Initially, I couldn't tell where I was. It was so dark. I smelled grime and rotting flesh and it nearly made me gag. Where the hell was I? I couldn't see my hand in front of my face it was so dark. This darkness was different though. It had a certain heaviness to it.
My head swam when I tried to stand. I nearly fell over again. The ground was smooth stone as were the walls. Probably some kind of cell. Why was I in a cell?
I was still dressed. My hoodie and shirt were soaked for some reason. My jeans were ripped at the knees.
I tried to remember everything despite my huge headache. I remembered that I appeared in a forest-no, a swamp. I was with someone, a girl.
Ashley! Where was Ashley?
"Ash?" I said looking around the pitch black room only to see the same darkness.
Okay, before that. Before the forest. What happened?
Come on, think C.J.! Remember!
A door! There was a door! With a gryphon inscribed on it. It spoke to me! And we entered and ended up in the swamp and those...
"Ash!" I called.
"Mmm." I heard someone groan on the floor. "What?" It was Ashley!
"Where are you?" I said into the darkness.
"C.J.?" She said.
"Yeah." I said. "Where are you?"
Before she could answer, I heard the scrape of metal on rock. A door. It had to be a door.
I inched closer to where I thought Ashley was. Hopefully, we could push past whoever was opening the door and get out of here. Wherever here was.
Light flooded into the room and I was blinded.
"Don't worry." I cool, clear yet rough voice said. "You're eyes will adjust with a little time." The one who spoke sounded as if he wasn't used to speaking properly. I could hear gurgling sounds behind his words.
My eyes finally adjusted and I stepped back at what I saw.
One of those creatures from before. Tall, fanged, rotting. The only difference here was that this one was carrying a staff and a green glowing stone it wore a hooded cloak but I could still see its fish like eyes that stared at me with interest rather than hunger or bloodlust like before.
"Do not be alarmed." It said. "I will not hurt you nor will the others unless I tell them to."
I stood my ground and looked down at Ashley. She was hurt, but the wound was bandaged neatly on her leg. She wouldn't look at the thing.
"Who are you?" I asked trying to contain my fear into stable words.
"I am the Architect." It said. "And you are strangers." I swallowed.
"Why did you capture us? What do you want from us?" I felt my voice start to rise from panic and brought it back down again.
"You," it pointed at me, "hold the key to the door we seek."
"What door?" I asked. "I don't have a key." I patted my pockets for emphasis and felt my switchblade knife in my back pocket along with my wallet and my phone in separate pockets.
"C.J." Ashley said trying to stand up. I helped her up and let her lean on me for support. There was no way we were escaping like this, not with her leg like that.
"Careful," I said putting her arm around my shoulders.
"You are the Grey Warden." The Architect said.
"What?" I said. "What is a Grey Warden?"
"I sense our taint in you." It nodded to my left shoulder.
I looked over and saw a bite mark. I remembered that I got it from when those things attacked us.
"You are the Grey Warden from another world and you hold the key to the door we seek." The Architect said.
I swallowed. I had two options. One, I could bust through the thing in front of us, hoist Ashley on my back and get the hell out. Two, I could go with this whole Grey Warden thing and who the hell knows what would happen to me or to Ashley.
Option one it was.
I let go of Ashley for a moment and charged at the thing, bashing its head on the stone wall and knocking him unconscious.
I let out a deep breath and quickly went back to Ashley, hoisting her up.
"We're getting out of here." I said. I took the green stone from the creature and walked out of the cell.
The smell was even worse in the corridor. Rotting flesh, damp earth, blood, and fire all mixed together. I quickly sneaked through the shadows, carrying a barely conscious Ashley on my back.
"Ash?" I said quietly.
"Hmm?" She groaned.
"Don't worry," I said. "We'll be out of here soon. Just stay with me."
I picked it up as fast as I could until I came across a door. I swallowed hard and pushed it open.
No one was inside what looked like a huge entrance hall. I hurried to the large doors at the end of the hall and pushed through them. They opened and I darted as fast as I could possibly manage.
It seemed like we were underground. No possible way of telling where the hell we were. Damn.
I then slowed my pace before I felt my arm burn. I dropped to my knees and became light-headed and almost passed out.
"You there!" I heard a gruff man yell distantly before I lost consciousness.
"Answer the call C.J." A wise voice said through a black oblivion.
"Who-?" I asked.
"You will know soon enough." The voice said again. "Find the elf called Mahariel. He will help you on your journey as you will help him."
"Wait!" I shouted. "What's going to happen to me? How will I help him? Where can I find him? Come back!"
I woke up on a soft bed, blankets all around me. I was warm. I felt safe for the first time since entering this world. I opened my eyes to see that I was in a cozy little hovel. I heard a fire burning and I could smell meat cooking.
"Mummy!" A young girl squealed. "She's awake!"
"Keep your voice down Bruna," an older woman said from another room, "you'll give her a headache."
I sat up and looked at the young girl who shouted. She was unrealistically small with big brown eyes that stared at me with innocent curiosity. Her brown hair was in pig-tails. She wore simple clothing.
"Hi!" She said cheerfully. "I'm Bruna."
"Nice to meet you Bruna." I said.
A big, really short woman tottered into the room. She had the same brown hair and eyes as Bruna. Her hair was tied back in a bun and her face was care-worn. Despite that, she looked like she could break me in half with her bare hands.
"Bruna," she said, "go play somewhere else for now. Wait for your father."
Bruna ran off somewhere and the big woman and I were alone.
"I see you're awake." She said. "You were running a very nasty fever when Gorin brought you here."
"Who are you?" I asked groggily.
"I'm Tethra of the Warrior Caste." She said. "Who are you?"
"C.J." I said.
"You don't look like you're from around here C.J." She said. "Besides the fact that you're a human. Your clothes are strange. And your hairdo. Where are you from?"
I pondered whether or not to tell her the truth. She seemed like a practical type of person.
Hell with it.
"I'm not from this world." I said. "I'm from somewhere else entirely." I looked around and didn't see Ashley anywhere. "Where's Ashley?" I asked.
"In the other room. Poor girl's in shock. Though it wouldn't surprise me considering what Gorin dragged you two out of." Tethra sighed. "I'll take you to her if you're able."
"I'm able." I said getting out of the bed.
Pain suddenly shot up my arm and I shrieked.
"Gah!" I gripped my arm in pain, then noticed the black markings all over my arm. What were these? Where did they come from?
"Careful." Tethra said. "Your shoulder's not quite healed and your arm looks pretty bad. Take it easy."
How did I even get these?
Tethra led me out of the room to another room that was just down the hall. She opened the door and I saw Ashley sitting on the bed with her back on the pillow and hands on the covers. She was staring at nothing.
"Can I have a moment alone?' I asked.
"Of course. Come to the kitchen when you're ready." she said closing the door and leaving Ashley and I alone.
I took a step toward her.
"How's your leg?" I asked.
"It's fine." She said.
I walked to her and sat on the edge of the bed. I touched her hand gently.
"Ash, what's wrong?" I asked.
"Everything." She said. "C.J. I don't know what to do. What's going to happen to us? What did the Architect mean by you were the key? What's a Grey Warden and why did he call you that?"
"I don't know Ash." I said. "But we need to stay strong through this. We were brought here for a reason, and we," I took both of her hands, "are going to see this through."
She looked at me and then at my arm.
"What happened?" She asked.
I looked at the black markings on my arm that looked like they were engraved into my skin.
"I think it's from when that thing bit me." I said. The patterns were intricate yet primal, like an ancient language.
"What happens now?" Ashley asked. I stood up.
"Can you walk?" I asked.
"I think so." She said. I helped her to her feet. I spotted a cane near the bed and grabbed it.
"Try this." I said. Tethra must've left it for her.
Ashley took the cane and tried walking a few steps. It took her a moment but she was walking. I smiled.
"All right." I said. "Come on. Let's go eat."
I led Ashley to the kitchen by following the smell of cooked meat and broth. It reminded me of when my mom cooked stew.
Tethra was sitting in a chair patiently as Bruna played in the floor.
"Take a seat you two." She said as she stood up and began bustling about the kitchen. Ash and I sat down at the table and watched as Tethra busied herself.
"So," I began, "where exactly are we?"
"The dwarven city of Orzammar." She said. "My husband found the two of you in the Deep Roads."
"What were those things that attacked us?" Ashley asked.
"They're called the darkspawn." She said darkly. "You're lucky to be alive. Gorin and Levin came home with you two slung over their shoulders." She regarded Ashley, "You were badly wounded," the she regarded me, "and you were completely unconscious. How did you two even end up there in the first place?"
"Well," I said, "we went through a door and ended up in a swamp."
"The Korcari Wilds." Tethra said. "Dangerous place, according to the stories."
"Well," I said, "then we were attacked by those darkspawn things. And one of them bit me and we ended up in that place."
"One bit you?" Tethra said in disbelief. "You should be dead by now. There's no way unless..."
The door opened and a gruff, burly man walked through it.
"Are they-?" He stopped when his brown eyes met mine and all I saw was utter sympathy and relief. "Thank the ancestors." He said.
"Gorin," Tethra said standing up, "you're just in time for supper."
Gorin had a kind face for someone who looked battle-worn. His black beard was tied in a braid that rested on his chest. His hair was the same black as his beard and was tied back into a ponytail. He wore metal armor that had a red tint to it and a huge axe was at his back.
"Are you two alright?" He asked Ashley and I.
"We're alive." I said. "That's good enough for me."
"It's a wonder that you're not dead." He said. "We dragged you out of an area that was infested with darkspawn. Who are you?"
"My name's C.J." I said, "this is Ashley. We came here from a completely different world." Gorin raised an eyebrow and sat at the table with us as Tethra busied herself.
"Another world?" He asked.
"Yes," Ashley confirmed, "we walked through a door and ended up in the Korcari Wilds that Tethra mentioned."
Gorin stroked his beard for a bit before asking, "How did you get into the Deep Roads?"
I sighed and told him the entire story. The story of the door, though how the door appeared in the first place is still a mystery to me, how we got captured, our escape, and finally my dream.
"An elf you say?" He said curiously.
"Yeah," I said, "I don't know how to find elves though. I didn't even think they existed."
"You don't have elves in your world?" Bruna asked innocently. "Not even dwarves?"
"Bruna," Tethra said.
"Nope," I said, "no elves, no dwarves."
"Wow," she said.
"Where can we find elves?" Ashley asked impatiently.
"Either in the human cities or the Brecillian Forest. We dwarves keep to ourselves most of the time. Not counting the surfacers." He informed.
"How do we get there?" I asked.
"Through the gates of Orzammar." Gorin said. "You'll also have to travel through the mountain passes until you get to one of the main roads and follow it north to Denerim which could take days."
"Days?" I said. "Ash can't travel on her leg like that."
He held up his hand as a symbol to ask for my patience.
"There is a Grey Warden in Orzammar however." He said. I leaned forward at the mention of a Grey Warden.
"What's a Grey Warden?" I asked.
"Legendary fighters." He said. "Stopped the Blight centuries ago."
"What does this have to do with us?" Ashley asked.
"The Grey Warden is looking for recruits and will be here for a few weeks. I can train you," he said pointing at me, "and your leg should be healed." He pointed at Ashley. "You both can go with him to wherever he may go. He can point you in the right direction and get you both out of here safely."
I sat there and thought. If I train with him I can defend myself more effectively if more of those darkspawn things show up. But why would he offer this to a stranger?
"I have a question." I said. He nodded. "Why help us when we aren't even from here? Do you even believe us?"
Gorin looked down darkly and Tethra stopped moving. Even Bruna stopped whatever she was doing.
"You two," he said, "are the two chosen by the humans' Maker to help us against the Blight."
"But you said that the Grey Wardens stopped the Blight centuries ago." Ashley said.
"Another one is about to start if you two are here." Tethra said.
"How do you know all this?" I asked.
"It's recorded in the Shaperate," he said, "the one place where all dwarven memories are recorded. This prophecy is recorded there."
I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms. What now? Well, I didn't have a choice now. I had to train to fight in order to survive. We were brought here for a reason like I said to Ash earlier.
"Okay," I said, "I'll train with you."
"What about me?" Ashley asked.
"You stay off that leg." I said. "You don't need to strain yourself."
"I want to help somehow." She said defiantly.
"That will come in time." Gorin said. "Your talents will come to you soon enough."
I looked at him curiously but didn't say anything.
"Well then," Tethra said, "how about we eat and you three can talk all you want afterward."
A/N: And thus, the story of our two heroes begins. Please let me know what you think in your reviews I would ask for constructive only, but this is the internet. The next chapter will be up in two weeks.