Chapter Nine

Nothing had escaped at the least a spattering of blood. The floor had been given a generous coating of the liquid, and the bodies it oozed from were scattered around, propped up against pillars and overturned tables. Some bodies had been ripped open, exposing the organs for the world. Avianna had to fight back the urge to vomit, the sour taste in her mouth a sharp reminder that she was still not prepared for what she had signed up for. Alistair, on the other hand, had his face set in a grim expression, glancing around the room for anything that might cause them harm. The death around them didn't seem to even bother him.

How long before she would be that strong, that uncaring? How long before life held so little meaning to her?

Joel was motioning for them to head through the door at the far end of the room. There was a chattering clamor that made Avi's heart pound heavy in her chest. She could do this. They had been doing this for long enough that she should at least be able to keep calm, but she couldn't stop her fingers from trembling, her palms from moistening. There were several shapes muddling about in the gloom up ahead. It looked like they were feeding on some of the soldiers that had been guarding the area. Even more of a reason for her to vomit.

The three people and one massive hound crept around the edge of the room, trying to stay away from anything loose that they could rattle and garner attention from the monsters at the far end of the chamber. So far, they had been lucky, but Avi had a feeling their luck was about to come to an end.

"So," Alistair joked. "You wouldn't happen to know any invisibility spells, would you? I don't want to start a big fight with them, because of those two doors up there. They are both open and I am willing to bet that there are more darkspawn hiding in there. Perhaps they are having a tea party. Drinks, fancy pastries, the works!" He glanced toward the feasting darkspawn with that almost-annoying grin seeping into his face. Shouldn't he be more concerned, rather than amused? Ugh. There was no getting around his ways of thinking!

Joel shook his head, clearly more worried about the situation at hand than Alistair was. "Unfortunately not. That is something they DON'T want mages to know. It would make it much more difficult for the Templars if they wanted to find us. You know how that goes." The look that crossed between them was not overly friendly.

"Looks like we just have to fight our way through, unless you have a better idea?" Avi muttered. "We could always try to just slice their necks from behind…"

The two men looked at her, then back at each other for a moment. Joel nodded in a slow, deliberate manner. "I say we go for it."

"Here." Alistair handed the mage a small dagger, then pulled one for himself. "Make it quick, make it clean, and don't hesitate. If you do, you'll make a mistake, or you will fail completely."

Avi tucked her swords away, digging the dagger out of her boot. Would it even be sharp enough for this? She'd only ever used it to skin small animals and cut cording for little fixes. It had never been used for anything else. She gave it a dubious look.

Three fingers were held up, and when Alistair gave the countdown, they all began to slink forward, until they were within fifteen feet of the creatures. At this point, Fang held back, his ears flat against his head, waiting to spring forward if he was needed. The rest held their breath and inched forward. They all reached their targets and reacted at nearly the same time.

Avi tried to not listen to the soft spurt of blood as the blade ripped through the artery, to feel the skin break so close to her body, but it was hard to not pay attention to such things. The sound that came from the darkspawn was guttural, choking. She never would get used to the feeling of the skin ripping under her blade, especially not at this close range. It was something like a soft, but resisting tear, not unlike when you skinned a deer, but the knowledge it was something living and intelligent made it even worse in her mind. The chorus of the other two being killed in near-unison didn't help, either. A gag came to her throat; nope – this was going to definitely take some time to get used to. How Joel was able to not get sick at this was a marvel – after all, he had been even more sheltered than she had been. How was it that she had been able to think that she could do this? The idea that killing would come easy to her was not something that she was even able to entertain at this point. When she had slashed her way through the soldiers in her own home, it had to have been a survival instinct, a kill-or-be-killed motion that her body just knew to go through.

Too bad that she couldn't just kick her own body into that mode right now. She would surely feel better and fight better, at the very least. For so long her father had trained her to fight, to become someone that could defend herself at any moment. But now…now she didn't know if she would have the stomach to keep up with this forever.

The bodies dropped in motionless heaps, blood still oozing out from the necks. Fang hand taken out his own target in a fairly neat manner as well, adding that body to the pile. Now they needed to get past the two open doors on either side of them. That was going to be much easier said than done, and how they were going to make it through here was not going to be fun.

Alistair nodded to the right, motioning for Avi and Fang to take that room, while he and Joel would clear out the other. She dipped her head. The door was partially closed, but she could hear that there was definitely something rooting around in the room. A curse passed silently over her lips as she realized that she'd have to throw her weight against the door to get in; a fallen soldier was, rather inconveniently, propping it partially closed from the inside. Of course.

Avianna took a deep breath, waiting for her comrades to launch their attack first. One day she would have to be brave enough to lead these charges on her own, to stand up and be the strong Warden that the Order would expect her to be, but today was not that day. She had not expected herself to be so…timid, in the light of battle. But, she had never been in such dire straits before, so there was no way for her to know that she would be so afraid.

The roar of the two men behind her startled her into movement, and she let out a cry of her own. At first, it cracked and wavered, but she held on, shoving the door with all her might. She had to be strong. Her family hadn't spilled their blood for nothing, her land hadn't been lost for her to quiver and cry like a child, and this tower wasn't going to conquer her like a bear conquers its prey. Fang bounded through the door ahead of her, claws and maw ready to meet flesh. The two darkspawn in the room seemed surprised enough, but they didn't take long to retaliate. One was far too busy dealing with the whirling, snapping jaws of a massive, hungry beast, while the other was eager to spill Avi's own blood. It flew at her, slashing with its massive blade. The whir of steel was both elegant and deadly, clashing and singing against the air. She struggled against his strength, the massive brute towering above her head.

Come on. Out think him.

He raised the sword to strike at her again, to cleave her in two from shoulder to hip, but instead of blocking, Avi ducked and rolled to the side. Back on her feet, she plunged her blades into the soft, fleshy side of the darkspawn, cringing at the feel. It froze for the briefest of moments, and Avianna wrenched her blades through the soft belly of the creature. Blood and intestines began to leech from the gaping wounds. A disgusting, guttural laugh came from the darkspawn, and Avi stepped back, her throat tightening in horror. Did they ever stop? She didn't have to wonder for long. Fang darted around her and threw himself at the monster, his snarl an unearthly sound. The darkspawn and her hound fell to the ground, and Avianna didn't waste a moment. She rushed forward, her dripping blades piercing the heart of the grounded creature. Fang didn't cease his attack til the throat was quite soundly ripped out and scattered everywhere around the room, but that was fine. He apparently liked feeling so protective of her.

Ugh…that crunch and disgusting tug of pulling her blades free…no wonder the men always sharpened their blades. Hers had dings and dents in the edge now…and it was getting stuck in the body. Lovely. Why had no one ever told her this was such a problem? Why hadn't she figured it out on her own? Innocence slipping away was such a darling thing to witness.

A step sounded behind her, and Avianna whirled around, tip of a blade aimed directly for the throat of Alistair. His hands went up in shock and defense.

"Look, I know you aren't fond of me, but there is no need for that kind of behavior!" Even though he was spattered with blood, he still managed to give her a smile. "I mean, I don't smell so fresh at the moment, so maybe that's part of it."

She lowered her weapons with a grimace. Joel shifted from foot to foot, watching around the corner for more darkspawn. They had to keep moving. There were still several more floors to go, and plenty more blood to be shed. Fang seemed more than eager to keep up with all that, but how they were going to face the unknown was beyond her.

Three more floors, just like the first two. Blood everywhere, bodies everywhere. It had been a massacre, and no one had been able to warn the guards in the tower that the darkspawn were coming. What would have happened if they had been able to pull together some sort of defense? They would never know now. But, it wasn't just humans that had been slaughtered. There had been mabari here with the guards as well, and they had been mowed down in the fight as well. They had, it appeared, lasted longer than the men, or maybe they were just able to make it around the rooms better. Avi couldn't be sure. All she knew was that Fang was an amazing fighter, and that she could count on him in battle when she needed him. He'd proved that today.

Grumbling, guttural croaks came from behind the door they were about to open. They had made it to the top of the stairs, and were about to push through, but the sound made them all halt. Avi's eyes grew wide. She hadn't ever heard anything like that before, not even from the creatures they had encountered. A look of terrified knowing seemed to pass between the two men, and Avianna tried to calm her stomach.

"What was that?" The whisper felt like it was not even audible.

"That," Alistair stared through a tiny crack in the door. "Is an ogre. Big, ugly, and not someone you want to bring home to mother. Their manners are deplorable, trust me, I know. I've only had to fight one once before, and that was by accident. This puts a serious damper on our plans..."

She stared through the crack, straining to see this creature. True, she had heard of them before, and seen the drawings brought back by traders and merchants, but she had never gotten the chance to see one in person. What she did see through the split in the door was not what she expected, or wanted, to witness. A massive, hulking body was crouched over a guard. It was devouring the flesh with it's own twisted form of delighted munches. Of course. These creatures only wanted to eat them. Why was that always the case?

Avi leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath. "Well...we have to light that beacon. Any suggestions on how to do this?"

"He won't be able to take us all at once, but we need him to stay distracted. Can you handle that?" Alistair turned to Joel.

The mage nodded. "I have some things that should keep his attention, don't worry."

"Good. Now, while he is doing that, you and I need to try and get him to his knees. Take out his legs, hit a kidney, whatever you have to do, but bring him down. If we can't kill him, well, it's time for a Warden snack, with a little mage on the side."

The trio took one last look at each other, nodding in agreement, then kicked the door open.

Nothing quite compared to seeing the sight of the ogre actually in the room with them. Avi stared at it for a brief moment, forgetting her part of the mission, but she snapped to attention quickly, dodging and rolling to her right. The massive thing had spotted her, spewing blood and corpse-meat with a rumbling bellow. It's bloodied hand came crashing down at her, smashing into the floor and cracking the stones under the incredible power it wielded. Joel began to whoop and holler to get the ogre's attention once more. As he did so, he unleashed a stream of magic from his fingertips, nothing more than child's amusement. It did the trick. The sparks of blue and red flashing lights drew the beast away from Avi and Alistair, who was sneaking his way around behind the ogre.

Avi scrambled to her feet, following Alistair's steps and lunging at the monster. Alistair ran in, swinging his blade in a deep, low arc at the ogre's hamstrings. The metal connected with the flesh easily. There was no time to hesitate now. She slammed her blades into the what-should-have-been soft tissue in the lower back of the beast, hoping to connect with something vital, but she couldn't be for sure. The position she had put herself in was a risky, dangerous one to say the least, and the consequences came far too quickly for her.

The ogre screamed out in pain at the brutality of the attacks. His fists swung wildly at Joel, barely missing him. He turned his blood-rage on the two behind him, then, twisting and reaching around to swipe away at the burning pain he could not see, grabbed Avianna and flung her and her blades to the far side of the tower. It seemed like an eternity, but all in one instant that the pain took hold. Burning, searing, breaking. When she cracked her eyes open, all Avi could see was a crimson film in one eye, and the other showed the ogre stumbling, falling to the stone floor. Alistair wrenched his blade free from the creature's back. She couldn't tell from here, but it looked like he had taken a good deal of damage from the fight. His arm was dripping blood, and there was a limp to his step. It took all she could muster to try and roll to her feet, to reach for her blades, soaked in the ogre's thick black blood.

"You gave him a good run. The kidney shot brought him to his knees..." Alistair said, giving Avi a once over glance. His hand brushed over what she assumed was a large-enough gash on her forehead. It hurt, and when she wiped at her head, the blood that came away was disturbing. "Don't worry – head wounds bleed more than they should. You'll be fine." For once, he was nice and not clowning. "And besides, the scar will improve your looks!" Ah. There it was.

Avianna socked him on the arm. "You saying I'm not pretty?" He didn't have time to respond though. They needed to get the beacon lit, and enough time had passed – they needed to move.

Joel scrambled from the corner where he had been tossed, looking just about as bad as Avi felt. But, he kept his pain to himself, helping to pile the wood back up and get it all ready to go. He even helped them further by setting it ablaze with a fireball. They all stood there for a moment, letting the flames lick up the pieces of wood, before scurrying over to see what was happening on the field below. This was, after all, the turn of the tide. This would help end the war. Avi's fingers gripped the stones, her eyes scanning the ranks. It looked like a madhouse down there. Alistair pointed, tapping her shoulder.

"There. That's Loghain's forces. Watch – they should start moving now."

Avi focused her eyes on the troops that Alistair had pointed out, and felt her heart swell. This was it! Everything hinged on this moment. The heat from the fire filled the tower, and she knew they had done their job properly. If only her parents could have seen her now...they would be so proud. But...nothing was happening.

"Alistair?" She glanced at him, and the look on his face told her far more than she wanted to know. His face was angry, concerned, twisted into some strange form of rage that she could not read. "What's happening? Why isn't Loghain moving in? Joel, is the fire not big enough? Can they not see?" She glanced back over her shoulder, staring at the obviously-high-enough pyre. There was no way that he could not have seen it. Orlais could have seen it from here...

Alistair stared down grimly at the scene, then pushed away from the wall. "We have to get down there. Loghain is abandoning Cailan." The sharp edge to his tone made Avi step away from him. He was not joking around, there was no teasing or humor to him any longer. Joel even passed her a glance that was mildly shocked. Fang stared up at her, his stump of a tail refusing to wag. He even knew something was off. But, his attitude quickly changed, and he began to growl at the staircase, his entire body tensing. Everyone stared at him for a moment, before Alistair cursed.

"Damn bloody darkspawn. I didn't sense them with all this nonsense of the battle...we are in trouble now." He stepped back, motioning for Avianna and Joel to take up advantageous places in the room. Avi could finally feel them coming, the tingle in her skin running up and down her spine now, stronger than before. It wasn't just from the fight roiling down on the field, but from the rush of creatures hurtling their way up the stairs, shrieking and squealing in unearthly tones. She and Alistair exchanged glances, her stomach sick. They both knew this wasn't going to end well.

A mass of bodies came surging through the doorway, gray skin and swords seared bright in the firelight. The long-sword Alistair wielded sliced through the air, slashing and striking down darkspawn as they came through. Avianna struggled to follow his lead, her body burning with pain. Whatever the ogre had done to her, it had left some serious damage. Behind her, she could hear Joel muttering and chanting, his staff slinging balls of fire and ice at the disgusting monsters. Hack and slash, keep on fighting and don't take count. Just keep on moving through them. It seemed like there was no end to the numbers that poured up the stairs, though. Avianna threw a fearful look at the stairway as she tugged her blades free from a fallen darkspawn. More kept spewing up from the steps, as if there was never going to be an end to them.

"Alistair!" She screeched, her voice rough and broken. A sharp cry from her left sent her head spinning around, and Avi managed to spin around fast enough to see Joel run through with a darkspawn's blade. Her eyes went wide, and she ran forward, slicing the beast's head clean from it's shoulders. It was too late for their mage, though, his body slumped to the floor in a puddle of his own blood. Avi stared at him in horror, eyes wide as if she hadn't seen death before in her life. Flashes of her parents' death came rushing back to her. No matter how hard she tried, Avianna couldn't bring herself to move, instead staring at the young man's lifeless form. A sharp scream from the other Warden shook her from her trance, and the girl glanced up just in time to see a large darkspawn come crashing into her.

The monster's massive weight slammed into her body, sending them both careening into the floor. Her head slammed onto the stones with a crack. She didn't need any other injuries, but it seemed that she would be sustaining more than her fair share. The beast ripped into her shoulder with it's teeth, and Avianna screamed, shoving herself as far from it as she could, but to no avail. One blade had been knocked from her hand but she had managed to keep a hold of the other, and, gritting her teeth, she shoved it into the darkspawn's neck. It collapsed on top of her, dark blood oozing down onto her body. With all the strength she had left, Avi pushed it off of herself, and stared over at the wound in her shoulder. The darkspawn had ripped down to the bone, and her stomach rolled. She could hear shouting coming from the door. Alistair was doing his best to fend off the intruders, but he was quickly being overrun as well. It only took a minute before she felt her head swim and darkness start to edge in at the back of her mind.

What was that sound? A roar? Maybe the fighting going on was turning down on the field, and things were getting better. This was something different though, something bigger and more fearsome coming closer. A loud crash rattled the tower, and all Avianna could do was to stare up at the stones tumbling down around them, her body pelted with some of the rubble. It had to have been a hallucination, but surely she didn't see what she thought she saw...

A dragon. She could swear she saw a dragon staring into the tower. And with that sight, she felt her soul leave her body, and passed out.

A woman, white haired, scratchy voice giving commanding, firm orders.

Wet rags on her forehead. A softer voice, younger than the other, but she couldn't see this woman.

More darkness.

Searing, screaming pain that came and went, every few seconds, words spoken in a firm tone. It didn't sooth her, but Avianna felt herself fall back into troubled sleep.

Dreams of darkspawn and two dragons, one sick and twisted, it's skin falling off the bone and rotting from the inside out, the other more like a normal dragon. The darkspawn still seethed and boiled from the ground, as if they were the very fog itself. It was eerie to see. No matter where she ran, no matter what she did, Avi could not get away from it. No other Wardens were anywhere to be found. The feeling of hopelessness that crept up her spine and gripped her heart was stifling.

How long she passed in and out of consciousness she did not know. When Avianna finally did return to the world, her eyelids fluttered open, and she found herself staring up at a thatch roof, body aching more than it had ever had before. A groan escaped her lips as she reached her hand up to rub at her eyes. Everything felt like it had been through a grinding mill. Where was she? She couldn't even remember what the last thing was she had been doing, and it took a long moment for her memory to come back to her.

The battle. The beacon being lit. They had been ambushed at the top of the tower, and Loghain's men had not charged. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Avianna's groan deepened, and she closed her eyes again. They must have failed their mission somehow, but where had she ended up? Her eyes cracked open once more. It was a room, warm from a fire that crackled across the room. She could hear rain outside, and the faint smell of death that clung to everything drew memories back in. They were in the Kocari Wilds, deep in the fens. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her body was overwhelming, and her head throbbed almost immediately, sending her stomach reeling. There was nothing to wretch up, but she dry heaved, her dry, scratchy voice making a horrid sound.

"You really should just lay down and rest. It seems that you Wardens do not like the idea of the word rest, however." The younger voice chided. Avi glanced up to see Morrigan staring down at her, an eyebrow lifted. "Come on. Lean back." She helped Avi back into bed, and fluffed the pillows so she was a bit more comfortable, and adjusted the blankets on the patient once more.

"What happened? I thought there was a dragon..." Avi croaked. She glanced up at the other girl. She could hear a bit more in the room now, snores coming from a lump by the fire. The old woman was standing and staring out a window, her back to the two girls.

Morrigan clicked her tongue. "You need rest for now. If it weren't for my mother's healing abilities, you and your clumsy friend would have been dead. All will be answered in the morning. For now, get some more sleep." With that, she lay down on the floor on the other side of the bed, leaving Avi to fall into dreams on her own once more.

It took some time, but she felt uneasy, knowing that Morrigan's mother was standing there, keeping watch out the window like a statue. How long she stood there, Avi never knew. Even Fang, who must have been rescued from the tower, seemed to be wary of her. His massive body was curled up at the foot of the bed, and he stared at Avianna, ears flicking back and forth at any motion she made. It was comforting to see him sitting there. The soft huff he made as he watched her helped her to feel a bit more safe, and Avi slowly began to fall asleep.

Whether it was still the middle of the night or morning, she couldn't be sure. Rain was still pouring down, but Avi just sat and listened to the soft staccato of the storm. It sounded as if everyone else was awake too, and she finally opened her eyes and gently eased herself up. Pain shot through her entire body. Whatever she had been through had been rough, and she couldn't take a full account of her injuries. Fang whined at her, causing Morrigan to turn and stare at her from the fireplace where she had been cooking something.

"It seems that the lady has decided to grace us with her presence." The girl came over and sat on the edge of the bed. "I need to examine your wounds. It's been a few days since we cleaned them, and I need to make sure that there is no infection setting in. There is only so much that magic can do. Mother set your broken bones, and she knit together most of your smaller wounds, but the bigger ones were a bit more problematic."

With that, Morrigan snapped for Fang to leave the bed, and gestured at Alistair, who had been sitting by the fire. "Bring me some warm water, the fresh bandages, and the herbs and tonics in the chest there." She didn't waste any time in moving the blanket and lifting up Avianna's shirt. A bright red blush crept over her face. "Oh please. You've been exposed plenty over the last few days, so it's not like anything has been left to the imagination."

Lovely.

Her blush was rivaled only by Alistair's, when he brought over everything that Morrigan had requested. At least he was trying to be enough of a gentleman and not look at anything, but it was a bit hard to not see, well, all of her that was showing. He was trying to make a clean getaway, but was stalled by a dark look by Morrigan.

"I need your help. I can't hold her up and wrap her torso and shoulder on my own." She gestured at Avi with a commanding air, and without much more hesitation, the duo got her cleaned and wrapped in new bandages. It seemed that Alistair had his own wounds, and Avi glanced at them as they worked on her.

"Are you ok? What happened at the tower?" Her voice was soft.

Alistair sighed and glanced up at Morrigan. "Well, you remember taking down the ogre and lighting the beacon? Well, after that the tower was swarmed with darkspawn and we were overrun. Joel died in the madness, and we would have died surely, but I swear this dragon swooped in and saved us. I was hurt pretty bad, and you were worse off than me. Honestly, I thought you might be dead already. Woke up here with the wild witches, and they seemed more than eager to take care of us, so I couldn't say no to that."

Avi sat still, taking it all in. It was so surreal, knowing that what she had been dreaming hadn't been a lie. "A dragon?" Surely they were joking with her. Dragons were not to be found near a battle, and besides, it was more than a little unlikely to see one swoop down and save someone. Eat them, yes. Save them, not a chance.

Morrigan sighed and gave them both a weary, frustrated look. "If you want answers, you will need to see my mother about this. She can answer whatever you want to know." Avi glanced around the room for the woman, but she was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, it would have to wait for now. Morrigan handed her a clean shirt and left to put the healing items away. Alistair began to leave as well, but Avi stopped him.

"Hey...what happened there, really? Loghain left, but...the battle? How did it end?" She already had a terrible feeling she knew. The pit in her stomach was only gnawing deeper.

The look that came over Alistair's face was enough. "I talked with Morrigan about that. She got a better view than either of us would have, but I went to go and see it for myself. She wasn't wrong, and it was bad. No one made it out alive, from what I can tell, but I'm hoping that Duncan and Cailan did. If anyone was left alive, they are long gone by now. The darkspawn are feeding on the bodies and have taken over the field. I'm going to go down there and check on the battlefield one more time before we head out, so I can get a good idea of exactly what state things are in."

She carefully eased the shirt on, her shoulder aching and wailing with pain. Nothing he said was ultimately surprising. It was hard to imagine that it would have come out any different, considering how overrun things were. Now, more than ever, she felt alone. What were they going to do if everyone was dead? She twisted her fingers together, trying to roll things around in her mind. This was a lot to take in.

They certainly would have a lot to ask of Morrigan's mother. Who knows what sort of tale she might spin when she decided to talk to them. It was a few minutes later that the front door creaked open and the white haired witch walked in, her bright yellow eyes scanning the room with mirth and discernment. Oh yes, this would be some wild tale indeed.