Alright, finally got out a new chapter, and it's kinda a long one. One of the reasons for the long time is that I've recently got a beta-reader and we've been working on editing all of my chapters. As of now, chapters 1-4 have been edited and re-posted, as well as this chapter too. Also, mild warning for mild adult situation in this chapter. Also, the names of Kallian's and Aedan's star-metal weapons have been changed in this chapter. Aedan's is now called 'Starwrath', and Kallian's is called 'Starfang'.

I want to give a big shout-out and thank you to my beta reader; Paragon of Awsomeness. Please R&R, the reviews really help motivate me to keep writing.

Chapter 14

The snowcapped peaks of the Frostback Mountains loomed ahead of the weary travelers. The well-traveled path to Orzammar lay behind them, and the great iron doors to the underground city stood in front of them. Outside the doors there was a small market where dwarven peddlers tried to sell their goods to the sparse travelers that dared to brave the mountain path. For what seemed like the thousandth time since they had left Soldier's Peak, Aedan adjusted his new scale armor. Upon his chest was the symbol of the Grey Wardens: the mighty Gryphon. This particular variant of the sigil marked him as the new Warden Commander of Ferelden.

"The symbol suits you Aedan. Stop worrying about it."

Kallian stood by his side while Wolf sat next to her. She held her new bow down by her side. Starfang was in its sheath on her hip, and a full quiver was strapped onto the back of her leather armor. Behind her walked Morrigan, Natia, Zev, and Shale.

After they had arrived at the Spoiled Princess, they were quickly set upon by dozens of unmarked assassins. If it wasn't for Zev, they would've been taken completely by surprise. After a fairly 'intense' interrogation of the lone survivor – once again courtesy of Zev – that had taken several hours due to his zealotry, they learned that the assassins had come from a small village deep within the Frostback Mountains known as Haven. Just off the path to Orzammar, Alim took Leliana, Alistair, Lyna, Sten and Wynne with him and headed south towards the small village. Once Aedan's group had successfully secured the aid of the dwarves they were to head south and join up with the rest of them.

The decision to name him as Warden Commander came about just as they were leaving Soldier's Peak. Alistair had calmly come up to him with a new set of Scale Armor, only this one had the symbol of the Warden Commander on its chest plate. He had previously gone to the others and gotten their support before he did this, so there was no way Aedan could turn him down.

"I've never really wanted to lead Kallian. It was my brother's destiny to rule Highever, and his son after him. I was never really taught how to lead." He explained again for what seemed like the thousandth time.

And once again Kallian shook her head. "You don't see it, do you Aedan? You've been our leader from the beginning, even back when Duncan was still alive. You are a natural leader Aedan, but you're more than that as well; we all believe in you. You should too."

Natia approached the pair, eyeing the gates warily. "Oh sod, I think it would've been better if I went with Alim. By the Ancestors, I never thought I'd actually be coming back here."

Aedan looked back at the great iron doors. "Any clues as to how we should deal with your people Natia?"

Natia gave a very loud snort. "Well… if, and I really do stress 'if', we can even get into the city, we'll want to talk directly to the king if we can. Even if we get his approval, the other houses will be slow to mobilize their warriors. To be honest Aedan, I don't know why we're even bothering with this."

"'T'is simple, dwarf," Morrigan said walking past the group. "Outside of the Wardens, the dwarves are the only ones who have fought consistently against the darkspawn."

"This is the home of the dwarves? It has led me to nothing but a large hole in the ground." Shale's rocky voice groaned out.

Near the door Aedan caught sight of something that made him stop cold. There were humans in front of the dwarven guards, and one of them was clearly wearing the sigil of Gwaren… Loghain's sigil. Pulling out his cloak, Aedan quickly wrapped it around himself, hiding the Warden symbol. The others took note of his action. "Near the gate, there are humans working for Loghain trying to get into the city." Everyone looked at the door. "For now, let's spread out. Zev, Natia, see if you can get close and see what is going on. Morrigan, you and Shale can…just try not to stand out too much."

Natia and Zev walked up to the merchant that was stationed nearest to the door. Taking a hold of Kallian around her waist, and loving the small blush that came to her cheeks, Aedan led her over to a dwarf merchant who looked like he was selling mostly weapons.

A short time later, Natia and Zev made their way over to the two of them. "Well, what's going on?"

"Well, two silvers say they're not here to make up and be our friends." Natia said looking back at the gate.

Feeling Wolf tense by his side he reached down and rubbed the top of his mabari's head. "Friends or not," he muttered while removing his cloak, "we're going to have to go past them in order to get into Orzammar."

"Do you have a plan?" Kallian asked by his side, her hand was firmly clasped on Starfang.

Taking a moment to think, Aedan came up with a plan. "Let's see if we can get out of this without having to kill them. Zev, go and round up the others. Natia, you're with us."

Zev nodded once and took off. With Kallian, Natia, and Wolf on his heels, Aedan walked up to the gates of Orzammar.

"Neiata, I've told you before surfacer; Orzammar will see none but its own enter the city for now." A dwarf said to the human that was trying to get in.

The human was obviously starting to run out of patience. "I don't care what is going on it that city! I am the king's messenger, and I have a message from King Loghain for your lords-or deshyrs- or whatever you call them. You must let me into the city immediately!"

The dwarf was also apparently running out of patience himself as he retorted. "I don't care if you're the king's wiper. Orzammar will have none but its own!"

Ignoring the messenger, Aedan strode up to the guard. "I apologize for the intrusion good ser, but my companions and I must enter the city and speak with your King Endrin Aeducan."

Recognizing the sigil of the Grey Wardens, the guard shook his head. "I am sorry Warden, but King Endrin Aeducan returned to the stone not three weeks past." Behind him Natia sucked in a breath. "Now the Assembly is locked in a battle over the successor. Until a new king is named, I cannot allow any surfacer into the city."

Giving a slight nod to Kallian, she reached into her pack and handed him the treaties. "I have here a treaty that the dwarves signed with the Grey Wardens. A Blight is upon us, and the Wardens need their traditional dwarven allies." The dwarf calmly took the scroll and started to read it over before nodding. "Well, that is the royal seal, which means that only the Assembly can declare it. You have permission to enter the city of Orzammar Warden, and you honor us with your presence."

"What? You're going to let in a traitor into the city over me! It is well known that the Grey Wardens betrayed King Cailan to his death and now seek to usurp the throne! In the name of King Loghain, I demand that you execute this… this stain on the honor of Ferelden immediately!"

Starwrath was in his left hand and against the man's throat before he could even contemplate his movements. Behind him Aedan heard Kallian pulling back on her bow string and Natia stepping forward with her daggers ready. "Two mistakes: One was naming that betrayer Loghain king. The second was calling the Wardens traitors."

The man glared at him. "I have a mage and a seasoned captain, 'Warden'. And you think to challenge me with a dwarf and a pathetic elf bitch?"

Any chance the man had of simply walking away vanished with that comment. "Perhaps I should have given myself and my companions a proper introduction. I am Aedan Cousland, newly appointed Warden Commander of Ferelden. Beside me is my mabari war hound, Wolf. The two women that you mentioned are Kallian Tabris, and Natia Brosca; both of whom are Grey Wardens. The man with a knife to your mage's throat is Zevran, an Antivan Crow."

The man's eyes widened and shifted his gaze to where his mage stood stock still with Zev's blade pressed tightly against the man's neck.

"The woman with a staff pointed at your 'captain's' back is Morrigan, a mage herself." The messenger shifted his gaze just in time to see his guard fall to his knees, clutching his chest in pain as Morrigan stood behind him with a mischievous grin on her face.

"It surely knows how to make an entrance. Does It wish me to squish the little man like I would an annoying pigeon?"

Even with a sword against his neck, the man was able to look behind him. His already white face completely lost the rest of its color as he saw the imposing form of the golem Shale standing behind him. "Warden," the dwarven guard called. "I really don't care if you kill these men seeing that they've been the source of numerous headaches, but please do it off of my doorstep."

Nodding, he pressed his blade harder against the man's neck, forcing him to back up off the steps. "Move, I don't want to anger the dwarves by having to spill your blood on their steps."

The man was starting to shake. "Please… mercy."

He wanted to end this man's life for insulting the Wardens and more importantly insulting his beloved Kallian, almost as much as he wanted to get his revenge against Howe. But this wasn't who he was, or what his family would've wanted him to do. Pulling back, he removed the blade from the man's neck. "Run. Now."

The man stepped back and rubbed his neck. "You are nothing more than a foul orphan bastard."

The messengers hand flashed down to his waist and pulled free a small throwing dagger.

As his arm moved forward, Aedan slashed down with Starwrath, cleaving the man's arm right off. Drawing the Cousland Blade with his right hand he pierced the man through the stomach, sinking half the blade into the messenger's body, and twisted. Starwrath sung through the air as it passed with ease through the man's neck.

His guard and mage watched in horror as their leader's head fell to ground and rolled away from its body. His attention refocused back onto the other two men. He raised Starwrath and pointed it at the two men. "You have two options: Run, and pray to the Maker that you never cross our path again. Or you can die here and now."

Barely a second passed before the two men took off down the trail and as far away from Orzammar as they could get.

Sheathing his swords Aedan turned back towards the rest of his companions. "T'was unwise to leave those two alive, Warden." Morrigan said leaning on her staff as she watched the two men scramble down the path.

"Maybe," Aedan conceded. "But they had no fight in them. No point in killing someone who doesn't even have the courage to defend themselves."

The guard had a slight smile on his face. "Well, if you weren't a Warden I would've offered you passage into Orzammar just for getting rid of that useless sack of sod. You and your companions have permission to enter the city Warden. But be warned; I doubt you will find much aid within this place."

As the giant iron gates opened, Aedan felt an uneasy chill creep up his spine. Something was going to happen in this city very soon. He didn't know what it was, but he was sure it wasn't going to be good.

Sitting in the very back of Tapster's Tavern, Natia scanned over the face of each dwarf in the room as she waited for Zev to come back with their drinks. A part of her was still afraid that someone might recognize her. If that happened, she doubted that even her status as a Warden could protect her.

"Ah my little Warden, is this how you intend to spend your time? Hiding in the shadows?"

Zev's smooth voice broke her out of her stupor. "Sorry Zev, I'm just…uneasy."

The assassin chuckled before sitting down with two pints of ale held in each hand. "Understandable my dear. From what you told me, I would be uneasy as well were I in your… position." He grinned while sliding one of the drinks over to her.

The door to the tavern opened and Aedan's tall form came in with Kallian, like always, trailing right behind him. She swore, if those two where attached together any more, they would be one person. Catching his attention with a wave the new Warden Commander of Ferelden made his way over to the small table.

"I figured we'd find you here Natia. Trust you and Zev to find the nearest tavern… or brothel." Aedan said with a slight smirk.

Although she would usually come up with a witty retort, at the moment Natia found that she had no strength to do so. "What did you learn from the Assembly?"

Aedan picked up his pint, gave it a quick sniff, and then proceeded to down half of it in one go. Kallian on the other hand, took a quick sniff, scrunched up her face, then proceeded to try and copy Aedan. Which then lead to her almost coughing up a lung when she set the mug down. Aedan gave the elf a small but loving smile and a light pat on the back before turning his attention back to Zevran and herself.

"The Assembly is apparently deadlocked between two candidates for the throne. One is Bhelen Aeducan, the last and youngest son of the previous King, and the other is Lord Harrowmont. Anything you can tell us about these two Natia?"

Taking a long drink she settled back against her high backed chair. "Well, this was not what I was suspecting. If there was going to be a war for the throne, I always thought that it would've been between Trian and Duran – King Endrin's two oldest sons. And even the Casteless knew that the middle son, Duran, was the king's favorite child. Wonder what happened."

"The Shaperate told us the story. Apparently it all took place not long after you left actually. King Endrin set out into the Deep Roads along with his three sons, each of whom took a different path from the main group, and was each given a task to do. Trian was supposedly attacked by Duran in the Deep Roads, who killed him. When their father arrived, Bhelen accused his older brother of murder, and two of the men that Duran had with him confessed that Duran had ordered them to attack and kill Trian.

"After that, Duran was sentenced to walk the Deep Roads and fight darkspawn until he was killed. King Endrin later sent out a handful of search parties for him, apparently hoping that he was still alive. So far, no one has been able to find him. And unfortunately, the treaty we have only compels Orzammar's king, not the city itself. Therefore only a crowned ruler of Orzammar can make the call to send the dwarven armies above ground. But the Assembly has been deadlocked ever since King Endrin died, and we can't hold out any longer."

"So, what you're saying is that we have to support either Bhelen or Harrowmont, and get them on the throne, right?" Natia asked already knowing the answer.

Aedan took another long drink from his ale, emptying it completely. "Yeah, sounds like it's the only way to break this stalemate they're in at the moment. Although… I really do loathe the idea of involving myself in politics, especially dwarven politics if the rumors I've heard are correct."

Giggling brought everyone's attention to the elf at the table. Kallian's cheeks were stained with a light red blush. By the Ancestors, this girl was a light-weight; her ale was barely half gone. On second thought however, it was high quality dwarven ale. Most surface ale tasted like someone decided to mix piss and water into a bucket and pass it off as ale.

"A noble who hates *hic* politics. You are different love." The elf said as she leaned on Aedan's arm.

"He-he, looks like your little elf is a bit of a light drinker, eh Aedan?" Natia said, downing the last of her own ale.

Kallian had managed to finish off the rest of her ale before she let Aedan take the cup away. By this point she was starting to sway back and forth. Aedan pushed his chair back and took the elf under the arms and helped her stand. "Well," Aedan said holding onto his elf. "I guess we'll call this one a night. We'll talk more in the morning about which person to support, and what we'll have to do to even be able to talk to them. Good night to you both."

Natia watched with amusement as Aedan half lead, half carried the elf out of the bar and to their room on the tavern's upper level. When they were out of sight, she raised an eyebrow at Zev. "So, just how much liquor did you add to Kallian's pint anyway?"

Zev smirked at her. "More than enough to get the desired outcome my dear dwarf."

Leading Kallian back to their room in the upper levels of Tapster's Tavern, Aedan was forced to half support half carry his elven lover. What he couldn't understand, was how she got so drunk off of just one pint of ale. They hadn't been there for more than half an hour and she was already stone cold drunk. He had a strong suspicion that those two had added a few 'secret ingredients' to her cup before he and Kallian had come in. "Aeedaaann? What's a *burp* light…lightweight?"

Glancing down at her, he fought the urge to laugh at the drunken, innocent expression she had on her face. Tightening his grip on her waist, he freed his left hand and used it to open the door to their room before leading the two of them in. "Well. To put it simply; it's a term used to call someone who hasn't drank a lot of ale or wine in their lifetime."

Her eyes narrowed at him and then started to poke against him armor. "Then…how come you *burp* who drank as much as me. How come…how come you aint *burp* like thiss?"

Backing her up, he helped her sight down on the edge of their bed. "Because love; unlike yourself, this was not my first time drinking."

Thinking that she could support herself on the bed, he took his hands off of her. That proved to be a mistake, as she promptly fell backwards onto the bed. Shaking his head at her, Aedan took of his leather gloves and, seeing no place to put them, dropped them onto the floor next to the bed. Next he loosened the leather straps that held his scale armor shoulder plates in place. Lastly, he loosened his scale armor chest piece and placed it down gently on the floor, careful to make sure the proud gryphon on his chest was not facing the floor.

Pulling on his shirt to loosen it, he gazed down on his elven lover. Her long red hair was out of its ponytail and was beautifully fanned out beneath her. Her eyes kept fluttering open and closed as she fought to stay somewhat alert. Sitting down on the bed he carefully picked up one of her hands and removed her leather glove; then repeated the process with her other hand before adding them to the growing pile of armor and leather.

Moving down her body, he untied the laces of her boots before he took them off. "Care...ful. They...be… my…moth *burp* ers."

Despite her drunken speech, he understood what she was asking of him. Setting the boots down upright on the ground, he bent over and removed his own shoes before fully moving up onto the bed.

Placing both one hand beneath each arm, he forcefully, but carefully, moved Kallian up the bed until her head was resting against the pillow. Looking down at her leather armor, he inwardly debated whether or not to take it off. He knew that she only wore her small clothes beneath them, and granted he had seen far more than that. But still, without her permission he felt uneasy when it came to undressing her.

Leaning down he whispered into her pointed ear. "Kallian, would you like me to remove your armor for you?"

The eyes narrowed into slits. "Oh? Is this… how you…work? Get a…get a girl drunk an-and then take adv-advantage of…them?"

Pushing herself up, with some help from Aedan, she wrapped one arm around his neck and leaned up to his ear. "You didn't…ne-need to get me dru...nk, to take…to take ad-advantage of…me."

He was tempted, by the Maker was he ever tempted. "Lay down Kallian." He said pushing her back down onto the bed. "You need to rest tonight. Tomorrow might prove to be more than a little rough for you."

"But Aedan," she said her voice and face suddenly much clearer than they were a moment ago, "what if…I want you…with me…tonight?"

He tried to put her in bed, by the Maker he tried. But her slim arms winding around his broad shoulders, her long shapely legs slowing wrapping themselves behind his back, her wonderful backside on his lap, and her soft delicate lips pressing lightly against his, were all very effective at unshackling the chains of restraint Aedan had placed upon himself. All rational thoughts were starting to leave, leaving only one thought and one desire that had any significance or meaning: Kallian.

Her soft grunt that had resulted from him pushing her down turned into a sigh of pleasure as he worked his way down her cheek, to her pointy ears, and to her neck with light kisses. Suddenly her leather armor was blocking his path of travel. It had to go.

His hands quickly set to work on her leather straps; impatiently tugging and pulling on them in his desperate attempts to get them off. "Ha ha ha, well well…wait just one moment there…you were trying to…to get me to…bed and it looks like….you…succeed...ed."

Some blood returned to his brain and he sat up to clear his mind. "Kallian, are you sure that-"

Her kiss shut him up immediately. Pulling back she stared at him. There was a passionate fire in her eyes that was even stronger than their first night together back at the Peak. At that moment he wanted time to stop forever. Nothing could ever be more beautiful than this goddess that was before him.

Completely hypnotized by her beauty, Aedan didn't notice her hands undoing the last of her straps until her chest piece fell to the bed. Her hands grasped the bottom of his shirt and lifted it over his head. He wasn't sure if his sudden shiver was from the cool air rushing over him, or from Kallian kissing his chest. But at that moment, he didn't care.

Letting her push him back he felt every inch of her slim body covering his. His hands ran up and down her bare back as he attacked her lips. His movements slowed as he reached the ties to her chest coverings. Receiving no argument from his lover, he gently pulled the tie lose.

While he was content to enjoy the moment between them, Kallian was apparently not in the mood for slow paces or gentle foreplay. Ripping away her bindings, she went to work on his belt as he reciprocated and went to work on hers. His ties loose, she pulled down both his pants and his small clothes at the same time, leaving him completely bare to her hungry eyes.

Not to be outdone, he roughly rolled her over and took his position on top of her before taking her leather pants off at almost excruciating slow pace. "Please…Aedan," she said breathlessly her arms lying above he head. "Please…d-don't… t-tease…me like…this."

Finding mercy, he completed his task and took his place above her. Feeling her legs open to him sent waves of pure ecstasy through his body. Looking into her eyes he saw no trace of her drunkenness, but instead only saw love and a determined fire shine through them. Capturing her lips again he readied himself. "I love you Kallian, now and forever."

"And I love you ma vhenan."

There were thousands of words that Aedan could've said, but as they became one, Kallian had but one. "Yes!"

The first thing that Kallian felt upon waking was the feeling of peace and pure happiness that she had not felt since the first time she and Aedan had made love back at Soldier's Peak, and the soreness between her legs attested the fact that they had had a repeat performance. The second thing she felt was the intense pain in her head, and an extreme sensitivity to the dim light in the room. 'I didn't think Orzammar was this bright. What in the Void is going on?'

The third thing she noticed was the Aedan was not beside her in the bed. Getting up slowly, one hand on her head and the other supporting her body, she looked around the room through squinted eyes for her love. His armor and swords where gone.

The cool air hitting her chest made her look down. All of her armor was gone, and in its place was one of Aedan's shirts. It could practically double as a short dress on her slim frame. Across the room, folded neatly on the small table sat all of her armor pieces as well as her weapons.

Leaving the bed relatively alert, Kallian half walked, half stumbled, over to her armor and slowly started to put it back on piece by piece. When her armor was fully in place she looked around for some clue as to where Aedan might have gone. He hadn't even left a note for her. 'Perhaps he's down in the common room.'

Opening the door she went to find Aedan, only to walk into a stone wall. "Ah, It's mate is awake."

The wall was in fact Shale. What was Shale doing standing right in her doorway? "Shale," she groaned out weakly. "Where's Aedan?"

The golem shrugged. "It, the swamp witch, the painted elf, and the branded dwarf all left this morning. Something to do about gathering support for a new king, I wasn't really listening."

The night was starting to come back to her in segments. They'd gone to the Assembly hall, got approached by representative from both candidates, and then headed back to Tapster's to meet up with the others. And then… "Where did they go?" She asked.

The golem shrugged again. "The Deep Roads apparently. Something about finding some noble… or something along those lines."

Walking away from the room Kallian was slightly surprised that Shale started to follow her down the corridor. "Who are they supporting? And why didn't you go Shale?"

"I believe that It ended up choosing the one called 'Bhelen'. As to why I am here, It asked me to look after you while It was away."

Stepping into the common room, her sensitive nose was immediately assaulted with the strong stench of ale. Feeling her stomach starting to come up on her, she quickly made for the exit, hoping for fresh air.

Taking a deep breath of the, semi-fresh air, she felt her stomach start to settle slightly. Amazingly, the golem had managed to keep up with her to the outside. Pinching the bridge of her noise, Kallian fought off another wave of pain that shot through her skull. "Shale, when did they leave?"

"I can't say, seeing that I wasn't paying attention to what It was doing. No more than a few hours ago if I were to guess."

They were far too gone for her to catch up. And from what she had heard from Natia, the Deep Roads were nothing more than a maze of old tunnels with the occasional ruin that were completely infested with darkspawn and numerous other monstrous creatures. The main problem now, was trying to figure out how to spend her time before Aedan and the others got back. Another trip to bed sounded like the best idea at the moment, but something caught her eye. On one of the vendor stands were several pieces of fine jewelry.

Everyone had decided that they would ration their coin as much as possible, buying only what they needed when they needed it. But as they acquired more and more coin, they had also started to divide up their money amongst themselves in case there was anything they wanted that wasn't essential. Reaching down, she lifted her slight purse to judge how much coin she had. The weight in her hand indicated that she had a sovereign at most in heavy silver coins.

Walking up to the vendor, she gazed at the many beauty jeweled pieces on display. "Ah, my Lady Warden, it is an honor and a pleasure to have you at my humble shop today. Is there anything that catches your eye, or shall I point anything out to you?"

One piece on the table caught her eye. It was a small mirror that was bordered with weaves of gold and jewels every so often. Picking the piece up, she studied it closely. "Ah, must be a Surfacer thing."

Her brows knitted together at the comment. "What do you mean?"

"Well, another one of you Surfacers looked at that mirror for a long time. Can't remember the name, don't believe she gave one. But it was the dark haired one that wasn't wearing much."

'Morrigan wanted this mirror? Why? She's never really expressed interest in something like this before. Although, come to think of it, she does love jewelry. Whenever Aedan gets something for everyone, he always makes sure to give her some piece of jewelry he either bought or we looted.' She thought, turning the mirror over in her hands.

"The mirror is twenty silvers my Lady."

Turing it over once more, her mind was made up. Reaching into her purse she pulled out the asking price and handed it to the vendor. 'I hope I'm right about this. Well, if not, then I've just gained a very nice mirror. But I get the feeling sure that Morrigan will like this."

Back at Tapster's, Kallian had managed to sharpen all of her daggers; she now had a grand total of six, including her most prized dagger: Starfang. Shale had stood by her side the entire time, saying that 'It would be most displeased if harm where to come to Its mate'. After her daggers where sharpened to beyond that of a razor, she turned her attention to her leather armor. Pulling out her patchwork kit – courtesy of Levi Dryden – she fixed up some slices in her armor that desperately needed attention.

After completing all of the work she could think of, Kallian became so desperate to pass the time she even counted how many coins she and Aedan had. She found herself sitting in the common room nursing a glass of warm milk. This, upon ordering, had earned her several curious glances from the bartender and other patrons.

Just when she was at the point of extreme boredom, the door to the tavern swung open, and the tall dark haired witch Morrigan strode into the room. "Morrigan," Kallian called out, gaining the witch's attention.

Morrigan, upon making her way over, plopped down onto the chair across from her. "Bar keep." She yelled. "A glass of your finest brandy, and make it quick or I swear I shall I turn you into a toad!"

Laughing slightly, Kallian reached into her bag and started to search for her gift. "That seems to always be your threat Morrigan. Can you actually do that?"

Morrigan raised one eyebrow at her and shrugged. "I am not entirely certain to be honest. I can change shape at will. But no one has given me the chance to test out my threat. Wait, actually there were Templars in the past, but they all ran away in fear."

Finding the gift, she pulled it out and set it on the table, still wrapped in the cloth from the vendor. "How was the Deep Roads? I'm still more than a little upset at Aedan for leaving me behind. And where is he anyway?"

The witch snorted. "Be glad he did. T'was absolutely dreadful. Your little plaything owes me for going into the dark pit of sod. As for your man's whereabouts, he went to talk to that idiot Bhelen. I'm beginning think the dim-wit Templar in or group has more brains than that useless sack of meat."

Kallian had always enjoyed her conversations with Morrigan. She loved talking to all of their companions, but she preferred Morrigan's free way of thinking and talking, and she found that she could talk to the witch more freely than she could with any of the other women in their camp. Picking up the mirror, she set it in front of Morrigan. The witch gave it a passing glance, before taking her cup from the serving girl and taking a long drink from it.

"And what may I ask, is this?"

"It's a gift Morrigan," Kallian answered, starting to doubt her decision to buy the mirror. "I…thought you might like it?"

Morrigan set down her cup and picked up the gift. All doubts about whether or not she should have bought it disappeared as soon as Morrigan's eyes widened at what was wrapped up. Taking out the mirror, she gently ran her fingers across the designs. "Where did you find this? And why?"

"Like I said Morrigan; it's a gift. I thought that you might like it. So, I got it for you."

Morrigan set it down on the table gently. Her gaze never left it. "You could not know, but I when I was young, I had one just like this for a small time."

"What happened to it?"

Morrigan picked up her glass and started to swirl the contents around. "'T'was the first time I crept to the edge of the Wilds. I stayed in animal form and watched these strange towns' folk from afar. I happened upon a noble woman by carriage adorned with sparkling garments the likes of which I had never seen. I was… dazzled. This to me seemed what wealth and true beauty must be. I snuck up behind her and stole a hand mirror from her carriage."

"I take it then, that your mother was not amused with what you had done."

"She was not. In fact, Flemeth was furious with me. I was a child and had yet to come into my full power. And I had risked discovery for the sake of a pretty bauble. To teach me a lesson, Flemeth took the mirror and smashed it upon the ground right in front of me. I was… heartbroken."

"That seems like and awfully harsh thing to do to a child."

Morrigan took a drink and shook her head. "No. Mother was right. Beauty and wealth are fleeting. Survival has meaning. Power has meaning. Without those lessons from her, I would not be here today."

Taking up the mirror in her hand again, a slight smile appeared on the witch's face. "It is incredible that you found one exactly like it."

"Well," Kallian said nervously, "to tell the truth. The vendor told me you were looking at it, but then walked away. I thought that it must've been something you wanted. So I got it for you."

The surprise on Morrigan's face just continued to grow. "You must want something in return, do you not?"

"No. It's simply a gift Morrigan. From one friend to another."

It might have just been the light, but she could've sworn a blush appeared in her cheeks. "I have…never received a gift before. Not one that did not also come with a price attached to it. But I would be a fool to not accept such a gesture with grace. Your gift is…most thoughtful. Thank you Kallian."

Kallian was thoroughly pleased with herself. "Tell me Morrigan, how did you come to be the daughter of Flemeth?"

"That, is a story that I fear would require more of this." She emphasized by swirling her cup of brandy around. "But, t'would be good to…talk some more to my…friend."

While Aedan was talking to Bhelen, Natia wandered around the halls of the castle trying to find something to do with her time. 'Stupid Bhelen. I'm a Warden now, not some no-name casteless! And he still just throws me out of the room like I'm nothing. Oh how I wish I could introduce that sodding smirk of his to my fist.'

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to see the door that had opened in front of her. A loud smack later, she found herself on the ground holding her head in her hands. "Oh by the Ancestors!" a quiet voice said from behind the door. "I'm so sorry; I didn't know anyone was there."

"Well you sodding better be sorry you lazy…wait. Rica? Is that you?"

The red hair of Natia's sister peaked around the door to see who knew her. Rica's eyebrows went up into her hair line as she saw who it was. "Natia! By the Ancestors! You're alive! How?"

Natia brushed herself off and stood. "Well," she said, "I managed to get outside of the city, and eventually ran into a Grey Warden."

Rica's eyes narrowed. "Wait; are you one of the Wardens who are here in Orzammar right now?"

Natia grinned. "Yep. I be one of the Wardens now. You should've seen when a guard recognized me, and then realized he couldn't do sodding thing. Ha! It was hilarious. And what are you doing here? Is your sponsor here?"

A light blush rose up on Rica's face, but it was replaced with a crestfallen expression just as quickly. "Well," She said nervously wringing her hands. "I…I was visiting my…new sponsor. But, as far as I know he isn't back yet."

'So, her sponsor is someone from the Diamond Quarter, nice. Wait. Did she say new sponsor?' "New sponsor? What happened to your first one then? And who was it?"

"Well, my current sponsor is Bhelen. But, my first sponsor was… Duran."

Upon saying the name Duran, Natia noticed a look in her sister's eyes. It was the same look that Aedan and Kallian got in their eyes whenever they laid eyes on each other. "Wait. Your sponsor was, and is, the son of King Endrin, and possibly the next King of Orzammar? By the Ancestors! How did you manage that? And how did you end up being with Bhelen in the first place?"

A haunted expression passed over her sister's face. "It's…a long story sister."

Natia knew that something was bothering her sister. She could always tell. "Well," she said taking her sister's hand. "Aedan will more than likely be awhile with Bhelen, so how about you tell me about it sister."

To say that Aedan was upset upon leaving his meeting with Bhelen would've been like saying he was just a little grumpy over what Howe had done to his family. He was absolutely livid. First Bhelen makes him into going to the Deep Roads to retrieve some noble who supported Harrowmont and turn him to Bhelen's camp just so the two could talk face to face. And now, even after they went through all that, they had to go and 'secure' his position in the city. And what did that entitle? Oh, nothing more than destroying the most notorious carta in the city, on their home turf no less. The only possible positive to the entire situation was that Natia use to be part of that carta, and she could prove to be the difference in this fight.

As bad as the whole situation was, he figured that his choice in supporting Bhelen was the correct one, but he was starting to have second thoughts. The first thing that drew him to Bhelen was the he was the previous king's son. The second was that he was trying to push Orzammar out into the open – not literally, but figuratively. He wanted the city to be more open to trade with the surface, and perhaps get aid in reclaiming some of the ancient thaigs that had been lost to the darkspawn all those centuries ago. The third aspect that drew him to this man was that it was rumored that he was trying to help the Casteless of the city by granting them more rights. But now, he was starting to doubt that.

As soon as he had entered the throne room with Natia, he could've sworn he heard Bhelen mutter 'bloody casteless' under his breath. But he wasn't entirely sure. Worse still was the way that he'd kept leering at Natia, as if she wasn't worthy to be in his presence. All these signals were at complete odds with the word on the street, and he was having trouble deciding what to believe about the man.

"Aedan, by the Ancestors, what took ya so long eh?"

He'd been so absorbed in his thoughts that he had failed to realize that he had made his way through the castle and was now standing at the entrance. Natia stood leaning against the wall, impatiently tapping her foot on the ground. "Well, did ya hear me? What took ya so bloody long?"

Aedan shook his head and proceeded out of the door with Natia by his side. "Oh, you're going to love this one Natia."

"Let me guess. That bastard Bhelen has us running another errand huh? Bloody rotten nug-humping sod loving bastard."

Aedan looked down curiously at his companion. Sure he was used to her language by now, but he had never heard her use that kind of expletive when describing someone. "What brought that on?"

Natia shook her head and shrugged. "Nothing that a quick knife to the spine won't cure."

The threat and danger was clear in the air now. Looking around he made sure that no guards where within earshot. "Okay Natia, start talking."

Rica sat on her chair in 'their' room, waiting for Lord Bhelen to come back. Just as she was only allowed to call him 'Lord' she was only allowed to sit on this one hard chair while he was not around. She hated this. Her life had been destroyed the day Duran was banished. At first she'd found hope that she had gained the attention of Lord Bhelen, but it wasn't until later that she learned what the price of that attention was.

He beat her and used her for his own pleasure. Her life and body was no longer her own. It was never a question of if he was going to hurt her; it was a question of when. And when, proved to be whenever he felt like it. She tried to leave, she really did. After the first time he raised his hand to her, she ran out of the castle. She didn't even make it down the steps before his guards caught her and brought her back inside.

She then learned what her 'punishment' would be if she ever disobeyed him. He 'lent' her to his guards as a 'reward' for capturing her again. By the time they were done, she was covered not only in their stench, but also with bruises. His only requirement was that her face be left unharmed. After all, he couldn't have his beautiful toy damaged. And that's all she was to him: a toy. Rica was nothing more than an object for Bhelen to play with and use to attract others with.

Hearing heavy footsteps out of the door, she straightened herself, and prepared to meet her Lord. 'Please Natia,' she begged in her mind, 'please, find out what has happened to my true love, and bring him back to me if you can. I don't know how much longer I can live like this.'

Dust Town certainly lived up to its name. A thick layer of dust and ash covered almost every inch of space, and the rundown buildings made even the elven Alienage back in Denerim look like a palace. Kallian stood back with Morrigan, Wolf and Aedan as Natia walked through the town without a care. Every resident apparently knew her or at least her reputation, because they all moved out of her path as she came near them. Even Zev seemed mildly surprised – if you can call a raised eyebrow a sign of surprise – at the kind of effect Natia was having on the locals.

"So Natia," Aedan called out. "Do you know where we're going?"

Natia nodded. "Yup, first thing we gotta do is find a carta member. They each got a little coin thing, looks kind of like a bone. It opens a door that's well hidden. Once we're inside, we kill everyone."

It didn't take long for the carta to take notice of their presence either. While they were passing through a back alley, a dozen dwarves almost appeared out of thin air all around them. There were some that stood in front of them, others on were on their flanks standing in opened windows or small ledges, and a few more behind them. They were completely blocked in. "Well well well, and here I thought it be just a rumor. Be here we are. The bitch Natia is back, and this time, she's got friends. Ha! What a laugh."

Kallian's hands went straight to two of her daggers when the dwarves popped out from their hiding place. Their enemies had definitely chosen the right pace for an ambush. Shale could barely even move, let alone fight in the ally, and neither Aedan nor Morrigan could draw their weapons. The only ones who could fight at all were herself, Zev, Natia, and Wolf. They had effectively cut off half of their numbers.

Natia didn't even seem perturbed. Instead, she seemed angry. "Feran, you sack of sod. Are you tumbling with that bitch Jarvia too?"

"Ah, my dear little whore. You think that you can come back here like you own the place? Ha, you're in serious sod here Natia. And I'm gonna love tearing you apart piece by piece, perhaps we could have a tumble again, eh bitch?"

Kallian could sense the waves of anger rolling off of Natia. She had no idea who this man was, but he clearly had a history with Natia; a bad history. "Hehehehe, hahaha!"

Looking at the dwarf, Kallian thought she had finally lost her mind, and judging by the looks on everyone else's face, so did they. "What in the name of the Ancestors is so funny bitch?" The dwarf Feran yelled, stepping closer. "You're outnumbered, and your two best assets are unable to fight. You are gonna die, here and now ya wench!"

"No Feran. This is where you die."

A quick flick of her wrist, and Natia's small throwing dagger was flying through the air straight towards Feran. The dwarf moved quickly, grabbing one of his men and placing him in the path of the dagger. "Kill them all!" Feran shouted to his men as he threw the dead carta dwarf to the side, "But leave the traitorous bitch for me! I got plans for her."

Being reduced to knives and daggers would've extremely reduced the fighting capability of others, but these dwarves failed to realize something. Morrigan didn't need her staff to be deadly; and Aedan, much to Kallian's surprise, was proving to be almost as good as her in hand to hand combat. Almost, but not quite as good mind you.

Morrigan burned the ones on their flanks, forcing them to retreat back into the houses they came out of. Shale just walked backwards, and pushed past the dwarves until the golem was back out of the alley. Aedan used his armored fist to break the faces of anyone who got too close to him, and Wolf leaped around him, biting and clawing at anyone Aedan missed. Zev stayed close by Natia, keeping everyone away from her and Feran's fight. As for Kallian herself, she stayed close by Aedan's side, catching any dwarves that he or Wolf missed, or those who tried to approach his blind side.

Natia stayed solely focused on Feran, with her daggers and axe disregarded, she fought with him hand to hand. While Feran was good, he was lacking severely when it came to fighting Natia. She effortlessly blocked his attacks one by one, and countered with precise and powerful hits to his underarms, neck, and face.

Within a few harsh minutes all of the attacking dwarves where either lying dead at their feet or running away. Feran was the only one who still stood, which was a relative term. His face was bloodied, and one of his arms was twisted at a sever angle. The look in his eyes though, held neither fear nor pain. Hatred, stronger than any Kallian had seen yet, shone through on his face as he stood of against Natia.

"The Ancestor's forsake you bitch. I will-I will kill you!"

The dwarf charged at her, but Natia dodged to her left; wrapping her right arm around his neck and brought her left hand back around as she stood behind him. "No Feran," she said just loud enough for everyone to hear, "you won't." And with a quick jerk, she broke his neck.

No one spoke after the fight. They all just stared at Natia. Aedan and Zev both had very surprised looks one there faces. "What?" She asked. "Is there something on my face?"

Shaking their heads, everyone started to search through the bodies looking for the bone coin. "Ah, got it!"

Natia stood over the dead body of Feran, in her hand she held a small pale coin that really did look like a small bone fragment. "So where to do we go to now?" Aedan asked as he looked around.

Natia rubbed her forehead for a moment before snapping her fingers. "Ah, now I remember, there should be and entrance to the Carta tunnels near here in Dust Town. We just gotta be careful; there'll be a sod-load of surprises down there, and none of them good."

"Well, lead on Natia. Hopefully this will be the last favor that ungrateful bastard asks of us." Aedan said before moving aside and letting their dwarven companion take the lead.

The fight through the carta's base had been brutal. The dwarven criminals had hired apostate mages and tal-vashoth mercenaries to help them in their fighting. On top of that, the carta must've doubled in size since Natia had left all those months ago. Idiotically enough however, they hadn't moved any of the traps, which allowed Natia to successfully guide them through the maze without getting seriously hurt. Now as they neared their target they encountered one more problem, which showed itself in the form of a person Natia had thought she would never see again.

Leske stood before the door, guarding the entrance to the final room in the carta's hideout. Behind him stood two others, one man and one woman who she remembered working with before. "Leske!" She shouted coming out from the shadows. "What in the name of the Ancestors are you doing here?"

Leske seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. "Natia? By the Stone is that you?"

"Well no sod it's me you idiot! But, what are you doing here?"

Her old friend drew in on himself a little. "Well, I just happen to be one of the top lieutenants in the carta now. And how about you, I thought you left Orzammar? You've come back to help us right? We could really use it right now."

A small part of her felt angry that her friend was still in the carta after what had happened to them, but a larger part of her was sorry for what was about to happen. "I'm sorry Leske," she said waving her hand behind her. "I'm not here to join the carta again."

Behind her everyone came out of the shadows with weapons drawn and ready for use. "I'm here to kill Jarvia."

Leske's eyes grew to the size of plates as he stared at her companions. "You-you're with the Wardens?"

"No," she said shaking her head, "I'm one of the Wardens."

Her friends face turned completely white. "But-but why Natia? Why are you doing this?"

When Aedan first told her about this job, she had the same doubts. But now she had her answer. "Because the carta stole my chance at a real life, which I admit I could've forgiven. But worse, they have ruined my sister's life as well."

Leske's face softened slightly; she knew he'd always had a soft spot for her sister, but it quickly hardened again. "How can you say that Natia? They gave you everything!"

"No," she said shaking her head. "They gave me a knife and a target. That was it. But, even outside of that, I would gladly kill that bitch you call a leader for free, no questions asked. So Leske, you have a choice, you can either get out of the way, or die here and now like all the others before you."

Leske seemed to be considering for a moment before roughly shaking his head. "No, I can't just let you pass Natia."

Natia felt a great sadness well up inside of her. "Then… I'm and sorry for this Leske but you'll ha-"

"Wait, perhaps there is something your friend is not considering."

All eyes turned to Aedan as he stepped up beside her. "Aedan, what are you-"

"Easy Natia," he said sheathing his sword, "I just want to talk for a moment."

"It won't do any good human," Leske said pulling his daggers free. "My mind is made up."

"Perhaps, but consider this. You said that you are one of the top ranking lieutenants within the carta correct?" He waited for the other man to nod before he continued. "Then, I take it that all your superiors are inside that room with Jarvia, correct?" Again he waited for a nod before continuing. "Then consider this: If everyone in that room where to suddenly die, then what would leave a bit of a hole in the carta's leadership, correct?"

"Well, I guess that if the carta's going to continue on then the leadership would pass to…" Leske's sentence trailed off as his face showed that he finally caught Aedan's angle.

"You see, if you let us pass, not only do you get to live, you will also be first in line of the carta's chain of command." Aedan said casually.

Leske looked back at the two behind him before looking back at Aedan. "And what exactly would the price of this be?"

Aedan shrugged. "Oh, not much. Just do your best to stay hidden for a while, perhaps do a few favors for the Wardens on occasion, and maybe not be so ruthless with your fellow dwarves when you've got darkspawn trying to kill all of you. Do all that, and I think we could consider ourselves even."

Leske sheathed his daggers, much to the surprise of the two carta dwarves behind him. "Leske," the man said coming towards him. "What are you doing? You can't be thinking of-"

"If you two leave with me right now, you will both be lieutenants in the new carta."

Both the man and the woman glanced at each other, before nodding and sheathing their weapons. "Okay Warden," Leske said, "we were never here. In fact, we just happened to come back to late to stop you from slaughtering everyone in there."

Leske started to move off into one of the side passages. "Oh, and Natia," he said turning back once again. "It's good to see that you're doing well. May the Ancestors go with you. And I gotta say I'm glad we didn't have to kill each other."

Once the three were out of sight, Natia looked up at Aedan. "It would've been quicker and easier to just kill them."

"Perhaps," Aedan said walking to the stone door. "But it wouldn't have been easier for you Natia. Besides, killing people isn't always the answer. And we both know that the Carta will eventually rebuild itself one way or another, this way we've got someone who can be of use at the top. Now come on, let's get this over with."

Near moments after entering the room, Natia was holding her dagger in her left hand and her axe in her right as she circled Jarvia, the leader of the carta and her longtime rival, waiting for the nug-humper to make her move. Jarvia stutter-stepped, and then ran in on her, swinging with her sword. Natia ducked and used her dagger to hold the sword back; bringing her axe around she aimed for the woman's torso.

Jarvia moved like water, and twisted away with barely a scratch to her armor. "Well," Natia said circling. "You're not actually half bad."

Jarvia snarled at her. "How do you think I got here then? Do you think I'm weak?"

Shaking her head she kept her eye of her longtime rival. "No. I've known for a long time that you got to the top on your back. Tell me; is it true you tumbled with ten carta members at the same time to get in?"

Snarling, Jarvia attacked again, slashing with her sword and using her dagger to defend. Natia was pushing her limits to keep up with the Carta leader. Using her axe she deflected blow after blow of her sword, and using her dagger she tried to get in quick slashes beyond her guard. Behind them, Natia's friends were busy fighting off the lower members of the carta, allowing her and Jarvia to fight uninterrupted.

Natia was a patient fighter; she always had been. She preferred to stay back and defend while letting her opponent to exhaust themselves, or find a way around her enemy unseen. She would hold up until her opponent made a mistake, and then take advantage of it. Soon enough, Jarvia had made her mistake. With a yell she wildly swung her sword, looking to take off her head. But with her overextension, Jarvia left herself no chance to defend with her dagger.

Slicing from below, Natia's blade cut deeply into her rival's underarm, and then cut her legs out from under her with her axe swiping across the back of her knees.

In a flash she had Jarvia on her back, and her knee was planted onto her chest to keep her there. With a wicked smile, she placed her dagger against Jarvia's throat. "This is where you die, bitch." And with no trace of mercy, Natia moved her blade quickly across her enemy's neck, cutting deep and allowing her life to spill onto the floor.

Standing, she saw that the rest of her companions were standing around watching her. The members of the carta lay scattered around, either dead or dying. Aedan was cleaning off his two swords with a cloth that more than likely had been cut from a dead carta member's clothes. Kallian was checking the nearby dead for any coin, with Wolf by her side in case anyone was faking death. Morrigan was simply standing near the exit, looking extremely bored. Shale was doing what the golem always did when there was no fighting to be had: nothing. She was so caught up in her own little world that she didn't even notice Zev was standing behind her until his voice called out. "Well my little one, are we finished here?"

Releasing the grip on her sheathed dagger, caused by Zev startling her, she faced her elven lover. "Yeah," she said looking once more at what use to be her life. "Yeah I am. The carta's dead… for now at least. There'll be nothing for me to do here anymore." And with that she headed out towards the rear entrance, not even looking to see if the others were following her.

Aedan and his companions now stood in front of the entrance to the Deep Roads again. They'd been given another Maker forsaken errand that required them to go running into the Deep Roads. This time however, they were tasked with finding some runaway Paragon in order to break the stalemate for Orzammar's king. The unfortunate thing was that no one knew where the Paragon had gone off too. And that had been two years ago. She might be a corpse now for all that they knew. One thing was absolutely certain though; if Bhelen asked them for anything else when they got back, he was going to shove at least one of this swords down that man's irritating throat. Slowly.

Behind him, everyone waited for Aedan's signal to move out. They were all loaded with weapons, water, and whatever food they could carry without weighing them down. Only the Maker knew how long they were going to be in the Deep Roads this time. And to his knowledge, water springs were few and far between in those tunnels, and decent food was almost impossible to find. Unless of course, you resorted to eating whatever crawled around down there.

"Alright," He said getting everyone's attention. "We're going to try and find the Paragon Branka in order to break the deadlock for the King of Orzammar. If you don't want to go, I understand, and will not force you to do so."

"We're all with you Aedan." Kallian declared while coming up to stand by his side. "Let's go and get this done."

One by one, the others either nodded or voice their consent. "Alright, you all know what we're going to face down there so-"

"Hold it Warden."

Weapons were drawn by everyone, and blades were pointed at the source of the voice. The red-haired drunken dwarf that he had seen arguing with several city guards stood behind them with his hands raised. He had his armor on, and an axe that seemed almost too big for him was strapped onto his back. "Whoa there," he pleaded staring at all the weapons pointed at him. "Easy. I'm just wondering; are ya really going into the Deep Roads to look for Branka?"

Putting his weapon away Aedan walked towards the dwarf. "That's right, what's it to you?"

The dwarf gave him a toothy grin. "Well, I'm comin with ya."

One of Aedan's eyebrows rose at the comment. "And tell me, why would I want to take a drunken dwarf who can't even walk straight down into the Deep Roads?"

The dwarf rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I aint had a drink in at least an hour, so I'm as sober as I can be when I'm awake. And for second, I'm Branka's husband. And I know what she was lookin' for when she left for the Deep Roads. You want to find her quickly? Well then you're gonna need me to help you."

He didn't want to admit it, but perhaps this dwarf could actually be of use. "Alright dwarf, you can come. But the first time you step out of line, or do something stupid, or even if you take a sip of ale down there, I will bleed you dry, and then leave your corpse for the darkspawn to pick over. Is that understood?"

The dwarf punched his left hand with his right. "Alright, now you're talking Warden! By the way, name's Oghren. Don't want you calling me 'dwarf' all the time."

Aedan introduced himself, and then pointed at each of his companions one at a time. "I am Warden Commander Aedan. This is Kallian and Natia; Wardens like myself. This here is Morrigan, Zevran, Shale, and the mabari is Wolf."

Oghren snickered "Well well, killing darkspawn with a bunch of beautiful ladies, he-he. This is gonna be fun."

"Touch any one of them dwarf, and the threat I gave you will seem like a blessing compared to what they will do to you. Clear?"

If anything this seemed to excite the dwarf even more. "Ooh. Dangerous beautiful women. How could this possibly get any better?"

Aedan was seriously starting to doubt his decision to let the dwarf come with them.

'Wait, what do I mean "starting to"?'