King Cailin is dead. Most of the army is dead too. As far as I know only myself and Alistair survived. But it can't be just us. Their were so many people at Ostagar. Fergus was at Ostagar. Some of them must have made it. The Maker can't be that cruel. I suppose I should explain what happened, for as far as I know I may be the only one who can.
The sprawling encampment was empty as we made our way towards the bridge, Griffon trotting gallantly alongside. In spite of the ease of our assignment, both Alistair and I were on edge. The rain didn't help either. I had heard that Darkspawn could effect the weather during a Blight, blotting out the sun with Dark clouds in order to shield themselves from the sun. I asked Alistair if that was true. He grimaced and told me that they hadn't told him about that, but thanked me nonetheless for freaking him out even more. For some reason things like these stay put in my mind, even amongst all the fear and death.
The battle had already commenced by the time we reached the bridge. Of course by that time the eerie quiet had ceased, I had to bob and weave to avoid bumping into any of the men and women scrambling to their posts. Flaming borders soared overhead, one struck a tower right across the bridge, collapsing it. Me and Alistair ran over the bridge, dodging arrows and ballista bolts. A bolt hit near us sending me tumbling to the ground. As I scrambled to my feat I got a good look at the enemy army. The forest was lit up for leagues. They stretched out across the land like a flaming serpent. A serpent that would devour the world.
After we scrambled off the bridge me and Alistair thought the worse was over. But as I saw two far off figures scrambling out the tower gate I knew something had gone wrong. The two men were a Mage named Tam and I recognized the other as Hawke. They explained that the Darkspawn had stormed the tower through some ancient Tevinter tunnels and killed most of the garrison.
Obviously we couldn't let the beacon go unlit, let alone have the Darkspawn move in on the army's flanks. Alistair said what I was thinking. I ordered Hawke to inform the King of what had happened and maybe get us some reinforcements. I have no idea if the message got through.
And so Two Wardens, a Mage, and a Mabari prepared to attack a tower full of Darkspawn. Tam pointed out the insanity of it all. I'm not sure if I actually said this, or merely thought it, but I looked back on all that had happened, all the horror that I had already faced, and said to myself, "It's hundreds of them against four of us. Poor buggers." Then we rushed through the door.
Almost as soon as we entered the courtyard, we were greeted by a hail of arrows, coming from platforms near the tower entrance. I raised my shield and out of the corner of my eye I saw a rabble of Genlocks and Hurlocks charging us. Me and Alistair held steady while Griffon flanked them from the side. Tam targeted the archers at the top of the platform. I got three. We charged ahed to find a squad of soldiers holding a mound of high ground against a mob of Darkspawn. They were being overwhelmed. The Darkspawn sensed me and Alistair at the same time I sensed them. Most broke off to attack us. Things got a bit hairy. In the blur of the melee I though I saw my sword alight. To be honest I thought I was going mad. But I could smell the Darkspawn's corpses burning. And feel the heat on my palm. Alistair's blade was also ablaze. Tam explained that he had cast a fire spell on our blades. I told him that while I was thankful for the help, he should ask me next time he did something like that.
We and the survivors, six men led by a Captain Crenic, pressed on towards the tower. Near the entrance we faced another squad, this one led by an Alpha. I engaged it, and with a little help from a lightning and a slow spell, was able to slay it. That Tam was a dam hero. He didn't deserve to die. None of them did.
The interior of the tower was more open than I would have expected. The ceiling towered leagues above us. An Ogre would have room to run around in their. Now that I think about it, it makes sense for a fortress built by mages to have so much space. You can't throw a fireball in a cramped space and not expect to maim yourself as much as your opponent. Alas our Tam did not know how to throw fireballs.
But the Darkspawn emissary did. The bastards waited on the other side of the room and shot at us with arrows. Tam cast some lightning spells and the rest of us formed a shield wall and prepared to move up. One of the soldiers pointed out a grease trap that the Darkspawn had set. While the poor man tried to disarm it, the dam emissary they had with them threw a fireball, infighting the trap and incinerating our brave comrade. I couldn't help but hear the screaming for the rest of the night. I'll remember that horror as long as I live. One of many.
The rest were archers, who we quickly dispatched. Alistair took the emissary's head.
We fought another squad on the stairs up to the next floor. Turns out having the high ground is not necessarily decisive.
The Second floor was a blood soaked disorienting meandering nightmare. The Darkspawn hid in the narrow rooms and waited for us to walk pace before ambushing. Their were ballista two on the floor .Crenic and his men maned them. I'm sure it killed some darkspawn, but from my perspective it just added to the mayhem. The rest of us had to dodge the bolts as well as look out for Darksapwn. Tam paid them back in kind by unleashing a cone of fire on some darkspawn. At times we were surrounded, and I felt for sure we were done for.
Two of Tam's men went ahead and scouted a room without us. We heard their screaming and returned to find them butchered. We avenged the poor lads. I confess, the fighting on the last two floors blurs together in my mind. Some times it's even contorted with Howe's attack. All of this is why I try to avoid sleep as much as possible. The one thing I specifically remember about the third floor was releasing a squad of imprisoned Mabari to maul the Darkspawn to death. I think Griffon really enjoyed the company. And the others enjoyed having a helping hand, or should I say helping paw, to deal with the enemy. Except for Tam, who loudly proclaimed his disappointment about not being able to cast another fire spell.
The Captain was concerned that since the Darkspawn's entry point had not been secured, more could have infiltrated the tower. And they could be heading up the stairs towards us. Alistair told them that reinforcements were on their way and that it was nothing to be concerned about. Hindsight proved the captain's wisdom. But the man insisted. I said we should just let them form a rearguard. If only to rest up a little. Tam called them all cowards and said he was with us to the end. Hindsight proved the captain's wisdom. I confess, shamefully, to have held a similar taught, but in the end these men had performed above and beyond the call of duty and they earned the right to show a bit of cowardice. Of course this rested on the presumption that we would face minimal or not opposition on the roof. An assumption of mine that was made false by the gigantic horned bloodthirsty monstrosity we found feasting on a man at arms.
We tried to dance around it, nipping and slashing at it's heals, exhausting it. It would smash it's fists on the ground, sending us flying, beat it's chest, and charge. We'd have to scramble out of the way or be crushed. Tam's slow spells really came in handy then. After a turn though he seemed to grow weary. The constant battle and spell casting had worn him down and he couldn't make the sprints. I yelled at him to keep up, but he just stoped and marshaled all his strength into one last blast of fire. But the beast ran though the flame and broke his unarmored body against the wall. May our gallant friend rest at the makers side.
We kept at it. That was then the Ogre ripped up a chunk of the floor and flung it at us. . We barely managed to dodge, but were flung to our feet. I stumbled up to see Alistair ensnared in the thing's gauntlet. It was smashing him with it's fist over and over again. I thought he was dead. And I just lost it.
I started shouting at the thing, cursing it with every foul word under the Maker's sky. I don't even think it was to get the thing's attention. It was just the pent up rage of a woman who had seen her family murdered before her very eyes, spent an entire day fighting what most would have seen as a lifetime's work of Darkspawn, been lied to by the highest ranking authority figure in her order, seen her greatest heroes act like quarrelsome fools, and now was seeing her greatest friend in the order, probably her last remaining friend in the whole world, being smashed to bits by a foul monstrosity. You'll pardon me if I conducted myself like a blood drunk Dwarven berserker.
It looked at me, and turned it's head towards Alistair, and flung him away like a discarded toy. It charged. I stood my ground. One way or another, I thought, this will all be over. It was a very selfish thing to do I confess, somebody had to survive to light the beacon, and to avenge the murder of my family, but at that moment I forgot all of that. It rose it's arm to strike me, I slashed him and dodged to the side. That was when I found an opening right near it's shoulder. I slashed my sword up, slicing though his thick Darkspawn hide. The family sword must have hit something vital, because it drew back, exposing an opening dead center, which I went for. He now fell back on his heals, blood pouring out of his sides. I flung myself onto him, staring his shoulder to gain a grip, and sent him falling onto the floor. I withdrew my blade and with one final great effort, stabbed it right between the eyes.
I clambered off, dazed, shocked and blood soaked. Griffon trotted up to me, nuzzling his nose at my side. I must have made for quite the sight. You'll have to ask Alistair about that, funny what a difference a bit of armor makes. He struggled to his feet, limping, it was clear he'd broken something. I ran to him but he waved me off, reminding me of the beacon. The wood was already stacked and a fire was burning. I had only to remove one of the pieces, and then the beacon went up.
That was when I heard the sound of Dakrspawn footsteps heading up the stairs. The poor Captain had been right. I ran to cover Alistair, who was too wounded to do anything but urge me . They burst though the gate, firing arrows. I shielded Alistair from some, but one struck me in the shoulder,I dropped my shield, allowing them to hit me with six more arrows. The exact number was told to me by my saviors, but at the time I myself just remembered the first three, and then nothing but agony. As I closed my eyes, I heard the mocking laughter of ether the Darkspawn or the Archdemon itself, I couldn't tell. I heard Griffon snarling and mounting his last gallant defense, and I though I saw the window burst open into a thousand shards. Then I lapsed into the unconscious.
My sleep was dreamless, and I confess, I felt the best I had felt in a long while. I awoke in a bed, one that actually felt quite cosy, if a little damp. I thought I had died and gone to the makers side. Of course as it turned out I had not died, and I was in that hut in the Wilds, the one I mentioned earlier. Morrigan bandaged my wounds and was their when I awakened. I imagine patching me and Alistair up must have required more than a little bandaging, probably a lot of healing magic. She explained to me that her mother had turned into a giant bird and rescued me and Alistair from the tower. I'm pretty sure shapeshifting is not permitted by the Chantry, but I am not in a position to impose upon this woman, considering she saved our lives.
Morrigan explained how the battle unfolded. After the signal went up, Loghain's army failed to respond, leaving the rest of the army behind to it's grisly fate. And it is a grisly one. The Darkspawn are dragging any survivors they capture underground, for what purposes I do not know.
Speaking of Morrigan's mother, she calls herself Flemeth, from the legends. It seems she is indeed the Witch of the Wilds. Normally I would be astonished that that particular bit of family legend proved true, but so many things have happened that it's just numb to me. Her conduct thought all this, thought it has been to our benefit, is very concerning. She clearly knows a lot more than she is letting on, and I sense a woman who has not yet put all her cards on the table. Their is a greater game afoot but we have no choice but to bide our time and be content with our status as pawns. I believe her when she says she is aligned with us against the Blight. All other Wardens are dead and we cannot assume Loghain will allow them to reinforce us. We need all the allies we can get. Alistair believes we can trust Arl Eamon can be trusted. My father always spoke of him as an honorable man. But than again so was the Teyrn. Most think of him as a traitor, Alistair certainly does, but I cannot believe the Hero of the River Deyne would do something like this, though I can being to unwrap some motives for him doing so. Still he could have perceived us as a lost cause, and desired to save his men. We'll know more once we get out of the wilds.
Praise the Maker that we recovered those treaties, they will really come in handy, now that our task is to assemble an entire new army.
This "army" consists of just Me, Alistair, and this girl Morrigan. She will help lead us out of the Wilds, her Magic can shield us from the Darkspawn. She wasn't particularly enthused, in fact she was like a bride sent to marry a far away prince. Alistair is suspicious of her, but I am mostly convinced she is what she says she is, namely and apostate and daughter of Flemeth, or at least she thinks she is telling the truth. I am good a reading people. Plus we need all the help we can get. Our destination is Lothering.
But we are not going their immediately. We found a dead Missionary, Jogby. He had a note from his father, Rigby directing him to his camp. We cannot leave that man int he Wilds with all those Darkspawn. Morrigan says this is madness, and she is right. Alistair suspects I have other more personal motives, and he is also right. I cannot be the last one. And as long as we are not to close to being detected by the horde, which I trust Morrigan's judgement on, than I intend to rescue these missionaries, and any other survivors I encounter along the way. The Wilds are Cold, Damp, miserable, and crawling with things that want to kill me. I do not enjoy staying the night here. But at the very least the fire is warm.
Note: Yes I'm changing things from the game, their you only get one soldier, but I always figured it would take more than one person to operate a ballista. It's pretty silly to demand that much realism out of a franchise that includes Dragons, Demons, and constant appearance and gameplay retcons, but I digress.