?!" Ashley squeaked. "You're dead! You got cut in half! How are you-"

"My dad makes movies; you think I never learned a thing or two?" Josh snapped, snorting some blood out of his broken nose. "Don't you like pranks? I certainly put enough effort into this before someone," he glared at Sten, "ruined it. I hope you're happy you oversized-"

"But why?" Sam whispered. "Josh… Why would you-"

"MY SISTERS ARE DEAD YOU BASTARDS!" Josh roared. A tense silence filled "They're dead because you-"

"We didn't kill Hannah and Beth!" the girl who'd come with the Warden snapped. "It's not our fault-"

"You-"

"ENOUGH!" the Warden shouted, silencing everyone. "Enough. It seems there's a lot going on around here, but we're all in danger, there's still the abomination on this mountain. The-"

It was almost as if the creature had been summoned; the sound of glass shattering from above caused everyone to jerk. "Oh fuck…" someone muttered.

"Stay here," the Warden said. "And stay quite. Everyone, get your fire ready."

"It's time to end this."

Aedan made his way up the stairs slowly, his eyes searching for the creature. They'd have to strike true; if the thing escaped again it would be a pain to hunt down. "Remember," he whispered. "Fire weapons only; nothing else can scratch it. Morrigan, keep it off balance." Everyone nodded, and Aedan led the way around the stairs, pouring the fire coating along his sword and causing it to light up like a torch that lit the room.

The monster was hanging from the side of an intricate metal sphere hanging in the center of the entrance hall; its soul-less eyes staring at them as they slowly fanned out, Sten and Aedan in front, Morrigan and Leliana behind. Once again, Aedan challenged it, but this time it simply stayed put.

'It's learning,' he thought grimly: in their battle on the edge of the cliff; it had been relentless, slashing wildly at him with its claws and relying on its strong hide to protect itself. Now that they knew its weakness, it would be more cautions, likely relying on its extreme speed to go for the less protected members.

"Leliana, bring it down," he said, moving to stand protectively in front of her. She nodded and drew back a fire arrow.

The abomination screamed as the arrow pierced its flesh, and it jumped towards one of the balconies. Sticking near the wall, Aedan directed his team to keep their eyes on it, allowing Leliana to shoot it again.

After the third arrow, the beast seemed to have enough. Shrieking, it darted to the ground and bounded towards Morrigan, who'd moved a little away from the others.

However, she was ready, and a hex of misdirection had drawn itself on the abomination's chest before it hit the ground. Its lunge then took it into the wall next to her. It was still fast enough to escape the worst of Sten's retaliatory blow, but his flaming blade cut into its side and caused it to scream again. It lunged towards Leliana, but she rolled aside, allowing Aedan to ram his blade into the monster's lower abdomen.

A living creature would have been killed by this blow, as his flaming sword went all the way through, but the abomination simply shrieked in his face and tried to bite him, its claws scraping off his armor. Using his shield, Aedan shoved it off his blade as Sten came in for another strike.

It tried to jump away, and would have made it if Morrigan hadn't used her telekinesis to disrupt it, allowing Asala to take the creature's foot off. It scrambled for distance, only for its other leg to be pierced by one of Leliana's flaming arrows, causing it to topple to the ground. Hurrying forward, Aedan and Sten moved to flank it as it pushed itself clumsily to its remaining foot.

As it shrieked again, Aedan found himself wondering who it had been, before the demon had taken over. A butterfly tattoo on its shoulder stood out for some reason; almost as if it was calling… he shook his head. It didn't matter, in the end. Whoever they had once been, they were gone now, and killing the demon would allow them to rest in peace. "Take its head," he said softly. "I'll pierce its heart."

It lunged in desperation, but Aedan's shield stopped it cold. As he shoved it away, his flaming sword stabbed out, burning through its skin and into its heart. Sten, meanwhile, raised Asala and, with one stroke, severed the thin neck. With a last, faint shriek, the monster's head fell, bouncing with a note of finality.

Aedan sighed; it had not been a difficult battle, but still he felt drained. "It's over," he muttered. "Come on, let's go." However, as they turned, the sound of footsteps on the stairs heralded the arrival of the teens, creeping warily towards them. "I thought I told you to stay put," he called.

"The noise had stopped," Sam said as she led the way over, staring uncomfortably at the slain abomination. "Is it… dead?"

"Tis what usually happens when the head is removed from the body," Morrigan said scathingly. "And it has stopped moving." Aedan didn't bother reprimanding her; she'd been remarkably patient with this whole detour.

A tense silence filled the room before Emily spoke. "What happens now?" she asked, glaring at Josh, who glared back.

"That depends on one question," Aedan said, turning and staring into the boy's eyes. "Did you summon this creature?"

"No," Josh said. "I just wanted them to feel what they'd done to my sisters, I didn't want to kill anyone!"

"You lying-"

"I don't know exactly what happened," Aedan interrupted. "But I do know what it feels like to lose family: it's a wound that never truly heals." He continued to stare at Josh for a long moment before nodding. "However, I also believe that he had nothing to do with the abomination. What happens now is you stick together and wait here until dawn; help should be coming for you then. I suggest you take this time to have a long talk about whatever happened."

"Aren't you going to stay?" Ashley asked.

For a moment, Aedan was tempted: there might be more abominations on the mountain, and even if there weren't it would be useful to have a calmer voice in the argument that was sure to break out…

Leliana put a hand on his arm before shaking her head. "No," she said. "We've done our part; the Maker guided us to you to protect you from the danger that abomination posed. Now, the rest is up to you: we can save your lives, we can't decide what you do with them." Morrigan muttered something about an attack of common sense, and Leliana paused to glare at her before continuing. "Besides, we have our own mission, one that we have to get back to."

The children looked at each other for a long moment before Michael spoke. "I guess that's true," he said. "I'm sorry we can't give you any quest rewards, but I don't think they take dollars off in Middle Earth."

Aedan stopped himself from rolling his eyes; what strange things these kids said. "You can thank us by trying to sort your differences out without hurting each other," he said. "Promise me that, and I will be satisfied."

"I promise," Sam said immediately.

"Okay," Jess said.

Chris sighed. "Sure, okay," he said.

"Will do," Matt nodded.

"I guess so…" Ashley whispered.

Michael glanced around before nodding. "The monster hurt Jess, not Josh, so I'll be calm."

Silence.

Aedan looked between Emily and Josh. "Holding grudges won't help anything," he said. "Emily, Josh didn't intend for anyone to get hurt, and his sisters are dead. At least give him a chance. For my sake?"

The girl glared at him before taking a deep breath. "I'll probably never forgive the bastard… but I'll talk," she muttered.

Aedan nodded before turning to Josh. "Josh, answer this honestly; do you think your sisters would want you to destroy yourself? Because that's what will happen. I hate the man who betrayed and murdered my family, but the best revenge I can have against him is to live. Can you not consider the same?"

The pair stared at each other; their wills clashing. Finally, however, Sam intervened. "Josh," she whispered, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Please… just talk to us."

The boy's head jerked towards her, and finally his gaze softened a bit. "Sam… okay… I trust you," he whispered.

"Good," Aedan said. "Stay safe, all of you." Turning, he walked towards the door, and his party fell in behind him.

As they walked down the path towards where they'd first arrived, Aedan noticed the temperature dropping, the snow brightening, the path sloping upwards. Looking up, rocks had replaced trees, and once again on the mountain where Andraste was buried.

He smiled; if this had been a test from the Maker, surely they had succeeded. "Come on," he called. "This time, we'll reach the tomb."

After all; they still had an Arl to save, and after that a Blight to stop.

Compared to that, one abomination was barely a bump on the road.

AN: I blame this on MJTR's Dante's Night at Freddy's and my inability to write good comedy, so I had to attempt action/drama.