'Sup. Anyway, this is chapter 1. One little thing I want to mention is that I generally don't get a lot of critiquing reviews. I want to rectify this.
I don't want ANYTHING positive to be said about this chapter. If you review, PLEASE criticize me. I want to know what you think I'm doing bad, what you think needs to be fixed, what you don't like, etc. But don't be like "Your story sucks. Bye." I want actual criticism. The reason for this is because I want to get better as a writer, and this won't happen if I don't get criticism.
Thank you!
Chapter 1: Sacrifice
"Why a deepstalker? Why not a less dangerous and unpredictable pet?" Mhairi asked, casually trying to make conversation with her superior. "Deepstalkers aren't the garden-variety pet, after all. I've heard stories about how packs of them can take down bears, or even drakes."
Darius was not a talkative man, that much she had figured out in the few hours she had been traveling with him. He was Orlesian too, but Mhairi tried to push thoughts of his ethnicity to the back of her mind. They were unnecessary.
"Deepstalkers are proud creatures." Darius answered simply. He had a deep voice, Mhairi thought absently. His eyes weren't slanted either, which was odd for an Orlesian. "They are not afraid of cooperation, but also know how to survive on their own when cut off from familiar faces. I didn't choose him, though. He came to me."
"Tez..." Mhairi rolled the exotic name off her tongue. "Why name him that?"
"Short for Tezpadam, the dwarven name for deepstalker." Darius again answered curtly. Mhairi cocked her head slightly, intrigued by her commander.
She had always heard tales of the mighty Grey Wardens, invincible warriors and powerful tacticians. Single-handedly, they were said to be capable of taking down even ogres. Only the best, the elite, became one of them, chosen as they are from pools of the greatest candidates. They were the best man could offer in intelligence and physique, and that had regaled Mhairi since the time of her childhood. Ever the thought had teased her mind, for what did perfection look like?
"What do you mean by 'He came to you'?" Mhairi asked, continuing her barrage of questions. If Darius was annoyed by her constant probing, he didn't show it.
In fact, the older man hadn't shown much emotion at all in the past few hours. Occasionally Tez would growl or chirp and Darius would seem as if he was listening intently to each note, though Mhairi could hardly tell one apart from the other. That was the most emotion she'd get out of him.
"I found him half a year ago, shortly after the end of the Blight." Darius paused, as if considering his words carefully, before continuing. "I had just started serving as Commander at Soldier's Peak when he turned up wounded in one of the tunnels. I decided not to kill him because he was completely unafraid of me, even when injured. I admired such strength."
Mhairi opened her mouth, only to close it. The Orlesian and the deepstalker had a bond, one not normally seen between a vicious animal and a civilized human. Weren't these things mindless? Deepstalkers weren't known to be anything but hive-minded creatures with no object on their minds but their continued survival. There certainly was something to these Grey Wardens, if they could find such strength in the most unlikely of places, and to befriend such unpredictable animals.
And I shall be one soon enough. Mhairi thought, withholding a smile. After all these years of work, all this time of training in order to serve the Wardens, she was almost there. She had discarded her life, her merchant husband, everything she had known, in order to better serve Ferelden.
"Where are you from, Commander?" Mhairi asked as politely as she could. She knew it was poor manners of her to pry into the personal life of her superior after only knowing him a few hours, but she found herself intrigued by this dark skinned Orlesian.
"Born and raised in Val Royeaux. Before I was recruited, I only left the city for tournaments, or to study under some tutor or another." Darius said slowly, his gaze still snapped forward towards the horizon. "I was trained in politics, in fighting, in everything a noble should know, for that was what I was supposed to be."
"Supposed to be?" Mhairi asked before thinking. She saw Darius cast an eye her way, likely a sign of her pressing too hard. "Sorry. It's not my place to ask such questions, commander."
"No. It isn't."
ooo
"Where is everyone?" Mhairi glanced about nervously, struggling to examine the darkness that surrounded them. She could see the outline of Vigil's Keep in front of her, but all she heard was silence.
"This doesn't feel right." Mhairi could see Darius narrow his gaze slightly, focusing on the gates ahead of them. "Tez, find a scent of something, or anything."
The deepstalker chirped in response, running forward into the darkness. Mhairi wondered how the creature instinctively knew what Darius wanted it to do, but her thoughts were cut short when a scream broke the silence of the night air. Darius whirled in direction of the sound, both swords appearing in his hands. Mhairi drew her own, leveling her shield nervously.
"Help me! Please!" Darius rushed forward as soon as Mhairi had heard the voice. Hesitating slightly, she charged after him, trying to ignore the fear rising in her stomach.
Slightly ahead, in the illumination of torchlight, Mhairi saw a man pinned against a wall, struggling to fight off three short, deformed, green skinned creatures. Genlocks.
Mhairi froze, realizing the darkspawn for what they were. She had heard the stories of them, she understood their terrifying legacy, but now that she was actually within eyesight... One turned, gazing directly at her and, despite being nearly thirty feet away and protected by heavy dragonscale heavy armor, she felt vulnerable.
At least until Darius' sword burst through its chest, spraying the ground in front of it with its tainted blood. The grass withered and died at the touch of it, and Mhairi took a step backwards, fear overwhelming her senses.
"Mhairi! Behind you!" She turned at Darius' voice, just fast enough to bring her shield up. A hurlock's wicked scimitar clanged into her shield, the unexpectedly heavy blow knocking her backwards a few steps.
Now that she was staring a darkspawn directly in the eye, the fear was paralyzing. Mhairi shuddered, her gaze locked with that of the hurlock's. Twisted, gnarled grey flesh adorned the creature, its unnaturally wide mouth displaying a proud set of wickedly sharp teeth, decorating its horrific smile.
"Snap out of it, Mhairi!" She heard Darius yell, just in time to force her to raise her sword, barely managing to parry the hurlock's next attack.
Mhairi couldn't think. She could hardly breath. There was no strategy in her movements, just basic survival. How could she fight such a creature? It was easily a foot taller than her!
"I-I can't..." Mhairi tried to shout back, but her words were interrupted by the descending blade of the hurlock's, chasing her off of the path and into the grass. Its smile held strong, taunting her with imminent death.
At least until Darius' blades drove through its chest, the two large gashes tearing through its torso before ripping to the side, tearing the creature in two. Mhairi stood shocked, her sword still elevated as if to defend herself. She tried to thank him, but her words caught in her mouth, her eyes locked on the now-dead horror in front of her.
"Come on." Darius said simply, rushing back towards the keep. The soldier Darius had saved from the genlocks had since run off out of fear. He likely made the smart choice. Suddenly, Mhairi didn't feel like a warrior. She was just a scared little girl. Still, she followed beyond the walls of the keep, and she could hear the darkspawn around her before she saw them.
"I'll get the Ogre, you focus on helping survivors!" And Darius had run off to the side, leaving Mhairi alone. What? There was an ogre here?
"HELP!" Mhairi tore herself from her thoughts, running towards the shriek. She jumped up a few stairs, coming face to face with three genlocks besieging an unarmored man.
Mhairi hesitated before running forward, and in that moment a genlock plunged its sword into the man's gut, twisting and wrenching before pulling it free. The man stared in horror as his lifeblood splashed onto the ground in front of him.
"No!" Mhairi rushed forward, her sword slamming into a genlock skull, tearing a wide gash and felling the creature. She had killed one... She killed one!
He victory was short lived, as the two remaining creatures pressed onto her, their twisted gazes peering into her mind as they swung their blades at her.
Mhairi blocked one strike from the genlock on the left, which held a sword and shield. She stabbed forward, slicing its right arm open, forcing it to drop its sword. She slammed it with her shield, catching the creature in the face. Building confidence, Mhairi slashed forward, driving her sword deep into the neck of the weaponless darkspawn.
"Yes!" Mhairi shouted as blade tore through flesh, ending the creature's life. The other darkspawn backed away, surprised by the quick dispatch of its allies. Mhairi turned towards it as she wrenched her sword free. Not fast enough, as Tez pounced on its back, tearing flesh from bone as the genlock shrieked, trying to free itself from the worm-like jaws of the creature.
Mhairi stepped forward slowly, bringing her sword down on the back on the genlock's head easily. It stopped trashing and Tez bounded away to rejoin his master. Mhairi followed, searching the darkness for her commander.
"Mhairi! Into the courtyard!" She turned, following the voice. Apparently Darius had taken care of whatever Ogre there was. Alone. Was he truly that powerful?
ooo
He moved too fast to be human. Two swords whisked back and forth, ripping into darkspawn, easily creating corpses. Mhairi felt weak, struggling as she was as to hold off a single hurlock as Darius slashed left and right, easily taking down any that crossed his path.
This was a Grey Warden.
Darius leaped, plunging a sword into a shriek and taking the head off a hurlock at the same time. He was at his feet just as quickly, easily holding his ground against four darkspawn. Mhairi finally finished the hurlock, stabbing her own sword into its chest, but by the time she reached Darius, the four darkspawn were already dead.
"How..." Mhairi started, but Darius was already moving ahead, sprinting towards the entrance to Vigil's Keep, slipping under the portcullis, Tez on his heels. Mhairi followed, exhaustion already starting to wear on her. Darius didn't even show signs of tiring. Did Mhairi even have what it takes to be a Grey Warden?
She followed Darius as he ran into a large, somewhat rectangular room just past the portcullis. The Warden-Commander rushed to the right, leaping up the stairs three at a time. Yanking a door ahead of him open, Mhairi just barely managed to keep up.
But as they walked through the room, they were greeted with a strange sight indeed. Five darkspawn lay in a circle around a blue garbed mage as he bent over a templar corpse, talking to himself quietly. Darius stood quietly, arms folded, until the mage turned his head, noticing the two intruders. He jumped back, hands reaching for the staff laying on the ground a few feet away, before recognizing them as human.
"And here I was thinking my day was getting better." The mage smiled coyly, gesturing to the templars. "I didn't do it."
Darius drew one of his swords, pointing it towards the mage, who backed away, raising his arms, a defeated look on his face.
"Who are you, mage?" Darius asked, his voice calm and even. "Why are those templars dead?"
"I said I didn't do it, or was I unclear on that part? Let me say it again. I didn't do it." Darius was not amused. The Warden-Commander took a threatening step forward, to which the mage stepped back, his face seeming slightly more worried.
"Tell me, mage."
"Darkspawn got to them, and I got to the darkspawn." The mage looked to the door to the side before glancing at one of the templars. "Biff was a bit of a screamer. Lucky me. His dying shrieks woke me up, that they did." The mage shook his head. "Poor Biff. Never really amounted to anything except to save my life, though he certainly never wanted to." The mage gazed upwards thoughtfully for a second before extending his right arm. "I'm Anders, by the way. Wanted mage and apostate. Some would call me a maleficar too, but I think that's a bit harsh."
"Get out of here, apostate." Darius narrowed his eyes, gesturing to the door. "I don't want the hassle of testifying at your murder trial."
"But I didn't..."
"Now!" Darius kept his sword pointed at Anders as he walked away slowly, arms elevated. In a few moments, he had disappeared beyond the door and was gone.
"An apostate? Commander? Why'd you let him leave?" Mhairi did a double-take, examining the door the mage had just escaped through.
"There are bigger issues." And he was gone, rushing through the other door to the rest of the keep. Mhairi swore as she took off after him.
ooo
Again, Mhairi was impressed by Darius' swordplay. Every darkspawn they came across in the keep was cut down easily. She had much more trouble, often only killing 1 or 2 of a band of 8 darkspawn, with Tez and Darius easily dispatching the rest, often coming back to help her slay whatever she was fighting.
She was just glad they hadn't run into any ogres.
"Get out of here, woman!" Darius shouted at a peasant they rescued from two exceptionally powerful darkspawn, an alpha and an emissary. Mhairi panted, sheathing her sword as the woman ran off, praising her saviors and the Maker.
"Maker... There's so many..." Mhairi gasped out, putting her hands on her knees as she examined the eviscerated corpse of the alpha in front of her. Tez chirped excitedly from somewhere behind her, and Darius drew both his swords, walking swiftly towards the deepstalker.
"And there are many more. Keep moving, recruit." Darius said simply, stalking out the door and into the main hall, following Tez. Mhairi watched as her rounded the corner, hanging her head as soon as he was out of sight.
"He's inhuman..." Mhairi complained, running to catch up. By the time she had reached the corner, Darius had already engaged another darkspawn and slain it. Mhairi ran towards him, catching up just as he opened a door, only to dodge as a darkspawn flew out.
"HAHAHAHA! Got you in the danglers didn't I, you sodding nug-humper!" Mhairi could hear the deep, enraged voice before she saw the dwarven host.
He stood in the center of a large room, surrounded by darkspawn, a wicked smile behind his messy, bloodstained beard. He roared, dragging his great axe (and the hurlock who had the axe stuck in its groin) up into the air, flinging the darkspawn up and over his head. It flew to the edge of the room, colliding into a genlock and smashing into an expensive-looking painting hanging from the wall.
Darius didn't pause to ponder at the brutal spectacle before them, rushing into the fray even before the darkspawn left the blade. Mhairi stood dumbly on the side as she watched the two warriors fight, tearing the darkspawn to pieces between them.
The dwarf laughed the entire time, his axe cutting into the most unusual places. He was a powerhouse, one blow shearing one genlock from shoulder to hip clean through. All the while he flung vivid, and often sexually crude, epithets at the darkspawn.
"Get off my pants!" The dwarf shouted, driving the butt of his axe into the skull of a genlock that had wrapped its arms around his waist in a vain attempt to subdue him. The dwarf took a swig of a pouch of alcohol hanging from his belt before slamming it again and again. Finally it dropped away, dead.
Mhairi had barely lifted her sword to fight when the last darkspawn was cut down, sawed through the torso by the blood-crazed dwarf. Darius sheathed his swords, walking to the dwarf to greet him, a large smile on the Warden-Commander's face.
"Oghren! Good to see you again, friend." Darius gripped the dwarf's outstretched hand. The blood-covered dwarf smiled back.
"Well if it isn't Mr. Fights-like-a-bleeding-elf! How've you been? You still dance around the battle like a drunk elvish whore, I see." Mhairi approached slowly, sheathing her blade. The dwarf turned, catching her eye and smiling lasciviously. "I remember you. You're the recruit with a sodding great ass, ain't ya? Turn around for me, lady, I need some release after a long, hard battle like that one, if you know what I mean. I didn't know you liked white meat now, Darius."
"C-Commander?" Mhairi turned to Darius, who just smiled. Tez chirped excitedly, jumping in front of the dwarf.
"Hey! Stick that head of yours anywhere it ain't supposed to be yet, Tez?" Oghren laughed, a roaring, drunken sound, as he pet the deepstalker on the head. "I still got a bet going about what you're capable of."
"You two are... acquainted?" Mhairi was starting to recognize this dwarf now. He had shown up at the keep a few weeks prior demanding to be made a Warden, all the while making a fool of himself. If Mhairi remembered correctly, his hands had a habit of landing in places they didn't need to be.
"Aye. The Commander is the one that told me to come here if I wanted to join the Order." Oghren grinned. "Wait... where's that other bastard? I came in here fighting with some human like that hottie you've got with you, Darius. Where'd he go?"
"There are no human corpses in here, my dwarven friend. Only those of darkspawn." Darius stated after looking about him, one eyebrow tilted upwards.
"Well then we gotta find him!" Mhairi just stared at the dwarf as he charged up the stairs, looking about him almost comically before turning towards Mhairi. The locked eyes, sending shivers up Mhairi's spine. "Don't give me that cocked-face look, girl. Help me find Rowland! Hehe... I said cocked..."
"Rowland?" Mhairi rushed up the stairs as well, looking at the dwarf with relief as she spoke. "Rowland is alive? Where is he?"
"Damned fool woman, I just said we need to find him. C'mon!" And Oghren took off, rushing for the door near the back of the room. Darius followed wordlessly as Mhairi struggled to keep up with the situation about her. Rowland was here? Then...
Oghren threw open the door, his face melting into a more somber tone. Darius stopped running too, instead carefully making his way through the portal. Not sure why they had suddenly slowed, Mhairi rushed towards them, trying to get a look at the hallway in front of her.
"Rowland!" Mhairi shrieked, pushing the dwarf and Darius as she rushed to the fallen man. Rowland lay against the wall, his face covered in blood, his breath coming in short, labored gasps.
"M-Mhairi? My love..." The knight looked up, his eyes squinting as he gazed at Mhairi. She felt tears well up in her as she saw his wounds, innumerable, many of them deep enough to kill. Likely, he wouldn't survive the next hour.
"Who is this man?" Darius said, approaching slowly, kneeling next to Mhairi as he examined the fallen man.
"This is Ser Rowland, the Seneschal of Vigil's Keep. He's my..." Mhairi's voice trailed off as she looked over him again. "Why were you here, Rowland? I thought you said you were going to be in Amaranthine when the Commander got here."
"I-I'm sorry, Mhairi..." Rowland coughed, blood dribbling out of his mouth. "I... I thought it was my duty to see that the Commander be met with a proper welcome. I never thought... we'd be atta-"
Rowland screamed, arcing his body as he gripped his side. He shouted incomprehensibly, his pain apparently unbearable. Darius drew a knife slowly, and Mhairi didn't notice it in time to stop the Commander as it neared Rowlands neck.
"You need not suffer any longer, commander." Darius said, pressing the knife against Rowland's neck.
"No!" Mhairi said quickly, but too late. The long knife buried itself under Rowland's jaw, digging upwards into his brain. He shuddered for a few seconds, his face contorting as if he was smiling. Mhairi stared in shock as Darius withdrew the knife quickly, cleaning the matter from the knife nonchalantly.
"I'm sorry I could not be here sooner, Rowland." Darius mumbled quietly, walking down the hall. Oghren followed him, nodded slightly at the corpse as he passed. Mhairi stared after Darius, words not arriving at her mouth. After a few moments of silence, she spoke, nearly crying as she did so.
"Why did you do that? We could have done something for him!" Mhairi stood, drawing her blade at Darius, who turned slightly at her voice. "Rowland could have lived!"
"He would have died anyway, recruit. Put your sword away." Darius looked at her, his face blank. It unnerved Mhairi how little emotion he showed, even after just cruelly murdering a wounded man. "I did him a favor."
"You don't know that!" Mhairi shouted. Darius turned fully, shaking his head. "You could have done something!"
"He was beyond healing, Mhairi. Now sheathe your blade. We have more darkspawn to kill before this day is over. We have to find the leader." And he turned away, simple as that. There were no apologies. There was no regret. But Mhairi knew somewhere within her that he was right. Rowland was beyond help. Killing him was a mercy. But still it didn't feel right. It was too sudden... How could losing the one she loved be so quick?
"Rest easy, Rowland." Mhairi gazed at the corpse of her beloved. "You were my lover and more, and I will have my revenge."
She gazed hatefully at Darius. He wasn't like the tales. He was ruthless and bloodthirsty, friends with a deviant dwarf that reveled in bloodshed. Yet he was her commander, and Mhairi would do her duty, even if she hated him.
Taking one last look at the dead man she loved, Mhairi followed Darius, struggling to not run back to her dead lover's side.
ooo
"Look, we're on the same side." Anders put his hands in the air defensively, gesturing to the corner of the building. They were on a landing, where Mhairi and Darius had run into the apostate again. "Put the sword away. No? Please? Your real enemy is around that corner."
"Real enemy?" Mhairi saw Darius raise his eyebrow at the apostate, finally sheathing his blade. "Explain yourself, mage."
"I dunno. It's a talking darkspawn. Called itself a disciple and everything." Anders shook his head. "If you promise not to kill me, I'll even help you fight it. Okay?"
"A talking darkspawn?" Darius narrowed his eyes, but brushed the mage aside, hurrying to the edge. Anders shrugged, following. Tez chirped as he ran ahead, faster than both. Oghren laughed, tailing them. Mhairi sighed as she caught up, her mind still on Rowland. The talking darkspawn was likely the leader of the attack, which meant he was responsible for Rowland's death. Her revenge was at hand!
They rounded the corner just as a man screamed, pushed over the edges of the battlements. A uniquely armored darkspawn stood at the edge of the battlements, gazing into the night. Mhairi recognized Varel as the man being held on the ground, his hands tied behind his back and a sword at his neck.
"Whatever foul creature you are, the Maker will have his justice. Your attack will not be unpunished! There are legions of soldiers who eagerly wait to stick a sword through the heart of every one of you dark creatures!" Varel shouted, shifting on his knees. The hurlock holding him growled, forcing him back into position.
The larger darkspawn turned slowly as Darius' group approached. Mhairi felt her fear again as it turned, revealing a maw more twisted than any hurlock possessed. A gnarled, white face stared at them from behind a helmet of blackened steel. Its armor covered its entire body, black and red spikes sticking from its elbows, knees and shoulders. Inside the protective cover of its armor, shining red eyes gazed at the surroundings, taking them in with cold intelligence. These were the eyes of a predator. A killer. Just by gazing at this creature, Mhairi felt panic rise within her.
"The Withered's taking of Vigil's Keep was easy, just as The Architect has foretold." The darkspawn spoke slowly, grappling with the language as he spoke. Its command of human speech was tenuous at best, but the thought that it could even communicate chilled Mhairi. This was a powerful creature, one Mhairi had every urge to run away from.
"A darkspawn that talks?" Darius approached slowly, both his blades drawn. "What do you want, monster? What business do you have here?"
"We be coming to deliver a message." The Withered spoke in its rough, heavy tone. Mhairi approached slowly, but could hardly believe the power she felt from this thing. It was easily seven feet tall, covered head to tow in spiked armor, and could even speak!
Tez growled, barking and baring his multiple rows of teeth at the large, talking darkspawn. The Withered simply looked amused, glancing at the creature as if it was nothing more than a dog waiting to be kicked.
"What message? I am the Warden-Commander of Ferelden." Darius said cautiously, his head shifting slightly as two more hurlocks approached from further down the platform. "If there is anyone more appropriate to hear what you have to say, speak now before I cut out your throat."
"It will not be mattering any longer." The Withered smiled, its sharp teeth displaying even through the helmet. "Now that the Warden-Commander be showing himself, there no longer be need for a message. Kill the Wardens, but leave this one alive."
The Withered raised his hand, and the hurlock holding Varel sliced the man's neck open, blood spraying across the ground. Varel gurgled, his eyes rolling back into his head, before slumping to the ground. Dead.
The discple jumped forward before anyone could react, its long, twisted sword striking fast at Darius. Oghren yelled, charging and engaging a hurlock, while Tez rushed for the hurlock that killed Varel. Mhairi backed away, drawing her sword. She wanted to attack the talking darkspawn, but she was too afraid.
I'm no Warden. All I feel is fear. Pathetic. Mhairi thought, struggling to snuff out her fears and the horror of seeing Varel die. She rushed towards the nearest hurlock, trying to block out the deaths in her mind. She caught it off guard, jabbing her sword through its side. The thing growled, but the wound did not faze it.
Shrieking, the hurlock pulled its own sword out, slashing Mhairi. Forced to back away, she let go of the sword, as it was still embedded in its side. She fell backwards, and the hurlock stabbed towards her, ready to end her life. Fear gripped Mhairi as she realized the battle would be over for her before it even started.
Or not. Oghren's axe slammed into its skull, slicing the thing in two. It dropped, revealing a smiling, red-head dwarf behind it.
"Get up, thunder ass! We got some more killing to do!" Mhairi stared dumbly at the dwarf before scrambling for her sword, yanking it free. She stood, surveying the battle.
Darius was fully engaged with The Withered. The darkspawn disciple was fast, maybe faster, than the Warden-Commander, and easily kept both of Darius' blades at bay with only a sword and shield. Oghren had already tackled another darkspawn, throwing it off the battlements. Anders whirled his staff, slamming into the face of a hurlock, electrocuting it before it even hit the ground, frying the tainted creature. Tez rushed to Darius, barking.
Mhairi nearly fell over as she heard felt an arrow impact her shoulder, bouncing off the metal plating. Turning, she brought her shield up just fast enough to block the second attack. Mhairi charged towards the archer, hoping she could avoid any more arrows.
The genlock archer managed to loose a third arrow before Mhairi got to it. The genlock shrieked as Mhairi brought her sword down upon its head, slicing through its bow. She turned towards the rest of the battle to find the tides had shifted drastically.
Darius lay against a wall, his head bloody from a wound in the back of his skull. He was moving, which meant he was alive, but Mhairi wasn't sure for how long. The Withered had engaged Anders, but easily won after Anders mistimed an attack, only managing to tear off The Withered's helmet. It clubbed Anders over the back of the head with its shield, who fell to the floor, motionless. Tez was barking at Darius, his worm head sniffing the fallen Warden.
Oghren shouted, charging, as did Mhairi. Surprised by the sudden attack and the realization it was alone, The Withered backed away, heading towards the edge. Oghren and Mhairi stopped short a few feet, menacing the darkspawn as it stood on the precipice, a smile adorning its now helmet-less face.
"It is seeming I have been surrounded. That is too bad." The Withered smiled, raising its arms to its side. "We shall be meeting again soon, Wardens."
The Withered jumped backwards just as Mhairi lunged for him. The darkspawn hung in the air for a second before plummeting to the ground. Mhairi looked over the edge, but the disciple had disappeared.
Had they won?