Obligatory Chapter Heading:

Chapter 11:

I knew something was wrong, when I reached the lower levels, and I hadn't come across my Wardens. Darkspawn were there, on the edges. I could sense them. They were waiting for something. Watching my every move. So, burying the discomfort and rising anxiety I felt, I strolled through the tunnels like I was taking a leisurely stroll through a park.

The deeper I went, the more polished the walls looked. The more put together the area was. It had been changed from a mine to a prison, it seemed.

Quite literally, I stumbled upon a small group of darkspawn, and they were just as surprised to see me. My eyes narrowed as I realized what I was seeing.

"What the fuck are you wearing?!" I snarled, slipping my daggers free, and threw myself in to their midst.

I hadn't realized how unprotected everyone was, how easily a blade could slip between the plates, the chain links of their armors. Even the leather was flimsy. I would have to remedy that, when we were back in Vigil's Keep.

Breathing heavily, I looked for something, anything, to kill, but I stood alone. Bodies littered the floor around me, but I was the only living thing. The darkspawn that had been watching from a distance were gone. Retreated.

Gathering my companions' armors and weapons, I drew the shadows to me. Surrounded myself with them. Slipped from sight to make it easier to carry everything.

After an endless amount of time, I finally found them. All placed together in one large cell. Someone was standing in front of the door, though, talking to them. I decided to hang back, eavesdropping.

"The darkspawn have your things. You can still get it all back, if you're careful and clever." something clattered beyond the large doors at the end of the hall, opposite from where I had come, and woman turned. Seranni, from the looks of it. She definitely resembled Velanna. "They're going to come to check on you. You have to hurry."

"You're infected. You'll die, if you don't get help." Nathaniel said quietly.

"No… no, I'm fine. He says I'll be fine..." 'he?' Who was this 'he?'

"No, you're sick!" Velanna gripped the bars tightly, "We need to get you some help." her sister backed away. "Seranni, wait!"

It was too late, the other elf had already run past me and out of the room.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" I moved forward, rubbing my forehead.

"Commander?" Nate frowned, confused.

"What? Where did you come from?" Anders' eyes were huge, darting around, trying to figure it out.

"Bah! I told you she'd come." the dwarf clapped the other men on the back, causing them to stumble a few steps, "Did you find our junk?"

I nodded, a smile teasing my lips, "Yeah. And you're right about that-it is junk." wrinkling my nose, I picked the lock. "We're getting you new armor when we get back. I cannot believe you guys haven't died yet."

Throughout our exchange, Velanna looked on in silence. Trying to puzzle us out, I thought. Opening my mouth, I was about to fill them in on how strange the darkspawn had been acting since I'd gone underground to get to them, but something flared in my blood. Something… A pull of some kind. Brow furrowed, biting my lip, my eyes scanned the large room. Whatever it was, it was beyond the door. Where the noise from a few minutes had come.

"Do you feel that?" I asked quietly, gesturing toward the exit.

The other Wardens shook their heads after a handful of seconds. They hadn't had the blight long enough to sense the finer things.

"Be on your guard." I ran to the door, pushing it open quickly. A glance behind me told me they hadn't moved. "And try to keep up."

The closer we got, the stronger the pull became. Until, finally, we came upon a man, half dead.

"What happened to you?" I knelt by him.

"You're the Warden-Commander! I..." it still made me want to make a face when someone recognized me. It must have been because I was the only child Warden, surely. That was the only explanation as to how people could just know who I was on sight. "would not have expected to meet you here. Did those bastards get you, too?"

"Not for long." I assured him, assessing him while we talked. He was definitely a Warden, which was why the taint hadn't killed him yet. His wounds, though… "We're getting out soon."

"I had hoped you would avoid capture, would be luckier than the rest of us." he deflated a little, "I was to help rebuild the Ferelden Wardens. We were at Vigil's Keep less than a week, when the darkspawn came." I frowned slightly. I had thought the Wardens were there for longer… I would have to ask someone for clarification about that later. "I think I'm the only one left. The others are dead or worse."

"What are the darkspawn doing? Do you know?" I laid a hand on his shoulder, letting healing magic spread through him.

"I'm not sure. The emissary who leads them is more cunning than any darkspawn I've encountered. It's fascinated with Wardens. But listen-" he covered my hand with his, his tone urgent now, "there is a dawkspawn here carrying a huge maul. He crushed my legs. He took my wedding ring."

Wardens could marry? That was not the thing to focus on right now. I poured more healing in to him, trying to fix the damage as best I could. If he couldn't walk out, we would carry him. I was not leaving him here to die.

"Please, Commander, slay him. Bring the ring to my wife, Nida, in Amaranthine. Tell her I died trying to make this world better."

"You're not going to die." I snorted, "Men. Are you always so dramatic? You're not as injured as you thought. C'mon." I stood, holding out a hand, "On your feet."

He stared up at me, and I swear, he knew. He didn't comment on it, however, choosing instead to just allow me to pull him up.

"I… You're right." he licked his lips, testing his weight on each leg before nodding.

"You should still see a healer when we get back, though. Just in case."

"What an insipid line." Velanna muttered under her breath, "Is that really supposed to make her feel better if he had died?"

"She would have known he hadn't died in vain."

She made a derisive noise, "Humans."

Returning my attention to the man, I gestured toward the others. "Stay with them. I'm going to go on ahead, scout things out. Proceed with caution. Please. I cannot stress that enough."

Surprisingly, even the elf nodded without arguing. I was doing something right today.

Leaving them behind, I rounded the corner and moved out of sight. Stuck as close to the walls as I could, using their shadows to conceal me.

The hurlock with the maul was easy to spot, pacing around in the large chamber at the end of the hall. The weapon resting against his shoulder while he growled and snarled at any darkspawn that got too close. Judging by the bodies laying here and there, he'd gone so far as to kill them when they didn't respect his bubble.

I started forward, inching in to the room, but the drake pulled me up short. Decisions, decisions. Focusing my mana, I held my hand up to my lips and blew. Ice filled the room. A flick of my fingers, and everything shattered. Nothing registered in the nearby vicinity when I stretched my senses out. Another quick gesture, and the ice melted. Water absorbed by the dirt and rock beneath my feet.

Feeling the other Wardens approaching slowly, I made sure the maul was visible. The ring simple to find.

What I did not expect, was to find someone, a Qunari of all people, just standing near a set of large doors. Stopping short, I merely blinked at him.

"You are not supposed to be here." he said authoritatively.

"Neither are you." it came out as a question.

"You are wrong. I have an arrangement with the creatures." he had that same strange cadence as Sten. "I bring them supplies. They give me gold."

"Do you… know what's going on?" I couldn't stop from sounding as confused as I felt.

"No. All I care is that the darkspawn honor our arrangement." Ah. Okay. That actually… helped clear a few things up for me. The darkspawn were intelligent, more so than we'd ever though possible. "Questioning them would be… inadvisable."

"Would you possibly trade with me?" I untied a coin purse from my belt, making it jingle.

The man frowned, and I thought he would reject me, but then he sighed, "Very well. I see that you are in a bit of trouble, and I am not heartless."

Nathaniel reached me first, glancing questioningly between the two of us.

"I would suggest you escape this place as soon as you can." he added, throwing in a piece of advice for free.

"Look through his wares. Gather anything you think you'll need." I stepped away, motioning for the merchant to come with me. To speak in private.

He waited patiently.

"Would you consent to trading at Vigil's Keep?" I kept my voice low, so it wouldn't carry.

"Vigil's Keep? Hmm." he thought for a moment, "That is the Grey Wardens' keep, near Amaranthine. If there is coin to be had, Armas will be there. We will meet again..." his tone took a turn, becoming ominous. "if you survive this place."

"We will." I asserted, glancing at what the others had picked. Held out a smaller purse. "Here. Keep the extra, as a sign of good faith that you'll be at the keep when we arrive. Barring any complications." he took it, slipping it in to his pocket without even counting the coins.

"I will not tell the darkspawn I have seen you."

I grinned, "That's great."

Left without a reason to procrastinate going farther, I led my Wardens beyond the doors. I tilted my head, wondering if Velanna would make a good edition to the ranks. My thoughts were interrupted when a high dragon screeched, taking to the air. The ceilings were high enough for her to rise a decent amount and tuck in her wings, plunging toward us. Everyone managed to dive out of her way at the last second.

Rolling to my feet, I freed the knife from my boot and launched myself at the beast. Embedded the tiny, yet sharp blade in to her shoulder. A quick survey of the area while I climbed on to her back made me realize there was a second one, and that my companions were fighting her not too far from where we were.

It didn't take much, a well-placed dagger in the soft tissue at the base of the neck and a hard twist. A broken spine. The dragon collapsed, laying still.

"Watch out!" I turned to see the unnamed Warden shout. To Nathaniel. Who was in the direct path of the surviving dragon's jet of flame.

Time seemed to slow down, although I wasn't exactly sure if it had or not. Anders was pinned to the ground by a large drake, Velanna launching spell after spell at it to distract it long enough for him to get free. Oghren was unconscious, limp against the far wall. Probably having been swatted by a tail. The Warden I'd helped was on one knee, having exhausted himself. I hadn't had the time to heal him properly, so he wasn't at his prime yet.

That left me to do something. Anything. Good thing I was the Commander and no one at the keep outranked me, because I was about to do something stupid. I knew it.

Within the span of a breath, I found myself between Howe and the fire, a magical barrier erected in front of me.

"Back… OFF!" I threw my hands at the dragon, watching as ice threaded through the flames. Quenched it. Froze her maw open, a look of surprise in her large eyes. Yeah. I was pretty surprised, too.

Without waiting for her to catch her bearings or melt her muzzle, the injured man ran up with renewed vigor and damn near sawed her head off.

The drake dead as well, Anders crouched by the other Warden and poured as much mana in to him as he could, even going so far as to down a lyrium potion. Velanna watched, confusion clear on her face. No doubt, she was wondering why we were doing so much for one man, when we could do more for ourselves by leaving him behind. I already knew the Dalish had low opinions of humans, and that reaffirmed it.

"Are you all right?" I looked over my shoulder at Nate, who was staring at me with wide eyes. An expression of… awe on his face. Yeah. Now, everyone knew I was a mage. It made me more than a little uncomfortable, but Anders had been right. Grey Wardens were above being labeled as apostates, and I really shouldn't feel ashamed. I hadn't, before coming to Thedas in the first place, after all.

"You saved me." it was half question, half statement.

"Of course." I frowned, tilting my head, "You're one of my people."

Movement above. All eyes on the… He wasn't a darkspawn. No, he was something different, yet tainted all the same. A dwarf and that elf from earlier. They turned their backs and retreated in to an opening in the wall behind them. Then, the deformed man… thing… sealed it with a collapse in the ceiling.

"No! Why is she with that monster? We must get to her!" Velanna howled, pain loud in her body language.

"We'll find a way." I was already scanning the poorly lit chamber.

"How? Where does this go?"

"They're darkspawn." I waved it off, "They'll go toward the Deep Roads."

"The home of the children of Stone. Yes..." she trailed off, her mind whirling. "They say Wardens can sense darkspawn, even deep beneath the ground." she straightened, her back stiff. "I would join the Grey Wardens. Give me the ability to hunt down these monsters in the Deep!"

"The Joining could kill you." I warned.

"At the very least, it's hard to get the taste out of your mouth for a few hours." I shot Anders a dry look. At least that was all that had gone wrong in his world.

"I am not afraid of death!" she raised her chin, staring down at me with determination that I had to admire. "I will pledge my service to you in exchange for the powers your order can grant. What say you?"

I shrugged, "I say 'Welcome to the Grey Wardens.'"

"Ma serannas. Shall we go, then? I've had enough of this place." she frowned. I felt a pang of pity for her. The Dalish liked to sleep outside, away from restrictions of buildings.

As the exit came in to view, I caught the scent of blood. A headache starting. I murmured that we had to stop for a few minutes. Then, I was swept up in the vision.

The tall man was speaking to the dwarf, talking about her comrades. How impressive they were. Difficult to convince. Of what, though? Her armor… I'd seen it before. Where…? He said something about preparing for battle. The

The Legion of the Dead! In the Deep Roads. I had to warn them. But how…?

"We have to get back to the keep." I blurted, coming out of it.

"What was that?" Velanna stepped right up to me, yanking me to my feet. Almost glaring in to my eyes.

"I have visions." I supplied quietly. "And I need to get a letter out to the Legion of the Dead."

"Why? What's gonna happen?" Oghren frowned, smoothing one side of his mustache down. More curious than anything.

"Whatever that man… creature… is, he's planning something that involves taking them on. He said something along the lines of he wasn't sure he'd be able to recruit them to his side. I have to warn them."

"It's not much information to go on." Nathaniel threw in, "Will they listen to you?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Oghren and I met them during the Blight. Whether they're still alive or they've all been replaced, it doesn't matter. The Shaperate recorded our helping them. Besides, the whole order should know to at least put a little stock in what a Grey Warden says, if nothing else."

"Well, we aren't going to get any letters out from here, and there's still things we have to do here, aren't there?" Anders clapped his hands together. "I vote we split up! I'll even volunteer for the group that goes back ahead and sends the letter. I'm a nice guy like that."

I took a deep breath, clearing my head. "You're right." digging through my pack, I pulled free a quill and a square of parchment. Scribbled a quick note, signing it with the titles I had under my belt now. It would give more stock. I added a P.S. asking how they were doing, down on the front lines. Both personally and tactically. "Who else wants to go?"

The mage took the paper, tucking it in to his robes.

"I will go, as well." Velanna offered, ready to be gone from the Wending Wood. From the death of her entire clan.

"You should go with them." I spoke to the Warden we still didn't know the name of. "Your wife is probably worried sick, and you need to be checked out by the healers." Glancing at the other two, I motioned to our dwarf. "Go with them. You never know when you'll walk in to an ambush, earlier being my case and point. Besides, you can go to the tavern in Amaranthine and listen to the patrons talk. You're good at drinking and still being coherent, somehow."

"It's a talent." Oghren preened.

I held out a small coin purse. "That should be enough for a night. Make sure to buy a couple rounds, too. Really butter them up."

"Aye, Commander." he grinned hugely, throwing the bag in to the air and catching it. "All right, guys, let's go!"

"Who put you in charge?" Anders grumbled, but he still followed.

I looked to Nathaniel. "Are you ready? We have to find Ines for Wynne."

"The Circle mage that traveled with you during the Blight."

"Yeah. That's her." I filled him in while we walked. "Apparently, she's the lead in her field, and a meeting of mages needs her input. It's why she's out here; she's an herbologist."

"It has been… a long time." a disembodied voice caused both of us to come to an abrupt halt.

"Who's there?" the rogue asked loudly.

"I have forgotten… my name… But I am a warrior." the… statue just to my left… was talking. "I am Avaar."

Nate and I exchanged incredulous glances.