A/N: Sticks and stones may break my bones… but nothing like Fort Drakon will happen again!
Zevran: you are sadistic.
Varhen: Why are you talking about this!*throws up hands*
Me: It adds to the story and Zevran being protective is too cute not to have?
Varhen: he's mine, find your own!*hugs Zevran*
Me: damn, sure you can't share? Any way before they kill me…. Read the next chapter! XD
Chapter ten: Fort Drakon
(Varhen pov)
I woke up in a cell, only in my deer hide pants; this was going to be interesting… I looked at the prisoner in the other cell glaring when he tried to tell me I was in hell and wasn't getting out, witch stopped his preaching and sent him a little further from the bars separating our cages. I sighed, felling guilty.
"Look," I whispered moving as close as I could to his bars, a chain around my neck tying me to the back wall, "I'm not planning to stay here; I need to get back to…" Images of Zevran's face the shock and barley concealed horror in his eyes, made my heart clench "My… friends. They need to know I'm not dead… yet... I'm not lying down to be killed like a lame dog; I'm going down with a fight, and I'm taking as many of these bastards as possible with me."
I growl, these people were killing the innocent so they deserved no mercy. I winced hearing a choked scream end abruptly; my ears are filled with the echoing cry, sudden dark memories trying to break the wall I had built over the years. I hissed when my cage door was opened and three men walked in.
My instincts kicked in, I shoot up quickly standing to flee, I don't like being caged, and I hate being trapped. One of them laughed as the chain caused me to collapse back to the floor. I choked for a second before getting control and keeping to the wall, staying as close to it as possible. The man at the front smiled sickly at my show of fear, my gut clenched, knowing what was going to happen.
"Are you scared? Come on, you're a Grey Warden aren't you? Show us what your made of!" he moved within reach of the chain, my first instinct was attack, but just as quickly my instincts told me to stay away from the man, he wouldn't dare get close enough to be tangled in the chain. I moved to the far corner, away from the guard and other prisoners' cell. If I moved close he may try to… hurt me, and I wasn't going to let that happen again, never again.
"Come on are you scared? Loghain was right you are just a cowardice little bitch!" That snapped my resolve, I wasn't a coward and I was not a bitch, I bowed to no one. The Shem would pay for such insults. I stopped just out of his reach, my senses kicking in almost too late. I went to back up but was grabbed by the other two, my eyes widened I had forgotten about the other two and now I was in their grasp. I was pined to the wall by the two that held my arms the one I had nearly attacked standing in front of me grinning in triumph. His hand unlocking the chain around my neck, "Bring him to the Regents' quarters, sir?" One of the men asked. At that I began to struggle with every thing in me.
"Well I'd like to get some fun in before the Regent gets here but we're to leave you un-touched for his amusement." I swallowed my thoughts turning back to a time in my past and I suddenly jerked breaking the hold on one of my arms, which was enough to hit the other guard in the face, breaking his nose, and freeing my other arm. I felt a swell of smug triumph for a split second before getting my hands on the stunned guards' sword, drawing it quickly and effectively spinning and getting the other guards' throat.
Using the momentum I turned and dove it across the lead guards' chest, the first finally snapped out of it trying to grab me, I moved just in time to have him fall over behind me, the lead guard had fallen to the ground I saw he was a rouge and he carried a light one hand sword and a dagger, I sized my opportunity, I grabbed the keys, sword, and dagger running out of the cage before shutting the door and locking it just as the guard on the floor recovered and slammed into it, knocking himself out.
I gave a small, weak smile to the other prisoner opening his door with the keys.
"Do you know were they put the prisoners' things?" I asked him looking around; it seemed they were the ones in the pit killing the tortured people. I wanted to look into the pit to see if there were any more survivors, but I held back, I had to survive to see Zevran, at least one more time. And what I might find was not worth the risk. If someone was down there I would be able to hear them now.
"I think the chest by the door holds your things, they must have destroyed or taken my things else were." He was skinny and wouldn't last three seconds against the guards, I felt so bad for him. Checking the chest it did hold my things, at least my armor any way. I handed him the dagger I had pulled from the guard.
"Stay here and die, or fight. It's up to you. You can wait a while then follow after me, which would be the safest option." I turned grabbed my armor, quickly pulling it on getting the buckles and ties fastened properly in a matter of seconds, thanks to years of practice. I held the sword firmly as I crept to the door, weary in case of guards on the other side.
I opened the door creeping through and along the corridor to a weapons room, just a few feet away from the dungeon room door. Slipping in quietly, spotting two guards I dashed forward plunging the sword into the firsts' chest before pulling away and spinning in a whirl getting the other across the chest, I silenced him with one more sweep of the sword to his throat.
"Bastards." I sneered at the shock frozen on their faces, spiting at them. I grabbed two light swords and several throwing daggers in case. I noticed a pack, it was mine. My healing supplies laid out on the table, I grabbed them and the other supplies in the room tying the pouch back by my hip. I heard shouts and screams of rage and shock from down the hall; it seems they found my mess. Now it was time to run.
"Well, that cut the fun short…" I muttered, Walking into the hall seeing guards rush my way, I hit the first one with a throwing knife to the neck, pulling out my swords rushing at them, another fell and I focused on the third leavening a window to my side open. A mace hit my side sending me into the wall to my right.
"Varhen!" I was dazed but the voice that called sounded like… I looked up thinking I was hallucinating but the guard that had hit me with the mace was on the floor a Dalish dagger embedded into his skull, a elf crouched over the body, I smiled it was him. I hadn't imagined it, Zevran had come. I tried to stand from the heap that I had curled into on the floor, a pain in my side stopping the effort, the guard had gotten lucky; a few ribs were broken or bruised. I gasped curling back up I had broken ribs before, this wasn't good.
"Varhen, Varhen?" The voice was not the velvety accented tone of Zevran, rather the higher tone of my brother Alistair. But I couldn't bring my head up to look at him.
I could feel some kind of mist begin to cloud my mind and all of a sudden I was being dragged into darkness. As the mist began to twist its way through my mind I could feel fire race along my neck in lines of sharp cutting pain, my head lolled back and just as the red hazy mist consumed my vision I saw a mage standing near the end of the hall. His robs screamed Tevinter, he was an elf, with long blond hair tied back in a lose pony tail. A small trickle of blood ran down his palm, a blood mage. My eyes caught his as the mist consumed me, the last thing I remember seeing is a smirk playing on his lips as pain overwhelms my mind.
A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter; it's been a long time coming. Stupid people messing up my life interfered for a while, forgive me? I hope to sate my starved readers with future chapters that will be much quicker than this one was.
