Chapter 23) The Unexpected
Nuada POV
"Nuada, what are you doing?" I looked up to see Uncle Loghain scowling at me. He was always scowling, of course. I wasn't sure if he liked anyone besides Uncle Maric and Anora, really. With Uncle Maric preparing for a trip to Antiva, he seemed even grouchier than normal. "That's the model for Cailan's history lesson," he grumbled.
"Is it?" I replied, widening my eyes in false innocence and putting on my most surprised look. While Orlais had turned Elspeth's masks into stones, it had turned mine into expressive looks of idiocy and charm. "It was just out here in the open."
"Because Cailan is skipping. Again. No doubt somewhere with your brother." Well, of course Fergus was. There was no way he'd let his best friend get into mischief without him. "…Why did you move them there?"
"Huh?"
"The pieces. You rearranged them." I almost asked why he thought that, but he continued with, "this dictates a battle I had to fight. I remember it clearly." Well, this was awkward.
"It looked better," I answered sourly. I wanted to get away from here and back to Elspeth. Surely, she was done with her information hunting.
"Why?"
Something about the look in his eyes really made me want to stop playing stupid. "Using the archers as a bait force leads them straight to a fresh cavalry that can demolish them."
"There's bad footing in the area."
"Which is why the only cavalry there are those with ponies. The ones with stallions and geldings are on the sides, ready to come in through the back to block escape." Uncle Loghain studied me and I shrugged. "It's not perfect. I was bored, so I set up something quick."
"…What are you doing right now?"
Huh? "Waiting for Elspeth?"
"Sit here." I blinked slowly as he gestured to the chair next to the table. "We're going to have a lesson in strategy and tactics."
"There's a difference?"
"Tactics are on the field decisions, strategies are long-term." For the first time, though, I saw him smile. "You've don't have a bad head for it. Let's see if we can turn it into a talent, Nuada."
"Yes, sir?" Well, Elspeth wouldn't mind waiting a bit. I hoped.
Fergus was fine. Fergus was fine. Fergus was fine. If I thought it enough, it had to come true, right? …Of course not, and it would be better to just forget until another time, but I couldn't seem to manage it. No matter what I did, what trick I pulled, it wouldn't leave my head and fester in whatever hole I threw memories and thoughts like that in. I was standing on the bridge with Alistair and Layla, watching the troops form up below, and all I could think about was how Cailan was getting into trouble again, and Fergus wasn't here to pull him out. Maker, damn it! How was I supposed to keep my head in a situation like this if I couldn't even control my thoughts?
Lightning cracked over our heads and the rumbling thunder shook the trees. Layla squeaked at the noises, ducking behind Alistair as she glanced up to the dark sky. "I suppose it is fitting for there to be rain," she mumbled awkwardly. "It is… dramatic."
"Rain is actually a bad thing," I noted absently. I stared at the gathering soldiers below, all of my attention going to Cailan despite my efforts. Uncle Duncan, Cleon, and Aidan could take care of themselves, I knew. But Cailan could get reckless when it came to proving himself. And there was no Fergus… "Rain reduces visibility, generates mud that makes it harder to move, and the stress of dealing with it leads to more mistakes. The heavy winds that also accompany them will make it harder for archers to cover properly."
"It'll be better for it to just be thunder and lightning, but no rain," Alistair agreed, watching the soldiers just as I was. I wondered who he was looking for below. I'd guess Uncle Duncan or the other Wardens. "But I don't think we're going to be so lucky."
"Will not those disadvantages affect the darkspawn in equal measure?" Layla asked softly. Mabari barks filtered up. They'd sensed something. "They do live underground."
"They are also incapable of free thought and speech," I reminded her. Chantry sisters were walking the lines, swinging their lanterns as they chanted more prayers. I wondered if there was anyone really listening. "They don't have a concept of morale."
"Ah…" Layla suddenly shivered and jerked her head to the distant trees. "What is that?" She pointed and I saw the fog rolling out of the woods. I wasn't sure how to answer her.
But Alistair did. "They're here," he whispered. I glanced at him and saw him pale. "And there are a lot more of them than expected."
"Of course, there are," I sighed. A strange whispering sound danced through my head as shadows stepped out from the fog. Was this the darkspawn sense Wardens were famous for? "Nothing ever goes to plan around here." Growls and clanging metal soon made their way on the wind, telling us that the darkspawn weren't surprised, or cowered, by the army ahead. "There's no turning back, though."
"I hate that phrase," Layla whispered. I saw some soldiers below step back in fear, but their comrades helped them firm their resolve. Would it be enough? "What's that darkspawn there?" She pointed to a darkspawn covered head to toe in bone-armor. "It seems different from the others."
"I think…" Alistair began, frowning as he studied the enemy. "I think that might be a general. If so… if so, then the Archdemon isn't playing around. Generals aren't normally fielded this early in a Blight."
"Regardless…" I whispered as that armored darkspawn swung down his sword. The darkspawn took that as their cue to charge. "It's starting." I turned to the two of them. "Don't we need to get to that Tower?"
"Yeah." Alistair nodded and jumped down from his perch. "Follow me!" He took off, and I was close behind. Layla trailed a bit, glancing frequently at the battle raging.
It was good that she did, because her sudden gasp helped warn us of the danger. "Well, it seems they've siege weapons," I yelled to Alistair as I saw the flaming stones flying towards us. They crashed into the side of the bridge, shaking it. "At least the rain will help with this!"
"Yay, we won't die burning and crushed!" I liked Alistair. He had a sense of humor. "Layla!" I turned and saw a soldier push her out of the way of an oncoming boulder. She crashed into me, but I held her steady. The soldier who saved her, though, hadn't been so lucky. His blood splattered over the bridge, and slowly seeped out from the bottom of the stone. There wouldn't even be a body to recover, just pulp. "You both-?!"
"We're just fine." I shoved Layla ahead of me, nudging her so she kept moving forward. She kept trying to look back. "Layla, now isn't the time."
"But that soldier…!" she protested. She kept fighting me, but I kept her going towards Alistair. He was waiting for us at the end of the bridge. "Is he all right?"
"He's just fine," I lied smoothly. It was easy in a situation like this. "But we won't be if we don't keep moving."
"If you say so." I wondered if she believed me, but at least she stopped fighting me as we caught up with Alistair on the other end of the bridge. "Now, how do we enter the-"
"Wardens?!" A soldier raced for us, eyes wide in his pale face. A small group of his fellows followed, limping and clutching bleeding wounds. "The tower… the tower's been taken!" he screamed. What? "They came up through the lower chambers! They're everywhere! Most of our people are dead!" I stepped around him to see he wasn't exaggerating. The entire area was filled with fighting. This was no small group of darkspawn, separated from the main on accident. They'd sent at least ten squads worth to strike from behind.
Maker, you have got to be kidding me. "Barricade the bridge!" I ordered to the soldiers. They just stared. "Are you all mad? Barricade the bridge or they're getting into the camp and getting behind our soldiers! Move!" I turned back and saw Alistair and Layla just standing there, staring. "That goes for you two, too!" Maybe if I gave them actual orders…? Ugh, I hated giving orders. "Layla, set up a camp for the injured. Alistair, go… go be the Warden and kill the blighters! I'll be with you in just a second!" Alistair moved immediately; everyone else stayed exactly where they did. "Go!" Finally, everyone started moving. The soldiers immediately picked up what boxed and crates there were to start up the barricade. Layla went to the stone walls nearby and started drawing glyphs.
"How did you know what to do?" she asked as I walked to her. I figured she'd need the most help, if anyone needed it. She glanced hesitantly at some of the barrels nearby; I moved them out of her way, creating walls to make things easier on her. "Everything looks so… chaotic. It is worse than an experiment going wrong at the Tower, and you did it without pausing."
"I would be scolded severely for hesitating when lives are on the line," I explained as I placed the last barrel in place. Of course, most of those who'd scold me were… not here. "This also isn't the first life and death situation I've been in, and I've been drilled for years on what to do in a situation like this."
"Huh?"
"Whoever told you that nobles had easy lives was sorely mistaken. I had ten assassination attempts by the time I was five." Of course, that had been in Antiva, and many weren't exactly pleased with my family negotiating trade deals. "I can keep my head because of it."
"Is this why you and Elspeth acted as you did when Highever burned?"
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." I smiled and she scowled. "I'm going to go support Alistair. I'll leave the defense here to you."
"…Be careful, both of you." She sighed. "I don't know how you can dodge anything in that armor."
"Well, actually, armor is purposely designed to be easy to move around in. I could do summersaults in this." She stared in disbelief. "I'd demonstrate, but now isn't the time."
"Would… would you show me later then?" She smiled hesitantly, and I didn't have the heart to point out that we were likely not going to get a 'later'. "Please?"
"Yeah, I'll do that." Oh, how many promises was I going to collect today? "Good luck, Layla."
"And you, Nuada."
"I'll be fine!" I grinned at her; she rolled her eyes, but smiled back. "I will see you soon." With that, I made sure to palm my sword and shield and charged into the fray. Most soldiers were doing their best, but they'd been wounded in the initial assault, making them weak against the darkspawn that crawled over the courtyard here. I ignored most of the groups, though, and made my way to Alistair. He had thrown himself into the thickest part, drawing most of the darkspawn to him to keep them from slaughtering the weakened soldiers. I might as well give him a hand, yeah?
"There aren't supposed to be any darkspawn here," Alistair growled as his back hit mine. I didn't ask how he knew it was me. My short charge through had already left me tired and bloody. I'd be working on muscle memory from here on out. Thankfully, Uncle Loghain and Father had drilled me so much over the years. "This area is supposed to be clear!"
"I know!" I replied with a laugh. If I appeared confident, others would either laugh and roll their eyes or take courage from it. "It's so rude of them for arriving without a messenger!"
"Or an invitation!" Well, it was nice to see someone else who hid behind humor. "I'll take the left?"
I almost agreed until I realized something suddenly. Alistair's armor was far poorer than mine, iron to my white steel, and the left was filled with stronger enemies. I had no doubts about his skill, since he was a Warden, but his armor just wouldn't hold up as long as mine. "No, I'll take the left." I heard him make a quizzical noise, so I made up an excuse. "I just hate the left side of things more than anything."
"Why? Is it sinister or something?"
"Well, it depends on the language!" I flashed a grin over my shoulder. "I'll see you in a bit!" Without letting him protest, I swung into the left side of the darkspawn group. I shattered the sword of the first one I struck, grimacing as the iron shards clipped my face and neck. I would, of course, forget to grab a damn helmet before heading out for a fight. But I shrugged off the minor bits of pain as I crashed my shield into the next one, before overpowering a third. Again and again, I went through the motions I'd learned since a child, the techniques Uncle Loghain taught me when he saw what style I favored.
It wasn't until the darkspawn finally started thinning that I realized Layla was besieged. She kept the darkspawn back with carefully casted glyphs that paralyzed and repulsed, but there was one darkspawn that seemed to just shrug it off no matter what she did. Thinking quickly, I slipped my shield off and slung it at the darkspawn. I grinned when it caught it straight in the neck, taking off half its head. Of course, I then had to duck under a greatsword aiming for my head. I slammed my sword into its gut, only to hit a little too hard and have it get stuck. I let it go to avoid losing my balance and found myself in the middle of a small group of darkspawn weaponless. Well, this will be interesting.
"Why did you throw away your weapon?!" Alistair yelled from across the field. I ignored him for the darkspawn racing for me. "Damn it, hold-!"
I dodged the darkspawn's mace, grabbed it by the neck, and flipped it over my head, driving its skull into the stone ground to crack it. I rolled out of the way of another darkspawn's blade, snapped a kick right above its knees to make it topple forward, and whirled to get more momentum and slam my heal into its head, sending it into the burning torches. I ducked as two more tried to swing at me, only for them to strike each other dead and fall. When they were taken care of, I glanced back to a gaping Alistair. "What?" I asked with a grin. I was impressed by the number of bodies surrounding him. He'd held himself well. "If you know where to hit, bodies are fragile. That accounts for everyone, even darkspawn."
"I noticed." He was still staring. "So, where did you learn stuff like that?"
"Well, actually, I think those tricks came from a brothel." Antiva was filled with marvelous people who had no qualms teaching children how to kill to defend themselves. "I know a few other tricks, though."
"Right, I want to learn. Templars were never taught anything like that." I would be very surprised if anyone associated with the Chantry did. They at least pretended to be 'clean' and 'holy'. "Well, besides basics."
"If we get out of this, I'll show you all the tricks you want." Ignoring the fact that I'd made yet another promise, I surveyed the area, glad to note there were no more darkspawn here, for now. I glanced up to see the barricades set up on the bridge, just as I'd ordered. Layla's base was completely intact now, if full of groaning and bleeding soldiers. I ignored the corpses, darkspawn and human alike, littering the area. There was no time to count, sadly. "Well, this is quite the mess."
"Let's get the wounded over to Layla," Alistair suggested. I didn't answer, just turned my attention to the tower. "Nuada?"
"Yeah," I agreed. I didn't move, though. "That seems like a good idea."
"Oh… kay… then…?" I heard him shuffle awkwardly. "Well, I'm going to do that then." He wandered off, but I kept studying the tower. You had to know your battlefield in order to fight, after all. That was what Uncle Loghain had taught me.
I just had to hope it would be enough to get us to the top.
After we helped the soldiers, we made our way into the Tower as quietly as possible. I closed and locked the door behind us. I didn't want more getting out there. They had enough trouble on their hands. "We need to be stealthy," I whispered, grimacing at the mere thought as I double check that, yes, I did retrieve my family sword and shield from the corpses. Cleon or Elspeth should be here, not me. I was horrible at moving quietly.
"That's so going to be easier said than done," Alistair sighed, smiling wryly. He gestured at his armor before pointing to mine. "These do make some noise. Layla's got the best chance, since she's only wearing a leather chest piece, for some reason."
"She didn't have the strength for a full body one."
"I can hear you two," Layla grumbled from up ahead. She'd decided to peek into the main hall and immediately ducked back, pressing against the wall. "There are a bunch of them. What do we do?"
"Well, if we take into account the age of the building…" I began slowly, gently knocking on the stone walls. I hunted for anything that sounded off, grinning when I found something. "Here, help me with this."
"Secret passage?" Alistair asked as he came up beside me. "Convenient."
"They're supposed to be. This place is a fortress, and fortresses have to have multiple ways in and out in case of a siege." Nodding, I started pressing against the wall. "Of course, they don't exactly have instruction manuals. Push that other side and see if you get some movement, will you?" Alistair nodded and did as I asked. We got just a bit of movement.
"Let me guess. Age also means rust."
"Is it that surprising?"
"Nope."
"I can fix that," Layla offered. I glanced back at her, and saw her smile slightly. "Please, tell me where."
"I'd guess somewhere where I am, based on where Alistair is," I answered after a moment. I ran my fingertips over the stone and found a line where it seemed like the edge of a door would be. "Here."
"Very well." She bounded up and whispered something to herself. Faint green light blossomed in her hands and she blew into it to scatter the light into the seams of the door. When Alistair pressed again, it opened without a problem. "It worked."
"What spell was that?" Alistair asked as he glanced inside. As expected, it was dark and dusty, but that just meant the darkspawn hadn't found it yet.
"We call it 'grease'," Layla explained with a light giggle. "We use it in the Tower to help maintain the doors and sensitive machines used in experiments."
"Interesting name."
"It's… highly flammable." Well, that was useful if we ever needed it. "Might we go in?" Layla conjured up a little wisp that swirled around her. It cast off just enough light to be eerie, but I didn't fancy walking into the dark without a light. I had enough of that in Nevarra. I'd run into far too many skeletons there.
"All right. Stay in the middle." Alistair glanced at me and I shrugged before trudging in first. Layla tiptoed in after me, while Alistair brought up the rear, closing the door behind us.
It fell into place with a dull thud and I heard two muffled squeaks behind me. "Everyone all right?" I asked as I kept walking. I ran my hands over the walls, feeling for anything that felt like a latch.
"It's dark and cramped," Layla whispered. She coughed a little at the dust. "I feel like I'm in solitary confinement at the Tower. If it was anything like this, I have no idea how Anders remained sane."
"It reminds me of the dungeons in Redcliffe," Alistair added. He sounded only a little better than Layla. "I got stuck there for a whole day, once." So, Alistair was from Redcliffe? Had he worked in the Castle before being sent off to the Chantry? I wanted to ask, but now wasn't the time. "Ah, good times."
"That does not sound appealing at all."
"Sarcasm."
"…Oh." She coughed again, but it sounded like it was from embarrassment. "What about you, Nuada?"
"Hmm?" It was all I could think to reply as I focused on getting us out. "What do you mean?"
"What do you think of this place?" Layla repeated.
"It's a tunnel."
"That's it?"
"There are passages like this in Highever." I heard her breath hitch. "What is it?"
"It is… it is nothing." There was a pause. "I merely thought of the one we used to escape-"
My fingers found metal, and I welcomed the distraction. "I found something." I heard a frustrated noise behind me, but ignored it. "Let's see…" It took a couple of tries, but I managed to figure out the trick and the door opened with a muffled groan. I poked my head out and looked around before grinning back at the two. Layla looked annoyed, while Alistair looked relieved. "No darkspawn either for now. Let's go."
Of course, not three steps in, we figured out why this area was so clear. "Well, I think we figured out how they got up from the lower tunnels," Alistair noted as we edged around the gigantic hole in the floor. I made myself not think of how many people died when it opened up. "How did they blow this up, though?"
"I would guess magic," Layla answered shakily. She pointed to the scorch marks on the side. "That is a typical sign of fire magic."
"They probably enhanced it with some alchemical concoction," I agreed, carefully making my way closer. The stone creaked under my feet, but held firm. That was nice. I didn't fancy being like the crates and cages that had been destroyed. "Oh, look at this." I reached for a metal glint in the floor and tugged to prove it solid. "They have ropes."
"They're lined up all around," Alistair pointed out as he made his way next to me. "How should we take care of them?" Well, that was the question. We obviously had to, just to buy more time, but we couldn't really walk around.
Remembering the Wilds, though, I turned to Layla, who hung back like a sane person. "Can you snap the ropes?" I asked her. She blinked slowly at me, so I repeated myself. "Can you snap the ropes?"
"I… believe so," she whispered. She crept towards us, hands out for balance as if she expected the floor to cave in. Perhaps she did. "I can freeze them and the weight should take care of the rest." To my surprise, she grabbed my arms and leaned out further, face paling. "There are… there are a lot of them down there."
Alistair took my shoulder for balance and moved closer to the edge. I was so pleased to be the one who had to catch people. "Some are climbing the ropes," he hissed, jumping back. Oh, that wasn't good. "Layla…!"
"On it!" Hooking her arm around mine to keep steady, she conjured blue-white light between her hands. I winced as the light radiated cold, and started hunting through my packs. Elspeth had packed them for me, and, knowing her, there was probably… ha! I found… Elspeth, I highly doubted even I would need ten bombs.
Nevertheless, as Layla froze the ropes and made them shatter, I tossed two bombs down the hole and jerked her and Alistair back in time to duck from the minor explosion. "You were carrying that?" Alistair asked, giving me a dirty look. "That could've been useful earlier!"
"I just thought to look for them," I defended with a shrug. "They're not my preferred method of combat."
"Then who's is it?"
"Elspeth's."
"We have more coming!" Layla yelped, pointing down the hall. I turned to see a small group of darkspawn charging for us.
"Here!" Alistair yelled as he opened up a door. Layla and I quickly followed him inside the room, and he managed to shut it just in time to block the arrows flying after us. I glanced around and noticed two things. One, this was the way up. Two, there were a lot of leftover weapons. "Okay, what should we do?"
"We block the door," I answered, snatching a spear up and jamming it across the door. I tried to keep it at as firm an angle as possible.
"Is that necessary?" Layla demanded as I braced the door with another nearby spear. "That will make it harder to get back down!"
"We can worry about that later," Alistair answered for me. He passed me a giant war axe, which I used to reinforce the spears. "Our job just got a lot harder, Layla, and this might be the only way to keep them from coming up behind us."
"Who said I'm doing anything more than buying time?" I growled. I pushed against the door to test its strength and grimaced. "Even with bracing, this isn't going to last long. It's too old, and if they come with magic…" I turned to them. Layla was paler than fresh fallen snow; Alistair was simply grim. I wondered if I should be cocky, but worry crept too deep for me to fake the mask. Instead, I chose to be blunt. "If things don't go lucky, we're going to die." A series of dull, echoing shrieks filtered into the room, emphasizing my point. "Run. Now."
Well, I'd never been more terrified I'd break a promise to Elspeth in my life.
Author's Note: Right, some changes here. Namely, having a bunch of soldiers getting out at the beginning, setting up a barricade for the bridge, and the giant hole in the floor. This appears in Return to Ostagar, but isn't shown in the main game (as far as I could see during my playthrough. It certainly wasn't acknowledged). However, since it's implied this is how they managed to get into the Tower in the first place, I felt it important to show.
Yes, Grease is an actual spell from the creation tree. It's a trap and can be used for the Grease Fire combination.
Next Chapter – On the field with Cleon
