The Keening Blade

Chapter 10: Childe Cousland to the Dark Tower Came

The darkspawn, they discovered, had arrived in Denerim half a day before the united armies.

Avernus was particularly good at determining time of death, based on body temperature and degree of rigor, and there were plenty of human remains around the shattered Great Gate to test.

"Well," Maude grimaced. "This isn't good."

A hurlock alpha and his minions rushed out the shadows, gibbering at them.

"Fine. Be that way." Fast as she and Loghain launched themselves at the monsters, they found them already frozen solid. Their little company of eleven was formidable. Nothing stood long against them.

Others were coming up to join them—some human warriors who were quicker on the uptake than the noble knights left in their dust; some of the Dalish archers; a few dwarves who were not bad cross-country runners, once given the chance.

Loghain snarled as he gutted yet another genlock. Sometimes he could really sympathize with Maude's desire to go to the source of these loathsome creatures and stop them there. The Gate District was in ruins, and the only sign of human defenders were their dismembered corpses.

"What incompetent ass was in charge of this?" burst out of his throat.

Maude laughed at she skewered another monster. "Probably a dead incompetent ass by now!"

Probably, he thought. And he was not being fair. Eamon had stripped the city of defenders when he left, and there would only have been the garrisons at the Palace and Fort Drakon—and the City Guard—between Denerim and the horde.

He would like to kill Eamon, he decided. He had tried to kill him before, but that was a matter of protecting Ferelden. Now he really wanted to kill Eamon. Personally and painfully. It really was a pity he was going to die killing the Archdemon. Perhaps he should suggest killing Eamon to Maude…

But not all was lost. The darkspawn had not been in the city long enough to batter down every barred door. Not long enough to root out everyone hiding in cellars. Not long enough to find their way into hidden rooms at the Palace and at Fort Drakon.

By the Maker! He cast a proud eye over their company. Nothing, really nothing, could stand against them, and their wounds were healed by Wynne almost instantly. Oghren bellowed, pointing at a new incursion of hurlocks standing like the nitwits they were by the Inner Gate. With a cheerful halloo! Maude and Leliana were running at them, slicing them apart with joyous precision.

More soldiers were trickling in through the Gate, and not many darkspawn were flowing back toward them.

Riordan and Sten had cut off another pack of the monsters, and within a few minutes they were well on the way to complete control of the Gate and the attached gatehouses.

"I told you they were idiots!" called Maude, trotting up, covered with darkspawn blood. "They didn't even fortify the gate properly against us!"

"They didn't fortify it at all," sneered Sten. "It is only their numbers that are formidable."

Riordan joined them, shaking his head. "There are at least two Generals in the city. I can sense them. We will not find those so easy to defeat."

"Generals?" Maude stared at Loghain in confusion. "They have generals? Since when do they have generals?"

Leliana came to his side, a gentle bloody hand on his arm. "I'm sure if we destroyed those Generals, we could prevent them doing a great deal of harm."

"But the Archdemon must be our first priority," Riordan insisted. "Maude, I think you should take Loghain and two or three others and make your way to Fort Drakon."

The girl frowned. "And what are your plans?"

The Orlesian gave her a rueful smile. "I plan to move as fast as possible to the highest point in the city. I trust I will be at Fort Drakon before you."

Loghain saw the fellow's strategy at once. "You mean to draw the creature's attention to you!"

Riordan nodded. "What other choice to we have? If we stay together, the Archdemon will soon take notice of us and throw all its forces at us before we can reach it. The taint is older in me, and the Archdemon will sense me most easily. I intend to face the beast myself, but if I fall, perhaps I will have distracted it enough that you will succeed."

Maude looked appalled. "Riordan, stay with us! We're a great team! No—I see what you mean, but you don't have a chance!"

A mirthless laugh. "How great a chance do any of us have? If I live long enough for you to get within striking distance of the Archdemon, then I will have lived long enough."

Loghain thought that reasonable. He did not give much for the Orlesian's chances himself, but he could not fault his courage, and that, he felt, was just about as generous as he needed to be with an Orlesian. But the girl was still upset.

"But at least don't go alone!" she burst out. "I don't want you to throw your life away! We're going to make it through this together. I know it. And I want you alive to stick a finger in the eye of everyone in Orlais who wanted us dead!"

Riordan was shocked. "No one in Orlais wanted you dead!"

"Oh, no? I came to the conclusion over a year ago that, for all their fine words about Warden brotherhood, if the other Wardens wanted to help me, they would have helped me. They knew about Alistair, and after the news of Ostagar, they would have known about me. We weren't exactly making a secret of our whereabouts. Assassins certainly didn't have any trouble finding me. Wardens could have come over the mountains or arrived at any port in disguise. Maker's breath, they could just have sent money! Then I wouldn't have had to waste time running the Chantry's errands or doing the work of the City Guards. When time passed and nobody contacted me, I understood. They didn't want to help me. They wanted me to fail. You already know what I think about the Orlesians' plans for Ferelden. I was just in the way."

Riordan looked miserable, and Maude put a hand on his shoulder, to Loghain's great disgust. "In all that time, Riordan, you were the only one who came. Whose idea was it to contact Howe?"

"Peyrolle, the Warden Commander..."

"Anything about that look strange to you in retrospect? Why did he send you to someone who hated the Wardens even more than Loghain?" She smiled over her shoulder. "Well, he did. Sorry to bring it up." She told Riordan earnestly. "Loghain doesn't hate the Wardens anymore. But Howe did. So by sending an Orlesian Warden to him, wouldn't that seem to validate all of the arguments that the Wardens were all Orlesian agents, and harden Loghain's attitude to me even more?"

"Bastards," Loghain snarled under his breath. The Grey Wardens were complete bastards. It was pretty much as he had always thought, with the exception of the Ferelden Wardens now present. All the rest were complete and utter bastards. Riordan wasn't denying it, and his shoulders were slumped in defeat.

Only for a moment, though. He straightened, and said with luminous calm. "All the more reason that I should take the lead. We shall stop the Archdemon today."

Maude protested, "Just don't go alone..."

Leliana stepped forward. "I'll go with you," she said to Riordan, eyes shining. "Every step of the way."

Loghain rolled his eyes, and saw Avernus smirking. Morrigan grimaced at Loghain in sympathy.

"All right," Maude agreed, giving Leliana a surprised, concerned glance, "but don't either of you get yourself killed, or I'll find a way to make you sorry!"

The two Orlesians hurried away south, and more troops were coming up to the wall. A party of knights from Redcliffe pushed through the gate, led by Teagan.

"Bann Teagan!" Maude waved and shouted. She hurried over to him to tell him her plans. Loghain heard her briefly urge him to hold the Gate District against both dilatory darkspawn trying to enter the city, and incursions from the horde already inside. He would need to fortify both ingress and egress somewhat, but he must hold fast.

She glanced back at Loghain with a quick smile. He nodded in approval. She said something a little more quietly that brought a smile to Teagan's face, and was hurrying back at once.

So too were the two Orlesians, looking grim.

Riordan said, "Both gate bridges have been destroyed. We cannot cross directly south."

Loghain considered this. "Then we'll have to make our way up Gate Street to the Market, and turn south there at the Alienage Bridge."

"Fine." The girl agreed. "Let's all go. This lot," she said, waving at Teagan's men without much respect, "can hold the gate. We need to penetrate into the city quickly. Come on," she said, grinning at Morrigan.

The witch smirked back, falling into step with the girl. "So we go into the city together. That is as it should be."

"That is as it should be," the girl nodded. "Let's go!" She gestured at Lanaya's Dalish and the Legion to follow.

The soldiers filling the Gatehouse district lined the road, cheering, as they went past. Loghain did not bother to wave as the girl did, knowing just how much these cheers were worth. They pleased her, though, so that was something.

They moved quickly up Gate Street toward the Market, forming a loose wedge formation. Houses here and there were burning, but there were no dead in the streets. Either they had been evacuated, or they were hiding, and the darkspawn were not yet interested in a thorough search. The Wardens were moving fast, unimpeded by significant resistance. Either the numbers of the horde were fewer than they had estimated, or they had all gone somewhere else.

The elf assassin tugged on a few doors, but they were locked.

"That's good!" the girl remarked, surprised. "Darkspawn don't really get the locking door concept. If the doors are still locked, and not smashed in, that means the darkspawn didn't get in. Neat."

Leliana was looking the other direction and waved at something.

"I saw someone at that upstairs window. It was not a darkspawn. It might have been a child."

"Poor little nug," Oghren grunted. "I hope he makes it."

The dog barked agreement.

With a few delays, they were coming up on the Market, and Riordan winced, sensing a powerful, inimical presence. Loghain only felt something a little stronger than the usual scratchiness of the darkspawn. Through a small gap in the houses, they could glimpse the river and see that the Alienage Bridge still stood.

"We must split up here," Riordan said thickly. "We cannot linger. Leliana and I will cross the bridge and head toward Fort Drakon."

Impulsively, and to Morrigan and Loghain's mutual diapproval, Maude caught hold of Leliana and kissed her on each cheek, in the proper Orlesian style. Grasping at Riordan's armored wrist, she told him, "Bonne chance! You're the only one who came! I won't forget it!"

The two Orlesians darted away, swift-footed and stealthy, but their passing still roused some interest. Something was shaking the earth. Something large, blue, horned, and disagreeable.

"Lovely," snarked Morrigan, "the new City Guard is composed entirely of ogres."

Maude laughed. "Remember how Sergeant Kylon despised the last batch of recruits? These are even worse!"

One of the ogres tried to follow Riordan and Leliana, but was turned to ice shards in a moment. There followed a hard fight, as ogre after ogre lumbered straight at Maude's party, supported by a powerful darkspawn mage. The Dalish behind them fired volley after volley. The mage was knocked down by Ranger, who gnawed at the bony face, snarling.

"That's the way, Ranger!" cheered Maude, "see them off our land!" She ordered the dwarves to move off toward the Alienage Bridge and hold off any darkspawn movement there until she arrived. And then she was searching the bodies, damn her.

Loghain hissed, "We haven't time for that!"

Maude glanced up at him, eyes sparkling. "There's always time for loot!" She lowered her voice confidentially. "Wynne needed a moment to catch her breath. She's not full of extra-invincible Warden Potion, just her guardian spirit."

"Her what?" Loghain asked, indiscreetly loud.

Morrigan's face filled with delighted malice. She murmured, "You did not know that the old woman was secretly an abomination? 'Tis all too true. She's says she is kept alive by a benign spirit, but what is the difference between a demon and a spirit, save that one causes harm, according to one's own lights, and the other does not?"

Loghain could think of no possible answer to that, and looked at Wynne rather differently after that.

"So where's this General blighter?" demanded Oghren, taking a swig from his canteen.

"General Blighter!" echoed Maude. "General Blighter! I love that. This way, ladies and gentlemen!"

Her gaiety faded a little at the surroundings. "Oh, I do hope the Gnawed Noble is all right. Look at other side of the street! Isn't that a shame? Oh, dear—"

"What?" snarled Loghain, feeling very depressed himself.

She whispered, "That's Alistair's sister's house! Yes—really! He has a sister who's a washerwoman with five children, and that's her house. Oh, I do hope they evacuated in time!"

"Surely Alistair saw to that himself."

Maude shook her head. "I doubt it. She—disappointed him. Alistair doesn't take well to disappointment. I'll tell you the whole story later! There!" she shouted, taking off at a run.

There was no time to ponder the impropriety of the King's sister taking in laundry. Running at them was a powerful Hurlock, heavily armed and armored, and resistant to everything but the most powerful freezing spells. The creature knocked Zevran flat on his back, and would have smashed him to bloody splinters, had not the assassin rolled nimbly away. Oghren swung his axe: a powerful blow that should have bisected the Hurlock, but only caused the creature to stagger.

The cobblestones shook as more ogres lumbered out to defend their commander. It could have been a disaster, if not for Avernus' inexhaustible magical reserves. Loghain grunted at the power of the General's glancing blows, glad he had fended off a direct hit. The Keening Blade at last managed to bite into darkspawn hide as tough as boot leather. Loghain jammed the sword through the hurlock's neck and pushed to the right, cutting through the massive neck until arterial blood squirted out and painted the side of a burning building.

They poked about the market for few minutes after the monsters sprawled dead in the street, seeing if there were more to be flushed out. Maude trotted here and there, the assassin helping, picking up more loot, some of which roused excited murmurs.

Carried by a cool, foul-smelling wind, wailing was heard from the Alienage.

"Next stop!" Maude called, already running lightly away.

Riordan and Leliana had come and gone from the Alienage long before Maude and Loghain arrived. The dwarves at the north end of the bridge had been attacked by a scant handful of darkspawn hiding in the east end of the Market, but none of the monsters had made it into the Alienage. Loghain agreed with Maude that the dwarves should come along and continue to hold the bridge. The rest of the army needed it intact if they were to advance into the city.

The Dalish too, were on hand, looking about in wonder, but not in admiration. They crossed the bridge and immediately caught the stink of too many bodies in too little room in a place for which the River Drakon was both the source of drinking water and the sewer.

"This place is indefensible," Loghain muttered, studying the decrepit hovels with disdain. "I've always said it was indefensible."

Maude smiled tightly and put a hand on his breastplate. "I don't want to have this conversation with you now. We are going to defend it." She strode quickly along the filthy gutter running through the middle of the street. The street itself was deserted.

Keeper Lanaya had kept pace with them, and now came up beside Maude, her beautiful eyes wide. "This is the where the elves of Denerim live?" she asked in a hushed voice, horrified but polite. "I came from such a place, long ago before the Dalish saved me, but I thank the Creators that I do not remember it."

Mithra, her second, was more vocal. "What's the matter with them? Are they sick? The darkspawn have not arrived, and yet it is filthy and ruined." She pointed ahead to the vhenendahl. "Only that tree is noble."

"It is always like this," Zevran told her. "It is an alienage."

The elf caught her breath quickly, her tattooed face twisted in contempt. "Flat ears," she hissed.

Oghren shook his head. "Dust Town is worse."

Sten agreed. "Yes, the dwarvish slum is worse all days except today, when this place is surrounded by darkspawn."

"That's a very good point, Sten," Maude agreed. "And we are going to keep the darkspawn out." She strode on, looking quickly about. Loghain strode with her, conscious that this was of all places in Denerim the one in which he must be the most reviled.

There was a noise and a scuffle behind them, and another elf ran up. "Keeper," he said, "we have a found a child. Or rather, a child has found us. Aleyra is with her. The child wished to warn us that we would be harmed if the shemlens saw us carrying our weapons!"

Lanaya shot Maude an accusing look.

Maude shrugged. "No one's going to be in trouble with me! I don't care if everybody goes armed, and in fact, I think that's generally a very sound scheme. The Arl of Denerim made that stupid law, but I killed him. and the City Guard is probably all dead anyway, so nobody cares. It was nice of the little girl to warn you, though."

"Indeed," Lanaya turned to the elf. "See the child safely home."

"I would have already, Keeper, but she says she has none."

"Then you and Aleyra shall guard her. Stay behind and keep the child safe. In the worst case, see that she escapes with you."

They walked on, and Loghain muttered, "Howe didn't make that law. It was in place even before the days of Arl Urien and his heir Bann Vaughan."

"So?" Maude shrugged. "I killed Vaughan, too, so it's all good. He was a pig."

There was no time for more questions, since a red-haired elf girl with a light bow was running toward them.

"You!" she said, gazing up at Maude in grateful admiration. "It's you! We've closed the gate to the city, but it won't hold for long. I thought we'd been left to die."

"Certainly not!" Maude affirmed. "The Wardens are here, Shianni, and so are our friends, and so are our Dalish allies from Keeper Lanaya's clan," she nodded at Lanaya. "Some dwarves of the Legion of the Dead are holding the bridge. I certainly did not forget you-"

A young male elf rushed up, half hysterical. "The darkspawn! They're coming! Run!"

"Stop right there!" Maude shouted. "We've come thousa-I mean-hundreds of miles to defend you, and you're going to stand with us!" She gestured fiercely to Shianni, the red-haired elf. "You and your bowmen get up to the windows overlooking the gate and shoot down. I don't ask you to fight the bastards hand-to-hand, but by the Maker, you can do your bit to defend your own homes!" She headed down the filthy street at a run.

"Such as they are," Morrigan sneered to Avernus.

"She means well. A very nice girl, for a Cousland, if a bit daft," Avernus replied. and with a glare from Loghain, they joined the defenders crowding to the south gate of the Alienage.

Darkspawn filled the courtyard in front of the Alienage Gate. The gate was of stout logs, useful for keeping out drunken humans, but it did not seem likely to hold long against the ogre that was hammering at it. Everyone with a bow rushed to the wooden ramparts just within the alienage, and began shooting down into the milling, shrieking enemy.

Avernus grinned thinly, whispering to Morrigan. They raised their staffs together, and something happened within that crowded little courtyard that Loghain could not quite believe. A storm of ice and lightning whirled into existence, a storm no wider than the courtyard itself. The ogre froze in its tracks, and some of the darkspawn foot soldiers collapsed to the ground, dead. Others sagged weakly. The storm went on some minutes, supplemented by the three mages' additional spells. Being mindless, the darkspawn had not the sense to retreat or even move out of range. They died where they stood, and other rushed into the whirlwind, and were consumed by it. By the time it was over, fully three quarters of the original attackers, including the ogre, were dead, and their bodies heaped the courtyard.

The gate, already strained, sagged open, and another of the strange, powerful hurlock Generals rushed in. He was struck with ice, with lightning, and with a hammer-blow born of the power of the earth. And then he was set upon by silverite and dragonbone and steel. Inhumanly strong as he was, he did not last long. The dwarves at the bridge, hearing the sound of battle, fell on the remaining darkspawn like a mountain. There were more sallies from the town, but after a quarter-hour, nothing. A mixed company of elves and dwarves would remain on guard, but it was time to move on.

Maude walked over to the dead hulk of the hurlock General and stared at the grotesque body, head cocked to one side. "Avernus? Is this really a darkspawn?"

Avernus came up and examined the remains. "It is certainly a darkspawn-of a sort. Why do you ask?"

"I mean...do you think this thing started as a darkspawn? I heard Wardens go to the Deep Roads to die, but what if that isn't all they do? Could this have been human once? Could it have been a Warden?"

Loghain stared at her, horrified to speechlessness by the idea.

"Just a thought," the girl said, with a pretense of a smile. "Just a thought."

"Shouldn't you be looting by now?" Loghain sneered, hoping for something resembling normality.

"Thanks for reminding me, but sometimes it's more important to share." Maude ran back to the broken gate and called, "Shianni! They're dead! Come here, I need to talk to you."

The red-haired elf was positively bounding. "We did it! I can't believe it! We can never thank you enough!"

"Quite all right," Maude said airily. "Happy to help. Just doing our duty. That sort of thing. But-" she leaned down to speak quietly to the elf. "It occurs to me that these darkspawn have lots of stuff: things you might be able to use. You have to be careful not to get their blood on you, but this is a good opportunity to build up the elven armory a bit, don't you know?"

"You mean-" Shianni said uncertainly "-you think we should loot their bodies for weapons and armor?"

"Yes, I do mean that," Maude replied instantly. "But carefully. Use gloves and clean everything very carefully."

"Just...take it?"

Exasperated at such a display of honesty, Maude gave the nearest darkspawn a kick and yelled at Zevran. "Let's show these upright citizens how it's done!"

Zevran was at her side at once, unbuckling the creature's armor, which included some poor Ferelden soldier's decent veridium scale breastplate. Fallen from the beast's hand was a good quality war axe. Inside the armor were little treasures: a few coins, a silver ring, a small sparkling garnet. They were the sort of shiny things that always seemed to catch the monsters' eyes. Shianni's own eyes gleamed at the sight.

"The Chantry says it's wrong to steal..." was her last objection.

Maude was very indignant. "These are not stolen goods, but the rightful spoils of war. It is always acceptable to claim the property of a fallen enemy. And since these are everybody's enemy, and pretty thoroughly fallen-" she gave the bloody head another kick "-you have every right to their goods, having partaken in the battle." She raised a finger like a scolding mother. "Just be careful. And keep it all out of sight..."

They turned away at last, and the elves swarmed over the loot. Loghain sighed. "Maude, you are an agent of chaos."

A shadow soared overheard, black against the red sky. Loghain felt the presence shudder through him like a second heartbeat. There was a scream and blast of flame, and the Archdemon ascended, head twisting on its long neck to declare defiance.

"Yes, our knees are totally knocking, you deliquescing lizard!" Maude shouted back. "I'm coming for you, you miserable vomitous mass!"

A awful roar, and the creature seemed on the point of taking Maude up on her challenge. Its head snaked forward, and then back, as if torn between two choices, each irresistible. In the end, it roared again, and flapped off, toward the tower of Fort Drakon. Maude made a very rude gesture at it.

"Chickenshit," she muttered.

A few moments later, a handful of dwarves rushed up to tell them that the Archdemon had destroyed the Alienage Bridge. That left only the Dock Bridge standing. Any reinforcements would be slow in coming.

"Anyway," Maude shrugged, "the only way to go is forward, so let's do that."

As they turned down the wide and well-paved King's Road, they had to resort to the mages' spells to clear the way from time to time. Just before they reached the Palace, the enemy thinned out considerably.

"They're probably fortified up ahead," Loghain grunted.

"More or less," Maude agreed.

There were quite a lot of them, but their idea of fortifications was laughable. There were a few traps, which Zevran quickly disabled. After that, it was sheer numbers, falling rapidly to area spells and good teamwork. Ascending the steps to the upper courtyard, the traps were more sophisticated, and the enemy more numerous. All the companions were injured, one way or another: all bleeding from small and unpleasant wounds, by the time the last spellcaster was down and the last trap sprung. Wynne moved busily among the companions and their allies, healing the injuries. She pursed her lips as she stood before Loghain, but she healed the torn flesh from the arrow wound all the same.

"The creatures have not penetrated this structure," remarked Sten, looking about. "The doors are shut and locked, and not significantly damaged. I believe the survivors are within."

"Good news at last!" cried Wynne. "Perhaps we should try to contact them?"

"No," Loghain said. "I hardly think we should go about telling people they are safe, until they are actually safe. If they have battened themselves within, let them stay there, and out of our way."

"Sounds good to me," agreed Maude. "I just wish we could ask if somebody's seen Riordan and Leliana. Ask somebody other than darkspawn, that is."

"Once we get to Fort Drakon, Boss," Oghren told her, "You can ask the Archdemon."

They might be asking it sooner rather than later: The Archdemon was visible, flying over the top of Fort Drakon. The wind carried its roars to them, but faintly, like distant waves on a rocky shore. Something was wrong with its wing: it soared up awkwardly and then flopped down, out of sight on the top of the tower.

The sight made the girl furious. "I should never have let Leliana go with him! Except...he might die otherwise..." she muttered, her pace picking up considerably, "...and I don't exactly want him to die, and I certainly don't want Leliana to die, but he had better not kill my Archdemon..."

She kept on muttering as they moved up the broad approach, meeting only scattered resistance. She muttered as they dispatched the darkspawn handily.

"...bloody towers. Whose idea was it to build all these fucking towers anyway? Bloody Tevinters and their bloody dwarven stooges...I hate Fort Drakon...Just die, you stupid thing! I can't tell you how tired I am of you...

It occurred to Loghain that the girl's most recent experiences in Fort Drakon might have somewhat prejudiced her against the place. There had been quite a lot of embarrassment and a great many feeble excuses made when the girl abruptly disappeared from her prison cell almost as quickly as she had been bestowed there. She had fought her way out and killed a score of guards in the process. Loghain knew that she had surrendered to Cauthrien, apparently to protect Anora from harm. He knew nothing about her treatment at Cauthrien's hands, nor what had befallen her afterward. He had not thought it prudent to inquire, as it might be one of those things that transformed her from a charming if eccentric young aristocrat into a raving, murderous lunatic.

At any rate, it did seem that her memories of the place were not agreeable. The tower loomed before them, the massive gate to the courtyard just ajar. Loghain had been looking for the city's defenders all day, and here he found them, or what was left of them. There had been, clearly, a frenzied attack on the fortress, and a nearly equally frenzied-but ultimately futile-defense. The darkspawn must have targeted this place from the first, which was sound strategy, no matter how much Maude scorned the intelligence of the Archdemon.

And the courtyard was very well defended. A shower of arrows greeted Maude as she peered cautiously within. She jerked her head away, with a sour smile, and quoted,

"Child Rowland to the Dark Tower came.

His word was still 'Fie, foh, and fum, I smell the blood of a Fereldan man...'"

She added lightly, "I always loved that story, though I felt sorry for Childe Rowland fighting those monsters, of course. It's always a tower, isn't it?"

Morrigan shrugged. "Unless it is a dungeon, or a ruin, or a cursed forest, or a haunted castle, or the Deep Roads."

"True," the girl agreed. "Or a street in Denerim, for that matter. It's always something. I really hate towers, though. This is where I came in. What if I make a hash of it, like I did at the Tower of Ishal?"

"You won't," Loghain assured her, rather alarmed at her state of mind. "No one is waiting for a signal. All we have to do is live long enough to kill the Archdemon."

"If you say so," she said doubtfully.

"I do say so."

"All right then." She told everyone the bad news. "There are lots of archers barricaded inside, and we have to cross a lot of open space to get to them. I think there are some powerful spellcasters backing them up."

"Very well," Avernus came forward. "Morrigan and I can raise a storm in the courtyard. Wynne will need to heal us. Your shield arm would also be useful, Loghain, if you do not object to Morrigan behind you."

Loghain nodded briefly to the witch, as she moved up next to him. He ignored her strong and intoxicating smell of lyrium, and said, "Once we have the archers neutralized, we'll need to rely on you three to lock down the spellcasters. The Dalish can shoot from the rear until we're too near their targets, and the dwarves can charge with us."

Everybody was happy with the tactics, and they were working well. The archers were frozen and dead, the barricades were down, the way was clear, and the girl shouted, "Charge!"

And then a small but very savage dragon dropped down in the middle of the courtyard.

Loghain had never seen a dragon close to, other than in the Fade. This smaller creature was not at all like the tainted Archdemon. It-no-she-was a healthy, vigorous, very fast brute, and nearly battered him to the ground with her powerful wings. The courtyard fell into pandemonium as more darkspawn rushed them from the tower, and the darkspawn spellcasters attacked them with fire and poison. And Loghain could do nothing about any of that. The dragon was leaping at him, snapping...

A bark and a growl, and Ranger was gnawing at a wingtip. The dragon's head swiveled at the distraction, and its jaws opened wide to blast the mabari to cinders. Loghain bashed the the head away with his shield, and then hacked at the long neck with all the energy he possessed. Hot blood spurted from the wound, and the dragon bellowed in agony. Ranger adjusted his grip, biting down on a joint. It must have hurt, for the dragon fanned its other wing in alarm and stumbled, clawing at them with a huge talon. Ranger yelped and jumped away. Loghain sidestepped the talon, and stabbed at the exposed belly, wincing as the creature's spasms nearly pulled the weapon from his grasp. Ranger leaped in again, yanking at a wing, knocking the dragon off balance.

The dragon's neck was stretched out full length, as she screamed her protests to the skies. Loghain swung his sword, the air about him filled with the music of its wail, and cut through skin, flesh, tend and bone. He screamed himself, triumphant, as the dragon's head thumped to the ground.

He looked up to see that not twenty yards away was another dragon, which the dwarves of the Legion were bringing down. Near the Tower entrance Maude was with Sten and Wynne, overcoming a spellcaster with a great deal of gusto. She hallooed out to him, waving her sword.

"Welcome to the ranks of the dragonslayers, Loghain!"

It had been a nasty fight, and they were lucky not to have lost more of the dwarves than they did. They were catching their breath and licking their wounds, when an elf cried out, pointing, and they saw a pair of bodies fall from the top of the tower.

"Whoa!" the girl moved out of the way, grimacing as one of the bodies hit the ground with a splattering thud. The other hit the side of the tower, bounced, and landed just after. "I hope it's not anybody we know," she murmured, moving in to peer at the bodies.

Loghain vaguely recognized one of the men from the Fort Drakon garrison. The other appeared to be a guard as well, though it was difficult to recognize the face, as the head was missing.

"Right," the girl said. "Somebody other than darkspawn is alive in there. We'd better see to them." She looked over the tower in disgust. "You know, if we had griffons, this would be a lot easier."

The defenders had sold their lives dearly. The anteroom was piled high with human and darkspawn dead. Loghain knew many of these men, and set aside the pain of their loss. They had done their duty, and he hoped there would be anyone remaining to remember their sacrifice. It was darker than he was accustomed to, the interior lit with only a few remaining torches and a few scattered, sullen fires.

Maude motioned everyone to stop, while she and Zevran checked for traps. They saw a few, but they had already been dealt with.

"Leliana was here," Maude grinned back at them. "I'm sure of it!"

But new traps had been set by the waves of darkspawn that had followed. Further in they were met by a group of dead human soldiers, hideously reanimated by a darkspawn mage. Loghain knew one of the men well, and was glad that the shambling corpse of a brave man was closer to Oghren's axe than his own sword.

The huge hall where the ballistae were repaired appeared completely empty, until they moved further in and were attacked by a half-dozen demons. Here the mages were of great help, and both the demons and their darkspawn master were dispatched without hesitation. Their dwarven allies had not seen such beings before, and muttered unhappily among themselves. Loghain carried a detailed map of Fort Drakon in his head, and knew the layout of each room before they opened a door. They moved down, past the barracks. Loghain caught the girl's hands away when she moved toward the men's locked chests, and he gave her a hard look.

"Oh, very well," she sulked.

The lower level was barricaded and inaccessible. Maude picked the lock, but could not open the door.

"Maybe some of the garrison is still alive in there," Loghain hoped.

Maude made a face. The cells were down there, and she clearly would have preferred to go there and set every prisoner free. Nonetheless, there was nothing they could do, and they retraced their steps to the ground floor.

In the last room, littered with dead, they found Sandal Feddic.

It was a mystery never to be solved. Where had the little dwarf come from? He had somehow arrived ahead of them. Had he wandered off? Had he followed Riordan and Leliana? Was it a kind of magic?

At any rate he was there, smiling, and he called out "Enchantment!" at the sight of Maude.

"Sandal?" She came forward cautiously, wondering how it could be. "What are you doing here? There are darkspawn everywhere!"

There was no response. The young dwarf remained smiling, staring happily at Maude's dirty but beautiful face, quite at his ease.

Wynne murmured, "We cannot simply leave him here."

"We can't take him with us, Boss," Oghren declared.

"Quite right," the girl agreed. Taking Sandal by the hand, she said, "Come on, Sandal. I want you to get into this wardrobe I found. Plenty of room...see? Now you stay there and don't make a sound until one of us comes to let you out. Can you do that?"

"Enchantment!"

"That's right, Sandal. Enchantment," Maude agreed, her eyes suspiciously damp. "Be a good lad and don't wander away, all right?"

She shut the door and looked at her companions, blowing out a deep breath. "What?"

"Softie," murmured Sten.

"I'll show you 'softie,'" she snarled, rather embarrassed. "Come on, it's up the endless winding stairs for us."

Loghain took the lead, the girl beside him. He could almost have found his way blindfolded in these halls, and the essence of the darkspawn was so strong here that he could have found them blindfolded, too. They moved from room to room, killing as they went, meeting no resistance that challenged them in any real way.

Nothing can be as bad as the courtyard, Loghain thought. Or at least nothing until we stand before the Archdemon itself.

One of the arms rooms was packed with genlock archers. That fight took some time, though none of them ever felt in any danger. It was simply wearing and tiresome and a horrible deadly grind.

"This door leads to a corridor that will take us to a big conference chamber and beyond that are the stairs to the top," Loghain told them. "There are barracks on the left, but I think-"

"Something behind the door is quite powerful," Avernus whispered. "It knows we're here."

"Fine," the girl breathed. "I'll open the door, and you freeze whatever is there. Just freeze the whole damned hall."

The door flashed open, the frost shivered out, bringing into view another kind of darkspawn they had not previously met. It was a powerful genlock, strong and fast and well-armed, one of the best warriors Loghain had ever encountered. Darkspawn were held to be mindless, yet this creature fought with skill. It was not until it lay dead, and Wynne was healing the slash in Oghren's thigh, that Loghain had time to consider the matter.

"Fast little bugger," Oghren complained.

"Very fast," Maude agreed, wiping her face. "I'd really rather not meet another one of those. And he was training these others." She nudged a smaller genlock with her boot. "There's more going on in those brains that we thought. Or could this really be a dwarf, corrupted by the Taint?"

"You always know how to brighten a man's day," Oghren grunted.

"But the whole thing could have been a lot more unpleasant!" Maude said. "Avernus, you're the best!"

"I know," the old man said, very seriously.

There were ogres in the conference chamber. They rushed them from either side as their party moved from the corridor into the chamber proper. Two ogres were simply not a problem for them, and they were quickly dispatched. Moving around the big table, they found the corpse of another darkspawn spellcaster. It was still clutching the arrow that had pierced its throat and killed it.

"Nice shooting," Maude remarked. "Those arrows look familiar..."

"Maude!"

Leliana was waving at them from the steps leading up to the tower. "Maude!" she shouted again. She ran down the steps, her quiver of arrows clattering on her back.

"I got the emissary, but the ogres were too much for me alone... I am so glad to see you!"

Maude hugged her as well as possible, considering the armor. "Glad to see you, too! Where's Riordan?"

"He's hurt! Wynne, come with me! He's hurt so badly..." She gabbled out, "The Archdemon is on the roof. Riordan leaped on its back, and slashed a wing. It cannot fly now, or not enough to escape the tower. I thought it would fly away with him. I shot it in the eye! It circled the tower and threw Riordan off. He fell...he is badly hurt...His legs are broken... I dragged him inside the doorway so the Archdemon could not get at him, but then the other darkspawn came..."

Wynne and Avernus went with the bard, and Maude watched the rest of their remaining allies arrive. Two score Dalish archers, and two dozen of the Legion. Maude motioned them forward, and opened her arms in a gesture of friendship.

"We all know what we're here for, and today is the day. Before we go, there are things you need to know."

They were listening, crowding close, muttering amongst themselves.

Maude raised her voice. "Only a Warden can slay an Archdemon. If any of you try, terrible things will happen, so terrible that we will not see the end of the Blight in our time or our children's time. A Warden must strike the killing blow. But all of you can play a part in our victory. The Dalish can disable the Archdemon. It's been shot in one eye. Aim at the other. Aim at the wings. We'll do the rest. As for the Legion: more darkspawn are on the way, summoned by the Archdemon. Don't let them through!"

In a rough semicircle directly in front of Maude were Loghain, Morrigan, Oghren, Zevran, Sten, and, his tail wagging, clever, faithful Ranger.

She smiled, radiantly. "There's nothing more to say that hasn't been said. We all know how to kill dragons. This is just the biggest one. And I'm not going to ask you to die for the cause. I want the Archdemon to die for the cause. So.. follow me, and let's do it!"

She turned to run up the steps, and called back to Loghain. "The last tower, Loghain! The last staircase! Oh, I'm so glad!"

The way was long, spiraling up and up into red and lowering daylight. The sound Loghain thought might be thunder was the roar of the Archdemon, as it smashed its way around the top Fort Drakon in a killing rage. At the far end, Wynne, Avernus, and Leliana were huddled together over a supine form that must be Riordan. They had managed to get him up to one of the ballista platforms, where he and Leliana would be relatively safe. Avernus saw Maude and Loghain emerge, and hurried their way. Wynne delayed a little longer, her staff lifted with a final spell, and then she too was coming.

Maude was after the Archdemon at a dead run, and she threw a fire bomb at it. Flames burst forth and spilled down the creature's flank. The Archdemon was already in pain, the shaft of an arrow protruding from its ruined right eye. Loghain cast a desperate look over the scene to find any remaining soldiers. There were many bodies, but none were moving. No time for that. He ran after the girl, wondering how a puny sword could make an impression on that vast bulk. Ranger leaped up, nipping at the beast's lowered head. It shrieked and reared back. Ranger had the good sense to let go.

Wynne cast healing spells on them, over and over, until Loghain wondered if there was a limit to how many times flesh would knit. And Morrigan—much as he distrusted her, he could not deny her indomitable courage, her powerful magic, her ferocious beauty in battle.

Killing the Archdemon would be exactly as the girl had once described killing a High Dragon: like chipping away at an ancient tree. Like chipping away at a very ancient tree, using dull axes. Even Avernus' mighty ice spells could slow the monster only briefly. Maude splashed a nasty looking brew from a little flask liberally over her sword and dagger in one of those breathing spaces. She grinned at Loghain, offering to do the same for his own blade. He extended his sword, scowling at the strange stink. "Is this what you used on me?" he snarled.

"Never in the world!" she laughed, and went for the Archdemon again. It lashed out wildly with its tail, and Sten and Oghren tumbled like puppets. The Archdemon screamed at them and managed a short flight to escape its tormentors.

"It's in range of the ballistae!" Loghain shouted, grabbing at Maude.

The splendid girl saw at once what he meant. She shouted, "Sten! Zevran!" She gestured to the next-closest ballista. "There! Oghren! Guard the mages!" She dashed up the wooden steps and was swinging the war machine around, setting the sights at the Archdemon. Loghain wiped and sheathed his sword, and hefted a bolt, manhandling it into place.

She hit the Archdemon with her first try, and shrieked in rapture. Zevran was not quite so adept (the assassin had probably never dreamed of using such a weapon), but with Sten's guidance, he too was soon hitting the flailing Archdemon with the massive iron-shod bolts.

"Oh!" the girl remembered, and doused the tip with her poison. "This should be just the thing!" She fired, and the Archdemon screamed again. Avernus froze it, so Zevran could aim his own bolt with deadly precision. At length, the Archdemon shook off the spell, and bewildered, limped out of range.

A wave of darkspawn spewed out of the doorway, summoned by the Archdemon to defend it. The Legion of the Dead was ready for them. A blazing battle ensued, as the Legion refused to give an inch to the darkspawn onslaught. Legionnaires died where they stood, and darkspawn were hewed to pieces. The Archdemon lifted its bulk in a short, jerky flight, and landed among the Legion, smashing at them.

It was weakened, but still deadly—still spewing purple, still lashing out with its tail, still capable of—Maker! That was Kardol in its jaws! The Archdemon shook Kardol and dropped him, and they could see that the tough little bugger was somehow still alive. Well—time enough to heal him if they survived. Maude vaulted onto the Archdemon's back, and stabbed down at its neck, shrieking with every thrust. It shook her off, and she swore at it.

At last the creature flapped feebly away, and the girl cried "Come on!" and charged after it. Rowan herself had never been a more inspiring comrade.

But Loghain was after her, keeping to her right, and he had a mission. They were there, under the belly of the beast, hacking and stabbing and poisoning and cursing, and it was weakening—it really was weakening—when it blasted them aside with a sudden rally.

The girl was up in a flash and moving in for the final attack, her eyes wild with the fever of battle-

And then Loghain lashed out with his shield, and knocked her flying. Behind him he heard her fall with a crash of armor.

"Loghain! You bastard!" she shrieked.

Far in front, Loghain answered with a deep, mocking laugh, and rushed the Archdemon, leaving the girl behind. Avernus had hit the Archdemon with ice once more, and there was an opening...

She was up and after him at once.

"Loghain! Don't you dare! That's my Archdemon, and I'm going to kill it!"

She tried the move that had worked in their duel, but—no fool he!—he remembered, and dodged the other way, catching her with his shield again.

"I claim my forfeit!" he shouted. The blood in his veins sang with victory.

"Like bloody hell you do!" she screamed. And just as in those first moments of their duel, she found herself flat on her back.

"Ow!"

He laughed again. This last moment of his life might be the sweetest.

The dragon raised its head to bellow a challenge...

...And Loghain was running at it, falling gracefully on one knee under the offered throat, sword slashing its entire length.

"No!" The girl wailed. She was on her feet at last, running after him. She was only yards away-

Too late. Covered with blood, Loghain rose up, roared, and drove The Keening Blade into the Archdemon's brain.

Afterward, it was said that the sky lit up as if a thousand thousand shooting stars had rained down on Denerim. The darkness lightened to day as the blaze of magic burst out in a shock wave from the top of Fort Drakon. Refugees hiding near the top of Dragon's Peak claimed to have seen the flash.

When Loghain's sword pierced the brain of the Archdemon, the spear of light that shot out of the wound had stopped the fighting at Fort Drakon, as friend and foe stared as if ensorcelled. The ensuing blast knocked every single being on Fort Drakon's roof off his feet.

Loghain was conscious of almost none of it. Choking on dragon's blood, he was inside the bolt of power, held fast by raw magic that arced in and out of him in pain and ecstasy combined. For a moment, he became the Archdemon, seeing the world slipping away, raging against the disgusting little creatures that had challenged his divine right. He experienced millennia of glory and millennia of imprisonment; the worship of a great civilization; the rapture of consuming the unblemished sacrifices; the fall from power and the endless darkness of exile.

A whirlwind of dust surrounded his head. Loghain sneezed, and the vision began to fade. For a moment, he saw the world as both Loghain and as the Old God Urthemiel. The girl had roused herself, pushing herself up on her hands; had leaped to her feet and grabbed him. Panic-stricken, she was blowing a handful of ashes into his face. Up his nose, in fact. Loghain sneezed again. He glared at the girl, remembering that in the old days he could have demanded that she be offered up to him during the Days of Abasement. The ashes swirled about them, sparkling motes in a pillar of white flame. Maude began sneezing, too.

There was a sudden withdrawal within him, like poison sucked from a wound. The vision of Urthemiel was gone. Sputtering, Loghain gave the girl a shove."Get off me, you little lunatic!" He sneezed again.

"Fuck you, Loghain! I'm saving your life!" She waved her hand, and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to fend off another fit of sneezing. She was sticky with dragon's blood and looked like nothing human. She was also the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even when trying not to sneeze.

Instead, it was Loghain who sneezed. Again and again. He wondered if the top of his head would actually fly off.

"You're sneezing out Andraste," the girl smirked. "What would the Chantry say?"

He should have guessed. "We can only hope they never know." He sneezed three times, violently, and sat down, exhausted.

Loghain was aware of a sharp pain in his hip, where the hilt of a dropped dagger was poking him. He snarled, and then coughed up a mouthful of dragon's blood. He spat it out, and then sneezed again. Very gingerly, he pulled himself into a sitting position, his back against the dragon's jaw. Still not very comfortable, but better. He supposed he should get to his feet and give orders or do something, but it seemed less trouble to die. He was supposed to be dead, after all. What had gone wrong? Surely the Ashes of Andraste could not have actually saved him from death?

Maude sank down and sat beside him, shoulder to shoulder, with a soft huff of effort.

She turned her head to him, and scowled fiercely.

"There'll be no living with you now, I suppose."

They were mostly alive, which was pretty amazing. Everyone had the same somewhat surprised look on his or her face. Sten pretended to be stoic, but you could make it out, even with him. Riordan, aside from his pain, was frankly astonished, but not displeased: not with Leliana hanging over him with her welcome canteen and her soothing fingers stroking his brow. Yes, they all looked rather surprised to be alive. All but one. Ranger whined pitifully, and they gathered to see what was wrong.

Avernus lay partly under the Archdemon, crushed as the dying monster fell on him. His dead face was stretched wide in a yellow-toothed grin, as if he had just played the greatest prank in the history of pranks. He had told them that a Warden must die in order to slay the Archdemon, and indeed, a Warden had died. Maude stumbled over to him and fell on her knees, wiping away her tears with one hand, while with the other she deftly picked his pockets.

Note: Thanks to my readers and reviewers, especially Guilde, Sarah1281, Enaid Aderyn, Piceron, Amhran Comhrac, icey cold, Chatoyant Tiger, fussycat, sleepyowlet, mousetalker, Gene Dark, ArtemysFayr, JackOfBladesX, Eva Galana, Aoihand, wisecracknmama, Zute, mille libri, Reyavie, Windchime68, Gaj620, mutive, mieuwings, Evalyne, Prisoner 24601, Leask, Shakespira, and Speculation.

I have reversed the Wardens' advance through the Alienage from the game, since it does not make sense to me to go to the Alienage from the Gate and then to the Market, and then somehow to the Palace (since the alienage bridge is destroyed). Therefore, my Wardens do not enter from the city and leave by the bridge to the market, but move in the opposite direction: Gate, east to the Market, south to the Alienage, southwest to the Palace, and southwest again to Fort Drakon. I am presuming that either the defenders or the attackers destroyed the two westernmost bridges over the river.

"Childe Rowland to the dark tower came..." is from King Lear. In Robert Browning's poem, "Childe Roland to the dark tower came" is both title and last line. "Childe" is an archaic term for the child of a nobleman who has not yet been awarded the honor of knighthood.

Next up: "The Hero of Just About Everything. Again."