Dragon Age: The Trouble With Heroes' Journeys
The Commander
We are stood here breathing and sweating in our armour, talking to a darkspawn emissary. Justice is watching, through a corpse's eyes, and wearing Dumat's armour. Watching all this and frowning impatiently at me as though this were easy. Plain, empty features. No sweat on his skin.
Kill it, he says.
Kill it? It is a hurlock that talks. It performs experiments. It wears clothes for aesthetics. If I let it go free it might cure the taint. If such a thing can be done. It might take prisoners again. It might sack a keep again. It doesn't know for sure. It's confused. It might cure the taint.
It says it doesn't know how it was born with this awareness. Did the Maker put it here?
Justice is impatient. I don't understand him.
I never have. Possessed walking dead are not supposed to join us. They're not supposed to speak. But of course I grew to know him as I would any of my men. He served Amaranthine well, the guards got used to him. I had to keep reminding him to put on a helmet.
He just wants to kill this thing. Kill the monster. It's pathetic. I could slap him. So thoughtless, so simple. Just kill it. He disgraces the griffon shield.
Riding in on griffons would have been wonderful. Riding into a battlefield, saving the desperate army outnumbered on all sides then making the ultimate sacrifice. This quest - my quest - the moment of my life - will end like this. Me in the Deep Roads with an apostate and a thief and a damn fool out for vengeance and I have no idea what to do.
All while my keep burns. This thing sent a messenger to warn me. You want to just kill it? It would be murder! It does not attack us. Whose laws are you following? Justice - he didn't hesitate for a moment. I hate him.
This darkspawn tainted the Old God. It was an accident. It started the Blight. Kill it.
You are a Grey Warden. You came to Ferelden to finish the Blight. Kill it.
I wish Ser Mhairi were here. Now there was a true Grey.
It talks. What does this 'Mother' of theirs look like? Human face like this one? Bloodshot eyes like mine? We'll see soon enough, after I decide this.
When I accepted this post, I had ideas about escaping the finery and secrecy of Orlais, and about travelling the land that had seen off an Archdemon in a year. But more than this, I had ideas of slaying dragons, rescuing peasants. Fighting monsters and training young Wardens at the castle. As I built the Keep and grew to know my recruits, these became more than ideas. They all happened. I saw the knight at the villain's gate, demanding justice and a duel. I fenced with the darkspawn in the courtyard while he battled the mage on a balcony.
Kill it.
I did not see the villagers when the fight was won. I forgot it was a dream.
At the Keep, they were building a statue of Mahariel. I do not know how he accomplished what he did.
The men and women I recruited were brave knights who did everything they could. All of them. I will add that to the records before I go.
