Dragon Age: A Bard's Love
Chapter 7
It had been several days since Cogdale awoke from his wounds and the group was heading into darkspawn occupied lands. With the territory they now trekked they had to be stealthy, and with stealth came patience and steady movement around the growing darkspawn horde. Even the world began to show signs that darkspawn had walked nearby as the caravan continued across the road.
The ground, dry and cracked showed no signs of life or hope within it. Trees, rotted and scraped clean of any leaves it might have once had. Finally, the sky, no longer the bright and extravagant blue that had blessed them the past 3 days was now gray and covered in clouds. It seemed as even the clouds had reached the ground with fog surrounding them. The once plentiful sounds of robins and birds were replaced by chattering whispers, the infamous whispers that always followed darkspawn ever since the first, the corrupted tevinter mages.
Morrigan, Ohgren and Shale led the ox through the fog ever vigilant of darkspawn assault. The thunder of Shale's footsteps kept everyone sane for the trip through. Just to be ready, Cogdale kept his sword unsheathed leaning against it, digging the tip of the blade into the wagon's wood. Ready for battle he had his helmet on as well. But something strange surrounded him. Darkspawn were no where to be seen or even felt by the wardens.
"Very ominous" Cogdale said loud enough for Alistair and Wynne to hear it. Leliana was resting on Cogdale's shoulder as she had been the trip to Redcliffe. She had been awake, comforted by Cogdale's spice like smell he naturally had. They hardly talked to each other the past 3 days. It seemed that her and Cogdale had the same idea on what they wanted from each other, company. They didn't want to spoil the time together with an argument or blooper.
"Yeah, I'm getting spooked thats for sure" Alistair replied popping his neck nervously. Cogdale had grown a friendship with Alistair, although Cogdale himself was in some ways weak in the ways of women and motivation Alistair was an entire tier above him.
"Do you love her?" it seemed Alistair had taken the moment of Leliana's vulnerability of being asleep. But when she was just an ear away from Cogdale's voice? Could Alistair be truthfully asking this question?
"With all that I am" Cogdale quietly said loud enough for Alistair to hear but quiet enough that Leliana wouldn't open her eyes to the conversation. Cogdale reassured Alistair his answer with a scowl. Alistair shifted himself to face Cogdale.
"You do know you only have around 30 years after becoming a warden? In the end you'll find yourself in the deep roads, a darkspawn blade finally ending your legendary last stand or a shriek at your bedside, its claws deep within your heart?" Alistair said a concerned face growing every word he said.
"Leliana still has a full life ahead of her, shes already witnessed enough torment and heartbreak, I'm just worried that if shes still with you by then you'll break her heart and she might do something drastic." He finished. Cogdale knew what he spoke of, after drinking the taint a warden slowly is taken over by the taint no matter how much control he had over it.
"Look, I'm not wishing you to end your relationship with her... I just don't want it end in bloodshed and tears." Alistair said restating himself. Cogdale was moved by this, he slowly turned and looked at Leliana, red hair draping over Cogdale's left pauldron. All Cogdale wanted for Leliana was for her to be happy. What Alistair said was the truth, if he died.... Leliana would be smashed into a million pieces and never to be repaired. He didn't want that to run with his soul when it entered the fade. But in the same, he loved Leliana too much to let go of her. If anything she said was truth, the most was what she had said to him nights and nights ago that they were destined to be together.
"mm...hello" Leliana said finally waking up, a bit stunned to see Cogdale greeted her with his helmet on, chivalry once again died. "Hello Leliana" Cogdale said his voice echoing in his helmet. Leliana laughed from what the helmet did to his voice. Even in the dim world they were in, gray and no sunlight, Leliana's eyes glowed, not like that of Cogdale's own but in a way that would warm any heart, that would cause your body to freeze for them.
"We're in darkspawn territory" Cogdale said taking his helmet off to truly look at her. Leliana finally lifted her head and nuzzled her nose against Cogdale's before fixing her armor. "Alright, I'm ready" Leliana said revealing her bow in hand. "Thats the thing, Alistair and I can't sense any form of darkspawn at all." Cogdale told her jumping off the wagon to join the three in front. Leliana followed him wanting to know the entire situation.
"Where are we on the map?" Leliana asked. "Lothering...." Alistair said laying down the map. He was right, Lothering finally appeared from the fog. The town was burnt down, bodies impaled by stakes. Leliana grimaced and hid her sight behind Cogdale. The darkspawn were complete monsters and showed no sign of any mercy. "Maker where are you?" Alistair gasped as he to jumped off the wagon. The women were missing from Lothering though, most likely taken to become broodmothers.
"Leliana... I.." Cogdale didn't know what to say, Lothering had been Leliana's home, her sanctuary from her dark life and now it had become that of myth. Leliana quickly rushed into the fog without warning, Cogdale lost her, but he knew where she had went to. Lothering's Chantry, most importantly the cloister. Cogdale finally found the building, its doors open, echoes chattered its halls. Sunlight bled through the stained glass image of Andraste over the hall. Cogdale searched for Leliana, but could find her the aisles were empty and the pedestal was empty as well.
"Leliana!" Cogdale had found her, standing alone and frozen her eyes horrified of what she had discovered. "Maker where are you?" Leliana said. In front of her was the entire cloister women slaughtered and impaled to stakes on the ceiling to the walls to the floor. Cogdale stumbled back from the moment. "Darkspawn would never do this?" Cogdale said approaching Leliana. "No they wouldn't but no one else would do this." Leliana said, holding back her tears. All of her friends of the cloister were dead in front of her eyes in ways she would never wish upon anyone.
Cogdale grabbed her and hugged her. "They will not die in vain" Cogdale promised her. "Come on, we need to get to redcliffe, I can say how much I'm sorry Leliana. I wish I could do something" Leliana put her finger on his lips to stop him.
"Shhh, you do too much Cogdale" She said as she left the chantry her head hung down. Cogdale lowered his head as well, nothing could ease the pain from this. But something was odd about this the cloister were all women why wouldn't the darkspawn take them? But other things were puzzling, such as the wounds on the women weren't jagged and gory but clean cut, that includes bones. Darkspawn don't use well forged blades.
"It seems we aren't the only ones in Lothering" Morrigan said greeting Leliana and Cogdale as they exited the chantry. A silhouette slothed across the bridge. "Ser, are you alright?" Cogdale shouted but the man didn't answer and only aimlessly moved around the bridge. "Ser!" Cogdale shouted again, and again no response. Deciding to see if the man was injured or under some sort of spell from an emissary, Cogdale approached the man.
"Ser are you?" Cogdale repeated. The man lifted his head to reveal a grotesque emaciated face standing in front of Cogdale. The man was a ghoul, soulless. A growling attack sweeped Cogdale off of his feet. The ghoul's eyes, a swirling white vortexes, face forever dried to a frown. Teeth chattering as it made it's way towards Cogdale's arm for lunch. Suddenly the ghoul collapsed on Cogdale's arm an arrow piercing its skull. Seconds later his corpse burst into dust with 1 final gasp of air following it.
"Seems the darkspawn emissaries are playing with necromancy." Leliana said walking up to Cogdale. "Yeah it seems like it, expect all of Lothering's inhabitants to be the same" Leliana lifted Cogdale back to his feet. The death of the ghoul had alerted others in the city. The fog gusted past them to blind them even more. Cogdale steadied his blade and readied for the waves of undead to attack them. The snarling came first, voices of once the kind population of Lothering were now gurgling maniacs only wanting the group's demise.
"Steady!" Cogdale said as the first ghoul came rushing him. The creature seemed to have been a merchant as it still held jewelry in its hands as it swung its stiff arms at Cogdale. Knowing this one was not that much of a threat, Cogdale met his gauntleted fist to skull. The ghoul collapsed as his head rolled on the ground, a fist crater embedded. More and more ghouls came rushing but being fragile were easy prey for everyone.
Ohgren sliced through them like a mabari to steaks. Morrigan took dozens out with an inferno of spells bursting them into dust. Cogdale met the waves of undead with his blade, even though these monsters were easy kills, their numbers began to tire the group. Dodging weapons, fists and teeth along with attacking the ghouls who didn't have any morale to raise or lower and would keep rushing no matter what was fatiguing.
The only one who stayed steady was Shale, her boulder fists colliding with crowds of the attackers. "Oh ho ho this is so fun!" Shale chuckled, every swing of her fists propelled the fog away from them. But even Shale could hold off so many ghouls. These ghouls weren't only from Lothering as more and more wore Templar armor and even magi regalia. Whatever the darkspawn did it was the most powerful necromancy he had ever seen.
"Theres too many!" Wynne shouted as she blasted another templar ghoul in the chest with lightning. They could barely hear each other, the crowds of ghouls' moaning and screaming drowned out any sound even that of their spells. The dust that was once ghouls blanketed the ground and everyone. Camouflaging everyone to the fog.
"We need something to give us time to escape or take all of them out at once!" Cogdale said swinging his blade through another 2 ghouls, spinning his blade into the belly of another, undead gall spilling onto the dusty ground. Only to burst into dust itself. Cogdale looked to Morrigan to see if she had any ideas. "Morrigan!?" Cogdale caught her attention and nodded to her to see if she had any spells that could work.
Morrigan only nodded as well, shaking her head to rid her black hair of dust. Cogdale watched as she stepped back and twirled a strange blue and purple spell in her hands for several seconds as Shale took up her part of the fight as well. "Everyone get back!" Cogdale shouted, everyone pulled their attacks and took a step back past Morrigan. Unleashing the spell with a sweeping movement of her hands, a blaze of violet spread across, not burning the incoming ghouls but freezing them and finally they stopped and drooped over. "What was that?" Wynne asked astonished at the spells power. Morrigan grinned and crossed her arms with pride. "Something from Flemeth's Grimoire I studied. Tis a spell that removes all blood magic from things affected by it."
"What are we going to do with these guys?" Leliana asked walking over to one of them and slapping its back. Morrigan shrugged and walked on "I suggest we get out of here before the darkspawn sense their blood magic has ended here in Lothering.
"I say we savor this moment and squish every one of their small heads" Shale said pounding her fists in action to what she wanted. Cogdale looked at Leliana to see she had any sympathy of this motion. Her emotions dimmed to sadness and nodded quickly rushing to follow Morrigan. Cogdale knew she was wounded to know Lothering was submitted to the Darkspawn to be only a necromantic testing spree.
"Go ahead Shale, if any of you want to do so you may join our golem here" Cogdale said rushing to Leliana.
"Somethings not right, some of those ghouls were wearing armor similar to those of Marjolaine's assassins." Leliana said rubbing her forearms for warmth and relief of the image. Cogdale knew the feeling that was searing through her. He saw his family slaughtered by Howe, and now she saw what she called as family the past years of her life staked through their hearts to the ground.
Just remembering his parents rushed tears to his eyes, but he bit his lip and held them back. Luckily his helmet hid his emotions. He slowly picked up speed to catch up with Leliana who was now hunching over and what seemed to be crying. By the moment he was at her side, Bodahn had moved his caravan to the same path they were residing on.
"Come on good ser, hop up" Bodahn said patting the sack of wheat he sat on. Cogdale nodded and lifted Leliana up upon the wagon and followed. It was extremely astonishing that she could handle so much dread, sadness, anger, and other emotions in such a short period of time. It added to the mystique of her. Knowing that nothing could really ease her. He placed his hand on hers, she noticed and gave an untruthful smile to Cogdale.
