Thank you so much Jinx1983, Warrose and jugalettePENNER for your reviews! They mean so much to me! :) You ALL get cookies! YAY!

This chapter mainly deals with all things darkspawn and sprinkles of romance here and there. ;)

Bioware STILL owns! :D

Chapter 11 - Course of Action

I open up my head
Inside I find another person's mind
I'm gonna take this chance I've got
I'm underlying as we speak
Hiding my face among the weak
Some say the day is on the way
Into the wild
On with the mission
Over the hill
Come here with me
Into the wild

The Mission - 30 seconds to mars

.

.

The following morning they all met at the mess hall of the compound, called 'the dining area' by Leonie and discussed different measures that should be taken and the best course of action. They did not have any immediate solutions and after hours of deliberating decided to wait for the reinforcements to arrive from Ferelden and the wardens in the Free Marshes before setting out to scout the areas.

Alistair had proposed forming groups to visit the neighboring villages. He wanted to map the tunnels, if possible, to see what they were up against. While the rest agreed that his plan was a good one, they still stressed the importance of having more wardens at their disposal. In the end it was decided that they could scout the immediate areas for the time being until the reinforcements arrived.

Alistair frowned. Something told him that they should move out to the remoter areas. It was crucial not to leave the people to the mercy of the darkspawn. This became a heated discussion between Leonie and him, and lasted for a while.

Finally she relented, throwing up her hands in despair.

"Bien! I will have all my wardens here tomorrow. You shall speak to them then and pick out groups to help you. If you are going to visit these villages, then you should make preparations and get supplies."

"I agree and thanks for your support. If we don't do something, then the whole nation will succumb under this threat, and it will spread," Alistair said grimly, crossing his arms.

They had a meal afterwards and he asked Chantalle to accompany him to the market square to get some supplies.

Fiona stopped them on their way out. "If we are to compare notes, I suggest that we do so soon. It seems that you will be leaving for the countryside in a short time, and I may have some information that is crucial to you," she said. "You can bring Chantalle, what we are going to talk about is warden business and I have heard that she is a very good warden." Chantalle smiled at her when she heard this, and Fiona smiled back.

"Yes, my lady, we'll make our way to your room as soon as we get back," Alistair promised.

"Please, Commander. Call me Fiona, for that is my name." She smiled at him tenderly.

"Very well. Fiona." He bowed and he and Chantalle left the compound.

There were a great deal of refugees in the market square, and the crowds had grown in number from one day to the next. They made their way around the place, trying to get the best deals. Alistair smiled as Chantalle haggled with each and every merchant, her Orlesian smooth and flawless.

Soon, Alistair was carrying a number of packages. Satisfied with their purchases, they made their way back to the compound, stopping only to put the packages in his room.

They found Fiona in her room. The room was large and had a sitting room, with comfortable cushioned chairs and a table. Alistair placed his journals on the table and some maps. Fiona had some journals as well.

"Now, Commander. Let me tell you a story. The Grey Wardens met the Architect a little over twenty-five years ago and he tried to convince the Wardens that the best route to take was to join him, in order to stop future Blights."

"That is exactly what he told me. He said he needed the blood of Grey Wardens. He would administer this blood to-"

"The darkspawn?" Fiona interrupted.

"Yes. If Grey Warden blood were administered to the darkspawn, according to him, it would break the connection between the darkspawn and the Old Gods, therefore ending all possible future Blights. But I did discover that it was his fault that the Blight started. He tried to make Urthemiel a disciple and his 'plan' failed, thus the archdemon we defeated came to be."

They continued to talk for another hour, then fell into a much more comfortable conversation when Alistair began to talk about how they had run around Ferelden gathering the army to end the Blight. He did not refer to Morrigan but he did think about her and the ritual that had spared their lives. He still had trouble believing that Duran had actually gone through the Ritual with Morrigan.

"Well, we'd best head to the 'dining area', it's almost time for dinner." He grinned at Fiona. "I do hope they bring out the cheese. I have the sneaking suspicion that Leonie is trying to keep all the cheese from me, which would be bad."

"You can't blame her. If you get your hands on it, you would deplete their cheese stock completely!" Chantalle shot back, her eyes twinkling.

"Ah, King Maric also loved cheese," Fiona said, a dreamy look on her face.

Alistair spun around to face her. He blinked.

"You...knew King Maric?" He swallowed thickly.

"Yes, I did. You look a lot like him, you know," she said softly.

"I- I think we should be going," he replied quickly and turned back to Chantalle, his face grim. "We'll speak later." He practically fled from the room.

"What was that all about? Do you not wish to know about your father?" Chantalle asked him, when they were out of the room.

"No. No, I don't. He didn't want to know about me, did he? So why should I want to know about him?"

And with those words, he took her hand in his and led her to the dining area.

...

Anders met Alistair on the way to his room.

"I want to go with you when you start scouting tomorrow. I want to be in your group."

Alistair grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Anders."

"Good. I was beginning to think you'd leave me with Leonie," he sighed.

Alistair's eyebrows shot right up to his hairline. "What? I thought you adored the ground she walks on? What happened? Lover's quarrel?" He grinned.

"Shut up Alistair, I'm really not in the mood to talk right now," Anders warned darkly.

"Oooh! It must have been really bad, then. All right, all right. Don't look at me like that! I won't tease you again, promise."

"I just don't want to talk about it, all right?"

"No worries. But if you want my advice, you'd best start running..."

"What?" Anders managed to get out.

"She's heading directly towards us right now..."

Anders paled and gave a little jump and fled the opposite direction. He did not stop to even look back.

Leonie stalked by Alistair, giving him a smoldering glare and Alistair laughed softly as he went into his room.

...

I'll have five groups of four wardens to scout the immediate areas tomorrow, though I would like to set out further, it's a start at least.

Fernan, Chantalle and Anders will go with me. Oghren and Marcus will stay behind for now.

I have the feeling that this is the only way we'll get a glimpse on what they are planning to do, though I really wish we were going into the tunnels.

The answer for us is probably underground.

Chantalle and I have grown even closer. I will ask her to marry me once this is over. She still can't get over what happened to her, but she is opening up to me and trusting me more each day. I love her dearly and will do the best I can to erase all the pain from her yet.

I wish Duran were here already. Leonie is a great warden, but she is testy and very aggressive. She wants her way all the time, and deciding on something can turn into a very unpleasant affair with her.

He sighed and paused for a moment. His face, always an open book, now showed a mixture of confusion and sadness in it.

Fiona told me what she knew about the Architect today. She revealed that she knew Maric as well. I didn't want to listen to anything else, and left the room. I really don't want to know about him. Why should I care about me if he abandoned me when I was but a baby?

He sighed, put away his quill and journal and head to bed, finally slipping into the cool sheets.

The last thought on his mind was Chantalle and he smiled before drifting to sleep.

...

They were ambushed by a group of darkspawn when they arrived at one of the neighboring villages.

Alistair fought at Chantalle's side, and the rest followed orders as they fell into their usual fighting tactics.

There was a problem this time.

It was as if the darkspawn already knew their movements, and anticipated each and every tactic they went through. Alistair frowned as this thought entered his brain. He was distracted for a moment as he used holy smite on an emissary and did not see a hurlock approaching them from behind. Chantalle turned and plunged her sword into the hurlock, but not before he had sliced into her leg.

Alistair cursed and called for Anders who immediately started to heal Chantalle.

They burned the bodies and continued their march into the village, which was completely abandoned. Survivors were probably already at Val Royeaux. They made their way through the abandoned little houses and stopped at the only inn in the village where they set their things down. They would eat and rest for a while before looking around some more. Alistair wanted to see where the darkspawn had come from and would take some parchment with him to start mapping the area.

They ate and drank some water, and then continued their scouting. They found the hole a few yards away from the last farmhouse. Alistair scribbled on the parchment as the rest waited gazing into the darkness below.

"Well, we're done here. I suggest we head back and call it a night." He swung a protective arm over Chantalle and they went back to the inn, and got their bedrolls out for the night.

...

"You miss them, don't you?" He whispered to her, his arms still around her as they lay on their bedrolls side by side.

She nodded, looking deeply into his eyes.

"You couldn't have prevented their deaths. It was the first time you set your eyes on the creatures, and it was too much for you to handle. The first time I saw darkspawn, I was terrified and just stood there, rooted to the spot."

She did not reply, but her hand went to his cheek and caressed it briefly, then fell back onto the bedroll.

He took her hand and kissed her palm, and a sigh escaped her lips.

"You are so good to me," she murmured, her fingers tracing his lips.

He pulled her closer and kissed her, and she trembled slightly in his arms.

"I don't want to rush things, even though I desire you, my love."

"What did you call me?" She smiled.

"My love," He repeated kissing her cheek and smiling.

Her eyes had a dreamy expression and she sighed.

"You are my love, you know. I love you with all my heart, Chantalle. Now close your eyes and let's get some rest."

Silence and then...

"I love you too, Alistair."

...

Several days later, they had met with the other four groups. Each of the leaders handed their parchment to Alistair who studied them. They had discovered five holes outside each of the villages they had visited. He now had detailed maps of the area surrounding Val Royeaux.

"Most excellent work," he smiled at everyone, while Chantalle translated everything into Orlesian. "We should get back to Val Royeaux now, and notify Leonie of our next course of action."

"Anders, a word with you please?"

"Yes, Commander," Anders said.

"You are unusually quiet. Is there anything I can do to help you?" He asked, looking at his friend with concern.

Anders sighed. "I just can't get her off me, Alistair. She's become obsessed and I don't really want to continue the relationship with her. You know me, I don't like to be tied down to anyone, or anywhere, for that matter."

"Yes, you escaped from the circle tower seven times after all," he smiled.

Anders laughed. "I can't settle down right now. Not will all this happening. And, I have to be available for the rest of the ladies," he smirked wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

Alistair burst out laughing. "Ah, yes! The ladies would be devastated if they knew they were losing Anders."

He chuckled. "I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten that!"

"Well, as long as you keep your hands off my lady, then all is well," Alistair grinned lopsidedly as he turned to rejoin Chantalle.

...

They met everyone in the main hall of the compound and Alistair stressed the fact that these holes that led underground were probably all over Orlais by now. He didn't know how to win the argument with the growing disapproval from Leonie, but he knew that if he wanted a chance to try what he was thinking now, he would have to appeal to her love of the Grey Wardens and her desire to help everyone and save lives.

"Look, Leonie, we have to do something about this. The situation is dire now, but it will get worse. Do you want more of your people to die?"

"No, Alistair, you know I do not wish that," she frowned. "But to embark on a mission far away from Val Royeaux without proper backup is suicide. I will not let you go to your death."

"It's the only thing we can do right now. This mission would take weeks alone, and should give the reinforcements plenty of time to arrive here and regroup," Alistair shrugged.

Leonie realized there was no keeping him away from this, so she finally gave her consent.

"Very well. What is it that you have planned?"

"The only reasonable course of action that must be taken, my dear Commander," he grinned. "We shall descend into the tunnels and find out who is leading them once and for all."