XXVI. SAMMY

The cage was filthy. The straw was damp and smelled like piss and shit. It was high enough that he could stand up in it and he wasn't tied up. Sammy supposed he should be grateful for that, but nobody would tell him anything. They only told him to shut his trap every time he did try to speak. So he did as they said, for now.

The moment someone comes into the cage… And then he remembered he had dropped his dagger. If only he would have hidden another one in his boot. But he only had one anyway.

An old blanket covered the cage, so he couldn't see around him. But he heard voices drifting from upwards every now and again. Dwarves and Anto mostly, and sometimes a woman. Most scary of all were the grunts and scratches coming from the cage right next to his own. Sometimes the cage rattled violently, like the occupant was trying very hard to escape. It was some sort of creature. The angry noises it made kept Sammy from sleeping.

So did the dull throb in the back of his head, where the treacherous dwarves had hit him. He felt it now; it was bleeding slightly when he first woke up. Now it had scabbed over. He promised to pay back in kind the dwarves who did this to him as soon as he got free. Most especially Anto.

If I ever get free…

He thought of Melisende. Where was she? Was she still alive? Why did the dwarves want her? If they did anything to her he would see their blood run, he promised them that silently.

Sammy had longed for adventure for so long that it almost hurt. Now that it had actually come, he wasn't so sure he was ready. He hated to admit it, but he was even a little scared. The darkspawn attack had been different, he hadn't been alone. Now he was. Not to mention his captors were people. For all his promises of revenge, he wasn't sure he could actually do it. If he had his bow, if he had a sword, he might feel a little better. As it was, he had neither.

Maybe I won't have to do anything. Maybe the Wardens will come in the nick of time, like in all the old tales of heroes.

The banging sound of a door opening and closing startled Sammy from his thoughts.

"Watch out for the pit," somebody said. "Don't want our exalted prisoner to fall into it."

Melisende? Sammy thought and hoped. Maybe he should try and shove the blanket off of his cage so that he could see. But he didn't want to anger his captors. For the moment, he should just listen to their conversation. They hadn't said anything in a while. Maybe this was important.

"Bring her here." It was Anto. Sammy heard the rattling of chains and a grunt of pain.

"What have I ever done to you?" her voice was raspy, like she was fighting off pain, but it was unmistakably Melisende.

"It was more Tristan Amell's doing, but since he is no longer here, you are the next best thing. You were after all right by his side." Anto again.

"I still don't understand…"

"You put Bhelen on the throne!" Anto barked. "He is destroying Orzammar. He lets the casteless – the casteless – into the military and promises them rights, privileges. He lets foreigners – surfacers – into the city. And then they take away my business. Harrowmont never would have stood for these kinds of useless reforms. Harrowmont would have stayed true to tradition."

A moment of silence, the only sound Anto's angry echo, and then from Melisende: "And you? Who are you?"

"I am Dagmar." It was the woman's voice Sammy had heard earlier. "Before Bhelen, I was mistress to Renvil Harrowmont. I had the perfect life. More than a casteless could ask for. I was proud too, that none of my kind could ever rise so high as me. Except for that bitch Rica of course. When Bhelen took the throne, he killed every Harrowmont in Orzammar. Renvil was forced to flee – without me. Now I am nothing. Worse off than I was before."

"None of this is my fault…" Melisende said, her voice low and harsh.

"But it is. You should not have interfered in the Assembly." Dagmar replied sharply.

"It was necessary for the Blight…" Melisende said.

"Not necessary for Bhelen, a kin slayer, to take the throne." Dagmar hissed.

"It wasn't my choice. I don't understand what you want with me. Revenge?" Melisende again. She sounds hopeless, Sammy thought with concern.

"Revenge, yes." Anto's gruff voice this time.

"So have your way with me. Torture me, kill me, whatever… just let the boy go. He is innocent."

Anto's laugh drifted loudly into Sammy's cage. He wished he was a mage, so he could blow the dwarf into pieces and rescue Melisende. She shouldn't have told them to torture her, to kill her, for his sake.

"You missed the Provings, Lady Melisende. How about we have one right here? You – set the boy free, as the lady wishes."

Sammy tensed. Something in Anto's tone was deceitful and smug. He backed instinctively to the back of the cage as he heard heavy footsteps drawing nearer to him. Somebody slid the blanket off the cage and the brighter light seared his eyes for a second. The cage door opened and a dwarf reached in, grabbing him roughly by the arm, and pulled him out.

Sammy opened his eyes. He was in a pit. Finally, he could see what kind of creature had been caged next to him – it was a bronto. An angry, vicious looking bronto. Another dwarf stood on top of the bronto's cage, his hands on the top of the door, ready to pull it up, ready to let out the bronto.

"You can't do that!" he heard Melisende shout. He looked up to where she was. She was in shackles, a black eye decorating her face, and standing painfully. "Please, don't do this. He's just a boy!"

"Gag her!" Anto commanded. "We don't want her shouting advice to the boy, do we?"

Advice? What for? And then it dawned on Sammy. He was to have his own Proving – against the bronto. His heart beat faster suddenly and he clutched at the dwarf holding him, pleading with his eyes not to leave him, but the dwarf shoved him into the ground and crawled out of the pit. The creak of the bronto's cage scratched his ears.

"Anto!" the woman's sharp voice stopped the door from opening any further. "The Warden is right, he is just a child." Dagmar paused, and then a sly smile crept onto her face. "Give him a sword at least."

Anto tossed a sword into the pit, at the other end from where Sammy crouched in the dirt. "I hope you learned something from the Provings, boy."

The bronto's cage door was pulled up halfway when the creature grew impatient and charged through it, ripping it from its hinges with its horns. The dwarf on its cage was knocked backwards before he dragged himself quickly out of the pit.

Sammy forced himself to meet the bronto's eyes. He trembled as the bronto snorted, dug his front hooves into the ground and readied himself to charge. You can do this, Sammy repeated in his head. He glanced at the sword lying at the far end. Get the sword.

The bronto charged, his beastly head, two horns protruding up from its nose, lowered to butt Sammy from where he sat. He stood up and froze as the ground beneath rumbled with the heavy footsteps of the charging beast. The bronto came closer and closer, quicker than he thought possible. Soon, if Sammy didn't move, he'd be trampled. At the last moment, Sammy found his courage and threw himself out of the way of the rampaging bronto. He rolled to the side, standing up, his back against the pit's wall.

Maybe I can climb out…

He didn't have time to formulate a plan; the bronto turned around, roared, and charged in his direction again. Sammy took off running; the bronto rammed into the wall, causing the whole pit to vibrate. Sammy nearly fell. It's like an earthquake, he thought.

He looked for the sword Anto had tossed down. Spotting it, closer to him now, he ran for it, grabbing a hold of it before dodging the bronto again. With the sword in his hand, he wasn't afraid anymore, much to his surprise.

The bronto roared again, angry and impatient now. Sammy recoiled slightly at the sound, loud and grating to his ears. The bronto tossed his head left and right, dug his left hoof in the ground, kicked back, and then charged again for Sammy.

Sammy held his breath. Maker help me in what I am about to do. The bronto barreled toward him, his horns poised to pierce right through Sammy, his hooves kicking up dust behind him. Sammy gripped his sword tightly, crouched like a frog, and when the bronto was at double arm's length, Sammy pushed his legs up with all his strength – and he was suddenly in the air, flying for just a brief second. He twisted his body around and landed with a thud on the ground. He was behind the bronto now.

Sammy wasted no time in dashing onto the bronto's back, a balancing act he was surprised he was able to manage, until the bronto realized what he was up to and started bucking and thrashing about. Sammy's free hand reached for one of a series of smaller horns on the beast's back, holding on for dear life. The bronto continued in its efforts to throw him off. Sammy momentarily heard hoots from the dwarves above, but he resolved to ignore them. He needed to concentrate on staying atop the beast.

Sammy jabbed at the bronto's back with his sword. The beast's hide was too tough to pierce and Sammy was not strong enough to force it through with one hand. He let go of the horn to hold onto the sword with two hands, intending to stab the bronto with all of his strength, but it was too difficult to keep his balance and he was thrown off. He hit the ground with a hard thud. For a moment, the breath was sucked out of him and he heard the muffled scream of Melisende as the bronto turned in his direction.

As Sammy caught his breath, the bronto reared on its hind legs. Sammy glimpsed the soft underbelly of the creature.

The underbelly, he thought. That is what I must aim for. That… or the throat.

Sammy lugged himself to a standing position. He found himself backing into the wall as the bronto fell back onto four legs, causing the ground to tremble underneath him yet again. Sammy waited, waited for the bronto to run at him again. He would not run from it this time.

His breath came hard, his heart hammered in his chest, and his left leg shook fiercely as his mind called for him to run away from the bronto charging toward him. Sammy raised his sword defiantly, and poised the blade toward the throat of the bronto.

This is it…

"Aaaaaaah!" Sammy roared a war cry as the bronto neared him. He closed his eyes for a second, expecting to be crushed to death. Instead, he heard the crunching sound of sword piercing hide and felt the splatter of warm blood onto his face.

Sammy opened his eyes to see the bronto's mouth opened wide inches from his own face. The bronto snorted. Sammy twisted the sword. The bronto groaned as its innards gurgled and squished at the action. The bronto emitted one last huff before falling silent.

Sammy slackened his grip on the sword hilt and slumped against the wall. The bronto's front horn rested only inches away from his face.

I did it. I killed it.

He held his hands up in disbelief. They were shaking horribly. He wiped the blood from his eyes and still his hands shook. His legs went out from under him and he sat against the wall. He couldn't hear clearly, the roar of the bronto still rang through his ears. From the corner of his eye, he saw a dwarf climbing down into the pit.

"The boy has proven himself useful," he heard Dagmar say from what sounded like a faraway place. "Lock him back up for now."

Sammy felt a hand grip his shoulder and pull him up and away from the bronto carcass. He looked up to see the dwarf that had climbed into the pit. The dwarf dragged him toward his old cage. Sammy glanced toward the sword stuck in the dead bronto's throat.

"No," he whispered.

"Come on," the dwarf pulled him hard toward the cage.

I could have climbed out of the cage with the sword…

The dwarf shoved him hard into the cage, shut the door with a heavy thud, and threw the blanket back over it, darkening his prison slightly. Sammy crawled to the back and threw himself onto the filthy straw. He felt like he could finally breathe. Sammy was almost glad to be back in his cage, though he regretted not climbing out of the pit with the sword and stabbing them all to death.

"I will kill you all!" he shouted. And they laughed.

They won't laugh for long, I promise that much.