Chapter Eighty: *Road to Hell

Fourteen of us waited inside the massive dwarven gates which led to the Deep Roads: Aedan, Alistair, Duncan, Jowan, Anders, Gorim, Bel, Oghren, Faren, Sten, Shale, Zevran, Prince, and, of course, me. For a moment I was a little bit concerned about being trapped with eleven men and only Shale for female company, but quickly realized it was silly. Neither Alistair nor my brother, honorary father, or brother-in-law would allow anything untoward to happen to me; the darkspawn were the threat, not my companions. For all their issues, with the exception of Bel who I didn't know at all, they were all honourable men.

Which was a good thing, because the gates, manned by a dwarf on massive winches on either side, were opening. It's too late to change my mind.

A blast of uncomfortably warm, dry air assaulted us the moment the seal was opened, and that answered the question of why we didn't have tents and many extra clothes in our packs. The smell of sulfur was strong, but there was also an odour of dusty, unpleasant decay that I could have lived without ever experiencing. Even the naturally stoic Sten wrinkled his nose, which was strangely sort of…cute. You know you've been in Thedas too long when the Qunari is 'cute'.

The Deep Roads, I had been told, were mostly lit by lava pools and falls, which probably explained the sulfur smell and the warmth, but there were torches lining the corridor in front of me as far as the eye could see, and we each carried a handful of torches 'just in case'. We knew we'd have to cut through several crosscuts and darkspawn tunnels to get to Bownammar, and some of those may not be well lit. We also carried a couple of the enchanted lanterns we'd stolen from Soldier's Peak. Jowan and I each carried one, specifically; we were the least effective fighters of the group.

I couldn't sense any darkspawn, though the tickling feeling of the other Wardens around me was grating at my nerves. Some of the guys carried their weapons in hand, but I figured that wouldn't last long. No matter that we knew we were in for several unexpected fights, fatigue would eventually win out. I left my own daggers securely in their sheaths, slung about my waist on a leather belt.

Gorim and Duncan led the way, and after one, last deep breath, I followed them in the middle of the pack of us. Gorim had painstakingly planned our route through the labyrinth of roads, crosscuts and tunnels on Sereda's maps, and we would be going from one Legion supply depot to the next as we made our way. I shuddered slightly as I passed from Orzammar, with its wide-open ceiling and warm light into the dim and oppressive tunnel.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and another grasping mine in sympathy, and I smiled at Aedan and Alistair in turn. Duncan had assigned them as my protection detail, not that he could have stopped either of them from doing it, and they were both taking it seriously, flanking me wherever we went. I didn't mind; I needed the reassurance.

Fortunately, once we were past the dwarven door leading out of Orzammar, the ceiling rose a bit again; Sten had to duck through the doorway, but in the Deep Roads proper, he had several feet of clearance. It made the ambiance merely oppressive, instead of completely, stiflingly, panic-worthy. The heat was tolerable, for the moment, but I was sure I'd be wishing for less warm clothing as time went on. And the smell didn't improve the further we walked. I had to admit, however, that the Deep Roads were an impressive feat of construction. Only ten feet across at their narrowest, they sometimes as wide as twenty; the ceiling rose far above us at every crossroads. Bridges spanned rivers of lava, and channels encouraged the lava to run parallel to the Roads for a while, keeping the lighting just bright enough to make torches unnecessary.

The few days we'd had with little activity, compounded by captivity for me and Faren, meant we didn't get all that far the first day. We encountered a few deepstalkers – roughly the size and annoyance of dragonlings, irritatingly – and after Sten and Shale stomped them all into paste, we continued on. We had full bags – I knew eventually we'd be smoking and eating deepstalker, and I'd had a serious discussion with my stomach and my Warden appetite regarding that, but we didn't need to resort to that yet, and we didn't have anywhere to store the meat if we tried. So we continued on until I had to stop. Faren collapsed onto the ground the moment Duncan called a halt, so it wasn't just me. He'd done far better than we had any right to expect.

Without tents, we pretty much went to sleep wherever we could manage, after eating some bread and jerky. I slept cuddled to Alistair's broad back, and I noticed Aedan and Zev doing the same. Bel woke us once with darkspawn nightmares, but otherwise the night passed uneventfully. I dreamt, and they were strange, surreal things, but at least I didn't scream. With seven Wardens, we only had to take watch every second night, and to my eternal gratitude, I didn't have one the first night. Alistair did, but he stayed at my side and held me while he watched. I couldn't claim to have been truly comfortable, sleeping in armour on hard stone, curled up against cold dragonbone plate, but it was as close as I was likely to get for some time.

When we woke – in the morning, according to the dwarves, though I certainly couldn't have proved it – we set out again, and I felt better able to keep up with the pace. I worried a bit about Faren, with months of captivity and not yet having Grey Warden stamina, but he seemed to be coping better as well.

He was talking to Duncan at breakfast, asking about the Joining, and getting the usual, vague, lack of information that was the company line. I grimaced and stuck my tongue out at Duncan, who choked on his dry bread; Faren slapped his back a few times to help him clear his windpipe. I walked away as I heard Duncan explain that we'd actually need to find some darkspawn before we could perform the ceremony.

Either Duncan or Aedan must have made rules and explained them to the men, about doing their private business in private, and keeping their pants on around me, because I was thrilled not to get an eyeful of male potty functions before we broke camp. I claimed a little area behind some rubble for my own ablutions, and Alistair kept everyone away until I was ready. Peeing just wherever was a bit, well, odd, and somehow sad given the former majesty of the Deep Roads, but there weren't exactly port-o-potties, so I shrugged and did what I had to do.

We got going with little fuss. As we walked, I spent a little bit of time trying to get to know Bel, with limited success. He'd barely speak, kept his helmet on most of the time, and I don't even think he looked at me directly. I finally mumbled my excuses and dropped back, disheartened. I wasn't even clear if he knew about my unusual situation, and I'd certainly had no chance to explain it.

Oghren invited himself to take Bel's place as my walking companion for a while. I guessed that I was going to be annoyed by Oghren, as I'd never really liked drunk people much, but I also felt sorry for him; he was about to discover the hard way that his wife wasn't at all who he thought she was. And I'd been avoiding him since we entered the Deep Roads because I didn't want to be the one to tell him.

"Don't mind him," he said, gesturing towards Bel's back and speaking much too loudly. "He's got a st-st-stutter, and he doesn't like to talk. Nothing personal, Toots."

I stopped feeling sorry for the red-haired dwarf quite suddenly. "Oghren! That was plain mean, and if you ever call me toots again, I'll slap you so hard your head ends up facing the wrong way."

He belched, and a waft of stale, ale-smelling breath passed by. At least he smells better than he did, thanks to Mistress Leta... "Oh, don't go getting your smalls in a twist, Toots. I know you women can't resist me, but I'm a married man, you know."

I couldn't help it; annoyed as I was, I had to laugh. At least I know who'll be the comic relief for this trip. Aedan, behind us, smacked Oghren on the back of the head, followed by some colourful dwarven cursing, and I laughed even harder.

To my relief, I discovered that Aedan had filled Oghren in about my situation. It made sense – he would have been entirely confused about the commotion surrounding my disappearance, and they'd had no choice but to explain to both Oghren and Bel. That didn't mean either of them accepted the story, by any means, but at least I was saved having to explain it.

"So Pretty Boy here tells me you know where Branka's at." I strangled a laugh at Oghren's new nickname for Aedan, and my brother shot me a dirty look. I wonder what he'll end up calling everyone else? "I'm curious how that happened, I have to admit."

"It's in the game, Oghren." We'd decided to be honest and tell at least our permanent companions it was a game. I don't want a repeat of that accidental reveal, that's for sure. "You know what Branka was after: the Anvil of the Void. And you know as well as I do that she's become obsessed. She went through Caridin's Cross, then to Ortan Thaig. She found some records or something that told her that the Anvil is in Bownammar. So she's there, now, trying to navigate Caridin's traps."

"My Branka's the smartest dwarf in Orzammar. She'd be able to solve any nug-humping puzzles set up by some long-dead Paragon in no time."

I sighed. "Caridin isn't dead. He's a golem." I looked down at the ruddy-faced dwarf. "She doesn't have the manpower, Oghren." And she's not your Branka anymore. I refrained from voicing that observation aloud. "She lost a lot of people getting to Bownammar. And many in the house weren't warriors."

I hesitated, and Oghren gave me a piercing look. I knew from the game that he wasn't half as oblivious as he acted, but I was suddenly acutely aware of that under his sharp gaze.

"By the stone, spit it out! What is it, woman?"

I wondered what I'd done to make him dislike me. Was the bath that bad? "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this. The traps…they're lethal, Oghren. If you don't do them just right. She…" I winced, "ran out of people to use as fodder. She let them all die. All of them that weren't taken by the 'spawn. And all that's left of those is Hespith. And Laryn, technically, I suppose…" I shuddered.

"Just sodding say whatever you're dancing around, would you?"

I stopped, and Oghren's shouting drew everyone else's attention as well. I lost my temper. "Do you know what a brood mother is, Oghren?"

"Pretty boy filled me in when we were in Aeducan Thaig."

"Right. Well, Branka…she allowed some of the women in her house – Laryn for sure, and Hespith, but there might have been others – to be taken and turned. She knew about brood mothers. She locked them in and used them to breed unlimited darkspawn to send through the traps, hoping eventually to make it through. Laryn's already turned; Hespith is halfway there, and mad to boot."

"Ancestors' sodding ass, you're the one who's mad. My Branka would never…"

"Yes she would. If you think about it hard enough, you'll realise. She's out of her mind, obsessed, and won't allow anything to stop her. I think you know she's capable of it."

"You're a sodding liar, you are. Just because you're his whore," he gestured to Alistair, "doesn't mean I'm going to listen to a sodding thing you say."

Alistair and Duncan, who'd been at the front of the group, turned to race in our direction; Aedan, who'd been walking with us, pulled his dagger and had it angled up under Oghren's chin before I could even blink.

"You have one chance to rethink your last statement, dwarf, or it'll be the last statement you ever make."

I held my hand up to stop the others, then put it gently on Aedan's arm, sliding my fingers up to grip the knife and pull it back from where it had just barely pierced Oghren's flesh. "Aedan. Stop. It's okay. He's upset, and understandably so. Let it go."

"Let it go? He called you a whore."

"And how many that we've met have said – or thought – worse? It's not worth it. It's okay."

"Don't do me any favours, whore. I can take this nug-humping-"

"Oghren. Shut. Up!" I was exasperated.

Aedan growled, "You want me to just let this little cretin-"

"Aedan." My tone had gone hard and unrelenting. I tried to soften it. "You don't know him like I do. Please." I tugged at his hand, still holding the blade. "Please."

He searched my face for a moment, for what I couldn't say, but finally nodded and withdrew his hand, sticky with Oghren's blood. "I'm watching you, dwarf. One word, a single one, and we will pick up where I left off."

Oghren slapped his hand to his neck, glaring daggers at me, Aedan, and anyone else whose eye he caught. I motioned for Anders to heal him, but the dwarf stomped off, muttering under his breath, before he had the chance. With an apologetic glance my way, Gorim went after him. Aedan wiped his hands on a rag, as Alistair walked up and wrapped his arms around my shaking frame, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. I don't blame him. I just told him his wife's a monster. How would you feel?"

"I still want to kick his ass," Aedan grumbled.

I laughed. "Oh, me too. But I'll just leave him alone for a while. Once we get to Bownammar, he'll understand."

Alistair kissed me, softly, then leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Every time I look away from you for five seconds you get into trouble."

I chuckled, then threaded my gauntleted fingers through his, and gestured to the group to get moving.

Shale lumbered up beside me as we got underway. "Does It wish me to squish the drunken dwarf? Because I could. Easily."

"Thanks, Shale, but I'll be fine."

"As It wishes, then." And she rumbled away to walk beside Sten, silently. It's really weird how well those two get along.

We encountered our first group of darkspawn after ducking into a side tunnel that led away from the main road we'd been following. Gorim's map showed a cave-in between us and the intersection we wanted, and the Legion had dug out a short-cut to avoid the unstable area. We lit our torches and unsheathed the arcane lamps as we entered the dark aperture.

Apparently the darkspawn had found it and started digging; there was a large, irregular cavern where there should only have been a narrow tunnel, and it was full of darkspawn. Fortunately, they had started fires, so visibility wasn't a problem; unfortunately, I couldn't see what they were burning, but I had to guess it was a corpse, based on the sickening smell of the haze permeating the air in the tunnel.

We sensed the darkspawn long before entering the larger room, and organised accordingly. Shale ripped a chunk of rock out of the side wall of the tunnel, prepared to throw; the sword-and-shield warriors closed ranks and held up their shields to provide maximum cover, and everyone else readied weapons. We advanced as a group, the mages at the rear, and immediately drew fire from a couple of archers at the back of the room. I couldn't sense any magic that didn't belong to Jowan or Anders, and I told the rest of the group there was no Emissary.

Once the initial volley of arrows had struck and Shale had launched her projectile into a group of hurlocks, the shield wall advanced, and Duncan, Aedan, Zevran, Faren, Sten and I slipped around the edges to enter the fight. I skirted the edge of the cavern, keeping out of the way of stray arrows or magic, as the others flanked the first wave of hurlocks to attack the shielded warriors. My goal was the archers. Not seeing me coming meant I was the best option to cross the room efficiently and take out their long-range capabilities.

And it worked; I paid slight attention to the melee, almost laughing once as an arrow pierced the back of a hurlock's neck by mistake, but the group was faring well. I scrambled over some rubble to walk up behind a genlock, reach around before he knew I was there, and slit his throat from ear to ear. It wasn't easy; no matter how sharp weapons are, it actually takes more pressure than I'd have expected to get deep enough to sever the artery, but I had experience and it worked the first time. The corpse dropped at my feet, thick black blood pooling underneath, and I edged further along to the next one.

By the time I'd taken out the four archers, the group had massacred the rest of the darkspawn. Zevran and Aedan began looting the bodies – laughing at me when I called it that – while everyone else wiped darkspawn blood off their weapons. Alistair came up to me and kissed me fiercely, but said nothing. Smart boy.

I had to admit I didn't enjoy the long, slightly winding, narrow tunnel we had to creep through, but I fared better than Shale or Sten. The Legion had made the tunnel large, by dwarven proportions, which meant it was between five and six feet tall, depending; I fit fine, and Zev had no issues, but all the other humans had to duck at times, and Shale scraped the walls and ceiling as she walked, sometimes striking sparks. Sten crouched as well, a string of curses like "Vashedan", which periodically made me giggle, earning myself a disapproving glare from the giant.

I was grateful enough when we reached a main branch of the Deep Roads to admit that I was claustrophobic. Just a little bit. We extinguished our torches, packing them away, and took a minute while Gorim and Duncan debated markings on the map. Once they picked a direction, we headed off again.

We stopped at a small Legion of the Dead way station that Gorim had identified. It was nice: there were sinks, of a sort, with runes like those in the estate in Orzammar, small alcoves for privacy with a few sleeping cots, and even a stone door that could be closed and barred. We still set a watch rotation, but we felt protected for the first time in two days. We took turns cleaning up, and decided as a group to sleep without armour, for once. Exhausted after a long day of fighting, the Grey Wardens, Faren, and I met at the back of the cavern. Faren had collected his darkspawn blood from one of the hurlocks we'd fought, and Duncan had Anders prepare the Joining potion.

Faren grimaced, upon glimpsing the chalice, but didn't look surprised. I shook my head ruefully when Duncan glanced at me. It's not like the use for the blood is rocket science. What else would you be doing with a potion vial full of blood? Duncan explained that the blood was the source of the Grey Wardens' strength, and then, to my dismay, asked Bel, who'd not spoken the entire day, to recite the words.

The stutter was highly unfortunate, I reflected listening to Bel try to get through the words "Join us, brother," and without discussing it, everyone else began reciting with him. I was surprised to see that once his voice was no longer the loudest, his stutter improved dramatically. Clearly, anxiety makes it worse.

I contemplated that as Faren drank the potion; I was the only one not nervous. I knew any Brosca would survive. Alistair caught the dwarf as he fell back, his eyes rolled up into his head, and laid him gently down on the nearest cot. He was breathing, and everyone took a deep breath of relief.

Jowan offered to pull a cot nearby and stay close, in case he needed anything when he awoke, and the rest of us scattered to our own alcoves to get some rest.

There weren't enough cots for everyone, and seeing as Alistair and I wouldn't have been able to share one anyway, we opted for the floor. We made a little nest of blankets to sleep on; the air was warm, heated by the lava as it was, so we didn't need to keep any blankets out for cover. We had chosen an alcove as far away from the rest as possible, and as Alistair sprawled out beside me in just his thin linen sleeping pants, I was glad all over again.

I happily gave in to his passionate kiss; I didn't think we'd have any opportunity to be together in the Deep Roads, but as long as we were quiet, we could get away with it easily. Alistair's mouth on my neck was insistent as the kissing grew more heated, and I tangled my fingers in his somewhat shaggy sandy-blond hair, trying to stifle a moan of desire. His hands roamed my torso, stopping to torment my breasts periodically, before skipping away, making me squirm. Impatient, I pulled up the thin shift I wore for sleeping and struggled to tug it off, dropping it beside us absently.

I lay, sandwiched between Alistair and the wall of the alcove, and bit my knuckle as he proceeded to shower my breasts with attention. The bruising had mostly disappeared with the healing potion I'd taken before we left, but certain spots still made my skin sing with remembered pleasure and pain when he licked and kissed them. I hissed and dragged his mouth to one aching, diamond-hard nipple by the hair, and he chuckled under his breath even as he engulfed the little pebble with his lips. He switched sides, teasing me, and I writhed silently beneath him.

At my urging, he finally rid himself of his trousers, and gasped as I took his hard length in my hand. It felt good, knowing the arousal was for me; powerful, somehow, and I stroked the shaft a few times in appreciation before Alistair pushed my hands away.

He slid between my thighs and sheathed himself inside me like we'd done it hundreds of times before; he was perfect, his width stretching me deliciously, avoiding bumping my cervix, and I groaned and humped my hips uselessly at him when he just held still deep inside me. When he finally started to move, the relief was palpable; my arousal climbed rapidly, and I covered my mouth to stifle any noise when I came, the pleasure and relief of being with him and knowing all was right in the world almost overwhelming my embarrassed need to remain quiet. Alistair captured my lips with his own to muffle his own grunt of completion, and then we both collapsed, boneless, in our nest.

We kissed and caressed, sweetly, not sexually, and prolonged our post-coital bliss a while longer, but eventually the certainty that someone was going to come around looking – and that someone, more likely than not, being Oghren, knowing my luck – spurred me to sit up and retrieve my shift. Alistair wriggled into his trousers, and then spooned behind me, shielding me from our companions as we fell deeply asleep.

Aedan woke me for my watch with a gentle hand on my arm; I crawled, reluctantly, out of the cocoon of Alistair's protection and trudged over to sit near the stone door, exchanging nods with Shale and Sten. With nothing else to do, I marvelled at the amazing stone architecture of the Deep Roads. Even this insignificant chamber had lava channels near the front, for light and heat, but far enough away that the back alcoves were in deep shadow. If it had a window or a skylight it would have been more comfortable than anywhere we'd stayed to date, except the Pearl and Redcliffe's castle.

Sadly, according to Gorim, the further away from Orzammar we travelled, the more rudimentary the Legion's supply depots were. Near the front they'd have a barracks of sorts, but this was likely to be the last relative safety we would encounter.

I had never learned how to keep track of time without a clock of some variety, and I'd left my phone with Leli, so after a while I was grateful when Bel approached for his watch.

"'Morning," I greeted him, my voice hoarse with disuse.

He nodded, but remained silent. At least he's not wearing his helmet.

"Look, I hope you can just ignore Oghren. He's an ass, at times, but it isn't personal. Don't let him get you down."

He nodded again.

"Are you that embarrassed by the stutter? I promise you, I won't make fun of you. I had a friend in school with a stutter; lucky for her, we had a teacher with some training in speech. She managed to learn how not to stutter. But I'd never tease someone over something they have so little control over."

"It's w-worse when I-I'm nervous," he responded. His voice was deep and pleasant, if you ignored the hesitancy and the stutter.

"Why are you nervous? We seem to be quite safe here." I shifted around, double-checking the cavern and the door for security issues I'd overlooked.

"That's n-not why." He appeared to be blushing, though it could have been a trick of the light.

"Is it me? I promised I wouldn't tease. I'm no bully."

"N-n-no. I do- I do- I d-don't me-meet many wo-wo-women!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Bel. If it's any consolation, I don't bite."

He chuckled at that, and I smiled.

"Y-you said your fr-friend learned to st-st-stop?"

"Oh! I should have thought of that. Bel, I know how. I was there when she learned. It takes a while, but it's manageable. Would you like me to try to teach you? It would be good experience for getting used to talking to other girls, too." I winked at him, and though he blushed scarlet, he smiled and nodded.

"Alright. The first part…well, it would be easier if Leliana were here, but here goes. Do you know how to sing?"

I spent probably an hour teaching Bel rudimentary scales. His deep baritone was quite lovely when he hummed along to the lesson; he had at least a passable ear. And I'd managed to get him to sing, just once, the words to go along with the notes: do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti, do. To his shock, and my delight, he didn't stutter. Which was the point: it's virtually impossible to stutter while singing.

I left the lesson there; if my experience was anything to go by, I'd have to get him singing entire songs before I could talk him into trying to sing his sentences instead of speaking them. My friend had been totally embarrassed at first, and it took a long time to gain confidence. I hoped that dwarves didn't have any sort of stigma against singing in public, and that I could recruit Leli to help once we got back to Orzammar, but I thought I had a chance at getting him stutter-free before the blight was over.

I went back to bed, snuggling in to a drowsy Alistair with a brief kiss on the forehead, and fell asleep listening to soft, deep humming.

A/N:

I may have to decrease the frequency of posts for a few weeks - family stuff, a kid who doesn't like sleep, and too much work have me struggling to find five minutes to eat, nevermind write, and I don't want to burn through too much of my backlog, since I have such a tendency to write myself into a corner, and then have to go back and change things or add stuff. I'll probably post every second week for a little while - I apologise in advance.

That said, we passed 1000 reviews! I shall draw a name and announce the winner - and the prize - with my next chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited, followed, or in any way encouraged me to write this. You guys are amazing, and without your support I'd never have made it this far! And, you know, just sayin'...reviews help with motivation to write even when I'm short on time and busy. In case you were wondering...

As always, I don't own Dragon Age. A million thanks to Kira Tamarion and Melysande, my fabulous betas.

Reviews:

thinkdragonage: What can I say? I like steamy ;)

SadnessAndSorrow: No one liked the deep roads in game, I don't think. Here's hoping my interpretation shows the grandeur, but also the darkness and horror, without all of the annoying running in circles...

Vergil1989 the Crossover King: What can I say? I enjoy the concept of Grey Warden stamina ;) Alistair's punishment would be awful, if he was actually able to carry through...there's nothing worse than being left just shy of a mind-blowing orgasm...

OnkelJo: No punch Alistair! You might ruin that fabulous nose...

Hufflepuff-DragonRider: Yeah, I think I should like to be punished like that...*sigh*

Reploid Avenger: Yeah it would be fun showing Alistair around, but I don't see that happening. Can you imagine explaining that in the hospital? "Don't mind the guy in plate armour without ID. He's with me."

Ioialoha: Classicism in the dwarves is problematic, no doubt. I'm hoping these guys can learn to appreciate each other for their obvious skill...plus I don't see Duncan putting up with that BS. He'll smack some heads together until they all behave...

twoifbysea: We don't know what's happening with the taint on Earth, if anything. It will be interesting when she does get back there...she definitely never pictured a zombie apocalypse as a possible outcome of becoming a Warden...

Flower248: I imagine if Sereda is as obsessed with the Legion as Gorim says, she'll know what they eat...what's safe, and what's not. Classicism amongst the dwarves is problematic. However, compared to Oghren, Faren's downright likeable, so that should help...

MusicologyMom: Alistair can feel the taint...he just can't feel Sierra. Somehow her taint doesn't show up for darkspawn or Warden senses...

zillah1199: Yeah, Inquisition will be...interesting. I have some ideas, haven't quite decided how that will play out. As much fun as it is for us when she goes back and forth, Alistair doesn't enjoy it so much :)

Lady Velvet C. Peterson: Jarvia isn't anyone's favourite person, that's for sure. Good riddance.

Star (Guest): Nooky is sex :) And Sierra wants Alistair to leave first so she can hide behind him and avoid seeing the naked Oghren butt :)

Ethizen: It's only foreplay if he actually continues from there...if he leaves her wanting, I'd say that's pretty punishing ;) And yeah, anything is better than playing the deep roads ;)

InsidiousAgent: The number of wardens is getting rather huge, no? I have a spreadsheet full of characters and locations and times so I can keep track of everyone...It's hard to give everyone enough time with a cast this big. Especially when I only write from Sierra's point of view...she's around Alistair the most. But it should improve over the next while - less privacy, more group time, not so much nooky, more fighting...you'll have to let me know.