I do not own Kuroinu ~Kedakaki Seijo wa Hakudaku ni Somaru~ nor do I own Dragon Age. All rights respectively go to Liquid, the studio who created Kuroinu, and Bioware, the gaming company who made Dragon Age.

Sethran, Olga, and Chloe made their way near the First Fortress of Feoh, riding on the back of the Grey Warden's pet dragon Urzara. The journey was not too long although it would take a couple days and nights for them to make it to Feoh. But landing right in the middle of the Fortress City, or even be by its walls, was not an option since the sight of a large dragon could spell a misunderstanding. And misunderstandings are the last thing Sethran wants.

Vult's army was approaching Feoh and it will only be a matter of time until he begins his siege. Sethran had no doubt that each Fortress City of the Alliance was built to withstand such large scale and direct assaults as its magical defenses and impregnable walls attest to the fact that they have never been captured in the first place. But with a mole inside Feoh, Alicia could be unaware that she may be sabotaged from within. Thus if the attack was to be repelled, the mole must be found first.

Once Urzara lands in the lands of Feoh, the trio get off yet see that they still have quite a few ways to get to the city. With Urzara only allowed to get them as close as possible without being detected, it meant that they would have to travel the rest of the way on foot. Horses or other mounts were unavailable. And besides, they will have to make their way through Feoh Forest to reach the city, where the forest was right on its doorstep. Urzara soon takes off into the skies, circling in the air yet far out of sight from archers or other watchers from the guard towers.

After making their way through the rugged terrain, they've finally reached Alicia's fortress of Feoh. The imposing outer wall and its moat stand before them in all its glory. And beyond the first defensive wall, Sethran could make out a second surrounding the castle at the city's center. That castle was the residence of where Alicia lives and reigns from. With good defensive positions and strong solid walls, any attack by the Kuroinu should lead to high casualties amongst the enemy. But that was even more true of the Black Fort.

But just because something seems invincible does not mean it actually is. No fortress, no matter how well built, is indestructible. Even if the walls get replaced with newer and stronger ones, they are still made of brick and stone, which can easily be destroyed by heavy siege weaponry.

Sethran soon turns to his two Dark Elf companions. "No sign of the enemy. Looks like we made it in time. You two okay?"

But the Grey Warden can tell that they are clearly tired, and he could not blame them. Even though the flight to Feoh via the back of a High Dragon was quick, they had to make the rest of the journey on foot, which proved to be a bit strenuous for the Dark Queen. But it was nothing she could not handle.

"Yes, we are perfectly fine…" Olga said.

Chloe suggested to her mistress," M'lady, please take a rest. You haven't been this far from the Black Fort in a long time and this journey hasn't been particularly kind to you."

"I'll be alright, Chloe," Olga reassured. "We may have come far already but we still haven't achieved our goal yet."

"I'm surprised you're able to keep up this much, Chloe," Sethran said.

"Well one of my roles as my Queen's retainer is spy master. My duties in that capacity have taken me away from our Black Fort more regularly," Chloe explained. "An excess of physical stamina would be a natural result of that."

"Makes sense. I knew of a few spies once back in Ferelden who could go for days on end walking from one town to another."

Chloe turns sharply towards Sethran, her eyes scanning and trying to interpret what expression is behind his helmet. Although she could not quite make clear of what it was.

"Is that it?" She asks. "I just told you I've been spying on your people for years and that's all you have to say?"

"Chloe, I get it," Sethran addressed calmly. "We're at war, and spying on the enemy is a natural thing for one faction to do. But right now, you're not spying on the Alliance. You're one of us."

Chloe's red eyes widen in surprise. It's clear she had been expecting her Grey Warden lover to lash out at her. "W-Well, that's good… for you… but don't think that means I've changed my opinion of you!"

Sethran smirks back, "I like it when you're cute and embarrassed."

"Shut up!" She responds bashfully.

Olga however chuckles lightly. "I'm sure Chloe is as grateful as I am for your understanding in this matter, Sethran. Once again, you've prove yourself exceptional from any other human I have ever met."

Chloe was surprised. "M'lady…?"

"Never mind, Chloe…" Olga gets back to the task at hand. "But in any event, I believe we were discussing our next move? I think we should return to that rather than focusing on the past."

Sethran nods as he looks at the Fortress City of Feoh. As he assess, he knew that bringing in Olga into one of the Seven Fortresses was a bad idea. The general populace is unaware that she is aligned with Celestine and either believe her to be dead or held prisoner. The only way to warn Alicia of the impending invasion was to go in alone to explain everything before having the Dark Elves enter through the front gates.

"Taking you two into Feoh is too great a risk," Sethran said as he turns to his companions. "I'll go in alone and speak to Alicia. If I can get an audience with her and convince her of the upcoming invasion, we may have time to prepare."

Olga thinks before saying, "Hmm… not a bad idea, actually."

But Chloe was not convinced. "Hang on a minute! How do we know you won't simply come back with a troop of armed soldiers to arrest us?!"

"I got you and Olga out of the Black Fort, did I not? And you have a non-aggression pact with Celestine in that neither of you are to be harmed. And you are under my care and custody."

Chloe then had to admit that he was right. They've already come so far in this agreement with the Alliance and having suspicion and mistrust was not going to get them anywhere. "Trusting a human… This is probably the hardest thing you could ask of me."

Olga shakes her head though. "I'm afraid we have no other choice, Chloe. Whether we enter the city alongside Sethran or not, we are still depending on him to explain Vult's betrayal and keep the truce. Speaking very honestly, I see little chance we won't simply be thrown into Feoh's dungeons without Sethran vouching for us."

Chloe releases a resigned sigh, realizing her Queen is right. She is about to speak again when she's startled by a loud noise. The sound of the drawbridge lowering was unusual, but Sethran could guess he was seen from one of the guard towers. Either way, there's likely a group of Alicia's knights on their way here and they might see the Dark Elves before he's prepared them.

"They're coming," Sethran said. "You two best retreat back to the edge of the forest."

"Agreed, Sethran," Olga concurred. "Chloe and I shall retreat behind the tree line for now."

"R-Retreat, M'lady?" asked Chloe.

"Yes, Chloe. That way Sethran can meet with Lady Arcturus and we will be able to see how he handles it."

Sethran looks over to his pet mabari and asks, "Fenris. Can you stay behind and look after Olga and Chloe?"

*BARK*

Fenris barks happily, vowing to protect the Dark Elves as he walks over to their side. Olga turns to Sethran and offers a soft smile.

"Of course, if your conduct during the journey here is any indication, we should have nothing to fear."

To prove her generous point, she gives a kiss to the Sethran's helmet, where his mouth would be. If he didn't have it on, he'd kiss her back right now.

"You should go," Sethran said. "They'll be here soon."

"Indeed. Chloe, let's go."

"…Yes, M'lady." Chloe hesitates for just a moment before following after her Queen, with Fenris by her side.

With both Dark Elves safely hidden away, Sethran would only have to wait for the guards to find him. Looks like he won't have to wait long as a patrol comes out and takes the High Commander inside.

After being led into the castle and having an audience with Alicia, Sethran steps into her office after being escorted inside. But to his surprise, he finds that Prim and Alicia seem to have been expecting him. But he quickly notices the grim look on their faces, and the worst part is that Alicia seems to eb trembling in rage as she reads something from a scroll.

She turns to the High Commander, rage filling her eyes. "Sir Sethran… So you decided to show up at the gates of my fortress. This is either the bravest or most foolish thing you've ever done."

But Sethran was confused. "Alicia? What do you-?"

"Sethran… I thought you were really one of a kind the moment I met you." Her angry expression lessens somewhat as he notices hints of sadness and disappointment overtaking her hard features. "I thought that you would be different. Lady Celestine herself had put her trust in you. The Alliance put its trust in you. I… TRUSTED YOU! But how… how the bloody hell… WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THIS?!"

The inexplicably furious Alicia hurls the scroll she had been reading at his face. He catches it and reads it, seeing that this was a message from Vult, proclaiming his intention to wage war on the Seven Shield Alliance, which was no surprise given of his previous message.

But what surprises Sethran is what follows shortly after that proclamation. It is written that Sethran had joined his cause and has been named as his right hand man. In an entire mocking paragraph, Vult describes how the Hero of Halem was sick of being held under the control of ungrateful women and is now a major leader in Vult's new Cuntry.

Sethran mutters to himself quietly, "Vult… This is your idea of breaking Alicia's morale? A cowardly tactic at best."

"How could you, Sethran?!" Alicia screamingly asked. "How could you betray us and reveal you were a spy?! What kind of nonsense is that?!"

Prim tries to reassure her cousin, "Alicia, please calm down! I'm sure Sir Sethran has an explanation for this!"

"Prim is right," Sethran said. "How could I have ever betrayed you or the Alliance if Vult's previous message back at Ken declared his intentions to have me killed for betraying him in the first place?"

Sethran's denial, as well as the force put behind it along with logical choice of words, stalls Alicia's anger for a moment. Apparently, his passion is convincing her that he was honest from the get-go. While it was clear she wants to believe him, the evidence to the contrary is what was holding her back from doing so.

"So… you're saying you have nothing whatsoever to do with this treason…?" She asked.

"If I were to betray you, I would have already stayed back at the Black Fort and ally with Vult, marching alongside his armies and sending all the captive women to be raped upon by he and his cohorts," Sethran said. "And I'd rather die before I let anything like that happen."

But just as Sethran was further explaining the truth, the old man standing off to the side speaks up. He wore a red beret and was adorned in noble clothing, with a green jacker over his shoulders and a red tie that held his white shirt underneath.

"Princess Alicia, if I may say so, that is what anyone would say under these circumstances," The elderly man said. "We really should conduct a very thorough investigation before we come to any conclusions. To our knowledge, this young man was still aligned with the Kuroinu when he was last heard from. Therefore, we cannot be sure if he's telling the truth until we get to the bottom of this."

Sethran however was losing patience. "Oh, shut up, you old asshole! We don't have time to investigate me when we have greater concerns at the moment!"

The old man scoffs at Sethran. "I suggest watching your foul mouth language, ruffian. For your information, I am Prime Minister Beasley of the First Fortress. I am also Lady Alicia's counselor. I have served this fortress faithfully for over twenty years. And I must advise you to respect your superiors, especially my lady Alicia… or I'll make sure you learn that lesson the hard way."

"And I am the High Commander of the Eostian Army, ranked on the same level as the Princess Knights and Celestine's faithful servant. I've been a Grey Warden like in your legends for years. Compared to what I have faced, you are not worth my respect."

Something tells Sethran that this guy is not going to be helpful at all improving his innocence if he keeps trying to provoke him like that. But regardless of the Prime Minister, he has more important things to speak about as he turns his attention back to Alicia.

"Alicia, listen to me! You need to prepare your forces. Vult is preparing an invasion right now. And he is already heading his way to Feoh!"

"What?" asked a shocked Alicia with wide eyes.

"Princess Alicia, there's no need for you to worry about the fortress," Beasley intervened. "I took some time to survey the defenses before coming here. There was no sign of soldiers from either the Legion or the Kuroinu approaching us when I was doing my inspection, so it's my understanding that there is danger at the moment."

Alicia nods in understanding, to the disdain of both Prim and Sethran. "Very well, Minister Beasley. If you're sure…"

"Oh, I am, Your Highness! You know the security of this fortress is my responsibility."

"Then how the hell do you have a mole inside your fortress?" asked Sethran loudly. This caught the attention of Alicia and Beasley, whom the latter looked a bit shocked.

"What are you talking about, Sethran?" asked Alicia.

"Back at Ken, after you left, we caught a Kuroinu spy. He told us during our interrogation of him that Vult was planning an assault on Feoh thanks to a mole inside the Fortress City. You're going to be sabotaged from within and Vult will win."

Alicia was stunned, as was the Prime Minister who looked a bit shifty, his arms and legs shaking a bit. Sethran caught this and suspected that he knew something yet didn't tell Alicia. Prim also caught of Beasley's fidgetiness, yet held her tongue as she wanted to hear more of Sethran's professing of his innocence.

Slowly, Alicia's face begins to show uncertainty. It seems she doesn't know wat to believe. "Honestly, it's too early for me to make a final decision about this. There are just too many uncertainties. Sethran, I am not yet convinced of your guilt or innocence, so I will see to it that you receive a fair trial. Until then, you will be held in one of the rooms in this castle."

"Y-Your Highness, if I may—" Beasley was soon cut off.

"Prime Minister, I appreciate your concern, but this is my decision to make. I promise you I know what I am doing."

Beasley backs down obediently. "Understood…"

Sethran was feeling frustrated and hopeless. "Alicia, we don't have time for this nonsense! An invasion of the Kuroinu is right on your doorstep and you're just going to do nothing!? What kind of knight are you who cannot realize we are at war!?"

*BOOM*

A tremendous bang was heard in the distance.

"What in blazes was that?!" asked Alicia.

Suddenly, there's a shout from the hallway outside. "Lady Alicia! We are under attack! There are aberrants coming through the Southern Gate! And many human mercenaries are with them too!"

"An attack?! Now?! Damn it!"

"I told you!" Sethran said.

Alicia seems to have forgotten Sethran however as she moves to address Prim and the Prime Minister.

"Prim, go to my room and stay there! I'll go deal with this! Whatever you do, do not leave my room until I come back! Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes, Onee-sama!"

"Prime Minister Beasley, come with me! I need you to help organize the emergency supply routes!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Alicia turns her attention back to Sethran. "Sethran, we'll continue this another time. I'll go deal with this invasion, but first in the meantime, I must insist that you stay in this room. And I'll leave a few guards outside the door to make sure of it. So don't try anything… Come, Prime Minister."

Sethran could only watch as Alicia dashes from the war room, followed closely by Beasley. Since he was not allowed to leave the room, it would only complicate the situation more. With Olga and Chloe outside by the forest, he has to find a way to get to them without being spotted.

"Sir Sethran!" Prim called out. "This way1 Quickly!"

Prim run towards an open window, beckoning Sethran to follow her. "Sir Sethran, I know you haven't betrayed us! You would never have come to us like this if you had! I just know it's a lie! I just need some time to convince Alicia! But in the meantime you should leave here! I don't want to see you locked up! If you go out this window and run along the rooftops, you can reach the western section of the outer wall! You'll be able to get out of the fortress from there! Please go!"

Sethran hesitates as this plan sounded crazy but this was the only option for him. He turns to prim and says, "Thank you, Prim. Be careful and try to stay hidden!"

With that, Sethran takes a long dive out the window and into the water below. Even with such heavy armor on, he was strong enough to swim through and make it to land. Prim probably hadn't been thinking that he would jump from the wall and into the moat, but it was the only way to get down without being spotted.

Still, he knew he doesn't have much time. Standing on top of the wall gave him an excellent view of what was happening. That explosion earlier seems to have been some kind of bomb detonated at the fortress' main gate. Smoke and debris from afar rises into the air fast. Even worse though were hundreds of traitorous mercenaries and Legion monsters charging through the hole.

No doubt that the invaders are none other than the Kuroinu forces. Sethran hopes his warning has not come too late.

"Sethran!" Olga cries as she, Chloe, and Fenris rally to him. They must have seen his jump into the moat from their hiding spot.

"Just what the hell was that?! What were you doing in there?!" asked Chloe.

"It sounded like there was an explosion a few moments ago…" Olga deduced.

Sethran sums up in a nutshell. "Kuroinu forces have breached the main gate with some kind of bomb. They're fighting inside the Fortress City as we speak. I spoke to Alicia to warn her but she received a letter from Vult declaring that I was his spy meant to sabotage her."

Olga shakes her head. "We should have seen this coming. We need to get in there right now."

"M'lady, what are you…?" asked a shocked Chloe.

"If the Alliance is defeated, then I will have no chance of reclaiming my throne," Olga responded. "I have lost my army along with most of my magical power. Therefore, if I cannot borrow the Alliance's power, I will never be able to wrest what is rightfully mine away from Vult again! We must make certain that the Kuroinu's attack here fails. And that can only be especially true for the High Commander."

Olga turns her attention over to Sethran. "The only way to prove to your Princess Knights that you haven't betrayed them is for you to join this battle on their side."

"No argument there, Olga," Sethran nods. "I know where the main gate is. Let's get over there quickly."

The trio and the mabari quickly head on over to the main gate, where most of the fighting was taking place.

Feoh was in utter chaos. Vult's forces, the Kuroinu, have flooded the city. This is no different than what happened at Halem, only this time the severity was far worse.

"Vult's Kuroinu forces have moved so quickly in such a short amount of time," Olga said. "It's somewhat impressive."

"By contrast, the Alliance's forces are completely disorganized," Chloe said. "but then again, this was a cowardly sneak attack."

"Indeed… We'd best head inside and assist as best we can. With any luck, Alicia's Royal Knights may be able to push this rabble back."

"Then let's stop twiddling our thumbs and show these aberrants who their master really is!"

But Olga stops for a moment and examines the damage to the front gate. While explosions were something she was familiar with, something about this one seemed to be troubling her.

"Olga, what's the matter?" asked Sethran.

"I think your Princess has put her trust in the wrong people," She said. "We must find her quickly, before Vult's troops do!"

As the Grey Warden, his mabari, and his two Dark Elf allies move in, a group of orcs spotted them and roared a battle cry before charging in. Fenris charges on first and bites the neck of one orc, tearing its throat out while also spitting out the disgusting flesh. For a warhound, he knows how to fight against his enemies, whoever they are.

Olga uses her magic to call down bolts of lightning onto a couple of orcs from above. Without so much of a chant, the orcs were quickly fried to a crisp before they even got to her. But even dead bodies could be deceitful as Olga conjures up blades above the corpses and has them impale the bodies. Thankfully, the two were dead and she soon tuns those blades on a group of imps flying towards her, cutting down each one of them at high speeds like they were fired from ballistae.

Chloe runs to a wall before jumping off of it, stylishly doing a flip before cutting the head off of one orc. Another tried to crush her with its club, but she stabbed him in the gut and spills his guts over the floor. The last orc lunges at her but she skillfully dodges and slices up the back before stabbing it in the head.

Sethran meanwhile cuts down each and every orc that comes to him down to size. Since they mostly wore no armor, it was almost too easy. And each time the orcs try to take a swing at him with their clubs, they were always blocked by his Heartwood Shield. With plenty of experience fighting the orcs at Halem and at the Black Fort, predicting their attack moves was like predicting a Genlock.

The group hurries on over to the center of the city, cutting down whatever stood in their path be it Legion monsters or Kuroinu. If they can get to Alicia, they may be able to prevent her from surrendering the city.

As soon as Sethran, Olga, and Chloe enter the castle plaza, they look to see that it is crawling with the Legion. Not wanting to take them all on just yet, the three quickly duck behind the crates and barrels. But as soon as they take to cover, they carefully peer out to catch the sight of a harrowing scene.

"Eheheh! Such a nice line-up we have here!" The imp lustfully looked.

By the lineup, the imp meant that he saw a group of nuns tied up to the posts, stripped naked save for their headpiece. All the nuns of Feoh's local church have been captured by the Legion and now it seemed like they will be used for lustful purposes. Already fear encroached on their faces, awaiting the gruesome fate of being raped by these animals.

"Please Goddess, no…" One of them whimpered.

Another voice from afar yelled, "COWARDS!"

An angry, almost crazed shout echoed down from the ramparts. There was no question as it came from Alicia Arcturus, looking down from above at the courtyard where the nuns were held captive.

"You despicable fiends!" She cried. "This is unforgivable!"

Sethran, watching from a hiding spot, realized his intuition and fears were proven true. This entire set up must have been for her, for the Legion to rape the nuns in front of her and taunt her about it. What better way than to break her spirit than use her own people as a bargaining chip as a means to surrender her city? It was a most horrendous tactic indeed.

One of the imps laughs, "Kehehehe! We're all so eager to get started! We'll turn these pious sisters into sluts who can't live without our cocks!"

Alicia's anger was further heightened by the taunt. "You bastards… How dare you…"

Sethran grits his teeth at Alicia, muttering to himself, "Alicia, don't give in. They're trying to break your spirit."

The imp that spoke before looks up to Alicia. "Hey, you up there! You're the Princess of this Fortress, aren't 'cha? Well, it looks like you get the best seat possible for our little show!"

Alicia continues trading words with the Imp but Sethran already knew what was going on. And he only had a short time to decide what to do. Charging in obviously was not an option as even with the two Dark Elves at hand, they are still outnumbered. They were going to need to find a way to keep the element of surprise on their side.

"Olga? Chloe? Got any ideas of how to save those nuns?" asked Sethran as he turns to his companions.

"Arcturus certainly has a tough call on her hands," Olga said. "But as things stand, those women will be violated no matter what she does."

"Yes, and I can see how they'll try to frame it to her as well…" Chloe concurred before anger rises up in her voice without the enemy hearing it. "'These girls are suffering because of you. But we might just stop if you surrender and take their place.' They always try to make it seem like you're the one to blame…!"

Olga reaches over and places a gentle hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Stay strong, Chloe. Those days are far behind you."

Chloe sighs sadly and nods. "Yes Milady…"

Olga soon turns back to the matter at hand. "However, with regards to the topic at hand, I don't believe there is anything Arcturus can do to save those women from their fate. But we might just be able to. Hear me out…"

Sethran and Chloe listen in as Olga whispers to them of the plan without getting attention drawn to them. But to sum up what the plan was exactly, Olga will draw the imps out to her when she is in the open. She will kill them instantly, and once the orcs move away from the nuns, that is when Chloe, Fenris, and Sethran strike.

Chloe however seems disturbed by Olga's proposed attack plan. "But Milady, that's…!"

"Don't worry, Chloe. As long as you and Sethran step in at the proper moment I shouldn't be in any real danger."

"Yes Milady but…!"

Olga's gaze becomes rather stern, as if trying to get Chloe to obey and follow her. Chloe's concerns were warranted but truth be told this was the only plan that will work.

"Don't argue with me, Chloe. This isn't the time for that. Please do as I ask."

Chloe bows her head and nods reluctantly.

"Very good. Quickly now! They're about to start!"

MEANWHILE…

The imps begin to close in on the helpless nuns.

"Stop this abomination!" Alicia demanded. "Stop it at once!"

The imp leader laughs, "Hahaha! Stupid Princess! Why would anyone listen to you in this situation?!"

A new voice soon broke out. "That's true, why would you?"

The imp was confused and surprised. "What the…?"

"After all, your kind only answers to those who hold power over your lives, right?" asked the voice.

"Who is…?" asked Alicia, wondering who it was.

"But then, that does leave you in a difficult position…" The voice steps out into the open in the middle of courtyard, revealing it to be Olga Discordia herself to the shock of all. "…when it comes to me, doesn't it?"

The imp leader was shocked. "Y-Y-You! How are you here?!"

Olga merely smirks at the cringing imp and responds, "Oh, it doesn't really matter. After all…" She charges up lightning magic in her hand. "There's no point in explaining anything to a dead creature."

"Shit! Boys, get her…!"

The imps soon leave the captive nuns and desperately race toward Olga, surrounding her. Unfortunately, that was Olga's plan as she releases her lightning, zapping them all to a crisp. While the Imp Leader survives, he was badly wounded.

"Argh! You bitch!" He cried as he turns to the orcs shielded behind the nuns. "What are you fat bastards waiting for?! Get over here!"

But the orcs were equally shocked as well to see their once glorious queen before them, alive and here.

"Our old queen…"

"Bah! She just another female now!"

"Get her! First to catch, first to breed!"

The imps leave the captive nuns over to the posts as they soon quickly surround Olga, ready to overwhelm her, and intent to rape her.

"And now, 'Your Majesty'…!" The Imp leader said, but little did he know that Olga did not come alone.

"Yaa!" Chloe strikes at one orc, killing him, its head decapitated in one strike.

"Bah! The Queen's retainer! I forgot about you!" The Imp leader said.

Chloe prepares herself. "You scum will never lay a hand on Lady Olga!"

"I think you creatures would be wise to surrender now," Olga said. "You haven't the strength to defeat all three of us."

The Imp Leader was shocked. "What, three…?!"

Sethran approaches the much smaller mob of aberrants from behind, just as Olga had suggested. Without the nuns to use as hostages, the orcs will have no choice but to fight the Grey Warden and the Dark Elves fairly. Quite an ingenious strategy.

"Oh? The Grey Warden is here?" asked the Imp Leader. "Whatever! Just kill 'em all!"

Chloe soon jumps and stylishly does a flip behind one orc before cutting his head off. Another tries to crush her with its club, but she stabs it in the gut before cutting across and making its guts spill out. The last orc lunges at her with its cleaver, but she skillfully dodges and slices him in the back before she goes low and takes out his balls, making them fall down.

The orc falls to his knees and clutches the new gap between his legs in pain as Chloe finishes by stabbing it through the neck. Sethran meanwhile bashes one orc with a shield and slices its head off before countering another and cutting him down to size.

The Imp Leader could not believe that a single dark elf, the Queen's retainer no less, and the Grey Warden managed to cut down the orcs. But in its distraction, Olga fires a lightning spell at the Imp Leader, taking its right arm and its right wing off. It screams and shrieks in pain as it falls to the ground, thrashing around as Sethran approaches.

He then takes a step onto the Imp Leader's chest, trapping him underneath his metallic foot.

"How disappointing," Sethran said. "In the end, you are nothing."

"You fucker!" The imp growled in anger, trying to scratch its claws against Sethran's greaves but there was hardly a scratch. "Vult will kill you!"

"Let him try," Sethran coldly responded as he brings his foot upwards towards the Imp Leader's head and applies more pressure. The Imp screams in pain as he feels his head crushed before it fully caves in, crushing his skull and brain as his head explodes into a mash.

Sethran breathes a sigh of relief as the fight ends with him and his Dark Elven compatriots victorious.

"Well done, both of you," Olga congratulates.

"Thank you, M'lady!" Chloe acknowledges. Sethran merely nods, a bit too tired to respond.

After that one exchange of congratulations, both Dark Elves quickly turn their attention back to the still-restrained nuns.

"Now then, Chloe, why don't you go ahead and get those girls down from there?" suggested Olga.

"Yes, M'lady, I was just thinking the same thing," Chleo answered as she goes to help free the captives. As she does so, Sethran decides to address another issue.

Lady Alicia witnessed that entire episode from her vantage point atop the wall. She seems to be in complete shock at having seen the Dark Queen save several of her citizens form the Legion. There was probably no need for Sethran to explain to her that Olga is no longer the enemy she once knew, now that she has seen for herself the proof of her willingness to help the Alliance. Still, he intended to get her out of her stupor.

"Alicia!" cried Sethran. "Could I ask you to come down here?"

Alicia appeared confused and very unsure of what she should do, but she assents to his request. "Ye-Yes, Sir Sethran! Just a moment!"

Alicia begins to make her way down from the ramparts and into the courtyard. Sethran then looks behind to see all the nuns freed thanks to Chloe.

"Thank you so much, Sethran," One nun praised and thanked with tears in her eyes.

"I thought we were done for." Another exclaimed, also with tears.

"Thank you for saving us."

Sethran nods and suggests, "Head to the castle and stay safe. Find whatever civilians you can and bring them in. They'll be much safer there."

"Right," One of the nuns said. "Let's go sisters. This area is still dangerous."

By the time the nuns leave, Alicia arrives a short while later, with a squadron of her knights right behind her. There's a palpable tension in the air as Alicia comes face to face with Olga and Chloe for the first time since they met back at Ken. She also looks to see Sethran standing with them, which for some reason kind of concerns her a little.

Old grudges seem to die hard.

An awkward moment passes before Alicia lets out a long sigh. "I must say… this isn't how I imagined things would turn out to be. I find myself at a loss as to how to proceed. But… I suppose I should start with this." With a bashful face, she clears her throat and says. "T-Thank you very much… for your assistance."

Another awkward moment passes but soon a soft laugh is heard to the surprise of all by Olga.

"M'lady…?" asked Chloe.

"Oh, it's nothing much. I was just thinking that it could be said it was the Alliance that aided us first. We were simply returning the favor."

"M'lady, that's…" Chloe said with a bashful look.

"We aided you? When…?" asked Alicia before she realized. "Oh!" She turns her head over to the Grey Warden, with his mabari warhound at his side. "Sir Sethran! Vult's letter about you… it was a lie, wasn't it?"

Sethran nods, "Yes. All of it a lie."

"He's the only traitor, isn't he?! He's the one behind this attack! That stinking cutthroat! I'll…!" But Alicia stops herself there, realizing there are other things to discuss. "But there's one thing I don't understand. Once you learned that Vult was a traitor, why did you take these two with you?"

"Asides from the fact that they would be left behind to get raped, Lady Celestine requested me to bring Olga back alive. And I couldn't have escaped the Black Fort without her help."

Olga and Chloe glanced over at him, smiling appreciatively while Alicia nods in understanding. "I see. Yes, as a knight there's no way you could allow such a thing to happen. The code of chivalry would not permit it. In that case, I will vow to follow your lead. Once we've won this battle, of course."

Alicia soon turns back to the Dark Elves. "But then… why did you two help us? I know it was because you two seek to end Vult and align with us out of convenience, but if Sethran brought you back as prisoners…"

"They are not prisoners," Sethran clarified. "They are our allies."

"As a matter of fact, even before Vult had revealed his true colors, Sethran here came before me with an offer of peace which I assented to," Olga revealed.

"W-What…?" asked Alicia, looking at Sethran confused. "Is this true, Sir Sethran?"

Sethran nods, "It is. When we took the Black Fort, Vult gave me the task of handling the Dark Queen. I approached her and convinced her to surrender, for her sake and by the orders fo Lady Celestine, so we ended our confrontation without a fight. Therefore, Olga and Chleo should no longer be considered enemies of the Alliance."

"Of course, even if we are no longer enemies… Vult has very clearly made himself an enemy of us all. I don't suppose you've heard what his final objective is, have you?" asked Olga.

"Yes, I'm afraid I have…" Alicia confirmed.

She glances over at Sethran again which the Grey Warden responds, "While the part of Vult's letter that named me a traitor was technically not a lie, none of the rest was real. Indeed I betrayed the Kuroinu but it was to be expected as a cover agent. Vult's intention to create a Cuntry nation is still very much a threat."

Olga nods, "Precisely. And that being the case, it only makes sense that we would try to help your Alliance now. After all, our fate will be the same as yours should Vult prevail."

Alicia stands in place for a long moment before speaking, her doubts washed away at last. "I understand."

Whether she was too angry to say much else is unknown.

"Lady Alicia!" Someone's yell was heard for her as another of her subordinates rushed up and begins to talk into Alicia's ear. The behavior was a clear sign that the other knight had been attempting to keep this news low-key.

But Alicia's reaction squashes that possibility immediately. "What do you mean Prim is missing?!"

"I'm sorry, your Highness." The knight apologizes. "Once we learned she was no longer in your room we tried to look for her, but we couldn't find any trace of her."

"That's impossible! The invaders haven't breached our defenses far enough that they could have captured her! It can't be…! Wait… have you checked the emergency escape passage? If Prim got scared she may have gone there on her own!"

"We didn't have time. The invaders just began another push to take the 8th guardhouse and the other had to go join the fight! It was just me who could come back to report to you."

"Damn it! Alright, I'll go myself!"

"B-But your Highness…! What about the battle? We still…"

Alicia's mind however was made up as she turns to her remaining retainers. "I want you two to take our nuns someplace safe and then return to the battle. Captain, I want you giving orders until I return."

"Yes, your Highness!"

Alicia turns her back towards the group. "I'm sorry, Sir Sethran, but I'm going to have to leave now. I have to make certain that Prim I safe. I'm sure that…"

"If you're going after Prim, we're coming too," Sethran interrupts. "Fenris here can track her scent."

*BARK*

"I agree with Sethran," Olga said. "I think it would be more beneficial if Chloe, me, and Sethran went along with you to search for your missing princess."

While this statement stuns both Alicia and Chloe, Sethran was unsurprised.

"What…? Why would you…?" asked Alicia.

"M'lady, is that really necessary?" asked Chloe.

"Yes, Chloe, I believe so," Olga said. "The entire point of coming all the way here was to find a way to deal with Vult and his ilk. That will be rendered meaningless if the Kuroinu win this battle. Of course from what I've seen, the soldiers of this fortress have been putting up a decent struggle. This is undoubtedly a good thing, and Celestine will send reinforcements over to Feoh soon. What really concerns me though is why this battle is even being fought inside the walls."

Olga looks at Alicia and asks, "How did the forces of the Kuroinu manage to get through your first line of defense so easily?"

Alicia hesitates before giving an answer. "There was… an explosion at one of the gates. It stopped us from closing that gate before the enemy could rush in. So that means…?!"

Olga nods grimly. "I'm afraid so. It means there's a traitor in your ranks. But from my perspective there's more to consider. If that stunt they just tried to pill with your nuns is any indication, they seem to be trying to get you to surrender, instead of crushing you outright. They may have failed this time but that's no reason to stop trying. And if they do try again, who better to use against you than your beloved cousin? After all, it should be simple for a spy to get to her if you haven't caught him yet…"

Sethran nodded in agreement. "I agree. We have yet to find who the mole was that allowed the Kuroinu to get into Feoh in the first place and cause massive amounts of damage."

"That's why the three of us should accompany you," Olga continued. "Because there is no possibility of any of us being the spy."

Alicia very quickly ponders Olga's words. "I… can't find fault with your reasoning. Very well then. It will be the four of us that go to search for Prim!"

Everyone nods in agreement as Alicia gives out her last orders. "Alright, let's get moving! I'll show you all the way to our secret escape tunnel."

Olga sighs. "Goodness, we've certainly gotten a lot of those recently, haven't we?"

"What do you mean?" asked Alicia. "A lot of what?"

"Nothing, really. Merely that I am beginning to tire of secret passageways. After all, Sethran used mine already. Twice."

"H-Huh…? Y-Your passage…? What?!"

Sethran had immediately clarified, "When we assaulted the Black Fort, we managed to infiltrate using one of the emergency escape tunnels. That's how we won easily. And it was the only way out of the Black Fort when I was escaping with Chloe and Olga in tow."

That made Alicia calm down with a sigh of relief, if not bashfulness for thinking of something else related to passageways. Her face turns red as a result. "I-I see… Yes, that makes sense… Please excuse me… especially you, Sir Sethran… A-Anyway, we should get moving… time is of the essence!"

The four members of the party, along with the mabari warhound, soon follow Alicia over to an entrance below the main castle, where the emergency escape route was.

"Alright, the First Fortress has always had this special escape route for its governor," Alicia explained. "Luckily, it's only been truly unneeded a few times. I'm sure Prim must have come this way. So all we need to do is meet up with her and tell her the battle has shifted in our favor."

"I only hope it's that easy, Arcturus…" Olga had doubts.

"Of course it will be! Now let's move!"

With Fenris taking lead by sniffing the ground, the Grey Warden and his companions follow his lead and go through the emergency tunnel. With Alicia knowing her way around the place, Sethran and the two dark elves remain behind her so as to trust her instincts. These tunnels felt like they could go on and on, but that was the whole point of emergency tunnels. With only Alicia and a few others knowing of this place, it would be much easier to follow the most direct route instead of searching randomly in circles.

But the search felt like taking forever, especially in Alicia's case. She felt like she was chasing an illusion. Her heart races at the thought of losing Prim. If anything happens to her, Alicia's fury will be well met and known amongst both ally and enemy.

"Prim!" Prim, where are you?!" cried Alicia. Sadly, she only gets her own echo back in reply.

"Calm down, Arcturus," Chloe urged. "Your yelling isn't going to conjure her from thin air."

"Shut up and help me look for her!"

But that only pissed off the Dark Elf assassin more. "Now see here 'your Highness'…"

"Chloe stop," commanded Olga. "This won't help anything."

"I know M'lady, but—"

Sethran interrupts, "Got some bodies over here."

When the group investigates, Olga uses her staff to illuminate the patch of darkness to show the bodies. But what the group found was a horror show. Two bodies, like those of pigs, were ripped apart, their guts spilled across the floor. Oddly enough they also wore noble's clothing, one pink and one green. The clothes were obviously torn apart but nothing like that of a normal human tear. It was like a wild animal had cut through, or something worse.

And strangely enough, their disgusting putrid flesh had some bite marks on them, like something chewed on them. They were also clawed in the face and gut, their last expressions being those of the face of pure terror in the wake of an imminent and horrifying death.

"I know them. The Mortadello Brothers. But… they've been ripped to shreds."

"No Kuroinu scum or any member of the Legion could have done this," Chloe said. "Or any animal I know of."

"There are no animals down here," Alicia revealed. "And if there are, it's just small critters like large rats. But no rats could ever do this."

Olga decides to use her sensory magic to try to figure out who or what could have done this. After less than a minute of using her magic, her eyes widen a bit. "We are not alone down here."

Sethran then knew immediately what she was implying, standing up as he narrows his eyes. "I didn't think they managed to tunnel this far. And into Feoh of all places."

"Who?" asked Alicia. "Who tunneled this far?"

Sethran closes his eyes as he can hear their call in the darkness before opening them, confirming his suspicions. "Darkspawn."

Alicia was shocked. "What? B-But… But that's impossible! How could they get here?"

"Darkspawn dig underground, Alicia," Sethran explained. "It's why they are not always seen on the surface. And they dig randomly, searching for the Black Fort where the Old God is held. The fact that they just happened to find your Fortress City is more than a coincidence. And I got a feeling that our mole allowed them in, albeit inadvertently."

"Bah! So the scum have even found their way down here…" Chloe remarked.

"This… can't be…" Alicia was shocked. "Only a handful of people even know about this place! How did they…"

"We got hardcore traitors here," Sethran said. "The one who revealed the Kuroinu of this passageway must be a turncoat of some sorts. Or a spy as Olga mentioned."

Alicia scowls as she knows Sethran was right. "Damn them! Prim!"

She was about to run further into the tunnel, but her hand was grabbed by Sethran. "Alicia! We'll find her! But you cannot rush off like this lest we lose you to an ambush! We'll find Prim and bring her back safely!"

Sethran's strong plea manages to quell her panic just enough that she stops. She slowly relaxes as her eyes began shining with unshed tears. "You promise…?"

Her fear is so evident that it was hard to look at. It would be easy to forget that she's one of the Princess Knights at this moment. But Sethran smiles in reassurance as he stares at her from behind his helmet. "I helped find Prim once back at Ken at your request. I can promise that again, but you have to remain calm and smart about how to look for her. Now that the enemy knows of this place, we could be ambushed at any time. We need to tread lightly."

Yes…" She nods and gets a grip. "Yes, you're right, Sir Sethran. Alright… all of us will stay together and search for Prim. Let's get moving."

As they continue moving down the passage, Sethran can sense that the Darkspawn are getting closer and closer. But oddly enough as they explore further of the tunnel, they have not encountered any Darkspawn. Nor any Kuroinu. Either the group was being led into a trap or the Kuroinu didn't have much time exploring the tunnels and are reconvened over to a main area of the cavern. Whatever the case, they must push on to save Prim from whatever danger she may be in, Kuroinu or Darkspawn.

However, Sethran motions everyone to stop as he kneels down and picks up from the ground what appears to be a flower, A very familiar flower that was white with a red streak by its petals. It looked like it was crushed, like someone or something stepped on it but it was still recognizable.

"The Gift of Celestine," Alicia recognized the flower.

"I gave this to Prim back at Ken," Sethran said. "She must have dropped it for us to find."

"Then we got to be close," Chloe said, tracking the trail with Fenris sniffing the ground.

Olga however exercised caution. "Be wary. Prim might not be alone wherever she is. But we best double time it before either the Kuroinu or the Darkspawn find her."

With that well and truly said, the rescue party carries onward, searching down into the tunnels.

The rescue party soon came over to find what looked like a mining hall, with dirt and digging equipment lying around. And at the center of the room was a familiar girl with pink hair and a noble's dress. It was all to recognizable of who that was.

Prim was indeed found. But…

"Alicia-neesama!" She was screaming as she was surrounded by three Kuroinu soldiers, ready to strip and rape her.

"Prim!" Alicia cried. "Get away from her, you brutes!"

The three Kuroinu soldiers swiftly leave Prim and charge over at Alicia, but since these thugs did not wear much armor and had only their swords and clothes on their back, they were easily killed. One of them swings at Alicia, but she locks it and slices across the man's chest, wounding him as she then stabs him right in the heart, pinning him down to the floor and having her twist her blade.

Chloe easily dodges another Kuroinu's attacks with ease before slicing the man's throat, making him startled and gurgling up blood before she ends the thug's life with a stab to the head, straight through the brain.

Sethran blocks the last Kuroinu's heavy axe with his shield before breaking it away and kicking the thug in the chest, sending him flying across the floor. Olga takes this chance to magically drop a heavy rock the size of a magnificent boulder. The man screams as the boulder falls on him, crushing his body completely with a splat, and his body explodes in blood and gore.

With the soldiers defeated, everyone takes a breathing sigh of relief, seeing that Prim is, while shaken up, alive and intact.

"Alicia…" Prim rallies to her cousin, hugging her. "I'm so happy to see you…"

"Prim, are you okay…?" Alicia asked. "They…"

Suddenly a voice was called out in the room. "Hey, what's all this ruckus?"

Out of the shadows appeared the Prime Minister back at Alicia's office. Beasley. Sethran keeps his gaze on the Minister, suspecting something suspicious. Fenris too as he growls at the voice of the Prime Minister.

"Prime Minister? What are you doing here?" asked Alicia.

"Why, I came down here looking for you and Lady Prim, of course!" Beasley spoke in a relieved voice. "I'd heard you were down here looking for her and though I'd check on this side of the passage first."

"I see. Well, we…"

"No, Alicia!" Prim suddenly spoke up, catching her cousin's attention. "It's a lie! It's all a lie!"

"Prim…?"

"Why you little…!" Beasley cursed. That however was enough for Sethran to have his blade pointed over to Beasley, confirming his worst fears. Even Fenris' growls became audible, pointed directly at Beasley.

"After the attack started, he's the one who told me I should come here to get away from the fighting!" Prim explained. "But when we got here, there were already Kuroinu soldiers waiting for us! For me! They were taking orders from him! Minister Beasley has betrayed us!"

Dead silence fills the chamber as the echo of Prim's revelation fades.

Olga and Chloe scoff loudly, breaking the silence.

"Well, it looks like we've found your traitor, Arcturus," Olga said.

"It's a safe bet that he's the one who set that bomb at your gate too!" Chloe concurred.

Sethran also nods, keeping his sword pointed. "Somehow, I am not surprised. We found our mole."

Alicia was shocked as she gazes at her Prime Minister. "Beasley, why!?

Beasley scoffs, "Oh Princess... I had hoped you wouldn't have to find out like this. It's simple really… there's nothing wrong with allying yourself with those who are strong. For me, that's always been the Alliance… until now. Now Vult not only has his own troops, but all the power of the Legion behind him as well! Those who get in his way are good as dead!"

"That… That's how you try to justify what you are doing!" Alicia screamed. "To betray the Alliance… betray Lady Celestine… Betray Prim… Betray ME!?"

"It's more than just that, Princess!" Beasley retorted. "What Vult plans to do… the Cuntry he means to establish… I couldn't bare to see you fall victim to something like that!"

This brings Alicia up short, wondering what her traitor was talking about. "W-What…? What are you…?"

"You see Princess, I couldn't let any of those low-born fools touch you. I'm the only one who understands what a wonderful woman you really are!"

"Huh?"

"Alicia, do not listen!" Sethran cried, only for it to fall on deaf ears.

"Your nobility, Princess! And your kindness… beauty… courage… and yet still fragile in youth and immaturity… You are the absolutely perfect woman!"

"Beasley…"

"So you see, I had to make sure… that you would only be with someone who appreciated you… That you would only be with me!"

"So in exchange for her virginity, Vult would take the fortress," Sethran deduced all too easily. "All this just so you can claim her!?"

"She is all that matters to me!" Beasley cried.

Olga could only scoff at the pathetic notion of the old man. Chloe was disgusted, Prim was angered at the betrayal, Fenris growled at the old man, and Sethran readied his blade to kill the traitor.

"What deranged parody of love is this?" Olga interjected, shaking her head at the old man's tirade. "You would save someone from being enslaved to many, only to then ensure that she will be enslaved to one such as you? What nonsense..."

"Silence, witch! What would the tyrant who ruled over all the monsters and beasts of Eos know about love?!" Beasley denied.

Olga glances over to Sethran and responds, "Until I met Sethran, I knew very little about love. But I do know a great deal about a few other subjects. Allow me to enlighten you on those... The reason I first came to Eos was not so I could rule over the Legion, but so that I could attempt to undo the curse that was placed upon them centuries ago!"

"Wait, curse?!" Alicia asked. "What do you mean?"

"During the Elder War long ago… we Dark Elves paid a terrible price for a terrible mistake. In order to attempt to win the war… we turned all our soldiers into mindless berserkers, monsters who feasted solely on blood and flesh of the enemy. We allowed abominations to come into existence. Therefore, as the last Dark Elf Queen, it was my sworn duty to right the wrongs my people committed!"

"Hmph!" Beasley was not buying it. "Now there's some real nonsense… Then explain if you were trying to 'help them' why did they attack places like Halem!? Why did they abduct women and use them as playthings?!"

"They do it because the curse itself compels them to," Olga answered. "It degrades not just the body, but the mind and heart as well, Even I had no direct control over them. And let us not forget that your boss Vult employs abominations of his own. He cares nothing for their plight, only the power that they can give him as part of his army in a war that distracts us all from the true threat lying underneath our feet."

"Lies!" Beasley madly proclaimed. "All lies! Without power you can do nothing! It doesn't matter what titles you have when you're born, unless you can command others to do your bidding, you have nothing! Besides, what you do with that power matters as well! And I'm going to use mind to save Lady Alicia! That's what's most important to me!"

"Save her? By betraying her home to her mortal enemies? By spiting on the faith she placed in you? And by promoting the very vile thing you were all meant fight against?" Olga scoffs. "Frankly, in terms of sheer hypocrisy, even Vult is no match for you…"

"Bah! Lying bitch!" Beasley then turned towards the only person who has not spoken a word, letting his mabari do the talking in the form of growls at Beasley. "Sethran! You honestly can't believe this Dark Elf whore!? The one who caused so much chaos… the one who destroyed Halem!? Surely you can see how Vult is too powerful to defeat!? How he's the way for the future of Eostia!? Please Sethran, help me… Help me stop the Dark Queen and save Alicia before it's too late…"

Sethran however already had his answer. "Sorry, Beasley. But the only fool I see is the one in front of me. And you'll die along with Vult and his Kuroinu for your treachery."

Beasley was further angered, seeing that a man like Sethran would never join him. "D-Damn you! Even you can't understand!"

In a quick moment, Beasley takes out a knife and grabs Prim, holding her hostage as the knife nears her neck.

"Kyaa!" Prim screams. "A-Alicia-neesama!"

"Prim!" Alicia saw to her horror.

"Now you're going to let me escape with Prim… Now or I'll slit her throat! Stay away from me!"

"Alicia, help me!" Prim cried out.

Sethran quickly commands his mabari to charge. "Fenris!"

*BARK*

The mabari warhound quickly charges at Beasley, aiming for the leg and taking a big bite out of it.

"AAH!" Beasley screams as he feels the dog's jaws chomp down on him, but this was enough for him to release his grip on Prim and let her run free.

Sethran moves in and grabs Prim by the hand, pulling her towards him and out to Alicia, who catches her. As soon as Beasley was freed from Fenris, or rather Fenris lets go of him, Sethran comes in with his shield in hand.

*POW*

With one shield bash to the face, Beasley was knocked down to the ground. Sethran has his sword out and pointed at the former Prime Minister as he steps back, coughing up blood. Prim runs over to her cousin, hugging her tightly.

"Alicia-Neesama!" Prim cried in her arms.

"Shhh, it's alright, Prim. It's over now…" Alicia soothes.

"D-Damn you! DAMN YOU ALL!" Beasley curses as he is left defenseless and at Sethran's mercy.

"Excellent work, everyone…" Olga praises.

"Indeed…" Alicia concurred. "I can't believe what I'm about to say but… Thank you… L-Lady Olga…"

"You can thank me later, after we defeat Vult…" Olga smiles.

"Y-Yes of course… I'm sure we have much to discuss regarding that…"

"Indeed… now then, let us assist with the battle topside, and we shall discuss the next move…"

Beasley curses, "N-No, I can't die here… Not like this… Vult… you promised me power… You promised Alicia to be mine…"

Suddenly, a dark shadow encompasses over Beasley from behind. He notices the change in light as he looks behind slowly to see what it saw. And it instantly made him petrified, as he saw the red darkened eyes of a creature growling lowly.

"HIIII!" Beasley yelps, pissing his pants as he comes face to face with the unknown threat.

*BAM*

The beast bashes Beasley aside, instantly bashing his face away as he hits the side of a wall and slumps to the floor unconsciously. The dark creature emerges to be a hulking, massive, and immensely strong. It wore crude bracers on its arms, a shoulder pad on its right shoulder, and a large loincloth fitted with chains. Its skin was dark, crackling with darkness, and it showed immense horns on its head.

"GROOAAAGHH!" The loud dark monster roars as it looks at its new prey.

"An Ogre!" Sethran cried. "Keep your distance!"

The Ogre roars as it charges forth, making everyone dodge and out of the way. Olga summons her magic by throwing ice shards at the Ogre, but they break too easily. The skin it seems was tough. So she tries her lightning magic, but it hardly deters the monster.

Chloe and Fenris move in, trying a pincer attack on the Ogre as the mabari goes for its leg to chew on while Chloe jumps to get on its back to stab. While her knives dig penetrate the skin, it was hardly a mortal wound and Chloe is soon grabbed by the thrashing Ogre. She is flung out by her hair against Fenris, the dog taking a bad hit as it is thrown away and Chloe is also thrown into a pile of scrap.

Sethran, having experienced fighting Darkspawn Ogres before, especially more than two at a time, could only fight it up close and personal. Slashes were not the best idea since the beast moves its arms too quickly. So he moves for stabbing and makes multiple wounds. But an Ogre's skin, of all the darkspawn, is tough to break through.

Sethran backs away to dodge an incoming boulder being thrown at from the monster but it was too close as it landed near Alicia and Prim's positions. Luckily they were not harmed but Alicia was mad that her cousin was nearly caught in a crossfire.

"HAAH!" Alicia charges in like mad, hoping to land at least one strike on it.

"You idiot! No!" Chloe cried.

Alicia ignores Chloe as she gets a slice of the Ogre, but the cut was only shallow, hardly a scratch. Shocked that despite using her full strength, she didn't make a mark, she was soon met with the shadow of the now angry Ogre. It reaches out its hand in order to grab her, fear taking her over in the wake of the darkspawn menace.

Sehtran pushes Alicia out of the way of the Ogre coming in, but is grabbed and held tight by the Ogre. And soon he goes into a world of hurt as the Ogre, recognizing his Grey Warden aura and blood by the smell, gives three slams to the High Commander like he got hit by a very heavy duty truck ramming him at full speeds.

*BAM*

One to the floor.

*BAM*

Another to the wall.

*POW*

And soon the Ogre gives out consecutive yet mighty blows to the Grey Warden, his armor being crushed from each blow.

"Puwaagh! Ack! Kuaagh!" Sethran yelps with each punch dealt to him. It was like having a giant boulder being fired directly at him for target practice.

"Sethran!" Olga shrieks, seeing her beloved getting pommeled. She soon summons a few fireballs in the air. "Hands off!"

She sends them over to the back of the Ogre but despite landing a hit, it hardly nudges him. Fenris and Chloe go in but the mabari is kicked away, squealing as it is, and Chloe is grabbed and thrown at towards Olga, knocking the two Dark Elves out.

"Alicia-onee-sama!" Prim's cries were soon heard as she runs to her cousin. Seeing her scared and afraid, she does the one thing she'd never do unless given the circumstance.

*SLAP*

Alicia feels a hard sting on her cheek as her head was turned to the left sharply. With a reality check, she holds up her hand to her face as she looks back slowly to see it was her cousin that slapped her. Her face was filled with distress.

"P-Prim?" asked a shaky Alicia, confused what just happened.

"Onee-sama!" Prim grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "You need to help Sir Sethran, or he's going to die!"

Alicia gasped before she snapped out of her stupor after realizing that her fears got the better of her. She shakes her head to wake up and immediately sees that Sethran is in danger of dying after being pommeled into the wall by the Ogre. Standing up on her own two feet, she grabs her sword and charges at the beast, while also grabbing another sword from the ground.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Alicia charges in and jumps at the Ogre, getting it off of Sethran as she impales her swords into the chest of the monster. Darkspawn blood shoots everywhere and covers her but she did not care as she wanted to kill this monster, make it pay for all the damage and bloodshed it has caused to Sethran.

With her swords impaled, she tries to keep stabbing, but she is grabbed and thrown off. But even as she hits the ground, she is undeterred as she gets up and faces the wounded Ogre. The Ogre would have charged in had it not been for Chloe from behind, with a small lock of hair in her hands. Plucked from her own, she wraps the hair around the massive neck of the Ogre, choking it and pulling very tightly.

As for why she uses her own hair locks as weapons, it is rare for assassins to do but hair works as a very strong material, unable to break depending on how thick it is.

With the Ogre distracted, Alicia moves in for the kill as she charges in, allowing Chloe to break off and do a back flip. With Alicia up close to the Ogre, she slashes at the Ogre downwards and upwards, but that is when she takes a few steps back and leaps forth to the monster. With all her might, she stabs her sword into its chest, making it fall backwards to the ground. She takes it out, ready for one more impalement. And before the Ogre could reach to her with his hands…

"HAAAAAHHHH!" Alicia screams as she drives her sword into the beasts forehead, impaling and killing it instantly. To be sure it's dead, she twists her sword one way and another before taking it out. She leaps off yet keeps her gaze on the monster to ensure it was really dead.

She watches intensely, the adrenaline still pumping in her as she watches the creature's corpse bleed out from the many wounds it has. This was her first Darkspawn to kill, and not an easy one. Any ordinary soldier would be shitting his pants and running scared at the sight of one of these creatures. Now she understood why these dark creatures were such dangerous adversaries, perhaps on par with the Legion monsters. But if they can tunnel underneath the earth and ambush the other Fortress Cities from below, that only makes them more dangerous. And it is only worst when everyone does not know when they will strike.

A new passion of hate rose in Alicia as she looks at the dead Ogre. She hated the Legion monsters before, and then later on the Kuroinu. Now though it is the darkspawn. For these menacing and soulless creatures care not for the lives of the living, not even for raping women like the Kuroinu. All they seek is blood and destruction of all.

And if an Old God lives at the Black Fort and the Darkspawn find it, then Eostia's worst nightmare may come true.

A Blight.

"Onee-sama?" Prim called out. "Onee-sama!"

Alicia is snapped out of herself before she looks at Prim. "P-Prim? Are you alright?"

Prim nods, "I am. But Sethran—"

Alicia gasps, realizing that Sethran was wounded. She hurries over to see Olga and Chloe take off his armor, checking his wounds. They were treatable, but first aid wouldn't be enough.

"I'll use what magic I can to keep him stable," Olga said as she raises a hand over Sethran's body and utilizes her magic. "If you can patch him up, he may make it."

Without questioning her orders, Chloe and Alicia remove as much of the upper armor of Sethran as they could as they assess his wounds. With some ointment and bandages, they carefully wrap whatever wounds he had.

With Sethran bandaged up yet drifting in and out of consciousness, he was lifted up by Chloe and Alicia. But they were not out of danger yet.

"Sethran's seriously wounded," Chloe said. "We need to get him to emergency care."

"I-I think I know the best way to the castle from here," Prim said. "We can find healing herbs there."

"Hold, you two," Olga halted. "We got company."

A large battalion of Darkspawn consisting of genlocks and hurlocks soon came rushing out from deeper in the tunnels, facing the group. They were led by a Hurlock Alpha, clad in golden abominable armor ready to lead the charge. For Sethran and the girls, this was far from good. They were already too exhausted and Sethran was badly wounded and needed to evacuate to emergency care. But as it stands they may not make it.

"Damn!" Alicia said. "Talk about bad timing!"

"There's too many, M'lady," Chloe said to Olga. "We can't fight them all!"

"I'll hold them off with my magic!" Olga said as she prepares herself with her staff. "You get Sethran out of here!"

"M'lady, you can't—"

Suddenly, a loud voice was heard.

"Hey! You nug puggin darkspawn pinheads! HERE COMES OGHREN!"

Out of nowhere from the shadows came a short, statured dwarf with orange hair, beard, and mustache. He wore what appeared to be Legion of the Dead armor, dark like the color of ore. With one giant two-bladed axe, the dwarf cuts down all the Darkspawn in the room with ease. He didn't even give his opponents time to swing their blades as they came charging right to him.

Olga was about to support him with magic, but it seemed like the dwarf knew what he was doing, much to her surprise. Even Chloe and Alicia found it stunning to see a dwarf cut down Darkspawn with such ease. He must have had countless battles with them to the point they were nothing but cannon fodder to him. Either that or he may be a Grey Warden like in the legends.

As soon as the Darkspawn were cutdown, one Genlock straggler tried to flee. But the dwarf soon picks up a rock and throws it so hard at the Genlock's head that it explodes on impact. To the disbelief of all save for Sethran, a dwarf just saved the party from a Darkspawn ambush.

The dwarf soon runs over to the group despite the coating of blood on his armor. When he sees Sethran, he was very ecstatic.

"A-ha! There you are!" The dwarf laughed. "When these Darkspawn showed up, I thought, 'just you wait until Sethran gets here and you'll all be spitting teeth out of your arses!' Followed the screaming, and sure enough, here you are. Good on ya!"

But Sethran was surprised to see his old friend and companion from years before. "Oghren? You're here?"

Oghren smirks. "Doubting your eyes, huh? Heh, I get like that, after the fifth bottle or so. Came here to this land about a month after we lost contact with you. By the time I got here, the city was just under attack."

"You know this dwarf, Sethran?" Olga asked.

"Oghren is… an old friend of mine when I first became a Grey Warden. I even inducted him into our ranks. Still, I didn't think he managed to come to Eostia."

As Sethran was held up by Alicia, the Princess Knight was shocked to see a dwarf here. But then that is when her face turns a bit sour.

"He was here when I came back to Feoh," Alicia realized. "I can't believe a dwarf managed to save us."

Oghren was ecstatic upon seeing Alicia though. "Hey! If it isn't the Princess Knight with the great rack!"

Alicia growls, "Yes. A prize for the Alliance, to be sure."

"I know, I know, too good to be true, right?" Oghren then notices Alicia's gaze onto Sethran, noticing a small blush on her cheeks. "Hey… what's with you looking at Seth? He your boyfriend? Should I leave you two alone?"

Alicia's face turns red when she realizes how close she was to the wounded Sethran, especially her rack that touched his armor. She wanted to just charge at the dwarf with her sword in a frantic fury, but she was in no position to do so since Sethran needed some people to carry him.

"Ugh, a dwarf that smells like a brewery," Chloe felt disgusted. "You never see that anywhere."

Oghren chuckles. "Huh. Two dark elves as well. Replacing your old party members again, Seth?"

"Good to see you again, Oghren," Sethran was reassured despite his severely wounded state.

"I find that hard to believe," Alicia mutters.

"As do I," Olga said.

"Well as much as I love to sit and talk, we got ourselves a city to save, right?" Oghren asked. "Now let's go introduce some darkspawn and Kuroinu arses to my foot. Only polite thing to do."

Soon, a squadron of Alicia's knights, led by the same Captain who held the line against the Kuroinu while Alicia and the others went to look for Prim, came in and what they saw next was very surprising. Dead Kuroinu and Darkspawn littering the floor, the Dark Elves assisting the wounded High Commander, a Grey Warden dwarf who smelled like he had one too many barrels of ale, and the Prime Minister unconscious over at the side, wounded and bleeding.

"My lady," The captain said. "The Kuroinu are being driven off. They're retreating away from Feoh. What are your orders?"

Alicia calls out, "Kill any stragglers you see and ensure not one escapes. Have all our wounded be gathered at the infirmaries. And place a squad of soldiers with the dwarf Oghren. He's a Grey Warden and we would've been killed by the Darkspawn if not for him."

She then sees the unconscious Beasley over at the sides. "And arrest the Prime Minister. He is a traitor to the Alliance."

With the soldiers dragging Beasley in chains out to the prison, the rescue group continues carrying Sethran over to the infirmary for his wounds to be treated. He slips in and out of consciousness, for he may be the most wounded of all the soldiers. But with Olga's magic and Prim's healing abilities, he may just survive. And with Oghren, another Grey Warden, here, Feoh won't have to worry about the Darkspawn now that he and the squad of females can guard the tunnels and perhaps collapse them to prevent the Darkspawn from coming in.

Let's just hope he doesn't get all flirty with them.

The Battle of Feoh was finally over. And it was the Alliance's first victory. But this was only the beginning.

First of all, I apologize for the three month delay. February was crazy in that I had to look after my nephew for the whole month, along with going to Florida to see my eldest brother. Plus lately, I have been helping my dad sort out my childhood house as he plans to sell it and move out. And I have been looking for a new job to stay on the west coast.

So this chapter was one hell of a battle and a difficult one. I used Kuroinu Rebellion a lot for the dialogue mainly but the battle itself from beginning to end was a hassle to make as I wanted to incorporate the threat of the darkspawn at the end. Just to make everyone know that compared to the Kuroinu, the darkspawn are a much greater threat. The damage will be explored next chapter though, along with repairs to the city.

There is not much to say to be honest since we all knew that with Sethran involved, what would normally happen in the original timeline would not happen at all here. But we did get to see our Grey Warden, his two Dark Elves, and his mabari warhound fight. And don't worry. His dragon will also be involved in something special soon afterwards. But Sethran getting beaten up by an Ogre and Alicia killing that Ogre with a Dragon Age animated sync kill on the Ogre is really something special.

And now for perhaps the best part: Oghren. The drunken Orzammar warrior dwarf that everyone who has played Dragon Age loves so much. I just had to include him in since he is a companion to both the original Dragon Age and its expansion Dragon Age Awakening. And with an introduction like that, there's no need to say anymore about him, other than that he knows who Alicia is. And no he will not go after her for her bare body because he is not into young women, except those of his kind.

Next chapter will be the aftermath of the battle, along with another lemon with a certain blonde warrior princess. No promises that it will be posted soon but you guys deserve a new chapter.

Like, favorite, follow, and review at your leisure. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.