Chapter 104) Unexpected Help
Cleon POV
"Um… Zaphikel?"
"Yes, Cleon?"
"What… happened…?" I had heard a scream and had run to help my teacher, only to find Zaphikel in the middle of a bunch of corpses, covered in blood. "Are you okay?"
"None of it is mine." Hesitantly, he reached over, likely to pat my head as he always did. He stopped just short, looking at his hand. "Are you afraid?"
"No?" I was more confused than anything. "Are you?"
"…You're a good lad, Cleon." Still, he pulled his hand away. "I'm going to go jump in a lake to get the blood off. Don't touch anything."
"Okay."
When I saw the Archdemon fall, I left the Market to Wynne and Lanaya, and took off with Shale and some of the scouts. I wasn't quite sure where it fell, but it fell, and it was missing a wing, so now was the chance to strike. Along the way, I met Nuada's group, including a disgruntled Alistair and a surprisingly injured Loghain, along with some more soldiers. Nuada knew where it fell, and according to his messengers, Layla and Aiden were on the way too. Riordan was also apparently dead. We'd hunt for whatever remained of his body after everything was over.
When we made it to Fort Drakon, Shale and Loghain remained behind to hold off the darkspawn trying to overrun us. Shale, because golems, and Loghain, because his injuries were making it hard for him to keep up. Nuada didn't sign his argument with Loghain, but I knew that it had been tense.
But that didn't really matter, at least in my eyes. The inside of the fort had been filled with darkspawn, and so, we had a lot of fighting to do. A lot. Almost too much. We ended up being very lucky when we found a storage room filled with medical supplies. The long battle was starting to wear down on all of us. My arms screamed and my legs were all but numb. I fought more from muscle memory than from any sort of skill. I had so many injuries to my back because of ambushes. I hurt.
But all of that drained away as we came upon an open area, the last 'room' before the staircase to the roof according to Nuada. Why? Well, there were darkspawn corpses all over the place. Not just one or two, but easily twenty or thirty. Maybe even fifty. Fen'harel's teeth, there were ogres. Multiple ones, very dead. Or so I assumed by the fact that their heads had been ripped off by something.
Oh, the best part? In the middle of it all was a small, smiling boy, possibly a dwarf. Yeah, there was unexpected, and then there was this.
Nuada seized my hand, and traced out letters. S-A-N-D-A-L. Sandal. I gave him a curious look when I realized it was a name, and Nuada nodded. 'Yes, I know him.' But his shaking hands and wide eyes told me he hadn't arranged this. 'Son of a merchant I like to frequent. He did the enchanments on everyone's armor.' So, this boy who made sure our armor kept us alive a little better… somehow snuck into Fort Drakon… went past all the darkspawn… killed a bunch of darkspawn… and just stood here amidst the carnage?
I glanced at the boy, who watched us curious. 'Is he explaining how he did this?' I signed. 'Or why he is here?'
'Enchantment.' What. 'That is all he says. I am not certain he even knows how to say anything else yet.' Oh, well, that was convenient. 'But I think we might want to keep this quiet.' Yeah, I think even a Keeper would want to study the boy a little too closely. 'Oh, his dad is going to be freaking out so much.'
I would have replied, but ripples in the puddles of blood caught my attention, and I followed them to see the boy approaching us. He smiled happily as he poked at my armor, and it took me a moment tor realize what he was doing. He was checking the enchantments, making sure they held. Was… was that why he was here? Was he here because he wanted to make sure our armor was holding up? Really?
More ripples in the bloody puddles caught my attention, and I glanced back as the boy went over to check Nuada's armor. I had the great pleasure of seeing Aiden, Layla, Zevran, Leliana, Elspeth, and Morrigan all just stare in absolute shock. I shrugged off their questioning looks. I had no answers. Only the boy did.
'Well, as delightful as this all is, I am afraid we have a bit of an issue,' Elspeth signed. She pointed behind her before going back to signing. 'The darkspawn exploded one of the walls, meaning they were able to get around Shale and Loghain's defensive line. We are pinned here.'
'And we will soon be overrun,' Aiden added, his expression fading back to stoicism. I glanced at Layla worriedly, and noticed how pale she was. This was like the Tower at Ostagar, wasn't it? We were going to be overrun, trapped between the Archdemon and whatever forces were already on the roof, and the darkspawn already up there.
A sharp gesture caught my attention, and all of us turned to focus on Alistair. 'Go,' he signed, hands certain. His eyes were confident. 'Go. I will lead the soldiers here, guard Sandal, and hold the line until we get more reinforcements.' Alistair… 'So, go. End this.'
'But, to be clear, the final blow must be from a Warden.' Aiden signed 'must' ten times for emphasis. 'Otherwise, everything will be for naught. Only we can kill the Archdemon. Riordan confirmed that.'
There was nothing more to say after that. I made a point of going over and clasping Alistair's shoulder. He mirrored the gesture, and I smiled. I would tell him, later, that this was actually an important gesture to those of the Sabrae Clan. For now, it simply warmed my heart that he instinctively did as I did, recognizing there even could be some significance. When I stepped away, Nuada gave Alistair a one-armed hug. Layla gave him a full one. Aiden gave no hugs at all, simply stood apart with a nod and a smile, but that was enough.
The others might have given their own sort of goodbyes, but I paid no more attention. I focused my gaze forward, and walked. Up the stairs, to the door. To the roof.
As I stepped outside, noticing the swirling clouds overheard, a soldier's corpse skid to a stop right in front of me. A dragon's claw… no, the Archdemon's claw was just two steps away from the corpse.
Here we go.
Next Chapter – Archdemon battle part one
