Chapter 29 - Sigrun

Alyx figured she was in for a difficult trip, she just hadn't known precisely how difficult it was going to be.

They'd been on the road for two days now and she'd begun to feel like she was playing babysitter instead of Commander. Oghren had been sulking ever since her ultimatum (even though she was actively ignoring the fact he was sneaking sips of whatever brew he had stashed within his traveling cloak and he knew it) and Velanna was…well, being herself. Nate and Anders were obviously ignoring each other, speaking only when absolutely necessary. Even then their remarks to each other were always curt and biting, providing Oghren and Velanna more than enough ammo to entertain themselves with in the long hours on the road. She was under no illusions as to why the two men weren't on speaking terms, but that didn't make it any less irritating. Worse, all of them were walking on eggshells around her. How was she to act as if nothing had changed when they were treating her as if she might spontaneously combust?

Alyx sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. She supposed she only had herself to blame. After an entire day of dealing with the constant bickering she'd lost her temper and snarled at all of them like a feral animal. Since then they'd travel in strained silence. She thought she'd be grateful for the quiet, but instead she found she had far too much time for her mind to wander. She should be trying to piece together the enigma the Architect and his talking darkspawn presented, not worrying about whether Nate and Anders' sudden falling out would affect their performance in battle, or whether her confused emotions showed as clearly on her face as they did in her thoughts. She needed a distraction, anything to give her an outlet for her pent up frustrations. Good thing they were headed into darkspawn territory.

The landscape drastically changed as they drew closer to their destination. The ground grew craggy, the road thinning into a long winding path that led them deep into the Knotwood Hills. Alyx had never been in this part of the Arling before and was surprised to find how inhospitable the land was in comparison to the lush, verdant countryside she'd become so familiar with. If she hadn't known any better she would've thought that they were in the middle of a drought. Foliage was scarce here, sticking out from between the uneven ground in dry, brittle clumps. The carcasses of dead, gnarled trees dotted the hillsides like silent sentinels across the barren landscape, the only sign that life ever prevailed in this place.

"I wonder if it is the darkspawn taint that has affected this place so, or if it has always been this way," Alyx mused out loud.

"The Knotwood Hills have ever been a wasteland, though no one quite knows why," Nate replied conversationally. "I've never been this far into the territory myself. Father never would have permitted it," he continued, scowling when Anders snorted in derision.

"I can see why," Alyx said as she shot Anders a warning glance. "This is dangerous countryside. Did you see the size of the sinkholes we passed?"

Nate nodded sagely.

"There are stories of people being swallowed whole by these hills. I often wondered if they were just tall tales, but now I see that there is some merit to them."

Alyx was surprised at first at how much he seemed to know of the area, but then she was reminded that this, all of this, was supposed to have been his inheritance, so of course he would know more than the rest of them. Sudden guilt washed over her as she shot a sideways glance at him. She wondered if he was angry at her for that. He didn't seem to be, but then again he wasn't exactly easy to read. Nate was one of the most level-headed men she'd ever met. What emotions he'd shown thus far had been unexpected and lightning fast, taking her completely off guard in the process.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm? No, why do you ask?"

"You're staring," he replied softly, gentle amusement dancing in his silverite eyes.

"What? Oh…I was just reminded of the fact that this should all be yours…Amaranthine that is," she replied, flushing in embarrassment. Surprise flashed through his eyes and something else…disappointment perhaps?

"If my father had his way it would have been Tomas's, not mine," he replied coolly.

"But surly after—"

"No. What's done is done. Better that the Wardens have control of the arling than my unscrupulous brother," he replied in a tone that said that the topic was not up for discussion.

Alyx was saddened by Nate's shuttered demeanor. Over the past couple of months he'd begun to open up to her in a way that he never had when they were children, but now he was purposefully shutting her out. She supposed that, too, was her own doing. She noticed that Anders had been acting much of the same way of late, and she knew better than to believe it to be a coincidence. His easy, flirtatious manner had gone by the wayside to be replaced by awkward, stilted conversations and long, hopeful glances that made her uneasy.

A screech and a flutter of wings distracted her from her thoughts as a falcon dived from the sky, nearly taking Anders' head off before arching back into the sky. The mage had ducked just in time and scowled angrily at the bird's departing form before he turned to glare at Alyx. She arched an eyebrow in question, daring him to blame the incident on her somehow.

"Did you see that? Bloody bird just tried to kill me!" he seethed.

"Or it was just trying to get our attention. Look," she replied, pointing behind him. "I believe that is our chasm."

Just over the next pass she could just make out the beginnings of a large crevice, though from here it was difficult to discern its dimensions. As they drew closer Alyx recognized the remains of ancient dwarven architecture from her time in Orzammar during the blight. Anders whistled long and low when they were finally close enough to see just how significant the fissure was.

"And you say the human in town believed no one knew of this place? How does one miss a hole this large?" Velanna exclaimed in disgust.

"Obviously someone knew about it or they wouldn't have attempted to build over it," Nate replied as he pointed out the wooden bridge that led across the chasm.

Alyx stared down into the crumbled remains of what must have been one of the many networks of underground passages the dwarves had built centuries ago to connect the many thaigs spread across the expanse of the ancient dwarven kingdom. It was still baffling to think how far that kingdom had stretched at one time. Now, thanks to the darkspawn, it was but a quarter of its original size and strength. Her heart ached at the thought of the innocent lives that had been lost when Orzammar was forced to seal its doors against the darkspawn horde during the first blight. She'd seen more than enough evidence of the destruction left behind, but she could only fathom what it truly had been like. What would they find down there she wondered?

"It's so strange to see dwarven architecture exposed to the light of day," she murmured.

"Yer tellin' me," Oghren humphed beside her. "Looks like this section of the Deep Roads fell in. Must've been built too close to the surface."

Alyx nodded and signaled for them to follow her.

"We're going down into that?" Anders asked disbelievingly. When the others just stared he snorted. "Figures. Ooh, it's an unstable crumbling chasm! Let's go play in it!"

Alyx rolled her eyes but chose to ignore the mage's attempt at humor as they walked across the bridge and down a pair of rickety wooden stairs that led into the ruin. Alyx stiffened as a familiar dark vibration passed through her body. Already? She thought, startled that they would find darkspawn this swiftly. They hadn't even descended into the deep roads yet!

"Commander?" Anders asked from close behind her.

"Five, maybe more," she replied as she drew her weapons in preparation.

The others followed suit as they cautiously moved into the ruins. Alyx picked up the pace when she began to hear the sounds of a struggle taking place somewhere ahead of them. When they turned the corner she could see the pint-sized figure of a female dwarf in splint-mail running up the ramp, a small contingent of darkspawn hot on her heels. A tall gruesome-looking hurlock tripped the dwarf and grabbed her by the leg, dragging her back towards the darkened entrance leading back into the roads. The woman flailed about, desperately trying to free herself from the darkspawn's grasp, but her arms were simply not long enough to find purchase.

Suddenly Alyx heard a fwmp followed by the hurlock's howl of pain as an arrow lodged deep within its eye. She turned to see Nate already nocking another arrow, cold calculation in his steely eyes. By the time she turned back the dwarf had regained her footing and was furiously fighting the injured hurlock with a dirk and a wicked looking axe. The rest of the darkspawn had noted their presence and were swiftly moving up the ramp, hissing and growling in anger as they charged the wardens. Between the five of them they made short work of the group, four hurlocks and an alpha in total.

When all was quiet again Alyx approached the loan dwarf, suspicion advising her to be weary. The woman sheathed her weapons and pulled off the horned helmet she was wearing to wipe the sweat from her brow with one arm. Alyx noted short, mouse brown hair pulled into stubby tails tucked behind her ears, and large blue eyes heavy with fatigue. Her face was heavily tattooed, signifying her as castless. Why is a castless dwarf roaming so far from Orzammar, and alone? Alyx wondered.

"Thanks," the dwarf breathed. "That was…close. For a moment there I thought I was really about to join the Legion of the Dead."

Ah, so that explains it, Alyx thought, relaxing her guard at the woman's words.

"Are you alright?" she asked her. "Do you need help?"

"No, no. I'm fine. I just need to catch my breath," the dwarf replied. "Anyway, I can't chat. I should probably go back…as foolish as that sounds. See if there's anything I can do."

"Back where?"

"The old fortress of Kal'Hirol. There's something going on there. I think the darkspawn are breeding an army. The Legion went to investigate, but Kal'Hirol proved too much for us. It was a massacre, and now…I'm the only one left."

Grief flashed in the woman's wide blue eyes and Alyx's heart went out to her. The Legion were perhaps the only other group in all of Fereldan, perhaps even in all of Thedas, who understood the darkspawn threat as well as the Grey Wardens. Alyx had fought alongside the Legion in the Deep Roads during the blight and had been impressed with their extensive knowledge and prowess in battle. But if they truly had all perished as the woman implied…

"How did you get away?" Alyx asked.

"When I saw my friends all cut down, I…I got scared and fled. The darkspawn have changed; they're smart now. They destroyed the Legion. I saw them taking some of the women and I wasn't about to stick around for that."

"Good decision," Alyx murmured, shuttering at the thought of what happened to women who were captured by the darkspawn. The broodmother they'd fought during the blight had given her nightmares for months afterwards. The dwarf nodded in agreement at her words.

"There are many things worse than death, and birthing darkspawn day and night is probably the worst. But if the darkspawn are breeding an army…I can't stay here. I have to do something!" she cried, desperation edging her voice.

"We're Grey Wardens. We'll go to Kal'Hirol," Alyx replied, the others nodding in agreement behind her.

"Huh. That's convenient. The ancestors must have had a hand in this. I'll show you the way. Safety in numbers, yes?" the dwarf said hopefully.

From the determined look in the other woman's eyes Alyx could see that she would return to Kal'Hirol one way or another. Better that she travel with them rather than get herself killed trying to stop the darkspawn on her own.

"Come with us then," Alyx replied.

"Excellent!" the dwarf crowed. "With your help destroying this nest is no longer impossible, merely…improbable!"

"Oh. An optimist then," Anders muttered dryly.

Alyx shot the mage a warning look before she stepped up and offered her hand to the dwarf.

"I'm Warden-Commander Alyxandria, though most just call me Falcon," she said as she shook the woman's hand and quickly introduced the rest of the wardens.

"Well met," the dwarf said cheerfully. "I am Sigrun. Shall we? Time is of the essence."

"Wait…Anders?" Alyx said as she beckoned the mage forward.

Anders nodded and crossed to Sigrun.

"Hold out your arm," he told her.

"What? Why?" Sigrun asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"Anders is a healer. If you're to come with us into the roads it is best for you to do so fully functional," Alyx replied.

Sigrun eyed her and then Anders speculatively, but then gingerly held out her left arm, wincing in pain as she did so. Anders ran his hands gently over the wounded arm, his hands briefly glowing blue as he worked. Sigrun's eyes widened in surprise and then wonder as the healing magic knitted her wound back together.

"Whoa," she breathed as she clenched and unclenched her fist, testing the muscles to be sure that she was really healed. "Do it again!" she crowed in excitement.

"Uh, I can't…not unless you want me to reinjure it and heal it back up again," Anders said in confusion.

"Oh. Never mind then," she chirped happily. "Come now! Let's not waste any more time. Kal'Hirol awaits and darkspawn, when left to their own devices, get up to all kinds of nonsense."