A/N: So uh... thanks for reading!

Chapter: 15

Broodmothers

Kiera

The things charged, brute force and magic combined, absolutely debilitating with their sheer numbers. We had no choice but to retreat, back out of the pit, and try to reach the narrow tunnel where we could pick them off with relative ease. I said relative, but I knew that it didn't mean that we were completely safe from their attacks.

We barely made it back into the large cavern, and I saw that the karashoks were now down to four. Their morale and endurance were utterly gone—I could cast regen for their stamina, but their spirits… seemed to be all but crushed.

Faced with the ever growing numbers before us, I decided that this was a time for some drastic action, and I did the only thing I could have— I aimed my spells at the protrusions of lyrium veins, and the chain of lighting ricocheted, reflecting off in more directions, catching many of the darkspawn in a blaze of cobalt light, leaving their bodies smoking and twitching on the floor.

Thus inspired, I continued using the lyrium around us as the catalysts for more magic; the smallest spell I cast on these mutiplying tenfold in strength. Sparking off several chain reactions, the lyrium exploded around us, some shards of the lyrium blasted free with the littlest of stress placed on the deposits present in the rock. Boulders of these had broken free and came crumbling down, crushing more darkspawn in the process.

Soon, however, we were still six, and stood united against the talking Ogre. Oh, and two broodmothers. Good odds, if I do say so myself. Better than before.

"Where did you come from?" I asked, hoping that I hadn't really heard it speak, that I was just imagining things. The beasts were bad enough, but for them to gain a higher sentience? I shuddered to think of the madness that would no doubt ensue everywhere in Thedas.

"You will know soon enough." So much for hoping—those words were heard loud and clear. The Ogre rushed headlong at me, and I dodged that attack with relative ease. Not built for brains, that one. He crashed into a pile of rubble, while the karashok and Sten watched, trying to catch their breath.

It was still mind-boggling. "How can you speak?"

Very likely, he had no idea as to why he could too—he ignored my question with barely a pause, snarling in return. "You think that your people own the surface. We will rise in time. The Father will lead us and our armies will overrule your pathetic nations."

"Okay. Might I know who this Father is?" I tried again—perhaps we could investigate him and stop this strange evolution that was affecting the darkspawn. The Ogre reached for me, claws at the ready, but this, I scorched with a fireball. Drawing back its burned extremities, the thing opened its fanged mouth, only to choke back a reply, coughing up black blood— surprise in his eyes.

There was a long silence as we stared at each other, but I was shocked when it crumpled to its knees, falling face forward, a large blade sticking out of the back of its neck. Sten then stood over it and dragged Asala from the cooling corpse, unceremoniously wiping the blood off with a piece of rag.

xOxOx

Sten

The kadan raised her eyebrows at me before smiling and shaking her head gently—turning to make sure the karashok were uninjured. Why was she conversing with the creature? Grey Wardens were to kill all darkspawn—on sight. She seemed pensive at the sudden knowledge that they too, had language.

We walked on forward, although the kadan had insisted on checking all of us thoroughly. She seemed worried about the possibility of us being tainted by the darkspawn blood, and had forced the karashok behind us, even though . We all knew that the darkspawn wanted her—but she remained unconcerned.

The immense tentacled things were ahead.

The kadan touched the lyrium with one plated hand, watching the air around that whisk, swirling the minute particles upward—before suddenly hurrying forward. It seemed that she had a plan. She tore pieces of cloth from the darkspawn around her, scooped lyrium dust from the collapsed deposits, handing these little bundles out to the karashok, who handled these gingerly. We had not forgotten her demonstration of the destruction that lyrium could do.

We entered the pit again; this time prepared for the grotesque sight of the broodmothers, squirming and slobbering as still more darkspawn erupted from their pods. The kadan began casting again, her hands moved and gathered power and forced it into a tight ball of flame. She nodded, and we threw the satchels of dust into the air, above the broodmothers— and the contents fluttered out over the growing horde. She conjured the same cloud of flame, and when the reddened flare caught onto the dust, the entire room detonated, filling the tunnel with an immense heat— a veritable inferno.

We began to retreat again, though the kadan remained rooted to her spot.

"We should leave, before this structure collapses," I muttered behind her small human figure; she seemed spellbound by the flames.

"Huh. It's still not over." The fire remained, though it was running out of fuel.

"One of the broodmothers is still alive." She pointed at the horned one, her manner distant and somewhat dazed. Something was bothering her.

One of the karashok handed me a spear, wrested from the dead limbs of the darkspawn and this I threw—the arc and trajectory seeking and meeting its target, an a shriek pierced the air, before all was quiet except for the crackling of the ebbing flames.

"Nice throw." Came a foreign voice, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the karashoks fall, one by one, as they succumbed to some mysterious figure's magic. The kadan too, lay crumpled on the floor.

P.S.: Please don't hate me for this much trauma.