11

HEART OF STONE

Her arm crushed my windpipe, the other hand punched me in the stomach knocking more of my breath out of my lungs, all this for a stupid lump of walking rock. Red crept into the edges of my vision, I couldn't do it any more. I was vaguely aware of someone roaring a battle cry, someone charging at her, knocking her off me. But it was too little, too late. Pain shot through my temple as I hit the floor, then the world went black.

We had got the rod from a merchant in the Hinterlands.

"Greetings!" he had said. "Felix Fenridic at your service."

Another merchant! Ebony had said in exasperation. Why does everyone think that a blight is the perfect time to run around alone in darkspawn hot spots?

"Good question baby." I had replied.

"Your right!" Felix had cried. "Of all the other things that went wrong the worst is this rod I picked up in Highever," he had showed us a silver rod. "It's a control rod, or so I'm told, for a golem. I can't use it but…" he had looked at us with one eyebrow raised, "you might be able to."

So that's how we got the rod, Felix marked a village all Honnleath on our map, and we set off there, Sten grumbling all the way.

Honnleath was over-run with darkspawn when we got there. The path was covered in the same slimy corruption as we had seen in the tower. We had faced a band of darkspawn in the main village square, something I hadn't seen before. Purple, brownish skin with pointed ears like elves and curved bodies, ugly but nicer to look at than the rest of them. They emitted a shrill shrieking noise, I had run at one and sliced its belly and kicked it hard in the chest. Twisting out of a slash from a hurlock I had cut the new darkspawn's head off. Watching Alistair kill the final elfish-darkspawn as Leliana sliced a genlock's throat.

We slowly wandered to where the golem was, just standing there still.

If you're village was being attacked by darkspawn why would you just stand there? I had asked myself.

I had held up the rod and said the activation phrase, nothing.

"Excellent," Sten huffed. "You have led us into an empty village with a stationary rock in the centre, not to mention the amount of time you have taken off our course."

"Where do you reckon that leads?" I said to myself, my eyes catching on an open door.

"The only way you will find is to waste yet more time." Sten had grumped.

Stay behind then, you over-grown, creepy-eyed, grump bag. For some reason Ebony had been in a bad mood.

So the rest of us had entered, Sten following reluctantly. We found nothing in the first few rooms, eventually we came to a raised stone walkway that didn't look man-made.

"I wonder what's through there." I mused.

Stepping cautiously through the door way a sudden bright white light blinded me and I didn't see the stone. I tripped and fell over the edge.

A\N - I actually had this chapter and the next one waiting to be put up but I was going to wait until I had finished chapter 13 was finished, but I decided it's christmas and you guys decide a reward for your incredible patience and to thank everyone who reviewed, followed or favourited even if not many did. I will be putting the next chapter up in a few hours, maybe even the one after that we'll see, if not merry christmas and a happy new year to you all!