Dragon Age. Origins
Levyn
Chapter Seven – Behind the Gate, Unexpected
"Tabi?" Levyn managed to get back to his feet and stared at the Chasind woman in awe.
"What? You think after following a crazy logger in the forest for a while, I wouldn't learn a thing or two about slaying a foe?" She arched her eyebrow defiantly.
"Tabi, my love!" Jethro waved his arms. "Good to see you!"
"Arh, yeah. Good to see you, too. " Tabi withdrew her long bow. "Care to tell me what happened? It seems like those darkspawn are all over the place."
"Pulled back to the docks," the Chasind logger shouted. "They are sealing the gate."
"Lovely." The Chasind woman threw her eyes heavenward. "We are not losing this city, are we?"
"Hell, no." Said Jethro: "Just going there for the time being!".
"Maker's knickerweasels! Wait for me at the chicken coop, then!" She returned to the house. "Boo? Boo, come here. No, those monsters are dead now. Come on…."
"Where is Gladys?" asked Levyn as he entered the door.
"In the kitchen." Tabi tilted her head toward the direction of the door at the back of the house as she literally flew down the flight of stairs with Boo tied at her back. "Went in and haven't seen her move since you guys left."
The blood mage rushed to the room adjacent to the lounge and found her curled between the wall and the food storage cabinet, wide eyed, shaking and looked utterly terrified.
"Gladys." Levyn rushed over and gently put his hand on her shoulder.
She flinched, jerking back from the unknown memory. "Levyn?"
"Yes, it's me." The hand on her shoulder squeezed slightly. "We need to go."
"Are they coming?" Gladys' face was chalk white. "Are they here?"
"Not yet." The blood mage gathered her hands in his. "But we need to go now."
"O…okay." She swallowed. "Levyn?"
"Yes?"
"Don't leave me."
"I won't." Levyn grinned warmly.
The grip on his hands tightened. He pulled her up, slowly led her around the stairs and to the backdoor.
They went past the front door that remained ajar. The moonlight flooded in, coating everything in milky white. In the distance, they could hear screaming, roaring and something explode off in the distance. Gladys stopped and stared at the open door in fear; her body shook, trembling from head to toe. Her hands almost broke Levyn's in half.
"Too…they are so many…so close…" She hesitated, unable to move a single step.
"They are not here." The blood mage assured, urged the Chasind girl to continued on. "Come on."
They managed to get to the chicken coop at the back of the house without running into a darkspawn. When they arrived, they found Jethro was busy unlocking a small door next to the pen. It was obscured by the shed. Unless people knew where to look, there was no way anybody could find it.
"Arh….we are heading to the docks, are we?" Levyn frowned. He thought they were going to go through the thick bushes behind the house.
" We are." Jethro turned his head around and gave his friend a teeth-baring grin. "But unless you enjoyed the lovely darkspawn encounter like we just had in the alley, a short cut is the best way for all of us to reach the docks safely."
"A short cut?" The blood mage arched his eyebrow.
"When we built this hut," Tabi explained, while her eyes remained scanning their surroundings just in case any darkspawn showed up unexpectedly. "We found a small section of underground passage, presumably part of the Deep Roads, that lead to the waterfront. Apparently, there are passages like this everywhere in Gwaren; ours isn't the only one. King Maric used to use them to escape from the West Hill up north!"
"Yeah, I heard the one under Zac's actually leads to the old Gwaren post underground," her husband interrupted. "Of course, he wouldn't acknowledge that. Cheeky bastard. There, door's open. Better hurry."
They quickly entered. Jethro went last and carefully locked the door again behind them. The first few steps were solid timber, presumably built by the logger himself, then about half way down the stair was made from large stones. Some of them were so large; they had to use the rope to climb down. Under the flickering torches, they were carved with ancient Dwarven runes.
"Those used to be boulders that supported the whole Deep Roads." Jethro gave the stone a slight pat as they hopped down the last rock and landed into what felt like a huge hallway. The air was surprisingly fresh. A gentle, salty breeze echoed through the empty cave. Occasionally, there were unidentifiable old skeletons of animals of some kind crumbled at the corners, giving everyone shivers.
"From the looks of it," the Chasind man continued, "those Dwarfs blasted the tunnel off after losing the fight with those creepy thingy, cut this section off from the rest of the Deep Roads. Sodding lucky, if you ask me. I used this to store my logs in winter! Arh….now we can hear the sound of waves in the distance. We are near."
Sure enough, soon they heard the sound of wave splashed on to the seashore. They proceed a bit longer and found themselves standing at a small quay overlooking a large cave that linked to the Amaranthine Ocean. The salty wind tousled their hair. Stacks of wooden logs and crates were piled up near the wharf.
"This way." Quite familiar with the surroundings, Jethro walked up to the cave walls and beckoned them over.
Levyn moved closer and noticed a small, narrow path zigzagging along the high cave wall. Still holding Gladys' hand tight, he followed the Chasind logger onto the path and entered another small, recently dug out passage.
"I dug those." The Chasind logger bragged proudly, carefully waved off the tree roots and spider webs hanging over their heads. "Easier for me to return to our house from the docks after the gate is closed."
"Is that how you managed to sneak around after dark?" Tabi's voice drifted from a few steps behind. "And here I thought your stealth skill was improving."
"My stealth is good." Jethro sniggered. "But you know what Wolf's like after his leave a few months back. Sulking Templars. Can't joke with him anymore."
"Has Wolf always been stationed here?" Levyn couldn't help himself to ask.
"Since he was a young lad, fresh out of the Order!" The Chasind man smiled.
"You make it sounded like you are ancient!" his wife interrupted again. "Don't listen to him, mage. My beloved is only a few years older than him."
"But I am still older!" Jethro complained. "Anyway, he was a much happier lad back then."
"Then what happened?"
"What happened? The sodding Blight happened, mate." The Chasind logger sighed. "I heard almost all of his family were killed during the Blight."
"No, there was still one." Tabi piped up again. "He had a sister. I think she survived."
Levyn's heart jolted. He was thankful that the light in the passage was dim and Gladys couldn't see, because he was sure his face was crimson.
"What…what happened to his sister?" he stuttered.
"Her?" Jethro shrugged. "No one knows. I heard she was missing."
"Missing?"
"No one knew where she went. The only thing they were sure of, was that she didn't die." The Chasind logger continued. "Wolf went crazy. Spending hours writing letters to his mates stationed elsewhere, asking if they knew anything. "
"You guys all happened to know that?" Levyn's brows shot up.
"It's a little bit hard to miss. Words traveled fast. Plus a man in big armour literally chewing nibs and writing letters whenever he goes is quite an interesting sight to watch." Tabi chuckled. "Plus during that time, all he talked about was his little sister…what's her name, Jethro?"
"Arh….Lily. I think her name is Lily." Jethro raised his torch and carefully checked what was ahead of him.
"Yeah, Lily," his wife sighed. "Then one day, I was told he finally got the letter he's been waiting for. Apparently, he finally found her. But he didn't seem happy."
"No," said Jethro from the front. "He sure wasn't. I saw him request a month's leave from the Revered Mother and left Gwaren to Spirits knows where. When he returned from that leave, he had changed."
"Changed?" Levyn asked.
"The smirk that usually hung on his face was gone." Tabi sighed, turned around to check the sleeping Boo on her back. "He withdrew himself from all the Templar social activities and often was found sulking at the top of the battlements. And the sadness in his eyes…. The poor dear."
"Well, he still took his duty seriously, a bit too serious to my liking." The Chasind logger sighed, too. "And he never talked about his sister again; nobody dared to ask."
"So, no one knows what happened to her?" asked Levyn.
"Nop." replied Jethro simply. They had come to the end of the passage. The Chasind logger climbed up a ladder and pushed the hedge door overhead open.
They found themselves emerging from a boating shed not very far from the docks marketplace. Levyn and Jethro rushed toward the gate after settling Tabi, Gladys and Boo at a small fishery shop near the wharf. They found the gate half opened, with at least three Chasind mages and several other loggers, Templars and dwarves standing guard nervously. Wolf and one of the guards were at the battlement, overlooking the other side of the gate.
"You! What did you do?" Wolf nearly tore the poor mage in half as soon as he saw him.
"What, what, what?" Levyn was absolutely bewildered.
"Did you use your…cursed magic to summon that dragon there?" The Templar's trembling finger pointed at a large creature in the air.
Levyn jerked his head up and saw a ghastly purple dragon, the largest he had ever seen, circling in midair just above the town's square. Its scales glittered under the full velvet moon. Its large yellow eyes, as huge as carriage wheels, glared at the darkspawn on the ground with fury. The dragon bared her teeth, snarling toward the crowd, and made a ground-shattering low roar.
"What in the Maker's name was that?" The blood mage's jaw dropped. "It can't be…. a High Dragon? A High Dragon down in the other end of the Brecilian Forest?"
"You did not summon that thing?" Seeing the mage's surprised look made Wolf doubt if the dragon was actually being summoned by any of them.
"I summoned a Blood Dragon! A dragon conjured of blood!" Levyn smacked his forehead. "That thing out there is a solid dragon, flesh and bone and all! Do we all need to be here if I can summon that thing?"
"He didn't summon the dragon, Wolf." Jethro patted the Templar's shoulder. "He was with me since you last saw us in the alley. And besides, what are you worrying about, looks like that sodding thing is on our side!"
Wolf opened his mouth and was about to snarl something back when he heard the dragon roar again, followed by a heated wind surging past them. He turned his head around just in time to see the beast flex her dark purple talons, as wide as all of Gwaren, and breathe fire at the terrified darkspawn below. Several small Genlocks were burned to crisp in the first round. The Templar tilted his head and was in absolute awe as the sinister creatures below ran for their lives, only a handful of bigger ones dared enough to stay where they were and fight her.
"Speaking of which," the Chasind logger said as he scratched his head. "Aren't you guys supposed to shut the gate? How come it is still wide open?"
"Well, that dragon showed up," the guard standing next to Wolf said. "Then, suddenly, all their attention turned to her. All we need to do is make sure a few small ones don't sneak past. Besides, we have one little problem: The Revered Mother and Gwen are still at the Chantry."
"THEY WHAT?" cried Levyn and Jethro in unison.
"The Revered Mother refused to leave," Wolf grunted. "And Gwen is still there to convince her. Two knights from the Teyrna's residence were there as well, so they are quite safe at the moment."
"Spirit of the Forest! I hope she will come back to her senses soon," the Chasind sighed.
Something dark stirred across the town square. Levyn leaned further against the stonewall, trying to see through the thick smoke and flame. Those figure were dark and looked downright familiar.
"Maker's breath!" he gasped. "Those darkspawn called backup troops!"
"Shit!" Wolf swore and leaned to the wall next to him. "Holy Andraste, there are more coming!"
"The dragon's breath up in the air isn't going to last long." The blood mage started pacing around the wall in circle. "We need to do something to defend this gate before the Revered Mother arrives."
"Can't you do one of those bloody dragon thingy?" Jethro rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I can. But it's not going to last long either." Levyn sighed.
More noise from the square suggested the darkspawn reinforcements had entered the battlefield and began to shoot arrows at the dragon above. As if sensing the Gwarenian's hesitation, the High Dragon roared, urging them to make haste.
"I can enter the battlefield to buy us some time," a knight nearby piped up.
"Ser Ciaren!" Wolf frowned. "But…"
"Standing around here and letting a dragon do all the work isn't my thing." Ser Ciaren's mouth twitched. "We need you up here, Wolf. But I can go down there."
"Are you sure about this?" The templar looked at the knight warily.
"Yes, I am." He unsheathed his long sword and weighed it in his hand.
"I will go as well," another voice chimed in. Levyn turned his head around and found it was a young Chasind woman, who he noticed was leaning against the wall as they climbed up the battlement. Her long hair was a strange dark blue colour, now tied into a bun on top of her head. One of her eyes was green, while the other was golden.
"Mihi." Jethro was surprised. "I didn't know you were in the city."
"Been here for days." The Chasind woman smiled. "How's Gladys?"
"You know Gladys?" The blood mage's eyebrows shot up.
"Who do you think healed the wounds around her eyes at Zac's?" Mihi grinned.
"You are a mage?" Levyn was surprised.
"Yes." The Chasind mage smiled. "I've heard about your abilities since I came. It will be interesting to see it in person. Now, I must say we have all the time we need to chat about this after those creature down there are gone. I am going down there with Ser Knight."
"My lady!" Ciaren exclaimed. "That's entirely unappreciated, you are a lady…"
"And a mage, just in case you somehow forgot it." Mihi cast a side-glance over at the square. "They are sneaking past, there isn't much time. I am going, Templar, whether you like it or not. You'd better hold this gate tight."
"Wait!" Wolf and Ser Ciaren both cried out before the Chasind mage waved her staff. A surge of energy whooshed past her body, sending a gushing wind whirling in 50-meter radius around her. The small Chasind woman immediately began to…evaporate and turn into a dark cloud of dust right in front of the astonished crowd on the wall. Then they suddenly realised it wasn't dust. It was massive swarms of insects. It rapidly rose from the stone battlement and descended down to the darkspawn below.
The monsters began to shriek in pain. Some tried to run away, while waving their hands to pat off the insects around them.
A small group of two Genlocks, two bug-like darkspawn and an armoured Ogre broke free from the chaos of the town square and the dragon. They waved their clubs and swords, snarling, approaching the gate at a surprisingly fast speed.
"Damn it, here they come!" The Gwarenian at the gate tensed, fully prepared for action. Ser Ciaren was already down at the gate. He charged first, raised his sword overhead and slashed a bug-like darkspawn cleanly in half. He sprung around, elbowed a Genlock, sent him staggering back, and synched his weapon into the other's chest. The sinister being rolled his eyes upward and died instantly. The remaining darkspawn bug leaped at the knight, its face splitting into four pincers, fully ready to sink into his flesh. A lightening bolt crashed down from the sky and hit the creature dead on, turning him into a pile of smoking dust. Ciaren jerked his head around and saw it was Levyn who cast the spell.
He tilted his chin saluted before he turned his attention back to the snarling Ogre. He and several warriors waved their swords and took turns to attack the giant monster. Across the square, the swarm of stinging insects continued to torment the darkspawn. With the dragon breathing fire above, the additional troops once again held up far away from the walls that separated the township and the docks. Their number continued to decline; soon, it was once again a handful of larger darkspawn and Genlocks left.
The heavy smoke slowly faded. A tall, blue armoured figure slowly emerged through the curtains of fog. The same talking darkspawn had returned.
"I believe I told you to mark my word, mage," he sneered at the blood mage, while waving his staff and zapping several insects near him, turning them into fine dust. "We always come back and claim what was rightfully ours."
"You will not touch her!" roared Levyn.
"Oh, then it's not up to you to decide," laughed the sinister monster wickedly. "Once we broke through the final defense, I would like to see any of you try—"
"There is a good reason why darkspawn should not speak." Suddenly, an old, sarcastic voice echoed through the air. Both of them turned their heads up and found themselves looking straight into the High Dragon's golden, fiery eyes. "Cha-cha-cha, anyone told you talk is cheap?"
The darkspawn's eyes widened with shock. "You…."
"Marching through my territory and took my absence as permission? Or the silence of an allied?" The dragon glared. "I was merely showing you mercy!"
"Sweet sodding broodmothers, you are—"
"Oh, yes. I am." The dragon grinned.