A/N: Some of you have been requesting Oghren go along for this part of the story, I have decide to grant that request, after all, he has been a little too quiet lately, so this is for all you Oghren fans out there hope you all like it.
DG
Chapter 102: A Sodding Good Fight
"STOP, YOU WILL GO NO FURTHER!"
Alim paused, magic and lightning crackling in his fingertips, it had been a long road up the mountain, the Disciples of Andraste refusing to give them an inch as they advanced. Reavers, mages, and even a few drakes and dragonlings blocked their path. Leliana had said this was not surprising, what she knew of Nevarra said that Reavers first got their abilities from drinking dragon blood, it was said to take away some of their humanity, and replace it with great power.
Alim had not been surprised, even if he had not been a mage; he knew that power could be taken from the blood of the living, but dragon blood…?
Then he remembered the joining. He could not deny that the blood of the darkspawn had changed him, and it was not simply the ability to sense the darkspawn either, sometimes, in the heat of battle, he felt himself getting lost in the conflict, a sense of bloodlust came over him…
Was this a side effect of the joining? It was possible he supposed.
Not that it mattered, that bloodlust had saved his life more than a few times already during the course of this journey. It helped to think of it as a tool, just another weapon in the arsenal.
Thinking like that made his sacrifice back in Ostagar more…bearable.
He looked at the cultist who had called out to them, considering how the others had simply thrown themselves at the wardens' blades like a pack of wild dogs, this was something new. This one looked different than the others, he was a powerfully built man with short dark hair and a full beard, his skin was darker than the others suggesting Tevinter or Antivan blood, his armor more polished symbols had been etched into it with care, the battle ax he carried flickered with magic runes, clearly more than the simple stock weapons they had seen the cultists wield so far.
The most telling feature however were the man's eyes, they gleamed with a fanatical light that went far beyond the other cultists they had faced, even Father Eirik had not seemed so devoted, and he had been one of this groups leaders, he…
Alim smiled as the realization struck him.
The group's leader, of course, that was likely who they had finally found.
The thought pleased him; it meant that they were finally getting close to reaching their objective.
He strode up to the man purposely; the cult leader's bodyguards tensed, but did not attack. Alim counted two reavers and another pair of mages. Stiff defenses to be sure, but nothing they had not dealt with already in their winding trek through the passages up the mountain.
"And who are you to block my way?" he demanded.
The cult leader snarled.
"You have no right to demand my name; you have desecrated our temple, murdered the faithful and slaughtered her young. You will tell me now intruder, why have you done this? What has brought you here?"
"Tell me your name and I will tell you my answer," Alim said with a slight smile.
The cult leader tensed, but did not attack; curiosity had likely won out over bloodlust.
Lucky for him, the elf thought.
"I am Father Kolgrim, leader and guide to the Disciples of Andraste," the man paused and stepped closer to Alim, he clearly recognized that he was not dealing with simple raiders, if they had fought this far into the mountain, he must surely realize that they were more than mere thieves.
"Kill us and you face Andraste," the cult leader warned, "She will smell the blood of her children on you, and her wrath will be great."
The warden's ears twitched. Children? Was the cult leader referring to the people here? He did not think so…but?
Then he thought about what the cult leader had said to him.
Slaughtered her young.
The blood of her children.
Children.
Dragonlings?
The drakes?
Alim blinked.
Was that it?
"Dragon," he said, "Andraste…she is a dragon?"
Kolgrim grinned.
"She is far more than that," he said, "The Prophet Andraste has returned to us in a form grander than all of the old gods of Tevinter combined."
He chuckled maniacally.
"Not even the combined might of the Tevinter Imperium could hope to slay her now. What hope would you have?"
Alim pursed his lips, he could not see Leliana's face, but he had known enough chantry sisters in his time that he knew how they would react to this man's claims.
He shook his head.
Hello crazy.
IOI
Leliana said nothing as the mad man ranted at her lover. She tensed like a coiled spring, an arrow already loaded in her bow, awaiting Alim's order to put this foul man out of their misery, it was a task she would carry out happily, gladly.
The man actually believed that Andraste was reborn, as a dragon no less?
It was preposterous!
"What became of the ashes," her lover asked.
"They are still within this temple," Kolgrim shrugged dismissively, "But why do we need ashes when we serve the risen Andraste in all…her glory!"
"Aren't they magical," Alim asked.
"They have nothing compared to the power we draw from our beloved Andraste."
The bard glanced around, the rest of the party was caught up in the conversation between their leader and the cultist, only Morrigan and possibly Theron seemed to be watching the mad man's bodyguards. The witch and the Dalish both seemed to be more focused on getting past these cultists than talking with them.
Leliana heartedly agreed.
Nothing good could come from negotiating with these people, they were fanatics, dangerous. They had murdered innocent men and women to protect their sick secrets.
The Maker could not want such people holding his temple, the resting place of his beloved bride!
They were idolaters, singing praised to a dragon of all things! They were worse than the ancient Tevinters, blind and foolish!
Surely, he wished to see this place cleansed of this dark taint.
Alim's posture relaxed slightly, as he shifted into the role of a negotiator, normally she tried to deny her desire to kill, but with these people…
She would make an exception.
"If the ashes are of no use to you," the elf said, "You won't mind us helping ourselves then."
Kolgrim seemed to relax as well.
"So you are after the ashes, hmm," the cult leader said tapping his chin lightly.
"Perhaps there is a way for you to make up for your crimes here, to repay us for defiling our temple?"
"I'm willing to make a deal," Alim said dismissively.
Leliana felt her mouth fall open.
What was Alim doing?!
Wynne might have gasped, it sounded like she had. Kally and Fergus pulled closer together. Morrigan was smirking, likely enjoying this turn of events. Oghren scratched himself looking around as if bored, not that the dwarf would understand, his people did not revere Andraste.
Even Alistair and Theron looked shocked; they were Alim's fellow wardens after all. They no doubt understood the value of doing what was necessary, but after all they had faced in this place…
Her dear one could not simply want to help these people now!
He couldn't!
IOI
"The power in the ashes must be returned to our lady."
Oghren belched and scratched his arse, he had long since grown bored with this human's ranting, his arrogant crowing. He sounded worse than the nobles back in Orzammar. Oghren longed to shut the bastard up, hopeful with his ax shoved between the man's ears, but this…this…
What in the name of the Ancestor's was their boss doing?!
He had been enjoying himself; this had been a good fight! Hard honest stone over his head, enemies willing to throw themselves in the way of his ax, a way to finally let his temper out after too long of holding it in check.
He was a berserker damn it, he needed that release.
The booze helped, but even it had lost some of its luster since leaving Orzammar. This journey had changed his outlook on things. The people up here, they looked at him with respect, like he still held the honor he had thrown off long ago.
It was better than the hopelessness he had felt vomiting in the privy back in Tapster's.
He liked the boss, he was alright for an elf, but he tended to talk too much sometimes.
How could the warden just let this bastard drone on and on? Then there was a dragon, a soddening real dragon!
How could the boss not want to fight that!
The dwarf sighed.
He could not take it anymore!
He could no longer stay silent.
"You mean that we aren't going to hunt these assholes' pet dragon? Are you soddening nuts warden, think of the blood, think of the glory!"
The human, father what's his face glared at him.
"You…you would hunt our noble lady…for sport?"
"Yeah," Oghren chuckled, "Don't worry there pal, I'm sure you will find another one soon enough."
"Silence dwarf," Morrigan hissed, "You will ruin everything.
Oghren chuckled.
The witch had been more bitchy lately. Maybe the warden prince wasn't laying her hard enough at night.
He would have to give the lad some tips.
The Father guy raised his ax.
"I should kill you for your blasphemy, dwarf!"
Oghren merely shrugged.
Bring it on nug humper!
The boss sighed, and shook his head.
"You know," he said, "I wasn't going to do this until after we had the ashes, oh well, no time like the present."
He grabbed the father guy's arms.
"Here is your reward Your Reverence," the elf sneered.
He electrified his hands, and from there the cult asshole's armor, then the cult asshole himself.
The man screamed.
The battle began again.
Oghren smiled.
Fuck yeah!
He let the rage go; he charged one of the cult guys in robes, trying to raise his staff. Oghren caught the guy between the legs with his ax, driving it so far that it almost split all the way to the guy's shoulder. He fell with barely a sound.
The dwarf's heart pounded, blood beat in his ears like a war drum.
This was what it was all about, this was true living!
He charged his next opponent his next victim.
Princess Seri was going to be sad she stayed behind; this was the kind of a battle a dwarven warrior lived for.
Oh well, Oghren would kill another of these guys for her.
She could thank him when they got back.
IOI
Spellbinder flashed as Alim whirled around one of the Reavers. Kolgrim lay dead, smoking on the ground at his feet. Alim would have preferred to have Kolgrim let them into the temple and deal with the bastard after they had the ashes, but…
Oghren just had to open his mouth hadn't he?
The elf shook his head, he would talk to the dwarf later, no point in ruining his fun, especially since he was on a roll and had killed two of Kolgrim's bodyguards himself.
Maybe the dwarf would be calmer after all this chaos; he seemed to revel in it.
The Reaver that he had been engaging stiffened as an arrow caught him in the left eye. Alim did not need to ask which of their archers had fired it; Leliana always had his back during close quarter's fights. How she could still shoot in such close quarters was beyond him, but she managed.
Again the chamber fell silent; Kolgrim and his bodyguards were dead.
Oghren sauntered over to Kolgrim; he picked up the slain cult leader's ax.
The instigator of this most recent fight nodded appreciatively.
"Not bad," he murmured, dragon bone, I think, probably forged back in Orzammar, long time ago probably."
He adjusted his own ax in its sling, and added Kolgrim's to his arsenal.
The dwarf smiled at the warden.
"The spoils of battle boss," he said jovially.
Alim merely glared at him.
In distance they heard a roar, a loud yet familiar roar.
Alim's ears lowered slightly.
That would be the cult's pet dragon, their Andraste.
The elf shook his head.
He sent Fergus, Wynne, and Kally back for the others, if the cult's pet was indeed a high dragon, he wanted Sten and the others up here as well.
The Flemeth-dragon had been a major pain in the ass; he had no desire to fight another high without the full strength of the group.
He walked up to dwarf.
"Thanks Oghren," he said, "That was really helpful."
The berserker smirked.
"No problem, boss."
Alim rolled his eyes.
Sometimes the dwarf was a little deaf to sarcasm.
He pulled out his newest weapon, inspecting the blade.
"Oh aye," Oghren purred, "A really good ax."
Alim rolled his eyes again.
Yeah, he thought, kiss my ax, dwarf…
Kiss it real hard.