Sorry for the delay on the new chapter. I know I said that I would try to post more often but life decided to throw me curve ball that ended up nailing me in the nuts. Lost my job, ended up in the hospital twice in two weeks, and lost two grandparents all in the same three week time period. Like I said, curve ball to the nuts! Anyway, got a new job, happier and I get to sleep in the same bed at the same time as my wife now. Have not gotten to do that in 3 years. Anyway, sorry to bore you with my IRL drama. Let's get back to the fun. Let me know what you all think of the new chapter. I love getting to hear from all of you! Enjoy!
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The dragon circled overhead roaring down at them. Damien hid with the others behind what little cover there was. The valley was the absolute worst ground to fight the dragon on. The entire area stretched out like a bedsheet pulled tight. Nothing but the ruins and a few boulders allowed the small group to hide from the dragon's piercing eyes. The dragon could not have chosen a better hunting ground.
"Maker save us," Alyssa breathed, peeking out from behind a fallen column.
"I doubt the Maker will save you from this," Morrigan retorted.
"I don't see any other way that we will survive," Alistair snarled in Alyssa's defense.
"Quiet, all of you," Daylen scolded before turning to look at Damien. "What's the plan, commander?"
Damien sighed and looked out across the valley. On the opposite side, he could see another set of ruins and, judging from the magic he could feel coming from them, the urn was likely inside.
"We can't leave without the ashes, and we can't get to the ashes without getting past the dragon. To get past the dragon, we'll have to either kill it or distract it long enough for someone to get to the other side of the valley and into the ruins," Damien stated as he rubbed his chin between his thumb and index finger.
"So, what's the call?" Daylen pressed. Damien could tell the young mage was scared out of his mind, but had complete faith in Damien as a leader. But how was he supposed to choose? Both options were bad. Did he risk the entire team by trying to kill the dragon and hope it increased their chances enough that they could make it back, or did he leave comrades behind to likely die while the others ran for the ruins to retrieve the ashes? Either way, someone was bound to get hurt, if not killed. He had to decide. He was the leader whether he liked it or not.
"We fight. I know I'm the last person who should say something like this, but don't do anything reckless. I need all of you alive," Damien ordered, peeking around the corner again.
"You're right, you are the last person who should say something like that," Alyssa scolded with a smirk.
"You do have a way of injuring yourself a lot," Neria added as she hugged her staff to her chest.
"I know, and I'm working on that, but can we shelf this discussion for another time when he have a less menacing audience?" Damien stated, drawing his blades and turning so he was ready to immediately engage the dragon.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I have no idea how to kill a high dragon," Alistair stated.
"Me either, but every living creature has a weakness. So keep hitting it until you find one. The other dragons' weak spots were the eyes, under the chin between the jaw bones, and the underbelly. My guess is the high dragon is similar," Alyssa stated, readying herself to charge.
"Before that, do whatever you have to do to slice the wings. If we can ground it, it'll be easier to find those weak points." Damien stopped briefly and turned to the elf mage still curled up behind the crumbling stone wall. "Neria, stay here. You're our healer. Keep an eye on everyone and heal them as needed. Don't engage the dragon no matter what," Damien ordered.
"I understand," the girl replied. Damien could hear the relief in her voice. The girl was certainly not going to be a fighter like Daylen was, but her skills were a substantial asset to the team. With Wynne looking after Brother Genitivi, Neria had big shoes to fill. If everything went well, hopefully her confidence in her abilities would grow.
"Alright, Alistair and Alyssa, get that thing's attention. Sten, move behind them and flank the left side. Damage the wing as much as you can without getting killed. Kalli, if it starts concentrating on Alistair and Alyssa too much, divert its attention, but if you see an opening, strike. Leli, aim for the face with your arrows. Even if it is just an annoyance, it will take some of the pressure off of our shields. Daylen, Morrigan, same as Leli. Ranged spells, but if you see a chance to pin the thing in place, take it," Damien ordered.
"And you?" Kalli asked, gripping her daggers tight.
"I'm going right. I'll do what I can to rip the other wing apart, but if I can't do the damage, Sten come help me once you're done and I'll do the same," Damien responded. Taking a slow breath, he readied himself to lead the attack. They had to wait for the dragon to land, but the only way it would was if it were lured.
"I'm going to draw the dragon down to the ground. Once its landed," Damien started but Alistair immediately jumped in.
"Oh no you don't. I'll do it. It's my job to keep the beast's attention right?" Alistair stated.
"Yeah, but you can't dodge as quickly as I can," Damien responded.
"Then two of us would be better," Alyssa added.
"Alright, but keep your distance from each other. Kalli, if either of them have to dodge and end up on the ground, jump in and draw the dragon's attention. Everyone else, follow the plan the second the dragon is on the ground," Damien ordered.
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Damien had never been more nervous than watching Alistair and Alyssa beat their weapons against their shields as the dragon descended on them. The moment the dragon's feet hit the ground, the rest of the team was out engaging the beast. Damien used his magic and kicked off the ledge of the ruins and forced himself down toward the dragon's wing with his blades ready. The tips ripped through the skin, but it felt more like stabbing steel armor than leather or flesh. Damien had to use every ounce of his strength, as well as his magic, to rip his daggers down to the edge of the wing, making the limb useless for flying. He looked up to see Sten had already finished with the left wing and had joined Alistair and Alyssa up front as the distraction. The dragon roared in displeasure and swung its tail, narrowly missing Sten and Damien by less than a foot.
"My spells aren't doing anything!" Daylen shouted, launching a massive fireball at the dragon's face. The spell hit, but the dragon did not seem to even notice.
"I can't even make a scratch," Alyssa added as her sword knocked against the dragon's scales and bounced off like it was nothing but a toy.
"Keep it up, but keep looking for a weakness. There has to be one," Damien shouted. Taking his own advice, Damien slid under the dragon's belly, hoping that the beast would not notice his presence. If Alyssa was right and the high dragon had the same weaknesses as its smaller brethren, then he should be able to stab the creature and escape while it recoiled. Using both daggers, Damien jabbed up, aiming between the scales, but the blades struck the surface without making a scratch.
"Andraste's ass, what's it going to take to kill this bitch?" Damien snarled, rolling out from under the beast and studying the situation for a brief moment. The dragon seemed to be starting to take the fight seriously since they had destroyed its wings. They were more than prey or a nuisance, they were a legitimate threat.
"Think, damn it, think," Damien scolded himself, striking at the dragon's flank with his daggers. Yet again, the blades bounced off. Think, what other weaknesses could this thing have? Compared to the rest of the body, the wings were cut pretty easily. Why? The scales are small and thin to allow flex room and easier flight, so where else would have thin scales, nor no scales at all?
"Damien!" Kalli shouted. Damien looked up just in time to see the dragon's eye focused only on him. A light radiated from the beast's throat as the teeth parted.
"Breath attack! Take cover!" Damien shouted, launching himself backward, somehow managing to avoid the tail, tumbling over the top of the wall of the ruins and nearly landing on top of Neria.
"Sorry to drop in like that!" Damien spouted, scrambling back to his feet and peaking around the corner of the wall again as the dragon unleashed its fire on the shield bearers up front. Daylen and Morrigan managed to put up a massive ice shield to protect everyone, but the breath attack shattered it knocking, everyone to the ground.
"No!" Damien roared, rushing forward again. What am I going to do? Where do I attack? A weakness. Just one. Maker, please!
Suddenly, the dragon's eye turned on Damien. The youth spun his dagger in his hands and put all of his magic into his jump. Launching himself forward and up, Damien aimed his dagger at the only spot he thought might be weak on the dragon: the eye.
The eyelid closed less than a second before Damien's blade hit, but with all the force behind the attack, the dagger pierced the lid and plunged into the dragon's eye, all the way to the hilt. The dragon roared again, but this time the sound could only be described as pure agony.
Okay, we can blind the bastard, but how do we kill it with this? Damien thought as he launched himself back away from the long teeth and bucking head, leaving his dagger stuck in the beast's eye. Could they maybe hit it again with Sten's sword? No, Damien was lucky to make the strike with his own dagger, a broadsword would be too heavy and blunt to accurately pierce the eyelid. What about an enchantment? Ice… maybe, but that would stop the bleeding. Fire… no, same result. The idea struck so quickly, Damien could not believe he had not thought of it before.
"Lightning magic now! Aim at the dagger in its eye!" Damien roared as he landed roughly and jumped back to his feet.
Daylen, Morrigan, and even Neria immediately launched their spells and all three struck the dagger with a thunderous crack. The dragon's cry could have burst an eardrum but it only lasted for a second or two before the beast fell silent and collapsed to the ground.
Damien stood awe struck for a moment before approaching their downed foe. Smoke billowed from the beast's mouth and nostrils in long smooth streams, uninterrupted by breathing. Steam twisted in the cold mountain air as it rose from the eye bearing the dagger. Damien tapped the pommel of the blade and was immediately shocked with residual energy. He recoiled and shook the numbness out of his fingers before trying again. This time it did not shock him and he was able to pull the blade free.
"Yeah! We did it!" Daylen roared, lifting his staff. The victorious roar was echoed by everyone in the group. Damien smirked and lifted the dagger, still drenched in the dragon's blood, and howled in celebration as well. It may not have been an elegant victory, and he doubted they could repeat anything like that again, but now, they not only had a clear path to the ashes, they had a plan for killing the archdemon.
"Is everyone alright? If you're dead, let me know," Damien shouted, looking around the group.
"Nothing Neria can't patch up," Alistair reported.
"Same," Alyssa responded.
"Not a scratch," Leli added.
Each member of the team sounded off. It was a miracle that none of them had died, and had only minor wounds that would not even take a day to heal completely with magic. The dragon was dead.
"How did you know that was going to work?" Kalli asked, stepping to Damien's side.
"I saw an ogre at Ostagar get hit in the eye with an enchanted arrow. It went down like a sack of potatoes. I figured we could give it a shot here," Damien confessed.
"We're pretty lucky that it worked," Kalli responded.
"The Maker could not have said it better himself," Damien replied as he looked back across the valley toward the ruins on the far side.
"What now?" Daylen asked, using his staff to hold himself up.
"Leli, Alyssa, Daylen, Neria, you four are with me. Everyone else, start taking anything that can be used to craft us more armor and weapons from the dragon corpse. We five will get the ashes. See you in a few," Damien said heading for the ruins.
"Hold on, you need to rest. All of us do. Nothing is going anywhere. We can spare a few hours to get some sleep, eat, and rest our bodies. I don't know about you but I'm starving," Alyssa stated, grabbing hold of his shoulder and forcing him to sit down.
"I guess you're right. We'll get some rest, but make sure that someone is on watch. That may not be the only dragon out here," Damien said, feeling his eyes suddenly get heavy. He was far more exhausted than he had thought. The use of his magic during the fight with the dragon, coupled with the physical strain on his body, must have completely drained his stamina. The moment his back met the wall behind him, his muscles relaxed, his eyes closed, and his mind ventured into his dreams.
The archdemon lay sleeping with its head on his clawed hands. Damien could not believe that the beast actually slept like any other creature. Did that mean the beast got tired, or perhaps it was bored and waiting to make its move, just passing the time? Either way, Damien felt much more confident about taking on the tainted beast now that they had killed a high dragon.
"One day soon, I'm going to kill you and end this blight," Damien told the sleeping creature.
The moment the words left his lips the archdemon's eye opened wide and focused on Damien as if the beast could see him. Then, like the rumble of thunder in a distant storm, the demon let a low growl escape his throat while staring straight at Damien.
It was as if the archdemon was answering him. As if it knew what he said and had only one response for him. Try it.
Waking with a start, Damien looked around seeing everyone but Sten sound asleep under their cloaks despite the cold wind. Alistair and Alyssa still had half eaten food on their laps. Pushing himself up to his feet, the young warden stepped to Sten's side as the qunari stared at their vanquished opponent.
"I think this trip was worth the extra time. We are close to the ashes and getting Arl Eamon on our side against the blight, and we have a strategy now to bring down the archdemon," Damien said, turning to glance at the warrior.
"Hesitant to hope, but I trust you, Commander," Sten remarked coldly. Damien smiled and turned back to the dragon corpse.
"Thanks, but I know the qunari are trying to conquer everything and spread the qun across Thedas. Does that mean after you go home, I'll have to fight you later on?" Damien asked.
"That has nothing to do with the present, but yes. When the arishok comes for this land, we may meet in battle again," Sten responded.
"Then I hope that day is long after I have died in the deep roads," Damien replied, patting the qunari on the shoulder before pulling his scarf tight around his neck and face.
"As do I," Sten agreed.
Damien smiled to himself as he took a seat next to the small fire and warming his hands, then retrieved some dried meat and an apple from his pack to munch on. Something told him that he would need his strength to go after the urn. This immortal guardian Kolgrim had mentioned made Damien wary of venturing into the ruins on his own.
Maker, watch over me. I'm probably walking into another death trap. If Leli is right and you are watching over us and active in our lives, cut me some slack here, please. Damien prayed silently as he chewed on the salty jerky. At this point, he'd pray to Fen'Harel if he thought it would help, but venturing into a final resting place of the Bride of the Maker called for a far more monotheistic approach to his prayers for help.