Theron couldn't help himself, he was having fun. All of the skeletons were felled with one good swipe, he laughed as he swiped his blade through yet another brittle spine. "I think you're having a bit too much fun!" Alistair called to him, as he bashed a skeleton into oblivion.

Theron's laugh continued, "This is amazing!" He called back, they were easily making their way towards the castle, without much help from the militia. "Why can't Darkspawn die so easily?"

Alistair joined him in that laugh, "Probably because they've got a bit too much flesh in the way!" It wasn't long before to two of them were inside the gates and fighting their way up the steps to the main hall.

"These guys are wimps!" Theron said, ecstatic, he hadn't felt so good in a long time. There was something very satisfying about destroying an enemy in one blow. He and

Alistair stood at the top of the stairs, grinning and breathing heavily. Alistair wasn't quite sure why he was in such a good mood, his childhood home was in disarray, but he found Theron's smile contagious, and couldn't help but smile right along with the rogue. Theron looked up at the doors, "Should we go inside?" he asked

Alistair thought for a moment, "You honestly think the front door is going to be unlocked?"

Theron gave him a sly grin, and pulled out a slender lock pick, "Do they have to be?" Alistair grinned and shook his head, while Theron knelt down to get a better angle on the lock,

"And just where does a Dalish elf learn to pick a lock exactly?" the warrior asked

Theron smirked "You'd be surprised about how many ruins we come across." There was suddenly a deafening scream that howled from across the courtyard, both Theron and Alistair jerked around to look what would cause such a screech. There was a armored figure that the darkness seemed to cling to standing in the middle of the court, it could've been human if not for the glowing red eyes that glowered from under its helmet.

"Holy shit." Theron muttered

"Maker, we are screwed." Alistair said

It began to take angry steps towards the two men, and they looked at each other "How do we kill that!?" Alistair asked

"I was going to ask you!" Theron replied It began to climb the stairs, and both of them snapped back to stare at it.

"Okay, okay, don't panic." Alistair said, panic lining his words "We just need to look for a weakness-" He was just talking to himself though, seeming how Theron was charging down the steps at the beast, calling back to the warrior that it wasn't going to kill itself.

The rogue jumped a few steps above it and raised his sword above his head, ready to stab it through the opening in its face guard. But his vision began to blur and his air supply was sudden being cut off as he realized that this thing had caught him mid jump by his throat. It tossed him aside like an unwanted toy and Theron skidded to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. "Okay…!" he called to Alistair with a groan, "That didn't work." He pushed himself back up to his feet, his head not agreeing with him as it throbbed its argument. As he looked back up to Alistair a familiar fear made its home in his stomach, as he watched the undead warrior stomp its way up to Alistair. He got a sudden flash back of Tamlen standing at the mirror, and a sense of powerlessness crept onto him. He was frozen in his memory, he held his breath in pure fear.

Alistair looked passed the surprisingly distracting beast that lumber towards him and onto the fearful expression that was plastered on Theron's face. "Uh, Theron?" Alistair called "I could use your help here!"

Theron snapped back into reality, grabbing his sword that had been tossed aside, he threw it at the armored beast. I clinked off of its armor with ease, but it did grant to the elf with its attention. "Hey, ugly!" Theron yelled "You Ser, can suck my dick!" It turned to face the elf, its red eyes looking as comforting as an angry cobra. It began to walk towards him, "Yeah, that's right!" He pointed to his crotch "It's all right here! Come and get some!"

Alistair stabbed his sword through a chink in its armor from behind, it let out a terrible screech as shadows began to rise up and consume it, sucking it into oblivion. Theron at Alistair stared at the ground where it had disappeared, half expecting it to rise again.

They looked at each other, "Lovely plan there, friend." Alistair said

Theron grinned "I do my best."

"Your best almost got you killed," Alistair replied

"That's half the fun!" Theron said, as he trotted back up the stairs, and back to the door.

"You realize you've got a gash on your head, right?" Alistair asked

Theron reached up and ran a finger above his eyebrow. It split open when that demon thing had thrown him. "I do now." He replied. "Is it as pretty as it feels?" Theron held the hair out of his face while Alistair examined it.

"It caught your tattoo, but otherwise it doesn't look too bad." Alistair pulled out a bandage and cloth, and after wiping it clean he put the bandage on.

"Thank you." Theron said, as he squatted back in front of the door. Alistair leaned against the doorway, watching the elf pick the lock. If he was having trouble with it, he didn't show it. His expression was easy and his one arm didn't seem to be hindering him, Alistair noticed as silently watched.

Of course to Theron this was one of the most frustrating thing he had ever done. He knew that if he had use of his other arm he would've already had this damn door open. But he kept that hidden, he didn't want to be babied because of his dead arm. Theron stole a glance at Alistair, maybe that was part of the reason the warrior didn't tell him that he was royalty, he didn't want to be babied over it. If what Theron heard about human kings and all their body guards, he could easily understand why the warrior wanted to keep it a secret. He didn't want to be protected and kept out of the fights because of his blood, just like Theron with his arm. It occurred to Theron, though the cause was different, they both reacted the same way. They were more alike than he originally thought.

The door clicked, and Theron grinned as he pushed the door open. "Aha! Not bad for a crippled man, eh!?"

Alistair chuckled, "I couldn't have done better myself!" He thought for moment "Say... Do you think we should run back down to the village first? In case they need help?"

Theron thought, "I doubt they'll need any help, they have the majority of the militia, and the rest of our party is down there with them."

"I suppose you're right," Alistair agreed, "Besides, we need to see if Eamon is still alive." He reasoned, mostly with himself.

Theron pushed the door open, and peeked inside. Alistair readied his weapon as the elf crept through the doorway, unsure about to expect. They both stepped into the estate, and Theron's heart was beating a bit faster than he would've hoped for. He stole a glance at the warrior who was looking just as nervous as the elf. "So..." Theron whispered "if you were a child with no way to defend yourself and your house was under attack. Where would you hide?"

Alistair looked at him funny, "What?" He whispered back "If you were a child-" "No, no, I got that much, I mean... why do you ask?" Alistair asked

Theron shrugged, "Just curious. Personally, I'd hid under the bed." He replied, honestly, his claustrophobia mixed with the fear of the unknown wasn't doing anything good to his heart and he was just trying to take his mind off of it.

Alistair thought for a moment, "I would... I'd probably hid in the closet."

Theron grinned, "You WOULD be in the closet!" He exclaimed as he began to stifle his laughter.

"Hey!" Alistair whispered forcefully, trying to hide his own laughter. They crept around a corner, as the elf's blood ran cold. Theron stopped dead in his tracks. He knew that feeling.

A demon.

Fan-fucking-tastic.