A/N - So, I'm obviously uploading a lot later than normal. I've been away on a short break, didn't take my laptop, but had a fucking awful time of it trying to get home. But I'll keep up my tradition of uploading on a Friday (by around 90 minutes or so!)


"I've seen people purchase plenty of daft things but this takes the cake, Aedan."

"Stop complaining, Uhtred. If this rod controls what I think it will control, then it's a bloody bargain."

"Where in Thedas is Honnleath anyway? Another out of the way hovel?" Morrigan asked.

"It's south of Redcliffe. We'll probably see the castle on the way past," Alistair replied, "I've never been to Honnleath myself. Nothing more than a village, I believe, though it's part of the arling."

"And it's far enough south that the darkspawn may already be there. I suggest we be vigilant," Aedan added.

Just the mention of darkspawn led to weapons being unsheathed, eyes on the horizon or watching our flanks. Bringing up the rear, I occasionally checked we were not being followed. Aedan gained our attention that we were getting closer to the village as we could see signs of smoke. We knew that meant fires. Fires more than likely meant that the darkspawn had already arrived.

"What sort of protection would the village have?" I asked of Alistair, figuring he'd have the best idea.

"With Arl Eamon having put an army together to join the king at Ostagar, he would have stripped most of the villages of their guards. And while his army didn't make the field, it would depend on how quickly the darkspawn made it here in front of Eamon's returning army." Meeting my eyes, he added quietly, "I dread to think what we're going to find, because I think it's obvious the darkspawn made it here first."

The darkspawn had made it to Honnleath first, and the signs were clear upon the path leading to the main gate. They were open, and a trio of bodies hung from a rope each. They appeared to be ordinary civilians, probably farmers, considering the fields around us were full to brim with crops. I'm not sure about anyone else, but in addition to the smoke, I could taste blood in the air. It left me dreading what we were going to find.

We left the bodies where they were for now, finding more bodies hanging along the path, many hanging from the branches of trees than lined the road. We didn't look too closely at what the darkspawn had done to the bodies, knowing exactly what they were capable of doing. My hand unconsciously held the grip of sword a little bit tighter. Aedan met my eyes and I could see the fury building within. Gods help the next darkspawn we meet.

"Darkspawn!" Alistair yelled, rounding a corner to see… too many of them, in all honesty.

Sten and I roared a war cry and, with Aedan and Alistair, charged forward, the darkspawn meeting out charge, hurlocks bursting forward to meet us. Before any of us could even swing a sword, the first line of darkspawn froze in place. I have no idea if it was Wynne, Solona or Morrigan responsible, but Alistair, Aedan and I used our shields to shatter the darkspawn into pieces, stepping back as flames then erupted through their lines.

"That is why I love magic!" I yelled, finally finding darkspawn with my sword. The next few minutes flew by in what felt like seconds, we four warriors slowly moving their way through the horde. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Leliana causing her own havoc, wielding a dagger and short sword. She must have sensed my momentary glance, as her short sword entered the neck of a hurlock, and she glanced my way and smiled, wiping away the spatter of blood on her forehead.

I'll admit, I had one or two unsavoury thoughts, before focusing on the hurlock in front of me trying to take my head off. As I'd already noted, hurlocks were strong, and tough bastards to bring down, but rather limited in their abilities, so it was a case of block, parry, block, block, wait for the opening, swerve, block, thrust, swipe, and move onto the next target.

Our movement forward was slow but near inexorable. We used the rage we all felt as we hacked our way forward, the darkspawn numbers thinning, thanks to our hard work, but the two mages caused havoc in the enemy ranks. Leliana had joined our lines by this stage, and I think all of us were impressed at the speed of her swings. Even the biggest hurlock fell at her feet as the dagger and short sword sliced and diced.

Leaving a trail of darkspawn bodies behind us, their numbers started thinning out, the five of us starting to slow as the two mages continued to cause waves of destruction, and it was little surprise that the last few darkspawn broke ranks and attempted to flee. Leliana had her bow out and was firing arrows within moments, killing at least a couple more before we allowed ourselves a moment to relax.

Aedan suggested we look for any survivors, though the number of bodies on the ground or hanging around us suggested the darkspawn may have taken the village by complete surprise. A cursory check of a few buildings showed no sign of any survivors, but we found no sign of any bodies in the building, suggesting that any survivors had escaped, or the darkspawn had already herded them somewhere else.

Approaching the statue, Aedan took the control rod that he'd attached to his belt.

"So this is a golem?" I asked, "You ever seen one before?"

"No, but most people have at least heard of them. Think they were made by the dwarves a long time ago." Holding the rod up, he said the two words told to him to activate the golem.

"Dulef gar!" he shouted.

Nothing happened. I shared a glance with Alistair and we burst into laughter. "Should have known it wouldn't bloody work!" Alistair stated through his chuckles.

Aedan tried again, but he was greeted by an immovable statue and continued silence. He eventually gave up after a third time, groaning before he muttered, "Should have known I'd been sold a dud. At least I didn't pay for it."

"Right, so what do we do now then?" Morrigan wondered, rather irritated by it all.

"The gentleman you got this from mentioned the owner of the golem, Wilhelm, lived in this village. Maybe we ought to try finding him?" Wynne suggested, before adding quietly, "If he's still alive, that is."

"Do you know him?" Aedan asked.

"I didn't know him, but Wilhelm fought with King Maric against the Orlesians during the rebellion. That much is known."

"Well, I'm not leaving without the golem, so let's split up and see if we can find someone or something that will help us wake it up."

Many of the buildings around us were locked up tight, left thinking some of them may have been shops and stores rather than homes. Walking towards Alistair, he shrugged his shoulders, muttering something about it all being a waste of time. I was on the verge of agreeing with him, thinking the darkspawn were surely going to return, and in even greater numbers, where there was a shout from a nearby doorway, Sten frantically waving all of us to come quickly.

We followed him down some stairs, finding ourselves in some sort of library. I only assumed that due to all the books, otherwise my attention was taken by the darkspawn currently engaged with Aedan and Morrigan. There was only half a dozen of them, so we were done rather quickly. As soon as the last darkspawn hit the ground, I noticed the magical barrier ahead. Behind said barrier were the survivors of Honnleath.

"Sten, take Bear and watch outside for any returning darkspawn. I'd rather not be caught unawares again. Holler if they make a reappearance."

"At once, Grey Warden."

As Sten and the war hound disappeared back upstairs, Aedan approached the barrier. The survivors were as you would expect. Tired, injured, hungry, thirsty and absolutely terrified. And they didn't trust us at all. While Aedan talk to what appeared to be their leaders, Leliana and I had a search of the library, Leliana mentioning it looked more like some sort of laboratory, as there were signs of experimentation and the usual tools used by mages.

"Experiments on what?" I wondered rhetorically.

What Aedan spoke about, I wasn't exactly sure, and he walked towards me, looking rather unhappy a few minutes later. "They won't help unless we try and find his daughter." He thumbed towards one man in particular.

I shrugged. "I guess it's the right thing to do. Would be nice to find at least one more survivor."

"What about the darkspawn? Can they tell us anything about them?" Alistair asked.

"Honnleath had been stripped of nearly all their defences. I can only assume the arl had hoped that defeating the darkspawn at Ostagar would have meant his arling would have remained safe. The few town guard that remained had no hope of stopping them. Once the alarm sounded, those that could retreated here."

"Should I get Sten?" I asked.

"No. The darkspawn may have pulled back but, as I said, they could return." He paused, and I saw a flash of concern. "One thing about this golem we're going to wake up. Apparently it killed its former master."

"Sten is a convicted murderer and he's part of our group. A murderous golem shouldn't be that much more of a concern," Alistair said. I looked at him wide eyed as it sounded like a joke. He returned my glance and smirked. "At least we know we're surrounded by killers, and if they focus their murderous intent on the darkspawn, then all the better. Let's just hope they don't end up killing us too."

"Nice positivity there, Alistair. Way to set the mood," Morrigan retorted.

"And then there's Morrigan…" He trailed off as the two golden eyes glared in his direction, and a spell may or may not have been ready to be fired in his direction.

"Right, all we have to do is find a little girl lost somewhere in the cellar below. How hard can it be?"

I groaned, responding, "You don't say that, Aedan! You never say that!"

"Come now, Uhtred. There's only likely to be a few monsters waiting for us!" he laughed, unsheathing his sword and leading the way forward.

"Maker help us," Wynne muttered, though it was with a smile.

There were monsters waiting for us below. Not darkspawn, but other monsters that Wynne described were called with shades or wraiths. In other words, monsters brought forth by a demon. I thought we'd left all that behind at the Circle. Muttering that thought to myself, Wynne glanced in my direction and I immediately thought of our earlier conversation. Guess she is definitely right in one regard. Still think keeping them locked up isn't right though.

Nothing we faced was particularly concerning, the shades and wraiths particularly susceptible to magic, Alistair, Aedan and I working together with shield and sword, hacking anything that came in range. In such confined areas, Leliana worked behind us, and I could feel the breeze of arrows whipping by my ears. It was a reminder of times delving through tombs in Skyrim, narrow corridors expanding into larger chambers, enemies waiting for you in the near darkness. Having dealt with innumerable enemies during those times, I rarely felt inhibiting fear any longer. What surprised me is that Aedan, Alistair and the rest threw themselves into missions like this with relish and abandon, showing no fear whatsoever. Perhaps it was all for show, and deep inside, they were scared to death, simply swallowing it all down, ensuring the hand holding their weapon did not shake as they faced down whatever monster stood before them.

At the bottom of the cellar, we did not find a monster. Or it did not appear so at first. Instead, we found a little girl and a cat. I found that all the more chilling to discover, and I noticed I wasn't the only one not to sheathe my weapon. The girl looked at us blankly, it was the cat that took most of our attention, particularly when its eyes glowed purple. Great, demon.

Aedan remained perfectly calm as he conversed with the girl as Wynne sidled up closer to myself and Alistair. "The girl is charmed," she whispered, "Like the Templar we found in the tower. Aedan will have to be careful."

For the second time in only a few days, Aedan found himself making a deal with a demon, simply to save another human life. Wynne and Alistair vehemently disagreed again, but my brother can be persuasive when he tries, and since both agreed he was leading the mission, they eventually acquiesced to his desires. That's not to say there wasn't a lot of muttering afterwards. The deal, in the end, was rather simple. Release the demon, allow it to experience life outside the walls of the chamber, and the girl could go free.

Surprisingly, the demon agreed to the deal. Wynne audibly scoffed, Alistair looked distinctly uncomfortable while Solona looked like she just wanted to disappear into the wall behind her.

"Not another demon," I heard her whisper, noticing Leliana put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Aedan turned back towards me and winked. I kept my face blank but knew what he had planned already. So we're not doing exactly what we did at the tower. "If anyone is good at solving puzzles, by all means step forward and give it a go."

I joined Aedan at the puzzle. "Well, this is a lot different to the puzzles I had to solve in Skyrim."

"How so?"

"This looks a lot more bloody difficult! Puzzles in Skyrim were a matter of turning a couple of handles and the door opening."

"It can't be that hard."

"Um, I may have an idea." The voice took us by surprise, turning to see Solona standing next to me. She pointed as she explained. "I think you've got to move those tiles so one end goes to the other. I've heard about these sort of puzzles before."

"But why?"

"It was probably built by whoever owned this house to keep the demon contained. The more difficult the puzzle, the harder it is for anyone to accidentally release it." She appeared to count the tiles. "I think it will be a case of between 15 to 20 moves, and whatever locking mechanism that is in place keeping the demon contained should release."

"You have any idea what to actually do?" Aedan asked.

Solona shrugged. "I'll give it a go." She looked at Wynne. "Can you help? This should be right up your alley too."

Aedan and I stepped back, both of us clueless as to what to do, as the two mages put their minds together. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Alistair had unsheathed his sword and was busy walking back and forth across the only entrance into the chamber. The demon kitty was watching the two mages intently.

They must have worked for least half an hour to forty-five minutes, but just before they placed the last tile in position, Solona met Aedan's eyes and nodded. She must have seen the wink. Aedan and I split up, unsheathing our swords at the same time, as Solona moved the last tile into position. Wynne called out that the magical barrier had disappeared and the demon exclaimed it was now free.

"You can go now, cat." Aedan pointed at the door. "I would suggest you go now before any of us change our minds."

"Oh, I will leave, but I think I'll be taking the girl first."

Something changed as the girl looked frightened, and before the demon could react, the girl turned and ran for the exit. "Curse you!" the demon cried, and in a flash of blinding light, the cat disappeared, revealing what I knew now to be a desire demon.

And, of course, now the barrier was down and the demon could access the Fade, it summoned even more demons. Rage demons, which meant fire. Those of us armed with swords and shields found ourselves shielded by some sort of magical barrier, Aedan and I asking what it was.

"Don't worry about what it is, just killed the damned demons!" came the reply.

The barrier kept most of the flames at bay, though I still felt the heat on my skin and within my armour, and a shield was still required, but the worst of the effects were kept to a minimum. Aedan and Alistair had made straight for the desire demon, which was flinging magic attacks at them and the mages behind, leaving the other demons for myself and Leliana. I almost wished we'd brought Sten with us, as at least he would take some of the focus off us.

Thankfully, the rage demons were susceptible to being frozen, so a couple of cold attacks by one of the mages froze a couple of them in position. I bashed one with my shield, causing the demon to crumble into pieces. Leliana peppered her frozen demon in what must have been a hundred cuts in mere seconds. When the demon thawed, it simply melted away into the ground.

Having dealt with our demons, we turned to see Aedan give the coup de grâce, the desire demon disappearing into thin air. Then there was silence. Silence is very under-rated.

Sheathing his sword, Aedan looked at me. "Don't say a word."

"What?" I asked innocently.

"You're going to blame me for the demon attacking us."

"Well, you were never going to agree, were you?"

He chuckled. "Of course not. I've agreed a deal with one demon. That was more than enough." Gesturing towards the extra, he added, "Come on, let's make sure the girl is safe. Then we can finally wake up that golem."

Matthias had already lowered the barrier upon our return, holding his daughter in his arms as he thanked us for saving her. She didn't ask about the cat, simply saying she didn't know it could be evil. Happy that his daughter was now safe, he gladly gave Aedan the password, and we escorted the survivors out into the village square. Sten and Bear were still waiting, the qunari reporting that there had been no sign of any returning darkspawn.

The survivors were shocked at what they saw when we exited into sunlight. Darkspawn bodies littered the square, as did the bodies of village residents. There were many tears shared, and the survivors ignored us as we gathered around the golem. Holding the control rod again, Aedan held it aloft.

"Dulem harn."

I know I'm not the only one that moved a hand to my weapon as the golem slowly awoke. Aedan was as confident as ever, simply crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for the golem to wake up. Once fulyl awake, the golem stood tall, and it towered over all of us. Made of sheer stone, with what appeared to be crystals dotted around its body, even I took an involuntary step back, wondering if it was going to attack us. Glancing left and right, I noticed the survivors had stopped and were now staring at the giant golem.

"So, which of you has the control rod?" the golem asked. Aedan held it up. "Hmmm. You don't look like a mage. I guess I should feel lucky. Or not." It sighed as it looked past us at the survivors. So did I, not surprised to see many of them with abject fear on their faces. "Oh look, some of the villagers did survive. Pity."

"You're not what I expected," Aedan admitted.

"What did you expect?"

"I'm not sure, actually," he admitted again, scratching his head.

"How long have you been standing there?"

The golem looked at me. "Many, many years. Too many. It's been utterly boring, not being able to move a muscle. And the birds. Don't get me started on the birds. Particularly pigeons." The golem looked around warily. "Feathered rats."

"How many years?" Leliana asked.

The golem was silent, obviously thinking. "At least thirty. My memory is patchy at best." It sighed again. "Okay, what is its command? We don't have all day." The golem paused. "Wait a moment, it has the control rod, and it could order me to do something, but I feel… different. Quick, order me to do something!"

"Um, raise both hands," Aedan shrugged.

The golem looked left and right. "Nothing. I feel no compunction to follow your orders." The golem paused, and if such a thing was possible, it got excited. "I'm free. I'm finally free of the control! After so… many… years…"

Aedan looked down at the rod. "Well, this could be a colossal waste of time."

"Aedan, if it can't be commanded, it still has free will. Perhaps the golem would like to join us?"

"Good idea, Leliana. Er, golem… no, wait. What's your name?"

"I am called Shale. Does it have a name?"

"Are you going to use it?"

"Probably not. However, while the rod does not work, I find myself at a loss at what to do next. It has been many years since I've just been able to move. What do you suggest?"

"You've obviously noticed the darkspawn around here lately. We're busy putting together forces to fight them. You would certainly be of great help."

"Well, it would certainly be better than standing around here for another thirty years."

Aedan turned and looked around us. "Any objections to Shale joining us?"

"As long as it doesn't murder us in our sleep, it should be fine," Alistair muttered.

No-one else had any objections, so Aedan invited Shale to join our merry and ever increasing group. Matthias cautiously approached us and asked about Shale. Once informed that the golem would be joining us, he asked what the survivors should do next. Aedan began organising us immediately, helping collect the human bodies, in preparation for burning, while the rest of us collected the darkspawn bodies. We dug a huge pit on the outskirts of town, threw all the darkspawn bodies in and then burned it.

The human bodies were treated with far more respected. Nearly all the survivors had lost a family member, if not more. Entire families had also been wiped out. The darkspawn didn't seem to care who was killed – men, women and children were all among the lost. We built giant pyres and spent at least two days burning bodies, whether darkspawn or otherwise. I know it took its toll on most of us.

It was evening of the third day when we gathered in the re-opened tavern, we being everyone except Shale, who couldn't exactly fit inside, and I don't think the villagers wanted the golem inside either. The survivors were living together in only a couple of nearby houses, spending most of their time either helping us or in the tavern. Matthias and Aedan sat alone in a corner, discussing what they should do next. Aedan did most of the talking, Matthias simply nodding his head every now and then, before the two shook hands and Aedan joined our table.

"We'll escort the survivors to Redcliffe. There is a Chantry there that should take in those affected by the war. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, and we should make Redcliffe by the evening. Would that be right, Alistair?"

He nodded. "Sure. It would be quicker if it was just us, but I wouldn't feel right leaving them here. The darkspawn are bound to return to finish the job."

"Will they rebuild?" I wondered.

"I'm not sure. A Blight affects everything, including the land. There are areas across Thedas where nothing grows, nothing lives, having been affected by a Blight. But this village appears to be relatively unaffected, so once the Blight has been defeated, they may return here and carry on with their lives. If not, Redcliffe is large enough, and to be honest, there may not be enough survivors to keep this village running anyhow."

The tavern only had a couple of rooms, so Alistair, Aedan, Sten and I offered to camp outside. Shale mentioned that it didn't need any sleep, so it would keep watch during the night. We built a small fire and sat around it, the four of us not feeling particularly chatty. Sten was his usual silent self, and while I felt tempted to start a conversation with him, I figured I'd get a grunt or monosyllabic replies. And I didn't really feel like talking anyway.

"Aedan, I have to tell you something and it's quite important."

Aedan and I shared a glance and were left wondering what Alistair was about to share. "What is it?" Aedan asked carefully.

"You know how you asked what my last name was earlier, and I said I didn't have one because I was becoming a Templar? I lied. I do have a last name, it's just that I never use it. I'm just Alistair." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Okay, the long story short is that I was raised by Arl Eamon, and when I was growing up, I thought he was my father. I was told that my mother was a servant, and she had died during childbirth. It's common enough that I believed what I was told.

However, my appearance led to rumours, which infuriated his wife, Isolde. So when I was ten, Eamon sent me to the monastery at Bournshire, where I would undergo my Templar training. It was only after I was dismissed from Redcliffe castle that I found out the truth. Eamon told me the day I left."

"And that is?"

Alistair met Aedan's eyes. "I grew up knowing that something wasn't right. The way Isolde treated me, I always thought my father was Eamon. He always treated me well, though I never did call him father. He was always Uncle Eamon. It couldn't have been Teagan, there wouldn't have been such a scandal if it was him. No, it was someone that would have caused embarrassment, which is why I was hidden away in Redcliffe, then eventually shuffled off to join the Templars."

"Alistair, who is your father?"

"My full name is Alistair Theirin. My father was King Maric. Whether my mother is who they say she was, some servant girl in Redcliffe castle, I'm not sure. I've asked about her, but no-one can ever say much about her, and I gave up asking long ago. All I know is that I'm his bastard son, Aedan. Eamon took me in to protect his sister, Queen Rowan. It would have been an utter scandal otherwise. Maric knew I existed, but that's about it. I have never been officially recognised as the king's son."

Aedan looked at me. I just shrugged my shoulders. An unfaithful king wasn't that big a surprise. Even in the two or so years I'd lived on Thedas, I'd heard enough rumours about Cailan in the main hall at Castle Cousland to suggest he played away from home often enough.

"This changes everything," Aedan stated.

"No, it doesn't," Alistair retorted, "Because I know exactly what you're thinking already."

"Alistair, you are the rightful heir."

"No." He got to his feet, circling the fire to look at the three of us. "No, I'm not. I'm a Grey Warden, and that's all I'll ever be. No-one, apart from Arl Eamon and a couple of others, knows who I really am. I am entrusting you three with this information because I didn't want you to be surprised when we meet up with the arl."

"But…"

Alistair was now in his stride, waving his arms about. "No but's, Aedan. That's it. That's how it is and how it's going to be."

Aedan looked ready to continue, so I just put a hand on his forearm. "Let it rest for now, Aedan. Who knows what is going to happen between now and tomorrow, let alone next week or next month…"

"Will you at least think about it, Alistair?" Aedan offered.

"Probably not. But, if it puts your mind at rest, sure, I'll consider it. Then I'll come to the same conclusion. I will not be king, Aedan. That I can assure you."

"Quite the bombshell," Sten muttered. The three of us looked at him, probably in shock, before Aedan and I broke into laughter.

Thankfully the conversation moved on afterwards, any awkwardness about Alistair's revelation relieved once a bottle or two of ale was opened, and soon stories were being swapped around the campfire. It was then that Sten actually shared more than three words for the first time.

He told the three of us why he was in Ferelden.


A/N - Seeing as this story is getting quite a few follows, I'm going to share a little detail. If you remember, I'd written two separate starts to this story. As I've stuck with this one, I've used the other start I've written to write something else. I'll put it simply. The other story is pure, unadulterated smut, putting it politely. So therefore I can't really post it on this website.

If reading such a story might interest you, as a few of your have liked some of my naughtier scenes in other stories, send me a request by PM only. I won't be replying to reviews asking for the link and won't be posting a link publicly. And before I send said link, you will be given more information and a warning. It is different to anything I've written before.

If you are wondering about this story, I have finished writing it, which is why I'm writing the other one at the moment. Most chapters still need some editing etc, but all the writing is complete, and the first 15 or so chapters of the next story have been written too.