Our heroes have had some time to recover from the wounds they were last seen bandaging in our last installment, Blood. Finn had indicated that they should proceed next to the Tirashan Forest in the north, but before they can depart Val Royeaux, there's one last piece of business to take care of: Dumat's Spine must be reclaimed from the Orlesian Wardens!
The headquarters of the Orlesian Grey Wardens was nothing at all like the sturdy stone keep Vashti said she served in. It seemed quite at home amid the apartments and palaces of the wealthy, a beautiful sprawling low building surrounded by wrought iron gates. The city walls were obviously considered protection enough; this was a comfortable estate for the Wardens to live and work in.
"Can't get caught," Vashti muttered. "Or I can't tell Howe I did him one better."
It had been two weeks, long enough for the deepest of Vashti's wounds to heal to mere nuisances. They had maps and supplies; it was time to go. Their very last task was to reclaim Dumat's Spine.
They had watched the headquarters for a few days; neither the Warden Commander nor his captains appeared to be carrying the dar'missan. Vashti thought they would put it in a vault, so tonight they were breaking in to find it and make off with it. Even the dog was along, which complicated things somewhat, but since there was a chance they'd be exiting with pursuit, they didn't want to split their numbers again.
Last night, in between passes of the perfunctory guardsmen, the dog had dug a shallow ditch under the fence surrounding the compound. Tonight, all three squeezed through it and darted silently across the manicured lawn to a small side entrance. Vashti paused, eyes closed, for a moment, then gave a decisive nod. Ariane watched the lawn nervously as the Warden finessed the lock, and soon they all slipped inside.
The kitchen was empty; Vashti could only sense if her fellow Wardens were near, but they hoped that the regular staff would be asleep at this hour. The dog casually lifted his head to snag a hunk of cheese that had been left too close to the edge of a counter while the other two quickly crossed to the door.
Another pause, and then the door was eased open. Vashti dissolved into the shadows, returning when she'd determined that the path to the next convenient hiding spot was clear. They'd move quickly, with even Ariane making little noise on the thick carpets here, and repeat. Even focused on moving quickly and quietly, Ariane found herself wondering at the opulence on display. Large windows admitted enough starlight to spark gently on gilded candlesticks and glint on the smooth, polished wood of an ornate chair or table. Even the walls were covered with tapestries.
Ariane and the dog were waiting in a small, empty infirmary that smelled of elfroot and soap when Vashti signaled that she'd found the vault. "Two guards," she whispered, then put a hand on the dog's neck. "No kill," she told him sternly. He wagged his tail in understanding.
Vashti moved into position first; then the dog went out, padding along with his tongue lolling out. Ariane followed carefully, keeping close to the walls; when the dog rounded a corner, she waited.
When she heard the confused question in Orlesian - along the lines of "What's that dog doing here?", she was sure - she whipped around the corner and sprang forward. Both men were looking at the dog; one had his back to her. The other looked up and saw her, eyes going wide. Before he could shout alarm, Vashti materialized behind him, the pommel of her dar'misu hitting the back of his head hard. Her own mailed fist connected with the head of the other shocked guard, just behind the ear. The two men both slumped, leaning forward into each other and sliding to the floor.
"Good dog," Ariane told him quietly as she and the Warden check the guards for keys. He wagged again, ears back with happiness.
Ariane's hand closed on a large iron ring and she lifted it carefully from the hook on the unconscious man's belt. Vashti 'listened' at the door, then nodded and stepped back. Ariane tried two keys before the third turned easily in the lock and the iron-bound door swung slowly open.
Now was the time for speed. Even if they concealed the unconscious guards, any late-night passerby would note their absence. Ariane and the dog stayed by the door as Vashti ventured deeper into the vault, striking her small lantern alight. The windows here were high and small; they let in enough light in full day, but on a dark night, the vault was almost pitch black.
"I see it." Vashti's voice was quiet, but it carried in the silence. Ariane glanced back, saw the lamp-light glittering on the dragonbone blade. Light no longer needed, Vashti blew the flame out and Ariane returned her attention to the hallway -
- which saved her eyes from the sudden bright flash of light behind her. Glyph! she thought as she turned back, seeing the Warden frozen in mid-reach for the blade. An unearthly clamor started up somewhere not too far away.
She dashed toward Vashti, the dog following on her heels. As soon as she was close enough, she stopped, summoning the energy to call on Dirthamen, god of secrets, by whose power the knots of magic could be undone. She felt the call ripple out, waves washing over the glyph, and it winked out, plunging the room back into darkness. The alarm stopped as well, although the damage was done - men were awake and shouting loudly in Orlesian.
There was a clatter in the dark, then Vashti barked, "Got it!" and all three charged back toward the pale rectangle of light that was the open door. Spilling out into the hallway, they tore back toward the kitchen. A half-dozen or more half-dressed but armed men appeared ahead of them, running down from a side passageway. They turned into the main hall and advanced, cutting the trio from using the passageway as an exit. The three skidded to a stop. "Here," Vashti said, pressing the Spine into Ariane's off-hand. "Need my bow."
"Your bow?" Ariane took the blade and reached for her father's sword with her other hand. "We're going to fight the Wardens?"
"Oh, please do." Warden Commander Thierry, clad in a breastplate thrown on over a dressing gown, stepped to the forefront of his men. "It'll give us an excuse."
Ariane looked at him as if he were mad. "You can see that we are armored and your men are not?"
He snorted. "My men are Orlesian Grey Wardens and you are savage elves. Badly outnumbered elves at that. Just surrender and this will go much more - "
Thwip! Thwip! Vashti drew and fired twice, rapidly, high over the heads of the Orlesians. Golden silk cords were sliced in half, and the beautiful tapestries hanging on either side of the hall peeled forward, falling with a soft chuff!onto the Wardens. The dog charged immediately, plowing into the enmeshed and confused men, trampling over the fabric so that it pulled them even more off-balance. The two Dalish were fast behind him, darting around the thrashing Orlesians and dashing for the kitchen.
The sounds of pursuit were behind them as they slammed out the door and raced across the lawn. A handful of men, the night watch, had heard the alarm go up and quickly spotted them. A few arrows zipped past, but in the dark and at long range, it would be pure luck if one hit. The archers realized this, falling in behind the swordsmen pelting over the grass toward the escaping thieves.
Ariane sheathed her father's sword as she ran and threw Dumat's Spine over the fence as they approached it. She and Vashti both vaulted upwards, catching the iron posts in their hands and pushing up and over them, as the dog wriggled back through the ditch. Ariane bent to take up the ancient blade and an arrow buzzed over her head; another splintered against her pauldron.
They already knew which way to run and took off; their pursuit was momentarily delayed by its own fence. Ariane didn't know if they'd toss their shields over and follow or run around to the main gate, but at the moment, it didn't matter. Running mattered.
Beside her, the Warden somehow found the breath to laugh delightedly, a sound so unexpected that even the dog looked back at her as they pounded down the empty cobblestone streets.
The city walls loomed ahead, dotted with torches and the figures of the city's own night watch. They slowed as they came nearer, thinking that running through the gates would be a give away that they were trouble-makers.
And then they saw that the gates were closed.
It had not even occurred to either Dalish that such a thing might happen. Vashti had recalled Denerim's great gates being closed for the darkspawn attack, but that was a battle. That made sense. They closed the things every night?
Ariane made a sharp turn into a darkened lane. "Great," she panted. "Just great. Now what?"
Vashti glanced toward the walls appraisingly, but the dog whined. "Hmph," she agreed. "There's no sneaking you over that."
"We can hide until morning," Ariane suggested. "This city is huge and we had a good lead. They'll have to search widely, so..."
Vashti's head snapped up and she cursed. "Go, go, move!" she urged suddenly, just before Ariane heard the clanking of armored men running.
Her feet obeyed even as mind refused to believe it. "How can they have possibly tracked us over stone so quickly?" She staggered as a crossbow bolt hit her breastplate; the aurum held, but that was going to bruise.
The crossbowman, ahead, was rapidly reloading. "I've killed ghouls with less taint," he said disdainfully, the voice revealing Warden-Commander Thierry. "You may as well be screaming your position as you run." He leveled the crossbow at Ariane, thought the better of it, and sighted on Vashti's leathers instead.
She dropped and rolled as the mabari surged forward, faster on four legs than either elf on two. The crossbow twanged and a second later, a cloud of noxious vapor erupted all around the Orlesian commander.
Against most animals, the acrid gas would have been effective, sending them yowling for clear air and water to soothe their burning eyes and throats. But the battle-hound charged through, striking the man at full speed and bowling him over. Teeth snapped, seeking throat but settling for an armored forearm. The hugely muscled neck snapped to and fro as the jaws crushed down.
"Dog! Come!" Vashti ordered as the two Dalish ran past. With a parting growl and a bark, he was at their heels.
"How far away can he feel you?" Ariane gasped.
"Don't know," Vashti admitted. "Earshot?"
"So we just need a good lead." Just. They could hear the pursuit behind them, and these men knew the city far better than they. They'd eventually make a wrong turn and go down a blind alley, and then...
They turned up a wide avenue and caught a glimpse of the two towers, straight and black against the starry sky. "The cathedral!" they said as one.
As they ran on, Ariane risked a glimpse over her shoulder. Easily half a dozen men in chain mail were jogging along behind them, no more than a few blocks back. "By the Creators! Don't they tire?" She'd thought city-dwelling humans were supposed to be soft!
"Grey Warden stamina," Vashti grunted.
The Chant swelled as they burst into the open plaza. Halfway across, arrows began to zip past them. The dog yelped but kept running, trailing blood. They crashed into the small side door Ariane and Finn had used earlier; either it was unlocked or the lock wasn't very sturdy. It flew open and they spilled inside.
Cries of alarm arose immediately from the priests who were keeping vigil. Templars would surely be summoned, but the trio had no intention of waiting for them. They dashed back up the stairs to the choir loft.
The Chant of Light dissolved, the bass voices closest to the stairs dropping first, then the tenors began shouting, and finally the altos and sopranos shrieked at the appearance of two armed and armored intruders, moving at high speed through their sacred sanctuary. The sisters tried to crowd behind the brothers, who looked about desperately for templars. Only the pinch-faced cantor seemed uncowed; the small woman somehow towered with rage as the holy Chant fell apart around her. "Maker strike you down, you godless brigands!" she spat, grasping her music stand as if she intended to wield it as a staff.
Dog barked in definite approval, but Ariane just ignored her and rushed to the statue, pressing the trigger that dropped the stone slab from the door. Vashti nabbed a pair of large white candles as they all ducked into the darkness.
It was still no place for a dog. Vashti unshouldered her bow and held it out, parallel to the slope of the stairs like a railing, along the dog's flank. Ariane reached back with one hand as well, hoping a timely shove might keep him from sliding right off the narrow stairs if he slipped.
They went as fast as they dared; they'd passed two landings when they heard deep voices and armor behind them. The voices commanding them to "Stop!" were unfamiliar - probably templars. They kept on, and the templars stayed above them, buzzing in confusion. Behind that, a ragged, uneven Chant wobbled back to its feet, the brethren determined to keep the lapse as short as possible.
Renewed shouting heralded the arrival of the Grey Wardens when the three were about halfway down. These voices did not remain in the choir loft but followed them into the narrow space between the church and the facade. "Mahariel!" Thierry shouted above them. "This grows wearisome. Surrender and your companion may go free."
"Sure. You wait there. I'll be right up," Vashti called, never even pausing in her descent.
"You clearly know where you are going." Careful steps above meant at least some of the Grey Wardens were following.
"Sure do."
"And you know you cannot hide from us."
"Yes."
"Do you expect me to believe you've arranged some sort of trap down here, when you obviously tried to make it to the city gates?"
"Sure hope not."
"You're bluffing."
"We'll both find out soon."
Ariane reached the bottom of the stairs first; all three hurried across the front of the cathedral to the open sewer grate. Vashti snatched up the fire crystal she'd discarded there earlier and smashed it hard against the wall. It erupted in brilliant light as she let it fall into the tunnel below. The three quickly followed, pausing only to use the red-hot crystal to re-light the candles that had gone out when they'd jumped.
The Grey Wardens paused, pulling up into formation in the strange little chapel they found themselves in. Their quarry was just ahead, a score of feet beyond the far doorway - waiting for them.
That was suspicious, of course. Thierry had heard of ancient Tevinter traps: spikes and blades erupting from walls to pierce the unwary. Although why they'd be built into a sewer was beyond him. Perhaps to keep invaders from using it to enter the city?As good a thought as any.
He was signalling two shieldman to protect their trapsman from arrows when the cursed dog skittered to the left, out of sight. He heard it barking and growling furiously before it came running back at full speed. The two elves suddenly turned and ran as well.
He would not be baited into running madly into a trap. "Check it," he ordered the trapsman - as something else beyond the doorway growled as well.
Thierry paled as the drake stalked into view, its beaked snout swiveling atop that long, snakelike neck to regard the Wardens. "Cover! Cover!" he cried, as the thing advanced on their position, a reddish-orange glow growing in its gullet.
The embankment leading up from the shore to the outside edge of the city walls was steep; the city's defenders would have an easy time picking off men trying to make the climb as part of an attack. But the city wasn't under attack, so no one on the night watch paid particular attention as the two elves and a dog hoisted themselves up onto the green.
They laid there for a moment, all three panting. "Think the drake will kill them?" Ariane asked.
Vashti shook her head. "Not unless they really lied to me about how good the Wardens are. In fact, we should - "
"Keep moving."
"Right."
"Let's go."
On the road at last! Onward to the Tirashan, Finn, and the Dragon's Claw! Will the Orlesian Dalish be able to help? Have we seen the last of Warden Commander Thierry? Tune in next week to find out!