I don't own Dragon Age or any of the mods listed.

Chapter 2: The Betrayal

Halia opened her eyes and saw the glowing eyes of Alistair, Duncan, and Malcolm. Duncan speaks up, "It is done. Welcome."

Malcolm stands up and holds his hand out. To his surprise, she takes it. As he helps her up, Alistair walks up with pendants. "These pendants are filled with blood, to remember those who didn't make it." He hands them out to them.

Duncan turns to Malcolm. "Malcolm, when you're ready, the king would like you to accompany me to the meeting for tonight's battle." He turns to Halia and Alistair. "I'm sorry, but he just wants me and Malcolm for this meeting. But if you could be so kind, could you make dinner for us and keep Alistair away from the cooking supplies."

"Ha ha ha. Very funny."

Halia looked at Duncan with a confused face. "Why is that?"

Alistair answers with, "Everyone says that my cooking makes them lose their appetite."

Malcolm turns to Duncan and asks, "Is that true?"

"That's just when he does his very best."

Alistair adds, "And my worse will eventually make the darkspawn think twice about starting a Blight." Everyone looks at him. "W-w-well, not yet, anyway."

Duncan just sighs. He then turns to Malcolm, "Come on the king is waiting for us."

As they started to walk, Alistair spoke up, "Hang on. We forgot something, Duncan."

Duncan turned around. "Right. In that chest over there," he points to the chest next to the table, "there are sets of armor for both of you and there is a surprise for you, Malcolm. Go ahead."

Malcolm and Halia walked up to the chest and opened it. Inside are, a Warden longsword, a Warden shield, four Warden daggers, a Warden greatsword, two sets of medium Warden armor, and two sets of heavy Warden armor. Malcolm turns his head to look at Duncan. "All this, for us?"

Duncan replied, "I included armor for Jory and Daveth, for if they survive. Go ahead. The heavy set is called the Armor of Warden's Burden, with the Warden's Sacrifice chest piece, the Warden's Victory gauntlets, the Warden's Vigilance helmet, and the Warden's Duty boots. The shield is called the Warden's Sanctuary, while the longsword is called the Warden's Calling."

Malcolm grabbed the sword, shield, one dagger, and one set of the Warden's Burden and went to one corner. Halia asks as she grabs two daggers and one set of the medium armor and heads to a second corner, "What is this armor called?"

Duncan and Alistair turn around to give her some privacy as she changes, while Duncan answers her question with, "It is called the Warden Scout."

A few minutes later, Malcolm, now in his new armor, swings his new sword around to get used to the feel of the weapon and the armor. "Feels good," he says as he sheaths his weapon. On his back, in addition to the new sword, he also has the Cousland Family Blade and the Shield of Highever, tight enough where he is unable to get it off for a battle, but it has enough room for his blades. On his left hip, he has the Warden dagger, and on the back of his waist he has the crossbow and bolts the he got from the Quartermaster. Halia is also in her new armor, with her bow and quiver on her back, and her daggers on the back of her waist.

Malcolm walked up to Duncan, while asking, "So Duncan, what is this surprise you have for me?"

Instead of answering, Duncan turned and gave a whistle. Then, Goliath ran up the stairs but with something on him. Malcolm keeled down, as Goliath ran to him.

Malcolm looked up at Duncan. "You gave my dog armor?"

"Yes, since he is the companion of a Grey Warden, it is only fair to give him armor made for a Warden's dog. The armor is called the Cuirass of the Canine Warden."

(Bark) Malcolm looked at the armor. It's mainly chainmail, with some leather, and the Grey Warden heraldry on the chest. Malcolm then stood up and walked over to Duncan. "Thank you. Don't we have a meeting to attend?"

"Right. Follow me."

The group of five then went on their way and separated at the bottom of the stairs.

As Duncan and Malcolm got within a few feet from the war table, they heard Cailan say, "Loghain, my decision is final. I will stand by the Grey Wardens in this assault."

As they walked to the other side of the table, the man that Cailan is arguing with replies, "You risk too much, Cailan! The darkspawn horde is too much for you to be playing hero on the front lines."

"If that's the case, perhaps we should wait for the Orlesian forces to join us, after all."

"I must repeat my protest to your fool notion that we need the Orlesians to defend ourselves!"

"It's not a 'fool notion.' Our arguments with the Orlesians are a thing of the past… and you will remember who is king."

"How fortunate Maric did not live to see his son ready to hand Ferelden over to those who enslaved us for a century!"

"Then our current forces will have to suffice, won't they?" He turns to Duncan. "Duncan, are your men ready for battle?"

Duncan replies with, "They are, your Majesty."

Cailan looks at Malcolm. "And this is the young lord from Highever I met earlier? I understand congratulations are in order."

Malcolm replies with, "Thank you, your Majesty."

"Every Grey Warden is needed now. You should be honored to join their ranks."

Loghain speaks up, "Your fascination with glory and legends will be your undoing, Cailan. We must attend to reality."

Cailan shrugs. "Fine. Speak your strategy." He leans on the table. "The Grey Wardens and I draw the darkspawn into charging our lines and then…?"

Loghain leans on the table. "You will alert the tower to light the beacon, signaling my men to charge from cover."

Cailan points at a spot on the map that is on the table. "To flank the darkspawn, I remember." He points at a different spot on the map. "This is the Tower of Ishal in the ruins, yes? Who shall light the beacon?"

Loghain stands up as he says, "I have a few men stationed there. It's not a dangerous task, but it is vital."

"Then we should send our best." He stands up. "Send Alistair and the new Grey Wardens to make sure it's done."

Malcolm replied, "What? I won't be in the fight?"

Duncan says, "Without that beacon, Loghain's men won't know when to charge."

Cailan says, "See, glory for everyone."

Loghain replies to that with, "You rely on these Grey Wardens too much. Is that truly wise?"

"Enough of your conspiracy theories, Loghain. Grey Wardens battle the Blight, no matter where they're from."

"Your Majesty," Duncan says with concern in his voice, "you should consider the possibility of the archdemon appearing."

Loghain then says, "There have been no signs of any dragons in the Wilds."

Cailan then asks Duncan, "Isn't that what your men are here for, Duncan?"

"I… yes, your Majesty."

A mage then walks up stating, "Your Majesty, the tower and its beacon are unnecessary. The Circle of Magi-"

A Revered Mother interrupts him. "We will not trust any lives to your spells, mage! Save them for the darkspawn!"

Loghain speaks up, "Enough! This plan will suffice. The Grey Wardens will light the beacon."

Then Cailan says, "Thank you, Loghain. I cannot wait for that glorious moment! The Grey Wardens battle beside the king of Ferelden to stem the tide of evil!"

"Yes, Cailan. A glorious moment for us all."

"Duncan, Malcolm. You're dismissed."

Both Malcolm and Duncan give Cailan a bow, and heads off to Duncan's tent. When they got there, Halia had just finished cooking supper. Alistair stands up to meet them. "Ah, Duncan, Malcolm. Just in time, the food's ready." He whispers to himself, "I think." He turns his head to Halia. "The food's ready, right?"

Halia answers as she fills the first bowl with soup, "Yes! Yes, it's ready!"

"Oh, finally!"

Halia hands the bowl to Duncan, then fills another bowl and hands it to Malcolm, and another for Alistair. She then fills a bowl for herself. As they eat, there was something about Halia's armor that seemed different. "Halia?"

She swallows. "Yeah?"

"There's something different about your armor."

"Yeah, I took the pauldrons, couters, and the poleyns from my Dalish armor and added them to this armor."

"Ah, so you can have something from your Dalish origin, right?"

"Yeah. Is that the same reason you will continue to carry your old sword and shield?"

"Yeah…" Malcolm stares into the almost empty bowl.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up."

Malcolm filled his bowl up and set it down for Goliath. "It's fine."

Alistair watches in confusion. Duncan took the opportunity to talk about the plan. He stood up and said, "If I could have your attention." Alistair and Halia looked up at him, while Malcolm petted Goliath. "The king has told Malcolm and myself the plan for the battle. He wants the four of you to head to the Tower of Ishal, and light the beacon at the right time."

Alistair jumped up. "What? I won't be in the battle?"

"This is by the king's personal request, Alistair. If the beacon is not lit, Teyrn Loghain's men won't know when to charge."

"So he needs three Grey Wardens stand—" (Bark) "Three Grey Wardens and a hound standing up there holding the torch. Just in case, right?"

Halia stood up and argued, "I agree with Alistair. We should be in the battle." Alistair looked at her.

Duncan replied with an authoritative voice, "That is not your choice. If King Cailan wishes Grey Wardens to ensure the beacon is lit, then Grey Wardens will be there. We must do whatever it takes to destroy the darkspawn… exciting or no."

Alistair replied with, "I get it. I get it. Just so you know, if the king ever asks me to put on a dress and dance the Remigold, I'm drawing the line. Darkspawn or no."

Halia states, "You have some odd ideas about the king."

"I happen to be quite fetching in a dress."

Duncan just sighs. "The tower is on the other side of the gorge from the king's camp, the way we came when we arrived. You'll need to cross the gorge and head through the gate and up to the tower entrance. From the top, you'll overlook the entire valley."

Malcolm asks, "When do we light the beacon?"

"We will signal you when the time is right. Alistair will know what to look for."

Halia asks, "Can we join the battle afterwards?"

"Stay with the teyrn's men and guard the tower. If you are needed, we will send word."

Malcolm asks, "How much time do we have?"

"The battle is about to begin. Once I leave, move quickly. You'll have less than an hour."

"What if the archdemon appears?"

Alistair answers with, "We soil our drawers, that's what."

Duncan says, "If it does, leave it to us. I want no heroics from any of you."

Halia states, "We know what to do. We're ready."

"Then I must join the others. From here, you four are on your own. Remember, you are Grey Wardens. I expect you to be worthy of that title."

"Duncan," Alistair says as Duncan was just about to walk away, "may the Maker watch over you."

"May He watch over us all." With that Duncan leaves.

Malcolm walks over to his gear that he put down before he ate and he picks up his helmet. As he looks at the 'face' of it, he says, "Grab your gear. We need to move." But there was something in his gut, something telling him that something bad is going to happen. "Alistair?"

"Yeah, Malcolm?" Alistair replies as he puts on his own helmet."

"We will win, right?"

"Yeah, of course we will."

But that feeling didn't go away. Maker, he prayed as he put his helmet on, Maker, please help us in this fight. He turned around. "Let's move out." They then made their way to the bridge. When they reached the bridge, huge rock knocked down a tower, as soldiers ran past them.

Alistair yelled over all the commotion, "Let's cross the bridge, and get to the Tower of Ishal!"

When they got near the end, Malcolm looked to the right and saw another boulder coming to hit the bridge. "DOWN!" he shouted as he covered his dog and himself with the Warden's Sanctuary. Behind him, Alistair brought up his own shield to cover him and Halia. The boulder hit the side of the bridge, causing Malcolm's legs to almost give out while his shield gets pelted with rubble. When everything was 'calmer', he looked over his shield, then behind him. Other than a few new scratched on his shield, Alistair and Halia looked fine. "We need to move!"

After they got off the bridge, a soldier ran up to them. "You… you're Grey Wardens, aren't you?! The tower… it's been taken!"

Alistair asks, "What are you talking about, man? Taken how?"

"The darkspawn came up through the lower chambers! They're everywhere! Most of our men are dead!"

"Then we have to get to the beacon and light it ourselves!"

While the soldier ran away, Malcolm and Alistair pulled their swords out, and Halia her bow. As soon as they went up the stairs, two Hurlocks came charging at them. Malcolm knocked one of the Hurlock's axe off to the side with his shield, but when he went for a downward strike, the beast blocked it with its shield. Malcolm parried its attack, then used the flat part of his blade to rip the waraxe out of its hand, hit the monster with his pommel, then kill it with a quick slash.

He then watched as Alistair killed his foe, but Malcolm's combat senses told him to duck just as an arrow pasted over him. Halia took the cue and let her own arrow fly towards the Genlock archer that just shot at Malcolm. Malcolm turned to Halia and gave her a nod, while saying, "Thanks." Halia just nodded.

After dispatching more darkspawn, the group finally made their way to the tower entrance. They pushed open the doors, and saw just pure carnage, bodies sprawled all over the floor and some stuck-on spikes. They pressed on, clearing each room so the darkspawn won't be able to flank them. In the room before the room with stairs, there was a massive hole in the floor. Malcolm looked down it. "Well. I guess we found where they came from."

They went through the door, killed the darkspawn, and up the stairs. When they reached the second floor, Alistair exclaimed, "Maker's breath! What are the darkspawn doing ahead of the main horde? There wasn't supposed to be any resistance here!"

Halia yelled at him, "There's no point moaning about it. We have fighting to do!"

"Hmm. Good point. Kill first, ask question later. At any rate, we need to hurry! We need to get to the top of the tower and light the signal fire in time! Teyrn Loghain will be waiting for the signal!"

They continued to clear every room for the next two floors. They ran up the final set of stairs, but suddenly stopped at the top. Halia asked with horror in her eyes, "By the Creators, what is that?!"

The creature apparently heard her, because it threw the lower half of its food, most likely a soldier, at the group, who all jumped out of the way. Alistair got up and yelled, "Ogre!" and charged at it. The ogre swatted him as if he was fly. Halia shot arrows at it but that only pissed it off. Malcolm then charged at it. He dodged the first attack, but the second attack caused him to fly into Alistair.

Goliath kept the thing's attention, as Halia shot more arrows at it. As Malcolm got up, he asked Alistair, "How do we kill this thing?"

Alistair looked at him. "We have to hit the heart or the brain."

Malcolm looked at the ogre, then thought of an idea. Looking back at Alistair he said, "Keep it distracted. Dodge the attacks."

Alistair nodded and went. Malcolm ran over to Halia. "I'm gonna give you a boost, but you'll need to run at me then attack the head." He hands her his sword. "You're gonna need this."

She drops her bow and takes his sword. As she backs up she says, "Just say when."

Malcolm lines himself up. "Now."

Halia runs at him, then jumps. She lands on his shield, and jumps again as he pushes her off. She lands on one of the shoulders and drive the sword deep through its head where the point sticks out through the base of the monster's skull. As gravity pulls the ogre down, Halia jumps off. When the monster lays on its back, Malcolm pulled out the sword, after handing Halia her bow back, while Alistair lights the signal fire.

As Malcolm and Halia made sure the thing was dead, combat senses turned Malcolm around as arrows hit him in the shoulders and abdomen as darkspawn rushed out from the stairway. Then darkness overtook him.

Sorry it took so long. Again college takes a lot from me. And the result of the poll, by a 2:1:0 ratio, is that Halia will eventually fall in love with Alistair. Sorry I skipped some of the tower too. Pauldrons-covers the shoulders couters-covers the elbows poleyns-covers the knees