Five Years After
Set after Witch Hunt. Sari and Alistair lead Ferelden, but a Warden's job is never done.
"Why won't you tell us more about this?" Someone asked.
"Look, just bring me the Warden-Commander and we'll discuss it." The dwarf shook his head and turned.
Sari placed her hands on her hips, stopping in front of them, "Fear not, I am here."
He looked her up and down for a moment. She was not as he'd remembered. He'd glimpsed her only a few times when she'd been in Orzammar. Then she had been a fighter, her face as hard as the stone that must have made her. Now she looked, soft, like a surfacer. And the dress? Very impractical. Was this really the Hero of Ferelden?
He pulled himself together. King Alistair had frowned at his silence, even Sari looked a little concerned. "King Bhelen sends his regards, I am Kedsh."
She acknowledged him, expecting him to continue.
"I had hoped to speak to only you." He explained.
Glancing to her husband she paused. "Then the business you come on must be..." She trailed off, "The room down the corridor?" She asked Alistair.
He nodded and Sari began to lead the dwarf in that direction. She tilted her head, indicating that Alistair should follow. Teagan came too, but she had hoped he would.
"I wished to speak only with you." Kedsh said, as the door of the room closed.
"Alistair is the King of Ferelden, and a Grey Warden, anything you say concerning Darkspawn is relevant to him. I trust Teagan with whatever information you have for me. Please, speak."
"As you wish." She was certainly as persuasive as he remembered. "King Bhelen has fought the Darkspawn back in many areas of the deep roads. Recently we have been using the maps you provided us with to explore areas we haven't claimed yet-"
"Specifically?" She feared his answer.
"The dead trenches."
Alistair exhaled sharply but didn't say anything.
"The patrols we sent in all came back smaller in number. Two we sent in didn't come back at all. But the ones that did all said the same thing. The Darkspawn came from nowhere and grabbed people. No fighting, nothing. Warden, what are we dealing with here?"
"How long ago did this start?" She questioned. Darkspawn with tactics wasn't something new though it wasn't comforting either.
"A few weeks. Why?"
"What composition were the groups taken?"
"Composition?"
"Humans, dwarves, elves? Male, female? Who was in the group?"
"Mostly dwarves, a few elves and humans. About an even split, possibly more males. Why does this matter?"
"Did anything change after the people disappeared? Certain types of Darkspawn appearing?"
"A couple of weeks after the first group didn't return we had an influx of Genlock reaching one of the Thaigs. What is going on?"
Sari closed her eyes and shook her head slowly.
First day, they come and take everyone...
Taking a deep breath she forced her eyes open. Alistair placed a hand on her back, as though he meant to steady her. She turned the corner of her mouth up, hoping he'd think she was ok. He wasn't fooled that easily.
"You probably don't want to know why it matters." She finally responded to Kedsh's questions.
"What? That doesn't make sense. What are we fighting?"
"Darkspawn. But their tactics are... unusual..." Alistair folded his arms across his chest, "It sounds like they know exactly what to do."
What were they facing? Had they gained some kind of intelligence? Again? Like the Mother and the Architect? The dwarf's face said he was hiding something but she already knew he wasn't going to tell her what. The people who'd been taken had already been changed by the Darkspawn, he'd made that much clear so it was unlikely they'd be redeemable.
Any woman who had... She almost shuddered... must be destroyed and any still there needed saving, and that didn't necessarily mean bringing them back to Orzammar.
"Sari?" Alistair squeezed her arm.
She blinked. Looking up at him she frowned and turned to the dwarf, had he said something? No, they waited for her to speak. "There is a group I can send with you. They are the best I have."
Teagan took the initiative, "I will find Jeji."
As he left the room Alistair gave Sari's arm another squeeze, "Are you alright?" He whispered so quiet she almost didn't hear.
She gave him no response.
"One group?" Kedsh frowned, "You won't help us?"
"I'm sending those I can, I don't know if I'll join you yet."
"You don't think we need you? You don't think we'd have come if we thought anyone else could do the job?"
"It's not that. I have responsibilities here. I am not the only one who decides where I can and cannot go."
Alistair looked a little relieved for a second. Then he saw it in her eyes. He knew that fire: the determination that said she wanted to go despite knowing what she would find. The fire that said she would give everything for a just cause. But now wasn't the time to talk.
"You are not what I expected." Kedsh said.
"And what did you expect?" She feared what he might say.
"The woman of legends. One who isn't afraid of anything and who would run head long into a group of Darkspawn and slay them all."
Sari couldn't help but laugh.
"Anyone who behaved that way probably wouldn't make it into Legends." Alistair shook his head.
"Exactly. The best tactic, and the one which will make you more likely to survive, is to pull small groups. Then you can slay them all, one by one. If you do happen to meet the horde... Running is always good."
"Well, running and finding cover." Alistair added.
"Obviously." She smiled.
The pair glanced at each other, remembering more than one occasion when they'd misjudged how many Darkspawn would come running and had needed to employ such a tactic.
"Anyone who isn't afraid of Darkspawn," She sighed, "Is a fool. They are dangerous and your very presence here means they are a threat."
The dwarf paused. This woman wasn't what he'd expected. She was better. King Bhelen had been right to come straight to her.
The door opened.
"You asked to see me Warden-Commander?" An elf walked in, on his back were two long swords. His skin was dark, yet over his right eye a long pale scar lay. It was no doubt the work of Darkspawn swords.
"Yes, Jeji, this is Kedsh." Sari said as he moved further into the room, followed by Teagan, "He's come from Orzammar to ask for our help. I'm planning to send you and your team back with him. Perhaps you'd like to tell him why I'd rather send your group than an army."
For a moment Jeji smiled, "Yes, my Lady. My team consists of myself and eleven others. We've all been trained specifically in fighting and tracking Darkspawn, though I am the only Grey Warden in the team. There are twelve of us, this number means that we can split into smaller groups but we're not too many to work together. And sending an entire army into the deep roads would be foolish. They wouldn't know what they're doing. We do. Sending an army in would simply give the Darkspawn more people and, trust me, that is not what you want."
Kedsh watched the elf carefully, "I'd prefer you were coming with me yourself Warden-Commander, but this group sounds confident enough."
Jeji glanced from Kedsh to Sari and back again, he seemed confused at the notion that she wasn't coming with them.
"I'm glad you think so, Kedsh." She nodded, once in a while she did have a good idea and Jeji's group was most certainly one of her best. Handpicked fighters, she knew them all by name; each one she'd either trained herself or found the best she could to train the ones she couldn't. It made them incredible and she didn't feel bad about sending them in her stead. Yet she couldn't stop that nagging in her heart. Yes, she feared the deep roads but she'd probably hate herself for a long time if she didn't at least attempt to go.
Thanks for reading. Next part is nearly ready. It'll be up in a few days.
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