Act 1: Alliance of the Grey

Chapter 13: The Road Home

AN: I apologize for any inconsistencies in this chapter, or the chapters to come compared to the first ones. It is at this point I have officially made the characters, cataloged them, and can use them from now on while staying true to their lore. The main story isn't affected, but each character's appearance/personality/goals/backstory may be slightly altered from what was previously stated. Thank you for your understanding, and enjoy the wee li'l arse kickers and their towering friend.

"Place looks like shite." Natia stated as they walked into Lothering, well, what was left of it. "An' true to appearance it smells worse than me mate's poo after eating a spiced, ill Nug."

The place was a hollow shell of what it used to be. Corpses were strewn about, the severed heads of countless peasants slammed onto jagged spikes. The smell was that of death and decay. A putrid concoction that, to the uninitiated, would be enough to make them spit out last Sunday's dinner. The ground they walked was cracked and chilled to the core. It was unfertile, meaning that the farmland that was once there probably would be no more for years to come. They all hoped that wasn't the case, but it more than likely was. The Darkspawn spread nothing but death to everything around them. This war wouldn't be for the faint of heart. Nor would it be for the strongest of men. This was a Blight. Everyone wasn't meant for it, but due to man's greed, and sacrilege, this was the curse laid upon all.

"I can agree with you on that, but I don't think now is the time to state such things. We need to get out of this village before the Darkspawn come and start something." Duran grumbled as he kept on moving along the road.

Out of his two companions, Sten liked Duran the most. It wasn't really affection, though, as much as it was respect. He respected Duran, as their ideals often aligned. What was the sense in drudging about through a dead village? If the Darkspawn attacked, they would attack in kind. But they were on a mission. One that they could not drift away from. The longer they stayed in this village, talking about its stench and how it looked, the more Darkspawn got to pour into the North. Let alone their risk of being discovered rising.

Though Lothering was a most suspicious sight to them all. The Darkspawn had reached its boundaries. That much was apparent by the presence of death everywhere. Though they saw the corpses from both sides... where was the Blight? The massive horde of Darkspawn? Hell, not a living Darkspawn was in sight. Nevertheless, the group continued walking forward. They couldn't get any further behind. If Duran knew Dwarven politics, there would already be civil war within Orzammar. Why? The King was dead, and his treacherous brother would be fighting to seize the title he rightfully inherited. Though not all was a total loss. If they hurried, Lord Harrowmont might have survived long enough to greet them. An oversight on Shadow's part was that he sent two exiled Dwarves and a Qunari warrior to Orzammar... That wouldn't play out too well. Or so the retired Dwarven noble thought.

Civil war was too big of a word for it. There wouldn't be outright fighting. In the streets there'd be peasants fighting each other, or possibly the guards, but there would be no real conflict. Orzammar knew better. The moment they tried that, the Darkspawn would come crashing through the gates in order to make sure the last city of the Dwarves was filled with corpses. No, there'd be assassination attempts, bribery, and who knew what else going on. Lord Harrowmont wasn't like that... but Bhelen? Bhelen killed his own brother and got his other brother exiled all because of his lust for the throne. He was a traitor, and needed to be put down like the sick nug he was.

"I smell something foul on the wind." Sten stated rather emotionlessly as they reached the center of the village. "An ambush."

As if they were summoned, Darkspawn had appeared from the sides of the road. Some of them had left the abandoned, ruined buildings of the village, whislt others came from the withering plants on the opposite side of the road. They were numerous, but nothing the Dwarves hadn't taken on by themselves. Together they could probably take on a few legions of Darkspawn before falling. With Sten, that only tripled their chaotic power. Between the three of them they would be a force to be reckoned with. Anything that tried killing them would probably find it to be a difficult task. One that was near impossible when all three of them were in a rage like stance.

The Darkspawn wasted no time, and neither did the group of three. The three knew better. As soon as Darkspawn showed their faces, it meant it was time to fight to the death. Sometimes, however, the Darkspawn would give some extra time before a battle to intimidate and spread fear amongst their enemies. This was witnessed by many at Ostagar, which proved that their methods, no matter how primal and brutal, were most effective. However, most Dwarves knew something about the Darkspawn and that was rather quite simple; why sit there why they try to scare you, when you could be up there chopping their heads off. This time, however, the Darkspawn made the first moves.

There were too many of them for any of the three to count successfully. What was known was that there would be a long battle within this village, and then a painful sprint out of it. They'd probably get hunted down as well, which meant even more fighting was on the horizon. Darkspawn were relentless, and the only way they would let these three go would be if the Archdemon demanded it. Natia was not a Dwarf of high endurance, but for what she lacked in that regard she made up for in offensive capability. In some cases, like when you already had a solid defense, an offense was what was needed.

When the two large Darkspawn groups collided with the three man team, all hell broke loose right there. Immediately Darkspawn were falling in various different ways. With Natia, she made quick and precise stabs and slashes with her daggers. This left Darkspawn to fall down to the ground when she was done with them, often times with gaping holes in their throats that coated the ground in a fresh layer of black blood. For Duran, the occasional limb was chopped off of his opponent. For the most part though, he was making deep gashes in the sides and heads of the Darkspawn. Their armor could withstand a lot, but Duran's axe was a lot sharper and a lot more powerful than it looked. If he really wanted to, he could probably chop a Genlock in half vertically and horizontally. Sten was a bit more brutal, and often times hit more than just one opponent. Very rarely did one of the Darkspawn he was attacking fall in one piece. It was usually cleaved in two. His sword could go through two, and possibly three Darkspawn depending on their breed before it hit the forth and dealt some kind of weakened blow to it. Darkspawn could live awhile after sustaining wounds that would normally send men down for the count, so to say that they also fell, but in one piece was a lie.

After fifteen minutes of battle it became apparent to the group that they weren't making any real progress. At least nothing that they could be proud of. They had barely moved far from their original starting point, and were completely surrounded by Darkspawn. This meant that all three had to go on the defensive. Not even Natia could afford to attempt something of an offensive nature. It was a dangerous situation to be in, but they could handle it. They had to be able to handle it. If they didn't, then all of Thedas would fall. No one could allow that to happen.

"We need to make a move towards the village exit! On the Imperial Highway!" Duran called out as blocked an attack with the long reinforced hilt of his axe.

Natia chuckled as she quickly deflected an attack and retaliated by sticking her blade in the neck of a Genlock. "How do ye propose we do tha'? We're surrounded by the bleedin' things!"

"We carve a path." Sten stated simply before cleaving through five Darkspawn, leaving their two-pieced corpses on the ground where they fell.

"Aye, what the big guy said! We're going to need to put together our efforts and make for an exit. Preferably the one leading to where we're going." Duran called out again before quickly sending his axe deep into the chest of a Hurlock. He retrieved the weapon just in time to stop a Genlock's advances. "We need to make that move quickly before an Ogre or something of the like shows up!"

"Then let's do it now!" Natia growled as she began to go crazy on multiple Darkspawn.

They focused on a single section of the Darkspawn, with Sten suppressing all sides of the enemies. Whilst the Dwarves carved a path, Sten was making sure that anyone who dared get close enough were without heads the next moment. Within five minutes they were free from the massive group and were rushing towards the highway. They were already tiring, or at least the Dwarves were. Sten still had quite a bit of fight left in him. He had been cut across the stomach, but such a wound was nothing new to the Qunari.

When they made it to the highway, they were immediately stopped. What they had just come across was something they had not wanted to deal with at the moment. Immediately they became hostile, taking fighting stances and holding their ground on the highway despite their Darkspawn pursuers. The Dwarves recognized the heraldry on the shields ahead of them.

"Loghain's men! Cut them down where they stand; no survivors!" Duran shouted as he charged, the only confirmation and persuasion Sten needed.

Natia was rushing towards them as well, "Aye, tell us somethin' we don't know!" She replied loudly before jumping into the air, landing on one of the knight's shoulders.

Her blades went for the man's weakest spots of armor, also known as the chain that covered up said weak spots. Of course there were a few areas without chain, but they were inaccessible to her at the moment. No chain-mail could resist her daggers' tips anyway. Soon the man found himself to be a reenactment of the sails common to hardcore pirates; the skull and crossbones. Though this time it was skull and daggers. As he collapsed to the ground, two of his lightly armored comrades tried to help. They were met with a great-sword in their stomachs, tearing their flesh and spilling what lied inside of their bodies. Duran slammed his axe into an archer's skull, sending the man down to his knees. The Dwarf laughed before hearing a loud roar behind them.

"Leave the rest to the Darkspawn, we need to get our arses outta here before that thing tears us new ones!" Natia shouted as she saw the terrifying display; an Ogre twice the size of any she knew.

Sten turned and looked at the beast, "We should claim its head, so it cannot take ours later." He replied.

"Oh sod that idea! We're getting out of here! Run!" Duran commanded, forcing his two companions to follow his orders or be left behind.

And so they ran for what seemed like an age. They did not stop, they did not look back, nor did they question why they were running. The time it would have taken to get out of there the hard way would have been an age within itself. There were too many Darkspawn, too many of Loghain's men. The only option for the three man squad was to run, and to never look back. They all subconsciously agreed to never return to Highever using the South highway. Such at thing was dangerous now; later it would be insanely suicidal. They ran for two miles before their exhaustion caught up with them. Dwarves had a lot of stamina, as did Qunari, but with their gear and their sizes rest was required. It would not be a long rest. It would not be an overnight rest. It would be a mere break to catch their breaths, and prepare themselves for the last leg of their journey. They would not stop again until they reached the gates of Orzammar. Even then, there would be no time for rest. There would only be time for work. Such was their life.

They had quite the journey left ahead of them, and they all knew that. Save for perhaps Sten, who only knew that it was quite the distance away from Highever. It would take them half a day to get there, considering they were not stopping to rest at night. With the Darkspawn more than likely hot on their trail, they all took their final breaths of recovery before hitting the road again. This time they were at a much more lenient pace, but that was only so they could go longer without needing a ten minute break.

They were all silent for the rest of their uneventful journey. They had nothing to say to one another. They had just been in a fight, and they had just ran from a massive group of Darkspawn. The vanguard of the Blight. Those that came before the rest of the advancing horde. Arguably the strongest, as there was little to no warning of their approach. One minute they were there, the next minute your village was full of corpses and set ablaze whilst the land decayed.

"What's that up ahead?" Sten asked as they finally traversed through the final mountain pass to Orzammar.

Duran shrugged as he continued walking, "That there is our home, Orzammar. The last city of the Dwarves. Well, the last city to stand strong against the Darkspawn and the other natural predators of the Deep Roads. What you are seeing though, is actually the trading center on the surface. Many men and women from the surface get gathered around to hopefully sell their goods to our people."

"Not that. Them." Sten replied as he pointed dead ahead of them, where several well armed humans were now bearing weapons.

"Oh. That's... Uh..." Duran said as he stopped and scratched his beard, that was odd. The traders were never hostile before...

Natia huffed, "Sod it! Let's just feed these humans to the worms!" She declared before rushing them.

"Natia!" Duran shouted, though knew it was of no use to try and stop the woman.

Soon the three companions had their weapons drawn and were charging towards the enemy. Natia had already made contact with the mercenaries. They wore the emblem of Loghain, which only meant they were on his payroll. That traitor had caused so much grief for Ferelden. The nation didn't need to be in a civil war at the moment. Perhaps if it weren't for Loghain's betrayal, the Blight wouldn't have gotten as far as it had thus far. Though times like these were much more easier on the last Dwarven stronghold. The Darkspawn were too busy focusing on the surface to try and strike at Orzammar.

There wasn't enough time to think about such thoughts, however, as the heat of battle consumed all of them. Sten didn't think much of the battle, as the mercenaries that were there required a little bit more work before they could be taken as a serious threat to a Qunari. That story was very much different for the two Dwarves. Though, Natia didn't need to worry all that much about the enemies either. She was too fast for them. The only time she ran into any difficulty was when the shield-bearer smashed her shield against the female casteless Dwarf.

Within a mere five minutes, the battle came to an end. Duran slammed his axe straight into the chest of the mage, and glared at a small group of three men. Two were soldiers by the looks of them; human, and of course they were with Loghain as well. These men were probably just rabble to hold them back whilst they spoke with the Gatekeeper. He was done playing around, and immediately he grabbed onto Natia's shoulder and pointed towards a tree.

"Climb up there and get your crossbow out. We're not playing fair with these idiots. They want to try and kill us while we're working to save the world, then we can kill them without hesitation. I'll lead them back into a clear area where you can fire. I don't want to look more bad than we already do in the eyes of our kin." Duran ordered.

Natia nodded slowly, "Alright. Lead 'em over to the small clearin' and I'll shoot 'em down. There's only three o' them so it should be easy." The woman reassured Duran before heading over to the designated tree and beginning to climb it.

"Sten, I want you to accompany me. There's no telling what they'll do, and we may have a fight right at the gates rather than our own predetermined turf." Duran stated and the Qunari simply let out a huff.

The two of them made their way over to the Gatekeeper and requested entry. The Dwarf experienced a brief moment of shock before shaking his head, ultimately denying him entry whilst also denying Loghain's men for what must have been the tenth time. Both parties were coming to each other about the Blight, though something told Duran that Loghain's claims were illegitimate. He would probably divert the Dwarvish help to the Civil War brewing in Ferelden than the actual threat in the South.

The Gatekeeper then came to a decision to allow one group entry into the last Dwarven city. The only complication was... the two groups had to choose which one would be going in. Since they weren't exactly friends, that conclusion could only be formed by who survived a battle. Despite Duran's attempts at a peaceful victory through negotiation. It wasn't long before Sten and Duran found themselves standing in the middle of the open area they had picked moments ago to act as a battleground.

Before the three men could start anything, a bolt went through the 'diplomat's' head and Sten cleaved the head from a soldier's shoulder in no time at all. Duran? Well Duran did what he was best at and just ended the remaining soldier rightfully. It seemed they would be the group getting into the Dwarven city. Now all they had to do was wait for clearance...

AN: Sorry if the last half seems a bit rushed. It was. I really just wanted to get it out to you guys. There wasn't much else I could put in other than filler, and I really to want to monitor how many words go into each chapter. Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed! I'll see you in the next chapter!