If the port of Amaranthine was considered the jewel of the arling, then Vigil's Keep could be considered to be her watchful guardian. The arling itself consisted mostly of fertile farm land nestled between the coastal hills. To the north was the Waking Sea and to the east lay the vast Amaranthine Ocean, for which the arling was named after. In the centre of it all stood the proud structure of the keep, sitting atop the largest hill in the region and watching over the land for which it was designed to protect. The hill itself was covered in dense conifers and a varied history, as Liao would discover later.
When Liao and her companions had arrived at the fortified gatehouse the evening before, they had been greeted by the keep's guards and the keep's keeper, as it were, Seneschal Varel. Varel was an older human with greying features but he knew how to run the keep and the local area. He had been chosen by Anora herself to rule over the keep in Liao's absence and to assist her in maintaining her new land when she was present. As Liao would learn later, Varel had been the seneschal when Rendon Howe had ruled over the arling but the two men hadn't seen eye-to-eye.
Liao had to keep reminding herself that the keep she now ruled over had once belong to the Howes. She was still not an expert on Ferelden politics but she had heard all the horror stories about Arl Howe's personal crusade against the Couslands that had wiped the entire family out aside from Fergus and his younger sister. There certainly wasn't much love for the Howe family any more and many Fereldans attributed the recent civil war to their ambition. Had the Landsmeet not occurred and a ruler not put on Ferelden's throne, the civil war would probably still be waging on and there would have been no armies to fight against the Blight. There were memories of the Howes all over the buildings of Vigil's Keep and the young Warden-Commander felt as if the entire structure was haunted with their legacy.
Aside from all the history that was attached to the oldest keep in Ferelden, Liao found the fortifications and practical nature of the buildings to be of most interest. In her short time as a Grey Warden, she had quickly learned to recognise the merits of a potential battlefield and could begin to formalise strategies before they were needed. There was certainly room for structural improvement, however, as one of the dwarven masons had warned her upon her arrival but there was plenty of time to deal with that. The Blight was over and it would be quite some time before the Vigil would see any combat.
The elven Warden spent her first evening in the keep tower exploring the nooks and crannies as best she could without putting any of the guards on edge. The men and women that guarded the towers were Ferelden soldiers, not Grey Wardens, and had probably been stationed at the Vigil ever since Howe had been Arl of Amaranthine. They weren't a suspicious bunch overall but they were slightly sceptical of their new elven Arlessa. Liao was quickly realising how much work it was going to take to really learn how to operate the keep and for the guards to trust her fully.
It still felt odd that only a year ago Liao had been recruited into the Grey Wardens because she had been a foolish child with too much curiosity. Her desire to explore those old, Tevinter ruins in the Brecilian Forest had resulted in the death of her friend,Tamlen, and had nearly killed her as well had it not been for Fereldan's Warden-Commander. Now she had become the Warden-Commander herself and had received the extra responsibility of being the first high-ranking Warden to own a significant amount of land. The land of Amaranthine came with farmers, merchants. knights, vassals and all of the local politics. Sometimes she felt like she was becoming more human with each passing day and she had to rub her pointy ears for reassurance.
At least the servants around the keep were mostly human, unlike the ones from Denerim Palace. For some reason, this put Liao at ease and she felt she could trust them a bit more than she would have done with elven servants. If she could have had it her way, there wouldn't be any servants at all but the keep was large and there were too many jobs for one Arlessa to do on her own.
The morning after her arrival, Seneschal Varel had insisted on touring Liao around so that she may meet the men and women that now served under her. He also introduced to her to an older woman named Mistress Woolsey who had been assigned to watch over the Amaranthine treasury by the head of the Grey Wardens in Weisshaupt. She didn't seem like an interesting woman nor had she actually visited the famous Weisshaupt Fortress at any point in her life, but she was Liao's lifeline to the rest of the order outside of Ferelden.
Liao had seen very little of her companions since their arrival at Vigil's Keep. Shale had taken a liking to the throne room's large book selection but she wouldn't say why the books were so interesting to her. Wynne and Leliana kept to themselves, mostly whispering and giggling whenever Liao got too close to overhear them. Zevran was harder to spot as he was more interested in exploring every corner of the new area and was often too elusive even for Liao to keep up with. He had been particularly quiet since the announcement at Denerim and had been avoiding direct conversation with anyone.
Lunch that afternoon consisted of vegetables, meat, and bread. Liao was always fascinated with breads and cheeses since they showed off the benefits of farming and stationary living that the humans excelled at. Most of the men and women in the dining hall could be seen stuffing the bread with the other ingredients, bits of steak or pork with potatoes, carrots, onions and just enough cheese to melt amongst it all. They ate the few with their hands instead of using the cutlery provided. At first it looked barbaric to the Dalish, but once she tried it herself she knew what she had been missing out on. She never could understand Leliana's opinion of how bland and boring Fereldan food was, to her everything was a new and wonderful experience.
"I've always been fond of talking business on a full stomach," the seneschal laughed.
"Business? I was hoping we'd just talk about the weather or the flight patterns of the local birds," Liao added cheerfully as she finished her meal. In a distant corner of the room she could hear Shale groaning at the mentioning of birds.
"There's plenty of time to discuss such things," Varel said, "But on a serious note, it is critical that the two of us learn how to work together. I imagine you'll be kept busy with Grey Warden business and you'll need someone you can rely on to maintain the Arling."
"To be honest, I haven't thought much about it yet. I'm not sure really where to begin," Liao said hesitantly, hoping her indecisiveness didn't make her appear weak.
"That's what I am here for," Varel reminded the young elf, feeling almost as if he was old enough to be her grandfather instead of her seneschal, "I can handle most day-to-day things that affect the keep or the local area and can ask for your opinion on only the major decisions such as settling major disputes or managing the garrison's movements. You can keep the Grey Warden stuff to your own if that would make you feel more comfortable, though I do know a thing or two about your rituals. Does that sound fair enough?"
"I would prefer that, yes. My expertise lies in combat and strategy, not with politics. The whole Denerim Landsmeet situation was a one-off experience for me," Liao agreed.
"I don't expect things will get quite that complicated out here in Amaranthine. Well, that's settled then, it's important to me that I can be on the same wavelength as my Arlessa. I have learned the hard way how much trouble one can get in if they don't agree with the nobles," Varel said, alluding to his past experiences with Arl Howe.
"That reminds me to ask, do you think there is any strong sentiment around here for the previous Arl?" Liao asked what had been gnawing at her every time she passed a portrait of one of the Howes in the keep.
"It's a strong possibility," the seneschal admitted, "If you really concerned about it, I can investigate the issue further for you. I don't think you will have much difficulty rallying local support, even given your background. Fereldans tend to revere their heroes with great respect and loyalty."
"I don't know if there is anything worth investigating but if I feel more uneasy about it, I might take you up on that offer," Liao assured him.
"Right. Now may I ask you something?" Varel inquired and Liao nodded to allow him to continue, "Have you heard anything about the Grey Wardens being sent from Orlais? All I have is this one letter from Val Royeaux from two weeks ago but the Wardens haven't arrived yet."
"I didn't know they had actually sent anyone," Liao began, "Alistair seemed to think they would inevitably send some Wardens to help us train new recruits. But we never heard anything directly from them."
"Well, that is interesting,. Perhaps they ran into some bad weather near the mountains? Though I am not sure whether they were coming by land or sea, the letter wasn't very specific. Do you want to read over it?" Varel offered a small envelope made of parchment and containing a waxed seal featuring a Grey Warden griffin.
Liao took the object slowly, hoping the seneschal wasn't expecting her to read it right then. It would be a bit embarrassing to explain to the human that she had not properly learned how to read or write in the common language of the people. Her Dalish clan had always stressed the importance of learning the remnants of the Dalish language so they could translate old artefacts without confusing the language with Common, "Sure, I'll glance over it later. Thanks for bringing it to my attention."
"Of course. Now I must take my leave, I'm afraid. If you need anything, I'll be at my usual post," the seneschal bowed and left the room to attend to his duties.
Liao looked down at the envelope in her hands. She knew that it would be her responsibility to recruit the new Fereldan Wardens and to train them but she sure hoped the Orlesians would send some experienced Wardens to help here with the task. According to the maps she had seen of southern Thedas, it should take no more than two weeks to travel from Val Royeaux to Amaranthine. Perhaps they weren't sending experienced Wardens after all.
Later in the day, Liao caught Zevran sneaking around the treasury. It seemed his tendency to steal precious objects had shown itself again.
"Oi, what are you doing down here?" Liao shouted and the male elf stopped suddenly, with his hands hovering over his sheathed daggers.
"Hey, Liao! You really should know better than to sneak up on assassin while he is shopping," he said casually as he turned around to face her.
"Shopping? Or stealing? From my treasury? That's low, even for you," Liao crossed her arms and gave him a disapproving look.
"Ah no, you see, I was just making sure everything was safe. From would-be thieves. If you must know, the security looks pretty solid to me. Guess my work is done here," Zevran made an attempt to move past Liao but she blocked his path.
"You've been avoiding me," she stated matter-of-factly, satisfied that she finally had the other elf cornered.
Zevran sighed, it wasn't often that anyone could trap him so easily, "Maybe I have. What does it matter?"
"We're friends, Zev. You shouldn't be afraid of me," the Warden looked slightly offended.
"Afraid of you? No, no. There may be things that I fear, but you are certainly not one of them," Zevran looked around and realised he was going to have to engage in the discussion he hadn't wanted to have. "So when are you going to ask me to become a Grey Warden?" he asked bluntly.
Liao look taken aback, she had assumed Zevran was unhappy about her engagement with Alistair, not that he was worried about being conscripted into the Grey Wardens, "What?"
"It's bound to come up eventually, isn't it? I agreed to stay on with you after the Blight. I'm not returning to the Crows or to Antiva so in order to stay here I'll have to become one of your soldiers, yes?" Zevran said, sounding like he dreaded the idea of being one of her soldiers.
"You don't have to stay with me if it makes you unhappy, Zevran," Liao reminded him. "I could use some experienced fighters to help me train the new recruits, definitely, but you've never been obligated to do anything you didn't already want to do."
Zevran sighed deeply, "The thing is, Liao, I do want it. I'm just nervous. I've heard rumours about the Joining and I know there are no guarantees. It would please me a great deal to remain at your side as your loyal friend but I also enjoy living."
"So, do you want to do it or not? It's your decision," Liao said coolly. If he already knew what to expect from the Joining, there was no need to warn him about his chances of living through it.
"I do," he said quietly. "And I'm sorry, for avoiding you. It's been a big decision to think about, as you can imagine."
"I didn't have the luxury of choice when it came to my Joining," Liao said bitterly, remembering her experience at Ostagar.
"Ok, that's settled then," Zevran concluded.
"Zev, put the gems back," Liao sighed, noticing he had slipped a few in his pocket while they had been talking. He gave a half-smile before putting the objects back where he had taken them from.
"Can't blame an elf for trying."
The familiar structure of the keep loomed before him against the night sky. The moon was obscured by clouds that evening and the only light game from the occasional lit torch along the keeps ramparts. The guardsmen were just as predictable as ever, never having to test their strength in a real combat situation. Their weapons were sheathed and their glances over the walls were casual at best. A sudden, fierce wind blew the man's dark hair behind him as he watched the patrols below, indicating a rain storm was brewing nearby.
He crouched between the overlapping roofs of two buildings that lined the walls outside the bailey. His position was near enough to the gatehouse that he could hear the orders being called out between the guards on watch duty. The first trickles of rain fell and lightning could be seen in the distance.
The thief unsheathed a shortsword slowly before he leapt casually onto the fortified, external wall of the keep. He quickly ducked behind some barrels of equipment as one of the guards walked towards his location. Had the guard been looking for him, he still would have been easy to see despite his attempt at camouflage. However, the guard was more interested in asking his mate further down the wall to relieve him for the evening.
He took advantage of the distracted guard and ran quickly in the opposite direction, past one of the guards towers which gave him a bit of cover and a moment to predict his next move. The human looked down below, remembering the layout of the buildings within the bailey almost instantly. He dropped down a metre onto a wooden roof, hoping it would support his weight. He was now visible from the internal wall of the keep where more guards would have been posted.
Without hesitation, he ran along the roof tops seeking a weak point through the next wall. Eventually he settled on the smoking chimney as his best chance for cover. The drop to the ground was still too high for him to consider but he did note a lack of guards on the interior wall's ramparts. Unless he wanted to go directly through the inner-gate, he would need not only to find a way down from his current vantage point, but would also need to find a way up to the next wall.
A casual glance around showed a garden was being kept in a corner where the great stone walls intersected one another. There were some vine-like plants being grown against a lattice work of wood that ran up the wall that connected with the one the thief wanted to bypass. He decided he was going to have to take his chances with jumping off the roof of a second-story building and make a dash for the unassuming garden. The lighting wasn't particularly good along the path he would need to take so he hoped it was a sign that nobody would be around to interfere with his manoeuvre.
The thief jumped from his current position to land on the ground below with a thud. He managed to roll onto his feet but was sure his landing would have alerted some observant guards. He noticed the activity of the guards on the exterior wall increased as the men began to converse with one another in eagerness but nobody had rang any sort of alarm yet. The infiltrator didn't hesitate and was up the lattice work within seconds.
The guards in the inner keep were more alert and numerous. He knew he would have to fight his way in at some point but wasn't ready to commit to it just yet. Instead, he dropped down over the inner wall and wedged himself between two colourful merchant tents. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of donning a disguise from one of the tents and waltzing in through the front door but it was a fool's notion given how late at night it was. The guards here wouldn't be as easily distracted as those near the exterior gatehouse.
He looked up at the familiar tower that dominated the keep itself. There was a window he knew very well when he was younger that sat atop a short length of staggered stone bricks. With the rain starting to obscure his vision, he couldn't make out clearly if the landmark was still the same as he remembered it but he knew it was the right window. He made his way through the merchant's row and found a rotting ladder near the window he was interested in. He managed to climb up it without breaking a leg, despite the weak boards, and threw himself at the highly textured wall. From there, he was able to pull himself up the bricks by his arm strength alone. The window was easily opened with a lockpick and he made his way inside the tower without much notice.
Liao was having a hard time sleeping that night. Most people found rain storms to be relaxing but the lightning flashes kept her wide awake and the accompanying thunder made her uneasy. Her room was large and the thunder echoed louder than the dripping rain. It had only been her second night sleeping alone in quite some time but she already found it awkward. No matter how she lay in the bed, she couldn't get comfortable.
Another roar of thunder shook the room and she jumped suddenly. What would Ferelden think if they knew the woman who slew the Archdemon was scared of a simple storm? She shook her head at the absurdity of it and lit one of the oil lamps near the bedside. There was no point in trying to sleep during this weather, even if she was protected by the shelter of the keep.
Perhaps she would wander down to the kitchen and find a jug of milk. Humans often said that warm milk was a good way to ease restless nerves. Before she could decide on that, however, she heard the creaking noise of an opening door from the direction of the hallway that joined with her own room. It was late at night, probably early morning by now, and the sound was indicative of someone being awake. For some reason, the hairs on the back of the elf's neck prickled. There were rumours that Vigil's Keep was haunted by the spirits of the Avvar barbarians that had first built it so many Ages ago.
Instinctively, she grabbed her yew longbow and back quiver by the bed side. If anything, it would reassure her a little bit to hold the familiar wood in her longbow wasn't an ideal weapon for indoor combat but it was the only bow she preferred to use on a regular basis. She didn't put the quiver on over her shoulders but instead laid it on the bed and took out a single arrow and knocked it against the arrow's rest. She didn't draw the string back fully until she heard the sound of footsteps outside her door. Her hands clenched and her heart began to race.
The door opened quietly as if it had been picked open from outside. Liao didn't wait to see who was trying to sneak in, however, and she unleashed the stored energy of her drawn bow. The arrow smashed into the stone wall of the hallway and missed the human's head by mere millimetres. He had dropped instantly to the floor when he heard the loosed arrow. She hurriedly knocked another arrow before noting that the face of the human man was unfamiliar. The light from the single lamp in the room made him look sinister and dangerous.
Before the man could move again, Liao trained her arrow on him and demanded, "I wouldn't move if I were you. Who are you?"
"You must be the Warden-Commander," the man said in a flowery, upper-class accent. "You have much prettier toes than I expected."
The man was eye-level with Liao's feet. She took the hint that it was a rather odd position to be in for interrogation, "You may get up. Slowly. Drop all your weapons. And answer my question!"
The man did as she asked and dropped a shortsword, dagger, and a shortbow with quiver at his feet. It was his first chance to see what she really looked like. He had known she was an elf but nobody had indicated that she was Dalish, no wonder she was able to nearly lob his head off from his shoulders, "I'm the true owner of this keep. My name is Nathaniel Howe."
Liao felt her blood chill at the realisation that this man must have been the son of Rendon Howe. He had a similar face structure and his eyes were a cool greyish-blue colour. He was certainly young, given his long black hair.
"Your family owns nothing now," she chided him, "Arl Howe was a traitor to Ferelden. He was a despicable man who deserved the death that he got!"
"Murderer!" was all Nathaniel could retort with, the anger in his voice was full of venom. He made an effort to move forward but before he could reach one of his weapons and thrust it into the elven Commander, the sound of rattling armour could be heard in the hallway and several men poured into the room to restrain him.
"What's going on here?" the captain of the guard, Garevel, demanded.
"I think I've just thwarted an assassination attempt," Liao said casually, lowering her bow and loosening the strung arrow.
Captain Garevel looked embarrassed, maybe it was a combination of the fact that his men had failed to protect the Commander or the fact that the Commander was dressed in nothing more than a short nightgown, "I apologise that he was able to reach you. What do you want done with him now?"
"I'd like to talk to him some more when I've put on something more, uh, appropriate," Liao felt ridiculous for letting her men see her in her night-time attire.
"I have nothing to say to you!" Nathaniel barked at her but one of the guards nudged him sternly and he promptly quieted down.
"We'll take care of him," Captain Garevel assured her, "I'll watch over him personally. Come to the dungeons at your earliest convenience, ser." The captain bowed respectfully and ushered his men out of Liao's bedchambers.
Liao had thrown on a pair of pants and a baggy tunic that was tightened by an ordinary belt. She wore her usual pair of leather boots and sported a slung bow and quiver. Because it was still raining, she draped a bland-looking cloak over her shoulders and wore the hood up briefly as she crossed the short distance between the two buildings. Had Leliana been awake, she probably would have been horrified by Liao's cobbled together fashion.
"Commander," Captain Garevel greeted Liao with a salute.
"At ease, captain," she said. "What's the situation?"
"He won't talk to us," Garevel sighed, "and I doubt you'll get much out of him either. If it were up to me, I'd hang him. He's a trespasser at the very least and probably would have been a thief and an assassin if he hadn't been caught. That's ignoring how insane he must be for admiring his father. But you're the Commander around here so it's really up to you, ser."
"Your opinions are noted. I haven't decided anything yet," Liao wasn't as upset as a potential assassin victim ought to have been. If anything, she was intrigued by how the man had managed to single-handily infiltrated the keep. He must be an experienced rogue to pull such an act off and Liao was in the business of needing experienced fighters. The Grey Wardens had never discriminated against criminals before so long as they were capable in a fight against darkspawn.
"I thought the Warden-Commander was a woman, but now she shows up looking like a man," Nathaniel laughed to himself from within the safety of his prison.
"You want to come out here and say that?" Liao invited him.
"Not if you're going to shoot at my head again, no thanks," the human backed off.
"So I guess it's safe to assume you want me dead," Liao began. "But what did you hope to accomplish with that? The keep would have only been given to my second-in-command if you had succeeded."
"It doesn't matter who owns it now. All I wanted was justice," Nathaniel whispered.
"Are you aware of your father's crimes? He ignited d a civil war, he murdered the Couslands, he allowed elves to be enslaved and sent to Tevinter, he tortured countless innocents in Denerim, he imprisoned an Orlesian Grey Warden," she listed the atrocities one by one, counting them off on her fingers as she spoke.
"And that justifies you killing him in his own home? I guess they don't call you Grey Wardens for nothing," the human argued. "Aren't you supposed to be politically neutral?"
"There was a Blight! I needed an army and your father's war was soaking up all the young soldiers in Ferelden," Liao yelled, outraged that this man was so convinced that she had done wrong.
At that moment, a guard entered the room and ran towards the captain, "Captain! We have a problem. Darkspawn have been spotted in the basements. We put up a temporary barricade but it won't hold for long," she shouted almost incoherently, not even noticing the presence of the commander.
"Calm down, Sergeant," the captain urged her. "The Commander is here, she'll deal with the threat."
"I will?" Liao was still focused on interrogating Nathaniel and had little interest in fighting anything. "I'm not even wearing proper armour."
"There's no time for that!" Sergeant Maverlies insisted. Liao was almost embarrassed for the estranged sergeant, she would never have reacted so irrationally to the appearance of a few darkspawn.
"Don't mind me, I'll just sit here safely in my cell," Nathaniel mused. The Warden-Commander looked at the rogue with contempt but noticed he was wearing a full set of leather armour.
"Captain, where are those keys? I'm letting him out," Liao said suddenly.
"What?" both the captain and Nathaniel asked. "Is that wise, ser?" Captain Garevel added.
"We don't have time for wisdom here. I need to fight some darkspawn and this man is obviously an efficient fighter. Don't worry, I'll return him when this is over. If he lives through it," the commander put her hand out for Garevel to give her the keys and he conceded them to her. She unlocked the door to Nathaniel's cell.
"You have a queer idea of punishment," Nathaniel said as he approached the opened door. "But I won't question it."
"Come on," Liao threw the assassin his bow and quiver but didn't return his blades, "And stay in front of me so I can see your back." To the captain she said, "Captain, please wake my companions up. They are experts at dealing with darkspawn. I don't expect this to be a huge battle, for we would already be overrun if it were. I would rather not put your men at risk if I don't have to."
"What about me, ser?" the frantic sergeant asked, suddenly wanting to be involved.
"Come with me or stay out of my way, it doesn't matter. Just don't cut off your own leg or anything," Liao quipped. The sergeant blushed with embarrassment but decided to follow Liao and Nathaniel as they left the small building.
The entrance to the basements was conveniently next door to the same building that held the prison cells. Darkspawn hurlocks, wielding long, two-handed swords, and genlocks, wielding crudely-made bows, were already emerging from the door. Their numbers weren't overwhelming nor did they seem particularly organised. But it was enough of them to frighten the keep's guards who had not seen many of the creatures since the Blight.
Liao wondered briefly how deep the basement complex ran under the keep and if it was connected to the dwarven Deep Roads. She would have to worry about that later. She knocked an arrow from her quiver and delivered a killing blow to an unsuspecting genlock's forehead.
"These are the weak ones, they'll go down fast," Liao assured her fellow combatants. Guards around the keep were shouting at one another and demanding orders. "Sergeant, do me a favour. Tell the guards to keep an eye out for any more darkspawn but do not engage the ones in the basement. I want to bottleneck them and keep this situation under control."
"Yes, ser," the sergeant saluted her commander before running off to pass on the orders.
"Don't you think she would have been useful fighting with us? We're both archers and she had a sword," Nathaniel pointed out.
"How many Blights have you stopped recently?" Liao countered while she fired off another shot that instantly killed another of the corrupted creatures.
"Point taken," Nathaniel also loaded an arrow and shot one of the hurlocks cleanly in the neck. There was a small pile of 3 or 4 darkspawn accumulating at the door of the building now that was impeding the progress of the rest of the group from within.
Liao felt her skin harden slightly as if by magic. She turned her head for a moment to see Wynne, Leliana, Zevran, and Shale charging down the keep's steps to join them. None of them were wearing armour either but Wynne's spell would help protect their skin just as well.
"Having fun without us?" Shale commented.
"You know me," Liao laughed.
"Who's this handsome man?" Leliana asked, indicating Nathaniel.
"Someone not interested in Orlesian women," Nathaniel spat out coldly when he heard her accent.
"Oh, just another guy who's attempted to assassinate me. I'll tell you more later," Liao said while she fired her bow again, managing to keep the darkspawn pinned down at the door while Shale got into position.
"She is a hard mark, isn't she?" Zevran said to Nathaniel before unsheathing his daggers and charging forward with Shale. The rain outside began to pour in abundance as the fight began.
Shale ripped the door off its hinges and cleared the pile of dead darkspawn so that she could thrown her stone fists more cleanly at the victims inside. Leliana joined her fellow melee fighters with an unsheathed longsword in one hand and a delicate dagger in the other. Wynne stayed close to the archers so she could use healing magic without drawing too much attention. Nathaniel was impressed with how well the group worked together and how they relied on each other without saying much of anything at all.
The group managed to push further into the small building as Shale cleared a path for them. Shale's large, obsidian body was not only useful at hurting the enemy or shrugging off projectiles, but also at moving rapidly through obstacles. She had picked up a hurlock by the neck and was wielding him like a weapon at his fellows. Leliana and Zevran relied on Shale to distract the enemies while they engaged their foes from behind or on their flanks. The air around the group was full of magical energy as Wynne kept everyone energised and refreshed. For an old woman she isn't half bad in a fight, Nathaniel thought to himself.
Liao stood at the top of the stairs that descended into the subterranean level of the building and Nathaniel stood at the base of the stairs with his shorter reaching bow. She kept a close eye on him, letting him pick off the easier targets while she focused on the more threatening hurlock and genlock alphas in the back of the room. He was certainly a good shot and knew how to focus in a chaotic situation though she couldn't predict how well he would perform in a more open setting. She almost hoped the darkspawn would have a few emissary mages in their number so she could see how well he reacted to magic attacks.
Almost on cue, a horned emissary emerged up the stairs from the room adjacent to the one everyone was fighting in. It waived its staff in the air and flames began to encircle it as it prepared a notoriously powerful fireball spell.
"Emissary!" Zevran shouted to warn the rest but everyone had already spotted it. Leliana had thrown one of a dead darkspawn's discarded swords at the emissary's head in an attempt to distract it. Zevran followed the attack up by tossing a small jar full of a poisonous liquid that was designed to explode on impact and douse the mage in a paralysing concoction.
"Focus fire!" Liao yelled. Even if the emissary wore weaker armour than other types darkspawn, they only tended to show up with other emissaries and just before a large ogre. They were a sign that the darkspawn were resorting to desperate, cheap tactics and were willing to throw anything at their foes.
Within a matter of seconds, the emissary was down and another had come to replace it. Wynne managed to knock the new mage back with an earth-elemental attack that looked like a giant fist of stone being hurled at the target. All three of the melee combatants had dodged out of the way of the offensive magic but the darkspawn they had been fighting with had not. Wynne's spell managed to knock down the weaker foes in its path and Nathaniel finished them off with precise head shots. Liao conserved her arrows in case an ogre was about to come charging at the group but after the second emissary died the room fell silent.
Nathaniel lower his bow, expecting the combat to be over but the rest of the Warden's companions kept their weapons out and ready. The golem looked as if she were picking darkspawn blood out of her crystalline nails. The rogues, Leliana and Zevran, were investigating side rooms for any leftover creatures. Liao had come down the steps to join Wynne and Nathaniel at the centre of what was left of the battlefield.
"That door over there is where the emissaries came from," Liao pointed to the north. "It looks to low for Shale to get through."
"Thanks for reminding me. I am really self-conscious of my size if it recalls," the golem remarked.
"The side rooms seem empty of darkspawn and useful trinkets," Zevran added.
"I'm going to look down this way for a moment. Nathaniel, with me," Liao waved the human towards her. She didn't trust him enough to leave him on his own yet.
The two archers wandered down the hallway that connected to the original room for a short while before they noticed a caved in ceiling. The wooden panels of the hallway had given way to bedrock and the wooden supports seemed incredibly old. The caved in ceiling consisted of rock and stone instead of timber.
"Definitely looks like it could connect with some sort of dwarven architecture," Liao said more to herself than to Nathaniel.
"This keep is old. It's been around since the Avvar tribes, you know. Maybe it's possible that they used these tunnels to trade with the dwarves in ancient times," Nathaniel thought out loud.
"You used to live here, right? Have you ever been down here before?" Liao asked her fellow rogue.
"No, never down here. It was always forbidden. We were told as kids that these tunnels were haunted by old spirits. And if you could have heard the way my mother told those stories, you would have believed them," the human said, sounding a lot less hostile than he had earlier.
"I guess the rocks must have caved in when the darkspawn ran through here, there's no where else they could have came through," Liao said thoughtfully, "We'll have to find a way to seal this area off better in the future. Anyway, let's go meet the others. I would love to get some actual sleep tonight."
The two rogues met with the rest of Liao's companion outside the small building. The rain had stopped and the cool breeze in the air felt refreshing against her skin. The stench of darkspawn blood began to filter out from the basements below but otherwise the keep seemed as normal as it had before the fight.
"Well, that's enough excitement for one night," Liao yawned and some of her companions did likewise. "Back to your cell, Nathaniel. I'll deal with you later. Try to stay out of trouble."
"Ah, am I to be Vigil's Keep's mascot now?" Nathaniel joked but he was a lot more docile than he had been earlier in the evening. He figured being locked up in a cell was a lot better than being hung at any rate.
The next time Liao lay in her bed she had no difficulty falling asleep.