A note: Co-written with Gaspode5. Jaden, Fenzev, Shakespira and Kaedwen -'Le Love' :D


The End of The Road

With a grim look on his face Riordan dropped their packs on the ground. He scanned the surroundings as he wiped sweat out of his eyes. Cliffs rose steep and jagged behind them and in front there were only grassy undulating moorland with the occasional bush and withered tree. Right before them it dipped into a shallow valley. "The Spawn will get to us before the Wardens. This is the best place to hold out that I can see." Alyse tried to catch her breath and felt her stomach clench sickeningly. "Now get up that tree and find a good place where you can still get a clear shot." Riordan leant his back against the trunk and cupped his hands to help her up.

"You'll get killed down here." she protested

He gave her a wry smile. "I'm not that easy to finish off. Besides I'm counting on you."

"I'm not that good." She felt wretched and her eyes burned. After all they had been through...

Regarding her impatiently he barked, "Enough, you have work to do!" Again he held out his hands, this time she let herself be hoisted into the air. When she looked down at him he looked back almost earnestly. "The others will come; we just have to hold out for a little while. Duncan is with them."

"I thought you said you couldn't tell them apart."

"Only Duncan." He closed his eyes briefly and after a moment she saw some of the tension leave him.

"What, what is it?" she couldn't keep from asking, her voice shrill with fear.

A faint smile flickered over his face and was gone. "I'm giving him a headache." His head whipped around. "They're here! How many arrows do you have?"

Alyse could see dark shapes moving through the dry grass. The Spawn made no attempt at hiding but why would they, there were so many of them and she and Riordan were exhausted. They were so close to the lowlands, so close and yet, it seemed, not close enough. Bitterly she wondered if these were the same Spawn they had sensed on and off throughout this desperate journey. "Um...twelve."

"Make them count. The first Spawn I want down is the closest one with a sword, I'll need it."

"Right." Squinting against the sun Alyse settled herself with her back against the tree trunk. Her hands were slick with sweat and her heart hammered almost painfully in her chest. She notched an arrow whilst trying to calm her breathing.

"If I fall, get the Blight to the top. With luck you should be able to hold them off long enough for Duncan to reach you."

"Unless they are ranged." She croaked. There was a roaring in her ears, almost loud enough to drown out the snarls and grunts from the enemy.

There was a short harsh laugh from below. "Unless they are ranged. Happy hunting Sister!"

Alyse could barely whisper the reply. "You as well Brother."

She heard the distinct twang of a crossbow and cursed under her breath trying to ignore it, instead aiming at a Bugeye with a sword. A quarrel narrowly missed Riordan who ran forward, dodging and weaving. Her target roared but the sound ended in a gurgle as her arrow pierced its neck.

Eleven...

It tumbled forwards and Riordan simply dove snatching the sword out of its hand, rolled and ended up on his feet. Another quarrel clipped his shoulder as he jammed his dagger in the leg of a Roach. Frantically Alyse searched for the archers and spotted a Roach crouching in the grass, raising its crossbow. Rushing too much to catch it before it fired, she missed.

Ten...

She sobbed a curse and slammed another arrow on the bow forcing herself to aim carefully. The Roach fired just as she let the arrow fly.

Nine...

She thought she heard Riordan grunt but even as she notched another arrow she caught a glimpse of him slashing the throat of a Bugeye almost in passing before sliding the sword under the guard of another. Spotting one of the archers, Alyse turned and aimed, gritting her teeth against the sense of urgency.

Eight...

She wanted to shout in frustration as her next arrow skimmed past a Bugeye with an axe.

Seven...

Its head whipped around towards where she was sitting and it howled as it began to run in the direction of the tree. An arrow took it down.

Six...

Draw, aim, don't look for him, concentrate, do your thing. Riordan was suddenly spinning into her field of vision, moving so fast he was little more than a blur. The sun glinted off the dull metal of his sword as it cut across the neck of another Roach. Keeping the momentum he swung out at the next monster with his dagger, making it leap back. Alyse fired twice in quick succession, taking down two trying to flank him.

Five, four...

She tried desperately to ignore the creatures closing in on the tree and aimed at a Bugeye running at Riordan who seemed to sense its approach. He kicked a Roach hard on the knee before turning on this new attacker. Alyse fired. It was close, too close and she saw Riordan's head jerk as her arrow skimmed past him and slammed into the Spawn.

Three...

There was a shout somewhere further away and Alyse almost sobbed, more enemies were the last thing they needed. Blinking away tears of fear and frustration she fired and missed then fired again. Another went down almost at Riordan's feet.

Two, one...

Riordan twisted and spun, never standing still. He seemed to fight as much with his body as with his weapons. But there were so many enemies, too many... Alyse raised her bow taking careful aim at a large Bugeye with a two handed sword. As the last of her arrows landed quivering in its eye, she let out a breath and took in the entire scene for the first time.

The grass in front of the tree was trampled and stained with blood; the stench of it clogged the back of her throat. There seemed to be bodies everywhere. Now she would climb down and join Riordan, order or not, screw them anyway! She felt strangely invigorated by her decision. Riordan ran through another Spawn, kicked it off the sword and turned, only to find himself alone. The Spawn were retreating, no, they were drawn to a new source of enemies. A score of horsemen were pouring in to the valley.

After taking a few breaths trying to catch up with the notion that she might make it out alive, Alyse shakily slid down from her perch. Riordan staggered over to lean against the tree trunk before sinking down with his back against the bark, breathing heavily. Staying on her feet Alyse got a better view of the Warden's charge. It was beautiful. The riders swept the enemies out of the way like a wave pushing aside flotsam. More Spawn appeared behind them and joined their ilk in the battle but the Wardens seemed unstoppable. She glanced towards her companion to share her elation. He was covered in gore and clutching at his right side as blood flowed thick and fast through his fingers. There was a smile on his face as he looked past her.

"Maker, I'm sorry!" Alyse sank to her knees and pressed her hands against his to stop the flow.
Annoyed he swatted them away. "Blight, don't! I swear you're even worse than Duncan. Just leave it! There's bound to be a healer somewhere down there."

"If you're really sure..." She regarded her sticky red hands doubtfully. "Sorry about the ear by the way."

As if regretting his earlier harshness, Riordan slipped an arm behind her back and gave her a squeeze. "Don't be, that was a great shot."

Giddy with relief she leaned her head against his shoulder. "We made it, I never thought we would."

He smiled. "For a while there, me neither. You did well."

"Really? You're not just saying that to be nice?"

This time he laughed out loud, the sound petered out in a grunt of pain. "You don't know me very well, do you? You did great and if I ever feel the urge to reduce my number of ears, I'll let you watch my back. He turned back to follow the battle. "Ah, he brought Amaury!" She must have looked completely blank. "The butterflies." Riordan waved at the colourful clouds that descended on several Spawn. "Duncan hates them but they are lethal. He's a good healer too. Now relax."

It was a perfect moment. As the tension left Alyse, exhaustion caught up making her almost drowsy. She turned to smile at Riordan but her smile faltered at the sight of him greeting the only one he'd been following with his eyes since the horses crested the hill. "Took your bloody time," he said with a grin.

"Didn't want to spoil your fun." A dark face was split in an answering grin. Duncan slid gracefully off his horse. Both beast and man were spattered with Spawn blood. He squatted next to them waving impatiently at another man approaching. With a twinge of abandonment Alyce felt Riordan's arm move from her back to hug Duncan hard but briefly.

The second man, a mage judging by the staff he carried, sat down beside them, flexing his fingers. "Good to see you again Riordan, Vittorio said you were dead for sure." His hands began to pulsate with green light.

"Not half as glad as I am to see you. Joy should cross fortune telling from his competence list and add accident prone." Some of the strain left Riordan's face and was replaced by fatigue as the mage's hands touched his side and the glow spread across his midriff. Duncan helped him to settle back.

After a while the mage straightened. "There! I've fixed the leaks, I think."

"You think?" Duncan growled, making the man's eyes dart nervously to him.

"Ah, why don't I double-check?"

Riordan shook his head. "You worry too much! Toss us some food instead will you." Duncan rose to rummage in his saddlebags before handing Alyse a sack of rations that made her mouth water. She found some smoked mutton and tried not to wolf it down too quickly in front of the others. Riordan grabbed a piece of dark travelling bread.

With a look of concern Duncan turned his attention on her. "I'm sorry, I should have checked. Are you hurt?"

"No, no I'm fine. He kept me safe" Riordan looked everything except well but he managed a wry grin.

"You heard that? I kept the lady safe."

Duncan smiled back. "That will be the talk of the mess for weeks."

"Don't I bloody know it! Probably have to bounce some virgins at the Chantry to re-establish my reputation." Alyse felt an unexpected stab of jealousy.

The mage rose. "Done! Fire, right?"

Duncan nodded. "Yeah, but none of your fancy stuff."

"Aww, sometimes you're such a kill-joy." Turning to Riordan the mage grumbled, "Between you and me, take him down a notch. He's been like a demon with two pokers up his arse since you were reported missing."

There was a pained, "Amaury!" from Duncan.

Pouting Amaury retreated while Duncan turned his attention back to Riordan. "We WILL discuss this later you little shit. Runt is also anxious to get his hands on you. I thought he would wreck the stables when I told him he would slow us down." He looked around. "I don't like this valley; it's perfect for an ambush. After some rest, can you manage to double on my horse?

Riordan nodded taking another bite of bread. "We've been sleeping on the ground for a fortnight; your back will seem like a feather-bed." Seeing the familiarity between the two men, Alyse felt another twinge of jealousy. She hadn't missed the look in Riordan's eyes when they met Duncan's. It had been one of perfect trust and something else she was not ready to recognise. She concentrated on her food until a shower of purple stars shot to the sky and Duncan to his feet roaring,

"AMAURY! For the love of the Maker! He turned back to Riordan and crouched, shaking his head. "One day I will kill him."

"No you won't but do me a favour and slap him silly." With a gesture she could only call tender, Duncan pushed the other man's hair behind his ear. It seemed an odd thing for men like these.

"You look terrible." He said softly.

He got a crooked smile in return. "Thank you. You don't look too good yourself." Alyse had the distinct feeling she was missing half of the conversation. "Get your men in line, we'll be ready." As Duncan stood to leave, Alyse knew she had to ask him. She'd tried so hard not to think about it all through the journey but it couldn't be put off any longer.

"Please..." She desperately needed to know but dreaded the truth all the same. "My friends...who came back?" The vague look of impatience on Duncan's face softened to one of sympathy and he crouched before her.

"Who were your friends?" he asked gently. Ridiculously his kindness made it even harder to control her fear.

"Sancha our leader and Clarice, but there were others..." She whispered. Duncan nodded with a smile but his dark eyes were sad when he said,

"Four returned and reported your disappearance. Sancha was one and I believe Clarice was with them too." Alyse wanted to laugh with relief but something, some tension she had not been aware of, just snapped then and all she got was a shuddering breath. Duncan's smile grew warmer and he reached out, gently brushing an escaped tear off her cheek. "You will soon meet them again, I promise." With that he stood and strode off.

Wiping her face she watched Duncan head for the other Wardens. "He's quite ...imposing, isn't he?

Riordan took another half-hearted bite from his bread and smiled. "That's one way of putting it. We..." he shook his head, "never mind. Get some rest; you're safe now he's here." She could tell he was struggling to stay awake but was reluctant to take his eyes of the scene.

Floating in renewed relief Alyse said, "I think we did pretty well."

"Shows how much you know. Get some rest while you can." Riordan added in a gentler tone, "Everything's fine."

Alyse waited until she was sure Riordan was asleep before plucking the bread out of his hand. She ate only a small part before stowing away the rest. You never knew and she was fair in sharing. Afterwards she curled up at Riordan's side. Just let him try fobbing her off on someone else before they were back behind walls. For nearly two weeks the sound of his heartbeats, his breathing, had been the sound of life and security. There might be a dozen Wardens down in that valley, but she trusted only one to keep her safe.