Chapter 12

Led by an ogre, and two emissaries, the darkspawn screamed with bloodlust, and charged the group. They did not get very far, though; Velanna immediately launched a fireball at the spawn, and blasted the weaker genlocks and hurlocks to pieces. Only three, the ogre and two Alpha genlocks, survived the blast of flame, and stood up, their armor and leathery skin covered in burns and soot. Nathaniel fired two arrows at the emissaries, killing them before the darkspawn mages could finish their unholy spells.

Leaving the Alphas to Oghren, Matthew ran to engage the ogre. The massive darkspawn swiped at him, but the Commander of the Grey easily dodged the clumsy attack; on closer inspection, Matthew saw that Velanna's fireball had blinded it in one eye.

Now in too close for the ogre to grab, Matthew slashed the Summer Sword at the beast's right leg, cutting through the muscle and tendons until the flaming blade finally sand deep into the ogre's femur, breaking the bone. With a whine of agony, the massive beast toppled over to the side. Matthew leapt onto the darkspawn's chest, and drove the flaming blade into the ogre's undamaged eye, into its brain, and through the back of its skull, killing it.

Yanking the blade free of the corpse, Matthew regrouped with his three companions, and together they entered the mine, and were immediately confronted with a rickety wooden staircase leading down to the main level. Carefully descending so that the weight of their armor and weapons wouldn't shatter the wood and plunge them to their deaths, the group slowly made its way down to bottom of the shaft.

However, as soon as they reached their destination, Matthew's skin prickled; more darkspawn were nearby. Worse, they were coming from behind them.

How? Matthew thought. Could some from the last group still be alive? However, as he turned back to the mine entrance, his questions were answered for him. Two figures entered the mine; one was a very tall, extravagantly dressed (for a darkspan) emissary, and the other was female dwarven ghoul. It was clear to Matthew that these were elite darkspawn; this was going to be a difficult fight.

Before Matthew could do more than draw his blade, however, the Emissary murmured "Sleep," and a glyph appeared around their feet.

A sleeping hex! Matthew thought.

The Warden-Commander had always had enormous mental discipline; most such effects, magical or otherwise, had reduced effectiveness on him and sometimes had no effect at all. This spell, however, was so powerful even he was overwhelmed by it, and in spite of all his struggling, he fell to the ground unconscious, along with Oghren, Nathaniel and Velanna.

oo-00-oo

Matthew awake strapped to a table, his armor and weapons gone. Still disoriented by the hex, he rolled his head around, his vision blurred, until he heard a soft, raspy voice say, "So you are the Commander of the Grey Wardens."

Focusing on the source of the voice, his vision finally cleared, and he saw the same emissary that had attacked him and his group. Fear gripped his heart like steel; he was confronted with one of the most powerful beings he had ever met, and he was defenseless.

The emissary obviously saw Matthew's terror, and said "Do not be troubled; your injuries have been tended to."

Tended to? Matthew thought. By Darkspawn! What in Andraste's name is going on?

"I regret what I must do," the emissary continued. "I do not wish to be your enemy."

Matthew spat at the darkspawn. "You are the enemy of all creation, monster. If you don't wish to fight me, you will be disappointed." The emissary, not perturbed by the venom in Matthew's voice, raised his hand, and said, "Now is not the time for this, Commander. Rest." And with that, Matthew felt the effects of another sleeping hex. This time, he gave in; he knew from experience that he couldn't resist that spell.

oo-00-oo

Matthew again awoke, this time on the floor of the cell that he shared with Nathaniel, Oghren, and Velanna. The master archer immediately got up and walked over to the Commander and helped him to his feet. Looking over his three fellow prisoners, Matthew saw that he, Nathaniel, and Oghren all had cuts along their wrists that looked as if they had been recently healed. Velanna, however, did not.

Did they bleed us? Matthew wondered. And if they did, why only Oghren, Nathaniel, and I and not Valanna? Before he could voice any of his questions, however, he heard footsteps approaching their cell.

Looking past the rusted bars, Matthew saw a Dalish elf in scale armor walking toward them. As she got closer, Matthew also saw the tell-tale rashes and boils on her face that characterized the darkspawn taint.

Velanna immediately ran up to the bars, sheer terror on her face. "Serrani," she shouted. "Creators, what have they done to you?" Serrani immediately brought her fingers to her lips, shushing her older sister. "They haven't done anything to me Velanna, I'm fine. It's not me he wants." The corrupted Dalish elf's perfect speech through Matthew off guard; she was clearly fully transformed into a ghoul. By all reckoning, Serrani should have been mindless fodder, or incapacitated with pain.

"I have to get you out before something bad happens," Serrani continued. "I don't want anyone else to be hurt." Velanna huffed with annoyance. "Yes, alright. Let me out and I'll take you home."

Serrani seemed to ignore what her sister said. Turning to Matthew, she said, "The darkspawn have your things. You can still get it all back if you are careful and clever." Suddenly, the sound of doors opening could be heard nearby. Seranni looked over her shoulder at a set of closed double doors a short way from the cell; it seemed the darksawn were coming to check on them.

"They're coming!" Serrani exclaimed. "You have to go; find a way out of the mines. Please!" Then, the Dalish ghoul turned, and ran towards another door at the other end of the prison. "Serrani, wait!" Velanna shouted, but her sister ignored her; she ran through the door, shutting it behind her.

Matthew noticing that Serrani had unlocked the door to their cell, immediately cast his eyes around for something, anything that he could use as a weapon. He immediately spotted a broken bar on their cell, the last two feet on the bottom sheared off to form a nasty spike. The Warden-Commander ran over to it, and with a mighty heave, ripped it from its foundation. Thus armed, he ran towards the doors the darkspawn were about to enter, hoping to catch them off-guard.

The first monster to enter the prison was a Hurlock alpha, wielding a greatsword. Spotting the Grey Warden sprinting at him full tilt, it immediately raised the blade above its head- leaving it completely exposed. Matthew drove his impromptu weapon under the alpha's chin, through its skull, and out through its helmet. Letting go of the metal rod, Matthew grabbed the fallen alpha's greatsword, and began cutting down the lesser darkspawn that followed it.

Once the last genlock was dispatched, by means of Velanna crushing its head with a Stonefist spell, the four scavenged weapons and armor from the fallen spawn, then made their way out the same way Serrani had gone. In the next room, they emerged on a balcony, with a squad of darkspawn waiting unsuspectingly on the floor below them. Their inattentiveness proved to be their undoing, as the escaped prisoners were able to use the nearby ballista to take out all but one of the darkspawn, who was quickly dispatched by an arrow shot by Nathaniel.

Walking down to the floor below them, they continued to the next room, though "cave" would be a more appropriate term. As they walked in, they spotted a dwarven ghoul nearby. It was armed and armored in Oghren's gear. "HEY!" the drunken berserker shouted. "That's MINE! That….thing has my things! It's got its sallow, clammy hands all over my doo-dads, touching my junk!" The dwarven ghoul, ignoring Oghren's outburst completely, turned and began walking away, but Oghren wasn't having it; he ran up to the ghoul and decapitated it, sending black, tainted blood everywhere. Grabbing the fallen ghouls still twitching head, Oghren held it up to his face, and bellowed "NO ONE TOUCHES OGHREN'S JUNK AND LIVES!"

Well, I guess Branka learned that the hard way, Matthew thought, mind going back to when they had found Oghren's missing wife, and the atrocities the madwomen had unleashed upon those who had followed her on her mad quest for the Anvil of the Void.

Once Oghren was finished strapping himself into his armor, he picked up his battle ax, and the group continued on their way. Eventually, they came to an offshoot of the main cavern, from which emanated pained whimpering. His curiosity getting the better of him, Matthew altered his course to enter the small sub-cave. There, he found a man, a Grey Warden. Both his legs had been crushed beyond hope of even magical healing, and a large pool of blood was around them, too much for anyone to survive loosing. Matthew was amazed that the man was still alive.

Looking up, the injured warden whispered, "You're the Warden-Commander. I would not have expected to see you here. Did those bastards get you too?" "Yes, they did," Matthew replied. The warden groaned, and then said, "My name is Keenan. I had hoped that you would avoid capture, would be luckier than the rest of us." "Were you one of the Wardens captured in the darkspawn attack on Vigil's Keep?" The warden nodded. "I think I'm the only one left; they others are dead or worse." Matthew cursed. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"Listen to me," Keenan whispered; it was clear he wasn't long for this world. "There is a darkspawn carrying a huge maul. He crushed my legs, and then took my wedding ring. Please, Commander, find him. Slay him. Bring the ring to my wife, Nida, in Amaranthine. Tell her I died trying to make this world better." "I'd rather bring you to your wife, Keenan," Matthew whispered. Keenan shook his head. "I'll only slow you down, and I'm gone. Just do this. For me." Then, with a final gasp, Keenan finally bled out.

Matthew lowered his head, and then closed Keenan's eyes. "Rest, brother." Standing, he had Valanna burn Keenan's body until it was ash, and then gathered the remains. Keenan would not rot away among these beasts; Matthew was determined to give his fellow Grey Warden as fitting a funeral as he could.

Continuing through the tunnels, they found the darkspawn that carried Keenan's ring, as well as three other ghouls that held the rest of the group's equipment. Now rearmed with their best gear, the darkspawn and the minions they summoned were dropping like flies.

Eventually, they reached a decadent hall seemingly unspoiled by the darkspawn. After climbing the stairs leading to the next doorway, they saw the last thing that Matthew had thought to see.

A Qunari. Or rather, a member of the race that founded the religion, the kossith.

The bronze-skinned giant turned to the group of escaped captives, and said, "You are not supposed to be here." Matthew crossed his arms, and replied, "I don't think you are supposed to be here either." "You are wrong," the kossith replied. "I have an agreement with these creatures; I give them supplies, they give me gold."

That was all Matthew needed to hear in order to know that this kossith was not a follower of the Qun; from all the time Matthew had spent with Sten during the Blight, he knew that no Qunari would do something simply to increase their own personal wealth. This kossith was a Tal-Vashoth, essentially a deserter.

Then, Matthew remembered the request Vigil's Keep's treasurer, Mistress Woolsey, had made to him; to keep a lookout for any merchants to come to the Keep to help increase trade, and get the Arling's economy back on track. With that in mind, Matthew asked, "Would you be willing to set up shop at Vigil's Keep?" "The Warden's fortress," the kossith replied. "I know of it. If there is coin to be had, Armass will be there." Realizing that was the being's name, Matthew replied, "Very well, Armass. I hope to see you there. Now if you will excuse me, my companions and I wish to get as far away from here as possible." "Go then," Armass said. "I will say nothing of you to the darkspawn."

Leaving the merchant behind, Matthew, Nathaniel, Oghren, and Velanna continued through the ruins the cave had given way to, occasionally fighting off poorly organized groups of darkspawn. The desperation of the fiends to keep them here was clear. It also seemed that they were no longer trying to recapture them, and were merely trying to keep them from escaping.

Eventually, they came to a large, spacious room, with several balconies, and on one of them stood the emissary that imprisoned them, the female dwarven ghoul, and Seranni. The emissary raised his hand, and then two adolescent dragons, clearly infected with the taint, dropped down to the floor, and began advancing on Matthew and his companions.

It was one of the hardest battles Matthew had ever fought. He had faced dragons before, but never two adolescents at once. To make matters worse, whenever they were beginning to get the upper hand, the two beasts would vault into the air and come back down wherever they chose. It was not entirely one-sided, however; both Matthew and Oghren had practical experience when it came to fighting dragons, Velanna had several ice-based spells that were particularly effective against the fire-based beasts, and Nathaniel was throwing freezing grenades whenever he could.

Finally, Matthew lost control completely. Running up to the dragon that was facing Oghren, Matthew leapt into the air and brought the Summer Sword down on the beast's neck with all his strength, decapitating it and leaving Oghren very disgruntled. Panting, Matthew turned to see the second dragon fall under the combined attacks of Velanna and Nathaniel.

Looking up, expecting to see the three onlookers come down to attack them. Instead, they turned and began to walk towards a whole in the wall behind them, leading to yet another tunnel. Velanna shouted to her sister, begging her to come back, but Seranni ignored her sister completely. Then, once the three had entered the tunnel, the emissary cast a spell that collapsed the entrance behind them. By the time the dust settled, there was five feet of rubble blocking the way.

"No," Velanna moaned. "Why is she with that monster?" Turning to Matthew, she snarled, "We must get to her!" "And how do you propose we do that," Matthew asked. "By the time we get up there and get all that rubble out of the way, they'll be in the Deep Roads. We will never find them. Not today." Velanna appeared furious for a moment, but then appeared deep in thought. "They say that Wardens can sense the darkspawn even deep underground," Velanna murmured. Then, she straitened up and said, "I would join the Grey Wardens. Give me the ability to hunt down these monsters in the Deep!"

Crossing his arms, Matthew said, "Becoming a Grey Warden is dangerous, Velanna. And I will not make you such simply to fuel your own personal desires; if you become a Grey Warden, you will be under my command; my orders will likely take precedent over the search for your sister." Velanna opened her mouth to protest, closed it, and then sighed in defeat. "This is my only chance of finding her, Warden. If that means following your orders for the rest of my life, I will do it." Nodding, Matthew said, "Very well then, Velanna; welcome to the Grey Wardens. Now, we need to get back to Vigil's Keep; we need to prepare for your Joining."

Walking through the final door at the other end of the room, the group finally came to the entrance of the silverite mine. Climbing the rickety stairs, Matthew was defiantly looking forward to the soft bed waiting for him back at the Keep.

Suddenly, at the top of the stairs, Matthew heard the unmistakable sound of battle just outside the mine's entrance. Drawing the Summer Sword from his back, Matthew ran back into the sunlight.

Before him was a large skirmish. Closest, and with their backs to, them were at least twenty hurlocks and genlocks of various ranks. Against them was a force of Amaranthine soldiers at least fifty strong.

Leading them were Seneschal Varel, Guard-Captain Garevel….and Morrigan.

Matthew always knew Morrigan was an excellent fighter, but he had never seen her like this. She was a one-woman army. She was carving up the darkspawn before the other men could even get in position.

Upon seeing Matthew, she unleashed a massive blast of pure energy. Every darkspawn was thrown back. Most were killed outright when they struck the cliff or the ground, the rest broken and crippled. These were quickly finished off by the soldiers. Suddenly, Matthew was almost knocked to the ground. Looking down, he saw it was Morrigan, and she was crying hysterically. Embracing his wife, he whispered in her ear that he was alright, that everything was fine, until she finally calmed down. Looking up to Varel, Matthew said, "What in Andraste's name is going on here, Seneschal?"

Varel whipped the sweat from his brow, then said, "A few hours ago, your wife went ballistic; she was screaming that you were in danger, and that we take every available soldier at the Keep to come find you. How she knew about all this, I don't know, my lord."

I do, Matthew thought. Our rings. The rosewood rings he and Morrigan wore were enchanted so as to create a link between the people wearing them. Matthew realized that Morrigan would have felt it when the emissary incapacitated him.

Leading his distraught love by the waist, Matthew said, "Come on men; let's get back to the Keep. And Varel, prepare another Joining; we have a new recruit for the Wardens."

A.N.

I apologize for my delay in updating any of my stories. I had my wisdom teeth extracted recently, and I was not feeling up to updating my fics, or doing much of anything really.

Again, sorry for the delay. Please review.